The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/99608
A-12 Wednesday, December 19, 2012 The Press-Dispatch H Hurricane Sandy Continued from front page ter, someone else got it, then someone else. We knew it could wipe out the whole team if it spread." Team members with the flu had to be quarantined, since all 37 of them lived together for the entire two weeks. "Thank goodness it stopped after three," Dixon said. "It probably wouldn't have, but we were bleaching and washing everything." Then, as donations continued to pour in from every conceivable place, another problem reared its head: there was no room to store everything. "It's sad to say, but we received so many clothes, many of them will probably go to waste," Dixon said. "We kept all the donations in an ice arena, and the garbage bags full of donated items filled the arena and all the bleachers. We had to assign volunteers to sort them out so we could find things that people actually needed, which was a full-time job." While the thought behind each donation was well-intentioned, Dixon said the things that would have done the most good— bleach, shovels, rakes, and other tools for cleaning up— were in short supply, while things like clothes piled up far beyond the amount that was needed or even usable. "It was a disaster within a disaster," she said. "It's sort of like if our team deployed without being asked; we wouldn't be able to do any good going where we weren't needed. Sending things people weren't asking for didn't do any good, but truck drivers would arrive who had hauled do- nations hours and hours to help the people of Long Beach, and we couldn't just turn them away." Even through snow and disease and mountains of garbage bags, the team kept everyone working, and after the electricity and roads were back online, they moved on to other tasks. Soon the subways were cleaned out and a mobile hospital was set up in Long Beach for people who were sick or injured. Finally, near the end of their stay, the team was able to organize a giant Thanksgiving dinner for residents of the town. "We set up the dinner tables and food in a big tent in a field. We got meals delivered to people who couldn't leave their houses, and there was music playing during the dinner. I had planned on serving dinner, but someone had to get everything in order so the team could demobilize and head home the next day," Dixon said, but, "I was able to go over to the dinner for a few minutes. We were very happy with that day." Having safely made it back to Indiana with the rest of her team, Dixon reflected on the huge discrepancy between what Long Beach needed and what they received by donation. "I knew I wanted to tell people about that when I got back," she said. "It's so important to find out what people actually need before sending aid, because sending things that aren't needed just gets in the way of people on the ground who are trying to help." However, Dixon said she Leftover sand from the hurricane was covered Long Beach when Dixon's team arrived. "Sand was everywhere," she said, "and the biggest problem was that it had gotten into all the septic systems and clogged them up." Getting the sand removed was a big part of the cleanup efforts her team organized. was impressed at how easily a group of 37 strangers from across Indiana had been able to work together. "Even though we were all from the same state, I'd never seen the majority of the people I worked with in my life," she said. "This was the first time Indiana had put an emergency management team together from across the state. All of us have been taking Natural Incident Management System classes for years, and I know some of the things I heard in those classes, I didn't think would work. But they did. We didn't even need to know each other's names to work together and help out." Snowfall hindered the efforts to clean up Long Beach during Dixon's time there. "Of course, on top of everything else, it had to snow," she joked. This crowd of people was just part of the massive number of volunteers who implemented the plans Dixon and her teammates worked out to help Long Beach recover from Hurricane Sandy. "No matter how many people you have willing to help, you've got to figure out something for them to do," Dixon said. Four accidents this week in Pike County At 3:18 p.m. on Friday, December 14, Tailor C. Green, age 16 of Petersburg, was backing out of the Pike Central High School parking lot when she backed into the front of a parked car. The parked car, a gray Mazda, was registered to Julie D. Leavitt of Winslow. Pike County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Willis investigated the scene. At 11:59 a.m. on Friday, December 14, James L. Wilson, age 62 of Odon, was driving south on State Road 257 near Pikeville. According to the report by Pike County Sheriff's Deputy Alan Thompson, who investigated, a paper on Wilson's dashboard began to slide around, and he took his eyes off the road to adjust it. As he did so, his white Ford truck slid off the road, smashing into a guard rail. Both Wilson's truck and the guard rail took heavy damage, between $5,000 and $10,000, but Wilson was not injured. At 3:25 p.m. on Saturday, December 15, Heather S. Sanders, age 37 of Petersburg, was driving on CR175 S with Jacob A. Smith, age 15 of Petersburg, in the front passenger seat. According to the report by Pike County Sheriff's Department Deputy Alan Thompson, when Sanders made the 90 -degree turn on CR700 E, a deer jumped in front of her. She swerved, but lost control, and the driver's side of her SUV crashed into a tree. Sanders was uninjured, but Smith had pain in his shoulder and was taken by ambulance to seek treatment. At 12:05 p.m. on Sunday, December 16, Robert W. Bell, age 55 of Loogootee, was driving north on Interstate 69 near the Petersburg exit. According to the report by Pike County Sheriff's Department Deputy Alan Thompson, a deer ran out on the interstate in front of Bell's white Saturn, and he could not avoid hitting it. Bell was not injured, but his car sustained between $5,000 and $10,000 in damage. "The most gratifying thing for me was being able to organize a Thanksgiving dinner for the people of Long Beach," Dixon said. The dinner was set up in one of the many big tents the team brought with them, and meals were delivered to Long Beach residents who were unable to leave their homes. the Puzzled about what to read....? Fitness Center Subscribe to Give the Gift ....and you will have your solution. of HealtH 354-8500 CHRISTMAS MEMBERSHIP SPECIALS: Family $499 Reg. Price $595 Fax: 812-354-2014 E-mail: news@pressdispatch.net Husband/Wife $375 Reg. Price $420 Single $199 Reg. Price $245 Students/Seniors $150 Reg. 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