{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wicker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=B9C1E2CE-9454-491E-96B8-F29AC87CDE14", "Wicker, Cochran, & Harper Announce Oktibbeha Co. Safe Room Funding", "2017-11-07", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Roger Wicker", "W000437", "www.wicker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and Congressman Gregg Harper, R-Miss., today announced a $1.54 million award to Oktibbeha County for construction of a domed multipurpose safe room in Starkville. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing funding through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to construct Phase II of the Oktibbeha County Safe Room at 607 Lynn Lane in Starkville.\u00a0 The 8,756-square-foot monolithic dome facility will be designed to have 7,910 square feet of usable space to serve almost 1,600 students, staff and residents. \u201cI\u2019m thankful the people of Starkville and Oktibbeha County will soon have a safe place to seek shelter,\u201d\u00a0Wicker\u00a0said.\u00a0 \u201cStorm shelters are essential to ensuring students, faculty, staff, and citizens are protected from Mississippi\u2019s unpredictable and often dangerous weather.\u201d \u201cOktibbeha County and FEMA will construct this facility to provide new options for staying safe during severe weather.\u00a0 I\u2019m pleased this funding has been awarded to help make the community better prepared for emergency situations,\u201d said Cochran. \u201cWith the recent storms and severe weather that devastated many communities across our nation, the need for storm shelters is more apparent than ever,\u201d said Harper.\u00a0 \u201cThe funding and construction of this multi-purpose safe-room will greatly increase severe weather protections for the people of Starkville and Oktibbeha County.\u201d Combined with $242,802 in Phase I design and engineering funding awarded in December 2014, FEMA is making $1.79 million available overall for this project, which will cost $2.04 million to complete.\u00a0 FEMA\u2019s contribution amounts to 87 percent of the overall cost, with the remainder to be funded with nonfederal resources. The safe room will be built to FEMA 361 standards to withstand winds up to 250 mph.\u00a0 This standard allows short-term protection for the public during server weather situations.\u00a0 The facility would also be available for community meetings and events. Oktibbeha County will operate and maintain the dome facility by providing for construction and maintenance.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.wicker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=B9C1E2CE-9454-491E-96B8-F29AC87CDE14"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.194508047774434, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}