I hardly know where to begin. First of all, go here for pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sassyartz/sets/72157607602254393/ . Mom is faster than I and has put hers up on flickr...I will probably dump mine there too when I pull them from the camera.
1. We arrived Wed. at Mark's apt. Thank goodness he had just moved to League City. I don't know what I would have done without him. Thank you Mark for opening up your home to us so we would have a place to live while we cleaned out our house! Unfortunately he did not have an internet connection (He'd JUST moved in!) so no blog updates while we were there.
2. It took us 5 days to clean out the house. Wed. thru Sun. all day everyday.
3. Anything salvagable was moved to a storage 1 mile from Mark's apt. Thank you Natalie for finding the storage!! & a free month's rent on it too! Yay! Thanks!
4. Salvagable items are things that are wooden (like kitchen table, bed frame, etc.) and things that were higher than knee deep (like pictures on the walls, some books, hanging clothes, dishes, etc.).
5. I threw away ALL bedding on the beds including matresses. (Still kinda pissed about that, had just bought a nice, new queen matress in our bedroom in July).
6. We duct taped the fridge and thank God a truckload of Mexicans drove by on that first day when we were so overwhelmed and I hired them out for $150 to move out all the large ruined items, like fridge, matresses, entertainment center, couch, chair, washer, dryer, etc. and other things too that we loaded to storage like TV's (dunno about those, they were above water line, but the cords were submerged) bookcases, bedframes, etc. Those guys were a blessing and a HUGE help!
7. Mosquitoes were the largest I've seen since Alaska. Hummingbird size! Lol
8. FEMA lady came and did a walkthrough and the paper work for us to get assistance. Asking what did we lose in each room, etc. She said we would get monetary assistance but she just did the ground work and submitted the paperwork; she was not in charge of approving money. We should get a deposit within 7 to 10 days from Friday (I think that's when she came, it is all a blur now).
9. Warren was able to come down on Thursday to help clean. His butt is draggin from working 13+ hour days on the stupid surgery rotation that A&M has it's student do.
10. I've done laundry for the past two days from 10 am to like 3pm. So far I've done about 48 loads. Yesterday I did about 30ish but it was alot of re-washing things, like first cycle in ammonia, next in detergent+borax, then I inspected each piece and if it needed to go again I'd make a new pile/load and if it didn't then I'd go ahead and dry it. So far, I've only thrown away a little less than a large trashcan full of clothes. I've taken a little bit to the cleaners too. So far I've gone through about $65 in quarters! I have a little bit more to wash tomorrow and that should wrap it up. Then I need to hose out the car! Stinky!
11. I'm sure our hotel housekeeper is wondering what the hell we are doing in here! Lol, each day has added new things this week. First a fish, then a plant and large black trashbags (full of washed clothes), then our entire wine fridge collection is sitting in a chair, now two more plants, and many many more trashbags full of washed clothes. HA!
I'll stop for now, but I do have more stories to tell about our week there...like the looting Mexicans, so stay tuned!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
GISD Info
I received the following email today,
"Dear GISD Employees,
We want you to know that we are working diligently to restore our schools for your return. Each and every day we are meeting to receive the latest updates from Arnold Proctor and Fred Niccum about the conditions of our facilities. Additionally, we are attending all of the meetings with city and county officials, as well as, many other key people that are working around the clock to restore the infrastructure and city services to our Galveston community.
Report on the Conditions of Our Facilities/Campuses
The five campuses most adversely affected by Hurricane Ike were Ball High, Central, Scott, Burnet and San Jacinto, mostly due to flood and water damage. We continue to inspect our facilities daily and the reports seem to change as quickly as I can report/update the conditions. At the present time, the District has retained outside contractors that have access to heavy equipment and generators to come in and begin work on our most severely damaged buildings first. The majority of our campuses will be repaired and cleaned within the next 3 days; however, Ball, Central, Scott, San Jacinto, and Burnet will need some additional repair time. As soon as we are able, the HVAC systems will be checked for viability of operation. The number one goal of the entire clean up/restoration process is to dehumidify all of our buildings and keep them dry. GISD wants our facilities/campuses to be ready to go when the power and water come on line, whenever that might be. The GISD Transportation Center experienced high water levels on the west end of the island and plans are underway to evaluate the entire fleet. Seven of our school buses are continuing to assist the city of Galveston. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Department/Fire Emergency Response Services and the Department of Public Safety are using the Crenshaw campus on the Bolivar Peninsula as an Emergency Command Post. The Galveston Independent School District continues to partner with the city and county to lend a hand whenever we are asked to assist during this disaster aftermath recovery phase.
The following conditions need to be up and running before the District will be able to consider opening our schools:
· Safety -- Our facilities must have fully functioning (electricity, water supply, sewer, natural gas)
· Transportation
· Food Supplies
· Support Services (technology)
· Return of our Staff Members – - We are attempting to poll our staff members to see how many will be able to return to work between September 29th and October 3rd.
Please e-mail dyann_polzin@gisd.org to report your individual status!
Please state:
Your name
Assigned Campus
Grade Level/subject you teach
Job Assignment (non-teaching staff)
Presently, we will continue to work on the restoration and dehumidifying of our facilities. We are meeting daily to come up with the best plan possible for our children to return to GISD. We must consider safety first and we are continuing to partner with the City of Galveston as they work to bring our island back. We would like to aim for the target date of October 6th as our starting date to reopen the District; however, let me be very clear this is a TARGET DATE ONLY. Certainly this date is contingent on the city of Galveston being able to have the entire infrastructure functioning and working properly.
Communications Update
Currently, we have large generators set up at the District Support Center and our data systems and servers are functioning and we now have our GISD e-mail https://12.228.125.109/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.gisd.org/remote or https://12.228.125.109/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.gisd.org/mail system in place.
Additionally, the district Website is fully functional. Please go to https://12.228.125.109/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.gisd.org to read the most current updates available, as we proceed with our plans to reopen our schools.
Also, the phone system at the District Support Center (409) 766-5100 is working and we plan to update the recorded message on a regular basis (English and Spanish). Please feel free to call in for the most up-to-date information. We want to keep you informed and we will share as much information as we possibly can…
If you have not been able to return to the Island since Hurricane Ike and you plan to come back to the Island on Wednesday, September, 24th we plan to have staff members present at the re-entry point to distribute a GISD informational flyer along with other information that will be distributed by the City of Galveston.
I hope to see all of our GISD family soon!"
Sunday, September 21, 2008
DO NOT go to Houston or Beaumont!!!!
This was the signage on the electronic highways signs (ya know, the ones they use for the amber alerts) leaving Dallas on 45 & 35 "Do Not go to Houston/Beaumont! Limited Fuel!"
I'm thinking, OMG!, I don't have a choice! I MUST go! I want my stuff! If there's any left!
We had fun keeping Olivia yesterday and enjoyed the Plano Balloon Festival. I would post pictures of it but I'm really tired and worn-out and don't really feel like messing with it. Eventually I'll put a slideshow on my MySpace, b/c I'll need to clean off my xD card to take a zillion pictures this coming week.
Here is the new plan...We are currently in Temple, TX...on I-35 between Waco and Austin staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites. We have a double bed room, all that was available. We went and bought a tiny fridge for the room, none of those rooms were open either. Warren begins/finishes out his surgery roation here which begins tomorrow, 8 a.m. & will go for 4 weeks.
Wednesday the island opens up again.
I'm rounding up Mom & Aunt Lisa & Lori to go invade on Wednesday. Mom & I will go stay with cousins Cheryl & Mark who live in Houston area. L&L will come down later...maybe Thursday after we assess the damage. We will try to take out all the stuff (good or bad). I talked to my landlord today and she is hot to trot to begin repair work on our house. She was concerned if we would be returning to Galveston! I told her that Warren would be up here for a while, but that I would be back whenever GISD decided to open the doors and would therefore need a place to stay. She is thinking she will have our house whipped back into shape in 3-4 weeks. I think that would be a mircle in itself! We'll see if that happens.
Tomorrow I have to deal with getting a brake light fixed, a minor amount of laundry (Wanda washed almost all, but I want to wash what we wore yesterday and a few things that I hadn't sorted out for her to wash) and file a claim with State Farm because my passenger side mirror on my car got smacked off my some damn politician sign that flew out of a U-Haul today driving down the road!! Just one more thing to deal with! Like I have time for that! Grrr...
I guess that's all for now, Warren is enthralled by the Cowboys game and I am getting sleepy...thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and for any items that you contributed to us for the clean up of our home!
I'm thinking, OMG!, I don't have a choice! I MUST go! I want my stuff! If there's any left!
We had fun keeping Olivia yesterday and enjoyed the Plano Balloon Festival. I would post pictures of it but I'm really tired and worn-out and don't really feel like messing with it. Eventually I'll put a slideshow on my MySpace, b/c I'll need to clean off my xD card to take a zillion pictures this coming week.
Here is the new plan...We are currently in Temple, TX...on I-35 between Waco and Austin staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites. We have a double bed room, all that was available. We went and bought a tiny fridge for the room, none of those rooms were open either. Warren begins/finishes out his surgery roation here which begins tomorrow, 8 a.m. & will go for 4 weeks.
Wednesday the island opens up again.
I'm rounding up Mom & Aunt Lisa & Lori to go invade on Wednesday. Mom & I will go stay with cousins Cheryl & Mark who live in Houston area. L&L will come down later...maybe Thursday after we assess the damage. We will try to take out all the stuff (good or bad). I talked to my landlord today and she is hot to trot to begin repair work on our house. She was concerned if we would be returning to Galveston! I told her that Warren would be up here for a while, but that I would be back whenever GISD decided to open the doors and would therefore need a place to stay. She is thinking she will have our house whipped back into shape in 3-4 weeks. I think that would be a mircle in itself! We'll see if that happens.
Tomorrow I have to deal with getting a brake light fixed, a minor amount of laundry (Wanda washed almost all, but I want to wash what we wore yesterday and a few things that I hadn't sorted out for her to wash) and file a claim with State Farm because my passenger side mirror on my car got smacked off my some damn politician sign that flew out of a U-Haul today driving down the road!! Just one more thing to deal with! Like I have time for that! Grrr...
I guess that's all for now, Warren is enthralled by the Cowboys game and I am getting sleepy...thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and for any items that you contributed to us for the clean up of our home!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Today's Info...
Ok, so far no definite word or confirmation that Warren has to go to Temple yet to finish surgery. We are hoping to know by the end of the day...we were thinking they wanted students placed and ready to start on Monday.
GISD has the following news article on The Galveston County Daily News: http://galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=5af1a840c6959d1a
I have finally had a posting from the prinicpal via the secretary on: http://www.gisd.org/1635109142535307/Blog/browse.asp?C=54743&A=398&DomainID=&PostID=36&Month=0
She said, "I'm sending this message on behalf of Ms. Wiley. I spoke to her yesterday and she is well. Her regards to everyone and hopes everyone is fairing well through this ordeal. She asked that I share the following information with you: 1. PAYROLL- Direct Deposits will go out on time. No Checks will be mailed out! GISD will have a check distribution setup on Sept. 25th at the LaMarque Walmart from 8:00a.m.-12:00noon (this is ONLY for those who DO NOT have Direct Deposit). If you are not able to go to this location please email Elsie Schiro (Business Dept.) at elsieschiro@att.net let her know where you need your check mailed. Payroll corrections will be handled at a later date. We have not had many subs but if you see anyone that does sub please let them know about the check pickup location. 2. Several Galveston families are in shelters in Austin and San Antonio. Spread the word that they should be enrolled in that district (temporary). 3. Building status is stated on this webpage-please read. 4. Once cleared to report to school, we will go straight into work mode; making sure classrooms are ready and operable for students return. Ms. Wiley requested facilities place all teacher items in an area to be checked through before discarding. We will see what happened. 5. All CPU's should have been on tables. NO ONE should have had them on the floor since MIS came through to check they were off the floor; but if you moved them, then they are ruined. 6. TEA signed a 10 day waiver for days missed. WHEW!!! I have read everyone's comments and just feel numb. Take care everyone. I'm ready to get back. I have my boots and gloves and God will give me the strength. Syl".
GISD has the following news article on The Galveston County Daily News: http://galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=5af1a840c6959d1a
I have finally had a posting from the prinicpal via the secretary on: http://www.gisd.org/1635109142535307/Blog/browse.asp?C=54743&A=398&DomainID=&PostID=36&Month=0
She said, "I'm sending this message on behalf of Ms. Wiley. I spoke to her yesterday and she is well. Her regards to everyone and hopes everyone is fairing well through this ordeal. She asked that I share the following information with you: 1. PAYROLL- Direct Deposits will go out on time. No Checks will be mailed out! GISD will have a check distribution setup on Sept. 25th at the LaMarque Walmart from 8:00a.m.-12:00noon (this is ONLY for those who DO NOT have Direct Deposit). If you are not able to go to this location please email Elsie Schiro (Business Dept.) at elsieschiro@att.net let her know where you need your check mailed. Payroll corrections will be handled at a later date. We have not had many subs but if you see anyone that does sub please let them know about the check pickup location. 2. Several Galveston families are in shelters in Austin and San Antonio. Spread the word that they should be enrolled in that district (temporary). 3. Building status is stated on this webpage-please read. 4. Once cleared to report to school, we will go straight into work mode; making sure classrooms are ready and operable for students return. Ms. Wiley requested facilities place all teacher items in an area to be checked through before discarding. We will see what happened. 5. All CPU's should have been on tables. NO ONE should have had them on the floor since MIS came through to check they were off the floor; but if you moved them, then they are ruined. 6. TEA signed a 10 day waiver for days missed. WHEW!!! I have read everyone's comments and just feel numb. Take care everyone. I'm ready to get back. I have my boots and gloves and God will give me the strength. Syl".
Thursday, September 18, 2008
News, finally...
Finally we have news on something! There are NO surgery slots available in Dallas...we think because their surgery courses run differently than UTMB's...they look like they are year long instead of blocked. Warren would have wrapped up trauma surgery this past week and moved onto plastics for the next 4 weeks but now we think he will just be placed into some kind of surgical rotation.
So, we may be relocating to Temple, TX where he can finish up his surgery rotation. He did have the option to take an Incomplete but he doesn't want to lose time on graduation. I am torn between going with him (GISD said that payroll will still be posting to our bank accounts) and staying and subbing in school districts that I am familiar with (Sam Rayburn, Bonham, Whitewright) not to mention connections at each one.
We will look into FEMA housing/hotel in Temple tomorrow.
So, we may be relocating to Temple, TX where he can finish up his surgery rotation. He did have the option to take an Incomplete but he doesn't want to lose time on graduation. I am torn between going with him (GISD said that payroll will still be posting to our bank accounts) and staying and subbing in school districts that I am familiar with (Sam Rayburn, Bonham, Whitewright) not to mention connections at each one.
We will look into FEMA housing/hotel in Temple tomorrow.
Nothing new to report as of yet, there is supposed to be an announcement of some sort around noonish, although we are both feeling rather disheartend with the whole project. We are past the point of really caring what they have to say and if and when they decide to keep it open and keep it open for more than a day then we will begin plans to go back down. We both are kind of feeling like we just want to be done with it so we can move on and re-locate.
Please keep Vickie and her family in your prayers, her dad passed away this past weekend and we are going to the funeral later today.
Warren has no word yet from UTMB on placement. We are hoping to hear something soon.
Please keep Vickie and her family in your prayers, her dad passed away this past weekend and we are going to the funeral later today.
Warren has no word yet from UTMB on placement. We are hoping to hear something soon.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Just Kidding!
Ok so they said for everyone to 'come on down' but then that caused such congestion that they had to change their minds...so now they aren't letting people in and we are out $150 for a U-Haul, or well FEMA is anyways...and we are back to the waiting. Grrrr.....
Into the debris....
We got word today that we can go back. Island will be open from 6 am to 6 pm and we can get our stuff out. $2,000 fine if you stay after 6pm!! We have a u-haul and gas cans, water, bug spray, flashlights, rubber boots, camera, etc. Off we go...
Monday, September 15, 2008
List-o-rama
Even though we don't know when we will be able to go back, we've got a list started of stuff we might need to take...so is just sort of a list to start with of things that we may take back with to start clean-up, so if anyone has these type things we could borrow to use let me know and I'll put your name on the list. I'm not sure that we will take all of it to start with, because no power for one, even w/ a generator...we need to just get stuff out initially before we can start the clean up. The mayor of Galveston is saying that it is just not livable down there and won't be for a long while...I know there is a news story on bodies floating out and a man stung a thousand times by mosquitoes swarming and sewage in the streets, etc. So it may be a very long while before we can get back. I personally would like to get there just to get our stuff out and then begin clean up so repairs can start...living there is the last thing on my mind at the moment!
Also if you think of anything that isn't on the list please comment it.
Here's the list...(Thank you Aunt Lisa for the wonderful list you and Aunt Lori brainstormed!!)
U-haul (checking on it tomorrow)
Storage (checking on storage in Bonham tomorrow)
Shots (I need a tetnus shot, will go tomorrow, and am thinking will get a maleria shot as well)
Generator (Twila)
Ice chests (Aunt Lisa)
Shop-vac (Aunt Lisa and Uncle Steve)
Gas cans & gas (Lisa-1, Mom-1)
Water, for drinking and cleaning (Lisa has 2 gal. collapsible container & 5 gal. non-collapsible)
Coleman stove (Lisa)
Propane for stove (Lisa)
Fans (Lisa has two, Mom has two)
Tools, like axe, pry bar - in case door is swollen and won't open, chain saw - case of tree limbs (Lisa)
Extension cords (Lisa, Mom-2)
Buckets (Lisa, Mom-2)
Bleach
Rags (Mom)
Paper towels
Gloves (need leather & rubber)
1st Aid kit (Warren, it is in his cool F.J. Cruiser that came with a first aid kit inside!)
Rubber boots (Lynn for me, need for Warren)
Face masks (Mom)
Hand sanitizer (Mom)
Soap
Trash bags (Mom-1 box)
Trash can
Boxes or RubberMaid tubs
Packing tape (Mom has 1 duct tape, but we will need more)
We have a lot of carboard boxes that we think are high enough up in our storage that might be fine.
We also have a friend who owns a Taco Bell and he will begin saving all boxes so we will have lots.
Lori said we can probably save our mower & weed eater, just don't pull the cord on them.
Also if you think of anything that isn't on the list please comment it.
Here's the list...(Thank you Aunt Lisa for the wonderful list you and Aunt Lori brainstormed!!)
U-haul (checking on it tomorrow)
Storage (checking on storage in Bonham tomorrow)
Shots (I need a tetnus shot, will go tomorrow, and am thinking will get a maleria shot as well)
Generator (Twila)
Ice chests (Aunt Lisa)
Shop-vac (Aunt Lisa and Uncle Steve)
Gas cans & gas (Lisa-1, Mom-1)
Water, for drinking and cleaning (Lisa has 2 gal. collapsible container & 5 gal. non-collapsible)
Coleman stove (Lisa)
Propane for stove (Lisa)
Fans (Lisa has two, Mom has two)
Tools, like axe, pry bar - in case door is swollen and won't open, chain saw - case of tree limbs (Lisa)
Extension cords (Lisa, Mom-2)
Buckets (Lisa, Mom-2)
Bleach
Rags (Mom)
Paper towels
Gloves (need leather & rubber)
1st Aid kit (Warren, it is in his cool F.J. Cruiser that came with a first aid kit inside!)
Rubber boots (Lynn for me, need for Warren)
Face masks (Mom)
Hand sanitizer (Mom)
Soap
Trash bags (Mom-1 box)
Trash can
Boxes or RubberMaid tubs
Packing tape (Mom has 1 duct tape, but we will need more)
We have a lot of carboard boxes that we think are high enough up in our storage that might be fine.
We also have a friend who owns a Taco Bell and he will begin saving all boxes so we will have lots.
Lori said we can probably save our mower & weed eater, just don't pull the cord on them.
NOAA Satellite Images!!!
http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/ike/29094C7_IKE.HTM here is the general link for all the island.
My school has lots and lots of damage. :( The roof is very very bad.
Here is the link for our house:
http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/ike/IMAGES/ike_c25885903.htm We are 4 streets from the ferry and then looking from the left of that street we are the 3rd house, the one with all the white siding laying around the yard. yay no roof damage!!
My school has lots and lots of damage. :( The roof is very very bad.
Here is the link for our house:
http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/ike/IMAGES/ike_c25885903.htm We are 4 streets from the ferry and then looking from the left of that street we are the 3rd house, the one with all the white siding laying around the yard. yay no roof damage!!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Some News!!
Here is a posting direct from the khou.com website, someone finally got someone in there...so now we kind of know what to expect inside our house...
"I live in Fish Village on Trout street and the news is not good. This is a very credible source. My landlord is a retired Galveston PD, so he used this to get onto the island today. He called me a couple of hours ago, while standing in my house on Trout, and told me that basically everything is ruined. Our house is about 2.5 to 3 feet off of the ground, and it still had around 18 inches of water in the inside! He told me that the smell is so bad that everything will have to be thrown away. He also said that the house is not liveable, and won't be for at least 6 months due to the flooding damages. This is basically all we know for now. I'm so sorry for everyone that has damages. I completely understand, my life was in that house!!!!"
Then I said:
"Hi we are on trout too...what is your house number? so we can kind of guestimate what our damage might be on 110."
Then he said:
"We are 107 trout. (the small yellow house) My landlord said that the whole road was pretty flooded. He said that from what he could see, he thought that every house had at least a foot of water. Even the ones that were raised. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!"
He posted this at 3:30-ish today so I'm thinking that this is standing water at this point.
"I live in Fish Village on Trout street and the news is not good. This is a very credible source. My landlord is a retired Galveston PD, so he used this to get onto the island today. He called me a couple of hours ago, while standing in my house on Trout, and told me that basically everything is ruined. Our house is about 2.5 to 3 feet off of the ground, and it still had around 18 inches of water in the inside! He told me that the smell is so bad that everything will have to be thrown away. He also said that the house is not liveable, and won't be for at least 6 months due to the flooding damages. This is basically all we know for now. I'm so sorry for everyone that has damages. I completely understand, my life was in that house!!!!"
Then I said:
"Hi we are on trout too...what is your house number? so we can kind of guestimate what our damage might be on 110."
Then he said:
"We are 107 trout. (the small yellow house) My landlord said that the whole road was pretty flooded. He said that from what he could see, he thought that every house had at least a foot of water. Even the ones that were raised. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!"
He posted this at 3:30-ish today so I'm thinking that this is standing water at this point.
At this point we know it will be at least Tuesday before we could have any hope of even trying to return home -- maybe actually longer. There is no cell phone service there once we go, I'm reading conflicting reports about FEMA blocking cell service. I do know however that AT&T's tower is down and the only service that was still up was Verizon.
I've also read from people that the fish village area of town, where we live, had roughly 2-3 feet of flooding, if that is so then our house may actually be dry. It sits 3 feet off the ground already. I hope and yet I also think it may all have washed away or at least may be so wet as to be ruined. There is also a rumor that two streets in fish village did not flood, but I still haven't gotten a report on which ones didn't or if that is true.
We do have access to many shop vac's and a couple of kayaks if needed. :-)
Also, we do have some furniture in storage both in Bonham and Allen, I may kick Jake out of his bedroom suit and make Lynn get him is own and take mine back! lol Actually I wouldn't, this was part of the reason I didn't take it to Galveston and loaned it out to him. We have an extra washer and dryer in storage. We are possibly looking at replacing a fridge (unless his mom gets herself a new one, we may use her 1968 vintage fridge), living room furniture (some), TV's, beds/matresses?, and various other smaller type furniture items. Clothes I'm hoping can be washed and won't be ruined, although if they sit there for days some of them may get mildew-y.
There is no news from GISD or UTMB as far as school goes. UTMB is posting how things are going at the hospital but no one has thought yet about the med school and what to do with it.
I've also read from people that the fish village area of town, where we live, had roughly 2-3 feet of flooding, if that is so then our house may actually be dry. It sits 3 feet off the ground already. I hope and yet I also think it may all have washed away or at least may be so wet as to be ruined. There is also a rumor that two streets in fish village did not flood, but I still haven't gotten a report on which ones didn't or if that is true.
We do have access to many shop vac's and a couple of kayaks if needed. :-)
Also, we do have some furniture in storage both in Bonham and Allen, I may kick Jake out of his bedroom suit and make Lynn get him is own and take mine back! lol Actually I wouldn't, this was part of the reason I didn't take it to Galveston and loaned it out to him. We have an extra washer and dryer in storage. We are possibly looking at replacing a fridge (unless his mom gets herself a new one, we may use her 1968 vintage fridge), living room furniture (some), TV's, beds/matresses?, and various other smaller type furniture items. Clothes I'm hoping can be washed and won't be ruined, although if they sit there for days some of them may get mildew-y.
There is no news from GISD or UTMB as far as school goes. UTMB is posting how things are going at the hospital but no one has thought yet about the med school and what to do with it.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Today we've just watched "Ike TV" off and on all day. No real word or idea on how things are in our neighborhood. I'm currently surfing the forums at www.khou.com for news. I have no news or info from GISD, I cannot log onto email and neither can Warren from UTMB, although they are still posting to that alert page www.utmb.edu/alert . Also if you Twitter, you can keep up with this lady http://twitter.com/leighjones .
Friday, September 12, 2008
They are just saying on the news that UTMB may have a fire or something, they aren't sure where it is located it's just in that general vicinity...check their alert page for more information from them as they buckle down for the night.
http://www.utmb.edu/alert/
http://www.utmb.edu/alert/
Leaving Galveston...
We were leaving Wed. night at 9 p.m.....that is Warren driving in front of me...I was testing out the night effects on the camera...
when we arrived in Dallas at 2 a.m. his sense of humor spoke volumes with the t-shirt he decided to wear as we evacuated...
Last night's late update...
This was at 10:30 last night...it will begin there in an hour...
Memorandum for Superintendent
Subject: Hurricane Ike Update 6
From: Arnold Proctor
Date: September 11, 2008
Superintendent Cleveland, John Mathis, and I participated in the 9:30 PM statewide emergency preparedness telephone conference this evening. The Emergency Preparedness Center Jack Colley announced that we are now at H-14. Fourteen hours before arrival of tropical force winds. Focus is now on key and essential things to save lives.
The National Weather Service announced that the storm is moving WNW at 12 miles per hour. It is currently 370 miles south east of Galveston. Ike is still expected to strengthen to a category 3 in the next 24 hours. Landfall is expected just west of Galveston Bay. Hurricane winds extend out 125 miles to the right of the storm and 150 miles to the west of the storm. Tropical force winds are expected to reach Galveston at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning. The storm surge is expected to reach 15 to 20 feet along the coast and 15 to 23 feet in Galveston Bay. Rains will begin mid day tomorrow with the heaviest rain from 7 PM Friday to 7 PM Saturday.
State is now concerned about storm surge affecting Port Arthur and up. They expect three to six feet of water in the city of Port Arthur with flooding up to Beaumont.
There will continue to be telephone updates at 10:30 AM , 4:30 PM and 9:30 PM daily through landfall Friday night. I will keep you informed as we know more.
Memorandum for Superintendent
Subject: Hurricane Ike Update 6
From: Arnold Proctor
Date: September 11, 2008
Superintendent Cleveland, John Mathis, and I participated in the 9:30 PM statewide emergency preparedness telephone conference this evening. The Emergency Preparedness Center Jack Colley announced that we are now at H-14. Fourteen hours before arrival of tropical force winds. Focus is now on key and essential things to save lives.
The National Weather Service announced that the storm is moving WNW at 12 miles per hour. It is currently 370 miles south east of Galveston. Ike is still expected to strengthen to a category 3 in the next 24 hours. Landfall is expected just west of Galveston Bay. Hurricane winds extend out 125 miles to the right of the storm and 150 miles to the west of the storm. Tropical force winds are expected to reach Galveston at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning. The storm surge is expected to reach 15 to 20 feet along the coast and 15 to 23 feet in Galveston Bay. Rains will begin mid day tomorrow with the heaviest rain from 7 PM Friday to 7 PM Saturday.
State is now concerned about storm surge affecting Port Arthur and up. They expect three to six feet of water in the city of Port Arthur with flooding up to Beaumont.
There will continue to be telephone updates at 10:30 AM , 4:30 PM and 9:30 PM daily through landfall Friday night. I will keep you informed as we know more.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Live Webcam of Ike!!!
Many of us have enjoyed eating at The Spot...well he has strapped down the webcams that they usually have on all the time and pointed them towards the gulf...
http://www.thespotgalveston.com/webcam.html#webcam2
http://www.thespotgalveston.com/webcam.html#webcam2
Latest update via GISD --
As of 5:12 pm...
Memorandum for Superintendent
Subject: Hurricane Ike Update 5
From: Arnold Proctor
Date: September 11, 2008
Superintendent Cleveland, Don Roy, John Mathis, and I participated in a statewide emergency preparedness telephone conference this afternoon. The Emergency Preparedness Center Jack Colley announced that Ike continues to move along the same track as a Category 2 but has moved more to the right and is now expected to make landfall just west of Galveston. The wind field extends out 275 miles. Expect a severe threat due to surge. The state is anticipating 14 foot surge along the coast and up to 20 feet in bays and bayous.
The state continues to concentrate on evacuation of special needs citizens. The focus is now on Chambers, Jefferson, and Orange counties. UTMB evacuation is well underway. There are a large number of home health care patients. The state is working with local officials to ensure that no home health care patient is left behind. The state operations center will remain operational throughout the event.
The National Weather Service announced that the storm is a typical symmetrical shaped storm. It is currently a Category 2 with sustained winds of 100 mph. Winds do extend out 275 miles at tropical storm strength. Hurricane force winds are extending out 150 miles. It is expected to make landfall in the predawn hours west of Galveston as a Category 3 storm. There is dry air in the western Gulf that is helping to hold down the strengthening of the storm. The steering currents have not changed. The storm is moving WNW at 10 mph. The storm will track north over east Texas following landfall. Expect tree and power line damage and extensive mobile home park damage. Rainfall is expected to be between 5 and 10 inches throughout the area with some pockets of rainfall up to 15 inches.
There will continue to be telephone updates at 10:30 AM , 4:30 PM and 9:30 PM daily through landfall Friday night. I will keep you informed as we know more.
Memorandum for Superintendent
Subject: Hurricane Ike Update 5
From: Arnold Proctor
Date: September 11, 2008
Superintendent Cleveland, Don Roy, John Mathis, and I participated in a statewide emergency preparedness telephone conference this afternoon. The Emergency Preparedness Center Jack Colley announced that Ike continues to move along the same track as a Category 2 but has moved more to the right and is now expected to make landfall just west of Galveston. The wind field extends out 275 miles. Expect a severe threat due to surge. The state is anticipating 14 foot surge along the coast and up to 20 feet in bays and bayous.
The state continues to concentrate on evacuation of special needs citizens. The focus is now on Chambers, Jefferson, and Orange counties. UTMB evacuation is well underway. There are a large number of home health care patients. The state is working with local officials to ensure that no home health care patient is left behind. The state operations center will remain operational throughout the event.
The National Weather Service announced that the storm is a typical symmetrical shaped storm. It is currently a Category 2 with sustained winds of 100 mph. Winds do extend out 275 miles at tropical storm strength. Hurricane force winds are extending out 150 miles. It is expected to make landfall in the predawn hours west of Galveston as a Category 3 storm. There is dry air in the western Gulf that is helping to hold down the strengthening of the storm. The steering currents have not changed. The storm is moving WNW at 10 mph. The storm will track north over east Texas following landfall. Expect tree and power line damage and extensive mobile home park damage. Rainfall is expected to be between 5 and 10 inches throughout the area with some pockets of rainfall up to 15 inches.
There will continue to be telephone updates at 10:30 AM , 4:30 PM and 9:30 PM daily through landfall Friday night. I will keep you informed as we know more.
Memo --
I just received the following memo as of 11:17 AM today:
Memorandum for Superintendent
Subject: Hurricane Ike Update 4
From: Arnold Proctor
Date: September 11, 2008
Superintendent Cleveland, Don Roy, John Mathis, Chief Amador, Officer Brown, and I participated in a statewide emergency preparedness telephone conference this morning. The Emergency Preparedness Center Jack Colley announced that Ike continues to move toward the Texas coast with landfall still predicted along the Brazoria/Matagorda line. Preparation is being made for Freeport to Beaumont/Port Arthur landfall.
Nearly 12,000 special needs citizens have been evacuated already. UTMB evacuation is ongoing now. 600 buses were moved into the Harris County/Galveston County staging areas overnight. The entire statewide shelter system is activated. Six C-130 aircraft are activated this morning and will fly as long as weather conditions permit.
He stated that we cannot overstate the need to keep fuel tanks full.
Twenty five counties are already declared disaster areas by President Bush. More will be added.
The National Weather Service announced that the storm is holding a fairly steady course with the bull’s eye still along the Brazoria/Matagorda line. Ike is a very large storm extending out 275 miles from the eye. There is still a tug of war between the high pressure over the southeast US and the low pressure over the mid-west. Strengthening or weakening of either would impact the direction of the storm. The storm is still over 400 miles away. The storm now is showing 100mph winds with gusts to 120 mph moving WNW at 10 mph. The storm surge is expected to be a Category 4. Tide is now 2-4 feet above normal. Surges up to 20 feet are expected at Galveston.
Mayor Thomas has called for mandatory evacuation of the entire Galveston Island as of this morning.
The storm should exit Texas to the northeast sometime Sunday.
There will continue to be telephone updates at 10:30 AM , 4:30 PM and 9:30 PM daily through landfall Friday night. I will keep you informed as we know more.
Memorandum for Superintendent
Subject: Hurricane Ike Update 4
From: Arnold Proctor
Date: September 11, 2008
Superintendent Cleveland, Don Roy, John Mathis, Chief Amador, Officer Brown, and I participated in a statewide emergency preparedness telephone conference this morning. The Emergency Preparedness Center Jack Colley announced that Ike continues to move toward the Texas coast with landfall still predicted along the Brazoria/Matagorda line. Preparation is being made for Freeport to Beaumont/Port Arthur landfall.
Nearly 12,000 special needs citizens have been evacuated already. UTMB evacuation is ongoing now. 600 buses were moved into the Harris County/Galveston County staging areas overnight. The entire statewide shelter system is activated. Six C-130 aircraft are activated this morning and will fly as long as weather conditions permit.
He stated that we cannot overstate the need to keep fuel tanks full.
Twenty five counties are already declared disaster areas by President Bush. More will be added.
The National Weather Service announced that the storm is holding a fairly steady course with the bull’s eye still along the Brazoria/Matagorda line. Ike is a very large storm extending out 275 miles from the eye. There is still a tug of war between the high pressure over the southeast US and the low pressure over the mid-west. Strengthening or weakening of either would impact the direction of the storm. The storm is still over 400 miles away. The storm now is showing 100mph winds with gusts to 120 mph moving WNW at 10 mph. The storm surge is expected to be a Category 4. Tide is now 2-4 feet above normal. Surges up to 20 feet are expected at Galveston.
Mayor Thomas has called for mandatory evacuation of the entire Galveston Island as of this morning.
The storm should exit Texas to the northeast sometime Sunday.
There will continue to be telephone updates at 10:30 AM , 4:30 PM and 9:30 PM daily through landfall Friday night. I will keep you informed as we know more.
Hurricane Ike
It seems that lately I'm doing nothing but post info about hurricanes!!
We are safely away, we left last night at 9pm and made it to Dallas at 2 am this morning.
I left school thinking today was going to be an early release day and did NOTHING to cover stuff in my library then at 6 pm I got a call out that school was closed today and tomorrow. Yay! Oh well, if it's bad enough it will blow away anyways. So sad, I was so happy for my new carpet! And I had just unloaded my new books! :( My principal called at 7 this morning looking for the rolls of plastic that I went and bought two weekends ago. Lol, I was asleep!
Warren came home at 5:30 thinking he was going to have to work some today, then he left for a meeting and came back and said he didn't have to go in at all.
So we ran around outside and stuffed grill, smoker, chairs, table, etc into the garage and nailed up our one piece of plywood (Thank God for storm windows on our whole house!!) to cover the backdoor window. Then packed clothes and the animals...I had already had some stuff packed from the last time or two...wedding pictures, photo CDs, yarn...Warren threw in his autographed George Bush baseball, we loaded computers, the safe, all gaming devices (we were thinking looters) and headed for Dallas!
We thought we might just get to the north side of Houston and spend the night, but when I heard that the eye is going to loop around and Houston would get bad wind and rain we kept driving. I knew that would hit the 10'o clock news and people would start leaving. Traffic was a steady stream most of the way to Corsicana (which is about 30-45 min south of Dallas). We saw many cars with gas cans strapped to the roofs of their cars and lots of motorcoaches that probably had elderly from senior centers and such places. As tired as I was driving, I am so glad we left last night.
We are safely away, we left last night at 9pm and made it to Dallas at 2 am this morning.
I left school thinking today was going to be an early release day and did NOTHING to cover stuff in my library then at 6 pm I got a call out that school was closed today and tomorrow. Yay! Oh well, if it's bad enough it will blow away anyways. So sad, I was so happy for my new carpet! And I had just unloaded my new books! :( My principal called at 7 this morning looking for the rolls of plastic that I went and bought two weekends ago. Lol, I was asleep!
Warren came home at 5:30 thinking he was going to have to work some today, then he left for a meeting and came back and said he didn't have to go in at all.
So we ran around outside and stuffed grill, smoker, chairs, table, etc into the garage and nailed up our one piece of plywood (Thank God for storm windows on our whole house!!) to cover the backdoor window. Then packed clothes and the animals...I had already had some stuff packed from the last time or two...wedding pictures, photo CDs, yarn...Warren threw in his autographed George Bush baseball, we loaded computers, the safe, all gaming devices (we were thinking looters) and headed for Dallas!
We thought we might just get to the north side of Houston and spend the night, but when I heard that the eye is going to loop around and Houston would get bad wind and rain we kept driving. I knew that would hit the 10'o clock news and people would start leaving. Traffic was a steady stream most of the way to Corsicana (which is about 30-45 min south of Dallas). We saw many cars with gas cans strapped to the roofs of their cars and lots of motorcoaches that probably had elderly from senior centers and such places. As tired as I was driving, I am so glad we left last night.
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