Christmas Comes Early For Cameron

KPLC ^ | 12/19/2005 | Vince Atkinson

[CajunConservative]

Thanks to some private donations Christmas is coming early for one city in Cameron Parish. The city of Grand Lake has been struggling to pick up the pieces ever since Hurricane Rita came ashore. Now, thanks to a generous donation from some of our friends up north the city has the tools to make the rebuilding process easier.

Dinah Landry with the Cameron Council On Aging says, "When the skeptics tell me there are not good people out there it is going to be hard for me to believe that from now on." That is how many people in Grand Lake and Sweet Lake feel after the residents of Lyme, Connecticut decided to send a huge donation to Cameron Parish. Landry says, "They had heard a lot about Katrina, but they had not heard a lot about Rita. They started doing some research into it."

The residents of Lyme found out about the wide spread destruction in Cameron Parish and decided to pool their money and then donated a fire truck to the Grand Lake and Sweet Lake Volunteer Fire Department. Landry says, "They also filled it with Christmas gifts for all the children." Lyme residents even sent books and supplies for Cameron schools that were damaged by the storm.

Landry says, "This was wonderful. This was good for our spirits and it lifted us all up. We are all kind of drained. It has been a long hard road." Residents of Lyme have decided to adopt Cameron Parish as a whole. They even have plans to donate an ambulance, dump trucks, books, and furniture for schools that will soon be rebuilt in Cameron. Landry says, "Just to have a shoulder to lean on has just been a wonderful, wonderful feeling."

Lyme, Connecticut is in no danger of being hit by a hurricane, but the residents do have to battle blizzards. The people of Cameron say they are ready to lend a helping hand if their new friends up north need them.

[CajunConservative]

Lyme, Connecticut thank you for your generousity. It is greatly appreciated.

[CajunConservative]

generousity = generosity

It's been a long day.

[CajunConservative]

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[rock_lobsta]

What a great story. The people of Cameron are truly deserving of assistance. These people don't walk around with their hand out, and you certainly don't hear any whining from them.

[girlangler]

I know lots of good people, and have relatives in Cameron Parish. I'll be visiting them in about a week, seeing the aftermath of Rita firsthand.

The Rita destruction really hit these folks hard. God bless you Lyme residents.

[CajunConservative]

The Cameron Parish people are tough. They have to be to survive in that environment. Part of what we saw was urban versus rural. People raised in urban environments are used to getting help and things immediately. Rural folks know that it takes time to get assistance and know that they must be self reliant in emergencies.

I did case management for a while and had a couple of kids from Hackberry on my case load. I had never seen such abject poverty but they were too proud to take any handouts. The mother was working in the seafood processing plant to earn extra money for Christmas, let's just say that she worked a long time to earn a piddly amount for cleaning crabs.