Sunday OC information to know

Special to The Leader
The Orange Leader

September 20, 2008 08:54 pm

— FEMA site
A FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) is open in Orange to provide face-to-face assistance to those who suffered damage from Hurricane Ike. The DRC is located at:
Orange County Courthouse
123 South 6th St.
Orange, TX 77630
The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week, until further notice.
Residents are encouraged to register with FEMA before visiting a DRC. There are two ways to register: log on to www.fema.gov or call FEMA's toll-free number, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Both numbers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until further notice.
At the DRC, visitors can:
• Receive information about different types of state and federal disaster assistance.
• Get help completing low-interest loan applications from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for homeowners, renters or business owners.
• Inquire about the status of applications for federal assistance.
• Receive referrals to the American Red Cross and other voluntary organizations to help with immediate unmet needs.
• Learn cost-effective measures to reduce the impact of future disaster losses.
Disaster assistance may include grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repair and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or other sources. Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) also are available for residential and business losses not covered by insurance or other sources.
More information is available online at www.fema.gov or www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem.

Congressman Brady
Congressman Kevin Brady will host a open town hall meeting at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Bridge City Community Center, located on the corner of Roundbunch and Parkside.

West Orange court
The Municipal Court judge of City of West Orange has announced that he will begin holding court on Thursday afternoons only beginning at 2:30 p.m. Court will be in session for those receiving citations for traffic and ordinance violations.
The Municipal Court office will be open Monday through Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.to accept payments and provide additional informationregarding citations.

American Red Cross
The Red Cross has opened a new point of distribution (POD) at 4040 IH-10W, Orange, TX 77632 (the old Luby's, opposite the Orange County Red Cross Chapter office) to distribute ready-to-eat meals, snacks, clean-up kits and comfort kits as supplies last, to people affected by the recent tropical storms and hurricanes. Saturday and Sunday hours are noon-6 p.m.
Further resources in the Orange County community are as follows:
1. The American Red Cross and FEMA have coordinated to provide hot meals from lunch to dinner at VFW Post 2775, 5303 16th St., Orange, TX 77630. Service times are 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
2. The Orange County Chapter at 3901 Interstate 10 East (MLK exit), operates from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., to distribute diapers, formula, and other personal care items as supplies last.
3. Hot food will be provided from mobile Emergency Response Vehicles at lunch and dinner at the Bridge City Wal-Mart point-of-distribution and Rose City Hall. Mobile feeding from additional Emergency Response Vehicles will be covering the Mauriceville, West Orange, Rose City and Bridge City communities distributing lunch and dinner.
4. The Red Cross and the Baptist Disaster Relief team are partnering to provide hot meals at Old First Orange Baptist Church, 7929 IH-10 East, Orange, Texas. Meals are served 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and from 4:30-7:00 p.m.
5. Bulk distribution of clean-up kits and comfort kits will be mobile in Bridge City and Rose City today.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Hurricanes of 2008, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org .