Rush County received some very good news this week.

The Rush County Disaster Coordinating Committee has received a grant of $410,486 from the 2008 Indiana Natural Disaster Fund (IND Fund) to help support recovery work from the storms and floods in June and September last year.

Specific projects funded by the INDFund grant are $355,486 to rebuild the Moscow Covered Bridge and $55,000 to repair the Rush County Courthouse roof.

Tom Barnes, president of the Rush County Commissioners, was obviously pleased to learn about Rush County receiving this funding.

“The county, the county commissioners and the county council, are extremely pleased for the work that Pam (Leisure) and Mr. (Garry) Cooley have done. On behalf of all the elected officials in the county we want to thank them for their efforts. By using no tax dollars on this project, as was designed, we are taking the burden off the taxpayers of the county. I think this is fantastic,” Barnes said.

“The second part of this gift was for the courthouse damages. Without this gift the courthouse damages could not have been completely taken care of — in other words we would have had to just use what insurance kicked in — and we would have had to reduce the project scope. With this funding now available the bridge will be replaced, the courthouse roof will be repaired, and the taxpayers won’t be burdened,” Barnes continued.

Barnes added that the anticipated amount of funding still needed to pay for reconstruction of a covered bridge in Moscow was $450,000 and said that this grant will “pretty much take care of it.”

However, donations for the bridge project from private sources will continue to be sought to help cover any cost overruns that may arise and to help provide for maintenance of the bridge in the future.

Larry Stout, president of local historic preservation group Rush County Heritage, Inc. was also clearly pleased upon learning about this grant.

“This is a really big relief,” Stout said. “Our festival (the Moscow Covered Bridge Festival) is this weekend and we’re still going to work at raising money. Like Tom said, there will probably be overrides requiring additional money, but this is a big relief. We were sweatin’ it there a little bit.”

Plans are for some of the preliminary work associated with reconstruction of the bridge to begin this weekend.

Stout said visitors to the bridge festival will have an opportunity to see some of that work take place.

“The project is going to be started during the festival. The bridge builder, Dan Collom, will be out there cutting and notching pieces that will be used on the bridge. It may be about a month before the actual construction begins.”

Stout said all parties involved are making every effort to make sure the new bridge is as close to the original bridge in design and appearance as possible.

If all goes well it is hoped the new bridge will be completed by spring of next year.

Rush County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Pam Leisure, who along with Rush County Community Foundation Executive Director Garry Cooley are being credited with securing these funds, said this is good news for a number of reasons.

“The reconstruction of the bridge is a huge win for Rush County. It’s one of our biggest tourist draws. It’s also the centerpiece of one of our largest festivals each year. Anytime you can bring new people into your community to eat at your restaurants or visit your local businesses it’s a win-win for Rush County,” she said.

“The Eli Lilly Foundation putting forth this money has made this project a reality and we’re very appreciative and thank the Indiana Association of United Ways and Eli Lilly,” she concluded.

Rush was one of the nine counties with funded projects.

The total of the grants in Cycle 4 of Round 2 funding is $15,838,663.

The grants come from the 2008 Indiana Natural Disaster Fund (IND Fund), established with a $45 million grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. to the Indiana Association of United Ways (IAUW).

The Rush County United Fund, Rush County Chamber of Commerce and Rush County Community Foundation formed a long-term recovery committee to propose projects ranging from assisting individuals rebuild homes to reconstructing or repairing public facilities.

“It takes time for people and communities to recover from the worst Indiana disasters in 100 years,” Larry Welker, IND Fund chairman and IAUW board member, said. “Our reviews recognize a range of recovery work that is needed even a year after the flooding. We have worked hard to coordinate with the state and other funding sources.”

The Rush County Disaster Coordinating Committee members include Leisure, Cooley, Barnes, Ken Masters, Marvin Cole, Bruce Levi, Al Hodge, Mike Ooley, Rob Puckett, Mark Bacon, Stout, Greg Hall, Marvin Rees, Mike Riggs, Phil Mitchell and Wayne Goodman.

Factors determining the competitive grant awards include local needs, available resources, the scale and type of the damage, local demographics and other funding commitments.

Applications are based on the recommendations of local United Ways or community foundations, which work with other local groups to set priorities for the funds.

The IAUW grants advisory committee includes IAUW board members and citizens with judgment and expertise in areas such as community development, financial affairs, neighborhood revitalization, rural development, local government and nonprofit organizations.

Round 1 grants provided for immediate response and funded the creation of infrastructure and support to organize and carry out the recovery work. More than four million dollars was awarded for that work in 50 counties.

Specifically, Rush County was awarded $52,500 in Round 1 for immediate needs and to begin the long-term recovery planning process. Total award amount from Round 1 and Round 2 in Rush County is $462,986.

IND Fund Round 2 comprised four application cycles. The final application cycle has concluded. Proposals for projects in the hardest-hit counties in June were made in Cycle 1 in November 2008, and received $14.3 million.

Proposals for additional projects were reviewed in December 2008, including the hard hit areas in the northwest corner of the state and received $4.3 million. Other counties with disaster declarations were reviewed in February 2009 for Cycle 3 and were awarded $2,285,031.

Counties that have received funding in this fourth cycle of Round 2 are the following:

Bartholomew County $4,393,892 for equipment at the community hospital;

Clay County up to $340,000 for documented levee work;

Jefferson County $13,900 for work on historic sites;

Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties $10, 219,235 for individual assistance;

Monroe County $300,000 for individual assistance;

Putnam County $165,150 for agricultural stabilization and drainage;

Rush County $410,486 for historic sites and public facilities.

Additional projects in six counties have been tabled pending resolution of other funding sources.