Representatives from The Salvation Army presented Catoosa County commissioners with $96,500 in disaster relief funds at the Oct. 16 meeting. Kimberly George, from The Salvation Army, said the $1.5 million in national funds donated to the southeast area after the 2011 storms was still being divided among disaster areas such as Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.

“The Salvation Army makes a promise to our donors,” George said, “that if you donate to a disaster, 100 percent of your donation will go to those disaster relief efforts. Because the 2011 storms were so widespread throughout the southeast, the country as a whole came together and donations started pouring in. We're still working very hard to make sure all the money goes to those in need in these local areas.”

County manager Mike Helton said the money has been earmarked to help equip fire station #1 as a secondary emergency disaster center, and law officials will be able to implement an improved emergency notification system which sends texts to residents in the case of emergency or disaster warnings, to supplement the siren system.