Family uprooted by Hurricane Katrina, continues to rebuild their lives one year after the storm
It was one year ago this week that Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region and changed many lives forever. While the area continues to rebuild, one family, who moved to Rogers City for six months following the storm, has gone on with their lives in Seneca Falls, New York. Scott and Stacie Myers, who lost their home and all of their belongings in Violet, Louisiana, found refuge at Stacie?s mother?s house on West Woodward Avenue. The Myerses evacuated their home in St. Bernard Parish, southeast of New Orleans, more than 24 hours before Katrina hit land August 28, 2005. They have not been back since.
The Myerses stayed in a Shreveport, Louisiana hotel for a few days before traveling three days to Elaine Mayer?s house in Rogers City. ?I would give anything to get a chance to go down there,? said Stacie Myers during a telephone interview this week. She is in the process of notarizing paperwork that will authorize crews to demolish what is left of her house in Violet, which was under 20 feet of water for a couple of weeks. Stacie would like to go through the house to see if she could find any sentimental items, but potential health hazards and expenses are preventing a return trip. She realizes looters probably made off with any items of value, but she would look for her daughter Breanna?s baby teeth, lockets of hair, or even her grandmother?s dishes that were brought across the Atlantic from Germany, and had been passed down through the family. Along with adjusting to life in her third town in less than a year, Stacie said the hardest part has not being able to go back.
AFTER LIVING in Rogers City from early September until March, Scott?s employer relocated him to upstate New York. The Myerses have purchased a home in Seneca Falls, two hours from Niagara Falls, and are getting ready for school to begin. Scott and Stacie?s youngest, Nickolas, 5, is just getting ready to start kindergarten. She said both of her children have handled everything extremely well. ?It is home, but it is going to be a long time before it feels like home,? said Stacie. ?There are things we still miss. It will take a while to adjust.? They had lived in Violet for 11 years before the storm. The family was in Rogers City for three days last week as part of a family vacation. Scott?s side of the family had a family reunion at the state park in Indian River. Part of the vacation included a three-night visit to Elaine?s home.
?THIS TOWN, they just opened their arms and welcomed them here,? said Mayer, of the young family?s arrival to Rogers City last year. ?I don?t think there was anyone that didn?t offer them something.? Stacie said would have liked to have stayed in Rogers City if there were more jobs available. She added that her husband?s employer was very accommodating through the disaster. Mayer said Breanna made many friends while she lived in Rogers City. ?Like Breanna said, ?there is no place like Rogers City. There is no place better than Rogers City,? ? said Mayer. ?She could not wait to get back here to say hello to all of the friends she had made here.? According to a Detroit Free Press article this week, Michigan’s hurricane evacuee population peaked at roughly 6,000 in November, based on estimates from caseload numbers provided by the state and the Federal Emergency Manage
STACIE IS STILL struggling to close out their homeowner?s insurance policy. ?It is sad that we are with one of the largest insurance groups and we have not settled.? She has kept a list of 47 people she has talked with in the company to prevent any runaround. ?I think they want us to give up,? said Stacie. ?That is probably what they are waiting for.? She advises people to inventory their belongings. When a disaster like this occurs, the insurance company wants a list of everything, Stacie said, down to how many spoons are in the kitchen drawer.
She also has had her share of problems with FEMA. They have lost paperwork a couple of times. Stacie was spending part of her week filling out paperwork to authorize the federal agency to demolish her home. Even if the insurance is settled, and the home is sent to a landfill, the ripples from the storm will linger for years to come. ?It was our home for so long,? said Stacie. ?I have never really gotten over it,? said Mayer. ?I cannot talk about it without crying.?