Oh Dear

"Oh Dear" has always seemed, to me, a very British phrase, and, in Britain, there are people I know, particularly of an older generation, who use it almost compulsively, to register anything from minor consternation—"Oh Dear, I've dropped my jumper"—to blossoming irritation—"Oh Dear, I've dropped my jumper in the mud"—to full-on alarm—"Oh Dear, Germany has dropped a bomb on London." Mr. Shakes, however, tends to reserve "Oh Dear" for only very serious occasions, when all other words fail. It's a habit I seem to have picked up, uttering "Oh Dear" in a grave voice with knitted brow when I am otherwise stunned into wordlessness.

Oh Dear:

BATON ROUGE — The leader of Louisiana's largest school system says she believes that up to 200 children in the state's biggest hurricane evacuee camp are not registered in local schools. And she says the U.S. government — citing privacy laws — is doing little to help officials identify the youths.

East Baton Rouge Parish School Superintendent Charlotte Placide says the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has refused to give school officials direct access to information about youths in Renaissance Village, a trailer park for families where 1,200-2,000 people live.

"The law requires students to be in school," Placide says. "We have families in the FEMA trailer park who concern me greatly."

She says schools have reached out to parents at Renaissance Village and registered about 200 youths, at least temporarily, until their families can find permanent homes. However, Placide — citing the trailer park's size, its designation as a place for families and her observations of daily life there — says it appears 200 or so more youths aren't in school.

Placide and state social service authorities say some households remain so unsettled that youths likely have jobs to help their families. Other kids might be staying home to watch their families' possessions when their parents are at work, she says.

SAP has some questions. He also notes: "I guess here would be the point where I inject a No Child Left Behind joke, but this has moved far beyond the point where any humor can be found in this situation. Seventeen months since Katrina destroyed New Orleans, and garbage like this is still happening."

Yeah.