Lawrence, state offer to send assistance

Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday said the Kansas National Guard was ready, willing and able to help Gulf states dig out from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.

“We know it’s going to be a long haul for these communities to rebuild … and if we can offer some hope and support, these folks are ready,” Sebelius said after a brief ceremony celebrating the Kansas National Guard’s 150th birthday.

Sebelius said she had already spoken with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and that Barbour said he may request help later.

Sebelius was also offering assistance to Louisiana and Alabama.

She said Kansas Guardsmen were accustomed to responding to disasters. The hurricane, she said “may be one of the most serious crises that we have faced in the United States in years.”

A resident is rescued from the roof of a home by the U.S. Coast Guard as floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina cover the streets Tuesday in New Orleans.

Members of the Kansas Air National Guard were called to south-central Kansas last week when heavy rains caused flooding in Butler County.

Kansas has helicopters, heavy trucks and earth-moving equipment, as well as medical and security teams.

Other help from Lawrence and Kansas may soon be on the way.

The Douglas County Red Cross will deploy four of its disaster relief volunteers to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast later this week.

First-time volunteer Judi Mahaley said she couldn’t possibly sit at home and do nothing while others were suffering.

“I’m just really overwhelmed with compassion,” Mahaley said in an interview in her home Tuesday. “I have a lot to give and a lot to offer. I’m excited about going.”

How to help

Donations to the American Red Cross may be made by calling the local office at 843-3550, or online at www.redcross.org.

Red Cross disaster relief volunteers are required to complete two basic training courses, have current certification in CPR and first aid and get a clean bill of health from a physician.

“Working in this environment is considered a medical hardship,” said Jane Blocher, executive director of the Douglas County chapter of the American Red Cross. “Volunteers have to deal with the heat and humidity. They have to work in conditions without air conditioning, electricity, utilities. They have to be able to handle it.”

Mahaley, like all disaster relief volunteers, is committed to a three-week deployment. Her exact destination has not been specified.

After being rescued from his home by boat Tuesday, Brian Gayton cries for his grandmother, whom he lost during Hurricane Katrina in the Ninth Ward district in New Orleans.

“I actually completed my CPR and first aid training a couple weeks ago,” she said. “Little did I know that this would happen so quickly, so it’s really fresh in my memory. I feel really confident.”

Mahaley said the Red Cross would open disaster relief shelters, where volunteers will assist displaced residents with immediate needs.

“I may be serving meals or interviewing families, determining what their needs are, whether they have medical needs,” she said. “When they get phone service up we’ll be helping them contact their families.

“Part of our duties, though, is just to lend a compassionate ear and a shoulder to cry on if they need it.”