AP: Texas

09/27/2005

Associated Press

An animal sanctuary operator has been struggling to keep dozens of rescued cats and exotic creatures fed following hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

"Nobody's helping the animals," said Monique Woodard, who runs the nonprofit Exotic Cat Refuge & Wildlife Orphanage.

The complex is home to 25 exotic cats, including lions, tigers and leopards.

Following Katrina, Woodard, 59, said she took in nearly 100 domestic cats that were rescued.

Then came Rita. The complex, a wooded area about 70 miles north of where Rita came ashore early Saturday, was devastated by the storm.

No animals were injured, but the complex was running out of food for the animals, Woodard said Tuesday.

Woodard said she can't make repairs or get supplies until fallen trees are cleared away.

To contact the refuge, call 1-409-423-4847.

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On the Net:

http://www.exoticrefuge.org

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JASPER, Texas — City officials admit they weren't prepared for hurricane-force winds that reached nearly 100 miles inland.

The winds uprooted trees that fell on power lines and damaged homes in this city, nicknamed The Jewel of the Forest.

"We sustained hurricane winds of about 100 to 120 mph for about a nine-hour period, so we have thousands of trees down within our city," Jasper Police Chief Todd Hunter said in Tuesday's editions of The Lufkin Daily News. "People are becoming desperate. They've been three days without water. They weren't prepared."

Jasper's electric provider is based in Beaumont. So until Beaumont's power is restored, Jasper residents will have to wait.

"We are told it could be anywhere from one to two months before we get power again," said Denise Kelley, Jasper's acting city manager.

Jasper was under a mandatory evacuation Thursday, but many stayed. Some evacuees from farther south headed for Jasper.

"We had too many people coming up here to take care of," Justice of the Peace Ronny Billingsley said.

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HOUSTON (AP) — Some families may have to wait weeks to bury their loved ones because of Hurricane Rita.

Funeral homes have been shut down and burials delayed from Houston to the Louisiana border.

"It's going to be a while, I can promise you that," Jack King, a volunteer with the Texas Funeral Directors Association disaster response team, said in Tuesday's editions of the Houston Chronicle. "I don't foresee (burials) happening for at least two weeks."

The disaster response team was powering a temporary morgue with a generator at Broussard's Mortuary in Beaumont.

"Any funeral director in earshot can come in and utilize this equipment," King said.

King was waiting in Beaumont on Monday to receive two refrigerated trucks from Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, La. Each truck can preserve as many as 50 bodies for as long as needed, King said.

State law requires funeral home operators to embalm or refrigerate bodies within 24 hours of receiving them, said Mitzi Chafetz, spokeswoman for the Texas Funeral Service Commission.

"That could potentially be a problem if you had a funeral home without power or refrigeration," she said.

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AUSTIN (AP) — There's an urgent need for nurse volunteers to relieve health care workers at special needs shelters in East Texas, Department of State Health Services officials said.

At least 720 nurses have volunteered, a department news release said.

But flooding and a lack of electricity in some counties north of Hurricane Rita's initial landfall have led to an increased need, officials said.

Those who can volunteer should call the department at 1-800-942-5540.

Nurses also can volunteer online at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us.