Bay St Louis

Books On Hurricane Recovery

2009-02-13T10:53:00.000-05:00

As I have time, I'll be posting more links to books regarding the rebuilding of Pearlington, Waveland, Bay St Louis, Kiln and the rest Hancock County. If you know of any, please let me know.

I've long held I wouldn't advertise anything that was a for-profit endeavor, but I think at this point, they need to be shown in an effort to prove rebuilding has yet to be complete.

The first is Pat Holt's Rebuilding Pearlington. She's a lady from basically all over the nation, having served in the military and after retiring, took up photography. I wish her memoir included many more of her photographs, but perhaps she is working on a separate book for those.

I do have a few others, which will be posted in the appropriate blog, and then all will be collected on the KatrinaNetworking blog

Blog Index

2007-08-20T12:09:00.000-04:00

Items in RED are NEW
Items in GREEN are UPDATED

Other Sites Related to BSL Relief
Katrina Networking Site
Hancock County Agency Information
Pearlington
Waveland
Gulf Coast Artist Relief Blog
Gulf Coast Emergency Services Relief Blog
Real People Relief

Volunteer Information
For Agencies and Organizations
Katrina's Angels
For Non-Profits and Municipalities - Reorganized and added to
Assistance For Schools - Reorganized and added to
Grants for Non-Profits
Grants For Communities
Citizen Action Team
Community Gardens Effort All 3 installments linked at top
City Action Partnership
Gulf Coast Civic Works Project - please support
MS United Methodist Disaster Response
UMCOR Response
Safety Guidelines For Volunteers

For Individuals
Resource Pages
Grandfamily/Single Parent Resources
Family Resources
Medical Resources
LA Family Resources
Education Assistance
Businesses
Mortgage Resources
Furniture and More
Home/Utility
Elderly
Resources for Children/Childcare
Disabled
Grants for Individuals - does not include homeowner or repair grants
Dental

Articles, etc.
Article Index
Pictures and Videos Collected
Blogs To Follow
FEMA Information

City Information
City
Department Locations
City Police Needs
City Fire Department Needs

Children and Schools
Our Lady Academy Updates
Mommy 101 - Baby Shower for the County
Hope Haven Childrens Shelter
Bay/Waveland School District
Our Lady Academy Needs Lists
Bay Catholic School
Community Organization
Boys and Girls Clubs

Churches
Our Lady of The Gulf
St Rose de Lima
Lagniappe Presbyterian
Powerhouse of Deliverance Church

Other Local Agencies
Coastal Family Health Clinics
Foundation Hope
Gulf Coast Recovery Corp

Organizations to Volunteer With
Eight Days of Hope
Impact Ministries
City Team Ministries
Heritage Conservation Network
KenTenn
Mission From Minnesota
Kansas East United Methodist Conference
Port Townsend Sister City
Presbytery Disaster Assistance
HANDS

Helping Without Going Down

Another Causualty

2007-06-16T18:06:00.000-04:00

Construction Scaffolding On Bridge Collapses, Sending 9 Workers Into Water
POSTED: 1:43 pm CDT June 14, 2007
UPDATED: 3:44 am CDT June 15, 2007

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- Rescue crews said one worker died and another is missing after their scaffolding collapsed on the U.S. 90 bridge over the Bay of St. Louis on Thursday afternoon.

Nine workers fell into the bay, officials said.

16 WAPT spoke with the wife of the worker killed in the collapse. She identified him as Al Pennaman, of Jackson.

Poor weather hampered the search for the missing construction worker. Helicopters, boats and divers were being used in the search. But rescue workers said weather conditions could force the suspension of the search from the air.

Rescue workers said they were no longer on a search-and-rescue mission, and instead were in recovery mode.

Mississippi Department of Transportation District Engineer Ricky Lee said that a portion of the forming system used to pour supports collapsed and fell into the water.

Sheriff's Department Maj. Wayne Payne said the bridge is reopened, and authorities want to assure the public it is safe for travel.

He said the mishap was limited to the construction side of the bridge.

The Bay Looking at New Jail

2007-03-12T22:42:00.000-04:00

http://208.62.60.4/40/article_1031.shtml

400-bed jail proposed for downtown Bay St. Louis
By DWAYNE BREMER
Mar 9, 2007, 15:57
The Hancock County Board of Supervisors is caught between a rock and a hard place. Last week, the board learned that FEMA determined the Hancock County Jail was less than 50 percent damaged.
The board is now tasked with the duty of restoring the jail at its current Court St. location, and last week it voted to move forward with plans to restore the jail, however, meeting federal guidelines and satisfying future concerns may be more difficult than originally expected.
"We have a dilemma," Board President Rocky Pullman said at a workshop Thursday. "We can rebuild what we had prior to the storm for $3 million, but we have a sheriff who says its going to cost $4 million or $5 million for what we need. Where are we going to get the money? At the end of the day, we just can't afford it."
The purpose of the workshop was for board members to discuss funding sources for all public buildings with FEMA and MEMA officials.
MEMA official Walt Rode told supers the jail was declared 38-percent-damaged.
The determination of the jail being less than 50-percent-damaged means that FEMA will not fund the county to build a new facility.
The county will receive $629,902 from FEMA and the county has already collected $1.79 million in insurance for the jail.
Sheriff Steve Garber said Thursday that the money may restore what the county had, but it will not be enough.
"Before we jump up and do something, there are things we have to address," he said.
Garber said the jail capacity was at 132 inmates before the storm, but at times he had more than 150 inmates. He said parking was always a problem, as well as office space, and federal guidelines will mandate certain things in the jail be upgraded.
"Nothing has changed," he said. "We need to fix these problems while everything is still tore up. On the jail, you have no choice. The federal government is not going to allow you to just put back what you had."
Garber said he expects the inmate population to increase over the next five years and he suggested expanding to a 200-bed facility.
FEMA officials went a step further and said with the expected growth in the county, the sheriff may want to consider a facility as large as 400 beds.
Supers asked FEMA officials if updating to federal standards was covered by FEMA.
FEMA official David Smith said the 50 percent number is only "sticks and bricks."
He suggested the county try some creative funding sources.
One suggestion was to make the jail an "improved project" which would make the county eligible for federal grant money, Rode said.
One way to better use the square footage of the current jail is to move the daily operations of the sheriff's office out of the building.
Garber said the county may want to inquire about purchasing adjacent properties on Court St. or taking property by means of eminent domain.
"We were renting 5,000 square feet of space before the storm," he said Friday. "We need to get that space back somewhere."
Supervisor Jay Cuevas suggested the county inquired about the vacant City Hall Annex just two doors down from the jail.
Supervisor Steve Seymour said he just wants to get things fast tracked on all county buildings.
"We've got to get this done," he said. "I'm tired of getting asked by the public and not having any idea. The people are dying to know there is light at the end of the tunnel."
Pullman said raising taxes is not an option.
"The general public cannot have any more put on them," he said.
Pullman said the sheriff needs to sit down with engineers and give them a "wish list" of what would be needed.
He said once the county knows what they are looking at, then it will try to make it work.
"We got to have a vision," he said. "We don't need a Cadillac, but we do need something that will meet the future needs."
Supervisors consultant Janell Tompkins said the National Institute of Corrections has offered the county a free training program on jail design as well as offering expert assistance in the restoration.
Garber said he would meet with officials from Compton Engineering and report back to the supervisors within a month.

Favre, council plan $16 million ‘make-over’ for Old Town BSL

2007-03-01T15:01:00.000-05:00

Bay St. Louis officials have called for bids for a total utility make-over downtown -- a project expected to take two years to complete and cost up to $16 million.
So anxious to get the wheels in motion, City Council members bypassed an offer to view the detailed engineering plans, and opted to put the project out for bids immediately.
Meanwhile, the administration reported that there's a $3.5 million gap in how the city would like to reconstruct the Beach Boulevard roadway in the business district and what federal officials are willing to fund.
The utility work initially involves the area bounded by the CSX tracks, Necaise Street, Highway 90 and South Beach Boulevard. Complete replacement of the hurricane-ravaged natural gas lines, water and sewer pipes, roadway and sidewalks are included.
"We can't tear up all of Bay St. Louis at once, but there will be some significant disruptions," said William D. Lancaster, senior project manager with Neel-Schaffer engineering. Once the work begins this spring, the construction tab will run some $600,000 to $700,000 per month, he said.
His firm has already billed over $109,000 in fees to design the utility replacements.
Meanwhile, Mayor Eddie Favre and Municipal Clerk Harold "Buz" Olsen told council there's a huge disparity between what the administration wants to have Beach Boulevard look like, and what's being funded through the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
There's a firm completion date set of July 2008 for the new Beach Boulevard, said the mayor, "But what it's going to look like, that's still up in the air."
Olsen said federal officials are willing only to replace the roadway destroyed in Katrina. The city wants a wider, more sensible layout.
Also up in the air is funding for the seawall replacement – and whether there will be a temporary one constructed to accommodate the new roadway.
"We're still on target for a July ‘08 completion date, but we have no idea what it's going to be," Olsen said.
Council president James C. Thriffiley III said the uncertainty and wait are costing millions – retailers can't get loans to rebuild under such confusion, and the city is missing huge sales and property tax revenue in the meanwhile.
In a related matter, council saw the final application for $7.8 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds to re-do and revitalize the waterfront business district. The city is almost assured of getting the grant at this point.
Jimmy Gouras Urban Planning is charging the city $10,000 for the detailed application.
Project components include buying property at the foot of Main Street – or a city land swap to acquire it. A terraced promenade and beachfront park would be built there.
The city also plans to build a two-level parking garage next to the former Fire Dog Saloon, and tuck it behind retail shops.
(Pictures of the Fire Dog Saloon - 45h and 5th down:
http://baystlouisrelief.blogspot.com/2007/02/photos-jan-24-07.html)

Photos Jan 24, 07

2007-02-20T17:37:00.000-05:00

All photos courtesy of, taken by and copyrighted by, Robb Tilley (2007)

Abandoned Apartments on Waveland Ave, BSL

Abandoned House on Waveland Ave

Tree Roots From Storm Wash in Fire Dog Saloon's Parking Lot.

Fire Dog Saloon from Big Daddy's Side. They say they'll rebuild, but likely not at this site. However, no new word on if they truly are.

Debris From Destroyed Home on Main Street.

FEMA on Private Land. Too common of a site. Rebuilding is a slow process.

Abandoned Nursing Home at Ulman and Beach. Where are their elderly supposed to go?

Abandoned home on Nicholson. Check the roof - a bite was taken out of it.

Abandoned home on Court Street. They gave up.

Art In The Bay

2007-02-09T18:47:00.000-05:00

By BENNIE SHALLBETTER
Feb 9, 2007, 17:22

In addition to today's usual Second Saturday fare will be work by Indiana wood carver Dayle K. Lewis and Louisiana carver Amy Canada. The duo will be set up on the corner of Second St. and Main St. in Bay St. Louis all day.
Carvings are made from local, storm damaged wood, mainly pine, pecan and live oak, said Lewis. The pair, along with Lewis' wife Gayle have been working for several days to create wood statues ranging from alligators, to bears, to angels, to fleur de lis. They will also be working at the site on Saturday. You can bring your own wood.
Dayle Lewis, above, and Amy Canada, below, carve sculptures out of trees felled during Hurricane Katrina as part of the KatRita Wood Project. The artists will in Old Town today for Second Saturday.
Canada said she hopes to donate a portion of the proceeds to the Leetown Fire Department towards their building fund. Lewis joined in because, he said, he had planned to come down as a volunteer anyway and the chance to help and do what he loves worked out well. This is his second trip to the area.
The idea for using the felled Katrina wood for a carving project came about as a result of the need Canada said she felt to stop the enormous waste of wood after the storm. She first looked into milling the wood for lumber but came to dead ends, she said.
A website gave her the idea to recruit carvers. She posted a message and within five minutes answers came in by email and by phone. People were interested.
Since then Canada has organized several 'carve-ins."
With a chain saw, blow torch, grinder, sander, stains and a little paint Lewis, and Canada, can create just about anything your heart desires.
This week the group gathered behind the old Ruth's Cakery on Court St. to work for three days before setting up shop today. Prices set on pieces are suggested donations that will cover costs, Canada said.
Using his art to help others is nothing new to Lewis. He donates several thousand dollars worth of hand carved sculptures for fundraising events each year. Right now he is involved in a project to raise funds for a soup kitchen in Richmond. To do so he is creating a series of angels.
When he is not working at his home on 4 acres in Richmond, Indiana Lewis travels around the country to various festivals to create and sell his wares. He also works on commission orders, both at his home and the home of his clients. As he puts it, "I make house calls."
"The thing I like the most is to go in a back yard and watch the people's faces as they watch the transformation from a stump to a creation," said Lewis.
Lewis was raised on a dairy farm in Pratt, Kansas and trained as and Industrial Engineer. He started carving, by hand, in 1992 and with a chain saw in 1996. He went full time into carving in 2002 when he was laid off from his engineering job due to downsizing.
It was scary, at first, Lewis said, but now he loves the freedom. He also teaches classes in wood carving.
"It's creative, it's fun and you get paid – that is everybody's dream," said Lewis. He gives ultimate credit for his creativity and gift to God's inspiration, he says.

More Politics In The Bay

2007-02-09T18:45:00.000-05:00

Turmoil in Bay St. Louis government is escalating right up to the top level.
The city's long-time attorney, John A. Scafide Jr., is tossing in his towel. And City Council has refused to appoint the mayor's pick for chief of police, Deputy Chief Tom Burleson.
And while some say development in the city is spiraling literally out of control, Mayor Eddie Favre is being blasted for failing to hire a new chief building official. The slot has been empty since William R. Carrigee quit, under fire, in September.
Scafide refused to be interviewed Tuesday on his decision to leave his post as top legal eagle after 22 years in that key position. He apparently wouldn't have mentioned his departure at all, but for the fact that Ward 2 council member James C. Thriffiley III shot a sudden question directly at Scafide about it during a meeting.
Asked his intentions and status, Scafide said simply he would be gone by the end of March. Later, he said he might leave at the end of February.
There had been some quiet talk in recent weeks that Scafide was considering retiring or resigning – what he's doing is not clear. But his abrupt departure comes at a critical juncture in the city's history, no matter which it is.
The son of a former mayor, Scafide is seen as an expert in the areas of city and county zoning, subdivision regulations, real estate law and the municipal code. He has an incredible reservoir of personal recollections about the city's history.
The city is under fire to zone the newly annexed area, adopt a new comprehensive plan, change the old zoning and subdivision regulations and adopt a redistricting plan. Plus, there's a new historic preservation ordinance in the wings, all of which would have come under Scafide's scrutiny after hired outside planners come up with recommendations.
He gets paid a $500 monthly retainer, and charges $75 an hour for additional work for the city.
When it once appeared that Scafide might be in a conflict of interest situation due to proposed casino development in the early 90's, the city hired attorney Donald J. Rafferty to staff all casino-related matters.
In recent years, Rafferty has assumed a much broader role than that, however, taking over some of the workload Scafide otherwise would have had.
Meanwhile, council went behind closed doors for about a half hour at 11 p.m. Tuesday night to debate the mayor's proposed appointment of Tom Burleson as chief of police. Favre had told the Sea Coast Echo several weeks ago he would elevate Burleson from deputy chief to the top slot, once Frank McNeil's retirement became effective.
Favre said Burleson deserved a shot at the chief's job, having climbed through the ranks and amassed great experience, including training at the FBI academy. Moving him to the top slot set off a round of proposed personnel shifts just below him – and triggered some fury in the process.
Some say they expect a civil action to be filed by at least one unhappy officer who saw plans to promote lesser experienced officers ahead of him.
Since executive sessions are closed, it's not clear what prompted council to set aside Burleson's appointment. But it's generally believed council members had wanted a broader consideration for the top post than automatically elevating Burleson.
In the Fire Department, Favre had to launch a full fledged investigation recently to quell discontent among the personnel there. At one time, half the fire fighters were said to be ready to call it quits over personnel actions internally.
And the vacancy at the top of the Building Department came with the chief building official's resignation, along with several of his staffers, amid widespread controversy.
In a rare display of anger and frustration Tuesday, the usually calm, reserved Ward 4 council member Bobby Compretta demanded action. "It's so important...We need to do something about the Building Department."
Compretta said Favre's chief assistant, Harold "Buz" Olsen is too busy, wearing too many municipal hats to be effective in leading the building department. And Compretta said if the city needs to up its $48,000 salary level of the job, so be it. He demanded to see a list of pay comparables in this area.
And meanwhile, Compretta said the city simply has forgotten or ignored its moratorium on condominium construction, leaving it wide open to happen.
The city has no code provisions governing condominium construction. "I make a motion to extend the moratorium for six more months Let's do something!" he almost yelled. His motion passed unanimously, quickly and without debate.
Earlier in the meeting, Compretta's predecessor in office Tad Black, told council he's glad he's no longer among them.
But Black said lack of Building Department oversight has left the city pockmarked with junk, illegal billboards and trailers being stacked up on pilings, without permits. Buildings are being built without site plan reviews, he said, providing no required screening or green space.
Black served two terms as Ward 4 council member, then lost a bid for mayor.

Casino in Old Town

2007-01-14T17:33:00.000-05:00

Developers plan Old Town Casino
By GEOFF BELCHER
Jan 12, 2007, 17:18

Bay St. Louis developer Hester Plauché and Marrero, La.-based contractor Pete Vicari plan to go before the Bay City Council Tuesday night to unveil plans for an ambitious $100 million "boutique" casino, hotel, restaurant and retail project they say will reinvigorate the hurricane-ravaged Old Town area, restore its long-lost historic charm and – most importantly – bring back the downtown merchants deprived of their livelihoods by Katrina.
"You won't see the glitz and glamour, no neon," Plauché said Thursday. "You will see the original architecture of Old Town."

Designer Al Fiori’s concept for the Old Town Casino, shops and renovated A&G Theater in downtown Bay St. Louis at Main St. and Beach Blvd. The project, planned by local developer Hester Plauché and Marrero contractor Pete Vicari, is scheduled to go before the Bay St. Louis City Council on Tuesday evening.
The project encompasses three full blocks of the Bay's beachfront, from State St. to the railroad tracks, and includes 40,000 square feet of gaming space – comparable to Hollywood Casino – wrapped inside quaint, old-style retail shops, art galleries and restaurants. The pair also want to build a parking garage on Court St., between the beach and the Hancock County Justice Facility, which would also act as a buffer between the railroad and the adjacent shopping areas. Plans also include a 400-room hotel similar to the old Pickwick Hotel, which burned to the ground circa 1917. Everything, Vicari said, will be based on the town's original architecture, with nothing over four stories – and completely in the spirit of plans produced during the Governor's Commission's "charrette" process.
Vicari is an award-winning New Orleans-area contractor, specializing in historic restoration and preservation projects, such as the work done at the old U.S. Mint in the French Quarter. He was also recently featured on the ABC Television program "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
"In planning the Old Town project, "Pete spent a lot of time at the (Hancock) Historical Society, looking at pictures" from before the turn of the 20th century, Plauché said."
Every time there was a hurricane, when they built it back, something changed. We want to take it back to what it was, " Vicari said. "A lot of what was there (prior to Hurricane Katrina) really wasn't that architecturally pretty. I'm trying to step it up a notch."
"When we do this, we don't want high-rises," Plauché said. "This needs to be a place of assembly for the people."
The gaming facility will be necessary in order to draw enough revenue to rebuild Old Town's lost charm without forcing rent and real estate prices too high to attract merchants and restaurants. In effect, a casino would subsidize the properties, making their prices reasonable and affordable for small business.
"When we say a boutique casino, we're talking about something in between what's done in the classier (American) casinos and a European casino," Plauché said.The casino itself wouldn't have a gift shop or restaurant, leaving that open to downtown merchants. All the shops would face the street, Plauché said, with the casino tucked subtly in the center. It would be an upscale facility, filled with work by local artists.
"There are people away from here that the only thing they know Bay St. Louis to be is Second Saturday and the little shops," Vicari said ... . "This facility is going to be heavily influenced by local artists."
"We're losing our artists," Plauché said. "We're losing crafts people, and when you start losing 'em, it's hard to get 'em back. If this doesn't happen as quick as it can, what's going to happen to the rest of Bay St. Louis?"
The plan also calls for the renovation of the old A&G theatre building, which would be restored, rather than torn down, and offered for use by the Bay St. Louis Little Theatre and school and arts productions. The Hancock Bank building would remain in its current location.The beach front would remain open for public access. Hopefully, Plauché said, later on, the city could build an amphitheater for outdoor festivals and events.
If the city council greenlights the project, Plauché said, "We won't have to worry about a condo popping up on the beach or somebody building a shack. ... This will be something the people of Bay St. Louis can be proud of."
"Our slogan's going to be 'Come on home,'" Vicari said.Plauché said the financing, plans, construction crew and management team are already in place, all under the auspices of his and Vicari's holding company, PV Acquisitions. The two men have already talked to most of the neighbors and about 95 percent of the property owners who would be involved. Most of the work could be done in a year's time, from start to finish, Vicari said.The area is already zoned C-2 commercial. The only obstacle at this point, Plauché said, is whether the Bay St. Louis City Council will endorse the project, allowing a variance of the town's 25-acre casino district requirement.
"Old Town is what brought people here (before Katrina)," Plauché said. We thought if we could bring Old Town back, it would have a lot of positive effect on the community."

Building Inspector Resigns

2007-01-14T17:29:00.000-05:00

Bay St. Louis building chief resigns post
By MARY G. SEILEY
Jan 12, 2007, 17:13
Another high-level official in the Bay St. Louis Building Inspection department has resigned.
Officials confirmed Thursday that William Breeden had submitted his resignation. Known as "Little Bill," Breeden had worked under chief building official William Carrigee.
Carrigee quit last fall, amid controversy over his work for the county as a consultant while on the payroll as full time building inspector. At the time of his resignation, at least two others on the city building department payroll resigned as well.
Mayor Eddie Favre said Tuesday the city has had troubles keeping the department staffed. "We hire and lose. Hire and lose..." the mayor said. The city continues to take applications for the top slots, he said.
Meanwhile, the department's ranks are dwindling. Asked who's in charge of the department right now, city administrator Buz Olsen said, "Me." Olsen said the city still has plenty of staff to handle the daily operations and review building plans. It's also getting some help from Jerry Beaugez, a county building official who's offered assistance, Olsen said.
Breeden resigned to take a better paying job in Pascagoula, according to Olsen.
In other matters Tuesday, there was continued alarm voiced over the city decision to allow two huge mobile trailers to locate on Hancock Street, next to the St. Stansilaus graveyard.
Favre said he personally okayed the trailers, giving the school's brothers a place to stay while their living quarters are rebuilt. He said such trailers are reviewed after six months.
Real estate agent Camille Tate said the "horrible looking" trailers look like they're permanently set up on the property, and she questioned whether they were properly permitted.
Meanwhile, council discussed a larger problem of mobile homes setting up in the city without permission, and the need to review who's living in them and why.
Aside from individual trailers rolling into town, council is upset that the FEMA trailer park on Highway 90 and Drinkwater has become a revolving door complex for anybody who wants to live there.
Originally, council agreed to the park only if the trailers would be removed as soon as the temporary residents who occupied them moved out. According to some, however, the trailers are being occupied by out-of-towners as soon as the original tenants move out.
In other matters council:
• Reappointed Cheryl Ladner to a five-year term on the school board.
• Agreed to seek prices on new furniture for the council chambers, recently relocated to the former Coast Electric conference center.
• Authorized a call for bids on new traffic and street signs in the older part of the city.

FEMA Paying For Water Meters

2007-01-12T20:28:00.000-05:00

FEMA to Pay $1.08 Million to Bay St. Louis for Water Meters
» More Information on Mississippi Hurricane Katrina
BILOXI, Miss. -- The City of Bay St. Louis will receive a grant of more than $1.08 million from the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to replace and provide future protection for water meters damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Large amounts of debris, salt water flooding, and uprooted trees following Katrina severely damaged the city's drinkable water system. The grant includes more than $697,000 to replace 3,400 water meters that were lost or damaged and nearly $510,000 to storm-proof the meters, ensuring similar damage does not occur in the future. Ninety percent of the total $1.2 million project cost will be covered by the FEMA grant.
"FEMA has to look ahead to make sure that solutions are sustainable," said Alec Watson, chief of staff for the Biloxi Transitional Recovery Office. "That means close attention to mitigation and prevention as well as immediate relief."
In addition to the $1.08 million grant, FEMA previously disbursed a grant of $18.3 million to Bay St. Louis to bring certain potable water lines in the area to current codes and standards.
"Public Assistance grants play such a large role in the recovery process," said Mike Womack, Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). "In order for residents to return and rebuild along the coast, repairing and improving the city's infrastructure is essential."
FEMA has already obligated nearly $2 billion in grants to Mississippi through the Public Assistance program. MEMA administers the program and allocates the money to the applicants.
The grant comes from FEMA's Public Assistance program, which provides financial assistance to state and federal governments and eligible non-profit organizations for disaster-related cleanup and rebuilding to pre-disaster condition. The state of Mississippi and the applicant pay a share of the costs for projects that are not fully funded by FEMA.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident, initiates mitigation activities and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA works closely with state and local emergency managers, law enforcement personnel, firefighters and other first responders. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 09-Jan-2007 11:12:39

Photos December/January

2007-01-02T21:00:00.000-05:00

A house rebuilt by the Presbyterians

Elevation change to comply with new codes

A house in a Pearl River development

One House gave Right of Entry, the other did not. ROE allows the National Guard come in and remove debris, but not the house. (From Gary - ROE allows the Corps of Engineers to come in and remove debris, or tarp the roof. In some cases they would remove demolished buildings and large debris a homeowner could not normally clean up.)

A newly rebuilt house with a well supported heat exchanger (AC unit). Most are only strapped to the house.

Steel structural support still waiting to be rebuilt

A Christmas Story

2006-12-24T14:38:00.000-05:00

From Janet

Twists of fate
Tuesday, December 19, 2006 BY ANNE LEVIN
Special to the Times

Andrea and Frank Bridges tried their best to ignore Christmas last year. For the first time in their marriage, the couple didn't put up a tree. There was no Christmas dinner; there were no gifts. The Bridges were staying in Nevada with family members, having been displaced a few months earlier from their Bay St. Louis, Miss., home by the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.
"We were still in shock," says Andrea Bridges, curled up a few weeks ago on the sofa in the tidy home in Ewing where the couple, grateful to be on their own again, now live. "
And to some degree, we still are."
Celebrating Christmas remains low on the Bridges' priority list. But this year, they feel ready to at least acknowledge the holiday in small ways.
They will attend church and have Christmas dinner with friends. They will give gifts on Christmas morning to their two adored pugs, Misha and Pierre.
But they won't put up a tree. "As far as Christmas goes, we have no Christmas," says Andrea Bridges, "but what you have to understand is that we've been sort of having Christmas for a few months, since we moved into this house and got a roof over our heads. "People have been so amazing to us. This has been the most humbling experience. People are so generous and, more than that, they are so loving."
The people she refers to are those she has met through her apprenticeship at the Anthony Rabara Studio for Pilates in Princeton, where she has been studying for certification as a full Pilates instructor since last fall.
Rabara, especially, and his partner Donald Brokate have been "angels," says Bridges, hosting her in their Trenton home and helping her and Frank find the house they are renting today. The Bridges will have Christmas dinner next week at Rabara's and Brokate's and will attend church services for the holiday with them.
Andrea Bridges, 49, is a former ballet dancer who hails from New Orleans. Her husband, Frank, 48, from Ocean Springs, Miss., is a graphic designer and percussionist. Andrea's two grown daughters live in Alabama. The couple met on a blind date 11 years ago and were married soon after. Living in the quaint, seaside town of Bay St. Louis in a house they were renting and about to buy, the Bridges were content. Andrea Bridges had been working as a nail technician for a few years after she stopped dancing, but was thinking about getting back into a field that would make use of her dance experience. She had heard a lot about the Pilates method of physical conditioning a favorite of many dancers -- and was anxious to investigate it as a next step in her career. On the night of Aug. 28, 2005, Frank Bridges was playing a gig in Bay St. Louis when the news came through that the impending storm had been bumped up from a Category 3 to a frightening Category 5 hurricane. Andrea Bridges called him and told him to get home right away. Meanwhile, she went to check on Miss Wilma, their 92-year-old neighbor who had just gotten out of thehospital where she had been treated for an injured hip.
"She refused to leave," says Andrea Bridges. "We wanted to go to a safeplace inland and take her with us, but she absolutely refused to go. So wedecided we had to stay. We couldn't just leave her there all alone."
The Bridges got Miss Wilma, Misha and Pierre into the nearby one-story home of a neighbor who had also elected to stay. They holed up together to wait out the storm. Living on the Gulf Coast, they were used to fierce weather.
But Katrina -- which caused $81 billion in damages and was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States -- was something none of them had ever experienced.
"We prepared all the hurricane supplies they tell you to get, which for some reason I had gotten together a few days before," says Andrea Bridges. "When it was time to get into a room with no windows, we all huddled into this little foyer. Before long, the water was making itself known. We started loading up the attic with supplies because we figured we'd be up there and maybe out on the roof.
"We got some Styrofoam pieces to put the puppies on. We tied a rope around all of us, because we figured if they find one of us they'll find all ofus." During all of this frantic activity, Andrea Bridges had a moment of realization. "I stopped for a moment and thought, 'This is it. This could really be the end.' But then right away," she says, "I thought, 'No, we're going to survive this.'
We just kicked into gear and we're still in gear, with as much force as a year and a half ago."
As it turned out, the water rushing into the house started receding before it became necessary to climb into the attic. The group began trying to help push the water back out. When they stepped outside the next morning and made their way to their own house, the Bridges found themselves sur ounded by15-foot walls of debris. Frank Bridges, who had driven around townphoto graphing buildings and streets before the storm hit, was stunned to find an almost completely changed landscape.
"We didn't recognize half the places we'd gone to every day," he says. "It looked like Beirut. Houses were cut in half, like doll houses, with the furniture still in them. Asphalt was crumbled up. A big metal food-warmer from a nearby restaurant had floated down and washed up right next to ou rhouse."
It was almost impossible to tell who had survived the storm and who had not.
People were dazed. Historic houses had been washed away. The Bridges' house, though standing, was ruined. A tree had fallen through the roof. There was no electricity, no water.
"It was very hot. The puppies were suffering. I stayed up all night putting batteries into my fans to blow on them and try and keep them cool. We slept on lawn chairs and were happy to have them," Andrea Bridges says.
"You'reso filthy. There was nothing, no civilization. It was such a feeling of helplessness. We were just trying to survive till the government came in to help us. And they never came."
The people who did show up to help were from church groups of many denominations.
"When the government was still sitting there twiddling their thumbs, these church groups were really helping us out," she says. Her husband managed to get a generator going, which eased things a bit.
Nobody's cell phone was getting a signal, but after a few days he noticed a girl standing on a big shard of pavement sticking up in the middle of the main street, talking on her phone.
"You could see she had gotten a signal,"he says. "So people started lining up to stand in that one spot." He got through to his brother, who lives in Red Bank, and was relieved to hear from him.
"We had been on the missing list," he says. "My nephew drove down to get us. It took him five hours to drive here from Mobile (Ala.), a trip that usually takes an hour. "He brought us water, ice and other things. So that's how we got out. We left with him."
The Bridges spent the next several months with relatives in Mississippi and Nevada as well as New Jersey. After a few weeks, Andrea Bridges was able to get to a computer. In between the endless attempts to deal with insurance agencies, which still continues, she began researching the Pilates method.
She spent many sleepless nights combing through the Web sites for training programs, trying to weed out the ones that weren't the real thing. One day, Rabara's site popped up on her screen. "I looked at this picture of Anthony and I just knew, without even reading what it said," she recalls.
"It was something about his face."
After an unsuccessful stint with a training program in California, Bridges decided to follow her instincts. She phoned Rabara and told him she wanted to train with him, and he invited her to come to his studio. For the next eight months, she shuttled between his Hiltonia home and her relatives in Red Bank, learning from Rabara and taking the "True Pilates" certification course in New York. The course normally takes two years; Bridges is trying to finish it in eight months.
"Everything happens for a reason," says Rabara, who didn't know about the Bridges' ordeal until Andrea apprenticed with him for two weeks.
"She didn't tell me about Katrina right away. I had accepted her as an apprentice because I knew right away that she was a very fast study. She seemed well grounded and she is a lovely individual.
"It was not out of any kind of pity that I took her on and asked her to stay at our house. It was because I could see that she was the type of hardworker and generous individual that fits into the ideals of our studio and allows us to maintain the Pilates tradition."
Andrea Bridges reaches for the tissue box on her ottoman as she talks about the job that Rabara has given her and the help he and Brokate gave her in finding a home. Nearly every piece of furniture in the house was given to them, by Rabara and Brokate and other new friends as well. Still sparsely furnished, it is a cheerful house, despite the ordeal its inhabitants have been through.
"I still don't sleep," says Andrea Bridges, "and the dogs have never been the same. They want both of us in the same room at the same time. But though we don't dream, though the dreams are gone, we look at today. We get excited about little things like paper goods. Just to have a roof over our heads, our own place we just sit and cry and feel the love."

http://www.nj.com/living/times/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1166505024101750.xml&coll=5

Fire Dept Shake Up

2006-12-24T11:44:00.000-05:00

1/10
Favre explores Bay fire dept. controversies
By MARY G. SEILEY
Jan 10, 2007, 09:07

Bay St. Louis Mayor Eddie Favre is holding one-on-one interviews with everybody in the Fire Department, launching an investigation he said is largely based on concerns revealed in a recent Sea Coast Echo story. And when he's done with the Fire Department, Favre said he plans on top-to-bottom interviews throughout all the other city departments as well.The Fire Department interviews come in the wake of a story describing turmoil among personnel there that has left the department highly demoralized.
The controversy swirls around promotions, demotions and reported threats of dismissals, in accounts gathered by the Echo from numerous sources. It also involves accusations that some in the department were kept on the payroll full time after Hurricane Katrina, but rarely showed up for work over a period of several months.
Fire Chief Bobby Gavagnie said any discontent in the department is a natural outcome of personnel shuffles to expand the department. He said he refuses to employ the "good ol' boy" system or mere longevity to promote within the ranks, but rather taps the most qualified personnel to elevate.
It is not clear at this point exactly what criteria is being used for promotions in the Bay Fire Department. Gavagnie suspended the department's official promotion process indefinitely, in a June 2004 memo recently obtained by the Echo.
Favre said he was aware of that action, and Gavagnie was within his rights to repeal the promotion process that was in the department's handbook. All department heads, he said, develop their own promotion policies and operating rules – but subject to the mayor's approval.
The June 14, 2004, memo, said Favre, was issued because fire fighters were upset over new rules and standards that had been imposed in the department at that time. As recently as December 2006, Gavagnie approved a reorganization proposal involving three firefighters, but he gave his deputy chief, Pam San Fillippo, full authority to amend it or implement it. The chief said he's following standard military-style command in such matters.
Even as the investigation is underway, Favre repeated his previous stand that no personnel changes will be in effect until he personally approves them. That includes three recent "promotions" to the rank of lieutenant which occurred last week, Favre said.
So far, no complaints, appeals of personnel actions, or requests for promotions have come to Favre's personal attention, he said Monday. Neither have there been any complaints filed through the city's Civil Service system, Favre said. But the mayor said he's hopeful that all the concerns will be aired with him this week, leading to a full understanding of what's going on inside the department. What happens next depends on "what comes out" in the interviews.He said he's promising total protection to the personnel, with "no retaliation" possible. "There never has been and never will be any retaliation."
He said he would deal quickly with "whatever" the situation that comes to light. Meanwhile, the internal discontent has escalated to the point that up to half the department's personnel were, this week, said to be ready to resign unless the internal problems are resolved.
Favre indicated a deep concern overt the situation on Monday, and his hope that the personnel will be candid with him.. The mayor also said he plans to hold such interviews in coming weeks within the other departments, hoping to produce a clear picture of the state of the city's personnel and any concerns that may need to be addressed within the municipal workforce.
"The key is just to sit down with these (employees), all the way through, from top to bottom and bottom to top, and see what their concerns are. Strictly one-on-one. Hopefully, all will feel free to talk."
There has been unrelated controversy in recent months concerning doings within the city's Building Inspection Department. In that matter, the chief building official resigned in the face of an uproar over his "moonlighting" for the county while on the city staff full time.
Questions concerning that department have been forwarded by City Council and the mayor to the Attorney General, State Auditor, State Ethics Commission and the state Real Estate Commission for investigation.

Bay F.D .employee shake-up under fire
By MARY G. SEILEY
Dec 22, 2006, 14:51
The Bay St. Louis Fire Department is ablaze with internal strife. The mayor said Thursday he's aware of the problems involved and is investigating the situation.
Sources tell the Sea Coast Echo that a series of developments within the department – dating from the wake of Katrina to as recently as last week – have created serious demoralization in the ranks of the department.
Mayor Eddie Favre said he's aware of most of the controversies mentioned in an interview for this story, and has an investigation underway to get to the root of the problems. He said the last thing the city wants to have happen is to lose experienced firefighters.Troubles within the Fire Department are the third significant departmental difficulty the administration is having to address.
The city has lost two of the top three high-level experienced police officers in recent months, but those resignations are attributed to better paying offers from state law enforcement agencies.
A fourth significant resignation is said to be pending, but its status is not clear. And the police chief has confirmed he's considering retirement, but said it's due to his age rather than the loss of some top officers.
Earlier this year, the city also saw the resignation of its chief building officer and some of that department's employees, in a swirl of controversy that quieted only after council agreed to ask for state investigations of the issues involved there.
The unrelated Fire Department controversy concerns promotions, demotions, threats of demotions, the fairness of disciplinary actions and a supposed breakdown in the general chain of command within the department.
There are also allegations from several sources that at least two personnel within the Fire Department showed up for work only sporadically for months in the wake of Katrina – but remained on the payroll as full time employees.
Meanwhile, Favre said none of the personnel promotion or demotion actions at issue have been finalized, because they have not crossed his desk, and there have been no formal protests filed through him or to the Civil Service System in place. There is a lot of verbal protesting otherwise, however. Some who were willing to confirm the internal doings of the department did so only by relaying their information through others, for fear of retaliatory actions.
Aside from the concerns inside the department, there is worry afloat that if the situation escalates and drives seasoned fire department personnel from the force, the city's fire insurance rating could be damaged.
The controversy swirls around not only who's getting promoted or demoted, but whether the city's own rules are being followed in that process.
Some say Fire Chief Bobby Gavagnie has offloaded too much responsibility, turning it over to his immediate subordinates. In a Dec. 7, 2007 memo obtained by the Echo, Gavagnie effectively gave Deputy Chief Pam San Fillippo a free hand to deal with several specific controversial personnel matters as she sees fit.
The chief said he accepted the pertinent recommendations of Fillippo and Assistant Chief Louie Prendergast, made in November, with no changes.
But later in the memo, he also told Fillippo: "Should you wish to amend the proposal in any way, or implement it as submitted, you have my full support." Two promotions to the status of lieutenant recently were awarded by Fillippo, with a salary boost of some $5,000 each, passing over more seasoned firemen who thought they were in line for the jobs.
Neither of those who were promoted had fulfilled the city's traditional three-year probationary period, sources say.
Meanwhile, the fire fighters have witnessed a "couple of very unfounded demotions," according to one source. The uproar comes as the department is realigning internally to expand services to the newly annexed area. Now with a staffing level of 21, the department will be growing in upper- and lower-level positions, to fully staff shifts in the new and old city departments. Who gets promoted, and what criteria is being followed, is part of the controversy. In addition, some firemen who are seasoned veterans of the force reportedly have been threatened with demotion, outright dismissal, or probationary status. "We all fear for our jobs," said one in the middle of the mess. "But we've got to stop this. It's getting out of hand."
Another said the strife is "ripping us apart." Some say minor infractions of general protocol have been blown out of proportion for certain personnel, while similar or worse infractions by others have been totally ignored or forgiven.
Favre said some of the internal shift changes to accommodate creating another station in the newly annexed area is causing regrettable but necessary upset among firefighters.He said the departments' employees are like a "family" that does not give in easily to splits. He said there will need to be new lieutenant positions created, but not new captain slots to staff the new station.
"This has caused some concerns and I can understand that...The whole department is a family."
Favre said that has caused some – but not all – of the morale dip in the department.
"We are looking into it," the mayor said of the concerns outlined to him by the Echo.
"Once we find out what the concerns are, we will address them"
Favre literally lived in the fire Department for three months after Hurricane Katrina, forming what he said was a close link with the personnel. Several within the department acknowledged that bond, and had praise for the mayor.
© 2005 Bay St. Louis Newspapers, Inc.

Bay Waveland Merger Shelved

2006-12-12T17:01:00.000-05:00

Bay St. Louis-Waveland merger study shelved
Financial outlooks still grim

By RYAN LaFONTAINE
rlafontaine@sunherald.com

HANCOCK COUNTY - Researchers have stopped work on a study of the potential benefits of merging Bay St. Louis and Waveland into one city, according to the government think tank overseeing the survey.

The two cities began discussing a merger sometime last year, after Katrina annihilated most of their taxable incomes and infrastructure.

Although the merger review has been shelved, a report released last week shows just how dismal the financial outlooks really were, and still are, for Bay St. Louis and Waveland.

"We have suspended the (merger) study and it was what we thought would be best for the two cities at this point," said Marty Wiseman, who runs the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, which launched the study in March.
Katrina washed or blew away nearly 65 percent of homes countywide and with them went the governments' property-tax revenues. The casino and other giant retailers that had generated so much of the sales tax used to form the cities' operating budgets are slowly returning.

When revenue streams turned into trickles last year, Coast leaders were left to find money to rebuild infrastructure- sewerage, roads and public buildings - and create competitive salaries for the staff needed to maintain city services, all while funding their daily operations.

"To the outside observer having two municipalities wiped off the map presents an opportunity that the cities may not have otherwise, but to the citizens in those cities, (talk of a merger) would present a very chaotic situation that they just don't need right now," Wiseman said.

Why stop?

Several elements contributed to the study's suspension: Researchers believed data collection was getting in the way of storm recovery and trying to engage locals consumed with repairing their own lives into a government-merger discussion would be difficult.

The two cities recently settled an annexation dispute, adding hundreds of new properties that won't appear on tax rolls until next year, which Wiseman said "drastically changes the property-tax dynamic."

Also, Waveland was in the midst of a sizzling election to decide who would lead the city for the next four years, but Wiseman is quick to say the decision to stop the research was made only by the Stennis Institute.

"I want to make it clear that we were not asked by Mayor Tommy Longo nor Mayor Eddie Favre to stop the study," he said. "We made that decision ourselves."
But had a completed study been published around election time suggesting a merger was the only means of ensuring survival, it would have instantly created the single largest campaign issue.

Waveland candidates mostly debated issues of future development, building codes, money spending and transparency at City Hall, but top government experts
advocating an all-out merger with the Bay would have spawned where-do-you-stand questions no candidate could have avoided.

"We certainly didn't want to influence anyone's campaign whatsoever," Wiseman said.

At one point last year, Bay St. Louis and Hancock County leaders sounded as if their governments were lashed to the railroad tracks, counting down the days, hours and minutes to unavoidable insolvency. Local leaders have since received some federal and state backing to barely stay afloat.

But though the Bay, Hancock and other Coast governments were spreading a dark message of despair and pleading for help - mainly financial - from anyone who would listen, political leaders in Waveland continued to portray an almost-thriving city that was leading the storm-recovery race with its deep pockets.

Longo was criticized by some of his opponents for being out of touch with the fiscal realities of post-Katrina government.

To his credit, the city did have a $3 million cash reserve to live on after the storm, but Longo bashers have said with an annual budget more than double the reserve, that money ran out long ago.

Despite Longo winning last week's mayoral election, a study favoring a merger for the betterment of the two cities could still shove the mayor into a corner.

According to state law, the mayor of the largest municipality, based on population, would become the mayor of the newly formed city, which means Longo would likely have to walk away from a seven-year career at Waveland's City Hall.
'Struggling to survive'

According to a 70-page report published last week by the Stennis Institute, Waveland and Bay St. Louis are still "struggling to survive."

The report is part of a three-year study by the Stennis Institute and New York's Rockefeller Institute to determine Katrina's effect on Coast governments and their budgets.

The initial report from interviews with local leaders shows sales taxes in Bay St. Louis dropping from about $1.5 million to about $400,000, property taxes being cut in half and the city's annual budget sliced by nearly 80 percent of its pre-storm level.
Most of Waveland's $6.5 million budget was supported through sales taxes, which the report says are staggering back to their pre-storm level.

From July 2005 to the same time in 2006, Bay St. Louis lost $349,279 of its state sales-tax transfers, and Waveland saw a 30 percent drop, losing $678,281.
Gulfport, by contrast a much larger municipality, saw a 39 percent drop in diverted sales tax that accounted for more than a $7 million loss.

A lot of the financial bleeding on the Coast has been slowed by state and federal grants, private donations and loans.

The Bay has borrowed nearly $8 million since the storm and has applied for an additional $10 million to cover operating and recovery costs. City leaders are hopeful most of the loans will be "forgiven" or turned into grants.

Wiseman, who is expected to soon discuss potential cityhood with community leaders in Diamondhead, said he expects to restart the Bay-Waveland merger study within the next 12 months or "when the time is right."

City Department Locations

2006-10-24T10:24:00.000-04:00

What's where

Here is a roadmap, of sorts, of where Bay St. Louis offices are located:

Train Depot
Building and Permitting Department
Department of Utilities
Mayor's Office

New City Hall
City Council
City Court
Department of Community Affairs
Department of Public Works
Department of Recreation
Director of Administration
Debris specialists
Insurance
Planning and Zoning Commission.

Still at old locations
Fire Department
Police Department

Katrina Cottage Woes

2006-10-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

Imagine this. You put your name in a drawing. You win a fully-furnished new home. You have keys in hand, but you can't move in. That's the dilemma facing a Bay St. Louis couple.
George and Susan Outten won the new home in a drawing during the Governor's Recovery Expo. It's sitting on their property, but Hancock County officials won't allow them to move in. They consider it a mobile home, and the Outten's property isn't zoned for that.
"It devastates you. I just can't believe with them trying to rebuild the coast that they would forbid anyone to move into a nice home like this," George Outten said.
The Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association agrees. The group held a news conference this week to help support the couple's claim that their cottage-built home is built far better than a trailer.
"We are trying to educate the people that manufactured housing is durable, it's safe. It's built to a national code and people should be allowed to live in a home they can afford," said Jennifer Hall, Executive Director of the Mississippi Manufactured Homes Association.
Depite that, Hancock County officials say it still doesn't meet the zoning requirements for that particular area.
"Unfortunately for them, mobile homes fall under the HUD code, not necessarily the International Building Code. They are certified. It is certified as a wind zone III which meets 130 miles an hour standard. In our High Hazard areas, we've adopted 140 miles per hour wind load," Hancock County building inspector Mickey Lagasse said.
Because they live in a Coastal High Hazard area, the county says the home is more likely to be damaged by surge waters than flood waters or wind. As a result, it says 130 miles per hour protection won't cut it.
According the the county, there are two main issues - zoning and safety. But, the Outtens said they were given a permit back in April to rebuild.
"Originally, we had a permit. They said it was okay as long as we had a house that was smaller than what we had before. Then several days later, said it's not. It's a trailer, which it is not. It's a well-built home," Outten said.
Once again, the county disagrees.
"They claimed that they had a permit. The permit was actually for a house to be constructed, not for the placement for a mobile home, or a modular for that matter," Lagasse said.
But, Susan Outten doesn't understand why the county can't work with residents who want to rebuild affordable, well-built manufactured homes.
"I thought they wanted people to rebuild on the coast. They're not giving us any choice. There's no place to come back to. People can't afford much more than this. They have to have something affordable like our cottage," Outten said.
"There are plenty of other areas in the county that would not preclude it from being there. Certainly, we don't want them to leave. We just want to get them into an area where it'll be more safe," Lagasse said. "There are certainly places in the county where they can put it. No one wants them to give it back. No one wants to kick them out of a beautiful home that's been given to them."
But, George Outten says he only wants to get back into his home and get beyond what he sees as political drama.
"I just want to live my last few years in peace without bureaucratic nonsense, and that's what I call it, bureaucratic nonsense."
The county suggested the couple fill out a new application to rebuild a home that meets the county's zoning requirements.
by Krystal Allan

New Site Being Established

2006-10-18T11:08:00.000-04:00

9 Families from Hancock County So Far - 2 from The Bay

Bay St Louis
Pat
http://realpeoplerelief.blogspot.com/2006/12/pat.html
Yvonne
http://realpeoplerelief.blogspot.com/2006/12/yvonne-t.html

Questionnaire For Inclusion On Real People Relief

Information Posted on Your Page
Name: - I would like first and last, but please note what you feel comfortable having posted for all to see.

Email: - only contact information public will have about you. You will decide if you want them to know your full information by emailing them.

Location: - where you were; where you are; where you plan to be in a year.

Number in Household: - Please include pets. First names, sex and age of each person.

Situation: – brief paragraph of what you’ve been through, who you’ve applied for help with, what has happened in the last year.

Current Living Arrangements: - FEMA Trailer, Apartment, House, Tent?

Help: - what help, if any, have you received thus far?

Photos: - Up to current photos – can be rotated through as new images are sent.

Needs: Please list preferences; if you’re going to want, you might as well want what you want! Below are examples and in the categories to be listed under.
Foods – non-perishable only
Paper Products – Napkins, Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, etc.
School Supplies – notebooks, pens, pencils, folders, etc.
Computer Supplies – paper, ink (give specific cartridges)
Clothing – list sizes and style color preference
Cleaning Supplies – Windex, Dishwashing liquid, Laundry detergent, etc.
Household Supplies – light bulbs, kitchen supplies (pans, pots, etc.)
Stores you shop at – for possible gift cards or gift registry

Information Not Posted
Full Name
Mailing Address
Phone Number

What I Need from you
Twice monthly updates: - The more often I can update your information, the more frequently your information will be reviewed. People view blogs like an ongoing story. They get hooked on new little tidbits. If I don’t receive regular updates, the information will be pulled after 8 weeks.

What we look like over one year later...

2006-09-24T21:06:00.000-04:00

From Katrina 1 Yea...

If you still wonder do you need to get a group together and volunteer... the answer is simple. YES!
We need you to come down and stay. Bring your church, rotary, civic club, boy scout, girl scout, habitat for humanity, or any other group and come down and help. We've got plenty to do.

www.lagniappechurch.com

Beach Blvd Rebuilding Problems

2006-09-06T22:37:00.000-04:00

By RYAN LaFONTAINE
rlafontaine@sunherald.com

BAY ST. LOUIS - The washed-out section of Beach Boulevard from U.S. 90 to Washington Street should be restored by July 2008, state and city officials said Tuesday.
"That area was the heart and soul of our city and we have to get the road back," Bay Mayor Eddie Favre told engineers during a pre-design conference with the state Department of Transportation.
Engineers will spend the next 24 weeks designing the project. Five weeks later, MDOT expects to be ready to solicit job proposals from construction firms willing to do the work, which could begin sometime late next summer.
Federal, state, county and city officials are joining forces to pull off a massive overhaul of the beachfront through Old Town, a job that will require much more than a few loads of dirt and new asphalt. Officials must first overcome daunting challenges.
The work will require officials to get temporary access to private property on the beach side of the road, in order for workers to maneuver heavy equipment.
Eventually there could be a tedious legal process of permanently taking land from beachside property owners from U.S. 90 to Washington Street.
Then there's this: Archaeologists believe they have uncovered evidence of a prehistoric village near the jobsite and road work that could potentially impinge on ancient artifacts could be delayed for up to seven months.
The Corps of Engineers plans to build a $29 million concrete barrier that will run about 6,500 feet from U.S. 90 to Washington Street and stand as high as Beach Boulevard.
Local officials hope to reclaim land from the Bay of St. Louis to rebuild the 30-foot bluff in Old Town.
Because the Federal Highway Administration would fund much of the work, the repairs will need to be done under federal guidelines, which means water and sewer lines that were beneath the old road will have to be moved.
Relocating the lines will force the city to take some private property on the beach side of the street.
When the designs are finalized in about six months, land-acquisition attorney Jack Pittman said, officials should know exactly what private properties the city will need.
Favre is holding on to the city's initial idea of a "land swap" with beachside property owners that would allow the city to take the space needed to widen the road in exchange for the new property the government plans to pump in between the boulevard and the new seawall.
Once work begins, MDOT hopes to obtain temporary easements to allow trucks and tractors to roam freely on beachside private property. In order for MDOT to maintain the bluff, the easements will remain active until the Corps of Engineers completes the seawall. No start date has yet been established.
The ancient village in question, which is believed to date back to the time of Christ, thrived along the shore between Bayview Court and the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club, according to archaeologists.
Experts say the center of the village would have been somewhere around the foot of the bay bridge, south of U.S. 90, where archaeologists have discovered an Indian mound.
"From what I've seen so far, this is a serious archeological site," said Ricky Lee, MDOT district engineer. "When the work starts, you can bet it will be monitored."
If human remains are discovered in the village area, federal law requires the beach repair project to stop while researchers locate and return the sacred discovery to whatever tribe may have occupied the village at that time.
MDOT environmentalist Wes Stafford said if federal funds are used to move the utility lines, the city will need to work with the state Department of Archives and History to lessen the chances of bothering unearthed relics, which could mean launching an all-out archeological dig.
Favre said an archaeological dig could last up to seven months, and he wants county and city engineers to immediately locate all possible areas where the utility lines could be installed so researchers can begin any historic searching now in hopes of being finished by the time MDOT is ready to start the work.

Citizen Update

2006-08-19T19:45:00.000-04:00

10/30
Hello there Miss Leslie!
Sorry I haven't updated you sooner, but as you will see, we've been very busy beavers, or as they say on the bayou, nutria.
First, I have to tell you about what happened today. I was on my way to go check on some free couches, Abbey had a mishap. She always likes to go with me, so as usual, we were off. I had the window down about 2/3 of the way, and she was sticking her head out of it. Luckily I was still on a side street, when she decided to put her hind legs on the arm rest. At that same moment the road makes a curve, and out she flips of the window. I freaked out, slammed on the brakes, and ran to her. She luckily didn't break anything, but did get a small cut on her back leg and badly shaken up. I really don't know which one of us was more scared. Anyway, I brought her right back haoe and cleaned her cut, and wrapped her in her blnet and she is resting now. Seems to be ok, but I'm not leaving her side today. I just couldn't bear losing her as she's become the love of our lives. Anyway,
The good news is that we're really making headway on the house. The sheetrock is about 85% up and the siding is about 2/3 up. Lagniappe is supposed to be getting some skilled workers in this week and hopefully they can finish hanging the rock , mudding, and do the final sanding. After that, I'm going to get a spray apinter and spray everything with primer, then put on the final coat and color. t will all be downhill from there. Last week we paid for the cabinets and counter tops and they should be ready in about 3 wks, which will be just about right.
Leslie, I feel like a new person, now hat there is a clearing at the end of the forest, and it's mostly come true due to people like you. You really should have wings and a halo. I can't wait to send pictures. I gotta run, but I will keep you updated and send pictures as soon as the sheetrock is done. Thanks again for the help and encouragement, good friend.
I sure hope your asthma gets better, I know what a bitch it can be, as one of my son's has it. Also, could you let me know what hospital Pastor Bonnie is in? There's an epidemic going around with those stinkin' staph infections. Timmy got one on his inner thigh and it really started spreading. We don't have any insurance, so were trying to Dr. it ourselves, but soon realized that wasn't too smart, so one morning when he woke up and it was heading both north and south, we ran to the ER. The Dr. immediately took him in, and had to lance it, and pack it. A couple days later he took out the packing and Timmy had to stay on antibiotics for 2 weeks. I guess only sulfur based ones will work. Seems like everyone is getting them. The ER Dr said it is becoming an epidemic that started about 6 years ago, and they can't seem to find a way to stop it. Another plague?
Anyway, the old seahag on the bayou is signing off to go to work on the house and be nurse to my baby, Abbey. Talk to ya soon,

10/13
Hi there! Just wanted to give you some positive news. TODAY, we have 2 crews here working on the house! One is putting the siding on the house, and the other is putting up the insulation! You can't imagine how happy I am. It is such a big step in getting uws back into the house. We're hoping to get some sheetrock up next week, but not sure if there will be help available. If we have to, Timmy and I will try to do what we can, but hopefully there will be a group to help. I've got 2 cabinet people working on prices for them. They say it takes 6 wks. to get them, but I would move in even without them. There's about 20 people here today, and I want to do something special, so I'm off to the store to try and get something special for luch for them just a small way to show how much they are appreciated. I want to thank you also for always being there not just for me, but for everyone you've touched. As soo as they get done, I'll take some pics and send them. Gotta run, but just wanted to give some positve news for a change. Talk at ya soon, Love and thanks, Yvonne, Timmy, and of course, Abbey!

9/16 Update
I'm still up here in Green Bay. Got the results back from the biopsy, and they were negative! Praise God! They still don't know why they were enlarged, so will need to keep an eye open, but at least it isn't cancer at this point. Said it might be something viral. Anyway, thanks soooo much for the prayers, I know they helped. I'm going to see my mom on Tues and will spend a week or so with her, then go back down to the daily challenge on the bayou. I hope if all goes well, and we get a little more help, we can be in by Thanksgiving. That would be so awesome. Don't remember (senior moments) but we have all the windows in, the exterior doors, new roof, 99% of the electrical and 60% plumbing done, the siding is bought, but not up yet, the front and back stairs are rebyuilt and up. Will send pictures when I get back. I was given a digital camera to use so I can download them to the computer, but I have to be at home to do that. Thanks again Leslie, for being the person you are, you are a treasure to the world! We all love you! Yvonne

8/19

This is from Yvonne, showing the steady, but slow, progress on her and her husband's house. They are amazing people! They have no money, he's a fisherman trying to make ends meet working on the docks doing ship repair, and yet they help distribute loads of goods as they arrive at a local Presby church (The Lagniappe Presbytery). They also held a shrimp boil for all the folks over there! Talk about wonderful!

She has a great camera! I was able to pull a LOT of information out of the shadows.

Both homes next to each other.

This next picture has a bit of a request with it. Yvonne needs to use a wheel chair most of the time. She has a degenerative back disorder that is making stairs more and more difficult. Does anyone know where we can find an outdoor wheel chair lift for her? I'm at a total loss. If you do, please contact her directly at Tillmanx2 at AOL cot com (written out to avoid spammers)

Her sanity! A fearless pup that brings sheer joy after her last dog died just a few months ago.

6/26 -Today some volunteers came and put on half the roof, and hopefully will be back tomorrow to finish the rest. I'm sure by end of the week it'll be done. Lagniappe church supplied the workers and material. What a Godsend! There's supposed to be an electrician coming tomorrow also, so if he gets here, and we can finish up the wiring, we can get going on putting up the walls and start to wrap it and side it. Then sheetrock and insulation. I don't think I'll get an elevator/lift. All avenues I've pursued have come to a dead end, but I can't complain. At least the rest of it seems to be coming together. I'll keep you posted on our progress or lack of it (Ha ha). Anyway, have a great 4th of July weekend. I bet there will be some awesome fireworks out that way.

Thanks again for the info,

Love,Yvonne on the Bayou!

Local Artist on NPR

2006-08-05T22:06:00.000-04:00

http://thekatrinacollectionbylorikgordon.blogspot.com
http://lorikgordon.blogspot.com

2/12 Hey y'all-It has been a very busy-and productive-three months since I last emailed. First, I was able to move my studio to its new location in an old barn on Pinetucky Road (really!) in the beautiful community of Henleyfield, Mississippi. Although it means an hour one-way commute for me, the simple fact that I have electricity in my studio, for the first time since the storm, makes it worthwhile. What a luxury.This fall, I traveled to Washington DC for a terrific show in Georgetown, and a piece of The Katrina Collection was purchased for inclusion in the Safeco Corporate Art Collection in Seattle. An image from The Katrina Collection was included on the holiday card from the Southern Arts Federation, and the Mississippi Humanities Council again honored my work by choosing an image for the cover of their Annual Report. I hosted a very enjoyable workshop in Ocean Springs, MS recently and was invited to join the featured artists at the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, also in Ocean Springs. I began writing feature articles on other artists on the coast for South Mississippi Living, and finally, the State of Mississippi commissioned me to create twenty pieces of The Katrina Collection as gifts from the state to journalists from six Western European nations. The next few months look to be busy as well; towards the end of this month I will leave for a road trip back to the DC area, where I will be participating in a show in Alexandria, VA and teaching a workshop in the same location. From there I will fly to Midland, Texas for the opening reception of The Katrina Collection in their 2007 Contemporary Artist Series. April will see another show in Richmond, VA and in May, Cairo and I will make the drive to Minneapolis for a show at Frank Stone Gallery. In June I will be teaching a workshop for children at Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, and another workshop is scheduled in July in Bay St. Louis. In September, I have been invited back for the annual Art for the Sangres Show in Colorado. In between trips, I have been working up at the barn on Pinetucky, creating a bunch of new pieces of The Katrina Collection. I have just finished updating the website, so please take a look, and if you are inclined to forward the site on to your mailing list, I would be very appreciative. The new work is all posted towards the top of the site. Hoping that the New Year is bringing good things to all of you-

12/11

Hey y'all-
I have finally updated the blog for The Katrina Collection with several new pieces. The past three months have involved so much traveling-Colorado, Louisiana, Washington DC, Jackson, New York City-that I have not had any time to be working on the collection. It's good to be home again for a few weeks, and doing what I love.
While I continue to work on The Katrina Collection, I am also creating small, very affordable (starting at $20) collages created from handmade, hand painted papers and polymer clay. While I have several ongoing series, the most popular collages this holiday season are the works which feature bas relief images of Russian icons. The molds for these pieces were created directly from exquisite bronze Russian icons which are estimated to be two centuries old. The images translate beautifully into the polymer, which I then paint with acrylics. I choose a variety of handmade and/or hand painted papers to complement the iconographic images and include an interpretation of the icon, written by an authority on the Byzantine tradition, with each piece. Other pieces in the series are created around giclee reproductions of painted icons and incorporate ancient text images which I acquired from one of the Smithsonian galleries on a trip to Washington, DC last week.
At 4 pm today and again on Saturday and Sunday, I will be gifting a collage from this collection. Stop in at The Artists of 220 Main in Bay St. Louis and enter your name in the free drawing. For those of you who are out of the area, please visit one of the two blogsites listed below, scroll down to the end and email me the confirmation number, and I will enter your name in the drawing.
On December 2nd, I will be spending the day with my friends in St. Francisville, Louisiana. Lynn has invited me back to Birdman Coffee and Books for their annual Christmas in the Country, and I hope to see many of you there in this most delightful of southern communities. Again at this location, I will be gifting a piece from The Icon Series.
One last note. Our Mississippi premiere screening of The Art of the Storm was very well received. I'd like to remind all of you to visit http://www.theartofthestorm.com/ to purchase one of the documentaries. The film follows the stories of several coast artists as we struggle to rebuild our lives and careers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and at $20, it is another very affordable Christmas gift.
Here's hoping that you all have a great holiday season-
Take care,
Lori
http://collagebylorikgordon.blogspot.com/
http://thekatrincollectionbylorikgordon.blogspot.com/

9/13 - Just got in From Lori

Hi everyone-The feature story on The Katrina Collection is scheduled to air on the CBS Evening News tomorrow-Thursday the 14th. So unless we get bumped, see you then!

Lori

9/1

The last couple of weeks have been a very busy time down here. I am pasting on a few links to some recent coverage of The Katrina Collection. There will be more coming, as I spent yesterday morning with some wonderful people from the CBS Evening News. I will send along an email when that interview is due to air. For now, here are the links-the first is to an Associated Press story which just came online yesterday, and the second is an interview which I did with National Public Radio. In addition, I just returned from a trip to Minneapolis for the premiere screening of a documentary by Watts Up Productions. "The Art of the Storm" follows the journey of several Gulf Coast artists in our efforts to recover from the storm. Please go to http://www.theartofthestorm.com/ for more information about the film. If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, please let me know- Take care,Lori

http://asap.ap.org/stories/834056.s

All Things Considered, August 5, 2006 ·
In Bay Saint Louis, Miss., artist Lori Gordon has quite literally picked up the pieces in the wake of Hurricane Katrina... and is trying to make sense of the storm with bits of the rubble left behind.
Gordon's "Katrina Collection" is full of mixed-media collages that are meant for wall space in living rooms or display space on bookshelves. They're attempts to draw meaning and order from hurricane debris.
As early as a week after the storm hit, she began combing through muck and mud for pieces of her life and the lives of her neighbors. She found a copper frying pan bought in Mexico, smashed flat as a tortilla. She found bits of furniture, the bleached appendages of dolls, scarred and twisted metal, a pastoral sketch of a tree-lined country road turned ghostlike by sludge and mold.
Gone were the coastal landscapes Gordon painted before Katrina. But she began to see artistic promise and peril in the massive piles of debris that remained.
"I started doing this out of some kind of psychological desperation," she says. "I was so desperate to be doing something productive."
She says her series is about "rebirth" and "rebuilding" and "taking whatever it is you have left -- even if you have lost everything -- taking whatever it is you can find and starting again."

Recovering Vital Paperwork

2006-07-01T21:22:00.000-04:00

http://www.firstgov.gov/Citizen/Topics/PublicSafety/Hurricane_Katrina_Recovery/Vital_Docs.shtml

This site has for citizens, businesses, not-for-profits and Federal employees

It have links and directions to replace your:

Bank Records
Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates
Damaged Money
Driver's License and Vehicle Registry
Civilian Personnel Records
Immigration Documents
Has a medical information form
Medicare Card Replacement
Military Service Records
Passport
Savings Bonds
SS Card
Tax Returns

There is a phone directory if you'd rather do this by phone and a FAQ sheet.

Please Check it out

Heritage Conservation Network

2006-06-24T18:37:00.000-04:00

http://heritageconservation.net/
Heritage Conservation Network
1557 North Street
Boulder, CO 80304 USA
info@heritageconservation.net

11/13 - January Work Project Planned
Hi Leslie,

Plans for our January workshop are now finalized. We will be working to reconstruct the historic front porch on the c. 1895 house at 115 Washington Street. I’ve included a short paragraph below if you could send this out to your contacts.

Thanks so much,
Judith

Post-Katrina Hands-On Preservation Workshop
Bay St. Louis, MS
January 1 – 13, 2007

HCN will return to Bay St. Louis to provide assistance to one family in rebuilding their home. Join us for this two-week project and see what the work of many hands can accomplish. The project involves the final stage in the restoration of 115 Washington – reconstructing the original front porch. The historic balloon frame house was built c. 1895 by Edwin Edwards who ran the Edwards Sawmill in Pearlington, MS. Edwards’ knowledgeable construction techniques may be what allowed the house to withstand Katrina’s huge tidal surge, which destroyed most others houses between 115 Washington and the Gulf. The owner, with the help of neighbors, has worked for the past year to rebuild the house. The porch is the final piece. Participants will learn preservation carpentry skills as they help complete the project.
For more details or to Register, go to www.heritageconservation.net.
7/30 - From WLOX
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=4885813
Owners of historic homes and businesses in Hancock County turned out Tuesday to learn more about the tax incentive programs available. Representatives from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History explained to residents how to apply for the preservation program.
The goal is to help property owners save as many storm damaged historic buildings as possible.
"There is a 26 percent federal tax credit with the Internal Revenue Service for historic properties which renovate and repair the storm damage for income producing properties - which is everything from commercial buildings and home offices in your historic house. There is a state tax credit of 25 percent for everybody, homeowners and businesses, for the restoration of historic properties," Barbara Bacot with the Mississippi Department of Archives & History said.
The preservation workshop heads to Jackson County Wednesday afternoon. It will be held at 1:30 at the Pascagoula City Hall. If you can't be there, you may contact the State Department of Archives and History at (601) 576-6940 for more information.

The Monkey House (Site 1) 146 Main Street
This building is affectionately known in Bay St. Louis as the "Monkey House". Jenette Carmichael, who owned the house in the mid 1900s, ran a newspaper here and kept a pet monkey. Built circa 1850, it was, before the storm, one of the ten oldest buildings in town. After Katrina, it may now be the oldest standing building in the county. Standing next to the courthouse on Main Street in the once thriving arts district, this building served as a focal point for the arts community for many years. The classic Creole cottage took four feet of water inside with the storm surge, which required interior materials to be gutted. It is now dry and ready for preservation and repair. When completed, it will house an art gallery run by owner Elizabeth Dowdy, who purchased the building three weeks before the storm. Elizabeth is currently showing work by local artists in a temporary location and would like to be one of the "pioneers" who reopen as soon as possible.

Rivendale (Site 2)414 3rd Street
This house is affectionately known as "Rivendale". Estimated to have been built in the 1890's, it has barge board construction and double front entrances. Later owners “camelbacked" it, creating a marvelous second story space in the rear that overlooked a wooded area teeming with wildlife. A lovely English garden framed the entrance. The house was structurally damaged by the force of the tidal surge, even though it is nearly half a mile from the beach. The floors in the front rooms are buckled and pushed up by beams that were shifted during the storm. Yet, initial assessments say it can be saved and one day will again be a haven for nature lovers.

Aderer House (Site 3) 212 St. Charles
If you drive up from the beach, this sturdy house is now the first standing house on St. Charles Street. All of the other historic houses between it and the Gulf (about half a mile) were completely destroyed by Katrina. While the storm raged, the three sons of the owner, Karl Aderer, filmed the event. They have created a DVD which details the horror of the storm and are using it to raise money for survivors. The house itself has a central hallway with large rooms on either side, giving it a timeless, gracious feeling, even in its current state of disrepair. High ceilings are adorned with vintage lighting fixtures. The owner has been working on the property since the storm but is particularly in need of expert plastering help.

Mehrton House (Site 4)606 Hancock
This charming house is one of the few survivors on the entire block. The Hancock County Historical Society information estimates it as being circa 1930, but structural members uncovered during the storm have many guessing that it is much older, perhaps pre-1900. The cottage is lined with bead board interior and has an arcaded front porch. The water rose several feet inside the house, but thankfully, the house seems to have survived without major structural damage. The owner, Joy Mehrton, is a well-known musician and choral director.

Monti House (Site 5)209 Washington Street
Lisa Monti, a business writer for a Biloxi newspaper, writes: My grandparents built the home where I live in 1915, next door to my grandfather’s blacksmith shop. A couple of years ago I restored the house, getting back to the original bead board walls and ceilings and hardwood floors. Most of the windows are original to the house, and the fireplace is the main feature of the small living room. My favorite features are the many windows and the screened front porch, which is cooled by the breezes from the water. The house has been the meeting place for my family for four generations, who met over countless Sunday meals and holiday feasts.

If you have additional questions or have information for us, please contact us at workshops@heritageconservation.net or call +1 303-444-0128.

If you would like to help with the repair and preservation of hurricane-affected areas but are unable to attend the workshop, you can still participate by supporting our conservation efforts with a tax deductible donation to HCN. Donations will be used in a variety of ways - to sponsor a participant, to provide materials needed for conservation work, or to provide teaching materials for participants, just to name a few.

If you would prefer to mail in a gift, please use our donation form. http://heritageconservation.net/don

Impact Ministries

2006-06-24T17:21:00.000-04:00

IMPACT Ministries 375 Robinson Rd Mooresville, NC 28117 704-507-6579
info@citiimpact.org

12/9 CHRISTMAS in the GULF COAST REGION

Writing to you, I am renewed in my inner being of the vast greatness of the Lord our God.
His mercies truly are new every morning. He is long-suffering and through Jesus full of grace and truth. Let the whole earth sing His praises. Join with us in the Spirit of our Lord and lift Jesus up high during this season in our hearts, our homes, our churches, our communities and across the face of this earth. Joy to the world, the Lord has come!

The Christmas season in the Gulf Region will see thousands of children and their families being ministered to with compassion, counseling, prayers, Bibles, food, and toys.
The various Kingdom strategic partners with IMPACT will be providing these ministries in various sites in Mississippi and Louisiana. Toy for Tots has again generously asked us to serve as a primary distribution agency for their benevolence. We shall do more than just give out toys, though. We are providing a direct pathway to the Hope of the Ages, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords....JESUS. We also have implemented follow-up systems to track the families served with and through various churches.

We'll give you some results of this around the end of this month. Pray with us for the Lord to continue to show HIMSELF mighty and faithful, the Holy One of Israel.

Strategic Partner Progress

Lake Charles, Louisiana Volunteer Center for IMPACT
This is the location one of our newest volunteer center. We are able to house up to 200 people at a time in teams. We provide hot meals, showers, and laundry is available. The strategic partnership there includes local and national ministries and churches. With needs assessments in place, and project coordinators leading work assignments we are able to give teams meaningful experiences as they serve a 5 county (parish) area. There are thousands of people living in FEMA parks, and sub-standard housing. MOST of them have no or little resources to rebuild their lives, much less their houses. We, together, offer them Hope from the giver of all HOPE.

H & R Block Referral Program - Supports IMPACT
Posted to our web site will be link for information, and a download form. This form when filled out and taken to YOUR local H & R Block Income Tax Office for them to do your taxes, will result in IMPACT receiving a $25.00 donation. To qualify the taxpayers only restriction is that the taxpayer did NOT have their taxes prepared by H & R Block for 2005. Please forward this information to everyone you know. This will be an easy way to support the ministry while getting your taxes done!
We'll send some more information on this to you soon, or email us with your questions.

Hancock County, MS- A new Volunteer Center for IMPACT
Announcing the opening of a volunteer center for IMPACT Teams in Hancock County, MS; near Bay St. Louis, Waveland and Pearlington. The site has showers, bunks, a kitchen and convenient access to work sites. Teams serving here have good projects to work on for construction. The needs are assessed and verified and the resources gathered to build and do major repair on 64 houses before July 2007.
Come serve with us!

K-LIFE FM radio,
Christian radio from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara,, California
Watch for the link on our site to listen to music online from this great Christian radio partner from California. Even as I write this, the founders, Dan and Karen Lemburg, are serving with us in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.
Listen for IMPACT updates there and encouraging information about the Kingdom of God.
In the meantime, you can sign in to listen by clicking here:
K-LIFE FM :: Music :: Listen Online Now!
http://klife.org/music/listen.html

11/24 Impact Ministries Has a Blog for Monthly updates -http://www.citiimpact.blogspot.com/

Friends,

Our family started a new Holiday tradition three years ago. We decided to forego the traditional Christmas letter and instead do a Thanksgiving letter in which we each share the things for which we are thankful. We then have asked friends to mail back the enclosed leaf after writing on it what they are thankful for. We read each leaf with the kids and pray for the family who sent it. The leaves then go on our “Tree of Thanks” to make a beautiful visual reminder of friends and gratitude. Unfortunately, time got away from me this year. Yet, this is the year that we have perhaps learned the most about giving Thanks, not taking things for granted, and appreciating the small things. Although you are not receiving this in the mailbox this year, – we ask that you would still participate with us.

Most of you know that we have been doing disaster relief since Katrina hit fifteen months ago. For those of you who have not been to the Gulf Coast, I cannot adequately describe the suffering that still exists. So many of the modern day conveniences that we have grown to believe are essentials are now nonexistent for these folks. Things such as a warm shower in the morning or a comfortable bed at night are no longer guarantees. Electricity was just restored to most places in St Bernard Parish this August.

Imagine living in a tin box (FEMA trailer) in 99 degree temperatures and no air conditioning. Still both water and electricity are undependable at best. Everyone has to go to the Laundromat. People with doctorate degrees are forced to get food from our distribution tents because their jobs and savings are gone. Nothing is familiar anymore. The storm took it all: landmarks, historical sites, places of worship, grocery stores, schools, neighborhoods, and even neighbors.

As a mother, the most heart wrenching losses are the things that you can’t ever replace: the family photos that have chronicled weddings, births and birthdays, first days of school and simply days when laughter, smiles, and fun were natural. Then there are the piles of artwork made special for mommy with love, usually drawings of their houses and happy family. Now, the children have no place to play. If they get to draw it is often of the wind and flood and the nightmares that won’t end.

Families are cramped together. Few children have their own bed, let alone their own rooms or toys. Everyone knew someone who died and many saw the dead bodies of their friends, family, and neighbors piled in the high school gym as they waited for the waters to recede. It is no wonder that suicide, , divorce, and drug and alcohol abuse are near epidemic.

Yes, this disaster has brought out the worst in some. There are those who have taken advantage of the generosity and kindness of others. Yet, there are many that when they gather with their family this Thanksgiving, they will say, “Thanks”. They are grateful for the thousands who have come to help, with whom some now share life long friendships. They are thankful for their new sense of empathy and an awareness of what is truly important in life and for life itself. They are grateful for the things that no wind can blow away and no flood can drown.

These are amazing people, whose faith has stood. JD and I have had so many tell us, “Thank-you”. Yet, we do not at all feel deserving. First of all, all thanks goes to God for everything comes from Him. Second, we are honored, humbled, and so very thankful to have been able to walk this journey with them and with all who have come to help. We have seen The Church of America unite together like no other time in history. We have met some modern day heroes of Faith as well as some everyday humble folks, who have blessed us more than we could ever bless them.

Those like Nolan and Denise who lost their home, yet were more worried about their neighbors than themselves. Those like Wilbur and Steve who lost their wives yet still find the strength to go on. Those like Alva, Greg, Gabe, Vicky, and Jen who have chosen to live without toilets for more than a year so they could help those with no choice. Those like Sue, Kathy, John and Sandy, and James and Mary who completely uprooted and are willing to live there for as long as is needed. Those with the “Aloha” spirit in Hawaii who just keep on giving. Those who knew God called them to come to help and we saw their Faith soar as He provided. Those like Pastor Randy who drove 90 minutes twice a day for a year to help his community rebuild. Those like Lynn and Russell who despite all kept their dignity. Those who risked their own lives in the flood to save others. Those like Charlie who find no value in the things of this world but just in relationship with others. Those like the sweet little boy at Christmas, who didn’t want anything for himself, just a bike for a family friend so he could get to work. We give thanks for each of them and the countless others who left imprints on our hearts that will last forever.

LITTLE THINGS

Dear Heavenly Father, as I thank You this day
And, humbly, I bow my head to pray
I really must think of Katrina, recanted
And all that, before then, I took for granted
At the end of August, two-thousand and five
The winds and rain, they came alive
Seawater swelled, and it seethed, and roared
Devouring all, with such greedy hoard
And there, in a flash, the world, it was changed
All that we knew was to be rearranged
Lord, We fled in a panic for our very lives
Separated husbands, children, and wives
The winds grew quiet and the water calmed down
Revealing stagnant death that once was our town
Strangers gathered to help us regroup
With love, giving blankets, supplies, and warm soup
At first we were numb, Lord, as we fled to the shelter
When reality struck, it was just helter-skelter
Huddled there with the lost, the sick, and some dying
Kids were screaming, adults were stunned or crying
Before Katrina, Father, I remember the days
With accessible schools, with sports and school plays
Little things in our lives that are now gone for good
A pile of debris where our house once stood
And, no more green grass, where our children once played
Or, pictures, when Grandma and Grandpa once stayed
No mementos to hold, except in our mind
Nothing of Momma’s or Dad’s was I able to find
Lord, please forgive me because I didn’t know
The riches, upon me, you thought to bestow
Little things like a place just to cut my hair
And, a peaceful night’s sleep, without the nightmare
Days where the children don’t fear wind and rain
When loss was much smaller, not connected with pain
I’m sorry I never said thanks for toilets that flush,
Safe water to drink, and my own toothbrush
I see people scurry with cell phones, acting nervous
What a blessing it was to have basic phone service
I never imagined the long lines for groceries and supplies
Or, the unsanitary conditions that burn our eyes
Though I thanked You for food, and that we were able,
I never said thanks, Lord, for us to all sit at the same table
Some day, I pray, that again I can provide
For my family who still stand close by my side
And, Lord though it’s hard to depend upon others
We might not have made it without loving sisters and brothers.
Lord, your work here is not done, for some it’s just started
So please bless the people who still give, open hearted!
Amen
By: Vicky Robbins, 2006

Instead of a leaf on our “Tree of Thanks”, we would like your help this year to grow a whole “Forest of Giving”. Please talk with your family about the “little things” in your lives that you may take for granted but couldn’t imagine living without. Then if you could write it down either as a prayer or as an encouragement to those who have done without this year we will deliver them this Holiday season. In addition, if you are able to include a monetary donation or gift card (Walmart, Home Depot, or Gas cards) we will purchase a supply of these “little things” to give to those in need. If you want to specify what you would like it to be spent on we will honor that the best we can (i.e. toys for kids, ornaments, family photos, construction materials, food, water, etc). For more information on specific needs you can visit our website. Please feel free to pass this on to anyone else that you think would like to participate in the “Forest of Giving”.

May we never again grow complacent about the common, but instead rejoice in the luxury that “little things” bring.

With Thanksgiving,

The Smith Family
JD, Toni, Caleb, and Abigail

IMPACT Ministries
www.citiIMPACT.org
375 Robinson Rd
Mooresville, NC 28117

11/11
hey Leslie,
Hope this is a little encouraging to you.
We shipped 800 frozen turkeys today to 4 places in Mississippi and Louisiana. They will be put together with all the fix-ins and delivered to those in various "food deserts" in those two states. It certainly is not enough to cover everyone, but it will help the ONES it does get.
Be blessed as you continue your service of information to the masses.
Hope deferred is a bad thing. Hope fulfilled is glorious, and HE is!
JD SmithIMPACT Ministries

OCTOBER 29, 2006 – YES, WE ARE STILL HERE . . . YES, WE STILL NEED YOU!

Praise God that He kept away the Hurricanes this year.
The national weather service initially predicted an even stronger Hurricane season than last year. Thankfully and miraculously, NO major hurricane hit the United States this year. This was a relief to the thousands still living in FEMA trailers from Katrina and Rita. However, they still have a long way to go. IMPACT Ministries is committed to helping as much as we can for as long as we can. Of course that means we need your help. We need volunteers, supplies, funding, and of course prayers to continue.

Here are areas of critical need:
1. Volunteers and supplies for Christmas Outreach on Dec. 9th in St. Bernard Parish. See: IMPACT Ministries - Events
2. Construction Supplies and/or Funding to purchase supplies for those who have no insurance to rebuild.
3. Skilled labor
4. Volunteer Teams
5. Construction/Team Coordinator in New Orleans
6. PRAYER

The following are answers to prayer:
1. God’s Katrina Kitchen found a new home in Gulfport, MS. From there we continue to serve the areas of Gulfport, Pass Christian, Waveland, Pearlington and Long Beach.
2. The camp near Hattiesburg, MS, has officially been turned over to IMPACT. We will be announcing ways you can partner with us in providing inner city camps, retreats, family camps and pastoral nurturing through this facility.
3. John Blake (he and his wife, Sandy, moved to MS in May to assist IMPACT Ministries) is recuperating at home after a short hospital stay. This could have been much worse as it turned out John was dangerously close to a heart attack and/or stroke as a result of seriously high blood pressure and severe blockage to an artery. Thankfully, they caught it in time. Please continue to pray for his recovery.
4. Two wonderful ladies from New Hampshire will be moving to the gulf region to help IMPACT with teams, organization, and whatever else God lays on their hearts! We are so thankful for Sue Fish and Kathy Billings and look forward to a fruitful partnership in ministry. Amazingly enough, we have yet to meet these ladies in person. However, the Lord has knit our hearts over the last six months. Pray for them as they make this leap of faith.

In The Works:
1. First Response Initiative to provide local on-site training weekends – We shall go to your communities to help prepare “The Church” in your area how to mobilize and respond to a disaster either locally, nationally, or internationally. Through Katrina we all learned that we should not depend on Red Cross or the government to meet these needs. Rather, it is the call of The Church to take care of the poor and needy. It is also a huge opportunity for us to share the gospel through being His hands and feet. We need to be ready. These trained teams would then be the first groups we would turn to if another 9-11 or Katrina were to hit. Please let us know if your church community is interested and we will get your area on the schedule.
2. Partnership with Habitat for Humanity – IMPACT Ministries and Habitat for Humanity are in the development stages for a strategic partnership in the Gulf region that will facilitate and accelerate the rehabilitation of thousands of homes, the construction of thousands of new homes, and the development of multi-economic communities in some locations. Our partnership will combine resources and volunteers to folks who have been qualified, verified and processed for the need. The desire is to help those who cannot help themselves. The process of restoration is expected to take several years to complete and your continued partnership with IMPACT Ministries will be vital and fruitful.
3. Church Plants – We will be launching some house churches in the Gulf region soon. We shall also launch a church in the French Quarter of New Orleans, and one in Mississippi soon. Over the next few years we expect to partner with others to launch many new churches as we continue to help with existing churches in the recovery and restoration processes. We will keep you posted as these develop. Let us know if you have interest in partnering in anyway. We shall need teams, leaders, and of course much prayer.
4. New Strategic Partnership in Lake Charles, La.-IMPACT Ministries has formed a new partnership with the Long Term Recovery operation in Lake Charles, La. Soon IMPACT Ministries will begin sending volunteer groups there to work along side the Churches and community leaders to help rebuild their communities. The needs are great there even after all these months.
5. Multiple Volunteer Center locations-Over the last year, the local partners of IMPACT Ministries as well as partners from all over America have joined forces to facilitate long term recovery and restoration for the Gulf Coast. As 2007 approaches, thousands of volunteers from across America are continuing to respond to the great legitimate needs of so many people. These volunteers are being scheduled into the region in many places where IMPACT Ministries has strategic partnerships with local churches and other ministries. The people NEED YOU, and we can help you help them. It is our honor to serve you as you serve them. How can we serve you in coming to the region?
**An Easy Way to Help**
Need Your Taxes Done?? H & R Block has made IMPACT Ministries a generous offer for a strategic partnership. For everyone who did not have their taxes done by H & R Block in 2005 and uses H & R Block for 2006 taxes, H & R Block will donate $25 to IMPACT Ministries. We will be sending out more information soon but we wanted to get you thinking about it. Please consider sharing this information with your family members, congregation, neighbors, etc. This could be a way that many people could partner with IMPACT Ministries in a substantial way! All you need to do is take the flyer we will be sending to you to your local H &R block anytime between January 1st and April 15th. It saves you the headache of doing your own returns and benefits the victims of Katrina. Also keep in mind that any contributions made directly to IMPACT Ministries is tax deductible, as IMPACT Ministries is a non-profit 501(c) 3 entity.

With Gratitude,
JD and Toni Smith
IMPACT Ministries

Front Line Sites:
Bourg, LA New Orleans,LA Slidell,LA Bay Saint Louis,MS Diamond Head ,MS Gulfport/Biloxi,MS Lakeshore, MS Long Beach,MS Metairie,MS Pass Christian, MS Pearlington, MS Picayune,MS Waveland, MS
Volunteer Centers:
Gulfport/Biloxi, Pass Christian, Long Beach, New Orleans, Waveland
Distribution Centers:
Gulfport/Biloxi,MS New Orleans, LA Pass Christian, MS

We need both skilled and unskilled people (if they are in good health and able to follow directions). Skilled people in areas of: plumbing, electrical, construction, mechanical, roofers, concrete, painting, big equipment, cooking, counseling, youth, children, business development, administration, fund raising, and grant writing.
With the costs of meals, utilities, gas, insurance, and overhead it costs approximately $25 per person per day to operate the Volunteer center. Any contribution that you, your team or your church can give to help meet this need is appreciated.

We had a team from Oregon and one from California that were combined to work on Lynn and Russell’s house in Waveland. This family survived the storm on top of their roof with their two year old granddaughter. When the water receded they climbed down and scooped the mud out of their car to sleep in. They had no food or water for three days. Their dream house was completely destroyed. They are a very integris couple and hated to ask for help. Yet they knew they couldn’t do the work on their own. They decided to start by converting the garage into an apartment. The team came to help and Russell acted like the general contractor. The team and the family became very close that week. Lynn cooked them lunches most everyday. As the team leader for The Church on The Way, Debra Snell led the team to pray for and with them daily. Lynn and Russell have now said that they would like to house teams at their house! We hope to get some skilled groups in to finish out their home and sample Lynn’s famous cooking! As more is done on it we will be able to house more folks there to reach out to more of the residents.

The Recovery Continues – (despite not keeping up the news page!) Much has gone on in the last few months. Currently, teams are busy trying to get as much done as they can before the 2006 Hurricane season starts on June 1st. Speaking of which we would like to ask you and your church to consider signing up as a “First Response Team” if another disaster of such magnitude hits in the coming years. There needs are still staggering in MS and LA, yet we need to look ahead and prepare. We would like to have teams ready to mobilize quickly. Please email us if you want to form such a team.

The biggest need at this time is Teams of Volunteers. We can use 200 people a day for the next year. Please see "teams" page for more info.

Other Immediate Needs:
****NEW*** - WATER – both in gallons and individual. Also Water Purification Units, and refer trailers
Administrative help (This can be done from your home if you have good computer and communication skills.)
Two 15 person passenger vans or mini-buses to transport teams
Utility Trailer
1 Mini Van
1 One Ton Dually Truck
1 Dump Truck
1 Bobcat
2 Fork Trucks
Gas Cards
Gift Cards (Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Target)
Air Miles
Contacts with manufacturers and distributors of food, household goods, construction supplies
Funding for Projects and Construction Supplies
On-site supervisors - volunteer month or more at a time
These can be donated outright and IMPACT will provide a Gift-in-Kind receipt. Or you can donate money designated to meet a specific need.
Note: We are no longer advising people to buy items and ship them into the region. We can find almost everything locally (with the exception of drywall). Your funds would be better stewarded if you could just donate them directly to IMPACT. We have found local distribution places where we can leverage the funds greatly. However if you have contacts with businesses or manufacturers who can donate the items we can offer gift-in-kind tax deductible donations.

Preparing For Disasters

2006-06-21T07:40:00.000-04:00

Disasters can be as small as a single person or as large as an entire nation. A disaster can be a house fire, a wildfire, a tornado, a hurricane, an earthquake, a pandemic or a terrorist action.

How you prepare is the same regardless of the size or type of disaster. There are several publications out by countless organizations to deal with disaster preparedness.

I am going to supply the links, and let you decide which one makes the most sense for you. If you happen to have a source for preparation, please let me know and I’ll add it to the list!

First, Personal Preparation
There are a couple of links
I like The Red File – it is well written, concise and has tons of common sense. www.TheRedFile.com
Citizen Corp has many links to publications to assist you in every aspect, from preparing, preventing and recovering. Very good! http://www.citizencorps.gov/ready/cc_pubs.shtm

Emotional Preparation
North Carolina has done a great job compiling links and publications to assist folks with the emotional aspect of any disaster. http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/mhddsas/disasterpreparedness/index.html
Child Advocate has come out with a small booklet for children and I have found this to be the best out there: http://childadvocate.net/disasterbooklet.pdf
A book entitled Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD. While this book deals with coping with disaster after the fact, reading it before it happens will give you a great weapon on coping before during and after such a serious event.

Financial Preparation
The best I have found in handling this particular aspect is from an organization called Operation Hope. It’s detailed, calls for several lifestyle adjustments in order to put their plan into place, BUT it will work! They have what they call an Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK) that you can download for free:
http://www.operationhope.org/fileupload/File/effak_english.pdf - This is 28 pages.
And a Personal Disaster Preparedness Guide
http://www.operationhope.org/fileupload/File/pdpg_english.pdf - 18 pages.

Finally, Professional/Business Preparation
The Hancock County Chamber of Commerce gave this to me. I’ve not found it in any files or websites I’ve come across and it’s simple, common sense stuff that is so easy to overlook. I have left this information at the top of their page: http://hancockcountyrelief.blogspot.com/2006/06/chamber-lagniappe.html

I feel these links do the best job of covering all aspects of preparing for a disaster. Please let me know if there are others you find that you feel are better or more concise, etc. I’m more than willing to add to the list!

Article on Mayor Favre

2006-06-19T20:07:00.000-04:00

on AOL News

Mayor Wears Shorts to Send Message
Favre Wants to Keep Town's Plight in Spotlight

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, AP

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (June 19) - Not even the president of the United States can get Eddie Favre to wear pants.

Like many of his constituents, the mayor of Bay St. Louis lost everything but the clothes he was wearing when Hurricane Katrina flattened Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Favre turned his misfortune into a vow: He's not shedding his Bermuda shorts until his city is back on its feet.

President Bush joked about Favre's attire when they shared a stage. Journalists gawked at his black shorts and tuxedo top when he showed up in March at the annual Radio & Television Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington.

Favre, 52, welcomes the ribbing and stares as long as it keeps a spotlight trained on his city, which, before Katrina plowed ashore Aug. 29, was known for beachfront summer homes, quaint shops and a thriving art colony. Now the city is littered with bare concrete slabs where homes once stood, boarded-up businesses and government-issued trailer homes.

"Make us whole," pleads the five-term mayor, a distant cousin of Green Bay Packers quarterback and Mississippi native Brett Favre. "Until you make us whole, I'm wearing short pants. Somebody is going to get stuck with these ugly legs."

Many of the Gulf Coast's smaller cities are scrounging for money to plug gaping budget holes and jump-start the glacial pace of Katrina recovery.

The storm demolished more than 70 percent of Bay St. Louis' homes and businesses, scattered thousands of residents, vaporized its tax base and left behind tens of millions of dollars in damage to the city's infrastructure.

Roughly three-quarters of the city's pre-storm population of 8,000 is back, but many of those who returned are still waiting for the financial assistance they need to start rebuilding.
Meanwhile, a frustrated Favre says he's reduced to serving as a morale-booster while he presses state and federal officials to deliver aid to homeowners and the city, which anticipates a $15 million budget deficit over the next three years.

"I hate to see my people suffering so much and know that, to a large extent, there's not a g------ thing I can do to help them," Favre said.

Most Popular Stories

Nine months after the killer storm, some communities, including Bay St. Louis, are still haggling with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the timetable and cost of debris removal. And now another hurricane season is upon the city.

"He really knows what buttons to push," Hancock County Supervisor Steve Seymour says of Favre. "He's done everything he can to get the word out that the people of southern Mississippi are still in need."

Favre has probably never been more popular, but he's no stranger to controversy. In 1990, a year after he took office, he supported opening the city's first casino. Casinos are now widely touted as the region's economic engine, but back then many in Bay St. Louis balked at allowing them into the community.

"I made a decision that it could benefit our people, as long as we stayed in control and didn't let it take us over," Favre said, adding that tax revenue from Casino Magic accounted for more than half of the city's annual $7 million operating budget.

The expected reopening of Casino Magic later this year - under a new name - also would give Bay St. Louis a major boost, but it wouldn't single-handedly solve the city's woes. The road to recovery starts and ends with federal funding, Favre said.

And until his city gets what he feels it deserves, Favre isn't shedding his shorts.

"I'll do whatever the hell I've got to do to get the attention and keep the attention we need," he said. "Our people don't want pity. Our people need help."

City Police Needs

2006-06-16T16:13:00.000-04:00

6/29
On WLOX
http://www.wlox.com/Global/category.asp?C=80298&nav=menu40_6_13
Text:
BSL Police Captain Tom Burleson and 7 of his men left the safety of the HC EOC on August 29 and fought through almost 100 yards of raging currents to save an entire family. The Taylors say Burleson was ready to trade his life for theirs and that's what makes him a true South MS hero.

Mailing Address
City of Bay Saint Louis
P.O. Box 2550
Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521-2550

File labels
correction tape
phone message pads
letter size manila file folders
file folder fasteners
storage boxes
letter and legal size copy paper
white business envelopes
91/2"x12" and 6"x9" manila envelopes with clasps
sheet protectors
liquid paper
legal pads, yellow, 5"x8" and 81/2" x 11"
Bic mechanical pencils
yellow highlighter pens
black dry erase markers
dry erase cleaner
black sharpie - fine point
3"x3" post-it notes
packing tape
lithium batters for small torches
laser printer cartridge, ML 1710D3; HP 51645A, 51641A; 4127X; C8728A; 1823T; C8727 AN; C1823D; C1816A
fax/copier/scanner cartridges HP C4920A, C4921A, C4922A, C4923A, HP C5011DN, C5010DN.One of our biggest expenses for the city is fuel. This is critical to our police and fire departments for obvious reasons.

Employee Relief Fund - donations can be made through the Bay Saint Louis Disaster Relief Fund, with checks earmarked specifically for this use. Our basic employee salary average is $22,500 per year, not including benefits. We currently have 105 employees.Donations to this effort can be made as follows: Checks made payable to Bay Saint Louis Disaster Relief Fund, check subject line: Employee Salary Fund and mailed to City of Bay Saint Louis, Attention: David Kolf, Comptroller, P.O. Box 2550, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521.

Our city's resources are quickly drying up. There are no purchases being made that are not absolutely essential. This has been our business effort since Katrina, not just a newly instituted policy.We have been hoarding our money to keep our employees on full time with benefits. The few employees that have been added to help with the enormous workload are being paid through grant funds for six months only.

Coastal Family Health Clinic

2006-06-08T10:26:00.000-04:00

www.coastalfamilyhealth.com

1/15 BAY ST. LOUIS CLINIC REBUILDING UPDATE:
After losing a large clinic location, Coastal served the recovering area from trailers and mobile clinic units while searching for potential new locations in the Waveland Bay St. Louis community. Coastal has been operating from a leased 5,000 sq ft medical building since June 2006. Coastal has negotiated a purchase option for the building and is planning to renovate and expand to meet the patient volume of the community. Currently the facility is supporting 3 providers. The renovation project funded by Social Services Block Grant funding will enable the addition of 3 exam rooms and one provider by the end of summer 2007. Located in front of Hancock County General Hospital facing Highway 90, the location is accessible to many of Coastal's pre-Katrina patients and a short drive to Waveland or downtown Bay St. Louis.

CFHC was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and sustained damage to 12 locations, with 3 locations completely destroyed. From the moment that Katrina hit, Coastal has provided and continues to provide essential primary health care for more than 30,000 residents in Coastal Mississippi. Demonstrating a knack for flexibility and creativity, CFHC immediately opened temporary service sites wherever an opportunity arose. Now, Coastal is working on semi- permanent service sites to begin to improve the continuity of quality healthcare for the people of Coastal Mississippi.

Coastal Family Health Center operates community health centers located in communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Center makes available quality primary health care, dental care, and optical care to residents of this area, especially to those who have limited resources to pay for the care they need. All of our clinics accept Medicaid, Medicare and other health insurance. For patients who do not have health insurance, the Center will adjust their charges based on income level and the number of dependents. Patients are expected to pay on their accounts as they are able, but no one is denied treatment because they have no money at the time they need care. Also, the Center makes an effort to assist with transportation for those patients who do not have other means of getting to a clinic for care.

Of their 12 sites - 2 of which are mobile units - 3 were completely destroyed and only 1 made it through with no damage at all. The one in BSL was completely destroyed, but with the help of Loudoun Medical (who operated the BSL Free Medical Clinic) were able to establish their presence once again far more quickly than otherwise could have happened.

I have an email into them for more information on the need for volunteers, materials, meds, equipment, etc. as well as if people can donate to a specific site.

The woman who has been incredibly instrumental in organizing the clinics since The Storm is Jennifer Knight. WOW - talk about amazing! There is a video clip of an interview of her here:
www.wlox.com go to heros of mississippi.......

9/6 Found on www.WLOX.com

The Coastal Family Health Center opened a new clinic in Pass Christian Wednesday. Medical care close to home will make life a bit easier in the Pass.
"There aren't any medical facilities that we could find. It's a long distance to go to Long Beach or Bay St. Louis. They need something here," said clinic nurse Deborah Flagg.
Clinic clerk Jennifer Stroud echoed her words.
"They lost their houses, they lost their cars, so they can't drive to Long Beach. They can't drive to Bay St. Louis. They can't go anywhere, so they need something here. "
Coastal Family Health will run the clinic, offering basic medical services from a nurse practitioner.
"We'll take care of things like diabetes, blood pressure, asthma, colds, flus, things like that," Flagg said.
The clinic has two exam rooms and a mini medical lab for blood tests and other procedures. Funding for the clinic comes from a grant from AmeriCares. The international relief organization recognized the need for health care in Pass Christian.
"Anybody can come to the clinic whether they have insurance or whether they don't have insurance. It doesn't matter whether they get Medicare, Medicaid, it doesn't matter. Initially we're just going to take walk-ins, and as our clientele builds up and gets to be a heavy patient load, we'll start doing appointments."
Clinic costs are based on income and is open to any Pass Christian resident. The clinic is located on Saucier Avenue behind Our Mother Of Mercy Church. It's open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8am-3:30pm.
AmeriCares is also funding a mobile dental clinic in Pass Christian. It should be open sometime in November.
For more information about the new medical clinic or the dental clinic you can call (228) 861-8834.

6/25
From Direct Relief International

MISSISSIPPI

Coastal Family Health Center Clinicwww.coastalfamilyhealth.com $93,000

Procurement: Clinic supply restockingCoastal Family Health Center Clinic (CFHCC) lost its clinic space at Moss Point during Hurricane Katrina. Direct Relief granted funding to establish a replacement unit and provide necessary equipment and supplies so that it could once again provide healthcare services to its community, which needed its assistance more than ever. Merck Pharmaceuticals agreed to donate the modular building to CFHC and the local county-owned hospital, Singing River Hospital, agreed to pay for its transportation to site.

CFHCC makes available quality primary health care, dental care, and optical care to its community, with an emphasis placed on caring for those who have limited resources to pay for care. The Center also makes an effort to assist their patients with transportation when they lack other means of receiving care.

Email From A Friend

2006-06-02T08:55:00.000-04:00

This just came to me from a friend who lives in Pass Christian but works in BSL at one of the schools. It is the perfect example of how stress accumulates following a disaster. Life continues with all it's trials and tribulations, but after awhile, all you see are the trials. This is why the folks need emotional, spiritual and psychological support as much as financial.
Leslie

I just read an email from a friend of my daughter. She needs lots of prayers. She is going into surgery this morning for breast cancer. Her mother recently died and her husband recently asked her for a divorce. Her oldest daughter is afraid she will die in the hospital. So, please pray for Lisa today.

Yesterday I got word that my God daughter is having surgery today, instead of next week, for her recently diagnosed lymphoma. (The surgery was scheduled for next week and the oncologist she saw yesterday didn't want to put the surgery off another day) Sara is 34 and five months pregnant with her third child. We have no prognosis for Sara, and won't until some time after the surgery. Her baby is not a year old and her 4 year old is not handling all the trips to the doctors' well.

Sara's mom, my friend of 40+ years, leukemia and severe arthritis and is wearing thin. So, I'll drive to St. Louis tomorrow to help in whatever way I can. So, please pray for Sara and Jane and the children.

I am sad for these young families, but other wise, grateful for the health of my family. My contractor is not getting the prices he needs to write up a contract, so I am still playing the waiting game. Do keep me in your prayers as well, but that seems like a dumb thing to pray for in the midst of such tragic news.

HANDS

2006-05-28T09:17:00.000-04:00

http://www.hands.ms/index2.html
handsrelief@bellsouth.net

HANDS is a 501 (c) 3 that is funded solely through the generous donations of foundations, corporations, churches, and individuals. If you would like to make a contribution to HANDS’ relief efforts,

please contact our distribution center at 601-957-0094.
Make checks payable to:
HANDS
P.O. Box 16449
Jackson, MS 39236

HANDS, Helping Americans Needing Disaster Support, is a Mississippi faith-based non-profit founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. HANDS’ mission is to help rebuild, recover, renew, and restore the individuals, families, and communities devastated by Katrina and other disasters. HANDS is adapting to the changing needs during the different stages of recovery, including the distribution of supplies and clothing, coordinating cleaning and debris removal, and partnering individual families with churches and communities groups to assist in the recovery process.

Dear Friends:

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we have seen the horrific television footage. We have all
struggled with a sense of helplessness at the devastation and number of families left in need. I thank each and every one of you that have taken part in the recovery efforts through sending supplies, money, or volunteering your time. Without your support, the relief efforts would have suffered greatly. However, there is much more work to be done. The recovery process is just beginning. Some of you have toured the coast and seen the devastation first-hand. For those who have not, the destruction is indescribable.

Approximately 70,000 homes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast were completely destroyed, and thousands more were damaged by wind, trees, and water. While the physical destruction has been staggering, the hope and faith of the people affected has been greatly strained. Each passing day our neighbors on the coast see what you and I may catch as a glimpse hidden on the news. We believe God has raised up HANDS to bring the hope of Christ to the region through the physical rebuilding as well as emotional and spiritual support.

While this is sobering news to hear eight months post Katrina, the Mississippi,Faith-based nonprofit, HANDS (Helping Americans Needing Disaster Support), offers a brighter vision for the future.

The goal of HANDS is “to rebuild the Coast one family at a time” using a new initiative called the Family Connection Program. HANDS has gathered data on the needs of over 1,500 families, or approximately 6,300 individuals, from the devastated region, including Biloxi, Gulfport, Waveland, Pearlington, and Pass Christian. There are far too many needs to list in this letter, but none are greater than their need for a renewed spirit of hope. In the early days after the storm, many people placed their hope in their insurance companies, the government, and the nation, assuming that these groups would be able to provide enough support to help them rebuild. However, the harsh reality is that many people have gone back to their normal routines, offers of assistance have dwindled, and many Coastal residents have begun experiencing
widespread depression as they face their bleak future. We believe Jesus has called us to love our
neighbor during this time of need and the Family Connection Program is a vehicle to do just that.

The Family Connection Program offers you, your family, your church, or your business an
opportunity to take a personal hand in rebuilding the Coast. Each HANDS Sponsor Group is assigned one family, and is asked to commit one full year to developing a relationship with the family and addressing their emotional needs. Pray for them, Care for them and Share with them in their time of need. After becoming “intimately” involved in the family’s life, if there are physical or financial needs that you feel led to address, HANDS’ encourages you to do so. Each family in the Family Connection Program shares similar emotional needs, but the financial needs vary from family to family. Using detailed research data, HANDS can match each sponsor group with a family based upon the sponsor’s anticipated time and available resources.

For more information on the Family Connection Program, contact HANDS at 877-426-3703 or 601-957-0094. You can also visit their web site at www.hands.ms.

Through the Family Connection Program, HANDS is making a profound impact in the lives of many people, and I encourage you to become a part.

As Americans, we can find no greater way to promote the general welfare of our nation and our
people than a program such as this. The largest natural disaster in the history of our nation is upon us and now is the time for each of us to make a personal difference and exhibit the passion Christ has placed in our hearts to Love our Neighbor as ourselves.

HELPING AMERICANS NEEDING DISASTER SUPPORT

Presbytery Disaster Assistance

2006-05-20T09:01:00.000-04:00

http://www.pcusa.org/katrina/

To Volunteer call:
Volunteer Village teams (866) 732-6121
Or Register online:
http://pcusa.org/pda/register/team.jsp

This organization is working throughout MS and parts of LA. The website is very well organized and will give you all the information you need to assist them in their efforts to help in the recovery effort.

Their current needs list includes

Gift cards to Lowes and Home Depot Call 1-888-728-7228 for shipping addresses
Skilled Laborers and Volunteer Teams
Village Managers (To oversee the management and function of a PDA volunteer village in the Gulf Coast, including hospitality, administration, logistics, leadership, delegation and group facilitation. Contact Camille Lopez, Volunteer Village Coordinator, clopez@ctr.pcusa.org) http://www.pcusa.org/pda/response/usa/villagemanagerneeded.htm

Position title: Field Operations Manager
Position description: To coordinate all Katrina/Rita field operations related to presbyteries, interfaith agencies, and national response team volunteers. To oversee financial accounting processes and grant development for reconstruction.
Position title: Financial Officer
Position description: To provide a system of financial management and control for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance field operations in the Gulf Coast.
Position title: Logistics and Facility Support
Position description: Enable Presbyterians to participate in recovery in the Gulf through the maintenance of equipment and well functioning villages to host volunteer work teams.

To Volunteer call:
Volunteer Village teams (866) 732-6121
Or Register online:
http://pcusa.org/pda/register/team.jsp

Fire Department Needs

2006-05-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

6/27 - Latest from Pam for needs of the Fire Department
To make donations to the Bay Saint Louis Fire Department to relieve the expenses of operation you can help in the following ways:

Gift Cards

In the last nine months since Katrina we have found that gift cards to various vendors is the easiest way to maximize donations because our city comptroller and the fire department can be more accountable to the donor and the public with the use of the funds. There is no waiting on the charitable board to authorize the spending (sometimes up to 90-120 days) for supplies that are needed quickly, and there are no storage problems.

The following vendors are easy for us to access for various supplies:

Sam’s Wholesale Club – for the purchase of toilet paper, paper towels, office supplies and other paper goods, in bulk, for the best local prices.

Wal-Mart – for the purchase of fuel and emergency supplies.

Chevron or Shell gas cards for local fuel purchases.

Office Depot or Office Max for office supplies (much more expensive than Sam’s Club).

Anyone wishing to send the gift cards should do so in the following manner:

Mail, return receipt requested, to verify to the donor that the cards have been received, to City of Bay Saint Louis Fire Department, Attention: David Kolf, Comptroller, P.O. Box 2550, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521-2550.

Anyone wishing to donate by check should make their check payable to City of Bay Saint Louis Disaster Relief Fund, Attention: David Kolf, Comptroller, P.O. Box 2550, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521-2550. Be sure to indicate by letter or on the checks subject line, BSL Fire Department Operational Fund.

Anyone wishing to donate the following hard goods should have the goods shipped to the following address: Bay Saint Louis Fire Department, 310 Old Spanish Trail, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39520 Attention: Deputy Chief Pam SanFillippo.
Toilet paper
Paper towels
Cleaning/dish towels
Dishwashing liquid
Liquid car wash soap for washing vehicles
Coffee cups/paper plates
Coffee, sugar, artificial sweetener, powdered cream, stirrers
Aluminum foil
Ziplock bags, all sizes
Shower and toilet cleaners
Industrial size mops and brooms
Mop buckets
Office storage boxes
Letter size copy paper
Legal pads
First class postage stamps
You can order stamps for them through the Post Office Website. There are some really great options. You can do a subscription of either a book of 20 or a coil of 100 stamps once or twice a month for 6-12 months. You can also order singular items, such as books of 20, 40 or coils up to 10,000. WOW!
http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10152

Any or all of these supplies and gift cards would reduce the expenses of the department’s operational budget giving the city of Bay Saint Louis more time for financial recovery of its tax base.

City of Bay St Louis
PO Box 2550
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi 39521
Attn: Pam San Fillippo
228-467-4736 (work)

General Needs According To City Officials:
See Also: http://baystlouisrelief.blogspot.com/2006/05/bay-st-louis-needs.html

FIRE -Blue and black fine point pens; 2 boxes
Sharpie fine point black markers;
letter size file folders;
4 rolls tape for Dymo Label Manager 150;
scotch tape;
legal pads,
post-it notes;
standard staples;
2 boxes letter size copy paper;
1/2 box legal size copy paper,
HP 56 and HP 57 print cartridges;
ink cartridges for CannonBC20 copy machine,
Department letterhead* and envelopes,
burn permit books* and
incident report books*.

Our Fire Department uses approximately 250 gallons of diesel per month and 250 gallons of gasoline. Any reduction in these costs would be of an enormous help to our finances.

Gift/Fuel cards should be mailed to
City of Bay Saint Louis,
Attention: David Kolf, Comptroller,
P. O. Box 2550, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521-2550.

Please send the package "Return Receipt Requested" to verify our receipt of the cards.

For Impending Storm Season:

Tire Plug Kits (The kit includes tools and plugs and are available through any car parts store, or car repair department of any of the big box stores)
Fire Department - 20 heavy duty kits for medium size trucks
25,000# Tow Straps (These are used to move vehicles, trees and other debris)
Fire Department - 6
Jumper Cables
Fire Department - 6

We will need to issue personal care kits if needed that will include the following:
Plastic box with lid containing travel sizes of
toothpaste
deodorant soap
shampoo
shaving cream
1 ea. toothbrush
razor
comb/brush
small bottles of Avon's Skin-So-Sof
tinsect repellent
and sun screen
One face cloth
One bath towel

Any of the above items need to be shipped to
City of Bay Saint Louis
Attention Mike Cuevas
1928 Depot Way
Bay Saint Louis, MS 39520.

Recently Opened Businesses

2006-05-18T19:40:00.000-04:00

Please join PRESTIGE TITLE for a ribbon cutting, grand opening a shrimp boil Thursday, June 22, 2006 3-5:00 PM. Located in Hancock Square (835 Hwy 90) Suite 2, in Bay St Louis, the event sounds like fun! For more information, give them a call at 228-270-0035.

OVER THE RAINBOW PRESCHOOL will celebrate its Grand Opening this Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at 5:30 PM. Come visit them and all the kids at 435 Ulman Avenue in Bay St Louis. Their phone number is 228-383-2304.

Come on out to VISION WIRELESS as they cut their blue ribbon on Friday, June 16, 2006 at 4:00 p.m. They can help with all your wireless needs at their convenient location at 606 Bluemeadow Road (next to The Stirred Up Bay Coffee Shop). For more information, call 228-469-0081.

Empty house? Come to the Ribbon Cutting at UPTOWN INTERIORS and see the possibilities. It will be held Thursday, June 1, 2006 at 4:30 PM at their new location at 837 HWY 90 in Bay St Louis near Mike Meyer's State Farm.

BANCORP SOUTH now has a branch in Bay St Louis. They are located at 1085 Hwy 90 (next to BAILEY LUMBER). Business hours are Monday through Thursday 9 AM to 4:30 PM and Friday 9 AM to 5:30 PM. Their phone number is 466-0884.

Come celebrate this Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 4 PM at 1st FRANKLIN FINANCIAL cuts its ribbon at 295 Hwy 90 Suite 16A in Bay St Louis.
Located near TRAPANI’S, you can also give them a call at (228) 467-4800.

LATTER & BLUM is please to announce that they are back in operation in their Bay St Louis office at 1188 Hwy 90. Welcome Home!

ALL STAR TRAVEL is up and running and ready to book your summer travel plans! Call Cynthia Fontana at (228) 466-5254.

Yuki Northington announced the opening of her newest venture, SOCIAL CHAIR, located at 212 Main Street, Suite 1, next to Clay Creations, in Bay St Louis. This will be a retail division of ART & INTERIORS, INC. You can view Yuki’s work at www.yukinorthington.com or contact her at 228-467-9467 or yukinorthington@hotmail.com.

It’s swimsuit season, and BAY CITY GYM is open! Scott Brady is waiting to help you work your troubles away at 546 St John Street. Give him a call at 228-697-7819.

Just in time for Mother’s Day! Charles Boykin has reopened ADAMS LORAINE FLOWER SHOP, and he will cut the ribbon on Thursday, May 11, 2006 at 4:00 PM.
Remember Mom on Sunday, May14th and give Charles a call at 228- 467-1465.

BEST PAWN AND JEWELRY is up and running in its original location at 110 A Highway 90 in Bay St Louis. Stop by and see what’s in stock. You never know what treasures you will find. The phone number is 228-467-7777.

Everyone will be looking down for a good reason for a change now that THE SHOE DEPOT has reopened. Come shop in their new location at 873 B Hwy 90 in Bay St Louis. Their phone number is 228-467-7750. Your feet will thank you.

Looking for a place to relax after a hard day’s work? CLYDE’S is the newest Sports Bar in Bay St Louis. Located across the street from Bailey Lumber on Hwy 90, they have Happy Hour every day from 4 – 6 PM.

IT’S A RIBBON CUTTING!
Come celebrate this Thursday, May 4th at 4:00 PM at Bay St Louis’s new coffee shop, THE STIRRED UP BAY. It’s located in Zuppardo’s Shopping Center at 604 Blue Meadow.

Then, come celebrate this Friday, May 5th at 1:00 PM at FRIGO ORTHODONTICS. It’s the building with the big fish braces at 529 Ulman Avenue.

CHARLES B. BENVENUTTI, CPA, PA is back home! The Bay St Louis office opened on Monday, April 24th. Everyone was very grateful for the hospitality of Diamondhead. The office is located at 831 Hwy 90 Bay St Louis. Their mailing address remains PO Box 2639 Bay St Louis 39521. Their telephone number is 228-467-1402.

BAYTOWN PACKING AND SHIPPING is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Saturday for all your UPS shipping needs. Their location at 828 Hwy 90 (next to Los Tres Amigos) also has a wide selection of Mississippi-made furniture available. For more information, call Joe Rolfe at 228-463-1048.

Jim Barrett is happy to announce the opening of BARRETT REFRIGERATION AND AIR CONDITIONING located at 5019 Utah in Bay St Louis. Call Jim at 228-466-9272 or 228-342-0552.

RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL SERVICES has reopened in a new location in Bay St Louis. Corky Hadden and Linda McKinion are now located at 837 A Hwy 90. Their telephone numbers are 228-466-9888 or Toll Free at 1-888-465-9968.

CJ’s GROCERY, DELI & RESTAURANT is opening this Wednesday, May 3rd!

RUSSO’S RESTAURANT. 295 Hwy 90, #19, Bay St. Louis. For more info, call 466-5110.

MegaGate Broadband would like to welcome Brian Cameron to its Gulf Coast office, now located at 14451 Dedeaux Road. Brian has been a sales representative with MegaGate since 1999 covering Hattiesburg and Laurel. Brian, his wife, and son are now proud residents of Orange Grove. To learn more about the business and residential telecommunications services offered by MegaGate, go to www.megagate.com

BAY CITY GRILL is now serving food! Hours are Tuesday-Friday, 11am – 2pm and 5pm-8pm. Take out is available. Check it out! 136 Blaize Avenue, Bay St. Louis. 228-466-0590.

Also, SUBWAY (IN BAY ST. LOUIS) IS NOW OPEN! Same location as before: 297 Highway 90, Bay St. Louis.

Another business has been able to reopen! Aqua Pool Company. They have a new location, but are the same company. Many of their products can be used for purifying all water, not just pool water.
4/3 - ABSOLUTELY BLINDS & SHUTTERS. By appointment only: 228-469-0073.

CHARTER MORTGAGE, INC. is back in their building: 414 Hwy. 90, Bay St. Louis. 228-466-6680

THURSDAY, APRIL 6: RIBBON CUTTING AT GULF COAST I.T. SERVICES, 603 Hwy. 90, Suite 3, Bay St. Louis, at 4pm. For more information, call 228-363-1750.

Storm Season Needs

2006-05-18T17:31:00.000-04:00

While we are in recovery we are also in preparation for the 2006 hurricane season which begins June 1. What families need most is rest, energy, and no fear. My home is so close to being repaired, but there is this underlying fear, this gnawing at your heart, that it all may be for nothing with the new hurricane season fast approaching. It's hard to convey this feeling, I don't know a better analogy at this particular moment.

We need your help, but I am in a quandry of confusion of what would be the most appropriate thing to ask for. So, here goes, my best effort to keep helping the citizens of Bay Saint Louis, at this moment is making sure that the city departments can function.

Our management staff met on Monday and the following items came up that the city needed to perform at the highest peak we can reach if another storm hits our area this season. Many of these things are small, but essential to delivering safe service by our Police, Fire and Public Works Departments.

If we have to evacuate our employee families we need gas cards in any amount that would help to mitigate travel expenses. These cards would be issued with evacuation notices only. If they were not used during the season they would be applied to the city's fuel operating costs.

We need an evacuation kit for each family that would include:
flashlight, with batteries
battery operated radio
small pieces of luggage that could carry two changes of clothes (avg. 3 people)
roll of quarters for using a laudromat
container of laundry detergent
a family personal care kit packed in a plastic shoe box with a lid that holds
1 bottle of shampoo
2 bars of deodorant soap with the plastic soap dishes
1 large tube of toothpaste
1 large size bottle of mouthwash
and in a separate plastic bag
1 bottle of tylenol or aspirin
small box of bandaids
small tube of antibiotic ointment
four-pack of toilet paper
box of tissues.

The mayor is making arrangements for our employee families to stay with other public employees in other north Mississippi cities if the need arises. We will have to find housing for approximately 30 families, other employees will be staying with other family members or friends out of the area. (I'm evacuating to Chattanooga, TN, to stay with a friend and my bag is already packed!)

To help our city departments directly we need the following in any amount, but I've put the maximum amount needed for each department. These were the things we learned the hard way that we needed after a storm, or things we lost during the storm and have not had the finances to replace because other things were deemed more necessary:

Tire Plug Kits (The kit includes tools and plugs and are available through any car parts store, or car repair department of any of the big box stores)

Fire Department - 20 heavy duty kits for medium size trucks
Public Works - 20 standard kits
Police Department - 30 standard kits
Administration - 5 standard kits

12 volt Air Compressors (This is the compressor that fits in your car's cigerette lighter)
Police Department - 30
Administration - 5

25,000# Tow Straps (These are used to move vehicles, trees and other debris)
Fire Department - 6
Public Works Department - 12
Police Department - 30

Jumper Cables
Police Department - 30
Fire Department - 6
Public Works - 6
Administration - 5

To establish safe quarters for those employees who must stay in the city as our emergency and first responders we would like to provide the following to give them some reasonable place of rest. I know that many of these items have already been sent to the citizens, but everything we have received has been distributed for immediate need and use and nothing kept back for city use:

12 adult-size sleeping bags
12 twin-size air mattresses with pumps
12 twin foldable cots (aluminum are easier to store)
24 pillows
12 sets of twin sheets
12 twin blankets
24 pillowcases

There will be more than 12 people to accomodate, there certainly were after Katrina, and they included not only city personnel, but other agencies that sent immediate relief workers. With these items we can accommodate 36 people if the need arises.

We will need to issue personal care kits if needed that will include the following:
Plastic box with lid containing travel sizes of
toothpaste
deodorant soap
shampoo
shaving cream
1 ea. toothbrush
razor
comb/brush
small bottles of Avon's Skin-So-Soft
insect repellent
and sun screen
One face cloth
One bath towel.

The reason I asked for things in the plastic boxes with lids is for storage. If things aren't used this season, you can believe that they will be used at another future date.

It may be the residual effects of the full moon, but my mood is somber, not fatal, but my gut is telling me that we are in for a rocky season. I hope tomorrow some of my normal optimism will return.

I have tried to list things that are "do-able", not everything, but a way to pick and choose how donors might like to help.
Any of the above items need to be shipped to
City of Bay Saint Louis
Attention Mike Cuevas
1928 Depot Way, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39520.

If donors would decide to help with these items and would like to send money it is imperative, to assure that the money is allocated as a donor chooses, to indicate on your check "Emergency Preparation for Employees and Families" so the monies will not be used for general fund purposes. Checks should be made out to City of Bay Saint Louis and mailed to City of Bay Saint Louis, Attention: David Kolf, Comptroller, P.O. Box 2550, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521-2550.

Mike Cuevas, Coordinator of Donations and Volunteers

Port Townsend Sister City

2006-05-18T08:09:00.000-04:00

http://sistercitysupport.net/

Sister City Project Family Will Be Guests at Rosewind Brunch June 11th
May 27th, 2006
George and Rayceille McCullum will be flown from Mississippi to Washington State, guests of the City of Edmonds. Back in February, the Port Townsend/ Bay St Louis Sister City Project decided to “adopt” the McCullums with the intent of rebuilding their home that had been inundated by Katrina’s storm surge along with so many other homes on the Gulf Coast. This particular home was where Rayceille McCullum was born, and her relatives lived up and down the same street. T

he hitch with the agreement to rebuild was that the Sister City Project did not have the funding base for the cost of materials, and neither did the McCullums. Retired, and in their 70’s, these two outgoing, gregarious people were housed in their FEMA trailer, (what Rayceille calls their tuna can). They could not handle their own rebuilding process without alot of volunteer help. Teaming up with a contractor from Seattle, Ben Hines, the Sister City Project managed a pitch to the City of Edmonds, also a sister city with Bay St Louis, that they, too, could “adopt” the McCullums. They said YES!! The Edmonds Mayor’s office led the effort, and they made the commitment to raise the needed $25,000 for building supplies on the promise that under Ben Hines’ supervision the Sister City volunteers would return the McCullum house to the point it could once again be occupied.

That is exactly what is on the verge of being completed. PT locals, Carla Main and husband/contractor Brad West, have been passed the baton by Ben Hines, and within the next two weeks, they will be putting the finishing touches on the interior trim and cabinet work. At least 10 other PT/BSL Sister City volunteers, along with an untold number of others through BSL church volunteers, have cooperated to get the job done. Katrina has engendered much of this type of cooperative and collaborative spirit, the energy that calls people to serve those in need. Just in time for this summer’s hurricane season, the McCullums will have a greater margin of safety being housed in something more substantial that their FEMA ‘tuna can’.

George and Rayceille, along with Ben and Aleana Hines, will be honored here, on Sunday June 11th, from 10:30-2:30pm at a potluck brunch hosted by the Sister City Project at the Rosewind Common House at Umatilla and Haines. All locals who have been down to volunteer in Bay St Louis are especially encouraged to attend, along with anyone else interested in an update on the Sister City efforts. Mid-brunch, there will be an opportunity for people to comment on the impact being a Sister City volunteer has had on their lives. For most a profound experience, it will be the first opportunity for volunteers to gather to share their stories, and for the local public to hear what has been going on for the past nine months via the Sister City exchange.

This summer, the Project is taking a break from sending volunteers down south due to the extreme heat and humidity that make working conditions there quite difficult. In place of volunteerism there, the Project is encouraging locals who wish to extend hospitality to our friends from Bay St Louis, in offering in-home stays with families or other available housing in open ADU’s, RV’s etc. There is much needed respite from the heat and intense recovery efforts that will be going on for several years as Bay St Louis rebuilds it town from the bottom up. To share some perspective on this reality, as of this month, Bay St Louis STILL does not have its own grocery store. Once the hurricane season is over and the temperatures abate, there will again be an opportunity for individuals or groups from local churches or other organizations to travel to Bay St Louis to be a part of the healing and recovery process. Going there will change your perspective, if not your life.

If you would like to learn more about the Project, please attend the June 11th brunch, or, if you have an offer of respite housing, you can call Judith at 360-385-5794 or email her at lightenup@cablespeed.com with particulars.

Port Townsend-Bay St. Louis Sister City Support Project

Port Townsend is part of an official “Sister City” relationship with Ichikawa, Japan. The goodwill missions are centered on cultural and educational exchanges.

Another type of Sister City is forming: Port Townsend with the hurricane-ravaged city of Bay St. Louis, Miss., on the Gulf Coasat about 50 miles from New Orleans.

Port Townsend volunteers responding to the Hurricane Katrina disaster have turned from delivery of supplies to helping a community start the arduous process of rebuilding.

The terrible situations left in Hurricane Katrina’s wake will last a long time. For anyone listening to the news, it has been made clear that FEMA has fallen very short of the need to care for those devastated by this storm. Many communities of varying size are still without their basic needs being addressed.

For some time, there will be a long-term need to assist evacuees and those more permanently displaced from their homes in getting adequate food, clean water, temporary shelter, and helping them to rebuild their homes, as well as other basic human needs such as clothing, household items and jobs.

If there is a gift in the disaster Katrina has been for our country, it is the collective recognition that the gap between the rich and poor is PAINFUL to witness and further tolerate. Many of us want to do SOMETHING, in addition to giving money. We want to be part of an active solution to the obvious racism and classism we see here.

This is one of the most well thought-out websites I've seen in regards to the relief effort. There is just so much information on the site that you need to go to it in order to see all they are doing, all they have done, and all they hope to do. It is just phenominal. If you live on the West Coast, please, consider supporting their effort.

BSL - you've got some friends who truly care about you here...

There is a gentleman - Ben H., who started a website http://www.nwkatrinahelp.org/ who has since joined efforts with the PT/BSL Sister City Project. This is what he wrote me of his personal efforts:

"I have been in Bay St. Louis since mid March rehabbing houses. I am associated with the SisterCity Project of Port Townsend, WA. The house I am now working on is funded by the City of Edmonds, WA. That house will be finished about mid-June and the homeowners will move in.

This is my fifth trip here usually about ten days each but this time it will be two months.
I haven't done any work in Waveland though I do have some family there. Their house was flooded to four feet. "

We will prevail.

Volunteer Perspective

2006-05-17T13:15:00.000-04:00

The forgotten coast..!

How I got to BSL/Waveland.......I have a daughter, a junior in College. She is at Elon University in North Carolina. Right after the hurricane, her college mobilized a relief effort. One of the staff of the college was from Mississippi, not the coast, but knew many on the coast. This staff member organized the relief and went down there for a couple of days right after the storm to see what the needs were. He landed in BSL and Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Parish. The pastor is Father Michael Tracey. At this point, he was living in his car. OLG is located on the beach in BSL, right near the railroad bridge crossing, right by the town and Main Street. There are several schools on the grounds, a church, community center, the parishes offices and Father Tracey's home and several out buildings. OLG was luckier than most since the church was made of brick and stone, the walls held. The wooden older buildings were totally lost.

Elon Uviversity got a group together, of which my daughter was one. They arrived in early October and went right to Father Tracey. They brought tents, and two trucks of supplies, for themselves and of course for the people. They cleared some land right by the church and set up camp. This entire experience touched these kids so much that they have returned many times, both as a college group and many others as individuals. This is where I came in.

My daughter and I went over Christmas break on our own. We also went back over Spring break. We organized out of Our Lady of the Gulf. This parish has had two volunteer coordinators, both of whom are VOLUNTEERS. One is named Dan Wilkins, from Atlanta area and one named Dan Quinn, from Pittsburgh. Dan Quinn is still there heading up the effort. Both of these men just got in their cars one day and landed there, and stayed. Dan Wilkins has gone back to Atlanta, but heads up an effort through his church there to send funds to OLG.

Father Michael Tracey, the pastor lost not only his house and the parish offices but also has the entire parish to worry about. The reconstruction at the parish is going very well. The walls of the church stayed up, but the inside was gutted. It is presently being repaired. The parish community center has been the center of the reconstruction and has been worked on by hundreds of volunteers, if not thousands. The Catholic Parishes around the country have "adopted" this parish and sent money and manpower. The volunteers who show up at OLG are also sent out into the community by Dan Quinn.

My daughter and I have met and stayed in touch with many of the people we have met. We have a real interest in the future of this area and its awesome people. We have been able to help people first gut and clean out their homes and now we are starting the rebuildng process. Like yourself, I'm sure, words cannot express what this entire experience has meant to us. We all went there to help the people and without knowing it they have helped us. Our last time there, third week of March, some of the stores were open and we shopped and found ourselves in stores with many other volunteers from all over the country. The owners of these little boutique stores were just floored at how much the volunteers have brought to the area. It is the volunteers who are helping the economy.

I plan on returning about the third week of June. I am not sure how long I will stay. We have been fortunate enough to be able to stay in several trailers on the OLG property. These trailers were formerly occupied by Father Tracey, who has since found an apartment and several were donated in the early days by good Samaritans from Wisconsin. However, we have just heard that several Bed and Breakfasts, in town have reopened and would welcome volunteers. We may help them get started this time, by booking a room there. My son will be going with me this time. Many of the college groups stay at the ICare, Morrell Village, in Buccaneer State Park, in Waveland. I'm sure you know of it.

Not being there day to day I wouldn't know exactly of all the needs, but it seems right now, that individual people need help with rebuilding their homes. I understand materials are hard to come by. I do know that a group of the Amish sect are helping rebuild and have committed for a four year time period. I have kept in touch with a woman who is having her house built by them on Waveland Avenue. So I would guess building supplies are a real need right now.

The only way to keep interest alive in this area is through the Media. I do know that once you go there you have a pull to return and one person brings 5 the next time they come. I am actually impressed with the volunteer effort, but of course, it is mostly church based and private groups. Nothing through the Government. Of Course, the Insurance companys are a disgrace, but nothing we all can do about them. Many across this country think this area should not be rebuilt, they think it is below sea level, which it isn't, they think it is NO, which it is not. They don't understand that this is HOME to many. Why do people stay in Ca. or like myself on the coast of Fla? The people who I have met have lived there for generations. Their Mom and family live on the next street. You are not going to get entire families to move out of there. Many feel our TAX money should not be going to these people to rebuild. What a sorry old story. If they only knew that it was private money and volunteers from all over this country who are rebuilding. I have been able to raise a small amount of money and donated it to OLG. From what I can see, not too much TAX money is going to this effort.

Thanks for your effort.

Peggy Dugan
Naples, Fla.

Insect Control and Tolerance

2006-05-14T22:16:00.000-04:00

I just got my Campmor catalog this last week and thought I'd share some ideas that aren't so expensive to buy and just might save some peoples' sanity or skin. The only 3 things I'm going to recommend, and they don't have to come from this catalog, are: The packtowel - super light and dries fast. GREAT. The bug head cover. Bugs in your ears is the worst. Solar shower. The one I show is the largest in the catalog. Allows for more showers in a row than smaller ones. But with showers being a limited resource, this is NOT a bad thing to take along.

You can see them yourself at www.campmor.com. You can also look for them at www.sierratradingpost.com or www.rei.com. I just happen to have the campmor catalog in front of me is all.

First will be mosquito/bug clothing. It's all pretty cheap. Honest. Compared to the comfort you'll have, it's cheap.

Bug Pants. # 82171 $19.99
Bug Top # 82170 $19.99

Bug Socks # 82172 $9.99

Bug Head Cover # 81276 $4.99

Bug Repellants:

DEET Free 4 oz. # 82151 $6.99 (Left)

31% DEET 2.5 oz #84830 $8.95

Shower stuff

Solar Shower Bag # 22320 $24.99

PackTowel 27x50 #99623 $27.05

Mission From Minnesota

2006-05-14T22:13:00.000-04:00

Bay St. Louis, MS
April 7-16
Trip leader: Alicia MasonContact:
asinglemom25@aol.com

Who can go?

Just about anyone can volunteer with us, including kids 12 and older as well as senior citizens. In fact, we encourage families to volunteer together. (If you have medical conditions or sensitivities to mold, please contact our volunteer coordinator, who will try to match you with a trip and activities that accommodate your situation.)

How long is the trip?

Most of our trips are 9 days long. We depart on a Friday evening, work Monday through Friday and return by the following Sunday evening.

How do I get there and back?

Our principal mode of transportation is a caravan of several minivans and cars. If you are able to drive your own vehicle, just let us know when you sign up. If you are organizing your own group, you can certainly arrange your own transportation.

What kind of work will I do?

Our volunteers perform a range of tasks, including:

Demolition: Removing drywall, carpet, cabinets, furniture, etc., from flooded homes.
Cleanup: Cleaning up home sites, neighborhood blocks, etc.
Reclamation: Before any demolition can take place, many families need help retrieving heirlooms (family photos, bibles, jewelry, documents, etc.) from the debris.
Home repairs: Helping residents repair roofs, walls, interiors, etc.
Cooking: With up to 30 hungry volunteers per trip, kitchen workers are much needed — and much loved!
Supply distribution: Helping distribute basic necessities (food, clothes, hygiene products, etc.) to local families.
Project management/site supervision: Every trip needs one or two individuals who will direct the flow of workers, supplies and vehicles. If you're a control freak, this is your chance to shine!
Listening: This isn't a job, but it's something many volunteers get to do — being a good listener as hurricane survivors tell about their struggle for survival since the storms.

What should I bring?

Depending on the type of work you'll be doing, you should plan on packing work clothes that you don't mind ripping or soiling. During the winter months, the weather on the gulf coast is considerably warmer than up here. Dress for warm days (60s-70s) and cool nights (30s-50s). You might also want to pack some personal items (books, mp3 player, etc.) for use on your time off. Lastly, be sure to bring some money, as we encourage volunteers to get out and see New Orleans and you may want to buy some souvenirs. For a complete packing list, please visit our Web site.

How much does it cost?

Our trips are self-funding, which means that we ask volunteers to help raise the money needed to pay for transportation, food, tools and supplies. We typically ask each volunteer to try and raise $500 by asking friends and family to sponsor them. But don't worry — if you have difficulty raising money for your trip, we'll work with you and give you some ideas for fundraising!

Needs:

Donate:
Work gloves
Bleach
Air Mattresses
Wheelbarrows, shovels
Large Trash Bags - Heavy Duty
Kitchen Utensils
Pots and Pans, Mixing Bowls
Microwaves, Toasters, Mixers
Baking Sheets
Blankets
Sheet sets
Towels
Folding Tables
Clothing - new or slightly used:
Sweatshirts and long sleeve tees (without logos)
Jeans
New underwear
New socks
$7000 - $10,000 CASH for supplies and food
NO CONTRIBUTION TOO LARGE OR TOO SMALL!!

Mail a check to:
Mission from Minnesota
P.O. Box 2195
Maple Grove, MN 55311

TO VOLUNTEER
Call our Volunteer Coordinator at 612-822-5357

K8 Company To Assist BSL

2006-05-14T22:05:00.000-04:00

k8company! ---> http://www.cafepress.com/k8hayes

k8company!Blog ---> http://k8company.blogspot.com

k8company!Two -->http://www.cafepress.com/k8company2

k8company HANCOCK --->http://www.cafepress.com/k8cohancock

I've been a CafePress shopkeeper (or "CPer," as we call ourselves) since 2004. I got started completely by accident. What happened was that I got what I thought was an amazingly clever idea for a t-shirt slogan: "I am embracing my inner misanthrope." (Still think that's pretty clever, by golly). Why I came up with that sentiment is another, longer (although fascinating) story. Anyhoo, I (being a Web fanatic) thought there *must* be someplace on the Web that would make my t-shirt for me. And, of course, there was. I checked it out (It shall remain nameless because it SUCKED.) My sister (If you get to know me, you'll realize my sister is my closest soulmate in the entire Universe. She's also an even bigger Web fanatic than I am.) Turned me on to this site she'd heard of: Cafe Press.

And the rest is history. But wait! That doesn't explain my non-profit revelation!

So around the first of March I saw, on the Lehrer News Hour, part of a report about these two men in New Orleans (I think it was) who were receiving emergency medical care IN A TENT (with an overworked-overstressed-exhausted medical staff) for really normal, treatable things that had gotten way out of hand because of the deplorable conditions that STILL exist in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita. And I guess that was just the old straw that broke my camel's back.

So my husband and I both work our rear ends off. We have a mortgage and bills and lots of medical expenses, and blah blah blah, like just about everybody else in America now (except the 1% of the 1%, of course), so I knew I had no money to contribute and no time to go there to volunteer. But I did have k8company! my Cafe Press shop. So I decided then and there to start sending my (still not very sizable) profits to ... To what?

I began the search for a charity (why do I hate that word?). I wanted my money to go to those guys I saw on TV, to people in the Gulf region that weren't getting emergency or everyday medical care NOW. I asked friends and looked online and was told Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Charity Hospital. All good things, yes, but great big things where my money would roll around in the bottom of a big big barrel and never get to my guys in New Orleans with their STAPH infections from little cuts on their fingers.

After a frustrating search in my precious little free time I got my Democratic National Committee newsletter, and there was an article about the **Bay St. Louis Free Clinic**. And now I can say it: THE REST IS HISTORY. I contacted the Clinic, got their go-ahead and their tax-exempt ID, and On March 8, arranged with CafePress to have my commission checks sent directly to the clinic.

With the BSL Free Medical Clinic Closing, Kate is now going to donate her profits to BSL the city.

About 99% of my sales are from the Politics "Department" of my shop. My all-time bestsellers are "Impeach Bush," "Boycott Wal-Mart," and "Iraq Had Nothing To Do With 9/11." When I make a sale I get to see the person's name and where they're from. It's really exciting.

BUT I sell other things too: stuff for lovers of words, lovers of cats (yay), techno geeks and office grunts, original poetry on shirts and coasters and posters (a poetry collection book will be published soon), and stuff I call "comfy," or "komfy," which goes better with "k8company."

Thank thank thank you to KatrinaCoalition, to DesignForACause, to CafePress, and I feel like I'm accepting an academy award. Enough already!

Peace, Love, Understanding,
Kate Hayes

Coastal Community Watch

2006-05-14T21:56:00.000-04:00

August 5
The Charrette

Some good news!

The city of Waveland hosted a series of meetings during the last week of June, bringing together residents, business owners, officials and some of the top planners and architects in the country. The intensive brain-storming sessions are called "charrettes" and their goal is to set the tone for future development in the city. Here's a quote from a Sun Herald article by Ryan Lafontaine:"Charrettes are meant to illuminate the possibilities of what can happen," said Brian Sanderson, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Recovery, which is working with local governments to identify potential funding sources. Sanderson said the meetings are intended to spark public discourse and create guidelines that will steer future building in Waveland. "Many of these ideas may not come to fruition for years and some may never happen," he said. "But, it's a way for the citizens and the local governments to set up a framework that will guide development."The final presentation of the Waveland charrette will be available soon, but meantime here's a peek at a few of the designs that came out of the meetings. :
a proposal for a market on Coleman Ave.

Who pays for all this? Most of it would be funded by savvy developers and business owners who see that preserving our community character will be a tremedous economic asset. Right now, developers from around the world are eyeing the Hancock coast, sizing it up for the future - lots of them with proven track records for building environmenally sound, family- oriented projects.

We need development and we desperately need tax dollars. Our choice now is what type of development we want to support. We can grow into a souless Destin or Gulfshores or we can be the gem of the Gulf, capitalizing on our authentic charm and heritage. Either vision is possible.

What you can do
If you don't make your voice heard now, that choice is left in the hands of a few officials. They need your input. You can start by e-mailing a short note of support and thanks to the Waveland city office. That e-mail address is mayorsoffice@mchsi.com

Thanks to all the members of the Governor's Commission who worked so hard for the citizens of Waveland and kudos to the officials and members of the community who participated.

The Bay-Waveland School Issue

Facts of the Matter

There is a parcel of property for sale on the corner of St. Charles and Old Spanish Trail in Bay St. Louis. It’s approximately 44 acres in size. This is one of the only large parcels of property in the south end of Hancock County that didn’t flood during Katrina.

A developer named Bill Shanks came up with a plan for a high quality residential development on this property. He approached Bay St. Louis city officials and community leaders with a proposal that sounded both sensitive and sensible. He received encouragement. While the city is in dire need of taxes, it doesn’t want to “sell out” to inappropriate developments. This particular situation looked like a “win-win” for both the community and the developer. He was proceeding with plans to purchase the property.

Meanwhile, three of the schools in the Bay system were damaged in the storm: North Bay Elementary, Second Street and Bay High. These buildings were covered by insurance, but according to the school board, the settlements have fallen short of what it will take to repair the buildings.

FEMA apparently will not offer funds to repair buildings more than 50% damaged. Supposedly, North Bay’s already been “condemned,” while assessments are still being made on Bay High and 2nd Street. The hitch to get the new schools? The location has to be a sizeable parcel of land that did not flood during Katrina.

The only parcel that meets FEMA’s astonishing requirements is the property on the corner of Old Spanish Trail and St. Charles. The school board is considering an eminent domain of the property. The developer has been stopped in his tracks until the matter is settled.
The school board faces some hard decisions. Can the current school buildings be repaired? If so, where are the funds going to come from? Their other option is to abide by FEMA’s guidelines and proceed with building new schools in an unpopular location.

Bay St. Louis officials are concerned about losing a major, high-quality development and the tax revenue it would generate. In addition, many of their constituents in the neighborhood are protesting. Yet the city council has no authority in this matter – the school board’s ruling on where to build the new schools will be final.

ALL parties agree on one thing: Education of our children and redevelopment of our towns are top priorities. The question is how we can best use our extremely limited resources of both money and energy.

Questions from our membership - below is a list of FAQs we've been receiving - we're submitting them to the School Board for their consideration.

Why hasn’t conventional insurance covered the repairs on the current sites? If the cost of the repairs is that much more than the settlements, is the school board considering the route of many residents and filing suit against the insurance companies?

Many of our members wonder who performed the evaluations on the current buildings and if they are finalized.

If the buildings are actually “condemned,” why are plans being made to reuse them for other purposes (for instance, Bay High would serve as a site for school district offices and the alternative school)? Who would pay for repairs then?

Why are schools in other areas being allowed to rebuild on current sites? For instance, one member pointed out that Pass High School flooded more than Bay High, yet FEMA’s allowing the buildings to be repaired and reused. Does FEMA have different standards for Hancock and Harrison counties? If so, why?

If the property in question is used for the new schools, one of the main concerns of local residents is the traffic issue. The proposed site has no easy outlet to Hwy. 90. Which roads would have to be four-laned to accommodate the increased traffic?

Other residents are disturbed about the eminent domain aspect. Can the property owner be forced to accept less money than the sale he would have made privately? If so, could the issue be taken to court by the property owner, taking up more time and money?

There are also concerns about the credibility of FEMA: Can we be certain they’ll follow through and not leave the locals picking up the tab for new schools? Would they cover other costs involved (for instance, widening of the roads, etc.)?

Why is FEMA insisting on property that didn’t flood in Katrina? According to this paranoid guideline, about one square mile of south Hancock County is “safe.” Let’s face it: If FEMA makes Katrina the new storm standard, our community will be hamstrung in all sorts of ways.
According to community leaders we’ve spoken with, the best case scenario would be if FEMA would agree to fund rebuilding the schools on their current sites. Another option would be for FEMA to relax their elevation demands so a less contentious location could be chosen.

What can you do?

You can inform yourself and participate in the process. Start going to school board meetings. If you’d like a spot on the agenda, call Ms. Favre at 467.4459. You’ll be asked to fill out a form.

As with all our local governing bodies, the school board is open and eager for constructive input and ideas. Bring an open mind and a positive attitude.

The determination to work together has been our saving grace while our community has dealt with the worst natural disaster in American history. We have a right to be proud. We work hard, we don’t whine, we help our neighbors. Together, we can find the best solution to any problem.

The Crew at Coastal Community Watch

Bay Waveland School District

2006-05-14T21:55:00.000-04:00

New Article At End of Post
www.bwsd.org
11/8 Bay High Getting Grant Money
Coast will get $8M in grants
Money for school, accounting
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BILOXI - The Mississippi Gulf Coast is receiving an additional $8 million in federal money as part of the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort, FEMA announced Wednesday.
"Two of these grants will rebuild school buildings and the third will help the state improve its accounting for taxpayer dollars being expended in this recovery effort," said Nick Russo, federal coordinating officer for the Mississippi recovery.
FEMA said the total cost of the three projects is $8.9 million, 90 percent coming from the federal government.
State and local sources will split the nonfederal share on the two school projects. The state will pay the 10 percent of the third project.
More than $1.03 million in FEMA funds will go to repair the social studies building and almost $1.02 million to repair the math building at Bay High School in Bay St. Louis. Officials said the projects will restore the school to its pre-disaster design, capacity and function, including required code upgrades. The project costs take into account estimated insurance proceeds and salvaged items.
MEMA will receive $5.97 million as a federal share of the $6.64 million total cost for an accounting firm to help cities, counties and eligible private nonprofit corporations make sure recovery money is being spent properly.
"These accounting oversight and compliance services are essential in enabling Mississippi to manage and audit its reconstruction efforts in an open and effective manner," said Mike Womack, MEMA's interim director.
The grants come from FEMA's Public Assistance program, which provides financial assistance to state and local governments and certain nonprofit organizations for disaster cleanup and rebuilding efforts.

8/26
Esthers an outreach organization for single mothers, connected with Stacey Cato of The Giving Circle, Inc, volunteering with TGC applicants in Waveland who are single moms. After hearing that the Waveland/Bay St Louis area school children had uniforms prior to Katrina, Esthers offered to replace these. The Giving Circle has distributed hundreds of new Khaki pants and white shirts donated by Esthers for the students of the Waveland Bay St Louis area.

From the Superintendent,Dr. Kim Stasny
8/8
All buildings took on water from the storm surge or from extensive roof damage. The waters left behind thick mud that contaminated all areas of the buildings. High humidity and temperatures exceeding a heat index of 100 degrees lasted for days after the storm. Mold and mildew grew rapidly and spread to furniture, walls, ceilings, and A/C ductwork. Mechanical equipment on every campus was damaged by the salt water, rendering them dangerous and useless.

The infrastructure for both the wide area and local area networks was destroyed. Servers were damaged beyond repair, along with most computers and monitors throughout the district. Anything made of paper became contaminated with mold and mildew and had to be disposed. Legs of desks were pitted by the salt water and began rusting immediately, sometimes adhering to the floor. Ceiling tile sagged and floor tile buckled from humidity and water. Loss of buildings and contents has been estimated at $40M. Insurance, FEMA, and MEMA will cover some costs but not all.

Grade configurations will remain the same as before the storm until rebuilding is complete.
* North Bay and Waveland Elementary Community Schools (grades K-3)
* Second Street Elementary School (grades 4 + 5)
* Bay-Waveland Middle School (grades 6 - 8)
* Bay High School (grades 9 - 12)
* Bay-Waveland Alternative School (grades 4 - 12)

By May 2006, 62% of the pre-Katrina school population had returned. The district is planning for an 80% return rate during the '06-'07 school year.
Local revenue has decreased by at least 50%, creating strained budgets and overall belt tightening.

We hope you will consider a donation amount to aid in our recovery. Please send your check or money order to the following address:

Any donation amount will aid in our recovery.

Please send your check or money order to the following address:

Katrina Relief Fund
Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District
201 Carroll Avenue
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520

If you would like to speak to someone about our efforts, please call 228-467-4439.

Where we are:

As I reflect on the past eleven months, we've accomplished many goals. The following facts may give you a snapshot of our progress.
As of August 7, 2006, our school enrollment has reached 65.5% of pre-storm numbers. Out of 2,380 students, 1,560 have returned.
Most of our students (96%) now qualify to eat free. Prior to the storm, only 60% of our students qualified.
Estimates for recovery have exceeded $40M. This includes rebuilding two elementary schools and renovating others.
Our tax base revenue is expected to be 50 to 65% less than previous years. Until families rebuild and businesses reopen, local contribution will be insufficient.
Unemployment in Hancock County has increased from 4.9% to 20.6%.
We've been able to replace 120 computers out of the 800 we lost.
We only have two cafeterias in operation. Food is transported to two campuses and students from the high school walk to the middle school to eat.

Contact Information
Telephone
228-467-4459
Postal address
201 Carroll Ave. Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
Electronic mail
Webmaster: mailto:cpurl@bwsd.org
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2005/12/box-tops-for-education.html

8/8
School was back in session for the Bay-Waveland School District Monday. Superintendent Kim Stasny said enrollment is up nearly six percent for the district since the last day of school in May. Overall enrollment is 66 percent of the total at the beginning of school last year, she said. Echo staff photo by Dwayne Bremer.
Aug 7, 2006, 16:58

Bay Catholic School

2006-05-14T21:50:00.000-04:00

www.baycatholic.org

Bay Catholic Elementary
301 South Second St.
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520

8/25 - Updated Needs at Bottom

7/30 From WLOX
http://www.wlox.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=877337&h1=Rebecca%20Powers%20Profiles%20Principal%20Janet%20Buras&vt1=v&at1=Promotion%209&d1=227600&LaunchPageAdTag=Promotion%209&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.wlox.com/Global/category.asp%3FC%3D80298%26nav%3Dmenu40_6_13&rnd=69187617
07/18/06 --- Matt Scardino, a parent at Bay Catholic that's now called Holy Trinity, wrote to us about Principal Janet Buras. "She's done a tremendous job for our school, our community and our children. She has overcome incredible challenges since the Hurricane, her dedication and hard work is truly remarkable." So we honor Janet Buras as a South Mississippi Hero.

3/30
We have received word from the Diocese that the new school that will combine students from Our Lady of the Gulf, St. Clare, and St. Rose parishes will be called:
HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC SCHOOL

PreK-4 Mrs. Ruth's Wish List:
If you can help in any way please send a message to: rrice@baycatholic.org

electric pencil sharpener
paper cutter
etch-a-sketches
doorstop
whiteboard erasers
4-drawer filing cabinet
googly eyes
large lacing beads

Kindergarten Mrs. Stone's Wish List:
If you can help in any way please send a message to: lstone@baycatholic.org
four-drawer file cabinet
Record Player
Prayer table
rocking chair
chart stand (Sam's has for about $20.)
Someone to supply materials and build large shelves in the closet and bathroom
I need cork squares to replace the hallway bulletin board.
The following supplies I can order:
Box 100. 24x36 white tagboard $29.59
1lb. bottles glitter $5.99 each
Colors: multi color gold
silver copper
red black
blue purple
green
Behavior pocket chart $ 17.99
Chart paper. $4.79 . I need at least 5.
We also need:
Alphabet rubber stamps Uppercase and lower case
Number rubber stamps
Ink pads various colors
Box manila file folders
White copy paper
stapler
single hole punch
scotch tape

1st Grade Mrs. LaFontaine's Wish List:
If you can help in any way please send a message to: elafontaine@baycatholic.org
Polaroid Camera
Polaroid Film
Computer Ink Cartridge (color 27)
Overhead Projector cart
Overhead Math Manipulatives (Money, Clocks, etc…)
Teacher Resource Books (Religion, English, Social Studies, Science)
Educational Videos or DVD’s
Classroom TV

6th Grade Ms. Crosby's Wish List:
If you can help in any way please send a message to: mcrosby@baycatholic.org

Classroom Jeopardy! system
Maps, books, posters, etc. dealing with Latin America or Canada
Giant-sized hurricane tracking map(s)
World map with latitude and longitude clearly visible
Classroom set of Bibles
Hooks on wall to hang maps/projector screens
Classroom incentives – bookmarks, pens, pencils, etc.
New printer
Social studies videosLiturgical/mass music CDs
Biographies/autobiographies on a 5th/6th grade reading level
balls for PE/recess
someone to periodically get balls off roof
Barnes&Noble gift card to purchase books for classroom

8/25
Modular Building For Additional Classroom Space
New Playground Surface Washed Away By Katrina
New Library Shelves
Cases Of Copy Paper
Fire Proof Filing Cabinets
Convection Oven
Floor Buffer
Floor Burnisher
VCR/DVD Combo Players
Pull Down Maps
Globes For Classrooms
Door Mats (3x5)
CD Players For Classrooms
Listening Centers For Pre K and K Classrooms

City Team Ministries

2006-05-14T21:44:00.000-04:00

City Team Ministries
PO Box 3750
Bay St Louis, MS 39520

11/28 - Found a Slide Show of Photos
http://webdesign.timches.com/katrinarelief/photos/
This guy took photos at CityTeam's request of the work being done in LA and MS. If you scroll down the page, you'll see 2 albums of Hancock County area.

11/7 - From Debra of City Team
They are still running test. She continues to have break outs. The doctor’s have put her on bed rest. Our HR department was just there last week and it’s incredible to see that so many places have yet to be touched. Listening to the stories of the ladies who’s homes we were working in is just incredible. There is nothing like southern hospitality. I enjoy being there. I am so grateful for your faithfulness in keeping up with all the volunteer opportunities. You are a blessing.

Debra

10/21 From Pastor Bonnie
Hi all,
Thanks for your prayers.
The doc said it will be another week of bedrest before he will release me. The infection seems to be getting better as my white blood count and fever are going away. Mainly, I’m just tired and tire easily.
The Doctor said that many long term volunteers are catching staph.
So….any open sores please get them looked at before it goes into the bloodstream.
Many of the local residents came in the hospital frantically and asked me if I was “going to go home now”; they couldn’t understand why I would want to stay with all that’s happened. I just reassured them that I couldn’t go home now. . Love just doesn’t run! I came here because God asked me to come and some little bugs crawling around my blood stream are not going to stop me from helping out a while longer. : )
You all have been so gracious to be my extended family in the middle of all this. Thank you so much for caring so greatly. For the cards and flowers and just plain ole love. I truly appreciate it. It means a lot from my peers.
God bless and I’ll be praying for you too.
Bonnie
Bonnie P. Ringdahl
CityTeam Ministries, Inc.
498 Ulman Ave
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
408.857.5059

8/25
One Year Later
One year ago, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city of Bay St. Louis, MS. CityTeam heard the call to rush to their aid with shelter, feeding, counseling, AA meetings, case management, and rebuilding homes. CityTeam has been on the ground in Bay St. Louis helping people rebuild their lives, their city and their homes. We are still there today and it has been our joy to come along side this city and help in multiple ways – from delivery food supplies to repairing a home. We are an agency with multiple services and volunteers to provide real hope that real change is possible.
"Bay Saint Louis would not be a functioning community without this partnership with CityTeam. Their leaders recognize and meet our needs with a clarity that locals do not have yet.”
"CityTeam has helped us survive, literally, and we will be forever grateful and will always remember their impact on our lives for many generations to come."
Mayor Eddie Favre,Bay St. Louis, MS
“It has been our honor to come along side the city of Bay St. Louis and Mayor Eddie Favre and help rebuild their community after Hurricane Katrina,” said Patrick Robertson, president, CityTeam Ministries. “We are so grateful for all the donors and volunteers from across the nation that have helped us reach out to serve thousands of people who have faced devastation because of this terrible disaster. The lives of our volunteers have changed forever as they have worked long days, slept in tents and personally seen the hope of the people that have lost so much. The people of Bay St. Louis have helped us be a better organization today.”
CityTeam is currently helping to rebuild over 130 homes in Bay St. Louis. We have depleted our designated financial funds but we continue to press on. More volunteers are still needed today. Even one year after the disaster – people can still visually see how their involvement can impact lives in Bay St. Louis.
If you would like to know how you can help Call 1-888-CITYTEAM or Click the donation button. Thank you

CityTeam and WalMart
CityTeam has partnered with Wal-mart to host a “Wish-List” registry on-line so you can purchase needed household items for over a 100 families that have lost e`verything in the terrible disaster of Hurricane Katrina. CityTeam is still sending hundreds of volunteers down to Bay St. Louis to help rebuild homes and lives. Our wish is that you will visit our wish list at http://www.walmart.com/wishlist/ and select an item or two that we can bless a family with.
A set of new sheets is a special gift to a boy or girl who is coming home for the first time. Or a set of dishes so a family can eat together is necessary for them to rebuild their family unity. These are important ways in which you can partner with us to help families that have lost so much of their lives.

On this web page you can meet a few of the families and individuals that are in need and hear how they personally survived and how they are going to rebuild their lives one step at a time.
If you would like to know more about this program and how you can help – please call our headquarters at 1-888-CITYTEAM or 408-232-5600.

Thank you for being a part of this rebuilding project with us at CityTeam. Please keep your Wal-mart on-line receipt for tax purposes.

Go To Walmart.com, Upper Left Corner (Wish List) First Name - CityTeam; Last Name - Ministries; State - Mississippi; Date - August

CityTeam is audited quarterly to keep their operations as transparent as possible. Very Cool!

Needs List
Volunteers - Volunteers will have room and board provided and given assignments of where to work - no worries about being left to your own devices.

Flooring - linoleum of neutral colors, carpeting of neutral colors

Electrical - 12/3, 12/2, 10/3 cable; 150a, 200a Service Boxes, Electric Meters, 15a, 20a, 30a breakers, switches, outlets, junction boxes for NEW construction.

Construction - drywall - 1/2" 4x12 sheets, greenboard, mud, tape, taping knives, drywall knives, drywall screws, white paint - flat, with mold retardant added; any toilets (hint to those who replaced with lowflow - there's a place to take the high flow for now)

Roofing - 110mph architectural shingles; nail strips for nail guns, nail guns, tar paper, etc.

Gift Cards - gift cards are great, but there is a hitch. The prices are getting so high in the Gulf Region that many times it is cheaper to buy the stuff out of state and ship it in. Prices right now are double or triple national average. Drywall just increased by $3 a sheet. Wiring has increased $37 a roll in the last 3 months. Please consider bringing the subject up with your Federal representative, the US Attorney General, and the affected states' Attorneys General. This gouging needs to stop if the rebuilding is going to occur with any appreciable speed.

From their Website's List of Needs

Kitchen:
Pots, pans and bake ware – cookware sets
Tableware (includes dishes, glasses, and cups
Flatware
Cooking utensils
Small Kitchen appliances (includes coffeemaker, can opener, toaster)
Large Kitchen Appliances (dishwasher, oven, refrigerator, microware)
Bed Linens (sheet sets, comforter, blanket)
Washer & Dryer
Vacuum
Batteries

Home Repair Supplies:
General hand tools and power tools
Nails
Sheetrock and particle board
Lighting fixtures
Laminated Flooring material
Carpet & padding material
Adhesives, Mortar, Grout & Sealers
Electrical wiring and switches
Home Décor items – wallpaper, paint, draperies, blinds, etc.
Windows & Doors
Door hardware

General Items:

(These items are still needed for our daily distribution center)
Paper goods (napkins, paper towels, cups, etc.)
Toilet papers
Diapers
Baby supplies, formula & food
Over the counter medication
Laundry detergent
Canned food

Send to:

City Team Ministries PO Box 3750 Bay St Louis, MS 39520

They have storage space in a warehouse, so will be able to store appreciable amounts of supplies, should they need to.

Our Lady Academy Needs

2006-05-14T21:43:00.000-04:00

http://www.ourladyacademy.com/
The latest Needs List from Our Lady Academy.

As they get more students in, their needs grow. But, that's a good thing! It means the families are coming back!Please send any gift cards or material donations to:

Our Lady Academy 222 S. Beach Blvd. Bay St. Louis MS 39520 Jeannine Y. Burch 228-332-7976 mbbjoy@juno.comPlease let us know if you wish to or plan to send anything from the list so we can mark it off and focus people on the remaining items. Thanks in advance for your help.

10/29 Update
Math Teacher
We are desperately searching for a math teacher. Mrs. Goggins and I are teaching too much; Mr. Kolodziej leaves us at Christmas. But….. we don’t want just anybody. We want a GOOD math teacher. Do you know anyone? Please help us with this. I have exhausted all my contacts.

9/9 Update
September Newsletter from Sr. Jackie
"We've come so far and yet we've just begun."
The Physical Plant:
McAuley Hall is up and running. Mercy Hall is up and running. The Commons and gym are up and running. We have obtained an occupancy permit for Johnson Hall; it is partially up and running and will be fully functional by Labor Day.
Plans for the Physical Plant:
The gym will get a complete overhaul at the end of October, after volleyball season. A new floor will be laid; new bleachers will be installed. The gym will be "down" for about three weeks. But it will be worth it!
Plans to replace St. Joseph Hall are all tied up with FEMA at this time. Need I say more?
Equipment:
Classroom equipment has begun to arrive, compliments of Re-Start, the federal program designed to get the schools up and running. The non-public schools are included in this program; this is a famous first! Fifty-one boxes of science equipment arrived two weeks ago. Mrs. Cranford thought it was Christmas; then she had to unpack and inventory everything! Her enthusiasm waned! Classroom furniture has begun to arrive. Mrs. Bartels has the unenviable task of keeping track of all of it. Textbooks are almost all here; we are waiting on just a few extra books for classes with larger enrollments than we anticipated and a few teachers' editions. Mrs. Bartels is also in charge of this. She thinks she is overworked; she is probably right!Enrollment:
We began school with 237 students. That is 18 more than we ended with last year. We are pleased with the number, but, of course, we still have a way to go to attain our pre-storm enrollment of 280.
Technology:
I know you are all missing Power School and the ability to check on your daughter's progress each evening through our Web site. I wish I had an answer to the question of "When." We are waiting for the federal Re-Start program to OK our request for computers. And, after we get approval, they must be shipped. And, after they arrive, we must get it all installed and up and running. A mind boggling task to say the least! I get a headache just thinking about it all.
Student Activities:
We began our school year at OLG Church with a challenge to each young lady to "BE" BEgin......BElieve.....BElong.......BEcome
BEgin the year with enthusiasm and a commitment to do your best.
BElieve in yourself and what you can accomplish.
BElong to the Faith Community that is OLA.
BEcome the best you can be.

OLA volleyball is off to another great start. It is just like we didn't skip a beat. The team won the Gulf Coast Classic Volleyball Tournament last week. The girls have not lost a game to a Coast team (as of 8/22, when I wrote this note). They look great! Victoria Romano and Amanda Meyers are providing wonderful senior leadership. And Mike Meyers is amazing!
The Back-To-School Dance was well attended. The luau theme was enjoyed by the students. You should have seen some of the outfits! I think a good time was had by all.
Bishop Rodi joined us on August 29th, for our Katrina anniversary remembrance. Fr. Carver officiated at our opening school liturgy.
SSC football is off to a good start. Isn't it nice to have something to do on Friday evenings?
Sign-up is complete for the 2006 Youth Legislature session . Fifty young women will represent us in Jackson. I have absolutely NO doubt that they will make us proud!
Swimming and Cross Country begins soon.
Good luck, Crescents. Good luck to our coaches, Mr. Hull and Mrs. Loftus!
Sr. Jackie

Immediately below is Sister Jackie's wish list.

The departments' wish lists follow.
file cabinets (about a dozen)
oval conference room table and chairs (to seat eight)
DVD players (about 10)
VCR players (about 10)
LCD projector (2 needed)
large screens (for each classroom -about 10)
overhead projectors (about 10)
computer tables and chairs - for about 30 computers
digital camera and photo printer

Please send notifications to: Julie Cranford at CranFam@cs.com or OLA's Email at Info@OurLadyAcademy.com
Also consider BoxTops and Labels For Education
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2005/12/collect-campbell-labels-for-hancock.html http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2005/12/box-tops-for-education.html
Consider Gift Cards
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/02/stores-to-buy-gift-cards-through.html
OLA School Needs
Picnic tables New flagpole / New United States flag and state of Mississippi flag
English Department- Kerri Guichet:
*Just added: 2 boxes of legal size hanging file folders
25 staplers
25 pencil holders
25 pairs of scissors
25 three ring hole punch
25 desk organizers for drawers
25 standard 8-digit calculators
25 overhead projectors
25 cassette/CD players
25 heavy duty electric pencil sharpeners
black & white transparencies-designed for use in copiers
white copy paper
staples
jumbo size paper clips
highlighters
red pens
Black pens
file folders
rubber bands
white out
correction pens
printer ink for Hewlett Packard Deskjet 722C
Kleenex
hand sanitizer
pens for overhead projector
supplementary materials for teaching grammar for grades 7-8 (Teacher's Discovery catalog had some neat things)
bulletin board paper
punch-out letters for bulletin board
visuals for the walls( motivational, religious, or language arts related)
laminating machine
dry erase markers/erasers
25 VCR/DVD players
English/ Math- Millie Rutledge:
heavy duty stapler
3 hole punch
Electric pencil sharpener
dry erase markers/erasers
red pens
pencils (mechanical)
black pens
1 laptop computer
1 printer/copier/scanner/faxset of classroom scientific-calculators
board set of geometric tools: compass, ruler, protractor math manipulatives
colored markers
loose leaf paper (college ruled)
computer paper
dean ruler-metric/English
large clips for holding papers
file folders
colored pencils
1 personal calculator
paper clips
tape dispenser
1 dictionary
construction paperTV/ DVD/ VCR
Stereo
Wall calendar
desktop calendar
file cabinet
blank CD's
memory stick ( portable disk drive)
note cards
Pre-algebra test generator CD
Pre-algebra practice work sheets (skill builders)
computer desk/chair
copier for schoo
lcases of copy paper
toner for copier
Music- Joy Mehrtens:
Kurtzweil PC2 Series keyboard/stand/case
Portable piano bench
4 sections of Wenger
3-step choral risers
20 music stands
Peavy keyboard amplifiers
Reader's Digest Keyboard Music Collection
2 omnidirectional choral microphones
2 telescoping mic stands
1 regular mic stand
2 monitors speakers
1 microphone
PA system
Hymn books/ Accompaniment books for different religious denominationslap-
top computer (DVD-CD rom)
Finale (Music composition Program- PC format)
Art text booksbox-storage containers
Music Piano (ALREADY PROVIDED)
piano bench Wenger-
4 sections of standing choral risers (portable)
Visual Art
140 lb. Cold press watercolor paper1 rheem
80 lb. Drawing paper
24 prang watercolor sets
30 #6 round watercolor brushes
30 ½ inch angled flat watercolor brushes
4 pints masking fluid
30 ½ inch rulers
4 tape dispensers
4 staplers
2 three hole punch
larger paper cutter
Ceramics* Need by Nov.11000 lbs. Cone 6 stoneware claypottery tools (call for list)
Elise Deano- History
world map
Mississippi map
US map
Poster Sets: Electoral College Federal Government How a Bill Becomes a Law
Large desk calendar
Science Lab
25 microscope
Glassware: beaker
videoscope
Graduated cylinder
slides- anatomy, botany, biology
Flask
dissecting trays
Test tubes
dissecting kits
Slides
skeleton
Funnels
Bunsen burners
Mortar/pestle
iron stand-ring
stands
parkers
thermometer
Models (example) - Ear, Eye, Heart, Leafrulers
calculators
periodic table
world map
oceans of the world
topographic map
posters-charts
art/craft supplies
science videos
electrophoresis equipment
magnifying glass
compass
magnets
atomic models
lightbulb-flashlight
batteries
wiregram stain kitf
ilter paper
stethoscope-blood pressure
fossil kits
water sampling kits
inoculating loopseine nets
Cafeteria:
Commercial stove/range and hood
stainless steel cooking utensils
Freezer (ALREADY PROVIDED)
Disposable plates, utensils, napkins
ice maker
ReligionChristian CD's

Need For Baby Items

2006-05-14T21:39:00.000-04:00

Funny how life goes on regardless of the situation, isn't it?

There are several babies being born in and around Pearlington in the coming weeks and months. I have a contact - Amy Coyne, who is willing to be the contact person to help distribute items such as:

Baby Blankets
Layettes
Clothes - infant to 6 months
Bottles
Formula
Diapers
Cribs
Changing Tables
Toys
Suckers

Her note to me:

Thanks for the follow up. We have four staff members with new babies from 1 week to four months old. We also have two who will have grandchildren within the next few weeks. All of these individuals lost all in Katrina and had much damage. Anything is much appreciated from them.

I truly appreciate your efforts and concern. They are so very appreciated.

Amy Coyne
acoyne@bwsd.org

Bay-Waveland Middle School
600 Pine Street
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520

Put the packages attn to Amy Coyne

Kansas East Methodist Assistance

2006-05-14T21:35:00.000-04:00

www.KansasEast.org

I spoke with Ben Moore in March, and was highly impressed with what has been accomplished here so far.

He gave me the background on how the Kansas East Conference of the UMC got involved. Having dealt with flood situations so extensively in their home district, they felt they would be well suited to assist in the recovery.

Well, when they got into Bay St. Louis, they were not prepared for the devestation that was before them. However, they did what they could, started with baby steps and are now finally walking at full stride. Running is going to take awhile yet, but they're getting there.

The volunteers of the Kansas East Conference brought tools, garden carts, cleaning supplies and a host of other items to assist. They kept the dignity of the residents by requiring a minimal deposit for use of the tools, only to be given the deposit back after 1 week's use of the tools. What a great idea!

The volunteers from around the country who came to assist KEC were mudding out homes until December when gutting the houses began. They are now both gutting and helping rebuild the homes - approximately 230 homes at this time, with more coming in for assistance all the time.

Needs

Skilled Labor - primarily Electricians and Sheetrock tapers. While most of us have done taping and minor plaster work, they need experienced people in this.

Contact Julie Phol for more information if you want to schedule with them...

Team Openings: Bay St.Louis, Mississippi – Team Schedule
5-28-06 6-3-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 10 people max
5-28-06 6-3-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 10 people max
5-28-06 6-3-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 10 people max
6-4-06 6-10-06 KEC/Church of the Resurr. Open 12 people max
6-4-06 6-10-06 KEC/Flint Hills District Open 15 people max
6-4-06 6-10-06 KEC/Lawrence Central Open 10 people max
6-11-06 6-17-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 KEC Open 10 people max
7-23-06 7-29-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 KEC Open 10 people max
7-30-06 8-5-06 KEC/Hiawatha Trinity Open 15 people max
8-13-06 8-19-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 KEC 10 people max
9-24-06 9-30-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 KEC 10 People ma
10-8-06 10-14-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 KEC 10 people max
10-22-06 10-28-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 KEC 10 people max
11-5-06 11-11-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 KEC 10 max
11-20-06 12-2-06 Open Julie Pohl 785-989-3237 KEC 10 people max

Printer - I'm hoping I can find one locally for them. There are so many waiting in storage at the moment, I'm sure there's one that can be lent or even given to assist in their efforts.

Ladders - All types will be very welcome!

Nail Guns - For roofing, not finishing.

Compressors - To run the nail guns - makes sense, right?

Saw Horses - Pretty easy - many are collapsible, and you can also get kits to make them out of 2x4's in no time - so there are many options for collecting or shipping.

Gift Cards - Walmart, Lowes and HomeDepot are within an hour's drive, so are the best to give
Also - check this post for other stores:
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/02/stores-to-buy-gift-cards-through.html

Money - While they are still unable to give any funding directly to the residents, this will hopefully be resolved in the next month or so. Small amounts of money donated go to replacing or adding to the tool collection as well as paying for the phone service. There still is no landline at the church, so all phone service is strictly cellular.

Make the checks out to: Main Street Disaster Response.

Mail to:
Main Street United Methodist Church
PO Box 28
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520

The following is a FAQ Sheet that I found on the KEC website - it's the only place I've seen it, but will also post it to the UMCOR post.
http://66.51.169.7/uploads/Katrina_Aid_e-mail_version.pdf

And finally - please visit Ben's personal Blog - www.TheRoadBeyond.Blogspot.com
He's a long way from home and it's his way of communicating with his family and friends.

Bay St. Louis Website

2006-05-14T21:29:00.000-04:00

This is an absolutely incredible site done by someone who knows how to write HTML - which obviously I don't!

http://www.baystlouis.us/

The photo essays are astounding and the information matches much of mine and goes beyond mine - but probably because he's actually LIVING there! So, this week, I'll be doing what I can to include some of his information on here for those who don't want to visit both sites all the time.

We plan to stay in contact, so this should become a great relationship for the good of Bay St. Louis.

Check it out!

http://www.baystlouis.us/

Our Lady of The Gulf Church

2006-05-14T21:24:00.000-04:00

http://www.olgchurch.net/

3/18/07 To volunteer through OLG, go to the site they have set up just for this!
http://www.olgv.org/
Cindy Lederer at 414-828-5905 or
cindy.lederer@gmail.com

Harold Lederer at 414-828-7655 Brian Milner at 228-216-0707 or
brian@olgv.org
Calendar of volunteers:
http://www.olgv.org/index.php?option=com_extcalendar&Itemid=4

Their March '07 Newsletter:
http://www.olgv.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=6

6/28/06 - From the Sea Coast Echo
Our Lady of the Gulf is "Still Crabbin'" – the theme of the 23rd annual Crab Festival, representative of the church's dedication to keep Crab Fest going. It will run June 30-July 2, from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. It will be held at the usual festival grounds on South Beach. Parking will be available at the St. Stanislaus school. Over sixty vendors have already registered, and more are signing up each day, event Chairwoman Pam Metzler said. The festival will feature rides and other attractions, as well as cotton candy, live music and plenty of seafood."It's huge; Crab Fest is one of the biggest outdoor events on the Coast. The food's going to be better than ever."All proceeds will benefit the purchase of new equipment for Our Lady, as all of the equipment it had was lost or destroyed."Any proceeds go to what we have to replace, because we lost all of our equipment," Metzler said. Despite many factors caused by Katrina, Metzler said she has high hopes for the festival's turnout.

5/28 - Our Lady of The Gulf has fully revamped their website! Very cool. The following is a site they made through MyRegistry.com for parishioners' needs to be placed. You can sort by single, married, family, etc. if there is a specific demographic you'd like to assist.
http://www.myregistry.com/katrina/FindFriend.aspx
The following is for Parish Campus - I hope the link comes through ok. It's pretty long...
http://www.myregistry.com/Visitors/welcome.aspx?sid=FFB0260B-9971-43C0-9CEA-E2ABE4C450A7

Needs List

CASH - Cash donations are always accepted. When submitting a cash donation, please let us know what you would like your donation to be used for by selecting an option from the list below.
Tuition assistance for a child.
Putting a new roof on a house.
Other building supplies.
Feeding a family for a week/month.
The OLG parish rebuilding efforts for building/grounds.
Refueling propane tanks for FEMA trailers.
Other _________________________
VEHICLES - Do you have a car sitting around that you no longer need? If so, please consider donating it to a family that no longer has a working vehicle. Pick-up trucks and/or used jeeps are also extremely valuable for hauling debris and rebuilding materials.
HOUSING - Do you have an RV you're not using, a rental unit that is available? Temporary housing is still needed and very much appreciated.
To donate directly to Our Lady of the Gulf parish, contact: Fr. Mike Tracey, Pastor. Email:
mtracey1@bellsouth.net
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it 228-567-0123

Gifts for Parishioners - myregistry.com

You can find out how to help a SPECIFIC family in need. Once you have chosen a family, click on the "Gift List" tab on the top tool bar to view their list.

The Press Release Re: the My Registry Set Up.

MyRegistry.Com Announces Donation Registry for Katrina Victims
Eight Months Later, Help Still Needed to Rebuild Lives

New York, NY (PR WEB) – May 2, 2006 -- Eight months after Katrina, MyRegistry.com, the ultimate global gift registry, announced today a new way to help victims of the storm, who continue to need substantial assistance to rebuild their towns, schools and homes. “The Gift of Hope” Registry (www.MyRegistry.com/Katrina) matches needy individuals and institutions with potential donors using state of the art gift registry technology.

MyRegistry.com formed a partnership with Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church in Mississippi to help those living in the region devastated by Katrina. Together they worked with local volunteers to create registries for victims to inform the public directly of their needs and their personal situations. Through the web site, donors can purchase items directly for those who
need them the most.

Similar to a bridal registry where visitors select a gift from a registry and purchase it online, visitors to “The Gift of Hope” Registry can select a family or person to help, review their registry and purchase a gift online. From mattresses to circular saws, towels, to even refrigerators, the Gift Lists are personalized and needed. Gift Lists also include Parish needs for the Church, the Girls and Boys High Schools, Elementary School and Community Center.

For people that want to help residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast rebuild and who may not be able to volunteer in person, the site simplifies and personalizes the process of giving. More than 130 families are participating and have created gift list registries.

“I want to thank MyRegistry.com and all the people that enabled this program,” said Fr. Michael Tracey, pastor of Our Lady of the Gulf Church, “starting with Mr. Berkowitz, founder of MyRegistry.com, and the volunteers that spent untold hours registering and helping some people use technology for the first time. This project has been one more example of the
goodness of people, and the work we can do together.”

“I loved this idea from the moment the Parish contacted us,” said MyRegistry’s Founder, Oded Berkowitz. “Gift registries are not just for weddings and baby showers, but for any gift giving occasion. We can tell the world exactly what these families need, and people can help them without a middle man, right at this moment. I think that is the kind of charitable giving that anyone can relate to, and I am happy that MyRegistry.com can participate and help”

About MyRegistry.com

MyRegistry.com is the ultimate online registry for all gift-giving needs, where users can add items to their registry from literally any store in the world. It is ideally suited for weddings, baby showers, graduations, confirmations, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, sweet sixteen parties, or any occasion one can think of! Easy to navigate and fun to use, MyRegistry.com is the perfect way to register for all the important events in your life!

About Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church

Our Lady of the Gulf is a Catholic Community of 2,000 families (pre-Katrina) within the Diocese of Biloxi, with a tradition of faith and endurance since its founding in 1847. Inspired by this heritage, we accept God’s call to grow as a community of faith, love and compassion, modeled on the ministry of Jesus Christ. By caring for the spiritual needs of all parishioners and embracing new members to our Parish family, we endeavor to put our Catholic faith into action through service to each other and our community.

Media Contacts
Our Lady of the Gulf Church
Laura Field
312-961-5054
laurafield@earthlink.net

MyRegistry.com
Oded Berkowitz
Oberkowitz@myregistry.com

Any gift cards to Lowes, Home Depot, etc. will be most appreciated.
Please Mail them to:
228 South Beach Blvd.
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520-4320

If you personally would like assist in the rebuilding of this community, here’s what you do…Contact either:

Dan Quinn at either
danquinn.j@gmail.com
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
or 412-996-9670

Brian Milner at either
brian@olgv.org
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
or 228-216-0707

You’ll need to bring some ‘stuff’ with you.

Clothes: Depending on what time of year you go, it could be shorts and t-shirts, or it could be coats and hats. And be sure to have appropriate working clothes if possible, sturdy shoes, gloves, long pants and raingear.
Food:There are now a few local restaurants open including Sonic, Wendy's, Sicily's pizza Buffet and a few local family restaurants. Please plan for your own meals, we do enjoy some pot lucks when we can! A Wal-mart Express recently opened with the basic food necessities and two convince stores are open.
Camping supplies:There is a large area on the OLG campus that is now barren and can be used for a camping area. There are working restrooms on the grounds, and you’ll be close to where the help is needed.
Personal hygiene:You’ll have access to a shower, but it’s located in the gymnasium of the school. The shower water is no longer ice cold! But you’ll need a towel and soap etc…
Tools:The tools needed depend on what skills you are bringing with you. Dan Quinn, the onsite coordinator, will be able to provide additional insight on what you’ll be working on when you’re down there.
Spirit:A smile and a cheery hello will make someone’s day down at Bay St. Louis. These people have NOTHING to smile about, so give ‘em one of yours!

Help For Hurricane Affected Schools

2006-05-14T21:20:00.000-04:00

However, I have FINALLY found a list of schools from all the affected states that are in need. I am still trying to find out how recent the lists are, BUT, it has email, phone and mailing addresses - VERY good site!
http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/disasterrelief/schools/index-state.cfm#

St. Rose de Lima Church

2006-05-14T21:17:00.000-04:00

ST ROSE DE LIMA CATHOLIC CHURCH
301 SOUTH NECAISE AVENUE
BAY ST. LOUIS, MS 39520
Tel: 228-467-7347/467-7357
Fax: 228-467-7740
E-mails: strdc@bellsouth.net, office@strosedelima-bsl.org
Website: www.strosedelima-bsl.org

“In that day I will restore David’s tent.
I will repair its broken places, restore its
ruins, and build it as it used to be”(Amos 9:11)

Gift Cards are also appreciated...
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/02/stores-to-buy-gift-cards-through.html

3/18/07
Shrimp po-boy sale sponsored by the Booster Club, will be held on Fri., March 23rd, 11:00a.m.- 2:30 p.m.

8/23 Relief and Recovery Effort Progress and Status
(Taken from their Newsletter)

Completed Remaining
Roofs 68 153
Drywall 32 310
Electrical 41 229
Plumbing 30 200
Interior Paint 20
Carpentry 12
Debris Removal 96

Average Funds Needed For Roof And Drywall Work: 4670.00

Money Raised - 552,000 Money Used - 433,000

Appliance Drive Received Needed

Refrigerators 85 308
Stoves 67 244
Washers 79 256
Dryers 60 126
Dishwashers 13 30

Coming Soon:
2007 Calendar with photos of church community, volunteers and the recovery efforts. Available at St. Rose for $10 in late September. Proceeds to be divided between Relief Effort and St. Rose Education Fund.

New Housing Location:
Since the school is going to be returned to its orginal use, there is hope of repairing the Retreat Center at St. Augustine Seminary. Hands On will be assisting with the repairs and St Augustine will be furnishing the materials, with use being able to use the building to house volunteers for an 18 month period.
Until then, we have rented a 7 bedroom house for volunteers.

Schedule
Major Volunteer Weeks:
October 13-22
November 17-26
December 8-17
January 5-14
February 9-18

A FEW FACTS

Time after time we have heard people say: “we did not know” ; “this is nothing like what we saw on TV or what we read….”No TV coverage or report can do justice to the reality of destruction.” We have witnessed many people breaking into tears as they see the level of destruction and how people are struggling to cope with the new stresses of life.

Post-Katrina life remains a challenge on a daily basis. Most individuals and families at St. Rose and in the Bay St. Louis-Waveland community are displaced residing in tents, temporary FEMA trailers or with multiple families or neighbors in single-family dwellings that are in ill repair. Many parishioners and residents have lost employment and health care benefits due to the destruction of local businesses.

Access to health care remains very limited. Our local hospital was severely damaged due to the hurricane.

Fortunately, the National Guard set up a large M.A.S.H. unit and doctors and nurses from across the U.S. provided immediate health care to residents of our county as well as to displaced persons from New Orleans. Recently, the hospital was able to reopen the emergency room but can only admit 26 patients to the facility. When the school system re-opened in November only 39% of the pre-Katrina students returned. Hancock County was reduced to ground zero. Of the 400 + local businesses, only 5% of them are back in operation.

The community is down to two operational gas stations, one grocery store, a couple of restaurants, one bank and a few much-needed hardware stores. The rebuilding process is going to be a long and tedious endeavor. As the majority of our people have experienced considerable problems with their Insurance Companies and FEMA, a number of Churches and Faithbased organizations have shown the face of God, brought a Spirit of Hope to our People, empowering us to continue our journey of faith.

Bay St Louis Free Medical Clinic

2006-05-14T21:11:00.000-04:00

5/3 - Great news! The local medical infrastructure is now able to fully handle all patients - both those who are insured and those who have yet to get their insurance back. So, The Bay St. Louis Free Medical Clinic will be closing at the end of May.

A success story! A toast of espresso!

An article re: the clinic -
http://risingfromruin.msnbc.com/2006/01/bay_st_louis_mi.html

Here is the calendar of staffing for the LMG free clinic so far. We try to keep at least one doctor and one nurse there on all dates.

We need to staff all of March.

Clinic Hours: Mon- Sunday, 8 AM to 5 PM

We will take nurses fresh out of school, we will try to pair them with someone from LMG as a bit of a mentor.

Paramedics are excellent and very welcome.

With a copy of the physician’s license and the temporary licensure form, we fax it to MS state board and the person receives a 30 day temporary license. We do this right before they go to the clinic to avoid having to renew over and over.

We do not register nurses, however, we are only required to register the physicians. This covers them for malpractice due to the state of emergency.

Thank you,
Angie Beamer
Loudoun Medical Group
703-737-6010 x 126
ABeamer@LMBDoctors.com

Avoiding Heat Related Illness

2006-05-14T20:34:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone.

Since summer has set in on the Gulf, but spring has barely arrived up North, I figured I’d write a small missive about Heat Exhaustion, Heat Stroke and Dehydration. These are all things you will have to watch your volunteers for as they work. I am also attaching a poster you can place where the volunteers will see it.

My medical background includes having been a paramedic and in emergency medical services for 15 years as well as having a degree in Health Science and Exercise Physiology. I have also lived in Louisville, KY and Dallas, TX so am very familiar with working in very hot, humid conditions.

Most of your volunteers are what would be called unconditioned. They aren't athletes in any sense of the word, so their ability to deal with heat under physical stress is diminished. That's one strike. The next strike is if they have any underlying medical conditions, which I would guess about half have. If they have high blood pressure or heart conditions, they should do as little hard manual labor as possible. Any medications they are on are likely to diminish their ability to deal with heat even further.

So, since you're only working with one strike left, you've got to make the most of it.

Strongly urge that no caffeine be taken to the work sites. Caffeine in the AM and after work is finished is tolerable, but not during work.
Carbonated beverages are tolerable, but not optimal during work.
Take breaks every 15 minutes to drink. Suggest they take their pulse.
Seriously consider stopping work at 2PM.
Urge the volunteers to alternate water with their favorite beverage.

Caffeine increases body temperature, pulse, constricts blood vessels and draws water out of the body. None of these things are good in hot conditions. Hence, no caffeine at work sites.

Carbonated beverages don't offer much more than sugar with a little water, so aren't of high value, but are certainly better than drinking nothing at all. Sports drinks are OK as well, as is Gatorade or Tang.

By taking breaks every 15 minutes to drink, this will help better assure hydration and will also keep Heat Exhaustion/Stroke at bay. Having them take their pulse during these breaks will also give a very quick evaluation of their status. If their heart rates are over 100 5 minutes into the break, they need to rest further. Heat Exhaustion is beginning.

The hottest part of the day actually begins after 2PM – generally around 3PM and continues well into the evening. In Dallas, temperatures would remain into the 90’s well after midnight. If you must, begin work early – say 630AM. This is generally the coolest time of the day.

Knowing that water can be very tedious, urge the volunteers to alternate their beverages with water. As I stated before, just about anything is acceptable, as long as water is included. The best test for full hydration is the color of the urine. Clear and almost colorless is perfect. If it's cloudy and dark, the person is NOT drinking enough. This will be included in the poster. Gatorade is good. Tang might be better. It is higher in potassium, which is more important than the sodium in Gatorade. Plus, people might drink more of it due to better taste. And it can be mixed to individual strengths.

No alcohol. Heat Exhaustion/Stroke can set in well after the work is complete. Alcohol has the best potential to throw a person's body into one of these long after the hot work is done.

Think about having things such as dill pickles and green olives available. After work in Dallas, I would eat at least a half dozen olives and then drink another gallon of water during the evening. Even with this, I would be dehydrated by the end of the week. 2 gallons of fluids each day is not unreasonable and very much favored. Expect the volunteers to be dehydrated by week's end and not be performing as well as they should. Accidents will be far more likely the last day of work due to the brain not working quite right without its water.

Signs of Heat Exhaustion:
The signs of heat exhaustion include paleness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, fainting, and a moderately increased temperature (101-102 degrees F). They will also have excessive sweating. This means they will look like they've been hit with a fire hose of water. You'll know it if you see it.

If a person shows these signs, get them to a cool shady place that has a fan or breeze. Make them lie down and drink fluids as much as possible. If they are vomiting, they may need to seek emergency medical assistance as this can lead to Heat Stroke. They will NOT be able to work for the duration of their visit. Heat Exhaustion does not end in a day. It takes several days to weeks to fully recover.

Signs of Heat Stroke
Heat stroke is the most severe form of heat illness. It can occur even in people who are not exercising, if the weather is hot enough. These people have warm, flushed (red) skin, and do not sweat. Whether exercise-related or not, though, a person with heat stroke usually has a very high temperature (106 degrees F or higher), and may be delirious, unconscious, or having seizures. These people need to have their temperature reduced quickly, often with ice packs, and must also be given IV fluids for rehydration; they must be taken to the hospital as quickly as possible and may have to stay in the hospital for observation since many different body organs can fail in heat stroke.

Anyone suffering from Heat Stroke must not work in this type environment again for about a year and may never be able to again. Heat Stroke alters the body's ability to tolerate hot environments. Also – if anyone in the team does suffer Heat Stroke, assume all are suffering from Heat Exhaustion and stop all work.

I know it sounds serious. And it is. But with proper hydration listed at the beginning, there will be no problems. I just want you aware of what could happen so that you can take care of yourself and your volunteers.

If you are a long-term volunteer, seriously consider eating yogurt every day, significantly reducing your sugar intake, and even taking acidophyllus pills. These actions will significantly reduce your chances at athlete's foot, jock itch, yeast infection - which are all basically the same thing, just different areas of the body. Change all underclothing (socks too) twice a day in order to minimize your risk for these problems. This is knowledge gained from personal experience!

The Following is a poster I made for you to put where your volunteers will be able to read it and educate themselves:

Avoid Heat Related Illness!

No Caffeine While Working
Drink Fluids Every 15 Minutes While Working
Rest 5 Minutes Every 15 Minutes
Take Your Pulse Before Starting Work Again.

IF:
Your pulse is over 100, REST until it’s below 90.
You feel nauseous, STOP working.
You stop sweating, STOP working.
You feel dizzy, STOP working.

Find the coolest spot possible, lie down, and drink copious amounts of fluids. If, after 30 minutes you continue to feel ill or worse, seek medical attention NOW and alert your team leader. No work for the rest of the day.

After work, continue drinking every 15 minutes until your urine is clear and pale yellow. Dark and/or cloudy means you’re dehydrated. It’ll only get worse tomorrow if you don’t keep drinking.

If you don’t like water, alternate it with another fluid. NO ALCOHOL

Bay St. Louis Needs

2006-05-14T20:14:00.000-04:00

5/30 - for those interested - City Development Plans
http://www.governorscommission.com/press/101705BayStLouis.pdf

8/1 From Ms. Mike

All of the members of the KatrinaNetworking have been so supportive of the Gulf Coast Katrina recovery and if we don't thank you often enough I'm sorry and want to be sure that you know how much you are appreciated, by all of us, even those who don't take the time to thank you because they are still overwhelmed by the tasks at hand. I don't know where we would be without your help. Because of your support every day we move forward, maybe in a small way, but always forward.

We were thirty six years in recovery from Hurricane Camille when Katrina hit. There is a determination that recovery won't take as long, although in comparison Camille was a thunderstorm.

Yes, our city administration still needs help. To date we have had to borrow over $15 million to keep the doors open and minimal services delivered to the public with a virtual skeleton crew of employees. There have been very few new hires and those were hired under special employment programs funded by the state, not because we could afford new salaries and benefits.

The following are a list of the major supplies that the public can assist in helping the city defray its general operating budget: fuel, tires, office supplies, (especially copy paper since we have no professional printers left in business), cleaning supplies for our public buildings. The cost of fuel to keep our police department on patrol can be overwhelming for our minus budget. I don't mean to sound flippent or too blunt, but any donor wishing to pay our city light bill of $25,000 for one month would be guarunteed a special place in heaven! Our federally mandated wastewater treatment bill is $75,000 a month. With bills like that you can understand why we are grateful for any help on our other needs.

Citizens will need varying degrees of help for a long time to come, if we don't have another major storm. If, God forbid, we do there won't be anyone left to help. But without a new storm and the "creek don't rise" gift cards for building supplies or furniture for those close to returning to their homes, is the best help that can be sent.

Please remember that gift cards are easy to store in a town with few buildings that can be dedicated to storage. Many people will still be living in trailers for the next 6-12 months.

We don't need anymore toys or bikes for our children, but we do continue to need supplies and support for our public and private schools that are rebuilding and re-fitting our campuses. Supplies for the Boys and Girls Club, supplies for The Arts-Hancock County for children's art camps/weekends are always welcome. These organizations benefit all of our children and we don't have to worry about storage in a FEMA trailer.

To combine help for both our children and our police department monies or supplies could be sent for bicycle helmets and safety training and an engraving gun to mark all the new bikes. To combine help for our children and the fire department monies could be sent to the fire department for the teaching tools needed for fire safety classes. These are things we used to be able to do on our own, but is very low on our budget priority list.

Volunteers are still needed to work with the relief groups still in the Bay helping with reconstruction. Anyone unskilled volunteer is asked to take classes at a local Home Depot or Lowe's type business and learn to set ceramic tile or laminate flooring. If there is a community college or even a local contractor that teach them how to cut base and ceiling moldings those are valuable skills and there is always more than enough work for volunteers with these skills. If volunteers can learn to install bathroom fixtures - toilets, lavatories, tubs, faucets, before they come then they can really help.

There is one thing that would really help our school age children - uniform clothing. Our schools require navy blue or khaki shorts or long pants with white, navy blue or white polo type shirts. Other donors have been generous with backpacks and kids supplies, but buying uniforms means a trip out of town for shopping and there is a shortage of small sizes (6-7 to 10-12) for the elementary grades. ( I only know this because of first hand shopping for my grandson, Charlie, who starts first grade this year.)

Anyone with a 16-18' metal or fiberglass boat, (at least 5' wide) with a 25 hp jet drive motor and trailer our fire department could really use one for the 30+ miles of inland waterways we have. I'll be glad to email correspond with anyone who may be an interested donor.

I'm sure that I've forgotten something - I never can remember it all no matter how hard I try - but you asked for an update and here it is.

Once again, thank you so very much, God bless all of you.

Mike Cuevas
City of Bay Saint Louis
Donation and Volunteer Coordinator
bsldepot@yahoo.com

A More Detailed List and Mailing Addresses (at bottom)

Employee Relief Fund - donations can be made through the Bay Saint Louis Disaster Relief Fund, with checks earmarked specifically for this use. Our basic employee salary average is $22,500 per year, not including benefits. We currently have 105 employees.

Donations to this effort can be made as follows: Checks made payable to Bay Saint Louis Disaster Relief Fund, check subject line: Employee Salary Fund and mailed to City of Bay Saint Louis, Attention: David Kolf, Comptroller, P.O. Box 2550, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39520.
5/1
A woman in CA is sending a monthly check of the profits from her CafePress business to the Salary Fund.

MAYOR'S OFFICE
telephone message pads; white legal size writing pads; ink cartridges to fit HP 5160V and HP 7130 copiers, printers, scanners.
4/9
From a professor of Luther College, Decora, Iowa: miscellaneous office supplies that addressed some of the needs of the Mayor's office, Building, Administration, and Fire departments. (She cleaned out her supply closet and send the GCN article on to others at the college for them to do the same thing!)

CITY COUNCIL OFFICE
Legal and letter size copy paper, ink cartridges HPC 5011d and HPC 5010d; standard staple; heavy duty stapler and staples (needed to staple large packets of documents); ink pens, fine point, blue or black ink; scotch tape for desk dispenser; plain white business envelopes; legal size pressboard file folders; dictating cassette tapes (90-120 minutes); Canon image Class 2300 Copier or similar copier.

ADMINISTRATION
Finance/Utility - ink cartridges for printers HP#57/56 or 58 - #94/95 - #49A - #42A
copy machine toner #417-0; receipt books*; utility application cards*; work order books*; meter deposit books*; all size post-it notes; standard staples; scotch tape for dispensers; employment application*; copy paper (letter size); white letter and legal size pads; file folder lables; letter size manila folders; legal size Mead 2503 pressboard folders and the computer program, Quick Books 2006 for five licensed users.
4/21
Port Townsend, WA, must have raided every supply store in the area to generate copy paper, pens, correction tapes, coffee pots and two computers. (One computer went to a police officer and the other went to a local business.)

Community Affairs - ink cartridges, HPC 5011d, 5010d, 5165a, 6578d, letter size copy paper; letter and legal size manila folders, phone message books, standard staples, post-it notes; standard calculator tape, fine point pens, black, blue and red ink; scotch tape, 81/2 x 10 mailing envelopes, Canon imageClass 2300 copier or similar copier.

Building - two HP laser jet printers; two printing calculators with tapes and ribbons; printer cartridges for Brother PC-201 fax machine, HP Laser Jet 1320 printer, Canon GP200S copier; Paper - 2 pkgs. 11"x17", 10 cases letter and 2 cases legal; blue, black and red ink pens; scotch tape; 1 box sheet protectors; 12 boxes letter size folders; 2 boxes orange and 2 boxes blue legal size folders; 12 correction pens, 1 box yellow highlighters; 2 boxes Sharpie black fine point pens; 1 box Sharpie red, bold point pens. 4 Motorola hand held radios, with chargers, HT750 for inspectors; photo id camera and printer to produce contractor and employee identification cards; Canon imageClass 2300 copier, or similar copier. Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Buiding Permit Cards*; Inspection Log cards* and privilege license applications*.

PUBLIC WORKS -
18"-24" aluminum offset pipe wrenches; shovels, weedeaters, mush mowers, blowers, chain saws; safety glasses, safety work gloves; hand cleaner, paper towels, toilet paper, bleach, toilet tissue; universal hydraulic fluid; motor oil; offices supplies to include: basic letter size manilla folders, colored folders, call out forms*, door hangers*; vinyl binders, 1", 2", 3"; printer cartridges, HP96, 97, 78, 45; Brother ink cartridges, LC41M, LC41C, LC41Y, LC41BK; CD-RW.
4/21
Overland Park, Kansas Public Works folks sold cakes and sausages and sent over $1000 for our Public Works Department's fuel expenses.

FIRE -
Blue and black fine point pens; 2 boxes Sharpie fine point black markers; letter size file folders; 4 rolls tape for Dymo Label Manager 150; scotch tape; legal pads, post-it notes; standard staples; 2 boxes letter size copy paper; 1/2 box legal size copy paper, HP 56 and HP 57 print cartridges; ink cartridges for CannonBC20 copy machine, Department letterhead* and envelopes, burn permit books* and incident report books*.

POLICE
File lables; correction tape; phone message pads; letter size manila file folders, file folder fasteners, storage boxes, letter and legal size copy paper, white business envelopes; 91/2"x12" and 6"x9" manila envelopes with clasps; sheet protectors, liquid paper; legal pads, yellow, 5"x8" and 81/2" x 11"; Bic mechanical pencils; yellow highlighter pens; black dry erase markers, dry erase cleaner, black sharpie, fine point; 3"x3" post-it notes; packing tape lithium batters for small torches; laser printer cartridge, ML 1710D3; HP 51645A, 51641A; 4127X; C8728A; 1823T; C8727 AN; C1823D; C1816A; fax/copier/scanner cartridges HP C4920A, C4921A, C4922A, C4923A, HP C5011DN, C5010DN.

One of our biggest expenses for the city is fuel. This is critical to our police and fire departments for obvious reasons.
4/21
A wonderful couple from NC sent hand held radios, office supplies and a Fuelman credit. World Care filled in the rest and has another shipment scheduled to come sometime this week.

Fuel Cards that can be accepted at Shell or Chevron or Fuelman cards that can be accepted for diesel and gasoline, in any amount. For example, our Fire Department uses approximately 250 gallons of diesel per month and 250 gallons of gasoline. Any reduction in these costs would be of an enormous help to our finances.

Gift/Fuel cards should be mailed to City of Bay Saint Louis, Attention: David Kolf, Comptroller, P. O. Box 2550, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521-2550. Please send the package "Return Receipt Requested" to verify our receipt of the cards.

The following is a list of supplies that we need that gift cards can't be used to purchase, but a credit in the name of the City of Bay Saint Louis, MS would be accepted. If you have another vendor from which the purchase can be made, with and assigned credit, just let me know.

McDonald's Hardware
P.O. Box 459
Bay Saint Louis, MS 39520
This is local hardware store where we purchase small items in small numbers that help us finish a project. Bay Saint Louis has an open account with McDonald's and has had one for more than 100 years. We do not need more than $1000 in this account at this time or during the next six months.
4/21
A resident of the Bay credited our McDonald's Hardware account with the $1000 we need to last us through the remainder of the year.

The Sea Coast Echo
P.O. Box 2009
Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521-2009
This is the local newspaper where we are required to publish all of our legal notices. We do not need more than $500 in this account at this time or during the next six months.

Fuelman
Fleetcorp Technologies
P.O. Box 105080
Atlanta, GA 30348-5080
Billing Group Number: 153858
This is the fuel charge account we use for our Police and Fire Department. Any payments made directly to them will help reduce our outstanding bill and help with future fuel costs.

Quill
P.O. Box 94081
Palatine, Il 60094
1-800-789-1331
Account Number C2797779
Quill is the primary source for our office supplies, except printed items.

Shipping Addresses

Mayor Edward A. Favre - City Council - Community Affairs - Finance/Utility - Building and Public Works Administraton - 1928 Depot Way, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39520

Public Works Warehouse - Fire - Police - 310 Old Spanish Trail, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39520

Mailing Address - (All Departments), City of Bay Saint Louis, P.O. Box 2550, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521-2550

Contact: Mike Cuevas, City of Bay Saint Louis, P.O. Box 2550, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39521-2550, 228-463-7120 or by email at bsldepot@yahoo.com.

Safety Guidelines For Volunteers

2006-05-14T20:11:00.000-04:00

www.GulfCoastNews.com

Katrina Recovery Workers: Safety Gear is a Must - And Watch for Snakes
From FEMA Filed 5/12/06 GCN
http://www.gulfcoastnews.com/GCNnewsKatrinaSafetyGearMust.htm

BILOXI, Miss. – With the end of the school year approaching, hundreds of high school and college students are expected to help storm-damaged neighborhoods spring back to life. These volunteers are a great asset in the recovery efforts.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) safety officials remind everyone working around battered structures on overgrown sites to work smart and stay healthy, especially as the weather warms up.

“Inexperienced workers may not be aware of the serious trouble that threatens their feet, legs, arms, hands and heads on job sites, as well as potential hazards to their lungs and eyes when pulling walls apart,” said Jesse Munoz, acting director of the transitional recovery office for Hurricane Katrina. “We want them to be properly equipped and to work safely at all times.”
Snake strikes have been reported throughout the past month by workers at demolition and debris collection sites in the six southern-most counties of Mississippi. A strike is a hit on leather or protective fabric.

Safety officials suggest protective equipment from the ground up for people working around debris:

Sturdy work boots with sole protection against nails and glass;
Long pants to guard against cuts and varmints;
Leather work gloves to ward off cuts and bites and to minimize damage from smashing incidents;
N-95 face mask from a building supply store to protect lungs from fiberglass and other debilitating dust;
Safety goggles to keep particles and flying objects out of eyes;
Hard hat to guard against falling objects and sideways bumps from careless co-workers;
Be sure your tetanus shot is current;
Sunscreen;
and Insect repellant

Our Lady Academy Girls School

2006-05-14T14:47:00.000-04:00

www.OurLadyAcademy.com
Photos - you can see the before and after very graphically:
http://www.ourladyacademy.com/main-photos.html

Donations can be made through our website and PayPal or send check or money order to:
OLA Katrina Fund
222 S. Beach Blvd
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520.
Attention: Connie Chevis.

3/18 CHEF’S FEST – SUNDAY, MARCH 25TH! COME ONE, COME ALL!

St. Joseph Hall
We have contacted Guild and Hardy Architects to design St. Joseph Hall. Taylor Guild was the architect for McAuley Hall and his firm has done the drawings for the new OLG Rectory and Parish Offices. Thus, he knows our area and school well. His first task is to complete a site plan, establishing where future construction for Holy Trinity and for OLA will be located, making sure there is room for everything that both schools anticipate needing in the near future. Then, he will begin work on St. Joseph Hall. We hope to be deep into working drawings by the summer. FEMA and MEMA are “on board,” and the Diocese has given its blessing. Let the project
commence!

12/3 December News Letter

DECEMBER 2006 NEWSLETTER FROM SR. JACKIE
Wendy's Heisman Award
It is my pleasure to announce that Victoria Romano has been named a state finalist in the
Wendy's Heisman Scholarship Program. This award is based on athletic prowess,
academic excellence, and exhibited leadership skills. Victoria will attend a dinner in
January in Jackson where those moving on to the next level in the competition will be
announced. Congratulations, Victoria!
National Young Leaders Conference
OLA junior, Emily Vaughn, recently returned from a week in Washington where she
attended the National Young Leaders Conference. She spent some time with Harriet
Miers, President Bush's former Supreme Court nominee. She spent a day in Congress,
sitting in Gene Taylor's seat in the House of Representatives. She also was able to visit
the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial, among others. I think it was a fabulous experience for Emily!
OLA Swimming
Not to be out-done by the OLA state volleyball champions, the OLA swimmers took to
the pool several weeks ago and competed in the state meet. Swimmers, Samantha
McLeod, Madeleine Loftus, Nikki Vaught, and Alyssa Walter set school records in the
200m medley relay and the 200m free relay. Alyssa set a NEW STATE RECORD of
2:08:64 in the 200m Individual Medley. She shaved over 2 seconds off the old state
record, which she also held. Congratulations, Alyssa! Congratulations, swimmers!
Safety and Security
Like you, I have been reading about the recent rash of guns in schools in South
Mississippi. Although I have little fear of such a thing happening at OLA, I think safety
must be uppermost in all our minds. To that end, I have decided to secure all doors in
Mercy and McAuley Halls immediately after school begins in the morning EXCEPT the
front door, by the office. Thus, if you need to come to school, you need to use the Union
Street door, by the main office. Also, the only door to Johnson Hall that will be left open
is the door that leads to the parking lot. I'm afraid that this will inconvenience you some,
but a little inconvenience is a small price to pay for safety.
Mother's Prayer Group
Do you know that we have a group of mothers and teachers that meet to pray for OLA,
SSC, and Holy Trinity on the first Wednesday morning of every month? This month, the
gathering is on Wednesday, December 6th, at 9:30 AM in OLA room 16. Prayer will last
about 40 minutes. Please join us!
Financial Aid Workshop
OLA and SSC will jointly sponsor a college financial aid workshop at 5:30 PM on
Tuesday, December 5th. This is a MUST meeting for all junior and senior parents who
hope to apply for financial aid for their daughter's college education. I attended this
meeting last year and it was full of wonderful hints as you walk with your daughter
through the maze of the college admission and financial aid process. The meeting will be
in the Resource Room at SSC.
Youth Legislature
Twenty-three young ladies from OLA participated in Youth Leg this year. Carly Johnson
was named Outstanding Committee Chair; Ansley Blalock, Ashley Derenbecker and
Carly Johnson were named Outstanding Representatives. OLA had five bills passed:
Emily Vaughn and Lauren Poncet, Kathryn McDonald and Samantha McLeod, Carly
Johnson and Madeline Vosbein, and the combined bills of Amber Favre, Jennifer Roy,
Nikki Vaught, and Kaitlyn Stovall.
Cross Country
The OLA Cross Country team placed third in the state meet. Amelia Simpson and
Lauren Seal received medals for being selected to the All-State Team (the top 14 runners
in the state). The entire team finished in the top 40, out of 89 runners. Congratulations,
Coach Hull. Congratulations, ladies!
MS State Band Clinic
Megan Gargiulo was selected for the MS State Band Clinic. The gathering will be in
Tupelo from December 7-9. She is one of only French Horns selected for this event.
Megan has also been selected for membership in the Long Beach Youth Commission.
This is an advisory board of youth to the city council.

8/5 OLA's summer fundraiser, the Race To Rebuild, was held Saturday morning, July 1st, at 7:00 am in Bay St. Louis, and was very successful! Not only was it a fun event for the community, but the funds raised will support OLA's rebuilding and recovery expenses since Hurricane Katrina.
Thank you to all who did so much work to plan the event, as well as everyone who supported and participated in it. Photographs and more details of the event in action will be posted here shortly. We are especially grateful to OLA Class of '84 Alumna Michelle Van Peski Ridder for serving as the event coordinator, and to Connie Chevis who provided key assistance.
We are also very grateful to our sponsors.
This will be an annual event, so plan to attend next year!

School Update

Textbooks are in - almost $100,000 worth! So.. you will have a great teacher, a room, a blackboard, a textbook, and a roof over your head. You just won't have a desk for the first two days of school; they are scheduled for delivery on August 14th. But.. there will be brand new carpeting in all classrooms; you will survive! The floor isn't so bad! Also, technology will be late in arriving. We are ordering almost $150,000 in computers, servers, printers, copiers, etc. It will be GREAT, but it will arrive LATE. GREAT and LATE - isn't that the story of our lives recently?I just got off the phone with the finance department at Bay-Waveland. The Displaced Student money that we have all been waiting for has been approved in Jackson. Bay-Waveland will approve the disbursement of it at their monthly school board meeting at the end of the month. We should receive a check in the middle of August; Sister Anna Louise will then issue a check to you; you should get it by the end of August. (I was hoping to have it for you at final registration on August 7th, but it looks like it will be a week or so later than that.)

From Jeannine, May 6

Just want to thank you for all the prayers, love and support you have given us at Our Lady Academy this school year. Thanks to your prayers, the grace of God has blessed us abundantly this year.

By the end of January, over 80% of our student body had returned with a promise of more to come in the fall. At the end of May, our students will have completed a full school year in seven months, doubling up on classes every day. Despite living in campers, without computers, libraries, and equipment, they have worked amazingly hard to complete all their assignments in a timely manner and excel in all areas, from academics to sports! One of our seniors has achieved a full ride to Princeton and our sports teams have all made it at lease to district playoffs. Our soccer team came out second in the state (they were state champs six years running) despite the fact that they didn't even have a field to practice on!

Our retreats have been awesome experiences! The retreat team, who puts on retreats for 7th, 8th and 9th grade retreats managed to prepare grace-filled, memorable experiences for all of the students despite the fact that they had little meeting time at school. The leadership that was displayed was awesome! The upperclass retreats were a gift for all of us. Our girls were in the worst of circumstances, sleeping on floors, roofs and walls being put on the buildings we were in (you can't stop volunteers!) and no plumbing and showers in one facility (it was amazing to watch the girls adapt to that!) God was so good to all of us!

We had intramurals, big sister/little sister ceremony and our first talent show. Since there is not much to do for entertainment around here, these activities provided lots of fun for all concerned! The inventiveness and creativity of the girls has been amazing!

Our buildings are coming along. In January we moved into five classrooms in McAuley Hall. There is talk of our science labs being replaced soon. Most recently, a roof went on to Mercy Hall - the most badly damaged building. Volunteers are rebuilding Johnson Hall. Both buildings should be ready by August when we begin a new school year. Our beloved St. Joseph Hall is gone and we are going to take out a loan to replace it, but that is down the road.

People who come to volunteer from all over the world, have been amazed at the joy they see in the faces of our girls! Every volunteer says the devastation is beyond anything they imagined from the pictures they had seen. And, yet, our girls have risen above adversity to live the joy of the Lord. In this Easter Season, we have much to be grateful for knowing our God is leading us to Resurrection here in South Mississippi!

Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for us. Know you and your students remain in our prayers daily. Thanks especially for the prayers, they lift us up each day. Keep them coming, especially over the summer months.

Sincerely,
Jeannine Burch

Any donations would be greatly appreciated.

For More Information and Updates on The Buildings -

http://www.ourladyacademy.com/main-fundraising.html

The greatest is the selection of one of our volunteer groups as an award winner of the “Make a Difference Day” contest. This group has been at OLA from the very beginning and continues to help. We are inspired by their generosity! We also have much to report as our students have jumped into the swing of things and are once again making great accomplishments, we are so proud of them.

“Make a Difference Day”.
In October, 2005, our friends from Pope John Paul II High School of Hendersonville, TN brought down the first “18-Wheeler” filled with equipment and supplies for OLA. They also worked for several days gutting and cleaning one of our teacher’s homes. After returning to JPII, they submitted a recount of how they helped in the efforts to rebuild OLA to the USA Weekend Magazine contest called “Make a Difference Day”. The newspaper was very impressed and selected JPII as a winner. The story will be published on Sunday, April 23, 2006 in USA Weekend or PARADE Magazine.
Check out: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006603220312.

The award includes a $10,000.00 check which they will donate to the OLA Rebuilding effort. JPII has helped our school so much by sending funds, supplies, materials, volunteers and many prayers. We at OLA are so appreciative of everything they have provided. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU!

Scholarships.

Margaret Hadden is a finalist for the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation. This award is evaluates academic, community service and school involvement. 75,000 students from across the nation applied and Margaret has made it to the final 250 students. She is guaranteed a $4,000.00 scholarship. She will be flown to Atlanta on April 6 for the final competition. If she is selected as one of the final 50 recipients, she will receive a $20,000.00 scholarship. Let’s keep her in our prayers.

May 28,

I just got word that Margaret received the Coke scholarship! Woo - way to go!

GREATEST NEED. OLA has 2 buildings which still need major repairs (Mercy Hall and Johnson Hall). Through the donations of so many, funding is available to complete the rebuilding of Johnson Hall ($150,000.00) and most of Mercy Hall ($300,000.00). The estimate on rebuilding Mercy Hall is coming in at about $420,000.00. The roof is $64,000.00, the roof decking is $47,000.00, doors are $42,000.00, etc. We still need $150,000 to be able to finish Mercy Hall.

OTHER NEEDS
Tuition assistance. Many of our students lost their homes and their parents are rebuilding their lives, businesses, etc. Some are even paying mortgages on the previous homes which have been reduced to concrete slabs. If anyone is interested in sponsoring a student this is an area of need. Tuition for one student is $4350.00 per year. Of course, partial sponsorship is possible - every little bit counts!

St. Joseph Hall.
St. Joseph Hall was so badly destroyed by Katrina the building had to be bulldozed. This building will need to be replaced. Preliminary estimates are $500,000.00. OLA may have to take out a loan to replace this building. This is a very scary proposition to those making the decisions because we will be burdening future parents with a large financial obligation. OLA has been very, very prudent and frugal and has always operated “in the black”.

Donations can be made through our website and PayPal or send check or money order to:OLA Katrina Fund
222 S. Beach Blvd
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520.
Attention: Connie Chevis.

*Please designate on check if intended for tuition.

Our school is a very special place and “Katrina may have CRUSHED our School but Not our SPIRIT.” Please keep us in your prayers, stop by, visit us and see why we love this school so much.

God Bless you. Thank you for your help and prayers.

Connie Chevis
Teresa Romano
Sr. Jackie Howard

Commercial Fishermens Plight

2006-05-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

May 19 Article from www.WLOX.com
his shrimp season will be different from others.

"You have a lot of folks who has lost their homes their boats have gotten torn up. They have to repair their boats. They have to get their families settled so they can't go fishing. It's difficult," says Richard Gollot with Golden Gulf Coast Packing Company.

Long-time Biloxi seafood processor Richard Gollot says the despite great challenges, the coast's seafood industry is rebounding.

"The processing industry, we have lost. We had maybe three or four processing plants completely wiped away. Those people are trying to get back up and running again for the season and get on board," says Gallot.

It's been an uphill battle, but Bayou la Batre's Sea Pearl Sea Food Company is up and running in anticipation of the season. While the plant is producing again, six months ago it was a very different story.

"It's been very difficult coming back. We spent seven weeks working seven days a week about fourteen hours a day to get the plant back in operation," says Greg Ladnier.

Across the bayou from Ladnier's processing plant. shrimp boats tossed in the marsh act as a reminder of what happened here when the hurricanes came ashore.

Pascagoula shrimper Ricky Brown sees himself as a symbol of resiliency of the American shrimper. The hurricane is just another in a long list of challenges.

Throw in lower prices from the competition of imported shrimp and rising fuel costs might be and you might think he and other shrimpers would give up.

But instead Brown and his daughter are working together to get his boat, the Beau Rivage, ready for another season.

"It's a tough business and we all got a. we've all got a positive outlook on it. I mean it's all we've done all our lives we're gonna be here. Until something puts us completely out. We're planning on being here. We're a tough bunch. everybody in this business is," says Ricky Brown.

That determination can be found in every port.

"I think the shrimpers in Biloxi are very optimistic. It looks like it's going to be a heck of a bumper year. The weather conditions have been ideal for shrimp," says Gallot.

Update - May 15
Yvonne just emailed me and stated that Bob Putnam is a man of his word, assisting them with financial and material donations to get their house rebuilt.

Also - there was a press release through the Bush Clinton Foundation about assistance for many commercial fishermen through the affected region upwards of $5 million.

And, I have started a letter writing campaign to different commercial fishermen associations throughout the North East in hopes of getting support for the entire industry, rather than letting foreign markets take over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just spoke with Yvonne who lives with her husband in Bay St. Louis. They road out the storm up the river from the Gulf, and came home to nothing. The house, which is on pilings, was completely engulfed by Katrina. They both have bad backs, thought they had good insurance through State Farm, and thought they'd be one of the few who had a job to go back to through his fishing.
Everything is different now.
State Farm is accused of shredding documents in order to avoid paying any claims - that Good Neighbor thing is down the toilet.The fishing industry is still in total disarray. The following article explains it. But in a nutshell, even though they have a boat, they have no way to fuel it up, no way to get through the debris strewn boating lanes, no where to dock with any fish they might get and no packing houses to accept their load. Out of ALL of the money spent thus far, not a dime has gone to the fishing industry. LA lucked out because they still had money left from Ivan. MS isn't so lucky.

And this area is #1 in production of just about every seafood Americans eat. So hold tight everyone, it's going to get expensive to eat seafood really soon. Shrimping time is upon us and there's no way to get to them.

Yvonne and Tim are are bearing the brunt of what the rest of the US will consider an inconvenience.

Anyone care to help?

Note - I have been watching the USDA website for any grants or funds for the fishing industry - none so far. Only for farmers.

Fishing industry remains in limbo - Relief funds needed, lawmakers are told
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
The Times-Picayune
By Matthew Brown
West Bank bureau

The recovery of the Gulf Coast's fishing industry has stalled as federal money promised to rebuild its shattered infrastructure has not come through, according to testimony from industry representatives, state fisheries officials and local elected leaders before a congressional field hearing in Gretna on Tuesday.

Boat owners from hurricane-slammed fishing communities in Louisiana and Mississippi are rushing to get their vessels repaired and back in the water, many hoping to finish in time for the spring shrimp season.

But those individual efforts could prove futile if the broader problems facing the industry are not quickly addressed, several witnesses told members of the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries and Oceans. Many waterways remain clogged with storm debris; loans for boat repairs routinely are being rejected; and little progress has been made on rebuilding seafood processing plants, ice houses and fuel docks that were destroyed in Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the witnesses said"Nearly seven months after the storms, our fishing communities look as if they were hit by the storms yesterday," said Harlon Pearce, chairman of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.

As a result, Pearce and others said, a commercial and recreational fishing industry worth $2.3 billion in annual retail sales in Louisiana is now in limbo.

Using Ivan money

Louisiana boasts three of the top 10 U.S. fishing ports based on volume. It is the nation's No. 1 producer of shrimp, oysters and menhaden, and the No. 2 producer of blue crabs.

Out of more than $80 billion spent on storm relief since last August, none has gone directly to the fishing industry. And despite the U.S. Department of Agriculture's pledge of possibly tens of millions of dollars to help rebuild oyster reefs ruined in the storms, the only money for that effort so far has come from money allocated in 2004 to address damage caused by Hurricane Ivan, state and industry officials said Tuesday. That money, about $1.4 million in Louisiana, was spent on a program that paid oyster farmers to survey damage done to their reefs by the storms.

"Had it not been for money appropriated for Ivan, we would have no money to spend," said William "Corky" Perret, director of marine fisheries for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

'Regulatory purgatory'

U.S. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., the chairman of the subcommittee, said after the hearing that he will try to convince fellow lawmakers next week to steer as much as $200 million to the fishing industry through a pending federal hurricane-relief package totaling $19 billion.

That money -- some of which is tied up in "regulatory purgatory," Gilchrest said -- could be used for debris removal, rebuilding oyster reefs, getting grounded boats back into the water and other purposes.

"The money's out there for a variety of things to happen," he said. The crisis faced by the industry, he added, "is a massive problem that has a massive bureaucracy, which apparently is not solving these issues efficiently, effectively or in a time-efficient manner."

Industry representatives said further delay could squander yet another year for fishermen still struggling to recover from last year's losses.

John Roussel, assistant secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said that between 23 percent and 68 percent of the boats within the shrimp, crab, freshwater fish and oyster fisheries were idle through much of the last four months of 2005 -- traditionally some of the most productive months for fishers.

"We need to get those people back on the water or we're going to lose them," Perret said.

Bay St. Louis Update

2006-05-14T09:46:00.000-04:00

10/24 - City leaders leave metal office trailers behind for a new 31,000-square-foot City Hall.
The city finalized a $3.8 million deal in September to purchase the Coast Electric building on U.S. 90, with plans of centralizing all departments and services.
Buz Olsen, the Bay's chief of operations, expects all city services to move into City Hall before the year is out.
Several city functions have already made the move, including public works and courts, the Planning Commission and the Bay City Council, which will use a conference center across from City Hall on Main Street.
For years the city has held meetings in the small lobby on Court Street, with residents often spilling out onto the sidewalk.
"With the new conference center, there's enough parking, enough seats, and people can finally be comfortable," Olsen said.
Katrina scattered most city departments last year, forcing employees and customers to do business in trailers at the historic train depot.
Coast Electric took possession of the city's trailers as part of the real estate deal and on Monday the company began relocating the mobile offices to its new headquarters in the Kiln.
The Department of Utilities could be the next to make the move from the depot to City Hall, likely sometime after the next Coast Electric billing cycle, according to Olsen.
Mayor Eddie Favre's office is expected to move into City Hall in the next few weeks, and eventually, the police and fire departments could move into what was Coast Electric's engineering building.
Olsen said the city does not expect the move to disrupt services and the city's telephone numbers will remain active.
"This whole situation is very accommodating to everyone," he said. "It was just a really good buy that will give us room to work and room to grow."
Coast Electric hopes to be in its Kiln headquarters by the end of the year and the company plans to announce the location of a new payment and member services facility in Bay St. Louis soon.

Bay approves record $90M budget for '07
By MARY G. SEILEY
Sep 30, 2006, 00:33
At the 11th hour, Bay St. Louis officials have adopted a $90.6 million budget for fiscal 2007. The action came in an unusual Friday afternoon session of City Council, just beating a state deadline for enactment.
The new budget is a record-breaking financial chart, replete with extensive infrastructure reconstruction and financed by a complex combination of loans, grants, and state and local revenues.
It calls for no property tax increases, and it devotes $6 million to personnel, equipment, public facilities and improvements in the newly annexed area.
It also has a raise package that was hammered out behind closed doors Tuesday night. That meeting of council was "recessed" until Friday afternoon, so the council could put its legal stamp of approval on the final spending plan prior to Sept. 30, a state-set budgetary deadline.
Mayor Eddie Favre said raises included in the budget cost about $175,000 – or some $100,000 less than he had proposed to council. He held out hope for additional raises during the year, saying if revenues exceed expectations he would be back asking council to boost some salaries.
Some of the raises, he said, were woefully low, but the city couldn't afford to give as much as the employees deserve. The lowest salaries in the schedule, for manual labor, run $10 an hour, or $20,000 per year.
In addition to the budget, council adopted an unprecedented ordinance, giving council tight controls over salaries. The new ordinance not only details over $5 million in salary costs, but it also requires the mayor to give council written notice of any changes the mayor makes during the year.
Favre said the ordinance follows the dictates of a recent state Attorney General's opinion which cited state law and held that raises Favre had given without notice to council were illegal.
Those raises caused an enormous uproar, as council members felt they had been left out of their most important role in office – controlling the budget. The flap was the beginning of a controversy that ended with the resignation of Bill Carrigee, chief building official.
Even as the ink dried on the massive budget Friday, there were acknowledged variables in its numbers.
For instance, there is no amount listed for the income the city will get if it sells off its Katrina-damaged buildings and other extraneous properties. Since the city has purchased the Coast Electric property at Main and Highway 90 for a central municipal complex, officials are thinking of selling off the old VCJ complex that has housed the police and fire departments.
Likewise, the city won't be needing it's "annex" building on lower Court Street, a former Savings and Loan building that was heavily damaged in Katrina. The city also expects to sell off the Coast Electric "pole" yard property on Turner Street, and the Garden Center on Leonard Street. There's also a potential buyer interested in some land attached to the Coast Electric site, officials said.
Favre said he didn't include surplus property sales in the anticipated revenue columns in part because plans haven't been finalized over the fate of the VCJ complex. The city may want to retain some of that for community usages, say officials.
And the city isn't sure yet how much money it will receive in insurance coverage on its losses. Still, Favre said the city would have a list for review on Tuesday of the properties it plans to put on the market.The exact amount the city will receive from property taxes also is hazy, according to the mayor. Although Tax Assessor Jimmy Ladner has estimated the value of one mill at around $59,000, Favre said he's not at all sure of that estimation. How much revenue the casino will generate is also unclear.
And there's a question whether the city will get to collect property taxes from within the newly annexed area this year or not. That depends on state interpretations of exactly when the annexation was finalized.
It's also unclear whether the city will be forced to start making payments on federal disaster "loans" that have kept it afloat, or whether the congressional delegation will be successful in having those loans forgiven..The new budget includes all capital improvements that the city pledged to make in the area it annexed last year: properties east and west along Highway 603 including the I-10 interchange.
Originally promised over a two- to three-year period, the capital outlays are all shown in this year's new budget. Included among the annexation related purchases is a new fire truck and station, four fully equipped police cars and $1.3 million in public works equipment.
The budget also sets aside $2.5 million for lighting Highway 603, a project officials hope will be funded by the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Plans call for around 300 light poles to illuminate the increasingly busy highway.The budget is so huge in part because it includes over $67 million in federally funded public works projects to rebuild the city's water, sewer and gas systems and a wide range of other Katrina-related damage projects.
Aside from that federal money, which will require a 5 percent city match, the new budget allocates $15.9 million in general fund outlays and $6.8 million in the utility fund.

Since the needs list is long, I couldn't add to that post by placing this with it.
Taken from an article posted 4/9/06 at www.GulfCoastNews.com
The original post:
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2006/04/bay-st-louis-city-needs.html

8/18 From Sea Coast Echo

Work continues on the new Bay St. Louis bridge. City official Les Fillingame said Tuesday the city is being told the project is on schedule and a partial opening is still expected in May 2007. On Tuesday, the draw was exploded on the old bridge, he said.
© 2006 Bay St. Louis Newspapers, Inc.

4/21 By Mark Proulx - Special to GCN Filed 4/21/06

I never doubted that when asked, the American people would come through to help their own. Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought that a simple article would generate so much publicity, bring so much support…and bring so many people together. Here's the latest information from Bay St. Louis city administrator Ms. Mike Cuevas....

“Dear Mark,Wow! Thank you and all the friends you forwarded our email to in reference to the office supply needs for Bay Saint Louis. We have received almost everything we asked you for from so many sources across America. Individuals, communities and World Care (Tuscon, AZ) filled these needs in less than one month.
Overland Park, Kansas Public Works folks sold cakes and sausages and sent over $1000 for our Public Works Department's fuel expenses.
A resident of the Bay credited our McDonald's Hardware account with the $1000 we need to last us through the remainder of the year.
Port Townsend, WA, must have raided every supply store in the area to generate copy paper, pens, correction tapes, coffee pots and two computers. (One computer went to a police officer and the other went to a local business.)
A wonderful couple from NC sent hand held radios, office supplies and a Fuelman credit.
World Care filled in the rest and has another shipment scheduled to come sometime this week.

The list just continues and I don't mean to slight anyone, but I want you to know that the help is coming from all over. Everyday we are blessed with the generosity of the people of this country in ways that we never imagined could happen to this little town that is such a small blip on the radar screen.

Please, please, each of you feel good about yourselves because for every penny you spent on a pencil a city employee has a job for a day longer. We still need help, especially with the rising fuel costs, but you have bought us more time to get our community back on its feet and producing sales tax that will keep us funded so we don't have to continue to ask for help. Just an update to you, and I do hope that you will pass this on to your friends, who may be inclined to continue their help and support.

CityTeam Ministries has started a comprehensive door-to-door needs assessment.
(More about CityTeam - http://www.cityteam.org/

They selected the area of the Bay north of Highway 90 and to date have interviewed 104 families. Of those 104 families only 10 did not need some type of help. So, what we have decided to do, as a partnership, is to start with 10 families and send out to you what their very specific needs are. These families will be the closest to completion of being able to get back in their homes. Each family will be identified by a code number (the Privacy Act, you know). If more than one group adopts a family their donation will be rolled over to the next group who will reach the same stage in due time. Each giver will be acknowledged by the family who receives help and by the City of Bay Saint Louis. I can't give you their names, but they can identify themselves. The families will have been fully vetted before I send out any information to assure donors that these are families legitimately in need.

We have developed a system of assurance, through the efforts of CityTeam and their volunteers, that families receiving help are not just at the food bowl because it's there, but because they are unemployed and without resources and what they receive can be used to supplement the purchases they have to make and direct their resources to getting back in their homes.

Our distribution center is still open, but monitored, and we have virtually eliminated the greed that develops when "free stuff" is made available. As soon as we can get a local grocery up and running the distribution center will reduce its operations so we don't perpetuate dependence. CityTeam has offered and as soon as we can find the local space and local volunteers they will help us set up a food pantry to meet any continuing or new needs.

Loudoun Medical Group (Loudoun County, VA) has helped to locate space for the re-opening of the Coastal Family Health Clinic to serve the uninsured and financially needy find a new "medical home". This partnership is served by LMG, Coastal and Hancock Medical Center. Social workers are at the depot free clinic to help county residents file for whatever type of medical assistance may be available to reduce their costs. The one local pharmacy open in Bay Saint Louis has honored prescriptions at greatly reduced costs to help citizens not have their funds completely depleted by high prescription costs.
(More about Loudoun Medical Group - http://lmgdoctors.com/press_releases.html)

Church affiliated groups, Christian ministries, small towns and large cities and special individuals who just show up on our doorsteps have been so generous and wonderful to our community. As we get back on our feet all of these groups of volunteers who have taken on the big tasks since last September are helping us through the transition of being able to stand back on our own two feet. We don't know how to repay you, except through our prayers, and those you are receiving in abundance.

Please take care and God bless each of you.”

Mike Cuevas
bsldepot@yahoo.com228-463-7120

4/9

Thank you, a thousand times, thank you to GulfCoastNews.com for publishing the needs list for the city of Bay Saint Louis. The response has been overwhelming. However you have built your readership, GCN has done a great service for the recovery of Bay Saint Louis, its administration and its citizens.To update your readers on how everyone has responded to the needs list, we have received the following help:

From a professor of Luther College, Decora, Iowa: miscellaneous office supplies that addressed some of the needs of the Mayor's office, Building, Administration, and Fire departments. (She cleaned out her supply closet and send the GCN article on to others at the college for them to do the same thing!)
From our sister city, Port Townsend, WA: miscellaneous offices supplies and two computers, one for the city and one for a local business, plus appliances and building materials and bicycles!
From New Jersey resident: a 4th and 5th grade pen pal program started.
From the Katrina Coalition: mental health assistance partnership with CityTeam Ministries.
In addition to the first four hand held radios another donor will be bringing more to us that will be used to replace some lost in the storm for our public works department.

These are some of the blessings we have received from your publication of our needs list. I have been in correspondence with many individuals, city representatives and others who are working on helping us meet the needs list.

Sunday our "Moore Friends for Mississippi" from NC are off loading a truck with supplies for the hospital and schools with two pick up trucks and two copiers for the city.

For the last six months American citizens have helped us every day in every way that they could. It is amazing and overwhelming.Let me stress that every pen, ream of paper, gallon of gas donated to the city of Bay Saint Louis helps to pay the wages of a city worker, keeping his or her family with income and health benefits.

Our list is updated daily as deliveries are received, so we don't ask for more than we need.There have been many offers of books for our schools and libraries. Currently we are "book rich" because our storage space, both in the schools, libraries and FEMA trailers is really limited. The time for book donations will come as our new elementary schools and two rural libraries are replaced.

There are lots of good things going on that encourage me about how quickly we may recover from Katrina. Here's a list of successes:ON THE MEDICAL FRONT
1. Hancock Medical Center is recovering, but they, too, need a faster response from FEMA with funding assistance. The HMC laboratory is now up to full service and a new radiology contract will bring this service back to full time status by the end of April.
In addition we have gained the services of a new, full-time, primary care physician, our out-patient and full surgery department is back at work. While all these notes are good news, we still have a long way to go, but we can confidently tell people they can return home with adequate medical care being provided on a local basis.
2. The search for space for Coastal Family Health to re-open full time is in high gear. Coastal is our resource for medical care for the uninsured or those with limited means. It will take them 7-10 days to get the clinic up and running as soon as we find them a space.
3. The Loudoun Medical Group that has sponsored and staffed our free medical clinic will be working with HMC to locate a medical home for all of our residents who have lost their local physicians due to relocations after Katrina. This partnership is working towards a smooth transition to full time medical care being available to all, regardless of their finanical situation.
4. HMC has re-opened their Kiln and Port Bienville clinics to full time status, to serve the needs of our industrial park employees and rural residents in two areas of Hancock County.

ON THE HOME RECOVERY FRONT
1. With a generous donation from our sister city, Nutley, NJ, 60 citizens recently received $250 gift certificates to either W.A. McDonald or Baily Lumber to purchase needed supplies to rebuild their homes through a local lottery.
2. A second lottery is being planned for gift certificates with donations received from Amherst, MA and other gift cards that have been sent for the Bay's recovery.
3. Volunteers, especially young people, have been pouring in from throughout the country helping with everything that needs to be done to get our people back in their homes as quickly and safely as possible. Members of the Menonite faith put on a roof faster than anyone I've ever seen. Getting a safe roof is the first big construction step to protecting all the work that needs to be done on the interior.

ON THE PERSONAL FRONT
Wednesday, April 5 will go down as a memorable day for me - I got to sleep in a real bed, in my real bedroom, with real floors! This is a major milestone in recovery for me. From a lawn chair on my driveway, to an air mattress in my office, to a 4" foam mattress on plywood in my FEMA trailer to a real bed. I've come a long way in 6+ months! I could do this, thanks to the kindness of strangers who have taken me on as their cause, not because I had the energy to take care of myself.These volunteers have helped me survive, just as all the others who have given of their time and resources. Their care for me allowed me to devote my days to helping my community recover without the distractions of my personal losses. God has blessed us so much, personally and collectively.

Once again, thank you GCN. I'll keep you apprised of our progress. Take care and God bless you all.
Ms Mike”

Lagniappe Presbyterian Church

2006-05-14T09:32:00.000-04:00

http://www.lagniappechurch.com
http://lagniappechurch.blogspot.com/
http://www.lagniappeinterns.blogspot.com
http://www.drtomarmourblog.blogspot.com - This gent's particular calling is Sheds of Hope. I will be posting regarding his work in the near future. Please visit both his blog and the church's website in the volunteer section to learn more.
3/12
Interns! Interns! Interns! It's that time of year again, Lagniappe church wants college students to start thinking about the summer and coming to serve with us doing summer interships. This is an amazing opportunity to work with teams doing disaster recover and for you to participate in the restoration of the Gulf Coast.
Who? We are looking for 16 college-aged men and women 18+ who are extremely mature and hard-working.
When? We need interns on site from May 23rd through August 19th 2007 If you would like more infomration then follow this link.
If you'd just like more information then e-mail us at: summerinterns@lpcpca.com

Lagniappe Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 4382
Bay St. Louis, MS 39521

Physical Address:
Lagniappe Presbyterian Church
647 Demontluzin St.
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi 39520

Bob & Mary Lee Bolitho, (Site manager- April 1 forward)
(864) 879-8449
ptlalways@prodigy.net (Bob)
marylee@wolffind.com (Mary Lee)

lagniappe (lan-yap) n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana and Mississippi 1. A small gift presented by a storeowner to a customer with the customer's purchase. 2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. [Louisiana French, from American Spanish - la napa, the gift.] -AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Here's what I consider to be the most well-named church ever. What better gift that the gift of faith? We are often asked if we have needs other than specific financial donations- absolutely!

We will keep this list current but PLEASE call or e-mail before purchasing an item so that we can avoid 'extra' items.

We need Shed assembly kits donated! What a great way for your youth group or children's ministry to get involved with Lagniappe Church! Below is a listing of items which should be in each kit and don't forget they would all need to be in a storage container. Please mark EVERYTHING with the letters LPC and put it in the kit and ship to us.

Drill (plug in or cordless but the cordless seem to run out of juice so either extra batteries or one of each- 18v minimum)
Several phillips head replacement bits
Skill saw
Speed square
50 foot extension cord
2 utility knives (straight and hook blades)
hammers (3 or more)
chalk line
tin snips
nail pouch
tape measure
Square
3' level
storage container for all of it
bucket with organizer (outside pockets or slide in totes for organization of needed extra nails and screws)

Relief & Work Site Supplies

Enclosed pull behind trailer to use for supplies at worksites (received!)
Open trailers to use for delivering storage sheds (Received!)
LARGE storgage building built to keep supplies in 10x20 minimum (needs to be non-permanent to avoid code issues)
Pickup truck for mission groups to use (Received!)
Bracket and Winch for Dodge Pickup- removable and hitch mountable
Sheetrock
30 year architectural grade shingles
Roofing felt
DRILLS! Cordless and Corded
Extension cords
Nail guns
Home Depot gift cards
Lowes gift cards
Nail gun nails
Sawhorses
Trailers for supplies Plywood (treated & untreated)
Nail aprons

Equipment
Digital camera, 5.1 mpxl or greater (Received!)
Sony Cybershot 256 mb Memory stick cards (Received!)
Rechargable Batteries for camera (Received!)
Office Depot/Office Max gift cards
Vent-A-Hood for Kitchen 8,000.00 (Received)
Microwave Ovens (4) $1,000.00 (Received)
Janitorial (mops and buckets etc) $500.00 (Received)
LCD projectors $2,500.00
Motorized Dropdown Screens $1,000.00
Flat Panel Monitors $700.00
Sound System for sancuary $25,000.00 (Received)
Gravel $5,000.00 (Received)
Outdoor Lighting $3,000.00 (Received)
Chain-Link Fencing and Gate $11,000.00
9000 sq feet of VCT floor $8,000.00
HVAC for office space (including installation) $5,000.00
Flooring for batchroom $6,000.00 (Received)
outdoor basketball goals $500.00 (Received)
Picnic tables & outdoor furniture $250.00
Misc Kitchen Equipment $2,500.00 (Received)
Kitchen Refrigeration Repair $2,599.00 (Received)
Insulate and Panel Walls in Building $25,000.00
Plywood and Panelling for offices etc $15,000.00 (Received)
Roof Installation $15,999.00 (Received)
Copy Machine Lease $3,600.00
Computers $700.00 each (15 needed)
Computer Installation $3,000.00
Phone System Installation $3,000.00 (Received)
Outdoor Signage $5,000.00 (Received)
Server for computer system $2,999.00
Fuel Costs (Shell and Chevron fuel cards) $2,500.00
Building Maintenance Equipment (mowers etc) $1,200.00
Office Depot Gift Cards for office supplies $50.00
Domino's pizza Gift Cards $20.00
Delta or Northwest Airline Miles (intern trips home, and travel)
A/C for Jetta $1,200.00
Windows for Jetta $200.00
Compressor for Astro Van A/C $1,200.00
Sams Wholesale gift cards $20.00
Temorary Office Building $3,999.00 (Received)
Carpet in New Office $3,500
Handicapped Bathroom finishing $4,000.00 (Received)
Finishing out Offices (pastors study) / Bookshelves etc $5,000.00
Scaffolding $3,000.00
Laser Level $1,300.00
Lighting & Fixtures for offices $3,000.00
Parking Lot improvements $1,000.00
Software $2,900.00 (Received)
Postage Meter $300.00
Printing Supplies and costs $5,000.00
Outdoor Garbage Cans $1,000.00
fire extinquishers $3,000.00 (Received)
travel trailers $27,000.00

9/10 Update From Andy
Things are good in the Bay at Lagniappe. We have no volunteers right now (by design) but will start to ramp back up by next week. We'll be getting some volunteers in later this month, and will be close to capacity (300) in October. We have around 160 for the week of Thanksgiving, but we do need more volunteer groups to be here to help.
We have been housing some Habitat Groups and they have gone out and built houses, but there are so many houses that need repair, not just new housing.
What do we need? Obviously money -- for long term sustanance. It takes a lot of staff, to be able to provide the food, housing, work orders, scheduling, logistics, and the social work / case management... Not to mention the "church" part of the staff. We need to raise money to continue being able to keep the staff that we have, and we need groups to come to help rebuild with us.
We can also house and feed groups from other organizations for them ( if they don't have housing). We have a great commercial kitchen/with staff and have bunkhouses with A/C and hot showers and nice facilities for folks to stay with us.