MERCER COUNTY Cash gifts aid tornado recovery

All of the payouts have gone directly to people who suffered loss in the storm.
by HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
CLARK, Pa. -- A committee created to oversee the disbursement of money donated to victims of a tornado that tore through this section of Mercer County on Nov. 10, 2002, has handed out about $64,000 so far.
Most of the rest will go to the municipalities of Clark and South Pymatuning Township to help replace trees that were destroyed in the twister.
The storm destroyed a dozen homes in Clark and South Pymatuning, severely damaged a dozen more in that area and did light to moderate damage to about 100 others there as well as in nearby Hermitage, Delaware Township and Sharon.
It killed Charles E. Templeton, 81, of Milton Street, Clark, when it destroyed his house. It injured 18 others.
People came from all over the region to help with the cleanup, and many more sent checks to the tornado relief fund set up to accept donations to help those who suffered losses. That fund eventually totaled about $90,000, said Atty. Wil White, who lives in Clark and was a victim of the twister as well.
"It was certainly more than we expected," said White, who was named chairman of the Tornado Relief Fund Committee set up by Clark and South Pymatuning to oversee disbursement of the money.
Less than requested
However, it was also far less than the amount sought by applicants seeking help from the fund to cover items that, in most cases, weren't covered by their homeowner insurance policies.
White said the requests probably exceeded $250,000, and although the committee couldn't fund every request at 100 percent, it followed the theory that "every little bit helps."
The committee received a total of 83 formal applications for help and determined that all but one qualified for the program, he said. That particular claim dealt with water in a basement, he recalled.
The committee decided up front that it wanted to spread the money as far as possible, opting to pay only a portion of requests so that everyone who asked for help could get some assistance, he said.
It didn't limit the process to just Clark and South Pymatuning but decided to honor requests from anyone whose property was damaged by the tornado.
First checks
The first thing the committee did was send out $100 checks in December to 125 property owners determined to have suffered some loss in the storm.
It was "a token payment," White said, noting that the committee then invited people to submit applications for additional help.
It got 83 requests, prompting the creation of a priority system to help those who needed it, he said.
At the top of the list were people with immediate emergency needs such as replacing a roof or temporary lodging.
Next came people seeking help with building repairs that weren't of an emergency nature, and finally came requests for help paying for tree and stump removal or restoration of landscaping.
The committee has spent about $64,000 of the fund and decided to hold an additional $5,000 in reserve to cover any small requests for help that may have been missed so far, White said.
Help with replacing trees
The remaining money, about $19,000, will be used to help replace trees lost in Clark and South Pymatuning, he said.
The two municipalities are being asked to create tree committees to handle that money, which will be divided evenly between the two. The committees can then buy the trees in bulk and get a better price than individual homeowners, White said, adding that Clark already has its tree committee in place.
Those trees can then be given to people who filed applications seeking to replace trees lost in the storm, he said.
"It's been a very long, difficult process," White said, noting that the job took longer than originally expected. The committee performed its task well, and members were always willing to meet when necessary to approve or review spending, he said.
White was appointed to the committee by Clark, which also named residents Dan O'Neill and Carol Eberhart. South Pymatuning appointed residents Frank Nagy, Michael Reichart and Dr. Daniel Baker to serve on the committee.