|
| Beach Out and Help Someone |
more from same (GuidryNews.com) |
 Beach Out and Help Someone
by Stephanie Johnson
Saturday, October 11, 2008
"Beach Out and Help Someone", the first coordinated clean-up event for Bolivar Peninsula, has been scheduled for Saturday, October 18.
District Judge Bob Wortham (Jefferson County) was able to obtain verbal approval from Galveston County Judge, Jim Yarbrough for this event to take place. Judge Wortham indicated that Judge Yarbrough will allow volunteers to enter the peninsula without proof of property ownership.
We are asking that those interested in volunteering visit www.rebuildbolivar.com or send an email to bolivarpeninsula@gmail.com for more information. Please be patient as we work to update the website with all of the necessary details and information.
Additional clean-up days are being planned so there will be multiple volunteer opportunities available. Please also visit www.restorebolivar.com for additional information.
Stephanie Johnson
Read story at source: http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000012807
|
|
| Meeting Alert |
more from same (CrystalBeach.com) |
 Meeting Alert
An informative meeting of citizens concerned
about the rebuilding of Bolivar Peninsula.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.
Jefferson County Courthouse, Jury Impaneling Room
1001 Pearl, Beaumont (The new part of the courthouse)
Be there early to get a good seat.
Speakers to be announced
|
Posted by Kahuna at 10/11/2008 16:30 GMT |
|
|
|
| Return to Crystal Beach |
more from same (GuidryNews.com) |
Return to Crystal Beach
by Vance Redden
Saturday, September 27, 2008
I was one of the first ones in at 6 am. It was dark, but the destruction was too visible even in the lights of the RV I was driving.
I saw all of the photos prior to my reentry, but this was real. Fields of debris. I had to drive around a slanting electric pole. I barely missed it. I found the truck I had left behind parked in the Post office lot.
It had been blown back into a ditch with other vehicles and had three to four inches of mud on the seats, in the glove compartment, back of the truck etc. A total loss. I managed to salvage a rod and reel that I figure can be cleaned off, oiled and used again. That's it.
For the locals that didn't make it back, the Eagle's Club is more or less gone. The ballroom caved in, all windows blown out, and not much to look at. I was the last guy to win a pool tournament there. My name was on the wall. American Café did not fare well as the photo will attest to. Bob's Restaurant looks like it was hit by a bomb and travel trailers behind the restaurant wrecked and mangled. I had friends there.
Nature's Best RV Park wiped clean. Dick and Dottie must be devastated just like their property. Main building gone too. Foundation left behind to mark the spot, but covered with so much mud and sand that you still can't see it. Cars and trucks everywhere, turned on their backs asking for mercy. Miles of what looks like open land with debris scattered as far as the eye can see. Pilings are plentiful but nothing sits on top of them. I had to slow down for a wandering cow to cross the road.
Bolivar RV Park seemed serene. Main building looked fine if you didn't look too close. A couple of trailers rolled, but the lake was looking good, and I saw a couple of ducks strolling around wondering where all the people went. I bet you that George Vratis will be back. He's the owner and the kind of guy you would want at your back in a pinch.
Service trucks everywhere: their crew's job: to get electricity back up. To what? No customers. Coming back toward Winnie, traffic was backed up all the way to Spindletop Bayou. Maybe 20 miles or so. I am still skellshocked. Rebuild? That's what people are saying. Forget it. Nothng to rebuild. Starting from scratch is a better term. I drove all the way back at about 40 miles an hour. Nobody passed me. I had tears falling most of the way. Wondering about all the people. Where did they go? What will they do now? Businesses gone, homes gone; lives changed forever. It's not about the buildings. It's about the people. Neighbors. Friends. Where are you? What now?
Vance Redden for Guidry News Online
www.vanceredden.com
Read Story at source: http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000012396
|
Posted by Kahuna at 09/28/2008 13:18 GMT |
|
|
|
| GLO Post Ike Emergency Rules summarized |
more from same (GuidryNews.com) |
Ike Emergency Announcements
Texas General Land Office
News Release
Thursday, September 25, 2008
GLO Post Ike Emergency Rules summarized
AUSTIN - The day Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson issued emergency rules that allow coastal property owners to immediately begin work to stabilize and repair structures damaged by Hurricane Ike.
A brief summary of those rules follows:
* For 120 days after Sept. 12, local governments may issue permits for repair of residential structures without regard to the proximity of those structures to the line of vegetation (LOV).
* Repair permits are valid for 180 days
* Repairs may be made to protect public health safety and welfare, and to prevent further damage to the structure
* Local governments may authorize repair of a septic system landward of the LOV if the system complies with TCEQ and local government rules
PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES:
* Repairing or constructing a slab of concrete, fibercrete, or other impervious material
* Placing material other than beach quality sand on the beach
* Repairing or constructing an enclosed space, including a space with breakaway walls below the base flood elevation
* Increasing the footprint of the structure
PLEASE NOTE:
At the present time, LOV determinations are not needed for emergency repairs except for dune restoration or septic system repairs.
This is a summary. Please refer to the complete rules at www.glo.state.tx.us (select "Ike Hurricane Response").
Contact the local permitting authority before commencing any activity. A permit detailing specifically what is to be done will need to be issued.
|
Posted by Kahuna at 09/26/2008 16:30 GMT |
|
|
|
| Bolivar Peninsula ‘not a pretty sight’ |
more from same (Galveston Daily News) |
 Bolivar Peninsula ‘not a pretty sight’
By Corey Roepken
The Daily News
Published September 24, 2008
LEAGUE CITY — Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough said Wednesday Bolivar Peninsula is facing a recovery time period that “will be longer than we ever imagined.”
Speaking candidly at the county commissioners meeting at Walter Hall Memorial Park, Yarbrough said it may be six months until power is restored in High Island and as long as one year on the West End.
It’s a situation he said that is not conducive to economic development. Yarbrough said if people live in High Island it will be a quality of life categorized by hardship.
“Bolivar Peninsula, that’s a tough one,” Yarbrough said. “It is not a pretty sight. Unfortunately, there will be people who don’t stay long because they will see they have nothing left.”
The committee extended a curfew in High Island and expected to start re-entry into the area Friday. He said the county health district will be on hand Friday in High Island to give free tetanus shots. The Red Cross and FEMA both will have representatives there, too.
High Island will remain under curfew. Areas further west on the peninsula will remain under an order to vacate.
Read story at source: http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=9182d26e3685b46f
|
Posted by Kahuna at 09/25/2008 13:04 GMT |
|
|
|
| Return to Bolivar Peninsula |
more from same (GuidryNews.com) |
Return to Bolivar Peninsula
by Jim Guidry
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Residents and property owners will be allowed to return to the BolivarPeninsula for a “look and leave” visit beginning at 6 a.m. on Friday.
“Finally we have been able to get all the pieces in place to have a re-entry to BolivarPeninsula,” said Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough. “A lot of hard work has been done by TxDOT and our road department to get that bridge at RolloverPass accessible. We are working with the State to bring other resources to the residents.”
“We’ve got the road bridge finishing up this afternoon,” said Commissioner Patrick Doyle. “Tomorrow, we will be getting all the PODs (Points of Distribution) all in place; portapots, all the supplies, water, ice all those sort of things.”
Although County officials are working to supply the PODs in time for the Friday re-entry, Doyle advised returning residents and property owners to bring supplies, such as water, ice and mosquito spray, “because we may not have supplied all our PODs by then.”
Residents and property owners will be permitted to drive across the bridge between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day; and will be asked to leave at 4 p.m. Law enforcement will be present to maintain order and to assure that all persons leave after 4 p.m.
PODs with ice, water, portable toilets will be set up at CrenshawSchool and the FaggardCenter, as well as at HighIsland. People are urged to have tetanus inoculations before returning to the Peninsula, but the Galveston County Health Department will be giving shots at the POD at the HighIslandSchool.
Registration forms to facilitate re-entry will be posted on GuidryNews.com prior to the beginning of the program.
Many people have expressed concern that the forms have not yet been posted, but Doyle stresses that they can be filled out on the scene.
“No one will be turned away,” Doyle said. “We just need proper identification.”
Read story at source: http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000012311
|
Posted by Kahuna at 09/24/2008 23:35 GMT |
|
|
|
| Officials committed to rebuilding Bolivar |
more from same (Galveston Daily News) |
Officials committed to rebuilding Bolivar
By TJ Aulds
Correspondent
Published September 22, 2008
BOLIVAR PENINSULA — Ann Willis has lived on the Bolivar Peninsula for 48 years. She loves the “Jimmy Buffet way of life” so much that she made a living selling and leasing homes on the peninsula to others who wanted their own slice beachfront heaven.
Hurricane Ike, though, turned much of the peninsula and its communities of Crystal Beach, High Island and Gilchrist into a vision of hell. Many worry that the peninsula won't come back.
From across the nation via the Web, though, thousands are chanting “Bring Back Bolivar.”
Despite rumors that the peninsula would be taken over by the government and turned into a national park, state and local officials have all echoed the mantra that indeed Bolivar Peninsula will return.
|
Posted by Kahuna at 09/22/2008 18:27 GMT |
|
|
|
|
|
0 Comments
Bolivar Peninsula videos at YouTube.com: