FRANKFORT, Ky. — Parked outside the Kentucky Capitol on Thursday was one of 200 travel trailers that will serve as a temporary home for victims of the tornadoes that struck Western Kentucky last month.
What You Need To Know
- Kentucky purchased 200 travel trailers for families in need of temporary shelter
- Gov. Andy Beshear said 20 of the trailers would be ready for move-in Friday
- Funding for the trailers came from House Bill 5
- The first group will go to families with school-aged children
Gov. Andy Beshear announced that the first 20 will be ready for move-in Friday.
“These 200 travel trailers will provide much needed medium-term housing for our people," he said. "When we look at how devastated so many of these communities are, it’s not like other disasters where you can place people in other homes or apartments in those communities.”
The trailers are 27 to 36 feet long and were purchased new from Kentucky vendors, according to local leaders.
The funds came from the unanimous passage of House Bill 5.
Bill sponsor Rep. Richard Heath (R, Mayfield) said 400 homes and 147 businesses in his hometown of Mayfield are gone.
“The need for the trailers is great and being able to expedite those and get those in quick is also great and we thank everybody involved," he said.
The first group of trailers will go to families with school-aged children and at least 14 families were expected to get their keys on Friday, Beshear said.
Anyone interested in moving into one of the trailers should contact their county judge executive or emergency management director, according to Kentucky Emergency Management.
School superintendents from the impacted communities told lawmakers Thursday that they will need help for a long time.
“It’s very difficult," said Joe Henderson, superintendent of Mayfield Independent Schools. "The kids ride on buses through that community every day and they see that and it’s taken a mental toll on a lot of our families and a lot of our kids."
Leonard Whalen is superintendent of Dawson Springs Independent School District.
“Almost 20 percent of my staff lost their homes, lost their vehicles, lost all their belongings, and we missed 14 days of school and we’re back at it," he told lawmakers.
Sen. Stephen West (R, Paris) called House Bill 5 “a down payment” and Sen. David Givens (R, Greensburg) said lawmakers stand ready to provide all the funds they can.