From randallp at hcrn.info Tue Oct 31 21:21:14 2006 From: randallp at hcrn.info (Randall Perry) Date: Tue Oct 31 06:21:23 2006 Subject: [LeapBS] [Fwd: Fw: Amen Andy Rooney!] In-Reply-To: <20061031170255.0633b185.ozz@ozz.is-a-geek.net> References: <454775C7.2000607@cfl.rr.com> <20061031170255.0633b185.ozz@ozz.is-a-geek.net> Message-ID: <7e3993190610311821jdb525c1iac98fe691c86d126@mail.gmail.com> On 10/31/06, Ozz Austin Denyer wrote: > > Did you realize that 5,000 school children live with their parents, in > > tents, in parking lots, in Biloxi Mississippi, almost two years after > > Katrina? > > Another matter dear to my heart, as my Wife lived in Mississippi for > many years - and not that far from Biloxi. We are helping to repair/rebuild many homes in the Gulfport and Biloxi area. We do this with 100% free, volunteer labor (mostly people from Indiana). We have a basecamp in Gulfport, MS where we house 40 volunteers concurrently that work for 1 week in the area. We have helped cleanup, do repairs, cut-n-gut and are constructing from scratch. We were going to setup in Biloxi, but their town council (not naming any names...) got quite offended when our CEO was in their meeting and pointed out the lies that their own councilmen were telling the public. The public was being told that they should 'hurry up and rebuild before the zoning ordinances went into place' which would have cost them more to rebuild. It was pointed out to them (and later concurred by FEMA) to not listen to that rubbish. By rebuilding immediately, and without consideration for the new regulation, they essentially were building unusable property. Why unusable? Sure, you could live in it, but NO ONE will insure a home that is in a 'flood plain'. So, you cannot get mortgage insurance. If you are fortunate enough to have cash to pay for that property, then you better hold on to it. No one will buy it. No one will take the risk (or be able to get a mortgage of their own to buy the house). Considering what their role trule is, FEMA has been doing an OUTSTANDING job from day 1. Yes, there have been abuses and some short-sighting...but FEMA was stepping into areas that they are not responsible for (and yet took the blame for). If you do not agree, then you don't have the slightest clue as to where the responsibility lies for disaster response and preparedness. The local and state governments continue to be the roadblock to recovery (not just in New Orleans). FEMA released _millions_ of dollars that are sitting there at the state (and then to the local) level. Where are the block grants? WHERE IS THE MONEY! Mississippi also should answer on these points. Mississippi Power, BTW simply rocks. They have also been a tremendous help in recovery. In the meantime, we do what we can to help people rebuild their lives and get people back on track. -- *:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-. Randall Perry Hope Crisis Response Network www.hcrn.info