DATE: Friday, September 5, 1997             TAG: 9709050567

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: GOLDSBORO                         LENGTH:   63 lines

ANGRY VICTIMS OF LAST YEAR'S HURRICANE WANT THEIR MONEY

A tour designed to emphasize progress in recovery following Hurricane Fran turned unpleasant when residents complained they are still waiting for government money to move to higher ground.

Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker and Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary Richard Moore visited areas Wednesday that were struck hard by Hurricane Fran and ensuing floods one year ago.

The two, along with other state and local officials, toured Goldsboro, Kinston and Kure Beach to survey the recovery efforts. Earlier Wednesday, Wicker and Moore met in Raleigh with other members of the North Carolina Disaster Recovery Task Force to discuss ways to make the state more prepared for the next weather calamity.

Wicker and Moore were met in Goldsboro by Gelinda Clark at her former home. Floods following Fran brought 8 inches of water from the Neuse River inside her one-story brick house.

A ``Condemned'' sign hangs on her front door. Clark, her husband and 9-year-old son have rented a two-bedroom mobile home while waiting for grant money to relocate.

``I just want to get my life back together,'' she told Wicker, the two of them surrounded by cameras.

Clark is one of scores of residents who have qualified for the hazard mitigation program funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which the state will match by 25 percent. The $5 million allocated for Wayne County will be used to relocate residents of 138 flooded homes and to elevate 15 homes of those who choose to stay.

She handed Wicker a copy of a letter she had sent to Gov. Jim Hunt asking for help. She said she was frustrated by the lack of action: ``We're hanging in there, but you get very angry and very bitter.''

Wicker said they will try to speed the grant process.

``You have every right to feel bitter,'' he told Clark. ``This bureaucracy and red tape has got to stop.''

Willie Thompson says help can't come soon enough. He and his wife have been living with his daughter since his home was flooded.

``I'm sure they're going to do something for us,'' he said. ``The question is when.''

Wicker got the same message from J.R. and Jean Watkins of Kinston, whose yellow house was contaminated after Fran with raw sewage from the flooded Neuse River. They now live across the street in another home. They're also waiting for a portion of the $21 million in grant money earmarked for Kinston and Lenoir County so that the government can buy their home and they can relocate.

``It takes a long time,'' Jean Watkins said of getting the money. ``There's a lot of red tape.''

Wicker said he knows the recovery effort for ``people who have been uprooted'' has been a slow process. ``We're going to push as hard as we can so that people can relocate.''

Kure Beach officials had a more upbeat message to tell state officials.

``We've had to get the word out that we're still here and that we're better than ever,'' said Betty Medlin, Kure Beach mayor. ``We hope that the lieutenant governor coming here will help bring people back.''

Gov. Hunt will visit Umstead Park in Wake County and Surf City on Friday to examine recovery efforts on the one-year anniversary of Fran. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Dennis Wicker

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