Aid arena: Canadians clear rink
Sailors help clean Mississippi sports complex Disorganization leaves others with little work to do
BILOXI, MISS.—
It figures you would find Canadians helping out at a hockey rink. The Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Centre — home of the Mississippi Seawolves hockey team — is the focus of a major cleanup effort by Canadian sailors on the battered Gulf Coast.
Yesterday, the crews of two Canadian warships — HMCS Toronto and Ville de Québec — were back working to clear out the stinking, muddy mess left behind by the storm surge that came churning through the waterfront centre when Hurricane Katrina stormed ashore.
Bill Holmes, the centre’s executive director, was surprised when Canadians first showed up on Tuesday but was delighted to have the help.
“ It was amazing what the Canadians got done. The Canadians came in here and it was like ants,” Holmes said.
Local officials want to get the 12,000- seat arena and adjacent 180,000-square-foot convention centre re- opened to serve as a distribution centre for emergency aid and perhaps even a shelter for returning residents. But Katrina turned this sports and entertainment complex into a disaster zone. Holmes put the Canadians to work again yesterday in the kitchen, a foul-smelling place where plates, glasses and rotten food littered the floor and the appliances sat covered in a disgusting stew of debris. By day’s end, the job was done. “We cleared it completely,” beamed Lieut. Karen O’Connell, of HMCS Toronto, whose mud- stained uniform attested to her day’s labours.
“ We filled a complete dumpster and every garbage can we could find.” But the day wasn’t so productive for 40 other sailors among the 250 who went ashore yesterday. They spent hours driving around in a fruitless search for work to do — a signal the Canadian effort here in the battered Gulf Coast might be shortlived.
Acting under the direction of American authorities, Lieut. Richard Lane first led his band of 40 sailors to the pier in neighbouring Gulfport, Miss., to assist U. S. Coast Guard officials with the cleanup there. But in another symptom of the confused disaster relief effort, no one seemed to know they were coming. The sailors had lunch, climbed back on buses and fought traffic bottlenecks to Biloxi High School, where they had hopes of unloading relief supplies.
“ They could use four volunteers. They don’t need 40,” Lane told his disappointed troops after checking with officials at the high school, where there was a long line of residents waiting to collect disaster relief cheques.
“ It’s been a frustrating day. I’m with you on that,” Lane told them. One problem is that Canadians don’t want to get involved in cleaning up private homes. And the fact is that more than two weeks after the storm, much of the debris that clogged roads and highways has already been swept aside. The idled sailors, all keen to help, tried to take the snafus in stride. But frustrations were obvious.
“ We got on a tour bus, stopped for lunch and then got back on the bus,” said one sailor.
“ It makes you feel kind of helpless. You want to be able to help.” But military officials tried to put a positive light on the day. “ It’s a good sign that were having trouble finding work,” said Lieut. Brian Owens, a navy public affairs officer. Other sailors unloaded 13 truckloads of supplies at a warehouse used by the U. S. Federal Emergency Management Agency to distribute emergency aid. As well, they helped tidy a veterans’ home in Gulfport, cleaning the yard of pews that had been blown out of a neighbouring church. And the Canadian effort, though stymied at times, is turning heads here.
“ There are people who have travelled thousands of miles to help,” said Lieut. Jim Hoeft of the U. S. navy, which has its own sailors helping out here.
“ It means a great deal to us to have our friends and neighbours help us in our time of need.”
Merrill Skinner, a petty officer second- class on HMCS Toronto, spent the morning helping to clear the downed trees that littered the yard at Gulfport Pass Road Elementary School in preparation for its re- opening next week.
“ I’d say we moved about 25
huge trees,” said Skinner, a Newfoundland
native, as he arrived
back at shore after a
hot day’s work, his uniform covered in sawdust. “The people were very nice. They came out and thanked us,” he said. “ You can see it on the news but when you can actually come down and help is amazing.”
For the work crew from HMCS Toronto, yesterday’s trip ashore was their first look at the jawdropping destruction of the Katrina. For most, it was a sobering, awe- inspiring look at nature’s fury.
Biloxi and Gulfport took a direct hit from Katrina — and the damage is everywhere. A massive storm surge swept houses from their foundations.
Outside the ones left standing, household belongings ruined by the water sit piled high at curbside — mattresses, televisions, sofas, chairs, carpets and computers. The piles of debris line the streets much as snow borders Toronto streets in winter. “You can hardly fathom the amount of cleanup, the amount of reconstruction,” said Lieut. Dale St. Croix of HMCS Toronto. On the beachfront road from Biloxi to neighbouring Gulfport, it’s like a giant bulldozer cleared a path, wiping it clean of homes, motels and restaurants.
Canadian sailors will be back at work today, arriving in Biloxi after a two- hour journey in a landing craft from their ships anchored offshore.
Watch Bernard Weil’s latest video report on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and find more coverage, photos and links at www.thestar.com/katrina