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-----Original Message-----
From: Carol Gikas [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2005 2:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: news from Louisiana Art and Science Museum
To ASTC friends who have expressed concerns,
The Louisiana Art and Science Museum went through the hurricane without any
damage to the facility or collections. In fact, it never lost power! As
far as I know, all museums in Baton Rouge are fine.
We will provide office space for four or five staff members from the New
Orleans Museum of Art soon. It went through the storm with minor problems,
but their staff has been ordered to evacuate. A new history museum, not yet
opened, in Baton Rouge is providing shelter for staff and family of the
Louisiana State Museum in NO.
The aftermath of the hurricane is actually a little more difficult to deal
with in that many of us know what to expect from a hurricane, but we don't
know what to do with ourselves now that our city is twice the size it was in
August. (There are an estimated 250,000 evacuees in Baton Rouge.) Grocery
stores have empty shelves at the end of the day. Restaurants run out of
food. There are long gas lines. It takes literally 5 times as long to
drive anywhere. Many of us have family and friends or colleagues living
with us. Virtually any inhabitable house for sale has been sold, and there
is no rental property to be found. The schools are adding night schools and
swelling their day classes. The large indoor sports arena on the LSU campus
is a MASH unit where even some surgeries are performed. Doctors are working
18 hour days. Over 100 New Orleans babies were born in Baton Rouge in the
first days after the hurricane. Plus, all the premies and special needs
babies that were evacuated from NO (often without their parents) brings the
count to 250 more babies than Woman's Hospital usually cares for. Earlier
this week, the Baton Rouge airport was the 3rd busiest airport in the
nation. The sky always has choppers, even through the night, and low flying
big transport planes. These are problems created by evacuees who have
resources.
There is also the most unfortunate situation of the evacuees who have no
resources! There are shelters all over town. 5,000 homeless people are
being sheltered in the civic center directly across the street from the
museum. (In fact, most shots of reporters in Baton Rouge are taken just
outside that center, and the camera man is probably standing on our
sidewalk. The entire street in front of the museum is closed and is a
staging ground for caring for evacuees.) LSU's Ag center is housing 600
evacuated pets, and many need medical attention.
We are working with the Red Cross to see how we can provide programming in
the planetarium and museum for these displaced folks. This will be only a
small comfort, because their sorrows are great. It truly illustrates how
much we are a nation of two Americas.
Carol Gikas
President and Executive Director
Louisiana Art & Science Museum
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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