Only a handful of counties were not named federal disaster areas after the June 2008 floods. It was a difficult time for Hoosiers, but thanks to a special Community Development Block Grant designated for disaster recovery, many communities have been able to regain lost ground. Waverly is one of those communities.
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| Lt. Gov. Skillman tours area of Waverly damaged in 2008 floods. |
Waverly has taken great strides, buying properties damaged by flooding, and moving toward the ultimate goal of creating a living history park, complete with a picture-perfect turn-of-the-century church and an old blacksmith shop. But local leaders are doing far more than rebuilding and restoring. They are leveraging grant dollars, administered through our Office of Community and Rural Development, to train fire fighters and members of Marion and Morgan County SWAT teams.
With so many structures slated for demolition, Waverly has become the perfect training ground for the National Fire Fighters Association. For the past two years, fire fighters from Indiana and across the country have been coming to Morgan County for critical training they can use to instruct colleagues back home. More than 800 fire fighters have been trained each year at the NFFA annual conference, and in 2012, they will add to that number. The county’s use of in-house labor for demolition and training purposes is now being called a best practice by FEMA.
Waverly has a vision for the future. I was impressed with the outstanding way this small community has taken a disaster and used it to their advantage, even spurring the local economy. I hope their example will inspire others to think strategically about what they can achieve and how they can get the most out of the resources available to them.
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