HHERO's
Thanksgiving Convoy
On the
Friday after Thanksgiving Day, Darrell and Debra left Shreveport with "Jalepena"
in tow. She was an evacuated pony from Picayune Ms who had been staying with
Hopeful Haven since Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Coast. We arrived
in Picayune around noon to return Jalepena to her very excited owners, the
Masseys. It was a beautiful day for a homecoming. The Massey's
suffered considerable damage to their home, but we hope that Jalapena's
return will make things seem a little more normal.
Left- Jalapena
Right- The Masseys (notice blue
tarps on roofs)
RESCUE RANCH-BELLE CHASE, LA
Debra, Darrell, Melinda and Bill left
Erath Saturday afternoon and drove through a blinding rain from Lafayette
all the way to New Orleans. The group was going to Rescue Ranch in Belle
Chase on the southern edge of New Orleans in Plaquemines Parish. The horse
rescue is headed by Lori Wilson. Rescue Ranch is currently taking care of
about 70 horses. We arrived late Saturday evening and stayed until Sunday
morning.
The devastation in this part of the
coastal region defies description. Belle Chase was ripped apart, and as you
head south on Hwy 23 the situation worsens to the point of total destruction
by the time you get to Port Sulfur. Basically, south of Belle
Chase...nothing exists anymore.
While
there are many volunteers from all over the country in this area helping
out, much more is needed still. Lori has horses stalled at many locations
around the parish, and it turns into quite a chore simply to feed them all.
While
Rescue Ranch can use all the supplies they can get their hands on, what they
can use most is hands. Melinda Plasse and Bill Petritis from the convoy
decided to spend a week with Lori and help mending fences and repairing
damage and helping feed and tend to the horses.
A sincere thank you to all who were involved in this effort. Next convoy
will be Dec. 10....
Article by Darrell Barlow 12.04.05
More Pictures to click on
Lori Wilson at one of the sites
Also meeting us in Picayune were four other
convoy participants. Melinda Plasse and Bill Petritis came all the way
from upstate New York and Philadelphia respectively, bringing with them
vet supplies, horse blankets and a cash donation. Tony and Michelle
Locke arrived from Piedmont SC hauling a gooseneck filled to the brim
with cattle and horse feed, and all the hay they could squeeze into the
trailer. They brought donated goods provided by the Blue Ridge Animal
Fund and Michelle's Aunt.
From left to right: Melinda Passe, Bill Petritis, Jason and
Rebecca Ruffino, Debra Barlow, Michelle and Tony Locke
After leaving Picayune, we had three
vehicles in our convoy and drove to Covington LA (east of Baton Rouge)
where we met with Rebecca and Jason Ruffino of the Greyhound Pets Of
America/LA. (Louisiana chapter website :www.HoundsAbound.org) They
donated about a ton of dog food to the effort. HHERO sincerely
appreciates the efforts of all of our convoy participants to date.
The three vehicles continued west to Erath LA,
south of Lafayette LA. We unloaded Tony and Michelle's trailer and they
headed back to South Carolina to get back to their own animals. What
generous people...to drive so far and give their time for this
effort...Thank you guys so much! Darrell and Debra want to also thank
Kathy Chilton and Sonny Moss for their hospitality in giving us a place to
sleep (and putting Debra every time) and the wonderful Jambalaya for dinner. Debra would also
like to thank Hank Moss for helping organize the effort for the
ranchers.
continued on right hand panel...
cont. from left panel... POINT OF
DISTRIBUTION-ERATH LA
Early Saturday AM, we bought feed in Erath and
Abbeville
and set up the distribution center. This is Curlis Langolais' farm where
the feed, hay and supplies are distributed. When everything is ready,
ranchers are notified that we are ready to distribute the feed and hay.
They start arriving immediately in trucks to receive the donated goods.
About fifty ranchers in the Erath and Henry communities are currently
being assisted with goods brought in by our convoys.
Toby and Cathy Floyd from Stephenville TX arrived
around noon with another 80 bags of feed to add to the distribution
effort.(Thank you guys very much for your help) Altogether, we distributed about 490 bags of feed including horse,
cattle and dog food. Bales of hay, vet supplies, plastic containers,
tack and other supplies were also distributed. This puts the grand
total for feed at
104.5 tons to date! For all that we are accomplishing, this is
one small community in a very large region, don't forget that the
whole gulf region for about 25 miles inland, from southeast Texas to
the Mississippi coast is suffering as badly or in places...worse.
Please do what you can to help our neighbors.
Our needs
are still horse, cattle feed, and hay. Please donate to our efforts
today. We have made a commitment to help the ranchers and farmers until
March 1st.
See
bottom panel...
Debra calling ranchers and recording the
distribution
Second feed trailer arriving
Loading one of the first trucks to arrive early
Saturday morning.
Sorting vet supplies, lead ropes, halters,
plastic containers etc.
