Debris cleanup going well, but pickup deadline looming

Published 5:00 am Monday, October 17, 2005

While areas hit harder by Hurricane Katrina slowly come back tolife, a sense of normalcy is quickly returning to southwestMississippi thanks to the efforts of the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers and debris-removal teams.

In just a few weeks, crews have made considerable progress ingetting limbs, leaves and similar debris hauled away. Overall, cityofficials hailed the Corps’ work as professional andwell-organized.

Progress in the county has been a little slower due to thespread-out nature of the debris. Corps officials, though, arehoping to wrap activities by the end of the month.

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Area officials have set an Oct. 21 deadline for residents tohave their debris to the curb for removal.

Unless there is an extension, the end of October is an importantdate, as that is when FEMA stops picking up the full tab for debrisremoval. After that, local government entities will be responsiblefor 25 percent of the costs.

Cooperation will help the Corps meet its deadline while alsosaving the city and county money and getting them closer to theirattractive pre-storm states.