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Wednesday's Internet Edition, October 08, 2008.
GHS grad weathers Ike’s fury
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Hurricane Ike’s gale-force winds ripped siding from the building, blew out sliding glass doors, and caused water damage at the apartment complex in Houston, Texas where GHS grad Kate Crandell now lives.
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Less than two months ago, 2004 Galt High School graduate Kate Crandell moved to Texas to begin her life there as a ballistics specialist, a well laid plan just coming to fruition.
On Saturday, Crandell got a Texas-sized welcome as Hurricane Ike blew through Houston, wreaking havoc and leaving destruction in its path.
Located about five miles from Houston, Crandall braced for the worst in her apartment located in the inner loop of Interstate 610, about five miles from downtown Houston and a mere 20 to 25 miles from Galveston Bay.
“Ike being my first hurricane, I really had no idea what to expect,” said Crandell. “At Valley Oaks Elementary I was taught how to react to an earthquake. I doubt getting under my desk would have helped here.”
Crandell decided to hunker down in her apartment, with her cat, to weather the storm and nurse a bad spider bite.
“I did not feel comfortable driving any distance or staying at someone else’s house,” said Crandell. “Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you ask, I had taken Benadry before going to bed and managed to sleep through what was probably the worst of it.”
A lifelong resident of Galt, Crandell called home to get some advice on what to do.
“I told her to move her car out of the way of any trees and to hunker down,” said Jim Crandell. “The next morning when she went out, the parking stall from which she had moved her car had several large branches fallen on it.”
Upon venturing out the next day, Crandell said she learned a huge lesson.
“The damage was the shocking part,” said Crandell. “I had no idea wind could do so much damage. Bricks pulled off of buildings, trees, over 50 years old, broken like twigs. Downtown Houston looked like a war zone due to all of the debris and broken windows”
In the aftermath of Ike, Crandell has also learned some valuable lessons about humanity.
“This crisis has brought out the best in some people, with an overwhelming number of FEMA volunteers,” said Crandell. “But it also brings out the worst in people with over 80 people having been arrested for looting.”
Crandell graduated from GHS in 2004 and then attended Baylor University in Waco, where she graduated in May with a B.S. degree in forensic science. While at Baylor, she did a work study internship with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations in their ballistics lab. It was then that she cemented her interest in firearms.
Shortly after graduation, the Harris County Sheriff’s Department hired Crandell as a firearms technician in their ballistics lab.
When the rain and wind subsided, Crandell discovered she had only sustained minor damage to her apartment via some water damage to the carpet at the front door.
The Harris County Sheriff Department facilities sustained moderate water damage to their facilities, including the roof, and water intrusion into the firearms lab.
“It has been, and continues to be, a horrific experience,” said Crandell. “The recovery will be a long one, but this part of the country knows what it is like to lose valuables, loved ones and time to natural disasters so there is always a strong sense of community.”
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