Help for tornado victims on the way

By Staff
Dec. 29, 2002
In the wake of a devastating tornado that struck Newton 10 days ago and high winds that wrecked homes in Lauderdale County on the same day, the U.S. Small Business Administration is opening offices to assist victims.
The SBA disaster assistance offices will help homeowners and business owners in nine East Mississippi counties apply for low-interest loans for property damaged in Clarke, Jasper, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott and Smith counties.
Anyone who had any damage caused by the severe thunderstorm and tornadoes should discuss their situation with an SBA loan officer, whether they had some insurance or no insurance. The deadline for physical damage applications is Feb. 24 and the deadline for economic injury applications is Sept. 24, 2003.
Applicants should come to the SBA offices with any available insurance information, their Social Security number and the address of the damaged property.
Interest rates to repair disaster-damaged homes, businesses and the property of non-profit organizations can be as low as 2.937 percent for homeowners and renters and 3.324 percent or businesses with terms up to 30 years.
We encourage people whose property was damaged and whose lives were so terribly disrupted to take advantage of the SBA programs.