BRAZIL —
As the East Coast braces for powerful Hurricane Earl, Wabash Valley Red Cross volunteers are preparing to help.
Richard and Janet Atkins of Brazil, volunteers with the American Red Cross Wabash Valley chapter, were making last-minute arrangements Wednesday afternoon for a 950-mile trip to Massachusetts as part of a multistate Red Cross response.
“We were put on alert [Tuesday],” Richard said as he and Janet spoke with the news media outside of the Wabash Valley Red Cross chapter on South Third Street. The couple were preparing to drive a large six-wheel Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle to a Red Cross command center in the Boston area.
All of Indiana’s eight Red Cross ERVs are headed to the East Coast in anticipation of Earl, said Carol Stevens, executive director of the Wabash Valley chapter. More than 40 Red Cross ERVs were expected to arrive in North Carolina on Wednesday and a total of 150 Red Cross ERVs were put on alert in states as far away from the East Coast as Michigan and Wisconsin, according to a news release.
As of Wednesday, governors of three states — North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland — had declared states of emergency in anticipation of Earl, which had winds of 135 mph Wednesday afternoon.
Emergency responders and weather experts are concerned that Earl might come ashore in North Carolina and then turn north, moving up the coast. If that’s the case, hurricane-force winds could strike New York’s Long Island and metropolitan Boston.
There is also a chance the storm will turn north sooner and remain offshore, according to weather experts. As of Wednesday, only the Outer Banks of North Carolina had been evacuated in anticipation of the storm.
“If the hurricane turns in the other direction, we’ll go home,” Janet Atkins said. If not, the couple will be ready to help.
Janet and Richard Atkins, both of whom are retired, are committed to up to three weeks of voluntary service for the Red Cross on this particular mission, Stevens said.
Earl, a Category 4 hurricane Wednesday, is expected to reach North Carolina late today.
The Atkinses, who have been active Red Cross volunteers for three years, learned Tuesday they might be asked to help with disaster relief on the East Coast this week. They received confirmation they would be going about noon Wednesday, they said.
“It’s great that they are willing to go,” Stevens said. “They are pretty special people.”
In order to drive the ERV, which contains food and water supplies, the Atkinses were required to take special training courses, a safe driving course and pass a background test, Stevens noted.
Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Red Cross to help with hurricane relief can visit the Red Cross website at www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. In addition, $10 donations can be made by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999.
Sending volunteers to the East Coast to help with potential hurricane relief means a lot for the Wabash Valley Red Cross, Stevens noted. “Back when we had our flood in 2008, people came here [from other places in the U.S.] to help us,” she said. “Now we can go to help other people.”
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
-
Relief: Janet and Richard Atkins prepare to leave the Terre Haute Red Cross facility Wednesday afternoon. The pair are headed toward Hurricane Earl's path.
-
Check it out: Richard Atkins and his wife Janet check the lights on the truck they about to drive into the path of Hurricane Earl Wednesday afternoon.
Discussion
Brazil couple heading to East Coast to help after Earl
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Montford Point Marine
In 1943, 19-year-old Ezell Odom was on the sandy beach of a tiny South Pacific island about 7,000 miles from his parent’s home in Terre Haute.
-
K-9 officer Shadow honored as a hero
A Terre Haute K-9 officer injured in the line of duty has been honored as a hero by the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.
-
Freezin’ for a Reason
Hundreds lined up outside Hulman Center amid frigid air to participate in a warm-hearted cause.
-
Even as law, right-to-work dominates crackerbarrel
The flames of the right-to-work debate were gone, but the coals still seemed to smolder.
-
Vigo School Board to give OK on bonds for DeVaney project
The Vigo County School Board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the administration building, 686 Wabash Ave.
-
Bridging the gap to ‘forever’
They can be taken from their homes by strangers for reasons they may not understand, with no possessions other than the clothes they are wearing.
-
Students showcase keen problem-solving skills at Rose-Hulman
For the 16th straight year, Honey Creek Middle School students came out on top in the Wabash Valley MATHCOUNTS competition at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
-
Ivy Tech to celebrate Black History Month
Ivy Tech Community College will celebrate Black History Month with a series of events at its campuses statewide.
-
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.
-
Giant welcome home for Steve
Terre Haute was suddenly home to thousands of cheering New York Giants fans Friday as residents welcomed Super Bowl champion Steve Weatherford back home for a parade.
-
‘One for Terre Haute,’ Steve tells crowd at North
“This one was for Terre Haute,” native son Steve Weatherford proclaimed Friday as he shared his Super Bowl victory with the community that helped send him on the path to a world championship.
-
Hometown support vital to success, Weatherford says
Steve Weatherford said Friday he wouldn’t be celebrating a Giants’ Super Bowl victory if not for the support he’s received from his hometown, his parents and mentors in his life.
-
Craning for a rare glimpse
A visitor from the Far East has naturalists flying to Linton, hoping some good comes from one bird’s bad directions.
-
Vigo’s primary election filings complete
The slate is set for the May 8 primary election, with the race for three at-large seats on the Vigo County Council drawing the largest pool of candidates at the county level.
-
Documentary on electric vehicles plays Sunday at Rose
The rising popularity of electric vehicles and their impact on the world eco-system is the focus of a documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” being presented at 3 p.m. Sunday in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Hatfield Hall Theater.
-
Man gets 10-year sentence in battery case
A West Terre Haute man received a 10-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to aggravated battery for beating a friend caught in bed with the man’s wife.
-
Asian hooded crane lands in Greene County wildlife area
Bird watchers are flocking to a southwestern Indiana wildlife area to try to catch a glimpse of a crane usually spotted only in Asia.
-
Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana
More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
-
Downtown restaurant celebrates expansion
The streets of Terre Haute were chilly Thursday night, but for the glow of hot pasta inside Louise’s Pizzeria and Cafe.
-
Contract signed for new Y
Papers are signed and the ink is in place for a new YMCA to operate in Terre Haute.
-
City to impose $30 release fee on towed vehicles
The Terre Haute City Council voted without opposition Thursday to impose a new $30 release fee on vehicles towed and impounded by the police as part of a criminal investigation.
-
Valley educators cautious on Indiana’s ‘No Child’ waiver
Indiana is one of 10 states to receive a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
-
Driver dies after Illinois school bus crash
“Brace yourself. Brace yourself,” Fay Pickering shouted to her students just before the school bus she was driving crossed U.S. 40 and landed in a ditch Thursday morning.
-
Trial date set for former WTH police chief
A July 23 trial date has been set for a former police chief of West Terre Haute accused of theft.
-
Motorcycle gang member pleads guilty in federal court
A member of an Indianapolis motorcycle gang who delivered methamphetamine to a Terre Haute dealer has pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court.
-
July trial date set for mother charged with child neglect
A July 30 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute mother charged with neglecting and battering her toddler.
-
Business hosting SPPRAK fundraiser
Java Haute is hosting the latest fundraiser sponsored by SPPRAK — Special People Performing Random Acts of Kindness.
-
Valley high school cooking competition under way today
Clabber Girl Corp. and Gordon Food Services will host the fourth-annual High School Chef Competition, beginning today through Saturday, and again Feb. 18, in the Culinary Classroom at Clabber Girl.
- UPDATE: Marshall, Ill., school bus driver involved in accident dies; cause appears to be cardiac-related
-
Terre Haute road name game
What used to be called U.S. 40 from the Wabash River west through West Terre Haute to Interstate 70 needs to be renamed and, probably, get new street addresses, a Vigo County planner recommends.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
Latest Jason Wu Collection Shows Chinese Roots
ShowBiz Minute: Madonna, Beresford-Redman, Pawsc
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
The Pits: Israelis Spit Olives for Glory
Stars Show Support at AMFAR Charity Gala
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Absolute Lin-sanity
Hate to be Rude: Bubba Watson
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
Halle Wants to Leave the Country
Northern Lights shine above earth
Plane makes perfect belly landing
