SHAMOKIN - A crew was clearing flood debris from the Shamokin Creek channel last week, paid for by a federal grant that is putting to work a handful of the area's unemployed.
Crews are also working to clean out debris and dirt from the basement of the American Legion Building in downtown Shamokin, home to the public library, and they are also expected to clear debris from the channel of Quaker Run in Ranshaw.
Work will also be performed in Mount Carmel along the Shamokin Creek and along Hillside Drive and Seventh Street, according to Pennsylvania CareerLink's Penny Hess, program coordinator for the grant.
All of it will benefit area communities without denting municipal budgets.
More than $730,000 was awarded late last year by the U.S. Department of Labor to Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corp., Lewisburg. Hess said additional grant funding could be realized, as about $1.3 million was requested.
The money is being used to provide both work and training to employees who lost their jobs due to the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee, as well as the long-term unemployed.
Most of the 28 people hired for the six-month positions are tasked to clean out flood debris and rebuild
damaged structures, among other assignments. Two of the employees work with Central Susquehanna Opportunities Inc., Shamokin, in humanitarian roles, working directly with flood victims.
The work is spread over five counties - Northumberland, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour and Snyder - and the funding is separate from any emergency funding flood-affected municipalities may have applied for.
Employees are hired for six months, are paid between $11 and $13 an hour, and are trained in safety and health standards, first aid and chain saw use, according to a Workforce Development press release.
Hess said employees are also required to spend more than four hours a week at a CareerLink in pursuit of permanent work.
If more work is identified this coming spring, Hess said additional employees could be hired.
Nonprofit organizations and public agencies interested in securing cleanup assistance for flood-related projects can contact Hess at 387-6288.