Texas National Guard relief efforts move to rural areas

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CLEVELAND, Texas (AFPN) --  As power is restored to smaller cities, Texas National Guardsmen are moving further into rural areas of Texas to assist Federal Emergency Management Agent officials with distribution of food, water and ice to Hurricane Rita victims.

Task Force-Seguin, which comprises 300 Army and Air National Guardsmen from throughout Texas, is currently distributing commodities in various Texas towns. Since Sept. 28 the team has distributed 19,214 meals to area residents, along with more than 30,000 bags of ice and almost 35,000 cases of water.

“As the electricity comes on and grocery stores open for business, we see less vehicle traffic coming through,” said Lt. Col. Philip Vaneau, task force commander. “We keep moving into new areas as requests for support come in.”

The National Guard has been staging out of a local high school and was scouting for a new location recently, since school resumes Oct. 4. But Mike Ogden, the school’s principal, insisted the school could make room for the military and invited them to stay on.

“Mr. Ogden and the entire school board have been great,” said Capt. Eric Cox. “He understood that our ability to help the community would decrease during the time it took to move 65 vehicles and 300 personnel, and there really wasn’t a suitable alternate location.”

More than half of Task Force-Seguin has been working nonstop since the beginning of September when Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. Texas National Guardsmen were recalled from New Orleans when Hurricane Rita began threatening the Texas coast. The team pre-positioned in Bryan and College Station, Texas, before the storm to respond to requests for assistance.

People from smaller rural communities, such as Devers, are relieved to see the military come to town. Although the population is listed as 416, there are about 1,000 people who live in the area, said Jimmy Belt, the town’s constable.

“This community has a lot of elderly, and the uniform means a lot to them,” Mr. Belt said. “They feel safer in their homes.”

Joe and Janet Furlow of Devers own a country store which provided shelter for 25 people during the hurricane. The store has remained open 24 hours a day ever since, and the Furlows have been providing free meals to hungry citizens and emergency response personnel.

“It was the only store in Liberty County that stayed open,” Mr. Belt said. “I’ve never seen anyone give what these people have given from their hearts.”

Guardsmen from Task Force-Seguin said the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. Although distributing food and water includes a lot of lifting in hot weather conditions, guardsmen have been enjoying this mission of humanitarian relief.

“Yesterday there was a van full of people who pulled up and the driver said they didn’t want any food or water, they just wanted to thank all of us for what we were doing,” said Army Sgt. Hilda Smith. “Everyone who heard it immediately got tears in their eyes.”

“We’re Texans helping Texans," Colonel Vaneau said. "That’s what we do.”