News from Korie Pierce Carrigee

Korie and her husband Kevin are really good friends of mine, and they have an adorable 1-year-old daughter, which I am sure puts a while new twist into the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Thanks, Korie, for sending this update. I am glad to hear that Kenny is home and safe.

Hi. We are back at home. We arrived here last Wednesday. We had about 8-10 shingles blown off, some siding near the peaks ripped down, and our attic vent damaged. Of course, we lost everything in our fridge too. Nothing compared to what happened in Jefferson, Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines.

I have four extra family members living with me for a while (Kevin's mom grandma, brother & his fiancee). We went to pick Kenny up in Alexandria last Saturday from Ft. Polk. His unit returned one week early from Iraq since they are the only troops from the New Orleans area. They USED to based in Chalmette at Jackson Barracks. He has been over there for a year and then got to come home to this mess and he lost everything that was in his mom's condo. Ms. Connie had about a foot of water at Chardonnay Village in Kenner. His fiancee's family lost everything and so did Kevin's Grandmother due to flood waters.

My mother and Grandparents in Airline Park were spared from flood damage and only lost a shed from the winds. My brother and Dad on the Northshore are still without power, but only minor wind damage like me. Dad may have to relocate since he works for Halliburton and it looks like most oil companies are pulling out to Houston. Adam is a licensed heavy equipment operator for Boh Brothers and is working 12 hour shifts 7 days a week to restore the water lines in Jefferson Parish. He said it is gross right now.

My grandfather in Slidell lost his entire house, literally. He lives on Salt Bayou in a raised (at least 4-5 feet) house that is now 20-30 feet up in the trees across the highway. His roof is smashed on the ground right where the house used to be and the only recognizable thing left was one lamp about 60 feet from where it used to sit in the house. We are so sad for him. My
step-grandmother, Maw Maw Sylvia just passed away in February. It has been rough for him.

My mom's parents were evacuated ahead of the storm to Virginia to my Aunt Kim's. This was not their first time. Paw Paw Ed is a dialysis patient with a port-a-cath. We cannot take any chances with him. He is able to go to a dialysis center up there. They will stay until things are completely normal in Metairie. Now to my sister, Wendy! Her apartment was flooded and she lost just about everything. David has been working in Anapolis for a while, but he came down during the evacuation. They decided to all move to Maryland. David had interviews setup with the Times-Picayune and Tulane's publications department, and planned to return to New Orleans by the end of the year since Wendy was so happy with her job and the girls loved their new schools. However, he feels that none of that will be possible due to Katrina. We are going to miss them very, very much. I am still so sad after saying good-bye.

I went back to work on Monday. Our students will return on Thursday and the school board is trying to decide what to do with our new "displaced" students. It is going to be wild for a while. We don't know what is going to happen for Kevin's job in Jefferson Parish. He is on sabbatical until January, but that is based on his being enrolled in at least 6 hours of grad school. UNO is now closed, hoping to get their online classes up by October. He has one online class and two regular classes, so we don't know what is going to happen.

Also, we only know for sure that he is getting paid for September. If Jefferson doesn't get up and running quickly, they won't generate enough sales tax revenue to pay teachers in October. We also might have lost the sitter we had set up for Kailie come January since she moved to Jackson,MS. You cannot even imagine how many little aspects of your life are so completely changed because of this horrible tragedy and at the same time, we feel so totally blessed and lucky. If this storm had been 10-15 miles more west, we would have been wiped out here in Destrehan.

I hope that your families are all doing OK. I have been so busy, but thinking about you all. Stephanie~ Your blog is great. A great way to see and hear about other friends. Tell Shannon and Darren that their family is in my thoughts and prayers.

Take care and I will be in touch soon!
Love, Korie

P.S. I will forward you a slideshow of some pictures of Plaquemines Parish. They are incredible.