Wild Hog

Wild Hog
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Wabbit season?
Duck season?
No. Porky season!

Too Much Time on Your Hands

pic19490
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

I saw this pic on a message board.

"What happens when you:
1) have nothing to do
2) own a sharp knife
3) have a large lime
4) own a patient cat
5) drink too much tequila
6) and it's football season?"

Buck

Buck
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Oh yeah!

Not Camera Shy

doe
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

You could tell in the picture before this one she was getting curious. She couldn't stand it.

We were DAMN close to disaster!

CINCINNATI, OHIO, September 14, 2005—The Procter & Gamble Company's Folgers brand (NYSE:PG) today announced that, having garnered access to its four separate facilities in the New Orleans area late last week for an initial damage assessment, it hopes to restore some operations at its coffee production soon. More than 50 employees and 50 contractors already are working at the Folgers plant, repairing equipment, restoring phone lines and ensuring a water-tight facility. The New Orleans plant organization has secured 150 trailers that will be used as temporary housing and will provide free meals to employees. Folgers is committed to restarting its operations in New Orleans where it has had a presence for 45 years.

"I'm excited to be back at work and to help get the plant operating again to rebuild our community," said Bart Blackston, a plant employee at P&G.

Additionally, the Port of New Orleans opened Tuesday afternoon; the first boat to enter the port included a shipment of Folgers coffee.

The company also notified retailers Monday that there may be temporary supply restrictions resulting from the impact of Hurricane Katrina on several of its coffee production and storage facilities in the affected regions. Folgers and Millstone® coffee may be temporarily unavailable or may appear on-shelf in different packaging until operations resume. "We are doing everything we can to ensure that America's #1 coffee* will be back in stock soon, and we appreciate our consumers' and customers' patience as we help our employees and the community get back on their feet," said Doug McGraw, Vice President Global Coffee for P&G.

Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Looks as the Highway 90 roadblock in Gulfport is gone, except for the debris, which must be everywhere. This was the Grand Casino barge blown onto the highway by Katrina. It was emploded earlier this week.

Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Gotta get the camera off the ground!

DSC_0012
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Another trail cam pic, Monday, around 7 p.m.

turkeys
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Pix get better and better.

Give him hell ref!

Give him hell ref!
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Never thought I'd see Polly in a ref shirt after Friday night!

Hurricane Help from N.M.

An email from my cousin in Albuquerque, N.M.

We did a food drive this week at Hannah and Xa's school for Roadrunner Food Bank, our local America's Second Harvest food bank affiliate. Brought about because of hurricane relief and press releases put out by RFB. They expect to be called upon in the next couple of weeks, as well as many other food banks radiaiting out away from the southeastern US, to help deliver food to the area's own food banks as they run low on or run out of their own stockpiles.

We also held what we called a Challenge Day this morning where several PTO officers, myself included, brought our vans & SUVS to "fill up" what we could take to RFB this morning. We ended up filling the back of my van and another mom's SUV in the course of an hour and a half. We also had muffins, donuts, fruit and juice for those who dropped off stuff.

RFB weighed our donation and we ended up netting 520 pounds of food and cleaning supplies. Given that a number of families in our school are themselves recipients of RFB resources on a regular basis, we feel pretty good about that. And for a lot of us being so far away, it gave us a tangible way to help.

Lightning?

lightning
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

I figure that's all it can be. A thunderstorm with lots of lighting came through around this time, about 9-9:30 Thursday night.

Daring Daytime Devil

raccoon
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Gotcha

TURKEY2
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

I've seen your feathers. Now I know you're there. Say your prayers.

SS Camille

sscamille
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

It's strange what survives in Gulfport. This shrimp boat was pushed across U.S. 90 during Hurricane Camille, and remained as a gift shop. Still there. Notice the new addition to the neighborhood, a huge-ass barge. I saw barges on the beach 3 days after Camille hit.

Sharkshead's Gifts

sharkshead
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Anybody remember Sharkshead's Gift Shop in Biloxi? The entrance was a huge shark's mouth. This is it after Katrina.

They're Back

dolphins
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Wow!

(From the Gulfport, MS Oceanarium website)

Eight Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins who were swept away by a tidal wave after their tank was submerged by Hurricane Katrina suddenly reappeared close to the ruins of Marine Life Oceanarium ten days after the storm.

Amazingly, this past Saturday the dolphin families were discovered at the mouth of the Port of Gulfport. Shelly, Kelly, Jill, Noah, Tamara, Toni, Jackie, and Elijah have been fed for the past three days by their trainers and have been placed on antibiotics and vitamins while health tests results are pending.

Marine Life, with the help of NOAA, DMR, Coast Guard, the Harrison County Sheriff, and the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies staff will rescue the animals within the next few days.

The public is reminded that it is a federal offense to approach dolphins
or harass them. We request that everyone please stay away from the mouth of the state port.

Better Pix

Trail Cam
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

One of the basic rules of photography: Move the camera closer, get a better pic.

First

Deer
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

The first trail cam pic of the year.

Butane

Butane has gone up about 16-17 percent since March. I ordered a tankful today to be delivered within the next week. $2.07 a gallon versus $1.79 in March. Get it while you can still almost afford it.

Dolphin Pool

IMG_3786
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

The pool inside the Oceanarium in the Gulfport Harbor.
All photos on this blog (save the one of the photographer himself) by Josh Norman.
http://www.dancingwithkatrina.blogspot.com/

Wall Street Journal Editorial

Blame Amid the Tragedy
Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin failed their constituents.

BY BOB WILLIAMS
Wednesday, September 7, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT

As the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues to shock and sadden the nation, the question on many lips is, Who is to blame for the inadequate response?

As a former state legislator who represented the legislative district most impacted by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, I can fully understand and empathize with the people and public officials over the loss of life and property.

Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible--local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin.

The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his emergency operations center.

The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved.

In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a simulated hurricane drill 13 months ago, in which widespread flooding supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside New Orleans. The exercise simulated the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in the simulation apparently were not solved.

A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan. Again, they did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected.

The New Orleans contingency plan is still, as of this writing, on the city's Web site, and states: "The safe evacuation of threatened populations is one of the principle [sic] reasons for developing a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan." But the plan was apparently ignored.

Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation and supervising the actual evacuation: His Office of Emergency Preparedness (not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation.

The city's evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas." But even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed." This was not done.

The evacuation plan warned that "if an evacuation order is issued without the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area impacted by toxic materials." That is precisely what happened because of the mayor's failure.

Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result people died, and there was even rape committed, in these facilities. Mayor Nagin failed in his responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation of the citizens of New Orleans. Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement is for the city's emergency center to be linked to the state emergency operations center. This was not done.

The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid.

In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that thousands of people died because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to implement the state plan, which mentions the possible need to evacuate up to one million people. The plan clearly gives the governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending in state resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal assistance.

State legislators and governors nationwide need to update their contingency plans and the operation procedures for state emergency centers. Hurricane Katrina had been forecast for days, but that will not always be the case with a disaster (think of terrorist attacks). It must be made clear that the governor and locally elected officials are in charge of the "first response."

I am not attempting to excuse some of the delays in FEMA's response. Congress and the president need to take corrective action there, also. However, if citizens expect FEMA to be a first responder to terrorist attacks or other local emergencies (earthquakes, forest fires, volcanoes), they will be disappointed. The federal government's role is to offer aid upon request.

The Louisiana Legislature should conduct an immediate investigation into the failures of state and local officials to implement the written emergency plans. The tragedy is not over, and real leadership in the state and local government are essential in the months to come. More importantly, the hurricane season is still upon us, and local and state officials must stay focused on the jobs for which they were elected--and not on the deadly game of passing the emergency buck.

Mr. Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a free market public policy research organization in Olympia, Wash.

Mississippi Trip

Location: Ellisville, MS–90 miles south of Jackson, 90 miles north of Gulfport.
Jones County, which includes Ellisville and Laurel, was the hardest hit area after New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Sunday morning, on the way, I topped off the truck's gas tank in Tallulah, approximately $2.59 per gallon. No limit.
Started seeing a few downed trees just west of Jackson. Not much. Started seeing more south of Jackson.
Topped off tank again in Magee, MS, $2.49 per gallon, $70 limit. More trees down along U.S. 49.
Collins, MS, about 20 miles north of Hattiesburg–lots of trees and power lines down. Outside Collins is a huge oil storage complex, and also where two major pipelines come through from the West, heading East. Was told later FEMA had taken over the plant.
The closer we got to Ellisville, the more trees were down. Had finally talked to my aunt Saturday night at 7. She said they were okay, and that my parents' house was okay. But the closer I got, the more I worried.
Finally in Ellisville at noon Sunday. It's about the size of Hamburg, maybe a little larger. The highway going into town off I-59 was lined with downed trees and lines. Saw one tree on that street on a house.
Got to the house. It's fine. I can breathe again. A neighbor's tree came through the board fence in the back and flattened a pear tree, and most of the fence. A limb fell from a pine tree on the vacant lot next door and bent a cyclone fence. Not much damage. Lifted the limb and threw it back where it belonged.
Saw shingles in yard. Looked at the roof, everything was fine. Finally saw they came from Methodist Church across the street.
Get in the house, and go in the kitchen. I heard something. Told Andrew to listen–the refrigerator was running. The house had power, about one of maybe six houses in town. We're on the same line as the hospital. Forgot it was always one of the first-on in town after a storm because of the hospital. Immediately turned the AC on.
Checked on Uncle Charles, 4 miles south of town. His daughter and son-in-law had come in from Tyler, TX. He was fine. Had one tree on carport, 100 trees down in his yard. Two aunts on other side of family fine; trying to save freezers with generators. One lost one, trying desperately to save the other. Took them each five gallons of gas. More proud to see that than anything else.
On the trip back home, on 49 north to Jackson, saw maybe 15 separate National Guard Convoys, maybe 75 fuel tankers in all with them. Also saw 50-60 Indiana State Police cars around Jackson headed South. Thank you.
Saw incident command vehicles from Baltimore between Laurel and Ellisville, included fire department command, police command, ambulances and two FEMA vehicles. Thank you, too.
Monday morning at 8:30, waited in line for 45 minutes to get $30 limit of gas at $2.49 per gallon to get back to Arkansas. Ellisville had 7 p.m. curfew because of F'n looters. Guard, police, etc., letting in cars one at a time, in one way and out the other.
Most yards had fallen, but most, as I said before, were on the ground, not on houses. It was awful to see my hometown hit like that. But at the same time, it was a relief at the same town.
Will probably rent the house. That's what I should have already done, but it's hard to let go. If I rent it, I feel like I can't go back home.
My second cousin's brother-in-law and his wife are building a house. Supposed to be ready by end of the year, but now it will probably take longer. The house they were living in is now unlivable. They need a place to stay for about six months, I need somebody to live in the house and take care of it. That's the best thing I can do–let somebody take care of it for me for right now.

driveway
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

The driveway leading to where my grandparents used to live.

tree
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

This tree crashed through my back yard fence in Ellisville, MS.

House Update

Finaly got through to my aunt Saturday night. She said they were fine and my house was fine. Got there Sunday at noon and left Monday at noon. House is fine. A big oak in the neighbor's house crashed through a six-foot cedar board fence, ruined the fence. Have somebody getting the tree out of the yard since I can't stay and do it.
I saw only two yards in town that had no trees down. It looks like a tree-targeting nuclear bomb hit town. More later.

Family

I Googled my cousin in Pascagoula, called, and her daughter answered! I broke down when I heard her voice. Talked to my cousin, Sandy. She and her family there are fine, house is fine, lots of trees. My uncle in Ellisville, her father, is fine, his house is fine, but his yard, in the country, has about 100 trees down, only one on the carport.
They didn't know about my house. I will find out Sunday. Andrew and I are leaving bright and early to see. We may crank the generator and stay Sunday night. We may let my aunt and cousins have the generator and return Sunday night. I just hope my parents' house is okay. I'm scared to see it, but I've got to.
Will take camera. I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures to take.

before
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

Before

after
Originally uploaded by sanscript.

After

No Title

I still can't get through to relatives in Ellisville, MS, 90 miles north of Gulfport. All phones are out. I did talk to a radio dispatcher in Laurel, about 7 miles north. I couldn't believe I was actually talking to someone in Mississippi. But she didn't have much info.

A Hamburg trucking company has a driver who lives in Ellisville. They're trying to get in touch with him for me so he can check on the house, but he wasn't home when they first tried him.

Worried about the relatives, of course. Last time I talked to my aunt on Monday at 3 p.m., she said they were right in the middle of it. The carport door had just blown away and the windows under the carport had blown out. My cousin had a tree down on his carport.

My mother's sister and her daughter are staying up the road at her grandaughter's house. I just wish I could talk to them. Will probably make a one-day run Sunday.

The Oceanarium where Andrew and I were about two weeks ago is gone. The dolphin pool is empty. The dolphins were evacuated to a Best Western pool across the highway, and are believed to be fine.

Look at the before and after pictures of the Oceanarium. The aquarium is gone. Most everything in Gulfport and Biloxi are gone.

Supposed to be 90 percent power poles down in Ellisville; probably no power for 4-6 weeks, trees down everywhere. If I make it Sunday, and if it still stands, I'll go in the shop in the back yard, get the generator, and take it to my aunt and cousins. I'll take water and canned food to them, too. Lord, I hope they don't need it.

$3.28

$3.28 a gallon for gas in Hamburg.

If someone in Gulfport or New Orleans sold water for $20 a gallon, they would be arrested for price gouging.

I want to sign an affidavit for all oil barons.