Officers Find Reward In Helping With Relief Efforts
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
It wasn't quite the way they planned, but the result was just as rewarding.
When a group of nine Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department deputies traveled to Mississippi to help with Hurricane Katrina relief, they expected to be deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. However, the group arrived without a certification number and special paperwork and was told they had to wait up to two days before they would be sent where help was needed.
With two trucks of supplies and only a week to give, what did they do?
They struck out on their own, traveling to Gulfport, Miss., then to Louisiana with the help of Joe Wilkey of the World Compassion Network, who was traveling with them.
They ended up at Trinity Church in Covington, La., near Lake Ponchatrain, north of New Orleans, where residents were waiting for aid. The only other relief agency the town had seen was the American Red Cross.
"God opened the door for us and got us where we needed to be," said Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine.
When the group arrived at Trinity Church, they were greeted with open arms.
"They were begging for supplies," said Chris McKeand. "As far as I know, we were the first (relief crew) to that town other than the Red Cross. The trucks going through to New Orleans were not stopping there. "
After handing out supplies, the officers talked with police in Mandeville and volunteered to help cover shifts. Many of those officers had not had a chance to check their homes or sleep in the aftermath of Katrina.
At night, Kosciusko County officers patrolled an area of Mandeville along Lake Ponchatrain that covered about 21 city blocks. They covered 12-hour shifts from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., enforcing a curfew and helping keep the order in the town, which is about the size of Warsaw. When they left Sept. 9, they had logged more than 300 patrol hours.
"We saw houses and businesses and big southern mansions flooded and destroyed by the hurricane," said McKeand. "Patrolling at night, we helped avoid the problem of looting and civil unrest in the town."
"We gave the police department an extra night off," said Deputy Rick Shepherd. "They had been working 12-hour shifts seven days a week since the storm hit. They were strung out and ready for a break."
After patrolling the town at night, the officers helped residents with the clean-up effort.
"We spent two days clearing trees," said McKeand. One day they helped clear trees on the church property."
"The best thing for me, probably, was helping at the church," said Deputy Dalis Owens. "Cleaning the lot and helping the church meant the most to me."
And although people lost many of their belongings in the storms, the people of Mandeville made the Kosciusko County officers feel at home.
"They treated us very well," said McKeand. "We tried not to impose on them, but if they saw us, they made us eat a meal there."
The group planned to camp after arriving in Covington, but one family insisted the officers stay in their home.
The officers took supplies to Louisiana, but came home with many memories.
McKeand, Shepherd and Dalis Owens each told the story of a veteran that came in contact with while in the town. The man lived in an out-of-the way shanty, by the time the crew from Kosciusko County arrived, he was running low on supplies but refused to leave his home for a shelter.
"He was disabled and rode out the flood in his home," said McKeand. "We gave him the food and water he needed it to hopefully make it."
They also met a homeless man from New Orleans who rode his bicycle to Mandeville before Hurricane Katrina hit. The homeless man told the officers he had been sleeping on benches or wherever he could find a place since he got to the town.
"He had a backpack and his bike," said Shepherd. "We gave him as much food and water as he could carry and and hoped he would be OK."
The giving did not stop there.
"The last day we took all our personal items back to the church to donate what was left," said Shepherd. "We hauled 20 cases full of water down to where we patrolled. Josh Spangle and Jon Tyler rode on the back of the truck and we went through the town handing out water ... until it was all gone."
The trucks the officers took supplied 15 of the evacuation shelters with supplies. After a long drive home, the officers met with Rovenstine for a quick meeting before they went home.
"When the guys got back, they were tired and dirty, but they had big smiles on their faces," said Rovenstine. "They were not expecting to go down there and have it be as rewarding as it was. They put people other than themselves first, that's the kind of people they are.
"The guys back here pitched in and worked extra shifts to cover for the group that was gone. There was never a complaint about the extra hours."
Was the confusion and hard work worth it?
"I would definitely volunteer to go again," said Owens. "I would go in a heartbeat ... tomorrow if they could spare me." [[In-content Ad]]
It wasn't quite the way they planned, but the result was just as rewarding.
When a group of nine Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department deputies traveled to Mississippi to help with Hurricane Katrina relief, they expected to be deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. However, the group arrived without a certification number and special paperwork and was told they had to wait up to two days before they would be sent where help was needed.
With two trucks of supplies and only a week to give, what did they do?
They struck out on their own, traveling to Gulfport, Miss., then to Louisiana with the help of Joe Wilkey of the World Compassion Network, who was traveling with them.
They ended up at Trinity Church in Covington, La., near Lake Ponchatrain, north of New Orleans, where residents were waiting for aid. The only other relief agency the town had seen was the American Red Cross.
"God opened the door for us and got us where we needed to be," said Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine.
When the group arrived at Trinity Church, they were greeted with open arms.
"They were begging for supplies," said Chris McKeand. "As far as I know, we were the first (relief crew) to that town other than the Red Cross. The trucks going through to New Orleans were not stopping there. "
After handing out supplies, the officers talked with police in Mandeville and volunteered to help cover shifts. Many of those officers had not had a chance to check their homes or sleep in the aftermath of Katrina.
At night, Kosciusko County officers patrolled an area of Mandeville along Lake Ponchatrain that covered about 21 city blocks. They covered 12-hour shifts from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., enforcing a curfew and helping keep the order in the town, which is about the size of Warsaw. When they left Sept. 9, they had logged more than 300 patrol hours.
"We saw houses and businesses and big southern mansions flooded and destroyed by the hurricane," said McKeand. "Patrolling at night, we helped avoid the problem of looting and civil unrest in the town."
"We gave the police department an extra night off," said Deputy Rick Shepherd. "They had been working 12-hour shifts seven days a week since the storm hit. They were strung out and ready for a break."
After patrolling the town at night, the officers helped residents with the clean-up effort.
"We spent two days clearing trees," said McKeand. One day they helped clear trees on the church property."
"The best thing for me, probably, was helping at the church," said Deputy Dalis Owens. "Cleaning the lot and helping the church meant the most to me."
And although people lost many of their belongings in the storms, the people of Mandeville made the Kosciusko County officers feel at home.
"They treated us very well," said McKeand. "We tried not to impose on them, but if they saw us, they made us eat a meal there."
The group planned to camp after arriving in Covington, but one family insisted the officers stay in their home.
The officers took supplies to Louisiana, but came home with many memories.
McKeand, Shepherd and Dalis Owens each told the story of a veteran that came in contact with while in the town. The man lived in an out-of-the way shanty, by the time the crew from Kosciusko County arrived, he was running low on supplies but refused to leave his home for a shelter.
"He was disabled and rode out the flood in his home," said McKeand. "We gave him the food and water he needed it to hopefully make it."
They also met a homeless man from New Orleans who rode his bicycle to Mandeville before Hurricane Katrina hit. The homeless man told the officers he had been sleeping on benches or wherever he could find a place since he got to the town.
"He had a backpack and his bike," said Shepherd. "We gave him as much food and water as he could carry and and hoped he would be OK."
The giving did not stop there.
"The last day we took all our personal items back to the church to donate what was left," said Shepherd. "We hauled 20 cases full of water down to where we patrolled. Josh Spangle and Jon Tyler rode on the back of the truck and we went through the town handing out water ... until it was all gone."
The trucks the officers took supplied 15 of the evacuation shelters with supplies. After a long drive home, the officers met with Rovenstine for a quick meeting before they went home.
"When the guys got back, they were tired and dirty, but they had big smiles on their faces," said Rovenstine. "They were not expecting to go down there and have it be as rewarding as it was. They put people other than themselves first, that's the kind of people they are.
"The guys back here pitched in and worked extra shifts to cover for the group that was gone. There was never a complaint about the extra hours."
Was the confusion and hard work worth it?
"I would definitely volunteer to go again," said Owens. "I would go in a heartbeat ... tomorrow if they could spare me." [[In-content Ad]]