Agency shows off mobile home as possible alternative in buyouts

Lead Stories

Discussion

August 2, 2007

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Thu Aug 02, 2007, 08:56 PM CDT

By Sheila Stogsdill

news@joplinglobe.com

MIAMI, Okla. — To help alleviate the housing problems facing some of the Tar Creek residents who are taking part in a federal buyout, officials staged an open house Thursday displaying a Federal Emergency Management Agency mobile home.

“We wanted to host an open house so the Picher residents could see if they wanted a mobile home as alternative housing,” said Jean Cooper, director of the Northeast Oklahoma Community Action Agency.

The FEMA mobile home is about 14 feet wide and 60 feet long.

“We bought one trailer thinking we could show it as an alternative housing for folks in the buyout,” Cooper said.

The three bedroom, one-bathroom mobile homes are equipped with basic furnishings from beds, a table, end tables, chairs and a couch to a refrigerator, stove and microwave oven.

The mobile homes have washer-dryer hookups and also disabled-accessible, Cooper said.

The federal Tar Creek buyout was enacted after a 2006 report showed that hundreds of homes, businesses and churches in the former mining area of Picher, Cardin and Hockerville could potentially cave in.

“As far as we know, the FEMA mobile homes do not have the formaldehyde problems the travel trailers have,” Cooper said.

The agency announced Wednesday that it had stopped donating and selling travel trailers while it studies reports that people living in them after hurricanes Katrina and Rita got sick from formaldehyde exposure.

Cooper said the state of Oklahoma purchased some FEMA mobile homes, and the community action agency bought the mobile home for $1,500 from the state.

The local agency was responsible for moving the mobile home to Miami, setting it up and skirting it, which cost about $1,000, she said.

Cooper said because the agency is nonprofit, it would not be providing mobile homes for the Picher residents, but it would be encouraging the Lead-Impacted Communities Relocation Assistance Trust to work with FEMA in providing these mobile homes for residents who cannot find traditional housing after selling their current properties to the buyout trust.

Text Only

Lead Stories

‘Fire all over’: Four suffer minor injuries in apartment blaze
Her phone started ringing, followed by a noise of uncertain origin outside her apartment. That’s how the sleep of 28-year-old Sylvia Moran was dispelled in the nick of time Monday morning. Moran got up, looked out a window and saw smoke.

August 23, 2010 10 Photos
Heat repeat: Year's third heat wave to continue through week
For the third time this summer, a wave of hot weather has washed across the Joplin metro area, causing heat indexes to soar into the triple digits.

August 9, 2010 1 Photo
United Way groups note campaign status The Carthage Area United Way is more than two-thirds of the way toward reaching its campaign goal of $310,000 for the year, volunteers were told Thursday.
November 20, 2008
Jerry Ray Clemens
November 7, 2008
Agency shows off mobile home as possible alternative in buyouts MIAMI, Okla. — To help alleviate the housing problems facing some of the Tar Creek residents who are taking part in a federal buyout, officials staged an open house Thursday displaying a Federal Emergency Management Agency mobile home.
August 2, 2007
Local fairs attract crowds, competitors For many area residents, the county fair is a pleasant diversion for an afternoon or evening, to admire the animals, eat a hot dog or take the kids to the carnival.
July 13, 2007 1 Photo
April showers might freeze flowers Joplin gardeners were heading for the covers Thursday, not because they were trying to get warm in the cold but because their plants needed protection from record-cold temperatures and the possibility of a spring snowstorm.
April 5, 2007 1 Photo
Counties examine roles of shelters Joplin officials are still assessing Memorial Hall’s role as an emergency shelter, while a Newton County official said the network of shelters there fared well during the ice storm this month.
January 28, 2007
Keeping education affordable Autumn Peters, of Monett, has attended classes at Kent State University in Ohio and Pittsburg State University in Kansas.
January 28, 2007 1 Photo
Owner of Guest Houses defends track record The owner of the Anderson Guest House, where a fire in November claimed 11 lives, defended his track record Tuesday and said the media have portrayed him unfairly.
January 23, 2007 1 Photo
More Lead Stories Headlines

Lead Stories

Search Results

Discussion

Agency shows off mobile home as possible alternative in buyouts

Eliminating the state income tax and increasing sales tax was debated during a press day on Thursday at the Missouri Capitol. Do you favor that proposal?

Eliminating the state income tax and increasing sales tax was debated during a press day on Thursday at the Missouri Capitol. Do you favor that proposal?

Site Map

Contact Us