Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Clean-Up About 70% Through In Nevada County

Getting Nevada County cleaned up after the Christmas Day ice storm has been a slow process, oft hampered by weather.

But, according to Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown, the job is about 70 percent done and should be completed by the end of the month, weather permitting.

"I'm ready to be through," Brown said of the cleanup work. "It's been slow going and we'll get through one of these days."

J&G Enterprises, of Auburn, Ala., has people working in all areas of the county, and when a region is cleared, a final sweep will be made to make sure the job is completed.

The center part of the county from Prescott to the southern third is completely finished, Brown said. However, there are areas in the southern part of the county where crews are just getting started.

The best news for the county, though, is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been instructed to pay 100 percent of the cleanup costs.

Brown said the clean up isn't costing the county anything, but has been a headache with a lot of worry and messed up county roads."Everything will get better."

When the disaster hit, he said, 23 companies showed interest in doing the cleanup work. Bids were let and 12 returned proposals, with D&J being the cheapest company showing proof of liability insurance, worker's compensation and having a bond large enough to cover the job.

After a contract was signed with D&J, Brown added, the company hired about 2/3 of its workers locally.