This is the JB and Sandy Show podcast. You can listen live every morning on one of three point one in Austin or stream the show on the iHeartRadio app.
And be real honest with you to today's one of these those days that's not really the greatest to be on the radio on days like today, because you know it can't really go in and cut up and joke around and make a whole bunch of them. You'll have a whole lot of fun when with the news of what's happened in the Hill Country over the weekend, with the massive flooding that took place there, in the devastation
that has taken place there. So we're gonna focus this whole hour on what you can do, what we can do as Austinites to help out. But this story is heartbreaking on so many levels, you know what. I just as you think about the kids at camp, these are the camp that's getting the most talk, is the is mystic can't miss it as these are little girls, yeah, element aged, really all ages.
But I can't help it project myself into it. You know, my daughter went to Camp Longhorn, YEP. But we could have just as easily picked camp Mystic and you know, it's it's always these tragedies, always harder when you go. That could be anyone you know or myself. Yeah, and that's how everyone's feeling like. It is just gut wrenching the thing that I get choked up thinking about it. Because our daughter's a camper. She's gone to the same
camp she was since she was seven years old. She's sixteen now she's at that camp right now as a counselor. We dropped her off on Saturday. But I mean, just like picture keep picturing in my head the parents that gave their little girl a hug mm.
Hmmmm and sending them off to one of their most favorite places in the world exactly.
And it's it's it's hard enough when everything goes perfect, right, right, did you the first time you dropped, Like the next year, it's easy. But the first time you drop your because they're younger, they're a little nervous. You're nervous, you don't know how it's going to go. You know, you're like, it's full of tears when you drop them off, and it's full of tears when you pick them up.
Yeah, but there's a lot of smiles in the middle.
Yeah, because they get so connected, they make good friends, and they have the time of their life. And it's gut wrenching on both sides. That first year in particular, and a lot of these girls were eight, so maybe their first year.
Oh yeah, yeah, and very interesting you just to think about how scared those girls must have been. But a friend of mine who was a camper and then a camp counselor all through her college days, even was a director at a camp in her as an adult. But she was like she also was like, I can't stop thinking about these sixteen our daughter, sixteen, sixteen, and seventeen and eighteen year old camp counselors who all of a sudden it was their responsibility to help save these small children,
like something so huge happening. They're just kids themselves. It's just all the way around, just horrible.
And you know, you don't I think it's human nature to start doing the blame game. Sure, but it rose that that river rose twenty six feet or something like that in forty five minutes in the middle of the night.
Yeah, like you know, they're asleep, Yeah, they're asleep there, you.
Know, they're waking up to water in the cabin and by then, same thing with the RV part. And I saw a guy that made it out. He's like, I woke up to two feet of water in my RV. So if it's two feet of water, it's already waist high and flowing right a capacity to knock you over. And then all the debris that hits, like, oh my god, there's no in my opinion, there's just no one to blame.
It's mother nature and it it's just terrifying. I mean, ugh, I saw some of the pictures on CNN, and you know, and you see they showed a picture inside the cabin. It looked just like the cabin my daughter was in. Bunk beds and the trunks that are decorated with their memes on it and stickers.
And ugh. Yeah, it's a terrible story. It's a terrible story. Terrible.
If you want to help out, we encourage you to do so. Communityfoundation dot net is where we want to send you. Again, this has been fully vetted. It's a reputable organization. It's been around since nineteen eighty two, and it's going to get the money and resources that are needed. And you know, money doesn't really fix a lot of this unfortunately. But if you want to make a donation, I've already done so, and it's very to do. Go
to Community Foundation dot net to help out. So again, it's a tough day to be on the radio when you see this kind of devastation and loss of life with our neighbors. Just what is kurbvill an hour and forty five two hours and it's it's terrible.
But stick with us.
We're going to fill you in on some really good people that have stepped up that are helping out, how you can help out, and more so, stay with us.
More coming up on Austin's eighty station one oh three point one.
If you want to help out the victims of the flooding in the Hill Country, you can make a donation. You can go to community Foundation dot net. In this community Foundation dot net to fully vetted organization. It's been around since the early eighties and they're gonna get the money to the right people that need it. And boy, I tell you, I just am eternally grateful and always amazed.
I shouldn't be because they do it all the time.
What HGB does in situations like this, I don't know that I've ever known of a grocery store that's more locked into a community than chib is. And something that you may not know is that HIV started in Kerrville, Texas in nineteen oh five, and that's of course where the massive flooding and stuff took place, and they have
deployed there. They have an entire team of people that are disaster relief people that load up their trucks and get them going before anyone asks them to to the places that are in need that need help.
I saw a social media post somebody driving down the road videoing a convoy of what looked like eight or nine hib semi trucks I'm sure full of AID and seven or eight white trucks following in the convoy on their way to Kurvill to start helping where they could. They did that also deploy them in marble Balls San Angelo, and I believe Bernie is as well.
Right in the back of those achib disaster relief right. I saw that same video.
Yeah, I know, that's AID, a company that continues to amaze, like even when it's not disaster relief, what they do to a can do to a small Texas town when they come in they're unbelievable. And you know a lot of it's because it's it's still a family owned company, corporate, corporate this they wouldn't do that, they wouldn't have this budget, you know, set aside.
Uh, just remarkable.
When I saw that same clip here talking about Trisha, was like, doesn't surprise me at all. Really really amazing what they're doing. And you know, we'll try to find out more. I mean, I think they're just doing it out of their own pocket, Like because we wanted to find a good place for you to donate right where it's vetted and we know that it's going to be good.
That Community Foundation that you mentioned, you know, they they dole out millions every year to grants wherever it's needed in Hill country.
That's their thing.
Yeah, so yeah, you know, Sandy did some research of we were trying to find the best place to send you because we all want to do something right right and so.
Definitely believe in that HIB has stepped up. Here's their statement that they put out over the weekend.
It says, our Achiv family is heartbreak broken by the enormous devastation and loss caused by the flooding in and around the Curveville area. We are grateful to the local authorities, first responders, and volunteers for their tireless efforts. Kurveville, where our companies started in the Hill Country, have a special place in the heart of the Atib family, a part of our initial outreach there. As part we are working closely with the Red Cross, local officials and first responders
to support their needs. Additionally, as Tricia mentioned, we have sent aid to support efforts in San Angelo, Marble Falls and other impacted areas. Our team are staying close to the hardest hit areas and will continue to provide needed support as these tragic situations evolve. We hold compassion strength for everyone who's been impacted, and we remain committed to offer unwavering support to our communities. We will update this page with any development. So ATB Man, those guys, they get it.
They do it right.
Well, it's probably not just uh you know, I think the items needed for the victims who maybe lost their homes or whatever, but think of all the they're probably providing food and beverage and all this stuff for all the all the first responders.
Yeah, then you know the the what is it, the I mean National Guard National Guard.
Yeah, they're all they're all converging there and working around the clock and they need support.
Right. Have you guys seen any of the rescue efforts, Yeah, were made. I mean that that water.
There was one video of I could not tell that it was a woman or a little girl being rescued, but there are four or five of the responders with ropes trying to get her and the water was just raging around them. Like, I held my breath the entire time I watched that video. I mean, and they're just out there doing it, and they've made the statement that they're not going to stop until every single person is found.
I mean, the pilots of those helicopters are amazing.
Yeah. Yeah, they've rescued probably hundreds. Yeah, I saw the last number I saw was too sixty something that they pulled out of there with with boats, with helicopters, with whatever they can.
Right, it's and there's still what Patricia, did you say there were two young girls rescued as late as Sunday afternoon.
I can't confirm it, but I did see a post that said two of the girls who are missing were rescued as late as Sunday afternoon high in a tree.
Wow.
And I have not been able to confirm that yet, but when I read it, Oh, please God, let it be true. Right, So it's not just a recovery effort. It's still it's still a full on rescue effort.
Right. It's a sad story, very very stab. We're taking a quick break.
More coming up on Austin's eighty station one o three point one.
By days like day. It's days like today not fun days to.
Be on the radio when we try to keep you updated and informed of how you can help out the people that have been affected by the devastating floods that happened in the hill country around Kerrville, along the Guadalupe River, even into Marble Falls, Leander. I mean it's it's really really widespread, even up into San Angelo. Just the flooding that happened is just been devastating and a lot of
lives have been lost. We would encourage you, if you would like to help out, to go to Community Foundation dot net. That is Community Foundation dot net if you want to make a donation. A lot of people we were just talking a little bit ago, HGB has really stepped up our first responders national Guard Coastguard have done an amazing job and local authorities to there. They've JV
mentioned they've they've rescued over two hundred people there. And there was a last night there was a candlelight village for a student at Casis Elementary.
Is that right, JV.
Yeah, they there was a vigil at like around seven o'clock last night at Casie's. There was a young girl who was from Casi's who passed away, Lenny McCown and I think she was in cabins with a friend of hers. I think they were friends. Mary Stevens is a young girl that went to Highland Park Elementary.
But I just kept thinking about it.
You know, my daughter would go to camp when she was eight, just like these girls. And if you're you know, if you have a kid at that age going to camp, chances are your child knows someone who might have passed in this right, there's a good odds yeah, which is you don't you don't want your ege year old child to know that's you know, somebody that from their school or a classmate or a friend has passed. They're just you know, young, innocent.
It's just gut wrenching, but yeah, they had a candlelight vigil last night, and people just want to do something and they don't know what to do, right.
They don't acknowledge and to help and to try and comfort.
Yeah, right, I mean camp for for our daughter.
And I don't mean to make this about us, it's but it's just that's her jam, that's her thing, that's what she looks forward to.
She said, it's her happiest place on earth is when she's at camp.
Right, And she's gone to the same camps and she was seven years old, and campers make lifelong friends, they make what they call themselves camp friends, you know. In fact, Landry's brought it up several times when she's gone to different places and she finds out that another girl went to the same camp that she went to.
H they talked about it.
It's a bond, instant connection, right, and I just you know, we talked about it earlier.
And the I just can't imagine being the parents of these.
Camp I can't getting that call, yeah and knowing.
Right, and then the I think it was JB. Was it you that said or Tricia that said? Oh was Tricia that said? These young counselors, Yeah, that are being put in a position to make big decisions to save people's lives.
Right, our daughter, this is her first year being a camp counselor. She's sixteen, and she had to go through an emergency training class before she was allowed to do it. I don't know if there's anything that could prepare you for what those camp counselors had to do right when the flooding started coming through and at you know, such a young age taking care of little kids.
I mean, it's just as terrifying, you know, it's important.
There were a lot of people that are relatively new to Texas and maybe they haven't been in the whole country and wonder why does it flood like that because it's just all rock.
It's just there's no top.
Stairs, nowhere to go, and there's all these creeks and rivers that feed into right Lake Travis, Canyon Lake you.
Know, they'll be j which is a constant level.
Lake was up, you know over the weekend, and Lake Travis is of course rising as we speak and will continue to rise probably for a week. But it just was one of those tropical depressions that came and just sat over top of them.
Yeah, I was watching it on the radar and.
When it was going down, it just was circling around and dumping in the same spot.
Right, and again we've said it before, but hats off to the people that are there doing the work, you know, the rescue teams, the Coast Guard, the National Guard and everybody. We mentioned AGV earlier that they've have sent their disaster really people. Waterburger is also helping out. You have that info, U huh.
Water Burger said that they are providing they're going to the areas most affected and they're providing meals to the first responders and the community, the leaders and the rescuers who are out there helping save people and find people.
Right.
You can make a donation if you want to help out. Community Foundation dot net. That's Community Foundation dot net. It's a fully betted organization that's been around for over forty years that they give grants to people that are in need in the Hill Country and there's going to be a lot of people that need help and just the have you seen the aerial photography before and afters it's insane of that area.
It's mind blowing to.
Think that all that but in the homes that are going to need to be rebuilt. The businesses you know that are going to need to be rebuilt. You know that it's a small community that they're gonna have to rebuild a lot of things.
But man, and I just got to say, I don't it's a little early to start pointing fingers at people. Yeah, I think it's really in bad form to start doing that right now.
And it's happening.
I've seen it online, people pointing fingers at other people for what happened. I just think it's there's a time and a place for that. I don't think it's right now now.
I don't when a river rises twenty six feet in forty five minutes and there's there's there was not time.
There just wasn't time for right to do anything.
You well, you you said it earlier, and you really put a picture in my head of saying that someone in his RV woke up to two feet of water in his RV.
So that means on the.
Ground that was yeah, there's a few feet, Yeah, there's a few more.
Feet in A foot of rushing water can push a car off a road. Yeah, Just to give you an idea, so you step out of your RV or your cabin and you're in rushing water full of debris.
Like That's one of the things that's so scary about it is all the debris that is in the water, not just the wall of water and the rushing water, but all of the debris that it's picked up on the way down.
Yeah, that can just can just knock you out. Yeah. I saw a fire truck getting washed away, right, fire right.
Right, And you know that that camp's been around forever. They've they've seen this, they've seen flooding and water's rise, you know what I mean, but not not like again, it happened in the middle of the night. But you know, if you if you know, as storm cells come and they're probably like, okay, yeah we've seen this, you know what I mean, but not at this magnitude.
Right, And those those camps, I know that just again drawing to our own experience, those camps are ultra ultra cautious with things, with safety, with things, and this being being one of them.
So it wasn't the owner the owner of the camp pass trying to save kids.
Trying to save kids camp I think seventy year old man. He was a former ut I think athlete, our coach, Jack Eastman, yes his name.
I didn't know that he was there trying to He and his family have been running it that Camp Mystic.
I mean there are there are about fifty camps along the Guadaloupe River, right, Camp Mystic is the one that seems to be getting the most attention. I think it sustained the most casualties and fatalities.
But yeah, his the Eastman or east Land families.
Eastland, they've been running it for a while, like his daughters and son in laws and sons and daughters in laws like live on the property and have been running it for years.
And he was there trying to help save kids. Wow.
And the director of the camp I believe she passed away as well, trying to help save children.
Unbelievable. We'll take a break. It's an incredibly sad story.
Again, if you do want to help out, Community Foundation dot net. This is Austin's eight station one O three point one. Tough day to be on the radio with the flooding in the Hill Country and actually all around central Texas and even north up into San Angelo in that area. As we've spent quite a bit of time talking about, you know, Camp Mystic and the Guadali River, Curville and stuff like that.
But there's also been flooding a little closer to home.
You know.
A bunch of mobile home parks along the south fork of the San Gabriel River were evacuated early on Saturday. They said about fifteen one hundred messages out telling people to evacuate, and a lot of people did. They were just out knocking on doors.
The Sheriff's Shady Shady River RV Park off Highway twenty nine, just east of Georgetown. Yeah, got hammered. And you think about it too, Like I'm an RV yere. I don't currently have one, but I've had one for twenty years up until last year. And you get a lot of
elderly people. Yeah, and those RV parks and it just happened so fast, and you can't just hitch up and go, you know, you just jump in your truck or whatever, or if they're even if they are RVs that are you know, like I always had a towble, but if you have a US, like everything, it takes a while.
You can't just go out to a hook and all that and all that stuff.
Yeah, right, but I mean this is happening in Williamson County, Burning County, Travis County.
Everywhere, and it's just crazy.
I just yesterday I was seeing some of the footage of Shoal Creek, which has a pretty narly history. If you've been in Austin a long time, there's a lot of flooding on South Lamar that can happen. They've done a lot of improvements on that creek to prevent that. But Walnut Creek was where it was dumping into Ladybird Lake was insane.
Yeah, I was on I drove down Caesar Shavez Saturday morning. I was beating JB for coffee and I just looked at Ladybird Lake. It was clearly higher than normal. Really on Saturday morning it was up and that's normally a pretty constant level, but it was it was up quite a bit.
So, Yeah, there's a because I use that trail a lot, you know, you know the little spiraling walkway that you see right near Tomar Yeah, and Caesar Shavos. When you go up that those stairs to that pedestrian bridge, there's a marker of where it hit in two thousand and one.
Oh, I've seen that marker. Yeah, and it's frightening how high that is.
Wow, Yeah, you know that's uh, it could yeah, it could flood downtown, you know. So, I mean they have made a lot of improvement, but it's it's bad. It's bad everywhere, all these creeks and rivers. You just don't want to mess with low water crossings. You don't. I don't care what you're driving.
I mean, we've joked around in the past about turnaround, don't drown, but it's for real. Yeah, it's definitely for real. It's just a little bit six inches of water can carry you away.
I mean less than that, right can do that.
But there have been rescues, people swept away in fatalities in almost each of those counties that we mentioned.
Really yeah, yes.
So we've been mentioning it all all morning long. And if you want to make a donation, especially to the people in the Hill Country I've been affected by this, go to Community Foundation dot net a big shout out. As we mentioned HB doing what they always do and helping out waterburger feeding, feeding first responders and rescue teams.
Kendrascott Kindrick Scott jumped in. Yep.
She put one of her bracelets online the Everline bracelet and said that one hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of those bracelets are going to go directly to the people who need to help the most, and then she did an update that said the overwhelming response
those Everline bracelets sold out immediately. They're working to get more back online, but you can still always go into their stores and purchase one, and again, one hundred percent of the proceeds from each of those bracelets, it goes to the most immediate needs for the victims of families and the communities.
Well, that's great, Yeah, that's great.
It's so cool to see local people and businesses stepping up and doing what they can, you know, I mean a GB I hope we never take them for granted, like all the amazing stuff that they do Waaberger, Kinder Scott and there's probably dozens and dozens more that we just don't know about that I'm sure that are doing a lot and just and helping people out that whose lives have been forever changed and because of these flooding.
Personally, what we take for granted day in day out, Yeah, things like this. You know, you're not human if you don't stop and have some perspective, right, and just counter blessings and you know, take care of those around you and whatever you were been out of shape about yesterday is probably pretty stupid, right, Yeah.
Definitely gives perspective on you know whatever, Like you said, whatever you've maybe been out of shape about or mad at someone for or whatever. It gives you a chance to realize it's that's really not that important. So it's a tough day for us to be on the radio when things like this happened.
It JB.
I mean, it kind of feels like September eleventh, that feeling, you know what I mean.
Yeah, we we were on the radio when that happened, and then it I mean that took that took a long time to just go back to joking around.
Right, and we had to. It was a feel thing. It was like we'll kind of know it when it's time to laugh again. And having the time right now. It's important to get information out to people about how they can help, what they can do, and give love to people that have have done great stuff already. So I'm gonna give you that website out one more time. Community Foundation dot net If you would like to make a donation to the people in the Kerrville area. Again
is community Foundation dot net. This is the JB and Sandy Show. It's Austin's eighty station one O three point one. Hey, it's JB and Sand for our friends at Koala Cooling, Scott and Stacy, the same great folks behind kangaroof are the folks who bring you Koala Cooling and Plumbing. Do you ever hear the same JB? The dog days of summer? Do you know what it actually means? It means you can't go outside. You want to stay in your air
condition home. How I interpret that true? But it actually has history with astrology, the ancient Greeks and the Dog Star constellation. Hey, that's great, great to know. But right here on planet Texas, I just know it's hot, right.
Yeah, we hit triple digits in May and I know we have hit triple digits in September. That's a long stretch. You want to get your home checked out and koualified.
Yeah, you don't want your AC breaking down on the hottest days of the year, So go ahead and get the team from Kowala Cooling to come out and take a look. Like JB said, get your ac kualified. Call them today at five one, two, seven, five nine eighty eight hundred