Welcome

WELCOME!

Hello and thank you for your interest and support of United Peace Relief. We are in the process of redefining our mission and goals to include a national focus and membership drive. Watch for changes and join us as we move forward! Become a member of United Peace Relief.

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October 24, 2008

Time: October 29, 2008 at 8pm
Location: Howlin Wolf
Street: 907 S Peters St New Orleans
City/Town: New Orleans
Website or Map: http://www.lower9thwardvillage.org
Contact Info: 504-522-9653
Event Type: LOWER 9TH WARD VILLAGE PRESENT A BENEFIT CONCERT & DINNER OCT 29th

The Lower 9th Ward Village, a post Katrina nonprofit community
center is a work in progress. The “Village” vision is to become a
multipurpose, multi-use facility that caters to the community in
general, with emphasis on providing services, skills training, &
recreational activities to youth and to the elderly.

Notification courtesy of New Orleans Voices For Peace at: http://neworleansvfp.ning.com

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October 16, 2008

On October 2nd, Calvin and Elaine Langley from Plenty International made their second relief run to Pointe Au Chenes, an area devastated by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Assisted by Gordon Soderberg from Bio Liberty Relief, two truckloads of bleach, contractor bags, industrial paper towels, and other supplies were delivered to the Biloxi Chitimacha tribe. A generous donation by Dr. Dave Winek of Franklin, Tennessee made this critical relief mission possible.

We volunteers returned to visit the families in Pointe Au Chenes we had met during the first relief trip. Once again we met with Teresa Dardar, a native Biloxi Chitimacha who was the neighborhood caretaker. Many families had made good progress cleaning swamp muck out of their houses, but much remained to be done. We are planning to assist in the transition to Phase II, which involves rebuilding structures, painting, and general repair. Phase III will replace destroyed household and personal items.

Teresa introduced us to a couple named Babae and Bernice Billot. Cleaning supplies and personal toiletries donated by the Red Cross remained stacked on a pallet in their basement. Because phone service had not been restored, it had been difficult to notify households of the arrival of the supplies. Even after the word went out, there was no one to distribute the supplies. We were excited to have the opportunity to refill our vehicles and distribute this material to the needy families of this devastated area.

We visited a middle-aged woman named Margaret Verdin, who clutched a wooden cane for balance as she stared at her personal and household items lying in a large trash heap outside the remains of her home. Now she lived with her daughter in another area, waiting for her sons to help her reconstruct her house. A brief tour of her small house made us realize that this would be a dubious undertaking.

Health problems complicated Margaret's poignant story. An accident a year ago required replacement of her left hip, which now contained a metal plate. The storm destroyed her hospital bed, and without it she was unable to get herself up in the morning, making her totally dependent on her family. I told her I would do what I could to find her a hospital bed. She was also diabetic and needed a glucose monitor in order to check her blood sugar. Miraculously I had one in my bag to give her that had been donated by United Peace Relief.

We also visited the Isle de Jean Charles, also known as The Island. This area is especially vulnerable to the strong hurricane winds and flood waters. Before expanded commerce depleted the wetlands and global warming caused heavier storms, people made a comfortable lifestyle through fishing and gardening. After the double storm hit and the waters receded, a barren land covered by thick mud remained. Trees, stripped of their leaves, were now laden with swamp grass. Houses lay in uninhabitable ruins, and families occupied other structures that had suffered heavy damage. Wooden walkways leading over small bodies of water to houses were in shambles.

Despite the barren landscape and the ruin left by Hurricane Gustav and Ike, the spirit of this tribal community remained undiminished. Not one person complained, and all smiled in appreciation of our help. Their ancestors have called this Island home for generations, and it's vulnerability to intense weather has not extinguished their deep love and attachment to it. For most of them, rebuilding is the only option.

Elaine Langley
Registered Nurse
Plenty International

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October 15, 2008

WE HAVE A WINNER!!

Congratulations to Cherie Cazenavette of Kenner, Louisiana! The winning ticket for the Seven Sisters Mardi Gras quilt was drawn at the Taste of Autumn fundraiser and Cherie is the winner. The quilt is being packed and mailed to her this week.

Thanks to all those who have supported United Peace Relief by purchasing raffle tickets and a big thank you to Laura Fogg who created this beautiful quilt and donated it to us for this raffle. We have been able to provide some exceptional service to the residents of the Gulf Coast.

The Taste of Autumn fundraiser at the Frey Vineyard was a great success. Thanks to everyone who donated and attended the event. We will post some pictures shortly.

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September 28, 2008

We will be drawing the winning raffle ticket for the Seven Sisters Mardi Gras quilt at this benefit. Stayed tuned!

From: Hearthstone Village, United Peace Relief, The Butler Cherry Ranch Project
What: A Taste of Autumn
When: Sunday, October 5, 2008, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Where: Frey Vineyards, 14000 Tomki Rd., Redwood Valley
Information: 707 463-2736

Taste the flavors of autumn on Sunday October 5 from 1-5 p.m. at Frey Vineyards in Redwood Valley. The third annual Taste of Autumn is a celebration of local organic foods with wine tasting, music, and a silent auction. A favorite treat is warm homemade bread baked throughout the afternoon in the Freys’ outdoor clay oven. Kids always enjoy making apple juice and lavender sachets.

This year, the silent auction will feature special getaway packages, including an overnight in the newly restored Tallman Hotel in quaint Upper Lake; a private scenic lake getaway in the heart of Mendocino County; and a vacation house in Baja. Local organic meats, regional wines, works by local artisans, and baskets of specially canned jams and syrups are some of the
other offerings. Live music by The Freys, the Chinchillas, and Redbud ranges from reggae, to old time American, to rock.

Advance tickets for A Taste of Autumn are $20 at Mendocino Book Company; $25 at the door. Kids 5 -12 are $5. All appetizers and desserts come with the price of admission.

To reach Frey Vineyards at 14,000 Tomki Rd. in Redwood Valley, take West Road from Highway 101 north to Tomki Rd and turn left. The entry is on the left 1.9 miles north of the intersection of Tomki Road and West Road.

A Taste of Autumn benefits Hearthstone Village, an orphanage program in Baja California Sur, United Peace Relief, which support disaster recovery, and the Butler Cherry Ranch Project community orchard program. For information, contact (707) 463-2736.

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September 21, 2008

Below is a report from our trip to Point Au Chene with some pictures of this wonderful and uplifting community. United Peace Relief and Plenty International are putting out the request for a donated travel trailer for the Marcelite Narquin and her family to live in. This community does not receive FEMA assistance and it will probably be a long time before the State of Louisiana gets any type of reconstruction program off the ground. If you or someone you know can help, please email to carol@unitedpeacerelief.org or elaineml@bellsouth.net.

One week following the devastation of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, my husband Calvin and I of Plenty, along with our good friends Mike and Carol Stachurski of United Peace Relief took a mission trip to the flooded coastal area called Point Au Chene. Located along the southeastern coast of Louisiana in Lafourche Parish, this stretch of bayou is inhabited by a Native American French tribe named Biloxi-Chitimacha. We packed the vehicle with shovels, brooms, bleach, rubber gloves and masks needed to clean up the muck that always follows flooding. Theresa Dardar, a Biloxi-Chitimacha living in the neighborhood became our escort for the day. We met through a mutual friend of ours, Dr. Robin Rose who spent some months administering health care to this area following the devastating effects of Katrina and Rita. Theresa was kind enough to help us assess the damage.

As we entered this tiny coastal town, massive amounts of swamp grass could be seen in every direction, personal belongings destroyed by the flood waters were strewn across lawns, yards were full of knee deep mud crawling with snakes making it impossible to walk on, blue tarps covered roofs to keep the rain out, downed trees, demolished vehicles and houses. Every household in this area felt the effects of the double storm. Every household we walked into had thick black mud to contend with. Until you have seen it, you will never truly understand it's effects. Once the flood waters recede, it leaves behind a black muck 2 to 3 inches deep that must be hand scrubbed. The odor it leaves behind is that of the adjoining swamp.

Ebro Verdin's house sat back from the road. To get to it, we walked along some 4 x 4's laying along his mud filled front yard. A large wooden cabinet lay outside destroyed by the flood waters, along with piles of his belongings. Mops full of muck lay to the side of the porch. He showed us his freezer that had not been emptied, still filled with his meats and seafood. We empathized because the electric power had been off for over a week now. As we entered his house, we could see the 2 inches of muck along the floors and cabinets not yet cleaned. He showed us a large round hole in the middle of the living room covered over, he had cut in order to let the flood waters out. The ceilings were intact with a beautiful wood finish. He was a carpenter by trade and he took pride in his house. He told us how he had finally recovered his house from Rita when both Gustav and Ike came through. In spite of all this devastation, his big smile bore his extremely positive outlook. This was life along the coast. He had wanted to raise his house on stilts after Rita but was unable to find the finances to do so.

The story of Roger Verdin and his 82 year old mother Marcelite Narquin is the saddest of stories. She is a cancer survivor and her hair has just grown back from the chemotherapy-radiation treatments she underwent one year ago. Their home was first flooded by Gustav, then turned upside down by Ike. The local authorities have since condemned it. The consequences of this has forced both of them to move into a small shack alongside their house. Two small cots for sleeping sit on damp wooded floors, while large holes in the ceiling are covered above it with a blue tarp to keep the rain water out. Next to the living area is their makeshift kitchen which consists of an old rusty propane stove to cook on, along with rusty old pots. The back room is a bathroom with a five gallon white bucket used as their toilet and an old rusty washbasin to bath in. Felt like third world in the middle of the United States of America. Everyone was heartsick to see this 82 year old woman living in such deplorable conditions. In spite of their situation, both mother and son continued to smile and not once did I hear any complaints. When I questioned Theresa how we might possibly get this family a trailer to live in, she told me no one on the land was eligible for FEMA coverage because the land is leased and passed on through generations.

Years ago, this community thrived on local fishing and community gardens. With the influx of commerce that have contributed to the eroding coastal land, along with the increased temperatures of the surrounding waters due to global warming, more frequent and powerful storms are continuously destroying their way of life. This strong, proud people who never complain or give up, continue to hang onto to their culture and community and refuse to give up.

Elaine Langley
Registered Nurse
Plenty International Volunteer

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September 20, 2008

Carol and Mike (United Peace Relief) and Elaine and Cal (Plenty) saw this movie in New Orleans last weekend. Kimberly and Scott Roberts were there in person at the end of the film for Q&A. We can highly recommend this documentary.
Trailer and schedule: http://www.troublethewaterfilm.com/

An Intimate Tale of Survival From Days of Katrina

By Neely Tucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 25, 2008; 10:08 PM

The day before Hurricane Katrina descended on New Orleans in 2005, a charismatic resident of that city's lower Ninth Ward, Kimberly Rivers Roberts, turned on her video camera and began to narrate.

"Everybody is scared," she says, panning her camera across the dilapidated neighborhood of wooden houses and shabby porches and old cars parked in the streets. "Even my dog is scared." The rains come, and the wind picks up. "Here we go," she says.

The resulting footage forms the core of the heartbreaking documentary "Trouble the Water," which chronicles the almost biblical ordeal of Roberts and her husband, Scott, over the next several months. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year, buoyed by the extraordinary spirit and personality of then-24-year-old Roberts, who tells her story to filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal with honesty, wit and a down-home, lovely New Orleans accent. It's a tale of the Crescent City about as far from the French Quarter as you can get, back in neighborhoods where drugs are peddled on street corners and drunks pass out on front steps.

This may seem familiar territory, as Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke," the four-hour television documentary in 2006, laid bare the stunning failures of the government to prevent, mitigate or respond to the despair of New Orleans residents in the wake of Katrina. Lessin and Deal, directing here for the first time, cut their production teeth on some of Michael Moore's scathing documentaries, like "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11." You might expect a similar tirade here, particularly given the provocative subject matter.

But they eschew the narrated outrage of those films, going more for the intimate story of the Roberts family. It's a proven technique: When a disaster is this large, the most powerful storytelling option often is to focus in, in, in, on a single person or family. They just let Roberts talk; the film is without voice-over narration. It's a smart idea. Roberts, during the middle of the deluge, blurts into her camcorder: "Katrina, she's a bad chick." That's tough to beat.

They also make terrific use of the footage that Roberts, an aspiring rapper and neighborhood gadfly, shot during the hurricane. She bought the camcorder for $20 on the street a few days before the storm. It was probably the best $20 she'll ever spend.

The couple lived just three blocks from one of the main levee breaks, and the surging waters built into a river that nearly topped the stop sign at the street corner. The Robertses and friends retreated to their attic but couldn't push out onto the roof. A neighbor rescued people by using a punching bag for a life raft. People died.

Roberts's family and neighbors -- flawed, impoverished, uneducated, often unemployed, some dealing drugs -- survived by showing the kind of grit and concern for one another that every level of their government, from the mayor's office to the White House, failed to demonstrate. The film also underscores the stark racial divide exposed by Katrina, with masses of (mostly) black residents in New Orleans's poorest quarter forced into exodus, while the (mostly) white government was unable or unwilling to respond.

"Trouble" is noticeably weaker in its second half than its mesmerizing first, as the story moves away from the intensity of the storm to follow the Robertses in their efforts to resettle. But it still rolls home on the tide of its profound emotional resonance, the devastating scale of the Katrina disaster and the original American voice of Kimberly Rivers Roberts.

Trouble the Water (93 minutes, at Landmark's E Street Cinema) is not rated. There are adult themes and some profanity.

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September 19, 2008

Sorry for the delay in any updates. One of our board member and person responsible for updating the website was deployed to Baton Rouge as a pilot program. This pilot is designed to get disaster case managers on the ground within 72 hours of a disaster being declared. The model of this pilot program is exciting, as anyone who worked Katrina knows, case managers for vulnerable populations (the disabled, the elderly and non-English speaking) being available early in the recovery process is so important. Met a great group of disaster case managers from all over the country many who had worked disasters on the Gulf Coast and Florida. Our participation in the Disaster Recovery Centers and a centralized call center was rewarding and provided a much needed service to those most vulnerable in a disaster.

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September 18, 2008

Update from LA flooding:

Tony, Cal and I drove to Chauvin yesterday (Wednesday) to check out the flooding. We were unable to reach the Native American reservation further south due to reports of water that had not yet receded and were full of thick mud.

The streets in Chauvin were clear to drive on but many houses and streets were still under water. We saw people with buckets and mops walking through knee deep water toward their houses. A very ominous task indeed. Unfortunately we did not have the time to stop and talk to individual families.

We did meet with the executive director of United Saints, a grass roots organization. Partners with Hands On and Hope Force, they have set up camp in a fire station in Chauvin to help people clean up and put blue tarps on roofs. Their plan is to go further south when roads are passable.

My good friends Carol and Mike from United Peace Relief, who I met during Katrina have been doing hurricane relief work in Baton Rouge for the last two weeks. They are taking a two day break in NOLA with us before heading home to Florida. A day trip on Sunday is planned, hoping the roads will be passable so we can access the area further south and meet with Chief Albert and the people of that area.

Will keep you posted. Am sending a picture of the flooding from a side street in Chauvin. Everyone's back yard is the levees that breached during Gurstav and then again with Ike.

Love,
Elaine

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September 6, 2008

United Peace Relief received the following request from Gordon at New Orleans Voices For Peace:

As you know, Ward was instrumental in the Veterans For Peace disaster recovery efforts in 2005. For the first month his home was the only place we could get packages of donations shipped. His driveway was turned into a drop point for truckloads of supplies for Katrina relief. Now his home has been hit by hurricane Gustav. Can United Peace Relief help him with a chainsaw or two, extra chains, sharpening files, two stoke oil, gas and generator to light up his house power his fridge and fans? Volunteer labor would be great but tools and power are what are really needed now!

Ward Reilly writes:

All is NOT OK...south Louisiana is devestated, but especially Baton Rouge...On a personal level, my house was hit by 2 huge oaks, one in front, and one in back, but all humans and animals OK...will need some structure work on the house, a new roof, etc.... more bumbed out about all the great trees and my "Stonehenge" garden being wiped out...my cypress outbuilding also took a huge tree right in the middle, and it's destroyed.... My first step will be a weeks-worth of chain-saw work to get access to my house,etc., in order...One of my sons lives right between 2 hospitals, so he will get power before anyone else, by default...they are saying 7 days before general electricty to 50% of the city, and maybe 2-3 weeks for the rest...this is a city of 600,000, and the RNC parties on, having manipulated the media to saying all is well...THAT is the story...

Mike from United Peace Relief and Gordon from New Orleans Voices for Peace headed for Baton Rouge with chain saws and generators. They were able to help Ward and his neighborhood remove trees and provide necessary power.

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September 4, 2008

Reports from Baton Rouge: There is no power and they are being told 2-3 weeks before all power restored. Baton Rouge Airport was closed as of yesterday. There are many, many trees down and houses destroyed or damaged. I still do not have any reports from Houma, Plaquemines Parish and southwestern areas of the Gulf. Stay Tuned.

Hurricane Ike now a Cat 4 storm. TS Josephine right behind. Things are very busy on the storm front. Everyone please be informed, prepared and safe.

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September 2, 2008

Good news is that it looks like this was not the monster storm some predicted. New Orleans, so far, appears to have fared well. There are some reports coming in of flooding in the lower parishes of Louisiana and Hancock County in Mississippi. Reports are starting to come in from those that stayed. Mayor Nagin estimates people can start returning on Thursday. Hopefully, more news will filter in in the next couple of days.

Report from Slidell, LA and BioLiberty report the bayou has flooded again -- not at the Katrina levels but inaccessible right now. The water appears to be receding but Kevin reports his office in Slidell did not lose power.

To keep up with Hancock and Harrison Counties in Mississippi http://www.reliefvolunteers.com/hancockdailyblog.html appears to have regular updates. I will update this site as I learn details.

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August 31, 2008

The board and members of United Peace Relief are in contact today. We are all watching Hurricane Gustav very closely and will continue to do so. Please check back here often for plans to deploy volunteers to the area after landfall. Communication will be minimal initially but this storm is a nasty one -- potentially much worse than Katrina. We will also keep in touch with other grassroots organizations in the area. We feel sure there will be a need for volunteers and donations. Check back often.

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August 30, 2008

By Tim Gaynor and Kathy Finn

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered the city's more than 239,000 residents to evacuate on Sunday in the face of powerful Hurricane Gustav, which he called "the mother of all storms." The evacuation order issued on Saturday was the first in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina devastated the historic Southern city in August 2005.

"This is the mother of all storms," Nagin said of Gustav, a monstrous Category 4 storm that could approach the central Louisiana coast just west of New Orleans on Monday. "You need to be concerned and you need to get your butts moving and out of New Orleans right now," Nagin said at City Hall. "This is the storm of the century." The evacuation order, which will not be physically enforced by officials, will start with the city's low-lying West Bank starting at 8 a.m. CDT (1300 GMT) on Sunday, followed by the East Bank at noon CDT (1700 GMT), Nagin told reporters.

Residents have the choice to remain behind and weather the storm, but "that would be one of the biggest mistakes that you could make in your life," Nagin said. He said people might have to chop through the roofs of their houses to escape rising waters if they stay. "Make sure you have an ax," he said.

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August 27th 1.43pm 2008

MISSISSIPPI VOAD: Please share this information with anyone you feel should receive it:

Current indications show Gustav making landfall in our region around 2 pm on Monday, September 1. Winds should begin around 4 AM Monday. Gustav is predicted to make landfall as a Category 3 or 4 hurricane (Katrina was a category 3).

Bus evacuations are currently being planned thought the MS Dept. of Transportation and the MS Department of Education as well as mandatory evacuations for Saturday, August 30. National Guard will be assisting with the evacuation plans. If you have residents who need to be added to the bus evacuation list, please have them contact their local County Emergency Management Office. Numbers are: Harrison County : 228-896-8080; Hancock County : 228-466-8320; and Jackson County : 228-769-3111.

If you currently have volunteers on the ground along the coast, please urge these volunteers to pack up and evacuate Friday, August 29.

PLEASE MAKE ALL NECESSARY PREPARATIONS FOR THIS STORM. If VOAD can be of assistance to you, please call on me. I will continue to forward information as I receive it. Thanks.

Jay Huffstatler, Project Manager
Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund
MDA LTWH Coming Home Collaborative
Post Office Box 2984 | Gulfport , MS 39505
Office: 228.897.4841 | Fax: 228.897.4843
Cell: 228.265.2969 | Email: jhuffstatler@mgccf.org
www.mgccf.org

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August 27, 2008

Officials may evacuate New Orleans as Gustav nears
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press Writers 1 hour, 39 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS - On the eve of Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary, a nervous New Orleans watched Wednesday as another storm threatened to test everything the city has rebuilt, and officials made plans to evacuate people, pets and hospitals in an attempt to avoid a Katrina-style chaos.

Forecasters warned that Gustav could grow into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane in the next several days and hit somewhere along a swath of the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to Texas — with New Orleans smack in the middle. Taking no chances, city officials began preliminary planning to evacuate and lock down the city in hopes of avoiding the catastrophe that followed the 2005 storm. Mayor Ray Nagin left the Democratic National Convention in Denver to return home for the preparations. If a Category 3 or stronger hurricane comes within 72 hours of the city, New Orleans plans to institute a mandatory evacuation order. Unlike Katrina, there will be no massive shelter at the Superdome, a plan designed to encourage residents to leave. Instead, the state has arranged for 700 buses to take people to safety.

At a suburban Lowe's store, employees said portable generators, gasoline cans, bottled water and batteries were selling briskly. Hotels across south Louisiana reported taking many reservations as coastal residents looked inland for possible refuge. Steve Weaver, 82, and his wife stayed for Katrina — and were plucked off the roof of their house by a Coast Guard helicopter. This time, Weaver has no inclination to ride out the storm. "Everybody learned a lesson about staying, so the highways will be twice as packed this time," Weaver said.

Katrina struck New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, and its storm surge blasted through the levees that protect the city. Eighty percent of the city was flooded. Though pockets of the New Orleans are well on the way to recovery, many neighborhoods have struggled to recover. Many residents still live in temporary trailers, and shuttered homes still bear the black 'X' that was painted to help rescue teams looking for the dead. Many people never returned, and the city's population is roughly half what it was before the storm. Since the storm, the Army Corps of Engineers has spent billions of dollars to improve the levee system, but because of two quiet hurricane seasons, the flood walls have never been tested. Floodgates have been installed on drainage canals to stop any storm surge from entering the city, and levees have been raised and in many places strengthened with concrete. But they are not built to withstand a storm stronger than Katrina.

Gustav formed Monday and roared ashore Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane near the southern Haitian city of Jacmel with top winds near 90 mph, toppling palm trees and flooding the city's Victorian buildings. The storm triggered flooding and landslides that killed at least 11 people in the Caribbean. It weakened into a tropical storm and appeared headed for Cuba, though it is likely to grow stronger in the coming days by drawing energy from warm open water. Scientists cautioned that the storm's track and intensity were difficult to predict several days in advance.

But in New Orleans, there was little else to do except prepare as if it were Katrina. The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was set to begin moving animals in shelters to Baton Rouge on Thursday, and more would go to Texas shelters on Friday and Saturday. "We definitely don't want to wait until Saturday or Sunday to decide what to do," said Ana Zorrilla, director of the pet-rescue group.

The oil market also reacted to the threat. Oil prices jumped above $119 a barrel as workers began to evacuate from the offshore rigs responsible for a quarter of U.S. crude production. Any damage to the oil infrastructure or Gulf Coast refineries could send U.S. pump prices spiking, possibly before the busy Labor Day weekend. "A bad storm churning in the Gulf could be a nightmare scenario," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "We might see oil prices spike $5 to $8 if it really rips into platforms."

Many residents hadn't yet made a decision about leaving. Lawson "Sonny" Brannan, a construction company owner, was busy renovating a client's home Wednesday, just blocks from where a levee was breached in the Lakeview neighborhood. A wall of water up to 15 feet deep wiped out the home. Brannan calmly went about his business, but nonetheless kept a watchful eye on the weather. "I'm not going to worry about it until I see it in the Gulf," he said. "Then I'll make my decisions."

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Sorry, Laura Fogg was on the road with the quilt and the raffle drawing has been postponed. We are looking at the drawing at the last Concert in the Park in September or the Taste of Autumn benefit in October. Stay tuned!

Last chance to purchase raffle tickets for the Seven Sisters quilt! The drawing will be August 17, 2008 at the Concert In The Park in Ukiah, California. You can purchase tickets that day at the concert. All others interested in a raffle ticket, please email carol@unitedpeacerelief.org with the number of tickets you would like to purchase and we will contact you regarding shipping and payment options.

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July 31, 2008

Reports from California tell us the fires in Ukiah are under control. Still some lingering smoke from neighboring counties but no houses are in danger. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped!

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June 27, 2008

Greenfield Ranch residents fight fire
By ROB BURGESS The Daily Journal
Article Last Updated: 06/27/2008 10:01:47 AM PDT

When what is now known as the Jack Smith Fire first began heating the edges of Greenfield Ranch off Orr Springs Road, the locals didn't have time to wait for help to arrive. "When the fire first started, CDF was elsewhere," said Bob Dress, who has resided on the property for 35 years with his wife, Lynn. "We got on the phone and organized neighbors. We have backpack sprayers, masks, McLeods -- a lot of us have done this before. We organized teams, and I'd say we had 30 people here by Sunday." Bob Dress said past experience with smaller fires had given him and his neighbors some idea of how to proceed. "We've been involved with Cal Fire for 35 years, ever since we moved here," he said. "We used to have at least one fire every summer on the ranch. We've had a little bit of training and experience on grass fires."

With resources strained from the more than 100 fires burning in the county, the residents of Greenfield Ranch took on a blaze larger than any grass fire they had ever faced. "We fought it from about dawn to noon," he said. "We thought we had it contained. Then we kind of broke and came down and regrouped in the meadow. By that time the wind had picked up over the ridge and once it got into the trees it spread fast. The fire is moving east. Coastal winds are motivating it in that direction." Jeff Suttor, who had just finished scouring the scene with his partner Margaret Wade on their all-terrain vehicle, said the group as a whole did together what each individually couldn't do alone. "We'd been fighting it for two days when (Cal Fire) showed up," he said. "We got our property here not that long ago and it's times like that you realize that you did the right thing. A lot of people you usually wouldn't see normally are coming together."

Bob Dress said the move to forge a defensible space around threatened structures became the next priority. "By early Sunday afternoon a couple bulldozers showed up," he said, motioning toward the fresh tracks around the house. "They cleared a double-dozer width around four houses here." Lynn Dress-Meadows, spokeswoman for the community, said neighbors banded together to make quick work of making sure each structure had the best chance of survival. "They're saying clear your own property,'" she said. "It becomes a work party. We had piles of stuff out here. We had 50 people out here doing work it would have taken us weeks to do. Cal Fire is saying our house is defensible. We've been told that if this were the only fire, they'd have 500 guys down there. We have 11 guys. I've heard it called a sleeping dragon.' Just because it looks calm, it is still on fire. Things could change any minute."

When help did finally arrive, the homeowners gladly took a backseat to the newly-arrived professionals. "Our work is not to fight the fire," said Lynn Dress-Meadows. "They've told us, The worst thing you can do is fight a fire with people and pets in the way.' We heard about some people who went out to fight the fire who got trapped. If you do stupid stuff like that, you're taking away resources from everywhere else." Lynn Dress-Meadows said that when Michael Maynor, a Cal Fire captain, and Mark Tolbert, a CDF battalion chief, asked to address the assembled residents to separate fact from fiction concerning the fires, the response was immediate. "It was amazing," she said. "We had 60 people called together within an hour. Rumor control is so difficult. It is so easy for words to get twisted. It is so hard to stay calm and that was a miracle."

Lynn Dress-Meadows said that once firefighters had made their presence known they were welcomed with open arms. "We are so lucky to have them," she said. "I really want to stress this -- these Cal Fire guys -- they don't get treated very well. Some of these guys, they've been shot at. The captain of the engine that was staying in my yard was practically crying just because I was treating them well. People don't want them on their property, but they don't understand -- these people care. They're exhausted. We will not have any badmouthing of Cal Fire. When they arrived we had a standing ovation. We can't do it enough." Brian Kornegay, a Cal Fire captain who was stationed at Orr Hot Springs Thursday morning, said that while fighting fires alone isn't advisable for untrained residents, firefighters are heavily reliant on the citizenry to assist them in their efforts.

"With our resources as strained as they are, we're kind of dependent on locals to help us out," he said. "At times like this we really depend on the homeowners. We've been preaching about having a defensible space for years, and this is why we require clearance around structures." Lynn Dress-Meadows said the experience has brought the true value of her possessions into stark focus. "What I've learned is, the stuff doesn't matter," she said. "We can start over."

Rob Burgess can be reached at udjrb@pacific.net.

For continued updates on the fires in Mendocino County and Ukiah, CA go to the Ukiah Daily Journal or tune in to the local public radio streaming on the web, http://www.kzyx.org . They give updates near the hour and half hour.

Photos Courtesy of Sarah Baldik/The Daily Journal)

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June 26, 2008

UPDATE: Fires spread, road closed, some evacuations lifted. Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Article Last Updated: 06/26/2008 12:47:18 PM PDT

The Mendocino Lightning Complex fire was still spreading Thursday as more resources arrived to help battle the flames. The 87 lightning-sparked wildfires are now burning across 25,000 acres, according to CalFire reports. The complex is 5 percent contained. Additional help had been dispatched to the scene and on Thursday there were 915 firefighters in Mendocino County working the fires, supported by 80 fire engines, 24 water tenders, 27 bulldozers and seven helicopters.

The Greenfield Ranch subdivision was added to the list of areas threatened by fire and under evacuation warning. Evacuation warnings had been lifted in the Flynn Creek area of Navarro and in the Cherry Creek area at the Intersection of Highway's 101 and 162. Orr Springs Road was reported as closed Thursday morning to all but local residents from the 900 block west to Montgomery Woods State Park. Locals may require escorts to enter the closed area.

All told, 900 homes and one commercial structure are being threatened by the Lightening Complex fires and two structures have been destroyed, according to CalFire reports. It is not clear where the two destroyed homes were, Thursday.

Two evacuation centers have been set up for those leaving their homes. One at the Willits High School at 299 North Main Street in Willits which can be contacted at 707-462-3884, the other at the Point Arena High School at 270 Lake Street in Point Arena. The Redwood Empire Fairgrounds on North State Street is taking in large animals for people who chose to evacuate. People are advised to contact the fairgrounds before delivering their animals. The fairgrounds can be contacted at 707-462-3884, or after hours at 707-972-8304.

The current estimated cost of fighting the fire is $3,660,200.

Photo courtesy of Ukiah Daily Journal

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June 13, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNN) -- The worst flooding in 15 years has paralyzed large sections of eastern Iowa, with heavy rains and brutal storms leaving their marks from one end of the state to the other.

Days of preparation couldn't hold back the rain-swollen Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday. "We are working around the clock with all of the county emergency management operations," Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said late Thursday. Culver added Muscatine County to an emergency disaster proclamation that he issued earlier. Fifty-five of the state's 99 counties are now under the designation. Rising flood waters forced evacuations in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, displacing thousands of people. Video Watch flooding escalate within hours. Mercy Medical Center, a hospital in Cedar Rapids, began evacuating its 176 patients. "Our hope was to continue to operate and serve our patients as we always have," said Tim Charles, president and CEO of the hospital. "Unfortunately, this has become a disaster of unpredictable and potentially catastrophic proportions."

The flooding is snarling major roadways across the state. The Iowa Department of Transportation lists more than 35 state and federal highways that are closed or blocked, including a section of I-80 east of Iowa City. The state is focusing on providing food, water and shelter to the evacuees, Culver said. In addition to the flooding, Iowa has been wracked by series of deadly tornadoes since late May. At least 10 people have died, including four Boy Scouts after a twister hit their camp in western Iowa Wednesday. "It's certainly been a real blow," Culver said of the natural disasters. "Despite the setbacks and challenges at hand we will get stronger as a state."

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May 25, 2008

Volunteers with Plenty, Lower 9th Ward Village and United Peace Relief have been busy delivering over 2330 donated books to libraries, schools, recreation summer camp in Gulfport and neighborhoods through the Books to Kids project. The last visit to the area by volunteers delivered 700 books to Boothville Elementary School and 500 books to the Charles K. Drew Elementary School in New Orleans. The Books to Kids project has made over 10,500 books available to the children or the Gulf Coast area. We have three more schools in the area who would like to become part of the project as well. This project is an excellent way for your community to be able to help. The project also purchases books from thrift stores and second hand stores. We need your help to keep this project alive. The price of gas for delivering the books has hit us hard. Can you help this project purchase books or help the volunteers with gas costs? Please donate what you can through the Paypal donate button. Be sure to let us know your donation is for the Books To Kids project by a notation on your donation.

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February 27, 2008

Our Detroit chapter is off and running. Plans and meetings are being scheduled as we speak. Watch our website for updates on the Detroit page. We have a separate page with everything Detroit-related together for easy access. If you would like additional information about the membership and/or meetings, feel free to email us at membership@unitedpeacerelief.org.

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February 9, 2008

United Peace Relief is excited to announce a new project in conjunction with Plenty and Lower 9th Ward Village. United peace Relief and Plenty International member, Jim Selin, has requested our assistance with his Books to Kids project. This is a great way for you to help with the recovery of the Gulf Coast from your home town.

Since the fall of 2006, Books to Kids has provided quality children’s picture books and chapter books for young readers to children and families affected by Hurricane Katrina. We have distributed more than 8000 books to school libraries, community centers and individual homes. Our objective is to get books into the homes of children whose books were either lost due to flooding and destruction, or who may not have had books before Hurricane Katrina.

We collect books from thrift stores, yard sales, and library book sales. We have received donations from many sources including Scholastic Publishing and Emergency Communities Relief Center in New Orleans. A major donor has been Harrison County Public Library in Mississippi. The books are carefully selected and sorted for quality with some cleaned or repaired. This work is done by Katrina relief volunteers, and supported financially by Plenty International and the volunteers themselves.

Literacy is the underlying goal of Books to Kids. Knowledge is power, and reading is the gateway to academic success and a better understanding of our world. Quality picture and chapter books open youngsters minds to a wide world of wonders and interests, helping them deal with and move beyond the trauma and pain of the disaster we named Katrina.

We are looking for donation of new or used books. Used books should be in good condition . Of special interest are chapter books for the older children and picture books for the younger children. Good examples are Reading Rainbow books, Coretta Scott King award winners and books about local history such as African-American and Creole stories.

Donation of books can be sent to the Lower Ninth Ward Village Community Center at 1001 Charbonnet Street, New Orleans, LA 70117 to the attention of Ward "Mac" McClendon. Since books can be expensive to mail, we are also accepting cash donations which will be used for purchase books from thrift stores, yard sales and library sales. You can help this very important project by getting your community groups together or by sending individual donations of books. We are accepting cash donations to help with the purchase of books and fuel for delivery to homes and schools on our Donate page. Make sure to note the Books To Kids project when donating.

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January 15, 2008

Board member, Lynn Meadows, and her husband, Bob Dress, are off to Guatemala to volunteer. And this is one month after Bob returns from a United Peace Relief reconstruction project in New Orleans. Lynn has promised to keep us up-to-date with journal entries. The first three entries have arrived and you can find them in full on our Journal page. There will be more to come so check back often. Below is a small part of one of her writings:

The main reason we came to Guatemala is because of the Hospitalito Atitlan. There was a Catholic hospital here many years ago in the community of Panabaj. It closed and fell into ruin during the civil war. Because the closest hospital is over treacherous roads, 2 hours away and gives poor service, in 2004 a local group of people decided to rebuild and refurbish the old hospital. They worked for many months and finally opened their doors in April of 2005. In October of 2005 (2 months after Katrina hit the gulf region) Hurricane Stan caused a huge mudslide which buried close to 1000 people. Panabaj was destroyed, the Hospitalito ruined and 5000 people were left homeless. Within 15 days of the disaster the Hospitalito Atitlan reopened in a temporary facility and to this day is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Map of Guatemala

2007
2006

United-Peace-Relief
P. O. Box 486
Ukiah, CA 95482
info@unitedpeacerelief.org