Give money, not food, not clothes, to help refugees from Hurricane Katrina, urged Fayette County Department of Public Safety Director Jack Krakeel Thursday night at a town hall meeting in Fayetteville.

As local government agencies began to gear up for an expected surge of displaced Gulf Coast residents, Krakeel said the main thing refugees need right now is cash for the basic necessities of life.

Dozens of refugees have arrived in Fayette and many more are expected, Chief Krakeel said.

The lead agency locally is the Fayette County Department of Family and Children's Services (DFCS, the acronym pronounced "dee-fax"), Krakeel said.

Already, DFCS has run out of money to help a vanguard of about 42 families who escaped the hurricane's devastation, Krakeel and other officials told about 130 citizens who turned out at a hastily called meeting Sept. 1 at the Fayette County Library.

DFCS official Dee House said the agency was giving out Wal-Mart gift cards in $25 denominations to assist the first wave of evacuees, many of whom left their homes before the hurricane struck with little money and no provisions beyond the first few days.

It takes about three to five days after applying before a refugee can receive a food stamp debit card, House said. It's that period between first applying and first receiving a state card that represents the greatest need for private and church help, she said.

And that need is cash. Make checks out to the Fayette County Department of Family and Children's Services and note the gift is for Katrina refugees, she said.

"They need clothes, jobs," House said. "[Many] are intending to stay here because they have nothing to go