Tennessee Receives Federal Grant

Today schools are closed in Minneapolis while people are trying to figure out how to clean up after a tornado ripped up entire neighborhoods.  But it’s not as if there aren’t other projects that the government is still trying to work through.  When so many areas have been devastated by storms, it’s difficult to figure out what regions should be immediately prioritized.

Tennessee is among the places that have been hard hit and needy of help.  In fact, President Obama declared the state of Tennessee a disaster area.  The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a $3,589,704 National Emergency Grant to assist with clean-up and recovery efforts in the wake of the severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and associated flooding that struck Tennessee last month.

“The devastation caused by recent storms across the Southeast has been heart-wrenching,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “While we can’t eliminate the distress caused by the storms, the grant announced today is part of the rebuilding process to help the people of Tennessee get back on their feet.”

The funds are being awarded to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and will be used to create temporary jobs to assist in recovery efforts.

On May 1, the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared Bradley, Greene, Hamilton and Washington counties eligible for its Public Assistance Program. On May 9, FEMA added Benton, Carroll, Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Henderson, Henry, Houston, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, Montgomery, Obion, Shelby and Stewart to the list of eligible counties. All of the counties under these two declarations have been targeted to receive assistance under this grant.