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Disaster touches area residents
By JILL ZAREND-KUBATKO, Valley Life Editor
September 02, 2005
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East of Casa Grande about 1,478 miles off the highly
traversed Interstate 10 is the scene of one of the
nation's worst natural disasters.

This distance doesn't matter to Casa Grande Valley
residents who are personally affected by the
catastrophe.

The damage dispensed by the unmerciful Category 4
hurricane known as "Katrina" on Monday - the breaking
of levies gushing a torrent of water through the Big
Easy in Louisiana, as well as obliterating shoreline
towns in Alabama and Mississippi and displacing
thousands of people - will take years to overcome.

Josea Cobb, building inspection secretary at Casa
Grande City Hall, said Thursday her parents and
relatives who live southwest of New Orleans are all
fine. But the emotional devastation, they will carry
forever.

"I went to school there and the places I know are no
longer there. Just looking at it is devastating. My
family's history is gone. The visual imagery, where
their grandparents are from, are no longer there. My
dad's family has been there for a very long time. His
dad helped restore plantations, some of them have been
affected. It's mostly the flooding that has affected
them," said Cobb, who lived in New Orleans for a time.

When she was ready to attend school there, Cobb said
she was to fly into the city from her home in Houston,
but there was an impending hurricane. "I grew up
knowing about it (hurricanes), the flooding and the
rain and when I was in New Orleans, you knew about it,
you just don't expect it," she added.

Cobb has taken many trips back to the Gulf Coast and
recalls playing on the levee and swimming at beaches in
Biloxi, Miss. "I remember visiting them and there is
this huge levee. I used to think it was fun to run up
to the top of it and now, just to know that it could
break and flood these areas... it just feels weird.
Lake Pontchartrain is so vast, it looks like the gulf.
The bridge of I-10 is on pylons all the way into town.
It's devastating. We used to go to the beaches there in
Mississippi near Biloxi, they aren't there anymore.
It's heartbreaking."

She said she has tried to stay away from newscasts
covering the story, but it has been difficult. "When I
was watching the news - I swore I would not do that -
and seeing some of the stupidity that is going on...
the devastation is one thing, but the stupidity that is
going on is horrible, and the word is 'why?'" she asks
of the looting and crimes being committed in this city
of ruins.

Not all is bad though. "A friend from Phoenix called to
see if my family needed for him to bring them back here
to the Valley. People are asking what they can do for
me, this hit me harder than watching the news. There
are so many people who want to help. It reminds me that
we are not as self-absorbed as the world thinks."

Tom Dudelston, a funeral director with J. Warren
Funeral Services in Casa Grande, had hoped to use
vacation to help those who could not escape the
blighted area. "I'm trying to go," Dudelston said
around 1 p.m. Thursday. "But I have hit some
complications I had not expected. I was trying to offer
my services with some of my skills. It is kind of
pending. I was going to do it to help. I am still
hoping I can get in there. I won't know until later
today. I have talked with an organization here in
Arizona that helps in situations like this. I was
hoping I could circumvent that and take care of myself
and get in there."

By 3:45 p.m. he had the news he didn't want to hear.

"I am not going anywhere, I spoke with D-MORT, a group
of funeral directors and embalmers, and I cannot go,"
he said, his voice filled with disappointment.

The Associated Press displays daily images in
newspapers and on Web sites featuring the dead lying on
the ground or seated in chairs, with no one to tend to
them. "USA Today talks about the body count and the
things that are going on since it has been declared a
national disaster area," he explained. "They won't let
anyone in there. You have to be FEMA-certified and I am
not," he said.

When a tragedy or disaster occurs in Arizona, trained,
skilled people are allowed to help without Federal
Emergency Management Agency certification, he said.
"But when a national disaster is in effect, federal
rules take over and FEMA would have to approve it,"
said Dudelston.

"It's kind of sad people are being turned away, the
minute they go into a federal situation, they just
can't get in there," he said. "The problem is when
something like this happens - when an area is declared
a national disaster - you can't go in there. They don't
know them (trained volunteers) from Adam, so they can't
let them in," he said of federal officials.

People usually hear of or see long lines of refugees in
far-away African nations or other countries, not in
America. But the scene of victims stranded from this
disaster has become all too familiar on newscasts and
splashed across newspaper front pages.

Wednesday, a couple and the man's 100-year-old mother
made the 24-hour trek to Casa Grande to escape the
wrath of Hurricane Katrina. They stopped in town on
their way to California to stay with their son, said a
receptionist with the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of
Commerce. Another son works in a hotel on Canal Street,
New Orleans, and they were waiting to hear from him.

Stephanie Adams, a programmer/analyst at Casa Grande
City Hall, is devastated by what has happened to her
family in Louisiana. "There are a couple of us here at
City Hall whose families are now homeless, but, in view
of the orders of the officials in the Orleans and
Jefferson Parish area, no one can get in yet to even
see if the homes are still standing," said Adams, who
wished no further comment because she was too
distraught.

A woman who works at First Presbyterian Church of Casa
Grande also was too upset to talk about her daughter
and family who were evacuated from the hard-hit area.
Another church worker said the family left with five
changes of clothing and a computer; their home was
destroyed.

The Rev. Reid Holderby of Mount Zion Church in Casa
Grande is suggesting to his congregation that people
pray for the victims.

The Rev. Bennett D.D. Burke, bishop, Liberal Catholic
Diocese of Arizona, sent out an e-mail inviting members
and friends of St. Michael and All Angels Liberal
Catholic Cathedral, 545 E. Palm Park Blvd., Casa
Grande, to Mass on Sunday at 9:30, with special prayers
for the victims of the terrible tragedy.

"In response to what may be the worst natural disaster
in our nation's history, I believe this is a time for
Liberal Catholics and all people of faith to come
together as a community to pray, to help those in need,
to support each other in our struggle for
understanding, and to remind ourselves of Christ's call
to do two very important things - to love God, and to
love our neighbors," said Burke.

"Be prepared to make a generous donation during our
special "second collection," 100 percent of which will
go toward relief efforts by professional assistance
organizations," he said.

On Sept. 11 the church teen group will hold a bake sale
after Mass to raise more funds for relief work.

"Many of us are inspired by events like this to go out
and collect food, clothing, toiletries and other things
which we imagine people will need. I applaud that
impulse, and the compassion from which it arises. But
the managers of this relief effort are discouraging
such responses. With the massive flooding and
displacement, and the damage to critical infrastructure
like roads, ports and utilities, there is no practical
way to deliver many of the things we might otherwise
wish to collect and send. What the people of the Gulf
Coast need, and what the disaster relief professionals
need to help them, is money - lots of it," he said.

The United Way of Pinal County reminds residents that
donations for hurricane relief can be made to the
American Red Cross, the Salvation Army or the United
Way. (www.unitedway.gov).

"In times of major distress, such as the catastrophic
events caused by Hurricane Katrina, the best course of
action is to provide the tools and resources necessary
to assist the organizations who know how to deal with a
disaster of this size," said Bill Ludeke, executive
director of the United Way of Pinal County.

"Money is needed most in the early stages of responding
to this disaster. Also, this is unfortunately a time
when scams are perpetrated against a public that really
wants to help. So we advise people to give only to
well-known, reputable organizations, pay by check made
payable to the agency, not to an individual," he
advised.

American Red Cross volunteers have been deployed to the
hardest-hit areas of Katrina's destruction, supplying
hundreds of thousands of victims left homeless with
critical necessities. With financial gifts to Hurricane
2005 Relief, the Red Cross can provide shelter, food,
counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call
1-800-HELP NOW (435-7669) in English or 1-800-257-7575
in Spanish. Or visit www.redcross.org.

The Pinal Branch of the American Red Cross' address is
P.O. Box 10502, Casa Grande, AZ 85230. Mail checks to
this address or call (520) 836-0879.

The Southern Arizona Chapter of the Red Cross in Tucson
also is asking for donations and volunteers. Make an
online donation by visiting www.tucson-redcross.org or
phone in a donation at 520-318-6740.

The Southern Arizona Chapter is seeking physicians,
RNs, LPNs, LVNs and PAs licensed in the state of
Arizona to become members of the Disaster Health
Services response teams. Blood donations are also
needed.

Wal-Mart and Sam's Club gave $1 million to the
Salvation Army, said Capt. Jason Koenig, Casa Grande
Salvation Army Corps officer and pastor.

"We find that local donations go great. We have been
bombarded with calls," he said Thursday morning by
phone. The best way to donate to the Salvation Army is
to call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769) or visit the national
Web site, www.salvationarmy usa.org, said Koenig.

To donate by mail, send checks, earmarked "disaster
relief," to P.O. Box 4857, Jackson, MS 39296-4857 and
visit local Wal-Mart or Sam's Clubs to give to the
Salvation Army's Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul National Council has
issued an urgent call for disaster funds to immediately
send to the society's offices in Mississippi, Alabama
and Louisiana, for direct aid to the victims of the
disaster affecting millions of Americans. Contributions
may be sent to The National Council, Society of St.
Vincent de Paul, 58 Progress Pkwy., St. Louis, MO
63043-3706; or make credit card donations online at
www.svdpusa.org, via the "Tribute" function.

By visiting the Web site www.networkforgood.org, those
seeking an outlet to help pets and people can find
information on how to donate to organizations such as
Noah's Wish, the Humane Society, Habitat for Humanity
and others.

FEMA links also can be found at this site.

America West Airlines, based in Tempe, will allow
Flight Fund members to donate their air miles to those
joining in the relief effort. Call 480-693-0800 or
visit www.americawest. com.

�Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. 2005
Reader Opinions:
	Anderson Tom 	Sep, 07 2005
  	And just wait to see how the "recovery" is
handled. After 4 years, despite all the "attention" the
cleanup of pollution by the responsible agencies is
still in the planning stage. It seems the Feds were
afraid that they might pickup some dirt that was not
from 9/11, so they are letting the New Yorkers continue
to get cancer and respiratory diseases from the 9/11
poisons. (asbestos, heavy metals, fiberglass, &c.)

God help New Orleans, for the Feds won't.
	teresa duran-reynolds 	Sep, 03 2005
  	THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAS AWARE OF THE ISSUES
OF THE LEVEES NEEDING TO BE REPAIRED BUT CHOSE ISNTEAD
TO BOLSTER THE CRONIES OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S BANK
ACCOUNTS INSTEAD. SHAME ON THE WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM THEY
CUT FEMA DOWN TO NOTHING AND REFUSED TO FUDN NEEDED
REPAIRS NOT TO MENTION THEY PUT A MAN IN CHARGE WHO WAS
NOTED FOR MANAGING MONEY BUT HAD NO TRIANING IN
DISASTERS OR MANAGEMENT OF CRISES OF THIS NATURE. WHEN
YOU PROMOTE YOUR FREINDS TO POSITIONS THEY KNWO
NOTHJING ABOUT IT IS ALWAYS OUR POOR PEOPEL WHO SUFFER.
THEY DIDNT LEAVE BECAUSE THEY HAD NO TRANSPORTATION
WERE TOO OLD OR WERE IN NURSING CARE OR HOSPITALS.
SHAME ON THESE PEOPLE. THEY ARE SO CHRISTIAN THET SAY
THAT WHEN INFORMED OF THE DISASTER THEY TOLD THE
VICTIMS CALL THE SALVATION ARMY THATS WHAT THEY DO. I
CANNOT BELEIVE THE HEARTLESSNESS OF THE GOVERNEMTNTIN
OUR COUNTRY. SHAME


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