Community unites to aid displaced residents

Even though they were going to be safe and warm for the night, even with some pizza to make things better, a group of WinBeri Place Apartments women were crying when C.J. Smith and Georgeanna Wade got to them.

For one thing, the ladies were upset about their "comfort cats." They had to leave them behind at WinBeri when they boarded buses and left their apartments after Tuesday's fire at the Virginia Street building. They were homesick for their pets and worried about them.

Smith and Wade are from the Harmar neighborhood group Main Street West, and they'd gone to see how they could help Tuesday evening. Soon, it became obvious. They needed to go back to WinBeri, crawl around on the carpets soaked by the sprinkler systems -- and capture cats.

So they did that, Smith said. They returned with six cats. Wednesday they were going to the hotel where the residents were staying in order to deliver food, litter and cat carriers.

"We're going up there right now to put some smiles on some faces," Smith said.

The WinBeri women also were upset that their Thanksgiving meal together was supposed to be Wednesday. The fire ruined that plan. So now Smith and Wade are planning on cooking for the WinBeri ladies and sharing the meal with them Thanksgiving Day.

"I don't know them really well, but that's what we're going to do," she said.

If anyone wants to help out with Thanksgiving or other donations Main Street West can use for WinBeri, they can contact her, Smith said. Her number is 740-538-2413.

The Humane Society of the Ohio Valley is also helping out with pets. Humane Officer Fredley Tynan said the shelter has received two WinBeri cats and has another one coming.

"We're giving short-term housing to anybody who needs it because of that," she said.

The Gospel Mission on Lancaster Street is collecting items for WinBeri. For the moment, there are three specific needs: food, adult Depends and bed pads. Clothing items are not being collected. Drop-off hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday; and 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

The American Red Cross of the Ohio River Valley played an early and important role in helping. Executive Director Sharon Kesselring said three volunteers, two of whom were from Washington County, were at the WinBeri Place Apartments and remained at the scene until around 9 p.m. The fire was discovered around 3:30 p.m.

As of Wednesday, the local Red Cross chapter had processed more than 20 cases for WinBeri aid, which can include emergency housing and which can involve an individual or a family. Some 20 to 25 WinBeri residents have been housed in local hotel rooms, while the remainder have been able to temporarily relocate with family.

And once the initial aid is used, the Red Cross is ready to work with the recipients on resources and referrals that will help them to recover, Kesselring said.

"There are a lot of our partners standing up right now, including the Marietta Community Foundation," she said of financial support that is developing.

However, she explained, in an emergency at this level, the Red Cross does not permit solicitation of funds that are promised to a specific cause. The money the chapter was able to apply so immediately to the WinBeri emergency was money already given, with donors trusting the Red Cross to use it wisely, as needed.

"But the fact that we could act so quickly is one reason that we are so vocal about the importance of all donations when we do have a campaign," Kesselring said.

Human resources, or Red Cross volunteers, are also vitally needed, Kesseling pointed out. The WinBeri event "illustrated the deficit we have in our volunteer staff in Washington County and in Parkersburg."

The Red Cross will send volunteers to disasters both locally and nationally. Many of the local disasters are fires, for which the Red Cross started a home fire safety campaign that includes smoke detectors and planning such as escape drills. Anyone interested in volunteering with the Red Cross can contact Kesselring at 304-488-5279. She will advise and refer the prospective volunteers on how to proceed.

Outgoing 4th Ward City Councilman Geoff Schenkel has kept informed about the general state of things concerning the WinBeri fire. He said he has minimally served as a sounding board for people who want to help, or a source for connecting people to agencies. But his only real role, he said, "has been at the emotional support level, listening to residents unload some of their hurt, worry and anxiety.

"I'm reacting when I can help make connections. And it's probably a drop in the bucket as far as what's needed."

Marietta Fire Chief C.W. Durham was appreciative but not surprised at the many parts of Marietta that came to help almost immediately.

His first calls were to Mayor Josh Schlicher, Safety Service Director Steve Wetz and Washington County Emergency Management Agency Director Rich Hays. They showed up right away and started working, he said.

"They were key in getting the right resources in place," he said.

Marietta School District offered the closed Harmar Elementary School site as a warming center, the first place to take the evacuees. The district also sent one of its school buses to help transport from WinBeri to the school, joining two Community Action buses.

Smitty's Pizza donated food so the people at the warming center would have something to eat.

Before the night was over, the area Red Cross chapter was able to relocate a number of the WinBeri residents to hotel rooms, while others were able to connect with family for temporary shelter.

Green Cab transportation, which is familiar with many of the WinBeri residents,

was on standby to transport people from Harmar School to the hotel.

"I think it went very well," Durham said of the initial hours of the response. "In an emergency, Marietta always excels as a community filling in whatever's needed."

Nancy Taylor can be reached at ntaylor@mariettatimes.com.