Daily Triplicate - Funds pay for jobs lost to tsunami

Del Norte County is slated to receive $5 million in national emergency grant funds to create temporary jobs for residents affected by the March 11 tsunami, according to the California Employment Development Department.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday that a total of $6,498,100 is being sent to Del Norte and Santa Cruz counties to help assist in the recovery effort. The money will be funneled through the state's Employment Development Department (EDD).

Dan Stephens, spokesperson for the EDD, said the funds are expected to employ a total of 271 individuals throughout both counties. He said Santa Cruz will receive $1,398,200 for the creation of 57 temporary jobs.

On April 18, President Barack Obama and the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared both counties as eligible for federal disaster aid. Gov. Jerry Brown requested federal assistance after the tsunami, generated by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan, damaged the California coast.

Tim Hoone, director of the Rural Human Services Workforce Center in Crescent City, said RHS will be overseeing the disbursement of the $5 million in federal job recovery funds for Del Norte County.

“We applied for this job creation money, (a process) which began pretty much the day of the tsunami,” Hoone said. “The tsunami resulted in at least 200 people being out of work.”

Hoone said the grant will help fund about 214 jobs in Del Norte during a project period of 12-18 months. He said workers will be utilized to help build temporary docks, restore any part of the harbor that was ravaged and repair other low-lying areas of the city and county that were damaged.

“The priority is to put those people in a temporary job because they've had a loss of income,” Hoone said of fishermen and harbor employees. “Some of these workers could be doing something as simple as picking up styrofoam from the beaches.”

All of the 214 workers won't be hired at once, as the cleanup effort is anticipated to be spread out over time, and each worker can be hired for a maximum of six months. Hoone said the majority of workers will be hired as maintenence crewman, making $10.50 an hour. He said other positions like crew supervisors and carpenters will make a bit more.

Hoone said the grant is a welcome addition to the local funds raised for fisherman by organizations like the Friends of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Congressman Mike Thompson agreed and said the funding is needed to help those constituents that are still trying to get back on their feet after the disaster.

“Months after tsunami waves battered the North Coast, many communities are still recovering from the aftermath,” Thompson said in a press release Thursday. “(The) funding will help speed up the cleanup process at our ports and coastal areas and create temporary jobs in the process.”

It'll take two to three weeks to get the actual funding and formulate a contract with the state, Hoone said. However, the RHS Workforce Center will be accepting applications starting Monday.

Applications will be available in Crescent City at both the Disaster Response One Stop at 150A Marine Way, (above the Crescent Harbor Art Gallery), and the Workforce Center, 286 M St. People can contact the Workforce Center at 707-464-8347 for more information.