EKB News

KENTUCKY....
Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford says the housing shortage in the county is serious, and something must be done to help those displaced by recent flooding. He says some who have worked hard all their lives lost almost everything they had when tremendous flooding swept across the region in July. He says Pike County has given us much to be proud of, and, now, it's time for us to give something back while helping our neighbors get back on their feet. A forum was held at the Expo Center in Pikeville Friday to look for solutions to a housing shortage left by recent flooding in Pike County. Two floods in 13 months have destroyed hundreds of homes. Local leaders and TECO coal officials are discussing using reclaimed mine land to build permanent homes, but that could take years. Representatives from HUD, the USDA, Kentucky Housing Corporation, and the Department for Local Government have pledged to help. County officials are talking with Pikeville College officials to renovate the old Days Inn Motel and turn it into temporary housing until permanent solutions are found.