Local Hurricane Relief Continues

September 15, 2005

Scott County’s various relief efforts to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina continued this week, as storm aid in the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama region entered its third week.

Among the largest local aid efforts is the program undertaken by the Oneida Church of God, through the assistance of several other local churches.

Pastor Bruce Kennedy said Tuesday that the effort has raised more than $7,000 to pay for fuel to transport goods to Louisiana. That total included some $4,000 donated by the Church of God, a $1,000 donation by Jones & Son and West-Murley Funeral Home, a donation by Paint Rock Baptist Church, and several other individual donors.

Those funds will be used to assist with the Church of God’s parent organization’s efforts to transport non-perishable items to Louisiana. The cost to transport one truck to Louisiana is $1,000, Kennedy said.

The Oneida Church of God also continues to fill a trailer that is parked at the Oneida Wal-Mart Supercenter. New Haven Baptist Church has joined the Church of God in filling the truck, contributing $4,000 to purchase items that will be distributed in the hurricane zone, and bringing the total amount of money raised to $11,000.

Many individuals have also contributed to the truck’s load, depositing various non-perishable items in the truck. Kennedy said that the focus of those individual donations needs to shift to dry goods and diapers.

“We’ve got way too many clothes right now,” he said. “We need to focus our efforts more on food and diapers, water, HBA and toiletry items, and the essentials.”

To contribute to the efforts of the Oneida Church of God, contact Kennedy at 617-1822 or 569-9519.

The Scott County Service Unit of the Salvation Army also continues to accept donations. The organization, which is one of the many local programs under the umbrella of services provided by the Appalachian Life Quality Initiative (ALQI) announced earlier that 100 percent of donations made to the Katrina relief fund will go directly to aid the storm’s victims, with no administrative fees withdrawn.

To contribute to the Salvation Army, mail donations to the Salvation Army Service Unit, 202 Chester Street, Oneida, TN 37841.

The Salvation Army has also located several local families that will house families displaced by the storm’s destruction, Vivian Smith said Tuesday.

Citizens First Bank announced this week that it has begun a fund to assist the victims of the storm. Individuals can donate to the fund by stopping by the bank’s Oneida branch just south of the Scott County Food Court.

Several relief efforts have been undertaken by area schools, including:

• Huntsville Middle School, where fifth-grade students raised $170 for hurricane relief;

• Oneida Middle School, where the Character Committee is collecting art supplies and school supplies for an adopted school in the area of Katrina’s devastation. Items can be contributed by dropping them off at the middle school office; and,

• The Roane State Community College at Huntsville, where more than 2,000 t-shirts were donated by students and faculty through the “T-Shirts for the Gulf” program, to be distributed to storm evacuees who are making their way to East Tennessee.

Scott Countians are also contributing through direct work in the hurricane zone, either by volunteering their time or through government contracts.

Among local personnel in the Gulf region are workers from Plateau Electric Cooperative. A crew from Plateau departed for Mississippi last week and will assist in the Coast Electric Power Association region that includes Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi.

newsroom@ihoneida.com

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