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Inside: NISD board votes to leave school bond off November ballot Page 6A WEATHER: Mostly sunn y , Highs: 80s, Lows: 60s/2A SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 VOL . CXXVIII, NO. 330 THE ADVOCATE FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS SINCE 1880 50 Cents TUESDAY i PREPS at beaumontenterpris com For the latest in high school sports go to Carter & Company employees Beau Jan sen , left, and Heath Hebert remove water damaged materi- als from the Bevil Oaks Baptist Church. Valentino Mauricio/ The Enterprise Repairs will take time By RYAN S. CLARK THE ENTERPRISE ORANGE — It could take up to two years before Hur- ricane Ike construction projects are completed, a few area contractors said Monday. Contractors attributed the two-year target to varying damage across Southeast Texas, the cost of materials, and an uncertain timetable of insurance settlements with property owners. IKE, page 5 A By HEATHER NOLAN and DAN WALLACH THE ENTERPRISE Southeast Texas might not feel the devastat ing effect s of the House’s vote to turn down a fed- eral rescue package like other parts of the country, local bankers say. But borrowers here will feel a pinch. “We ’re in serious financial trou- ble,” said Kevin Brady, a R epubli- can who is a member of the Joint Economic Committee. “This won’t be contained (just on Wall Street). It’ll affect bank accounts here at home.” The House voted 228 to 205 against a $700 billion bailout plan for the nation’s financial system on Monday, despite warnings from President Bush and con- gressional leaders of both parties who predicted the economy could plunge without it. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average sank almost 800 points, a drop of almost 7 per- cent, the largest single-day loss in its history. The legislation would have allowed the government to buy bad mortgages and other bad assets held by troubled banks and financial institutions, according to the Associated Press. That would have strengthened those companies’ balance sheets, making them more inclined to lend. BAILOUT,page 4A Area borrowers could feel pinch of vote to reject rescue plan SpeakUP Do you agree with the House's rejection of the $700 billion bailout bill? Tell us at BeaumontEnterprise.com Contractors: Ike not all as bad as Rita, but could take as long to fix Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School Principal Mike Shel- ton walks through the seventh- grade wing on the first floor to check on progress of the Hurri- cane Ike restoration work. The school was one of two that suffered major dam- age in BISD when wind destroyed the roof. Twenty classrooms, including labs were damaged. Photos by Dave Ryan/ The Enterprise BISD students get back to work Changes Return to school in Beaumont marked by hur ricane sto ries, campus da mage Fiesty cat hitches a ride out of Bolivar Feline first seen at beach house found in Beaumont family’s vehicle upon return By BLAIR DEDRICK ORTMANN THE ENTERPRISE Three weeks in deserted Port Bolivar was apparently enough for one gray cat, who hitched a ride under an Escalade and made it unharmed to Beaumont Monday. “When we drove up to the house, we heard him again,” said Aretha Saldana, a 44-year-old home deco- rator. “It was amazing. How did he do it?” Saldana and friend Cathy Black- well were in Port Bolivar to meet with an insurance adjuster at Blackwell’s beach house when they heard the cat’s terrified cries from what used to be the deck, 12-feet above the ground. CA T, page 4A Bailout fallout ONLINE INSIDE
