Rita sends rural Texans back to 'caveman days'

The Lufkin Daily News ^ | September 29, 2005 | PAM EASTON

[RoseyT]

I hope I'm posting this in the right place. My apologies if not. There are many towns in the same position as Woodville. There's also a link to a video of Jasper on the main page of the newspaper at www.lufkindailynews.com.

[2banana]

group had no electricity, water, food and wondered how all 43, including 13 children, would survive.

Well, if NO is an example - loot, burn and pillage. Don't worry, the feds will come through with billions because they feel guilty about all of it...

[Sthitch]

I am not sure that the cavemen had chainsaws, or roads to clear.

[RoseyT]

"Don't worry, the feds will come through with billions because they feel guilty about all of it..."

I'll be honest, right now I'm just concerned about getting the basic necessities to these folks. I posted an article about Jasper on another thread. They're saying it could take up to 2 months to have power restored. And I'm still sitting here wondering where the hell the MSM is and why they aren't on my tv screen screaming about these people needing help.

[Piquaboy]

At least we know how to do it, unlike those city slickers.

[stuartcr]

Break-out the old armadillo recipes...

[The South Texan]

[VRWCmember]

I'll be honest, right now I'm just concerned about getting the basic necessities to these folks.

Look for the bear necessities
The simple bear necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife!

[xander]

Somehow I think the cavemen didn't worry too much about whether the government was going to protect/save them. We've come a long way haven't we?

[Pookee]

The lesson here is that the people of East Texas will pull themselves out of this mess, not because they have any more money than the people of NO but because they take care of themselves and their neighbors instead of depending on the government to run their lives.

[maica]

Or had come to the knowledge of the concept of ice.

I do not remember pioneers to Texas taking icemakers with them. How did our ancestors ever make it?

[Freebird Forever]

At least we know how to do it, unlike those city slickers.

Just as Ol' Hank Jr sang, "A country boy can survive".

[HarleyLady27]

I would have to say that thunder thighs should feel right at home in a cave....hence she came from.....

[A Texan]

Our society has had functioning electricity for what 100 years or so and people can't make-it-by for 5 days without it? Dear lord, this is just absurd, has our country turned this much into wussies.

[jagusafr]

Ditto - I spoke with a couple of people in Jasper yesterday and they said "unofficially" they're being told another 3 weeks before electricity is restored. On the up side, there's water and gas service again...when them piney woods start crashing down, it can really get messy!

[RoseyT]

"At least we know how to do it, unlike those city slickers."

There will be many resourceful people who manage to take care of themselves and their families.

I think a lot of people don't realize that in many of these towns, evacuees sucked local resources (including gas and food) dry. It's not like these small towns are only trying to take care of their own. There are hundreds and in some cases thousands of extra people in town.

In Lufkin we had 70,000 evacuees. I don't know how many of those are still here but we still have National Guard troops keeping an eye on things inside Walmart, our shelters are packed, and we still have thousands of homes and businesses without power. This comes after our local charity organizations have spent the past month working non-stop to help Katrina evacuees.

The bottom line is that local resources are taxed, people are worn out and could use a little help. I don't believe those folks are asking for a freaking hand out. They need a little help. That's all.

Oh and for what it's worth, here's an example of how FEMA's operating down here. FEMA sent ice and water to Corrigan, but instead of contacting Corrigan city officials and asking how much they needed, they shipped an amount based on the population of the city of Corrigan. Well, that left out about 5,000 people who live in nearby areas, not to mention evacuees who are stuck there. (That info is based on a conversation my Dad has with the chief of police in Corrigan 2 days ago.) The same thing happened in Jasper.

[RoseyT]

"On the up side, there's water and gas service again"

I'm relieved to hear that. I'm also happy the much needed cool front made its way through the area. :)

[RoseyT]

"Our society has had functioning electricity for what 100 years or so and people can't make-it-by for 5 days without it? Dear lord, this is just absurd, has our country turned this much into wussies."

Well, when the water that comes out of your faucet gets there because it's being pumped by a facility which is powered by ELECTRICITY and your 3 day supply of bottled water has run out and you're hearing that it could take a couple of weeks before power is restored would you not get concerned? What's that you say? Gas up your car and leave the area? And go where? There's not a vacant hotel room or shelter within a 100 mile radius of this area.

[El Gato]

Well, if NO is an example - loot, burn and pillage.

I don't recommend trying that in East Texas. People will take offense, and shoot your a$$. The Texas Rangers and local law won't let it slide either.

[atlaw]

Hang in there. We're waiting to get back in to Port Arthur (still uncertain as of today) and assess the damage to my mother-in-law's house, the nursing home where her sister lived (she was evacuated to Corsicana) and her cousin's house. I'm not holding out a lot of hope. Those of us in Houston are almost embarrassingly lucky.

My favorite FEMA tale is the delivery of a tanker of fuel to Port Arthur. It was supposed to be for police cruisers, but FEMA delivered it to the fire department. When the fire fighters told them that the delivery was a mistake and that it was supposed to go to police not fire, FEMA just up and left town with the fuel, delivering it to no one!