Gilly, our MercedesShop Moderator, decided to take action after Katrina's aftermath rather than just talking about it. A BIG thanks to Gilly.

The following article was in the Wisconsin State Journal Newspaper today.
Read below:
--------------------------------------------------
Evansville man drives bus to help out in New Orleans
00:00 am 9/07/05
LISA SCHUETZ lschuetz@madison.com

It took Dan Gillitzer of Evansville all of 15 minutes Friday to decide he wanted to be at the wheel of a bus if it was helping hurricane-ravaged New Orleans.

At 2:45 p.m., he saw the request on the Van Galder/Coach USA work board asking for eight drivers to drive four buses that would ferry Superdome storm evacuees in New Orleans to the Houston Astrodome.

The work order came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency through a Chicago bus company, said Steve Van Galder, the Janesville bus company's owner.

Gillitzer, a Van Galder bus driver for eight years, was on the road by 5 p.m. after racing home to pack and take a quick shower. By the time the buses arrived in New Orleans at 3 p.m. Saturday, the orders had changed, he said. Instead of refugees, they were carrying military personnel from the New Orleans airport to two military bases around the city.

Gillitzer half-expected to see bodies everywhere and an abandoned city virtually flattened.

But the scene was a lot different than he expected.

"I saw a lot of wind damage," he said. "I didn't see any bodies."

He saw houses in varying levels of damage over a widespread area and lots of water.

And he smelled decomposition and sulfur.

"The smell was pretty bad," he said.

He didn't see anyone looting, just a few people pushing belongings, including bottles of water, in shopping carts.

He saw fires burning in buildings, and several buildings were just burned-out shells.

The destruction was very different from the damage of the Stoughton area's recent tornado, he said.

Instead of intense, compact areas of ruin, the hurricane damage was very widespread - regionwide instead of a town or two.

"We started seeing signs blown over starting right around Jackson, Miss.," he said. "It was gradual. You knew what you were going into and it was going to be bad."

Gillitzer and the other bus drivers had some difficulty getting around.

The bus he drove had to go on "high rise" several times - that's when the suspension is jacked up by about 12 inches - to get through knee-deep water.

"There were a lot of impassible roads," he said. "Power lines down, debris in the road, cars in the road both damaged and undamaged but abandoned. Roof, gutter, drywall. You name it, it was in the road. Power lines were draped over the roads - it's very hard to go through there with a motor coach."

He drove through the famed French Quarter several times and passed abandoned downtown skyscrapers. He saw the ruined roof of the Superdome from about three miles away.

Between Friday night and Monday when they left the city, there were no opportunities to bathe and very few to clean up at all.

He and the other drivers slept in buses on the airport's tarmac.

"It's just like camping on a bus," Gillitzer said of circumstances in New Orleans.

He had his first shower Monday when they stopped overnight in Arkansas.

Most of the cars on the roads were military or police vehicles, although there were a few civilian cars. The buses were escorted by military or police cars as they carried soldiers around.

__________________
Bill Wood - Retired Webmaster
My Personal Website
1998 Mercedes E430
2010 Toyota Sequoia
My Photo Albums

Wow, Gilly is the man.

We're all very proud of you Gilly.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

MB Tech, Bus driver, Hero. Wow!!

Gilly for President!!

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Thankyou Gilly. I have read quite a few posts from others who have physically gone to help where they can; among them KirkVining (from another board, used to post here before the "holocaust" swept him up) and Botnst. These a just a few of the folks whose online personas I know. Thanks to them and to those who've contributed within thier means.

[IMG][/IMG]

I think I am going to have to take that back. Gilly is a decent person and has no business in politics. Making him president where he is responsible for anything and everything is going to be bad. He'd have fun with the interns tho.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

[IMG][/IMG]

What is the call sign they might have a webcast?

Very cool!!!

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeet Gilly!

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

AWESOME!

He said he would be on last night but I'll look out for it tonight

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Now THAT bus would have come in handy!
"High Ride? We don't NEED no steenking High Ride!"
Thanks for all the nice comments guys. The work down there was still rewarding, even though it didn't involve moving the residents about as I had thought. The soldiers seemed appreciative of our efforts and appreciated the AC in the bus, as most military transports don't have that. I think mostly the troop we carried were off of aircraft at the NO Intl airport, many larce transport aircraft comin and a goin'; C17, C121, C130, Blackhawks, Apache, Huey, Jolly Greens, and the twin rotor one, name escapes me. ALL DAY ALL NIGHT.The camping trip in the bus wasn't so bad, as we either shut off all the buses except for one and slept in that, or on our own we'd just leave it run. All we really had was Military-provided MRE's and bottled water. A pair of buses (not us) asked for and received a bag with chips, pretzels, energy drinks and yes a CARTON of smokes!We also had a cooler from Janesville stocked with soda we tried to share with the troops, only 2 accepted, said they should stick to water, even though the soda we managed to keep cool and the bottled water was not.
I am unsure if the "sulphur" smell I mentioned is normal for this area or not, it could be I suppose. The area at the staging point (La Place LA) stunk worse than the downtown areas, very swampy there.
For those familiar with the area, it was a real "trip" to cross that Huey Long Bridge with a loaded bus, as can be imagined.
If anyone down there (or Bill) can research, I am a bit concerned about a member here named Euro 287, name is Erik Koonce, works at a Hyundai dealer now around Baton Rouge. Tried emailing, no response, maybe no power, he lives in the country.
Gilly

__________________
Click here to see the items I have up for auction at EBay

Click here to see a photo album of my '62 Sprite Project Moneypit (Now Sold)

Also just was interviewed by WCLO radio in Janesville WI

Gilly

__________________
Click here to see the items I have up for auction at EBay

Click here to see a photo album of my '62 Sprite Project Moneypit (Now Sold)

Kudos to you, Mr. Gilley. A selfless giving of time is a gift to God.