MC Journal: Barbour saws to Yazoo with Flora mayor

As Flora Mayor Les Childress and dozens of other volunteers used chain saws and tractors to clear debris off U.S. 49 to Yazoo City following Saturday's deadly tornado, he turned around to see Gov. Haley R. Barbour pitching in.

Childress and many other Flora residents were some of the first on the scene Saturday, literally cutting their way through downed trees to reach victims of an EF-4 tornado that cut through central Mississippi and claimed 10 lives.

State officials are estimating nearly 700 homes were damaged and 49 people were injured during the storms. Two others died in Alabama.

The hardest hit areas included Yazoo and Choctaw counties. This week Barbour asked President Barack Obama to declare both counties major disaster areas to open up aid for residents and business owners.

On Saturday, Barbour, a Yazoo City native, was on the front lines clearing debris from U.S 49 and directing traffic to give workers enough room to clear the roadway.

"It really hit home for him," Childress said. "You could tell he was really trying to get there (Yazoo City)."

Childress said they were all shocked at the amount of devastation before them, but the mayor said he was even more amazed at the almost instantaneous outpouring of support from the community.

"I went up there Saturday around 1 p.m. right after it happened and there were already folks from Flora there," he said. "Every citizen that lived in the surrounding area was there working to try and help out their neighbors.

"Flora has a lot of ties to Yazoo County," he added. "They're family."

Read more at the Madison County Journal

MISSISSIPPI DELEGATION UNITED IN SUPPORT FOR DISASTER DECLARATION

Federal Lawmakers Endorse Barbour Request for Disaster Aid Following Tornadoes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – All members of the Mississippi congressional delegation today signaled their united support for approval of a federal disaster designation that would sanction federal recovery resources to help Mississippians recover from a deadly storm that tore across the state Saturday, killing 10 people and destroying scores of homes.

The delegation today sent President Obama a letter endorsing the disaster application submitted by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. The letter was signed by U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker and U.S. Representatives Bennie Thompson, Gene Taylor, Travis Childers and Gregg Harper.

“We know from our ongoing recovery from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which hit our state in August 2005, that significant resources and cooperation are necessary to recover fully from natural disasters as quickly as possible. We stand ready to face this new challenge by supporting the local communities, the State, and your administration as we work together to rebuild and renew areas destroyed by this major storm,” the lawmakers wrote to the President.

The letter also notes the ongoing economic hardship of the affected areas, as well as the need for Congress to replenish funding for the Disaster Recovery Fund administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). A supplemental appropriations bill pending before Congress would add $5.1 billion to the FEMA fund.

Members of the congressional delegation have been consulting with Barbour, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and local officials as recovery efforts get underway. The issuance of a presidential disaster declaration, as requested by the state, would trigger the release of federal disaster assistance. Barbour’s initial federal disaster declaration request would encompass Choctaw and Yazoo counties, with other Mississippi counties expected to be added as damage assessments across the state are compiled.

The following is the text of the congressional delegation’s letter to the President:

Dear President Obama,

In the wake of devastating weather events across the Southeastern United States this past weekend, we are writing to request your full consideration of Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour’s request for a federal disaster declaration for Yazoo County, Mississippi and Choctaw County, Mississippi.

We also understand that the State of Mississippi and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) jointly continue to assess the damage across the state, particularly in Attala, Holmes Monroe, Union, and Warren Counties. It is our understanding that Governor Barbour will request a federal disaster declaration in Holmes County sometime today. Should Governor Barbour request federal disaster declarations for these or other counties, we are hopeful you will also give these requests your full consideration.

We have been encouraged by the efforts of FEMA to deploy rapidly to Mississippi to assist state and local officials in estimating the severity of the initial damage caused by a series of tornado touchdowns, some rated as devastating as EF-4. The latest estimates show that 10 Mississippi lives have been lost and hundreds homes have been destroyed. Much of this destruction has occurred in parts of our state that have been particularly affected by our nation’s current economic situation. Many of these counties have poverty levels that are more than double the national average.

Examination of National Weather Service data shows that these tornado touchdowns were some of the most extreme in Mississippi’s history. Preliminary estimations show that one of the touchdowns was 1.75 miles wide at some points and stayed touched down for 149 miles, carving a path of destruction across the heart of our state. If these estimates hold, this storm event will lay claim to the widest tornado in Mississippi’s history and the fourth longest touchdown distance in our state’s history.

We know from our ongoing recovery from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which hit our state in August 2005, that significant resources and cooperation are necessary to recover fully from natural disasters as quickly as possible. We stand ready to face this new challenge by supporting the local communities, the State, and your administration as we work together to rebuild and renew areas destroyed by this major storm.

We are also very aware of the depleted status of the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund and the potential effect a disaster declaration for this past weekend’s events in Mississippi could have on its solvency. We are hopeful that the Disaster Relief Fund will be replenished as soon as possible so that federal assistance for this and other disasters can flow freely to states in need.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you need further assistance in this effort.

A good reason for a great meal!

That's all I needed, another good excuse to go eat some of those gold band oysters. AJ's also has some of the best ceviche around.

WJTV:

Madison Restaurant Offers Community Ways to Help Tornado Victims


MADISON, Mississippi – April 27, 2010 – AJ’s-on-the-Lake has asked its patrons and servers to band together to help our neighbors in need after last week’s tornados by matching gratuity and part of proceeds at the restaurant this week.

AJ’s servers are donating 30% of their tips received this weekend to Mississippi Tornado Relief Efforts. The monetary amount will be matched by AJ’s Management. And all week, AJ’s will be matching part of your proceeds on special menu and drink items in order to raise money for the communities in need.

AJ’s has also asked patrons to bring non-perishable food, bottled water, clothing and bedding and other items to aid in relief efforts for storm victims if they would like the restaurant to transport the goods to the donation center at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds on their behalf.

About AJ’s on the Lake
AJ’s on the Lake has been locally owned and operated by Lucy and John Taylor for the past ten years. AJ’s provides a casual fine dining atmosphere, some of the freshest seafood in Central Mississippi, as well as steaks and pasta. AJ’s won Taste of Mississippi’s best entrée for 2010 and was voted best seafood restaurant in the state by Mississippi Magazine in 2009. AJ’s is located off Highland Colony Parkway just north of Steed Road. For more information, visit http://www.ajsgrille.com/
 

Federal Dollars Expected For Storm Relief, Insured Losses Estimated Over $50 Million

Via the Clarion Ledger:

Insurance chief: Mississippi storm damage 'well north of $50M'

State expects to receive some federal relief

Damage from Saturday’s storm is “well north of $50 million (in insured losses),” Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said today.

An exact monetary damage amount hasn’t yet been tallied.

“I think we’re going to get some type of (federal) relief,” he said Tuesday, noting Gov. Haley Barbour and others have been updating federal government officials on the severity of the damage.

The scope of the devastation, caused mainly by an EF4 tornado was still unfolding Tuesday.

Chaney said his office is still assessing the damage the storm did to commercial buildings and other non-residential properties and compiling a definitive number of homes destroyed around the state.

He says at least 700 homes statewide were damaged in Saturday’s storms. In Yazoo County alone, at least 150 homes are unhabitable, and an additional 67 suffered major damage, Chaney said.

Flora pitching in to assist with Yazoo Tornado Relief

The Town of Flora, along with the assistance of Wilmon Holmes, Ramey's Supervalu, Flora United Methodist Church and First Baptist Church, Flora will have a non-perishable food drop off at Ramey's Supervalu in Flora today (Tuesday) from 4 pm -7 pm and on Wed. 10 am - 6 pm and Thurs. 10 am - 6 pm . The donations will be taken to those who were affected by the deadly tornado last Saturday in Yazoo City and the surrounding area. Bottled water and non-perishable canned foods are greatly appreciated. Also in need are cleaning supplies such as mops, brooms, cleaning rags, Clorox, Mr. Clean, buckets, heavy duty garbage bags, and rubber gloves.

Congressman Gregg Harper: Mississippi Will Persevere

Congressman Gregg Harper delivered the following remarks today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding Governor Haley Barbour’s proclamation declaring April 27, 2010 as a Day of Prayer.

Despite The Spin: Still Government Motors

From Forbes:

GM is paying back Uncle Sam to shake him down for more money.

GM CEO Ed Whitacre announced in a Wall Street Journalcolumn Wednesday that his company has paid back its government bailout loan "in full, with interest, years ahead of schedule." He is even running TV ads on all major networks to that effect--a needless expense given that a credulous media is only too happy to parrot his claims for free. Detroit Free Press' Mike Thompson, for example, advises bailout proponents to start "warming up their vocal chords" to jeer their opponents with chants of "I told you so."

But before belting out their victory aria, GM-boosters ought to hear the whole story--not just the fairytale version about Government Motors' grand comeback that Mr. Whitacre is feeding them.

But when Mr. Whitacre says GM has paid back the bailout money in full, he means not the entire $49.5 billion--the loan and the equity. In fact, he avoids all mention of that figure in his column. He means only the $6.7 billion loan amount.


But wait! Even that's not the full story given that GM, which has not yet broken even, much less turned a profit, can't pay even this puny amount from its own earnings.

As it turns out, the Obama administration put $13.4 billion of the aid money as "working capital" in an escrow account when the company was in bankruptcy. The company is using this escrow money--government money--to pay back the government loan.

GM claims that the fact that it is even using the escrow money to pay back the loan instead of using it all to shore itself up shows that it is on the road to recovery. That actually would be a positive development--although hardly one worth hyping in ads and columns--if it were not for a further plot twist.

Sean McAlinden, chief economist at the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research, points out that the company has applied to the Department of Energy for $10 billion in low (5%) interest loan to retool its plants to meet the government's tougher new CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards. However, giving GM more taxpayer money on top of the existing bailout would have been a political disaster for the Obama administration and a PR debacle for the company. Paying back the small bailout loan makes the new--and bigger--DOE loan much more feasible.


In short, GM is using government money to pay back government money to get more government money. And at a 2% lower interest rate at that. This is a nifty scheme to refinance GM's government debt--not pay it back!

GM boasts that, because it is doing so well, it is paying the $6.7 billion five years ahead of schedule since it was not due until 2015. So will there be an accelerated payback of the rest of the $49.6 billion investment? No. That goal has been pushed back, as it turns out.

In order to recover that investment, the government has to sell its equity. It plans to do that only when GM becomes a publicly traded company once again. GM was hoping to turn a profit by the end of 2010 and float an initial public offering this winter. However, GM Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell, when queried about that timeline a few days ago, demurred. The offering will be made, he said, "when the markets and the company are ready."

(Take that, taxpayers!)

More Proof: They Knew, But Hid It From the Public

From the American Spectator

What Lies Beneath


OFFICE POLITICS

The economic report released last week by Health and Human Services, which indicated that President Barack Obama's health care "reform" law would actually increase the cost of health care and impose higher costs on consumers, had been submitted to the office of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius more than a week before the Congressional votes on the bill, according to career HHS sources, who added that Sebelius's staff refused to review the document before the vote was taken.

"The reason we were given was that they did not want to influence the vote," says an HHS source. "Which is actually the point of having a review like this, you would think."

The analysis, performed by Medicare's Office of the Actuary, which in the past has been identified as a "nonpolitical" office, set off alarm bells when submitted. "We know a copy was sent to the White House via their legislative affairs staff," says the HHS staffer, "and there were a number of meetings here almost right after the analysis was submitted to the secretary's office. Everyone went into lockdown, and people here were too scared to go public with the report."

In the end, the report was released several weeks after the vote -- the review by the secretary's office reportedly took less than three days -- and bore a note that the analysis was not the official position of the Obama administration.

MDEQ offers Debris Management Guidance for storm ravaged areas

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has developed three debris management guidance documents in response to this weekend’s storm events. MDEQ is providing information to local governments on selecting temporary emergency debris sites, the locations of existing solid waste sites, and dealing with asbestos.

“As a native of Yazoo County, I understand clearly the challenges facing local governments in that county and also in Warren, Holmes, and Choctaw counties. The amount of debris left behind is a big challenge for any county. Therefore, MDEQ has moved quickly to provide guidance to local officials who are dealing with large amounts of debris and other solid waste. We realize the need for additional public solid waste management facilities and are here to provide that information as well as for other solid waste management issues,” said MDEQ Executive Director Trudy Fisher.

The MDEQ documents include the following:

• Guidance to local governments on selecting and requesting approval for emergency debris management sites for burning, storage, or chipping of vegetative debris and storage/staging of structural debris.
• Guidance on the existing permitted solid waste facilities available in the 4 high impact counties and the permitted solid waste facilities in the adjacent counties to those high impact counties.
• Preliminary guidance on dealing with asbestos containing materials advising people to be cautious in managing and cleaning asbestos materials at single family homes and advising owners of commercial, non-residential, and multi-family dwelling unit owners to contact MDEQ for further guidance

The documents are available at:
http://www.deq.state.ms.us/MDEQ.nsf/page/SW_EmergencyDebrisManagementGuidance4.24.2010?OpenDocument

MDEQ Press Release

Allstate Announces Mobile Claims Centers Located to Yazoo City For Disaster Relief

Allstate has set up a Mobile Claims Center in Yazoo City, Miss. to help policyholders affected by Saturday’s tornado. The self-contained mobile claims office is equipped with generators, satellite technology and high-speed internet connectivity allowing Allstate’s National Catastrophe Team the ability to provide customer claim support in areas hardest hit by a tornado.

By visiting a Mobile Claims Center, Allstate customers will be able to start the claims process and ask questions about their claim.

The current Allstate Mobile Claims Center location as of April 26, 2010, is listed below. The location of this unit is subject to change. For an updated list of locations visit www.allstate.com/catastrophe/Mobile-Response-Units.aspx

Sunflower Foods
734 E 15 St,
Yazoo City, MS

Hours are from 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.

Allstate policyholders whose homes or automobiles have been damaged or destroyed by the recent storm can contact Allstate by calling 1-800-54-STORM, visiting a Mobile Claims Center, or logging onto Allstate.com.

Governor declares Day of Prayer, State Flags at Half Staff for Period of Mourning

Gov. Haley Barbour has declared Tuesday as a Day of Prayer to remember Mississippians who suffered losses in Saturday's severe weather and for those families who lost loved ones in last week's oil rig accident.

Ten people in Mississippi died in Saturday's tornado.

Four Mississippians were reported missing in the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

Barbour says the past few days "have been tough for many Mississippi families."

Barbour has ordered state flags to be flown at half staff April 27 through April 30 as part of a period of mourning.

Associated Press

Fox News highlights the incredible dedication of long time Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers (Video)

Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers -- a Baptist deacon -- says he was in his truck when the twister picked it up and flipped it four times. Shivers says he told God that if it was his time to die, he was ready. Later he went out in his hospital gown to help identify bodies.


Fox reporter, Kris Gutierrez does an amazing job with Mr. Shivers. How do you think a CNN or MSNBC reporter would have responded to Mr. Shivers' Christian worldview of the twister? Considering the response from Mr. Guiterrez, would the MSM respond with an "Amen" or the "We're praying for you, and I mean it"?

Town Hall

Gulf Coast Residents come to aid Tornado Victims in Yazoo City

State asks for volunteers to help with tornado relief efforts


Yazoo City, Miss., residents walk past a tornado destroyed home on Sunday, April 25, 2010. Many residents spent the better part of the day cleaning up and trying to salvage possessions in the homes and businesses damaged by Saturday's tornado. The director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said Sunday that volunteers are needed after a tornado sliced through dozens of counties, killing at least 10 people and destroying numerous homes.

Mike Womack, director of MEMA, said officials are working with the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service to coordinate emergency relief efforts.

"We've set up the Volunteer Reception Center, which will oversee volunteers and national service members," Womack said. "We need people to assist in the removal of fallen trees, destroyed homes, as well as the clearing of other debris."

Visit www.volunteermississippi.org to volunteer or call 888-353-1793. Registered volunteers will be contacted, Womack said.

Paige Roberts, executive director of the Southeast Mississippi Chapter of the Red Cross, was in Yazoo City on Sunday with at least one other volunteer from Jackson County.

Yazoo City has been reported to be one of the hardest-hit areas by the mile-wide twister that ripped through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Saturday.

"It's bad here," Roberts said when contacted by cell phone on Sunday. "This is what tornadoes do. It ripped thorough cities and towns, leaving behind snapped trees. Trees cause the majority of the damage."

Roberts said when she arrived Saturday afternoon to the city that's just outside Jackson, she first encountered a family who lost their brother.

"He was asleep in his trailer, and a tree fell on it, killing him," Roberts said.

She also comforted two children who lost their mother as she tried to protect them.

"She died while trying to save her children," Roberts said. "The children are hospitalized, and both are under 7 years old."

Roberts said there are also Red Cross volunteers from Biloxi in Yazoo City.

"It reminds me of Katrina," she said. "The devastation is not as widespread as Katrina was, but the places that were hit resemble Katrina's destruction."

Roberts said more Gulf Coast volunteers could arrive throughout the week.

Mississippi Press

Tornado Relief Effort at Brandon City Hall

A tornado relief effort has been started at Brandon City Hall.


An 18-wheeler will be on site to collect relief items. Items being accepted: Non-perishable food, bottled water, clothing, bedding, sleeping bags, blankets, batteries, chain saws, blowers, towels, toiletries, cash donations, etc.

Location:
Brandon City Hall
1000 Municipal Drive
601-824-4579 or 601-955-1960

Collected between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Sun Pine has already agreed to supply pallets of cleaning supplies toward the effort.

MEMA issues latest damage assessment

Initial damage assessment teams began damage assessments today in the hardest hit areas following Saturday's storms.

They are:

• Attala — 35 homes damaged and seven injuries

• Choctaw — 114 homes/mobile homes damaged, two businesses, 15 injuries

• Holmes — 60 homes damaged and 25 injuries

• Monroe — 48 homes/mobile homes damaged, three businesses damaged, one injury

• Union — 63 homes/mobile homes damaged and one injury.

• Warren — 42 homes/mobile homes damaged

• Yazoo — 319 homes/mobile homes damaged

MEMA's Mobile Operations Unit is deployed in Yazoo County. Area coordinators are in Yazoo and Choctaw. More than 60 Mississippi National Guardsmen and MP's are in both of those counties, and 40 additional MHP officers have been deployed, as well.

The Department of Health has sent in water engineers and facility inspectors to Yazoo County.

MEMA has deployed 740 tarps; 10 light towers; one pallet of Meals Ready to Eat and seven pallets of water to Yazoo County; one pallet of water to Holmes County; and, 192 tarps to Attala County.

The United Way's Mississippi 211 opened it's call center today. The American Red Cross is on the scene, and shelters have been opened by ARC.

How bad do you want it?

Video of destruction from Yazoo City

Taken from site of Hillcrest Baptist Church destruction:





Mississippi Business Journal footage:







AP coverage of local footage:



Fox News:




More from MBJ:

AP: 2 killed as tornado strikes Mississippi

YAZOO CITY, Miss. — A tornado touched down Saturday in rural Mississippi, killing two people, injuring several others and ripping the tops off buildings, the mayor of Yazoo City said.

The ¾-mile wide tornado roared across at least three counties in west-central Mississippi. Mayor McArthur Straughter said the county coroner confirmed the deaths.

"It's devastating. All of the buildings up in this area have had the roof torn off," said Straughter, estimating about 15 to 20 buildings had been heavily damaged.

Power lines and trees were down, blocking roads, Straughter said by telephone as sirens whined in the background. At least four people had been brought by four-wheeler to a triage center at an old discount store parking lot in the town about 40 miles north of Jackson.

Three counties were conducting a "massive response," Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn said.

Associated Press

Yazoo County hammered by major twister

Reports continue to come in from Yazoo County following a major twister hitting Yazoo City. Reports are that Hillcrest Church at the corner of Highway's 49 and 16 was leveled and that some people may have been trapped inside. At least five ambulances have passed our location in Flora headed north on 49. Reports are that Ribeye's Restaurant and the shopping center just north of the intersection of 49 and old 16 were also leveled.

Initial information received suggested that Benton had also been hit, but reports now indicate that Benton has received only minor damage.

Update: Recently received photos suggest that Ribeye's Restaurant and the shopping center had major damage, but both structures remain standing.

Update: WLBT reports Dale Thrasher was inside Hillcrest Baptist Church and took refuge under the communion table as the entire building came down around him.

Update 3:13 pm: Military helicopter passed over Flora in route to storm damage minutes ago. Emergency vehicles still in route to Yazoo City.

Update: 3:29 pm: Reports from Holmes County are that an Ebenezer man was killed while trying to get in his truck from the same storm.

Update: 3:39 pm: MDOT announcing road closures due to the storm:
Debris on Hwy 51 from Madison County to Durant, MS

County: Yazoo
Traffic Impact: High
Direction: All Directions
Lanes: All Lanes
Trees down on Hwy 51 from Madison County to Druant, MS

I-55 @ 151 mile marker north of Pickens near Holmes Co. Park

Traffic Impact: Closed
Approximate Duration: 1 hour
Direction: Northbound
All Lanes
All northbound lanes are closed. One southbound lane is open.

Update 3:49 pm: Yazoo City has established a staging area for injuries at the old Yazoo Motors on Highway 49.

Update 3:55 pm: Governor Barbour briefing media from storm site in Yazoo City. Say's will be no confirmation of fatalities until cornoner reports them. Governor says, "several fatalities likely" from across Yazoo and Holmes County's. 17 reported injuries taken to Jackson via Ambulance, 2 by helicopter.

Update 4:09 pm: AP reporting two confirmed deaths.

Update 4:20 pm: MHP confirmed 2 children dead in Weir, Choctaw County.

Update 4:30 pm: Red Cross has established a shelter, and will be serving meals at the LT Miller Community Center in Yazoo City.

Forward any pictures and information you have on the storm to floraharvester@bellsouth.net and we'll attempt to keep information posted.

U.S.’s Toughest Immigration Bill Is Signed in Arizona

PHOENIX — Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country on Friday, aimed at identifying, prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants. The governor’s move unleashed immediate protests and reignited the divisive battle over immigration reform nationally.
Even before Governor Brewer signed the law at a 4:30 p.m. news conference here, President Obama strongly criticized it.

Speaking at a naturalization ceremony for 24 active-duty service members in the Rose Garden, Mr. Obama called for a federal overhaul of immigration laws — an overhaul that Congressional leaders signaled they were preparing to take up soon.

He said the failure of officials in Washington to act on immigration would open the door to “irresponsibility by others.” He said the Arizona bill threatened “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”

The law, which opponents and critics alike said was the broadest and strictest immigration measure in the country in generations, would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime. It would also give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. Opponents have decried it as an open invitation for harassment and discrimination against Hispanics regardless of their citizenship status.

New York Times