Ameren: All power expected back on

ST. LOUIS -- With all power expected to be back on for storm-affected customers in Missouri and Illinois, attention turned Friday to cleanup of limbs and other debris.

In Waterloo, Ill., southeast of St. Louis, Mayor Terry Kipping said city workers have done a yeoman's job in hauling off many of the countless limbs and downed trees -- damage he likened to a tornado's legacy.

"It's bad. I really don't know how to begin to describe it," said Kipping, a 57-year-old lifelong resident of the community of about 10,000. "It's the worst I've ever seen. We've had some streets that weren't passable, back yards and front yards, you name it. It's just total demolition."

But a St. Louis suburb on the Missouri side is holding off on the chance that federal disaster funds might become available, saving the cash-strapped community its resources.

"We're short-staffed, we've had our budget reduced by a million dollars, and we cut back 25 staff positions including 10 in the street department," said Claire Budd, spokeswoman for the city of Kirkwood.

"We've told residents to hang tight, give us a few more days and see what happens."

Compounding the problem is that Kirkwood sold off much of its street equipment and is left with one chipper for the entire city. For now, the city is focused on removing debris from rights of way.

The Missouri Emergency Management Agency, or SEMA, urged communities to begin removing tree debris at their own expense because of the uncertainty of any federal disaster funds.

SEMA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are gathering information on what county and city governments are spending to remove tree debris and provide protective services.

The information will be analyzed and given to Gov. Matt Blunt, who will decide whether to seek federal disaster assistance. The governor's office said he is hopeful of getting a presidential declaration of disaster -- freeing up funds for reimbursement -- based on the damage reported in all 114 counties.

But SEMA was more cautious.

"There's no guarantee we'll have a federal declaration," SEMA spokeswoman Susie Stonner said. "When communities or counties hold off, it's a disservice to citizens."

The St. Louis suburb of Arnold just completed its fall curbside pickup of yard waste, but was ramping up to resume Dec. 18. The city offers a drop-off site for those who don't want to wait.

"We're hoping to get reimbursed," public works Director Jeff Blue said. "But we'll do it regardless. We'll just divert (employees) from other duties."

Ameren Corp. said it expected to have electricity restored to all its customers by the end of Friday.

As of Friday night, about 1,800 customers still were without power. At the peak, more than 500,000 Ameren customers in Missouri and Illinois were without power. The utility asked customers who were still without power or who have made necessary repairs to restore service to call in.

As of Friday, the debris in Waterloo was in a pile 600 feet square and about 20 feet high -- and growing, all of it eventually to be chipped for farmers to use for such things as bedding for livestock.

Kipping's town is in one of 49 counties declared disaster areas in Illinois by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

In St. Clair County, Ill., just east of St. Louis, some Ameren customers frustrated by lingering outages in recent days vented on utility repair crews, worrying them enough to request security from sheriff's deputies, sheriff's Col. Mel Weith said.

At least twice, Weith said, workers "were being harassed or threatened and called us, a little leery."

"I think it was just verbal threats, people driving by or coming out and cussing them out or whatever, saying a number of degrading things," Weith said. "I was without power without five days; it doesn't bother me, but I could very easily see how people could get frustrated wondering why the guy across the street has power and they don't."

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Reporter Jim Suhr in southern Illinois contributed to this story.