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| | Jeannine May, Public Affairs
Specialist
USDA NRCS, Mississippi
September 25, 2005
"WE ARE FAMILY
“This is my family!,” Norma Dore’, soil and water district clerk in Hancock
County said to out of state relief workers as we approached her on Tuesday-day 8
after Hurricane Katrina hit Mississippi’s gulf coast. Tears and hugs followed.
“I am so happy you all have come to check on us,” said Dore’ as we stood in awe
at the military command center with thousands of guardsmen and volunteers from
all over the United States, scurrying everywhere.
Local Hancock County Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Conservationist, Charles Truax, had been having a
hard time communicating with farmers. His job of providing NRCS assistance
during the disaster had been slow due to lack of communication equipment. He was
also serving as a liaison with the Hancock County Emergency Operations Center.
Better communications equipment (satellite phones) from NRCS National
Headquarters speeded the process.
Norma Dore’ and her husband, nicknamed, “Boss Hog,” a chef had been cooking for
days. She and her husband had been providing meals for 700 volunteers, guardsmen
and others from 50 states since the storm. They had set up temporary living
quarters at the school after surviving the storm. Norma has lived in the area
for 33 years. She is one of the most energetic women I know who is devoted to
soil and water conservation.
I volunteered in our state office staff meeting the day before to go down
and assist Wesley Kerr, area conservationist in the southern part of the state.
James Johnson and Eddie Carnathan, area conservationists, in Greenwood and Tupelo
had also volunteered. They organized NRCS teams of employees to travel from the
northern part of the state to help out in anyway possible.
The hardest hit county with the smallest amount of attention and little help was
Hancock. Our other offices on the coast were without power but able to provide
information to landowners who needed assistance. Hancock County is closest to
Louisiana with many bayous and tributaries that meander down through the marshes
to the gulf.
Twenty five to thirty feet of water surged through Bay St. Louis, Kiln, Bayou
Caddy, Pearlington and other towns to reach 15 miles from the gulf. The storm
left tons and tons of mud in houses and businesses in these small communities.
The county is mostly rural, economically challenged and now devastated again
after this weekend of flooding from Rita.
Homer L. Wilkes, State Conservationist, said that NRCS national directives
stressed that our priorities were to save and sustain lives. In my 21 years with
NRCS, I knew my job in public affairs was about to take on a different meaning.
In Jackson, where I live (about 150 miles from the coast), we sustained a lot of
damage and were without power for a week. It was frustrating not to be able to
provide immediate assistance to the southern part of the state that was hit the
hardest. After securing our own homes and families in Jackson and when search
and rescue allowed, we could turn our attention to and travel down to the
ravaged gulf coast.
In the days that have followed, more that 45 NRCS employees have worked in heat
indexes of 100 plus degrees to deliver ice, clothing, food, tents and goodwill
to thousands of people in the small towns of Perlington, Bay St. Louis, Long
Beach, Waveland and Kiln as well as other south Mississippi towns below Jackson.
A new team was pulled out last Friday, September 23 when the new threat “Rita”
surfaced.
James Johnson recently sent an email to our state conservationist, Mr. Wilkes
about the efforts our employees have been making. It speaks for itself:
“We saw strong young men (technicians, district and soil conservationists put
their arms around the shoulders of other strong men, comfort and encourage them.
Many of us wept because of the compassion for our fellow man. Each day in many
ways our lives were touched, and we felt that through our efforts and energy, we
made a difference in the lives of people – people who had been equalized and had
lost everything due to the hurricane,” stated Johnson. “Each evening when we
returned to our sleeping areas about an hour north of the coast, it was always
rewarding to hear stories of the days work, shared with each other.”
Some of the efforts included:
Delivering food, water and ice to people still without electricity, utilities
or homes.
Delivering cleaning supplies to residents to help sanitize their houses—now
they will have to clean them again if they one, after Rita caused flooding in
the same areas.
Retrofitting stoves from natural gas to propane because of the lack of
utilities.
Removing trees, logs, debris from houses so people could return.
Disposing of dead animal carcasses. An NRCS Earth Team Volunteer led this
effort. She was magnificent in her work, although a detestable job. She removed
dead cats, birds and dogs that had been left behind from people trying to
survive when the storm surged. She has never complained.
Locating, delivering and installing a refrigerator in a medical clinic that
was generator powered. This allowed the medical staff to refrigerate medications
and administer a life saving service.
Unloading truck after truck of water, food and clothing sent down by many
fellow Americans. This was very humbling.
Seeing our employees take a personal interest in a lady who alone, pregnant,
hungry, desperate with small children who was living in a trailer with 15 other
family members with no utilities. They found a tent for her, provided medical
supplies, food and water and whatever they could bring together to make her more
comfortable. She is due in two weeks. This act of compassion made an old area
conservationist weep.
We saw an employee get up at 4:30 a.m. without a complaint so he could
deliver supplies to people who were expecting them, before he left and traveled
200 miles home.
Employees arriving back to camp at 10:00 p.m. night after night without a
complaint and never thought of overtime.
Calling back home and telling the next team to bring supplies that were
needed such as mosquito repellant or cleaning supplies.
Locating farmers, soil and water district commissioners and other family
members who were living in tents, waiting for power poles to be replaced, debris
to be removed or just waiting for someone to care about checking up on them.
Loaning some NRCS vehicles to county officials for Emergency Watershed
Protection assessments due to all of their vehicles being lost.
Building temporary outdoor showers in parking lots, hauling portable
bathrooms (which brought applause by locals as the NRCS vehicles pulled up for
those without homes.
Interviewing a 10 year old girl telling her story about riding the storm out
in a tree and who was looking forward to her birthday in a day and had no home
to live in.
USDA Service Center employees in other parts of the state that had been ravaged
by the storm have been assisting landowners by providing funds to bury more than
six million dead poultry carcasses and livestock. In addition, employees have
been getting the news about assistance for debris removal, erosion control
measures and fencing for livestock producers who had lost thousand of miles of
fencing. All of these services will continue for many months to come.
A live radio show, “Listen To the Eagle,” was dedicated to 400 Gulfport
residents and volunteers. The show was broadcast from a Gulfport church on
September 19th with host Paul Ott. Listeners across Mississippi, Louisiana and
Alabama learned about USDA assistance. Fried catfish was provided by farmers in
the Mississippi Delta and Earth Team volunteers served the residents who had
lost everything.
Homer Wilkes, a guest on the show commented that this event was much needed for
the community. “It is good to see people smiling and having fun.” said Wilkes.
Celebrity and Earth Team Volunteer, Tom Lester actor Ebb on the “Green Acres”
television show also assisted in the event to help bring hope to many.
Miss Mississippi - 2005, a native of Ocean Springs in Jackson County, dedicated
a song to the people about the town of Pearlington – a small town 30 miles west
of Gulfport in Hancock County. Located at the mouth of the Pearl River the 1700
residents are still in need of help. Power has not returned yet and commodities
like food, water and fuel are still in short supply. Everything in the town is
gone and help has been slow in coming. All of the photos and video I had been
capturing flooded my mind as she sang.
The tears came quickly.
Many people have wanted to assist. The problem in sending volunteers to help is
limited overnight housing. Lodging within a 60 miles radius is not available due
to demand. NRCS employees have driven thousands of miles daily since the storm
hit land, making a difference.
The NRCS families on the coast in the various counties are special people. They
go beyond the call of duty as NRCS, district employees and conservation
officials taking care of environmental needs. From beach clean ups to
environmental education assistance, they are dedicated and they know how to
help.
An email came this morning from Norma that her husband’s 94 year old mother’s
house has flooded in Delcambre, Louisiana due to Rita. She has her 91 year old
sister living with her. She was trying to find help for them in Louisiana.
“Since the teams of NRCS employees have been coming to help, people can see the
difference they have made.” said Dore’ “These teams have delivered medicine to
people in critical need; provided temporary housing for those living in
unprotected areas; food, water and clothing—meeting our mission from the
beginning, to save and sustain lives.”
The story doesn’t end here. On Friday, September 23, I had traveled to north
Mississippi to assist a field office with a field day. I spoke to Wesley Kerr
who told me that on Monday our three EWP offices would be set up to start
assessing damage from Katrina.
In the afternoon I called Norma to check on her. She told me the river was
starting to flood due to Hurricane Rita, and much of the cleanup efforts were
beginning to look as if they were in vain. Debris was making its way once again
back to places it had been removed from. People were evacuating again due to
flooding with no place to go.
My heart is saddened with the thoughts of what I have seen in the last few
weeks. I can’t imagine it getting any worst. I simply told Norma I loved her –
it’s all I had to give at the moment.
Note: Our heartfelt thanks to all our NRCS friends who have been so generous by
sending supplies, contributions and your concerns to help sustain lives and
rebuild our beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast. She will return.
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