Twelve hours.
That’s all that separates Owen County from the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Twelve hours.
Eight congregation members from Long Ridge Baptist Church found out just how close to the destruction Owen Countians are when they headed south to Waveland, Miss., in January.
What they discovered when they arrived is that despite the four months that had passed since the hurricanes tore through the Gulf, that there’s still lots of work to be done.
“The devastation, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Trent Holbrook, pastor of Long Ridge and one of the eight who made the trip.
The group left on Jan. 15 and returned on Jan. 18. In between, they stayed in a church where showers and food were provided. They repaired roofs. They helped build storage sheds. They picked up debris.
“There is something that nearly everybody can do,” Holbrook said. “If you can’t work on roofs or help with plumbing, you can pick up debris. There’s still lots and lots of debris.”
But, he added, it’s important to remember that some of that debris isn’t junk.
“I asked one homeowner if she wanted me to pick up a pile of junk lying in the yard,” Holbrook said. “She looked at and said, ‘This isn’t junk. It’s my life.”
The group made this trip with several other churches from around Kentucky. For the other churches, this was their second trip to the area. For Long Ridge members, it was their first — but it won’t be their last.
“We’re going back in March or April,” Holbrook said. “We didn’t know what to expect. Now that we do, we’ll be better prepared when we get there.”
Holbrook, along with Johnny Craigmyle, Randy Towles, John Randall Towles, Chris Satterly, Caleb Cobb and Frankie Pryor, went to Waveland, Miss., the epicenter of Hurricane Katrina. What they found was that a community with a population of 8,000 or more before the storms has only 800 to 1,600 people.
“There’s just nothing for many of them to come back to,” Holbrook said. “And those that are there are left to clean up the mess.”
What should a group headed to the Gulf area to help out bring with them?
“Anything they can,” Holbrook said. “If they can take tools, building supplies, anything will help.”
He said he asked someone what was needed.
“She said ‘How do you say everything? There’s nothing you can send us that we won’t use,’” Holbrook said. “They need furniture, clothes, building supplies, cleaning supplies, everything.”
While the group was in Mississippi, they priced four 2x4 boards to be used on a repair project. The cost was $64. When they got home, for the fun of it, they priced them again. The cost? Seventeen dollars.
“Take as many supplies with you as you can,” Holbrook said. “It will save the people there so much money.”
Holbrook said along with the devastation, he was most impressed with the fact that many of the homes hadn’t been repaired. Insurance companies, attributing the damage to flood waters and not the hurricane, are not paying off on policies, leaving residents with little option but to leave their homes in disrepair.
But beyond their physical needs, Holbrook said there is great need for residents of the area to feel their voices are being heard.
“The greatest need they have is to just talk with someone, they just want their story out,” Holbrook said. He took his banjo with him and at one point found himself picking on top of a house. “I just sat there and played. I’m not very good, but at least it helped take their minds off their troubles for a little while.”
He said the group which organized the volunteers even told them that if homeowners want to talk, to simply forget about their work, “to talk with them, to laugh with them, to let them know that we’re there for them.”
Before the Long Ridge group heads back to the Gulf later this spring, they plan to visit other churches in the community in an effort to take as many people with them as possible. They’ve put together a video to show some of the scenes they witnessed during the trip. They hope others will see what they’ve seen — an area that still needs a helping hand from its neighbors to the north.
“We want to gather a force from Owen County to hit the Gulf — in a good way,” Holbrook said.

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