By JESSICA TIMS
Morning Sun Staff Writer
As soon as the tornado of May 4 blew out of the area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency moved in.

In the year since a tornado ripped through southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri, FEMA has offered monetary support to the community of Franklin as a whole and to individual families seeking assistance. The Kansas Insurance Department estimated damage done to insured property in Cherokee, Crawford, Labette and Neosho Counties on May 4 at $19 million.

"FEMA's roll, in a disaster mode is... we try to coordinate the federal response to a disaster," said Brian Bowman, a FEMA public information officer. "That includes doling out money that might be necessary to giving a person a helping hand to get back on their feet. We are not going to be their total solution. We are not designed to be that way and a lot of people do not end up needing our assistance at all. Our purpose is to be there when they really need us to do what is necessary to get them back on their feet."

FEMA and the state of Kansas set up a disaster recovery center at the Arma Community Center. There citizens who were filing for individual aid could get questions pertaining to FEMA relief answered and receive help filling out paperwork. The center was staffed by state, federal and voluntary agencies.

"It's not necessarily for people to come file for FEMA assistance; in fact it's not really the purpose for them at all," Bowman said. "It's just to put more FEMA assists on the ground near a disaster."

When applying for aid homeowners had to provide a detailed outline of how much damage their property sustained, as well as financial records including insurance coverage. Bowman said those with insurance that covered much of their losses and citizens that could receive loans and grants did not receive a lot in FEMA aid. He added that FEMA is to be thought of as a last resource for additional aid.

Some individuals found it difficult to get individual aid from FEMA, but that did not deter Nancy Kinsworthy. She applied for FEMA aid three times before being approved for temporary housing. In early June, a mobile home was delivered to the plot of land east of Franklin where Kinsworthy's home sat before it was swept away by the tornado. She received one of about 100 temporary mobile homes moved into the southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri hit by the May 4 storms.

"It has really helped because I have a roof over my head," Kinsworthy said. "If not I would have had to live in a travel trailer. It's been depressing but all year I have been hearing 'there are people worse off than you.' There were people without insurance. Even though I had it, I didn't really get anything from it."

Kinsworthy also received $10,000 in aid from FEMA when she was forced to take a mortgage payoff from her insurance company. But $10,000 is not enough for a new home. She has tried to for file for additional aid but has not received it. While she has been waiting for those problems to be resolved she has also been waiting on pending litigation with her insurance company. Kinsworthy is now seeking the value of the continence of her home, all of which was lost in the tornado, living expenses and the cost of clean-up. She hopes to use any money she receives from those claims to purchase a new home.

She said she's been given the option to buy the temporary trailer she is living in now, but added that it's not suitable for long-term living. She did find a suitable house at one time. She described it as "a dollhouse," that's "perfect for one person." Unfortunately, the newly remolded, older home had to be moved. While she already had the land, she said the cost of the home, plus the $8,000 it would have cost to move it, was beyond the $10,000 in funding she has to spend on a new dwelling.

Kinsworthy has recently put her land up for sale, although she notes that it won't be easy to part with. The farm was purchased by her grandparents and was passed down to her parents. She herself grew up on the land. She moved back seven years ago to take care of her ailing father and has lived there ever since.

"If I can't get help, I am just going to have to move away," she said. But that's not something she wants to do.

"This acreage has been in my family for a long time," she added.

Because Franklin did not have a large business community, most FEMA aid was given to individuals who had lost their homes or received damage to personal property. However, the agency did help the community with one of its biggest rebuilding efforts - a new $231,000 civic center. So far, FEMA has provided $20,865 in aid toward the planning of a new center. Once the city has insurance and is ready to build, FEMA will give another $165,000 toward the effort.

Craig Stokes, Franklin Community Council president and Rural Water District No. 7 chairman, said that in addition to aid to the city for the center, FEMA also provided aid to the water district. Stokes said FEMA reimbursed the water district $27,000 for damage done to infrastructure. He added that the progress the city has made in the last year would not have been possible without help from the agency.

"The water district would be broke," Stokes said. "For the water district alone the repairs were $29,000. The community center might have been possible eventually, maybe if you raise enough funds to rebuild it, but not without FEMA and (the U.S. Department of Agriculture) Rural Development."

He added that the city has received an additional $50,000 in Rural Development grants for the rebuilding of the center.

Just two weeks ago Franklin got additional help from USDA Rural Development when it presented a check for $1.658 million to help fund improvements to Crawford County Sewer District No. 3. About 155 homeowners will benefit from the aid. The check incorporated a $955,800 grant from the department and a $703,000 loan.

Other monetary support for the rebuilding process has come from private donors through the Franklin Community Fund. The Franklin Community Fund is an endowed sub-fund of the Pittsburg Area Community Foundation, a nonprofit group that oversees funding for several local organizations.

"What that does is it provides resources as far as technical assistance and opportunities for philanthropic causes," Stokes said. "It connects the community with donors. They provide the technical resources. The knowledge to help mange the fund and receive those funds."

Other notable contributions to Franklin's rebuilding efforts include a grant $10,000 from the Pritchett Trust for the development of a community park and a $10,000 donation from Hollywood philanthropist Paul Newman.

Phyllis Bitner, a key fundraiser and developer of the Franklin Forever website, said that while the people of Franklin are still seeking grants, fundraisers are in the works.

"We have got about $400,000 worth of projects left to build, so we are a long ways from having enough money to do everything," Bitner said. "We are sending out letters and trying to work on some fundraising."

Donations may be sent to PACF-Franklin Community Council Fund, P.O. Box 43, Franklin, KS 66735-0043.