Kay Burford Murphy

Kay says she returned to her home after Hurricane Ike hit last week and found she was very lucky. She only lost some siding on the North side of the house and had lots of debris everywhere from trees and etc. Other than that, it was minor damage compared to others.

She said in driving back to her home she passed through neighborhoods that had downed fences, roofs gone or without shingles, and storage bins upside down. She said just about all the trees had lost their leaves or branches. Through all of her own troubles she finally cleaned her yard as best she could and was off down the street helping other neighbors with their cleanup.

Kay says her son Dean and his wife Lisa followed her home to be sure she was OK and then Dean proceeded to the hard hit areas with the first responders to supply water, gas, food, clothes and diapers to the less fortunate. They also raised over $1,000 for the cause and Dean will be returning this coming week with more supplies.

Kay says her family felt they were blessed that the storm did not damage their house any worse and they wanted to do all they could to help others.

God Bless Kay, Dean, and Lisa for trying to help the folks that are doing without now. I'm sure your help is much appreciated.

John & Sue Scott Gough

Sue reports that she and her husband John were displaced by Hurricane Ike last week.

They have been staying with their daughter and her family since they lost power at their home. Sue's husband John must have power at all times as he is on a breathing machine.

Sue says the power is back on at their home so they will be sure the house is okay with air and etc. before trying to move back this weekend. She said it seems there was not much visible damage and only a lot of debris around the house and in their back yard pool. With the help of family and friends this should be cleared up quickly.

Glad you and John are okay Sue and glad you were a few of the lucky ones with your property as most in that area were not that lucky. Everyone is in our prayers for a speedy recovery.

Bill Roberts

Bill has just returned from yet another exciting road trip on his Harley Davidson Motorcycle. In fact Hurricane Fay that just hit the East Coast was going in the same direction as the group had planned when they left Florida so they had to change their planned route real quickly.

The Harley group drove up I-95 through Georgia, S. Carolina, N. Carolina, ( while in N.C. they stopped at Mt. Airy to see where they use to film the Andy Griffin T.V. show) W. Virginia, Ohio and into Michigan. They rode with 18 bikes in the group over the Sault Ste. Marie into Canada which was a sight in itself to see.

They left Milwaukee, Wisconsin and stopped in Green Bay to view the Green Bay Packers Stadium. They also went by the new Harley Museum and the Harley Davidson Plant. They stopped to eat at Frank's Diner ( a T.V. food show favorite) and Bill said, "Yes, the food was Great."

Bill says the total trip was 3,705 miles on his dear ole Harley Davidson and he saw way too many things and places to talk about or list. So he'll just keep them in his memories for always of he and his Harley. Thanks for sharing the trip with us Bill.

Edsel & Judy Pace Smith

Edsel and Judy have had their hands full with storm damage from 'Ike' last week in the way of limbs, leaves and trees downed on their property. Judy says they have burned, raked and picked up until they can do no more. Now they are waiting for the tree man to cut the downed trees and haul them off. Hopefully that will be the end of this terrible storms aftermath.

Judy said through it all Edsel has been a lifesaver to work along side her and she must do something special for him now since he'll turn the big #68 in a few days. So Happy Birthday Edsel from all of us. Now you both can rest and enjoy the big day with the storm behind you.

Dewitt O'Donley

Dewitt lives south of Houston and was brave enough to ride out Ike out last week. He's doing okay, but got considerable tree and barn damage on his property. He has a generator so he can get water from his well now.

Bill Jones has been worried about Dewitt and was sure glad to hear his voice over the telephone. Thanks for the update and glad Dewitt is doing okay.

Linda Terry

I received word today that Linda Terry has been without electrical power since Hurricane Gustav passed through her area on 9/01/2008. It is uncertain when power will be restored, but a press report I read today said it may take up to three weeks to fully repair the damage done by Gustav. If you have sent articles to Linda for the Blog since 9/1 hopefully she will be able to retrieve and post them when she gets back online. Please keep Linda and our other classmates in that area in your prayers. - Bill

Update - 9:35 pm

Linda got her electricity back on Wednesday (9/03/2008), but still doesn't have access to the Internet or to cable services. - Bill