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U.S. Small Business Administration offers loan information for Follansbee flood victims

FOLLANSBEE — While officials with the U.S. Small Business Administration are in town to provide information about low-interest loans for residents, businesses and others in three counties affected by the recent flooding, a volunteer group with the United Methodist Church has been helping residents with cleanup efforts.

SBA officials are slated to meet with flood victims at the Follansbee City Building from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 1.

Because the SBA is a federal agency, loans may be available to residents, businesses and others affected by flooding on July 29 or 30 in the adjacent counties of Hancock, Jefferson and Washington.

SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet said the loans are available in response to a request for a disaster declaration by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

Tomblin said of the move, “I am grateful that the SBA has approved my request to provide this much-needed funding to West Virginians in our Northern Panhandle after the July flooding. These funds will play an important role as the community continues to recover.”

SBA loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate and up to $40,000 for renters to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

Interest rates for the loans may be as low as 4 percent for businesses, 2.6 percent for nonprofit organizations and 1.5 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years, based on each application’s financial condition.

Economic injury loans are available to help businesses and private nonprofit organizations with capital needs caused by the disaster.

Individuals need not wait for insurance settlements before applying, there’s no cost to apply and they aren’t required to accept the loan offered to them.

Loan application information also is available by contacting the SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Individuals and groups also can apply for loans online at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela or download them at sba.gov/disaster.

The deadlines are Oct. 24 for applications for physical property damage and May 23 for economic injury applications.

Meanwhile, a group with United Methodist Volunteers in Mission has been helping resident Guy Pinacchio with cleanup to his Virginia Avenue home, one of many that was flooded when water from Allegheny Creek swept over its banks and into adjacent streets.

Pinacchio said the water rose 7 feet in his basement, destroying the appliances and furniture in the small kitchen and living room areas he had created there. In the 26 years he’s lived there, it was only the second time his basement had flooded, he said.

The last flood, in 1990, didn’t leave the cakes of mud he found in his basement this time, Pinacchio noted.

The six members of Volunteers in Mission were removing some mud that remained after Pinacchio had cleaned the basement and tearing out drywall and insulation soaked with water to prevent mold from forming in them.

“I’ve got the most wonderful people here I’ve seen in my life,” Pinacchio said of the group.

Conrad Howard, its leader,said he and others in the group are trained through the church, according to standards set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to assist victims of various disasters.

When a disaster happens, the bishop of the church’s local conference appeals for help, usually those nearby, and e-mails are sent to potential volunteers, Howard said.

“Most of us are somewhat retired,” he said, noting he and others on the team have assisted in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and to Harts, W.Va., following a flash flood there.

Dispatched by the United Methodist Church’s Upper New York Conference, the group drove to Follansbee and is staying at the House of the Carpenter, a homeless shelter in Wheeling affiliated with the church’s West Virginia conference, through the week.

Often they prepare their own meals during the missions.

The group may aid other Follansbee residents before returning home or moving on to another mission on Sunday.

Among the six is Duane Waldron of Livonia, N.Y., a teacher and owner of a seal coating business, who explained the school year there won’t start until after Labor Day.

“It allows me to do stuff like this,” he said, adding, “It’s a great hands on way to help.”

Dave Greer, a member from Syracuse, N.Y., said, “The church is deeply involved in mission work, has funds for it and this is where we fit in.”

He and Howard also have volunteered their time to Habitat for Humanity.

“We love doing it. We all feel called to reach out and help people rebuild. We are the hands and feet of the Lord and that’s what the Lord is asking us to do,” Greer said.

The Follansbee United Methodist Church itself was flooded, causing its congregation to meet temporarily at Follansbee United Presbyterian Church. The congregation of Christian Assembly of Follansbee, a church across the street from it, has been meeting at James Funeral Home since its building was flooded.

City Manager John DeStefano said more than $104,000 has been donated to the Follansbee Flood Relief Fund at the Follansbee branch of First National Bank, and the money is expected to be distributed early next week to those who have registered with the Brooke County Emergency Management Agency.

But he said the approximately 120 residents, 30 businesses and three churches affected by the flood still will have a long road to recovery.

DeStefano and other local officials had hoped to secure assistance from FEMA, but losses in the city didn’t meet the federal agency’s criteria.

But they continue to seek other assistance at the state and federal levels both with recovery and prevention of future floods.

DeStefano said state Commissioner of Agriculture Walter Helmick is slated to visit the city later this week to see the creek.

In recent years the stream has swelled with illegally dumped trash and debris, creating a frequent risk of flooding and causing damage to the infrastructure beneath nearby state Route 2.

(Scott can be reached at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)

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