Last Spring a handful of kids in and around Huntsville, Alabama came down with the flu.  As you would expect, they were too sick to go to school, so they stayed home.  But what might surprise you is that nearly 51,000 kids joined them.  All over the city school was closed.  Doors were locked.  Classrooms were empty, playgrounds deserted.  The only sign of life in three school districts for days were cleaning crews scrubbing everything from floor to ceiling with the hopes of stopping the H1N1 virus.

Some parents in North Alabama publicly criticized state, county and federal health officials for telling three entire school districts to close, calling it an overreaction.  Many were left scrambling to provide care for their children who, for the most part, were healthy.

But Danny Walker disagrees.  He has a son in the fifth grade at Harvest Elementary School just outside of Huntsville.  Walker says he wasn’t surprised when all the schools closed in the area.

“I think the schools erred on the side of caution because of the health risks that were involved,”  Walker told me in the school library.  “Overall I think it turned out to be a good plan because it stabilized the spread of the flu.”

Terita St. Julian has a son in the second grade.  She agrees with Walker that health officials and the school districts did what they thought was best last Spring when faced with this new thing called The Swine Flu.

“The school handled everything very well and so I was prepared and able to keep my son home and stay with him.”

Madison County Schools Superintendent Terry Davis calls the decision a collaborative effort between all three school districts, the Madison County Health Department and the State Health Department in Montgomery.

“It was a tough decision because by law we have to go to school for 180 days,”  Davis said.  “So we knew for every day we closed that was one day we would have to push on into the summer.”

But this year is different.  In many cases, school will not be closed.  The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta says instead try to keep schools open unless the spread of the flu interrupts the day to day operations within the district.  They are also telling teachers and principals to separate any students that show symptoms and then send them home right away.  And this year, more than ever, kids are being taught in class proper hand washing, using hand sanitizer and using their sleeves to cover coughs and sneezes.

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It wasn’t my intention to cover a ceremony unveiling the Civil Rights Trail in downtown Birmingham, Alabama.  Instead, I was assigned to work on a story about Mayor Larry Langford’s announcement that the city of Birmingham would refund civil fines and penalties levied by the city almost 50 years ago during the civil rights movement.  But when I called the Mayor’s office last week, hoping to track down anyone who would file for such a refund, I was told many of them would be at this historic ceremony at the historic center of Birmingham’s Civil Right’s Battle.

We arrived at Kelly Ingram Park about a half hour before the ceremony started. City staff were still busy setting up the speaker’s podium and testing microphones as guests began to fill rows of chairs that were staged near the pavilion in the middle of the park.  When I introduced myself to Mayor Langford, he immediately connected me with a man who was simply sitting among the guests in the audience.  His name was Melvin J. Short.  He was probably in his mid-60’s and I noticed he held an envelope in his hand. As I talked to Mr. Short about why he was here for the trail unveiling, I learned that simple business-sized envelope held a piece of history — a real-life documentation of the struggle for basic human rights in Birmingham four decades ago.  He was born and raised here and remembered clearly what it was like living under the Jim Crow Laws of the segregated South.

“Back in the sixties you couldn’t eat in the restaurant, you had to go to the back door. You couldn’t ride in the front of the bus, in other words you had no rights,” Short said.

Short was known as a “foot soldier” – average citizens who enlisted themselves in the battle to end discrimination, racial segregation and violence. The strategy was to commit acts of civil disobedience, like drinking water from a whites-only drinking fountain, boldly walking into the front of a segregated restaurant and ordering food or taking a seat in the front of a city bus. The idea was to overwhelm the jails and law enforcement resources, a strategy that proved to be very effective. For black residents in 1960’s Birmingham, these simple acts of daily life meant being arrested and fined.

“I had signed up at the church to be arrested because we knew we were going to get arrested…to go to city hall and rink some white water,” Short said, referring to the whites only drinking fountains. “What we wanted was equal rights, our rights were being violated. So that’s what we were going to jail for.”

Short said he spent a total of 12 days in jail for two separate instances of defying Jim Crow laws. Alongside others who “signed up” to be thrown in jail, Short was fined $48, a hefty amount for a young man who only brought home $30 per week. He even had the pink slip of paper dated April 26, 1966 inside that envelope, proving his arrest and the fine he paid to the court clerk. After 43 years, Melvin Short will get his $48 back. Mayor Langford says refunding the fines to people like Short is long overdue.  But for the mayor, it’s not a pardon for the people like Short who marched and struggled for their rights. It’s a pardon for the city who he says wronged so many people so long ago. “

The City is sorry for what it did because it can never be a crime to fight for human decency and human rights,” Langford says. “Healing is not easy and sometimes two words can do more to heal a nation than anything else on the planet. And those two words are simply ‘I’m Sorry.’” Short wasn’t aware that he was entitled a refund of the civil fines he paid in 1966. He says he will fill out forms and wait for his $48 check from the city. The mayor says all requests need to be verified before money is refunded. However, in Short’s case, having a 43 year old receipt is hard to deny.

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Here’s a tiny silver lining in the bad economic news that’s been smacking us in the face almost every day for the past year. The recession apparently has solved a problem in the healthcare industry, at least temporarily. A study out of Vanderbilt University shows that a decade-long nursing shortage has nearly disappeared in the past year. Researchers found that more nurses are delaying retirement or coming out of retirement because of demolished 401K’s and partners who have lost their job. The nursing shortage might be over for now, but experts warn as the economy recovers and baby boomers age we could see an even worse shortage over the next decade. Check out the story that we shot at Vanderbilt Univeristy Medical Center and Emory University Healthcare.

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I have never heard of Cullowhee and didn’t have the faintest idea what a “Catamount” is.  If you have never been to Western Carolina University, you may not be familiar with these terms either.  Cullowhee, home to Western Carolina, sits smack in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains between Knoxville, TN and Asheville, NC.   It’s also home to the Catamounts, WCU’s mascot. 

I attended journalism school at Michigan State University and love my Spartans (who WILL take the NCAA championship next year,) but if I had to do it over again I would definitely choose a school like this.  In my older years I have grown to enjoy hiking, mountain biking and whitewater rafting, unlike my younger years revolved around beer and sleep.  But the older, wiser me would relish in the opportunity to live and learn on a campus that is surrounded by some of the most amazing natural resources east of the Mississippi. 

Apparently Western Carolina University isn’t just popular because of study breaks floating on the Tuckasegee River or on the hiking trails in the surrounding Nantahala National Forest.  The school has seen a sharp increase in the number of graduate school applications because of the faltering economy.  Scott Higgins is the Dean of the Graduate School and Research at Western Carolina.  He says the school has seen an 11 percent jump in applications and a 30 percent increase in admissions, a trend we found at The University of South Carolina, Texas Tech, Princeton and The University of Alabama.  We found laid off workers who never thought of going back to school for a masters degree until they found themselves out of work.  We also found a graduating senior who had a job offer retracted when the company suddenly posted record losses.  Displaced workers and students fighting for a few jobs are finding that Graduate School is the best place to wait out a hard economy and faltering job market.  Take a look at the story I shot with Reporter Marianne Silber, Intern Becky Hood and Photographer Mari De Carvahlo on a couple of students who have no choice but to get a masters.  By the way, Webster’s Dictionary defines “catamount” as any various wild cats such as a cougar or lynx.  Many species which have roamed this part of the country for years.  In case you were wondering.

Click on link below to watch story:

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Lt. Col. Joanna Reagan in Kuwait

in Kuwait.  With their leader being called to duty in the Middle East, The North Carolina Coastal Pines Chapter of the Girl Scouts considered breaking the troop up and transferring the girls to other troops.  But lucky for the girls of 1444, an unlikely person stepped up to help lead the troop and keep Joanna’s girls together.

Keith happens to be Joanna Reagan’s husband and stepped up to help out when she was deployed.  When we attended the Troop’s weekly meeting a few weeks ago the energy in the room was electric.  The girls were obviously close with one another and thrilled to have Keith Reagan as co-leader of their troop.

“He is fun because he just understands me and helps us out a lot,” says troop member Emma Falcon-Voleski.  Whitney Pollard agrees with Emma that Keith brings unique to the troop and provokes them to have fun.  All the girls agree that their troop father brings an exciting twist to troop activities.  “It’s kind of like having a woman lead us, just a different gender.  Sometimes it can be exciting,” Pollard says.

Click here to watch our story:

According to the United States Girl Scout Council, male leaders are rare, but not unheard of.  Out of about one million leaders nationwide, two percent are men.  The North Carolina Coastal Pines Chapter says the girl scouts value diversity and that every position in Girl Scouting is open to qualified men and

“It came to a point where there was some concern whether the troop would continue,” says Keith Reagan, father and Troop 1444’s stand-in leader.  “The girls might have to be farmed out to another troop in order to remain in the girl scouts and I said I will not allow that to happen.”

Joanna Reagan is the leader of North Carolina Coastal Pines Troop 1444

According to the United States Girl Scout Council, male leaders are rare, but not unheard of.  Out of about one million leaders nationwide, two percent are men.  The North Carolina Coastal Pines Chapter says the girl scouts value diversity and that every position in Girl Scouting is open to qualified men and women.  They do however believe that female role modes are so important to young girls, that men like Keith working directly with girls must have a female co-leader.  Keith runs troop 1444 alongside Heather Walters and her husband Chris, who has been appointed “Cookie Dad” due to his ability effectively manage those famous Spring cookie sales.

So while Joanna is serving in Kuwait, Keith will continue to lead Troop 1444 in the Girl Scout Promise at every weekly meeting.  He’ll plan camping trips with co-leader Heather Walters, strategize fundraisers and help the girls sew those iconic patches onto their “girl scout green” vests.

“We do allow males to work with our girls here.  We understand that there is an important balance between males and females in our roles,”  says Meta Trombley, Membership Executive for the North Carolina Coast Pines Chapter.  “So we just want to make sure that the Moms were okay with it and the girls still knew they were going to get a great girl scouting experience.” 

Troop 1444 with myself and our Fox News Crew

“I hope that my presence, if nothing else, has provided an aspect to girl scouts that they might not have without a male influence,”  Reagan says.

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Several restaurants and bars offer separate smoking and non-smoking areas. But all businesses might have to force smokers outside in North Carolina.

Virginia’s governor just signed a bill which pretty much bans smoking in most restaurants.  They can offer smokers a spot in a separate room with a separate ventilation system, an expense most cannot afford.  Meantime, a few miles south in Raleigh, the North Carolina legislature is looking at banning smoking in all public buildings and businesses in the Tarheel State. You might find it ironic that the latest states to consider such a measure were virtually built on the back of tobacco farmers.  In fact, a few miles from the State Capitol in Richmond where the smoking ban was written and approved, Phillip Morris operates the largest cigarette factory in the world.  And about 75 miles west of the state capitol in Raleigh, is the North Carolina headquarters of RJ Reynolds, another fixture in the tobacco business.

So why are two states with deep roots in the tobacco business banishing smokers to the patio?  Simple, says North Carolina Representative Hugh Holliman, health and safety.  The two-time lung cancer survivor is sponsoring the bill saying the non-smokers deserve a right to breathe in clean healthy air no matter where they go.  Holliman points to polls conducted recently that show 65% of North Carolina residents support such a smoking ban.  “I think people are more health conscious,” Holliman says.  “They are aware of the fact that cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke are hazardous to your health.”

We talked to two business owners in Raleigh to see what they think about the proposed smoking ban.  Greg Hatem, who owns The Raleigh Times Bar, says

The Raleigh Times Bar owner Greg Hatem doesn't believe a smoking ban will drive patrons away from his restaurant and bar as long as it applies to everyone.

he supports a ban as long as it includes all businesses.  “People enjoy a smoke-free environment.  I think even some of the smokers like to go outside and smoke,”  Hatem says.  “And as long as there is a level playing field, I think

it’s good for all the restaurants and bars.”  Naill Hanley, who owns upscale restaurnt Solas, isn’t necessarily opposed to the ban.  He agrees with Hatem that it should be for all businesses in North Carolina so as not to drive smokers from one business to another.  But Hanley worries about government intrusion on private property rights.  “I think it kind of belittles them in the sense that local government is telling them what they can or cannot do.  What happens next?  You are only allowed five drinks because it’s bad for your liver?”  He thinks state-mandated smoking bans could open a door for more restrictions and laws.

Kathy Hartkpof agrees.  She represents Freedom Works, a political activist group that fights government regulation.  She says this proposed law is about property rights not smokers rights.  “It’s about freedom and it’s about choice,” she says.  “I am a non-smoker and I don’t care for cigarette smoke.  I can choose to go into a restaurant, if I find it too smoky, I can choose to leave.”  Hartkopf worries that Holliman’s proposal reaches beyond bars and restaurants and would even impact home-based businesses that have a few employees and no real customer traffic.  She warns that truck drivers might even be prevented from smoking in their own trucks if the bill passes.

But Holliman is standing his ground and thinks this bill is best for North Carolina.
A business-owner himself, he doesn’t buy the argument that his bill would infringe on private property rights.  He says local governments pass

Ironically, smoking bans are passing in states built largely on tobacco dollars. Smokers in Virginia and North Carolina could be pushed outside to light up.

health and safety regulations all the time, like mandating clearly marked and accessible fire exits.  He believes his non-smoking bill will pass and protect the rights of all North Carolina residents, especially non-smokers who are exposed to cigarette smoke.  “My mom used to have a saying when I was growing up that your rights end where another person’s rights start and I think this is what this bill is about.”

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In case you didn’t hear, the Southeastern United States has been in a drought for the last several years.  The City of Atlanta was in danger of losing their water supply and many small towns in Tennessee simply ran out.  To keep the Southeast from going completely dry, local officials sounded the alarm to drastically cutback.  That meant bans on watering lawns, filling swimming pools and conserving every drop.  We stopped washing our cars, took fast showers and became very aware of a precious resource that was running dangerously low.  Fast forward two years and the drought has thankfully eased.  Although we are not out of the woods yet, thanks to much needed rain, our reservoirs are stabilizing.  The weather has been slow to cooperate, but the residents of the Southeast were steadfast in their attempts to save water.

Estimates say that major cities in the Southeast cut water usage by an average of 20 percent.  They asked us to conserve and we responded!  So congratulations to the citizens of the Southeast.  For all your hard work, your local water company will now charge you MORE for the water you DON’T use.  If you are confused, back up and read that sentence again.  Even though water usage has dramatically dropped all over the region, local water utilities are hiking rates and adding surcharges to water bills.  Why?  Since you responded to the call to conserve water, companies and local governments are financially strapped because of a drastic drop in revenue.  Your efforts to conserve water means less for their bottom line and they are looking at your wallet to make it up.  When we asked officials and water districts about this, they told us someone still has to pay to maintain water plants, upgrade and repair pipes and pay all those employees who keep your water running.

Some customers have seen jaw-dropping water bills.  Those who have experienced pretty hefty rate hikes are now being asked to pay a drought surcharge as well.  Basically local governments are packing away a “rainy day fund” (for lack of a better term) should the South find itself in this situation again.

The only silver lining in this story is something called Conservation Pricing.  That basically means you’ll pay more, but the increase you see won’t be so high if you continue to conserve.  It’s a three-tiered pricing system and your rate is set by how much you use.  So water hogs lookout… if you take 30 minute showers, leave the hose running for long times or water your lawn when it rains, then you’ll be seeing the largest rate hikes.

Clickbelow for a look at our story on water rates:

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After 14 years of working with all sorts of people in this crazy business, I have to admit that I rarely come across someone like Shelley Stewart. At first sight, he’s an average businessman dressed in a suit and fedora. But it was during a confusing flurry of mass introductions in a sea of handshakes among our group, that I realized what a warm, caring and inspiring person he really is. Remembering how important first impressions really are, I tried to recover from my mis-planted handshake by making a joke. It was that moment that Shelley Stewart reached out and gave me a hug.

As a child, he watched in horror as his father killed his mother.  It was 1939 in Alabama . The justice system didn’t value the life of a black woman and his abusive father walked free, never brought to justice for her death. Shelley was also the target of his father’s rage and abuse. He was forced to leave home.  At 7 years old, he was homeless.

What’s so great about his story is that Shelley Stewart shouldn’t be where he is today. If you talk to any sociologist, products of broken homes, abusive relationships and poverty usually don’t make it in life. But something in Shelley Stewart wouldn’t let him fail. He is a successful businessman in Birmingham, Alabama . He owns a group of radio stations and runs his own advertising, marketing and public relations firm. We met up with Shelley on a cold rainy morning at Columbia High School in Decatur , Georgia . His “Choice Bus” was in the parking lot. Complete with Flashing Red Lights, it looks like a school bus from the front. But the back of the bus is actually painted stone-cold prison white, the windows are barred. The inside of The Choice Bus is a similar concept. Preserved school bus in the front, but the back of the bus has been converted into a prison cell. It was complete with bars, locking door that slams with that jarring sound, prison issued bed and a combination sink/toilet. The idea, show kids what it’s really like to be inside a prison cell. Before entering the cell, students watch a short four minute video. It’s produced by Shelley and feature real inmates. They tell their life-story. How they dropped out of school and chose the wrong path. Some of them committing unthinkable crimes and landing a life-sentence in prison.  Shelley Stewart points out that most of these prisoners are high-school dropouts. Most of them are functionally illiterate. The prisoners encourage the kids to stay in school or likely find a future behind bars. “It’s opening their minds, it’s putting their minds at work right there. It’s something they can really see and feel.

It’s an experience,” Shelley says. “That’s why they come in wondering where am I going? Am I going in this thing? What am I going to see…it makes them think.” While standing and chatting outside the bus as our crew shot inside, I learned a few things about Shelley Stewart. First, he’s passionate about education and feels it is the one thing that can turn our country around. In a time when we speak so much about defending our “homeland” and are scrambling to balance budgets, Shelley believes we are neglecting the one thing that can really assure our country’s future. Education. “Homeland Security. One of the greatest ways to secure our homeland is to have a quality workforce, great education,” Shelley says. “We call it a good investment in Homeland Security.”

Demand has been high for The Choice Bus. School Districts from coast to coast are requesting Shelley’s life lesson for their own students. The tour is mostly concentrated in the Southeastern part of the country for now, but hopes to have nine more busses by 2010 and take his message about education nationwide. He may not reach every student that watches the four-minute prisoner testimonial about staying in school and out of jail, but he thinks his bus is making a strong impact. “Ten thousand kids have visited that bus, by the way. Many have come off and say ‘I’ve made my choice now. I will not drop out of school. I will graduate.”

Today I met a great man.  Simply by defeating horrible odds, Shelley Stewart got an education and proved everyone wrong.  He has faith that anyone, armed with an education, can do the same.  If you would like more information about The Choice Bus and Shelley Stewart’s battle for education, contact The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation at www.mattiecstewart.org.

Click the link below to watch the story I produced with Correspondent Marianne Silber, Photographer Jeff Burton and Photographer Tom Jachman:

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We’ve heard so much about daily troubles on Wall Street, the real estate mess and the crushing economic recession.  Newspaper headlines and television news reports announcing the latest list of companies filing for bankruptcy, laying off workers, closing their doors or running to Washington for a federal bailout doesn’t really shock us anymore.  But how’s this for an eye-catching headline?  ”HOW LOSING MONEY CAN HELP YOUR COMPANY AND YOUR COMMUNITY IN 2009″  Wait?  Losing money?  Yellow Cab in Birmingham, Alabama isn’t in trouble.  In fact CEO Ellis Houston will tell you they are doing great, thank you very much.  But in 2009 they are planning on giving free cab rides, the very service that makes profit for a cab company.  Houston says they are even budgeting for those losses this year.  So in a time when most companies are struggling to simply stop the free-fall into financial ruin, why is this company giving away it’s “bread and butter” for nothing?

Like most cab companies and public transportation systems across the country, Yellow Cab in Birmingham offered free rides home last month for anyone who drank too much at Christmas parties and on New Years Eve.   It’s a holiday tradition to help keep revelers from drinking and driving.  But this year Yellow Cab in Birmingham is extending their program, hoping to keep drunk drivers off the streets 24 hours a day, seven days a week…all 365 days of this year.  I repeatedly asked Ellis how he could afford to do this, especially with record-high gas prices fresh in our memories and a tanking economy that’s effecting every business from coast to coast.  How can Yellow Cab give free rides all year long?  ”Our goal is to save lives and keep people from being injured,” he says.  ”If we even save one life with this program then it’s money-well spent.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR STORY

Houston says there’s no catch and no cost to customers or the bars and restaurants signed up for the program.  All you have to do is tell a manager or bartender that you’ll be needing a ride home.  You have to put your keys in an envelope which will includes your name, address, description of your car and where you left it.  Once the cab driver drops you off at home, you get the envelope back.  It’s up to you to get yourself back to the bar to pick your car up the next morning.  There are a few restrictions in the program, you could call them guidelines.  A customer must be at a bar or restaurant that has registered with Yellow Cab.  As of today, only a handful of Birmingham watering holes have signed up, but Ellis expects that number to increase.  You also must be going home.  Don’t expect a cab to give you a free lift to the bar or serve as your shuttle as you hop from bar to bar.

This isn’t the first program of it’s kind.  It’s actually the second.  Ellis Houston also owns and operates Yellow Cab in Little Rock, Arkansas.  That location is a year-old veteran for this generous program that could keep celebrating patrons from putting themselves and others in danger.  Houston says the program in Little Rock is a hit and hopes Birmingham will find the same success.  Restaurants and bars like The J. Clyde and Innisfree in Birmingham say the safe-ride program is so popular with patrons that they can’t keep those needed envelopes in stock.

You have to appreciate a businessman who is brave enough to start another year of uncertain economic conditions with a program that will bring no profit to his company.  Sure he’s getting some media attention, but with that attention, Houston is bracing for the program to grow and to pay for a lot of free rides in Birmingham and Little Rock this year.  But he’s unfazed at the loss he will absorb and, despite the cost, is committed to making the streets a little safer.  ”We are going to continue to do this program, at least for the next 12 months, no matter what the cost,”  he says.  Maybe one day every Company CEO will value their customers and community more and consider giving back as much as they take, just like Ellis Houston does.

If you would like to learn more click on this link to the Birmingham Yellow Cab Safe Ride Program.

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The $23 Million "Go Fish Georgia Center" will be built in Perry, Georgia.

Is it an investment to help a slumping state economy or a pet project pushed by a governor who has an admitted fondness for fishing and the outdoors? Like most other states, Georgia is facing a budget crunch and looking to make up a $1.6 billion shortfall, so Governor Sonny Perdue told state agencies to cut spending by 6 percent.  Those financial sacrifices are slicing into state programs that provide healthcare, education and some veteran’s services.  But just two months after the governor asked for the drastic cuts across the board, he signed paperwork to begin construction on $23 million fishing welcome center under his “Go Fish Georgia” program.  The welcome center, which just happens to be located near the Governor’s home in Houston County, will include an educational facility, fish and wildlife exhibits, state-of-the-art theaters, a nature trail, a fishing pond and a new fish hatchery.  The “Go Fish Georgia Center” is the centerpiece of the $19 million dollar state investment proposed by the Governor and approved by the legislature in 2007.  Select lakes and rivers are getting new boat ramps to attract world-class fishing tournaments to the state.  The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the project and will likely benefit from it, says fishing has a $1.9 billion economic impact on Georgia and could help stimulate rural economies.

Fishing as a Business

Professional Angler Jason Williamson and FOX News Producer Brooks Blanton on Clarks Hill Lake in Georgia

Charlie Beale is the Recreational Manager for Columbia County near Augusta, Georgia.  He says investments in new boat ramps at nearby ClarksHill Lake has helped attract major fishing tournaments which bring worldwide media coverage.  He says local businesses like hotels, restaurants, convenience stores and gas stations benefit greatly from recreational fishing and major tournaments.  “Well I think a lot of the businesses in our area are impacted greatly with it.  There may be some businesses that are going out of business if we weren’t bringing the tourism dollars from the fishing in the area,”  Beale says.

Bukeye Lures is an obvious benefactor of attracting major league fishing tournaments to Georgia.  The company manufactures and sells fishing tackle which are marketed and sold across the country.  President and CEO Jeremy Altman says hosting a major fishing tournament in Georgia can have immediate and long-term impacts on their sales.  “Not only in the direct sales that you have that week, but you have residual sales through the year,” Altman says.  “The money is probably going to be made back within 5 to 10 years minimum and that will be a huge asset for even my children.”

Critics say Money Better Spent

But not everyone sees $19 million in tax dollars going to fishing as a wise investment, especially during hard economic times.  Many democratic lawmakers, who approved the expenditures in 2007, now say the state has taken a drastic downturn and the project should be put on hold.  Some say it’s hard to explain building a Fishing Welcome Center to constituents who are making serious sacrifices themselves.

Mindy Binderman is the Director at Voices for Georgia’s Children, a group that advocates for laws and policy that affect Georgia’s children.  She says state-funded health and education programs that serve children are being severely cut at the request of the governor and is concerned that Georgia still ranks near the bottom when it comes to children’s causes.  “About 12 percent of our children in this state are uninsured.  In 2005 that meant we ranked 41 in terms of kids health outcomes.  We believe that every child should have insurance and that every child should be covered,” says Binderman.  She says she understands that the state needs to invest in economic and recreation projects to spur economic activity. But she also thinks Georgia Lawmakers, including the governor, should be investing in schools, hospitals and building better roads to create jobs instead.  “I want parks for my kids, I want beautiful places for them to go enjoy the natural resources that we have in Georgia,” Binderman says.  “At the same time, I want them to have access to schools and have access to the best healthcare possible.”

If you build it… will they come?

Gov. Sonny Perdue, (R) Georgia

Despite criticism, the governor stands behind his “Go Fish” program as an investment that he predicts will give the state a return on its money many times over.  He also points out that the funding was approved nearly two years ago and has already been spent, making it impossible to help the current budget problems.  Binderman hopes the Governor’s prediction is true and maybe that investment in fishing and the money it returns can help improve programs she says are so vital to protecting Georgia’s youngest citizens.  “That we invest in prevention programs for kids and we invest in capital funding programs again that are targeted to real needs in this state.”

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It has to be one of the most desperate and emotional experiences for tens of thousands of families every year.  Imagine how you would feel if a loved one — who is elderly, fragile and mentally impaired — has simply disappeared.  More than 5.1 million people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and many have other forms of dementia or mental impairments.  They are inflictions of the mind, usually due to aging, that can lead to memory loss and even disorientation.  According to the Alzheimer’s Association, a staggering 60% of those with some form of dementia will wander from home at least once, sometimes putting themselves in danger and unable to find the way back home.

In 2004 that horrible fear became a reality for the family of Mattie Moore.  She was a 68 year old Alzheimer’s patient who wandered away from her Atlanta home.  Her disappearance sparked a massive citywide effort to find her.  Search teams, police and volunteers combed neighborhoods all over the city looking for her, to no avail.  Eight months later, her skeletal remains were found in a wooded area about a mile from where she disappeared.  Mattie’s story inspired a movement in Atlanta.  

Ten States Have Alert Systems When Memory Impaired People Wander, Five States Are Considering Them and Congress is Proposing a National System.

City officials and residents wanted to do all they could to prevent this from happening again.  They developed a warning system to alert the public when a disoriented person goes missing.  Much like Amber Alerts for children, this warning system triggered bulletins to media, law enforcement and displayed information on freeway information signs and billboards.  The city system was extended statewide and it was named “Mattie’s Call” after the woman who focused so much attention on the dangers of memory challenged patients wandering off and possibly never returning home.

“Time is of the essence, especially this time of year when the weather is colder that these elderly people are found and returned home,” says John Bankhead of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation or GBI.  That agency is the central coordinator for the thousands of city, county and state law enforcement agencies that take 911 calls about missing people.  One call to a police department triggers a statewide alert from the GBI — posting information on freeway signs and broadcasts by the media.  “This type of alert system is very helpful,” says Bankhead.  “As far as I can tell it’s been very successful in getting the information out to the public to where these people could be found and returned home safely.”  Since it’s inception in 2006, 67 Mattie’s Calls have been issued in Georgia and all 67 of those missing were found alive and returned to their families.

That perfect record is something Mary Collins can verify.  Her husband Roosevelt was one of those 67 people that wandered from home and went missing.  She says he simply walked out, something she didn’t realize until a family member stopped by and asked where Roosevelt was.  “I said he’s downstairs watching TV and my daughter-in-law came in the front door and it was standing open.  That’s when we determined he wasn’t in the house,”  Collins says.  He was missing for the better part of the day.  Mary called 911 and a Mattie’s Call was issued statewide.  

Sobering Statistics from the Alzheimer Association Show how Public Bulletins Like

The Alzheimer’s Association says 95% of those who go missing are found within 1/4 mile of their home, so they don’t wander far.  But like Roosevelt, they could become disoriented and fall leaving themselves within steps of home, but helpless, injured and exposed to harsh elements.  Mary found Roosevelt later that hot August day.  True to the statistic that they don’t wander far, Roosevelt was not far from the back door of his house.  Mary was shocked to find that he had simply slipped and fell in a nearby ditch.  “I walked down the embankment and I heard this little voice saying ‘help me’ and he had fallen down the embankment and rolled under a bush.” 

Statistics show that even though memory impaired seniors do not go far, the seriousness of their disappearance is very real and catching national attention.  In fact, Bankhead says if they are not located within 24 hours, the chances of serious injury or even death is very high.  As of this year, nine states have alert systems typically called “Silver Alerts.”  Five more states are considering similar alert systems and Congress is looking at making it national.  For information, help and services for memory-impaired adults and their families visit the Alzheimer’s Foundation website at www.alz.org or call their 24 hour helpline at 800-272-3900.

CLICK THE PLAYER BELOW TO WATCH THE STORY I PUT TOGETHER WITH MARIANNE SILBER AND JEFF BURTON.

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Ann Nixon Cooper has pretty much seen it all.  She was born in 1902 and has lived to witness two world wars, a great depression, the invention of television, the beginning of commercial flight, space exploration and so many life-altering events.  But it was the historic moment on November 4, 2008 that left the biggest impression on Mrs. Cooper’s 106 years of life.

Ann Nixon Cooper of Atlanta was Mentioned in Obama's Victory Speech

Like many around the world, she watched President-Elect Barack Obama accept victory to become the first African American President of the United States.  It was something she never expected to see in her lifetime.  “It’s been a great pleasure to me…the changes.  It means a lot, that I have lived to see it blossom out, don’t you know,”  Mrs. Cooper says.

She was born in rural Tennessee and moved to Atlanta where she married and raised a family.  Her husband was a well known dentist in the city at that time.  It was an occupation that allowed the Cooper family to enjoy a nice home, a busy social life and the ability to provide everything they could for their children.  But despite the monetary success, the hatred and discrimination that plagued the south for decades prevented them from enjoying basic human rights that most of us take for granted.

Mrs. Cooper recalls being ridiculed on a city bus after taking a seat towards the front.  White passengers shouted racial slurs and asked how she dare take a seat in front of them.  It was a time when blacks were banned from businesses, denied access to education and did not have the right to cast a ballot, something most of us take for granted today.  “Well I had forgotten those days, they don’t mean anything to me anymore when we couldn’t vote,”  she says as her conversation quickly turned to the present.  “I can get out and go vote.  I voted downtown the other day.  At city hall.  All by myself.”  And she voted for President-elect Barack Obama.  A proud moment at the polls that caught the attention of media around the world and Mr. Obama himself.

Mrs. Cooper on her 40th Birthday, 19 Years Before President-Elect Obama was Born

“She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin,”  Mr. Obama said about her in his acceptance speech Tuesday night.  “She was there for the buses in Montgomery, a bridge in Selma and a preacher in Atlanta who told the people that we shall overcome.  Yes we can.”  Mrs. Cooper says she was proud to vote for Mr. Obama and the thought of being part of historic change makes her happy.

Not only did the new President talk about her in his speech to the world, but he also took time to call her and personally thank her for supporting him.  On a day when a 106 year old woman can vote, and a 47 year old black man can be President, Ann Cooper says all she can do is smile, be proud of her ever-changing country and enjoy life everyday.  Regardless of how many years or decades Mrs. Cooper has left, she will never forget the words of the man who changed history in 2008 “America, we have come so far.  We have seen so much.  But there is so much more to do.  So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century;  if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see?  What progress will we have made?”

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The Democrats aren’t just looking for a win in two weeks, they are looking for a big win…a supermajority.  If they can pick up Senate seats in 11 states on November 4th, it could keep Republicans from filibustering and pretty much give them control of Congress at least through 2010.  Add a possible Barack Obama Presidency and the Democrats could be virtually unstoppable on pushing policy through.  What concerns Republicans most this election year is that Obama is leading in the presidential polls and many Senate races are way too close for GOP comfort.

Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina is one of the Republican Senators fighting to keep her seat in the Senate.  It’s a fight she didn’t expect at the beginning of the campaign — she’s a well-known politician, a native of North Carolina and was the incumbent favorite for a seat that she and the late Republican Senator Jesse Helms have held for more than three decades.  But this year, the democrats saw a chance to take the seat from long-time Republican control.  A lesser known State Senator named Kay Hagan decided to run against Dole.  She showed early promise, so the Democratic Party lined up behind her and started spending a lot of money on ads attacking Dole.

Click on the player below to watch one of Hagan’s Ads.

One of Hagan’s biggest criticisms is that Dole returned to North Carolina only to run for office after being a long-time Kansas resident with her husband Senator Bob Dole.  “It was two days after Jesse Helms announced his retirement that Liddy Dole decided to register to vote in North Carolina after having voted in Kansas for 25 years,”  Hagan said at a Duke University rally last Thursday.  “Let’s give Liddy Dole a pair of ruby red slippers so she can click her heels three times and go home to Kansas with Bob.”

Hagan is also criticizing Dole for allegedly not spending enough time in North Carolina saying that Dole spent only 20 days in the state during all of 2005.  She’s trying to connect her to President Bush’s low approval ratings.  “We are demanding change because we cannot afford six more years that look like the last eight,” Hagan says.  “We can’t afford Elizabeth Dole in the senate who has voted with Bush 92 percent of the time.”

Click on the player below to watch one of Dole’s Ads.

But Dole isn’t taking any of this lightly.  She says Hagan, a Senate leader at the State Capitol in Raleigh, played a large role increasing state spending while running up the state deficit and raising taxes.  Dole is also accusing Hagan of dodging the issues that matter most in North Carolina, spreading lies about Senator Dole and having a personal stake in the oil industry.

Senator Dole spent about an hour with students at Wake Tech Community College just outside Raleigh last Thursday talking about her record and what she has done to help residents and businesses in her home state.

In a town-hall style meeting Senator Dole took questions from the audience about the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy on gay and lesbian soldiers, how higher taxes and jobs being shipped to other countries are effecting state business here and how her policies have helped state and local law enforcement deal with illegal immigration and crime. Senator Dole says she is focused, not concerned, about the five point lead that Kay Hagan has with just two weeks to go before election day.  “I don’t think we can work any harder than we are, as you see we are rushing to our next event,” explained Dole as she was rushing to meet up with Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin.  “Our internal polls are showing us very strong.  We are going to win this election.  In fact, it feels very good out here.”

Dr. John Dinan, Professor of Political Science at Wake Forest University in Greensboro says this year is not unusual since North Carolina historically has some of the most competitive senate races in the country.  He says voters tend to split their votes for Republicans and Democrats for different offices on the same ballot and no candidate has won a Senate seat here by a comfortable lead since 1974.  “A competitive North Carolina Senate race once again going to the last month, the last weeks, probably the last weekend,”  Dinan says.  He says this race may be decided on the effectiveness of all those ads North Carolina residents are seeing on TV and how Barack Obama fares in the Tarheel state.  “How many new voters turn out, how many new voters turn out democratic, how much of an advantage do democrats get from that.”  Bottom line, he says at this point it’s anyone’s race.

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Jimmy Carter was running for President the last time North Carolina voters supported a Democrat. For the past 32 years, Democrats have written the state off as a GOP win.

Not even Bill Clinton held enough clout in the Tarheel State to win a majority there. But polls are showing that Senator Barack Obama might be the first democrat in more than three decades to win North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes. And that just might give the presidency to the Democratic Senator from Illinois.

In the latest Fox News/Ramussen Poll, Obama is leading Senator John McCain by one percentage point in North Carolina. A poll conducted two weeks ago shows Obama with a much bigger lead by 3 percentage points. It’s close, but if you consider McCain was up by six percentage points in August and still held a three percentage point advantage just a month ago, there’s no denying that John McCain has a fight on his hands in The Tarheel State.

Political experts on both sides of the fence say there’s a record number of new voters in North Carolina. In fact, the state reports more than 600,000 people have registered in the state, many of them motivated to vote during the heated primary between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton last May. But there continues to be a new surge of registered voters in the last few weeks as the race between McCain and Obama heats up. We talked to a McCain spokesperson, an Obama Spokesperson, the State Board of Elections, the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections and a political science professor at Davidson College. All agree that this swell of new voters are coming from North Carolina’s five urban counties (Durham, Forsyth, Mecklenburg, Wake and Guilford.) They are majority democrat, a large percent is African American and many of them are young.

((click on the video below to watch our story))

I managed to get time with Michael Dickerson, the director of the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections in Charlotte. The man barely has time to sit down right now. His office is a literal beehive as workers sort through and verify voter registration forms. Walking alongside him from office to office, we could see his staff busy navigating stacks of mailtubs stuffed full of voter registration forms. They must check and verify the forms before election day. “I expect this will be a record breaking number for people voting in this county for this election,” Dickerson agreed with the state board of elections on who a large number of these new voters are. “What really jumps out is the spike in youth registration. The 18-35 year old numbers are so much more than they have been in the previous two presidential years.”

Many pollsters and political experts are shocked at the number of young voters who are suddenly showing an interest in politics. History shows that most young people tend to be apathetic and simply not interested in politics. But this year, something has changed. On the campuses of two North Carolina colleges we found students going door to door to talk about politics, organizing rallies and holding voter registration drives. It appears that the 18-35 year old group is lining up to sign up and by a huge margin, they are backing Obama. Paul Dixon is 19 years old, lives in Charlotte and was registering to vote between classes. “It’s my first time to vote and I think it’s time to voice my opinion and I feel our country is at a downfall and it needs to come up.” Other students registering alongside Dixon say the financial crisis is a big concern and the major reason they intend to turn the tables in North Carolina. “I need to get out there, personally I think Obama’s views fit me,” says Andrew Howes.

But many question the seriousness and the ability to follow through from this young block of voters. Dickerson says voters get more reliable as they get older and those over the age of 50 tend to vote in almost every election. “The real question is, will they turn up and be first time voters in Mecklenburg County,” Dickerson says. “That’s the true question and we will find that out on November 5th after the election.”

Ambassador Mark Erwin agrees. He has served as the US liaison to three African countries at one point in his career and lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. He’s a democrat and helped run Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign here. But when Obama won the Democratic Presidential nomination, Ambassador Erwin is now supporting John McCain. Erwin was surprised to see Obama gaining strength in North Carilina. He attributes the large number of new voters to the Obama campaign’s well-run voter registration drive before the primary and during the general election. But Erwin believes all these new voters, most of them saying they support Obama, will not actually show up to vote. “Getting those people to stay focused and go back to the polls, especially younger voters, they just typically get distracted, doing other things and get busy and forget.” He says McCain’s more mature supporters are loyal voters, so he predicts the Senator from Arizona will still win North Carolina, despite what the polls say today.

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It’s been a long and stressful three weeks for Motorists in the Southeast who have been waiting in long lines to fill up their tanks. The fuel supply disruptions sparked by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike earlier this month have forced many who live in places like Nashville, Charlotte and Atlanta to search for the few stations that do have gas. Some reports say lines can be up to three hours long just to get a tank of gas. We are reporting live from the QuikTrip on Sidney Marcus Boulevard in Midtown Atlanta again today.

Station Manager Jay Fuston Doubles as a Traffic Cop at this Atlanta Quiktrip

It’s one of the few stations in the area to have gas. As part of a plan to keep certain stations supplied at all times, the company strategically shut the pumps down at other locations. QuikTrip Spokesperson Mike Thornbrugh told me it made it much easier to keep a select few stations supplied instead of trying to run all their locations at once, which would cause sporadic outages everywhere. When I checked in with Thornbrugh this morning, he offered what might be a light at the end of the tunnel for drivers in the Southeast. Although cautious about calling an end to the crunch for QuikTrip, Thornbrugh says it appears the shortage might begin to ease as supplies slowly return to normal.

Thornbrugh stressed that he could only speak for QuikTrip and did not want to go as far as signaling an end to the problem, but did say things should start getting better by the end of the week. Other sources say it could be as early as five days, but AAA is cautioning drivers that it could be as late as October 13. Either way, it appears gas stations are opening slowly but surely.

Even though there might be a glimmer of hope in the week ahead, the gas shortage is definitely starting to take it’s toll on drivers who are tired of searching for gas and then having to wait in long lines just to get it. Horns occasionally blow in anger and a few arguments have broken out over who is next in line.

The possibility that tempers might flare at the pump has forced QuikTrip Manager Jay Fuston to concentrate more of his time in the store parking lot directing traffic and keeping the peace between customers who are ready to go toe to toe over the next spot in line. More than once, Fuston has refereed shouting matches and settled differences between customers who are growing impatient and angry at times.

Despite a trickle ofgood news and a possible end to the gas crunch soon, drivers are still stressing about being caught on fumes with very few places to fill up. The majority of stations around metro Atlanta are still dry and those that actually do have gas are in high demand with lines twisting down adjacent streets. Atlanta resident Wes Speaks, 28, knows the consequences of waiting until the last minute to fill up when there are long lines.

He was actually just a few cars away from the pump when his SUV sputtered and simply quit. Good samaritans from a moving company helped Speaks push his stalled SUV the remaining few feet to a full tank of gas. “I had to go downtown this morning,” Speaks says. “I couldn’t find gas there, so I decided to come back here where I knew I could get a tank. The ironic thing is that I live right across the street from this gas station.”

28 Year Old Wes Speaks Fills-up After Running Out of Gas While Waiting in Line.

Once again, gas suppliers and authorities are blaming much of the gas shortage problem on customer panic. They say drivers who are rushing to top off tanks that are half full or better and those that are hoarding by filling up gas cans are stressing scarce supplies even more and making the problem worse. They’re asking customers to only get gas when they absolutely need it and not to stockpile gas in fear of running out.

Another warning went out over the weekend to residents who are actually calling 911. Some operators in Georgia say people are dialing 911 in hopes of finding out where to find the nearest gas. Law enforcement officials say 911 operators do not know which stations have gas and that calls to the system should be for emergency situations only. Finding gas, they say, is not an emergency.

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Lines are flowing from the pumps, across the parking lot and into the streets at this Atlanta Quick Trip this morning. A fortunate problem for those stations lucky enough to even have gas today. Many stations around the city have run out and those left with gas are being overrun by drivers looking for the last few precious supplies left in this part of the country. It’s not just a problem in the south’s most populous metropolitan area. Stations from Jackson, Mississippi to Charlotte, North Carolina are bagging and roping off pumps while drivers struggle to find the few that gas at all. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike dealt a double blow to the Gulf Coast drilling and refinery systems in the past few weeks and gas supplies leading into the Southeast have dropped to a mere drip.

Waiting in line to fill-up has become routine for Rick Simmons the past few days. He works for Chimney Solutions, a company that is very busy this time of year as homeowners are readying their fireplaces and furnaces for colder weather. Rick drives about 150 miles per day making his way across metro-Atlanta cleaning and servicing chimneys. He paid $75 for a tank of gas yesterday and was waiting in line this morning before heading out to five service calls.

“It’s not so bad,” Simmons says with a smile. “Most everybody is waiting their turn, being friendly and patient.” Not surprising in a part of America where being courteous to complete strangers comes naturally.

While working with our crew in the congested parking lot of this in-town gas station, I’ve watched drivers waive, smile and make room for one another. Some get out of their cars and chat while waiting to fill-up while others help direct traffic so the person in front of them can back out of impossible situations.

It’s not been completely perfect. There have been a few run-ins among the crush of cars trying to make their way on and off Sidney Marcus Boulevard. Although I can’t hear what some drivers are saying through rolled up windows, I can read lips and facial expressions– a few visual signs of frustration and an occasional horn blowing as cars maneuver to keep their places in line. I’m sure among millions of people trying to gas up today, there will be a few tempers that flare, a few arguments and possibly even a confrontation or two. Realistically, we can’t expect perfect harmony from drivers who have been pushed to their emotional and financial limits by increasing demand on limited supplies and skyrocketing prices at the pump.

If you live in an area that is experiencing a shortage right now, here are a few things to keep in mind. If you don’t need gas, then don’t get it right now. It sounds obvious, but we are told that panic to top off is making the shortage of fuel worse. Too many people are rushing to fill tanks that have ample fuel already. They say that if you are at least half-full, then don’t fill up. Return to your normal gas buying habits — only fill up when you need gas. And finally, be patient. Give yourself plenty of time to wait in a line. Until the supplies are back to normal, everyone will have to wait in the same lines to get gas just like you. Finally, be friendly to others while you wait. Keep your hand off the horn, get out of your car and strike up a conversation. Or maybe you could help someone back out of a difficult parking spot in these jammed lots. The fuel shortage is very frustrating for us all, but a little southern hospitality and kindness among neighbors will go a long way to get us through this latest petroleum-laced drama.

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EXCLUSIVE VIDEO FROM THE STORM!

I saw something outside Galveston, Texas yesterday that reminded me of those post-apocalyptic thriller movies where a handful of people are the only ones on earth to survive a worldwide disaster. It wasn’t anything on the scale of the drama that Hollywood creates, but it reminded me of how quickly we can lose touch with simple human kindness and the ability to think of others when a catastrophe strikes.

My photographer Dean Minney was shooting video of boats and yachts that had been picked up by the storm surge and placed neatly in the middle of Interstate 45 near Galveston. We were getting great shots of the bulldozers and backhoes pulling them off the freeway when I noticed something in the distance. I was confused to see three people and a dog walking in the northbound lanes out of Galveston. As the group moved closer, I approached them to find out who they were and where they were headed.

Freddie and Yvonne Collomore was pushing a baby carriage filled with whatever belongings they could salvage from their flooded Galveston home. They made sure their children and grandchildren made it out safely, but time ran out for them so they had to face the floodwaters and fury of Ike on the island. They survived, but almost everything they worked hard for was gone. Sunday was Yvonne’s birthday and she spent it walking 20 miles through heat, humidity and rain with only a few things of her 55 years of life stuffed into a baby carriage.

Right behind Yvonne and Freddie was Darren Emch pushing a wheeled garbage can with his stuff. He and his girlfriend shared a third story loft in downtown Galveston. They were planning to evacuate, but the early rush of floodwaters nearly 18 hours before landfall caught them off guard and destroyed their car before they could get off the island. Darren says his girlfriend was seven months pregnant and started to go into labor, so she was flown out by medical helicopter. The flight crew told Darren he could go too, but he would have to leave his dog Rayne behind. He says leaving Rayne alone to fend for himself was not an option.

During our interview all three told me they were making their way to meet family and friends who were waiting on the other side of a blockade on I-45. Police wouldn’t let anyone drive into Galveston to get them, so their only option was to walk about 20 miles out. The hardest part of this walk for them was not the heat, not the rain and not the blisters on their feet. The hardest part was watching police, government officials, utility companies, media, construction crews, all in roomy air conditioned trucks and SUV’s pass them by all day long. They said not one truck or car stopped to ask if they needed help, needed a ride or simply a bottle of water or food. Freddie said he was shocked at how some would just wave as they sped past the trio toward Houston.

After our interview, Dean and I decided that we would be the ones to help this group. We loaded their stuff onto our truck, let them use our phones to call their families and was prepared to take them to their family and friends waiting 10 miles up the road. But as bad luck would have it, we found ourselves in the same boat as Freddie, Yvonne, Darren and Rayne the dog. It was then that our truck chose not to start. We tried feverishly to get it going and give the group a lift, but no luck…we were stranded too. So we unloaded their stuff, gave them some water to take and sent them walking once again as other cars and trucks passed them by. They thanked us for at least trying to help them out and hoped we would pass along this simple message: the most important part of surviving a major disaster is helping each other. I want to thank Darren, the Collomores and Rayne the dog for reminding me of that.

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It shook, it rumbled, it creaked and it rocked. That’s pretty much how I can describe my 11th floor hotel room as Hurricane Ike brought 115 mile per hour winds to The Hilton Clear Lake near NASA space center.

I was supposed to sleep and get up to start lives at 6 am with photographer Tom Jachman and reporter Marianne Silber. But who could sleep with the walls heaving, the floor shifting and the windows threatening to blow in? Marianne, Tom and I decided to vacate our upper floor rooms to the ballroom below at about 2:30 in the morning. The hotel staff had designated that safe harbor for guests from the storm. But what we found instead was the lobby inundated with hurricane force winds. The skylights above the front desk had shattered, glass rained down on guests and media taking refuge on the lowest floor of the hotel. The holes in the ceiling created a vacuum as winds sucked debris through the front lobby and out the front door.

As the winds howled through the lobby and threw hotel furniture around like toys, management informed us of another problem. Water from the Lake in back of the hotel was making it’s way in from all sides. The parking lot was overtaken and the stairwell we were using to get to our rooms was filling from the basement up. They advised everyone to move up to higher floors or be trapped in the lobby that now had been taken over by Ike. We retreated back to our hotel room and reported live from a sixth floor balcony as the storm howled on through the morning. Even at daylight, winds still topped 90 mph and rains swirled outside the hotel. By 10 am, the wind was still whipping trees and minor debris around, but the worst of Ike was over.

Tonight, our hotel is without power and running water and took lots of hits during the storm. Boats in the marina behind our hotel are either capsized or completely submerged. Parts of the hotels exterior litter the driveway out front and several cars have blown out windows or are floating in the middle of the lake. Highway 164 leading to the Kemah Boardwalk and Texas City is completely blocked by boats, cars, furniture, logs, telephone poles and piles of people’s belongings. Ike passed directly over us.

With the exception of the 45 minutes of complete calm in the middle of the eye, we undoubtedly took a huge hit. Authorities are just beginning to give us a picture of what it looks like out there and we will likely be reporting on this powerful storm for weeks, possibly even months to come.

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The ocean has really started churning off the coast of Galveston, Texas. Waves are already topping the 17-foot tall, 10-mile long seawall that was built to protect the city and the island. For the first time in a 100 years, that wall may not save the island from near devastation. Forecasters say that Ike is brining a storm surge of 20-feet and waves up to 50 feet. One weather website described the Gulf of Mexico as a big shallow bathtub and Ike as a big disturbance causing it to overflow onto the Texas Coast.

Ike is a huge storm and it’s not the winds, but the storm surge that will likely cause most of the damage to the areas in and around Houston and Galveston. One local station already has aerial shots of Jamaica Beach, not far from our location, where houses are already being overrun by the rising surge. It’s just starting to get bad and only will get worse as the eye makes landfall near here sometime after midnight. The storm is massive and will bring certain devastation to many in this part of Texas. Waves and flood waters can easily tear apart a brick home.

Authorities have told everyone to get off Galveston Island. They say anyone who stays is risking their lives. One word used to describe the urgency of this message was one official saying “anyone in a single or two-story family home is facing certain death if they do not leave.”

We are staying at the San Luis Resort which is right on the Gulf. It’s a 16-story hotel that sits high up so the danger of the hotel being overrun by water is slim. Most of the city’s police officers and firefighters are staying here, so we know we are pretty safe. Given the fact that Galveston Island will likely be cut off from the rest of the mainland, we are planning to double back to Houston and report from there.

UPDATE 4 PM

Under instructions from the Assignment Desk in New York we have left Galveston Island and moved about 30 miles inland to Clear Lake, which is near Houston. Although we may not experience Ike’s landfall on the ocean front, we will see hurricane conditions here in Houston. Local forecasters predict up to 80 mph winds in the city and plenty of flooding for our area as well.

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Fox News Producer Brooks Blanton and his crew at the Galveston Memorial during Hurricane Rita in 2005

In late September 2005, I found myself on Galveston Island waiting for Hurricane Rita to come ashore. It was three weeks after Katrina decimated Louisiana and Mississippi and the people of Texas were taking no chances.

The entire Houston metropolitan area was evacuated and looked like a ghost town as we drove through. The smaller seaside city of Galveston was also pretty much deserted and those who remained behind were bracing for a direct hit. With the exception of law enforcement, media and rescue workers there wasn’t very many people left in Southeast Texas.

As the outerbands of Rita approached, my crew and I stopped to check out a memorial that had been built along the main road that runs along the ocean. The plaque in front of the memorial told the story of a deadly hurricane that hit Galveston on September 8, 1900. Nearly 6,000 people were killed during “The Galveston Hurricane” and the bustling port city was destroyed. Some of those who died in the rising storm surge and fierce winds included 60 children and 10 nuns that were trying to ride out the storm in an orphanage. Like many of the residents of Galveston the storm surge and winds proved extremely deadly for them. The day after the hurricane hit, residents began cleaning up and rebuilding. Galveston Island was raised to a higher level and a 10 mile long, 17 foot high seawall was built to protect the city from hurricane storm surges. So far that seawall has worked and has never been overtopped.

A woman sits on the seawall in Galveston as the ocean grows more active behind her.

Fast forward three years. It’s a disturbing deja vu. I am back on the Galveston Seawall this time with reporter Marianne Silber, photographer Tom Jachman and Satellite Technician Jeff Burton doing live shots at the Memorial. As Ike changed paths once again overnight and headed for this area the mayor of Galveston ordered evacuations this morning and many residents in nearby Houston have been ordered out as Ike has his eyewall set on Galveston Bay. Traffic on I-45 was at a standstill as residents are heading inland away from what could be a very dangerous storm.

We are staying at a beachside hotel that has survived many storms and hurricanes. City officials and emergency workers are staying at the same place, so we are confident that we will be okay. We will report from Galveston as long as possible, but the safety of our crew always takes priority. Like those who own businesses and homes here, we are hoping the storm surge and flood waters from Ike will be held off by that seawall once again.

Jeff Burton, Marianne Silber, Brooks Blanton and Tom Jachman waiting for Ike at the Hurricane Memorial in Galveston, TX

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People on the beach taking advantage of the day!

The trees were blowing and it was raining hard this morning at 5 am when we reported for our first live shots.  What a difference a few hours makes!  Hanna wasn’t expected to be a big storm or hang around very long and she lived up to that forecast.  By Noon, there was barely a cloud in the sky and the beach is filled with people taking advantage of the sun, blue skies and slight breeze.

While walking the beach and looking for someone to take my picture in the ocean, I bumped into Paula and Jay Morris from Raleigh, NC.  I asked them to snap a shot of me, but quickly realized they had an interesting story to tell, so I turned the camera on them.  Jay and Paula were just married in Minnesota last week — that’s where Paula grew up.  Initially, like many newlyweds, they planned to go to Cancun for a honeymoon.  But their plans were canceled because of Hurricane Gustav.  Paula and Jay decided instead to stay close to home and as far away from Gustav as they could.  So they made their way to Myrtle Beach, not realizing that a smaller storm named Hanna was attempting to wreck their Plan B Honeymoon.

Good news for the Jay, Paula and everyone else on the Carolina Coast that Hanna was a very minor storm.  Twelve hours after landfall and you wouldn’t even know she was ever here.  The beaches are busy, the pool is full and life is back to normal here on the Grand Strand of South Carolina.  What a perfect day to cover the aftermath of a Tropical Storm.

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Fox News Correspondent and Photographer John Bullard reporting live from a relatively calm Myrtle Beach

I’ve covered three storms in three weeks and so far it looks like Hanna is packing the least punch of them all. Make no mistake, Hanna will leave her mark on Coastal Carolina, but it’s pretty much business as usual for residents and tourists in Myrtle Beach.

We are doing live shots for Fox News Channel on the beach right next to our hotel. Unlike our encounter with Gustav earlier this week, folks are not heading for higher ground. Authorities have ordered only voluntary evacuations and many staying in our hotel are making the best of a gloomy day and the stormy night ahead.

I ran into a group of youth pastors from the Bethesda Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina. They were playing on the beach hoping for a good weekend in the surf and sand here in Myrtle Beach. They considered canceling their trip but heard that Hanna probably wouldn’t reach hurricane status and likely would hit way north of here near Wilmington, NC. But with the storm now looming off shore– promising upwards of 70 mph winds and a possible 10 inches of rain on The Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach, this group will hunker down in their rooms tonight.

Members of the Bethesda Baptist Church in Durham, NC: Jacob Green, Nick Long, Julie Marsh, Skip Marsh, Angie Long and Dennis Long

Not exactly ideal conditions for a weekend getaway to the beach, but you’ll have a hard time spoiling it for this faithful group from Bethesda Baptist Church. They’re making fudge, cooking spaghetti and watching TV to pass the time while the storm batters the beach. For them it’s not the weather that would make this a perfect get away weekend. Despite the howling winds and driving rain they will endure, they say they have their faith and each other on what will turn out to be a perfect stormy Friday night in Myrtle Beach.

We are expecting Hanna to make a quick entrance and an even quicker exit. She will have come and gone before we know it. Like everyone else on the Southeast Coasts, we are monitoring Hanna, but really focusing on Ike. He’s much stronger, more dangerous and a major threat to millions of people in Florida and along the Gulf Coast. Ike will likely be storm number four for me…let’s hope he is the last.

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4 pm: The center of Gustav is now passing over Lafayette. We have called it a day and decided to pack it back to our hotel. The winds are gusting to 90 mph and the rain is so hard that staying dry is a lost cause. I walked about a city block from our live location at the First Baptist Church to our hotel in downtown Lafayette. It was nearly impossible to make it across a large parking lot to the back of our hotel.

The wind was pushing me backwards and the rain was so hard I could barely see. The footprint of Gustav is already starting to show in the city with limbs down, exploding transformers and flooding streets. A few hotel guests were standing under an overhang as I arrived to the back door of our hotel. We watched as a tree started to fall across the street, taking out power lines.

Our last block of live shots this afternoon looked pretty good. We decided to perch our reporter, Jonathan Serrie on one of the churches second floor wrap around balcony. It was a good vantage point for us to show Fox viewers across the country how the fierce winds and rain were picking up as the day progressed. It was a tough day for the crew. Most of them working since 2:30 am. It will also be a long night. Hurricane Gustav is a Category 1 hurricane and has slowed down as he passes over

Central Louisiana. Forecasters say this area will see the worst of the storm throughout the evening and into the night. We are hoping not to lose power so we can monitor the storms progress. But the lights are cutting out for brief periods every few minutes. We are equipped though. We have enough supplies and food to make it through five days.

11am: It’s just after 11 am in Lafayette, Louisiana. The winds are now starting to pick up and we are seeing a little rain, but nothing serious yet. Although most of the media attention is focused on New Orleans, the eye of the storm is actually expected to pass over Central Louisiana near Houma, Lafayette and Lake Charles sometime this afternoon.

Right now forecasters are expecting winds over 100 miles per hour and fierce rains. We are doing live shots at the First Baptist Church downtown. We found a pretty good spot in an alcove next to the sanctuary that would protect our truck and crew from the wind and rain when things got a little more intense. We didn’t know until this morning, but the church actually is providing shelter to several people who did not feel safe to ride out the storm in their homes. Many of them have come out of the shelter to watch us work and ask us about the latest details.

Our job is to provide reports to the nationwide audience tuned into Fox News Channel and custom live shots for Fox Affiliates all over the country through our Fox News Edge affiliate service. Fox News Correspondent Jonathan Serrie has been talking to morning show anchors in places like Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, St. Louis, Seattle and Phoenix. It’s a break-neck pace as we wrap up one live shot and immediately move on to the next station waiting. Bathroom breaks are few and far between for Serrie, Photographer John Bullard, Producer Dan Gallo and Engineer Jeff Burton.

The streets of Lafayette are nearly empty. Most here are already hunkered down in shelters or their homes, some have left town for safer places to the north and west. Some residents decided to stay home and take the day in stride. I just watched a man taking his dogs for a morning walk down Jefferson Street. Lafayette Parish (similar to a county in most of the US) has issued a voluntary evacuation for most of the area. Although they feel that this city, which is about 35 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico will be relatively safe, officials will always tell you it’s best to err on the side of caution and leave. The storm will immediately begin to weaken as it hits land and moves across the marshes that line the southern part of the state. Still, we are bracing for flooding rains, intense winds and the threat of tornadoes.

As the day moves forward we will keep our eyes on the storm and take shelter if it gets too dangerous. We are pretty confident that things will go fine for our crew. We were fortunate enough to find The Hotel Juliet in downtown Lafayette. It’s a boutique hotel and appears to be sturdy enough to protect us should conditions become serious. More to come as our day in Lafayette gets more interesting.

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Day two in Melbourne, Florida. Tropical Storm Fay has slowly inched her way up the coast away from this area and is now pummeling northern Florida with tons of rain and howling winds. But not after leaving her historic mark on Florida’s Space Coast. Melbourne got 26.2 inches of rain in just 24 hours while some nearby towns got upwards of almost 30 inches.

We are doing live shots in West Melbourne along a busy four lane road that is completely under water. At least four cars were claimed by the flood waters yesterday at our location alone. When we arrived at 7:30 this morning, I counted five vehicles abandoned, some in standing water. One car is completely submerged up to it’s roof. The owner, Pascasio Pagan, tells us it was a miracle he made it out at all.

During the blinding rain, Pagan says he lost sight of the road and ended up in a drainage ditch alongside the entrance into his subdivision. In a matter of minutes, his car began filling up with water as he was struggling to get out.

“My car has power locks and power windows and I was pushing the buttons to try to get out, but nothing,” he says. “I stopped pushing buttons and tried to figure out what else I could do when the doors suddenly unlocked and the window came down.”

Pagan’s car has become somewhat of a local attraction. Cars have been cruising by, most pointing cameras and snapping pictures at the tiny portion of his car that you can still see above water. But Pagan is not alone, an SUV also lost it’s way off the road right next to his car and became disabled in the flood waters. There’s also a pickup and at least two other vehicles alongside the main road that was overwhelmed by the rising water. And I spotted so many more all over town.

Another unexpected shock for many residents here on the east coast of Florida. Apparently people weren’t the only ones fleeing their homes during the heavy rains and floods. Melbourne International Airport was still operational during the storm, but flights had to be temporarily halted while crews stopped to clear several walking catfish, a snake and an alligator off the runway. We also heard about another alligator that was making itself at quite at home on one of the flooded streets in a nearby neighborhood. Our photographer also shot pictures of what appeared to be an eel, swimming up someone’s driveway near their mailbox. And I have had a few run-ins with nature myself today. Fire ants are scurrying around next to us trying to rebuild what is left of their flooded home, stopping every so often to take a bite out of me along the way. You don’t really appreciate why they are called “fire” ants until you are bitten by one.

Hopefully we have seen the last of Fay. She is turning west and moving over the panhandle of Florida. It should be over enough dry land to drain what energy she has left. But one thing we have learned about Fay so far, don’t be surprised to see her resurface again. Tomorrow, I am going home. It will be sometime before the water recedes and the residents on Florida’s east coast get their towns and cities cleaned up and back to normal. Let’s hope they first work on getting those wild critters back into the wild where they belong.

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Thursday, I was preparing to cover the third, yes third, landfall of Tropical Storm Fay. She is meandering just off the Space Coast of Florida and that’s where I was last night .

Wednesday, I woke up in Tampa, prepared to fly back home to Atlanta and say goodbye to the great state of Florida and Fay. I was in Fort Myers, when she crossed over land and must be nothing but a cluster of thunderstorms by now. She spent the past day or so over the terrain of Central Florida and should have been torn to shreds. That’s how tropical storms work, right? They develop and strengthen over water, but denied the rich, warm moisture of ocean waters, hurricanes and tropical storms break apart and become a mere rainy nuisance to folks who live further inland.

But not Fay! She actually strengthened over land, resurfaced over the Atlantic Ocean and is now meandering off the East Coast of Florida like an unwanted house guest. The constant barrage of rain quickly saturated the coastal towns of Satellite Beach, Melbourne and Cape Canaveral. My drive down I-95 was not easy. From Daytona Beach south to Melbourne, I met Fay’s power — sheets of rain and wind. I could barely see the road in front of me and was gripping the steering wheel to keep my SUV on the road. By the time I reached Melbourne and exited onto US Highway 192, I was shocked at what I saw. The four-lane highway was a lake…most intersections were underwater. Authorities say many residents evacuated their homes, some had to be taken by boat because the water was so deep. Even the biggest SUV’s and trucks were choking and sputtering trying navigate the rivers that usually serve as Melbourne’s major streets.

Meteorologists say this area received “historic” amounts of rain on Wednesday. Some areas could have gotten up to 20 inches. Incredible! Thursday we start live shots in West Melbourne showing you pictures of the flooded streets, homes and businesses in this area.

That might change though. I’m told Fay is out there, sitting just off the coast. She is plotting her next move and prepared to wreak havoc along the East Coast of Florida for the next two days, possibly gaining even more strength and becoming a full-blown hurricane. If that happens, I will go north. Following Fay’s turtle-like advance and unpredictable path, as I have for the past few days.

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