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Latest from Alexandria:

This United Way link contains all the helpful links for providing relief to the refugees in Central Louisiana:

http://www.uwcl.org/site/Templates/template4.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=1

KALB has raised $155,000 so far in its 2-day telethon for the Central Louisiana chapter of the American Red Cross. To make a direct donation where it's needed right away, please call:

(318) 447-2542 or (318) 447-2531

The 5:00 pm (Central) KALB newscast shows a reporter waiting at a welcome center for buses that never arrived from New Orleans. This may or may not be related to the fatal accident with the overturned bus, no one seems to know why the buses aren't here yet.

I'll repeat my earlier suggestion for those of you who want to donate items but don't want to spend a lot of money on shipping costs. A Wal-Mart gift card can be purchased in the denomination of your choice, and is much cheaper to put in the mail than a carton full of supplies. A needy family can use it at the local 24-hour Wal-Mart SuperCenters which are much larger than the stores in other parts of the country. The card would allow its recipient to purchase personal hygiene items, groceries, shoes, gasoline, automotive repairs, pharmaceuticals -- just about anything you can think of -- and will solve their individual requirements. While it's great that Wal-Mart made a huge corporate donation, it still doesn't change the fact that there's a refugee mother who needs a package of maxi-pads for herself and diapers for her baby NOW.

Thanks for your continuing interest!