Katrina: Five Years Later

Five years ago the entire population of the Gulf Coast held their breath as Katrina approached. Unlike some other hurricanes, Katrina was predicted to be extremely dangerous. As the warnings went out to the entire city to evacuate, many took heed and left. Thousands of others decided to ride it out or had no way out, as Mayor Nagin allowed hundreds of school buses to sit instead of utilizing them to help those that did want to leave.

Then the worst happened. The levees ruptured, leaving 80% of the city of New Orleans under water, sparing by some miracle the French Quarter.

Who can forget the pictures of those in need of help, those of the dead and dying, those in the Super Dome without water, food and sanitary conditions, thousands on their own in the richest country in the world. New Orleans wasnÕt and isnÕt a rich city, but it was and still is a great city. Katrina was a natural disaster but when the levees broke, it became an unnecessary man made tragedy, flushing out the best of people and the worst of people. It also exposed a federal government, state government, and city government totally unprepared to take care of their own. And since that time, five years later, the federal government has done very little to help rebuild New Orleans. Over the last five years there are great stories that surfaced and continue to come out today. However, New Orleans still has a long way to go despite the huge effort and success of the grass roots efforts of the people, especially under the new Mayor.

When Katrina hit, New Orleans was well known for its corruption, from politicians to police departments. After Katrina, rebuilding wasnÕt the only problem. Those who cared and decided to stay realized that in order to fix all the problems, they had to face them. So the Justice Department was called in to fix the corruption in the police departments. Some elected officials are now serving time in prison, while others were not re-elected. With the schools destroyed, charter schools sprang up and today 60% of the children are attending these schools, showing higher scholastic scores and proving to be the most innovative, successful change in the country.

Today, thanks to people like Brad Pitt and other non profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity, the hard hit ninth ward is improving. The Make it Right Foundation has replaced many homes with safe and affordable energy efficient homes and is known now for the greenest energy efficient community in the country. Slowly and surely, New Orleans is breathing new life. It still has a long way to go, but today New Orleans is doing better than it ever has, even though the great city still has its problems.

But five years later:

• Young entrepreneurs are rushing to the forefront.
• The educational system is secondary to none.
• The judicial system has done an about face.
• The grass roots groups and not for profit organizations, as they rebuild, are getting stronger.
• But most of all, the faith and confidence is stronger than ever.

And the federal government can not take credit for a thing, not five years ago, not today! President Bush, right after Katrina, made one promise. He said, ÒThe American people will do what it takes, as long as it takes, to restore New Orleans.Ó It did not happen. America and Washington did not follow through with that promise.

Louisiana and Mississippi were hit hard five years ago by Katrina, and today thousands of small businesses are at risk because of the BP oil spill, the largest man made disaster our country has seen! Do I believe theyÕll survive? You bet! In looking back, I believe when the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl after Katrina is when New Orleans came back to life, even though everywhere they looked there was devastation. What makes America so great? The People!

To comment on this or any column in The Shopper's Weekly, please mail to: Editor, P.O. Box 1223, Centralia IL 62801, email to shoppers@charter.net or drop it off at the office on 301 E. Broadway. In order for your letter to be considered for publication, you must provide your signature and an address and phone number where you can be reached. Addresses and phone numbers will not be published.

Visit us on FACEBOOK