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School principal works to preserve relaxed mood at shelter

Donald Merritt, principal at Jensen Beach Elementary School, has slept in his office since Thursday.

Wearing jean shorts and a T-shirt, Merritt is trying to make sure 600 hurricane evacuees in his school are as comfortable as possible.

"I'm thinking of myself as the cruise director," he said.

At several points during the day he gets a child's xylophone and steps up to the school's intercom.

"Ding, ding, ding," he taps, just like the bells before a cruise ship announcement. Then he makes his announcement, usually about when the next meal will be ready.

"It helps make people feel relaxed," he said.

Like waves, Andrea Velasquez's prayers went from quiet murmurs to tear-soaked pleadings, washing across the empty pews of the Cavalry Assembly of God in Kissimmee.

Velasquez, through songs and words, asked God to protect her and the handful of others seeking shelter in the church.

She prayed alone at the foot of the cross in the front of the chapel, eyes closed, almost trance-like.

In the back of the sanctuary Manfredo Zapata and the Jones family sat waiting.

"I took my dog to a shelter," Zapata said, "and I said, "Let me go to church.' "

The church was damaged by Hurricane Charley. Sheets of plastic covered a hole in the roof over the balcony of the sanctuary.

Deborah Nicholas, 43, has slept in her blue canvas deck chair in the cafeteria at Westwood High School in Fort Pierce since Wednesday.

"I'm going stir crazy," said Nicholas, draped in a tiger-print blanket, holding a pillow. Between a television blaring hurricane news and children playing basketball in the garbage cans all night, Nicholas decided she had to get out Saturday to take a shower at her house. But she only stayed a few minutes after the lights began flickering and the trees began popping out of the ground.

Back at the shelter, she said, "I'm going to be in a straitjacket by Monday. I don't know how much longer I can take it. Have mercy."

Newspapers along Florida's east coast planned to publish today despite the weather.

Bob Stover, managing editor of Florida Today in Cocoa Beach, slept on a foam mat in his office Friday night.

Reporters were taken off the streets when winds kicked up Saturday morning, Stover said, but they remained stationed in the area.

The paper's distribution was limited because of evacuations and lack of access to the beaches, Stover said. Free newspapers were distributed to shelters and accessible areas of Brevard County.

Palm Beach Post staffers hunkered in a building that can withstand 120 mph winds and worked using power from generators.

"This storm is moving painfully slowly inland," said Bill Rose, deputy managing editor. "That's testing our endurance and our manpower."

He said the paper printed its normal run Saturday, and many copies were distributed in shelters.

The paper planned to print today's edition early but vowed to get it out to readers, Rose said, "as the winds and the debris allow."

In houses up and down the east coast of Florida, families and friends opened bottles of wine, told jokes and gathered around potluck stockpiles of food and board games.

What might otherwise be called hurricane parties became small festivals. But many people started Friday only to find they had at least two more days to wait out the storm.

"This sucker is taking forever," travel agent and singer Bonnie Berg said. "I'd go crazy if I wasn't having a party.

She hosted nine adults, a collie named Buster and an 18-year-old cat named Spaz. Instead of first-aid kits and hurricane charts, the group had champagne flutes to go with steamed crabs and potato chips.

Retiree Norm Yacovino of Sebastian praised his host for her preparations. His daughter Adrienne works with Berg.

"When everyone was running around for lumber, Bonnie was running around for Moet," short for the French champagne brand Moet & Chandon. Six bottles of champagne were available in her refrigerator.

Times staff writers Tamara Lush, Matthew Waite, Jamie Thompson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.