Blog Index

"Freedom, in its purest sense, meant service, a heretofore untraveled road by which he might resume his long-stalled journey toward fulfillment. The experience of helping someone who so desperately needed help proved a heady and self-nourishing sensation, especially when his efforts met with far greater success than he had dared hope." Donald Olson, The Intricate Pattern
Items in RED are NEW
Items in GREEN are UPDATED
Items Written In Purple are my additions

Other Sites Related to Katrina Networking
Hancock County
Pearlington - updated 1/25/08
Waveland
BayStLouis
Gulf Coast Artist Relief - Updated 2/1/08
Gulf Coast Emergency Services Relief
Real People Relief Updated 2/1/08

Weekly Features
Letter Of The Week Updated 12/31
Family of The Week - Updated 11/26
Agency of The Week updated 2/13/08
Carnival of Hurricane Relief - Updated 2/1/08
News From Leslie - Updated 2/13/08

Volunteer Information
For Agencies and Organizations
Community Gardens Effort updated 2/13/08
2/13/08 MS Renaissance Garden Project - seed/bulb distribution
2/12/08 Disaster Accountability Project
2/1/08 Camp Katrina - Waveland MS
City Action Partnership - updated 1/30/08
1/6/08 New Site - Katrina Connection - For NOLA Residents
1/6/08 New Site - Color Of Change - NOLA Site
Think NOLA
Grants for Non-Profits
MS Development Authority Scam
Katrina's Angels
For Non-Profits and Municipalities
Assistance For Schools
Grants For Communities
Citizen Action Team
MS United Methodist Disaster Response
UMCOR Response
Safety Guidelines For Volunteers

For Individuals
Resource Pages
Grandfamily/Single Parent Resources
Family Resources updated 12/24/07
Medical Resources
LA Family Resources
Education Assistance
Businesses
Mortgage Resources
Furniture and More
Home/Utility
Elderly
Resources for Children/Childcare
Disabled
Grants for Individuals - does not include homeowner or repair grants
Dental

Articles, etc.
2/1/08 FEMA article - Candymaking
2/1/08 Fort Pike Threatened To Disappear
11/9 Information on Lead and Lead Poisoning
Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Information
Article Index
Pictures and Videos Collected
Blogs To Follow
FEMA Information

Helping Without Going Down
2/13/08 Boxtops For Education Update

Carnival of Hurricane Relief

2/14/08 This week's Carnival of Hurricane Relief, the 125th, is a valentine to the Gulf Coast. It's hosted at Prosthetic Device:

http://www.cehwiedel.com/blogs/prostheticdevice/?p=382

Highlights:

- a crafty Gulf Coast mom inspires the illustration for this week's CoHR homepage

- the Gulf Coast makes an appearance on a short list of romantic getaways

- Norman Love Confections is a Gulf Coast mainstay for Valentine's Day

- a self-described "Girl Raised in the South" is passionate about Valentine's Day

- getting married in the French Quarter on Valentine's Day

Please post about this week's CoHR so that your readers will know. And, as always, thanks for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

cehwiedel
"Carnival of Hurricane Relief"
http://www.cehwiedel.com/cohr/
"CoHR Squidoo Lens"
http://www.squidoo.com/cohr/

2/1/08 This week's edition of CoHR, the 123rd, is hosted at Kneadle Work:
http://www.cehwiedel.com/blogs/kneadlework/?p=277

Highlights:

- Ms. Delores loses her fight
- Miss Malaprop serves as travel guide
- Queen Barkus welcomes revelers
- The Masked Observer scoffs from Mobile
- The St. Charles trolley clanks and clangs back to life

1/24 This week's Carnival of Hurricane Relief, the 122nd, is hosted at Red County, California:
http://www.cehwiedel.com/blogs/redcountycalifornia/?p=1160
Highlights:
- an alternative to Mardi Gras
- Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army rock
- Biloxi's Old Brick House gets funds from FEMA
- a good day for a Gulf Coast volunteer

Please post about CoHR so that your readers will know. And, as always, thank you for your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
cehwiedel
"Carnival of Hurricane Relief"
http://www.cehwiedel.com/cohr/
"CoHR Squidoo Lens"
http://www.squidoo.com/cohr/

1/17 This week's CoHR, the 121st edition, is hosted by the indefatigable Leslie at Katrina Networking: http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2008/01/january-17-cohr.html
Highlights:
- The American Farm Bureau meets at Bourbon Street
- more Gulf Coast insurance woes
- NOLA's lower 9th ward gets a health clinic
- journalism during disasters

Please post about CoHR so that your readers will know. And, as always, thanks for your ongoing support.

cehwiedel
"Carnival of Hurricane Relief"
http://www.cehwiedel.com/cohr/
"CoHR Squidoo Lens"
http://www.squidoo.com/cohr/

1/10 This week's Carnival of Hurricane Relief, the 120th, is hosted at Kicking Over My Traces:
http://www.cehwiedel.com/blogs/traces/?p=2874

Highlights:
- LSU gives the Gulf Coast something to crow about
- the SBA gets rebuilt
- a mausoleum gets renovated
- a museum gets saved
- blueberries replace tung oil

Please post about CoHR so that your readers will know. And, as always, thanks for your ongoing support.

cehwiedel
"Carnival of Hurricane Relief"
http://www.cehwiedel.com/cohr/
"CoHR Squidoo Lens"
http://www.squidoo.com/cohr/

1/3
This week's edition of the Carnival of Hurricane Relief, the 119th, is hosted at Dark Spark:
http://www.cehwiedel.com/blogs/darkspark/?p=493

Highlights:

- a mobile laundry service to wash disaster away

- the indefatigable Leslie gets a write-up

- an interview with Dr. Neil Frank, former head of the NHC

- This Old House does NOLA

- A teen volunteer dies

Please post about CoHR so that your readers will know. And, as always, thank you for your continuing support.

Special note: CoHR is looking for a new proprietor. Details on the CoHR home page:

http://www.cehwiedel.com/cohr/

Sincerely,

cehwiedel
"Carnival of Hurricane Relief"
http://www.cehwiedel.com/cohr/
"CoHR Squidoo Lens"
http://www.squidoo.com/cohr/

Article Index

FEMA
Assessments From Outside Sources
3/10 General FEMA News
Class Action Suit in NOLA Against FEMA
Aspen Institute's Assessment
CDC Assessments 1
CDC Assessments 2
Media Assessment
Hancock County Official's Testimony
Hurricane Risk Whistle Blower
Articles
More FEMA Grants to MS
FEMA Trailers Article
FEMA Using Grant $ to Repay YOUR SBA Loan
FEMA v. Disabled
The Coming Trend From FEMA
New MS FEMA Director

Articles Regarding Working In Disaster Areas
3/9 Keeping Our Eye On The Ball
2/20 Recycle Building Supplies 3
2/10 Retro Study on Burden of Local Charities
2/10 Trees Becoming Widowmakers
Fungal Contamination Article
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Article
Guidelines For Using PPE
Cleaning After A Flood
Safety Guidelines For Volunteers
Recycle Building Supplies 1
Recycle Building Supplies 2
Building Code Article

Help (index of links and posts re: help)
Contractor Grifter Article
2/17 Community Gardens
2/2 Preparing For A Disaster Before It Hits
1/21 Reducing Debt
1/21 Reducing Food Bills
12/22 Gift Card Scam
11/30 Stay Safe in FEMA Trailers
11/19 Tax Credit - 2006 Only
11/10 Snail Mail Scam
11/2 - Insurance Trial Precedent
10/15 Steps to Save Heat
Free Legal Help - 10/13
10/10 Modular Housing Tax Reduced
9/20 - Katrina Housing Corporation
9/14 - Tax Relief Information
8/2 - Tax Assistance Articles

Emotional and Physical Price of The Storms
6/15 MS Health Care Rating
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/06/ms-health-care-last-in-us.html
3/27 Medical Crisis
3/22/07 TB On Rise
3/22/07 Videos, Pictures
3/16/07 Carnival of Hurricane Relief - for 1 month
3/1/07 General Emotional Trauma Articles
2/9/07 Help So Far Away For Too Many
2/5/07 New Child Depression Article
1/26/07 Effects of Displacement on Children
1/19/07 Skin Infection Update (see also: 1/22 Skin Infection Article )
1/12/07 Syphilis is on Rise
11/23/06 Elderly Still Suffering
10/16/06 Emotional Assistance
7/28/06 Depression Rising Children
Emergency Services Workers
Drug and Violence Issues

Local Interest
Hancock County
Auto Break-Ins On Rise
http://hancockcountyrelief.blogspot.com/2007/07/auto-break-ins-on-rise.html
Hancock County 911 In Need
http://katrinapolicefireambulance.blogspot.com/2007/07/hancock-county-911.html
4/19 From Kathleen Johnson - Who Are The Victims of Katrina?
3/19/07 Update From a Volunteer
2/9/07 Half a Mil in Drugs Seized
2/8/07 3 Schools Have Green Spaces Landscaped
2/5/07 Septic Woes
2/2/07 Materials Held Hostage
2/1/07 Meth Lab Busted
2/1/07 FEMA Grants for HC
1/22/07 Skin Infection Article
1/21/07 Gang Violence Increasing
12/24/06 Hancock County Jail Fire
12/26 Unemployment Down in Hancock County
12/26 'Still Busted Up
12.24 Hancock County Rebuilding Going "Well"
12/23 Quilt Auction Helps H.C. Libraries
12/9 Family Injured in FEMA fire
12/5 Eatery Robbed
12/3 Claremont Harbor and Lakeshore
12/3 H.C. Future Lookin Brighter
11/23 Menonite Disaster Relief
10/5 H.C. Sheriff Raise Disputed
9/20 Mayor Favre Suggests Merging Some County/City Departments
9/6 Americorps Staying In Hancock County
9/2 Weed in Hancock County
Diamondhead Water Woes
Bay St Louis
BSL Needs New Chief
http://katrinapolicefireambulance.blogspot.com/2007/07/bsl-fd-woes.html
3/12/07 The Bay Needs a New Jail
3/7 BWSD makes School News
3/1 Old Town Infrastructure Plan
2/12 BSL Artist on NPR
2/9 Volunteer Artists Beautifying Empty Space
2/9 Political Turmoil Abounds
1/14 Old Town, BSL Casino Plans
1/14 BSL Building Chief Resigns
1/12 BSL Water Meters
12/25/06 BSL Fire Dpt Shake up
9/6 Beach Blvd Rebuilding Issues
Mayor Favre
Pearlington
2/10/07 MS Community Fund Grants Housing Money
2/8 Open Letter to Send on Behalf of Volunteer Fire Department
2/3 Article on Aid Decrease - focus on P-ton
1/12 Pearlington Funding For Community Center
8/13/06 Pearlington Volunteer Reunion
School Merging
Waveland
2/25/07 Saratoga Springs, NY, Mardi Gras
2/16 BBC Article
1/20 Police Enter Volunteer Org's Office
1/4 Waveland Audit Requested
Waveland Mayor Thanks Hoosiers
Waveland Annexes Land
Habitat in Waveland
School Merging

MS Articles
7/18 Petition for Presidential Candidates
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/07/petition-through-oxfam.html
7/5 Allstate Settles with MS
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/07/allstate-settles-with-ms.html
3/25 Church World Services
3/25/07 Wind Pool Article
3/16/07 Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Biloxi Information
3/7 Schools Still Struggling
3/1 MS Commercial Rebuilding Gone Due To Insurance
2/9 MDOT Needs Workers
2/3 Homestead Tax Article
1/27 Going without Heat
1/23 State of the State Address
1/21 Deuce McAllister Working Toward New MS Burn Unit
12/22/06 State of the Gulf Article
9/25 Relief Money Problems Also Continue
9/1 Waste Water Issues
9/1 Report On Rebuilding Artificial Reefs
10/2 - Housing Update
10/4 - New Spider In Town
10/6 Economic Stats for MS
11/8 Local Construction Company Success Story
11/30 Items From Gulf Residents
11/29 Water Supply Proposal For Gulf Coast

Emergency Services/First Responder Information
NOLA Dr. Not Indicted
http://katrinapolicefireambulance.blogspot.com/2007/07/nola-physician-not-indicted.html
7/16 New Radios For ES
http://katrinanetworking.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-radios-for-emergency-services.html
2/17 NOPD Communication Assistance
2/15 Female Professional Fire Fighters To Help Rebuild
12/24 Hancock County Jail Fire
12/28 Cyanide Treatment In The Field.
12/26 NOPD Needs Personnel
NOFD - City Council Support Updated
12/26 'Still Busted Up
12/25 BSL Fire Dpt Shake up
11/8 Harrison County's New ES Coordinator
11/7 MS Fugitive Sweep a Success
10/23 Avoiding Infectious Diseases
10/20 MS EMS Fraud
10/18 Jefferson Parish EOC
10/5 Increasing Difficulties Insuring MS Law Enforcement
10/5 Hancock County MS Sheriff Wants Raise
10/4 NOLA Area - Fire Annexation Issues
FEMA Pledge to EMS - Added 9/29
Ladder Trucks Needed For New Construction
FD Sources To Call For Attention to Needs
MS FD Guardian Angel
NIOSH News

Miscellaneous
3/19 A Quilt to Make
3/18 For NOLA Lovers - Hubigs Pies Sold Online
3/12 Newt Gingrich On Katrina
3/12 State Farm Settles Out of Court Goes with - 1/12 State Farm Insurance Investigated
3/7 A Survivor Speaks Out
2/17 Environmental Worries Continue
2/17 Gulf Coast Civic Works Project
2/17 Starting Community Gardens
1/27 Cancer Med Article
1/16 Our Own Going to MO To Help
1/16 Alternative Housing
1/13 Aussies Building Steel Framed Homes
1/10 Katrina Cottage Program in MS
1/6 DeWalt Generator Recall
1/5 Animal Crisis Articles
12/3 Foreign Journalists Aghast
12/10 - New Award Winning Play
12/9 Answering The Ignorant - No, The Gulf Isn't Rebuilt Yet
Looking For Purple Heart Recipients
Termite Myth Debunked
8/2 Arsenic or No Arsenic In The Soil?
9/5 Kathleen Koch of CNN Speaks Out
10/13 Coast Line Loss and Recovery

Another Infection To Think About

12/22 A Video on the Crisis with animals in NOLA, but accurate for all of coast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G5ssfTOIu4

With all of the rain the area has been getting, AND the well documented rat infestations, I thought it might be wise to post this. Cases seem to be rare in the US, but again, that was before such massive infestations occured.

All of the following is taken from the link associated with the title of this page...

What is leptospirosis?Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. In humans it causes a wide range of symptoms, and some infected persons may have no symptoms at all. Symptoms of leptospirosis include high fever, severe headache, chills, muscle aches, and vomiting, and may include jaundice (yellow skin and eyes), red eyes, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or a rash. If the disease is not treated, the patient could develop kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, and respiratory distress. In rare cases death occurs. Many of these symptoms can be mistaken for other diseases. Leptospirosis is confirmed by laboratory testing of a blood or urine sample.

How do people get leptospirosis? Outbreaks of leptospirosis are usually caused by exposure to water contaminated with the urine of infected animals. Many different kinds of animals carry the bacterium; they may become sick but sometimes have no symptoms. Leptospira organisms have been found in cattle, pigs, horses, dogs, rodents, and wild animals. Humans become infected through contact with water, food, or soil containing urine from these infected animals. This may happen by swallowing contaminated food or water or through skin contact, especially with mucosal surfaces, such as the eyes or nose, or with broken skin. The disease is not known to be spread from person to person.

How long is it between the time of exposure and when people become sick? The time between a person's exposure to a contaminated source and becoming sick is 2 days to 4 weeks. Illness usually begins abruptly with fever and other symptoms. Leptospirosis may occur in two phases; after the first phase, with fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, vomiting, or diarrhea, the patient may recover for a time but become ill again. If a second phase occurs, it is more severe; the person may have kidney or liver failure or meningitis. This phase is also called Weil's disease. The illness lasts from a few days to 3 weeks or longer. Without treatment, recovery may take several months.

Where is leptospirosis found? Leptospirosis occurs worldwide but is most common in temperate or tropical climates. It is an occupational hazard for many people who work outdoors or with animals, for example, farmers, sewer workers, veterinarians, fish workers, dairy farmers, or military personnel. It is a recreational hazard for campers or those who participate in outdoor sports in contaminated areas and has been associated with swimming, wading, and whitewater rafting in contaminated lakes and rivers. The incidence is also increasing among urban children.

How is leptospirosis treated? Leptospirosis is treated with antibiotics, such as doxycycline or penicillin, which should be given early in the course of the disease. Intravenous antibiotics may be required for persons with more severe symptoms. Persons with symptoms suggestive of leptospirosis should contact a health care provider.

Can leptospirosis be prevented? The risk of acquiring leptospirosis can be greatly reduced by not swimming or wading in water that might be contaminated with animal urine.Protective clothing or footwear should be worn by those exposed to contaminated water or soil because of their job or recreational activities.

And what led me to this was an article in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal from the CDC:
"Leptospirosis is an epidemic-prone zoonotic bacterial disease that can be transmitted by direct contact with contaminated water. Rodents shed large amounts of leptospires in their urine, and transmission occurs through contact of the skin and mucous membranes with water, damp soil or vegetation (such as sugar cane), or mud contaminated with rodent urine. Flooding facilitates spread of the organism because of the proliferation of rodents and the proximity of rodents to humans on shared high ground. Outbreaks of leptospirosis occurred in Taiwan, Republic of China, associated with Typhoon Nali in 2001 (27); in Mumbai, India, after flooding in 2000 (28); in Argentina after flooding in 1998 (29); and in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation in 1997 (30). After a flooding-related outbreak of leptospirosis in Brazil in 1996, spatial analysis indicated that incidence rates of leptospirosis doubled inside the flood-prone areas of Rio de Janeiro (31)."

Safety Guidelines For Volunteers

www.GulfCoastNews.com

Katrina Recovery Workers: Safety Gear is a Must - And Watch for Snakes

Personal Protective Equipment - Gov't Recommendations and Volunteer Experience

Gov't Guidelines on Using PPE

Avoiding Heat Related Illness

Avoiding Infectious Diseases (flu, staph, common colds, Norwalk, etc.)

Video of Skin Staph Infection

Gravely Ill Volunteer

Another Ill Volunteer

Other Resource Pages
Grants For Communities
Grants for Non-Profits
For Non-Profits and Municipalities
For Schools
Safety Guidelines For Volunteers

Businesses
Children/Childcare
Dental
Disabled
Education Assistance
Elderly
Emotional Resources
Family Resources
Furniture and More
Grandfamily/Single Parent Resources
Grants for Individuals - does not include homeowner or repair grants
Home/Utility
LA Family Resources
Medical Resources
Mortgage Resources