Re: [Nolug] anyone still alive?

-----Original Message-----
Subject: Re: [Nolug] anyone still alive?
>Joey Kelly wrote:
>> Guys,
>> I sincerely hope everyone is alright. I'm sorry about any property
anyone lost
>> (Scott's house and all his geek gear is gone, for instance), but
that stuff
>> can be replaced. Hopefully none of us lost any family in the
hurricane and
>> flood.

Joey,
    We only had an inch of water - just enough that we had to rip out
the carpets. No big deal, because we had been talking about replacing
them anyway.
    On another note: here's a horror story for you. Since school
doesn't reopen til 10/3 and I am without a paycheck, I got a temporary
gig driving a 34 cubic yard dump trailer for my brother, who is a
subcontractor for a group out of Texas who subcontracts for somebody
else, etc. Drivers get paid by the cubic yard.
    I was part of a crew of 4 trucks and a front-end loader, and our
first job was cleaning up downed trees from parts of Metairie. We were
going great until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (motto: we're from
the government and we're here to help you!) showed up and began to
tell us how high the debris could extend from the trucks, what side of
the street we could work on, etc. We were not allowed to remove trees
and debris if they were even one inch past the inside edge of the
sidewalk. We were allowed to work only in designated areas for
specific amounts of time. Since our loader guy is extremely
proficient, we always finished our area early then had to sit around
and twiddle our thumbs until the Corps would let us move on.
    We finally got disgusted with working in Jefferson Parish and
moved to the area around Kiln and Diamondhead, Mississippi. (The
company had a contract for cleanup there too.) There was a 28 foot
storm surge there, so many houses were underwater up to the middle of
the second story. The people had already gutted the houses and there
were huge piles of debris on the streets. We went to work with a
vengeance, almost clearing out a whole subdivision in about 3 days.
Aha, but who do you think showed up over there too? The Corps, of
course! They continually hassled all the drivers about having branches
and debris extending out of the trucks, begause their regulations say
how things must be properly loaded. We were cleaning up a hurricane,
for crying out loud! They wouldn't let us pick up appliances til day
before yesterday, so when they did we made a tremendous difference in
the neighborhood. The folks were really happy to get things cleaned
up. However, the last 2 guys loaded couldn't get to the dump by 6:30
(you'd better not show up at 6:31 because Corps regulations say they
close at 6:30 on the dot!) so they waited til early the next day to go
to the dump. The Corps had changed its mind and would not accept
appliances. What do you think they made the drivers do? Are you ready
for this? The Corps made them go back to the street where the debris
had come from, and DUMP IT BACK IN PEOPLE'S YARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Today we went into Diamondhead and started clearing out trees
again. Lo and behold, who drives up to the area where we had been told
to go? Okay, boys and girls, try to guess. That's right, the Corps of
Engineers. What do you think happened? They said the area didn't have
the proper contracts signed, so we had to stop again.
    This is 3 times the Corps of Engineers has stopped the trash
removal by just our little crew. I have no idea how many others were
affected the same way. Finally, our crew decided there was no point
being there and went home to Texas. I could scream and cry at the
incredible coldness and stupidity on the part of the Corps. There were
mounds of trash and decaying garbage everywhere, but because of their
regulations, it will just stay there and rot. I could understand if
these were normal circumstances, but to repeat: We were cleaning up a
hurricane, for crying out loud!
    As far as I can tell, the only function of the Corps of Engineers
is to ensure its own continued existence by interfering with people
doing their dead level best to help others.
    Thanks for letting me blow off steam. If anybody knows anybody in
government who's looking for a good, fast cleanup crew (over 900 cubic
yards a day), please let me know.

Dave Prentice
prentice@instruction.com
http://www.originsresource.org

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Received on 09/21/05