Amanda Purcell is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media State Trooper Robert Barksdale was one of 30 state troopers who volunteered to help survivors in areas hardest hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria, from Aug. 30 to Oct. 3. Barksdale was one of two troopers from Troop K, which serves Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties, and the only trooper from the state police barracks in Livingston to take the 16-day trip to Saint John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. State police were joined by 100 members of the New York National Guard, deployed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The troopers were on daily patrol duty to prevent loss or damage to property and provided general law enforcement support to the U.S. Virgin Islands police. "...[T]here were a lot of trees and downed poles,” Barksdale said. “There were transformers and houses that were completely destroyed. There were cars that were turned over or upside down. There was a lot of destruction.” He said conditions were similar to what he saw in New Orleans in 2005, following Hurricane Katrina. “I would certainly do it again,” Barksdale said about his service in the U.S. Virgin Islands. “It certainly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience..." Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.