A blog of infomration relating to the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and its effect on Wick Communications employees.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
On December 19, I visited Bogalusa and enjoyed the Christmas pot
luck lunch with the employees there. Lou Major Sr. attended as well and was busy
organizing the "Care and Share" food for those less fortunate, a program he
began in 1982.
I continue to be proud of and appreciative of our managers and
our employees. J Kennon, group manager for Team Titanium and publisher in
Covington and Bogalusa; Terry Maddox, publisher in Slidell; Kevin Chiri,
publisher in La Place; Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington and John
"J.W." Walker, general manager in Bogalusa, all have my utmost respect and
appreciation.
Other employees deserve the same accolades for their hard work
and positive attitudes.
Things in LaPlace are normal.
Bogalusa continues to publish three days a week until the
economy recovers.
Slidell and Covington continue to publish twice a week.
It is our hope to return to daily publication in Bogalusa and
with the combined Slidell/Covington St. Tammany News as soon as is
practical.
This will be my final Hurricane Katrina update unless
circumstances dictate.
John M. Mathew
President and CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Monday, October 17, 2005
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
Today, I visited our facilities and employees in Bogalusa and
Covington. It is now 22 days since Katrina struck.
Progress is noticeable since my last visit about 10 days ago, as
more and more businesses are open in both communities.
I continue to be proud of and appreciative of our managers and
our employees. J Kennon, group manager for Team Titanium and publisher in
Covington and Bogalusa; Terry Maddox, publisher in Slidell; Kevin Chiri,
publisher in La Place; Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington and John
“J.W.” Walker, general manager in Bogalusa, all have my utmost respect and
appreciation.
Other employees deserve the same accolades for their hard work
and positive attitudes.
J Kennon and I had lunch with Lou Major Sr. in Bogalusa. Lou’s
doing well and looks good. He’s undergoing physical therapy to regain the use of
a finger he broke cleaning up the day after Katrina.
Covington and Slidell will publish a combined edition twice a
week for now. Bogalusa is publishing three times a day and LaPlace is publishing
on its normal schedule.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
Today, I visited our facilities and employees in Bogalusa and
Covington. It is now 22 days since Katrina struck. Considerable progress can be
seen since I visited last Friday. Most encouraging is that power continues to be
restored to a number of areas, positively impacting many of our employees who
are now able to enjoy lights, a hot shower and air conditioning for the first
time in three weeks.
I continue to be proud of and appreciative of our managers and
our employees. J Kennon, group manager for Team Titanium and publisher in
Covington and Bogalusa; Terry Maddox, publisher in Slidell; Kevin Chiri,
publisher in La Place; Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington and John
“J.W.” Walker, general manager in Bogalusa, all have my utmost respect and
appreciation.
Other employees deserve the same accolades for their hard work
and positive attitudes. I hesitate to begin listing names for fear of forgetting
someone, and appreciate all they are doing.
I visited Lou Major Sr. at his office next to the Daily News in
Bogalusa. He’s looking good and has gotten some rest after the power was
restored late last week. He plans to pick up his wife, Peg, in the Washington,
D.C., area in a week or so and then go on a short vacation prior to returning to
Bogalusa.
We learned that a truckload of emergency supplies being
collected in our Ontario, Oregon, community will be trucked to Slidell in the
near future, and Terry Maddox arranged for the supplies to be accepted and
distributed by a church there.
Good news:
• We printed the Daily News of Bogalusa on our press today and
planned to print sections of a combined Slidell and Covington edition in
Bogalusa later today. The printing plant should soon be back to its normal
schedule soon. Our profound thanks for the help provided by the printing plants
at our New Iberia, La., location and Boone Newspapers’ Natchez, Miss.,
location.
• The mobile home for additional office space in Covington has
arrived and will house Covington and Slidell circulation later this week.
Covington and Slidell will publish a combined edition twice a
week for now. Bogalusa published its first edition last Friday and will print
twice a week for now. LaPlace is publishing on its normal schedule.
I continue to tell those we work with that we will do what we
can to help them, help their communities and repair the physical damage. It will
take time, but we will get the job accomplished.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Friday, September 16, 2005
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
Today, I visited our facilities and employees in Bogalusa and
Covington. It is now 18 days since Katrina struck. Much progress can be seen
since my Monday visit.
I continue to be proud of and appreciative of our managers and
our employees. J Kennon, group manager for Team Titanium and publisher in
Covington and Bogalusa; Terry Maddox, publisher in Slidell; Kevin Chiri,
publisher in La Place; Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington and John
“J.W.” Walker, general manager in Bogalusa, all have my utmost respect and
appreciation. They are all in good spirits and working hard to get us back to
normal.
J and I visited Lou Major Sr. at his home, where he has power
and air conditioning after 17 days without. He is doing fine.
Other employees deserve the same accolades for their hard work
and positive attitudes. I hesitate to begin listing names for fear of forgetting
someone, and appreciate all they are doing.
Good news:
• Power is back on in Bogalusa and we expect to be able to print
there next week.
• The mobile home for additional office space in Covington has
arrived and is being readied.
• The computers ordered to replace those damaged by the wind
driven flooding in Slidell have arrived in Covington.
The Covington office is a busy hub of activity housing both
Covington and Slidell staffers. So is Bogalusa. A number of employees who had
evacuated are now back in both locations.
Insurance adjusters have visited Covington, Bogalusa and Slidell
facilities and our clean up in Slidell should begin in a matter of days. The
insurance issue in Slidell is whether the water damage was caused by wind driven
storm surge
same issue facing many of our employees at their homes and, indeed, people all
along the Gulf Coast.
Covington and Slidell will publish a combined edition twice a
week for now. Bogalusa published its first edition last Friday and will print
twice a week for now, in Natchez. LaPlace is publishing on its normal schedule,
printed in New Iberia.
Today I delivered a cooler full of 14 half gallons of ice cream
to both the Bogalusa and Covington offices for the employees to enjoy. Debbie
Marple and Pattie Aguirre of our Sierra Vista office arranged for the ice cream
and cones. Ice cream has been a rarity in the Katrina-impacted area due to the
wide spread power outages and difficulty of re-supplying those food stores that
are open.
I told our people that we will do what we can to help them, help
their communities and repair the physical damage. It will take time, but we will
get the job accomplished.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
9:00 a.m. CDT
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
Monday, I visited many of our employees and our facilities in
Covington and Bogalusa. It is now two weeks since Katrina struck. Progress can
be seen since my Thursday, September 8, visit as to clean up and the restoration
of power, but much work is still needed.
I’m terribly proud of the determination, courage, hard work and
resolve displayed by our managers and our employees. J Kennon, group manager for
Team Titanium and publisher in Covington and Bogalusa; Terry Maddox, publisher
in Slidell; Kevin Chiri, publisher in La Place; Sandy Cunningham, general
manager in Covington and John “J.W.” Walker, general manager in Bogalusa, all
have my utmost respect and appreciation. They are all in good spirits and
working hard to get us back to normal.
Other employees deserve the same accolades for their hard work
and positive attitudes. I hesitate to begin listing names for fear of forgetting
someone, and appreciate all they are doing.
The Covington office is a busy hub of activity housing both
Covington and Slidell staffers. Unfortunately, on Monday the power, phones and
internet went out in the afternoon, which is not unexpected due to the
circumstances.
Louisiana employees hope to produce their own Thursday payroll
locally after needing help from our Sierra Vista office two weeks ago. That’s
progress.
We hope to have Bogalusa power back within a matter of days.
Duke Power workers who came from North Carolina were three poles away from our
building when J Kennon and I visited there Monday, and John Walker had lobbied
the group’s leaders to get us power so we can inform people of sources of
help.
Power in the rural areas where a number of our employees live
may take weeks to restore, we are told.
J and I went by Lou Major Sr.’s house but he was not home. We
expect he was simply out running errands. His sister is staying with him and
John Walker, friends and family check on him frequently.
Covington and Slidell will publish a combined edition twice a
week for now. Bogalusa published its first edition last Friday and will print
twice a week for now, in Natchez. LaPlace is publishing on its normal schedule,
printed in New Iberia.
We did not visit Slidell due to massive continuing clean up
efforts there. Slidell’s building is a mess, as an earlier note from Terry
Maddox detailed.
Our biggest challenge with the building will be finding
qualified workers to clean the lower level as everyone in Slidell is seeking the
same help.
Our second challenge is finding places for our employees who
want to work but lost homes in the storm and have no where to live. All
available housing in St. Tammany and Washington parishes has been spoken for, it
seems. Our hope that some of the temporary housing being ordered by FEMA will be
available, and we are asking employees with space at homes that are inhabitable
to consider taking in a displaced co-worker or two in the interim.
We expect a mobile home to arrive in Covington Wednesday that
will be used for additional office space, as well as a shipment of computers
ordered the day of Hurricane Katrina in anticipation to damage from the storm.
Fortunately Terry Maddox had the foresight to take the Slidell servers and
backup tapes with him.
I told our people that we will do what we can to help them, help
their communities and repair the physical damage. It will take time, but we will
get the job accomplished.
Items of note:
1. Louisiana employees who are unable to retrieve direct deposit
payroll this week should contact our office, 520-458-0200. We are working on a
system to wire funds where practical.
2. An employee relief fund, into which Wick employees elsewhere
will be invited to contribute and Wick will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis,
is established to help those with housing and other needs. Check our website for
information on how to contribute or apply for assistance.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Thursday, September 8, 2005
7:00 p.m. CDT
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
Today I visited many of our employees and our facilities in
Covington, Bogalusa and Slidell. It is Day 10 since Katrina struck, and massive
work has been done to clean up areas and restore power. Much work is still
needed.
I’m terribly proud of the determination, courage, hard work and
resolve displayed by our managers and our employees. J Kennon, group manager for
Team Titanium and publisher in Covington and Bogalusa; Terry Maddox, publisher
in Slidell; Kevin Chiri, publisher in La Place; Sandy Cunningham, general
manager in Covington and John “J.W.” Walker, general manager in Bogalusa, all
have my utmost respect and appreciation. They are all in good spirits and
working hard to get us back to normal. John Walker just recently joined Wick in
Bogalusa and has become a key part of the team through the adversity. Other
employees deserve the same accolades for their hard work and positive attitudes.
I hesitate to begin listing names for fear of forgetting someone.
While in Bogalusa today, J, Terry and I visited for about 30
minutes with Lou Major Sr., my predecessor and Wick board member, at his home.
Lou is OK despite having broken a bone in his right hand cleaning up after the
storm. He has food, water and a generator and employees, friends and family
checking on him. As usual he offered several good ideas for rebuilding our
businesses and being better prepared in the future. It was good to spend the
time with him.
Terry asked Lou Sr. to compare Hurricane Katrina with Hurricane
Camille in the late 1960s. Lou said Katrina was three or four times worse.
Covington and Slidell will publish a combined edition twice a
week for now. Bogalusa will publish its first edition since the storm on Friday,
to be printed in Natchez. I have been unable to confirm but believe La Place is
publishing on its normal schedule, printed in New Iberia.
La Place, furthest of our newspapers away from Hurricane
Katrina, suffered the least amount of damage.
Our Covington building is OK and power is on. We will need to
replace the roof, but a tarp has been installed to stop any leaking for the time
being. Due to conditions in Slidell, available Slidell staffers are housed in
the Covington office; Terry Maddox has established an office there and the
classified call center formerly housed in Slidell is being moved to
Covington.
The Bogalusa building has some damage, mostly to the front brick
façade and distribution area roof. The pre-press equipment, press equipment and
newsprint are not damaged. Newsroom work was being done with power provided by
generators and fans are keeping the building quite tolerable. Employees have
done a great job of pitching in to help clean up from flooding in the
distribution area that will not be a long-term problem.
Some of Bogalusa has power, and power crews are working hard to
get the rest back. The Red Cross, FEMA and the National Guard are all on scene
in Bogalusa after it went days without outside help. Civil order, once a
concern, now seems to be under control thanks to the National Guard.
Slidell’s building is a mess, as an earlier note from Terry
Maddox detailed. It appears to be structurally sound but the flooding on the
lower level will require major cleanup. The power of the flooding was obvious by
furniture strewn everywhere and a garbage dumpster being forced between a truck
and the building. Some of Slidell is beginning to get power back, and it looks
as though a good portion of its vibrant retail areas will not have long-term
damage.
Terry, J and I had a Red Cross hot meal in the Slidell
Sentry-News parking lot, where the Red Cross has set up one of numerous feeding
stations. It was lots of rice, green beans and pineapple. J and Terry say the
Red Cross wants people to consume lots of starch to keep energy levels high.
We drove to the canal and lakeshore area south of the office
toward the Twin Span bridges. The devastation here was indescribable due to both
the high winds and storm surge. Houses in the area will simply have to be
bulldozed into piles of rubbish, and that work has begun.
I told our people that we will do what we can to help them, help
their communities and repair the physical damage. It will take time, but we will
get the job accomplished.
More as we know.
Items of note:
1. Louisiana employees who are unable to retrieve direct deposit
payroll this week should contact our office, 520-458-0200. We are working on a
system to wire funds where practical.
2. An employee relief fund, into which Wick employees elsewhere
will be invited to contribute and Wick will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis,
is being established to help those with housing and other needs. Check our
website for information on how to contribute or apply for assistance.
3. We have ordered computers in anticipation of damage in the
various locations.
4. Employee
forums are live on our website, as well as message boards on the individual
newspaper web sites for the four impacted newspapers. They can be accessed by
clicking on Wick Properties on our website and selecting Louisiana and then the
individual sites.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Monday, September 5, 2005
6:00 p.m. CDT
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
Our LaPlace newspaper, under the leadership of Kevin Chiri,
publisher, pubished a 16-page edition Saturday. It was printed in New Iberia.
This is the firs step back for us and our employees in the area impacted by
Hurricane Katrina.
A combined edition for Covington, Slidell and Bogalusa is to be
printed Tuesday in Natchez, Miss. My thanks to my good friend Todd Carpenter,
Natchez publisher, for his assistance.
Power and phones are back in parts of Covington.
Power, phones and gas are still out in Bogalusa and Slidell. A
post on our website indicates the National Guard has arrived in Bogalusa, but we
do not have confirmation.
J Kennon, group manager and publisher in Covington and Bogalusa,
is doing an excellent job of leadership for those employees who have returned to
Covington, where power and phones are operational.
Terry Maddox, Slidell publisher, is working as the public
affairs officer for the St. Tammany Parish disaster relief agency and has
limited email capabilities. He sent us the following message Friday:
Just returned from a trip to Slidell. Was able to get to the
paper and it appears that the sustained water in the building was about three
feet deep. The floor is covered in mud, and furniture and other items are
scattered all over the place, some in different rooms from where they were prior
to the storm. On the bright side, it looks as though the wind damage was
minimal.
I also visited my house in Eden Isles and am sad to report it
appears the water level there reached about eight feet. Strange things happened
there as well: my refrigerator is upside down; my washer and dryer, once in the
laundry room are now in the garage; and other furniture is scattered inside and
out. Wind damage was severe too. The roof of my patio is on my dock, my garage
door looks like an accordion, my back door was blown completely off, and all of
the windows on the side of the house facing the water were blown out.
But the important thing is that all of my family, friends, and
employees appear to be safe. I thank God for that, and also for your
concern.
J also said there is damage to the Bogalusa building, but the
windows and roof are intact.
Will Chapman, publisher in New Iberia, which was not damaged by
Hurricane Katrina, has organized three shipments of a portable generator, cases
of bottled water, batteries, flashlights and other necessities to the impacted
areas. His help is appreciated.
Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington, is OK and back
in Covington. She went to Bogalusa today to check on employees and Lou Major,
Sr., who is still OK.
More as we know.
Items of note:
1. Louisiana employees who are unable to retrieve direct deposit
payroll this week should contact our office, 520-458-0200. We are working on a
system to wire funds where practical.
2. An employee relief fund, into which Wick employees elsewhere
will be invited to contribute and Wick will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis,
is established to help those with housing and other needs. Check our website for
information on how to contribute or apply for assistance.
3. We have ordered computers in anticipation of damage in the
various locations.
4. Employee forums are live on our website,
www.wickcommunications.com, as well as message boards on the individual
newspaper web sites for the four impacted newspapers. They can be accessed by
clicking on Wick Properties on our website and selecting Louisiana and then the
individual sites.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Saturday, September 3, 2005
10:30 a.m. CDT
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
Power, telephone and cell phone service remain out in Slidell,
Bogalusa, Covington and LaPlace for the foreseeable future, although we have
heard power may be back in parts of LaPlace.
Terry Maddox, Slidell publisher, is working as the public
affairs officer for the St. Tammany Parish disaster relief agency and has
limited email capabilities. He sent us the following message Friday:
Just returned from a trip to Slidell. Was able to get to the
paper and it appears that the sustained water in the building was about three
feet deep. The floor is covered in mud, and furniture and other items are
scattered all over the place, some in different rooms from where they were prior
to the storm. On the bright side, it looks as though the wind damage was
minimal.
I also visited my house in Eden Isles and am sad to report it
appears the water level there reached about eight feet. Strange things happened
there as well: my refrigerator is upside down; my washer and dryer, once in the
laundry room are now in the garage; and other furniture is scattered inside and
out. Wind damage was severe too. The roof of my patio is on my dock, my garage
door looks like an accordion, my back door was blown completely off, and all of
the windows on the side of the house facing the water were blown out.
But the important thing is that all of my family, friends, and
employees appear to be safe. I thank God for that, and also for your
concern.
J Kennon, publisher in Covington and Bogalusa and group manager
for Team Titanium, is OK. She has been back and forth to Baton Rouge, which has
power and supplies. The Covington building appears to be OK with many trees
down, but apparently not on the building itself. J visited Lou Major Sr. at his
Bogalusa home on Friday, and reports Lou is OK and determined to stay home until
power is restored.
J also said there is damage to the Bogalusa building, but the
windows and roof are infact.
Will Chapman, publisher in New Iberia, which was not damaged by
Hurricane Katrina, has organized three shipments of a portable generator, cases
of bottled water, batteries, flashlights and other necessities to the impacted
areas. His help is appreciated.
Kevin Chiri, publisher in LaPlace, is OK. I received telephone
voice mails from Kevin on Tuesday. He reports the LaPlace building is OK and
told Tom Riebock in a call today that parts of LaPlace are beginning to get
power restored. Although I have not talked to Kevin, I understand from Will
Chapman that he is attempting to get organized to publish an edition of the
LaPlace newspaper that would be printed in New Iberia.
Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington, is OK and in
Tyler, Texas. She called our office today and said she was in Covington and
Bogalusa after the storm, and that our Bogalusa building has damage, but the
roof and windows are intact. Apparently Bogalusa has severe problems with trees
down.
Wednesday night I had a call from Lou Major Jr., who is in
suburban Washington, D.C. Lou Jr. reports his father and mother are OK in
Bogalusa, with minor damage to their home. Mrs. Major is going to evacuate but
Lou Sr. is determine to stay in Bogalusa. I believe they have no power or
phones. Lou Jr. is headed to Bogalusa with food, water, gas and generators.
More as we know.
Items of note:
1. Louisiana employees who are unable to retrieve direct deposit
payroll this week should contact our office, 520-458-0200. We are working on a
system to wire funds where practical.
2. An employee relief fund, into which Wick employees elsewhere
will be invited to contribute and Wick will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis,
is established to help those with housing and other needs. Check our website for
information on how to contribute or apply for assistance.
3. We have ordered computers in anticipation of damage in the
various locations.
4. Employee forums are live on our website,
www.wickcommunications.com, as well as message boards on the individual
newspaper web sites for the four impacted newspapers. They can be accessed by
clicking on Wick Properties on our website and selecting Louisiana and then the
individual sites.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Saturday, September 3, 2005
9:00 p.m. CDT
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
Our LaPlace newspaper, under the leadership of Kevin Chiri,
publisher, pubished a 16-page edition today which is on the streets and to home
delivery subscribers. It was printed in New Iberia. This is the firs step back
for us and our employees in the area impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
Power and phones are back in parts of Covington.
Power, phones and gas are still out in Bogalusa and Slidell.
Terry Maddox, Slidell publisher, is working as the public
affairs officer for the St. Tammany Parish disaster relief agency and has
limited email capabilities. He sent us the following message Friday:
Just returned from a trip to Slidell. Was able to get to the
paper and it appears that the sustained water in the building was about three
feet deep. The floor is covered in mud, and furniture and other items are
scattered all over the place, some in different rooms from where they were prior
to the storm. On the bright side, it looks as though the wind damage was
minimal.
I also visited my house in Eden Isles and am sad to report it
appears the water level there reached about eight feet. Strange things happened
there as well: my refrigerator is upside down; my washer and dryer, once in the
laundry room are now in the garage; and other furniture is scattered inside and
out. Wind damage was severe too. The roof of my patio is on my dock, my garage
door looks like an accordion, my back door was blown completely off, and all of
the windows on the side of the house facing the water were blown out.
But the important thing is that all of my family, friends, and
employees appear to be safe. I thank God for that, and also for your
concern.
J Kennon, publisher in Covington and Bogalusa and group manager
for Team Titanium, is OK. She has been back and forth to Baton Rouge, which has
power and supplies. The Covington building appears to be OK with many trees
down, but apparently not on the building itself. J visited Lou Major Sr. at his
Bogalusa home on Friday, and reports Lou is OK and determined to stay home until
power is restored.
J also said there is damage to the Bogalusa building, but the
windows and roof are intact.
Will Chapman, publisher in New Iberia, which was not damaged by
Hurricane Katrina, has organized three shipments of a portable generator, cases
of bottled water, batteries, flashlights and other necessities to the impacted
areas. His help is appreciated.
Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington, is OK and back
in Covington. She went to Bogalusa today to check on employees and Lou Major,
Sr., who is still OK.
More as we know.
Items of note:
1. Louisiana employees who are unable to retrieve direct deposit
payroll this week should contact our office, 520-458-0200. We are working on a
system to wire funds where practical.
2. An employee relief fund, into which Wick employees elsewhere
will be invited to contribute and Wick will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis,
is established to help those with housing and other needs. Check our website for
information on how to contribute or apply for assistance.
3. We have ordered computers in anticipation of damage in the
various locations.
4. Employee forums are live on our website,
www.wickcommunications.com, as well as message boards on the individual
newspaper web sites for the four impacted newspapers. They can be accessed by
clicking on Wick Properties on our website and selecting Louisiana and then the
individual sites.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Thursday, September 1, 2005
12:30 p.m. CDT
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
Power, telephone and cell phone service remain out in Slidell,
Bogalusa, Covington and LaPlace for the foreseeable future.
J Kennon, publisher in Covington and Bogalusa and group manager
for Team Titanium, is OK. She spent Tuesday night at her home in Mandeville,
which is OK. She is working to get ice, water, food and generators. The
Covington building appears to be OK with many trees down, but apparently not on
the building itself.
Will Chapman, publisher in New Iberia, which was not damaged by
Hurricane Katrina, has organized a shipment of a portable generator, cases of
bottled water, batteries, flashlights and other necessities to be delivered to
Covington today and is seeking additional generators. His help is
appreciated.
Terry Maddox, publisher in Slidell, is OK. I received an email
from him Tuesday evening.
We learned today from Kevin Chiri, who had been to the Slidell
building, that it has three to four feet of water in the building but that the
building appears to be OK from a structural standpoint.
Kevin Chiri, publisher in LaPlace, is OK. I received telephone
voice mails from Kevin on Tuesday. He reports the LaPlace building is OK and
told Tom Riebock in a call today that parts of LaPlace are beginning to get
power restored.
Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington, is OK and in
Tyler, Texas. She called our office today and said she was in Covington and
Bogalusa after the storm, and that our Bogalusa building has damage, but the
roof and windows are intact. Apparently Bogalusa has severe problems with trees
down.
Wednesday night I had a call from Lou Major Jr., who is in
suburban Washington, D.C. Lou Jr. reports his father and mother are OK in
Bogalusa, with minor damage to their home. Mrs. Major is going to evacuate but
Lou Sr. is determine to stay in Bogalusa. I believe they have no power or
phones. Lou Jr. is headed to Bogalusa tomorrow with food, water, gas and
generators.
More as we know.
Items of note:
1. Louisiana employees who are unable to retrieve direct deposit
payroll this week should contact our office, 520-458-0200. We are working on a
system to wire funds where practical.
2. An employee relief fund, into which Wick employees elsewhere
will be invited to contribute and Wick will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis,
is being established to help those with housing and other needs. Check our
website for information on how to contribute or apply for assistance.
3. We have ordered computers in anticipation of damage in the
various locations.
4. Employee forums are live on our website,
www.wickcommunications.com.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Thursday, September 1, 2005
10:00 a.m. CDT
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina.
Power, telephone and cell phone service remain out in Slidell,
Bogalusa, Covington and LaPlace for the foreseeable future.
J Kennon, publisher in Covington and Bogalusa and group manager
for Team Titanium, is OK. She spent Tuesday night at her home in Mandeville,
which is OK. She is working to get ice, water, food and generators. The
Covington building appears to be OK with many trees down, but apparently not on
the building itself.
Will Chapman, publisher in New Iberia, which was not damaged by
Hurricane Katrina, has organized a shipment of a portable generator, cases of
bottled water, batteries, flashlights and other necessities to be delivered to
Covington today and is seeking additional generators. His help is
appreciated.
Terry Maddox, publisher in Slidell, is OK. I received an email
from him Tuesday evening. Reports of severe flooding in Slidell along
Pontchartrain Drive have us concerned about the building there.
Kevin Chiri, publisher in LaPlace, is OK. I received telephone
voice mails from Kevin on Tuesday. He reports the LaPlace building is OK.
Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington, is OK and in
Tyler, Texas. She called our office today and said she was in Covington and
Bogalusa after the storm, and that our Bogalusa building has damage, but the
roof and windows are intact. Apparently Bogalusa has severe problems with trees
down.
Wednesday night I had a call from Lou Major Jr., who is in
suburban Washington, D.C. Lou Jr. reports his father and mother are OK in
Bogalusa, with minor damage to their home. Mrs. Major is going to evacuate but
Lou Sr. is determine to stay in Bogalusa. I believe they have no power or
phones. Lou Jr. is headed to Bogalusa tomorrow with food, water, gas and
generators.
More as we know.
Items of note:
1. Louisiana employees who are unable to retrieve direct deposit
payroll this week should contact our office, 520-458-0200. We are working on a
system to wire funds where practical.
2. An employee relief fund, into which Wick employees elsewhere
will be invited to contribute and Wick will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis,
is being established to help those with housing and other needs. Check our
website for information on how to contribute or apply for assistance.
3. We have ordered computers in anticipation of damage in the
various locations.
4. Employee forums are live on our website,
www.wickcommunications.com.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
9:00 p.m. CDT
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans.
Power, telephone and cell phone service remain out in Slidell,
Bogalusa, Covington and LaPlace for the foreseeable future.
J Kennon, publisher in Covington and Bogalusa and group manager
for Team Titanium, is OK. She spent Tuesday night at her home in Mandeville,
which is OK. She is working to get ice, water, food and generators. The
Covington building appears to be OK with many trees down, but apparently not on
the building itself.
Terry Maddox, publisher in Slidell, is OK. I received an email
from him Tuesday evening. Reports of severe flooding in Slidell along
Pontchartrain Drive have us concerned about the building there.
Kevin Chiri, publisher in LaPlace, is OK. I received telephone
voice mails from Kevin on Tuesday. He reports the LaPlace building is OK.
Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington, is OK and in
Tyler, Texas. She called our office today and said she was in Covington and
Bogalusa after the storm, and that our Bogalusa building has damage, but the
roof and windows are intact. Apparently Bogalusa has severe problems with trees
down.
We have not heard from Lou Major Sr., a director of Wick
Communications and our former CEO. We understand he stayed in Bogalusa during
the storm.
Tonight I had a call from Lou Major Jr., who is in suburban
Washington, D.C. Lou Jr. reports his father and mother are OK in Bogalusa, with
minor damage to their home. Mrs. Major is going to evacuate but Lou Sr. is
determine to stay in Bogalusa. I believe they have no power or phones. Lou Jr.
is headed to Bogalusa tomorrow with food, water, gas and generators.
More as we know.
Items of note:
1. Louisiana employees who are unable to retrieve direct deposit
payroll this week should contact our office, 520-458-0200. We are working on a
system to wire funds where practical.
2. An employee relief fund, into which Wick employees elsewhere
will be invited to contribute and Wick will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis,
is being established to help those with housing and other needs. Check our
website for information on how to contribute or apply for assistance.
3. We have ordered computers in anticipation of damage in the
various locations.
4.An employee forum will be set up on the website,
www.wickcommunications.com, in the near future, for those displaced to exchange
their whereabouts and communicate with co-workers.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.
John M. Mathew
President and
CEO
[email protected]
———————————————————————————
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
1:30 p.m. CDT
Our prayers are with our employees, their families, our readers
and customers in the area around New Orleans.
Power, telephone and cell phone service remain out in Slidell,
Bogalusa, Covington and LaPlace for the foreseeable future.
J Kennon, publisher in Covington and Bogalusa and group manager
for Team Titanium, is OK. She spent Tuesday night at her home in Mandeville,
which is OK. She is working to get ice, water, food and generators. The
Covington building appears to be OK with many trees down, but apparently not on
the building itself.
Terry Maddox, publisher in Slidell, is OK. I received an email
from him Tuesday evening. Reports of severe flooding in Slidell along
Pontchartrain Drive have us concerned about the building there.
Kevin Chiri, publisher in LaPlace, is OK. I received telephone
voice mails from Kevin on Tuesday. He reports the LaPlace building is OK.
Sandy Cunningham, general manager in Covington, is OK and in
Tyler, Texas. She called our office today and said she was in Covington and
Bogalusa after the storm, and that our Bogalusa building has damage, but the
roof and windows are intact. Apparently Bogalusa has severe problems with trees
down.
We have not heard from Lou Major Sr., a director of Wick
Communications and our former CEO. We understand he stayed in Bogalusa during
the storm.
Items of note:
1. Louisiana employees who are unable to retrieve direct deposit
payroll this week should contact our office, 520-458-0200. We are working on a
system to wire funds where practical.
2. An employee relief fund, into which Wick employees elsewhere
will be invited to contribute and Wick will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis,
is being established to help those with housing and other needs. Check our
website for information on how to contribute or apply for assistance.
3. We have ordered computers in anticipation of damage in the
various locations.
4. An employee forum will be set up on the website,
www.wickcommunications.com, in the near future, for those displaced to exchange
their whereabouts and communicate with co-workers.
We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we learn more.
Please keep our Louisiana employees and their families in your thoughts and
prayers.