Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 15, 1994 TAG: 9402150280
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
The Pulaski County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting at 4:30 p.m. today to enact a disaster declaration.
Special telephone numbers have been set up at the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office with people to take the information. The number, 980-7817, will be answered from 9 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 5 p.m. each day through Friday.
Representatives of the county, towns of Dublin and Pulaski and various local government agencies have been meeting and cooperating since the storm hit, most recently Monday afternoon at the Sheriff's Office.
County Emergency Services Coordinator Stan Crigger said 3,600 to 3,800 Appalachian Power Co. customers were still without electricity in the county late Monday, and restoring power to those customers might take several days.
``It's getting down to the tough ones now. The next couple thousand are going to be tougher to get to than ever,'' Crigger said.
In the town of Pulaski, water service returned to normal Monday, but the town's public works director estimated it could take four weeks to clean up all the storm debris.
Town officials want to find out if the state will cover any revenue lost by waiving reconnection and building fees. They thought it was important to require people to obtain permits, whether there were charges or not, to make sure new wiring and construction were properly inspected.
County Extension Agent Richard White distributed forms for gathering property damage data that will be needed if the county becomes eligible for disaster funds.
``The more we can document right now, the better off we'll be down the road,'' White said.
State air pollution officials will allow a certain amount of open burning to get rid of storm debris. Such debris should not be moved until the sites are prepared and announced.
A number of roofs in the county sustained damage from the 4 inches of ice that accumulated on them, with 2 inches of water on top of that.
Pulaski County school employees have been taking down large amounts of ceiling tile and vacuuming up water from about 30 spots in Critzer Elementary School, Harry DeHaven of the school system said Sunday night. Pulaski County High School also had a lot of leaks.
Critzer had been basically sound until the storm, he said, and probably can be made ready for classes as soon as they are started again. Most of Monday was spent stopping the leaks.
``We have roofs leaking just about everywhere,'' DeHaven said. ``You can fix it once it dries out.''
Garbage service is back on schedule in most areas of the county as the county Public Service Authority tries to restore normal operations.
People can still get water at fire stations, but may need to call to make sure someone is available. The Pulaski Fire Department, however, is open 24 hours a day and can provide water without prior arrangements.
Pulaski Fire Chief Jeff Hall said members of his department had pumped water from about 38 basements so far.
Water service has been restored in the town of Pulaski, where a loss of power at the pump station forced the town to ask for conservation when it had to rely on county water for several days and there was not enough to go around.
Pulaski town Engineer John Hawley said industries had been limited to 75 percent of their regular water use Sunday night but were back at 100 percent Monday.
Pulaski town Public Works Director Mike Jenkins said it will take the town about four weeks to remove all the debris from the storm.
A section of Dora Highway, from Virginia 99 to the sewage treatment plant, will be closed because of the possibility of falling rock and trees.
by CNB