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September 19 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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.. now that Hurricane KATRINA is in the ‘Clean Up’ stage we have two more Tropical Storms to deal with .. UFDA !! ..Hurricane OPHELIA is heading mostly due North well east of Florida’s East Coast and it should not be much of a factor for us boaters in the Fort Myers Florida area .. but Tropical Storm is projected to head into the Gulf and who knows after that .. it is expected that by later this afternoon it will become a Hurricane as its winds and strength has been increasing with every update ..
02:00 pm - HEADLINES - KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) -- Residents were ordered evacuated from the lower Florida Keys on Monday as strengthening Tropical Storm Rita headed toward the island chain, threatening to grow into a hurricane with a potential 8-foot storm surge.
Although Rita's immediate threat was to Florida, rough projections of its track raised the possibility that the Louisiana coast could be targeted less than a month after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. Oil prices surged as traders worried about Rita's possible effect on facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
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The storm had sustained wind of about 70 mph by early afternoon, up from 60 mph earlier in the day, and could be a Category 1 hurricane, with wind of at least 74 mph, by the end of the day, the National Hurricane Center said.
The Keys evacuation covered 40,000 people living from below Marathon to Key West. Visitors were ordered to clear out of the entire length of the low-lying Keys, which are connected by just one highway.
Hurricane warnings were posted for the Keys and Miami-Dade County, and the storm's eye was expected to pass near the islands Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. Voluntary evacuation orders were posted for some 134,000 Miami-Dade residents who live in coastal areas such as Miami Beach and Key Biscayne.
Rita is the 17th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, making this the fourth busiest season since record-keeping started in 1851. The record is 21 tropical storms in 1933.
Computer models project that it could be in the northwest Gulf of Mexico near Mexico or Texas by the weekend, but people in areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana were warned it also could veer in their direction. Katrina crossed South Florida into the Gulf last month before it turned northward to Louisiana and Mississippi.
"This is something everyone should be paying attention to," said Daniel Brown, a hurricane center meteorologist.
The man in charge of removing water from New Orleans and surveying and repairing levees warned that Rita could affect efforts to remove water from the city.
"We're watching Tropical Storm Rita's projected path and, depending on its strength and how much rain falls, everything could change. Residents moving into the area may have to evacuate again," Col. Duane Gapinski, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers Task Force Unwatering, said in a statement Monday.
If Rita strikes Texas, it could seriously disrupt the oil industry. About half of oil production and 35 percent of gasoline production in the Gulf already are shut down because of damage from Hurricane Katrina, according to the Minerals Management Service.
"We really can't afford to lose more production," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.
Key West streets were quiet Monday morning Kelly Friend and two workers boarded up her store and painted a message: "Hey bartender 1 Rita on the rocks to go!"
"Not that we're afraid of the hurricane, but we want to protect our investment," Friend said. "Plus it gives us an excuse to take a day off and drink."
The Defense Department's Northern Command sent defense coordinating officers to Florida and designated Homestead Air Force Base as a mobilization center. Military liaison officers were sent to FEMA headquarters in Atlanta and to a state emergency operations center in Tallahassee.
Six to 15 inches of rain was possible in the Keys, with 3 to 5 inches possible across southern Florida. A storm surge rising 6 to 8 feet above normal tide levels was predicted for the Keys.
Rita passed the Bahamas' southern islands during the night, but residents said the storm's outer bands didn't appear severe.
At 2 p.m. EDT, Rita was centered about 165 miles southeast of Nassau, Bahamas, or about 380 miles east-southeast of Key West. It had picked up speed and was moving to the west-northwest at about 14 mph, according to the hurricane center.
Four hurricanes struck Florida last year, killing dozens of people and causing $19 billion in insured losses. Hurricane Dennis brushed by the Keys in July before slamming the Florida Panhandle.
Farther out in the Atlantic, Hurricane Philippe formed late Sunday well east of the Lesser Antilles. At 11 a.m., Philippe had maximum sustained wind near 75 mph, and was centered about 365 miles east of the Leeward Islands. It was moving to the north near 7 mph.
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September 20th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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KATRINA - Benefit Concert
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09:00 am – HEADLINES - Rita Strengthens to Hurricane - Southern Florida, Gulf Coast Keeping Watch
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Forecasters upgraded Tropical Storm Rita to hurricane status Tuesday as the storm approached the Florida Keys.
The National Hurricane Center made the change after a reconnaissance plane flew into the eye of the storm and noted maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), with gusts up to 90 mph (144 kph) and low pressure.
A Category 1 hurricane has maximum sustained winds of 74 to 95 mph (119-153 kph).
Hurricane Rita is the the ninth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic season.
At 8 a.m. ET, the center of Rita was about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east-southeast of Key West, according to the hurricane center. The storm was moving west-northwest at about 15 mph (24 kph).
.. at 09:00 am RITA became a Category One Hurricane .. it was still South of the Florida Keys and heading West rather slow .. 2 to 4 miles per hour .. but by 02:00 pm with winds of about 85 miles per hour RITA was upgraded to a Category Two Hurricane .. at that time it also picked up speed .. ie fifteen miles per hour .. also at about 02:00 pm the Fort Myers area got hit with our first band of rain and winds .. we only got about a half inch of rains and the winds were only about 35 miles per hour at the peak .. we do need the rain but we do not need another Hurricane to provide it ..
02:00 pm – HEADLINES - Rita Strengthens Into Category 2 Hurricane
KEY WEST, Fla. — Rita strengthened rapidly on Tuesday to a Category 2 hurricane as it lashed the Florida Keys with flooding rain and strong wind and sparked fears the storm could eventually bring new misery to the Gulf Coast.
Rita went from a tropical storm with top sustained wind of 70 mph early Tuesday to a hurricane with 100 mph wind by early afternoon as it passed just south of the Keys, the National Hurricane Center said.
Thousands of residents and tourists had fled the low-lying island chain, where forecasters said Rita could dump up to 8 inches of rain, down from earlier forecasts of up to 15 inches.
Rita threatened to continue gaining strength as it left Florida and crossed the warm Gulf of Mexico for a weekend landfall, most likely in Texas although Louisiana or northern Mexico could end up in the path of what could become a major hurricane.
"Farther out, we do anticipate further strengthening up to Category 3, or major hurricane status," Chris Sisko, a meteorologist at the hurricane center, said before Rita rose to Category 2. Category 3 storms have maximum sustained wind of 130 mph.
Data from a hurricane chase plane confirmed the increase to 100 mph wind, the hurricane center said.
06:00 pm – we enjoyed ‘Docktails’ on B-Dock for a brief time .. we had light sprinkles and a good wind but nothing like the Keys got today .. RITA is now heading out into the Gulf and is gaining in strength and speed .. UFFFDA !!! ..
07:00 pm – HEADLINES - With Rita intensifying, Galveston orders evacuation - Hurricane lashes Florida Keys, spawns tornados
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) -- With Hurricane Rita threatening to intensify dramatically as it treks westward through the Gulf of Mexico, Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas declared a state of emergency in Galveston Tuesday night.
Thomas ordered mandatory evacuations of nursing homes and assisted living facilities starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday.
She also said mandatory evacuations of other parts of the city would begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Forecasters say the path of the storm could vary from northern Mexico to southwest Louisiana.
In the Florida Keys, thousands of residents hunkered down as Rita lashed the islands with blinding rain and winds Tuesday afternoon.
Rita continued to strengthen as its eye passed through the narrow Straits of Florida between Key West and Cuba and into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, warned that Rita, now a Category 2 storm, could reach Category 4 status -- a major hurricane -- by Wednesday
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September 21st 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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05:00 am – Hurricane RITA is now about 175 miles west of Key West .. Hurricane RITA has been upgraded to a Category Three Hurricane ( with winds of 115 mph ) and as it heads West over the WARM Gulf waters it is expected that it will be a Category Four Hurricane later today .. the residents of the Florida Keys are exhaled after Hurricane RITA largely spared the Island Chain .. at the same time people in Texas and ‘already-battered’ Louisiana fear the strengthening Storm could become a KATRINA Monster and target them by this week end .. UFFFDA !! .. at this time there is a mandatory evacuation in New Orleans and Galveston Texas .. Officials are saying that RITA could intensify into Category 4 strength before making ‘landfall’ late Friday or early Saturday near Galveston Texas .. Forecasters however are not ruling out possible hits on Louisiana or Northern Mexico ..
.. Betty tries to call daily from Laurel Mississippi but with her 12 hour days and everything else going on it is tough .. she is still staying at the Methodist Church where the Red Cross Volunteers all sleep on the Fifth Floor .. yup still right on the wooden floors .. the members of the Church provide three meals a day for the Volunteers and they do all their laundry .. life in Laurel has become much better ever since they discovered Wally World and the Margaritas at a Mexican Bar ..
08:00 am – yup Hurricane RITA has just been upgraded to a Category Four Hurricane with winds of 135 mph .. UFFDA !! ..
10:00 am – HEADLINES - Houston-Area Refineries Say They're Prepare
HOUSTION TX - Hurricane Katrina's visit to New Orleans was bad news for the nation's energy industry. If Hurricane Rita makes a similar visit to Houston it could be even worse.
There are 10 refineries in the Houston area representing as much as 13 percent of the nation's refining capacity. These facilities and countless chemical plants, located on the bays and bayous in Harris and Galveston counties, are at risk from storm surges like those that came with Katrina.
One worst-case scenario modeled by Houston engineering firm Dodson & Associates predicts that a Category 5 storm coming ashore near Freeport could send a wind-driven surge of water up Galveston Bay and into the Ship Channel. Such a storm would swamp many of these facilities, according to the study. The city is home to the nation's largest refinery, Exxon Mobil's Baytown facility, which processes 557,000 barrels a day.
Hurricane Rita may not pack the same punch as the storm envisioned in the study, and Houston is not below sea level like most of New Orleans. But with four refineries still out because of damage from Katrina, any lost capacity could add to high gasoline prices.
But it's been more than 20 years since the Houston-area felt the full brunt of a hurricane.
03:00 pm – Betty called she said that she is working with a local ( Laurel Mississippi ) family that lost the Back Wall of their Home and the winds also took what ever it could at the same time .. when she called me she said that they were going thru some boxes of clothing at the Church and came across a box that must be from Wisconsin as it contained many Wisconsin Buckeye Badger shirts etc .. so I am sure that that Laurel family will stay good and warm this winter even if they do not get the Back Wall of their House repaired ..
04:00 pm – Hurrican RITA is gaining strength with frightening speed .. Rita is now crossing toward the Gulf Coast as a Category 5 .. with winds of 165 mph .. it has become a monster today as more than 1.3 million people in Texas and Louisiana were sent packing on orders from Authorities who learned a bitter lesson from KATRINA .. soooo just today RITA has gone from a Category Two Hurricane to a Category Five Monstrous Hurricane .. UFFFFDA !!! .. this is ‘gonna’ be a bad one when she makes Landfall ..
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September 22nd 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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RITA at 05:00 am
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05:00 am – the Category Five Hurricane RITA is still heading towards Texas and is now the THIRD MOST POWERFUL STORM EVER IN HISTORY.. all night Hurricane RITA continued to grow into a ‘Monster Storm’ with 175-mph sustained winds as it swirled toward the Gulf Coast .. prompting more than 1.3 million Residents in Texas and Louisiana to flee in hopes of avoiding a deadly repeat of KATRINA .. Texas Governor Rick Perry urged Residents along the State's entire Coast to begin evacuating well in advance of RITA's predicted Saturday ‘landfall’ .. New Orleans is bracing for the possibility that the Storm could swamp the misery-stricken City all over again .. UFDA !! ..
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OIL RIGS in GULF
'Click' on photo
for larger size
.. to check out each
Oil Rig
go to this Website ..
OIL RIGS in GULF
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GALVESTON, Texas — As a point of pride, native Galvestonians like to refer to themselves as BOI — Born On the Island.
It's a way of making them stand out from those who have chosen to flock to this 30-mile-long by 3-mile-wide strip of sand along the southeast Texas coastline.
And for the 50,000 people who call the island home, there are other names — names of hurricanes — that are defining moments in their lifetimes: Carla, Alicia, Claudette, and now perhaps Rita, churning in the Gulf of Mexico as a dangerous Category 5 storm and likely heading for landfall on the Texas coast.
The defining moment for Galveston itself, however, occurred 105 years ago this month and carries no person's name.
It's known simply as The Great Storm of 1900.
The storm secured Galveston's place in history as the scene of the worst natural disaster ever to hit the United States. At least 6,000 people were killed, one-sixth of the city's population. Another 10,000 were left homeless. More than 3,600 buildings were destroyed by a nearly 16-foot storm surge pushed by 150 mph winds.
Two years later, construction began on the Galveston Seawall, a nearly 11-mile-long, 17-foot-high ribbon of granite. Elevation of the island was raised to the height of the seawall.
The wall, so far, has done its job.
"It is impressive and has given the stamp to Galveston that we think of when we consider what Galveston is all about, which is mainly a tourist getaway," said Baylor University history professor T. Michael Parrish.
Galveston, however, has grown beyond the wall.
"I don't think there's going to be a house left," Lucy Micklitz, 42, said as she moved clothing from her home at Pirate's Beach, a development where dozens of homes stand on stilts right on the beach but lack the protection of the seawall.
She and her husband were supposed to sign off on a loan Wednesday to begin construction of a new house nearby. Instead, the work crew hired to plant pilings for the new house was putting boards over the home they now rent.
"It's scary," her 17-year-old daughter, also named Lucy, said. "I don't know if I'll see my friends again."
Fears like hers turned to sheer terror on Sept. 8, 1900.
"The horror of that time I can never describe," survivor Daisy Thorne Gilbert, a Galveston teacher, wrote to a friend in a letter included in author John Edward Weems' 1980 book about the storm, "A Weekend in September."
"A mountain of water would come rolling toward us and we would shudder, thinking our little room couldn't stand another shock. Walls would creak and groan; the wind shrieked. We could hear nothing else... Then the wave would roll on, and our little room still stood."
On Wednesday, with the images of Hurricane Katrina's destruction still fresh, hundreds of people converged on a community center where officials directed them to city-provided buses that took them to the safety of shelters far inland.
"I hope we have something to come back to," said Cindy Weidner, 42, holding her 5-month-old daughter, Anna, as they waited to board a bus.
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Galveston Texas
Today
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PHOTO BELOW - Left - The Gresham house, center, now known as the Bishop's Palace, sits relatively unscathed behind a wall of debris following the hurricane that devastated Galveston Texas September 08th 1900. .. more than 6,000 people were killed and 10,000 left homeless as entire neighborhoods were swept clean from ‘The Great Storm’ .. heavily damaged Sacred Heart Catholic Church is at right ..
PHOTO BELOW - Right - A large part of the city of Galveston, Texas was reduced to rubble, as shown in this September 1900 photo, after being hit by a surprise hurricane Sept. 8, 1900. More than 6,000 people were killed and 10,000 left homeless from the Great Storm
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.. when I talked with Betty last night she told me that many of the Red Cross Volunteers at Laurel Mississippi were experiencing what is commonly referred to as ‘Oak Wood Splinters’ .. many years ago this was a more common problem much like Mumps, Polio, etc .. but with today’s medicine, technology etc they are seldom heard of .. Betty asked me to post a note in the Hurricane Log to see if anyone would have any ideas as what the cause of this outbreak would be and even more important to see if anyone would have any ideas for a cure .. send me a note ( marvboater@aol.com ) with your thoughts, ideas etc ..
10:00 am .. RITA BY THE NUMBERS .. Category 5 .. 25.2ºN 88.3ºW .. Sustained winds 170 mph .. Moving Northwest at 9 mph .. Hurricane winds 70 miles from center .. Tropical storm winds 185 miles from center .. 907 mb (26.78 in) .. UFFFFDA !! ..
01:00 pm .. RITA weakened slightly this morning she went from a Category 5 Hurricane down to a high Category 4 by Noon today .. and some forecasters said it could be down to a Category 3 .. meaning winds as high as 130 mph by the time it comes ashore late Friday or early Saturday .. but it will still be a dangerous storm .. and in this afternoon Rita made a sharper-than-expected turn to the right ( North ) and it appeared that Houston and nearby Galveston might escape a direct hit .. instead it looked as if Rita might come ashore near Port Arthur or Lake Charles LA at least 60 miles up the coast from Galveston .. many of the motorist that were heading out of the original ‘Landfall’ area heard about RITA’s changes and decided to head back to their homes .. most all of the people on the Roads were having a difficult time getting out of the area as the Roads were so congested with all the Cars heading the same direction .. it was not unusual for Cars to only travel 10 miles in eight hours .. UGH !! .. many ran out of Fuel in the 105 degree temperatures causing all sorts of additional problems ..
But it was still an extremely dangerous storm — and one aimed at a section of coastline with the nation's biggest concentration of oil refineries .. Environmentalists warned of the possibility of a toxic spill from the 87 Industrial Plants and storage installations that represent more than one-fourth of U.S. refining capacity .. Rita also brought rain to already-battered New Orleans raising fears that the city's Katrina-damaged levees would fail and flood the city all over again ..
06:30 pm .. every Thursday night the Boaters at Centennial Harbour Marina get together for a Pot Luck Dinner .. everyone brings something without knowing what anyone else is going to bring and each week we have a most interesting dinner at the Marina’s Tiki Hut .. this week I put together Bourbon Street Beans that were a real hit .. a number of the Boaters asked me for the recipe sooo now I have to remember just how I made it ..
09:00 pm – HEADLINES - Things looking up for Galveston
GALVESTON — The news Thursday of Hurricane Rita wasn’t good, but it was a lot better than it was Wednesday evening.
A shift to the east in the storm’s expected path and projected weakening before it makes landfall early Saturday had Galveston officials breathing easier.
On Wednesday, forecasts said the storm could push waves of up to 14
feet over the Seawall. But by Thursday, the deluge of the portion of the island behind the Seawall was predicted to be much less.
And, while Rita’s shift to the right is terrible news for Beaumont, it could spare Galveston and Harris counties some of the flooding that was predicted a day earlier.
“We feel a little sense of relief,” City Manager Steve LeBlanc said at a noon press conference.
He explained that by passing to the east, Rita would present its “clean” side to Galveston and spare the island the worst of its wind and water.
“But that could change,” LeBlanc said.
Thursday’s ray of good news should not be interpreted to mean that Rita would not be a calamity of Galveston, officials said.
Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said she’d just spoken to Gov. Rick Perry.
“I have requested 1,500 national guardsmen and at least two search-and-rescue units to be sent to Galveston immediately following the storm,” she said.
Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, city officials undertook aggressive plans to get people out of the city in advance of a major storm. That included staging buses and ambulances to get people out who were too sick or too poor to get out of town on their own.
By Thursday morning, 3,200 residents had been carried off the island on 100 buses, said Mayor Pro tem Joe Jaworski.
He said that people continued to trickle into the Island Community Center into Wednesday night. With more than 100 buses already gone, one final bus was leaving just before noon Thursday.
“By necessity, as a practical matter, that is going to have to come to an end,” Jaworski said.
Nursing homes and other assisted living centers also appeared to be empty.
Thomas said state troopers were knocking on their doors to make sure no one was left behind. After canvassing about half the city, they hadn’t found anyone, Thomas said.
People appear also to have evacuated themselves to an unprecedented extent. LeBlanc estimated that about 90 percent of the island’s 60,000 residents were off the island Thursday.
Many had been gridlocked around Houston for so long that they ran out of gas. The millions fleeing the storm overwhelmed the evacuation routes that were part of Texas’ new evacuation plan.
Thomas said Perry told her that the state was sending tankers so that motorists could fuel up and keep moving.
Even if 90 percent of Galvestonians are off the island, that means that 6,000 stayed behind.
Since the Category 3 Hurricane Alicia hammered Galveston in 1983, the city has stopped designating emergency shelters in advance of hurricanes. City officials ended the practice in the hope that they would not encourage people to stay.
LeBlanc would not say Thursday whether officials had identified a place where people could shelter when Rita’s winds come ashore.
“We will do our best to take care of them,” was all he would say.
Even though the picture was better Thursday than it was Wednesday, Galveston was still threatened with a storm that was likely to be a Category 4 by landfall packing a 10-foot storm surge.
“We are going to have a monumental task ahead of us,” Thomas said. “Galveston is going to suffer.”
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September 23rd 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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04:00 am .. RITA is centered about 290 miles Southeast of Galveston and is moving to the West-Northwest at near 9 mph .. its winds were are 140 mph ( down from 175 mph earlier in the day ) ..
Hurricane Warnings were in effect from Port O'Connor, Texas, to Morgan City, LA and the National Hurricane Center forecast the Storm would make landfall as a ``dangerous Hurricane of at least Category three intensity.'' ..
.. Tropical Storm Warnings also were in effect East and North to include New Orleans that is still crippled by Hurricane KATRINA .. RITA's steady rains Thursday were the first since KATRINA and the forecast was for 3 to 5 inches in the coming days - dangerously close to the amount Engineers said could send Floodwaters pouring back into recently dry neighborhoods .. YUCK ..
05:00 am .. during the night RITA’s Eye Wall collapsed and then regenerated its self .. this has been expected and will most likely reoccur again and again before RITA makes landfall eairly Saturday morning .. after its slow dance across the Gulf Hurricane RITA will begin to rock the upper Texas Coast come lunchtime today .. yesterday swells from the approaching Hurricane had already pushed Coastal waters a foot above normal .. overnight with high Tide water was expected to wash over low-lying land .. by noon today the first winds are expected to swirl ashore in Jefferson County and then rush inland and down to east Harris County .. the eye of RITA is still a Category FOUR and is projected to make landfall around 4 am Saturday bringing high winds, driving rain and Storm surge .. strong enough to topple trees, wreck Mobile Homes and flood streets .. UFFFDA .. RITA is now heading into cooler waters and that will should bring its 'punch' down ..
07:00 am .. on the gridlocked Interstate 45 near Dallas a Bus carrying 45 Hurricane RITA evacuees caught fire killing over twenty people and injuring many others ..
10:00 am .. the first reports of ‘spillover waters’ are starting to make there was into the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans .. UGH !! ..some of the other Levees that were damaged by KATRINA are also starting to leak ..
11:00 am .. a Tornado Watch has been just issued from the New Orleans area and West .. YUCK !! ..
01:30 pm – HEADLINES - 'Say a prayer for Texas' . Rita downgraded to Category 3 Hurricane
HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- Texas officials warned Friday that Hurricane Rita would start causing trouble long before it slams into the Gulf Coast, spawning tornadoes and lashing the region with strong winds and heavy rains.
New Orleans was already feeling the powerful storm's effects, with water pouring over a key levee into the already devastated 9th Ward neighborhood. The neighborhood was still almost empty after Hurricane Katrina's devastating flooding.
An 8-foot storm surge rose over the damaged Industrial Canal levee, which was still intact, causing localized flooding in the 9th Ward, Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Mitch Frazier said.
03:00 pm .. Betty called and said that in addition to what they were originally sent there to do they are now gearing up for more evacuees that the Red Cross is anticipating that they will be sending there direction .. she dose not know how they are going to be able to do it as the Center that she is working in can only take about 700 people and they are all but full right now .. they were told this afternoon to get ready for an additional 1,500 more evacuees that the Red Cross is expecting due to RITA .. UFFFFDA !! .. the Center in Laurel that she is working in is an existing Fair Grounds type of Structure that the local people have Rodeos in .. they have put rubber mats on the dirt floor but the mats are so irregular that it is difficult to walk fast on them and wheeling anything is out of the question .. anyway they have been told to move all their supplies, medical materials, etc as well as all their own sleeping ‘stuff’ into the Center by midnight as they will be working around the clock from now on ..
07:00 pm - Hurricane RITA's wind-driven Storm Surge topped one of New Orleans' battered Levees and poked holes in another today .. sending water gushing into already-devastated neighborhoods just days after they had been pumped dry .. an initial surge of water cascaded over a patched Levee protecting the impoverished Ninth Ward flooding the abandoned neighborhood with at least 6 feet of RITA water ..
10:00 pm .. we have had RITA rains all on and off all evening but nothing like the RITA rains in the Gulf Shore area from Houston to New Orleans .. landfall should come tonight in the Port Arthur TX area .. lets just hope that with the deaths on the Texas Highway and the flooding in New Orleans that RITAs major punch came today ..
11:15 pm .. Betty called and said that they had their entire operation moved into the Rodeo Arena .. they have a doctor from New Jersey, an EMT from California, another RN from Alaska, etc .. some refugees from the Hurricane areas are already starting to show up .. Betty made a large Pot of coffee so she said that they are set for an all ‘nighter’ ..
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September 24th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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12:30 am .. a fire burns in Downtown Galveston Texas as Hurricane Rita approaches the Coast Friday September 23 2005 .. as the Storm approached at least three buildings caught fire in the City's Historic Strand District of nightclubs, shops and restaurants .. it was unclear what caused the blaze but a fallen Electrical Pole was lying on one of the buildings .. high winds whipped the flames from structure to structure .. UFFFDA !!
03:30 am .. Betty sent her first E-mail since her Deployment on September 11th ..
“Surprise .. Its 02:00 am and all the clients are sleeping, we only got a few, and I doubt there will be more, its crazy here dealing with 2 storms and the anxiety everyone is feeling.
We got all ready for the 700 to 800 folks who were supposed to be here,
Most all the Red Cross persons have gone back to thier cots and mattress for the night, Several Air Force reserve are here with us …..”
03:30 am .. Hurricane RITA has officially making landfall at 03:30 am EDT ( Category THREE ) with RITA’s Eye hitting just east of Sabine Pass Texas ( just East of the Texas – Louisiana Border ) according to the National Hurricane Center ..
08:00 am – HEADLINES - Rita Slams Into Gulf Coast - Now Category TWO
BEAUMONT, Texas — Hurricane Rita plowed into the Gulf Coast early Saturday, lashing Texas and Louisiana with driving rain, flooding low-lying regions, knocking power out to more than 675,000 people and sparking fires across the region.
Rita made landfall at 3:30 a.m. EDT as a Category 3 storm just east of Sabine Pass, on the Texas-Louisiana line, bringing a 20-foot storm surge and up to 25 inches of rain, the National Hurricane Center said. Within four hours it had weakened to a Category 2 storm, with top winds of 100 mph, as it moved further inland.
08:30 am .. Betty called .. she had made it back from the Red Cross Center where she spent the night .. they only had a few clients that made it to the Shelter during the night .. she headed right to her bed on the wooden Oak Floors of her Fifth Floor Penthouse Suite where she and the other Red Cross Volunteers have been staying since they were deployed a couple of weeks ago ..
02:00 pm .. many people are hoping to beat gridlock as over 2.5 million evacuees try to make their way back to Houston and the Gulf Coast this afternoon .. thousands have begun their journeys home despite pleas by authorities to stay put and a decision to keep most schools closed until midweek .. the number one probulmn that Texas is facing is the lack of Fuel .. many of the Texans are finding themselves ‘out of Fuel’ .. this has gotta be a first for them ..
04:00 pm .. by RITA was downgraded to Tropical Storm but she was still dumping much rain waters in her path .. Florida received its first request for help Friday from Texas officials as they brace for Hurricane Rita's landfall early Saturday .. the Florida Division of Emergency Management was asked for a volunteer Manager for a Donations Call Center to help with RITA's aftermath .. the first and so far only request of the State ..
05:00 pm .. when trying to place a phone call into an area like where Betty is located it is not uncommon to get the following automated message ..
"This is an emergency message. Your address is in a storm surge area and people living there should evacuate. Follow the highway routes described by radio. Don't wait for shelter information. Prepare for traffic and a long drive. Waiting too late can risk your life. Reach out to help those without transportation. If you receive this call and have no means of transportation, call 311 or (713) 837-0311." … UFFFDA !! ….
10:00 pm .. Betty called and said that the Red Cross had them close down the new Service Center that they had set up a couple of days ago for RITA Displaced People .. before closing down the Center they sent the people that they were taking care of to a Red Cross Center in Slidell Louisiana ..
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September 25th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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02:00 am – the number one question by many this morning is “ When Can I Come Back ??” .. already thousands hit the road early in effort to avoid expected jams .. despite urging by the governor and Houston's Mayor to stay put for a while and not rush home thousands of evacuees from this region hit the road Saturday night .. as eager as they were to sleep under their own roofs again they seemed equally eager to avoid repeating last week's hellish exodus in which the rush by an estimated 2.5 million people to escape Hurricane Rita's path created massive Highway logjams ..
05:00 pm – HEADLINES - Mayor aims to reopen parts of New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The mammoth tasks of restoring power to much of New Orleans and removing heaps of debris, interrupted when Hurricane Rita rammed the Gulf Coast, resumed Sunday as the mayor pushed his plan to reopen parts of the city this week.
Even those areas newly flooded this weekend by Rita could be pumped dry again within a week after levee damage is repaired, far sooner than initially predicted, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman said Sunday.
"All indications are all operations are getting back to normal," said Ted Monette, deputy federal coordinating officer for Katrina recovery.
Monette said federal officials had been coordinating with Mayor Ray Nagin's effort to begin allowing evacuated residents to return and were supportive of his plan.
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September 26th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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06:00 am .. I talked with Betty .. she was getting ready to head to their Red Cross Center for the day .. amoung everything elce she will be looking for someone to replace her when she leaves this Saturday .. she will be leaving Laurel Mississippi on Saturday and should return to Fort Myers on Sunday afternoon ..
07:00 am .. the Evcauees from KATRINA and now RITA are tired .. they are hot .. etc but all that they can think about is getting home .. on late Saturday night many evacuees began returning to Galveston, Houston, etc .. and today they will continue to head back home ..
05:00 pm – HEADLINES - Hurricane Death Toll Climbs to 7 in Texas - Rescuers find more survivors, more damage
CREOLE, La. (AP) -- With Hurricane Rita's floodwaters receding along the Texas-Louisiana coast Monday, rescuers pushed deeper into hard-hit bayous to pull out residents on skiffs, crews struggled to clean up the tangle of smashed homes and downed trees, and Army helicopters searched for up to 30,000 stranded cattle.
The death toll from the second devastating hurricane in a month rose to seven with the discovery in a Beaumont, Texas, apartment of five people - a man, a woman and three children - who apparently were killed by carbon monoxide from a generator they were running indoors after Rita knocked out the electricity.
While residents of the Texas refinery towns of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange were blocked from returning to their homes because of the danger of debris-choked streets and downed power lines, authorities in Louisiana were unable to keep bayou residents from venturing in on their own by boat to see if Rita wrecked their homes.
"Knowing these people, most of them are hunters, trappers, farmers, they're not going to wait on FEMA or anyone else," said Robert LeBlanc, director of emergency preparedness in Vermilion Parish. "They're going to do what they need to do. They're used to primitive conditions."
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September 27th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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11:00 am – HEADLINES – Bush Toured Hard-Hit Areas
(( This was President Bush’s seventh trip into the ‘wake’ of RITA ))
BEAUMONT - President Bush got a firsthand look today at Hurricane Rita's damage to U.S. energy resources in the birthplace of the modern oil industry. "This area's hurting,'' Bush said.
Bush then took an hourlong helicopter ride over the debris-strewn communities along the Texas-Louisiana border where Rita blew ashore. The worst was the Louisiana port town of Cameron, where most structures were wiped out.
The Marine One helicopter circled the town so the president could get a complete look, then flew south over the ocean to fly by an offshore oil rig. He also flew over flattened and flooded homes, hundreds of downed trees and dozens of wandering, stranded cows.
Bush was briefed on local response to the storm before his ride lifted off from the Beaumont airport. He got another report from Louisiana officials after landing in Lake Charles.
Bush said his priorities were to assist people with food and water, restore power and provide fuel.
"We fully understand that it's hard to maintain order if you don't have fuel for your cars and first responders,'' the president said.
Frustration is building in Southeast Texas over the government's response to Rita.
With homes smashed, trees and power lines downed and a looming shortage of food and water, one official even threatened to take federal relief supplies by force, if necessary.
"If you have enough policemen to take it from them, take it," Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith said Monday during a meeting of city and county officials.
FEMA has been under fire for weeks for its response to Hurricane Katrina, after thousands of people were left stranded in New Orleans for days without food or water.
The magnitude of Rita's damage appears to be less than Katrina's, and FEMA officials have set up 16 stations in nine East Texas counties. The stations will distribute water, ice and food.
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05:00 pm – HEADLINES - New Orleans Police Superintendent Resigns
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- Police Superintendent Eddie Compass resigned Tuesday after four turbulent weeks in which the police force was hit by desertions and disorganization in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath.
"I served this department for 26 years and have taken it through some of the toughest times of its history. Every man in a leadership position must know when it's time to hand over the reins," Compass said at a news conference. "I'll be going on in another direction that God has for me."
As the city slipped into anarchy during the first few days after Katrina, the 1,700-member police department itself suffered a crisis. Many officers deserted their posts, and some were accused of joining in the looting that broke out. Two officers Compass described as friends committed suicide
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September 28th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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01:00 pm .. many of the Hurricane RITA victims are getting TIRED, FRUSTRATED, UPSET, etc .. across Southeastern Texas the Federal Emergency Management Agency delivered ice, water and packaged meals to residents who rode out last Hurricane Rita amid complaints about sluggish federal and state since the storm hit last week .. in Houston FEMA officials claimed they were caught off-guard when they closed a Relief Center early on Wednesday after some of the hundreds of Hurricane RITA victims in line began fainting in triple-digit heat .. in Beaumont Texas Mayor Oscar Ortiz expressed cautious optimism after meeting with Governor Rick Perry on Tuesday but said he's still relying more on private Companies and Individuals than the Government as the City struggles to recover .. nearly four days after RITA hit many of the Storm's sweltering Victims were still waiting for electricity, gasoline, water and other relief .. the situation prompted one top emergency official to complain that people are "living like cavemen." .. on Pecan Island Louisiana water and electricity may not return for months .. even if the services were here, some say, there'd be nothing to connect them to anyway,
10:00 pm .. after their nightly dinner at the Church Betty and a number of the other Red Cross Volunteers from Fort Myers took one of their Vans to an area Church for a real down South ‘Church Reveal Meeting’ .. they were brought there by one of the Church members that they have gotten to know since arriving at Laurel a couple of weeks ago .. once the made it to the Church they found that it was a large ‘new’ Church and it was packed to the walls .. there was a 30 person Singing Group and 10 Ministers that participated in the evening service / Reveal Meeting .. after one of the Ministers went thru his thing their host that brought them there said .. ‘now he really gits ya goin’ .. she was really wound up .. Betty said ‘it was a most memorial experience’ ..
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September 29th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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07:00 am .. the American Red Cross, FEMA, our Government Officals, etc are getting a lot of heat from many different directions .. well this is another Perspective that I received today from a friend ..
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Another Perspective From A Relief Worker In Utah
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Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 11:06:32 -0400
Let me tell you a few things about the wonderful group of evacuees we received here in Utah.
The first Plane arrived with 152 passengers ..
Of the 152 .. 10 were children .. 3 of these children had been separated or abandoned by their parents.
As these passengers attempted to board the plane, the National Guard removed from their person ..
· 43 handguns ( .. it is Illegal to own a Handgun in New Orleans .. )
· 20 knives
· one man had 100,000 dollars in cash
· 20 pounds of Marijuana
· 10 pounds of Crack
· 15 pounds of Methamphetamines
· 10 pounds of various other controlled substances including Heroin. ( Upon their arrival here in SLC, two people immediately deplaned and lit up a joint. )
During the course of medical evaluations, it was discovered that parents were using their kids to carry loads of looted jewelry ( price tag still on ), and other items. One third of the people who got off the plane were angry that they didn't get to go to Houston or San Antonio.
Over the course of the next 36 hours we received an additional 430 evacuees. Most of these, like their predecessors had to be relieved of illegal items. Additionally, most of them, were the owners of exceptionally prolific criminal records, just like those in the first flight.
By the second night in the shelter, there was one attempted rape of a Relief Worker, sales of drugs on going and a Gang had begun to rebuild.
When the people arrived at the shelter, they were given the opportunity to dig through piles of donated clothes from local Church groups. Many complained that they were second hand clothes. The state set up a reception center with relocation assistance, Medicaid and workforce services among many assistance groups.
This past Saturday, Workforce Services held a Job Fair. ..
· 85 of the 582 evacuees attended.
· 44 were hired on the spot.
· 24 were asked back for a second interview.
· Guess the others had no desire to work.
Yesterday we began relocating evacuees to be with family or friends who had agreed to take them in as well as three to the County Jail.
Now in the health arena ..
· 4 with Aids
· 15% of those 582 had some form of STD
· one case of TB
· 2 Heroin withdrawals
· 15 mental health admissions
· one brain tumor
· 15 nursing home patients.
Like everyone in this Nation, I watched as the news media blasted FEMA and President Bush for the "poor response". While everyone on TV saw nothing but people being let down by government, I saw people letting down people. Who would have ever thought that we would reach a point in time that US citizens would lie around in piles of trash complaining that no one had come to pick them up out of it.
What ever happened to people pulling together to make their circumstance better?
Why couldn't they get up and move on their own or at least just clean up the area where they had to wait for evacuation?
Why did they feel the need to take a crap in the aisle of the Superdome ?
FEMA did not fail them. FEMA is not a response agency. State and local government is responsible for the first 72 hours. But more important, we all have a responsibility to help ourselves and neighbors.
Poverty is not an excuse to behave like animals. The rest of the Gulf Coast
did not have problems like this! Difficult situations are not an excuse to loot your neighbor 24 hours before the storm even hits. I have always said New Orleans was a toilet! Now everyone has proof that not only was it a toilet, but a toilet long overdue for a flush.
Matthew Anderson
Salt Lake City, Utah
09:00 pm .. Betty called and sounded very concerned about what was going on with the Red Cross in Laurel Mississippi .. the numbers of people in the area for Red Cross to help out is going down very fast thus they are in the process of scaling back their operation .. this is NOT going over good at all with many of the ‘locals’ that would like to receive more ( monies ) from the American Red Cross .. this has led to many people getting very upset and some violence .. including one shooting / death of a local Police Officer .. Betty sounded like she is ready to head back home ..
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September 30th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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09:00 am – HEADLINES - Officer Slain In Wayne County
Waynesboro Miss - A Waynesboro Patrolman was fatally shot in the face after a traffic stop, becoming the state's third officer killed this year in the line of duty, an official said Thursday.
Jamie Walker, a two-year officer, was killed around 11:25 p.m. Wednesday after pulling over a Ford van reported stolen earlier that night from a local bar, Mayor Joe Taylor said.
The driver, James Elmer Hartley, 32, of State Line is charged with grand larceny and capital murder. Hartley is being held without bond at the Wayne County Jail, a jailer said.
Walker, 32, is the first Waynesboro police officer killed in the department's history, Taylor said.
"Before (Hartley) rolled the window down, he shot Walker in the face through the glass with a shotgun," Taylor said. "Backup was turning onto the street and saw him lying on the ground."
Hartley abandoned the van and headed to the home of an acquaintance on Britton Drive, which is about a mile away, Taylor said.
(( .. the above is only part of the newspaper article ))
02:00 pm .. HEADLINES - New Orleans Reopens To 170,000 Residents
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Some of the city's most popular neighborhoods officially reopened to residents Friday, a move that could bring back about a third of New Orleans' half-million inhabitants.
The newly opened areas, including the French Quarter and Garden District, all escaped major flooding when the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina a month ago before receiving a second blow from Hurricane Rita last week.
"This is my home. I will never leave New Orleans," said Virginia Darmstadter, 75, who has lived in the Garden District since 1984. Her husband is in a nursing home in Houston.
Their home doesn't have electricity and suffered water damage, which contributed to mold. The family planned to return to Houston this weekend after cleaning up a few things.
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October 01st 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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07:00 am – Betty called .. she said that her entire group ( from Fort Myers FL ) is now all packed up and ready to head out .. she said that the group appeared to be more excited to be heading back than they were the day that they all headed out from Fort Myers .. Betty said that their Fifth Floor Penthouse Oakwood Floor Suite at the Methodist Church looked so sad to see all of them heading out ..
09:00 am – after many goodbyes to ‘locals’ that they have come to know very good Betty and the other Fort Myers Volunteers all loaded into Vans and headed Northeast to Montgomery Alabama .. in route to they crossed the Tenn-Tom Waterway at Demopolis Alabama .. Dee Light has traveled that Waterway many times .. once they made it to Montgomery they had to ‘clear’ thru the Red Cross Center where they were de-Deployed .. once done they went directly to a local Motel that the Red Cross has set up for their Volunteers .. where they experienced their first bed, TV, Pool, Restaurant, etc in three weeks .. after spending the night in Montgomery then will fly out of Montgomery in the morning ..
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October 02nd 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.comran
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The Church wher Betty lived when she was in Laurel Mississippi
One of the homes in Laurel that was damaged by Hurricane KATRINA
Betty returns with her Hurricane KATRINA T-Shirt
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Betty's Bed for three weeks
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The Showe Stall that they all used
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Some of the Red Cross 'Crew' from Fort Myers that Betty worked with in Laurel
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The Computer Syster at the Red Cross Center where Betty worked
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Betty gets back to Dee Light
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WELCOME BACK Party at the Marina
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NOTE .- this is the end of our Hurricane RITA Log ….
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