The Long-Term Recovery Group, led by Princeton Mayor Kota Young and County Judge Executive Larry Curling, is moving forward with their plan to distribute donations to the December 10th tornado victims as swiftly as possible.
The deadline to apply, using Form A, was Monday, October 17th. Mayor Young says the response was tremendous, especially given the primary requirement is a minimum of $20,000 in loss.
click to download audioMonies will be distributed in two different checks. The first will come from Caldwell County fiscal court which has agreed to take care of the distribution of funds…The second will come from Kentucky State Treasury if approved, based on the state’s guidelines.
Several residents who lost their homes in the tornado were on hand at the public meeting, held Wednesday morning at 11:00 at Princeton City Hall. Questions were asked about the process, how money is being distributed, and concerns were voiced about how long it has taken to distribute over a million dollars to the victims. Caldwell County Emergency Management Director, Joey McCaslin, shared his frustration publicly about several paid positions created to assist residents not being filled in a timely fashion.
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Some residents voiced their frustrations with the lack of communication.
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Catholic Charities Case Manager Steffani Burton thinks the problem is the Long Term Recovery Group meetings have been conducted improperly.
click to download audioVolunteers and residents openly admitted that they did not know how to handle an event of this magnitude and would like an opportunity to regroup.
Chief Operating Officer Dr. Chris Dockins with Community Foundation of Western Kentucky offered the long-term recovery group some strategic guidelines for ways to jumpstart the process and address more immediate needs.
click to download audioThe regular meetings of the Long Term Recovery Group have been moved to the second and fourth Monday of each month at 6 pm to better accommodate the tornado victims who work during the day. Meetings moving forward will be held at Princeton City Hall.
