County road crews cleaning up from storm

Ozark County Western District Commissioner Layne Nance said Monday that county road crews are still working on clearing debris from roads after two rounds of severe storms knocked down hundreds of trees across the county earlier this month.

The hardest hit area was around Theodosia, where several homes and businesses were damaged.

Ozark County Emergency Management Director Curtis Ledbetter told commissioners that officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured some of the damage areas in the county this past week, and found the damage will likely exceed the threshold for FEMA assistance. Ledbetter pointed out that the FEMA relief would be for the county, municipalities and public entities to fund the manpower, labor and materials to clear the roadways of downed trees and washed out roads. The relief would not be for individuals who sustained damage from the storms. “I don’t think there was enough damage for the county to qualify for individual assistance from FEMA,” Ledbetter said.

Officials discussed the ongoing cleanup effort during Monday’s regular meeting of the county commission. County commissioners said they appreciated the patience by people who have trees down. “We are working on this and we appreciate everyone’s patience,” Nance said.

During Monday’s meeting, the commissioners also briefly discussed ongoing work on the elevator in the courthouse, which has been out of service and undergoing major updates since Aug. 8. Presiding County Commissioner Terry Newton said the elevator work should be completed by the end of August.

County commissioners meet at 9 a.m. every Monday on the second floor of the Ozark County Courthouse. The meetings are open to the public.