B.J. Sanchez of Freeport wasn’t about to start complaining. “The kids have something to do and my wife went shopping this morning at the mall, so she is happy.” Sanchez stood outside the inflatable-jumping castle watching his son play. “Hopefully this will wear him out and we can all get a good night’s sleep.”
Toys, balls of every size and shape, and bags of clothes arrived during the day at the shelter.
IHOP buses collected evacuees from the Frank W. Mayborn Civic and Convention Center and dropped them back later in the afternoon.
The day started with a visit from U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, who visited with evacuees and volunteers, followed by huge bunches of balloons from the Card and Party Factory in Temple. Maggie Moo delivered ice creams and hugs for the children … although the odd adult was seen enjoying the cool creamy mixtures as well.
“I am just so happy here,” Teena Wilton said. “It’s not home but it’s better than waiting for a hurricane to pass.” Wilton, 31, from Freeport was reading a book donated to the shelter by a local resident. “I do know that if we ever had to evacuate again, even if it wasn’t mandatory, I would come back to Temple. They just have everything set up right. The cots were pretty hard but the foam rubber we have on them sure helps. I will never hesitate again.”
An announcement that a doctor was in the house reassured those who were running out of medications that all was going to be well. Scott & White Memorial Hospital pharmacy took all the prescriptions to fill and delivered them later in the afternoon.
Regina Lloyd nursed her 3-day-old baby Vaneisha Lewis. Vaneisha decided that no one was going to tell her when she was going to evacuate. “I was sitting on the bus in Angleton when I had a few pains,” Lloyd said. “They checked me and found out my labor had started. It was just the beginning,” she said.
Lloyd was told to return home to Freeport to rest for a while rather than leave on the convoy of buses and have the baby during the trip. Vaneisha had other plans. She wasn’t going to accept an afternoon rest and decided to have mom stop off at Lake Jackson on the way to Freeport.
“We were lucky we didn’t go on the bus because she wouldn’t have made the six-hour trip,” Lloyd said of her new baby. The next day mom and baby were on their way to Bell County. Vaneisha joined her older sisters, Shania and Sandra, and her father, Valance.
Haircuts were also offered to evacuees. “I heard they were looking for someone to cut hair and came down straight from work,” Frances Castillo of Trendy Haircuts at the Exchange Plaza in Temple said.
“It feels nice to have your hair done. It’s just a small thing but it feels good,” Irene Andrade from Danbury said as Castillo trimmed her long dark hair.
Chicken and mashed potatoes were served for the evening meal, followed by carrot cake for dessert. Meals were donated to volunteers from Chik-fil-A and Papa John’s pizza.
Iretha Gardener, a volunteer from Temple City IT Department said that all was running pretty smoothly. “There have been some great stories and some very sad ones,” Gardener said.
“The Bell County Emergency Operations Center is in sustained operations as far as providing shelter,” Dennis Baker, Bell County emergency management coordinator, said. “Presently we have close to 1,000 people in shelters across the county.
“Now we’re at a point where we are starting to address things that would be considered more of a quality of life need. We are organizing shuttles arranged for folks to be able to go out into the towns and go to the store and pick up anything they need. If they brought pets that are sheltered at Belton Veterinary Clinic we’re making arrangements for them to be able to visit them. Volunteers are helping with the visits.”
Baker spoke with Brazoria County to work on a plan to get folks back to Brazoria County.
“The biggest thing is getting power restored, because once they have that the water system and the sewerage system become functional again,” he said. “They do need to go and do a house-by-house check to make sure that the buildings are safe for folks to come back into.”
It is too early at this stage to know when people will be able to return, he said.
