Quorum Court hears update on clean-up

County employees have been working long hours following the disastrous ice storm of Jan. 27. In fact, the amount of work required has led to the necessity of overtime for road department employees, according to Judge Gary Howell. During last Tuesday's Quorum Court meeting at the county courthouse in Corning, Howell told the court that workers had been "working around the clock" with little or no sleep in an effort to clear the county's estimated 1,000 miles of gravel roads of fallen and hanging limbs.

Howell said the work was necessary to make the roads passable for school buses, ambulances and regular vehicle travel.

Though the road department has been hard at work, Howell said conditions "would have been much worse" if not for the wealth of assistance offered by local farmers and self-employed machine operators who went to work, clearing a number of roadways. With conditions exceeding the immediate capability of the road department, the county retained the services of several machine operators during the crisis. The Quorum Court understood the need for hiring outside help for the removal and questioned what assistance will be available to help cover expenses.

Howell feels assistance will be made available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), but is uncertain when said funds would be made available. Howell said all work will need to be completed first.

According to Richard Gifford of FEMA's public affairs office, the decision on assistance is not up to the organization at this point. Gifford said Thursday that FEMA had completed the initial stage by gathering the information on the damage sustained in Clay County. While no decision has been made at this time, Governor Mike Beebe has sent the request for individual assistance to FEMA. Federal assistance has been approved at the county level. Gifford said the next step will be to hold a kickoff meeting, allowing county officials to learn just what type of assistance will be available and for what said aid can be used. At this time, there is no date set for the kickoff meeting.

Passage of Ordinance 2009-02

The court approved the passage of Ordinance 2009-02, appropriating funds and amending the 2009 budget. The ordinance included adding $3,000 to the Food and Lodging fund, which is being used to feed work release prisoners sent to the area from Mississippi County. The prisoners have been working to clear areas such as parks, courthouses and cemeteries throughout the county. Howell said the assistance has been immeasurable, citing the work done by the 28 men far outweighing the cost of feeding them for their service. All members of the court were in agreement with the judge.

In other business, the court:

* Passed Resolution 2009-02, a resolution requiring the sheriff's department deputies to use Liability Release Forms when having riders present while on duty.

* Passed Resolution 2009-01, a resolution approving Clay County HUD PHA for SEMAP.

* Heard a commendation from Judge Howell in gratitude for all the volunteers who offered their assistance throughout the county during the ice storm.