$4.38 Per Bale

Will Be Available

June 9-12 As

Effort Wraps Up

By BILL JONES

Staff Writer

Greene County farmers who ordered hay last fall and winter through the Operation Hay Relief program can pick up rebate checks at the Greeneville-Greene County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security between June 9 and June 12.

The office is located on the first floor of the former Andrew Johnson School on South Main Street.

The rebate announcement came during a Wednesday news conference held by Greene County Mayor Alan Broyles and Greeneville-Greene County EM&HS Director Bill Brown.

The two officials used the occasion to thank volunteers and release final statistics for Operation Drought Relief programs that were launched last fall after months of drought left some residents with dry drinking water wells and some farmers without water for cattle.

Photo ID Is Required

Brown said farmers who ordered hay through the Operation Hay Relief program will receive rebates of $4.38 per bale of hay they purchased.

In order to receive a rebate check, Brown said, farmers who placed orders for hay through the program must stop by the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., June 9-12, and present photo identification.

Only the person who actually ordered the hay may claim the rebate check, Brown said.

Brown apologized for the delay in issuing rebate checks, but noted that the amount could not be determined until after all hay transportation charges were submitted by trucking companies and paid in full.

Billing by some of the trucking companies that transported hay from Arkansas to Greene County had been late, Brown said.

Brown said the rebates are derived from the amount of money the Operation Hay Relief program had left over after it paid all the expenses associated with purchasing hay in Arkansas and having it transported to Greene County.

Financial Figures

Barbara Southerland, treasurer of the Operation Hay Relief Task Force appointed last year by Greene County Mayor Alan Broyles, said the total cost was $79,345.52 for the 2,270 4-foot-by-5-foot bales of hay ordered by 109 Greene County farmers. The cost was $56,830.89 to transport the hay to Greene County, Southerland said.

After all expenses were paid, Brown said, the Operation Hay Relief program had $9,741.12 left over, thanks largely to the fact that trucks operated by Bush Hog, LLC, had transported free of charge seven loads of hay from Arkansas to Greeneville.

Brown noted that those funds are being used to pay the $4.38-per-bale rebates.

He pointed out that some farmers had opted not to accept the rebates and to allow the rebate funds they would have received to be shared with other farmers.

Thanks Offered

Mayor Broyles thanked members of the Operation Hay Relief Task Force he appointed, volunteer firefighters and Emergency Management Agency volunteers for their efforts.

He also thanked:

* So-Pak-Co for donating use of its West Irish Street warehouse and forklift;

* Premium Waters for donating more than 6,000 gallons of bottled water;

* the Greene Farmers Co-Op for donating fuel and oil for the Operation Hay Relief Program;

* Johnson City Chemical for donating materials;

* Lee Tractor of Abingdon, Va., for donating a tractor for use in unloading hay;

* Bush Hog, LLC, for transporting seven loads of hay free of charge;

* volunteer firefighters for pumping water for farmers;

* the second grade classes of Mosheim School for a financial donation to Operation Hay Relief; and

* students of DeBusk School for a financial donation to Operation Hay Relief.

Broyles said he had no doubt that the efforts of volunteers to supply drinking water for people and animals, and hay for cattle, kept many Greene County cattle from being sold and sent to the slaughter house.

The mayor and EM&HS Director Brown also discussed final statistics for the various Operation Drought Relief programs, which began on Oct. 23, 2007, and continued until April 23, 2008, when the last two programs ended.

'Operation Agriculture'

The first program to be launched (on Oct. 23, 2007,) was dubbed "Operation Agriculture" by Broyles and Brown.

As part of that program, they said, 15 Greene County volunteer fire departments and the Greeneville Fire Department spend 1,178 man-hours pumping 485,780 gallons of water from Lick Creek, the Nolichucky River and other natural water sources into portable containers brought to temporary pumping stations by farmers whose water sources for cattle had dried up.

Water pumping ended last Dec. 22 after winter rains refilled many formerly dry ponds and small streams.

'Operation Potable Water'

Another drought-relief program aimed at supplying county residents whose drinking water wells had dried up or become muddy due to ongoing drought conditions with free bottled drinking water also was launched last Oct. 23.

Called "Operation Potable Water" by Broyles and Brown, the program saw Emergency Management Agency volunteers spend 610 man-hours distributing 6,173 gallons of bottled drinking water to 727 Greene County residents.

The water had been donated by Greeneville-based Premium Waters, according to Broyles and Brown.

Brown said on Wednesday that he still has concerns about the status of many drinking water wells across Greene County if dry conditions return later this summer.

He and Mayor Broyles said some 40 residences served by private drinking-water wells in the Houston Valley community are of particular concern.

Brown said Mayor Broyles is working on a long-term plan to help those residents obtain utility drinking water.

'Operation Hay Relief'

The third prong of the drought relief program, dubbed "Operation Hay Relief," was launched last Nov. 9 and officially ended on April 23, 2008.

As part of "Operation Hay Relief," 1,408 4-foot-by-5-foot round bales of milo hay and 862 round bales of Bermuda hay were purchased and trucked to Greeneville for distribution to 109 local farmers who had placed orders (and paid for) the hay.

Local Emergency Management Agency volunteers spent 1,114 man-hours receiving and distributing the hay to farmers at a So-Pak-Co warehouse on West Irish Street, Brown said.

In all, Brown said, EMA volunteers and volunteer firefighters devoted 2,902 man-hours carrying out the three Operation Drought Relief programs.

County Commissioner Hilton Seay, a member of the Operation Hay Relief Task Force appointed last fall by Mayor Broyles said his calculations indicated that the number of volunteer hours expended on the three programs equaled 72.55 weeks, if done by one individual.