Florida town slowly coming back to life (Punta Gorda)

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) - Step by small step, life is returning to normal in this town hardest hit by Hurricane Charley.

Things as simple as making a cell phone call or having a cold beer in a neighborhood pub are helping residents cope with the massive cleanup and repair efforts. That can be an important development in the recovery process.

"I've heard people that have lost everything and they celebrate simple things like they have a dial tone or their cell phone chirped for the first time," said Craig Fugate, the state's emergency management director. "Businesses are coming back on line. It's something as simple as eating downtown instead of driving out of the county."

There are also the bigger steps: The downtown hospital reopened Friday and Gov. Jeb Bush promised to bring in portable classrooms so all schools could open a week from Monday.

"You have a senior class that has had four years here, and for them to graduate at another site is not acceptable," said Charlotte High School Principal Barney Duffy, standing in front of a pile of bricks and shattered wooden beams that toppled from the three-story school.

It will probably be another two years before students walk Charlotte High's halls again, but 80 portable classrooms will be brought in for its 2,300 students. Football practice begins this weekend.

"It's going to start the healing process," Duffy said. The students "need to be with their friends, commiserate, cry a little and hopefully laugh a little."

The recovery effort has moved at lightning speed compared with Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Insurance claims are moving faster, search and recovery efforts wrapped up in three days and supplies are flowing into the community and being distributed with greater efficiency.

Part of it can be credited to improved technology - satellite communication and portable cell phone towers - and to better preparation and planning among emergency workers. State officials said more schools were damaged by Charley than by Andrew, yet schools were expected to reopen nearly three weeks earlier than they did in 1992.

Seven of Charlotte County's schools were destroyed, but Bush said classrooms, text books and buses are being brought in from around the state so every student will be in a classroom Aug. 30 - just seven days after the originally scheduled first day.

He and Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Brown promised the county would have money to rebuild its schools.

"We'll cut you the check, we'll get these buildings rebuilt and get the schools back open for you," Brown said.

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry toured the emergency operations center in Punta Gorda, telling one worker, "This is very inspirational."

About a mile from Charlotte High, a crowd of doctors, nurses and residents cheered as Charlotte Regional Medical Center reopened. As hospital and state officials addressed the crowd, two patients were wheeled into the emergency room.

"The morale of the community will be stimulated," said cardiologist Dr. Paul Popper. "People will feel safer knowing we're here."

A preliminary damage tally released Thursday by the American Red Cross found that Charley destroyed more than 10,000 homes and left 16,000 others uninhabitable without major repairs.

More than 188,000 customers in the 25 counties affected still had no power Friday, state officials said. In Charlotte County, residents were not expected to have their electricity fully restored for another 10 days. The death toll rose by two Friday to 25, including people who have died during the recovery efforts.

Children cope with boredom after Charley

http://www.bakersfield.com/24hour/nation/story/1590059p-9197119c.html

By VICKIE CHACHERE, Associated Press

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP) - Crystal Hoban's 3-year-old son James is having a hard time understanding why he can't watch his favorite television shows.

He looks at the television and says, "'Ma, you got to play it,'" said Hoban, 20, whose family's home was severely damaged by Hurricane Charley. "Every day, he looks at the plug and he tries to turn it on and he just doesn't understand why it won't come on."

The storm and its aftermath killed 22 people in Florida, and 391,000 people remained without power early Thursday, said Kristy Campbell, spokeswoman at the state emergency management center. One of three hospitals shut down by the storm, Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte, opened Thursday for all services except elective admissions.

While parents worry about picking up the pieces, the children whose lives were upturned by Charley are dealing with another problem - boredom.

Many schools are closed because of damage. And with electricity still out, youngsters are being deprived of their normal creature comforts: television, video games and computers.

It is an added dimension that cannot be ignored for droves of children. Here in Charlotte County, there are about 22,000 residents under 18. Trauma stemming from the storm may lead to depression, anger, anxiety - keeping children busy with games and other activities is important for their mental health, psychologists say.

"You try to get them back to a normal routine," said Robert Butterworth, a psychologist with International Trauma Associates. "How do you get them back to a normal routine when there's nothing left? You have to keep them occupied for a while."

Numerous shelters have popped up around the area, offering activities such as board games, animated movies and even free Girl Scouts cookies. A miniature golf course in nearby Bonita Springs lets children play for free or at a discount.

At a Red Cross shelter at L.A. Ainger Middle School in Englewood, 4-year-old Isabella Snyder spent Tuesday morning doing the limbo, playing with bubbles and making new friends. Meanwhile, her 6-week-old twin brothers snuggled in the arms of volunteers.

Some volunteers are not much older than the young storm victims taking shelter at the school about 15 miles from the disaster zone. They have turned their sudden two-week break from school into a chance to help others.

Neighbors have donated brand new books and games, enough to cover several tables. Monday night, a clown stopped by to entertain the children with face painting and balloons. A seemingly endless supply of chocolate milk and french fries is available at meal time.

Among the approximately 300 people seeking shelter, more than half are children.

"Kids are pretty resilient, that's the good news," said Judy Martin, a physical education teacher at nearby Vineland Elementary School. She led some of the children to the playground while their parents boarded buses to visit damage homes or meet with federal disaster aid workers.

"You see kids helping kids. You know they don't know each other, but the older ones are taking the little ones by the hand," she said.

Jenny Hall, 19, was enjoying her last weeks of summer freedom before resuming classes at the University of South Florida. When her family survived the storm unscathed, Hall and two relatives came to the shelter to help.

"What else am I going to do, just sit there and watch TV?" Hall said. "I want to be a teacher anyway."

"We're the lucky ones," added her cousin, Danika Dodd, 13.

The Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida Inc. have opened a shelter in nearby Manatee County, where families with children can stay. While there they can watch TV or Disney movies, enjoy a hot shower and go canoeing, said troop CEO Sandi Stewart on Wednesday.

"It's good for kids to go with other kids because they need to give their parents a break. It's hard to say things are OK when they are not," Butterworth said.

That's certainly the case with the Hobans, who are living in a condemned house with a refrigerator full of rotting food, inches of standing water in all but one room and no electricity.

Last week, Crystal Hoban's younger sister, Tara, was happy when summer break ended and she started classes at Punta Gorda High School. Now the 15-year-old honor student spends hours playing solitaire on a card table outside her home.

At night, the family can do little but sit and think about what the morning will bring.

"You try to read by candlelight, but it's a fire hazard," Tara said.

Tara and Crystal's mother, Judy Hoban, said she would happily pack up the family and leave, except her car was crushed by flying debris.

"I just say to God, 'Please help me think of some way out of this,'" said Hoban, a single mother who supported her family as a waitress. "When you have to take care of kids, you have to be strong. But I'm getting weak."

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