Collinsville Clean-Up Continues

There wasn't any rest in Collinsville on Saturday.  Residents continued their clean-up effort after December's ice storm.  News On 6 reporter Latoya Silmon reports Collinsville was one of the first and hardest hit areas in Green Country and residents have been cleaning up the mangled mess without any help from outside contractors.

"Well, it's work but it's fun. Just a group guys out here having a good time, helping out," said Bobby Shoate.

More than 200 volunteers took to the streets of Collinsville on Saturday. 

Even the high school baseball team showed up to help.  They were prepping their throwing arms for the upcoming season, only they were playing without a game-plan.

"Not really, just throwing it on there," said Riley Murr.

120,000 cubic yards of storm debris was being taken to the dumpsite.  Volunteers of all ages went out to help the city recover from a potentially bank-breaking ice storm.

"Oh, I'm terrified. I mean worried, very much so," said Collinsville Mayor Stan Sallee.

While clean-up takes center stage this weekend, Sallee says the financial burden of the storm on his small town is never far from his mind.

"We think, to date, we've spent over three-quarters of a million to a million dollars just on getting electricity back on," said Mayor Sallee.

Sallee says FEMA plans to set up an office at city hall to help Collinsville get federal money.

"We hope we can get the 75% from FEMA and the 12 1/2 from the state. We know we're probably going to have to absorb some of that," said Sallee.

Getting all the volunteer help, the mayor says, is a big step in recovery. The more they can clean, the less money the city will spend. The volunteers don't seem to mind, even a group of teens who could be taking it easy on a Saturday.

"It's kind of a bad thing that happened here, so we're trying to help out and pitch in a little bit," said Murr.

Sallee isn't sure what the city will do with the debris, it depends on how much money they get from FEMA and if they can afford to have it turned into mulch.