Hurricane brings freshman to CSC

Wiegel, who will celebrate her 18th birthday Sept. 25, was planning to enroll at Jefferson Davis Community College in her hometown, but following the hurricane, she and her mother headed north.

Wiegel’s mother is Angela Clapp Brouissard, a 1984 graduate of Hay Springs High School. Angela’s mother is Val Temple, a clerk at the Chadron Post Office.

Grandma’s house seemed like a great place to go, Wiegel said.

Wiegel, who was born in Scottsbluff had lived in Gulf Port since she was a first-grader. She said it’s been a nice place to grow up except when hurricane season rolls around.

“I’ve been through lots of hurricanes,” she said. “They’re always scary. But this one was by far the worst. You can’t imagine all the damage it did. Trees and power lines were down all over the place and houses and other buildings were totally ruined or at least had their roofs blown off.”

Wiegel said seeing the terrible destruction afterwards was almost worse than going through the storm itself.

Her mother was on a business trip to Virginia when the Aug. 29 storm hit. Wiegel was staying at a girlfriend’s house that survived most of the heavy damage. The home belonging to Wiegel’s family also was not significantly damaged.

But life in Gulf Port, which is a city of about 50,000 located on the Gulf of Mexico had been changed – perhaps forever.

“There was still no electricity and very few services when we left,” Wiegel said. “You had to wait like five hours for gas, water and ice. And things were still such a mess because of the trees being blown down. You really couldn’t live there. That’s why we decided to come to Chadron, where Grandma lives.”

Immediately after Katrina left its trail of destruction, the Nebraska State College System issued a statement that it would give free housing to any students affected by the hurricane. Thus Wiegel will live in Kent Hall without charge this fall. She plans to major in elementary education.

“I’m one of the fortunate ones,” Wiegel said, “because I had a place to go.

“I’ll miss some of the things about my home, but with Grandma here, I’ll be all right.”

Wiegel’s mother added that she believes her daughter will adjust well and learn to like the community and the college.

Wiegel said there’s definitely one thing she’s looking forward to that never hits the Mississippi coast, but is a Nebraska staple. That’s snow.

She said one of her fondest memories of coming to Chadron with her family for the holidays is sledding down the hills in the city’s Wilson Park.