Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Governor's Staff Travels Path Of March 1 Tornado

Members of the Governor's Office followed the path of the March 1 tornadoes to see how the clean up effort is coming along.

According to Jim Harris, director of press operations, the people in Hempstead and Nevada County are coping well and the clean up effort is almost complete.

The majority of the damage in Nevada and Hempstead counties were to timber. Harris said a great deal of trees were damaged or destroyed by the storms, which originated near Fulton in Hempstead County.

Because of the twisters, he said, people are having to sell pole grade timber at pulpwood prices. This is because the trees were twisted off at the top or snapped.

Harris said the governor's team is working two days a week on this project and expect to finish around the end of June. This is because the tornadoes covered 260 miles along Interstate 30 as they wreaked havoc and destruction to start the month of March.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency had $30 million in aid requests, Harris said, but it will cost more than $100 million to complete the clean up and restoration process.

"We don't want people thinking the governor has forgotten them," he said. "We want people to know we're trying to get their problems solved."

However, Harris said some people did fall through the cracks and were unable to get federal help. Still, he said, Gov. Mike Huckabee wants them to know he is working to get them the assistance they need.

The March 1 tornadoes could spawn future disaster legislation, Harris said.

Actually, there has been some legislation passed already because of the storms. The General Assembly passed bills to allow county governments to use county equipment on private property in times of disaster.

But, Harris said, part of the problem is people in all economic categories don't have insurance and many didn't seek help because of this.

This, he added, is why legislation may be forthcoming in future sessions.

Discussing Nevada and Hempstead counties, he said things are going real good. Harris will report his findings to Gov. Huckabee.

Changing topics, Harris said Huckabee said there was a 99 percent chance he would run for election as governor in 1998 during the 81st General Assembly.

Huckabee took over the office when Jim Guy Tucker abdicated because of legal problems.

But, once the session ended, Harris said the governor's mentioned this percentage has risen to 99.9 percent because of the session.

There was speculation Huckabee would seek the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Dale Bumpers, but this, Harris said, won't happen.

While the legislature was in session, Harris said, there was two things the governor didn't get. The first was his program for chartered schools, with the other being the food tax, which was dumped.

However, Harris said the food tax issue began looking good by the end of the session.

"It was a productive session," Harris said.

One of the things to come out of the session Huckabee is most proud of is the ARKids program.

Harris said $11 million was taken from state surplus money for this program. It will provide Medicaid benefits for children with working parent(s) up to 200 percent above the poverty line.

He said while most people believe those on welfare are too lazy to work, the major problem is most people stay on welfare to get Medicaid for their children.

"If they took a minimum wage job they would lose these benefits," he said.

Because of this problem, Harris said, ARKids was created as a means of welfare reform.

Normally, he said, parents without insurance wait until their children are critical before taking them to an emergency room for treatment. Then they aren't able to pay their bill. This results in a rising cost of health care for everyone.

But, with the ARKids program parents will be able to take their children in for preventative treatment before they get critically ill. For every $1 spent on preventative medicine, Harris said, $10 is saved per child.

The benefits of this program may not be seen for 20 years, but they will eventually be noticed. Harris said a healthy child is more likely and able to stay in school.

By staying in school, they can get a good education and a good job, making them productive citizens.

"This program makes Arkansas No. 1 in the nation in taking care of its children," Harris said. "We were 43rd."

The program covers all types of illnesses and immunization. "This will allow people to have primary care physicians," he said, "and relieve pressure on emergency rooms.

"The governor is most proud of this piece of legislation of all passed."

Huckabee's wife, Janet, is also working with the program, heading up the immunization portion.