Winter hits Wamblee, South Dakota, hard
The storms in South Dakota are really hitting people hard especially on the reservations.
By Scott Aust and Barbara Soderlin, Journal staff Sunday, November 09, 2008
Up to 200 people have been spending the night at the Crazy Horse school, at first without blankets or beds, cooking the school's food, diapering babies with old clothes, and trying to stay warm through power from a generator.
The makeshift shelter is being run by Pastor Gus Craven, who has also been helping residents make runs between their homes and the shelter, and who went to Kadoka Friday night on newly opened roads to get cots and blankets from that community's Red Cross.
He said he isn't sure when Wanblee will get power. On his trip to Kadoka he saw perhaps 20 downed power lines.
Most Wanblee residents don't have the gas or money to make the 56-mile round trip to Kadoka themselves, he said.
And some are afraid to leave, since there have been reports of people looting empty homes, he said. Craven said several families have dropped their elders and children off at the shelter and returned to their cold, dark homes to protect them from thieves.
Some relief came Saturday for the people at the shelter when the Black Hills chapter of the Red Cross sent blankets, water and toiletries. The state emergency management department planned to send food and diapers Saturday, said Russ Korzeniewski with the Red Cross. Craven didn't know Saturday evening if those supplies had arrived. He said the school was not out of food but there was not an excess, either.
Help apparently came after people at the shelter contacted state offices, where workers then contacted the Red Cross.
The South Dakota National Guard also helped with a Blackhawk helicopter on Friday, airlifting four dialysis patients out of the community to get medical attention at the Pine Ridge Hospital.
People living in rural areas on the reservation are without electricity and their food supplies and firewood are running low, Craven said.
"Is there a way we can get a front-end loader or a dozer down here?" he asked.
He said people are wondering if the tribal government is making an effort to help them. The store in Wanblee hasn't opened, and the school's generator quit Friday, making for a chilly night.
Celeste Pretends Eagle of Wanblee said she and her family have been without electricity or running water since Tuesday.
"As of now, we're still melting snow and putting it in the toilet to flush, and we're melting snow to boil water and do dishes and wash the kids up. Just today, someone brought us a case of bottled water," she said.
The situation has been frightening for the 28-year-old mother of four young children between the ages of 10 and 4, as they and four other adults and three nephews under age 5 braved the blizzard and its aftermath for the past five days.
Pretends Eagle said she hasn't experienced such an extreme storm in the 10 years she's lived in Wanblee.
"It's been scary. Pastor Gus, he delivered us some candles, so we've been using those. My brother is disabled, and he can't leave the house to go to the bathroom, so we've been melting snow so we can flush the toilet," Pretends Eagle said.
Pretends Eagle had purchased groceries on Monday but food began to run out as the week progressed.
"We've been running out of food, so we go up to the school to eat," Pretends Eagle said. "We've been getting by as best we can on rice and beans."
She said people are stuck and supplies are dwindling.
"Nobody had four-wheel drive. If you don't have it, you can't get out around here. The Longcreek store hasn't been open and we can't get any supplies. It's the only store within 30 miles," Pretends Eagle said.
Roads had started to be cleared on Saturday allowing people to get out. Pretends Eagle hopes the worst is over and people will be able to get re-supplied.
"We could really use help. Water would be good," Pretends Eagle said.
Contact the Black Hills chapter of the Red Cross at 342-4010.
Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415, or
scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/11/10/news/local/doc49165b6f3c8ba259711024.txt
By Scott Aust and Barbara Soderlin, Journal staff Sunday, November 09, 2008
Up to 200 people have been spending the night at the Crazy Horse school, at first without blankets or beds, cooking the school's food, diapering babies with old clothes, and trying to stay warm through power from a generator.
The makeshift shelter is being run by Pastor Gus Craven, who has also been helping residents make runs between their homes and the shelter, and who went to Kadoka Friday night on newly opened roads to get cots and blankets from that community's Red Cross.
He said he isn't sure when Wanblee will get power. On his trip to Kadoka he saw perhaps 20 downed power lines.
Most Wanblee residents don't have the gas or money to make the 56-mile round trip to Kadoka themselves, he said.
And some are afraid to leave, since there have been reports of people looting empty homes, he said. Craven said several families have dropped their elders and children off at the shelter and returned to their cold, dark homes to protect them from thieves.
Some relief came Saturday for the people at the shelter when the Black Hills chapter of the Red Cross sent blankets, water and toiletries. The state emergency management department planned to send food and diapers Saturday, said Russ Korzeniewski with the Red Cross. Craven didn't know Saturday evening if those supplies had arrived. He said the school was not out of food but there was not an excess, either.
Help apparently came after people at the shelter contacted state offices, where workers then contacted the Red Cross.
The South Dakota National Guard also helped with a Blackhawk helicopter on Friday, airlifting four dialysis patients out of the community to get medical attention at the Pine Ridge Hospital.
People living in rural areas on the reservation are without electricity and their food supplies and firewood are running low, Craven said.
"Is there a way we can get a front-end loader or a dozer down here?" he asked.
He said people are wondering if the tribal government is making an effort to help them. The store in Wanblee hasn't opened, and the school's generator quit Friday, making for a chilly night.
Celeste Pretends Eagle of Wanblee said she and her family have been without electricity or running water since Tuesday.
"As of now, we're still melting snow and putting it in the toilet to flush, and we're melting snow to boil water and do dishes and wash the kids up. Just today, someone brought us a case of bottled water," she said.
The situation has been frightening for the 28-year-old mother of four young children between the ages of 10 and 4, as they and four other adults and three nephews under age 5 braved the blizzard and its aftermath for the past five days.
Pretends Eagle said she hasn't experienced such an extreme storm in the 10 years she's lived in Wanblee.
"It's been scary. Pastor Gus, he delivered us some candles, so we've been using those. My brother is disabled, and he can't leave the house to go to the bathroom, so we've been melting snow so we can flush the toilet," Pretends Eagle said.
Pretends Eagle had purchased groceries on Monday but food began to run out as the week progressed.
"We've been running out of food, so we go up to the school to eat," Pretends Eagle said. "We've been getting by as best we can on rice and beans."
She said people are stuck and supplies are dwindling.
"Nobody had four-wheel drive. If you don't have it, you can't get out around here. The Longcreek store hasn't been open and we can't get any supplies. It's the only store within 30 miles," Pretends Eagle said.
Roads had started to be cleared on Saturday allowing people to get out. Pretends Eagle hopes the worst is over and people will be able to get re-supplied.
"We could really use help. Water would be good," Pretends Eagle said.
Contact the Black Hills chapter of the Red Cross at 342-4010.
Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415, or
scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/11/10/news/local/doc49165b6f3c8ba259711024.txt