Carbon County won't receive any emergency funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for snow removal from the March 14 blizzard.

Kevin Steber, Summit Hill's emergency management coordinator, told Summit Hill Borough Council that only about four counties in the state will receive funding, and Carbon isn't one of them.He said this is because FEMA determined it was not a record-breaking snowfall in the county.Steber said FEMA used snow measurements taken in locations such as Beltzville.No measurements were available in Weatherly, Summit Hill and Penn Forest Township, the locations in Carbon County where it is believed the highest snow totals occurred.Steber said no one in Summit Hill is registered with the National Weather Service to measure snowfall totals.He said Carbon County Emergency Management Agency director Mark Nalesnik got the word of the fund rejection at about 4:30 p.m. Monday.Steber said Nalesnik "reached out for a second opinion from the state," but received an abrupt rejection.On a related matter, Steber said borough workers and local officials handled the blizzard cleanup well in Summit Hill.He said no mechanical problems with equipment arose. There were no emergency medical or fire calls in the community.However, the fire department did respond to a mutual aid call in another community.Panther Valley School District employees helped the fire apparatus return to the borough after the fire call because "PennDOT was nowhere to be found," Steber said.A state of emergency was declared before the storm arrived. In addition, Mayor Paul McArdle also declared a snow emergency. As a result, all the alleys in Summit Hill were free of vehicles, Steber said.He said the borough workers used four plows on the town's 37.5 miles of street.Councilman John O'Gurek said most people obeyed snow parking rules and had their vehicles removed from the north and east sides of the street."People were pleased to cooperate," O'Gurek said.Council member Karen Ruzicka said that in the future, the borough might consider putting a message on its Web page urging residents to clean snow from fire hydrants near their homes and informing elderly residents to put placards on their doors if they need assistance.Steber said there was other storm information posted on the Web page. In addition, he and his wife, Kira, posted messages on Facebook."Facebook seems to be the best way to get (the message) out," Steber said. He said of his posts, more than 12,000 people viewed the site and there were 57 shares.Steber said if any resident needs medical attention during such a weather emergency, the fire department also responds.The Emergency Management coordinator said the fire department members worked for long hours in clearing hydrants of snow following the blizzard.Also praised by Steber was borough workforce supervisor Ronald Yuricheck and the other borough employees.Three borough police officers stayed in the borough for the duration of the storm, spending their off time sleeping on cots in the police station.