LISBON - Today is the deadline for residents with food stamps to apply for replacement of the value they lost in food during the recent extended power outage.

Columbiana County Department of Job and Family Services Director Eileen Dray-Bardon updated county commissioners on Wednesday about the status of disaster assistance doled out since Sept. 16 by her department.

"It's been a very busy week," she said, sometimes with standing room only in the waiting area of the DJFS building in downtown Lisbon.

In the week from Sept. 16 to Sept. 23, more than 5,800 households received food stamp replacements representing the value of food lost during the power outage throughout the county. According to Dray-Bardon, the biggest loss for most residents dealt with food from their refrigerators and freezers.

The state provided the county DJFS with $55,000 for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families disaster assistance and $11,000 for Non-TANF disaster assistance to help residents who qualified under the income guidelines to recover from the high wind storm. Awards were limited to up to $250 for each qualifying household.

The aid for non-TANF ran out, but Dray-Bardon said they've notified the state in hopes of getting more funding and have continued to take applications just in case.

According to her figures, the agency distributed $15,745 for 66 applications for TANF assistance with food loss, with another 73 applications still pending, some which included damaged skirting on trailers.

The agency distributed $10,115 for food loss for Non-TANF assistance for 45 applications. Another 35 applications remained pending.

Commissioner Penny Traina praised all the help given to people without power and the coming together of communities, referring to a letter sent by United High School Principal Bill Young about the contributions received from local businesses, high school groups and organizations. Volunteers served more than 1,000 meals to area residents over a four-day period at United High School, which also opened its showers to residents. The Columbiana County Career and Technical Center and Leetonia K-12 campus also opened their doors for residents to shower since many had no water besides having no power.

In other business, the commissioners signed a contract for engineering services with MS Consultants of Youngstown for $127,752 to draw up the plans for a regional sewage treatment plant to serve the county jail, Tobin Center, Robert Bycroft School and sheltered workshop on County Home Road.

The total cost of the project has been estimated at more than $1 million. The county engineer's office, the Multi-County Juvenile Attention System which oversees the Tobin Center and the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities which oversees the Bycroft school and workshop will share in the cost. The cost breakdown for each entity was 43.5 percent or $478,065 for the county, 9.8 percent or $107,702 for MCJAS and 46.7 percent or $513,233 for MRDD.

The commissioners also gave the engineer's office permission to apply for a $46,500 loan at 4.85 percent for 10 years to cover the tap fees for Roseview Acres residents who want the fee placed on their taxes. The money they pay on their tax bills will then repay the loan. The loan money will cover the remainder of the construction loan due to be repaid next month for the sewage treatment plant for the housing complex. The plant will serve 29 properties. About 20 of the households paid the $4,500 tap fee up front. The user fee is about $38 per month.

Traina reported the county received a Drug-Free Workplace safety grant for $6,986 from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. She had applied for the funding twice before.