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Deitz assists in relief effort
By Lynn Hotaling
Grover Deitz of Sylva’s East Fork community got a firsthand look at Hurrican Katrina’s destruction last week.
A volunteer with North Carolina Baptist Men, Deitz helped cook and serve 50,000 meals during the four days he spent in Meridian, Miss.
Grover Deitz of Sylva’s East Fork community, who volunteered on the Gulf Coast with North Carolina Baptist Men in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, tries to cool off at a mobile feeding unit used in recovery efforts. A member of Deitz Memorial Baptist Church, Deitz is one of more than 1,000 disaster relief volunteers who have worked with Baptist organizations in Mississippi and Louisiana. Gene Middleton of Sylva joined Deitz in helping to cook and serve more than 50,000 meals during their four-day stay.
Deitz said he didn’t have any time to tour the area and see the extent of the storm’s wrath; he was too busy feeding people in Meridian, which is about 100 miles from the Gulf Coast.
What he saw there was a lot of tree damage, including a number of blocked streets and trees across houses, he said.
The group, which also included Gene Middleton of Sylva, got the call to help on Aug. 29 and left the next day. They arrived in time to prepare and serve 1,000 meals that night, Deitz said.
Volunteers were housed in Meridian’s First Baptist Church and cooked and served meals from a mobile kitchen set up to prepare 1,500 meals per hour.
Deitz said his group did not see any sign of the lawlessness that has plagued New Orleans relief efforts.
“We were very well received,” Deitz said. “The people were great, and they were so patient even when they had to stand in line in 96-degree heat.”
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