Folk Hero Sheriff could face criminal charges

[timNms]

It was very difficult during the first fews days post Katrina. In the small town of Seminary (4 miles south of me and about 18 miles north of Hattiesburg) there was no gas, no ice, no food, no water, no Red Cross, and no FEMA for 4 days. Residents were on their own. Although my imediate family and I had no ice or generator, we were ok. We had water and a few food items that we could make do with. However, my mother and her brother in law (my uncle) were hospice patients who needed breathing medications and oxygen. (Mom's house is next to mine and my uncle's was next ot her)Their nurse visited a day or two before the storm. Why she didn't make sure they had portable nebulizers and lots of oxygen, I don't know. We didn't see her again until almost 2 weeks after when we put my mom in the hospital and she showed up to say they were taking her off of the hospice program because she was in the hospital. My uncle passed away during the wee hours of the morning on Aug. 31st. I had to make my way to the hospital to get an ambulance so the medics could check him. His funeral was graveside because the funeral homes had no electricity. It was horrible.

My wife, a nurse at the local hospital could not even get to the hospital for a couple of days. When she got there, there was no running water and no a/c. Sam's brought in bottled water for the patients.

I said all of that to say this. You can bet your sweet hiney that I will be prepared should there ever be another "Katrina" type storm.

[MGC]

It would be impossible to prepare for a Katrina type storm. We had to evacuate my 78 yo Mom a second time to Baton Rouge because she need oxygen to survive (all those years of smoking). She only had say a day's worth of bottled oxygen. We thought she would be OK at my sisters house near Hammond LA but the power was out there for several day because of Katrina. I hope there is never another disaster like Katrina ever again.....MGC

[MSRobi911]

Well in my case I had penty of gallons of water in my van and at my house. I didn't take it all with me to the Courthouse where we stayed for the storm, again we had plenty of canned goods and ice stored at home in the freezers to be used afterwards BUT unfortunately my house was gone down to a slab, my car was flooded so I didn't trust the water and food that I had left in it so therefore we had what we took up to the fourth floor, a few plastic bags of groceries and some cokes. Fortunately we finally got to my Mom's in Moss Point 2 days after the storm and she was cooking everything in the world you can think of, from shrimp, fish, duck, peas, beans, etc. What she had in the freezer. We ate well for about 3 or 4 days after that, no refrigeration, no food saved. She had a gas stove thank goodness! We had no water except what she had gotten for herself and my brother, then she had 3 more of us with her. Robi got some water from the S.O. and we caught rain water to flush the toilets cause Moss Point's water didn't come on line for like 3 or 4 weeks. I remember my first shower, at my brother in laws house in Gautier cause he had water, no power but his hot water tank was in the attic so if you got in first you actually got semi warm water...man just to wash my hair! Kitty Cat baths for a week and a half were OLD!

So we were prepared, just not for Katrina's size and devistation. When we finally got ice and water in Jackson County Robi had 1 Deputy assigned to go sit in line at the fair grounds and load up a patrol car and bring it back and it was distributed to the Deputies and B.E.R.T. ( the emergency response team from florida that was here before the RedCross and FEMA) and if the old people in the neighborhood came up or young mothers came up we gave them ice and water. I cried many buckets of tears because I had no formula to give to these mothers to feed their babies. When the churches got some relief supplies I knew where to send people and my 76 year old mother at that time worked 12 hours a day at the church giving out food and clothes.

If you weren't here, you just don't know and words can not express what we went through or felt. Still to this day there are many people that Katrina is affecting. I will include my family in that group and all my friends. I could go on and on but I won't, (I know ya'll are thankful ).

The Sheriff did what he had to do, just as the people in Jackson Cty did what they had to do and the people in NO did what they had to do.

Mary

Thanks Dionne for giving out that water, I know those people appreciated it. My brother and sister both came from Florida with supplies every couple of days and when we got what we needed, they went to street corners in Pascagoula and handed out water and toys for the kids and food for people and shoes.....those people were so excited to get ANYTHING they were so thankful. I shared 3 packs of panties with the ladies at the sheriffs department because no one could wash clothes and everything had been flooded out and no power and no water. No one cared if they were sized 12 and you wear a size 6 or 7 they were CLEAN!

[Dionne]

MsRobi.....oh we laughed hard!!! One of the primary clothing items in our travel bags is underwear. Once you've been down that road you begin to understand advance planning. And while I hate to admit it....those handi-wipes work pretty darn good when it's 98F and the toilet went bye-bye.

[Cookiely]

Maybe the guardsman wanted to be cuffed so he wasn't accused of going against orders.

[NFLDART]

Whatever happened to civilian authority and local rule?

[Dionne]

Whatever happened to civilian authority and local rule?

Things just kind of fell apart.....you had to do it on your own or it wouldn't get done. Know this.....Katrina taught me some lessons. I am very prepared these days. I refuse to get caught with my pants down again.