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Governor surveys damaged areas |
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Monday, 07 April 2008 |
 Gov. mike beebe views the remains of a burned-out residence at Hurricane Creek Mobile Home Park off Arkansas 5 in Benton. (Courier photo by Daniel Sample)
Courier StaffGov. Mike Beebe declared five Arkansas counties – including Saline – disaster areas Friday.
The other counties earning the unfortunate designation were Arkansas, Garland, Pulaski and St. Francis.
Several areas of Benton and Bryant sustained heavy damage in Thursday’s tornado and related storms that wreaked havoc throughout the night. Though no official estimates were available, Benton Mayor Rick Holland estimated the damage in Benton at $15 million.
Bryant Mayor Larry Mitchell has not estimated the damage in his city.
Following a visit with persons displaced by the storm at a Red Cross shelter set up at First Pentecostal Church in Bryant, the governor met with Mitchell, Holland, county and state officials to apprise them of the steps involved in residents receiving disaster assistance. After this, he viewed some of the ravaged areas.
Among the locations he visited was Hurricane Creek Mobile Home Park, where many residents were waiting to re-enter the park to collect their possessions. The park was closed the previous night because of fires sparked by a gas leak.
Beebe passed residents carrying out their belongings in trash bags. He stopped to hug a weeping woman and took in the sight of the charred remains of a mobile home destroyed by fire.
“You think we’re going to catch a break after all our people have been through — tornadoes to floods to tornadoes to more floods — but you never can count on it,” Beebe said. “Unfortunately, we’re getting too good at this disaster response.
“We’ve had too many instances where we’ve had to do it. You want to be good at it, but you hate it.”
Because of the numerous disasters that have occurred recently in Arkansas, state officials “good or bad, are now on a first-name basis with everyone at FEMA.”
The governor said he expects monetary help to be available for public vehicles damaged in rescue and recovery efforts. He said it’s too soon for the process to begin, but he does not anticipate any problems in residents meeting the eligibility requirements.
Beebe encouraged officials to remember that persons who suffer losses in storms will need assistance and encouragement several weeks and months from now. “This is not a three-day thing.”
David Maxwell, who heads the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, was with the governor and also said he expects the area to qualify for disaster assistance.
Some residents may be able to receive temporary housing, he said.
Also joining the governor in Saline County were state Reps. Janet Johnson, D-Bryant, and Lamont Cornwell, D-Benton; state Sen. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant; Saline County Judge Lanny Fite; Holland and Mitchell.
All, including Beebe, expressed gratitude that no one was seriously injured in the storms.
“It’s truly amazing that no one was hurt,” said Holland, while noting that he hopes housing assistance can come soon for the many individuals who are homeless.
Both mayors commended their city employees, particularly their public safety personnel, for the services they provided to area residents.
“I’m really pleased with the way Bryant police and fire officers have worked with citizens to provide help where it is needed,” Mitchell said. “They have been working their regular shifts, but they also brought in off-duty officers to help out.”
Bryant firefighters went door-to-door to assess damage of individual property owners, Mitchell noted.
“All of our city personnel came out last night, even dispatchers,” Holland said. “We had street department, electric water and sewer employees out here as well as police and fire and emergency personnel. It was a concerted effort by city staff. They all came out, worked all through the night to get services back and were right back on the job this morning.”
Beebe commended the efforts of local volunteers who were at the site of several shelters set up to assist those affected by the tornado and storms.
“Arkansas and Saline County has local folks that we can be proud of,” he said. “It’s amazing how well people work together, and we’re here to help whenever we can.”
Courier staff writer Matt Burks contributed to this article.
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