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Residents ready to stay or go
By ED QUIOCO and EDIE GROSS © St. Petersburg Times, published September 25, 1998 Waite and her sister Claire Delangis lived in Homestead when Hurricane Andrew decimated the town. The two do not want to take chances with Georges. "Andrew was a monster," said Waite, 72. "It was really devastating. I lost most of everything. That's why we are getting out." Waite and Delangis, 75, now live in Gull Aire Village mobile home park off Curlew Road in Oldsmar. They planned to drive Thursday night to a hotel in Orlando, not waiting for the mandatory evacuation of low-lying areas and mobile home residents scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. today. "Hopefully, it will be safer over there," Waite said. "Hopefully, (Georges) will turn and go out way in the gulf, but we have to get ready." That sentiment was shared by many North Pinellas residents as they spent Thursday bracing for Georges. In Oldsmar, firefighters were swamped by calls beginning at 7:15 a.m. from residents asking if they live in evacuation zones, where they could get sandbags and the location of the nearest shelters. "It's been off the wall," said Ann Reishus, the city's fire prevention specialist. "It's crazy." The nearest shelters for Oldsmar residents are Countryside High School, at the intersection of State Road 580 and McMullen-Booth Road, and Leila G. Davis Elementary, at 2630 Landmark Drive, both in Clearwater, Reishus said. Sandbags have been available since Wednesday afternoon at the Civic Club, 402 St. Petersburg Drive E. By Thursday, city officials had handed out more than 5,000 burlap sandbags. At first, anybody could fill up as many sandbags as desired. But by Thursday afternoon, city officials were limiting sandbags to seven per person, and only to Oldsmar residents. "Seven bags are not a lot, but it's better than nothing," said Terry Linton, who works for the city's streets division and handed sandbags to residents Thursday. "I know it's kind of silly to ask people for ID. Yesterday, this guy from Pasco loaded up about 75 bags." The mound of sand at the Civic Club was a busy site as a non-stop flow of residents loaded the backs of their cars and trucks with sandbags. "It's been a mob like this all day," Linton said. "It has been nuts." Some parents brought their children to help fill bags. But the children ran around the mound of sand like they were ready to build sand castles at the beach, seemingly oblivious to the impending storm. Brenda Centeno, 35, who lives off Tampa Road in Oldsmar, brought her three children, Hanna, 10, Gayle, 8, and Kish, 7, to help her with the sandbags. "I want to dig," Hanna said to Gayle. "No, I want to dig," Gayle said. "Here, let me do that." The elder sister won the right to use the shovel, and Gayle was left holding the sack. But Hanna quickly tired of the heavy shovel. "Your turn," Hanna said. Vince Wingfield, who has lived in Oldsmar for 23 years, plans to ride out the storm even though he lives next to a Tampa Bay inlet. He plans on using silicone caulk to seal the doors in his house and elevating his furniture, he said. "Just got to prepare properly for this," said Wingfield, 31. "We've survived a few already. We can survive this, I think." In Tarpon Springs, Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital and two nursing homes were preparing to care for elderly residents in case of an evacuation. Administrator Joe Kiefer said the hospital is on high ground, and all of its windows have protective hurricane film. "Routine surgeries and other usual procedures will be most likely canceled," Kiefer said. "We're preparing to receive residents from area nursing homes." Residents who need the most care may come to the hospital, but two area nursing homes were planning to move their residents to temporary locations. The Tarpon Bayou Center, at 515 Chesapeake Drive and in a mandatory evacuation area, planned to move its residents into a church social hall. Tarpon Health Care Center at 501 S Walton Ave., which was not part of the mandatory evacuation ordered Thursday morning, stood ready to move residents to an affiliated nursing home in Countryside if necessary. In Palm Harbor, most of the 23 families staying at the Bay Aire Travel Trailer Park on Alt. U.S. 19 were planning to leave town Thursday night or early today, said manager Susan Schafer. Schafer planned to head for her son's home in Orlando this morning after playing bingo Thursday night. After hearing of the mandatory evacuation for mobile home park residents, Grace Keating calmed her nerves by baking cupcakes -- chocolate, with vanilla icing and sprinkles -- for her fellow Frontier Village residents. The mobile home park on U.S. 19 has a concrete recreation hall where residents can take shelter and snack on the cupcakes, said Keating, the manager. "We are all ready. At a moment's notice, we can dash over to the hall," she said. Audrey Vogel's husband was trying to find a hotel or motel where the Lake Tarpon Mobile Home Park couple could ride out the storm. But rooms were scarce. "I really don't want to go to a center. I don't want to leave the house, but it's a mobile home park so I guess I should," said Vogel, who was staffing the phones at the park Thursday. "This is my first time going through this," said the former Michigan resident. "I'm kind of nervous. I'd rather have a snowstorm any time." Mike Keech, manager at Tarpon Lakeview Mobile Home Park on U.S. 19, spent much of Thursday helping residents find safer places to go. He said he sensed something sinister behind Hurricane Georges' arrival. "I honestly think this is a Republican plot," he said. "I think (Ken) Starr's involved in this."
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LDSMAR -- Theresa Waite knows firsthand the destruction hurricanes can cause.
