By KTEN
SULPHUR, Okla. (KTEN) — A meeting was held at Crossway First Baptist Church in Sulphur on Tuesday afternoon, intended to give local business owners more information on rebuilding after devastating storms on April 27th destroyed much of downtown.”
“We’re here to make sure this is handled in the long term.”
Business owners heard from agencies at the local, state, and federal level, about various channels of financial and structural recovery.
“We’ve made a really big effort in just a few days to get any property owners, business owners, here.” Stated Sulphur Chamber of Commerce President Seandra Ramer. Ramer was one of the main people behind the meeting. “I think it’s just to basically let it be known what’s available, and see if there are any other federal funds that we could possibly tap in to.
Unemployment insurance and assistance, as well as job search services were among the topics discussed.
“Making sure that we understand what the needs of the community are, so we can make sure that those are still being met as the weeks continue to go on from the actual event itself.” Stated Oklahoma Emergency Management Director Annie Vest
Many business owners, like Adam Trenk, feel that the meeting did not meet their expectations.
“Honestly, I don’t feel like it was that helpful. We’ve got an alphabet soup of government agencies here just telling us that there’s money available, but you either have to repay it at an interest rate that may be difficult for you to afford, or you don’t qualify for it.” He said. “We could use some help right now, and instead, we’ve just been given the run-around.”
