State has yet to add up Katrina billWednesday, Sept. 21, 2005The federal government will reimburse Maryland for the cost of housing, feeding and providing medical care for the nearly 3,300 Gulf Coast residents who have evacuated to the state. State officials have not tallied up the bill yet. ‘‘We are still concentrating on helping the evacuees,” said spokesman Jeff Welsh of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, which will administer the money. ‘‘We’re seeing our financial operations people working as part of the emergency operation. Everyone drops what they’re doing and goes to help. All of our energies right now are in helping the evacuees and as soon as we can catch our breath is when we’ll calculate the cost.” President George W. Bush (R) declared federal emergencies on Sept. 13 in Maryland and 36 other states to provide assistance to the large influx of evacuees. Montgomery County received 746 people — 296 families — from the Gulf Coast region, Welsh said. Across the state, 3,284 displaced people from 1,373 families have moved in, he said. Under the federal emergency declaration, state, county and municipal governments as well as some private organizations can receive up to 100 percent reimbursement for most expenses, including housing evacuees for up to a year, Welsh said. People displaced by Hurricane Katrina should register as soon as possible for disaster aid by calling 800-621-FEMA (TTY 800-462-7585) or going online to www.fema.gov. Telephones lines are open 24 hours a day, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency suggested people call late at night or early in the day. Those with emergency needs are advised to call the American Red Cross at 866-GET-INFO. Toxic boots MEMA has sent out an advisory reminding Maryland National Guard soldiers and rescue workers to stay out of the mud in New Orleans. ‘‘This area was under water for days,” said Maryland Task Force Operation Life Line commander Mel Blizzard in a statement. ‘‘The area is now drying, leaving behind a thick grey muck, and we don’t yet know what it might contain.” The state issued the warning after Marylanders in the region noticed that walking through the mud appeared to be dissolving the rubber on their shoes and boots. New Orleans is home to oil refineries, chemical plants and a federal SuperFund site. Home again FEMA sent the Montgomery County Urban Search and Rescue team to Waveland, Miss., after Hurricane Katrina struck. Last week, the agency sent 34 members of the team to Virginia Beach, Va., in the event they were needed for Hurricane Ophelia. However, as Ophelia moved away from the coast of North Carolina, the team was sent home. Nearly 100 Montgomery County firefighters, police officers, sheriff’s deputies and support staff have returned to Rockville after working in New Orleans. Most of them left the county on Sept. 5 in response to a plea from the New Orleans fire chief for assistance to relieve his firefighters, who had been on duty for eight days without a break. The county sent four fire engines and two ladder trucks and several support vehicles to New Orleans. The county left a fire truck and county fuel tanker in New Orleans and later plans to deliver an aerial ladder truck. All three vehicles were considered surplus. A volunteer with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service in New Orleans arranged for the donation of more than 30 new computers and software from county businesses to the New Orleans Emergency Operations Center. County businesses donated more than 8,000 T-shirts for New Orleans public safety and government workers to wear. The county fire and rescue service also donated 1,200 T-shirts through a ‘‘Shirts Off Our Back” program. Oct. 5 benefit stars Flack Four-time Grammy award winner Roberta Flack will sing at an Oct. 5 benefit at the Music Center at Strathmore to raise money for the county’s public safety memorial as well as for Katrina survivors. The memorial honors fire rescue and law enforcement workers who died in the line of duty. Tickets for the 8 p.m. benefit range from $30 to $65. Call 301-581-5100 or go online to tickets@strathmore.org. Businesses interested in purchasing bulk tickets or serving as a sponsor for the event are asked to call 240-777-2250.
To help This is a partial list of groups accepting donations and⁄or volunteers. As always when donating to an unfamiliar charity, check with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov⁄bcp⁄conline⁄pubs⁄misc⁄charitycheck.htm. *Project Backpack *Christian Life Center 11800 Darnestown Road, Gaithersburg *St. Raphael’s Catholic Church Rockville *Joshua Group Ministries 111 Geneva Ave., Silver Spring 301-587-1621 *Damascus Wesleyan Church Drop off items any time at the open-air pavilion at 11210 Bethesda Church Road inDamascus. 301-253-2924 * Greenridge Baptist Church Drop off items at 21925 Frederick Road in Clarksburg on Wednesdays from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donations will be transported to Damascus Wesleyan. 301-972-0271 *The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Fund, 6101 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD 20852. Include the code SDG06HK. 301-230-7200 *Great Strides To make a tax-deductible donation to the hay relief for horses, go to www.GreatStrides.org, call 301-253-1166 or e-mailGrtStrides@aol.com. *Rotary Club of Friendship Heights 2110 Queensguard Road,Silver Spring 301-661-9059. *Soroptimist Internationalof Montgomery P.O. Box 1905, Upper Marlboro MD 20772-9998 301-627-8795 or e-mail simc_md@yahoo.com
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