The Freeport City Council took two of the city’s largest infrastructure questions a step forward Tuesday morning, approving a planning study of six possible routes for an east-west bypass and giving its financial advisers the go-ahead to set up a line of credit that will keep the Bulldog Road wastewater treatment plant moving. The council also awarded $314,390 in long-delayed sewer repairs, welcomed back the annual Guns and Hoses charity softball tournament, and heard a sobering warning that the state’s four-laning of Highway 20 could eventually leave the city with a substantial utility-relocation bill.

Curbside collection of Hurricane Isaias storm debris begins Wednesday across Walton County, and cleanup crews will make multiple passes down every road in the county, Freeport’s included. Walton County Emergency Management Director Jeff Goldberg puts the cleanup at roughly 250,000 cubic yards of debris, about $5 million worth of work.

The Freeport Regional Sports Complex is currently closed after Hurricane Isaias left fallen trees and debris across the city park, and its facilities and playgrounds are off limits for now. The site is still open as a supply point, though, with bathrooms available and supplies from FEMA and the National Guard on hand for residents who need them.

Freeport’s business community now has a road map for Hurricane Isaias recovery. The Freeport Merchants Association is connecting storm-damaged businesses with the state’s newly activated emergency bridge loan program — interest-free loans of up to $100,000 with a November 25 application deadline.

Free meals are being served in Freeport on Monday as Hurricane Isaias recovery continues. The Salvation Army is scheduled at two sites — the Choctaw Beach Community Center at 126 Water Oak St., starting at noon and running about two hours or while supplies last, and the Walton County Planning Department parking lot at 842 State Highway 20 East.

A Walton County sheriff’s deputy came home from a long shift to find branches covering his property — and started helping his neighbors before touching his own damage. When fellow deputies found out, they showed up at his house to return the favor.

Garbage trucks return to Walton County roads Monday, Oct. 12, as the county landfill reopens and Waste Management resumes residential and commercial collection on regular schedules after Hurricane Isaias paused service across the region.

Walton County has opened water, ice and meal distribution sites as Hurricane Isaias recovery continues, and Freeport is on the list. The Freeport Sports Complex at 563 Hammock Trail E. is distributing bottled water, ice and shelf-stable meals from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Freeport came through Hurricane Isaias without the extensive damage many had feared, according to initial reports from the area — but the city spent Saturday in the dark, running its water wells on standby generator power as the region began its cleanup.

Walton County has moved from bracing for Hurricane Isaias to cleaning up after it, and officials are asking residents for help on three fronts: reporting storm damage, conserving water, and easing the strain on a dispatch center flooded with welfare-check calls.