Tornado Long Term Recovery Committee members received very good news at their Thursday, Dec. 8 meeting.
The first three clients to go through the process and have their repairs approved will have work started on their homes this week, Christian Park told the committee. Three more clients are in the works right now with no start date as well.
Committee Chair Joel Hood said the group is still looking for a large storage building to place construction materials, furniture, appliances and such. County Emergency Management Coordinator Frank Hefner said a 40-foot storage container has been ordered in the meantime until such a building can be found.
In response to a question, Hefner said another 40-foot container could be ordered but the cost isn’t cheap.
A report on the recent Cookie Crawl was given. The event, held in conjunction with the Christmas Parade, raised $1,800 for tornado victims. The unmet needs and funding subcommittees will be working with the Swan Foundation in a meeting next week.
After a meeting with the North Texas Chapter of the United Methodist Committee on Relief in Plano last week, 24 holiday baskets were made by UMCOR office workers and will be distributed before Christmas. At the meeting, UMCOR also told the local group that members of First United Methodist Church Richardson will be in town Saturday, Dec. 17 to help with tree cleanup and brush cleanup around town. They are reportedly bringing 13 people ages 23-35 to assist. The church has also pledged $5,500 through the Close to Home program, which had video crews in town earlier this year helping to raise funds.
The committee’s next meeting will be held at noon Thursday, Dec. 29.
