Posted: 9/27/05
Three local women reaching out to help hurricane Katrina victims
 Merchants Bank teller Kristi Rogich and Marcie Jenson are pictured with some of the money that Jenson has raised for pet relief. Photo by David Heiller |
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
People in the Caledonia area are helping out with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in many ways.
Some people are giving donations through their churches or the Red Cross. Others are travelling to the regions affected by the massive storm.
Here is a profile on three of those people, Sally Slavicek, Marcie Jenson, and Larie Wohlert.
Red Cross EMT
Sally Slavicek, 47, of Caledonia, went to Gulfport and and Biloxi, Mississippi, from September 7-20 as an EMT with the Winona Chapter of the American Red Cross.
She was among 700 volunteers who stayed in a huge military shelter that had held tanks prior to the disaster on August 29.
The accommodations were spartan, with cots side-by-side, porta-potties, and only 12 showers in the sweltering heat.
Slavicekís job was to work on medical issues both in a shelter and from a vehicle. The shelter was in an elementary school, where people had cots set up in the gymnasium and hallways. The classrooms were locked so that school could reopen without a lot of preparation. That is planned for October 3, Slavicek said.
There was no electricity or running water when she arrived, but it was restored before she left.
The medical staff saw a wide range of people, from someone who had lost his glasses to a man who was waiting for a heart transplant.
In the afternoon they would drive to different locations on ìoutreachî trips. They would distribute sunscreen, water and garbage bags. A nurse gave about 100 tetanus shots a day.
ìWe werenít allowed to knock on any doors,î Slavicek said. That was considered an invasion of their personal space. But they didnít need to either. People would see them come and would flock to their vehicle, she said.
A lot of what the volunteers did was just listen. ìA lot of them just wanted to talk to you,î Slavicek said. ìItís very therapeutic to tell your story.î
Slavicek heard some sad stories. Yet the theme of what people told her was how grateful they were to be alive. ìThey took care of each other too,î she said.
The devastation was hard to describe. ìYou couldnít believe what the forces of Mother Nature could do,î Slavicek said. A huge batch of photos she took verified that statement. They showed barges on land, trucks wrapped around trees, casinos pushed onto shores, and whole neighborhoods that now contain just concrete slabs.
ìIt was something else,î she said.
The photos did not show one thing though: the awful stench. A bad smell permeated everything, Slavicek said. There was sewage coming up, and a barge full of dead chickens.
Yet despite all this, people were glad they were alive, Slavicek repeated. ìWe never found one person that was going to leave,î she said.
It was Slavicekís first experience volunteering for the Red Cross, but she hopes it wonít be her last. She would like to go back to New Orleans if she can get time off from her job as a food service supervisor.
Pet rescue
Anyone who knows Marcie Jenson wonít be surprised that she is organizing a fundraising drive to help pets displaced by the hurricane.
She is a dedicated pet lover, and works with them as a trainer and as owner of K-9 Xpres in Caledonia.
Jensonís effort is called Pets of Families Affected by Katrina. She has donation containers at four sites in Caledonia: Merchants Bank, Sonny & Bevís, Quillinís, and the Redwood Cafe. As of September 21 she had raised $2,000.
More will be raised too through several fundraising events that took place on September 24.
Jenson plans to personally deliver the money to the Coliseum in Baton Rouge and the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, Louisiana on October 2.
She wants to make sure the money will get to where it needs to be. Then she will stay and help with rescue efforts. Sheíll be able to use her skill as an animal control officer.
The two sites she will visit have thousands of animals on hand. ìIt seems like they get rid of two or three hundred in a day, [then] all of a sudden they get that many back in,î Jenson said.
ìWhat they need is monetary donations right now to run it on a daily basis,î she said.
Workers know where some animals belong, but until they are deemed healthy, they canít go back, Jenson said. The animals get sick from drinking flood water, she said.
ìSeeing those faces on TV just broke my heart,î Jenson said in explanation of her efforts. ìI just want to go and help where I can even if it means getting just one or two animals back to their owners.î
Yes, people come first, Jenson said. ìThese animals have to come in a close second. Some of these people, thatís all they have left.î
There are still thousands left to be rescued, and not just dogs and cats, but animals ranging from guinea pigs to horses.
Spring Grove effort
Larie Wohlert helped organize a relief effort through her church, Calgary Evangelical Church in Spring Grove. She send the following report to The Argus on September 22.
The effort to gather relief supplies for hurricane Katrina victims at the Calvary Evangelical Free Church parking lot in Spring Grove was an overwhelming success. From the hearts of people in our local communities as well as surrounding communities we packed a semi trailer in just four days.
We had asked for donations of bottled water, non perishable foods, baby items and personal hygiene products. I had also hoped we could get at least one generator as well. Well prayers were answered on all fronts, Hawkey Rural Electric Coop from Cresco, IA donated 12 generators, 50 phone cards, as well as their employees donated $300 in food.
I could fill pages with heart warming stories of people who gave not only out of their own surplus, but from homes you knew didnít have that kind of money to spare. People around the world can say what they want, but I donít think you could find a more generous people, than those in small town America.
Randy and Larie Wohlert, Blessed Hope Trucking, headed out with the load of supplies on Tuesday Eve. It became evident near Jackson, Mississippi, still 185 miles north of the golf coast that there had recently been a severe storm. Already huge billboards lay smashed by the force of the winds.
As we traveled on, things continued to worsen. Journeying south, we were joined by convoys of National Guardsmen, utility company vehicles, private groups just wanting to help and endless sightings of pickups pulling FEMA campers for hurricane victims.
By the time we reached our destination of Covington, Louisiana with our load of relief supplies, just 37 miles north of New Orleans you got the feeling of what a war zone must feel like. Arriving only 10 days following Hurricane Katrina the main highways were already clear. But looking to either your right or left, down what should be a side street, you could see nothing but piles upon piles of twisted trees and power lines. Countess utilities crews were already working to repair the devastation the hurricane had delivered. If you paid close attention, you would see that on the sides of the utility trucks they had names of cities from all around the United States.
The National Guard was already getting set up with places for people to receive MREs (meals ready to eat) ice, and bottled water. Soldiers could be seen around town with their AK47s slung over their shoulders. They obviously had things under control.
Finding our way to the Trinity Evangelical Church, there was a series of maneuvers to dodge obstacles to get into their parking lot, we off loaded the generators and a washer\dryer set at the church. Just that afternoon they had secured a warehouse to unload the supplies to be sorted for distribution. Unfortunately it didnít have a loading dock, so then we had to track down a forklift. We found a business owner willing to borrow us one, but since his truck and trailer had been smashed in the storm we had to find someone else to move it for us.
Since a large share of the churches people had not yet returned because the evacuation order, it was hard to round up a crew to unload the truck. So between the three pastors, a couple office workers, Randy and myself we unloaded the semi into the warehouse. At nearly 100 degrees we all worked up a sweat getting the job done.
The next morning we were making piles of supplies to be sent out to the area shelters. The church was getting information that outlaying areas were still without any supplies and worked to find people to deliver the supplies in pickups. We stayed and helped until Saturday morning and then decided to leave for home.
We coordinated this project through Compassion Ministries a division of the National Free Church Organization. They helped us find a church that was in the process of setting up a relief effort. This will be an ongoing ministry for months if not years to come. They will focus on meeting peopleís need as well as helping them rebuild their lives.
Special thanks to the Gerard family and friends and the CEFC members, to Bob and Dionne Schoh for the use of their trailer. We could not have pulled this project off so fast and successfully without their help. This really was an extraordinary effort on the part of not only our community, but surrounding communities as well. There is a list a mile long with generous donations for this effort. Due to the speed in which this project took place, we would rather just thank everyone and not risk leaving someone off the list. Please know that the victimís of Hurricane Katrina sincerely appreciate your efforts on their behalf as we do.
Caledonia Argus
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