MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour singled out Vermont this week during a special session of the Mississippi Legislature formed to deal with Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath.

“When President Bush was here the third time we toured a faith-based feeding station; where hundreds of displaced people were eating a hot meal,” Barbour told lawmakers Tuesday.

“I met a fellow from Vermont, a truck driver. He and 16 other truck drivers had driven down from Vermont, a small state, very far away, to deliver 17 trailers of food to Gulfport. I couldn’t believe it . . . 17 tractor-trailers all the way from Vermont. Then, he told me it was his third trip.

“Yes, the American people are being very generous, and I want them to know we need the help to get through this disaster, and we genuinely appreciate it,” he said.

Following the hurricane, Gov. James Douglas urged Vermonters to donate basic supplies, such as bottled water and clothing, to the stricken Gulf Coast.

Sixty-five tractor trailer trucks carried the supplies to Gulfport, Miss., in two separate trips.