CLARK, PA. Many join tornado cleanup as officials hope for state grant

The borough wants help to cover the cost of labor and equipment provided by neighboring municipalities.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
CLARK, Pa. -- The federal government may be unwilling to help, but borough officials hope Pennsylvania will come through with an $82,000 grant to help with cleanup from Sunday night's tornado.
Mayor Douglas Bradley said that's the estimated cost of overtime, labor, equipment and extra police services.
It appears as though Clark won't get a federal disaster declaration that could have cleared the way for government financial aid, so the borough planned to file a grant application today seeking $82,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
It will be several weeks before Clark knows if the request will be granted, Bradley said.
State Sen. Robert Robbins of Greenville, R-50th, and state Rep. Michael Gruitza of Hermitage, D-7th, have promised to do what they can to get the grant, he said.
Neighboring municipalities are providing assistance to Clark and South Pymatuning Township, the two communities that suffered the brunt of the damage in the storm.
Those other municipalities have provided extra police officers, workers and heavy equipment to clear debris, and Bradley said that, though that help was offered without charge, the borough would like to help them recover their costs.
Clark doesn't have the funds to cover it, Bradley said, noting the borough's 2003 budget totals $205,000, with $900 set aside for emergencies.
The tornado destroyed a dozen homes, seriously damaged a dozen more and left 96 others with minor-to-moderate damage. A total of 18 people were injured, one fatally.
Getting homes repaired
Some Clark residents are wasting no time in getting their homes repaired.
Work crews could be seen Thursday putting shingles on a roof at a Lake Road home, a roof on a portion of a Milton Street house and a new attached garage on a Charles Street home.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has begun a controlled burn of a mountain of debris collected from the damaged areas and hauled to a burn pit at the municipal building on Winner Road, and the American Red Cross has opened a bulk distribution center at the municipal building to offer minor repair supplies and provide emotional counseling and first aid.
That's in addition to the service center the agency opened there Tuesday, which has secured temporary housing for six families and food and clothing for a dozen more.
The agency said it has served more than 1,000 meals so far to victims and cleanup crews. Volunteers continue to show up.
Brothers from the Alpha Chi Rho and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternities at Thiel College have spent two days in Clark helping to clear debris.