By Mark E. Vogler
mvogler@eagletribune.com
September 05, 2008 02:17 am METHUEN — The Methuen High School girls basketball team figured last weekend would be an ideal time to launch a fundraising drive for a return trip to Mississippi's Gulf Coast to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Little did they know that the importance of their humanitarian mission would be heightened by another storm that threatened residents of Biloxi, Miss. - their destination in February. "We picked the third anniversary of Katrina, but had no idea that there would be another hurricane to worry about," said coach Karen McLaughlin. "But it was hard to relax over the weekend knowing our son was down there, and that our friends are down there as well." The Methuen girls and their coach did considerable weather watching last weekend, monitoring Hurricane Gustav's path. They expect to be doing the same thing this weekend and into next week as New England and the rest of the country brace themselves for a visits from up to three possible hurricanes - Hanna, Ike and Josephine. "We're going to have a wet weekend," said meteorologist William Babcock at the National Weather Service bureau in Taunton. He's predicting Hanna will dump 2 to 4 inches of rain tomorrow night and Sunday morning through much of the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire. Some parts could receive as much as 6 inches, he said. "Hanna will remain a tropical storm - strong, but just shy of a hurricane," Babcock said. "She is going to reach North Carolina at 2 a.m. (today) and at that point, she'll move up the coastal plain, toward Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts early Sunday morning," he said. Babcock said some rain would hit the Valley tomorrow, but with the heaviest coming tomorrow night and Sunday morning. Weather forecasters don't expect any flooding from the Merrimack River but are concerned about potential flooding because of substantial, heavy downpours that could hit the area within a short period, Babcock said. People on the Gulf Coast probably have to worry about Hurricane Ike, which will be heading west into the Bahamas about the time Hanna moves through New England. "Ike is more of a threat to the Gulf Coast than the East Coast," Babcock said. "Josephine is out over the Atlantic and we'll keep an eye on it," he said. Meanwhile, the Methuen High girls basketball team and its coach will be thinking about their Biloxi friends as they chart the storms' progress. "The last trip opened all of our eyes, and we just count our blessings," McLaughlin said. Michael McLaughlin is a schoolteacher in Biloxi. He was also a catalyst for his mother's decision to have the Methuen High girls basketball team spend its February vacation refurbishing two homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. "When we were down there in February, they were saying it's going to be seven years to bring Biloxi back to what it was," the coach said. "The (Hurricane Gustav) storm wasn't as bad as Katrina. But on top of what needs to be done, this just adds to the work," she said. "My son sent me some pictures from Biloxi that are just mind-boggling. So, I'm sure there will be more work to do - definitely. And this just confirms we're doing the right thing to go down again." She hinted there may be future trips in the works. "There's a strong connection between the girls in Methuen and all the friends we've made in Biloxi," she said. "The kids bonded well and they made new friends. They were sad to come home. So, I knew then, we had to go back." The coach said the team will have to raise about $20,000 to cover the cost of the trip, which is set for Feb. 12 to 20. Hotel reservations and flight arrangements have already been made for 20 students and their 10 chaperones. The girls will volunteer for various cleanup and restoration projects each day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. They will practice in the evenings to keep their basketball skills sharp for when they return. "Everybody talks about New Orleans when it comes to hurricanes," McLaughlin said. "But people on the Gulf Coast are sort of forgotten again. They got the money to rebuild, but don't have the people to volunteer. They're begging for volunteers. That's why we're going down there again." Anyone wishing to make a contribution can write a check to the Methuen girls basketball team and mail it to: Methuen High School, 1 Ranger Road, Methuen, MA, 01844, or e-mail McLaughlin at Karenzac@comcast.net.
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