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Published June 13, 2008 03:06 pm - Disaster officials on Friday said there will be enough federal money to cover all individuals affected by the May 10 tornado who qualify for help. FEMA renews calls for people to apply for aid w/ link to previous Globe coverage of this story By Derek Spellman dspellman@joplinglobe.com Disaster officials on Friday said there will be enough federal money to cover all individuals affected by the May 10 tornado who qualify for help. Meanwhile, Newton County officials still awaited word on whether the county would receive a public-disaster declaration. Don Bolger, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said the agency is again encouraging anyone affected by the May 10 tornado to seek help in the wake of reports that some were opting not to apply for fear of taking money away from their less-fortunate neighbors. “There is a mentality out there that ‘My neighbor has been hit harder than me,’” Bolger said. Bolger said the money “is available for everybody” who was hit by the tornado. He also voiced concerns that in the current economic climate some people who do not apply for help may later wish they had after the registration deadline has passed. Meanwhile, disaster recovery centers opened by FEMA and the Small Business Administration (SBA) in Joplin and in Purdy, Mo., closed Friday. The center in Neosho, at the Calvary Baptist Church, 2650 Oak Ridge Extension, will remain open until further notice. The recovery centers are for people who have already registered with FEMA or the SBA and are now ready for individual help with their cases. People also can inquire about the status of their claim by visiting the center. Gary Roark, emergency management director of Newton County, encouraged people who have registered with FEMA to utilize the center in Neosho. Staff there, he said, will help people fill out the necessary paperwork. Homeowners, renters and businesses affected by the May 10 tornado all became eligible for aid from either FEMA or the SBA after the county received a federal disaster declaration for the private sector. But as for the public sector, county officials were still awaiting word on whether the county had qualified for a disaster declaration. “We haven’t heard anything at all yet,” he said. “We expect to hear at anytime now.” The total damage in the public sector of Newton County is estimated to be at least $6.5 million, Roark said. That figure includes damage to public buildings such as Newtonia City Hall and other infrastructure; the projected cost of debris removal by the county; extra personnel costs; and costs incurred by New-Mac Electric Cooperative, which as a cooperative is included on the public-sector side. Roark said Newton County apparently must have about $7 million in damage in the public sector to qualify for the public-disaster declaration, which would allow the county to be reimbursed for cleanup costs. The hope, he said, is that the county will qualify once the cost of state resources that Newton County imported in the storm’s immediate aftermath is taken into account. 
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