Re: Tales from the swamp

Group: alt.support.mult-sclerosis Date: Wed, Sep 7, 2005, 3:38pm (CDT+5)
From: robhic@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (R Hickey)
Sorry to burst the bubble of all the faraway, omniscient folks who could
have solved the hurricane problems with just a wave of their magic wands
but I live in New Orleans and lived thru what just happened.
<clipped>
Until you stand in the line of fire with the winds howling and the
waters rising please save your finger pointing until someone who gives a
*** asks for your opinions.
Back to the clean up and restoration efforts.
Robert
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Robert, I'm glad you made it out alive and well. Glad you're strong
enough for the long clean up. And I'm glad you have the electricity to
keep us advised...so many don't. Of course I guess that's unimportant
now that the mayor has ordered a complete evacuation.

Fwiw, I just spent a week with hundreds of evacuees and here is an
article from our local newspaper. It reflects the feelings of the
majority I talked and counseled with.

Overwhelmingly they spoke of why the levees broke, why they weren't
warned when they did break and why the local evacuation plan wasn't
implemented, a plan which has been in place for many years and reserved
for category 4 and 5 hurricanes as well as other dire emegency
situations such as levee breeches.

The plan had always been a given with the folks I talked to, a plan
which they say they were frequently reminded of on radio and tv as well
as in depth newspaper features. They were constantly being reminded of
evacuation routes, pick up points and destinations and what to carry and
what not to. Sorta reminded me of the cold war plans when I was growing
up in the 50's. :-)

Tick
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NEW ORLEANS RESIDENTS: LOCAL GOVERNMENT FAILED

By KENNETH DEAN, Staff Writer
09/06/2005

One week after escaping the path of Hurricane Katrina, Louise Anderson
and Louise Williams said they are tired of all the finger pointing being
directed at the federal government by Louisiana officials.

"The whole thing was not handled right from the beginning. The mayor and
other city officials did not do enough and why they are finger pointing
is beyond me," Mrs. Anderson said.

Mrs. Williams agreed saying, "For years they (the officials in St.
Bernard Parish) have been taxing us and saying the money was for
reinforcing the levee. I haven't, and no one else has ever, seen any
work done on the levee. Where did all our money go?"

The women expressed hard feelings toward the official saying more lives
could have been saved if a plan would have been followed.

"Why didn't they use all of the school buses that ended up sitting
flooded to get people out before the water got that high," Mrs. Anderson
asked.

She said her daughter worked in a nursing home in New Orleans where 48
elderly patients were left to drown. "They didn't get them people out
of there. My daughter said the military ordered her to leave even though
she protested. They let all of them people die," she said as tears
filled her eyes.

Henderson Isaac said he knew first-hand the officials failed the test.
Isaac said on Tuesday morning after the hurricane came ashore, he
noticed water started to rise.
"No one, and I mean no one, told us there was water coming. I had a
battery powered TV and there wasn't one word telling us to leave. There
were no sirens, no bullhorns, not one word from city officials," he
said.

Isaac said he left his home in 5 feet of water to rescue his sister who
could not swim. "I got to her house and the water was really getting
deep. I found a plastic swimming pool and used it to take my sister, her
neighbor and the neighbor's autistic child to the Kelton/Tulane Bridge
where we stayed for days watching dead bodies floating by," he said.

Isaac said he could not understand why boats were used to get prisoners
out of the New Orleans Parish Jail before law-abiding citizens were
rescued.
"They got the prisoners out, but many people died as a result. Someone
needs to answer for this," he said.

Mrs. Anderson said several members of her family have already obtained
employment in Tyler and plans were changing on what the family would do.
"Right now we want to get our own places, but we are talking about
staying here. I mean it's not like we have a place to go home to,
because we lost everything," she said.

©Tyler Morning Telegraph 2005


*****Don't Cry Because It's Over...Smile Because It Happened.*****

Visit Me At Tick's Place...
http://community-2.webtv.net/OLTICK/TICKSPLACE/

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