Du Quoin Schools to Tap FEMA for DHS Construction Grant

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The recent award of an $800,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to the Waterloo, Ill. school district to help with construction of that district's school is the impetus for Du Quoin's own grant application, which will hit FEMA's door by the February 11 deadline.

Dr. Gary Kelly, district superintendent, said he has no idea as to if or to what extent Du Quoin's own grant application will be successful. He said looking for every dollar to assist in Du Quoin's capital construction and curriculum is always top of mind.

The application will be forwarded to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and ultimately FEMA by the Carbondale-based Greater Egypt Regional Planning and Development Commission.

The program is called the "hazardous mitigation" grant program and involves money to make public buildings safer in the event of a natural disaster like earthquakes.

"Some of these grants amount to several hundreds of thousands of dollars," he said. He said he has no idea what an award would amount to, but he said the design and construction of the planned Du Quoin High School incorporates many of the FEMA design concepts.

He said the guidelines include the use of added structural steel in key building components.

There are also techniques that allow buildings to flex slightly to absorb impacts from earthquakes. Others involve minimizing the falling debris from a geological event.

The total value of District 300 high school construction program is a little over $18 million.