City/county officials report progress and anticipate more relief soon

Help may come after Tuesday from the State Emergency Management Agency. In a briefing Friday, city and county officials were informed that after some local agencies and possibly even some non-profit organizations may be eligible.

The briefing was held at Poplar Bluff Police Department, where another update will be given Monday to those involved in recovery efforts. The city has begun holding these meetings to share information and resources.

According to Matthew Boley, public assistance coordinator with SEMA, a tour of the damaged areas in Butler County will be conducted Tuesday morning by SEMA. From there, the organization will start receiving estimates regarding damages as a result of the tornado that hit the area last Friday.

“I’ll be working with cities, townships, and counties,” Boley said. “Any organizations that operate from public funds will be eligible for assistance.”

Boley went on to say minimum requirement for a disaster declaration at the state level is $12 million.

“Right now, we’re looking at approximately $50 million so far,” Boley remarked. “We will have 30 days to do assessments, but I want people to be realistic in understanding the timeline on this. We could be looking at anywhere between two to four weeks before we can get an official (disaster) declaration from the president.”

In the meantime, Boley recommended that businesses and individuals all start documenting damages with multiple photos in order to justify their claims.

Boley explained there is a pre-registration option for individuals looking for disaster funds, but no money will be available until there is an official declaration. Anyone interested in pre-registering should go to disasterassistance.gov.

Butler County Emergency Management Director Robbie Myers informed officials that a Multi Agency Resource Center will be put into place at the Black River Coliseum from noon-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

“Basically, it’s going to be a one-stop shop to help those in need,” Myers said. “There will be multiple services of all kinds available. So, we’re encouraging people to go there beginning Thursday.”

In the meantime, Myers said anyone wanting to volunteer to help with continuing recovery efforts should contact Samaritan’s Purse.

“Morgan (McIntosh) with the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce did an amazing job coordinating the initial volunteer efforts,” Myers remarked. “And I’m sure she was more than happy to hand that off to Samaritan’s Purse.”

The toll-free number for Samaritan’s Purse is 833-747-1234, and the group has established a base of operations at the First Baptist Church.

McIntosh reported that the Chamber of Commerce had collected $10,000 and has handed that money over to the South Central Community Action Agency to manage for those in need.

“We’re still looking for financial resources,” McIntosh noted. “We had a family come in that just now got their power turned on, and they lost all of the food that was in their fridge.”

Poplar Bluff Police Department Interim Chief J.R. Keirsey informed officials that things “are getting back to normal, for the most part.” Keirsey said the department still has increased patrols in certain damaged areas, but there have been no reports of vandalism or looting.

Street department Superintendent Jerry Lawson reported that, as of Thursday, the street department has hauled 309 dump-truck loads to the yard waste disposal site, and there have been 228 volunteer loads delivered to the same location. Lawson also reported the street department has logged 1,526 man hours since midnight Saturday, March 15.

The decision was made for officials to meet at the police department again at 12:30 p.m. Monday so each department can communicate what may have changed over the weekend.