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September 2, 2008


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NEWS

Hurricane Gustav Evacuees Land in Carroll County

By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com

LAVINIA - After an Amtrak ride from New Orleans to Memphis and a bus ride from Memphis to Lavinia, 533 hurricane evacuees from the New Orleans area found themselves at the military training base in Lavinia, part of the greater Milan Arsenal facility. By Sunday afternoon, the count dropped to 441 evacuees, who are free to come and go. Several were transported to the Greyhound station in Jackson where they were free to travel wherever as long as they provided their own money for the ticket.

Carroll County Mayor Kenny McBride said the buses initially rolled into the National Guard training facility at 4:30 a.m. Sunday with 533 tired and hungry persons on board. Evacuees are sleeping in barracks, most with air conditioning, said the mayor, however, the Red Cross only had potato chips available for them to eat when they arrived. At breakfast, McBride said the Red Cross had 600 sausage and biscuits delivered, which were quickly gone. After several calls by TEMA, food donations were provided by Cracker Barrel, Corky's Barbecue, and Mrs. Winners, said the mayor.

On Sunday, cooking teams from the Tennessee Baptist Convention prepared hot meals for the evacuees. The Guard opened the old Lavinia school for the cookers to have a place to sleep and the officers' barrack for them to shower.

The mayor said the Red Cross is in charge of the facility thanks to a contractual arrangement with the state. McBride expressed his displeasure with the Red Cross's management of the facility. They actually hindered the delivery of food and other services, according to McBride, who added the Red Cross had several days' notice to prepare for the evacuees.

Other service providers have worked admirably. He said TEMA, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Carroll County Emergency Management Agency, Department of Human Services, Carroll County Sheriff's Department, Carroll County Fire Department and the associated volunteers, First Responders, Northwest Tennessee Economic Development Rural Transportation, Tennessee National Guard, ATT and ATT's Pioneers, Southern Baptist Convention Cooking Team, and the Tennessee Health Department, which arranged to have physicians on site, all went above and beyond the call of duty. EMA Director Janice Newman, County Fire Chief Terry Bradshaw and staff worked 1.5 days without rest.

McBride said he hopes TEMA and the local emergency personnel can operate the evacuation shelters in the future. In fact, volunteer firefighters and First Responders have worked in the mess hall and served meals at the Red Cross center in Lavinia. But the level of their participation has been hindered by the Red Cross' oversight. "A lot of people are wanting to help," said McBride.

Hopefully the evacuees will be able to return home later this week, concluded the mayor.

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September 2, 2008