Palm Beach County Bar trucks relief supplies to Southwest Florida
Jeanne Brander, from the left, Scott Smith, and Jessica Gonzalez
Palm Beach County Bar Association President Scott Smith, center, recently drove a truck full of donated goods over to the west coast to help victims of Hurricane Ian.
PBCBA members donated everything from paper towels, to diapers, to food, and much more. Pictured with Smith is Jeanne Brander, PBCBA membership coordinator, and Jessica Gonzalez, the bar’s lawyer referral coordinator.
Lee County reached a milestone earlier this week by collecting 1 million cubic yards of debris from Hurricane Ian, according to the county government. As of Monday morning, 734,136 cubic yards of vegetation and 285,282 cubic yards of construction and demolition debris had been cleaned up. That is roughly equivalent to the size of 1.1 million kitchen ovens removed from the road right-of-ways in unincorporated Lee County.
During the entire Hurricane Irma cleanup effort in 2017, Lee County removed 1.95 million cubic yards of debris in about four and a half months, according to the county. At the current pace, the county expects to have removed the same amount of Hurricane Ian debris by the week of November 7, representing collection rate 77% faster than after Hurricane Irma.
The county says roughly 25% of the estimated 4 million cubic yards currently sitting curbside has been collected. Due to the extensive damage countywide, county staff expects more debris will be brought to the curb in the coming months.
First-pass collection on Estero Boulevard in Ft. Myers Beach and Hickory Boulevard in Bonita Springs tackled another kind of debris. The county reports the roadway was completely covered in sand that required removal to allow safe passage for vehicle traffic. To date, the county said more than 69,000 cubic yards of dirty sand has been collected and taken to multiple debris management sites to be screened of debris. Lee County has been cleaning its beaches in order to receive the newly-screened sand in an effort to begin restoration of the coastline.
