MEMA WASTING MONEY ON "TEST"

Lowe's Katrina Cottages available in different plans.


According to a recent article in the Mississippi Press, MEMA is conducting a TEST to see "if the cottages are better solutions than FEMA trailers."

A $280 million federal grant will cover the cost of this "test." A test is almost laughable, if it wasn't so sad because it is wasteful and non-productive. MEMA just needs to talk with those who suffered or still continue to suffer the confines of a trailer and the mold and toxic formaldehyde issues with those trailers.

What has happened to logic and common sense? This country has wasted and squandered more money in the past 8-year administration than is humanly possible to imagine! That $280 million would house a lot of people in cottages! Just get on with solving the problems and stop messing around!

Mississippi Cottage


Mississippi Cottage built in Ocean Springs as a model home.

JACKSON CO. RETHINKS MEMA COTTAGES, ZONING

This MS Cottage, located in Waveland, replaced a FEMA trailer just a few months ago. The people who live in this one are extremely happy with it.
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The Jackson County Board of Supervisors has indicated that it just might rethink the issue of MEMA Cottages as permanent housing.

As I see it, this is a very smart move. It's logical and reasonable. It's practical and it will provide much more realistic housing for those who still suffer those intolerable FEMA trailers that are FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGED TO BE TOXIC!

The Mississippi Cottages are modular built homes. The fact that they are portable should not dissuade officials or neighborhoods from allowing them to become a real housing solution. The cottages are built to withstand winds up to 150 mph. That's pretty tough. They are also energy efficient, don't produce mold, and are built to housing code standards whereas plumbing and electrical are concerned.

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"In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?" – Saint Augustine

WHAT'S UP WITH BARBOUR? – His Latest SCHEME

In a Clarion Ledger article for Feb. 7th., our illustrious Gov. Barbour wants to DIVERT $$$ FROM KATRINA GRANT FUNDS to help DESIGN ROADS for a TOYOTA plant in North Mississippi !!! WHAT ????

What will Barbour think of next !! I never cease to be amazed and discombobulated over what it is that these politicians and friends of politicians can come up with! Diverting money from Katrina aid for N. MS ROADS??? I live in N. MS (just got back from the coast) and that is ridiculous! Why did the money not have "strings" attached to it that would ultimately benefit those who need it MOST-- Katrina's devastated people??? Instead, it appears that the "strings" were put in place to do exactly what Barbour thought he could get away with -- such as building 3 new casinos (like we need any more of those) and up to 3,000 hotel rooms??? with HUD money ???!!! Hey, maybe those without homes could live in those fancy hotel rooms to come. . .

As for the road situation, I can tell you that Hwy. 78 from Holly Springs to Memphis is a pathetic piece of crap!! It's BEEN a piece of crap for a long while now. It needed a make-over, but what does the state do? Tries to "fix" or "patch" it by tearing up sections in the right lanes from Holly Springs to Memphis and back by turning holes into continuous bumps. It is so bouncy and noisy that I refuse to drive in the right lanes - it makes my stomach hurt. That road is a disgrace to people coming into our state, but diverting money from Katrina funds is WRONG!!! Where's your head Barbour? Your got Toyota here, now make Toyota pay for the d.... roads!!!

THE THING ABOUT IT IS . . .

Dream For Sale. Live Oaks in fog on Front Beach in Ocean Springs.


Below this post you can see that I have posted a few images of Waveland – "south of the tracks."

The thing about it is, that those images are indeed a few. And those "few" are like breath and air within fog.

Look at the pictures. Multiply those by hundreds, and by hundreds again. And then multiply those by blocks, more blocks, neighborhoods, and more neighborhoods.

Then add to that equation the idea of miles x miles to get square miles. Picture in your head, if you can, the whole coast of Mississippi and then go inland all the way to Hattiesburg, Laurel, and Meridian. Even though the damage was not as severe the further inland you go, does not negate that damage was done and can still be seen to this very day. We have miles and miles of downed trees and standing dead trees along the highways from the coast to Meridian. The scars are deep and imbedded in the earth.

There are still "blue roofs" in Laurel. Some houses will never be repaired or rebuilt. Some people will never have their homes back, or the lives that they knew.

I am still dumbfounded by the depth and breadth of Katrina's destructive power. Everytime I visit the coast, I become speechless for days after. The massive change to the Gulf Coast's environment is sickening.

POSTCARDS FROM DESTRUCTION – Waveland, MS

CROSSING THE INFAMOUS RAILROAD - WAVELAND - FEB. 2008

CSX railroad tracks at Waveland Ave. - The CSX railroad extends from border to border along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and were the benchmark of total devastation. "South of the tracks" was the marker phrase used by everyone who tried to describe what had happened to neighborhoods and business districts on that side of the tracks.

Waveland Ave. – formerly a tree lined street that formed a neighborhood.


Waveland Ave. – Mississippi Cottage (on right) replaces FEMA trailers, but it is still temprary housing. House on left is raised per FEMA Flood Map requirements.


Waveland Ave. Landscape


Caught in Time Warp. Some recovery is in process, but all in general is slow. FEMA trailer in front of house and Mississippi Cottage in foreground.


At Day's End. A half block from the beach, sunset on Oak Blvd. is a continuous reminder of the breadth of destruction to the environment. Here, as elsewhere, pine trees were once thick and together with massive Live Oaks, provided cooling shade in summer and continuous green in winter. Now there are dead and dying trees all along the coast. Some Live Oaks continue to cling to life with only a few of their branches. Most pines along the beach area look like decimated sticks in the ruined earth.