PEOPLE

The Southeast Missourian asked those involved in cleanup of the Flood of '93 what they felt about the effectiveness of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Ron Probst of Cape Girardeau: "I personally think it's a big joke! Instead of coming into the community to help, they want you to go through all this paper work, when people are at their wit's end. The hell with them, I say!"

Evelyn Cunningham of Cape Girardeau: "I think they've done really well. FEMA helped us get everything together. They've checked several times to verify our status. Reimbursed us for flood-related costs."

Mima Poole of Cape Girardeau: "We've already received some money from FEMA. They helped us by paying $700 for housing expenses and $350 for personal costs. We applied for a grant, I don't know if we'll get that."

Capt. Elmer Trapp of Cape Girardeau: "A FEMA worker is sitting down with some real people giving them real information. Everything is so simple when it's explained."

Bettie Knoll of Cape Girardeau: "Most people don't understand the application process. If we had this new FEMA representative a month ago, it would have eliminated a lot of the frustration and total chaos. People were sick of calling 800 numbers. They should have brought this woman in months ago."

Charles Bierschwal of Cape Girardeau: "They've helped us. They sent us a couple of checks: $1200 for rent, $350 for whatever. We have not found out a lot from FEMA. They surveyed the house. Told me it would be 7-10 days before I would know."