 Sad to know where all the best toys are and this December many of the hunter's smartphones are just a penny with service in Appalachian Wireless. Stop by your local Appalachian Wireless to check out all of the great smartphone deals that consistently top the nice lists. Ho ho, this Christmas is truly going to be bigger and better than ever. Better service, bigger savings, that is. Ho ho ho ho ho. That's today's Appalachian Wireless. In recent days we have looked at ways to prepare ourselves and our vehicles for winter weather, but emergency management officials in Kentucky want to remind everyone to also make sure you are prepared to handle a winter storm inside your own home. You need to have your home prepared for such things. You know, if you don't have a backup generator or something, have an alternate heat source, whether it's a kerosene heater or a wood burning stove or something like that. And a snowstorm that causes widespread power outages is not uncommon in our region. Many people spent more than a week without power in 2009. A lot of trees fell bringing down power lines, a lot of poles broke and power lines came down because of the heavy wet snow. Power outages lasted upwards of 10 days in some areas. Flashlights, extra batteries and candles are important items to remember, but Tackett says also having a supply of water on hand is equally as important in the event of a water outage like we saw in Pike County in February of 2015. They recommend that you have at least a gallon per person per day on hand. Have some on hand for sanitation as well. Tackett says smartphones can provide valuable information about weather conditions and relief efforts during a winter storm, but make sure you have a plan in place for keeping them charged. There's different things that you can get to charge batteries with. There's even little solar chargers you can get to charge your cell phones with that are relatively inexpensive. Tackett encourages people with questions about preparing their family, their home or their vehicle for the winter season to call his office at 606-437-4126. Reporting in Pikeville for EKB News, I'm Shannon Deskins.