Escaping Katrina Escaping Katrina (September 09, 2005)

A girl's story on her flight from her hometown to join her cousins in Pleasanton
by Jeb Bing

Jennifer Silliker registered for classes at Foothill High School four days late last week, and with good reason. Her own school - East Jefferson High back in Metairie, just west of New Orleans - was partially destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, its roof blown off. No one knows yet the damage to the two floors below because no one can reach it, but it's estimated that repairs could take six months, if not longer, before classes can resume.

Jennifer, 16, her father Frank and grandmother Maecill have taken refuge in the home of Frank's sister Deborah Bell and her husband Read on Lemonwood Way in west Pleasanton. There Jennifer will be going to school with her cousins, Jessica, also 16 and a junior at Foothill, and Rebecca, 14, a freshman. Frank, part of the construction and maintenance crew at Harrah's New Orleans Casino, plans to stay here and look for a job locally until he is called back to start repair work. With the casino under water and also trashed, he doesn't expect that call to come very soon.

For the Sillikers, their escape from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is no doubt similar to what thousands of others have gone through, including many from their own neighborhood in Kenner, near Metairie. Friday, Aug. 26, as Katrina headed toward the Gulf Coast, seemed like a normal day, Jennifer recalled. Her father went to work in downtown New Orleans as usual and she went to classes at East Jefferson High, where school had been in session just one week. Although some city officials were urging people to consider leaving town until the storm passed by, many didn't. Jennifer even worked her part-time job as a cashier at the nearby Winn-Dixie Supermarket through the weekend.

Monday, Aug. 29, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans full force, everything shut down for the day. Still, there was no panic, although more neighbors started leaving. The storm, as damaging and powerful as it was, seemed no worse than storms the Sillikers had been through before. But when Frank Silliker, a lifelong resident of the New Orleans area, saw on TV Tuesday that the city's levees were being breached, he recognized the fast-growing danger. Water was already pouring into the downtown area and Harrah's Casino, roads were increasingly clogged and some were starting to disappear altogether under water, including parts of Interstate 10, his own escape route.

"It's time to go," Frank told his family, after his sister called from Pleasanton to urge them to come and stay with her until the crisis passed. For Frank, it was a tough decision because even though their neighborhood sat above the rising waters, basic services, including electric power, clean water and grocery stores were shutting down. Another concern was that they knew, once they evacuated their home, authorities would not let them back in until all the repairs were made and the city was considered safe again for habitation. That could be weeks, even months.

Still, at her father's insistence, Jennifer's family packed what it would be allowed to carry on a plane and headed toward Baton Rouge. That route proved to be impassable, so Frank, who knew the back roads, made his way west to where Interstate 10 was open, and they drove to Houston. Bell had already purchased plane tickets for the flight to Oakland. Frank parked his car in the long-term lot at the Houston Airport (where it still sits at $14 a day), and they dashed to catch the last plane out that day.

Jennifer said no one was concerned after Katrina passed through town until they saw TV reports of the water pouring over the levees. Frank knew the French Quarter, downtown, many low-lying neighborhoods and his casino would soon be under water. Although their home in Kenner sat on higher ground near the New Orleans International Airport and was unlikely to flood, Frank also saw that their neighborhood was becoming trapped by the rising water.

"We were only able to bring with us what we could carry on the plane, so that's my wardrobe right now," Jennifer said. "At least I was able to get Bacchus (her 2-year-old Boxer) to a neighbor who was determined to stay put, so I know he's safe. Our neighbors left without having anyone take care of the pets they left behind."

After the family arrived in Pleasanton Wednesday night, Frank and his sister took Jennifer to Foothill the next day to register. She was approved to start classes without her school tanscripts, which likely buried with Jennifer's other records under water and debris back at East Jefferson High. On Friday, Jennifer joined her cousins for classes, and that evening had her first taste of teenage social life in town when the three went to Foothill's first dance of the school year on campus.

The next day, it was off to buy clothes and school supplies, with Mervyn's and Kohls providing Jennifer with store coupons valued at $20 and $25, respectively, and with one of Jessica's friends giving her new Louisiana classmate a $50 gift certificate.

"Jennifer's been a bit traumatized by all this," said Bell. "She was scared at first and she still misses all of her friends back in Kenner, although it's now a ghost town and they've fled to other places, too. She's a good student and we're all getting along just fine. She knows her house and dog are OK, her family and friends are safe and the worries seem to be finally over. We're going to have a great year together."

Local business, residents join in relief effort - Schools, lemonade, brownies add dollars

Not since the tsunami relief effort and 911 before that have so many in Pleasanton opened their wallets and checkbooks to offer financial help, as businesses and individuals are now doing to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Since Aug. 30, when the magnitude of the storm and flooding along the Gulf Shore was realized, organizations, schools and residents have stepped to the plate with contributions to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and other hurricane relief efforts.

Companies and organizations throughout the Tri-Valley including many in Pleasanton, such as Safeway, Ross Stores, Richert Lumber, Providian and Kaiser Permanente have pledged millions of dollars to the relief effort. The Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce joined area chambers in seeking to raise $1 million for hurricane relief. The Bernal Corners Shell station matched car wash receipts from the Labor Day weekend, donating more than $5,000; Richert Lumber donated $2,000; many downtown and outlying businesses added thousands of dollars more. Schools and students also set up fundraisers. Lemonade stands around town collected several hundred dollars each. Patty Hanafee, who is heading up the Donlon relief fund, helped her two daughter bake brownies, which they sold at last Friday's Concert in the Park, raising over $400. Real estate specialist Kimberly Warren and her daughter collected 85 cases of water which they are sending to the stricken areas.

School fundraisers with catchy names like "Kuarters for Katrina" at Walnut Grove and "Friends Helping Friends" at Mohr Elementary have collected more than $10,000 with more expected in the coming days.

Many companies offered to match employee contributions, including Embarcadero Publishing, parent of the Pleasanton Weekly, which agreed to match up to $250 of any employee's contribution.

The Pleasanton City Council joined in Tuesday, sending $20,000 in public funds to the Red Cross and agreeing to sponsor a spaghetti feed at Amador Valley high Sunday, Oct. 1. More details are available on the city's Web site at www.ci.pleasanton.ca.us. -Jeb Bing

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