Service part of Albany King Day observance
Day of Service comes as Albany continues its recovery from the jan. 2 storms
From Staff Reports
ALBANY — As the nation celebrates the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during Monday’s holiday, some will spend the day in service to the community.
Officials with the Red Cross say they will be partnering with a coalition of area youth in an outreach effort in storm-impacted places in the Albany-Dougherty County community.
Red Cross officials said youth with the NAACP, Georgia Missionary Baptist churches and Albany State University will go out Monday to provide residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed with information about services that are available to them.
The teams are to meet at 505 Byron Plantation Road to begin the outreach effort.
Officials with the Red Cross noted that disasters like the Jan. 2 tornadoes and high winds in Southwest Georgia create more needs than any one organization can meet on its own.
“The Red Cross is grateful to the entire response community – government agencies, other non-profit groups, faith-based organizations, area businesses and others who came together to coordinate emergency relief efforts in Albany and surrounding communities,” Shawn McCorry, Red Cross director of the relief efforts, said.
As the storm cleanup efforts continue, a 90-year-old World War II veteran in the Cromartie Beach area will be getting some help Monday as well. Judy Bowles, with Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful, said Albany City Commissioner Jon Howard, state Rep. Darrel Ealum and the Albany Civil Air Patrol unit will clean storm debris from the veteran’s yard.
While most government agencies are closed Monday for the federal and state holiday, in Albany and Dougherty County the Building Inspection Department and Business License Department will be open Monday, Dougherty County EMA Director Ron Rowe said.
Rowe reported that all major electrical circuits are running and that service crews are out completing orders to restore power to structures that are ready. More than 500 Door hangers, with instructions on how to get power restored, have been distributed to addresses where there is meter, weatherhead or structural damage, and staff is continuing to survey areas for power outages.
This weekend, there were 24 debris crews on the ground clearing streets and about 90,000 cubic yards of debris had been collected by Saturday evening.
Also, law enforcement officers have been working 7 p.m.-8 p.m. patrols in the affected areas — Lake Park, Rawson Circle and Cromartie Beach. All traffic signals are now operational.
Officials also say that if a person feels he or she may have been the victim of a scam or price gouging, the individual should contact the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit at 1 (800) 869-1123. Resources also are at the Consumer Protection Unit’s website, www.consumer.ga.gov.
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