GT residents seek PR info

Golden Triangle area residents in Columbus and Starkville have spent days online viewing Hurricane Maria’s Sept. 20 destruction of their native Puerto Rico. Daria Rodriguez spent days without a word about her 10-year-old son, who was on the island. She cried on Sept. 22 when her son, Cerame, called her to say he was OK. His father had driven him to San Juan, the nearest place they could find cell reception. Daria's friend Beatriz Velez, both veterinary medicine students at Mississippi State University, also got positive words from home. Columbus AFB Airman First Class Alberto Becerril, who grew up in Puerto Rico, has only heard from his family once, just as the hurricane hit. They seemed to be okay, he said. Fellow CAFB Airman First Class Kiara Rodriguez, also a PR native, had slightly better luck when her aunt called with news that her grandmother was safe, but running out of medicine and can’t get to a hospital. She has not heard from her paternal grandparents. Nearly two weeks after the storm, airports are reportedly (partially) closed and boxes of supplies sitting in ports, Kiara said. None of the four know when they'll see family in Puerto Rico again. Kiara is trying to arrange for her grandmother to join her in Mississippi to get access to medical care. Daria is determined to get to Puerto Rico by at least December and bring her son upon returning to Mississippi. (Source: Columbus Dispatch 09/30/17)