ANDERSON — Yes, Barack Obama won the presidency. Yes, the first female was nominated to the Republican ticket. Yes, the world saw amazing things happen in the news this year. According to Anderson firefighter Skip Ockomon, 2008’s whirlwind election distracted many Americans from the tragedy that struck Texas on Sept. 13.
After raking over Haiti and Cuba, Hurricane Ike stood poised to destroy the island community of Galveston, Texas.
Weather officials watched and waited, predicting a category 5 storm with a 25-foot storm surge and 145-mile winds like those seen in Cuba just days earlier.
When Ike finally rolled into the Gulf Coast and roared across Galveston and neighboring communities, it had weakened to a category 2 storm with 110-mile winds.
Though the storm was not as strong as predicted, Ike still managed to pack a punch with 37 deaths and $8.1 billion in damage to a state that hadn’t seen a damaging hurricane in 25 years, according to National Geographic.
But Obama and Clinton, McCain and Palin, and all the other headline-grabbing stories trumped Ike’s rampage in many mainstream media outlets. “This election kind of over-ran Hurricane Ike,” Ockomon said.
Ockomon hasn’t forgotten about Ike’s destruction, and is rallying area residents to join him as he embarks on a trip to help those still reeling after the devastating storm.
For the week of Jan. 24 through Jan. 31, Ockomon and a group of other willing Hoosiers plan to travel by bus or van to Galveston, where they will spend the week gutting and rebuilding homes destroyed by the viscous storm.
He has so far only been able to gather 12 volunteers, including his wife and son, and aims to get 100 on the trip.
Though much of the work is likely going to be physically demanding, odds jobs for those who do not wish to tear down dry wall and hammer nails are available, he said. “We’re not turning anybody down.”
Volunteers will need to come up with about $300, he said, to pay for a week’s worth of housing and food in Galveston. Volunteers will be bunked in a school turned into barracks.
The money, he said, can be gathered with a little ambition. “We’re asking people to get their families and friends to sponsor them.”
Ockomon and his crew are also hoping a Madison County business will set an example by sponsoring one employee to go on the trip.
The people of Galveston, Ockomon said, stand as a reminder to needy Hoosiers. “In this economy, we can think we have it bad but there’s always someone who has it worse than us.”
It didn’t take much convincing for Pastor Clint Short of Full Gospel Assembly church to join Ockomon’s trip.
The minister and foreman of the Anderson Water Department traveled to Biloxi, Miss., in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and said it seems natural to head for Galveston. “I just have a heart for that kind of missionary work.”
“If everybody gives a little during this or any time, it leads to a lot. I’m just thankful that I can do that,” Short said.
Those interested in going on the trip should attend an informational meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Crossroads Church, corner of Cross Street and Scatterfield Road.
Cash donations are also requested to help with the travel expenses of volunteers.
Attend the information meeting:
When: Thursday, Jan. 8, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Crossroads Church, corner of Cross Street and Scatterfield Road in Anderson
Call Skip Ockomon at (765) 425-1936 to get information about the trip or to donate money to help with the volunteers’ expenses.
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