Tag: 2016 Flood

W.Va. Committee on Flooding to Get Updates on RISE, FEMA, Richwood

The West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Committee on Flooding is set to meet Tuesday in Charleston. State lawmakers established the panel following devastating floods in June 2016 that claimed 23 lives and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.

A 10-member committee comprised of senators and delegates will hear from speakers about issues related to past flooding in the state as part of a one-day interim legislative session.

According to the committee’s agenda, Major General James Hoyer of the West Virginia National Guard will provide an update on the RISE recovery program. The initiative was handed over to Hoyer in June last year amid reports that state commerce officials had been slow in spending money to rebuild homes.

Hoyer and other state officials will discuss federal assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

State auditor John B. McCuskey is scheduled to speak to the committee about his office’s investigation into the city of Richwood’s finances.

In March, four current and former officials there were charged with embezzlement. Some of those charges stemmed from the misuse of public funds earmarked for flood recovery.

Officials from the state purchasing division will also be on hand to answer questions from the committee.

 

Greenbrier County Families Worried about Flood Grant Money

Greenbrier County commissioners are looking at options to help families who were hoping for federal money to rebuild homes lost in the 2016 flood.

The Register-Herald reports state officials initially encouraged the homeowners to apply for some of West Virginia’s $69 million pool of flood hazard mitigation funds.

But county emergency services official Paula Brown says the state has now placed high-profile public infrastructure projects first in line for funding. That means all 55 counties can apply for grants, and it makes the homeowners unlikely to receive funding.

Brown told county commissioners last week that her office has received approval to acquire only six flood-damaged properties out of 41 requested. The office also received approval to help elevate three homes.

“We received 13 percent of what we asked for from the state,” Brown said. She added that there are more than 30 homes awaiting demolition, posing a public health hazard as they continue to deteriorate.

Brown said it is essential that the damaged structures be removed, but the owners don’t have the money. Many of those families are still paying off debts on their uninhabitable flood-damaged houses. At the same time, they are trying to pay mortgages or rent on new homes.

Brown told commissioners the state’s priorities list for flood hazard mitigation grants can still be modified, and she urged the commission to intervene with state officials.

“Anything you can do at the state level will be appreciated,” she said.

Commissioners indicated a willingness to send a letter to the governor and explore additional options.

W.Va. Mayor, Police Chief Charged with Embezzlement

The mayor, police chief and former clerk of a West Virginia city have been charged with embezzlement.

Criminal complaints filed Friday in Nicholas County charged Richwood Mayor Chris Drennen, police chief Lloyd Allen Cogar and former clerk Abigail McClung.

The filings come hours before the state auditor is to release findings of an investigation into misuse of public funds in the city.

The complaint says Drennen was paid about $45,000 extra without council approval to help the city recover from a massive 2016 flood. At the time, Drennen oversaw Richwood’s finances as the city’s recorder.

Cogar is accused of using government purchasing cards in personal transactions.

Authorities also say McClung wrongly paid herself for unused vacation time.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the three had attorneys. A city spokeswoman declined to comment.

Demolition of Herbert Hoover High School Begins

Demolition crews started tearing down Herbert Hoover High School in Kanawha County on Monday. The high school was damaged by high waters during the 2016 flood. 

According to Briana Warner, Communications Director for Kanawha County Schools, a new high school is expected to be completed in 2021.

Herbert Hoover High School students currently attend school in portables outside of Elkview Middle School. The portables are fenced in and all linked by a covered pier or decking system. The portables include full chemistry and other science labs, smart TVs, a shop classroom, and commons area with a covered plaza.  

The demolition and clean up for the old high school building is expected to be completed by this fall.

Rainelle Police Chief Wary of Hurricane Florence

Hours inland from the U.S. East Coast in mountain communities and narrow river valleys of Appalachia, angst is building with the approach of Hurricane Florence.

A series of thunderstorms pelted a wide swath of West Virginia two years ago. Nine inches of rain fell in 36 hours in some areas in June 2016, leaving 23 dead statewide and destroying thousands of homes, businesses and infrastructure.

Now comes the preparation for another prolonged rain event.

National Weather Service guidance says the currently projected scenario from Florence “could result in catastrophic flooding rainfall” across the mountains of western North Carolina, western Virginia and eastern West Virginia late this week.

“People are kind of paranoid right now,” Rainelle Police Chief J.P. Stevens said. “They have the right to be.”

Fifteen people died in Greenbrier County alone in 2016. The communities of Rainelle and White Sulphur Springs saw significant property damage, including at the posh Greenbrier resort.

Rainelle is surrounded by hills, the Meadow River and several tributaries. Some businesses damaged in the flood have yet to be torn down.

Stevens and other town officials are monitoring the hurricane’s track. The town is moving its vehicles to higher ground ahead of the storm. The Red Cross is mobilizing its services in the area, and the police department has purchased a bus in case evacuations are required.

“We’re going to be ahead of it this time around,” Stevens said.

W.Va. Judges Remove Richwood Mayor From Office

A three-judge panel in West Virginia has approved a city council’s request to remove Richwood Mayor Bob Henry Baber from office.

News outlets report the judges dismissed several of the Richwood council’s allegations, but agreed Baber used city funds to reimburse personal power and cellphone bills and misused his city purchasing card.

Baber says he had not read the panel’s findings in detail but criticized the council for wasting time and money on what he called a “witch hunt.” Baber led Richwood in the wake of the June 2016, flood, garnering attention to the community’s recovery efforts.

The judicial panel said Friday that Baber’s actions were “the epitome of an improper abuse of one’s political position.” The panel was established by the state Supreme Court and led by Fayette Circuit Judge Paul Blake Jr.

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