Beaumont Enterprise Ike 09-25

Inside: Family says missing man got stuck near Rainbow Bridge during Ike Page 10A  WEATHER: Mostly sunny, Highs: 80s, Lows: 60s/2A 

THURSDAY

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SEPTEMBER 25, 2008

V OL . CXXVIII , N O. 325 

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 THE ADVOCATE FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS SINCE 1880 

County wants bug war aid State not seeking military planes to spray mosquitoes, but local officials say region needs big guns By SARAH MOORE

THE ENTERPRISE

Gulf Coast mosquitoes are so bad, it’ll take a military force to A backhoe moves logs as a military combat them, Jefferson County C-130 aircraft sprays insecticide outside officials say. Or at least, military planes for Beaumont after Hurricane Rita in 2005. Enterprise file photo

FEMA: Mobile homes on way

spraying. Despite the state’s decision not to seek the Department of Defense’s assistance in fighting the Gulf Coast’s mosquito plague, Jefferson County has not given up trying to get C-130 planes to tackle the problem.

The Texas Department of State Health Services on Wednesday announced aerial spraying will be done by private contractors, rather than the C-130 planes used effectively after Hurricane Rita.

SpeakUP ◆ Should the state use C130s to combat our mosquito problem? Take our survey at BeaumontEnterprise.com

WAR, page 7A

Bolivar folks look, leave; will they want to return?

Agency won’t say when temporary housing units for Ike victims will arrive By RYAN MYERS

THE ENTERPRISE

After frustrating days of fingerpointing and delay, FEMA officials told local leaders Wednesday that mobile homes finally were on the way for Southeast Texans displaced from their homes by Hurricane Ike. Mobile homes and “park model trailers” have been staged outside of the state and will begin shipping today, said Albie Lewis, a Federal HOUSING, page 4A Photos by Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise

INSIDE

Gary Kent looks at the scant remnants of his neighbor’s bayside home on Bolivar Peninsula on Wednesday.

◆ Veterans wait hours for charity cash that doesn’t show: 3A ◆ Homeowners wrangle with insurers: 1B ◆ Customer traffic picks up at Parkdale Mall: 4B ◆ Disaster loans available: 4B

Ike scatters cattle, salts grazing land Rancher rounds up what he can and sends livestock to feed elsewhere in Texas By KYLE PEVETO

THE ENTERPRISE

In six generations, Bill White’s coastal Southeast Texas ranching family has not faced a greater challenge. Hurricane Ike’s storm surge flooded the grasslands of southern Jefferson and Chambers counties where the White Ranch has grazed cattle since 1819. Cattle lie drowned in marshes, every fence and cattle pen for miles is blown down and saltwater has ruined thousands of acres of grazing land for several months. “You’re at nature’s whim. I don’t CATTLE, page 7A

Kelly Bulldogs try to get used to playing football again: Sports, Section C

Gone home Residents allowed brief visit to see what disaster took from them Those who want Allan Maniha retrieves his Texas flag from under debris at his bayside cabin on the Bolivar Peninsula on Wednesday. Residents who live east of the Rollover Pass bridge were allowed to check their homes on Wednesday. Those who live west of it will be let in on Friday.

By CHRISTINE RAPPLEYE

THE ENTERPRISE

GILCHRIST — Susan Shafer came prepared. She had black rubber boots, gloves and a camera. Her friend, Gerry Lang, had a bag and shovel. Shafer, of Houston, also had no expectation of finding anything from her home on Fourth Street after Hurricane Ike swept through more than a week ago, washing away all but a dozen or so homes. She let out a cry as she walked up on where her house once stood. Next to one of the remaining pilings was a mangled pile of some of her things, including a few of her piano-key pattern dishes and one cuckoo clock from her collection of several hundred. “I had just moved everything here,” Shafer said. Officials were allowing those

Entergy chief exec asserts utility is not giving up on the Bolivar Peninsula: 4A

INSIDE Advice & TV......2B Business ..........4B

Classified ........6C Comics ............4C Life & Style ......1B Markets ..........3B

to stay know big task lies ahead By KYLE PEVETO

THE ENTERPRISE

Bolivar Peninsula property owners gathered in droves Wednesday afternoon for the first in a series of meetings they hope will lead to the speedy reconstruction of the area hit hard by Hurricane Ike. Most in the standing-roomonly crowd of about 350 at the Jefferson County Courthouse jury impaneling room had seen their property only in aerial photos, but everyone knew a long rebuilding process lies ahead. “Crystal Beach and Bolivar Peninsula was created and developed by Southeast Tex-

BOLIVAR, page 6A

Obituaries ........8A Opinions ........11A Puzzles ............2B Sports ............1C

Dow Nasdaq -29.00

+2.35

Average price of a gallon of regular gas in Southeast Texas: As of Wednesday morning

$3.59

Sources: AAA, Oil Price Information Service

◆ Section designed and copy-edited by Vic Odegar, Christopher Clausen, Tammie Hodges and Megan Kinkade, (409) 880-0795 ◆

REBUILD, page 4A