Flood waters wipe out lives a world apart

It's been over a week since Hurricane Katrina roared through Gulf Coast communities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Monday, August 29, and the devastation is so great that relief efforts still haven't reached some areas. People are still being rescued from flood waters in New Orleans, and the mayor and governor have ordered a mandatory evacuation of that city. Displaced people up and down the coast have lost their family members, homes and jobs, and the eyes of the world have been riveted on the still unfolding tragedy.

Reports from Louisiana
"The relief has been a disaster," points out Charles "Chick" Moore. "So many people are suffering."

Moore and his wife Keithe have a home in Baton Rouge, La., but summer in Perry. This year he flew home early to assess the damage to his house and make sure that his 89-year-old mother Ruth (Davis) was safe. Speaking of the area of New Orleans where she lived in a retirement building, Moore reports, "Algiers did very well. I checked [satellite images] on Google Earth, zeroed in on her subdivision, and I could see no roof damage and no flooding."

"She desperately wants to go back. She says, 'My whole life is there,'" says Moore of his mother. "But she can't. Algiers has been closed off."

His own home in Baton Rouge was damaged by a "big ol' fallen tree, but that is totally insignificant compared to what happened in New Orleans. So many people have lost everything."

"It's an unbelievable situation," sums up Moore of the hurricane's aftermath. "It's had a major impact on Baton Rouge. It's doubled in size."

Steve and Judy Crawford of Perry have a son-in-law from New Orleans who has missing family members. John Jackson, now of Newport, Maine, is married to their daughter Lura. One of Jackson's sisters, along with her daughter and Jackson's mother, were going to remain in her home and ride out Hurricane Katrina. It was several days before he learned that his sister was safe, but Judy Crawford says, "He still doesn't know what happened to his mother."

Although they haven't yet met, Crawford says she has spoken several times on the phone to Jackson's mother. "She's super nice."

Downeast friends of Louis Zawislak of Metairie, La., will be pleased to know that he and his family are safe. Brenda Booker of Eastport spoke to his aunt, Jane (Beckett) Engfer, and learned that he and his wife had left New Orleans at 3 a.m. on the morning of the hurricane, to catch a flight from Houston to Peru where their daughter Emily is a teacher. "After the hurricane, they got in touch with friends who said that their house was okay. But that was before the levees broke," reports Booker. "They live right on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain, so all he knows right now is that he can't go back."

Zawislak, a financial advisor, is probably headed back to Houston, guesses Booker. "I think they'll stay there until they figure out what to do."

Reports from Mississippi
Bob Jamieson of Pembroke reports that his brother Ronald, who lives in Gulfport, Miss., is safe. However, his home sustained about $20,000 worth of damage. "It's livable," says Bob Jamieson. "His mother-in-law's home, which is just two houses down the street, is totally submerged. That's a whole lifetime ruined. She's in northern Mississippi with a son right now.

"He gave his pick-up to a friend who lost everything," says Bob of his brother.

Ron, his wife Sandi, and 21-year-old son Brian had nine people living with them for a time after Hurricane Katrina roared through the area. "He had a person bringing in water, and they had enough food for a week. The power just came on, so they have air conditioning now."

The Jamieson family has lived in Gulfport for over 10 years. After retiring from the U.S. Navy, Ron works for HUD as a maintenance supervisor.

"He says there's over $18,000,000 in damage to state buildings just in his section. He's busy," points out Bob. "And there's a lot of looting around so, if he isn't around, his son stays at home. If his son has to go out, Ron stays at the house.

"But he knows it could be worse," says Bob of his brother's attitude. "He lives about two miles from the main street of Gulfport, and we've all seen what happened to that.

David Gholson of Eastport has a son, Matthew, who lives in Pass Christian, one of the most devastated of the communities in Mississippi. "We didn't hear from him until Friday or Saturday," says Gholson's wife, Ann Cornelison. "All we knew was that they'd decided to stay and that no one had heard from them.

Matt, wife Heather and children Kyle, 11, and John, 7, who live in a house on stilts that is about a half-mile from the Gulf of Mexico, rode out the storm in a relative's home that was larger and located only a few miles further inland. After four or five days, and fearing breakdowns and car-jacking, several families pooled gasoline and drove the dozen or so adults and children north to Vicksburg. David reports that Matt hopes eventually to return home to do salvage work and construction. "He sounded pretty shell-shocked when I talked to him.

Cornelison reports that Matt's sister Julia, who lives in Houston, "had just started a job as a social worker for the state of Texas the week before the hurricane. They're pulling a lot of folks off their regular jobs, and she'll be going to work at the Astrodome or the Reunion Center.

Among those people from this area who are helping the hurricane victims is Kim Lehigh Crabill of Portland, a former Eastport resident, who left this week for Covington, La., where she will assist at a shelter.

Fundraiser on September 11
The Eastport Chowder House is hosting a barbecue fundraiser on Sunday, September 11, to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The event will be held from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., rain or shine, out on the deck. Grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and cold drinks will be served, and prizes will be raffled off every hour.

The people in the Gulf Coast region are in dire need of help, and everyone is urged to come and show support for this worthy cause. The Eastport Chowder House is hoping to raise as much money as possible because a charitable foundation will match all funds raised. This is an opportunity for Eastport to show its neighbors to the South that they are in their thoughts and prayers. Those unable to attend may forward all donations to the Eastport Chowder House.

Perry church seeks aid
Members and friends of North Perry United Methodist Church are participating in an effort to provide relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Efforts include collection of relief items and financial contributions, as well as a food and rummage sale.

In conjunction with the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), local Methodists are organizing the collection of items to be delivered to hurricane-stricken areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. UMCOR works in cooperation with Church World Service, an ecumenical relief agency trained to make immediate response to natural disasters.

For those who prefer to make a financial contribution, of which 100% will go directly to hurricane victims with no funds diverted for overhead, make a check payable to UMCOR and mail it to North Perry United Methodist Church, c/o Karen Raye, Treasurer, 63 Sunset Cove Lane, Perry, ME 04667. Donations may also be dropped off at the church from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 10, or brought to worship service at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

Checks made out to UMCOR also may be mailed to the Jacksonville United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 59, East Machias, ME 04630.

For those who would like to donate needed material, suggested items are listed below. All items must be new. A donation of $1 will help cover the shipping costs. Cash or checks will be accepted. Checks to cover delivery costs should be made payable to New England Conference, UMC.

It is suggested that copier paper cartons are the best size for packing, and donations of these empty boxes would be appreciated. UMCOR can use large quantities of the following new items to provide to hurricane victims: flat double-bed sheets, pillowcases, pillows, nail files or fingernail clippers (no emery boards), soap (bath-size bars in the original wrappers), terry cloth washcloths, terry cloth hand towels, combs (in original wrapper), single toothbrushes (in original wrapper), tubes of toothpaste (large sizes, no sample or travel sizes), plastic-strip sterile bandages, cloth baby diapers (no disposable diapers), diaper pins, baby washcloths, receiving blankets, baby gowns or sleepers, baby sweaters open in the front, children's blunt scissors, 12-inch rulers, ruled paper (pad, spiral, or loose leaf), pencil sharpeners (individual sharpeners with no emblems), 5-gallon buckets with re-sealable lid, bleach (two 1-quart or one 82-ounce bottle), scouring pads, scrub brushes, cleaning towels (reusable wipes), liquid laundry detergent (25-ounce or 50-ounce bottle), household cleaner (12- to 16-ounce bottle), disinfectant dish soap (16- to 28-ounce bottle), clothes pins, clothes line (50 or 100 foot lengths), dust masks, latex gloves, work gloves, heavy-duty trash bags (33 to 45 gallon) and insect repellant spray.

Those interested in contributing any of these items may drop them off at North Perry United Methodist Church, 1936 U.S. Route One, in Perry between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 10. Otherwise, please contact Dick and Cynthia Adams of Perry (853-6649), Judy Turner of Eastport (853-2559), or Pastor Margaret O'Mally of Calais (454-1236) to make arrangements for dropping off items.

All material must be collected by Wednesday, September 14. Pastor Betty Palmer of Jacksonville United Methodist Church in East Machias is organizing a delivery of items collected from Washington County to Massachusetts, where they will be airlifted to the hurricane zone by the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church.

In addition to the collection of these items, North Perry United Methodist Church will be holding a food and rummage sale 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 10, with all proceeds to benefit Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Other ways to donate
For direct contributions to the American Red Cross, call 1-800-435-7669 (1-800-HELP-NOW), or visit the website <www.redcross.org>. Direct contributions to the Salvation Army may be made by calling 1-800-725-2769 (1-800-SAL-ARMY), or by visiting the website www.redshield.org/crisis.

The employees of The First have established an account for Hurricane Katrina relief. Donations received into the account will be divided and forwarded to the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Donations to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund can be made through any The First teller at any branch, including Eastport and Calais.

Maine government assistance
Gov. John Baldacci has created a task force to assist Americans affected by Hurricane Katrina, and its first meeting took place on Monday, September 5, at the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) in Augusta.

The governor was joined at the meeting by cabinet members and representatives from several volunteer organizations. Baldacci noted that Maine citizens have generously come forward to offer their assistance to displaced residents of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The task force will identify the resources of the state government and coordinate and facilitate Maine's support for these displaced Americans, including relocation of evacuees.

The governor also received notice on September 5 that 18 Air Guard members, who are involved in satellite communications support, were headed to Louisiana.

In addition to the coordinated efforts to match existing public and private resources to the needs of evacuees from the southern states, the governor noted that the state's website offers direction for citizens interested in helping the evacuees. Visit <http://www.maine.gov/portal/katrina> for more information.

Benefit show raises funds
The University of Maine at Machias Interdisciplinary Fine Arts program and the Cobscook Community Learning Center sponsored a benefit show to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina on Thursday, September 8, at the UMM Performing Arts Center. Instead of an admission charge, a financial donation of any amount toward hurricane relief was accepted. The funds will be directed to national charities working to provide aid to the hurricane victims.