GAINESVILLE - The Gainesville area was not immune to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina which devastated parts of the Gulf Coast ten years ago.
Whether it was volunteers who went to the battered area or stayed here and collected supplies for those in need, evacuees who sought shelter here, people who grew up on the coast and still had friends and relatives there, increased gasoline prices, or price-gouging by some gasoline outlets, the impact was almost immediate and lasted for several months.
These are some of the stories that tell that story, as reported by AccessWDUN at the time. (Some current and former members of the AccessWDUN news staff also contributed to this story.)
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OCT 9 2005
Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Hall County got a boost and a helping hand from a disaster relief concert held for them in Gainesville at the Georgia Mountains Center.
Miranda Sloan volunteered with concert sponsors, Life's Lessons Ministries (LLM).
Her father, living with her, is an evacuee who saw his beachside apartment in Biloxi, Mississippi, swept away by the storm.
"He didn't think it was going to be as bad as it was," Sloan said. "After the storm it was five days before I heard from him, the whole time I was on pins and needles."
After she made contact with her father Sloan said she went to Biloxi and brought him to Gainesville. Sloan said her dad knows it will be a long time before he can go back.
Bart McMillan with LLM said he got the idea for the concert from watching televised disaster reports.
"I'm seeing the victims, I'm seeing what's taking place there and I thought to myself, you know, I want to help people," McMillan added.
McMillan estimated around 7,000 hurricane evacuees came to northeast Georgia after the storm.
The concert featured country recording artist Gordon Mote and comedian Gary Claxton.
Proceeds and donations went to Katrina victims through the Salvation Army, Red Cross and the Chattahoochee Baptist Association.
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JAN 23 2006
Two Gainesville firefighters will remember the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for a long time, according to Gainesville Fire Chief Dick Taylor.
Chief Taylor has advised City Council of federal reimbursement for humanitarian services rendered by Lt. Keith Smith, a paramedic, and Firefighter Chris Ledbetter, an EMT, in storm ravaged Pearlington, Mississippi, near New Orleans.
"They've got hearts as good as gold and they love helping people, and that's what they did," Taylor said.
Taylor said the two men were stationed in Pearlington as part of FEMA's emergency response effort and made lifelong friends during their 28-day stay. He added the men had a life-changing experience during their deployment.
"Kieth and Chris were both instrumental in working with the local people there in just getting their survival needs met," Chief Taylor said.
The men slept on the ground in tents during their stay and "roughed" it military-style, assisting victims in areas where emergency supplies did not arrive for several days.
"It's very evident, this is their calling in life, to be folks who serve the public," the Chief said.
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SEPT 11 2005
Direct passenger rail service to and from the Gulf Coast and New Orleans - including the Amtrak Crescent which serves Gainesville twice daily - has been impacted by Hurricane Katrina and officials say it cannot be fully restored at this time due to severe infrastructure damage caused by the storm.
Amtrak is offering full refunds and waiving all penalties for passengers who had made reservations traveling to or from New Orleans or other areas served by the affected trains.
The Crescent stops twice-a-day in Gainesville, once in the mornings on its southbound run and again in the evening on the return north.
This train normally operates daily between New York and New Orleans. Through the southbound departures on Sept. 11 and the northbound departures on Sept. 13, the trains will originate and terminate in Atlanta instead of New Orleans. Starting with the southbound departures on Sept. 12 and the northbound departures on Sept. 13, the trains will originate and terminate in Meridian, Miss., instead of New Orleans.
No alternate transportation is available between Meridian and New Orleans.
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JAN 26 2006
Fifteen more gas stations in Georgia - including two in Gainesville - have been fined for jacking up their prices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina last summer.
Bill Cloud with the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs Wednesday announced a total of 51 more settlements.
In addition to two in Gainesville, two in Cumming and Bethlehem, and one each in Toccoa and Sugar Hill are on the updated list.
Cloud says another 35 stations still face fines or restitution.
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OCT 30 2006
A Gainesville resident, who works for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), recently received an award from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for her work during the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes.
Tami Ferrier was recognized for exhibiting herosim and emergency response during the storms.
Ferrier organized law enforcement resources to remove evacuees from New Orleans, provided escorts for trucks carrying supplies, and provided security for relief workers.
She also provided security and order for USFS timber salvaging operations in the states hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Ferrier received the award October 20 in Washington. She has been with the Forest Service since 1989 and has held various jobs in law enforcement.
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SEP 9 2005
He was mayor of Gainesville at the time, but he went to Columbia, Miss., rolled up his sleeves and helped clear the Katrina-ravaged town of fallen trees. She was a former resident of Gulfport, Miss., who went back to Gulfport just days after the storm, taking supplies, and to check on family and friends and help in anyway she could. Both say they are better people for the experiences.
Then-Gainesville Mayor George Wangemann was among a group of about 200 North Georgia Mormans who journeyed to Columbia. Their mission: clear downed trees, some of them from rooftops, and install tarps on roofs to help protect any salvageable belongings inside the houses and places of business. The North Georgia group was part of a 3,000-person contingent of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from around the country who descended on the devastated coastal areas in the days and weeks after Katrina roared ashore.
Wangemann says though it was not the first time he had helped with disaster relief through his church, adding "I get more out of it than those affected."
He described it as an "emotional thing. I don't get too emotional most of the time but I couldn't help but feel for those who were affected by this storm."
But the real reward, Wangemann said, was the impact his group had on the people of Columbia and, he said, they were not shy about showing their appreciation. "With tears in their eyes, they (would throw) their arms around you and profusely thank you."
GULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI
Lisa Fletcher of Buford found she "could" go home again - what was left of it. What the former Gulfport, Miss., resident saw about three weeks after Katrina hit was not the Gulfport she knew when she lived there.
"There are really no words to describe it. When I went over the tracks and saw the destruction there, I didn't recognize a lot of the places."
Fletcher says while she did not lose any family members to Katrina, the loss of life there did, nevertheless, hit home. "We did have some loss of life of some friends and some people that we knew."
And, even as they still struggled without some of the basics of life, and many appeared still in a state of shock, Fletcher says she was impressed with the can-do attitude she found among the people of Gulfport. "I was proud at that moment to be from there."
She says the visit made coming home all the more special.
"It made the come home with a great appreciation of what I do have."
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SEP 28 2006
Falling gasoline prices have now reached $2 a gallon in Gainesville - exactly one year after it was selling for $3.
The Shell outlet on Brown's Bridge Road near Skelton Road had regular, unleaded for $2 during an early morning survey Wednesday - that was down a nickel from Tuesday afternoon.
The average for regular, unleaded in a spot check of eight outlets in town before dawn Wednesday was $2.07. Two were selling it for $2.07; two for $2.09; two for $2.11; one for $2.04; and, the one for $2.00.
On September 28 last year, we report that $3-a-gallon gasoline had returned to Gainesville. That was just a few weeks after prices topped $3 for the first time ever just after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Prices eased a bit over the next three weeks before moving back to the $3 level.
Statewide, according to GeorgiaGasPrices.com, the lowest price early Thursday was $1.92 at a Sam's Club in Macon and the highest, $2.39, could be found at an Exxon on I-20 in Greensboro.
Gainesville area price (average) for regular, unleaded:
2005
Mar. 17 - $2.00
Apr. 7 - $2.20
Apr. 25 - $2.10
Aug. 5 - $2.25
Aug. 7 - $2.35
Aug. 10 - $2.40
Sep. 1 - $3.19 (morning)
Sep. 1 - $3.49 (afternoon)
Nov. 4 - $2.35
Dec. 3 - $1.90
Dec. 31 - $2.16
2006
Apr. 10 - $2.60
Jul. 25 - $2.96
Sep. 27 - $2.07
