Royal Purple

Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: News

Media Credit: D Noonan

Students can participate in a volunteer trip to Whitewater's sister city Bay St. Louis, Miss. early January to help rebuild homes devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina, the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, struck the Gulf Coast in 2005 and is the costliest hurricane in U.S. history.

The hurricane left the city of Bay St. Louis without a store, gas, light, police cars and a hospital. There were no standing houses for miles.

"Imagine the worst third-world country," Bay St. Louis resident Kai Drobish said to lecturer Sam Martino's journalism class.

Every year, Whitewater sends a group of volunteers to Bay St. Louis to help rebuild.

"Without the volunteers, we wouldn't be near where we are now," Drobish said.

Whitewater residents Maggie and Dick Winz, members of the Whitewater Community Optimist Club, visited Bay St. Louis for their first time in January 2006.

"The need was so great we knew we had to come back," Maggie said.

The Winzes volunteered in Bay St. Louis a total of six times and plan to return in January. They usually travel with students from the Whitewater Optimist Club.

"It's possible that our Whitewater group will be working on new construction for this trip, but we don't know for sure," Maggie said.

Maggie's husband, Dick, normally supervises students on the trip and works directly with homeowners for construction projects.

"When we first went, we did a lot of mucking," Dick said. "The homes had several inches of mud after the hurricane, and we helped clean them out."

Now they mostly insulate and drywall houses.

"Last January we went down with a total of nine people from Whitewater," Maggie said. "We worked on two houses and really rocked."

Maggie said despite the hard work, it's a lot of fun to help out.

"You will never be the same again after you do this," she said. "It changes your value system to help people this way."

Dick said the experience is rewarding.

"For as hard as we work we feel like we get much more in return," he said.

Sister City Coordinator Sgt. Michael Ciardo organized several trips to Bay St. Louis in the past three years and announced in a press release that the upcoming 2008 trip will take place Jan. 2-9.

Ciardo said he'd like to have a large group on this mission.

"Students will receive the experience of a lifetime through their willingness to volunteer to help rebuild a community devastated by Katrina," he said.

According to Ciardo, the City of Whitewater has already donated more than $50,000 and 2,000 hours of labor in the rebuilding effort.

If students are concerned about their lack of construction experience, Ciardo said they needn't worry.

"Volunteers don't need a specific construction skill," he said. "They can learn skills while down there."

He also said if students aren't comfortable with construction work, they may be able to volunteer in cafeterias and schools, if the need is there.

"There are a multitude of things one can do to help," Ciardo said.

The deadline for reservations for the 2008 trip is Nov. 20. Those looking for more information can contact Sgt. Mike Ciardo at the Whitewater Police Department.

For more information, or to sign up to volunteer, contact Ciardo at (262) 473-0570.

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