NMCC students help clean up Mississippi hurricane damage

The view for nine Presque Isle college students on winter break in Mississippi is anything but picturesque. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, they said, there are clothes hanging in trees, rows of buildings with walls knocked out, and mountains of furniture and debris piled up along the streets.

But the Northern Maine Community College students, who are spending 10 days in Perkinston, Miss., to help clean up homes, say they are not discouraged.

They say their feelings can be summed up in three words: Bring it on!

The members of the campus chapter of Alpha Beta Gamma, an international business honor society, decided last year to give up a planned trip to Quebec so they could help with hurricane cleanup efforts.

They and their ABG adviser were out of breath after a morning of work when they spoke by cell phone Wednesday about their trip. Explaining that they were making a quick stop at a fast-food restaurant for a bathroom break before heading to another cleanup site, they spoke rapidly and excitedly.

“Well, the first thing we did this morning was take an ax to a pool table and beat it to hell in order to move it,” adviser Pam Crawford said, drawing a loud burst of laughter from the group at the memory. “It was the last thing left in somebody’s house, and we needed to get it out so they could do some work inside.”

The Presque Isle group is helping clean up the homes of several residents associated with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Perkinston. NMCC adopted the small community college last fall after deciding to make a difference by helping one community devastated by the hurricane.

“It’s just unbelievable to us to know that people would give so much,” Joan Haynes, Alpha Beta Gamma adviser at MGCCC, said Wednesday. “The most valuable thing you can give is yourself and your time, and to know that they gave up their break to help people they don’t even know is amazing.”

Students agreed that the trip was amazing, but for different reasons. Jackie White, ABG president at the college, said something as simple as a bus ride to the Perkinston campus left a lasting impression on her.

“It was striking to me when one of the ladies with us pointed to a place which was just a concrete slab and said, ‘I had the best times there,’ and she was laughing,” White said. “It was amazing that she had those memories and there was nothing left there.”

Student Theresa Dow said she now understands how the hurricane still is affecting Mississippi residents.

“People who need help aren’t getting it. It’s just amazing,” Dow said. “It saddens me to know that it’s been since August [when Hurricane Katrina hit], and stuff is starting to get done, but not as quickly as it should be.”

Though the amount of work they’re doing is small compared to what must be done to restore the area, the students say they understand and are glad to help and will do every bit of work they can before they head home.

“It’s incredible to watch them,” Crawford said. “They jump in, pick up a rake or a shovel or a lawn mower or a pool table and off they go with it. … In fact, they’re ready to roll, and they’re looking at me now like, ‘Let’s go! Hang up the phone!'”

And with a push of a button, they were on their way.