Pennsylvania Conservation Corps Assists With Recovery Efforts

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 27-- Gov. Tom Ridge today announced the mobilization of the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps (PCC) to assist elderly and disabled residents with clean-up efforts in flood- ravaged counties across the commonwealth.

Corps members were sent to assist residents in Bedford, Dauphin, Lackawanna and Washington counties. Crews will work daily until further notice assisting residents in affected communities with ice and debris removal.

These young men and women are excellent examples of Pennsylvanians coming together to help each other in a time of crisis, Ridge said. Their hard work and dedication gives residents in need of extra assistance the ability to recover from this unfortunate disaster.

The Pennsylvania Conservation Corps Act allows the Corps to respond in times of emergency. Corps members were most recently assigned to the Blizzard Brigade, dispatched to assist with snow-removal in Southeastern Pennsylvania in early January. Members also have provided assistance in declared disasters in Pennsylvania in 1985 and 1986, and traveled to assist in recovery efforts in Homestead, Fla. After Hurricane Andrew and in Kansas after the devastating floods of 1994.

Launched in 1984, the PCC provides job training and personal development programs for economically disadvantaged Pennsylvanians ages 16-25 years old. Since its inception, the Corps has undertaken more than 600 rehabilitation and construction projects in urban, suburban and rural areas throughout the state.

The PCC is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. CONTACT: John Comey of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania News Bureau, 717-671-7508 16:11 EST