Flood cleanup efforts continue in Austin.

Wednesday, July 19, 2000

Flood cleanup efforts continue in Austin.

The Salvation Army Austin Corps (437-4566) and the Mower County chapter of the American Red Cross (437-4589) continue to offer assistance to victims of the July 9-10 flood in the city.

Both organizations are also in need of volunteers to go into homes and help residents with their cleanup efforts.

Anyone interested in helping may contact either organization.

Red Cross at work

The Red Cross chapter has provided emergency services to 110 families and nearly 100 trained Red Cross disaster volunteers have worked to serve 2,448 meals, distribute 211 clean-up kits and provide 63 individuals and families with mental health support.

Austin Mayor Bonnie Rietz and her husband Dr. Tim Rietz announced they have donated their Minnesota sales tax rebate monies to the local Red Cross chapter’s disaster relief fund.

"As I drove around the city to survey the flood’s devastation, it was truly heart-warming to see the generosity of the Red Cross and the dedication of their volunteers as they provided a warm smile and a bite to eat to those working to clean up their homes," the mayor said.

Special tax relief

Disaster area property owners, who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed losses from the recent severe storms and flooding may be eligible for special tax relief.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, a special rules applies only to counties included in the President’s disaster declaration.

Property owners may choose to deduct casualty losses on either their 1999 or 2000 federal income tax returns.

For more information, call the IRS at 1-800-829-3676.

The IRS also announced it will suspend collection activities until Sept. 15 for all adversely-affected taxpayers in the declared disaster area.

The area includes Mower, Fillmore, Houston and Dakota counties.

Unemployment assistance

The Minnesota Department of Economic Security is making disaster unemployment assistance available to eligible workers.

Workers in Mower, Fillmore and Houston counties whose employment was affected by severe storms and the resulting flooding may be eligible.

A 30-day period during which applications must be filed is underway.

Applications are available at Minnesota WorkForce Centers in Austin, Albert Lea, Rochester and Winona.

They are also available at the emergency management office at Preston in Fillmore County and the emergency management office at Caledonia in Houston County.

The application filing period ends Aug. 18.

Free well testing

Clinics to test drinking water, livestock watering systems and irrigation wells for nitrates in Mower County will be held Thursday.

The two-hour clinics begin at 9 a.m. at the Mowe County Courthouse in Austin and Grump’s Restaurant at Grand Meadow at 1:30 p.m.

The clinics are part of a statewide series of water-testing clinics being offered throughout 2000.

At the same time, designated master gardeners will be present to look at Mower County garden and tree samples and answer questions.

Nitrates are the most common contaminants in Minnesota’s ground water and a significant number of the state’s wells have high nitrate levels.

The free water testing clinics are sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture , Minnesota Department of Health and University of Minnesota Extension Service.

For more information, call Dave Quinlan (507) 437-9552.