The floor of Chaparral Center at Midland College has seen everything from the Harlem Globetrotters to high school graduations. Now the Chap Center court is a giant bedroom for Hurricane Rita evacuees.
Last night an unusual delivery was made to Chap Center. Permian Mattress had a trailer full of foam mattresses. Bobby Hennis of B&B Wrecker had the truck. (Remember Bobby Hennis?) And the County of Midland had employees and volunteers ready and able to stack those foam mattresses in Chap Center. Let's not forget the Red Cross which was and is instrumental in this whole thing.
There were no cots, so the mattresses went flat onto the cement floor. It is probably not the softest bed the Chap Center residents will have slept on, but it was on dry land and out of harm's way. And with a half dozen police officers present it is sure to be a darn sight safer than the Superdome was a few weeks ago.
There will be meals served at the dining hall, there is a tv set available for viewing, and there are ten computers with internet access available for use by the guests.
Today several busses arrived from Port Arthur and other points along the Gulf Coast. And their first stop was a processing center downtown. Then the people were brought out to Chap Center which will be their home until it is safe for them to return home.
The center can accommodate 300, but around midday there were around 50 new residents at Chap Center. So they all should have plenty of personal space. Not a four star hotel, but all in all, not a bad place to stay under the circumstances.
A special thanks to Dennis Sever of Midland College for access to Chap Center for the photos. And an observation: Mr. Sever is extremely respectful of his new guests, and I'm sure they will be very grateful for his hospitality. And once again I have the opportunity to say that I am so very proud to live in a region with such fine and generous people.
Updated 9/25/05; 2:49 pm. Yesterday, City of Midland Public Information Officer Tina Jauz issued the following press release:
MIDLAND OPENS SHELTER TO RITA EVACUEES
The Red Cross of Southwest Texas is now operating a shelter for evacuees of Hurricane Rita. As of 2:00 p.m. on September 24, 2005, Midland College's Chaparral Center is housing approximately 70 evacuees.
A handful of people arrived last night by private vehicle. A charter bus and then school buses from the Dallas area started to arrive this morning. The majority of the people are from Louisiana and the Houston area. Some of the evacuees were already displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
The buses first arrived at the Midland County Exhibition Center on Business Interstate 20. At this location, each person was checked in, received an I.D. badge, had their medical needs met by the Midland Health Department, fed by Midland College and Plains Marketing, as well as assisted with the needs of their pets by City of Midland Animal Services. The Midland County C.I.U. volunteers, some of them new volunteers, helped check in luggage.
EZ Rider buses helped transport the evacuees from the Exhibition Center to Chaparral Center.
It is unknown how many, if any, more evacuees will seek shelter in Midland.
*Attention media: the Red Cross is operating the shelter at Midland College. Media will not be allowed inside Chaparral Center. Please contact Tina Jauz if you have questions or need follow up information.
[Note: No photos of evacuees appeared on these pages.]
I saw the sign that said "Red Cross Shelter next exit" on the Interstate. It brings the disaster more close to home. Most disasters we hear about are thousands of miles away and we don't usually see a direct impact. Seeing this sign made it seem closer to home.
May God be with all the victims of Katrina and Rita.
Posted by: Bert | September 26, 2005 at 05:27 PM
Bert, you are right. These last two reached a long way inland.
Posted by: Geo | September 28, 2005 at 05:15 PM