Benton County, Arkansas, opens storm debris collection sites
Updated: 4:45 pm CDT May 28, 2024
>> EVERYTHING WELL. MMM Thank you. I THANK EVERYONE WHO COME HERE TODAY. HEY, THIS IS ANOTHER UPDATE WE WANT TO BRING TO THE PUBLIC. THAT’S THE MAIN POINT OF TODAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE. TO MAKE SURE WE ARE BRINGING INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC. SO WE REALLY Keynote USAPRECIATE THAT ALL OF YOU ARE HERE TODAY TO HELP US WITH THAT. UH, I ALSO WANT TO SAY A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL THE Keynote USA WHO ARE WORKING ON THIS DISASTER AND HAVE WORKED ON THIS DISASTER. INCREDIBLE. WELL, YOU HAVE BEEN THERE. WE HAVE BEEN THERE. AND WHETHER IT’S A NEIGHBOR HELPING A NEIGHBOR OR A SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT OR SOMEONE IN OUR ROADS DEPARTMENT OR A CITY STREETS DEPARTMENT, UH, THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS IS HERE, THIS WHOLE COMMUNITY IS COMING TOGETHER TO HELP WITH THIS DISASTER . AND IT’S A DISASTER. Hmm, it’s been about 60 hours since this hit, and we’re counting it in hours, right now. WE STARTED GOING TO THE DAYS. And beyond that, and just a couple of things that, you know, just to put it in perspective, since then, we don’t know exactly what hit us yet. THERE IS A LOT OF NEWS ABOUT TORNADOES, ETC., AND THAT MAY BE VERY ACCURATE. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL BE HERE TO GIVE US THE EXACT DETERMINATION OF WHAT WE WENT HERE, AND THEY WILL HOPEFULLY BE ON SITE WITHIN THE NEXT DAY. BUT AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS ALSO VERY BUSY RIGHT NOW BECAUSE MANY OF THESE INCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED. UH, THAT NIGHT, BEGINNING AT 130 UNTIL FIVE IN THE MORNING, THE 911 CENTERS IN BENTONVILLE ROGERS COUNTY TIMES, SILOAM, UH, RECEIVED OVER 1200 CALLS. AND THAT’S A LOT TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AT OUR 911 CENTER OVERNIGHT, WE WILL HAVE FOUR DISPATCHERS THERE AND I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY HOW THE OTHERS ARE STAFFED, BUT IT’S GOING TO BE AT THAT BASEBALL PARK. And when you start to think about that number of incoming calls, there were a lot of them. WE BRING ADDITIONAL DISPATCHERS. I’M SURE THE CITIES DID IT TOO. BUT THAT WAS A TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS INCREASE IN ACTIVITY THAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN BEFORE. Since that time, our highway department in Benton County has been plowing, and we’ve plowed probably about 500 miles of road. AND THAT’S NOT JUST YOUR TYPICAL QUALIFICATION. WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF PHOTOS OF ROADS WHERE THE PICTURE ABOVE DOESN’T LOOK LIKE A ROAD AT ALL. UH, AND IT’S BEEN REALLY, REALLY A DIFFICULT JOB. UH, WE BELIEVE WE HAVE ALMOST ALL OF OUR COUNTY ROADS NOW OPEN TO AT LEAST ONE LANE. AND WITH THAT WE ARE SIMPLY TAKING THE DEBRIS AND PUSHING IT INTO THE RIGHT OF WAY AND MOVING FORWARD. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT Keynote USA HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR HOMES, THAT COMPANIES ALSO HAVE ACCESS. Um, you’ll remember I made a verbal emergency declaration early that morning. I THINK ABOUT 230 IN THE MORNING. UH, WE’VE ACTUALLY SIGNED THAT STATEMENT. I HAVE TALKED TO GOVERNOR SANDERS ABOUT THAT. SHE HAS ALSO TALKED TO THE PRESIDENT ABOUT THAT. AS REPORTED. AND THEREFORE WE ARE ON THE PATH OF WHAT WILL BE NECESSARY TO REACH A PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT ON THIS DISASTER. UH, SPEAKING OF GOVERNOR SANDERS, SHE WAS HERE YESTERDAY. WE WALKED THROUGH SEVERAL NEIGHBORHOODS. THERE WAS A CONTINGENT OF OUR FEDERAL DELEGATION. Congresswoman WOMACK, Senator Boozman and others who saw the destruction firsthand, which was really important. UM, AND OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE STATE HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL FROM THE MOMENT THIS STARTED. UH, ALSO, WE HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATING, COLLABORATING WITH OUR CITIES. AS I WAS ON A PHONE CALL AN HOUR AND A HALF AGO WITH ALL OF THE MAYORS AND BENTON COUNTY AND THEIR STAFF UPDATING THEM ON WHAT WE’RE DOING REGARDING A COUPLE OF TOPICS WHICH I’LL GET BACK TO IN JUST A SECOND. WE HAVE HAD AN EXCELLENT PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR FEDERAL DELEGATION, PARTICULARLY IN THE INTERACTION WITH FEMA. FEMA IS HERE NOW. THEY ARE NOW IN THE EVALUATION PHASE. THEY’RE IN THE AIR, ACTUALLY, I THINK, AS WE TALK AND THEY WILL BE ON THE GROUND EVALUATING PROPERTIES IN PERSON TOMORROW, WORKING WITH ADAM AND WORKING WITH OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STAFF. Um, what I want to do today is update a couple of things and then we’ll have several people here. I’m going to turn it over to Sheriff Holloway and then to other people who you can ask questions, or who have a couple of statements. So I’ll hand it over to SEAN in just a minute. AND AS WE GET Keynote USA UP, THEY WILL PRESENT THEM. FIRST THING IS ONE OF THE KEY ISSUES THAT OBVIOUSLY IS OF CONCERN IS DEBRIS REMOVAL. UH, WE HAVEN’T SEEN THAT. I CAN REMEMBER ONE INCIDENT THAT HAS CREATED DEBRIS TO THE EXTENT WE HAVE NOW, WE ARE WORKING EXTENSIVELY TO IDENTIFY LOCATIONS TO TAKE DEBRIS. AND NOW WE HAVE 5 TO 7 SITES. SOME WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, SOME WILL JUST BE SITES WE CAN USE FOR MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY WASTE. BUT WE WILL HAVE UPDATES SOON ON WHERE THE PUBLIC CAN BRING DEBRIS AND WHAT WE WILL DO WITH THE DEBRIS THAT IS IN VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOODS AND OTHER LOCATIONS. WHAT WE ARE PLANNING TO DO, AT LEAST IN THE COUNTY. AND I KNOW WE HAVE HAD A CALL TO CITIES AND TOWNS. IT WILL ALSO DO YOUR THING, BUT WE WILL BE ABLE TO PICK UP ORGANIC WASTE THAT MOVES TO THE RIGHT OF WAY. IN OTHER WORDS, MOVE IT TO THE EDGE OF THE ROAD. WE WILL BE ABLE TO COLLECT ORGANIC WASTE, TREES, BRANCHES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR CITIZENS TO SEPARATE THIS FROM OTHER TYPES OF DEBRIS. SO IF YOU HAVE A COUCH THAT WAS DAMAGED, INJURED, YOU HAVE A COUCH THAT WAS DAMAGED OR DEBRIS LIKE TWO BY FOUR OR THINGS LIKE THAT. NEAR THEM, THEY SHOULD BE KEPT SEPARATELY AND WE WILL HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE ABOUT ALL OF THIS. BUT DEBRIS IS SOMETHING WE’RE GOING TO START WORKING ON IMMEDIATELY AND LOOK AT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA, OUR WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION ON THAT, ALONG WITH OUR CITIES. Mm. WE WILL ALSO HAVE SOON A PROCESS TO HANDLE WHAT WE CALL WASTE C and D. THAT IS THE FURNITURE AND THOSE OTHER TYPES OF DEBRIS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT. THERE WILL BE OPTIONS FOR PICKUP AT SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE. WE DO NOT HAVE IT YET IDENTIFIED. IT DEPENDS IN PART ON GETTING THAT PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT. UM, AND WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH OUR CONVENIENCE CENTERS, CENTERTON IS AN EXAMPLE. ANOTHER IN ROGERS, UH, FOR HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE. AND THEREFORE, WE WILL RECEIVE MORE COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT HOW Keynote USA CAN DEAL WITH HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE AS A RESULT OF THIS INCIDENT. UH, I WOULD JUST SAY THERE ARE RULES THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED. WE CAN’T DO THIS WHETHER WE WANT IT OR NOT. WE HAVE TO FOLLOW THE RULES. VERY SPECIFIC OF FEMA AND ADEQ AND ADAM TO HAVE THE WASTE. AND WE’LL BE SURE TO COMMUNICATE THAT TO THE CITIZENS SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THIS AS SMOOTH AS POSSIBLE. BUT PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE, HAVE A LITTLE PATIENCE. IT’S GOING TO TAKE A LONG, LONG TIME TO CLEAN THIS UP. AND OUR PLAN, AT LEAST IN THE COUNTY, IS TO HAVE NOT ONE BUT TWO Keynote USA’S PASSAGES ALONG THEIR RIGHT OF WAY TO PICK UP THEIR ORGANIC WASTE. THE NEXT THING I WOULD ASK YOU IS THAT WE HAVE A LINK ON OUR WEBSITE FOR PERSONAL INJURY EVALUATION. THIS IS WHERE THE Keynote USA WHO HAD DAMAGE TO THEIR HOME WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT FENCES OR FALLEN TREES, BUT ABOUT ACTUAL DAMAGE TO THEIR HOME. THE BEST CASE, THE BEST EXAMPLE IS MORE IF YOU HAVE HAD A TREE IN YOUR HOUSE, YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND REGISTER IT. THAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT. WE NEED TO HAVE A VERY GOOD RECORD OF ALL DAMAGES IN BENTON COUNTY. AS I MENTIONED, FEMA IS GOING TO BE WATCHING THIS, uh, THERE WITH ADAM ON PLANES WATCHING THIS, AND THEY’RE GOING TO BE ON THE GROUND WATCHING THIS. BUT THERE’S NO WAY IN A COUNTY THIS SIZE THEY’D CATCH IT ALL. WE NEED CITIZENS TO REGISTER THEIR DAMAGES. AS? WHAT IT WILL DO IS AS WE MOVE TOWARDS A PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT, IT WILL HELP US WITH PERSONAL INJURY, UH, REIMBURSEMENTS, POTENTIALLY TO CITIZENS, DEPENDING ON WHETHER THEIR UNINSURED HAS ADEQUATE INSURANCE OR OTHERWISE
Benton County, Arkansas, opens storm debris collection sites
Updated: 4:45 pm CDT May 28, 2024
Benton County Judge Barry Moehring announced Tuesday that several debris disposal sites across the county will soon be operational. Locations will be posted on the county website when the county is ready to make them public. Moehring said the county will pick up organic debris. meaning items like tree branches. “You have a couch that was damaged or debris like two-by-fours and things like that, fences, those things should be kept separate,” Moehring said. Pickup dates will also be posted on the county website. Cleanup and recovery efforts in Benton County will intensify in the coming days as the National Guard and FEMA join local forces to help the community recover from the worst storms in its history.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. —
Benton County Judge Barry Moehring announced Tuesday that several debris disposal sites across the county will soon be operational.
Locations will be posted on the county website when the county is ready to make them public.
Moehring said the county will pick up organic waste, meaning items like tree branches.
“You have a couch that was damaged or debris like two-by-fours and things like that, fences, all of that needs to be kept separate,” Moehring said.
Pickup dates will also be posted on the county website.
Cleanup and recovery efforts in Benton County will intensify in the coming days as the National Guard and FEMA join local forces to help the community recover from the worst storms in its history.
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