By Mary Owen
Aumsville residents were given high marks from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) at a Town Hall meeting last month.
“I’m so proud of you,” Wyden told the audience of about 100. He went on to praise the actions of neighbors helping neighbors following the tornado that struck on Dec. 14.
“When you get Mother Nature at its worst, you really get Oregonians at their best,” he said. “That’s what we’ve got here. This community does us proud!”
Mayor Harold White also commended the more than 300 people who came from other communities to help city staff, business owners and residents clean up following the tornado. “Those are the heroes,” he said.
City Administrator Maryann Hills credited emergency responders for their quick response to the disaster.
“And the army of people that came together to support one another during and following the crisis,” she added. “It humbled me to experience how interconnected we all are and how when each of us uses our strengths to serve each other, recovery is seamless.”
An open public forum was held on Jan. 24 to discuss the recovery progress and related issues. City leaders agree the lessons learned and experienced will better prepare them for future crises, Hills said.
“We learned to have cell phone numbers as a backup to communicate,” she said. “We created forms and processes that may be used again and that will be a step ahead. We learned what details need to go into mutual aid agreements with the Red Cross and the faith community. We learned that the call center was good, and we can make it even better and get it set up earlier.”
Initial damage estimates topped $1.13 million, but as repairs continue, additional damages are surfacing, according to a city report.
“Residents are also finding that the cost of actual replacement is often higher than the original damage estimate because roofs and other structures are depreciated by insurance companies,” Hills said in the report, which can be viewed on the city’s website, www.aumsville.us.
Included in the initial estimate was about $81,000 in costs for personnel, overtime and equipment experience by Aumsville, neighboring cities and Marion County, Hills said.
Some $30,000 in contributions to a Tornado Relief Fund, established at Riverview Bank following the disaster, are now being distributed to families and individuals who are uninsured, underinsured or need help with insurance deductibles.
As of Jan. 19, 21 families were helped with approximately $7,000 in emergency expenses and uninsured damage repairs, and $12,700 in insurance deductibles, according to City Clerk Colleen Rogers.
“There are still many families that we will try to help as we receive requests and as long as the donations hold out,” Rogers said.
Riverview Bank Manager Julie Wisser said, “The effort to rebuild and restore people’s lives will take many months, and we appreciate all that people have given.”
More than $10,000 was recently raised at a benefit concert put on by Ken Cartwright at Cascade High School. Donations are still being accepted for the relief fund at the bank or at city hall.
Additionally, the Aumsville Fire Department is distributing donated building materials, and the Bethel Baptist Church Food and Clothing Closet remains open to supply food and clothing to those in need.
Marion County Building Inspection is expediting issuing permits to help speed the recovery. To date, five permits have been issued.
“This is about neighbors helping neighbors,” White said of all efforts to assist in Aumsville’s recovery.
Sen. Wyden, who toured Aumsville to see first-hand the recovery progress, added, “These are folks who engage in self-help and pulling themselves up. They are really showing the best of Oregon.”
