Refugees from '04 storm may be hit again

San Jose Mercury News ^ | Oct. 21, 2005 | Mike Schneider

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Fourteen months after Hurricane Charley devastated this Gulf Coast town, hundreds of people still are living in row after row of government-owned mobile homes that were supposed to be temporary housing. Many of the residents of "FEMA Village" -- the temporary community of 1,600 residents living in 500 mobile homes provided by the federal agency -- regarded the approaching storm Thursday with the stoicism of those who have lost everything already.

FEMA workers passed out a hurricane guide and papers warning inhabitants of FEMA Village to follow local emergency orders and to put chairs and barbecue grills inside should a hurricane warning be issued.

Some residents called the measures inadequate. Charlie Eckenrode, who uses a wheelchair because of back pain, planned to ask a friend to drive down from North Carolina to pick him up if it appeared Wilma was going to hit Florida. "It's pretty much fend for yourself right now," he said.

FEMA official Mildred Acevedo said the community's residents should have a plan to go somewhere if Wilma menaces southwestern Florida. Evacuation procedures are a local responsibility, she said.

The denizens of FEMA Village will not be treated any differently from other residents, said Sherry Montgomery, a Charlotte County official. "There's nothing special being done there. If they need to get to a shelter, they'll get the same warning,: Montgomery said.

Although the rent is free, many are eager to leave this community at the edge of the Charlotte County airport because drug dealing, theft and vandalism are rampant. Stephanie Hernandez said "Five times, both of our vehicles were broken into just to steal change. We hear all kinds of stuff about people on drugs, people walking the streets at all hours of the night."

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Classic case -- government provides "free" housing on a temporary basis, people don't move out and have no incentive to become independent, they won't move out of the area to find work, and then they complain that the government isn't doing enough to protect them from the imminent hurricane. Crime and drugs are rampant in the government-run housing project. A perfect microcosm of the ills of socialism and a superb illustration of why people need to look after themselves and not depend on government.

The bright spot in this article is that FEMA is saying evacuation is a local responsibility and that the residents in this government housing project will not get any special or preferential treatment.

And it sounds like FEMA is doing its part, warning residents to "put chairs and barbecue grills inside." That'll really do the trick when those mobile homes are ground up to toothpicks.

[Old Seadog]

Here we go again

[digger48]

George Bush don't care 'bout trailer parks