Last year’s flood brought with it plenty of questions and concerns about the condition of the Little Juniata River.
The Borough of Tyrone brought in the Department of Environmental Protection last October to look at the river and make recommendations. The DEP granted a permit for Tyrone to complete work in the Ninth Street Pedestrian Bridge area. Work was also done on other parts along the river.
Tyrone Borough Manager Sharon Dannaway said in a recent phone interview the efforts to improve the condition of the river have continued since a large gravel bar and other debris was removed from the bridge area last year.
“This (year) we contracted with Houtzdale Prison and brought prisoners down,” said Dannaway. “They helped clean off the vegetation down within six inches.”
She said the prisoners worked with the borough’s highway department and also removed trees. Dannaway said the effort would be an ongoing project to get the vegetation out. She said the work would likely be done each spring.
Dannaway said, “Having the concern that we do here because we are in the 100-year flood plain, the mayor (Patricia Stoner) and I have attended several seminars and training.
“In April, we attended a watershed academy held by the DEP,” said Dannaway. “They reiterated what they felt we needed to do as far as future building and construction. The advice was to have better management practices that includes leaving more green space when you are designing new shopping centers and housing so that everything is (not) concrete and blacktopped over (creating water) runoff.”
Dannaway said the municipality is also involved in an organization in Blair County called “Builders For The Bay”. She said the organization is asking municipalities to come together to work toward better management practices regarding development. She said local governments are being encouraged to look at codes and ordinances concerning green space issues. The group is comprised of municipalities, the Blair County Builders Association, The Center for Watershed Protection and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.
Dannaway was asked if she was aware of any complaints about how last year’s flood was handled. Shortly after the flood, some residents voiced concerns at a borough council meeting. She said she wasn’t aware of any further concerns.
In light of concerns about how local, state and federal officials handle the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; Dannaway was asked if he was aware of any complaints regarding the state and federal response after last September’s flood.
“I really couldn’t say (anything) about that,” said Dannaway. “Nothing has been brought to my attention.”
Dannaway explained what the borough’s role was in assisting victims the flood.
“We were in contact with the Blair County Emergency Management to take names, addresses, phone numbers and brief damage descriptions and we forwarded that information.”
She said the borough was given contact information for state and federal emergency aid. The borough then informed residents on how to contact those agencies for assistance.
She said the borough is also working with county emergency officials on a Blair County Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Dannaway was also asked about her confidence in emergency response efforts if the borough or area would face further disasters including something on the magnitude of the Gulf Coast situation.
“We currently have a plan in place,” said Dannaway. “There is a chain of command from the local to the county to the state level. With the type of destruction that happened down in New Orleans, you think you are prepared, but you never know until it happens.”
The emergency plan was followed during the flood and was administered by Tyrone’s emergency management coordinator Jim Beckwith, according to Dannaway.
