Many of our Letterheads may be affected by the latest hurricane. Perhaps David Harding, Shelia Farrell, Barry Branscum, Ray Chapman, and others. Please let us know when you are safe and out of danger. Our thiughts are with you!
Posted by Rick Beisiegel (Member # 3723) on :
~Bump~
Posted by Gavin Chachere (Member # 1443) on :
barry will get bad weather maybe,but chapman and harding are so far west theyre no where even close .....the rest have no way to post here,only reason i can is because i'm outta town,dont expect alot of replies here
[ August 29, 2005, 01:00 PM: Message edited by: Gavin Chachere ]
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
Our local weather people said last night we probably won't even get any rain from Katrina.
My wife has a cat with that name. It's fitting since the cat has approximately the same personality as the hurricane.
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
PENSACOLA 12:00 PM. 35-45 mile wind gusts, intermiten rain, somtimes heavy, then clearing out. almost a regular day here.....with a tropical storm. NO PIC IN SPEEDOS this time
Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
No new pics in speedos? We've about worn out the last one you gave us. Posted by Deb Fowler (Member # 1039) on :
Just heard parts of the dome blew off in New Orleans, keep us posted you guys! my no is 815-282-1855 if you want, I'll post if you get this, that is. The rain is supposed to be the most damaging.
Posted by Barry Branscum (Member # 445) on :
Just a few sprinkles here...not much in it to affect us, but thanks a lot for thinking about us.
We are certainly thinking of and praying for those who are effected!
Posted by Mark Perkins (Member # 296) on :
All is well here in South Louisiana, only a few sprinkles, I have power here but not at home, it has been pouring all morning just 20 miles east of here.
Posted by Judy Pate (Member # 237) on :
I talked to Sheila this evening. She said her power has been off since 11 AM due to a downed tree. They have been having strong wind and rain but she and Em were fine. She had friends staying with her who evacuated the Alabama coast. Hopefully we will hear from RT soon. Gavin posted this about Kathy on the UNDECIDED HURRICANE post: "Kathy is far enuff west of Slidell where she should be fine even if she didnt leave,not to say she didnt lose power and things of that nature but she is definitely outta the kill zone. Slidell,unfortuntately I have heard took some sustained 150mph winds,whether or not thats actually the case we'll know later,but up there it absolutely was not good. NOLA didnt take a direct hit,eye passed about 30 miles east of us,which was a far better position for the city,not so good for Mississippi and Alabama,they're gonna take it really bad,or I should say are taking it really bad right now. So many reports right now are inaccurate,just remember at this point it aint good,but until its over you wont know exactly whats up."
As for us here in Georgia, we have been expierencing winds up to 20 MPH and lots of rain from the feeder bans. Also we are under a tornado watch until 6 AM tomorrow and flash flood watch until tomorrow at 10 AM. Judy
[ August 29, 2005, 07:48 PM: Message edited by: Judy Pate ]
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Thanks for the info on Sheila, Judy.
You keep safe!
Posted by Harris Kohen (Member # 2139) on :
this definitely aint Kansas!
I hope everyone comes out of this at least with thier life, the personal property can all be replaced easier than their lives.
Posted by Laura Butler (Member # 1830) on :
bump
Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
Posting from Shreveport. I escorted the entire goverment information systems to a secret hiding place. I dotn even know where it finally would up. Hmm i wonder if i could've changed my tax bill on my house.
We left town a day early. The road north was open most of the way. except for a 1.4 hour stint at bumber to bumper and 5 MPH.
The following info is only thru second hand parties peiced together from whatever source I could get. EVen the official channles are not operating. At least during Ivan we could talk around. But this one created a black hole swatch up thru the middle of our country.
ITs total devastation. Storm surge went all the way up highway 433 in slidell. Most of parts of town is under water. Hundreds are homeless
There is no cell phones, regular phones or any other form of communication. I cannot get anything via radio either. I pinged my server hoping the power backups would still be in service. But the lines are dead completely dead.... Nothing. That raises teh question. Are the phone lines dead or is my office gone?
I have one nextel point of contact in downtown new orleans. He watched 4x8 sheets of marble from the Shell Oil tower hurtling thru the air into the Federal reserve bank building penetrating the walls and balistic glass. These sheets sailed onyl about 108 ft.
The only other person I can get thru to is OP but even then very splotchy at best. ITs either heavy usage on the lines from ppl concernd or the systems are gone. Let me say this. IF you hve a loved one packing up trying to leave ... dotn call them every hour to see if they left yet. All you do is take their time and stress them when they are preparing for the worst.
Our local NASA and DISA base is not online either. These are a base for critical computer systems military and other wise.
The I-10 twin span over the lake is said to be heavily damaged and unpassable. There hundreds of homes gone, destroyed. hundreds more without roofs. around town.
I was able to talk to a command center in Slidell around 4 am about two hours before the eye went right over my house. My patio roof was already gone. 80 ft pines trees all down. My fence is blown over and my shed is gone. Not sure about my house,, they wouldn't tell me anything more so i imagine its probably destroyed.. or at least roofless and / or flooded and that was before the eye got there.
They wouldn't say anything about my shop. But since the walls are brick and steel and pretty solid I would guess the walls are till there while the windows are all gone along with the roof.
The eye went over RT too. I cannot get through to him either. I know he is goona suffer badly as well.
Its every thing Don Coplan posted about last summer when he endured his foray into natures worst. Its every he said it would be and more. This one was over us at 155 MPH..
My wish is that I can get home tomorrow via my county government pass and go to work arresting any looters around. Looters are the lowest of low. They are not like real theeves.
Any way. Ill be trying to get back to the command center in Slidell tues. If I am successfull I feel like i will be entering a black hole and going into battle. I bought the last two (hah! they call this big? 1 @ 3500 and 1 @ 5500 watt) large generators here in shreveport. Ill take them back and keep one and some one else will get the other. Every generator and gas can in a 100 miles either side of the storm path is already gone. They all going over to the storm areas. Thats what the ppl told me at lowes and home deopt. Pep Boys had the last ones. And they were just 2700 watt sizes. A friend is arranging for a battle tent and MRE's to be sent down end of the week. I wonder what the drone of generators sounds like in the night..
Im thinking of all those kids in the darkness tonight. I thank God I had the means to get my kids out. They will stay at a friends house in shreveport for the time being. Thank God for true friends.
My goal was to set a record income this year and I was well on the way. But, i guess this storm is goona TRY to get in the way of this goal. YEs, there will be TONS of signs to do. I just hope my printers, & cutter still operate. We shall see.
So, untill next time please pray for our little ones who are in desperate means.
[ August 30, 2005, 01:18 AM: Message edited by: Curtis hammond ]
Posted by Kelly Thorson (Member # 2958) on :
I'm gad to hear you and yours are safe, Curtis. I can't imagine what it must be like to be in your shoes right now. I hope you return to find at least some of your world intact. Good luck and be careful. I've been watching the devestation on the television, it is heart wrenching.
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
I hope you are blessed with any kind of break amidst so many setbacks Curtis. Best of luck on the business bouncing back & setting new sales records for yourself despite the setbacks. Prayers also for RT, Kathy & all the victims suffering any losses from this natural disaster.
Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
Good luck to all of you. Curtis, I'm kinda a bit familiar with what that many generators sound like at night....it sounds like every one of your neighbors waited till bedtime to mow their yards all at once. I strongly recommend chains and padlocks for the generators. The looters target those things. Also, change the oil daily.
One trick to help you sleep while the generator is running just outside the house...run a fan near your bed. The sound of the fan kinda masks the drone of the generator and will help you fall asleep.
Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
thank you don,,,
Posted by Rod Tickle (Member # 575) on :
WOW this is just freaky! thanks for the update Curtis, have been thinking of you and RT. Also our other letterhead friends that had to go thru that ordeal.
Please let us know how RT is if you hear from him.
all the best to you guys up there. were watching and thinking of you down here in Australia.
cheers! Rod
Posted by Adrienne Morgan (Member # 1046) on :
Glad to hear from you Curtis, you, RT and my friends over in LaCombe were the first to come to mind when I heard where it was going.
Have no idea if my friends in LaCombe lost thier home, I hope they made it out in time.
My prayers are with you all...
A
Posted by Rick Beisiegel (Member # 3723) on :
Curtis
Thanks for taking the time to post when so many more important things are happening. We appreciate it!
Hang in there, my friend. If good thoughts and prayers work like we know they do.....you're golden! Peace and health to you & your family.
[ August 30, 2005, 08:29 AM: Message edited by: Rick Beisiegel ]
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Wow, thanks Curtis. We need rain badly here- still in drought- but not that kind of rain.
Take care & I hope all gets better soon. Consider yourself lucky!
Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
If anyone wants to help out and are not sure where a donation will do the best good, I can tell you all first hand that you can't do better than to give the American Red Cross a helping hand. These people were nothing short of amazing in their organization and help.
One thing they do is come around neighborhoods with two hot meals a day. They drove up and down the streets on their assigned routes, similar to a Good Humor ice cream truck...stopping whenever people waved them down. Beside s a hot meal, which is even more appreciated when you don't have electricity and refrigeration, the RC volunteers always had a smile and a kind word for us. There were literally hundreds of these RC chuckwagons stationed in our area and stayed for two months, not leaving until we had electricity again.
They do much more, but this is the part of their mission that stuck with me. The young lady in the pic was from Alabama and told me she was sleeping on a cot while down here. 67 years old and sleeping on a cot, far from home, so that she could help people in need. If you don't believe in angels, well, I do. I've met a bunch of them.
Edit: Here's an excerpt from a Red Cross newsletter, concerning what they did here after Charlie:
"Charley's Angels" newsletter for volunteers in Florida show that Charley hit on Friday, Aug. 13, and by Sept. 1, the Red Cross had served 2,926,537 meals and snacks out of 256 emergency relief vehicles and had 101,207 people in 52 shelters.
[ August 30, 2005, 12:18 PM: Message edited by: Don Coplen ]
Posted by Neil D. Butler (Member # 661) on :
Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time... I can't imagine what all you people are going through... take care.
Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
an update. a ;evee is down on the river and new orleans is now under a second wave of attack. The water is rising and if they dont get this one fixed its only going to get worse.
Posted by Gavin Chachere (Member # 1443) on :
One of those breaks is about 2 blocks from where my rental house is and i have no doubt its underwater,thats almost a certainity,my house is about a mile from there,if anyone saw the film of the yacht club burning yesterday i'm about 2 blocks away from that on the other side of the levee...which may or may not be dry,they never show enuff footage for me to know or not. My parents and brother both live west of me by a few miles,as do mycousins...no word on their houses yet,figuring they have some water though. Also can guarantee pretty much with 100% certainty my store/shop has water...all of the above provided the roofs are still on etc. Martial law went up at 5am,which is good. The twin span bridges between slidell and new orleans are unusable,the causeway bridge between new orleans and the northshore more west has some damage and is outta commission for a little bit. I feel really bad right now because even as a supervisor for the sheriff's office this one was expected to be so bad they didnt make it mandantory for us to stay and i knew that obviously helping my parent s get their stuff together and outta there was more impt,but i did have 7 guys that stayed,for what reason i dont know other than its a testament to them,i can account for 5 right now positively and have uncomfirmed theories on the other two which worries me yet doesnt because theres absolutely no the two of them can resist being a burr in someones ass to let anything happen to themselves,heard they got seperated from a team doing looter sweeps so hopefully theyre wandering around giving the pricks hell.Cell phone communication is really bad,landlines almost non existant and sat phones arent working,plus no way at all my radio would work from houston so info is hard to get thats accurate.....so many conflicting reports posted on the net and news that turn out to be false and oversensationalized. Everyone has seen a map of the state,and that finger that sticks out that becomes the mouth of the river....i have a pretty good friend and fellow instructor with the dept there that i talked to briefly around 7pm sunday night and jokingly told him if the water starts coming in think like a fish,around 2am when the worst started they vanished form the radio net and sat phone network and noone has heard form them since,unconfirmed word that i feel is probably true is that everything from slightly above where they are down is gone so i'm not optimistic about what prob happened. Guess its gonna be real interesting as time goes on.
Posted by Tony Broussard (Member # 935) on :
It's a mess. Fortunately all we had here were 35 mph winds and rain.
I feel so bad for all the folks in Nawlins. I just hope people get the help they need.
I was also watching the looting goin on as well, boy they looked like animals.
It's gonna be a long time to get back to normal over there, and in Miss. and Alabama.
Not to get political, but I wonder if the heads of the countries that said America wasn't sending enough aid to the tsunami victims will be sending any aid to us? Probably not.
Put the good people of these affected areas in your prayers tonight.
[ August 30, 2005, 03:43 PM: Message edited by: Tony Broussard ]
Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
No doubt, Tony. After Charlie, we were just flooded with French, Germans, Indodesians...everybody. The US aide workers were outnumbered by foreign help a good ten to one. It was difficult just to find any aide workers that spoke English.
Yeah, right. Not a penny and not a finger to help.
Posted by Mark Smith (Member # 298) on :
Don, the American Red Cross is fantastic, and we are matching donations right now.
A couple of months ago I posted about seeing a Hard Rock Cafe sign heading down the interstate on several 18 wheeler trailers, it was going to the Gulfport/Biloxi area, this morning I was watching CNN coverage of the storm and they were showing the destruction along the coast in Mississippi and in the middle of all kinds of demolished building stood the Hard Rock sign, it looked to be undamaged, isn't it strange how something built out of metal and aluminum is still there while the buildings all around it are gone.....
Posted by Alicia B. Jennings (Member # 1272) on :
That Hard Rock Cafe sign will probly be a landmark to help people get around. I never really thought it could get that bad. My heart and prayers go out to all there.
Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
In case you may not have noticed the numbers I posted earlier:
"Charley's Angels" newsletter for volunteers in Florida show that Charley hit on Friday, Aug. 13, and by Sept. 1, the Red Cross had served 2,926,537 meals and snacks out of 256 emergency relief vehicles and had 101,207 people in 52 shelters.
Those numbers included only the first two weeks. They were here for two months! I looked all over to try to find the final numbers, but they had to have been astronomical.
[ August 30, 2005, 05:39 PM: Message edited by: Don Coplen ]
Posted by Mark Perkins (Member # 296) on :
If you have broadband they have some video here of the Gulfport/Biloxi area. The storm surge took the big ole casino barges and tossed them across the highway, one is sitting on top of whats left of a Holiday Inn....amazing
Anyone heard anything about/from Kathy Joiner yet?
Posted by Deb Fowler (Member # 1039) on :
Bump; David Drane called here Sat night, and then emailed me. He is asking about all, and especially RT, since he visited RT and myself during Christmas. I am sure we all want to know about Kathy, and thanks for letting us know about Sheila, and all. Has anyone heard about Jimmy Chatham?, God bless you all. Don't give up hope, we love you guys! God bless those little kids, thanks for mentioning their tiny souls. We are feeling a bit guilty here for having so much blessings up here, in the midwest. Our prayers go out to you.
Posted by Adrienne Morgan (Member # 1046) on :
My dad and I have been glued to the news all day...
I've heard Slidell is completely devastated....is it true? I suspect my friend Sue's house will be gone then.
It's just unbelievable!!!!
Thanks Gavin and Curtis for taking the time to report in...I'm praying for you and your families...let us know if there is anything we can do for you..we just feel awful for everyone stuck in that terrible situation.
And Don, thanks for the heads up re: the Red Cross...they got a bad rap during 911 (I forgot why) it's good to hear first hand that they really are doing a great job, my Dad wants to send a donation. A
Posted by Rick Beisiegel (Member # 3723) on :
I stayed up late watching CNN. UNBELIEVABLE!!!
I cannot imagine enduring what these folks have endured. Thousands & thousands without homes, food, electricity, jobs, etc. Puts a whole new spin on "count your blessings"
And the looters, what are they thinking?? I can see it if you need food for your family, but, most are just opportunistsic thieves! I am confident they will be accountable to someone. I shudder to think......
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Yep. I felt pretty guilty this morning when I climbed into my shower, knowing that so many don't have a home to walk into, let alone a shower, food, electric, water.
I cannot thank the Lord for my blessings without praying for them also, & considering what we can send to help.
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