Hurricane Rita
September 24, 2005
Read the Port Arthur News
Below are e-mail and correspondence received from our classmates who live in the areas affected by Hurricane Rita. Send us your comments about your experience or of anyone you may be looking for.
Photos taken by Sandy Boyd-Marsh on her visit to Sabine Pass to visit with Nancy LeDoux-Bossley:
 A former popular restaurant |
 What's left of a home |
In Sabine Pass on Highway 87 looking east. A view of an ocean going
vessel in the Sabine River
heading towards the intercoastal canal.
Email from Sandy Marsh-Boyd .. sandylou42@sbcglobal.net
I sent you a lot of emails from Jefferson Texas but I guess your server was down..I will try to download photos of my house..I had a lot of damage but not as bad as some..But we are here if i can stay for a while ..Mold is better than last week when i came here for a day..Walter and my son and grandson have worked so hard to clean out two bedrooms in house...Lost carport and it damaged my roof and water came in the hole..
Garage roof blew off and the new tiles in ceiling of big room fell to floor due to a leak..
we are home to see adjuster..FEMA came already..waiting on Insurance decisions to pay me any compensation....Did get the $2000..and Red cross debit card and Food stamps for Oct..
Not doing bad ..First time I ever got so much...Clothes and coats (as it turned cold while in East Texas) were given to us and very much needed by my 91 year old Mother in Law who packed minimun stuff to leave..
I have to find my digital cord to camera as it was packed. Have a lot of photos taken with regular 35 MM camera and a few digital ones.
.Think I will move to Jefferson Texas where I stayed for three weeks..(Tejas Village on Lake of the Pines )Maybe one week a month here is about all I want anymore..
Sunsets on the Lake were so peaceful...
I have been thru storms inpast but this was the worst..I was not here but it was a booger..A 4 or 5 will destroy town next time..Lifes to short...
I lost my sister while we were in Jefferson..Her tumor grew so fast after she finished Radiation..We had a Memorial in Longview and will have another in Beaumont when things get straight and we get back up and going,
My aunt near Longview died the day we arrived ..She was ill and had given up week before we left....
We lost a good friend of many years as a tree fell on him while cleaning up debris at his home in Vidor.
I evacuated the class material with all albums in boxes for the hump teen time..It all arrived back here safe again in back of Walters Red Truck..
Will get back as i need to go get organized before tomorrow and Adjuster arrives to access damage..
Sandy
Email from Billy Black .. (billy.black3@verizon.net)
Paul,Thanks again for the update. It is so difficult to get much real information here in Dallas. I only knew that my brother was able to get out safely and my mother, who is in a nursing home, was safely evacuated. I had not heard about anyone until receiving a e-mail from Sandy Boyd a few days ago. I felt sure that I would be sent down to try and help get the water and wastewater systems back in working condition, but that hasn't come about. As I understand, the state of Texas felt that they had everytthing well in hand and did not need any help from the EPA.I did hear from my brother today and they are back at their house and have electricity. They had relocated from West Monroe, LA about a week and a half ago to Baytown so that he could get back to work at Valero. He told me that food was needed since most stores are still closed. One item that he said he was unable to find was a set of rabbit ears for the TV since the cable system was out.I am glad to know that know one was seriously injured but my prayers and thoughts are with everyone having to face such difficult conditions. I hope to get down as soon as conditions allow.Billy Black
Email from Jean Kay Domingue-Moreau with pictures (jrm69@exp.net)
Just wanted everyone to know we are doing well, and slowing cleaning up our mess. As ya'll can see we had quite a bit of structural damage to our garages and barns. Our home took a licking on the back and side porches....as well as my deck. 18 trees down, and 5 on our fences. About 8 or 10 deer are gone, and roaming the woods of our area, as well as our bobcat. We still feel blessed because even though our damage look bad, some have it worse. The subdivision next to us looks like a bomb went off. Downed trees are everywhere, and many have holes in their roofs. We did have some roof damage, and some rain water came into my den through the roof and broken window. Nothing really major, though. Hope all is well with you guys, and I am looking forward to hearing from all of you again. JK
Back of Jean Kay's House ... Porch, patio gone ..
To see Jean Kay's Home before the storm
click here
Email from Bea Vidrine-McRae (rance516@aol.com)
Hi Paul: While I was sitting and enjoying beautiful Bayfield, Co., (Summer Home), I was nonetheless very worried and concerned about our dear classmates and family in the Hurricane strickened area. All of my family, sisters and brothers, nieces,etc. were displaced. One sister and her family were only able to come to PA to check out their home, which is badly damaged, but had to return to the Lufkin shelter. All of family are ok though. I am so happy to know our classmates in the path of Hurricane Rita are well. I remember evacuating Corpus Christi in 1980 for Hurricane Allen. It took us 14 hours to get to San Antonio. Had to immediately go to hospital with our 6 year old son for a transfusion of blood platelets. I can sympathize with Charles and his family. We are back in Texas and will be visiting the Port Arthur area very soon. I will be contacting you guys to perhaps meet for a meal. Sincerely, Bea Vidrine-McRaePS. I appreciate so much what you guys have done with our website. I so want to thank you for the update.
Email attachment from Charles Kirkendall:
Dear Paul;
I will be in Port Arthur this coming week-end and the first of next week to access damage to my Mom's home. she had a hell of a time getting out and is still in the hospital in Dallas.
Her next door neighbor is Vivian McGrew in Pear Ridge. I think you are close friends with her daughter and of course, her son.
Attachment is my mom's ordeal. She is going to be discharged this Friday and I will drive her to Houston to my sister's home.
Hope everyone there made it through, okay, and are back to as normal as life can be after Rita. <<MY MOM'S ORDEAL#2.doc>>
Regards,
Charles B. Kirkendall, Jr.
Walker & Zanger, Inc.
Architectural Representative - Dallas
phone 972-481-3940
fax 972-488-3762
cell 214-202-4323Charles's attachment:
October 12, 2005
To Whom It May Concern:
Re: Rita evacuation nightmare
My mother, Mary Kirkendall, who lives in Port Arthur, Texas, had to evacuate for Hurricane Rita. She is 85 years old and uses a cane to get around. She had a stroke in 2000 and has been trying to remain independent since then. She also suffers from Vertigo and High-blood pressure. She seldom drives and could never drive away from the Gulf Coast on her own.
On Thursday, when she knew she had to leave, there was no way to get to her from Dallas, where I live, or Houston, where my sister lives. She had remained adamant about staying in her home, but became deeply worried when the hurricane turned towards Port Arthur. My sister’s husband’s brother lives about 20 miles away, so he went by and picked her up, to travel out of harms way with his family.
She lasted about 4 hours in the stop and go traffic, traveling about 40 miles in 4 hours. They were a few miles south of Cleveland, Texas, on Hwy 321, and she was sweating profusely and throwing up. She in deep distress and later we learned she was another stroke. Cell phones were useless and calling 911 from a cell phone never went through. I finally got through to the Cleveland police department and had them dispatch an ambulance to pick her up, hoping the family that had her would flag them down, which is what happened.
Upon arriving at the Cleveland Regional Hospital, she was admitted to the emergency room, a few tests were run, and she was given medication for vertigo, and here she spent the night. There were no tests for a stroke and the next morning, she was released. The hospital called my sister in Houston to come and get her, knowing that she could not travel on her own. The traffic out of Houston was still at a standstill, so my sister could not go get her, nor could I from Dallas, because once there, we became just be another car in that long line of evacuees, with a stroke victim without any treatment options.
She was placed on an evacuee bus to Austin, Texas, which she rode for 5 hours, and arrived at one of the Red Cross shelters in Austin. My niece and her husband, who happen to live in Dallas, had a hotel reservation in Austin for a music festival, so they went early, spent several hours looking, but finally found my Mom, and took her back to their hotel.
My Mom spent the night in their hotel room, and then rode back with them to Dallas on Saturday. Saturday night, they admitted her to the closest hospital emergency room, Baylor Hospital-Dallas, and was eventually sent to the Acute Stroke unit of the hospital, after about 5 hours. She has had all the tests to determine the extent of her stroke and to verify that she indeed had one. She has been moved to a private room on the “stroke” floor of Baylor Hospital where she is today.
So she was en route, escaping the hurricane from 6AM on Thursday, September 22nd, until Saturday, September 24th, and finally got to the stroke unit in Dallas, Sunday, early morning, September 25th.
Sincerely,
Charles B. Kirkendall, Jr.
6901 Champion Court
Greenville, TX 75402
214-202-4323 cell
email: ckirkendall@walkerzanger.com
Email from Paul Fitzner
Finally ....Today (October 11) I finally got my internet access back on line.Got back in town on Tuesday, Sept 27. My apartment had water damage but it has since been taken care of. I had water and sewerage buy no electricity.FEMA had some distribution points set up giving away ICE, WATER and FOOD. That was great and well appreciated.On Thursday, October 6 I finally got electricity. Ahhhh, air conditioning and a hot bath. But still no cable which meant for me no internet access.Finally, today, October 11 .... Back on line.A lot of homes and apartment complexes in PA are complexly ruined and unlivable. Quite a few people here literally have no place to live. Here in Nederland there are at least two apartment complexes that have been condemned and are to be torn down. People are looking for a place to live and there just are not any in this entire area.I can not believe how fortunate I am and I wonder why .Later,Paul (Fitzner) pfitzner@gt.rr.com
Email from Sandra Nunez-Collins (October 28, 2005)
Just letting you know we are living with my mom in Port Arthur. Our home took quite a beating from our neighbors HUGE oak tree, we had five holes in the roof, water running down the back walls, light fixtures falling from the ceiling, wet carpet, crumbled up patio and cover. Back of our house looks like Jean Kay's. We're thanking God for protecting our family and friends from injuries. We have some friends that have no homes to come back to. We're in process of getting ours back together, do have a new roof and new rafters and the tree cut down and out of our yard. Please continue to pray for Howard, his hemoglobin count is down to 9 and not he's beginning to loose weight. Thanks for the updates on the web page, today is first day I've gotten to a computer.Sandra Nunez Collins (howard.c@sbcglobal.net)Email from Sandra Nunez-Collins (November 26th, 2005)
Hi Paul...it's so good to have you back on line!! We're still at my mom's in Port Arthur, our home had quite a bit of damage, our neighbor's HUGE oak tree decided to pay us a visit. We're having a heck of a time trying to get someone to do sheetrock work for us, the sheetrock is up just needs to be taped, floated and mudd put on. The way things look now we'll not be home for Christmas either. Keep us in your prayers and thanks for keeping us all informed and up to date on our classmates.Sandra and Howard
Hurricane Katrina
Kenneth Bayless
New Iberia, Louisiana
Sharin Comeaux-McMonagle
Alexandria, Louisiana
Mary Ann Daniel-McMillin
Jena, Louisiana
Gladys Faulk-Moore
Hammond, Louisiana
Bill Holtman
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Sandra Kerr
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Francis Kinnaird-Tomplain
Gretna, Louisiana
Ann Loften-Newcomer
Alexandria, Louisiana
Allen Michon
Sunset, Louisiana
Barbara Mire-Migues
Abbieville, Louisiana
Harold Richard
New Orleans, Louisiana
Bobby Sherwood
Kinner, Louisiana
Sue Terrell-Dartez
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Wayne Woodworth
Walker, Louisiana
Diane Rogers-Glass
Birmingham, Alabama
Kyle Johnson
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
David Beagle
Bay St Louis, Mississippi
Randy Cowling
Braxton, Mississippi
Please keep them in your prayers and thoughts.
Paul I got this from Bob... (Sandy Marsh-Boyd)Hi Sandy~~~~Thanks For Checking On Us~~~~We're Fine And We All Got Out Ok~~~~~I Have Lot Of Damage To My House But Did Not Get Water Inside~~~~I Think I Will Be Able To Get Back In This Weekend~~~~I Will Let You Know~~~~~~BOB Sherwood.... Kenner Louisiana
Paul,
Thanks for putting this page on our website. I am glad to hear from those who sent e-mails. I just want everyone to know that my prayers have been with them. I fully expect that EPA will send me to New Orleans when the flood waters are pumped out and it is a little safer. We will help get the wastewater treatment plants up and operating. Having lived in New Orleans for over four years and experiencing Hurricane Camille, I have been truly moved to see the devastation, and the conditions that those folks in the Super Dome and Convention Center had to endure. I hope and pray that those of our classmate in the disaster area that we haven't heard from are all okay.Billy Black
I emailed Wayne to see if his move was hurricane related.. (Sandy Marsh-Boyd)
Sandy:
A lot of people 40 or more miles east of us got hit pretty hard, but fortunately we were spared any major damage. The worst we got were 35 to 70 mph winds and a loss of power and water for a few days due to fallen trees and broken electric lines.
RE: Our move - We had begun building a house in Walker (about 7 miles east of Baton Rouge) around the first of the year. Although a few minor details are still being completed, we moved in about 2 or 3 weeks ago because our previous residence had sold and we had to get out.
I don't think anyone in the Greater Baton Rouge area or areas west of us fared too badly. As I'm sure you've seen on TV however, the folks in the greater New Orleans area, Hammond, Covington, Slidell, Bogalusa, Parishes east of Livingston, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and parts of Alabama lost almost everything in many cases. The population in the Greater Baton Rouge area has doubled in the last week because of the huge influx of folks from the stricken areas.
Paul does us all a great service keeping our class in touch with each other.
Thanks for asking - Wayne E. Woodworth
Paul: I need to change my address and phone number to:Wayne E. Woodworth12462 Winter Ridge DriveWalker, La. 70785Phone(225)271-4209(225)937-3010
Keep the same e-mail address.Hope things are going well in Port Arthur. Appreciate your efforts keeping us all up to date on what's happening with the Class of 61.Thanks - Wayne Woodworth wwoodworth3@cox.net
Just wondering if anyone has heard from HAROLD RICHARD of New Orleans. He lived on Dreaux Ave. I think he had some sort of shop in the French Quarter....I could be mistaken on that.
Sandy Marsh-Boyd SandyLou42@aol.com
Let anyone know they can come here and we will try to help!
Susan Marsh-Henry, New Ulm, TX
Paul, All is well here in Alexandria. We are however getting lots of refugees.......have even enrolled in our schools. The damage is staggering!!! Remember those folks in your prayers! Anne (Lofton-Newcomer, Alexanderia, LA)
Email from Sue Terrell-Dartez, Baton Rouge, LAWe are actually doing very well. We never lost power and only minor damage to my daughter's roof and fences. Babies were upset, but with Grandma there, everyone had a turn holding and calming them. So far all of my extended family here in Louisiana and Mississippi that we have heard from are doing OK also. The worst is the traffic -- no traffic lights at major sections of town and police are having to direct traffic which takes them away from more valuable jobs like protecting the people of Baton Rouge from the evacuees. Lots of guns and people walking around which is scarey. Our office is on high alert here in downtown for walking to your cars in the offsite parking lots. Nerves are frayed and tempers are not holding well. We have a major project that was supposed to start next week, but we are having to postpone. Going to New Orleans on Monday to get computer servers from the office and bring to Baton Rouge. We are combining the New Orleans office with our Baton Rouge office until further notice. This really puts a strain on our IT department and I am already about to have a nervous breakdown over the conversion project . Am taking in a couple from the office who are without electricity and will not probably have electricity for another 8 to 10 weeks. Better go now, people showing up in my training room with problems and I need coffee really bad.
Sue
Email from Sharin Comeaux-McMonagle, Alexandria, LA
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the list of classmates who live in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. We didn't have bad weather here in Alexandria. But, we do have many, many evacuees. There's no telling how long they will be here. They are now encouraging people to enroll their children in schools here.
Many of our Library staff have families who are staying with them. One staff member has 17 relatives from New Orleans staying at her house. From age 2 to 65. Our staff is helping them with money, food, clothes, books, magazines, etc. The library is helping by giving away books at the Red Cross, shelters, hotels, etc. Many churches are housing people. We have free computer usage and people are printing out FEMA forms. Our libraries are quickly becoming havens for them. Wednesday afternoon, our Main Library was filled with evacuees. These people come in with a dazed look. Hopefully we can help them sort out their finances, contact family and friends by using our computers. Our regulars come in, get what they want and leave. We've always had the homeless and people who are down on their luck.
I belong to the Attractions Board of Central Louisiana and we met this morning. We represent many in the arts community. We'll be having plays, films, free art exhibits, tours of plantation homes, free admission to the zoo, and lots more. We're asking for donations from businesses here. We've had positive responses. During a crisis such as this, you see the goodness in people wanting to help.
Do you remember my daughter Melanie? She's a RN at Rapides Regional Hospital and she works in the Pediatric ICU, mainly with the preemies (very small ones, like one pound or two). They work very closely with the hospitals in New Orleans, especially Tulane Medical Center. They are now sending infants here. It's very, very bad. We will have to start putting babies in the hallways before long.
It's a desperate situation in New Orleans. Please pray for these people.
http://www.weather.com/newscenter/slideshow/katrina2.html
Search for Missing on:
http://www.nola.com
Last updated on: Tuesday January 23, 2007
