Delayed Deliveries Bring Fuel Shortage To Haiti April 21, 2010

Haitians Crowd Trying to Get Small Supply of Fuel

Louisville Edge Outreach settled down in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and started the groundwork to setting up water purification systems at the Red Cross. Edge group found two large bins that they will be using to purify the water near the Red Cross. (Kylene Lloyd, The Courier-Journal) January 20, 2010

When I was in college studying journalism, there were several practices that were preached.  After entering the real world, I found that the preached practices were often, in fact, not practiced.  One of those was the idea of follow-up.  This is especially true with television.  Back in January, Haiti was rocked by a devasting earthquake.  However, it seems after the body counts were complete the press left.  Now we get an occasional story in which the reporter will do “people stories” relating to the plight of individuals, but, rarely is there a story relating to the overall condition of the country.  I had written about a member of a group called Edge Outreach who moved his entire family to the Dominican Republic (DR) for the purpose of developing wells to bring clean water to remote locations in the DR.   When the earthquake struck, he immediately traveled to Haiti and Edge Outreach began digging wells to bring clean water to Haiti.  

A More Orderly Line of Haitians Trying to Get A few Gallons of Fuel

A couple of days ago, he said that the DR had an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 and said that there had been some deaths.  I have been unable to confirm that report except that, indeed, there was a 5.1 earthquake in the Dominican Republic but that it was centered 86 km below the surface, or about 53 miles, which is so deep that one would not expect any exceptional effects on the surface.  He went to Haiti the next day and, upon his return, found that there was an extreme fuel shortage. 

Haitians Gather Around a Single Gas Pump

There is the old philosophical question, “if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear or see it, did the tree really fall?”  In the case of Haiti, even if there have been no recent stories regarding the relief effort going on in Haiti, it does not mean that nothing is happening.  There is still a massive UN presence and numerous international relief agencies and good samaratins working to help the ailing country.   There was supposed to be elections in  Haiti last February that were cancelled.  Most elected positions in Haiti are slated to expire soon.  So, the Haitian Parliament has voted to basically turn over control of the country’s rebuilding effort to others.  President Bill Clinton will co-chair the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission which will oversee the use of more than $5.3 billion in aid scheduled for dispersement to Haiti over the next 18 months.  Clinton’s co-chair will be Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and the Haitian state of emergency will be extended to cover the 18 month period.  All of this makes the fuel shortage all that more perplexing.

Delivering For Haiti?

It’s a bit difficult to ascertain the underlying cause of the fuel shortage but the basic problem is a delayed shipment of fuel.  One might think with the United States and its refining capacity and transportation ability so close that this would not be an issue.  Just after the quake, there were fuel shortages due to damaged infrastructure that prevented its delivery.  Black markets for fuel sprang up as people bought pirated fuel from barrels off of trucks or from broken fuel tanks.  But, the fuel delivery infrastructure was repaired.  As it turns out, Venezuela had offered a subsidized deal to provide fuel twice a month to Haiti.  But, the most recent shipment was delayed as ships were diverted to Antigua and Barbuda.  I suppose that in Venezuela’s PetroCaribe program, even a nation that gets preferred terms like Haiti has to wait its turn.  In the interim, trucks from Haiti’s next door neighbor, the Dominican Republic, tried to plug the gap by making a delivery.  But, the Miami Herald reports that trucks were turned back at the border after Haiti’s Minister of Finance ordered the shipments halted.   

Crumbled walls and buildings near the Red Cross in Port-au-Prince, Haiti . Louisville Edge Outreach are starting their groudwork for water purification in this area to the thousands of people that have not had clean water since the earthquake. (Kylene Lloyd, The Courier-Journal) January 20, 2010

It’s amazing that a recent survey by Oxfam of 1700 Haitian respondents found that 40% of the Haitian people want foreigners to run the reconstruction project.  With President Clinton teaming with Prime Minister Bellerive, it appears that the efforts for the next 18 months will be a joint venture of local and international leadership.  I think most people have confidence that President Clinton will be able to steer the process in the most efficient direction as possible.  Yet, it will be interesting to see how the commission is able to work through the politics and bureacracy of the region.  

Preliminary SPC Severe Risk Area Sat AM to Sun AM

Weather Bottom Line: Forecast going on just fine.  Scattered t’shower or two may pop up on Friday but this weekend may be interesting. There is a strong disturbance coming out of the west that will be breaking into pieces and it will be difficult to determine how it shakes out until we get closer to the weekend.  But, I’ve been talking about the weekend looking interesting and the SPC has an area in the Lower Mississipppi Valley that they are looking at for a good shot for widespread severe weather including tornadoes.  I would not be surprised if sometime on Saturday and or Sunday that our region will be a potential spot for some troublesome weather…probably not wide spread, but the threat will probably develop.  Lots of “probably” there, so at this point just be aware that there is some potential for some rough spots this weekend.

Price of Gold Can Fall to $000,000,000 January 24, 2010

The Power of Gold

Haiti remains in great need and destitute. People are asking for donations but you really aren’t too sure how your money will be used. Help support a group who is bringing clean water to Haiti now and in the future. You will know where your money is going, who is using it and how it is being used and being used NOW to bring hope and literally life to thousands.  Click on the link to find out more.

Marshall: A Tragic Gold Rush Story

On This Date in History:

From the time that the first bit of gold was found in California through the next 50 years, some $2.5 billion in gold was taken from the earth and streams. James Marshall was born in 1810 in New Jersey to a wheelright and went west in his mid-twenties. In 1845, Marshall ended up at a remote outpost in the Sacramento Valley of the California Territory. Just 85 miles to the southwest lay a quiet seaport with just a few hundred residents. It was called Yerba Buena. Soon, that quiet town would be known as San Francisco and it would become anything but quiet.

Marshall At The Mill

The outpost where Marshall took up residence was owned by a man named John Sutter, who is a distant relative of mine through my mother’s father. In 1847, Marshall and Sutter became partners in a sawmill operation along a creek that ran through the property. On January 24, 1848 Marshall was doing an inspection of the mill when something caught his eye in the water. He reached down through six inches of frigid water and fetched a small gold nugget worth about 50 cents. News spread quickly but skepticism ran rampant until Sam Brannon showed up on the scene. Brannon operated the store at nearby Sutter’s Fort and in May, while newspapers were calling the gold rumors “all sham…got up to guzzle the gullible,” he arrived in San Francisco waving about a bottle filled with gold dust. That was a great advertising ploy because Brannon had already bought every iron pan in town for just 20 cents a piece. After showing everyone he could the gold dust, he returned to his store where he just happened to have iron pans available for the low low price of $16 a piece. That’s a nice 8000% mark up!

Good Thing For These Guys the EPA Wasn't Around

Now, Brannon couldn’t have asked for a better spokesman than the President of the United States and when President Polk mentioned the gold strike in a December speech, every tin-horn miner and serious prospector descended on Sutter’s land, destroyed land and stole his livestock. After a year, one meat company in Sacramento made $60,000 selling Sutter’s stolen beef. Now, Marshall could have made a tidy profit without doing one bit of mining, if it weren’t for his incompetence. You see, he was the partner in the saw mill and lumber was going for $500 per 1000 board feet. Instead of cashing in, he got caught up in a dispute between miners and the local Indians and he ran off. He came back a few weeks later but decided not to protect his land claims and instead became a prospector.

Quite A Statue For A Peasant

Trouble was, he was no good at it. But others were convinced that he had the Midas touch and so they followed him wherever he went. At one point, tag-along miners threatened to string him up if he didn’t spill the beans about whereabouts of the next big gold strike. I guess his followers finally decided that Marshall was a crummy prospector because Marshall ended up doing odd jobs and becoming rather eccentric. Then, he hit the booze. I don’t know how he came up with the figures; perhaps he was drunk when he estimated that his discovery had brought “Yankeedom $600 Million…Myself Individually….$000.000.000.” In his despair, he convinced the state of California in 1872 to grant him compensation. He received a $100 a month pension. But, in 1878 he came wandering drunk into the state assembly and his pension was revoked. When the man who discovered the first gold of the California Gold Rush died in 1885, his estate was valued at $218.82. He was laid to rest on a rise that overlooks the place where his gold discovery ultimately destroyed his life. He is honored however as in 1890, $9000 was spent on a statue that was placed at his grave. The caretaker of the grave and statue did better than James…he was paid $75 a month, which was less than the Marshall pension, but I don’t think it got revoked.

So, next time you hear of a big lottery winner whose life gets turned upside down and they end up broke, think of James Marshall. The story is nothing new. And I leave this question on the table…why is gold so valuable? Who decided it was a symbol of wealth? You can’t eat and and can’t build a shelter with it nor can you you drink it. All you can do is look at it and for some reason, covet it.

Saints: Best Football Song Ever, Drink That Dixie Down January 23, 2010

Outside the Haitian Community Hospital, which is overflowing and running out of water. Edge will be installing a water filtration system this week for the hospital.Wednesday scenes in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Kylene Lloyd, The Courier-Journal) January 21, 2010 (cj/cj)

Haiti remains in great need and destitute.  People are asking for donations but you really aren’t too sure how your money will be used.  Help support a group who is bringing clean water to Haiti now and in the future.  You will know where your money is going, who is using it and how it is being used.  Several years ago, New Orleans had too much water in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  All was thought to be lost, especially the football team.   But, as a beacon to Haiti that recovery is possible, the Saints stand on the doorstep to the Super Bowl.  If they make it, Hell will certainly freeze over. 

A great new song about the New Orleans Saints and their quest for the elusive Super Bowl is out.  It’s called, The Night We Drank That Dixie Down and is fabulous.  To truly appreciate it, one might want to know the history of the Saints.

Tom Dempsey had half a foot and no hand but still perservered to the record books

New Orleans was awarded a franchise on November 1, 1966, which is All-Saints Day.  They went 5-1 in the preseason of 1967 and on the opening kickoff of the first game in Saints history, the kick-off was returned for a touchdown.  But, that first game kinda set the stage for the franchise.  Hope rises every year followed by disappointment.  The Saints lost that first game, but did manage to win 3 games that year.  The next two years saw improvement with 4 wins followed by 5 wins in 1969.   Their 1970 first round draft pick became a star for…the Houston Oilers.  The team fell to two wins but the season included the most celebrated event in Saints’ history for years to come.  Tom Dempsey kicked an NFL record 63 yard field goal(video)  to beat the Detroit Lions.  That record has been tied by Jason Elam of Denver kicking at the Mile High altitude of Denver, but it has not been surpassed.  

Archie Manning Loved In New Orleans But Saints Never Won Much

In the 1970′s, the Saints won a total of 42 games…an average of just 4 per year.  1979 was the first non-losing season in team history as they finished 8-8.  The first 5 years of the 1980′s were a little better with 29 wins.  By that time, the Saints had gone through several big name players such as Billy Kilmer, Jim Taylor, Archie Manning, George Rogers, Earl Campbell and Ken Stabler.  They also had headline coaches such as Dick Nolan, Hank Stram and Bum Phillips.  Still the highlight of the Saints remained Dempsey’s 63 yard field goal.  The team then went from sad sacks to not too bad and hope was born when Jim Mora took over in 1986. 

Mora asks, "Playoffs?"

After going 7-9 in Mora’s first season, the Saints won 12 games and made the playoffs.  Both the win total and the playoff appearance were firsts for New Orleans.  But, they lost in the playoffs.  The next two years were teasers with 9 wins coming in ’88 and ’89 but they did not make the playoffs.  Still, Saint’s fans were optimistic. In 1990, they were a .500 team but still made the playoffs and promtly lost.  Double-digit wins in 1991 and 1992 led to first round playoff losses.  Saints fans though, remained loyal.  For the next few years, the Saints were mediocre, did not make the playoffs and when the team began 1996 at 2-6, the loyal fans still showed up, but did so wearing bags on their heads that said “Aints”.  That was it for Mora. 

Ditka Williams Marriage Ended Sour

Mike Ditka showed up and Saints’ fans once again were optimistic.  The team went 6-10 in Iron Mike’s first two years, but after Ditka traded all of the team’s draft picks in 1999 for RB Ricky Williams and the team tumbled to just 3 wins, the Aints bags were back out and Ditka was sent packing.  The 2000′s showed improvement but still, they were back to being almost good enough.  It was the make the playoffs and out routine or just missing the playoffs routine.  Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 and the Saints were forced to play their home games in San Antonio, TX.  Rumors were that  owner Tom Benson, who was from San Antonio, would move the team.   The population of New Orleans fell by the thousands and there was question as to the city could still support the team.  But, those naysayers underestimated the heart of a Saints fan. 

Drew Brees Has Saints on the Super Bowl Doorstep

I can tell you…if you live anywhere in the state of Louisiana, there is no other game on TV besides the Saints, regardless of their record.  Well, in 2006, Drew Brees led the Saints all the way to the NFC Championship game where they lost, again.  After a couple of good but disappointing years, the Saints now find themselves with home field advantage in the NFC Championship Game again.  They play the Minnesota Vikings who have a soap-opera storyline themselves with 4 Superbowl losses in the 1970′s.  And this year they have the journeyman future Hall of Famer Bret Favre.  But at least the Vikings have made it to the Super Bowl.  The Saints are one of only three teams to not be in the big game or an NFL Championship game.  The other two are the Jacksonville Jaguars who did not enter the league until 1995 and the Houston Texans who only have been around since 2002. 

So, let us all hoist a Dixie Beer to the Saints and their loyal but long suffering fans and see what fate befalls the team after 43 years of futility.

NWS Louisville graphic

Weather Bottom Line:  We did not get any sunshine today but it was still rather mild with highs in the mid 50′s…sorry you had to go to Bowling Green to find 60.  I will give you one certainty. It will be colder next week.  Beyond that, it gets kinda muddled.  Saturday night will be a good chance for rain and possible t’storms, though nothing too exciting.  Same is true on Sunday.  A cold front comes through on Monday and then a secondary trof may bring some snow late Monday with some flurries or light snow.  I think the snow total comes to about an inch on the most aggressive model and that is over about 36 hours.  The ground probably won’t be cold enough for much accumulation  initially so it really wont be that big of a deal though driving may be tough Tuesday morning.   After that, we have another system by Thursday or Friday.  Some data suggests a guy coming from the Gulf and other ideas are it comes across the southern tier of states.  We may get above freezing from time to time during the week but not much and by late Thursday or early Friday, the issue of the track of the next system will determine how much snow we get. I can draw a scenario of 6 inches and another of rain with a little snow and then another with some ice mixed in, which I don’t like.  So, we’ll have to wait and see.

Help Haiti Get Clean Water Now January 23, 2010

Outside the Haitian Community Hospital, which is overflowing and running out of water. Edge will be installing a water filtration system this week for the hospital.Wednesday scenes in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Kylene Lloyd, The Courier-Journal) January 21, 2010 (cj/cj)

Louisville Edge Outreach settled down in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and started the groundwork to setting up water purification systems at the Red Cross. Edge group found two large bins that they will be using to purify the water near the Red Cross. (Kylene Lloyd, The Courier-Journal) January 20, 2010

HELP BRING RELIEF TO HAITI AND KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY IS GOING AND WHAT IT IS BEING USED FOR:  The information at the bottom of this page  is from the website Survial Topics.com  There  is much more information concerning water and the human body.  We are made up of about 68% water.  Not only is it necessary to sustain the body itself, but also is necessary for vital body functions.  On the island of Hispaniola, in the best of times, there is a need for clean water.  There are many people living in an ecosystem that does not readily have clean water available.  Snow White and I are friends with a couple who sold everything they owned to move their family to the Dominican Republic to do mission work with the goal of digging water wells so that small, impoverished communities in isolated parts of the country could have a permanent, reliable source of clean water.  Literally, they gave up their own comfortable lives in the United States to bring hope and the basics of life to those in need.  I don’t know many people who would make such a self sacrifice.

Louisville Edge Outreach settled down in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and started the groundwork to setting up water purification systems at the Red Cross. Bowin Tichenor talks to the group about some logistics. Tim Borrson, left, and Hugh McCulloch on right. Tichenor has been on the ground since last Thursday getting set up with the Red Cross to start Water Purification when Louisville Edge arrives. (Kylene Lloyd, The Courier-Journal) January 20, 2010

Lindsey Tichenor helps care for their three small children and manage the activies of her husband Bowin who is out in the field daily using his knowledge, sweat and hopefully not too much blood to not only develop the wells, but also to train the people of the villages to operate and maintain the equipment.  When they left last summer, little did they know that they would find themselves on the edge of the biggest disaster in the world for 2010.  They live about 60 miles from Port Au Prince and when the earthquake struck at 4:53 pm on January 12, 2010 it shook the ground but they had little in the way of effects.  Very quickly though, word spread of the devastation in Haiti.  Without hesitating, Bowin and his team from the Edge Outreach organization went diretly to the epicenter, not knowing of the dangers in their path or what they would find.  The Louisville Courier Journal has been following their efforts.

Louisville Edge Outreach settled down in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and started the groundwork to setting up water purification systems at the Red Cross. Group leader, Bill Parker, left, talks with Bowin Tichenor after landing in Haiti. Tichenor has been on the ground since last Thursday

Edge Outreach has gone into relief mode for Haiti and you can too.  Lindsey does not know when Bowin will return as he is one who tends to get the job done.  Edge Outreach is efforting to dig at least 100 wells in Haiti to bring clean, life-sustaining water to thousands of Haitians.  The devasted area will need new sources for clean water for months to come.  The work is difficult and laborious.  Digging that many wells will take time, but they will perservere until everyone in the country can have access to clean water, one way or another.  There must be a long term solution for basic needs before the government and global community can rebuild a new Haiti.  Not only will it take time, but also funding to provide those wells.

Louisville Edge Outreach settled down in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and started the groundwork to setting up water purification systems at the Red Cross. The group from left, Hugh McCulloch, Tim Borrson, Ed Walters, and William Ward, said a prayer when they landed for safe travels while doing their work here. (Kylene Lloyd, The Courier-Journal) January 20, 2010

There are many relief efforts going on with numerous organizations in need of funding for their particular effort.  Edge Outreach did not ask me to solicit funds for them.  I just think its the least I can do to try to help our friends, Lindsey and Bowin, as they do the work on the ground.  They are in country and are on the ground as we speak.  They just need to be adequately supplied with equipment and supplies to bring the precious water to so many in need.  If you would like to give direct aid to Edge Outreach that will use the funds to buy the materials for the wells.  These wells are not a bandaid, its real long term help.  But time is short.  These people need water now and will need it tomorrow.  Shipping water in is only feasible for a limited time.  The best solution is to help the people of Haiti help themselves.  Edge Outreach and people like Bowin and Lindsey are there, they just need some help from home. 

If you feel as if you would like to help the people of Haiti and know exactly where your money is going and for what reason, just  go to the Edge Outreach website and follow the instructions to make a tax deductable donation.To make a donation and find out more, CLICK HERE.  Edge Outreach accepts many major credit cards.”All funds raised in response to the Haiti earthquake will be used immediately to provide clean water for children and families affected by this crisis. Any funds raised in excess will be stewarded by EDGE OUTREACH for additional and future disaster relief efforts.”

Crumbled walls and buildings near the Red Cross in Port-au-Prince, Haiti . Louisville Edge Outreach are starting their groudwork for water purification in this area to the thousands of people that have not had clean water since the earthquake. (Kylene Lloyd, The Courier-Journal) January 20, 2010

Importance of Adequate Water: When faced with a survival situation, clean drinkable water is often the most important consideration. People have survived without food for weeks or even months, but go without water for even just one day and the survivor will be in desperate straights indeed.

Knowing that water is by far the most important nutrient for the human body (besides oxygen) and, in particular, during a survival situation when finding potable water may not be easy, the question becomes – just how long can the human body survive without adequate water?

To maintain a high level of health and efficiency even in ideal environments, a minimum of two quarts of clean water per day per person is the generally accepted rule of thumb. In very hot or cold or very dry environments, or if you are physically active, two quarts of water a day may not be enough to sustain life over a period of days or weeks.