City News

Labor Day Closings

Monday, September 6 City Hall offices will be closed today in observance of the Labor Day Holiday.  Monday trash route will be picked up on Tuesday, September 7.

The Fort Madison Public Library will be closed Monday, September 6 for Labor Day and Tuesday, September 7 for staff development.

Iowa Receives Presidential Disaster Declaration

Below is a press release with information about the disaster assistance in Iowa.  The disaster number is DR-1930-IA and the disaster date begins on June 1, 2010 and is continuing.  An end date will be posted when it is set.

 DES MOINES - Governor Chet Culver has received word that 29 Iowa counties have been granted a Presidential Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance.

"I am pleased to see the Presidential Disaster Declaration for these counties," Culver said. "We will continue to assess the flood-related damages and get Iowans the assistance they need to recover from the recent severe weather and flooding."

The disaster declaration makes federal assistance available to affected individuals and families in these 29 counties. Disaster assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

The counties included in the declaration are: Black Hawk, Cherokee, Clayton, Decatur, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Franklin, Hamilton, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Jackson, Jones, Kossuth, Lee, Lucas, Lyon, Marion, O'Brien, Osceola, Ringgold, Sioux, Story, Taylor, Union, Warren, Webster, and Wright.

The State will ask for joint preliminary damage assessments to be conducted with FEMA and local officials in counties most recently impacted by the flooding and to request Individual Assistance be granted for those counties.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties may immediately begin registering for assistance online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov<http://www.disasterassistance.gov/> or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time). Applicants registering for aid should be prepared to provide basic information about themselves, details on insurance coverage, and any other information to help substantiate losses.

The declaration follows a visit to Iowa today by FEMA Region VII Regional Administrator Beth Freeman. Freeman joined Governor Culver on a tour of damaged areas in Des Moines and Colfax, and also made a stop in Oskaloosa.

"Today, I visited communities throughout central Iowa to get a firsthand look at the damages caused by recent flooding," said Freeman. "Citizens and entire communities have rallied together to fight the floodwaters and they should be commended. I also compliment the state and local officials who have worked quickly to provide residents with important commodities and taken other critical steps to protect life and property."

These 29 counties that have been declared for Individual Assistance will be added to the Presidential Disaster Declaration that authorized Public Assistance funding for 32 counties on July 29 and 18 counties on August 13. Public Assistance funds are available to state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations (including rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities) for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.

Honor Guard Volunteers

For many years veterans in and around Ft. Madison have volunteered their time to participate in the military burial Honor Guard. Many of those that participated, have themselves been so honored at their burial. Illness and death have cut into that dedicated corps, and if no one steps forward to fill those ranks, no one will be able to render those honors that the deceased so richly deserves. To participate you need to have served in the military and been honorably discharged. Since we never know when we will be called upon, the number of volunteers that show up will vary, and we understand that. If you can still fit in your uniform and wear it appropriately, fine. If not, the guard wears black pants, white shirt with black tie, and either their veterans organization hat, or their military branch hat. Some wear a black ball cap that indicates the branch of service the individual served in. There are no meetings to attend, and you don't have to worry about loading a rifle. Some may prefer to be in the Color Guard, others to be in the firing line of the Honor Guard. Due to the fact that it may have been a while since someone participated, we run through the routine prior to the funeral so that all feel comfortable in participating. WE NEED YOUR HELP. If you wish to participate or want additional information, you may call Darrell Thannert at 372-6504 or Nick Colbert at 372-3266 .