Area reacts to support hurricane victims.

Byline: Matt Cooper The Register-Guard

Local officials are scrambling to coordinate the massive outpouring of help offered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

After the hurricane's devastation of New Orleans a week ago Monday, the local chapter of the American Red Cross started receiving more than 100 calls per hour, said Jenny Carrick, community relations director for the Eugene-based Oregon Pacific Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Local governments stepped up, too. Officials from Eugene, Springfield and Lane County rushed to ensure that the area's resources would be made available if necessary. Meanwhile, emergency personnel were dispatched to help with the on-the-ground response in the southern coastal city formerly home to 500,000 people.

Individuals who want to help are encouraged to contact the Red Cross, but Carrick stressed that the need is for money and local volunteers - not goods and materials, which won't be accepted. The agency doesn't have the means to collect, sort and distribute donated items, or to confirm whether such gifts are even needed, she added.

Lane County Emergency Manager Linda Cook also discouraged "free-lance" volunteer help - that is, simply going to the scene or mailing items directly.

"They don't want people to show up on the scene or ship stuff," she said. "It really becomes just one more aspect that needs to be managed."

Cash donations ensure that relief agencies can continue their efforts, but Cook cautioned would-be donors to be aware of fraudulent Web sites that have cropped up.

"Make sure they are going to known, large, major charities," Cook said, citing as examples both the Red Cross (www.red cross.org) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (www.fema.gov).

Red Cross also offers counseling to people frustrated or depressed by the destruction, or the inability to do more for its victims, Carrick said.

"People want to do something and they just feel helpless that they can't do more," Carrick said. "It really is the same frustration that we all feel because our hearts are aching for these people."

The city of Eugene has deployed five firefighters and three police officers to the New Orleans area, spokeswoman Jan Bohman said. The firefighters include engineers Ben Meigs and Roger Garver, Capt. Bob Buckridge, Bruce Cutshall and recruit Ted Cole; the police officers are Sgt. Peter Aguilar and officers Demian San Miguel and Michael Lee.

City and county officials also met at the end of last week to prepare for some of the 1,000 evacuees headed to the Northwest, but all were sent to Portland, Bohman said.

FOOD for Lane County is prepared to send water and other supplies, and city employees are meeting with social service providers to learn what services would be needed if evacuees were sent here, Bohman said.

One local official had a painful firsthand experience with the hurricane's effects: County Commissioner Bobby Green, who had family in New Orleans, had been unable until recently to connect with his mother, a brother and others in his family for days.

"I cannot begin to explain the different range of emotions and fears that I experienced during this very traumatic ordeal," he said Tuesday, in a written statement. "I can say that all of the prayers and e-mails that I received, especially from my co-workers, were extremely helpful in keeping me and my family assured of a positive outcome."

HOW TO HELP

CORRECTION (ran 9/8/2005): Always Birds First Rescue will hold a garage sale on Sept. 24 to raise money for Louisiana's birds. A wrong date was listed in an info box on page D4 Wednesday. For information about the sale, contact Sally Gilliam at 461-5851.

Below is a partial list of local businesses and organizations donating a portion of their proceeds to the Gulf hurricane victims. Many other retailers and organizations, including schools, employers and concert promoters, as well as public and private agencies, are collecting money.

Tasty Thai Kitchen will donate proceeds from all Pad Thai dishes sold today and again on Sept. 14

More of Everything will donate September proceeds from the sale of Oregon Duck Cars to the relief effort

McGrath's Fish House will give $1 for every dessert ordered, to be given to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund

Always Birds First Rescue will have a fundraising garage sale on Oct. 24 to help raise money for Louisiana's birds

DONATIONS

To make a financial contribution to the American Red Cross, call the local office at [phone] or the national donation line at [phone]. To volunteer, call the local number. Those wishing to volunteer in the New Orleans area must commit to a 21-day stay, and it will take at least a month of training. Volunteers also are needed to work the local phones and to help with fundraising and other day-to-day operations.