VDEM Asks for Return of $45,416
FEMA De-Obligates Funding from Hurley Flood

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
      Buchanan County taxpayers felt the bite again Monday from the wrongdoing of those convicted in the Operation Big Coon Dog case when the county had to refund another $45,416.02 to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
         The refund, however, should mark the last refund the county has to pay in the case, since VDEM indicated in a letter sent to the county April 7, 2006 from Michael M. Cline that VDEM was ready to close the FEMA project.
        "We appreciate the time you have spent working with the state and FEMA to bring this situation to closure," Cline wrote.
         Earlier this year, the county had to refund monies to VDEM and FEMA representing contract amounts previously authorized, but later de-obligated in audits following the coon dog case in which public officials and contractors were charged -- and ultimately convicted -- in a bid rigging and bribery scheme which occurred in the wake of the Hurley flood of 2002.
        On Monday, members of the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors approved the $45,416.02 refund from general county funds.
        "We don’t have a choice," said Rocklick Supervisor David Ratliff in making the motion to issue the check. North Grundy Supervisor Carroll Branham made the second and the vote was unanimous.
         The refund followed a final inspection and program review by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on all projects in the county completed following the May 2002 flood.
       FEMA de-obligated funds from three of the last series of projects reviewed, however, they obligated additional funding for two other projects.
        The new funds obligated totaled $20,859.26, while the funds de-obligated totaled $148,561.05.
         The two projects for which FEMA approved additional funding included $800 for drinking water provided for emergency services; and an additional $20,059.26 to replace equipment in the Hurley Park. Another project was approved as written for $82,285.67.

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Meeting Set to Eye Downtown Traffic Pattern

         Buchanan County motorists will find travel on Rt. 460 east and west restricted to one lane beginning Monday as the Rt. 460 project downtown gets underway.
         The Virginia Department of Transportation awarded a contract on the project to Bizzack Inc. to make the roadway improvements.
       A public information meeting on the project has been planned for Wednesday, May 10 at Riverview Elementary-Middle School from 4 to 7 p.m.
Residents may drop by the school at their convenience during those hours to view maps and talk with representatives of VDOT and Bizzack Inc., the contractor, about the project and its impact on travel during the construction period.