PERRY TO GET STATE MONEY FOR FLOOD RECOVERY

MCBRIDE -- The Missouri Department of Economic Development awarded more than $350,000 in disaster recovery assistance to Perry County for repairs to the Bois Brule Levee.

The state agency announced Wednesday that Perry County will receive $358,000 to reconstruct the Bois Brule Levee, which protects 26,000 acres of land from the Mississippi River.

The levee was breached in late July, when the river reached record crests. Several homes and businesses were destroyed in the onslaught of the floodwaters.

Two major employers in the area, the Gilster-Mary Lee Corp. and the Sabreliner Corp., are situated within the levee district. The 33.5-mile levee also shields Highway 51 to Chester, Ill., from the river.

The announcement comes on the heels of Tuesday's news that the government would purchase land from property owners who suffered more than 50 percent damage to their property in last year's flooding.

Joe Driskill, director the Department of Economic Development (DED), said last summer's floods proved an enormous challenge to the department.

"DED has worked diligently with federal and local governments in order to provide necessary assistance to communities damaged by last summer's floods," he said. "We were faced with many public health and safety issues, which we could not have addressed alone."

The flood recovery funds allocated to Perry County were awarded under the Community Development Block Grant program administered by DED. The program makes funds available to Missouri's smaller communities to help solve flood-related emergencies that present an immediate threat to health and safety when other funds are inadequate or unavailable to correct the situation.