Thousands Fleeing Hurricane Gustav Arrive in Arkansas

Beginning Friday, Aug. 29, 2008 and Saturday, Aug. 30, Louisianans flocked to their immediate neighbors to the north in Arkansas to escape the wrath of Hurricane Gustav. Arkansas was a temporary home to thousands of people from the Pelican State back in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Some even stayed, either because they liked it so much or they were afraid of returning to their south Louisiana homes. Some might not have had anything to return to.

Then Governor Mike Huckabee went out of his way to welcome the folks displaced by the devastating disaster, many were housed at Fort Chaffee, near my home in Fort Smith, AR. Now, with a new Governor in Democrat Mike Beebe, once again Fort Chaffee is being utilized to house thousands of evacuees of a Hurricane, this time Hurricane Gustav. Hopefully, Beebe will do as good a job in welcoming the evacuees from Hurricane Gustav as his predecessor did in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina

My wife, son and I just returned from a weekend Labor Day getaway in Hot Springs, AR, about 2 hours to the southeast from Fort Smith. The resort city of Hot Springs had vehicles with Louisiana license plates seemingly everywhere. Hundreds of people lined the streets of the Spa City wearing LSU apparel, LSU being the favored team in the state of Louisiana. Numerous people with LSU ties must have relocated in the city of Hot Springs from the Pelican State since 2005. There is almost as much LSU gear available in stores there as Arkansas Razorbacks apparel and gear. Not many teams rival the Razorbacks in sales of NCAA approved collegiate sports gear anywhere in the state of Arkansas. The Arkansas-Louisiana border is probably close to 2 hours away from Hot Springs and south Louisiana a good deal further.

Hotel rooms in Hot Springs for Monday night, Labor Day and beyond were going fast due to the influx from Louisiana due to Hurricane Gustav. The people of Arkansas are known for their hospitality, especially in the case of a natural disaster such as Hurrican Katrina or Hurricane Gustav. Our hearts go out to those uprooted from their homes, which hopefully, will be spared from destruction. While we wish we could meet the good people of Louisiana under better circumstances, the state of Arkansas is a good place for Louisianans to stay until it's safe to go back to their homes.

The cities of Pine Bluff, Hot Springs and possibly others are using civic centers or auditoreums to temporarily house evacuees of Hurricane Gustav, in addition to the facilities at Fort Chaffee near Fort Smith.

While we may differ in our sporting allegiances, LSU and the University of Arkansas are rivals in the Western Division of the SEC, we say to the people of Louisiana: welcome to Arkansas and we hope to make your stay as pleasant as possible under very trying circumstances. Who knows, you might even discover a home away from home and a 2nd favorite collegiate team.

One note to evacuees: you may want to register to let loved ones know you are okay. You can do that at www.redcross.org or have someone do it for you. You may also check on other friends or loved ones there.

For anyone wanting to donate to the American Red Cross to help those in shelters due to Hurricane Gustav, they may do so by calling 1-800-REDCROSS. Also, donations may be made by texting the toll free number and to donate $5, use the keyword "give" to 2HELP (24357)