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See Video from Arcadia Emergency Operations Center in DeSoto
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DeSoto County Florida
News Release
DESOTO COUNTY: HURRICANE RECOVERY INFORMATION
Saturday, August 28, 2004
For Red Cross assistance, call 1-866-GET-INFO (1-866-438-4636).
A Small Business Disaster Essentials Workshop will take place at the South Florida Community College campus on Tuesday, August 31, from 9:00 – 11:00 am. This free seminar is open to any small business owner in DeSoto County affected by Hurricane Charley. It is being conducted by Florida’s Heartland Rural Economic Development office.
One-on-one small business disaster recovery counseling is available by appointment only) every Wednesday between 10:00 am – 4:00 pm at the SFCC DeSoto campus. For appointment, call 1-800-620-3602.
The County’s public shelter is located at the South Florida
Community College campus.
Residents wishing to register for federal assistance for property
damage should call the Federal Emergency Management Agency at 1-800-621-FEMA.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a Disaster
Recovery Center located at the South Florida Community College
campus on Turner Road. Residents are urged to call the 800 number first, then visit the DRC for more info. and other resources.
DeSoto County continues to need volunteers to assist with chainsaws and tree removal, food distribution, debris clean-up, and other tasks. Anyone wishing to VOLUNTEER to assist DeSoto County in ANY capacity should report to the Volunteer Coordination Center at the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Highway 70 East. For more info, call the EOC’s Volunteer Management Station at 863-494-1294.
ALL DONATIONS OF SUPPLIES should be transported to the former G. Pierce Wood site on Highway 31.
The former G. Pierce Wood site is NOT a public distribution site;
this is ONLY for delivery of supplies.
DeSoto County Schools will reopen on Monday, August 30. All students will be provided with free lunch for three weeks, beginning Aug. 30.
The DeSoto campus of SFCC is open for registration and advising this week. Most classes will start Monday the 30th, though several classes may be moved to alternate locations.
The Department of Health has issued an advisory:
DeSoto County residents should not swim or bathe in the Peace River until further notice due to elevated levels of bacteria in the water.
Five computers are available for public access 11:00 am – 5:00 pm in a trailer parked in front of the County Library at 125 N. Hillsborough Avenue. This trailer and the computers are provided by the Collier County Public Safety Department and IBM Neighborhood America.
The Social Security office will be conducting business at the SFCC campus on Turner Road from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm weekdays.
City of Arcadia water customers: the boil water order has been lifted. City water has undergone numerous tests and is now officially safe to drink. The City has passed an emergency ordinance restricting water use to essential functions only.
The Special Needs shelter is located in Venice. Some evacuees have been moved to other facilities in Sarasota. If you need information regarding a shelteree or need to take shelter at that facility, call the EOC at 863-993-4831.
All DeSoto County boat ramps are closed until further notice.
Florida Power and Light and the Peace River Electric Cooperative continue to report that hundreds of technicians are in the field
rebuilding systems and repairing feeder lines. Full power
restoration for FPL customers is expected by Sunday. PRECO
customers can expect full restoration by early next week.
If the weatherhead connected directly to your home is torn off or damaged, you must have an electrician repair it before the power company can restore your electricity.
If you are operating a generator, DO NOT plug it into your main
breaker. This causes backfeeding electric wires and the unintentional electrocution of anyone who comes in contact with that line.
Do not operate your generator inside your home or in any enclosed area. Keep it running outside, in the open. Generator exhaust can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Supervisor of Elections has announced that local Primary Elections will go on as scheduled on Aug. 31. All polling places remain intact; you may report to your usual precinct for voting on Aug. 31. Early voting is available today from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, at the Supervisor of Elections office on the first floor of the County Administration Building at 201 E. Oak Street. You can also receive an absentee ballot there. Call the Supervisor of Elections office at 863-993-4871 for more info.
DeSoto County has established EIGHTEEN drop-off sites with dumpsters where citizens can unload all household garbage. The locations are:
*on Airport Road at the County recycling station
*Circle K in Brownville
*761 Grocery at Lettuce Lake on CR 761
*Little Willie’s RV Park on Hwy 17 N.
*Fort Ogden’s old fire station, Hwy 17 S.
*County transportation yard on McKay St., off Hwy 17 N.
*Wal-Mart Supercenter parking lot
*County Fairgrounds
*Farm Store on the corner of Highways 70 and 72
*Driving range on CR 769, north of Spring Lake
*Womack Sanitation, Nocatee
*First Baptist Church, Hwy 17 N.
*Kings Hwy at Ben and Sherry Streets, next to Martin Realty
*First Baptist Church of Ft. Ogden, Hwy 17 S.
*The RCMA on CR 760-A, Nocatee
*DeSoto Park, Hwy 70 W.
*Mystic Convenience Store, Nocatee
*SFCC campus, Turner Rd.
ONLY household garbage can be placed in these dumpsters.
Grubbs Construction (a company subcontracting with DeSoto County) is clearing curbside debris from private property. Residents are asked to move all hurricane-related debris to their curbside, separating it into piles according to content: one pile for tree limbs and vegetation, one pile for lumber or building material, one pile for metal.
The County asks that you please not allow your debris to hang out into the roadway or clog your ditch. Blocked ditches will lead to street and yard flooding if rains continue.
It may be a few days before the debris is collected, but please
prepare the piles and they will be collected from your curbside as soon as possible, free of charge. The trucks will be making several passes throughout the County over the next couple of weeks, so once your initial piles are collected, please continue making new piles in preparation for the next round of pick-ups.
Please DO NOT put your household garbage at your curbside.
Please also be sure NOT to pile your debris around or next to
electrical poles. Blocking pole access will hinder power companies’ efforts to restore electricity in your area. Also, do not pile debris around your mailbox.
The County Landfill is closed to the public until further notice. At this time the Landfill is only open to contractors such as Grubbs Construction, the City of Arcadia, and Womack Sanitation. Please do not haul your own debris or garbage to the landfill; it will not be
accepted at this time.
Garbage collection within the City of Arcadia is in effect this week on its normal routes.
There is a ban on burning within Arcadia’s city limits. Burning IS allowed in DeSoto County, but you must go through the Division of Forestry for burn authorization. Call the Division of Forestry at 941-751-7627.
Personal items belonging to evacuees who took shelter at the Turner Center the night of the hurricane are being distributed at the Library today and Sunday, 9 – 5. Please bring ID with you when you come to pick up your items. All items must be reclaimed by 5:00 pm Sunday. The Library is at 125 N. Hillsborough Avenue, just north of the County Administration Building.
Seminole Gulf Railway has resumed regular operations, so there are trains traveling through DeSoto County. Because electricity is still not available at some or all railroad crossings, warning lights and other safety devices are NOT functional. Please approach
all railroad crossings with extreme caution. Do not cross tracks until you are certain no train is coming.
According to the law, DeSoto County must adhere to the Florida
Building Code even during our current State of Local Emergency. However, the County has enacted an emergency ordinance which waives permits for any repair under $1,000.00. Citizens can feel free to patch their roofs or perform other emergency repairs on their homes as necessary, as long as the cost of the repairs do not exceed one thousand dollars.
Do not sign any contract or pay for any services until you have
verified that the contractor or provider is fully licensed by the
State of Florida and recognized by the DeSoto County Development
Department. Call the Florida Department of Business and
Professional Regulation at 850-487-1395 to confirm a
builder/contractor’s license status.
A second ordinance enacted accepts Registered Contractor Licenses from Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Okeechobee, Lee, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Polk, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Osceola, Martin, and Palm Beach counties and from cities within those counties. Those registered contractors will be recognized by the DeSoto County Development Department during this state of emergency.
MedicAlert is offering free one year memberships to DeSoto County residents. Their services include body-worn IDs, access to a 24-hour emergency response center, electronic health record storage, and family notification and locators. Join by phone by calling 1-800-346-8010 and mentioning code 1234.
The Health Department is offering FREE water testing kits to private well owners. Kits can be picked up at the Health Department Mon-Fri. The kits can be returned to the Health Department for processing on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday until 3:00 pm.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 863-494-1336 or the Public Info. Hotline: 863-494-0598
IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS
DeSoto County Emergency Management
(863) 993-4831
FPL- Florida Power & Light - (800) 226-3545
Sprint Telephone - 6-1-1 or (800) 788-3600
Bellsouth Telephone - 6-1-1 or (800) 216-5688
Brighthouse Cable - (407) 291-2500
Central Florida Hotel Hotline - 407-354-5555
State of FL Dept. of Financial Services Hotline - (800) 227-8676
Comfort Stations (food, water, ice, care):
Save a Lot Parking Lot, East Hwy 70
761 Grocery, Hwy 761 near Lettuce Lake (No showers or personal
amenities)
DeSoto County Court House, 115 East Oak Street, Arcadia
Additional Distribution Points for Ice and Water:
Plantation Restaurant, 4135 SW Hwy 17, Nocatee
Food (Stationary Kitchens):
St. Edmunds Episcopal Church, Manatee & W Hwy 70, Arcadia Arcadia First Baptist Church, 1006 North Brevard Avenue, Arcadia
Food (Mobile Delivery)
6 mobile delivery teams
Shelters:
This is the list of open Red Cross shelters as of August 18, 2004. Shelter locations are subject to change depending on population needs and shifts in weather conditions. Please call 1-866 GET INFO to confirm shelter locations.
DeSoto Middle School (**SN**) (CLOSED 8/22) Arcadia, Florida 34266 (County Shelter)
Fuel:
No temporary fueling stations
Power:
30% with power
Peace River: Expect restoration from FP&L by midnight Sunday, August 29th.
Hospitals/Medical Care:
DeSoto Memorial Hospital operating on a limited basis
47 medical specialists deployed
9 nurses deployed
Schools:
Anticipate reopening on Monday, August 23rd.
Aid:
FEMA Mobile, DeSoto Middle School, 420 E Gibson St, Arcadia
Boil Water Notices:
Arcadia
Curfew:
8:00 pm to 6:00 am |
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