For days now, we have seen fingers pointing in every direction, looking for someone on whom to heap blame for the tragedy in New Orleans.

But how about some pats on the back for the unsung heroes among us?

4Volunteers. We can’t say enough about those people who are giving their time to do a variety of tasks in our community, from manning shelters to washing load after load of laundry. Red Cross and churches across the Miss-Lou have undertaken a Herculean task in housing so many evacuees.

4Power company employees. Considering the enormous hit Mississippi’s system took, Entergy was able to get our area back on line quickly, as linemen have worked hard to restore electricity across the state. Even pockets of the hard hit gulf coast had power early this week.

4Schools. Opening their doors to new students, the public and private schools in our area have reached out to provide a sense of normalcy for children displaced from their homes. Meanwhile, the Natchez-Adams School System’s cafeteria workers have graciously prepared meals every day for people in the Red Cross shelters.

4Families and friends. Just about everyone in Natchez knows someone who has five, 10, even 20 people in their home, safely sheltered after the storm.

4Police, sheriff’s, fire and public works departments. Pressed into service in a variety of ways &045; handing out water, keeping our community safe in a time of great change, even visiting storm-ravaged areas of Mississippi and Louisiana, these public employees have worked hard to help all of us.

The unsung heroes across the Miss-Lou are too many to mention, and we know they will continue working hard for weeks and months to come.