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[barbaraann]

http://www.cnhins.com/homepage/cnhihelp

The Port Arthur News has THREE CNHI stories on its homepage!
http://www.panews.com/

One story is about how the Red Cross would not help set up shelters in Palestine, TX (roughly between Dallas and Houston) and the locals set up the shelters on their own:

Where's the Red Cross?
By Sherryl-Lynn Williams Posted: 09/24/05 - 10:26:34 am CDT

CNHI News Service

PALESTINE, Texas -- In times of crisis, the American Red Cross has always been there to step in and help, but not in Palestine's and Anderson County's time of need for evacuees of Hurricane Rita.

When emergency shelters need to be set up, the Red Cross sends a trained volunteer to handle the situation, but when the call was placed to the Red Cross for help, Anderson County officials were told they were on their own.

"We have established shelters at all the locations, which have contracts with the Red Cross for shelters," Anderson County Judge Carey McKinney said during a emergency management meeting at the Courthouse Annex. "We are basically on our own."

City leaders took it upon themselves to set up the shelters.
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And here's a really cool idea about how to hold elected officials accountable:
http://cnhireadership.com/02-innovation.htm