Report From Jim Alger In Mississippi

(Note from Mayor Sam: As many of you know, we've been following the efforts of Northridge West Neighborhood Council member and California Assembly candidate Jim Alger to provide relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast. Jim has flown his own plane to the region to assist and has recruited several other pilots to help. Here is a report from Jim in his own words.)

I know that you have been following the relief effort in the South. I wanted to tell you a story about a Biloxi City Councilman named Bill Stallworth (pictured, right, with Alger). Bill's district is defined as "Ward 2" and includes the neighborhood known as "The Point". My first conversation with Bill was enroute to Louisiana, in fact he is why I diverted to Mississippi. He told me stories of what he desperately needed, I had the items on the plane so off to Mississippi I went.

I arrived in Jackson and off loaded the aircraft to the local fire department who in turn sent the supplies to the Gulf Coast. I found out later the supplies did not get to Bill.

We then coordinated with a number of other pilots to bring in supplies, using Jackson as our staging point only to find out later the supplies still did not make it to Bill.

Yesterday morning we coordinated two large busses filled with materials and supplies and sent them down to Bill. Once again they were diverted except this time I was called by the drivers. I took a local news crew and some volunteers and flew to Gulfport Mississippi. At 5:30 pm local time, we pulled past the roadblocks and into Yankee statium in Biloxi. Bill finally got supplies he had asked for. They are desperately in need of building supplies. Entire neighborhoods are simply gone. The smell of death is hauntingly in the air, and the American Red Cross is nowhere to be found.

The CBS news crew that I flew down from Knoxville, Tennesee will air stories Monday throuh Wednesday next week and hopefully shine a light on the situation in Mississippi, which is desperate to say the least. The Salvation Army is doing a heck of a job there. With any luck the Red Cross will get there after the news media tells these stories.

We have successfully evacuated countless people by air and land. So much so that the busses left with only two passengers, a mom and a five year old girl who were trapped in the city. There will be more evacuees next week, when the city condemns homes. Many people have pitched tents in a clearing of the rubble, but it is a very unhealthy situation.

I left Bill with a promise. That the people of Los Angeles would help him and his city. I intend to keep that promise.

Bill needs tarps, nails, hammers, general building supplies, construction equipment and debris removal epuipment and he needs it yesterday. UPS has now begun to have limited access to the area. here is the address:

Councilman Bill Stallworth
1226 Richars Dr
Biloxi, MS 39531

Today we will be moving a few remaining evacuees from the area.