Waco Area Status Update as of September 20th and 21st

Status Update as of September 20th at 2:30pm from
Waco-McLennan County Emergency Management

Central United Methodist Church reports they now have a total of nine
and they are still working on getting them properly placed in more
permanent housing.
Waco Christian Fellowship reports the same 27 but are making plans to
move them in to more permanent housing soon.

We are not aware of any other churches or groups providing sheltering
of evacuees at this time. All are providing long term housing for those
who have come in to our community.

Waco ISD reports 61 students enrolled, Midway has 22, Robinson has 4.

*** IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL evacuees:
Wednesday, September 21st, from 9am to 9pm, the City of Waco and
Waco-McLennan County Emergency Management officials are providing a
"One Stop Shop" of information for local evacuees at the Waco Convention
Center.
Evacuees who need assistance in receiving state and federal government
benefits or have other questions can find all these agencies
represented in one room during these hours. Arrangements have been made for the
following agencies to be present:

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Waco Transit, FEMA, Caritas,
American Red Cross, Waco Housing Authority, Waco McLennan co. Public
Health District, Salvation Army, Social Security, HOT Workforce, U.S. Postal
Service, Texas Health & Human Services, Texas DPS, Heart of Texas
Region MHMR, Heart of Texas Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging, Texas
Health & Human Services office of Eligibility Services, EOAC, McLennan
County Welfare Dept. Indigent Health Care, Veterans Affairs, and Adult
Protective Services of the State of Texas, Waco ISD, Foster Family,
Texas Department of Insurance, Child Care Licensing, and Mission Waco. Other
agencies have indicated a desire to attend and participate.

The Greater Robinson Relief Center reports they are not housing anyone
at this time in their facility.

Louisiana residents who need copies of their birth certificates can
apply at the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District. Fees will be waved
and Louisiana officials will over night them for free. Call 750-5468 for
assistance.

The Waco Tribune Herald still has crayons, notebooks and other school
supplies available for area students. Call 757-5791 to inquire.

The United Methodist Church is sponsoring a relief drop on Friday, Sept
23rd and Saturday, Sept 24th at the old Target Store on Hwy 6 and Sanger
from 9am-3pm. Items collected will go to the Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin,
Louisiana for distribution. Items they need included: Hygiene kits,
Bottled Water, Blankets, Work Gloves, Chain saws, Heavy brooms, shovels and
other items needed to clean up. No clothing is needed at this time. Please
pack the items as much as you can in boxes for packing on the truck.
Volunteers who want to help can contact Rev. Bob Maxwell at bnfmaxwell2@msn.com
.

Salvation Army Urgent Needs: Urgent need for donations of good, clean
furniture, appliances, pots, pans, dishes, and other items needed to
set up housekeeping. Take items to 500 S. 4th Street or call 753-2043 for
pickup. No clothing is needed.

Time Warner Cable is offering two months of free standard cable service
and no installation service on phone service to identifiable Katrina
evacuees. They have also provided free services to several shelters.

Update regarding potential impact from Hurricane Rita:
The Waco McLennan County Public Health District along with the
Waco-McLennan County Emergency Management office has identified Special Need shelters as may be needed to respond to persons coming in to our area as hurricane
Rita approaches the Gulf coast. In addition to the daily conference calls
with the State office of Emergency Management regarding hurricane Katrina,
another daily call will take place dealing with Hurricane Rita. The
State is reviewing the capacity to shelter throughout Texas if the coast line
near Houston is impacted. By 2pm today the State activated its full
Emergency plan for responding to hurricanes that hit our coast line. The Waco
area remains prepared to receive evacuees as directed by state officials.
Depending on the path of the storm and where it impacts the coastline,
decisions will be made to properly respond to the needs of displaced
victims. Some people may come into our area as they voluntarily leave
their homes. A "Gulf Coast Evacuees" button is now on the City's web site
as well as the Convention and Visitors site to help people locate hotel
rooms as they move into our area until the storm passes.
Anyone who comes into our community that needs sheltering, please call
750-5911.

A transcript of this report and all other daily updates along with
information and other local and national resource information for help
are being added regularly to the City's web site. By going to
www.waco-texas.com you will find several links for information on the communities efforts and the nation. Citizen volunteers are encouraged to print out these
resource web pages to provide to evacuees that they are serving and who do not
have web access. The city will be happy to provide as many printed copies
as may be needed by calling 750-5636.

This update is as of September 20th at 2:30pm. These updates will
continue to be issued daily until all known evacuees are placed in permanent
housing and no locally operated shelters are in operation. To submit
information to be considered for these reports email Larryh@ci.waco.tx.us or call
750-5636 and leave the desired information.
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Status Update as of September 21st at 2:30pm from
Waco-McLennan County Emergency Management
NOTICE Regarding HURRICANE RITA evacuees: The City of Waco has opened a
temporary shelter in the Bledsoe-Miller Recreation Center at 300 MLK
Drive to receive people from the Gulf Coast of Texas and is prepared to open
others as the need arises. The American Red Cross is assisting with
additional support needs. Most will only be here until the storm passes
and will want to return as soon as possible. Because all hotel rooms are
booked throughout most of Texas, the local hotels along with the Convention
and Visitors Information Center at I-35 and MLK (near the Texas Ranger
Museum) have information and maps to help direct anyone entering our area to
find the shelter that is receiving evacuees. Information to help evacuees
from the Texas Gulf Coast find a place to stay can be found on the City's
website or the Convention & Visitors Center website at www.wacocvb.com
. The Waco-McLennan County office of
Emergency Management is in communication with State and all other county
emergency management offices via conference calls currently being held three
times a day. Waco Transit also has the sheltering information to give anyone
coming in to Waco via Greyhound Bus.

At this time no resources have been requested to support the relief
efforts of Hurricane Rita. As the needs arise, they will be passed on via these
media updates and other releases.

As of this update, it is not clear where the storm will travel however
Waco area residents should be prepared for the aftermath of Hurricane Rita
to pass through our area sometime late Saturday or early Sunday morning.
Current estimates indicate we could have sustained winds from 40-60
miles an hour and heavy rain. City officials are prepared to deal with
disruption of electrical power, downed trees, flooded streets or other issues.
Essential things to have in an event of such a storm are: Flashlight,
pre-cooked food, and a battery powered radio or tv. The safest place
to be is in your home, away from windows if the storm is blowing strong.
Never attempt to drive or cross through moving water that may be deeper than
it looks. Children should be told not to play in creeks or places where
water flows.

The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and other
local attractions are offering special discount admission tickets for use by
Hurricane Rita evacuees to help them enjoy their time in Waco.

Hurricane Katrina update:

A call to Central United Methodist Church revealed that the seven
remaining people they have been sheltering have moved to Waco Christian
Fellowship. These seven are expected to be in permanent housing by Monday. Central
UMC no longer has any one at their facility.

Waco Christian Fellowship reports that they have placed several people
in permanent housing reducing their count to 17 but have now received ten
more for a total as of this update of 27 being sheltered. We are not aware
of any other churches or groups providing sheltering of evacuees at this time.
All are providing long term housing for those who have come in to our
community.

Waco ISD reports four new students for 65 students, Midway now has 26,
and Robinson has 4.

*** IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL evacuees:
The City of Waco and Waco-McLennan County Emergency Management
office's "One Stop Shop" of information for local evacuees at the Waco
Convention Center will remain open today (Wednesday) until 9PM. Evacuees who need
assistance in receiving state and federal government benefits or have
other questions can find all these agencies represented in one room during
these hours. Arrangements have been made for the following agencies to be
present:

U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION SERVICES, WACO TRANSIT, FEMA, CARITAS,
AMERICAN RED CROSS, WACO HOUSING AUTHORITY, WACO MCLENNAN CO. PUBLIC
HEALTH DISTRICT, SALVATION ARMY, SOCIAL SECURITY, HEART OF TEXAS WORKFORCE,
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, TEXAS HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC SAFETY, HEART OF TEXAS REGION MHMR, HEART OF TEXAS COUNCIL OF
GOVERNMENTS AREA AGENCY ON AGING, TEXAS HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES OFFICE OF
ELIGIBILITY SERVICES, EOAC, McLENNAN COUNTY WELFARE DEPT. INDIGENT HEALTH CARE,
VETERANS AFFAIRS, AND ADULT PROTECTION SERVICES OF THE STATE OF TEXAS. Other
agencies have indicated a desire to attend and participate.

The Greater Robinson Relief Center has had a number of calls but as of
this report do not have any one in their facility.
United Way of Waco-McLennan County reports the following agency
responses that have happened that should be acknowledged (as of Sept 21st)
* American Red Cross (RoseMary Mayes): Sent volunteers to Lousiana
before hurricane hit; their four offices - Waco, Bryan, Temple, and
Kileen - have opened service centers and/or sheleters; have documented 2,444
cases and dispersed approximately $1,400,000
* The Arc (Tom Pearson): offering after school daycare to student
evacuees with developmental disabilities. Adult evacuees with cognitive
disabilities are invited to participate in The Arc's various programs
for adults
* Boys and Girls Clubs of Waco (Tina King, Hope Velasco): secured
sponsorships if needed for after-school and summer care for hurricane
victims
* Camp Fire (Deral Henderson): working to assimilate evacuee children
into local schools - especially Kendrick Elementary; has 10 children in
after-school care; providing counseling
* Caritas of Waco (Kenneth Moerbe): supporting local shelters with
goods; 35 evacuee families have come in for emergency assistance;
dispersed approximately 100,000 pounds of items through Gifts in Kind program to
35 agencies aiding hurricane evacuees
* Central Texas Youth Services (Keith Wallace): have four beds
reserved for children and youth who are victims of the hurricane;
providing counseling, information and referral services to families in Central
Texas who were displaced or affected
* Compassion Ministries (Jill McCall): provided clothing and bedding
to three affected families
* Family Abuse Center (Deidra Simmons): provided thrift store
vouchers; offering counseling and residential services; six shelters in
the hurricane affected area are closed, so Deidra is expecting people to
relocate to the Waco shelter
* Family Counseling and Children's Services (Robert Ward): counseled
two families indirectly impacted by the hurricane; ready to receive not
only hurricane victims but also those experiencing secondary trauma
* Family Practice Center (Clement Milam): set aside appointment times
for evacuees; have provided 60 patient visits
* The Freeman Center (Jonathan Trower, Board President): offering
counseling; opened transitional housing to one affected family
* Girl Scouts - Bluebonnet Council (Beth Vivio): girls are doing
fundraisers to help local agencies with their relief efforts; prepared
to offer their camp as shelter if needed.
* Kids & Company (Stacy Garvin): designated funds for tuition
assistance, and have offered at least one evacuee family enrollment and
tuition assistance.
* MHMR - HOT Region (Louis McGowan): screened several victims, two of
whom are receiving services and have been placed in their apartment
complex
* Salvation Army (Larry Root): Disaster Canteen was deployed to
hurricane affected areas; provide prescription assistance, food,
clothing, gas for job search, transportation to reunite families, household
items, rent deposits; 35 families (120 individuals) have received services
locally
* YMCA (Hyden Hunter): opened their Doris Miller Branch facility for
evacuees to shower, exercise, etc. for no charge

A transcript of this report and all other daily updates along with
information and other local and national resource information for help
are being added regularly to the City's web site. By going to
www.waco-texas.com you will find several links for information on the communities efforts and the nation. Citizen volunteers are encouraged to print out these
resource web pages to provide to evacuees that they are serving and who do not
have web access. The city will be happy to provide as many printed copies
as may be needed by calling 750-5636.

Anyone who comes into our community that needs sheltering, please call
750-5911.
This update is as of September 21st at 2:30pm. These updates will
continue to be issued daily until all known evacuees are placed in permanent
housing and no locally operated shelters are in operation. To submit
information to be considered for these reports email Larryh@ci.waco.tx.us or call
750-5636 and leave the desired information.
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