National Guard Opens Offices

The Army National Guard has come to south Mobile County to help oil spill victims fill out claim forms for British Petroleum.
But many people filling out the forms said they really need help getting jobs.
Some are resorting to unusual measures.
Kenny Dang and his family carried signs to his shrimp boat the "Phillip Junior" Wednesday afternoon.
The signs ask BP to hire him.
Dang said hanging the signs on the boat "is the only way I think I'm going to get any attention."
He said he's tried of calling and e-mailing BP, but, "I'm still waiting. Its an ongoing battle and I'm trying to be patient, but the bill collector isn't letting me."
Dang was one of several dozen people who came to the Bayou La Batre Community Center Wednesday to get help from the Army National Guard to file claims with BP.
Sergeant First Class Willie Allen with the 778th Army National Guard said, "We have two teams out in the community going around explaIning how to fill out the claims, and then sending them back here, and we're sitting down with them."
But some people here, like two commercial gill net fishermen, have complaints similar to Kenny Dang's.
Daryl Johnson said, "We've turned in BP contracts. We can't get nobody on the phone. We've got sport boats coming in here like crazy getting hired on. We've been down here all our life: we cannot get hired on. They won't call us, we can't get nothing done."
Shane Esfeller said, "I have a wife, two kids, a house note, and a car note."
Johnson said, "You call a number and they said they'll call you back. That's been a month."
The number BP has given for people to call to register to work is 1-877-847-7470.