Katrina hits home for JDCC basketball trio
Published 4:58 pm Monday, September 5, 2005
By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
For most in this area, the catastrophic destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina are nothing more than images and words they see on newscasts.
For Jefferson Davis Community College Warhawk basketball players and Louisiana natives Lyndon Butler, Kedric Wilson and Jeremy Cleveland, the disaster is a reality nightmare.
Gainer said the school is trying to provide what assistance it can.
See JDCC Page 2B
Butler's hometown of Slidell is a community of 25,000 located about 10 miles west of the Mississippi border and about 10 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Like many coastal communities, Slidell was virtually leveled by winds and flood waters. Butler's family lost their home in the storm.
Both Wilson, a sophomore, and Cleveland, a freshman, reside in Raceland. Raceland is a community of about 5,500 and is located about 30 miles southwest of New Orleans.
Wilson was in Brewton last year as a freshman when Hurricane Ivan tore through this region. As bad as Ivan was, Wilson said the destruction it caused was nothing compared to what Katrina did.
Wilson's family was one of the few in that region that escaped the storm relatively unscathed.
Wilson said his family also evacuated the region prior to Katrina's arrival.
In addition to homes, job status is another uncertainty the storm has caused.
Cleveland has a lot of uncertainty about his home and his family.
Cleveland indicated his family chose not to evacuate the area prior to Katrina's arrival.