Published: July 02, 2008 10:56 pm         

FEMA working holiday in Valley center

Agency will be open at Booker community center this weekend

The doors of the Booker T. Washington Community Center will remain open this holiday weekend, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to support area flood victims as long as needed.

Greg Hughes, public information officer for FEMA, said people still are coming to the center in search of assistance.

“Yeah, it’s a steady stream. That’s one reason we’re open on the holiday,” he said, adding the agency will be here “for the foreseeable future.”

As of Wednesday, 2,659 Vigo County residents affected by the June 7 flooding have applied in person and online for FEMA aid, Hughes said.

Another 50 individuals came to the community center Tuesday, and 1,400 have passed through the doors since the facility was converted to a disaster relief site June 15, he said.

The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the same as usual, Hughes said.

“It’s a combination,” Hughes said of those coming to the center. Many already have applied for aid and come back with questions, others have not yet processed their information, he said.

“We just want to get the word out to anyone who hasn’t seen us that we are open on the holiday,” he said.

An additional FEMA Mobile Disaster Recovery Center will open today in Sullivan County at the Work One Center, 35 W. Jackson St. The mobile unit will be open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. today through Monday.