Wish I lived in Fl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2004
- Messages
- 2,197
Cape Cod will be the Massachusetts refuge for 2,500 evacuees from Hurricane Katrina due to arrive by Wednesday from the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast, Gov. Mitt Romney announced yesterday.
Available housing at Camp Edwards, along with landing strips and other amenities such as a grocery store and a movie theater, made it the logical choice to house evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, according to state officials.
(File Photo: STEVE HEASLIP/Cape Cod Times)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The evacuees will fly into Otis Air National Guard Base and live in barracks on the grounds of Camp Edwards, an Army National Guard training site at the Massachusetts Military Reservation. They will likely be from temporary shelters set up at the Houston Astrodome and the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Romney was one of many governors to respond yesterday to a request by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help in sheltering thousands of people left homeless by the Category 4 hurricane that hit the Gulf Coast one week ago.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency will lead the Cape Cod relief effort, which officials said could last as long as two months.
The announcement came as the Massachusetts National Guard finalized deployment plans for more than 500 military police, infantrymen, security officers and support staff from across the state who leave today from the same Cape air base.
Calling the shelter plan ''Operation Helping Hand,'' Romney assembled a task force of more than 60 state department heads, rescue officials and business leaders that yesterday began hashing out the details.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to help
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following relief groups are accepting monetary donations to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
- American Red Cross, 286 South St., Hyannis, MA 02601; to Hurricane Katrina." On the Web at www.redcross.org.
- The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 369, 100 North St., Hyannis, MA 02601; to Katrina Disaster Relief." On the Web at www.salvationarmyusa.org.
- Catholic Charities USA, 1-800-919-9338; P.O. Box 25168, Alexandria, VA 22313-9788; to Hurricane Katrina." On the Web at www.catholiccharitiesusa.org.
- Church World Service, 1-800-297-1516; P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. On the Web at www.churchworldservice.org.
- Episcopal Relief and Development/U.S. Hurricane Relief Fund, 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129; P.O. Box 12043, Newark, NJ 07101-5043. On the Web at www.er-d.org.
- Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, 770-410-6133; P.O. Box 116543, Atlanta, GA 30368. On the Web at www.namb.net/dr. Make checks payable to NAMB.
- Sovereign Bank: Cash and check donations are being accepted at all Sovereign Community Banking Offices throughout the banks Mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Checks should be made payable to: American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. Checks can also be sent to local Community Banking Offices. The bank will match up to $50,000 in total donations.
- Eastern Bank: Donations by cash, check or money order may be made at any of the 73 Eastern Bank branches. Checks and money orders may be made payable to: The American Red Cross. The bank also will provide a donation from the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation.
- For more information: Contact National Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster at www.nvoad.org for other charity listings. Or go online to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Web site at www.fema.gov.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
''Otis is the place and Camp Edwards, in particular, is the place we're going to use,'' Romney said at an afternoon press conference at MEMA's Framingham headquarters..
While other sites were considered, the amenities of the Cape location, including an airstrip where planes carrying the survivors and supplies could land, multiple cafeterias and more than 2,000 open beds, cemented Cape Cod's role as Bay State host. Brig. Gen. Oliver Mason, the adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, volunteered Camp Edwards for the task.
''The infrastructure is there, ready to take care of fellow Americans who are in need,'' said state Rep. Jeffrey Perry, R-Sandwich, who spoke to Romney multiple times yesterday about the emergency operation. ''Logistically, it makes sense.''
State officials stressed that many details are not final. Cape leaders began learning about the emergency shelter yesterday and will receive more focused assignments as needs are defined.
''Literally, the ink is still soaking wet,'' said Peter Judge, a spokesman for MEMA, who described the tone of the planning meetings as intensely focused. ''This has been an incredible day. This isn't just folks sitting around the office.''
Officials will take a few days to assess what needs to be done before turning to the public for additional support. That way, officials said, they can optimize the efforts of Bay State residents, many of whom have already expressed a desire to help.
When the evacuees arrive, they will go through a processing station to be issued temporary identification. They will be housed in dormitory-style barracks built in the 1950s at Camp Edwards. There are two mess halls on-site that can feed up to 2,000 people at a time. Within walking distance are a movie theater, a grocery store, a church, a school and a playground. Counselors will also be available.
MEMA has no idea about the demographics of the 2,500 Cape-bound evacuees, Judge said. They could be elderly or could be families with young children, he said. Bourne school Supt. Ed LaFleur already has been asked by the governor to look into the quickest way to enroll children in the school district.
''Right now, we have to plan for every contingency and when we get the people on the ground, we'll really know what we're going to have to do,'' Judge said.
There may also be people in need of medical attention.
There are limited medical facilities at Camp Edwards, so local hospitals may be called upon to help.
A Cape Cod Healthcare spokesman said Falmouth Hospital and Cape Cod Hospital have been reporting the number of open beds to MEMA every six hours for the past several days.
Because the Massachusetts Military Reservation is active, officials will have to ensure its security while the shelter is open.
The base is home to Camp Edwards, the Massachusetts Air Guard's 102nd Fighter Wing, the U.S. Coast Guard's Air Station Cape Cod and the Air Force's PAVE PAWS radar site.
Lt. Col. Randy Codiero, the deputy commander of Camp Edwards Training Site, said yesterday that the staff at Camp Edwards and the Massachusetts National Guard are truly excited about the opportunity to play such a critical role in the Massachusetts relief effort.
The decision to use Camp Edwards for the shelter comes less than two weeks after the Base Realignment and Closure Commission agreed with the Department of Defense recommendation to move the jets of the 102nd Fighter Wing off Cape Cod.
Romney, who is openly exploring a presidential run in 2008, has been critical of the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Earlier this week, he called the situation ''an embarrassment.''
''In this case, it's obviously being undermanaged, and whether that's a local, state, or federal mismanagement or undermanagement, time will tell,'' Romney told reporters. ''My guess is, there is plenty of blame to go around.''
Relief efforts like the one at Camp Edwards will be costly. While Romney said the costs will likely be spread out among state and federal agencies, the financial picture, for now, will take a backseat to helping people whose lives have been destroyed by Katrina.
''This is going to be a massive undertaking, but one in which we have a clear mission and that's compassion,'' a Romney spokesman said yesterday.
Staff writers Amanda Lehmert and Karen Jeffrey contributed to this report.
David Schoetz can be reached at dschoetz@capecodonline.com. Amanda Lehmert can be reached at alehmert
@capecodonline.com. Karen Jeffrey can be reached at kjeffrey@capecodonline.com.
(Published: September 5, 2005)
Available housing at Camp Edwards, along with landing strips and other amenities such as a grocery store and a movie theater, made it the logical choice to house evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, according to state officials.
(File Photo: STEVE HEASLIP/Cape Cod Times)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The evacuees will fly into Otis Air National Guard Base and live in barracks on the grounds of Camp Edwards, an Army National Guard training site at the Massachusetts Military Reservation. They will likely be from temporary shelters set up at the Houston Astrodome and the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Romney was one of many governors to respond yesterday to a request by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help in sheltering thousands of people left homeless by the Category 4 hurricane that hit the Gulf Coast one week ago.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency will lead the Cape Cod relief effort, which officials said could last as long as two months.
The announcement came as the Massachusetts National Guard finalized deployment plans for more than 500 military police, infantrymen, security officers and support staff from across the state who leave today from the same Cape air base.
Calling the shelter plan ''Operation Helping Hand,'' Romney assembled a task force of more than 60 state department heads, rescue officials and business leaders that yesterday began hashing out the details.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to help
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following relief groups are accepting monetary donations to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
- American Red Cross, 286 South St., Hyannis, MA 02601; to Hurricane Katrina." On the Web at www.redcross.org.
- The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 369, 100 North St., Hyannis, MA 02601; to Katrina Disaster Relief." On the Web at www.salvationarmyusa.org.
- Catholic Charities USA, 1-800-919-9338; P.O. Box 25168, Alexandria, VA 22313-9788; to Hurricane Katrina." On the Web at www.catholiccharitiesusa.org.
- Church World Service, 1-800-297-1516; P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. On the Web at www.churchworldservice.org.
- Episcopal Relief and Development/U.S. Hurricane Relief Fund, 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129; P.O. Box 12043, Newark, NJ 07101-5043. On the Web at www.er-d.org.
- Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, 770-410-6133; P.O. Box 116543, Atlanta, GA 30368. On the Web at www.namb.net/dr. Make checks payable to NAMB.
- Sovereign Bank: Cash and check donations are being accepted at all Sovereign Community Banking Offices throughout the banks Mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Checks should be made payable to: American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. Checks can also be sent to local Community Banking Offices. The bank will match up to $50,000 in total donations.
- Eastern Bank: Donations by cash, check or money order may be made at any of the 73 Eastern Bank branches. Checks and money orders may be made payable to: The American Red Cross. The bank also will provide a donation from the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation.
- For more information: Contact National Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster at www.nvoad.org for other charity listings. Or go online to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Web site at www.fema.gov.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
''Otis is the place and Camp Edwards, in particular, is the place we're going to use,'' Romney said at an afternoon press conference at MEMA's Framingham headquarters..
While other sites were considered, the amenities of the Cape location, including an airstrip where planes carrying the survivors and supplies could land, multiple cafeterias and more than 2,000 open beds, cemented Cape Cod's role as Bay State host. Brig. Gen. Oliver Mason, the adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, volunteered Camp Edwards for the task.
''The infrastructure is there, ready to take care of fellow Americans who are in need,'' said state Rep. Jeffrey Perry, R-Sandwich, who spoke to Romney multiple times yesterday about the emergency operation. ''Logistically, it makes sense.''
State officials stressed that many details are not final. Cape leaders began learning about the emergency shelter yesterday and will receive more focused assignments as needs are defined.
''Literally, the ink is still soaking wet,'' said Peter Judge, a spokesman for MEMA, who described the tone of the planning meetings as intensely focused. ''This has been an incredible day. This isn't just folks sitting around the office.''
Officials will take a few days to assess what needs to be done before turning to the public for additional support. That way, officials said, they can optimize the efforts of Bay State residents, many of whom have already expressed a desire to help.
When the evacuees arrive, they will go through a processing station to be issued temporary identification. They will be housed in dormitory-style barracks built in the 1950s at Camp Edwards. There are two mess halls on-site that can feed up to 2,000 people at a time. Within walking distance are a movie theater, a grocery store, a church, a school and a playground. Counselors will also be available.
MEMA has no idea about the demographics of the 2,500 Cape-bound evacuees, Judge said. They could be elderly or could be families with young children, he said. Bourne school Supt. Ed LaFleur already has been asked by the governor to look into the quickest way to enroll children in the school district.
''Right now, we have to plan for every contingency and when we get the people on the ground, we'll really know what we're going to have to do,'' Judge said.
There may also be people in need of medical attention.
There are limited medical facilities at Camp Edwards, so local hospitals may be called upon to help.
A Cape Cod Healthcare spokesman said Falmouth Hospital and Cape Cod Hospital have been reporting the number of open beds to MEMA every six hours for the past several days.
Because the Massachusetts Military Reservation is active, officials will have to ensure its security while the shelter is open.
The base is home to Camp Edwards, the Massachusetts Air Guard's 102nd Fighter Wing, the U.S. Coast Guard's Air Station Cape Cod and the Air Force's PAVE PAWS radar site.
Lt. Col. Randy Codiero, the deputy commander of Camp Edwards Training Site, said yesterday that the staff at Camp Edwards and the Massachusetts National Guard are truly excited about the opportunity to play such a critical role in the Massachusetts relief effort.
The decision to use Camp Edwards for the shelter comes less than two weeks after the Base Realignment and Closure Commission agreed with the Department of Defense recommendation to move the jets of the 102nd Fighter Wing off Cape Cod.
Romney, who is openly exploring a presidential run in 2008, has been critical of the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Earlier this week, he called the situation ''an embarrassment.''
''In this case, it's obviously being undermanaged, and whether that's a local, state, or federal mismanagement or undermanagement, time will tell,'' Romney told reporters. ''My guess is, there is plenty of blame to go around.''
Relief efforts like the one at Camp Edwards will be costly. While Romney said the costs will likely be spread out among state and federal agencies, the financial picture, for now, will take a backseat to helping people whose lives have been destroyed by Katrina.
''This is going to be a massive undertaking, but one in which we have a clear mission and that's compassion,'' a Romney spokesman said yesterday.
Staff writers Amanda Lehmert and Karen Jeffrey contributed to this report.
David Schoetz can be reached at dschoetz@capecodonline.com. Amanda Lehmert can be reached at alehmert
@capecodonline.com. Karen Jeffrey can be reached at kjeffrey@capecodonline.com.
(Published: September 5, 2005)
