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Scottsdale sends aid to storm-ravaged sister city
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Marcos Alcorn loads the truck he will drive to Alamos, Sonora, Mexico to help victims of Hurricane Norbert recently.
Paul O'Neill, Tribune
The room was filled with cheer as volunteers on Friday loaded countless donations from Scottsdale residents to help victims of a hurricane hundreds of miles away.
Volunteers and members of the Scottsdale Sister City Commission spent the morning at the Granite Reef Senior Center loading contributions, from food to wheelchairs, into trucks to be taken to the Mexican town of Alamos, Sonora, to aid the victims of Hurricane Norbert.
The storm hit Alamos, Scottsdale's first Sister City, two weeks ago.
Following early reports that six people died as a result of the hurricane, Scottsdale city spokesman Pat Dodds said Friday there have been reports of additional deaths.
Several feet of mud covers homes and schools and some bridges and roads are washed out while electrical power and water delivery has been disrupted in Alamos, which was named Scottsdale's sister city in 1971.
Joe Brett, president of Scottsdale Sister Cities Association, said the donations were coordinated through Mayor Mary Manross, who received a specific list of items needed in the distressed city. Some items included wheelchairs, bottled water, food, clothing for adults and children, blankets, and other basic necessities.
Brett said Scottsdale residents generously contributed to the aid of Alamos and even local high schools got involved.
Chaparral, Saguaro and Coronado were among the high schools that helped gather donations for the hurricane victims. The Interact Club at Chaparral and the International Clubs at Saguaro and Coronado were actively involved in getting donations together, said Max Rumbaugh, chairman of the Youth Program for the Scottsdale Sister City Commission.
Brett and several other volunteers began the 12- to 14-hour drive to Alamos on Friday with trucks full of aid for the victims of the hurricane. He said he hoped to be able to drive through the night and get to Alamos as soon as possible to give relief to the people in need.
Brett said he predicts Scottsdale will deliver another shipment in a few weeks.
Once everything that was packed Friday has been shipped to Alamos, additional aid that is needed will be determined.
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