Live from Pearlington - July 6, 2006

Please keep an eye on this blog. Information is coming fast and furiously with me in town and I want to share it all. Look later today for a new posting in our "Focus On...." series, this time on Mr. Larry Randall himself. There will also be a posting today on the Sharing Pearlington blog. I will inform those on the mailing list by email.

Don’t worry. I’ll sleep when I get home. Also a reminder to share the information about the Volunteer Reunion with all you know who have served here. The easiest way is to send them to the blog, so they can download the file that is now posted to the right.

I am now accepting reservations FOR THE REUNION: email me here!

IMPORTANT NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

A meeting of some of the C.O.D.R.A. members was held in Pearlington last night and some very interesting developments ensued, in response to a proposal I created:

1. As a result of invitations to the community, several trusted residents have stepped forward to serve as Resource Managers. These men and women, representative of the WHOLE community, have agreed to serve as "point-people" on jobs in the community assigned by the Recovery Center, or any other volunteer organization wishing to avail themselves of this opportunity. All are connected to the Internet and all are well-respected by their neighbors.
Resource Managers will funnel needs lists, information and requirements FROM residents to the respective group working on their homes, as well as funnel information back TO residents, from those groups. They can be our eyes and ears on the ground, to facilitate communication, to feed this blog information and to work for YOU in the speedy resolution of our projects. This will eliminate frustration in trying to track down people and information from a distance and help make things flow MORE smoothly. It also serves to invite more residents to become directly involved in the recovery of their town If you are interested in having a Resource Manager assigned to your group for a specific project, please contact me.

So far, I can confirm the acceptance for this duty by Ms. Susie Sharp. As other confirmations are received, I will inform you. Please do not contact them directly. Please allow me to assign them, in concert with you, so I might monitor the process. Everyone involved will be kept in the communications loop at all times.

2. This blog is getting to be a VERY busy place. Thank you all for your support of it. You will be informed soon of two new links on the right-side panel: one will take you to a NEW blog I am creating, called "Adopt-a-Home." Therein will be projects listed we are encouraging groups to take on. There will be pictures of the family and their story, what is required to be done, etc. The second link will be to a downloadable .pdf file and will be entitled: "The Pearlington Panel: Expert Advice and Sourcing of Materials." We are developing resources for materials, for instance, that will maximize your dollars when purchasing. There are skilled experts in the construction, engineering and other fields who may not always be available to come to Pearlington, but have agreed to serve as advisors, if professional advice or information is required for a project. I will inform you of the inauguration of these sources of information very soon.

SOME NOTES FROM THE GROUND:

- There is nothing actually IN a Disaster Recovery Zone unless and until it has already been eaten, drank, spent, nailed to the side of a house or driven to the store. Prior to that, it’s just a rumor and doesn’t exist. That’s my theory.
The school was NOT torn down today. Apparently, it will be NEXT Thursday.
Remember what I said. It isn’t over ‘til it’s over. Bob Putnam and I attended the School Board meeting last night and were told by Board President Morgan Ladner, that "nothing has been decided about that."

- This morning some local residents panicked, after receiving phone calls from FEMA concerning their trailers. They were told they must "re-certify" their trailers to August 31. Of course, we ALL work for FEMA and know exactly what "re-certifying" means. The residents took from it that they stood a chance of being evicted on August 31. If you encounter this, please assure residents that FEMA is checking to see who is back in their home and no longer requires their trailer. To be re-certified means that FEMA is blessing their continued stay until August 31, at which time they will call again and, if nothing has changed, re-certify them again month by month until they move into their house, God willing. Thanks, Bob Putnam, for getting right on top of this one right away.

More to come....