Haines Contracting Inc.Remodeling Blog

   On Sunday, Nov 9th, 2008, a group of 23 volunteers will be going down to Hancock County, MS on a week long trip to aid in the still ongoing relief effort from Hurricane Katrina and more recently Gustav.

   The group is part of the Bucks Mont Katrina Projectand is being lead by Joe Billingham, of Billingham Built along with his employees and several other local Bucks County remodeling Contractors who are members of the Bucks Mont NARIremodeling organiztion and other friends.

Hancock County is still in a bad way according to Di Fillhart, one of the recovery leaders who was formerly of Bucks County, PA. She informed the volunteer group last Sat. at St. John The Baptist Church in Ottsville, PA

Here are some of the forgotten statistics:

• In Hancock County there are 1016 Cottages and Trailers-according to Gerald Blessey-Housing Czar Gulf Coast Mississippi
• The lease expires on cottages January 31, 2009 and all temporary housing will be removed by March 2009.-Mississippi Emergency Management MEMA
• No Extensions will be granted for housing-MEMA
• FEMA flood maps include the area south of I 10 as flood plains, different levels
• 80% of homes in Hancock County sustained damage in Katrina- that is an old FEMA stat
• 15 business closed in the month of September-do not know the October numbers
• Gustav was 120 miles from Hancock County, we had a surge of 8-13' with over 1000 homes sustaining some sort of damage.
• Hancock County is an open federally declared disaster area for Katrina and Gustav
• Cost of living comparisons for housing and food is within similar numbers of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Tampa-Sperlings Best
• Unemployment figures for October, I have not been able to access, but September was 7.8, the second highest since Katrina
• Population 45k before Katrina, 40k in 2007 both number estimates, 2000 census had the number around 40k
• A popular local town gathering place called the "Mocking Bird Cafe" almost had to shut it's doors due to lack of population returning..thanks to a local contribution, they were able to remain open (read more about this) 

    The group's main project will be installing paneling in the local food pantry, which is a new 3,000-square-foot building for the Hancock County Food Pantry, the only full-time food pantry in the county. It was founded in 1986 and is staffed entirely by volunteers. The pantry is currently working out of temporary facilities. See more photos here
 

Dave Haines, of Haines Contracting Inc., is one of the vounteers on this trip and is planning to do daily blog entries providing internet access is available.