Jack's Glass is now available 24 hous a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
NEWPORT - Several area businesses have come forward to help Amanda Pratt and her daughter, Emily Manion, 7, whose Chevy Blazer was broken into over the weekend.
Pratt, 26, of Gallipolis, Ohio, is staying at the Hannaford Suites Hotel in Newport while Emily recovers from a bone-marrow transplant at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
The Enquirer reported Monday that Pratt said someone threw a brick into the passenger-side window, ripped out the stereo system and stole several CDs Saturday night. The loss was about $1,700.
Pratt said she doesn't have the money to repair the car, which had been paid off.
Less than 24 hours after Pratt's story was in the paper, businesses including Jack's Glass in Covington and Time Auto Sales in Richwood called to say they wanted to help.
Mike Caudill, owner of Time Auto Sales, said he and his wife, Joyce, wanted to do something.
"I said, 'Let's give her a car,' " Caudill said. "And we'll give her $1,000 to help with her needs with her daughter. Whatever she needs to do, we'll help."
Drew Fassler, vice president at Jack's Glass, said they frequently help out the Newport and Covington community.
"The replacement glass she needs is so available," he said. "We'll pick up her car, take it to the store and fix it if she wants."
Pratt said she was at the doctor with Emily all day Tuesday and came back to several messages left for her.
She wasn't sure what she was going to do yet. "It's wonderful," she said of the outpouring of support. "I can't believe it. We really appreciate it."
This past weekend, I witnessed so many things that removed the natural cynicism of my years and restored my faith in the basic goodness of human beings.
A group of men, varied in faith traditions and backgrounds, traveled to the historic town of Natchez, Miss., to deliver relief supplies to those impoverished by the recent hurricane. This was a road trip that will last, at least in my memory, for a long time.
I arrived at the Elsmere location of Jack's Glass, invited by a member of a local business referral group, to help out in driving supplies to people in need. I was greeted by people packing up boxes of items that had been dropped off over the past two days, and loading them up in the last of two box trucks and a 30 foot trailer. I traveled with these men, learned their stories, and learned the stories of several people in Mississippi.
The principle men involved in putting this effort together were Mike Benedetti, owner of Jack's Glass; Chad Martin, owner of CM Specialty Window Films; Boone Jansen of Jansen & Sons Interiors; and Dennis Strecht, owner of Ron's Food Mart.
As they worked out the details of the trip, I talked with Leslie Fassler, Benedetti's mother, as she told me of a woman in her 70's who had brought in a bag full of clothes. According to Fassler, the woman told her that she had lost her husband a few months back and had been holding on to his clothes. This was a perfect opportunity, she said, for her to help someone out and at the same time bring some closure to her loss.
"There is just too much heartbreak," said Fassler. "These people (the ones bringing the items to be shipped) don't have a lot. You can tell by the way they dressed and the cars they drove, they didn't have a lot."
Fassler also said that as people would drop things off, they would turn around and go to the Aldi's grocery store around the corner and buy more items and bring them back to be packed up for the people in Natchez.
Fasslers' eyes teared up as she spoke of how proud she was of her sons who were instrumental in getting this effort going.
I spoke with Larry Beach, of Florence, who brought blankets, water and canned foods.
"People need all the help they can get," said Beach. "And if you can't reach out and help someone in need, then there is just something wrong with you."
At 7 p.m. with the trucks loaded up, Benedetti, Jansen, Martin, and Strecht; along with Drew Fassler (Benedetti's brother), Keith Mills (an employee at Jack's Glass) and Igot in the trucks for the road trip of a lifetime.
As we drove along, Benedetti worked the cell phones as he coordinated with Kathy Stephens of the United Way and the members of the church where we dropped supplies off. We heard rumors of gas lines in Mississippi with 18 hours of waiting, and we started to plan how we were going to get in and get lot. Natchez is at least 300 miles from Memphis, and the trucks only hold enough gas for about 250 miles.
In Franklin, Ky., one of the trucks blew a tire, and as we gassed up we had to wait for the arrival of a new tire from Budget. Every Flying J and Pilot Truck Center we called in Mississippi claimed they had no gas.
Finally we were on our way and by the time we got to Jackson, Tenn., it was time to pull over for a couple of hours of sleep. We got up at 5 a.m. and headed on to Memphis, still working on a plan for our gas situation. We received word that the Mayor of Natchez promised to make sure we had gas to get out, and we also heard that there was gas available in Grenada, Miss., two hours north of Jackson.
We had a plan.
As we approached Jackson we started to see the signs of what had happened: Occasional downed trees along the highway, gas lines that are 40 cars long, and most gas stations just closed. Road signs along the highway were twisted and broken clean off. Cell phones were no longer working and we were limited to the two-way radios between the trucks to keep in contact.
The empty gas stations and the few with long lines continued, as well as the knocked down road signs and felled trees, reminding us what we were here for. However, as we approached the city of Natchez, there were no other signs of storm damage; only the empty gas stations.
As we drove up to the Jefferson Street United Methodist Church in Natchez, we found a couple of people gathered to direct us where to unload, and they looked completely surprised at the amount of items we brought. They started to make phone calls as we unloaded the trucks. Soon, 10-15 young men and girls from the youth group, as well as a growing number of men and women, showed up to help us unload and sort the supplies. Within two hours, the gym was filled.
Eventually, the mayor of Natchez and Kathy Stephens, director of the Miss-Lou Chapter of the United Way also came by and pitched in to help.
Stephens was beginning to show the exhaustion of more than simple overwork.
"You got here, why can't they," she said, pointing out that neither the Red Cross, FEMA nor any other organization has shown up with relief supplies.
"We are a small community, a strong faith-based community with lots of churches and good people," said Stephens. "All the large organizations and relief is going to New Orleans, Biloxi and the Gulf Coast, but there's nothing left there, the people who evacuated are here and they need help."
Stephens explained that her chapter handles Adams County, Miss., and Concordia Parish, La. There is a total population of a little less than 50,000 people, with 18,000 in Natchez. However, in the past week more than 6,000 displaced people are now in the area's 11 shelters, as well as an untold number of people sleeping on church gym floors and living in homes that have been privately opened up.
"These people have lost everything," explained Stephens. "They didn't bring much with them, and they can't go back home for at least several months, even if they wanted to. And every day more and more people are showing up because we are one of the few places that have electricity and running water south of Jackson.
"How do I handle this? How do I make sure these people have a place to sleep, clothes to wear, food to eat, medicine. How do I get their children into school, make sure their braces are taken care of, how do I see if the parents can get jobs to pay the mortgage on the homes they can't live in as well as pay for their living expenses now? How can I comfort the children who have lost everything, parents who don't know when their next shower is going to be, and who can't even brush their teeth because they don't have a toothbrush?"
She also has no idea what has happened to her parents in New Orleans. She believes they have drowned and she's had no word. Yet she holds herself together because there are so many people relying on her.
One of the boys from the youth group tells me this heartbreaking story. He helps out at one of the shelters, and there was a 9 year old boy that came in on Wednesday shaking and trembling, and unable to talk. He had watched his parents and sister drown in front of him on Monday, and he walked through the water and muck of New Orleans, finally picked up by a stranger and driven to Natchez. He was uncommunicative until his uncle showed up by chance at the same shelter on Friday, and he finally was able to emotionally let go and tell his story.
As the trucks finished unloading, the members of the church were insistent that we stay overnight (it was getting on 8 p.m.). They fed us a barbecue chicken dinner with sweetened ice tea and asked us if there was anything we needed.
Benedetti and Strecht asked Stephens what is really needed most, and she said the most pressing issue is the displaced people living on gymnasium floors throughout town.
"They need cots and blankets and clothing and toiletries," said Stephens. Benedetti explained that when we left on Friday, people were still bringing items and that we would try to be back the next weekend. Everyone was grateful and appreciative of what we had done, and all of us quietly got back to planning the trip home.
When Boone and I were woken up at 4 a.m. for our driving shift, we got to talk some more. I found out that this isn't the first time Jansen has done this type of work.
On Sept. 12, 2001, he took a semi full of water to New York City and it was an experience he will never forget. We talked about the frustration of the people in Natchez, and how it seems like their little community has been forgotten in the bigger picture. We asked each other why we were the first people to arrive with relief supplies, and where was the Red Cross, FEMA, and all the other big charities?
The frustration began to grow in Jansen as he recounted his belief that the problem was people were more interested in filling out forms and making sure things were "organized" instead of just getting things done. His belief is that there are good people everywhere, and that if a few business people can pull this off, it would be much quicker and more efficient than a big governmental agency or other national organization.
"We can do this without the red tape and do it quicker and better," said Jansen."We don't have to worry about protecting our office or anything like that. We could have organized it and gotten things done better than any governmental agency. It's simple, it's just that with these national organizations you have too many people with their fingers in the pie."
At 8 a.m., Strecht came up from the back with tears in his eyes.
"I can't do this, I can't just go back and act like nothing happened," he said. "I know that we can help, and I feel guilty that I have a home and a business and these people are without everything."
Strecht and Jansen began an amazing four hours of juggling cell phones and talking to everyone they could think of.
"We are going to turn this around when we get back, we'll have things ready to go and load back up on Monday and go right back down there with the stuff they need," said Strecht.
It was an amazing sight to see the number of people they called, organizing donations, purchases of mattresses and other supplies. Each trying to outdo the other, as they pass the phones back and forth, each using the connections they have to accomplish what should have been done a week ago.
On Monday, a truck filled with 70 mattresses and two trailers filled with supplies headed back out to Natchez. On Friday, Benedetti and others will again head back to Natchez as the donations and bags of clothing continued to arrive at Jack's Glass. When we got back on Sunday, a garage had been filled with items donated by the community and local businesses.
As I listened to the news on Monday, I heard about cots being set up in a Cincinnati shelter to be used for evacuees that will be coming up from the stricken areas of southern Mississippi and Louisiana.I wanted to scream and tell them that those cots are needed in Natchez.That's were there are people who need them now.
We did something that was needed and appreciated. A group of local businesses and friends and family got together and helped out a community in need, a community that seemed to be forgotten in the bigger picture.I'm proud to have been a part of that effort.
If you want to help the people of Natchez as they deal with the growing number of displaced persons from the storm ravaged area south of them, contact the United Way of Greater Miss-Lou, PO Box 1466, Natchez, MS, 39121-1466, (601) 442-1081.
ERLANGER - Among those who came to the Hurricane Katrina benefit Monday, ideas were exchanged and advice sought.
A plan was formed in which the fire departments of 37 Northern Kentucky cities will collect food on a day yet to be determined, culminating in a celebration concert.
But those present wondered what more would have been accomplished if other voices were heard.
"I just wish more people would have shown up," said Kent Kelso, an Independence councilman and dean of students at Northern Kentucky University.
About 25 community leaders came to the Receptions Conference Centers on Monday - less than half the number invited - to discuss a one-day Hurricane Katrina benefit in which all Northern Kentucky cities could participate.
And while the turnout wasn't what she expected, there were still positives, said Christi Hoehn, a Newport resident who organized the event.
After a short presentation and brainstorming session, Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli proposed the idea of all city fire departments in Northern Kentucky collecting food or money on one day. Others thought the day could be capped with a concert, either featuring local acts or more well-known bands.
"We need to check the dates of other events, but the riverfront could host something like that," Guidugli said Monday. "Obviously, we want to do whatever we can."
Kelso said NKU was already planning a concert of local orchestras and children's acts Oct. 23 at Greaves Concert Hall, and that the event could be tied to the Northern Kentucky fund-raiser.
"Obviously, we don't know if this could accommodate all the people interested or not, but we can look into it," Kelso said.
Hoehn said she would contact representatives from 39 Northern Kentucky cities again next week to settle on a plan and a date for the event.
"And for those who didn't show up, I'm calling them back," she said. "Because we're going to get this done."
Representatives from the Red Cross and local business owners who had already made trips to deliver goods to the Gulf Coast spoke to the crowd.
Michael Benedetti, president of Jack's Glass of Northern Kentucky, is part of a group that has made eight trips delivering donated goods to Natchez, Miss., a town of 15,000 on the Louisiana border that has been overrun with Katrina evacuees.
"It is a microcosm of all cities that have taken in so many refugees," Benedetti said. "I know there are some Northern Kentucky cities that big. Imagine if one of those cities doubled in size due to evacuees. In a few weeks, their shelters there won't be able to stay open. We have to continue to give them help."
Hoehn said she will give the city officials time to digest the information before coming up with a concrete time, date and location.
"We're going to do everything we can," she said. "Those people are going to need help for years. We'll do this right."
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