Mon, Jul 07 2008
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Published May 13, 2008 09:32 pm - PICHER, Okla. — Margie Irene Seamands, 84, 4275 S. Highway 69, has been identified as the seventh victim of Saturday’s tornado. Tornado relief funds to accelerate Picher buyout By Greg Grisolano
ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com PICHER, Okla. — Margie Irene Seamands, 84, 4275 S. Highway 69, has been identified as the seventh victim of Saturday’s tornado. She died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator that was set up in her garage, said Trooper Betsy Randolph with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Two other people living in her home were hospitalized. That tornado killed six other adults in Picher on Saturday. Oklahoma school officials on Tuesday decided to cancel classes for the rest of the school year in the Picher-Cardin and Quapaw districts. State Superintendent Sandy Garrett said she would allow the districts a waiver from the state law that mandates students must receive 175 days of instruction per school year. The waivers must be approved by the state Board of Education. Both districts had canceled classes Monday and Tuesday. Meanwhile, survivors continued trying to salvage anything they could from the wreckage of their homes on Tuesday, and emergency management personnel said cleanup efforts are under way. At least 114 homes in Picher were destroyed by Saturday’s tornado — about 40 percent to 45 percent of the total homes left in the community, according to the Picher Fire Department. An additional 50 or so homes were damaged. Frank Geasland, Ottawa County emergency management director, said the county is waiting on permits to start storing storm debris on the west and east ends of town. “The cleanup has been going really good,” he said. “The environment is always an issue (in Picher), but every precaution is taken care of.” During a news conference Tuesday in Picher, Gov. Brad Henry said he has filed a request for a federal disaster declaration for Ottawa County, and that any federal money awarded to the town would be used to relocate — not rebuild — homes devastated by the storm. Henry also said the storm would not impede an ongoing buyout of Picher residents. “If anything, the storm may hasten the process,” he said. The governor said he does not believe rebuilding is an option, given Picher’s location in an EPA Superfund site that is heavily undermined. 
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