May 10, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNS DISASTER DECLARATION
Cass County Government was notified this evening that President Obama signed the Major Disaster Declaration for the State of North Dakota today. Word of the signing came to Cass County from Sen. Kent Conrad’s office in Washington, D.C. Copies of the declaration documents are attached and a copy of the fact sheet is also added following this news release.
This declaration is effective February 14th, 2011, and triggers allowable FEMA funds to be used for repair of public infrastructure and emergency protective measures taken to prevent damage of public infrastructure.
Upon hearing the news, Cass County Board Chairman Darrell Vanyo said, “This certainly provides the funding Cass County desperately needs. Fighting three successive floods is very draining on our budget and costs will be well into the millions of dollars.”
May 2, 2011
P R E S S R E L E A S E
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CASS COUNTY SANDBAG PICKUP
Contractors will begin to pick up sandbags in rural Cass County today and work throughout the upcoming weeks to complete the project. Residents are asked to stack their bags on the public right-of-way at the edge of the road so that equipment can pick up the bags without going onto private property.
The contractor will make a second pass through each neighborhood a week or so after the first pass in the event that residents have not been able to move their sandbags to the edge of the road in front of their properties prior to the first pass.
Bags will be picked up this week from areas affected by Red River and Wild Rice River flooding south of Fargo. Areas affected by Red River flooding north of Fargo between Highway 20 and Highway 22 will be picked up later this week and next week.
Those areas still being affected by the ongoing Sheyenne River flooding will be scheduled for pickup at a later date, dependent on the water levels receding.
For further information, contact the Cass County Highway Department at (701) 298-2370.
P R E S S R E L E A S E
April 29, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – FOLLOW UP FLOOD EMERGENCY
Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney is asking for volunteers from the public to help save two rural residences just outside West Fargo. The first homeowner, William Lisburg, lives at 2910 13th Avenue West, West Fargo. The second homeowners in need of assistance are Shannon and Greg Stanke who live at 3202 13th Avenue West, West Fargo. Volunteers must bring hip waders as flood waters are deep at both locations. Traffic control officers are set up at these areas to assist volunteers.
April, 29, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-LAKE SHURE ESTATES TEMPORARY BRIDGE TO OPEN
The Cass County Engineer’s Office is continuing work on the temporary bridge for the residents of Lake Shure Estates. At this time, it is estimated the installation will be complete at about 6 PM tonight. While this washout is not located on a county road, the county has offered assistance to the township in an effort to make travel accessible to the 30 or more homeowners who live in the subdivision. The township minimum maintenance road, where the 20 foot timber bridge is being placed, was not repaired after the 2010 flood, so improvements are being made to other low areas on the road.
When the bridge opens tonight, it will be restricted to local traffic only and will be essentially one lane, so motorists will need to take turns when crossing. Speed will be restricted to 25 miles per hour.
For further information, contact Jason Benson, Design Engineer from Cass County, at (701) 799-7384. Jason is on site at the Lake Shure neighborhood.
April 29, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – HOMEOWNER LEVEE ERODING FROM WIND/WAVES
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has received a call for immediate assistance from the William Lisburg residence at 2910 13th Ave. W., outside West Fargo in the Willow Creek subdivision. Initially, a National Guard Quick Response Force (QRF) team was expected to be deployed; however, the access roads are nearly impassable due to the strong winds causing waves. At this time, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office plans to deploy their “Otter Team” in air boats along with ATVs in an effort to ferry in sandbags to shore up the clay levee under stress from the wind and waves.
