Tyler

By PATRICK BUTLER
Religion Editor

Salvation Army emergency response canteens staged in Tyler, and poised to offer assistance in Louisiana and Mississippi, returned to their respective cities in Texas said Salvation Army officers in Tyler on Tuesday. Mobile canteens from Houston, Wichita, Laredo, Midland and McAllen had been scheduled to enter Louisiana if needed.

"We thank God that Gustav was not as bad as it could have been," said Captain Zach Bell, commander of the Tyler Corps of the Salvation Army. "At 1 p.m. today, we got the call to stand down from Gustav and prepare for Hurricane Ike, if needed."

Salvation Army assistance was still sent in, he said.

Salvation Army response units from Virginia, Washington, D.C., Alabama, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee have moved into the affected area," he said.

"Salvation Army commands in each state had been ordered to have at least eight canteens ready to go. Of course there were more than that responding in Louisiana and Mississippi, so that represents a tremendous amount of resources sent in."

The Tyler Corps served more than 4,700 meals in Smith County on Sunday, said Bell. All over Texas, similar scenes were being played out, he said.

"We had big feedings going on Houston, San Antonio, Texarkana, Amarillo and other cities," he said.

The Tyler Corps used cots to accommodate a storm-surge of evacuees trying to escape a potentially devastating hurricane.

"We set up 100 extra cots at Tyler's Center of Hope and now some of those are freed up, but we're still over normal capacity," said Bell. "We praise God that the storm was not as bad as it could have been, and it calmed down faster than predicted."