Mother is home safe in Lewiston

It took an almost nonstop 1,800-mile journey, but Dorothy Cassidy is finally home in Lewiston with her family.

“It was a huge relief,” daughter Anita Lewis said of the reunion with her 56-year-old mother, an evacuee from New Orleans.

It was exhausting, though.

Lewis and her brother, Dean Libby, drove to Monroe, La., where their mother waited. The pair left Lewiston around 3:30 p.m. Sunday and took few breaks, eating and sleeping in the car. They arrived in Monroe at about 6 p.m. Monday.

“I thought it was going to be chaos,” Lewis said of the Monroe Civic Center, where her mother was among 3,000 or so evacuees.

Instead, it was surreal. The auditorium seemed calm and organized. Volunteers sped storm victims through the hall on golf carts. Evacuees were being entertained by an Elvis impersonator.

Lewis and Libby found their mother cared for and eager to come to Maine. Cassidy and her boyfriend, Lionel Roch, climbed into Libby’s Chevy Cavalier and headed north, arriving in Lewiston around 12:30 Wednesday morning.

Lewis and Libby’s goal now is to help their mother and Roch get back on their feet.

“They’re not rich people,” Lewis said. “What little they did have was lost.”

– Daniel Hartill
Rangers respond

The Maine Forest Service has joined the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, sending personnel and two trucks loaded with aviation fuel south.

Crew Chief Robert Southard of Holden and ranger pilot Otis Gray of Shirley are in Baton Rouge, La.. District Forest Ranger Steve Day of Greenville is in Mississippi, and Forest Ranger Tom Liba of Millinocket is in San Antonio. District Forest Ranger Jeffrey Currier of Jonesboro left Wednesday for Mobile, Ala.

The rangers will help coordinate relief efforts and distribute supplies to people affected by the disaster.

– Staff report
‘Road to Recovery’

The Maine Turnpike Authority will begin collecting donations for the American Red Cross-Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund at all staffed toll lanes between York and Augusta.

The fund-raising effort, called “Road to Recovery,” will run from Friday through Wednesday.

Turnpike staffers will hang bright orange buckets from their toll booths. The buckets won’t be available in EZ-Pass Lanes or automatic coin lanes.

– Staff report
Generous listeners

Several Maine radio stations combined forces to raise $90,000 in 28 hours for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

The Bay 1400/1490 AM, 560 WGAN AM, 93.1 WMGX, 101.9 WPOR, 100.9 WYNZ and 970 WZAN AM, along with the Red Cross of Maine, conducted the radiothon. Red Cross volunteers staffed phone banks at each of the stations.

– Staff report
Water donation

With severe drinking water shortages in Hurricane Katrina’s wake, Bachmann Industries Inc. of Auburn has arranged for a shipment of water to be contributed to the relief efforts.

Reduced rates from Crystal Spring and Poland Spring, both Maine-based water-bottling companies, allowed Bachmann to maximize this contribution. With assistance from radio station WJBQ 89.3 of Freeport and Bisson Trucking of Westbrook, the shipment is scheduled to ship at the end of this week.

– Staff report