SALYERSVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — One of eastern Kentucky’s favorite sons said he loves the region from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet.
Rocky Adkins -- the former Morehead State University point guard -- is pretty tall, but at its apex, Gov. Andy Beshear’s senior advisor would have been almost completely covered in floodwater in several of these rural towns that were decimated by those late winter storms in February and early March.
“Great things are happening because eastern Kentucky is on the front-burner of the governor’s office every day, to help us recover,” Adkins said.
Adkins and Beshear made a three-town tour of the region on Thursday morning to deliver news that President Joe Biden -- at the governor’s request -- declared the region a disaster to allow much-needed federal dollars to begin flowing through these communities.
“Individual homeowners here, that have been able to document their damage, are going to be able to apply for between 30 and 40,000 dollars to help pay off those debts, to help rebuild and help get their lives back on track,” Beshear said.
Beshear also delivered a separate check for infrastructure improvements including, but not limited to, the expansion of the Mountain Parkway to two lanes in each direction all the way into Salyersville. Following that presentation, the governor spoke of the empathy the president displayed during their conversation about what happened here.
“That was helpful because while the administration knew about the snow and ice that hit so hard, they hadn’t fully heard about how hard this region had been hit; that Beattyville and others were underwater for several days,” Beshear added.
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