Red Tape

I had a small taste of "red tape frustration" today. FEMA operates a camp which host volunteers who are here to help with disaster relief. I have been trying to do a story about the camp, as there are about 42 Tennesseans who are currently living there this week. After several days of trying, I finally reached the right person with FEMA and set up the story . I even lined up a local volunteer to meet me at 7:50 this morning.

When I get to the gate, ready to meet my volunteer, the security guard had no clue what I was talking about. Long story short, after multiple phone calls an hour and a half of standing around and an act of congress, FEMA finally gave me the all clear.

Once I finally got to take a tour of the camp I saw how great it is. Because of the volume of construction workers, people with no homes, and the up coming Marti Graus celebrations there are no hotel rooms available. Volunteers can stay at the camp at no cost and get three meals a day. Every thing else you could possibly need is provided from linens and towels to laundry detergent and washing machines.

If you ever thought you would want to come down to help out the time has never been better. There is still a big need for help and you can stay for free with no reason to spend any money at all.

New Orleans

I got into New Orleans Sunday evening after a nine hour drive. Looking into neighborhoods during the drive here, you notice roofs everywhere still covered with blue tarps. We got up Monday at 3am to be ready for the morning news cast. I don't think I would enjoy working that early on a regular basis. The only good thing about being up that early is seeing the sunrise. Both mornings have had really pretty sunrises.
Monday I did a story about a pastor from Tennessee who is working with the New Orleans Salvation Army. In fact there are about 42 Tennesseans down here working with the Salvation Army preparing hot meals and taking them out to the people of New Orleans. It is great to see people helping people. There is such a big need for volunteers. This area will need help for quite some time. The level of destruction is overwhelming. We drove through a whole community that was flooded out. You can still see the water line on all the houses and buildings.

New Orleans Trip

I'm getting ready to head back down to Louisiana.


I'll be down in New Orleans with Neil Orne and Boyd Sadler for a week. Neil will be doing some anchoring for the morning show from there and we'll both be doing stories through Friday. Including two previous work trips I been to Louisianan four times already. I've been fortunate to have been able to go to Slidell twice with a group from my church. Check out the pictures taken in December. I'm on the left on the end of the group photo. The houses are a common site.
I'll keep you posted about this trip. I'm looking forward to revisiting some areas where Neil and I were during the aftermath of Katrina.