Paragould utility getting money for storm damage.(NE Journal: A Look at News From Northeast Arkansas)

Paragould Light Water & Cable said it had started receiving money from state and federal agencies to cover the $3.53 million damage caused by the January ice storm.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to cover 75 percent of the damage, and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management will reimburse PLWC 12.5 percent of the costs, said Rhonda Davis, the chief financial officer for the utility.

PLWC will cover the remaining 12.5 percent of the cost, which is more than $400,000.

"We're going to have to cut out a budgeted project," Davis said, but a project hasn't been targeted yet.

She said that she didn't know when all the state and federal money would be received, but it should be in the next couple of months. As of last week, PLWC had received $385,000.

Broken power poles, downed power lines and lost revenue from electricity and cable services caused most of the losses. Davis also said some customers didn't have electric or cable services for more than two weeks.

The losses could climb still higher. "When we go through town, we're discovering poles that are still standing but are cracked," Davis said. "We will be turning in reimbursement requests probably throughout the rest of the year."

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