Fee Hedrick Family Entertainment

The Mountain Press:
PIGEON FORGE, TN – It is fitting that John Emilien and his brother, Kenny, of Metairie, La., have a dog named Lucky, because that is exactly how they feel after the week they’ve been through.

The Emiliens were one of several refugees that were brought to Sevier County, thanks to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts of the Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment Group.

On Sunday morning, David Fee returned to the Comedy Barn after a trip to New Orleans, with a large refrigeration truck, not hauling food and other supplies, but the Emiliens and approximately 10 other refugees as a result of the hurricane.

While in the New Orleans area, Fee was urged by Federal Emergency Management Agency officials to pick up several families and individuals and take them to safety.

As the Emiliens made it out of Louisiana in tact, John was very appreciative that he was able to save his dog.

“I’m very grateful he made it out okay,” said John, choking up with tears of joy. “He’s been in the house for six days.”

The Emiliens stayed at a nearby high school that was made into a shelter, and also volunteered their time serving others in need.

John said a personal favor was done for him when his dog was rescued, but reiterated that he was grateful that he, his brother and other family and friends were okay to their knowledge.

“We wanted to go to Baton Rouge, but I couldn’t get in touch with my mother’s sisters,” said John. “I could only get in touch with them through collect calls, but they probably wouldn’t know who it was. So the folks at the Comedy Barn pulled up in a truck and said, ‘We’re going to Tennessee.’ They said, ‘Young man, if want to save your dog, you can take him with you and go to Tennessee, and I said, ‘Let’s go.’

“We thought we could wait (the storm) out, but we decided not to,” John continued. “We got a few items and then we left, and my brother and I been together ever since.”

Upon their arrival, Kenny found out that a girlfriend he had left behind was still alive.

“My brother had called someone’s cell phone, and he called some relatives and found out she was alive. Thank God she was found,” said Kenny.

“I never thought that New Orleans could be devastated from just a hurricane,” Kenny continued. “There was a lady with her baby who was stuck on a roof, and she was on her cell phone and said, ‘I don’t know where I’m at,’ and she needed to get someone to help her. It can show how God is good. I’m just blessed that you got people here and different places to help. I’m just glad I’m alive, because I could have been dead in that area of New Orleans.”

The brothers said they would be inclined to stay in Sevier County if the right opportunities came along. Upon their arrival here Sunday, they didn’t know where they were going to stay, but would by day’s end.

“I told my brother we don’t have a car, but if they can teach us the routes, I would live up here,” said Kenny. “I love the mountains, so we just might stay. People like us, we’re low income, and not high-class like other people. If there’s a way we could afford to stay, I would stay.”

Original Story:
The Mountain Press