Governor Nixon assess local flood damage
Governor Jay Nixon visited Cassville as well os Roaring River State Park on Friday to asses the flood damage to the community. Nixon is pictured above along with State Senator David Sater.
July 15, 2015
Shania Stumpff
Governor Nixon made an appearance in Cassville on Friday afternoon and addressed the media at Roaring River State Park to assess and discuss recent flood damage to the park and surrounding areas.
“I want to thank specifically the Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri State Parks, and the Department of Natural Resources who made strong, quick decisions that got over 250 people out of these campgrounds and out of these areas as the water rose over nine feet on the first day of the flooding.” Nixon said. “Because of that smart and quick action taken we are here talking about what we can do to get this park rebuilt and fully operational as quickly as possible, instead of talking about what sort of injuries there were.”
After thanking the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources. Nixon applauded the people who worked on the ground saying they did an, “unbelievable job,” getting people moving and out of the area. They “definitely saved lives,” Nixon said.
“We’re in a weather pattern here that’s going to continue, especially in steep areas like this you’re going to see potential quick rises not just in parks but in the entire southern part of our state over the next 30-60 days. So as you hear from the media or law enforcement to move out of areas, please do.
“I always tell people please don’t ever drive into water, it can be extremely dangerous. The two deaths we have had so far this summer from flood related incidents have been because of people crossing high water.” Added Nixon.
Roaring River re-opened and resumed selling trout tags on Friday. Although the park sustained significant damage no fish were lost from the hatchery, and almost all the campsites are back open. “The water makes fishing a little harder but not impossible.” Nixon said, encouraging people to get out and enjoy the fishing and nice weather.
“While some trout have escaped and are on their way to Governor Jindal in Louisiana, there is still going to be plenty of trout here.” Stated Nixon.
Earlier in the day Nixon visited with town officials in Cassville and he noted that everyone is pitching in together to get the debris cleaned up. Cassville is making, “good and solid progress.” Nixon said.
“This park is an important asset, and we want to make sure it is safe. The bottom line is these folks acted quickly and because of that this park is going to be up and operational to full capacity very soon. None of the clean up will prevent people from fishing and enjoying this part of the Ozarks.” Stated Nixon.
Missouri has three trout parks and according to Nixon they are all naturally low areas that get hyper charged quickly. During the flood at Roaring River the gage on the bridge went from 1.9 to 9 feet in a little more than an hour. Nixon stressed that if there is any further flooding to please listen to the experienced staff when they tell you to move out of the area.
Gov. Nixon stated that in order to receive 75 percent reimbursement for recovery efforts, there must be at least $8.3 million dollars worth of damage to public assets statewide.
Nixon expects to work with the mayor of Cassville Bill Shively and the Pubic Works Director Steve Walensky to get all of Cassville up and operational, including the Greenway Trail that received significant damage.
State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) will have representatives on Wednesday at the Division of Family Services on Eighth Street from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They will be meeting with flood victims whose homes have been damaged.
The Convoy of Hope and the Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief are already helping residents clean up and get rid of depris.
Gov. Nixon praised the Cassville Police Chief for making quick decisions that saved lives.
“The people of cassville were ready and made quick decisions,” Nixon said. “What we try to do as a state is called ‘force amplify.’ We try to make sure the commanding control stays at the local level, where they know where the water is and what is happening. With state resources and regional resources we do our best to back them up. In Cassville there were direct decisions made by the Police Chief and Public Works personnel to get folks out of those harmful areas and that clearly saved lives.”
Shania Stumpff
Governor Nixon made an appearance in Cassville on Friday afternoon and addressed the media at Roaring River State Park to assess and discuss recent flood damage to the park and surrounding areas.
“I want to thank specifically the Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri State Parks, and the Department of Natural Resources who made strong, quick decisions that got over 250 people out of these campgrounds and out of these areas as the water rose over nine feet on the first day of the flooding.” Nixon said. “Because of that smart and quick action taken we are here talking about what we can do to get this park rebuilt and fully operational as quickly as possible, instead of talking about what sort of injuries there were.”
After thanking the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources. Nixon applauded the people who worked on the ground saying they did an, “unbelievable job,” getting people moving and out of the area. They “definitely saved lives,” Nixon said.
“We’re in a weather pattern here that’s going to continue, especially in steep areas like this you’re going to see potential quick rises not just in parks but in the entire southern part of our state over the next 30-60 days. So as you hear from the media or law enforcement to move out of areas, please do.
“I always tell people please don’t ever drive into water, it can be extremely dangerous. The two deaths we have had so far this summer from flood related incidents have been because of people crossing high water.” Added Nixon.
Roaring River re-opened and resumed selling trout tags on Friday. Although the park sustained significant damage no fish were lost from the hatchery, and almost all the campsites are back open. “The water makes fishing a little harder but not impossible.” Nixon said, encouraging people to get out and enjoy the fishing and nice weather.
“While some trout have escaped and are on their way to Governor Jindal in Louisiana, there is still going to be plenty of trout here.” Stated Nixon.
Earlier in the day Nixon visited with town officials in Cassville and he noted that everyone is pitching in together to get the debris cleaned up. Cassville is making, “good and solid progress.” Nixon said.
“This park is an important asset, and we want to make sure it is safe. The bottom line is these folks acted quickly and because of that this park is going to be up and operational to full capacity very soon. None of the clean up will prevent people from fishing and enjoying this part of the Ozarks.” Stated Nixon.
Missouri has three trout parks and according to Nixon they are all naturally low areas that get hyper charged quickly. During the flood at Roaring River the gage on the bridge went from 1.9 to 9 feet in a little more than an hour. Nixon stressed that if there is any further flooding to please listen to the experienced staff when they tell you to move out of the area.
Gov. Nixon stated that in order to receive 75 percent reimbursement for recovery efforts, there must be at least $8.3 million dollars worth of damage to public assets statewide.
Nixon expects to work with the mayor of Cassville Bill Shively and the Pubic Works Director Steve Walensky to get all of Cassville up and operational, including the Greenway Trail that received significant damage.
State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) will have representatives on Wednesday at the Division of Family Services on Eighth Street from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They will be meeting with flood victims whose homes have been damaged.
The Convoy of Hope and the Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief are already helping residents clean up and get rid of depris.
Gov. Nixon praised the Cassville Police Chief for making quick decisions that saved lives.
“The people of cassville were ready and made quick decisions,” Nixon said. “What we try to do as a state is called ‘force amplify.’ We try to make sure the commanding control stays at the local level, where they know where the water is and what is happening. With state resources and regional resources we do our best to back them up. In Cassville there were direct decisions made by the Police Chief and Public Works personnel to get folks out of those harmful areas and that clearly saved lives.”