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Glimpse
of Katrina’s Devastation |
Belle Chasse, LA (9/2/05) - As you
know, thousands of our ATV and Dirt Bike riding brothers
lost their homes and property (and machines) to Hurricane
Katrina on Monday. Just below my house in Belle Chasse,
the land is gone and under water in lower Plaquemines
Parish, including Port Sulphur, Buras, Point-A-La-Hache,
Boothville, Venice. 30,000+ Parish residents have permanently
lost their homes and property through "instant"
coastal erosion. We are destroyed and the infrastructure
is gone.
Tonight(Monday 8/29/05) as I write this letter, the
rising waters continue to take their toll on New Orleans
and surrounding areas. 80-90% of Southeast Louisiana
is under water. The American Tsunami is an understatement.
(And don't get me started about those looters!)
Southern Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as Alabama,
Georgia and Florida, were hard hit. We lost trails
in Mississippi like Bethel and Sawdust ATV Trails
in South Mississippi, as well as Red Creek Off Road
Park in Gulfport, Scenic Trails in Perkiston and Southern
Mississippi Offroad Park near Kiln. In Louisiana,
we lost The Bonnet Carre Spillway Trails and Tracks
that were developed (with our partners, the U.S. Army
Corp of Engineers) over the last (8) years. Over $200,000.00
was spent in the way of Donations, Grant Money and
Work-in-Kind to develop the 1,000 acres. The Spillway
is the only legal ride spot in southern Louisiana.
I don't know what my fellow Offroad enthusiasts feel
for their devastated brethren, but I know that some
thing can be done. Although I am a Hurricane Katrina
Victim, I am also an Off Road activist (see below)
in this State. I want to revive our sport down here
on the Gulf ASAP!
Many people cannot rebuild homes and replace possessions,
and then also immediately start to purchase new toys
or get their Damaged ATV's and Dirt Bikes fixed. Something
should be done.
I challenge the Off Road community to join together
and donate New and Used Offroad Dirt Bikes, ATVs,
Generators, Helmets, Gear, Tires, Accessories, Service,
Donations of Money, whatever -- to a specific fund
or holding company.
Regards,
Tim Boles "Bama250R"
"I ask for no donations or gifts for me
personally because I can recover on my own, but most
down here will not pull through for many years. As
for my story, I will not know if I lost my home for
a minimum of (2) weeks because of the devastation,
and even then , I will just get a look at the damage,
and it will takes months to let everyone return to
their property with or without a home. My wife and
I both lost our jobs on Monday due to the Hurricane,
and our businesses are decimated, and with both of
us in our 50’s, we will be starting over our
lives again.
My "rides" were an '05 Suzuki King
Quad 700, an '01 400EX that I had rebuilt and customized,
an '00 Kodiak 4x4, and last but not least, my '88
250R that was a "Low Hour" that had been
built to perfection in XC style. It was beautiful,
and all of them made me proud. I hope that they are
still there when I can get back in, water-logged or
not, but there is a very slim chance.
I had also collected every issue
of each of the following magazines since 1985 or the
magazines inception: Dirt Wheels, (3&4) 4 Wheel
ATV Action, ATV Sport (formerly 3 Wheeling), ATV Sports,
ATV Rider, ATV Illustrated, ATV Magazine and the new
"Quad" magazine. Probably all ruined! "
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