Mississippi Foresters Will Help Battle Florida Wildfires
The Mississippi Forestry Commission is responding to a call for help from the State of Florida. A team of foresters from our state will help battle the enormous wildfires that have already burned more than a half million acres in North Florida and Georgia. Steve Phillips spoke with team members about their "mutual aid" assignment.

Pascagoula, Mississippi

From time to time I feel as though I should post, although my heart isn't in it. Through Site Meter I am aware of who comes to my site and so "This is for you and thanks for your interest". I don't think my problem is boredom, as I am not easily bored. Katrina has revealed the good and the bad that has arisen because a disaster put Mississippi in the spotlight, albeit late. We are the state that people love to hate. Yep, that's us! I had my "rose colored" glasses on for awhile and thought that at last what I had always hoped for, was happening. I was wrong .. the slurs have never stopped. We are fat, lazy, ignorant, hillbillies and we should apologize for slavery. The Sun Herald newspaper online has an article on the subject and is taking a poll asking if we would apologize. The last time I looked "NO" was 79%. If Governor Barbour apologizes for the state, I guess that would be great but, you see, I had nothing to do with slavery so I have nothing to apologize for. Other people speaking for us destroys our individuality.

We have been a suffering people on the Coast and a great deal of money was earmarked for our recovery but it was held up because of the 10% match and then to add insult to injury it was put in the same Bill for getting our soldiers out of Iraq. President Bush had said he would veto getting out of Iraq at this time so they put us in hoping he wouldn't veto. Is that caring about us? To put us against all the guys that are fighting and losing their lives for our country was a low blow. Personally, it made me fearful of what the new regime is going to inflict upon us all.

I have read that more than 40,000 immigrants are in our state, where are they? Where do the stay? We have thousands of our people with no shelter except Fema trailers. The conclusion that I have come to is that we can't always believe what we read.

Although regular gasoline is $3.06 a gallon, that doesn't stop me from riding around looking for pictures of construction. Dave, Anita and children spent Memorial Day at my home. I made hamburgers the old fashioned way .. in a skillet. Sure beats McDonald's. I never understood the "hoopla" on such a solemn occasion. Life is not one big party.

Gulf Coast News - Your Mississippi Coast News Source

Gulf Coast News - Your Mississippi Coast News Source: "Why Are Gasoline Prices So High? - GCN Opinion"

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Coast Businesses Get A Taste Of What's In Store For Summer Tourism

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Coast Businesses Get A Taste Of What's In Store For Summer Tourism: "'We're from New Orleans. What brought us out here is the beaches. We like to come here and vacation for the good beaches, the jet good skiing and the people here,' says Andy Vu, Louisiana."

SunHerald.com : Homepage

SunHerald.com : Homepage: "Out of respect for those who served, some 1,100 active duty and retired military, their families and civilians placed about 16,500 American flags on Saturday in less than 30 minutes at Biloxi National Cemetery."

The actual construction of a condo complex being built in Pascagoula started in 2005 before Katrina made landfall. At that time there was only one unit that had been framed. With approximately three more to be built, it appears that it will be near completion before the year ends. You enter from either Martin Street or Geerkins Street which border each side. I may be wrong on one side being Geerkins but I can always change it. They are very nice and they are housing but not affordable for many. We have problems along the Coast but housing still remains the biggest. I am driving around at least three days each week looking for new construction or repaired homes. If the area was "booming", I wouldn't have to "look" for houses, would I?

When I re-read some of my earlier posts and noted how enthusiastically I wrote, I realized that my inspiration to write has subsided. Why you may ask? This storm that we were unfortunate to experience and the subsequent damage is not what my blog has been about. It has always been about the people. WLOX has an article on today about the senior citizens in our coastal areas and how much they have been forgotten. Most had lived in their own homes, some in retirement condos. When Katrina destroyed or damaged what they had, it became an impossibility for them to rebuild again or replace all that was lost. It takes near a lifetime to pay for a home and most people can't do that. It's a fact that seniors in other states wouldn't be able to do it either. Many have left the area and gone to live with family. All of the ones interviewed wanted to maintain their independence as did the ones who had to go with family members. I can understand why they feel forgotten. They deserve to spend their remaining years comfortably and independent.

Personally, I am doing well, one of the lucky ones! Mentally, I am like everyone else. My daughter had spoken with a Project Recovery person who came to her door a few months ago and was told that what was happening to us was that we were still in survival mode. When the storm came ashore our adrenaline rose in response to what was happening as it would with any serious happening in all of our lives. The problem, the aftermath has been filled with obstacles and the adrenaline stays at a peak and has caused short term memory loss in many of us regardless of our ages. It would be interesting to know the number of people here who in mid conversation stop and say, "Now ..what was I saying?"

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Pass Christian Rotary, Mennonites Get Rebuilding Aid From Illinois

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Pass Christian Rotary, Mennonites Get Rebuilding Aid From Illinois: "Pass Christian's mayor is preparing for another important trip in his city's recovery efforts. Chipper McDermott is going to Naperville, Illinois to help that community raise money for his city's rebirth. Naperville has promised $2 million to the Pass, so new homes can be built."

SunHerald.com : Bank robbery a big blowout

SunHerald.com : Bank robbery a big blowout: "GULFPORT --
A couple of suspects were in custody within minutes of the robbery of a Gulfport bank, after a chase down Interstate 10 ended in a blowout at D'Iberville.

Fredrik Werner Waters, 44, of Biloxi and Rhonda Lee Girouard, 42, of St. Martin each were charged with robbery."

I just looked at the date and realized that I haven't posted. Viewers of my blog probably have become accustomed to just CLICK and there she is talking about everything. It's not unusual that I am tired, we all are. First we endured the horror of the storm and, for almost two years, we have been living it every second, every hour, every day. Whew! Of course we don't talk Katrina every day, we also have our daily lives to contend with To tolerate my bizarre neighbor and still remain christian in thought and action is something I have to wrestle with every day. There is good news, two lanes of the Bay St. Louis (not Bay of St. Louis or St. Louis bay) bridge are now allowing us to connect. Biloxi's bridge will probably have a couple of lanes open this fall. I kind of laughed a little as I wrote this as when we cross the bridges there aren't many places to go except the casinos. The way we pronounce names or precede the names of the bayous like Bayou Bernard, Bayou Cassotte come from our french heritage. Now what is not widely known, we may pronounce bayou as ba-you or ba-yo ... choosing the one that rolls more smoothly when spoken. For instance, I used to live in Bayou View pronounced Ba-yo View. Maddening, isn't it? Yesterday, we (Dave, Anita and Kids) went on a casual outing to the park The little girl in red is Yvonne.

Beach Park

Where's the Water?

The splashpad was great for the kids and I enjoyed watching but I also took the pictures below of new construction or progressive construction in Pascagoula.

Beach Homes

Beach

Beach

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Miss. Gulf Coast Marks Milestone In Katrina Recovery With Bridge Opening

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Miss. Gulf Coast Marks Milestone In Katrina Recovery With Bridge Opening: "Residents of Mississippi's Gulf Coast were celebrating a milestone in the region's recovery from Hurricane Katrina on Thursday with the opening of a two-mile bridge that replaces one destroyed by the storm more than 20 months ago."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Suspect Surrenders In Moss Point Shooting

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Suspect Surrenders In Moss Point Shooting: "A suspect wanted in connection with a fatal shooting has surrendered to Moss Point police.

Police Detective Jeff Smith said Edward Brown of Moss Point, whose age was not available, was being held in the city jail pending an initial court appearance."

100 Homes in 100 Days hits halfway point, updates community on progress

100 Homes in 100 Days hits halfway point, updates community on progress: "PASCAGOULA -- Organizations supporting the 100 Homes in 100 Days project got their second wind Tuesday, marking the 51st day of the program's mission to repair or rebuild 100 homes in Pascagoula by July 4."

SunHerald.com : Lightning turns Taylor into fireman

SunHerald.com : Lightning turns Taylor into fireman: "WASHINGTON --
Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Bay St. Louis, was sleeping soundly early May 4 in his brother's house in Kiln when a lightning bolt cracked through the night sky."

Margaritaville To Become A Neighbor Of Grand Biloxi
Jimmy Buffett and Harrah's Entertainment announced a new partnership that opens in 2010. The $700 million expansion at Harrah's Grand Biloxi property will include a Margaritaville Casino and Resort. As Brad Kessie reports, Harrah's announcement reinforces a post Katrina promise it made to reinvest in Biloxi. And it brings some additional star power to the Biloxi casino market.

Coast under mental strain - The Clarion-Ledger

Coast under mental strain - The Clarion-Ledger: "'Yes, Mississippians are resilient,' he added. 'But they're also tired.'"

Everything is so depressing in our area that I had to force myself to go out today. Sure people are moving about ... taking care of business as usual. You and I know that there are people who don't seem to see the same things as another does. What do I see? I see the same residents that were on Beach Blvd. and Washington Ave. trying to make a comeback, I see people living in trailers outside their homes as they struggle with repairs just to make it habitable and I see glaring poverty. When I returned to my hometown in 2003, I decided to step at least onto the porch of an old house I had lived in with my parents and siblings. There was an older lady sitting in a rocker visiting with two younger women. I introduced myself and we chatted awhile. Rather sternly she said, "I hope you are not trying to buy this house because I won't sell, I love it." She continued, "Of course, it was much prettier before the highway came through and tore down homes and trees." The house was literally falling down but she saw beauty and I saw poverty. Katrina destroyed what was left of the house. No way could I have known that my impromptu visit was a final goodbye. Over the years, I have had beautiful homes and beautiful possessions. In 2005, I moved from my daughter's home and bought a modest little, old house and am quite comfortable living as simple as I do. How could I make such a transition one might ask. Simple .... I had already known poverty!

Beach

Beach

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Moss Point Police Seeking Suspect In Deadly Shooting

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Moss Point Police Seeking Suspect In Deadly Shooting: "Jackson County Coroner Vicki Broadus says Rananda Davis, 30, was shot once in the head. He was pronounced dead at Singing River Hospital around 2pm."

Today I don't have anything to write about that would be of much interest to anyone. Sometimes I wonder if anything I have blogged since November 2005 was found interesting. Then I realized that I am writing about living in the wake of Katrina and that it is just another chapter in MY life. Your life is probably being lived so much differently then mine. My daughter, Anita was always coming up with ideas on how we could entertain ourselves. The outings we went on were enjoyable but, after nearly 21 months, the ideas have dwindled. I guess I'll have to put my "thinking cap" on and come up with something different for Memorial Day.

Another daughter, Peggy, came to pick me up Friday and we visited every flower nursery in Gulfport. I also found a simple table and chairs for my backporch ... nothing fancy. I wanted to be able to use it to pot new plants and not worry about getting dirt on it.


Mother's Day was a good one. The daughters and grandkids gave me lots of flowers so I stayed home today to plant them. I also have read the local news and found nothing really interesting. Schools closing, schools merging. Grand plans from the cities as usual. Hopefully, tomorrow I will take pictures of new construction.

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: News & Video

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: News & Video: "Marsha Thompson Reports On Unused Homeland Security Management Center"

SunHerald.com : Mississippi natives have big plans for Coast tourism

SunHerald.com : Mississippi natives have big plans for Coast tourism: "BILOXI --
They were both born in Pascagoula but it was in Margaritaville where the paths of Jimmy Buffett and Charles Atwood finally met.

Atwood returns to the Coast this week as Harrah's Entertainment announces with grand style plans to expand onto the Biloxi beachfront. Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway said the announcement would come Tuesday."

Happy Mother's Day!

SunHerald.com : Mississippi soldier killed in Iraq

SunHerald.com : Mississippi soldier killed in Iraq: "JACKSON --
JACKSON - A Mississippi native serving in Iraq was killed by a roadside bomb Thursday.

The Department of Defense and the family of U.S. Army Sgt. Jason W. Vaughn confirmed his death Friday."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: More Chinese catfish samples test positive for illegal antibiotics

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: More Chinese catfish samples test positive for illegal antibiotics: "JACKSON, Miss. Seven more Mississippi grocery stores have been ordered to stop selling Chinese catfish after samples of the fish tested positive for illegal antibiotics."

Lately, I have been questioning why I persist in doing things that are bound to fail ... all odds against success. Then I reason that there is a slim chance for anybody to beat the odds and maybe it will be me. A reasonable person living in an area that has been in an ongoing drought would not plant delicate flowers but I do ... because a few may survive. The seemingly impossible can happen, it did today. My daughter saw that I had been putting statues and gazing balls in my flower beds so she offered me her concrete birdbath which I readily accepted. On my visit today I saw it was lying in the drive in two pieces waiting for my son-in-law to bring it to my house. On leaving I asked, "Anita can I take the birdbath?" She said, "Mom you can't lift concrete, even Dave has trouble." "The top alone is 200lbs. and the base is twice that." She continued loading the back of my car with plants she had given me from her yard. I walked over and easily picked up the top and brought it to the car and went to get the base. Yes, the base, was heavy and awkward but I picked it up and carried it to the car. I had help from my daughter sliding it into the car. We marvelled at what I had done. How could I, who finds carrying a gallon of milk heavy, carry concrete and not be winded? It's simple really ... I never thought for a moment that I couldn't do it. Before going home, I took pictures of new construction. The first two pictures are of the back of a house that faces the beach.

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Atlantic's First Named Storm Of 2007 Forms Early, 3 Weeks Before Season's Official Start

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Atlantic's First Named Storm Of 2007 Forms Early, 3 Weeks Before Season's Official Start: "The first named storm of the year formed Wednesday off the southeastern U.S. coast, more than three weeks before the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters said."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Turkey Creek Achieves Historic Designation

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Turkey Creek Achieves Historic Designation: "The occasion is national recognition of Turkey Creek and its addition to the National Register of Historic Places.

Modest homes now fill this community, which was organized by freed slaves just after the Civil War. Turkey Creek was nominated to the National Register two years ago."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Indiana Firm To Build Cottages For Mississippi Katrina Families

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Indiana Firm To Build Cottages For Mississippi Katrina Families: "Mike Womack, director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said the award for the Park Model cottages went to Forest River Housing Inc., of Elkhart, Ind."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Damaged Gulfport Condo Finally Cleared Off Waterfront

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Damaged Gulfport Condo Finally Cleared Off Waterfront: "What was left of Chateau de la Mer teetered on pilings just above Highway 90. And then, with a simple push of a track hoe shovel, the first battered and beaten section of the condo complex toppled over. Johnny Frazier runs EZ Haul, the company hired to tear down the condos."

SunHerald.com : Street repaving has four-year plan

SunHerald.com : Street repaving has four-year plan: "PASCAGOULA --
City leaders are sinking more than $1.4 million into paving projects over the next four years.

Brian Nelson, the city's public works director, said the city is focusing its efforts on the streets in worst shape."

New Construction - Pascagoula

M & M Bank

Pascagoula Library