December 2006
Not much done at the camp this trip other than some more cleanup and debris removal. My neighbor advised getting a Right of Entry (ROE) permit to have some big storm-killed trees at the edge of my property removed as a safety hazard. This is different than the ROE for the Corps of Engineers to remove the initial storm damage that had already been accomplished. He told me where to apply for the new ROE. So I went there, a temporary trailer complex where all the city/county offices are currently operating. I spoke with a person who said I needed a copy of the warranty deed to get a permit. Another hoop to jump thru that didn't go well with me so I told her I'd forget the whole thing an let the trees fall wherever. Meanwhile, I was concerned about the taxes, now that the house was gone. So I went in another trailer that I thought was the Tax office, but it turned out was the warranty deed office. So I asked for a copy of my warranty deed, expecting another hoop to have to jump thru. But much to my surprise, they simply asked for my name and address, punched a few buttons, went to the copy machine and came out with not only a copy of the warranty deed but also a notarized paper certifying the authenticity of the copy. So I perceived I was on a roll and then went to the assessor, who, surprisingly was also courteous and helpful and completely explained the tax situation to me. While still on a roll, I returned to the ROE office, gave her the copy of the deed and she quickly made out a new ROE for my signature to have the dead trees removed. Not a bad day after all.
Meanwhile, across the street, the neighbor has volunteers installing roofing on his new house. The volunteers brought the roofing, (25squares)and hand-carried it all up, and started installing it while I was there. These volunteers come from all over the country. This group had folks from Michigan, Halifax (Canada), Louisiana, Oregon, among other states. They come in for a week or so and work tirelessly in any way they can contribute to building houses for homeless victims of the hurricane. To learn more about this amazing group, visit their web site at http://www.eightdaysofhope.com/.
You too can make a contribution to this noble effort of people helping people by becoming a volunteer, by sending money to defray some of their expenses, by spreading the word of this good work and simply by praying for their health and well-being while they help their fellowmen in times of need..
Other rebuilding activities involve re-building the car bridge across Bay Saint Louis. The railroad bridge that parallels the car bridge was quickly rebuilt in a matter of a few months after the storm. The car bridge effort is progressing more slowly. Here are a couple of photos taken from the ferry that is being used while the bridge is being built. The railroad bridge is in the foreground and the cranes are working on the car bridge in the back.
Here is another view of the work on the car bridge. A telephoto shot from the ferry shows the railroad bridge in the foreground with the trestle opened to allow a barge carrying parts of the new bridge to pass thru. The barge and its tug are just to the right of the trestle and between two columns of the new car bridge. As you can see, the car bridge will be much higher than the railroad bridge and won't need a drawbridge opening for higher vessels to pass under.
Lastly, this is a photo taken as we load 6 barrels of honey at Calvert, Alabama, onto our trailer to take back to Huntsville. My friend, Billy Mullins, needed to add to his inventory so we brought a trailer with us when we attended the Convention and Conference in Mobile the first week in December. We dropped the trailer off at Calvert on the way down, attended the festivities in Mobile, and on the way home, stopped here and picked up the trailer and its load and carefully took it all home with us. About 3800 pounds total.
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