LDS Disaster Relief
Conway 1st Ward
Slidell, LA

We went back to Slidell this weekend (Oct 8 & 9, 2005).  Only two of us were able to go this time. We joined a crew of 5 from Clarksville, TN.  One of the members of our crew has some medical issues that prevented him from  working inside any flooded homes so we spent our time clearing trees.  This weekend was a little frustrating because so many of the places we went to had already been taken care of, and some of those remaining were wanting work done that was not critical to getting life back to normal.  It is one thing to clear a front yard or driveway, but not to work on "the back 40" when there are others still in desperate need.  This meant we spent of lot time looking for work and not helping.

The weekend did have it high points.  There was one gentleman who had A LOT of clearing that needed to be done, all of it in the back areas of his land.  However, his view was that there are others in greater need than he and suggested that maybe we get them done first and come back later if we were able.  We talked to this man on Sunday, the day before we went past his home and he wasn't there.  However, while we were there we saw an elderly woman further down the street who was carrying leaves and debris out to the road an armful at a time.

The only person we helped Saturday was that one woman, a day well spent.  Her husband built their home in 1955 when they were first married, he died sometime in the 1960s.  Her son had already gutted most of the house, only having a couple of small areas left.  One area he was working on while we were there was the kitchen cabinet, he was trying to save it intact since it had been built by his father.

We spent the day clearing tree debris from the property.  We counted the rings on a couple of the trees, they were between 70 and 100 years old.  There was also a beautiful cedar tree that had been blown down.  The main damage in this area was the trees, one having fallen down on the carport, but all missed the house completely.  One of the pictures shows the owner with her son where she is pointing out the water line of the flood.  The flood water was in and out in 30 minutes, coming from the nearby bayou, you can seen the effects of the storm on the boats in the bayou marina.

The entire time we were there, the owner was right there with us helping.  At one point when we took a break, she apologized for not even having any water that she could offer us.  We had been told to take everything we needed to supply our needs, which means we all had extra.  Two of us gave her half of our water supply.

Sunday we went past several homes, all of which had already had the work completed or we couldn't find.  Having at least cleared that work orders from the list, we headed home.  This is also important as a means to make sure no one was missed and that all are well.

David Angell
Steve Cockrum

I got a few more pictures this time of the airport, NOAA, and the LDS camp.