Items collected in Sikeston for Louisiana flood relief

SIKESTON -- Another Sikeston group is leading efforts to assist residents affected by the recent flooding in Louisiana.

In response to the floods and destruction in Baton Rouge, La., and other portions of southern Louisiana, cleaning supplies, nonperishable food items and clothing are being collected through Sunday for the victims of this devastation.

A trailer parked in front of Food Giant in Miner collected over half a Fed Ex trailer full of items early this week. On Thursday, the trailer moved to the parking lot of JC Penney in Sikeston, where it will serve as a collection site for disaster victims of Louisiana until Sunday.

Just look for the banners that read: "Louisiana Flood Relief."

"For some of these residents -- their homes are completely gone," said Tim Adkisson, senior manager for Fed Ex in Sikeston, who is organizing the effort.

Adkisson said the idea to collect items in Sikeston came after he learned 20 package handlers and three staff members from the Fed Ex facility in Baton Rouge lost their homes.

"That place is rough," Adkisson said. "We thought we'd try to see if we could get something together, and once we're done collecting here, we'll send it down to the Memphis facility, and Memphis will send it to Louisiana."

Last weekend, Adkisson said he packed 13 boxes of items he's sending to Louisiana.

"To someone who has nothing, anything is good," Adkisson said.

The local collection effort is being handled by the Sikeston Fed Ex Ground Office team.

"We try to do a couple community projects a year," Adkisson said.

Some local schools are collecting items for the effort, too.

Canalou native Carol Breedlove Pence knows all too well the need for assistance in southern Louisiana where a couple weeks ago it rained for 56 straight hours.

The former Southeast Missouri resident has lived in Baton Rouge for the past 41 years.

"The need is immediate," Pence said. "People need food, shelter and vehicles."

Thousands of homes were flooded. Even first responders and police are homeless, she said.

"Our needs are great and tremendous, and it's an overwhelming task because where do you start?" Pence said.

There are areas of the city that operate well and still move and look like they haven't flooded, Pence said.

"My home didn't flood and I'm fortunate," Pence said, adding at one time the only way she could have left her home was by boat or helicopter.

She said she lives in a townhouse and can go upstairs, however, other homeowners were rescued by what Baton Rouge locals refer to as the "Cajun Navy."

"They're simply just a group of people who own their own boats and saw a need, and their movement has saved hundreds of people," Pence said. "They live in these bayous, and they work, hunt and fish on those bayous, and they knew where to go."

Without them, Pence said she's certain the death toll would have been higher.

"It's not just Baton Rouge that flooded; it's all the towns south and west of us," Pence said.

Ninety percent of a nearby community is gone, Pence said, adding water levels got ceiling-high.

A lot of people waited it out and sat on rooftops until they were rescued.

"As a community, we all pull together and once one house is done, you go to the next. You do what you have to do," Pence said.

Pence noted she's helping a single mother physically clean out her house following the flooding.

"She bought her first house three years ago, and she's a hard worker. She lost her home, her car, and she has a job but it's hard for her to get there," Pence said.

In addition to the homes that were lost, many, many vehicles were lost as well, Pence said. As result, many people have no homes, no cars and no jobs at this moment, she said.

"Our resources are limited," Pence said. "Streets were closed and piles of garbage and trash -- the contents of everyone's lives is sitting on curbs."

People rely on the kindness of strangers to get them to and from places, she said.

For the complete story, see Friday's Standard Democrat.