Rockport-Fulton hears updates from leaders at first town hall since Hurricane Harvey
They wanted to hear updates straight from their leaders.
Eighteen days after Hurricane Harvey's Category 4 landfall, the chamber of commerce hosted the Rally for Rockport-Fulton Chamber Luncheon in the parking lot of what has become volunteer central on
More than 50 people sat under a tent and were fed by Mercy Chefs, a faith-based, nonproft disaster relief organization, that has been in town since the week after Harvey, before
With three days notice,
"When the storm hit, we were all in a big room," said
The volunteers and immediate donations were plentiful but overwhelming in the first few days. Leaders were grateful but needed to focus on search-and-rescue operations and turning on utilities and electricity, so they turned to the chamber of commerce.
On
The online account will be divided into two accounts at
"They put the safety of residents ahead of their own needs," according to C.J. Wax,
Wax told luncheon attendees that officials will look at rebuilding the community better than it was before.
Now that electricity, water and sewage services have returned to most of the county, efforts will be focused on cleanup and rebuilding. As of
"For someone for
One voice that has been silent publicly since the storm hit has been
"When you think of first responders, you think of the Big 3 -- fire, police and (emergency medical services)," McLester said. "But now we're going to add road and bridge and public works folks. When I heard that toilet flush for the first time, I couldn't believe it."
McLester commended the nearly 6,000 AEP technicians who worked daily to get the county electrified in nearly half the time of the original estimate of one month.
He also said the police departments of
Find a list of businesses reopened in
"You have to remember that volunteer firefighters are not paid, they are all volunteers," McLester said. "They never missed a beat. It's those boots on the ground, but it's also neighbors helping neighbors. It's you."
Questions from attendees ranged from insurance adjusters and the status on internet service to registered contractors to tree ordinances. One woman wanted to know when debris would be picked up in
"There are 18 contract trucks in the community to pick up debris," he said. "They are starting from the outside and working toward the middle and removing it from critical infrastructure first."
"It's not a sprint, this is a marathon," McLester said. "It will be a long process."
___
(c)2017 the Corpus Christi Caller-Times (Corpus Christi, Texas)
Visit the Corpus Christi Caller-Times (Corpus Christi, Texas) at www.caller.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
No McCaskill in Trump’s tax-reform outreach to centrist Senate Democrats
Sen. Al Franken comes out for single-payer health-care plan offered by Bernie Sanders
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News