FEMA center at East Columbus Gym will be open Columbus Day
The Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Recovery Center in Columbus will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m on Saturdays and will also be open for its regular weekday hours (9 a.m. until 6 p.m.) on Columbus Day (Monday).
FEMA encourages in-person visits for assistance
Sarah Collie was sitting in the bathroom of the house she owned on 18th Street North the evening of Feb. 23 when a tornado touched down in North Columbus.
“I looked up and there it was,” Collie said.
MEMA appeal for federal aid to private property owners continues
Some delays are better than others.
Last week, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) was granted an extension on its planned appeal of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assessment that denied financial support for people who lost private property during the Feb. 23 tornado in Columbus.
‘We haven’t given up on getting individual assistance’: MEMA plans to appeal denial of federal relief for private property affected by tornado, flooding
Two months after the EF-3 tornado that cut a swath of destruction through north and east Columbus, blue tarps still dot the landscape in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. They are telltale signs of a waiting game property owners are playing before repairs can be made.
Public officials urge patience for those awaiting storm assistance
The theme of Monday night’s town hall meeting at the Columbus Municipal Complex could be summarized with one word: patience.
“That’s what we need y’all to have,” Columbus Mayor Robert Smith, who led the meeting, told about 100 attendees whose homes or businesses are still in shambles after an EF-3 tornado ripped through northeast Columbus on Feb. 23.
City to coordinate disaster assistance at Trotter
Mayor Robert Smith and his office will open a disaster assistance center at Trotter Convention Center in wake of damage from the EF-3 tornado that hit Columbus Saturday.
Salvation Army to take ‘Angel Tree’ applications
The Salvation Army will accept applications for Christmas assistance next week.
Non-profit provides heating, cooling assistance
Prairie Opportunity Inc. has been providing heating and cooling assistance for low-income families in Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties for 50 years.
Assistance organizations trying to better network
Columbus police in February found a man huddled in the back bedroom of his home, using a blanket and boiling water from a Crock Pot to keep warm.
Drug tests: 2 of 38 welfare applicants positive
During the first four months of Mississippi’s new welfare drug testing law, 3,656 people have applied for welfare, 38 of them have been tested for drugs and two tested positive.
No welfare cut for kids if parent tests for drugs
Mississippi children would not lose welfare if a parent’s benefits are cut off because of positive tests for illegal drugs, according to rules set by the state Department of Human Services.
Public speaks on Mississippi welfare drug tests
A Mississippi agency should be cautious in carrying out a new welfare drug-testing law and should not set administrative rules that could penalize an entire household for one person’s behavior, advocates for civil liberties and poor people told officials Tuesday.
Hearing set on Miss. welfare drug-testing law
The Mississippi Department of Human Services is holding a public hearing Tuesday to gather comments about a new welfare drug-testing law.
Governor signs welfare drug-testing bill
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a welfare drug-testing bill on Monday, requiring those who test positive to get treatment in order to get cash.