Plans for debris to be set by Tuesday

Published 12:00 am Saturday, October 2, 2004

The city, county and cleanup crews continue to make progress in the cleanup. The debris is steadily being moved off the streets and into the designated locations.

Now comes the next phase concerning what to do with all the debris. There are several possibilities, but the most popular seem to be chipping or burning. All parties want to make sure safety takes first priority.

Streets and Sanitation Supervisor Milton Luckie said enormous amounts of debris roll in daily.

"They're hauling it out to the landfill and there is a lot of it," said Luckie. "They are leaning toward chipping it, but we can't say anything for sure yet."

Luckie said they have been meeting to try to find the best alternative.

"We talked about it Friday and we will continue to discuss it," said Luckie. "We should know something for sure by Monday or Tuesday."

Phillips and Jordan Inc. out of Charleston, South Carolina are collecting most of the debris. Project Coordinator John Wilkins said they will know more next week about the future plans for the debris.

"The decision on whether to grind or burn has not been made yet," said Wilkins. "There are a couple of issues they are still looking into. We will know a lot more next week as to how we could dispose of it."

Commissioner Ron Sparks has announced figures for damage to the agriculture industry in Alabama.

The current estimated total of property, livestock, and crop damage and loss due to Hurricane Ivan is over $850,000,000, with timber, nursery and sod, and cotton being the worst areas affected.

Sparks, who has met with hundreds of farmers while making several tours of damaged farms with department division directors, has made a special appeal for Governor Bob Riley's support for additional federal assistance for farmers who had damage to crops and property due to Hurricane Ivan.

"Ivan has pounded agriculture in Alabama, but now we have to find some relief for our farmers," Sparks stated.

"This was an unusual circumstance to have such widespread loss in Alabama, so it may take unusual measures to make sure people recover."

A summary of damages to agriculture in Alabama is included with this advisory.

These figures are in accordance with the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries and the USDA.

Cattle$

50,000

Corn

5,000,000

Cotton

70,000,000

Nursery & Sod

45,000,000

Peanuts

15,000,000

Pecans

14,000,000

Poultry

5,750,000

Timber

700,000,000

Total

$

854,800,000