DeKalb County Could Benefit from Federal Disaster Declaration

April 9, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is awaiting word from President Donald Trump on a request for a Major Disaster Declaration to make federal recovery assistance available to city and county jurisdictions including DeKalb County impacted in February’s significant flooding and severe storms.

Charlie Parker, DeKalb County’s Emergency Management Agency Director reported to the county budget committee last month that damage to county roads from the flooding was significant.

“Recently I have been in contact with the local highway department making road damage assessments because of the flooding. There is an estimated $80,000 in damage to roads and we’re looking at getting state and federal assistance for that,” added Parker.

“The severe flooding has left many Tennessee jurisdictions unsure about how to fund the unexpected need to repair infrastructure and pay for their emergency measures,” Gov. Lee said. “I believe we have demonstrated the need for federal assistance is necessary and if granted, will lessen some of the financial burden on local resources for flood response and recovery.”

Since the heavy rain, major flooding, and severe storms began on Feb. 6, 83 of Tennessee’s 95 counties have reported some level of flood damage and severe weather impact.

Gov. Lee’s request specifically asks the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make the Public Assistance (PA) program available to 58 Tennessee counties impacted by the flooding and severe storms from Feb. 6, 2019, onward.

The PA request includes the counties of: Anderson, Bedford, Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Carter, Cheatham, Claiborne, Clay, Cocke, Coffee, Decatur, DeKalb, Dickson, Dyer, Fentress, Gibson, Giles, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Hawkins, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lake, Lauderdale, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Marshall, McNairy, Moore, Morgan, Obion, Overton, Perry, Rhea, Roane, Robertson, Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Smith, Tipton, Unicoi, Union, Van Buren, Warren, Wayne, and Weakley.

On March 8, 2019, Director Patrick Sheehan of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) requested FEMA send federal teams to Tennessee to begin joint Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) to quantify the magnitude of the flooding damage at the county level.

Based on the FEMA joint PDAs, the requested counties demonstrated they had met or surpassed federally-established loss thresholds to qualify for relief through FEMA’s PA program.

The qualifying losses for county, municipal, state agency, and utility infrastructure impacts and emergency expenditures totaled $68.3 million due to the flooding and severe storms.

FEMA’s PA program reimburses local and state governments, utilities, and certain private, non-profit organizations for emergency protective measures and debris removal, and for repairs to roads and bridges, water control facilities, buildings, and equipment as the result of a federally-declared disaster.

April 9, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Supporters of organ, eye and tissue donation will celebrate National Blue & Green Day on Friday, April 12 as part of National Donate Life Month.

The DeKalb County Clerk’s Office is partnering with Tennessee Donor Services in the awareness effort.

Blue & Green Day, April 12^th is a time for Tennesseans to rally around organ and tissue donation by wearing or decorating businesses Blue & Green to raise awareness to register as an organ and tissue donor.

Currently over 3,000 Tennesseans are waiting for a life-saving transplant including one in DeKalb County. Last year 701 Tennesseans received a transplant and with one living in this county.

Share your photos with #BlueGreenTN19!  It is easy to register when getting or renewing your Tennessee Driver’s license or state ID.  You can also go to DonateLIfeTN.org to register.  Remember to share your decision with your family and loved ones.”

County Clerks across the state play a role in promoting the gift of life message by offering residents the opportunity to donate a dollar when they renew their car tag every year. Those dollars are used for the creation and distribution of educational materials for the public and school-based programs through the Tennessee County Clerks Organ Donor Awareness Foundation.

April 9, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Ready for a walk? “Major” sure is!

This week’s WJLE/DeKalb Animal Coalition featured pet is “Major, a 2 year old, 35 pound, Australian Shepherd mix.

IMG_5381 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

“He came to the shelter after recovering from a broken pelvis. He is all healed up and ready to take on the world. He loves to be outside but is just as content leaned up against you for some attention. “Major” would do well with kids and a large area to play. If he sounds like the perfect addition to your family, stop by the shelter to meet him Thursday, Friday, or Saturday,” said Director Megan Moore.

For more information call 615-597-1363.

The shelter is located at 186 Transfer Station Road behind Tenneco Automotive.

Since WJLE began partnering with the DeKalb Animal Coalition for the “Pet of the Week” segment, all six pets featured have been adopted or sent to rescue including Sugar and Sonny, the beagle mixed siblings; Bear, an Akita Shepard mix; Clarabelle, a Maine Coon mix cat; Toby, a Boxer mix; and Leo, a Chihuahua mix.

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