Storm Damage

In doing some research today on the amount of damage to the City of Starkville from Hurricane Katrina, I learned that no public buildings, i.e. city hall, police department, etc. were damaged from the storm. The main financial cost to the city will be in the form of overtime for the sanitation department and gas, etc. for the chainsaws being used to cut off dead limbs. Some residents had their homes and cars damaged in the storm. I believe it will still be some time before we are able to assess that sort of damage. I also called OCH and they told me there were no storm related deaths and only a few minimal injuries.

I do feel fortunate though that we fared much better than our fellow cities to the south. We should do what we can to help those who are suffering from this tragic event. Several student organizations at MSU are collecting food and goods to send down to the volunteer forces who are working to put people's lives back together. I encourage each and every one of you to donate at least one item to help with the relief effort. If you need someone to give the item(s) to, please let me know and I will gladly take it and give it to a group for you.