Hurricane Rita, Cameron Parish, Louisiana The Cameron Parish Pilot, Cameron, La Submitted by Kathy Tell Date 06 March 2006 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Where are they now? Report on the evacuees PAGE 4 FEB 23, 2006 By NELL COLLIGAN NEWS FROM SOUTH KOREA We heard from Vince Theriot who is currently working for Amerada Hess Corp. of Houston, Tex. at the Samsung Shipyard in Geoji Island, South Korea. This is the second largest shipyard in the world. They are working to build two Tension Leg Platforms which will be placed on a ship and sailed to Equatorial Guinea, West Africa when they are completed. These two platforms will have the capacity to produce 60,000 BBLs of oil per day. Vince is the son of Frank and Sue Theriot. He writes that his wife, Lori and their children, Lex and Laney, are living in a Lake Charles apartment while waiting to remodel their home which survived Rita in Grand Chenier. Like so many others, they are waiting on contractors. Vince works a 28/28-day rotation and will be coming home Feb. 25. His mom and dad are building a new home in Laccasine. Vince’s sister, Roni and husband, Joey Trosclair, live behind them in a new trailer with their children, Jody and Tiber. His brother, Chris, and wife Angi and their daughter, Haley, have remodeled their flooded home in Grand Lake. ANNE (SWINDELL) SMITH’S FAMILY We had another note from Anne this week. This is not storm-related news, but I consider it of interest to some Cameron residents who were friends of Anne and Juney’s when they were in Cameron starting their family in the 60s and early 70s. Anne writes that they are grandparents now: David has a boy and a girl, ages 13 and 15 and lives in Beaufort, N. C. Huey lives in West Palm Beach, Fla. Since leaving Cameron in 1973, Anne has stayed in touch with Gloria Kelly, among others. There is something very special about maintaining a friendship, across the miles, from grade school until you have grandchildren and beyond. ANONYMOUS THOUGHTS ON THE STORM This inspiring letter comes to us anonymously, with reflections on how this person benefited from the storm in spite of, or because of, his/her loss. I will give it to you exactly as he/she wrote it. “Ms. Nell: I want to share the following anonymously: Out of the hardships and stresses of the evacuation, the worries as the storm struck, and the heart-rending realization of its fury—with so much changed and so many losing so much—one good thing has come for me. Somehow, in the midst of all that has happened, my faith has grown stronger. I guess that’s because when things you held dear are no longer present and your worldly support systems seem to all have crumbled, there is nowhere left to turn but to a Higher Power. And what a wonderful thing this can be. For me, it feels like having someone very strong and powerful permanently ‘on my team,’ through thick and thin, guiding, protecting and strengthening me in both courage and ability.” She/he ends with this: “So that is what I wanted to share with your readers, and for those interested in reading Scriptures, they will find, as I have, a beautiful message of renewal in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 21, verses 1-7. Love and best wishes to all, A friend.” CLAIR HEBERT’S NEWS AND REFLECTIONS Clair (Hebert) Thompson writes that her mother and father, Cedric and Becky (Higgins) Hebert are living with her in Lafayette. Her grandmother, Ruby Hebert, is living in a FEMA trailer with Mrs. Hebert’s daughter, Nedia and husband, Poochie Trahan. Clair is working with FEMA’s Long-Term Community Recovery Division in Vermilion Parish. She has been living in Lafayette since 1995, but says she will always consider Cameron her home, adding, “No other place compares.” She writes: “We have some good days and some bad, but we all know we want to return as soon as we can go home. I have brought several of my FEMA Long-Term team members to Cameron so they can witness the devastation. They cry and try to comfort me, but I am strong. I know Cameron will return and so will those of us who will fight for Cameron. We must remember: we are all in this together.” Clair sends her grandmother, Ruby Hebert’s addresses, saying that Ruby would love visitors and mail. She is in good spirits but could always use support. Clair continues, “Recently in the column, you asked what would be one thing we lost in the storm (that we can’t replace or really miss). For me that would be a crossstitch picture of Jesus that my grandmother, Gloria Higgins, sewed, many years ago. My mom brought out every other picture except that one because there just wasn’t room to fit it in the Tahoe. We have cried about that picture because we wanted to save everything that connects us to my grandmother. Even though we lost my grandmother and my grandfather (Joe Higgins) more than two years ago, this hurricane made us feel like we had lost them all over again. Because we can never take refuge from the grief or find comfort in being inside their home, we feel we’ve lost them once more…we’ve lost our physical connection to them now that the home is destroyed.” “Please tell Mr. Jimmy hello for us. We miss seeing him behind the pharmacy counter in the drug store. He teased me relentlessly and I loved him for it. I also miss Ms. Madeleine and Ms. Mary so much. They are such big parts of my childhood and my life in Cameron. I have kept very close contact with Ms. Teresa Martinez and Ms. Anna Boudreaux. Teresa has been a mentor and strong spiritual advisor for me for many years. Knowing she is ok after the storm gives me great solace.” Clair closes by saying: “The most important reason I am writing you is to comment on the article Bertie Blake wrote in last week’s paper. She did an absolutely phenomenal job. She captured exactly what so many of us are feeling these days after the storm. You should know that what you are doing with “Where Are They Now?” will be used and remembered for many years to come.” What a great letter. Thank you Clair for sharing. One housekeeping chore remains. I inadvertently omitted Roberta (Blake) Pinch’s married name in last week’s column. I just got carried away with myself when writing about you, Bertie. Sorry! And while we are at it, I am thinking that Cameron Parish folks may want to communicate with you personally, following your article in the paper. If you would like them to have your address, please send it to me and I will put it in the column. Please send your mail to 302 Trailwood Lane; Lafayette, La. 70508. Phone: 3 3 7 - 9 8 8 - 5 3 9 5 . nnadc67@aol.com (ROBERT) NUNEZ family now making their home in S. Carolina (EDITOR’S NOTE--Here is another “Where are they now” story, this one from a South Carolina newspaper. It was sent to the Pilot by Hackberry reporter Grace Welch.) SPARTANBURG--Robert Nunez grew up hearing the stories of the hurricane of 1957. His father and uncles described again and again how Hurricane Audrey a Category 4 storm, killed hundreds and devastated his native Cameron Parish. How people rode out the rising waters on rooftops. In September--48 years later--Hurricane Rita flattened and flooded the large, sparsely populated parish the Nunez family called home. With nothing left of their rental house except a concrete slab, they headed north to Union County, where relatives live. Months later, the family has settled into a comfy mill home with a rent-to-own agreement. Despite his family’s roots, Robert can’t find sense in rebuilding a life in a community still uninhabitable. “I wasn’t going back to Cameron” he said. “I wanted to stay away from the coast.” Union County’s Hurricane Hospitality effort which took in eight families evacuated during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, welcomed Robert and his wife, Monika, and their three children: 16-yearold Ryan, 13-year-old Jamie and 8-year-old Meike. Their new house on North First Street in Lockhart will be the first the family has ever owned. Robert, an Army veteran, moved often, and he didn’t want to own a house by the coast. With three bedrooms, wood floors and a screened-in front porch, the house grabbed hold of Monika’s heart at first sight. Locals donated rooms full of furniture, a washer and dryer, food and even a 1996 Ford Aerostar minivan. The children are enrolled in Lockhart’s schools, and the Catholic family has begun attending Lockharts First Baptist Church, where youth group activities keep the young ones busy. “I’m not moving again,” Monika said. “This is it, really. We’re staying.” In Cameron Parish, both husband and wife worked in security for Hub Enterprises Inc. He worked as an area supervisor over dock security; she was a security officer. They lived in the town of the same name, about two miles from the coast. After the hurricane hit, the company transferred Robert to its investigations division. He works out of his home via computer and surveys insurance investigation locations throughout South Carolina. He plans to obtain licenses to survey in surrounding states. For now, Monika is staying at home. For the Nunez family, everything is close in Lockhart. The boys can walk down the street to the youth center or the basketball courts across from town hall. Meike meets her friends at the playground, where she loves the slides and the swings. Ryan, a ninth-grader, also likes living close to his new friends. His dad wants him to improve his grades so he can play football for Lockhart High. The locals are friendly and helpful, and the town is quiet, Robert said. In Lockhart, Monika can’t buy the fresh shrimp she’s accustomed to, but her wish for the coming year is simple: no hurricanes.