The headline above is an old saying...but very appropriate for the "refugees" (if you will) still without power from our unpleasant visit from Hurricane Ike, now 8 days ago.

Over the past week, we have heard from people who had no food in their homes because food spoiled, people who live on oxygen tanks who were without power, people who have no water, as well as people just plain out of power and out of patience.

All the frustration is totally understandable. But, the anger, the accusations, the wild rumors that have been spread throughout the area, the class, age discrimination and racial warfare plays...are not.

The one group of people who, I believe, were totally within their rights to complain, picket and protest were the residents of that nursing home late last week who manned picket signs to complain about their power still being out. Why? Nursing homes were mentioned to us as being a priority. And if you were a nursing home and your power was still out after 5 or so days, I'd complain, too. Obviously, in that one case, something fell through the cracks, and D.P. & L, rightfully, responded.

The fact is: if you truly have a need, there's help for you out there. If you are out of food and need a meal, the American Red Cross, local churches and organizations can help. If you need to stock your pantry and don't have the cash, local food pantries exist to help. If you need water, area fire stations will let you fill up containers. All you need do is show up with containers in hand.

What's sad to me is that some of the local organizations and agencies are telling us that they have the means to help people, but those who show up refuse to even as much as go through the 15-30 minute screening the agency needs to determine that potential person's need. No, they want to be handed the keys to the food locker, or be handed a gift card, without as much as a brief discussion with a case worker. And, some of these folks are offended when they're asked to discuss their need!

All of which makes me wonder if those people are needy as they say they are.

Yeah...that's "calling the baby ugly", but so be it.

People: get it through your heads. What we went through was, in Dayton terms, a problem of major proportions. But, unlike the people in Texas and Louisiana, our stores have not been closed for weeks, we still have roofs over our heads, there is now ample access to gasoline and ice. Some of us are still out of power...but probably 70-75% of the area is back on, with the rest to come in the days ahead.

If you're holding your breath for FEMA to come flying in with $2000 gift cards to hand you, don't. You look ugly when your face is blue.

What happened was a major disruption for the Miami Valley and for Dayton Power and Light. It was, however, not a disaster on the proportions of a Hurricane Katrina and should not be treated as such...by our Government, or by ourselves.

If President Bush chooses to approve Gov. Strickland's disaster declaration request, fine with me. I'm sure there are people and businesses out there that could use the help. But, we're not as bad off as those folks who lose their homes, their businesses and their livlihoods from hurricanes.

I have a close relative who lives on oxygen. Her power went out on Sunday. Instead of calling the radio station and pleading for Dayton Power and Light to put her on a priority list to get power back on (as a lot of people did), she simply chose to call 9-1-1. Within 20 minutes, she received a phone call from the Montgomery County Sheriff's office who sent a cruiser out immediately to transport her to a hospital, where she spent the night before power was returned to her home the next day.

Help was there...and help responded. Quickly.

The help is there if you need it. The question is: will you choose to use it?

A couple of final thoughts:

Several of us at the station have logged multiple voicemails to our extensions here late at night. Man...you should hear some of these calls. I'd love to play them for you on the air, but they'd be one long "BLEEP". More F-Bombs than a decent person can imagine. (And I do suspect some of these folks were drinking heavily before they called.) And, the threats you've been making on the phone to us aren't gonna get you any help any faster, either.

People: we are not gonna call Dayton Power and Light to give them your addresses. You can do that yourselves. Call 1-877-4-OUTAGE. As reported on the air on Sunday, Dayton Power and Light wants to you to place another call to make sure they're not forgetting about you.

While we are in contact with D.P. & L., we have no "secret" "backline" phone number to call to get your power back on. And, the proof of that is that several people on our staff are still without power at their homes.

If we haven't mentioned your town as being out of power in 3 or 4 hours, for crying out loud, relax. Dayton Power and Light knows you're out of power. If you haven't reported it in a while, call 1-877-4-OUTAGE now. We got a phone call today from someone who said we hadn't mentioned "Huber Heights" in a newscast, when the audio cut from Mary Beth Weaver of D.P. & L. specifically mentioned Huber, along with other areas. We simply don't have the time to mention every town with an outage in every newscast. But, we know your power is out.

And, if you've done what you're supposed to do, D.P. & L. knows.

Your own individual situation is probably not as unique as you're thinking it is right now.