Some damages reported during storm, including KSU memorial, and power outages mostly fixed

Portage County is slowly recovering from last week's storms, but some damage remains — including damage to the Kent State University's memorial to students killed and injured on May 4, 1970.

The storm knocked out power to 25,000-plus customers in Portage County early Friday, but most had their power restored over the weekend.

Kent State May 4 memorial damaged

Kent State University reported online by the university's Kent State Today publication that several large branches had damaged the granite at the May 4 memorial

KSU spokeswoman Emily Vincent said an assessment of the damage was still pending Monday.

"We're still assessing," she said. "We don't have any idea what the options are. It's all too early in the process."

The memorial was dedicated on May 4, 1990, the 20th commemoration of the day four students were killed and nine were wounded by members of the Ohio Army National Guard during an anti-war demonstration. The memorial’s design was developed from a concept submitted by Chicago architect Bruno Ast to the university’s National Design Competition in 1986.

The memorial, which overlooks the commons on the Kent campus, is constructed of carnelian granite. A wall is built along the memorial entry. The plaza ends in a jagged, abstract border. The words "Inquire, Learn, Reflect" are engraved in the plaza’s stone threshold.

Who is still without power?

In the wake of a storm with high winds last week that left thousands without power in Portage County Friday, FirstEnergy Corp. reported that 20 of its customers countywide were still without power as of Tuesday morning.

These customers were dispersed among eight communities. It was estimated that all would be restored between late morning and mid-afternoon.

FirstEnergy reported that 25,000-plus Portage County customers were without power countywide on Friday at one point. More than 10,000 were without power Saturday morning, with numbers continuing to drop to around 1,200 Monday morning.

FirstEnergy said a total of about 310,000 of its Northeast Ohio customers were impacted by outages during the storm. Ohio Edison said that repair crews, including contractors, were working around the clock after the storm to restore electricity.

Streetsboro mayor powerless to help

In Streetsboro, the storm downed trees and wires across roads and knocked out power citywide. Schools were closed Friday for what was to be the first full day of school in the district but reopened Monday.

Mayor Glenn Broska took to Facebook to tell residents that he was in the same boat as them. Many Streetsboro residents, including the mayor, had their power restored Sunday night.

"Please do not pm, dm or text me, demanding that I do something about it and reminding me that you pay your taxes," he stated. "I have no influence with them whatsoever. If I did, I’d have power already and yet I’m in the same boat you are. I don’t know when the power will come back on but I will be grateful when it does."

Aid offered to people in need

The Haven of Portage County offered shower services to those who had lost power. Residents were encouraged to call ahead to schedule a shower time.

First Energy customers who were still without power can pick up a free bag of ice and two gallons of water at several Giant Eagle stores in the region, including Ravenna, Rootstown, Streetsboro and Stow. This offer is good until noon Thursday or until supplies run out.

Heather Rainone, director of development and marketing for the United Way of Portage County, said the United Way's 211 contact center received only two calls for food assistance since Friday. Both of those callers were connected with resources in their area, she said.

Some damages reported, but not enough for assistance

Ryan Shackelford, director of the Portage County Emergency Management Agency, said Monday that high winds caused damage throughout the county, but based on reports received, he does not believe overall damage comes close to qualifying for financial aid under Ohio or federal EMA guidelines.

"The entire county was impacted from Aurora to Deerfield," he said. "We had a lot of damage as it pertained to trees on power lines breaking poles — obviously, a lot of utility disruptions. We had a few homes with trees that landed on them or damages to sheds and detached structures, but nothing significant as it pertains to the emergency management realm where we have a large swath of damages or tornado damages. Most of it was just straight line winds or high winds."

Shackelford said the EMA received a few reports of homes sustaining tree damage in the northern part of the county, specifically in Streetsboro, Garrettsville and Mantua. A house under construction on Mantua Center Road, with only exterior walls up, was demolished. The other homes would likely be only "affected," the lowest of four levels of damage used by FEMA.

A home in Streetsboro might be considered to have sustained "minor" damage, the next level up because it lost a chimney, but Shackelford said he suspects FEMA would still rate this home to only be affected.

Under FEMA guidelines, an affected structure is one that sustains cosmetic damage only to the home itself, plus perhaps damage to a porch, carport, garage and/or outbuilding.

Minor damage would involve non-structural components such as windows, doors, wall coverings and the roof, but no structural damage, including displacement from its foundation.

Affected structures and those sustaining minor damage are still habitable.

With "major" damage, the next level up, the home has been displaced from its foundation and/or there is other structural damage. A home in which there is at least 50% of non-structural components damaged could also qualify and could still be habitable.

The highest damage level, said Shackleford, is "destroyed."

To qualify for emergency financial assistance, said Shackelford, Portage County would have to have at least 24 homes and/or businesses sustaining damages resulting in a total of at least 40% loss in uninsured market value. If an apartment building or complex were damaged, each unit would be considered a separate home with the building's owner making an additional unit.

In addition, said Shackelford, FEMA prefers that structures be concentrated rather than dispersed over a wide area.

"Let's say I have 24 homes across the entire county," he said. "Even then they may not qualify. They like to see a ton concentrated."

Financial assistance could also be available for damages to public infrastructure, such as roads, sewrs etc., covering such costs as repairs and cleanup, including overtime costs for public employees.

However, Shackelford said for Portage County, these costs would have to total around $650,000 and he is confident the county will not come even close to this.

Shackelford said the best way for people to report damages is through an online "widget" at https://tinyurl.com/yw3yjn77 because it allows for photos to go directly into a dashboard. There is aalo a free EMA app available from the Apple Store, or Google Play for Android devices.

"Whether either [widget or app],as soon as a visitor reports damages, I get notified in my email, as well as the deputy director, and then we usually respond back pretty quickly," said Shackelford.

Shackelford said people can also call the Portage EMA at 330-297-3607 or email information to him at rshackelford@portageco.com and Deputy Director Brett Lee at blee@portageco.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Some damages reported during storm, including KSU memorial