A youth group from the West Scarborough United Methodist Church recently traveled to Van Cleave, Miss., to help with the relief effort for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

What they found should disturb us all.

They found a major bridge destroyed, with sections still submerged in the ocean. They found buildings and homes still badly in need of repair, with some people using tarps for a roof. They found a family that had been waiting for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for 10 months.

We’ve all seen pictures of this devastation on television and in newspapers. Many people who have traveled to the area have witnessed them. What is astonishing, however, is that 10 months after the hurricane struck Louisiana and Mississippi many of the scenes remain unchanged, as though they had been frozen in time like some post-apocalyptic landscape.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Rev. David Calhoun. “I’ve seen poverty and people in despair, but as far as devastation goes, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. It was like a war zone.”

When the hurricane struck, it was obvious this country was unprepared to respond to a natural disaster of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina. Our emergency response agencies were completely overwhelmed. It’s surprising, though, that 10 months later the people there are still without the help they need so desperately.

Many groups, like the Methodist youth group in Scarborough, have traveled to the region to provide whatever assistance they can. It’s clear, however, that many more groups and volunteers are needed.

It would also seem as though the federal government could be providing much better guidance and coordination to these groups. It’s unconscionable that the couple that the youth group traveled to Mississippi to help had been waiting for help from FEMA for 10 months. If FEMA is overwhelmed, there are other groups available to help assist them. The federal government should be helping to put people in touch with these organizations, whether they are religious or secular.

Perhaps, most importantly, readers should know that, although the devastation wrought by Katrina has faded from the headlines, it has not faded from the lives of the thousands of people who are still living with it everyday.

Best of the Best

In this week’s edition of the Current, readers will find ballots for the first Best of the Best contest, which will give residents a chance to vote for their favorite business or service provider.

Organized with the help of the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough Chambers of Commerce, the contest will be a fun way to promote local businesses. Readers can vote on a broad variety of them, from bakers to bankers, candy stores to dentists and golf courses to hairdressers.

Please take the time to fill out a ballot and participate. Ballots, which will also appear in the July 27 and Aug. 3 editions of the Current, must be clipped from the paper – not photocopied – to be counted.

Participants can drop ballots off in Scarborough at The Freaky Bean, Higgins Beach Market, Scarborough Library, Ace Hardware or the Current; in Cape Elizabeth at the Pond Cove IGA or the Two Lights General Store, or in South Portland at Broadway Gardens, The Cookie Jar, South Portland Community Center, Shoppers True Value Hardware or at Current Publishing’s Maine Mall kiosk.

The deadline for completed ballots is Aug. 11. We will announce the winners in the Sept. 28 edition of the Current, which will be followed by a party at Scarborough Downs on Oct. 12 to celebrate the winners.

Brendan Moran, editor