Emergency Management Director Questions Reported Storm Damage
Posted
Jordan Fouts-
Home and business damage from the Nov. 17 storms that Kosciusko County residents reported to the state may not be accurate, Emergency Management Director Ed Rock told commissioners this morning. Rock said residents reported to the Indiana division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency that 11 homes or businesses were destroyed, 16 sustained major damage, five had minor damage and two were affected. Three tornadoes were confirmed in Kosciusko County during heavy storms Nov. 17, among close to 30 statewide. But he told commissioners the damage reports “are not consistent with what you would see with a storm like that,” and noted ambiguous wording of some questions on FEMA forms may have led to residents misreporting damage. He said he will provide that feedback to the state. Rock added that statewide, uninsured loss did not meet the threshold for federal disaster declaration. Also this morning, commissioners approved sending 20 locations, totaling 11 miles of county-maintained roads, for inclusion in the Indiana Department of Transportation inventory. Updating the records will ensure the county receives the correct amount of funding for its roads, said county Highway Superintendent Scott Tilden. Commissioners also approved his recommendation to change the speed limit on a stretch of West Lake Street to 45 mph, and to declare surplus and sell a county-owned 1965 rock crusher. Earlier in the meeting, commissioners recognized George Fish as the Veteran of the Month. Fish, who enlisted in the Air Force in 1963, was stationed in Korea to oversee a paint shop for corrosion control. While there he spent 13 months volunteering at an orphanage near the base, digging wells and tending to the kids’ medical needs. He recalled his dad back in Warsaw organizing a clothing drive, which gathered enough clothing not just for the orphanage but also the surrounding village. “It’s a fond memory, and I don’t say that to gloat – God placed me there,” Fish said, also recalling seeing a published photo of a young Korean boy in a Warsaw Tigers T-shirt. “And just think, all those kids are all grown up and they have grandkids now.”
