I drove through the Delta in a pouring rain this afternoon to do my radio show in Greenville, MS. The show was broadcast from Oakes Toyota (Thanks to Bryan Oakes — Bryan is a trucker who trucked Uncle Ben’s Rice right to your grocery store shelves and a great guy.) My studio was his new-car showroom.
My first guest was Paige Roberts. Paige is the The Red Cross’ Interim Director of Public Affairs. We discussed the Red Crosses efforts after the tornado and floods. Paige is a Katrina survivor and had plenty of empathy for the flood victims along the Mississippi River.
When I walked in, I found Paige and Mark Jones talking. Mark is the The Salvation Army’s Communications Director. I joked that we’d have a wrestling match to see who got the donations today –but as I found out, the two outfits have a pretty amazing level of cooperation. Mark told how the Salvation Army has been going full speed since February when a tornado hit Louisiana. Both the Red Cross and Salvation Army volunteers deserve a huge pat on the back for all their efforts.
At 4, Michael DeJoie from the United States Small Business Administration came on. Mike is also a Katrina survivor. His house took on eight feet of water in New Orleans — so he also had empathy for the flood victims. The SBA provides low-interest lows to home owners, renters as well as small business owners. As of today, they’ve given out $7 million in loans — which isn’t much. Victims need to register — even if they don’t take the money or insurance pays off. The deadline is for tornado victims is June 28 and for flood victims it’s July 11.
The Editor of The Delta Democrat Times, Dominick Cross, was on next. Dominick talked about flying over the flooding with DDT’s owner Wyatt Emmerich and how incredibly massive the river was. He also mentioned some of Greenville’s challenges and hopes for the future. I had a very similar conversation with former Planters Bank President Chuck Jordan. Chuck went to school with Governor Barbour and recalled a recent conversation with the Governor. “We don’t need a handout. We need incentives like the Go-Zone after Katrina.”
Ashley Zepponi from The Kermit The Frog Museum (in Leland) announced that a famous bridge in Leland was going to be renamed “The Rainbow Connection” in honor of the opening scene of the Muppett Movie. Honestly, I can’t believe that Jim Henson died over 20 years ago. What a genius. And Kermit also paid us a visit. The museum is free, btw.
Pete Casevechia the manager of the Greenville Mall was my final guest. He talked about how the economy and the flood had affected retail sales in Greenville.
As I drove home down Highway 61, I was rewarded with a big Delta sky.