South's sorrow sparks action Grant County businesses step up efforts to help Hurricane Katrina victims here and on Gulf Coast

For two days after Hurricane Katrina hit, Marion business owner Chris Kennedy waited. A Mississippi resident for 17 years, he was waiting to hear from friends and family, but also the employees who work at the Gulfport branch of his company, laminate countertop maker Hartson-Kennedy.

"At one point, we thought it could all be gone, like so much we were hearing about," Kennedy said. "We didn't hear from anybody until Wednesday evening about 5 p.m., when we heard from our assistant plant manager."

But since finding out that the Gulfport plant suffered minimal damage and locating all but one of its 102 employees, Kennedy and the more than 200 men and women who work for him in Marion have had little time to wait.

They worked overtime to finish orders for their customers, plus those in the South who had been served by the Gulfport plant. Employees and company suppliers helped fill two-and-a-quarter trucks with food and other items for their Mississippi counterparts, eight of whom had their homes mostly or completely destroyed.

"Here in Marion, people were running to Wal-Mart and buying clothes for babies and diapers and food and water and everything imaginable," said Kennedy, who also has set up a fund for monetary donations for the Mississippi employees through the Community Foundation of Grant County. "We have a really generous, wonderful group of people, and they do stuff like that for themselves, but they went wild on this."

Efforts such as those at Hartson-Kennedy mirror what's been going on across Grant County since the hurricane destroyed homes and businesses across the Gulf Coast two weeks ago.

Thanks to efforts by area businesses, several trucks full of supplies made their way south, and more are being filled. Donated furniture, household goods and even a car were cleaned and given to hurricane evacuees now living in Grant County. And several thousands of dollars in cash was collected for the Red Cross and other organizations heading up relief efforts.

As businesses continue to collect and raise funds, or begin to hear about the effect they've had on communities along the Gulf Coast, most say their motivation for doing so is simple.

"I call it people pride," said Chuck Poling, owner of Chuck's Sewer and Drain/Plumbing Contractor. He and several other local businesses owners are filling trucks with donated food, water and personal supplies for residents of Mississippi. "I just got to watch the news, and you see all the babies and old folks. We've got to help them. People's pride gets hurt, and we pick them up, dust them off and carry on."

Bags, boxes and inquiries are steadily pouring into Happy and Son Garage in Gas City since the business announced its relief effort. Owner Myron Shinholt said the goods donated by residents and other businesses will be loaded into a truck and trailer bound for the suburbs of Biloxi, Miss.

"You watch it on TV and try to imagine what it would be like in Grant County, Ind., to be in that condition," Shinholt said. "You sure hope that somebody would help us out."

CJs BP in Marion, CJs Marathon in Gas City and OneStop convenience store in Fairmount collected more than $4,800 in five days for the Red Cross by donating three cents for each gallon of gas purchased.

"Gas prices were affected by the hurricane so badly," said Chad Wilson, owner of CJs BP and Marathon. "We thought people are frustrated with the gas prices, and they have every right to be, but at least if they go to one of these three stores for a few days, at least they can feel like a little bit of their money is going to something good."

The Grant County chapter of the Red Cross has been on the receiving end of several fundraisers by businesses, fire departments, churches, schools and others in recent weeks. Executive Director Autumn Shugart said the monetary contributions are an important part of relief efforts going on in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

"The outside area is really the only area doing donations; the people in New Orleans are not going to be giving to it because they're the ones receiving the aid," Shugart said. "This county always comes through for us. We've never had any problems with Grant County because they always come through during these times in volunteers and monetary donations."

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.