Canteen arrives just in time for tornado volunteers
By By Sharon White/The Meridian Star
Dec. 23, 2000
When Moses needed to get to the other side of the Red Sea, God parted the way.
Capt. Joseph Mur of the Meridian Salvation Army says God answered prayers again this week, just in time to provide meals for volunteers helping clean up after a Dec. 16 tornado hit Dalewood and Russell.
The Salvation Army's 30-foot, self-contained mobile disaster relief canteen arrived only hours after tornado weather struck.
Mur said local Salvation Army volunteers are always on the scene during times of disaster. In the past, however, volunteers where forced to work out of a small concession-style vehicle that had to be towed.
The donation of a late-model "Utilimaster" by the Hattiesburg Salvation Army Corps is making it easier now for local volunteers to pitch in and help when they are needed.
He said Hattiesburg Salvation Army officials donated the canteen to Meridian after they raised enough money to buy a new vehicle for themselves.
Sharon White is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail her at swhite@themeridianstar.com.