Kim Harbison and her two compatriots from Slidell, La., had an amazing whirlwind day in Bismarck on Tuesday, and that wasn't just because the cold fall wind had started howling almost as soon as they arrived.

Harbison, who is a member of the Slidell City Council, Theresa Risley, chairman of the board of the Slidell Chamber of Commerce, and Keith Boyer, representing the Slidell Fire Department, got a quick chance to tour the town and Fort Lincoln before they were due to be the guests of honor at an auction at the Ramkota Inn Tuesday night. They brought with them "lots of thank-yous," Harbison said.

The auction, by the newly-organized local group, Christians for Katrina Relief, will give its proceeds to help the citizens of Slidell, the community chosen for its similar size to Bismarck-Mandan and for the devastation which Katrina left behind her in the town.

The hurricane's eye passed directly over Slidell - Boyer said he hasn't yet heard of anyone from Slidell who didn't sustain damage during the hurricane.

In the whole community, "no one was unaffected," Risley said.

Homes, jobs, businesses, hospitals, everything was disrupted, Boyer said. Cell phones, satellite phones, communication of all kinds, electricity, had to be brought up and running again.

What the three have seen is the brotherly and sisterly way that groups such as the Chamber, fire departments, nurses' groups, banks and businesses have reached out to help their counterparts in Slidell.

And "amazing" help from church groups kept Slidell going, Harbison said.

Slidell is starting over, repairing and making livable their community again, Risley said. People are returning and businesses are vowing to remain, she said.

While Harbison had experienced an earthquake in Alaska in 1964, and Boyer has seen flooding before, none of the three have seen anything like Katrina's ferocity, they said.

The damage was so vast - too big to comprehend, Boyer said.

Despite the chaos, coordination was well-done; that was a providential hand at work, he said.

And with help coming in now from the rest of the country, Bismarck "has really set the tone," with this reaching out, Risley said.

Auction organizers expect to have a total of funds raised at the event within a couple of days.

(Reach Karen Herzog at 250-8267 or karen.herzog@;bismarcktribune.com.)