Volunteers have descended upon St. Clair County in the past two weeks to help with cleanup efforts after the April 27 storms. Pictured are members of the Rock Creek Church from Louisville, Colo. in the Shoal Creek Valley.

Cleaning up massive amounts of debris following last month’s storm will be a main focus across the county over the coming weeks.

At Tuesday’s county commission meeting, several agencies offered advice to residents on how to dispose of downed vegetation and other remains from the on April 27 events.

“This has been our life here for the past several days,” County Engineer Dan Dahlke told those in attendance, saying that all county roads have been cleared for two vehicles to pass.

The Army Corps of Engineers will soon take over removing much of the debris from right-of-ways. Until that time the county has partnered with two companies, including Phill-Con Services out of Uniontown, Ala. to remove debris.

Residents are asked to separate debris into three categories:

* vegetation (not including tree stumps yet),

* construction and demolition (anything from roof shingles to bricks, masonry and lumber)

* in the coming weeks “white goods” such as refrigerators, which need to have coolant removed will be picked up.

Notification of when items such as these will be picked up off right-of-ways will be issued in the coming weeks.

Tree stumps will be picked up at a later date, as they will have to be counted by debris removal teams.

There will be several passes to pick up the debris, so residents are asked to be patient while the teams comb the county before the Corps of Engineers arrives.

In some areas, such as Ragland, people have been collecting debris in a specific location, like the city park.

One problem seen, according to the county Emergency Management Agency, is some insurance adjusters telling residents not to remove debris, which has caused some volunteers to move on to other areas.

“There is some question about the process,” County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon said of the coordination of the epic debris cleanup taking place now.

Other instances being noticed by officials includes homes where no one is able to clean up the debris. “We’ve got a great map system,” Batemon said. He said at some point the county may have to go around and use the mapping system to locate homeowners to inform them on debris, though he noted that St. Clair has no neglected property ordinance.

“The hardest thing is getting the word to people,” Ellen Haynes, Director of St. Clair’s EMA said. “They’re not necessarily out there getting newspapers or watching TV. They’re working (on the cleanup).”

County Engineer Dahlke said he will be assembling crews to go door-to-door to let people know of the process to placing debris to be picked up.

Affected by the aftermath

Commissioner Paul Manning said Tuesday, “As we all know, we’ve got people out there who are going through such a shock. They might not have heard [the removal process] the first time or the second or the third or fourth.”

Greensport Baptist Church in the Shoal Creek Valley is an official Red Cross location and across the street is the EMA’s disaster response office.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is now set up for St. Clair and surrounding residents at Moody City Hall (670 Park Avenue). Those affected are asked to bring forms of identification and proof of income.

EMA Director Haynes said many cities are working together to get areas cleaned up. Riverside has partnered with Talladega, Odenville and Moody are working together while Moody and Ragland are getting direct assistance with the Corps of Engineers.

Many churches in cities have coordinated efforts to help residents in the lead-up to FEMA coming into the county.

The volunteers

People from across central Alabama and the nation have descended upon St. Clair County to volunteer their time to help clean up the debris.

One youth group from the Rock Creek Church in Colorado drove in to help out at the Alpha Ranch in the Shoal Creek Valley.

Youth minister Jason Horning knew of the Alpha Ranch through kayaking with Chris Liverett, whose father Gary runs the ranch. “I talked to Chris and he said his dad’s ranch was destroyed, so we came to help. We thought we’d get more retirees or older people, but we got a bunch of youth instead.”

Several homes and a 6,000 square foot shop on the property were destroyed by a tornado that touched down there. Before the tornado hit, some 30 people from the ranch and neighboring homesteads packed into the Cedar House, which stood just after the entrance to the property.

The building is just a slab now, after the chimney fell in on the Cedar House. Another house at the back of the property that was home to youths as part of the ranch’s outreach service was also destroyed.

Gary Liverett said one of the first priorities is to rebuild the shop for it to be used as a central point for those affected in the Shoal Creek Valley to store equipment as they rebuild their homes.

“It’s been overwhelming how much people have helped,” Liverett said, estimating that he saw 150 people out helping at the ranch last weekend that came from as far as Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. “If we didn’t have that kind of help, I don’t think I’d have the heart to start over. When it’s cleaned up, it’s going to be like it was 22 years ago with nothing here.”

Of what he’s seen, Liverett said, “It’s changed my perspective a lot and I know has for many other people. We don’t have any crosses in our yard. We’re blessed.”

Liverett wanted to especially thank Hardin’s Chapel Bible Church for feeding and clothing those who lived at Alpha Ranch after it was destroyed.