By TOM KANE

NARROWSBURG - "We have a bridge that we can't use and four camp sites that we can't reach," said Rich Greene, manager of the Ten Mile River Boy Scout Camp.

For Greene, this is a big part of the aftermath of the storm that hit the area three weeks ago.

"There wasn't any serious damage to the camp, except for the bridge," he said.

The Ten Mile River Boys Scouts of America Camp spreads over 14,000 acres below Narrowsburg. The bridge is the old Stone Arch Bridge over Ten Mile River that was nearly bowled over by waters that swelled three feet over its top. The bridge is serviced by Sullivan County's Department of Public Works but the road belongs to the Town of Tusten.

The rushing water cut a trench six feet deep in front of the bridge and lifted large trees and boulders, pushing them against the approach to the bridge.

Somehow, the bridge held.

"It's very well made," Greene said.

Even though it survived, the bridge cannot be used and will be closed for many months, according to county officials. County and Town of Tusten officials have expressed determination to restore the bridge to its former grandeur, using federal money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and from monies available through the National Register of Historic Places on which the bridge is listed.

The bridge was listed only five months ago, according to Mary Curtis, a local historian.

"There are four camp sites in that part of the woods, all the way up to the railroad bridge," Greene said. These camps are primarily used after the regular camp season ends when scouts want to come during the fall. "There are latrines in there and we can't service them when the bridge is out," he said.

"A group used those camp sites last week because they were coming in by canoe and there was no problem with access," Greene said.

This summer the camp housed 5,614 scouts with about 250 employees, he said.

In other flood-related news, FEMA officials will meet on Wednesday, September 6 at 2:00 p.m. with municipalities affected by the storm to explain what they must do to receive funding from the federal agency. The meeting will be held at the county emergency services training facility located on the second floor of the FBO hangar at the county airport in White Lake, NY.