THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 20, 1995 TAG: 9508180159
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 155 lines
Tuesday, Aug. 15
1:05 p.m.
A farm on White Marsh Road, Suffolk
Farmers, like everyone, are eyeing the approaching hurricane.
There's little they can do except protect their equipment, Claire Hunter says. Her husband, Jarvis, is irrigating the peanuts that are suffering from heat and lack of rain.
``We can't do anything for the crops,'' she says. ``If we can get some rain without much wind, we'd appreciate that.''
- Susie Stoughton
1:30 p.m. - Emergency Operations Center, Market Street, Suffolk
The telephone rings again as soon as Bob Smith, the city's emergency services coordinator, hangs up.
``It's a huge storm,'' Smith tells the caller. ``It's as big as North Carolina.''
- Susie Stoughton
3:30 p.m. - BeLo, Constance Road, Suffolk
Angela Brown lines up gallons of bottled water and cans of potted meat, Spam and tuna fish on the checkout conveyor belt.
Brown works at the Finney Avenue Residence, a home for mentally retarded adults. Directors there handed down word early today to get a gallon of water for each resident, enough non-perishable food to feed the residents for several days, bread and other staples.
``We heard that the other grocery stores were already out of bottled water,'' Brown says. ``So we came here. They told us to go ahead and get the regular groceries for the week and to prepare for the storm.''
- Linda McNatt
Wednesday, Aug. 16
10 a.m. - Food Lion, Bennett's Creek
Hurricane Felix's threatened arrival has brought out a crowd of early shoppers. They can find plenty of nonperishable foods and batteries but not a drop of bottled water or a single banana.
``I have been to stores all around here and no one has water,'' says one anxious shopper.
A young stock clerk, who has heard the same complaint before, nods his head sympathetically and explains. ``We unloaded two pallets (more than 200 gallons) of water yesterday and sold it all in three hours with people walking out with two and three gallons of it.''
Now if only he could explain the other hurricane shortage mystery - who bought all the bananas?
- Phyllis Speidell
12:35 p.m. - Be-Lo, Constance Road, Suffolk
The windows are covered with plywood, and inside, shoppers are buying bottles of water, plastic jugs of juice and bags of charcoal.
Sandy Chapman, a retired police captain, is standing - empty-handed - in a line that doesn't seem to be moving. He's going to buy ice, he explains.
He and his wife, Betty, are Red Cross volunteers, and they've been advised to open one of the city's emergency shelters at 2 p.m. They'll stock a cooler with snacks for themselves, Chapman says.
``I'm not worrying about my clientele,'' he says. ``Somebody else is furnishing stuff for them.''
- Susie Stoughton
3 p.m. - Main Street, Smithfield
Diane Howard, standing on the steps of the Old Courthouse, stares into the mist and recalls a hurricane of her childhood. She can't remember the name of the storm, but she does remember that her family stayed at her grandmother's three-story brick house on the James River.
``Grandma still had a wood stove,'' says Howard, the county's tourism director. ``We could at least get hot meals.''
But her fondest memory of those several days with no modern conveniences wasn't the food but the simple pleasure of standing on the beach, feeling the spray from the river on her face.
``The river was so beautiful,'' she says. ``It always is during a storm. That spray would come in and go up over the house. They couldn't keep me off the beach.''
It proves that most of us can find beauty in anything, she says, even in the violence of a storm.
- Linda McNatt
3:30 p.m. - Red Oaks Mobile Home Park, Smithfield
Beatrice Liggins, who has lived here 17 years, has weathered many storms at home and is confident she could do it again, with proper precautions.
She has taped her windows to protect them from strong wind and made an extra trip to the grocery store, stocking up on bottled water and nonperishable foods.
``I'm going to hang in there and stick it out,'' she says. ``I've lived in this park for a long time, and I've never left for a storm.''
- Allison T. Williams
6:05 p.m. - Hurricane shelter, Lakeland High School, Suffolk
Cliff Barfield, shelter coordinator, says about 30 people have sought refuge there.
The opening, to some, may seem premature, but Barfield - a Surry County resident and maintenance worker for the Virginia Department of Transportation - says they are ready for whatever happens.
He and the other shelter workers are Red Cross volunteers, donating their time, says Barfield, as the sun peeps through the skylight in the school hallway.
- Susie Stoughton
Thursday, Aug. 17
7:30 a.m. - A home on Linden Avenue, Suffolk
With Felix's path leading to the Outer Banks and/or Virginia Beach, the SPCA reminded pet owners that animals, too, are susceptible to the dangers of hurricanes, so include them in your plans.
The cat owner, heeding the advice, decided Wednesday would be an ``inside'' day for the outdoor cat. At morning feeding time, the cat seemed terribly concerned that the door to his freedom remained closed. And by evening, he was outright agitated.
Better agitated than in danger, the owner reasoned, and the door remained closed.
But today, when the day is bright and the forecast improved, the door to freedom opens. Raggedy bolts out, then pauses and looks back as if saying, with a sigh, ``That Felix! Some cat!'' John Pruitt
9:30 a.m. - State Farm office, Suffolk
A reminder brought on by Hurricane Felix's overcast skies and occasional bursts of wind makes the young woman remember to detour by the insurance office. She hustles in and pays the bill that is due within just a few days.
``Even though it sounds like the hurricane is over, I just want to make sure I'm covered if Felix knocks a tree into my car tonight,'' she tells the receptionist with a laugh.
- Allison T. Williams Thursday, Aug 17
9:40 a.m. - Economy Shoppe, Main Street, Suffolk
Life is returning to some semblance of normal, as fickle Hurricane Felix remains stalls off the coast, giving the city a reprieve for now.
Employees are busy restocking the display cases that had been emptied by frantic shoppers the night before. The mannequins that had been ``evacuated'' in the face of the impending storm are returning to their posts where they oversee the busy intersection through windows that are still criss-crossed with tape.
- Susie Stoughton ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Brenda Pruitt, manager of Maxway on Main Street in Franklin, tapes
store windows in preparation for Felix.
Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Red Cross volunteer Debbie Weaver greets people arriving at a
shelter.
Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Employees at Herrala Brothers take down a store sign.
Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Shoppers are busy at Wal-Mart, despite the store's closed look.
by CNB