David Laughlin
DUNCAN — Months after the snow melted and the power was turned back on, county officials have began to deal with the mountain of paperwork necessary for FEMA funding. One thing is known for sure after the meeting, the work has just begun.
Among the County Commissioners of Stephens County, Darrell Sparks, Todd Churchman and Dee Bowen, their main concern was damage to road surfaces caused by the two storms.
“I didn’t really have debris from either storm,” Bowen said. “The most significant damage was done to our roads.”
Churchman said debris wasn’t an issue during the snowstorm.
“Like District 1, most of our damage from the December snow storm was on the roads,” Churchman said.
Sparks and District 3 received the brunt of the snowfall during the December snowstorm.
“We had to clear snow drifts six-foot deep for a mile long on our east-west roads,” Sparks said. “We spent six days clearing roads.”
Dan Rude, PAC Crew Leader for FEMA said, “Snow removal is not covered unless it is a record event or a near record event.”
FEMA defines a near record event as an adjacent county with record snowfall. Rude said the only other instance where snow removal could be covered under FEMA would be if the road cleared was an emergency route.
“Mainly our damage is to the roads,” Churchman said.
“We all had a lot of gravel roads that simply had the gravel get washed away, they turned into mud roads after all the snow moved in.”
Undersheriff John Smith said the sheriff’s department damages included replacing a vehicle that had been totaled during the snowstorm.
Rude said, “FEMA will cover it, but the insurance portion will be taken out first.”
Churchman and Sparks said debris from the January ice storm is still a problem to the county.
“We have already hauled off 200 loads,” Churchman said. “We may have 1,000 before it is all said and done with.”
“A lot of our road damage from the snow storm didn’t show up until about the time the ice storm hit,” Sparks said. “The ice storm affected the trees, but the snow storm affected all the roads.”
Sparks said it could take up to a year to fully restore his district.
Rude said, “Don’t wait on FEMA to start cleaning up.”
— David Laughlin is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. He can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 144, or via e-mail at david.laughlin@duncanbanner.com.
