European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 19, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Doily Magazine something else blew in from the East after deadly twister ravaged grand Island last june a churning mass of Federal grand rebuilding from by Scott Kraft associated press the husky voice of Tornado sirens moaned through the pounding Dean and Ann Rupp grabbed their two infant children and headed for the Bud Mas ten jumped into the cab of a pickup outside his liquor Doris Mcbride led her 88yearold Friend to Ron and Linda Anderson rustled up their seven children and went for a wet wind whipped Trees full of summer within tornadoes from the the the West and the they flatten ing a fifth of grand five people were 700 buildings through that night last june the Community of 000 without phones or on a Calm sea of shortly after a churning mass of Federal agencies the likes of which folks there had never seen blew in from the the acronyms of bureaucracy went up All Over town the departments of Commerce and the the Small business veterans Farmers Home adminis social Security administration and Federal Highway stirring this huge pot of alphabet soup was Fema the Federal emergency management i didst have the slightest idea what the hell they were doing said grand islands crusty Bob he soon it was one bureaucratic invasion nobody though some wondered about its mysterious when the president declares a major As he did 23 times in he unlocks the and Feder Al emergency assistance agencies bring taxpayer Money to the in this president Carter himself flew to the shattered town and promised you wont be aban the nation is behind on 21 major disasters Are declared every year and government is cast As Rich Uncle and consoling More than 150 Federal officials from 15 agencies con verged on grand Fema set up shop in a new salvation army building with 83 Engi neers and Green desks were lined up end trend newly installed Telephone lines snaked from the the Small business administration hired a dozen clerks from the Community and moved into a vacant storefront on main Street under a hand painted sea another 13 Federal agencies made room for the new troops in their Small permanent and state emergency officials set up shop in the county courthouse basement and at City the officials estimated found apartments for the took applications for Loans and rebuilding a liquor to reopen february processed forms in of course and listened to sad Story after sad they housed 515 Many in Mobile Homes from the governments own they dished out food Grants and Low interest Loans for million and spent million on a cos sharing basis with the county and City cleaning up debris and repairing Public when the Shock of the disaster had and grand Island was struggling to its Many gave the government High the government were True salvation to this says banker Mike there was some grumbling Over bureaucratic delays and Federal workers who seemed to run headlong into their own rules and regulations canons that to grand Island seemed curiously irrelevant at insensitive at seven months after the 261 loan and Grant applications had not been a government regu lation had forced some families to wait an extra month for emergency Federal Money to restore a business District  be released without a two year environmental Impact study and probably  be approved anyway because much of the City is in a flood and mayor Kriz says a dozen police and fire depart ments who came to grand islands Aid planned to Chalk their expenses up to but now we have to ask for a Bill because the government is going to help grand islands misfortune was not the biggest task taken on by the government Relief forces in but it was far from the one Federal official called it the worst concentrated damage Ive Ever the Hodgepodge of Federal assistance helped Many but others waited Long months for the Quick help they needed and and a few who lost every thing simply fell through the our Job int to wipe away the but to place continued on pages 1415 the stars and stripes Page 13