By Angela Hatton
Murray, KY – US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke on the Senate floor today on behalf of Kentuckians affected by the remnants of Hurricane Ike. "State and local officials are working as hard as they can to survey the destruction and get help to anyone who needs it. And I expect the state will soon ask the federal government for disaster assistance which I and other will of course strongly support." Regionally, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear was in Marshall County this morning to talk to area Emergency Management teams about what the state can do to help recovery efforts. Representatives from at least five Western Kentucky counties attended the conference. Marshall County Emergency Management Director Melissa Combs says smaller counties are having trouble writing damage reports for the state because of a lack of manpower. Combs says the state has promised to provide teams to help out with assessments. Statewide damage reports are necessary before the Commonwealth can file for federal disaster aide.