Roths make Longfellow a residence for first time since 1938

Roths make Longfellow a residence for first time since 1938: "PASCAGOULA -- The Drs. Roth made history this week when they purchased the Longfellow House, making it the first time in almost 70 years that the national landmark will be used as a private residence.

Randy and Tracy Roth, both Pascagoula physicians, closed on the Beach Boulevard property Thursday. The property was listed for $750,000. It was not known Friday how much the house sold for.

After Hurricane Katrina wrecked their previous historic Beach Boulevard home, the Roths and their five children have been renting a house in Mobile."

The Sun Herald | 06/13/2006 | Hard not to envy Alberto's rains

The Sun Herald | 06/13/2006 | Hard not to envy Alberto's rains: "As tropical storm Alberto closes in on the coast of Florida, it is hard not to envy some of those in its path.

Here in South Mississippi, it sometimes seems as if what Katrina did not wash away last year is going to be burned away this year.

As the first named tropical weather system of the 2006 hurricane season, Alberto's bands of rain would be a godsend to this parched coastline.

Yes, yes. We know. Be careful what you wish for."

This is all that is left of my aquatic plant, the papyrus. We have had droughts before but this one is extreme. Although I know my watering the plants and lawn every day has no beneficial effect, I am hoping that I will have enough of a moisture barrier to protect my house when the neighborhood goes up in flames. You don't think that will work do you? Neither do I but, as I have said before, I will not stand by and do nothing.

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Trump To Bring Casino Resort To Diamondhead

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Trump To Bring Casino Resort To Diamondhead: "Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. and Diamondhead Casino Corporation announced Monday that they intend to form a joint partnership to develop, build and operate a casino resort in Diamondhead.

The resort would be built on a minimum of 40 acres within a 404-acre tract of land owned by Mississippi Gaming Corporation, a subsidiary of Diamondhead Casino Corporation. The property fronts Interstate 10 for about two miles and the Bay of St. Louis for two miles."

Reliving Katrina

It was August 29, 2005 that the above picture was taken from the 2nd floor of my daughter's home in Delmas Estates in Pascagoula, MS. I had wanted to evacuate, not out of fear that anything was going to happen, more from just wanting to go somewhere. Maybe treat everyone to a good meal and relax in a hotel where we didn't have to make the bed or swelter in the heat when the power goes out. Waiting on a hurricane is not "fun", we were not going to have a "hurricane party". It's a miserable way to exist. Their reason for staying was the daughter had a new baby girl born on August 12th and three other young children. The newborn would not have gotten proper care at the most fragile time in an infant's life. After envisioning myself driving on the highways alone and not wanting to leave them, I decided to stay.

The day was overcast with very little rain and amazingly it was cold. We wore sweaters. My daughter was preparing to make us a big breakfast when the oven must have browned out or something because the biscuits would not rise. Was very strange as the power stayed on until about an hour and a half before the water came. Shoot! No need to tell you that we didn't have biscuits again for many weeks after the storm.

Katrina and Me

Although the link above offers some insight into the terror that was to unfold on that fateful day, there was much more observed by me and my personal feelings at the time. When the water started rushing down the street and quickly filled the yards in the neighborhood, I was bewildered, as I had never seen anything like this. Where was the water coming from? I will admit there was a moment of exhilaration before the fright began. Everything happened so quickly. I recall us frantically scampering back and forth not sure what we should do... or could do. We did have the presence of mind to get the children upstairs as the water climbed the front steps and started entering the house. I thank God that the front door held and let the water come in with less force instead of rushing in with a force that would have been deadly. When I became really frightened was when I heard the outside water gurgling up through the slab into the house. We were going to die, this could not be happening. All the pillows and blankets from our shelter in the downstairs hallway were floating freely around the house, the family car in the garage shorted out. Later Dave's truck in the drive would be completely submerged. We were trapped, water was surrounding us. No way to escape.

An elderly couple in their mid eighties lived in the house depicted above. As we watched the water rise to their roof we had to literally hold Dave back. He wanted to try to get them out, we didn't know then that they were in the attic. The raging water had risen too high for even Dave who stands at 6ft. 7 in height. It didn't dawn on him that he couldn't swim. He wouldn't have stood a chance.

As we sat on the upstairs landing, we prayed constantly calling on a miracle from God to spare us. When George, the oldest of the boys, cried and said, "I don't want to die", my heart crumbled as he put a voice to my fear. We were all going to drown. I was the only one who could swim but not well enough to save everyone but I know I would have tried. It wasn't a smooth flowing water, it was a raging water that would have smashed anyone that was in it up against trees, houses and entangled them in the debris from destroyed houses.

Had the water broken out the windows we would have all drowned and the force of the water would have collapsed the house. The backporch has a waterline of 8 ft. There are over 100 homes in Delmas Estates. All were gutted and all cars were destroyed. The miracle ... no lives were lost.

My home survived with little damage so Dave, Anita and their children stayed 12 days with me before returning to work on their home.

And so we continue to this day reliving the horror of Katrina and the present chaos of her aftermath.

.

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: First Named Storm Of Hurricane Season Swirls Toward Florida

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: First Named Storm Of Hurricane Season Swirls Toward Florida: "The first named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season strengthened slightly in the Gulf of Mexico early Monday, prompting tropical storm warnings for the dry Florida coast.

Tropical Storm Alberto had maximum sustained wind near 50 mph, well below hurricane strength of 74 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. At 8 a.m., the storm was centered 240 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola and was moving north-northeast at about 8 mph, forecasters said."

This post is simply to ask, "Where is our humidity"? It is 94 degrees in Pascagoula and the humidity is 41%. Very strange happenings with our weather on the coast. It is as though we are becoming a desert. I sure would like to hear an explanation of why this is occurring.

Also my daughter and I had been experiencing excessive hair loss for the past nine months and, for us both, it stopped a few days ago. I had gone to a doctor about it and he said that stress could cause hair to fall out. The stress has not ceased so it couldn't have been the cause. I ask, "What was"?

The daughter and her family have been sick with different maladies for the nine months as have I. Speaking for myself, it seemed when my hair stopped falling that once again I felt remarkably like my old self. My energy level is high, no clogged sinuses and all joint pains are gone. The only thing I am still experiencing is the sleepiness.

We did not have the opportunity to be with lots of people to compare how we were feeling healthwise nor were any problems ever discussed in the news. All I have to do is recall the pesticides, that were washed from garages and deposited not only in our soil but absorbed through our skin, to make me wonder how contaminated we were. Whatever the cause, I am feeling better and hope it continues through the long haul of recovery.

GCN - General News Update

GCN - General News Update: "The U.S. Census reports that they estimate nearly 50,000 people have left the Coast's three counties since Hurricane Katrina. That figure may be too high report some local officials who believe the census figures do not represent people that will be returning to their homes later. The report showed that Harrison County lost over 30,000 people.

The U.S. Census Bureau this week released post-Katrina population loss estimates for South Mississippi. They are:
County 2005 2006 Change
Hancock 46,240 35,129 Down 11,111
Jackson 134,249 126,311 Down 7,938
Harrison 186,530 155,817 Down 30,713




While it is certain that many people have left the Coast perhaps forever, it is also true that many will return to build again. GCN received the following from a resident:

Received 6/8/06

I have lived in Hancock County for the past 19yrs. As a child growing up in New Orleans my summers were spent in Bay St.Louis. Because of that I moved here in 1987. I worked for the New Orleans Police department from 1974 until 1996 when I retired under a disability pension. I sat through many hurricanes as a child and later working some of them as a police officer. Even though we did not actually have one hit New Orleans we were always prepared (supposely). My family and I are going to live back in Hancock county but about 30 miles from the beach( our house was 2 miles north of the beach). I have seen a lot in my 50yrs but can tell you that I have never seen more togetherness between people here is Mississippi that was shown from Hurricane Katrina. All eyes are on New Orleans but I can tell you that city will never come together as the coast of Mississippi has. Maybe all the elected officials in Washington needs to spend some time on the coast and see how true Americans can work together. I am proud to be a Mississippian( transplanted) and all I can say is that we will move forward and show the rest of the World we can survive.


Randy Leitz
Perkinston,Ms.39573

________________"

It is almost 10AM in the morning and I just woke up. This is something very unusual for me as I am an "early bird". But as this storm and all the problems associated with it continue I think my sleeping has become an escape. I have no proof that others may be experiencing the same thing but it holds true with my daughter and her family. I can't pinpoint with any accuracy what is happening but for example, if I go to bed at 3AM in the morning, I wake up at 10AM. If I give in to the overwhelming desire to take a nap at 5PM in the afternoon, I wake up at 10AM the next morning. My "take" on this has a very simple answer. Since Katrina there are too many "lacks" in our lives. To be alive is to be antimated with normal chores, normal recreation and a normal hope for the future. When our lives return to "normal" , our bodily clocks will reset.

I oft times experience the feeling that somehow we must be thought of as having caused more problems for our country at a time when the seriousness of Iraq should be the most prevalent issue but, unfortunately, a disaster did happen and our problems are great. I have no doubt that there will be many books written on how we survived Katrina.

We are in a drought and one so bad that it has stripped the humidiity from our air. A great portion of the United States is in drought conditions. There have been tornadoes, sand storms and more hurricanes are likely to threaten all of the coastlines this season. We all live with the horror of the war in Iraq and the murders, child molestations and pornography that are increasing at an alarming rate in our country. When Mississippi cried for the government to help us they responded to many of the issues we have but our problems can overwhelm anyone. There were no rules for the unprecedented, how could there be?

Dave, Anita and I still look for diversion in our lives and we have something planned for next Friday in Mobile, Al. GC Exploreum Science Center

GCN - General News Update

GCN - General News Update: "The financial situation in Hancock County is particularly dire according to a report by the Sea Coast Echo. In a recent meeting, Hancock County officials met with county officials from Harrison and Jackson Counties, which despite tightly straining budgets, are offering some assistance to Hancock County, which was 'Ground Zero' for Hurricane Katrina. Hancock County officials say the county is about $4.5 million dollars short this budget year, which will end in October. Next year is even worse as officials expect a shortfall between $10 million to $16 million, of a budget that normally runs around $34 million. 'We feel like about October 16, we are going to be belly-up,' said Hancock County Board of Supervisors President Rocky Pullman. Of the 19,000 homes in the county, 10,000 were destroyed by Katrina. Officials from Jackson and Harrison counties agreed to help with some of the road work, street signs, and manpower issues."

The Sun Herald | 06/08/2006 | Mississippi Guardmen should take precautions due to stolen information

The Sun Herald | 06/08/2006 | Mississippi Guardmen should take precautions due to stolen information: "JACKSON - Mississippi National Guard soldiers and airmen should monitor credit card statements, checking accounts and credit reports in the wake of a massive theft of soldiers' personal information from a Veterans Affairs employee, Guard officials say.

The Veterans Administration said last month that a laptop stolen from an employee contained the personal information of thousands of veterans, but a new disclosure warns that almost all military personnel -- active, Guard and Reserve -- could be affected.

No identity theft related to the security breach has been reported, the U.S. Department of Defense said.

'I think we should take a common sense approach and monitor credit card statements, and perform regular checks on credit reports and banking accounts,' said Lt. Col. Tim Powell, a Mississippi Guard spokesman.

Powell told The Associated Press that the Defense Department is working to notify anyone who may be at risk of identity theft."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Primary "A Chore Getting Started"

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Primary "A Chore Getting Started": "A set of steps along Highway 90 in west Gulfport once took people to the main floor of the Charles Walker Senior Center. On past election days, the complex became a voting precinct. And then Katrina wiped it off election commission maps.

Frances Underwood was a fixture at the Walker center during previous elections.

'I've been over there for 20-something years, 22 years. So it's really odd,' she said.

Underwood's precinct moved from the waterfront to fire station number two on 42nd Avenue. She had no complaints about the new set up. Her problem was with the democrats turnout for its Senate race primary. Three poll workers could count the number of morning voters on one hand."

Just a short note to all of you that read my blog. Sometimes I have to just take a break from all the "reporting" I have been doing on my hometown and surrounding areas to psyche myself up to continue. We have been enduring the hardships of Katrina's aftermath not only in our waking hours but at times in restless sleep and troubled dreams about our uncertain future. Someone recently asked me, "What do you think will happen?" Personally, I am free to offer a conjecture based entirely only on what I have read and seen from day to day. The working class, heart of any city, are not being focused on as they should be. There is so much "red tape" involved that is delaying the rebuilding of their homes. Much of that "red tape" is impossible to comply with, so they are forced to leave and take up residency elsewhere. Then there are the "diehards" like me who refuse to give up their freedom to live where they choose. But then I ask myself, "Are we really free"? There is eminent domain lurking in the background that can take that freedom away. I read about the casinos and condos and the chance that the Coast has to be a playground where the mega wealthy can come on a "holiday" while the remaining citizens who have managed to "hang on" could still be residing in a FEMA trailer that they would be paying rent on along with the mortgage on their destroyed homes. Although the casinos can put people to work again, there are people who held other jobs. Most locally owned businesses are not operational.. After nine months of not seeing much progress, my optimism for a bright future has dimmed considerably.

There have been no concrete answers on any of the problems that exist here. "Just a whole lot of waiting going on". Hey! That reminds me of a song so I will end on that note!

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Lack Of Ice Melting Start Of Shrimp Season

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Lack Of Ice Melting Start Of Shrimp Season: "Battered and beaten shrimp boats that survived Katrina are about to embark on a journey into familiar, yet uncharted waters. And Joey Wilson can't wait.

'You don't want to miss the first day,' the owner of the Capn Roy said.

Wednesday morning, his shrimp nets will trawl Mississippi waters again. If the nets don't get knotted up by hurricane debris, the season should get off to a plentiful start. At least that's what William Parker was told.

'A lot of the shrimpers say there are nice, big shrimp out there,' the recreational shrimper said.

But at the Ocean Springs Harbor where Parker's boat is docked, shrimpers know the size of their catch won't matter if they have no way to freeze it.

'If we don't get no ice, we won't be heading out,' Bobby Wilson said."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Awarding Of Bids To Rebuild Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge Pending

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Awarding Of Bids To Rebuild Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge Pending: "Countless tours of the hurricane devastated Gulf Coast have ended here, at the base of what was the Biloxi Ocean Springs Bridge.

'Seeing pictures is one thing but to be live looking at just the volume of it and the extent of it,' says Don Raths of Chicago, Illinois. 'It just seems more real.'

As a structural engineer Raths has a unique perspective on the extent of damage done to this vital artery turned tourist attraction.

'It was enlightening to see what the surge did to the precast concrete structures,' says Raths. 'You can see it moved the bridge deck literally 15 feet to the north and picked it up then it collapsed off the piers on one end.'

But very soon work will finally begin to remove the rubble and erect a new bridge."

I Will Survive

It is 10AM and I sit before my PC trying to put my thoughts into descriptive words that will give you an insight into many issues, big and small, that make up a day in the life of ONE survivor of a disaster. Although there are many survivors of this hurricane, we each have our own particular stories to tell. You would have to read my entire blog to know the personality that I possess. It has always been one of "I can do that". .. and I do. Whether I fail or not .. I give it a try. When Katrina blew in and caused such massive destruction to our areas, there was my overwhelming desire to help so I chose to write about the storm and get as much as I could out to the public on what has happened here. I did volunteer work, for a short time, to help my neighbor and, by far, the most asinine thing I attempted, without formal training, was to become a self made journalist. At first I was just writing about my experience, as I thought it would be great therapy but, when my daughter presented me with a digital camera, I became serious about depicting the local happenings complete with pictures. You may have noticed that I blog many articles written by real journalists. So this is a formal disclaimer to say I am not certified. Also I would like you to know that although I live each day in a disaster area, I do not get to put my name on a waiting list to get help as I don't qualify for anything, but still I wait like everyone else. The many volunteers who have come to our state in the last nine months can not go door to door and ask how they can help you, they must go through the proper channels. So, at times, I struggle.

I love working in the yards but there are days when I do not feel up to the task and before Katrina I would hire someone to come and do the job. That has become an impossibility now. My equipment is a riding lawnmower and an electric weedeater that does not cut the grass, it flattens it. My rider is a heck of a lot of fun to ride but there is a slight danger to me as the front yard is on an incline. I fear it will throw me off one day and run over me. Sounds like paranoia doesn't it? I agree, but you see, a week ago last Thursday I went to the metal cabinet in the garage to get a light bulb to change a burned out one in a lamp. When I opened the door all the contents started spilling out and in my attempt to stop some of the breakage, I injured my wrist and part of my hand. At the top of my hand you will see a white clean cut line which is actually missing flesh.


At the present writing it has healed nicely. I intend to disguise the missing part with a tiny bandaid. So you see, if changing a lightbulb can do this, can you imagine what the lawnmower could do to me. The job I did today was relatively simple except for the fumes I inhaled while spraying, with intent to kill, the weeds growing in the cracks in the driveway.

The Sun Herald | 06/03/2006 | Money coming in from all over for Pascagoula

The Sun Herald | 06/03/2006 | Money coming in from all over for Pascagoula: "To help Pascagoula's recreation department recover, cities have sent various financial contributions, with the most recent donation of $13,150 from Salisbury, N.C., for the purchase of recreation equipment lost in the storm.

Residents of Salisbury were among the first to arrive in Pascagoula to help it recover in the days after the storm.

Pascagoula officials said residents of Salisbury held fundraising events to raise money they later donated to the Flagship City."

Longfellow House Sold

Sale of historic Longfellow House nearly complete

Sale of historic Longfellow House nearly complete: "For decades Longfellow House has been used for weddings, receptions and other social functions.

The last time it was used as a private residence was by former Mayor Frank Canty, who bought the home in 1938, said Liz Ford, chairwoman of the Pascagoula Historic Preservation Commission.

Around 1940, Canty sold it to Robert Ingalls, founder of Ingalls Shipbuilding. Ingalls used the Longfellow as a place for visiting dignitaries and other guests and eventually added the restaurant, bar, hotel and swimming pool, said Ford, who enjoyed many summers during her youth there.

'It was a really important part of so many of our summer lives back then,' she said.

The Longfellow is the only beachfront antebellum structure standing from Mobile to New Orleans after Katrina, Ford added."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Four Dead In Military Helicopter Crash In Georgia

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Four Dead In Military Helicopter Crash In Georgia: "A military helicopter clipped a rural Georgia television station tower and crashed Thursday morning, killing four soldiers on a training mission, officials said."