Late last month, in a measure to help repay the kindness showed to the Town of Sumrall by other cities after Hurricane Katrina and other storms, town officials organized a supply drive for Louisiana residents who recently were affected by Hurricane Ida.
That effort produced quite the results, as enough supplies were collected to fill up two 16-foot-long trailers that were delivered to Chalmette, Houma and Golden Meadow, Louisiana.
“The turnout from this drive shows me the goodness of our people and the strength of our community,” Mayor William Joel Lofton said. “The people here have always been very kind and giving.
“There are many memories in this community of how we have been served in times of need. Whether after Katrina or tornadoes that have impacted our area, we remember those who came to assist and support us in our times of need. This was just a way to pay back and spread the kindness that we’ve been shown.”
Collected items included cleaning items such as bleach, dish soap and disinfected. Other supplies included were non-perishable foods, paper towels and plates, soap, sunscreen, toothbrushes and wet wipes.
Supplies were gathered by a number of churches, schools and townspeople, with the largest donation from any one source coming from Sumrall Elementary School. The delivery was carried out by Sumrall Police Department and supported by the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office.
A delivery one week prior included donations of pallets of water from Sumrall elected officials, which was matched by Ramey’s Grocery. Cases of cleaning supplies and sanitizer were donated by the staff of Sumrall Drug, and Priority One Bank offered pizza parties to the class or student organization that provided the largest donation on each school campus in Sumrall.
“While the turnout was awesome, it serves to show how great our people are,” Lofton said. “We were very warmly and graciously received in Louisiana.
“We were prayed with and prayed for, and I feel like we left with lasting connections to those communities.”
Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana on August 29, the 16-year of Hurricane Katrina. Ida became the second-most damaging hurricane in history to make landfall in Louisiana, second only to Katrina.
The storm caused at least $50.1 billion is damages, of which $18 billion was in insured losses in Louisiana, and of which $100 million was in Cuba.
Ida caused an estimated $16 to 24 billion in flooding damage in the Northeastern United States, making it the costliest storm to hit the region since Hurricane Sandy in 2012,0. with an estimated $44 billion dollars in Insured loss.
