Published: September 02, 2008 08:26 am      

Gustav blows in

Henderson County takes on some evacuees as hurricane rips Gulf coast

Families displaced by the approach of Hurricane Gustav spilled into Texas over the weekend.

Motels in Athens filled up with evacuees who left Louisiana as part of the largest evacuation in U.S. history.

At the Holiday Inn Express on East Tyler Street Monday morning, clerk Kayrena Christian said many of the customers from Louisiana had made reservations two or three nights in advance. Others weren’t as fortunate.

“We’re filled up with them,” Christian said. “We’re trying to handle it the best we can. We’ve given people numbers to other hotels, trying to help them out.”

Emergency preparedness networks were on alert across Henderson County Monday. However, those efforts weren’t immediately needed. East Texas Medical Center Athens had treated only a handful of evacuees who came to the emergency room on their own, according to hospital spokesperson Toni Garrard Clay.

As of mid-day Monday, no official hospital transfers had been accepted, she said.

Christopher and Jaimie Sheppard of Welsh, La., left home Sunday morning. The 270-mile drive took about seven-and-a-half hours, with a few short stops along the way.

Christopher said even an extended power outage would be reason enough for him to evacuate.

“We have three small children and the baby can’t handle that heat,” Christopher said.

Christopher said the children are enjoying staying in a motel.

“They think it’s a party, but the baby isn’t sleeping very well in a room with four people,” Christopher said.

Christopher said he was scheduled to come to Solar Turbines in Mabank for training this week. The evacuation just made him pull out a couple of days earlier.

“That part worked out perfectly,” Christopher said.

Jaimie’s parents had to travel on to Waco to find a room.

Chad Crochet and his wife, Andre, had secured reservations Tuesday. Athens was the closest place to their home in Jennings, La., with an available room.

“We’ve been evacuated twice in the past three years,” Chad said. “I’d never had to before that.”

In 2005, it was Rita that hit the Lake Charles area and forced families to head for inland shelters.

“We have friends and relatives who stayed,” Chad said. “About the same ones who stayed three years ago are there now.”

Andre said his family had been concerned that the motel where they were staying had a no pets policy. They brought a small dog, Sandie on the trip.

“It’s too hot to leave him in the car. Pets are part of the family too,” Andre said.

The Crochets got some help from the Henderson County Humane Society. By Sunday night the animal shelter had helped several families, volunteer Vickie Geisel said.

Jeffery and Liz Landry made the trip from New Iberia, La., in a RV with two poodles along for the ride.

“Traffic on the trip was pretty bad,” Jeffery said.

“We got into some construction on I-20. Some of the signs were confusing,” Liz said.

Liz works for a company that has an office in Athens. She’ll be working there for a day or two until they get the green light to go home.