Camp Gruber update

Katrina survivors make progress at Camp Gruber. They've been our guests in Oklahoma for ten days and already, more than half of the Louisianans who sought shelter at Camp Gruber have moved on to more

Tuesday, September 13th 2005, 10:43 am

By: News On 6

Katrina survivors make progress at Camp Gruber. They've been our guests in Oklahoma for ten days and already, more than half of the Louisianans who sought shelter at Camp Gruber have moved on to more permanent housing.

News on 6 anchor Tami Marler shows us what's next for the operation at Camp Gruber.

From the looks of Queenie, you'd think she hasn't a care in the world, sitting on her mobile throne, while her master shops for a few essentials. You'd never know they were both fighting for their lives on a rooftop just two weeks ago. "When we got up on the roof I knocked it out with a bowling ball. Queenie was on my head, and she had sharp nails, so she dug in.â€

Robert and Queenie found refuge and support at Camp Gruber, from an army of volunteers who worked around the clock to make sure their every need was met.

Kary Cox is with Washington County Emergency Management. "We really had more than what we could deal with, more than what we had space for. So we wound up with warehouses, including this one." When Oklahomans are called for help, we jump right in. Trucks are full of donations. And tarps cover 22,000 gallons of donated water that can't be used.

Now Camp Gruber organizers are trying to figure out what to do with all this generosity. "We've got a good handle on the supplies on the supplies in the warehouse. We're moving those out to areas of need. Hopefully in the next few days we'll be able to continue to downscale this operation." Scott Evans says local, state and federal agencies are working to get people evacuees placed in jobs and homes as quickly as possible. "We've been giving them the opportunity to kind of settle in and recover from the trauma they've suffered and bringing in resources to assist them during their recovery. Now we've got people placing them in homes, and we don't anticipate this taking much longer. Maybe in weeks rather than months."

Robert says he and Queenie are grateful for their second chance and ready to get on with their new lives.