Property damage is being repaired countywide, but some homeowners still are waiting on federal assistance to do so.
Southeastern Restoration Group, based in Holly Springs, has stayed busy since the Sept. 21 floods with calls from areas flooded by the Etowah River and Noonday Creek in Woodstock.
"We had two weeks of heavy calls and an additional three weeks of elevated calls," said Benny Carter, business development director for the company.
He said the company's projects, most of which are repairs to houses, could be completed by the end of November.
Commercial buildings damaged by the floods also are continuing cleanup efforts.
Repair work is ongoing at the retail center on Parkway 575 adjacent to Noonday Creek in Woodstock, where water was standing a few feet high in stores after it overflowed.
Mary Stewart, owner of the Hair Chateau in the center, said she does not intend to open back up there.
"I didn't want to go through that again," she said, adding she is taking the opportunity to move into semi-retirement. She plans to rent space in a shop off Highway 92.
According to its Web site, the Best Dang Bakery Around, located in the same center, hopes to reopen by November. Express Personnel has relocated from the center to a new location in Woodstock in the same building as the Cherokee County Tax Commissioner's office.
A FedEx office location in Woodstock off Highway 92 near the creek is expected to be open within the first couple of weeks of November, according to Sonya Thorpe, a company spokeswoman.
The Walden Chase Apartments in Woodstock have yet to reopen. Residents of the apartment community were evacuated to an emergency shelter the day of the floods and since have been relocated to other local apartment communities.
Some property owners still are awaiting federal assistance to make repairs.
Slightly more than 1,000 individuals in Cherokee have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster assistance. FEMA has approved $1.3 million in disaster assistance so far for people in the county.
As of Monday, the Small Business Administration (SBA) had issued 800 home loan applications and has received 124 completed applications so far. Of those 124, a total of 43 had been approved. The approved applications total $732,000 in aid.
The administration has issued 143 applications for business loans and has received 15 completed applications so far. Two business loan applications have been approved for a total of $54,600.
The deadline to apply for aid from FEMA or SBA is Nov. 23.
For information, call 1(800) 621-3362 or use the Web site at www.disasterassistance.gov.
Wet weather has slowed repairs as well. Cherokee saw rain all day on Tuesday, and Lake Allatoona remained above its normal pool. The level was just more than 838 feet, approximately five feet above normal pool for this time of year.
The National Weather Service is forecasting clear skies today and Thursday. A 20-percent chance of rain is predicted for Thursday evening and Friday expanding to 30 percent on Friday night and to 60 percent on Saturday.
Cliff Harden, director of the roads and bridges department for the Cherokee County government, said River Station Terrace repairs should be completed by the end of the week. Repairs to Yorkshire Road, which has one lane open, should begin next week.
"We will finish the bulk of the work within a couple of weeks," he said.
Geoff Morton, director of public works for the county, said construction has begun on Kellogg Creek Road to replace a culvert damaged by flooding. He said the road, which has been closed from Victory Drive to Woodstock Road, would be closed for at least the next 30 days.
Cathy Munroe, director of the Canton Service Center for the Salvation Army in Cherokee County, said demand on nonprofits has waned as flood victims now are dealing mostly with FEMA.
She said the organization always is available to meet clothing needs, adding the agency also assisted 55 flood-affected families by providing them with gift cards to local stores.
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