11 replies to this topic

[Anastashia]

In November two Maine wardens and their cadaver dogs went to New Orleans to assist in recovery efforts. They were recently asked to return and had already located at least one body. However, because of numerous problems they were forced to cut their second visit by one week.

Some of the things that caused this:

- the promised veterinary care for the dogs was not made available (areas being searched have broken glass and septic sludge)
- the wardens returned to their hotel rooms to find themselves locked out, they were told they would have to reapply as flood refugees in order to get the rooms back
- FEMA is saying they will not pay for the rooms because Maine "double dipped" for the rooms provided in November, Maine says they haven't even filed yet for that reimbursement

Looks like things are still a mess.

Maine Wardens Return Home
Housing Mix Up
Other info from local broadcast news

Edited by Anastashia, 13 March 2006 - 05:32 PM.

[Anastashia]

Watched the report on one of the other stations. Basically FEMA saying it wasn't their issue, state saying they weren't aware of the problems until the wardens left and the problems are fixed now.

Cute pics of the dogs, a black lab and a GSD, happily chewing on yellow tennis balls as their handlers discussed the issues.

[Rhea]

Dumb. Really dumb. People come to help out and the wheels of bureaucracy come to a dead halt.  

[Shalamar]

Words can not convey how loathesome I find bureaucracy like this.

[Spectacles]

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw sure had lots to say about the crappy, post-Katrina recovery effort:

http://aolsvc.news.a...309043509990007

[Kosh]

[Nonny]

Spectacles, on Mar 13 2006, 04:50 PM, said:

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw sure had lots to say about the crappy, post-Katrina recovery effort:

http://aolsvc.news.a...309043509990007

Interesting poll results too:

Quote

Should musicians speak their mind on issues like this?
Yes 79%
No 21%
Do you agree with their assessment?
Yes 75%
No 25%
Total Votes: 47,396

Good to know that Hill can use that kind of language when it's so clearly indicated.  

Nonny

[MuseZack]

After 9/11, every scrap of human tissue and protoplasm was meticulously removed from the World Trade Center disaster site, then catalogued, preserved, and DNA tested for later burial.  Meanwhile, there are still dead bodies being pulled out of houses in New Orleans, six months after Katrina.  The contrast in recovery efforts is quite shocking.

[tennyson]

The affected areas of New Orleans are orders of magnitude larger than the combined total of the three September 11th sites so it should by any judgement take a lot longer to go through all that than the other sites. How long did it take to get every bit of human remains out of those three sites? I don't know off hand and if anyone does know I'd like a link about it if the knowing person doesn't mind. My impression was that they were still finding and identifying pieces as much as a year later but I'm not sure of the accuracy of that recollection.

[MuseZack]

tennyson, on Mar 14 2006, 10:37 PM, said:

The affected areas of New Orleans are orders of magnitude larger than the combined total of the three September 11th sites so it should by any judgement take a lot longer to go through all that than the other sites. How long did it take to get every bit of human remains out of those three sites? I don't know off hand and if anyone does know I'd like a link about it if the knowing person doesn't mind. My impression was that they were still finding and identifying pieces as much as a year later but I'm not sure of the accuracy of that recollection.

Of course the affected areas are much larger, but the entire attitude toward the WTC remains recovery spoke of no expense or effort being spared, while the recovery efforts in New Orleans and Louisiana and Mississippi come across as haphazard and underfunded in comparison.

[tennyson]

I don't know what to say. It could be simply that, an appearance of something rather than the fact of something. Appeareance and the reality underlying it often differ and I don't have the hard data to make a judgement. For example, so many things coming out of early Katrina turned out to be not so, no complete chaos and mass deaths at the sports dome, the Navy and Coast Guard response wasn't any slower than it had been to any other domestic disaster yet those stories were spread. Here I just don't know.

[Shalamar]

New Orleans is far more spread out that the WTC, and with the givens of bodies in attics, under collapsed buildings etc, it is much more work to get them out. There are hazzards there that were not at the WTC as well.