North Jefferson News, Gardendale, AL

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July 13, 2010

Locals’ plans washed up by Gulf oil spill

By Ben Montgomery The North Jefferson News

NORTH JEFFERSON — Although Gardendale and the rest of north Jefferson County is nearly 300 miles from the gulf, local residents still feel the impact.

Cherie Brake, of Gardendale, said the spill was one of the reasons she decided not to take a trip to the beach.

“But, maybe people should go while they can,” she said. “Who knows how bad it could be next year.”

Amy Gooch, owner of Cherished Moments on Main Street in Gardendale, said she was derailed from a trip to Orange Beach because of the spill.

Her son, Austin, was supposed to participate in a World Series tournament for 10-year-olds in Orange Beach, but the majority of parents on Austin’s team, the 31 North Rebels, decided not to go because of the oil washing up on shore.

“We were going to go down four days earlier than the world series, and that was going to be our vacation,” said Gooch. She and her family took a trip to Panama City, Fla., instead.

“There’s no oil here as far as I can see,” she said, “but there are workers walking up and down the beach looking for it.”

She said she and her family weren’t disappointed they had to rearrange their trip.

“If we had gone to Orange Beach, we would have had to go to baseball games, and that can mess up your whole vacation,” she said. “Now we get a whole week. The kids can go swimming and to the beach, and they don’t have to go play baseball after that.”

She said The 31 North Rebels won the tournament last year.

Johnny Cole, a Pinson man, said he is considering finding work in the affected areas, particularly Gulf Shores.

“I’ve mostly heard about it through word of mouth,” he said. “I’ve heard they pay as much as $500 a week.”

Cole has heard cleanup crews are spread thin, and that the situation might lead to some jobs.

“I know they don’t have enough military people. I’m ex-military, so I know how that is,” he said.

The oil spill began April 20 when the British Petroleum-run Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig exploded in the gulf, killing 11 people and injuring 17 others.

The wellhead reportedly releases 12,000 to 19,000 barrels of oil a day. Millions of barrels of oil have poured into the Gulf of Mexico.

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