Category: News
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Rep. Millard Works To Streamline Flood Relief
Read more: Rep. Millard Works To Streamline Flood ReliefState Representative David Millard held a public meeting at the request of the residents of Fernville on the evening of October 20th, 2011. With the discussion revolving around the uncertainty of when and how Fernville residents would receive funds for the repair or acquisition of their damaged properties, Rep. Millard assured those in attendance that their well-being and care are his primary concern. “This event was of such a magnitude, that we need to take people out of harm’s way,” Rep. Millard stated. “I want to facilitate that.” Most of the residents in attendance reported receiving varying information from local,…
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Live Stream of Rep. Millard Fernville Meeting
Read more: Live Stream of Rep. Millard Fernville MeetingHere is the video archive of the meeting between Rep. Millard, Hemlock Township officials, and Fernville residents. Part 1 of 3 Part 2 of 3 Part 3 of 3
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Live Blog of Rep. Millard Fernville Meeting
Read more: Live Blog of Rep. Millard Fernville Meeting7:46 Meeting Ends 7:41 Resident reporting a past meeting with Army Corps of Engineers and their aversion to dredging because the waterway beds refill in just 15 years 7:40 Rep Millard said among his goals is to remove the worst of the debris along fishing creek 7:36 Rep millard asked for FEMA rep to be here tonight, but FEMA was unable to attend. Rep Millard said that FEMA will be presenting to the General Assembly and has a commitment from FEMA to attend at future meetings. These meetings with Rep Millard and FEMA will be advertised in the press and…
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An Update on FEMA Funds and Mobile Homes
Read more: An Update on FEMA Funds and Mobile HomesThe Bloomsburg Daily had a chance to talk with Eugene Brezeny from the FEMA News Desk in Harrisburg this morning. The goal was to get a status update on the amount of funds disbursed to Columbia County at this point, as well as to get an update on the status of FEMA mobile homes and when they might show up in the area. In the statistics news, as of this morning (10/20/2011), FEMA has received 2329 disaster assistance applications from Columbia County for Tropical Storm Lee. Of those, 1436 have been approved. Those approved applications represent $7 million in assistance to Columbia…
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Town Addresses Citizens Regarding Flood Response
Read more: Town Addresses Citizens Regarding Flood ResponseListen to the Audio of Dan Knorr’s Opening Remarks at the Flood Forum Watch the Live Stream Archive of the Event (High Def Version Coming Soon) Read the Live Blog, a minute-by-minute account of last night’s meeting Concerned members of the community met with Mayor Dan Knorr and local officials last night to discuss the town response to the disastrous September flooding. Mayor Knorr stated that the goal was to know what went right, what went wrong, and what could be done better in future flooding situations. He stated that “It’s critical that we not rely on memory, on word…
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Flood Open Forum Live Blog
Read more: Flood Open Forum Live Blog8:00 Mayor: Getting Federal dollars is more difficult due to lack of earmarks. Money is awarded to best project on cost basis, rather than influence over political leaders. 7:58 Resident: With future flood plans, is it possible to coordinate flood planning efforts with towns upriver? Mayor responds that he would like to see a regional plan, but also feels that he needs to fight specifically for his town against other communities in getting flood protection. 7:55 Resident concerned that Emergency Services, waking people at 2AM to evacuate, only told people to “get out” with no information on specifically where to…
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FEMA Approves More Than $165.4 Million in Disaster Relief
Read more: FEMA Approves More Than $165.4 Million in Disaster ReliefHARRISBURG, Pa. — More than $165.4 million in disaster relief is approved for Pennsylvanians struck by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. The news was announced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program approved $107.4 Million in grants to eligible applicants for temporary housing, home repairs, personal property losses and other disaster-related needs such as medical, dental and funeral costs. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) approved close to $25 million in low-interest disaster loans and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) contributed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s recovery…
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An Interview with Bloomsburg University President David Soltz
Read more: An Interview with Bloomsburg University President David SoltzMany of us have the impression that given a week off from school due to a natural disaster, the typical college student would go home to see family or take a road trip to visit friends. The scenario we envision would probably not include staying in a flood-ravaged town without running water and scooping sewage-laced river mud out of a home twelve blocks away from the student’s apartment. However, in the aftermath of the 2011 flood, Bloomsburg University students gave tremendously to the relief effort. In addition, the entire university community — faculty, staff, students, and administrators — came together…
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Marcellus Research Network to Track Water Quality
Read more: Marcellus Research Network to Track Water QualityUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Development of a database that will be able to track potential impacts of Marcellus Shale activity on water quality is the focus of a new $750,000 research collaboration led by Penn State researchers. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Marcellus Shale Research Network will consolidate and routinely update water data being collected by watershed groups, government agencies, industry stakeholders and universities as a searchable database. The project also will facilitate and train additional community groups in how to organize, collect and interpret water data. “Significant data collection is occurring throughout the Marcellus Shale region, but…
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The Truth About Numbers
Read more: The Truth About NumbersWith the devastation that was brought to the region by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, it seems as though everyone has been scrambling to find statistics that accurately depict the damage that the community has endured. Statistical accuracies are proving quite elusive however, and the amount of numbers circulating about the region are enough to make one dizzy. One can look to FEMA and the number of persons who have applied for aid as a reliable source of quantifiable data from the region. Eugene Brezany, spokesman for FEMA, confirmed that as of Oct. 11th, 2,238 applications have been received…