tbgfan 856 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 http://www2.tricities.com/news/2011/may/07/glade-spring-denied-federal-assistance-ar-1023966/ Glade Spring denied federal assistance By Lizz Marrs Published: May 07, 2011 » 10 Comments | Post a Comment Glade Spring, or any of the tornado devastated areas of Virginia, won't be receiving any federal help. A request made by Governor Bob McDonnell that three counties of Virginia receive federal disaster assistance was denied. Virginia was hit by more than two dozen tornadoes in April, destroying much of Glade Spring, and this denial of aid means millions of dollars in help won't be coming to those who are in desperate need. For the Halls this assistance was going to mean the chance to start over and when wife Betty found out she just kept repeating ‘I can't believe it, I can't believe it’. “I do really and truly think we need the help here. Not only us but other families,†explains Betty. “So now I don't know what we'll do. If we don't get (any) help, I just don't know what we'll do.†All of the neighbors of this small town told 11 Connects they are devastated by the news that federal help isn't coming. Many of them didn't have insurance and federal help was the only way they thought they could get their lives back together. “It just doesn't make sense to me what's the matter with our little town,†asks tornado victim Beverly Hogston. “How come we can't get no help or anything?†These neighbors continue to clean up debris and say they hope the state continues to fight for federal help. Director of Washington County Virginia's Emergency Management Pokey Harris says they aren't giving up. She says they are gathering all the information right now to file the appeal with the federal government. And since this aid was denied local emergency management is beginning to assemble a long term recovery group made up of local efforts. But getting these tornado stricken community's back to normal isn't going to be possible without more and more help like the Glade Aid Benefit Concert held in Abingdon. “Our students- it's their friends, it’s their classmates that were impacted and some of us, when they weren't letting us go in on the grounds (and help clean up), we felt helpless and we wanted to be able to do something to help them,†explains organizer Kim Morton. Even though the money raised won't match that of federal assistance, it's a step in the right direction. “My heart goes out to them,†says Janis Meadows who donated to the benefit. “It's just such a tragedy and I just don't think we could do enough. I just couldn't imagine what they're going through.†Governor McDonnell says he is disappointed by the decision to deny aid and will consider appealing it. He pledged state resources to assist the local efforts. Life has many choices---eternity two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 this is where having someone like Boucher who has been around for a zillion years in DC helps out....just saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BHS03 99 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 this is where having someone like Boucher who has been around for a zillion years in DC helps out....just saying. Just saying but it shouldn't matter who is in office. If a place needs assistance then they should get it. You are basically saying that these unfortunate people aren't getting assistance because a veteran democrat got voted out of office. Pretty sad. Boucher didn't deserve to be re-elected, he turned on what the people wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasDenton 79 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 It's sad that so many people are wrapping up politics in this. I only had to read a few comments on the news article before I was just sick. Some people seem to think that the federal government won't give SWVA aid just because of our elected officials. I don't know why they denied us assistance, but surely it wouldn't be because of some politicians not liking others. That's just wrong. I would think that it was because we weren't hit nearly as bad as places like those in Alabama and they believe the Commonwealth can handle this on its own, allowing the federal government to give more to those harder hit places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjhall71 61 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 You can bet your ass that if the Roanoke area was hit Mr. Griffith would be fighting for the aid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 this is where having someone like Boucher who has been around for a zillion years in DC helps out....just saying. I won't turn this into a political issue, but I'll simply say that an event of this magnitude is unpredictable, and that you cannot base voting around "if something big happens, he's been in D.C. for decades". Hopefully, the administrations reconsider this decision, and I do hope that Griffith is giving his all to improve the situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deuceswild 15 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 this is where having someone like Boucher who has been around for a zillion years in DC helps out....just saying. Seconded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker 82 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 I won't turn this into a political issue, but I'll simply say that an event of this magnitude is unpredictable, and that you cannot base voting around "if something big happens, he's been in D.C. for decades". Hopefully, the administrations reconsider this decision, and I do hope that Griffith is giving his all to improve the situation. I suspect the request will be repackaged to just include the storms on the 27th & 28th and it will get approved. I think they made a mistake in trying to package three weeks worth of events into one request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 I suspect the request will be repackaged to just include the storms on the 27th & 28th and it will get approved. I think they made a mistake in trying to package three weeks worth of events into one request. Good point. And who knows, it might've been a savvy negotiating ploy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HurricaneWarning 212 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 (edited) this is where having someone like Boucher who has been around for a zillion years in DC helps out....just saying. With Boucher in office I don`t think it would have made any difference. Edited May 8, 2011 by HurricaneWarning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Orange 1 10 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 Glad to see my tax dollars at work. I drove up to Glade (I know I wasnt supposed to) last Friday. The TV and newspaper pictures are not even close to seeing it in person. I simply was amazed, I've never been around anything like that. I really don't want to make this about politics either. This is about the hard working, tax paying people of Glade. No, thank God, it wasnt as bad as it was in Alabama. It wasnt the tsunami that hit Japan, but it was bad enough. People lost lives and everthing they ever worked for. What would have made it bad enough to receive federal aid? More houses blown away? more people killed? Very dissapointed in this decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deuceswild 15 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 (edited) Didn't Pulaski receive federal aid for their storms? I've driven through both and while both are horrific in terms of monetary and structural damage, Pulaski's situation pales in comparison to Glade-Chilhowie. For the most part, in Pulaski the homes are mostly still standing. I don't know what impact Boucher would have, but 20+ years of representations is bound to have its upside in situations like this. Edited May 8, 2011 by deuceswild Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futbolking 766 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Afghanistan is still going to get billions , after harboring public enemy #1....and they can't come up with a dime to help our own people....I find that outrageous!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 i am not saying anything bad about Griffith...or anything good about Boucher...all I'm saying is that when something like this goes down, and you have a guy in congress that has been there for eternity and a day, it doesn't hurt anything at all...sadly, it's often about who is working on what project and who they helped before on another project or a swing vote here and a swing vote there...politics...that's just the way it is when it comes to spreading around federal money. For the people of Glade Springs area's sake...I sure hope they get some sort of help, they need it...it's a mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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