Wyatt Cox, an Ely man known more for invective than the warm fuzzies gave a heartfelt thanks to the residents of his community for their concern for his new wife Cheryl still in her native Philippines.
“I literally cannot go to the market without someone, friends, acquaintances people I don’t know and even people I have had words with asking me about her,” Cox said in an interview Wednesday. “The first thing I tell them is that Cheryl is fine. She is in Manilla that was not touched by the typhoon. Still the outpouring of concern is so nice, it really makes me appreciate living in a small town.”
Last week Typhoon Haiyan cut a swath of death and destruction across much of Leyte Island in the central Philippines. Estimates put the death toll at around 10,000 initially however that number could rise.
Various news reports suggest that many residents in the more rural parts of the affected area have not yet received any help now six days after the storm and there is the real fear that more than a few will have survived the natural disaster only to succumb to exposure, disease and hunger.
“To give you an idea of the level of destruction, the province of Leyte has one and a half million people living there. The projections of ten thousand dead there is entirely realistic considering the main scenarios we’re hearing.” Cox wrote in a facebook post.
“When the winds hit, people abandoned their homes and headed for churches and other brick and concrete buildings that could withstand the winds. Unfortunately when the storm surge hit people were trapped and died there or tried to escape and were swept away.
I’ve been asking folks who can to donate to http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate or http://emergencies.crs.org/…/ or https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/TyphoonHaiyan and kick in a little bit. Even $5 will get these people the food and water they need to recover…”
Cox who runs the White Pine News blog has frequently clashed with what he calls the Ely Old Boy network and has recently call for the resignations of White Pine County commissioners Mike Lemich and John Lampros. He was married this September in the Philippines.
I am happy to be able to keep in touch with a grade school mate. Happy Cheryl Cox is safe and pray for her to be with her husband, Wyatt, as soon as possible.