Lake Charles' hit from Rita gets little attention

Residents of Lake Charles, many of whom will have blue tarps for roofs for the foreseeable future, have to feel a little slighted. Since Aug. 29 most of the news coverage, both inside and outside the state, has focused on what Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans. The coverage is justified in light of what one of the worst hurricanes in U.S. history did to such a distinctive city.

Yet almost lost in all the sad stories, at least outside of southwest Louisiana, are these two facts:

Lake Charles and the region are still reeling from damage caused by Hurricane Rita, which struck Sept. 24. "We are on our knees," said Calcasieu Parish Police Jury President Hal McMillin during a recent tour of the area.

Leaders exude a can-do attitude that offers a sharp contrast with unrelenting criticism of state and federal officials elsewhere. "Our spirits are high," McMillin said. "We are rebuilding."

The Lake Charles area and its stories face several handicaps when it comes to winning attention. It is tucked in the southwest corner of the state, which is generally outside of the Baton Rouge/New Orleans media markets. It has about 75,000 residents and virtually none of the political bickering that makes New Orleans a magnet for television cameras.

"I wish they were talking a little more about us," Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach said of news coverage this week.

Roach said two people died in the Lake Charles area when Hurricane Rita arrived.

"When we said it is time to get out, they got out," Calcasieu Parish Administrator Mark McMurry said of area residents.

Even so, the storm did the seemingly unthinkable: It replaced Hurricane Audrey, which tore through the area in 1957, as southwest Louisiana's most destructive storm.

Hurricane Audrey killed at least 390 residents. Modern technology and other steps helped prevent such deaths from Rita.

"In terms of the economic destruction, infrastructure, the loss of a way of life, Rita was certainly worse in that respect," Roach said.

Residents jokingly call Lake Charles the nation's "blue roof capital," a reference to the seemingly endless sea of blue tarps that cover damaged roofs.

Roach figures Lake Charles suffered at least $1 billion in losses. Estimates for total Rita-related damage exceed $9 billion.

Lack of housing is the key problem. Rebuilding southwest Louisiana, like the New Orleans area, is complicated when workers have no place to sleep.

The future of heavily-damaged Harrah's Casino is unclear and probably will be for another six months.

Gambling revenue supplies about one-third of the city's building fund, Roach said.

McNeese State University, which claimed 9,000 students before the storm, suffered about $10 million in damages. At least 40 buildings were seriously damaged, McNeese President Robert Hebert said. Up to 500 students have been housed in an old Navy ship.

Lake Charles-Boston High School, which used to be Lake Charles High, lost 19,000 library books.

George Swift, executive director of the Southwest Louisiana Partnership for Economic Development, made a direct appeal to state leaders touring the area.

Ha, the Sulphur newspaper is daily now? It was bi-weekly when I worked there, owned by retired Army General Wise.

I interned there while in college (McNeese). And at the LC American Press.

Vinton used to have a small weekly, but it folded while I was at the Builder. So, the Builder started a Vinton edition (section) once a week and I produced it.

Anyway, I had to come up with a section of news and the town is so small. I remember walking down(the only) main street and writing info on Knights of Columbus fish fries, etc., written on billboards at the bank, trying to find some news.

I finally ventured into the local drug store, and there was a coffee clatch there, all the old timers were hanging out. I got a cup of coffee and sat right down among them. Soon I had 'em talking, and had enough material to write feature articles for years.

Those included interviewing a Hall of Famer baseball great (Ted Lyons) and a guy (one of four from Vinton) who was in the Battaan Death March.

Before you cross and Sabine River if you look to the right you'll see a monument from I-10 at the American Legion Post. The article I wrote about the Battaan vets prompted a fundraising drive and they built it to honor those guys. Only one survived. To this day it was one of the best things I'd ever written.

Vinton is just full of interesting people. Another of my favorites is a story about an old 'coon ass (he is probably deceased by now) who was the justice of the peace (almost 90 at the time). He couldn't read or write and ran for office 50 years earlier as a joke. He won and was reelected all those years. It took me a long time to convince him to let me write about him (he couldn't read and was suspicious of anything written about him). I had to take a puppy from a litter of his to get his permission. The folks around town used to joke that he'd make you write out your own speeding tickets (JPs had broad powers and were armed then), since he couldn't write. Once, a smart aleck made the ticket out on the JP :)

My cajun brother-in-law was raised in Reeves, and one of his favorite fishing holes was Bundick's Lake. Do you know where Whiskey Chitter is?

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