LA Now! - August 22, 2008

VOL. 9, NO. 16 AUGUST 22, 2008BATON ROUGE, LA NON-PROFIT U. S. POSTAGE PAIDBATONROUGE,LA PERMIT#575 527NorthBlvd. BatonRouge,LA 70802-5700 Out of the Water SE Response Center / 5 Project NOAH / 4 Get a Plan / 6 By Betty Backstrom “Bee” Robinson, a resident of New Orleans, had undergone colon surgery in July of 2005. She planned to return to her job at Oschner Hospital that following month—on Aug. 29, to be exact. Something got in the way of her plan; something called Hurricane Katrina. Like so many others, Bee chose not to evacuate and stayed in her home to wait out the storm. After all, she had remained at home for the last three hurricanes. She thought she’d be okay. When the winds picked up, Bee went downstairs and hid in a closet. She opened the door to get air flow and says that she has never experienced “wind that strong. ” Over the next few hours, neighbors convinced Bee that the levees had broken and that her home would be underwater very soon. She saw the water creep into her yard, up her steps, and fill the downstairs floor of her home. Robinson could not swim, and she was still wearing a colostomy bag from her July surgery. Rescuers put her in the boat and transported her to the St. Bernard Projects across the street. She stayed on the third floor of the projects for another day until the National Guard evacuated her to the I-10 overpass by Paris Avenue. Bee stayed on the bridge for a day until she was put on a bus and sent to the Astrodome in Houston, Tex. Her family finally was able to contact her and La. UM disaster response ministry still rebuilding See Robinson, page 8 Marsha Ronsonet credits the La. Conference of The United Methodist Church Disaster Response, Inc. for getting she and her husband Danny back into their Delcambre home which was destroyed by Hurricane Rita. Marsha is primary caregiver to husband Danny who is disabled and suffers with epilepsy. In the months following the storm, the couple had to devote their recovery efforts to helping Danny’s 82-year-old mother get back into her home, which was also severely damaged during Hurricane Rita. The Ronsonets also focused on helping another area family with recovery efforts. “This family had young children in the home, and we just felt we had to get them settled before we could work totally on getting our home renovated,” said Marsha. Teens help Delcambre couple restore home See Abbeville, page 7 ‘Bee’ Robinson stands on the front porch of her restored New Orleans home. Once destroyed by floods brought on by Hurricane Katrina, the home was completely rebuilt by volunteers through the La. Conference of The United Methodist Church Disaster Response, Inc. Robinson, upper right, points to the level that flood waters rose in her home once the hurricane hit. Many meals, prepared by Robinson, were served to volunteers in her dining room as they worked. Please enjoy this third Anniversary Special Edition focusing on La. Conference of The United Methodist Church Disaster Response, Inc. Contact us: (225) 346-5193 laumdisastermin@bellsouth. net