Why The Storm Tally Matters
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DAVE’S WORLD
By David Howell
Since Jan. 25, Yalobusha County has been running up the score. Not in dollars. Not in contracts. But in volunteer hours, hot meals, propane tanks, chainsaw work and churches opened for warmth.
If we had a storm-time scoreboard, it would reflect weeks of grit and generosity.
ER Assist representative Jim LeBianco explained this week that every one of those efforts carries value in the eyes of FEMA. Five dollars for every hot meal served.
Volunteer hours valued somewhere around $23 an hour. Donated heaters. Cleaning supplies. Bottled water. Food. Shelter space.
Now let me make something absolutely clear.
No one is getting a check for this.
No one is being paid retroactively.
No volunteer is suddenly going to receive compensation.
This is not reimbursement to individuals.
It is documentation.
It is a way for the county to show FEMA the full scope of what the community contributed — so those documented in-kind contributions can help offset what the county must pay out of its own budget.
If total cleanup costs for Winter Storm Fern land where projected, the county’s 12.5 percent share could approach nearly a million dollars.
That means every documented volunteer hour, every donated meal and every piece of equipment used helps reduce that burden.
We know this ledger is strong.
District Five Supervisor Gaylon Gray said it best in the days after the storm: the unsung heroes were neighbors helping neighbors.
He wasn’t talking about local contractors who were paid for their work or reimbursement percentages. He was talking about tractors and chainsaws manned by volunteers clearing roads. Folks working long hours who wanted no recognition and certainly no reimbursement. They were doing it because it was the right thing.
And that’s exactly why this matters.
There may be a great deal of storm response activity that has never been tallied. Nobody was keeping score when the goal was simply to get the roads passable and check on elderly neighbors.
Now we have to.
Because that invisible ledger from Jan. 25 forward could make a real difference in what the county ultimately owes.
So if you volunteered, cooked meals, donated supplies, provided equipment or opened your building — contact your supervisor.
