in goods delivered to Coast|[9/7/05]

WAVELAND – A third trip under the auspices of the First Presbyterian Church of Vicksburg to Mississippi Gulf Coast towns was completed here Tuesday, adding about $70,000 worth of generators, bottled water, chainsaws, extension cords, box fans, ice chests and other equipment for a total of $245,000 worth of goods delivered in three trips.

The quarter-million-dollar private gesture was made possible in large measure by an anonymous donor who contacted the Rev. Steve Bryant, pastor of the Vicksburg church.

“Within an hour of the call, I had secured the truck and over 100 generators,” Bryant said.

Tuesday’s trip followed one Saturday to Ocean Springs at the opposite end of the state coast where an 18-wheeler and two drivers provided by PolyVulc USA of Vicksburg provided a load of chainsaws and generators. The delivery was to the Rev. Tim Brown of First Presbyterian Church there, formerly a pastor here.

“We coordinated with him and he assessed the needs of the community around his church,” Bryant said.

A second trip was Sunday and Tuesday’s destination was parking lot of a Wal-Mart SuperCenter which has become a huge operations hub for National Guard and law enforcement personnel from at least 15 states.

Tuesday’s shipment was escorted by Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace to ensure the truck could get through military checkpoints set up on U.S. 49 just south of Wiggins.

The connection was happenstance.

Stormy Heckmann’s daughter rode out Hurricane Katrina in the Isle of Capri RV Park in Vicksburg, where a chance meeting with a PolyVulc driver led her to First Presbyterian Church to relay information about her mother to Bryant.

Members of Diamondhead’s only Presbyterian church could not be accounted for in the days after the hurricane, leading to a contact with a member of Diamondhead Baptist Church. Coordination between the member and Heckmann led to a needs list being compiled.

Diamondhead Fire Department personnel and members of Diamondhead Baptist Church will distribute the materials delivered Tuesday. Bryant plans a return to Hancock County this week, as he tries to round up more donations for depleted church budgets and for items such as satellite telephones for their sheriff’s department.

The trips have allowed Bryant and others to witness recovery work under way. Among destroyed structures was the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, reduced to a shell of a building flanked by squad cars thrown around like toys by Hurricane Katrina’s powerful surge nine days ago.

“We looked at this as our sanctuary because it was on high ground,” said Capt. Andre Fizer of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. “Within about 10 minutes, the water had gotten this high,” Fizer said, pointing to an area around his chest.

Since the storm, the department has taken refuge in what was a boarding house across the debris-covered street. A former dispatcher managed to set up a makeshift antenna tied to an extended ladder in the rear of the building, allowing for an almost effective dispatch center in a windowless upstairs room.

Work continues there around the clock.

“What else are we going to do?” Fizer said. “Go home?”