Gustav apparently won’t be calling
MINNEAPOLIS – Kevin Calvey may not have to leave the Republican National Convention early.
Calvey, a former Republican state House representative from Del City, said Monday he again could be activated to go to New Orleans for the second time in three years to help restore order after a hurricane struck the Crescent City area.
Calvey, a captain in the Oklahoma National Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade and an attorney, went to New Orleans in 2003 to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Assigned to the Army’s judge advocate general’s office, Calvey was among more than 2,000 Oklahomans who were deployed to New Orleans.
With Hurricane Gustav losing steam as it struck New Orleans, it appears Calvey, who returned to Oklahoma in January after a year of duty in Baghdad, won’t be activated and he and his wife, Toni, can continue to attend the convention as guests.
Calvey said New Orleans and the state of Louisiana as well as the federal government were much more prepared for Hurricane Gustav, compared with three years ago when chaos reigned. Nearly everyone was evacuated from the area well in advance of the approaching storm, negating the possibility of rooftop rescues that went on for days to get people out of swirling floodwaters.
“You’ve got a better governor now and the mayor, (Ray) Nagin, he was totally out of his league three years ago … but now just from seeing him on TV, he appears more competent, ” said Calvey, who met Nagin during his deployment to New Orleans. “I believe he seems to be learning some lessons. Clearly the federal response is much improved and the people of New Orleans did the smart thing and evacuated.”
The situation seems to be “much less dire” than it was three years ago, Calvey said.
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
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