Books On Hurricane Recovery

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.