Storms in Big Sandy
April 11th, 2008
Residents Join Officials In Cleanup After Storms
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer—Tyler Morning Telegraph
The sound of chainsaws filled the air around East Texas after strong thunderstorms raced through the region, felling trees and knocking out power to thousands of homes.
Scores of volunteers lined Gilmer Street in Big Sandy where those wielding chainsaws to clear the roadways and help remove trees from power lines included police, firefighters, ALERT Academy Responders, city and Upshur County officials.
“We had straight-line winds hit us this morning in excess of 60 miles per hour,” said Big Sandy Police Lt. David Sheffield.
Missing Child Found Unharmed
April 8th, 2008
By MALENA OGLES
Staff Writer—Tyler Morning Telegraph
LINDALE - For 13 long hours, emergency workers scoured thick woods for an 11-year-old girl who disappeared from her home Wednesday evening as family paced between their house and mobile command center, bleary-eyed and praying for a miracle.
It was close to 7:30 p.m. “Super Nanny” was on TV and Rachel Stevens was in the kitchen cooking dinner after giving her niece Celeste Robinson, an autism patient, her evening medication.
At 8 p.m., when the house was too quiet for comfort, Mrs. Stevens went into Celeste’s room -she wasn’t there. Worried, she checked the backyard.
Still, Celeste was nowhere to be found.
“Last week was spring break and she was just getting more and more bored. Autistic children get in manic episodes. She may have decided to take a walk about while I was getting dinner,” Mrs. Stevens said. Becoming increasingly more frantic, with no sign of Celeste’s whereabouts, the little girl’s aunt and legal guardian called more family members to help search.
“She has never gone this far before,” Mrs. Stevens said. On four-wheelers, neighbors and family scoured the 14-acre narrow strip of wooded land that stretched about a half mile behind the Stevens home on County Road 4122.
Flashlights cut through the darkness, the beams bobbing from bushes to inside parked cars and under sheds. Then, almost as suddenly as Celeste had vanished, a neighbor, from atop a four-wheeler, spotted the little girl’s black Mary Jane shoes in a creek bed.
Deployment - Vidor Texas
March 20th, 2008
The aftermath of hurricane Rita in 2005, left damage that will take many years of recovery time. Some of the damage will be irreversible. But, the small town of Vidor, near Beaumont TX, asked for ALERT’s assistance last week with the tearing down of two houses that were damaged by Rita. That was done in short time by some of the fifty- three ALERT men sent from Big Sandy.While there, our men also hung insulation and sheetrock in a new church where Rita had destroyed the old one. The battalion and officers stayed in the gym at another local church while working for a week in Vidor and were blessed by being able to serve the citizens.
Deployment - Home School Debate Competition
January 18th, 2008
Six men under the leadership of Captain Phil Smith were deployed on a service mission to the Regional Home School Debate Competition in Houston TX Jan 9-12. Upon arrival the men worked tirelessly to set up over 50 rooms on three different floors. There were no elevators to assist and all the chairs and tables were on the first floor. Two men carried the tables up to the other two floors, and staged them in the hall, while the others set up the rooms for the many different configurations.
The first day also had us setting up the recruiting display and putting out brochures. We also took along the scale model of the rappelling tower, which turned out to be a great attraction to all the boys and girls at the competition. During the week, we spoke to many of the young men there and encouraged interest in ALERT, Cadets, STEP, Quest, Family Camp, and answered many questions concerning the program. The men all had good attitudes and willing spirits to assist in whatever was needed. Much trash was carried out , floors swept, tables and chairs moved and set up and torn down, the men even took time out to interact with some of the young men by playing chess.
One of the most interesting opportunities was sitting in as a judge on one or more of the debate/public speaking sessions. Each judge is given a sheet that describes what to look for in the presentation of the students. The rules are quite restrictive and penalties are even assessed for some infractions. This year’s topic was Illegal Immigration Reform. Each team was given the topic and had a limited time to prepare their positions. Sometimes for and sometimes against, they were to be judged on their ability to make their case, not on the judge’s personal likes and dislikes of the topic or the presenters. Several of the men participated and were allowed to judge on multiple occasions.
The contact people we were assigned to for the week were very helpful and grateful for our assistance. Thanks to Russell Strack and Mrs. Stevens who worked without ceasing on behalf of the students to make everything work smoothly. The hospitality team responded in kind by supplying us with an almost endless supply of both homemade food and baked goods (the stuff that ALERT men thrive on), as well as drinks, both hot and cold.
Of the four hundred that attended the competition, we personally spoke to over 100, and offered support and encouragement to everyone. We have returned with honor both to our God and our fellow man.
Malaysia Deployment - Help Needed
June 21st, 2007
ALERT has been invited to put on an ALERT Cadet Challenge (ACC) in Malacca, Malaysia during the ATI conference being held by the families in Singapore and Malaysia. This is a unique opportunity for us to introduce the ministry of ALERT and ALERT Cadets to the ATI families there while at the same time serving them. While there, we will also put on a weeklong Leadership Training Camp (LTC) for fathers and their 13-17 year-old sons. We anticipate there will be about 150 young men participating in the ACC and about 40 in the LTC Camp. The format will follow what we have done at the four US regional conferences this year. We would like to have three to four ALERT men, preferably graduates of the ALERT program, to accompany Major Roger Farr to the event. For more information and an application go to malaysia-2007.pdf