FEMA official: update on hurricane plans ready next week
7/16/2006, 1:31 p.m. CT
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Governors in 12 coastal states vulnerable to hurricanes will receive letters next week from the overseer of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, outlining how the agency's policies have been overhauled since Hurricane Katrina.
The letter from Michael Chertoff, head of the Department of Homeland Security, will explain to the governors how FEMA has streamlined the way it will handle evacuations, transportation and shelters when a storm strikes this hurricane season, according to Harvey Johnson, a U.S. Coast Guard vice admiral who was named FEMA deputy director and chief operating officer in April.
Hurricane season began June 1 and runs through November, with August and September usually being the months of peak activity.
Johnson took part in a panel discussion on hurricane preparedness at the annual meeting of the Southern Governors Association, chaired by Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and held in downtown New Orleans, one section of the hurricane-ravaged city that is recovering well following Katrina.
Johnson said his agency has improved planning for coordination of transportation — getting people out of storm-threatened areas — and having shelter space identified and ready for occupation. Much red tape and paperwork have also been eliminated, he said, citing in particular a streamlined system for getting approval from the Pentagon for use of military trucks.
"All those skids have been greased now," he said.
Blanco and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour both questioned Johnson on FEMA's plans to come up with better temporary housing for hurricane evacuees, saying the agency's policy of providing them with travel trailers needs to be changed, because the vehicles are too cramped. Blanco said a better alternative are small houses known as "Katrina cottages," that have been popping up along the Gulf coast, quickly built but more spacious and durable structures than the trailers.
Johnson agreed that trailers are inappropriate, saying: "I think we found with mobile homes, travel trailers, one size does not fit all."
News from Central Gulf Focus: La./Miss (Ala contributors)
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Audrey2Katrina
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U.S. health chief OKs overhaul of Louisiana health care system
10:19 AM CDT on Monday, July 17, 2006
Associated Press
The Bush administration's top health care official approved Monday a planning effort intended to reform the health care system in the New Orleans area, now marred by a lack of preventative care and heavy dependence on emergency rooms.
Michael Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, agreed to waive some of the strict rules regarding Medicaid and Medicare programs if Louisiana can deliver by Oct. 20 a plan to find ways to provide adequate medical care for all residents.
Leavitt and Gov. Kathleen Blanco approved creating the group that will draft that plan: the 40-member Louisiana Health Care Redesign Collaborative, made up of state officials, health care professionals and advocates.
Ten months after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans area still has a great shortage of doctors and nurses, many of whom remain evacuated or have simply moved out of the ravaged area since Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The city has no hospital for psychiatric patients.
If the group makes the deadline and Leavitt approves its plan, it would cover New Orleans and the surrounding parishes of Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard.
The collaborative is chaired by Fred Cerise, secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals. It includes state lawmakers, physicians, consumer advocates and representatives of medical schools and the nursing home and hospital industries.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
10:19 AM CDT on Monday, July 17, 2006
Associated Press
The Bush administration's top health care official approved Monday a planning effort intended to reform the health care system in the New Orleans area, now marred by a lack of preventative care and heavy dependence on emergency rooms.
Michael Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, agreed to waive some of the strict rules regarding Medicaid and Medicare programs if Louisiana can deliver by Oct. 20 a plan to find ways to provide adequate medical care for all residents.
Leavitt and Gov. Kathleen Blanco approved creating the group that will draft that plan: the 40-member Louisiana Health Care Redesign Collaborative, made up of state officials, health care professionals and advocates.
Ten months after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans area still has a great shortage of doctors and nurses, many of whom remain evacuated or have simply moved out of the ravaged area since Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The city has no hospital for psychiatric patients.
If the group makes the deadline and Leavitt approves its plan, it would cover New Orleans and the surrounding parishes of Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard.
The collaborative is chaired by Fred Cerise, secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals. It includes state lawmakers, physicians, consumer advocates and representatives of medical schools and the nursing home and hospital industries.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Audrey2Katrina
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Holy Cross design contest advances
Three finalists have ties to New Orleans
Monday, July 17, 2006 TP/NOLA.com
By John Pope
Three architects with New Orleans ties are among six finalists announced today in a national competition to design environmentally friendly housing for the Katrina-ravaged Holy Cross neighborhood.
They are Kenneth Gowland and Steve Dumez, both of whom live and work in New Orleans, and New Orleans native Drew Lang, who practices in his hometown and in New York City.
The competition is sponsored by Global Green USA, a nonprofit environmental organization.
The other finalists are Fred Schwartz and Matthew Berman of New York City and Brad Lynch of Chicago.
After meetings with local community groups, the competition will conclude around the end of August, to coincide with the first anniversary of Katrina's assault on the New Orleans area, Global Green spokesman Reuben Aronin said.
No one knows yet how many architects will be picked or how many buildings will be erected, he said.
"It's conceivable that each site would have a multifamily 12-unit building, as well as six individual homes and a community center," Aronin said.
The chief concern, Aronin said, will be to make the homes as storm-resistant as possible while ensuring that they minimize energy consumption.
"Because there's a need to rebuild, we feel it can and should be done in a green way," he said.
The competition received a flurry of attention Friday because Brad Pitt, one of the judges, was in New Orleans to examine the entries and talk up the project. The actor contributed $100,000 to help underwrite the contest, Aronin said.
The next steps -- determining how many homes to build and how to pay for them -- are among details that remain to be worked out, he said.
More information is available at http://www.globalgreen.org.
Three finalists have ties to New Orleans
Monday, July 17, 2006 TP/NOLA.com
By John Pope
Three architects with New Orleans ties are among six finalists announced today in a national competition to design environmentally friendly housing for the Katrina-ravaged Holy Cross neighborhood.
They are Kenneth Gowland and Steve Dumez, both of whom live and work in New Orleans, and New Orleans native Drew Lang, who practices in his hometown and in New York City.
The competition is sponsored by Global Green USA, a nonprofit environmental organization.
The other finalists are Fred Schwartz and Matthew Berman of New York City and Brad Lynch of Chicago.
After meetings with local community groups, the competition will conclude around the end of August, to coincide with the first anniversary of Katrina's assault on the New Orleans area, Global Green spokesman Reuben Aronin said.
No one knows yet how many architects will be picked or how many buildings will be erected, he said.
"It's conceivable that each site would have a multifamily 12-unit building, as well as six individual homes and a community center," Aronin said.
The chief concern, Aronin said, will be to make the homes as storm-resistant as possible while ensuring that they minimize energy consumption.
"Because there's a need to rebuild, we feel it can and should be done in a green way," he said.
The competition received a flurry of attention Friday because Brad Pitt, one of the judges, was in New Orleans to examine the entries and talk up the project. The actor contributed $100,000 to help underwrite the contest, Aronin said.
The next steps -- determining how many homes to build and how to pay for them -- are among details that remain to be worked out, he said.
More information is available at http://www.globalgreen.org.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Audrey2Katrina
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Scholarships aim to keep colleges full
Storm-displaced students offered up to $1,000 to study in state
Monday, July 17, 2006 TP/NOLA.com
By Rob Nelson
West Bank bureau
As an incentive for Louisiana students to stay in state for college and to lure back those displaced by last year's hurricanes, the state is offering special scholarships aimed at replenishing its higher-education rosters.
As part of its "Return to Learn" program, the state Board of Regents is offering scholarships of up to $1,000 to these groups: students who were enrolled in a state college or university when they were dispersed by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita; displaced Louisiana residents who would like to enroll in college; or displaced state high school seniors who graduated this year.
The amount of each scholarship will depend on financial need, and students must apply for the money before enrolling for the 2006 fall semester.
Financed through $8.5 million in federal money, the program is designed to rebuild the state's population of public and private college students. Estimates show state colleges have 20,000 fewer students than before the storms, officials said.
"We're talking about work-force development," said Theresa Hay, assistant commissioner of planning and research for the Board of Regents. "We're talking about economic development. Higher education will play a very important role in the rebuilding of Louisiana."
The board oversees 30 public colleges and universities that served more than 200,000 students before the storm.
Based on the percentage of their students from fall 2004 who lived in storm-affected parishes, the state divided the money among more than 40 colleges and universities. All public and private schools received a piece of the pie.
Schools that nabbed the most money included Delgado Community College, the University of New Orleans and Tulane University. Any leftover money will be shipped to schools where a need exists, Hay said.
Southern University at New Orleans received about $240,000, and SUNO officials say interest in the program has been strong.
So far SUNO has received 400 applications, said Ursula Shorty, the school's financial aid director. "The students have had an overwhelming response to it," she said. "I think they were grateful the state cared about them coming home."
Before the storm, SUNO had about 3,700 students, about 2,100 of whom had returned by the end of spring semester.
The Rev. William Maestri, superintendent of the Archdiocese of New Orleans schools, also noted a strong interest in the program among high school seniors.
"Our phones have been ringing constantly," he said. "The program sends a clear message to our seniors . . . that we want you to stay."
There is no tally yet of how many students have applied for the scholarship, Hay said.
The $8.5 million, part of $95 million in federal emergency dollars Louisiana received to aid colleges, has been earmarked since last fall to help students directly, officials said.
To apply, students must file a current Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, apply for admission to a state college or university and complete the scholarship application form, which can be found online at http://www.returntolearn.info.
State officials also directed interested students to contact their schools for details.
Storm-displaced students offered up to $1,000 to study in state
Monday, July 17, 2006 TP/NOLA.com
By Rob Nelson
West Bank bureau
As an incentive for Louisiana students to stay in state for college and to lure back those displaced by last year's hurricanes, the state is offering special scholarships aimed at replenishing its higher-education rosters.
As part of its "Return to Learn" program, the state Board of Regents is offering scholarships of up to $1,000 to these groups: students who were enrolled in a state college or university when they were dispersed by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita; displaced Louisiana residents who would like to enroll in college; or displaced state high school seniors who graduated this year.
The amount of each scholarship will depend on financial need, and students must apply for the money before enrolling for the 2006 fall semester.
Financed through $8.5 million in federal money, the program is designed to rebuild the state's population of public and private college students. Estimates show state colleges have 20,000 fewer students than before the storms, officials said.
"We're talking about work-force development," said Theresa Hay, assistant commissioner of planning and research for the Board of Regents. "We're talking about economic development. Higher education will play a very important role in the rebuilding of Louisiana."
The board oversees 30 public colleges and universities that served more than 200,000 students before the storm.
Based on the percentage of their students from fall 2004 who lived in storm-affected parishes, the state divided the money among more than 40 colleges and universities. All public and private schools received a piece of the pie.
Schools that nabbed the most money included Delgado Community College, the University of New Orleans and Tulane University. Any leftover money will be shipped to schools where a need exists, Hay said.
Southern University at New Orleans received about $240,000, and SUNO officials say interest in the program has been strong.
So far SUNO has received 400 applications, said Ursula Shorty, the school's financial aid director. "The students have had an overwhelming response to it," she said. "I think they were grateful the state cared about them coming home."
Before the storm, SUNO had about 3,700 students, about 2,100 of whom had returned by the end of spring semester.
The Rev. William Maestri, superintendent of the Archdiocese of New Orleans schools, also noted a strong interest in the program among high school seniors.
"Our phones have been ringing constantly," he said. "The program sends a clear message to our seniors . . . that we want you to stay."
There is no tally yet of how many students have applied for the scholarship, Hay said.
The $8.5 million, part of $95 million in federal emergency dollars Louisiana received to aid colleges, has been earmarked since last fall to help students directly, officials said.
To apply, students must file a current Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, apply for admission to a state college or university and complete the scholarship application form, which can be found online at http://www.returntolearn.info.
State officials also directed interested students to contact their schools for details.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Miss., La. co.s cited for failure to pay Katrina cleanup overtime
7/17/2006, 12:28 p.m. CT
The Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Hattiesburg company that performed debris removal in Lamar and Forrest counties is among three businesses ordered to pay back wages totaling $181,689 for problems that included failure to pay overtime worked.
Ninnahtoosii Inc. of Hattiesburg and Richard Disposal Inc. and Kimberly Wilson, doing business as Garretson Construction of New Orleans, were cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.
All three companies performed debris clean up after Hurricane Katrina for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Garretson Construction picked up debris in Orleans Parish.
The Wage and Hour Division order, released Monday, affects 164 employees to whom the three companies allegedly failed to pay fringe benefits, failed to pay the correct overtime and, in some instances, failed to pay for all hours worked.
The Labor Department said the companies cooperated with the investigation
7/17/2006, 12:28 p.m. CT
The Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Hattiesburg company that performed debris removal in Lamar and Forrest counties is among three businesses ordered to pay back wages totaling $181,689 for problems that included failure to pay overtime worked.
Ninnahtoosii Inc. of Hattiesburg and Richard Disposal Inc. and Kimberly Wilson, doing business as Garretson Construction of New Orleans, were cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.
All three companies performed debris clean up after Hurricane Katrina for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Garretson Construction picked up debris in Orleans Parish.
The Wage and Hour Division order, released Monday, affects 164 employees to whom the three companies allegedly failed to pay fringe benefits, failed to pay the correct overtime and, in some instances, failed to pay for all hours worked.
The Labor Department said the companies cooperated with the investigation
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HARBORING DOUBTS
The Army Corps' floodgate in the 17th Street Canal has scattered the remnants of Bucktown's historic fishing fleet, and the fishers who have not left the trade are docking elsewhere until a replacement marina is built nearby
Monday, July 17, 2006 TP/NOLA.com
By Kate Moran
East Jefferson bureau
These days Norman Bordes wears a day-glo nylon vest to work, where he blends in with other inspectors overseeing the removal of storm debris from New Orleans. But something about the uniform is wrong -- strident -- as if he has put on the other team's jersey.
Before Hurricane Katrina, Bordes never expected to make a living anywhere but on Lake Pontchartrain. Like his brother, Peter, and their father before them, he harvested shrimp, crabs and black drum, unloading his catch at the Bucktown piers at the mouth of the 17th Street Canal.
Today he wears that nylon vest because he made the mistake of sheltering his boat behind the locks at Bayou Bienvenue as Katrina gathered strength at sea. When he returned, he found his boat wedged like a caterpillar tent in the trees.
Bordes is repairing his boat, but the historic Bucktown fishing fleet -- the last one operating on the east bank of Jefferson Parish -- is in shards after the storm, and its few remaining boats have lost their longtime berths in the 17th Street Canal. Shrimpers who inherited the trade from older generations are now working as carpenters, roofers and inspectors, and some of the older ones, lacking savings or insurance, might not return to the water at all.
"They are not going to get back into the business because the price on shrimp is dropping so bad, the fuel is skyrocketing and you can't hardly make it anymore," Bordes, 62, said of the old-timers. "Imports are killing the Louisiana market."
Forced from historic home
The problem is not simply loss of boats and want of capital. The Army Corps of Engineers is building a floodgate to segregate the weakened 17th Street Canal from the lake, a project that will seal the traditional passage to open water for the fleet's 25 or so boats. Widening and dredging of the canal displaced other fishers in years past, but the exile now appears to be total and permanent.
A core group has moved a mile west to the Bonnabel Boat Launch, a recreational boating site that the Jefferson Parish Council has converted to a temporary home for the fishers. In the mornings, shrimpers such as Walter "Bubie" Tarantino and Frank Wooley meet under the shade of the gazebo to chat as they keep up their boats in the lull between the brown and white shrimping seasons.
Meanwhile, Russell Boudreaux, a part-time fisher and professional firefighter, is working on a plan to reconstitute the fleet back in Bucktown, at a long-planned marina next to its old home at the mouth of the canal.
Jefferson Parish built the artificial harbor for the fishers when a previous restoration project dislodged them from the canal, but the water proved too shallow for their boats until the Coast Guard built a new patrol station there in 2001 and agreed to dredge the floor of the lake.
Nothing much has been built on the marina site since then. The shops and hotel rooms envisioned over the years by starry-eyed planners remain a mere chimera, resisted by Bucktown residents bent on preserving the rustic nature of their community.
Corps to pay some costs
Boudreaux and the others, far from seeking a marina fully loaded with a fuel station and hundreds of piers for commercial and recreational boaters, are hoping to build just 25 finger slips to replace what they lost when the corps booted them from the canal. The federal engineers have agreed to pay for construction of the slips.
Deanna Walker, who handles real estate acquisition for the corps, said the agency won't pay to buy land for the new marina but will replace the lost piers and help the fishers relocate their equipment. There are no estimates yet of the project's costs, but Walker said there is no cap on relocation expenses as long as the invoices the fishers submit are "actual, reasonable and necessary."
Some Bucktown fishers are now mooring at the Bonnabel launch for no charge. Boudreaux is exploring a cooperative endeavor by which the fleet would lease slips at the Bucktown marina from Jefferson Parish, which in turn leases the land from the state. The fleet previously held a lease in the 17th Street Canal with the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board.
Jefferson civic and political leaders are supporting the effort to build slips at the marina site. Mark Schexnayder, an agent with the Louisiana State University AgCenter, and Pete Chocheles, port manager at the Jefferson Economic Development Commission, investigated various sites for the fleet, including the Industrial Canal, before settling on the marina in the village that many of the fishers call home.
"They are a historic fleet and part of the Bucktown tradition," said Schexnayder, also a member of the Bucktown Citizens Advisory Board. "They are part of our connection with seafood in New Orleans."
Luring the boats back
Boudreaux says the Bucktown marina would draw back the shrimpers and crabbers who have decamped for the Rigolets, Delacroix Island and the north shore since Katrina tossed them from their ancestral home in the 17th Street Canal, which was lined for decades with fishing camps until the dredging imperative brought them down about 1990.
"Older fishermen before us lobbied to have this done. Now it is there for us to use," Boudreaux said of the marina.
Gerald Turan is one of those who still lives in Bucktown, but he won't do his fishing on the lake this year.
His boat survived Katrina after he pulled it deep into the Tchefuncte River, stocked with enough fuel and provisions to last three months. It took him 17 days to steer the skiff around the felled trees in the river, and when he finally reached the lake, he found a bounty of shrimp but no restaurants or markets where he could sell it.
"When the hurricane was over, the only two boats out there were my boat and my son's boat," he said. "There was nobody out there."
Crabbers such as Joseph Trosclair and Norman Groh were not so lucky. They have been working the waters of Lake Salvador since they lost their boats to Katrina -- or, more precisely, to the furious cleanup after the storm.
Both men docked their boats in the 17th Street Canal for Katrina. After the eastern wall of the canal crumbled from the force of the storm surge, corps contractors swooped in to clear debris and begin mending the breach. Cranes crunched some of the boats together with other flotsam that had accumulated around the Old Hammond Highway bridge. Trosclair lost his boat when the crane punched a hole in the bottom.
"When I got back, the boat was out of the water and upside down," Trosclair said. "I lost my income for the rest of the year."
He and Groh filed claims with the corps months ago but have been told their cases are on hold. They are working together on a smaller boat he bought after the storm, but both are getting older and not pulling in much of an income.
"Where me and Joe are running 200 traps, the younger boys in it, they run 600 to 1,000 traps," Groh said. "When I finally can't do it no more -- and I'm pushing myself now -- I figured when it comes to that, I'd sell my boat and have something. I ain't got nothing now."
Times are better for Frank Wooley, a semiretired shrimper who pulled his boat out of the canal and onto a trailer before Katrina. He ties up these days at the Bonnabel launch, though he is eager for space at the Bucktown marina, whenever it gets built.
Boats are stacked two or three deep at the Bonnabel launch, making it difficult to remove a trawl for repairs. Wooley says the place gets crowded when commercial and recreational fishers brush shoulders on weekends.
"It's a little bit of a problem down there, a little hard on the recreational fishermen," Wooley said, while emphasizing that he was grateful to have the boat launch as a resource at all. "We'd like to get into the marina."
The Army Corps' floodgate in the 17th Street Canal has scattered the remnants of Bucktown's historic fishing fleet, and the fishers who have not left the trade are docking elsewhere until a replacement marina is built nearby
Monday, July 17, 2006 TP/NOLA.com
By Kate Moran
East Jefferson bureau
These days Norman Bordes wears a day-glo nylon vest to work, where he blends in with other inspectors overseeing the removal of storm debris from New Orleans. But something about the uniform is wrong -- strident -- as if he has put on the other team's jersey.
Before Hurricane Katrina, Bordes never expected to make a living anywhere but on Lake Pontchartrain. Like his brother, Peter, and their father before them, he harvested shrimp, crabs and black drum, unloading his catch at the Bucktown piers at the mouth of the 17th Street Canal.
Today he wears that nylon vest because he made the mistake of sheltering his boat behind the locks at Bayou Bienvenue as Katrina gathered strength at sea. When he returned, he found his boat wedged like a caterpillar tent in the trees.
Bordes is repairing his boat, but the historic Bucktown fishing fleet -- the last one operating on the east bank of Jefferson Parish -- is in shards after the storm, and its few remaining boats have lost their longtime berths in the 17th Street Canal. Shrimpers who inherited the trade from older generations are now working as carpenters, roofers and inspectors, and some of the older ones, lacking savings or insurance, might not return to the water at all.
"They are not going to get back into the business because the price on shrimp is dropping so bad, the fuel is skyrocketing and you can't hardly make it anymore," Bordes, 62, said of the old-timers. "Imports are killing the Louisiana market."
Forced from historic home
The problem is not simply loss of boats and want of capital. The Army Corps of Engineers is building a floodgate to segregate the weakened 17th Street Canal from the lake, a project that will seal the traditional passage to open water for the fleet's 25 or so boats. Widening and dredging of the canal displaced other fishers in years past, but the exile now appears to be total and permanent.
A core group has moved a mile west to the Bonnabel Boat Launch, a recreational boating site that the Jefferson Parish Council has converted to a temporary home for the fishers. In the mornings, shrimpers such as Walter "Bubie" Tarantino and Frank Wooley meet under the shade of the gazebo to chat as they keep up their boats in the lull between the brown and white shrimping seasons.
Meanwhile, Russell Boudreaux, a part-time fisher and professional firefighter, is working on a plan to reconstitute the fleet back in Bucktown, at a long-planned marina next to its old home at the mouth of the canal.
Jefferson Parish built the artificial harbor for the fishers when a previous restoration project dislodged them from the canal, but the water proved too shallow for their boats until the Coast Guard built a new patrol station there in 2001 and agreed to dredge the floor of the lake.
Nothing much has been built on the marina site since then. The shops and hotel rooms envisioned over the years by starry-eyed planners remain a mere chimera, resisted by Bucktown residents bent on preserving the rustic nature of their community.
Corps to pay some costs
Boudreaux and the others, far from seeking a marina fully loaded with a fuel station and hundreds of piers for commercial and recreational boaters, are hoping to build just 25 finger slips to replace what they lost when the corps booted them from the canal. The federal engineers have agreed to pay for construction of the slips.
Deanna Walker, who handles real estate acquisition for the corps, said the agency won't pay to buy land for the new marina but will replace the lost piers and help the fishers relocate their equipment. There are no estimates yet of the project's costs, but Walker said there is no cap on relocation expenses as long as the invoices the fishers submit are "actual, reasonable and necessary."
Some Bucktown fishers are now mooring at the Bonnabel launch for no charge. Boudreaux is exploring a cooperative endeavor by which the fleet would lease slips at the Bucktown marina from Jefferson Parish, which in turn leases the land from the state. The fleet previously held a lease in the 17th Street Canal with the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board.
Jefferson civic and political leaders are supporting the effort to build slips at the marina site. Mark Schexnayder, an agent with the Louisiana State University AgCenter, and Pete Chocheles, port manager at the Jefferson Economic Development Commission, investigated various sites for the fleet, including the Industrial Canal, before settling on the marina in the village that many of the fishers call home.
"They are a historic fleet and part of the Bucktown tradition," said Schexnayder, also a member of the Bucktown Citizens Advisory Board. "They are part of our connection with seafood in New Orleans."
Luring the boats back
Boudreaux says the Bucktown marina would draw back the shrimpers and crabbers who have decamped for the Rigolets, Delacroix Island and the north shore since Katrina tossed them from their ancestral home in the 17th Street Canal, which was lined for decades with fishing camps until the dredging imperative brought them down about 1990.
"Older fishermen before us lobbied to have this done. Now it is there for us to use," Boudreaux said of the marina.
Gerald Turan is one of those who still lives in Bucktown, but he won't do his fishing on the lake this year.
His boat survived Katrina after he pulled it deep into the Tchefuncte River, stocked with enough fuel and provisions to last three months. It took him 17 days to steer the skiff around the felled trees in the river, and when he finally reached the lake, he found a bounty of shrimp but no restaurants or markets where he could sell it.
"When the hurricane was over, the only two boats out there were my boat and my son's boat," he said. "There was nobody out there."
Crabbers such as Joseph Trosclair and Norman Groh were not so lucky. They have been working the waters of Lake Salvador since they lost their boats to Katrina -- or, more precisely, to the furious cleanup after the storm.
Both men docked their boats in the 17th Street Canal for Katrina. After the eastern wall of the canal crumbled from the force of the storm surge, corps contractors swooped in to clear debris and begin mending the breach. Cranes crunched some of the boats together with other flotsam that had accumulated around the Old Hammond Highway bridge. Trosclair lost his boat when the crane punched a hole in the bottom.
"When I got back, the boat was out of the water and upside down," Trosclair said. "I lost my income for the rest of the year."
He and Groh filed claims with the corps months ago but have been told their cases are on hold. They are working together on a smaller boat he bought after the storm, but both are getting older and not pulling in much of an income.
"Where me and Joe are running 200 traps, the younger boys in it, they run 600 to 1,000 traps," Groh said. "When I finally can't do it no more -- and I'm pushing myself now -- I figured when it comes to that, I'd sell my boat and have something. I ain't got nothing now."
Times are better for Frank Wooley, a semiretired shrimper who pulled his boat out of the canal and onto a trailer before Katrina. He ties up these days at the Bonnabel launch, though he is eager for space at the Bucktown marina, whenever it gets built.
Boats are stacked two or three deep at the Bonnabel launch, making it difficult to remove a trawl for repairs. Wooley says the place gets crowded when commercial and recreational fishers brush shoulders on weekends.
"It's a little bit of a problem down there, a little hard on the recreational fishermen," Wooley said, while emphasizing that he was grateful to have the boat launch as a resource at all. "We'd like to get into the marina."
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Debris from new construction not eligible for pickup in St. Bernard Parish
NOLA.com/TP... 7/17/06
Debris from new construction, including roofing material, lumber or Sheetrock, won't be picked up and hauled away by the contracting company removing storm debris in St. Bernard Parish, officials said recently.
Storm-damaged products removed from homes and businesses can be taken away by the parish's storm debris contractor, Unified Recovery Group, which is being paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But leftover material from new construction isn’t eligible for the FEMA reimbursement, parish and URG officials said.
There currently isn’t a place in St. Bernard Parish to bring new construction debris but in the near future the E.J. Gore pumping station at Poydras may have receptacles where such debris can be left, parish government said in a news release on the parish's website, http://www.sbpg.net.
NOLA.com/TP... 7/17/06
Debris from new construction, including roofing material, lumber or Sheetrock, won't be picked up and hauled away by the contracting company removing storm debris in St. Bernard Parish, officials said recently.
Storm-damaged products removed from homes and businesses can be taken away by the parish's storm debris contractor, Unified Recovery Group, which is being paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But leftover material from new construction isn’t eligible for the FEMA reimbursement, parish and URG officials said.
There currently isn’t a place in St. Bernard Parish to bring new construction debris but in the near future the E.J. Gore pumping station at Poydras may have receptacles where such debris can be left, parish government said in a news release on the parish's website, http://www.sbpg.net.
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Audrey2Katrina
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St. Tammany recreation district to go back to voters
By Richard Boyd
St. Tammany bureau
Directors of a Madisonville area recreation district that had two revenue proposals rejected by voters Saturday said they likely will put the propositions back on the ballot on Sept. 30.
Steve Dwyer, chairman of the board of directors for the 14th Recreation District, said Monday he has called a board meeting for Wednesday and is confident the board will vote to put the propositions before the voters again in two months.
“I think we just got caught up in the obviously very strong anti sentiment among the voters regarding the library proposal,” he said. “I don’t think voters were rejecting this recreation district . . . ”
Voters in the sprawling recreation district narrowly defeated a $5 million bond issue to buy land and expand the Coquille Sports Complex in Goodbee. The vote was 401 against and 393 in favor.
Voters also rejected a call to renew an existing 5 mills of property tax for 10 years beginning in 2009 when the current millage expires. That vote was 413, or 52 percent, against and 377, or 48 percent, in favor.
In the only other ballot measure, voters across the parish crushed a proposal to levy 7.2 mills of new property tax projected to generate $152 million over 20 years to finance an overhaul and expansion of the parish library system. The vote was 7,342, or 73 percent, against and 2,716, or 27 percent, in favor.
“I guess it was unfortunate we had our two measures on the same ballot because there was such a strong anti library proposal sentiment being expressed,” Dwyer said. “We have to do a good education job in our district leading up to the September ballot and I doubt that the library board will put their measure back on the ballot that soon.”
The rejection of the recreation propositions do not immediately impact the district’s operations. The 5 mills do not expire for three more years and the district has another 4.7 mills that was not up for renewal. Together, the 9.7 mills generate about $600,000 annually for operations, maintenance and the $42,000 salary of recreation director Bill Trepagnier.
The district was hoping to use the bond revenue to buy 80 acres abutting the north edge of the 45-acre complex and use revenue from the 4.7 mills to pay interest on the bonds. Revenue from the renewed millage would help finance expansion on the new property.
By Richard Boyd
St. Tammany bureau
Directors of a Madisonville area recreation district that had two revenue proposals rejected by voters Saturday said they likely will put the propositions back on the ballot on Sept. 30.
Steve Dwyer, chairman of the board of directors for the 14th Recreation District, said Monday he has called a board meeting for Wednesday and is confident the board will vote to put the propositions before the voters again in two months.
“I think we just got caught up in the obviously very strong anti sentiment among the voters regarding the library proposal,” he said. “I don’t think voters were rejecting this recreation district . . . ”
Voters in the sprawling recreation district narrowly defeated a $5 million bond issue to buy land and expand the Coquille Sports Complex in Goodbee. The vote was 401 against and 393 in favor.
Voters also rejected a call to renew an existing 5 mills of property tax for 10 years beginning in 2009 when the current millage expires. That vote was 413, or 52 percent, against and 377, or 48 percent, in favor.
In the only other ballot measure, voters across the parish crushed a proposal to levy 7.2 mills of new property tax projected to generate $152 million over 20 years to finance an overhaul and expansion of the parish library system. The vote was 7,342, or 73 percent, against and 2,716, or 27 percent, in favor.
“I guess it was unfortunate we had our two measures on the same ballot because there was such a strong anti library proposal sentiment being expressed,” Dwyer said. “We have to do a good education job in our district leading up to the September ballot and I doubt that the library board will put their measure back on the ballot that soon.”
The rejection of the recreation propositions do not immediately impact the district’s operations. The 5 mills do not expire for three more years and the district has another 4.7 mills that was not up for renewal. Together, the 9.7 mills generate about $600,000 annually for operations, maintenance and the $42,000 salary of recreation director Bill Trepagnier.
The district was hoping to use the bond revenue to buy 80 acres abutting the north edge of the 45-acre complex and use revenue from the 4.7 mills to pay interest on the bonds. Revenue from the renewed millage would help finance expansion on the new property.
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Audrey2Katrina
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- Location: Metaire, La.
I-12 sign work to cause delays
St. Tammany bureau
Motorists can expect night´
time delays along a portion of
Interstate 12 south of Covington
this week due to the installation
of new overhead signs, officials
said.
The work will be concen´
trated in the vicinity of the U.S.
190 interchange.
One lane in each direction will
be closed Wednesday at 8 p.m.
to Thursday at 5 a.m., and from
Thursday at 8 p.m. to Friday at
5 a.m.
In an attempt to keep traffic
backups minimized, the closures
will be limited to 10 minutes at a
time and occur at intervals both
nights, according to state high´
way department engineer Will
Murray.
St. Tammany bureau
Motorists can expect night´
time delays along a portion of
Interstate 12 south of Covington
this week due to the installation
of new overhead signs, officials
said.
The work will be concen´
trated in the vicinity of the U.S.
190 interchange.
One lane in each direction will
be closed Wednesday at 8 p.m.
to Thursday at 5 a.m., and from
Thursday at 8 p.m. to Friday at
5 a.m.
In an attempt to keep traffic
backups minimized, the closures
will be limited to 10 minutes at a
time and occur at intervals both
nights, according to state high´
way department engineer Will
Murray.
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Audrey2Katrina
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- Posts: 4252
- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Governor to challenge lease sale in court
7/17/2006, 1:36 p.m. CT
By ALAN SAYRE
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — After the federal government announced Monday that it would go ahead with a planned offshore petroleum lease sale in August, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said she would challenge the auction in court.
Blanco, who claims the legal right to block the sale of tracts in the western Gulf of Mexico, has been fighting the federal government on obtaining a larger share of offshore royalties for the state to use for coastal restoration projects.
"Our lawyers have been hard at work and they will put forward the best possible case for Louisiana," Blanco said in a statement issued by her office. "I will continue this fight until such time that the federal government and the Congress make a significant commitment to the long term sustainability and protection of coastal Louisiana."
Caryl Fagot, a spokeswoman for the federal Minerals Management Service, which manages federal offshore leases, confirmed that the agency's intent to conduct the sale on Aug. 16 in New Orleans had been published in the Federal Registrar, making the move official.
Fagot referred calls for comment on Blanco's threat to the agency's national office where a spokesman was not available immediately.
Last month, when Blanco formally objected to the planned sale in a letter to the MMS, she said the action was not an attack on offshore drilling, but only a challenge to policies governing offshore royalties.
Blanco and other state leaders argue that Louisiana needs the money to fix its quickly eroding coast and protect energy infrastructure.
Last month, the U.S. House, as part of a bill that would open up other coastal areas for petroleum drilling, approved a new revenue-sharing plan that would funnel 37.5 percent of future royalties from the Gulf to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. That bill is being pushed by Louisiana's congressional delegation with Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Metairie, taking the lead.
Under that formula, Louisiana's royalties would go from $32 million last year to a total of $8.6 billion over the next 10 years.
However, the bill still faces a fight in the Senate and White House support for the measure is lukewarm.
The planned sale includes 3,787 unleased blocks covering about 20.4 million acres offshore from Texas and in deeper waters off of the coast of Louisiana. MMS said the sale could result in the eventual production of up to 262 million barrels of oil and 1.44 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Blanco, a Democrat, has said that blocking the sale would not adversely affect current energy supplies because productive leases take years to develop
7/17/2006, 1:36 p.m. CT
By ALAN SAYRE
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — After the federal government announced Monday that it would go ahead with a planned offshore petroleum lease sale in August, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said she would challenge the auction in court.
Blanco, who claims the legal right to block the sale of tracts in the western Gulf of Mexico, has been fighting the federal government on obtaining a larger share of offshore royalties for the state to use for coastal restoration projects.
"Our lawyers have been hard at work and they will put forward the best possible case for Louisiana," Blanco said in a statement issued by her office. "I will continue this fight until such time that the federal government and the Congress make a significant commitment to the long term sustainability and protection of coastal Louisiana."
Caryl Fagot, a spokeswoman for the federal Minerals Management Service, which manages federal offshore leases, confirmed that the agency's intent to conduct the sale on Aug. 16 in New Orleans had been published in the Federal Registrar, making the move official.
Fagot referred calls for comment on Blanco's threat to the agency's national office where a spokesman was not available immediately.
Last month, when Blanco formally objected to the planned sale in a letter to the MMS, she said the action was not an attack on offshore drilling, but only a challenge to policies governing offshore royalties.
Blanco and other state leaders argue that Louisiana needs the money to fix its quickly eroding coast and protect energy infrastructure.
Last month, the U.S. House, as part of a bill that would open up other coastal areas for petroleum drilling, approved a new revenue-sharing plan that would funnel 37.5 percent of future royalties from the Gulf to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. That bill is being pushed by Louisiana's congressional delegation with Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Metairie, taking the lead.
Under that formula, Louisiana's royalties would go from $32 million last year to a total of $8.6 billion over the next 10 years.
However, the bill still faces a fight in the Senate and White House support for the measure is lukewarm.
The planned sale includes 3,787 unleased blocks covering about 20.4 million acres offshore from Texas and in deeper waters off of the coast of Louisiana. MMS said the sale could result in the eventual production of up to 262 million barrels of oil and 1.44 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Blanco, a Democrat, has said that blocking the sale would not adversely affect current energy supplies because productive leases take years to develop
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Audrey2Katrina
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- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Federal health chief urges adoption of new patient data system
7/17/2006, 1:35 p.m. CT
By DOUG SIMPSON
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Health care problems experienced by Hurricane Katrina evacuees should prompt health care providers to stop storing patient data on paper and instead use electronic systems that can be accessed around the country, the nation's top health official said Monday.
Mike Leavitt, head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told four governors attending the Southern Governors Conference that they could help spur such a change by denying state contracts to health care companies that resist the push to store patient data in an electronic form that can be accessed by doctors, hospitals, pharmacists and other health workers.
Beginning this fall, Leavitt said, federal agencies will not deal with companies that fail to make the switch.
"It will be a condition of doing business with us," Leavitt said.
Doctors, nurses and others who treated Katrina victims in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, the Astrodome in Houston and elsewhere reported that people didn't know what medicines they were on and showed up with pill bottles whose labels had fallen off in floodwater. Others didn't know their prescriptions, their allergies or other health matters.
Proponents of electronic storage of health data said such a system would have allowed secure storage but easy access to that information for the physicians and nurses who treated the evacuees.
Govs. Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky and Timothy M. Kaine of Virginia attended Monday's panel discussion on the final day of the association's three-day meeting. All were supportive of the electronic storage of patient data, but none committed to Leavitt's proposal to withhold state contracts.
The governors of 15 Southern states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are members of the association.
7/17/2006, 1:35 p.m. CT
By DOUG SIMPSON
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Health care problems experienced by Hurricane Katrina evacuees should prompt health care providers to stop storing patient data on paper and instead use electronic systems that can be accessed around the country, the nation's top health official said Monday.
Mike Leavitt, head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told four governors attending the Southern Governors Conference that they could help spur such a change by denying state contracts to health care companies that resist the push to store patient data in an electronic form that can be accessed by doctors, hospitals, pharmacists and other health workers.
Beginning this fall, Leavitt said, federal agencies will not deal with companies that fail to make the switch.
"It will be a condition of doing business with us," Leavitt said.
Doctors, nurses and others who treated Katrina victims in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, the Astrodome in Houston and elsewhere reported that people didn't know what medicines they were on and showed up with pill bottles whose labels had fallen off in floodwater. Others didn't know their prescriptions, their allergies or other health matters.
Proponents of electronic storage of health data said such a system would have allowed secure storage but easy access to that information for the physicians and nurses who treated the evacuees.
Govs. Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky and Timothy M. Kaine of Virginia attended Monday's panel discussion on the final day of the association's three-day meeting. All were supportive of the electronic storage of patient data, but none committed to Leavitt's proposal to withhold state contracts.
The governors of 15 Southern states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are members of the association.
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Audrey2Katrina
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- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Officials develop animal evacuation plans for hurricanes
7/17/2006, 11:04 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A statewide plan to evacuate pets during hurricanes is being worked out by state and local officials, who are required to map out the procedures under a new law enacted to avoid the problems that erupted after Hurricane Katrina.
The law applies to cats, dogs and other domesticated animals.
"I am greatly worried about the evacuation of pets from New Orleans," said Laura Maloney, executive director of the Louisiana branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"We have many unfilled needs," Maloney said. "We have lots of shortages."
What spurred the law were pet evacuation problems during and after Katrina that resulted in the deaths of thousands of cats and dogs. In some cases, pet owners endangered their own lives by refusing to abandon their companions.
The law requires the governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and their parish counterparts to devise humane ways to evacuate and shelter cats and dogs during hurricanes. Service animals and their owners are supposed to be evacuated together. Household pets in carriers and cages will be allowed on public transportation if they do not endanger people.
State and parish emergency officials are supposed to find animal shelters and draft the rules, including minimum care, space, hygiene and medical needs. They are also to coordinate an identification system so pets and their owners who are separated during storms can be reunited.
Sen. Clo Fontenot, R-Livingston, sponsor of the bill, said some parish emergency officials have already met with their state counterparts to see what they need to do to comply with the new law. The measure is a collaborative effort between state and local leaders.
"Will it go completely glitch free? I don't think so. I think we have major glitches," Fontenot said. "But at least that process has been started."
Maloney said that, unlike last year, pet owners will know where to find evacuation shelters. She noted that, under the new law, representatives of animal agencies will have a seat at the table during pet evacuation planning.
State agriculture officials have asked operators of animal shelters, humane societies, veterinary offices, kennels, grooming facilities and other sites for copies of their evacuation plans, which are due by July 31 as a requirement of the new law. Those plans will also be made available at parish emergency offices.
7/17/2006, 11:04 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A statewide plan to evacuate pets during hurricanes is being worked out by state and local officials, who are required to map out the procedures under a new law enacted to avoid the problems that erupted after Hurricane Katrina.
The law applies to cats, dogs and other domesticated animals.
"I am greatly worried about the evacuation of pets from New Orleans," said Laura Maloney, executive director of the Louisiana branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"We have many unfilled needs," Maloney said. "We have lots of shortages."
What spurred the law were pet evacuation problems during and after Katrina that resulted in the deaths of thousands of cats and dogs. In some cases, pet owners endangered their own lives by refusing to abandon their companions.
The law requires the governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and their parish counterparts to devise humane ways to evacuate and shelter cats and dogs during hurricanes. Service animals and their owners are supposed to be evacuated together. Household pets in carriers and cages will be allowed on public transportation if they do not endanger people.
State and parish emergency officials are supposed to find animal shelters and draft the rules, including minimum care, space, hygiene and medical needs. They are also to coordinate an identification system so pets and their owners who are separated during storms can be reunited.
Sen. Clo Fontenot, R-Livingston, sponsor of the bill, said some parish emergency officials have already met with their state counterparts to see what they need to do to comply with the new law. The measure is a collaborative effort between state and local leaders.
"Will it go completely glitch free? I don't think so. I think we have major glitches," Fontenot said. "But at least that process has been started."
Maloney said that, unlike last year, pet owners will know where to find evacuation shelters. She noted that, under the new law, representatives of animal agencies will have a seat at the table during pet evacuation planning.
State agriculture officials have asked operators of animal shelters, humane societies, veterinary offices, kennels, grooming facilities and other sites for copies of their evacuation plans, which are due by July 31 as a requirement of the new law. Those plans will also be made available at parish emergency offices.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Insurance adjuster denies complicity with engineering report
By QUINCY COLLINS SMITH 7/17/06
sunherald.com
GULFPORT - Nationwide adjuster Duane Collins, who inspected the
Pascagoula home of Paul and Julie Leonard, denied in federal court Monday morning that he was given marching orders from company officials to make his inspection comply with Haag Engineering report on damage.
Collins' testimony came on the sixth day of trial in the Leonards' suit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
The Leonards claim their local agent mislead them to believe that their Nationwide homeowner's policy covered them for all damages in hurricane and that the company failed to properly honor their claim.
Timothy Marshall, an engineer with Haag Engineering, is scheduled to testify for Nationwide this afternoon.
By QUINCY COLLINS SMITH 7/17/06
sunherald.com
GULFPORT - Nationwide adjuster Duane Collins, who inspected the
Pascagoula home of Paul and Julie Leonard, denied in federal court Monday morning that he was given marching orders from company officials to make his inspection comply with Haag Engineering report on damage.
Collins' testimony came on the sixth day of trial in the Leonards' suit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
The Leonards claim their local agent mislead them to believe that their Nationwide homeowner's policy covered them for all damages in hurricane and that the company failed to properly honor their claim.
Timothy Marshall, an engineer with Haag Engineering, is scheduled to testify for Nationwide this afternoon.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Boil water notice lifted near Cowan-Lorraine
SUN HERALD.com 7/17/06
GULFPORT - Local officials lifted boil water notices for residents who live in the Cowan-Lorraine Road area.
Specifically, residents who live near Cowan-Lorraine Road from Creel Circle South to East Taylor Road, and Cowan-Lorraine Road from East Taylor Road East to Bayou Plantation Lane no longer need take boil water precautions.
Multiple tests performed by the Gulfport Water Works Department indicated the water meets the standards of the Safe Drinking Water Law.
SUN HERALD.com 7/17/06
GULFPORT - Local officials lifted boil water notices for residents who live in the Cowan-Lorraine Road area.
Specifically, residents who live near Cowan-Lorraine Road from Creel Circle South to East Taylor Road, and Cowan-Lorraine Road from East Taylor Road East to Bayou Plantation Lane no longer need take boil water precautions.
Multiple tests performed by the Gulfport Water Works Department indicated the water meets the standards of the Safe Drinking Water Law.
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Audrey2Katrina
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- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Some call for Long Beach alderman's resignation
Ward 1's Boggs bought Ward 4 home, but plans to return to Boggsdale
By MELISSA M. SCALLAN 7/17/06
sunherald.com
CHRISTOPHER CAPOZZIELLO/SUN HERALD
Charlie Boggs’ family has lived in Long Beach since 1870 and all of the homes in Boggsdale were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Boggs, the alderman for Ward 1, bought a home in Ward 4, which has upset some residents.
LONG BEACH - Many Ward 1 residents believe Alderman Charlie Boggs should resign because he no longer lives there, but Boggs said he intends to remain an alderman and represent his constituents.
Boggs said he will return to his Ward 1 home as soon as it can be rebuilt and won't resign. He also said he doesn't believe he is violating state law.
Boggs has been criticized by residents and some board members in recent months because he bought a house in Ward 4 a few months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home and those of his family in Boggsdale on U.S. 90.
"My intent is to move back to 630 Beach Blvd.," he said at his home on Joan Street last week. "I'm going to start it within six to nine months after the flood elevations are done and water and sewer is established."
Boggs' family has owned a home in that area since 1870, and Boggs built his home in 1977 and spent summers there. He moved there permanently in 2003 after retiring from his New Orleans law practice.
Boggs requested an attorney general's opinion about the issue, and was told he could remain as alderman while living in another ward as long as he intends to return to his domicile and doesn't abandon it.
However, the opinion also says that Boggs can live in another ward until it is feasible for him to return to his own ward, not specifically his home.
Other AG's opinions have said if an alderman moves from a residence in his ward, his office automatically is vacated.
Boggs and his wife and father stayed at the Hampton Inn in Gulfport during the storm but left for Houston a few days later. Boggs, who has twice been treated for leukemia, said he was in and out of the hospital for six weeks after Katrina and missed all but one of the board's meetings in the first month after the storm.
Boggs participated in several meetings by phone in October, which the law allows, and was back in Long Beach by November, when he purchased the home in Ward 4.
There are "for rent" and "for sale" signs throughout Ward 1 now, but Boggs said when he and his wife Deborah began looking for a home, none were available. All of Ward 1 is south of the railroad tracks, and there is no water and sewer service along U.S. 90.
"We bought a home instead of renting because it's an investment property and we plan to rent it out when we move back," he said.
Boggs applied for homestead exemption on the Joan Street home but later canceled it and applied for the exemption on his destroyed home, officials at the Harrison County Tax Assessor's Office said.
Some residents believe Boggs ran for office because of the high-rise condominium issue and once Hurricane Katrina hit, he abandoned his constituents.
"Even before the storm he was not an alderman for us," JoAnna Hudson said. "He doesn't care about this ward. He should be concerned about the people and if they are building back."
Ward 1 resident Garnett Stewart agreed and said she had to turn to other people for help.
"After the hurricane, any problems I had, I had to call (Ward 6 Alderman) Richard Bennett and my former alderman Gary Ponthieux," said Garnett Stewart, who has lived in Long Beach 25 years and lost two homes in Katrina. "We couldn't get in touch with Boggs.
"What's really bad is that he bought a house outside his district," she added. "He's not been there since before the storm, and he's not there now."
Bennett said he got numerous calls from Boggs' constituents and divided his time between the two wards to help residents.
"I got as many, if not more calls from his ward as I did from mine," Bennett said. "I went door to door in that ward, checking on people and bringing them supplies because they had no representation. I didn't mind doing it. I would have done anything for anybody."
Boggs said he has helped plenty of Ward 1 residents with problems since the storm, including debris cleanup, abandoned homes and water and sewer.
"Every single day I walk the ward," he said. "I see people that are out and about and I get phone calls every week."
Ward 2 Alderman Richard Notter said he thinks Boggs is doing everything he can.
Notter's home was heavily damaged in Katrina, and he moved to a home in Boggs' ward after the home. He and his family returned to their home over the weekend.
"In times like these, it's beyond childish to put up so much of a fuss over this," he said. "With Charlie's health issues he came back as quick as he could. I don't think now is the time to question where he lives."
Ward 1's Boggs bought Ward 4 home, but plans to return to Boggsdale
By MELISSA M. SCALLAN 7/17/06
sunherald.com
CHRISTOPHER CAPOZZIELLO/SUN HERALD
Charlie Boggs’ family has lived in Long Beach since 1870 and all of the homes in Boggsdale were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Boggs, the alderman for Ward 1, bought a home in Ward 4, which has upset some residents.
LONG BEACH - Many Ward 1 residents believe Alderman Charlie Boggs should resign because he no longer lives there, but Boggs said he intends to remain an alderman and represent his constituents.
Boggs said he will return to his Ward 1 home as soon as it can be rebuilt and won't resign. He also said he doesn't believe he is violating state law.
Boggs has been criticized by residents and some board members in recent months because he bought a house in Ward 4 a few months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home and those of his family in Boggsdale on U.S. 90.
"My intent is to move back to 630 Beach Blvd.," he said at his home on Joan Street last week. "I'm going to start it within six to nine months after the flood elevations are done and water and sewer is established."
Boggs' family has owned a home in that area since 1870, and Boggs built his home in 1977 and spent summers there. He moved there permanently in 2003 after retiring from his New Orleans law practice.
Boggs requested an attorney general's opinion about the issue, and was told he could remain as alderman while living in another ward as long as he intends to return to his domicile and doesn't abandon it.
However, the opinion also says that Boggs can live in another ward until it is feasible for him to return to his own ward, not specifically his home.
Other AG's opinions have said if an alderman moves from a residence in his ward, his office automatically is vacated.
Boggs and his wife and father stayed at the Hampton Inn in Gulfport during the storm but left for Houston a few days later. Boggs, who has twice been treated for leukemia, said he was in and out of the hospital for six weeks after Katrina and missed all but one of the board's meetings in the first month after the storm.
Boggs participated in several meetings by phone in October, which the law allows, and was back in Long Beach by November, when he purchased the home in Ward 4.
There are "for rent" and "for sale" signs throughout Ward 1 now, but Boggs said when he and his wife Deborah began looking for a home, none were available. All of Ward 1 is south of the railroad tracks, and there is no water and sewer service along U.S. 90.
"We bought a home instead of renting because it's an investment property and we plan to rent it out when we move back," he said.
Boggs applied for homestead exemption on the Joan Street home but later canceled it and applied for the exemption on his destroyed home, officials at the Harrison County Tax Assessor's Office said.
Some residents believe Boggs ran for office because of the high-rise condominium issue and once Hurricane Katrina hit, he abandoned his constituents.
"Even before the storm he was not an alderman for us," JoAnna Hudson said. "He doesn't care about this ward. He should be concerned about the people and if they are building back."
Ward 1 resident Garnett Stewart agreed and said she had to turn to other people for help.
"After the hurricane, any problems I had, I had to call (Ward 6 Alderman) Richard Bennett and my former alderman Gary Ponthieux," said Garnett Stewart, who has lived in Long Beach 25 years and lost two homes in Katrina. "We couldn't get in touch with Boggs.
"What's really bad is that he bought a house outside his district," she added. "He's not been there since before the storm, and he's not there now."
Bennett said he got numerous calls from Boggs' constituents and divided his time between the two wards to help residents.
"I got as many, if not more calls from his ward as I did from mine," Bennett said. "I went door to door in that ward, checking on people and bringing them supplies because they had no representation. I didn't mind doing it. I would have done anything for anybody."
Boggs said he has helped plenty of Ward 1 residents with problems since the storm, including debris cleanup, abandoned homes and water and sewer.
"Every single day I walk the ward," he said. "I see people that are out and about and I get phone calls every week."
Ward 2 Alderman Richard Notter said he thinks Boggs is doing everything he can.
Notter's home was heavily damaged in Katrina, and he moved to a home in Boggs' ward after the home. He and his family returned to their home over the weekend.
"In times like these, it's beyond childish to put up so much of a fuss over this," he said. "With Charlie's health issues he came back as quick as he could. I don't think now is the time to question where he lives."
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Audrey2Katrina
- Category 5
- Posts: 4252
- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Ocean Springs sets up one-stop information Web site
By JAIMEE GOAD-BISHOP 7/17/06
SUN HERALD
OCEAN SPRINGS - The city has created a new electronic stop for people needing Ocean Springs information.
"We want a one-stop shop for citizens to get all of the information," said Mindy McDowell, Ocean Springs deputy city clerk.
So the city just launched a new Web site. McDowell said the site is current, easy to use and put together by professionals.
"We never had one that was professionally done," she said. "The one we did have was made in-house and never maintained."
With just a click of a button, you can find out about Ocean Springs board meetings, agendas, various departments and their duties, upcoming events and the city directory.
McDowell says you can even find all of the latest news articles about the city under the "office of the mayor" tab.
One of the features McDowell believes will definitely come in handy is the ordinance link.
"I get a lot of questions on anything like, 'What's our ordinance about farm animals, firecrackers or open containers?' I can just go to the link and search online to find out," McDowell said.
Usually citizens call or stop in City Hall to find information they need. McDowell said citizens can still do that if they want.
"This is just another way of getting information out," she said.
To visit the Web site, log onto http://www.oceansprings-ms.gov
By JAIMEE GOAD-BISHOP 7/17/06
SUN HERALD
OCEAN SPRINGS - The city has created a new electronic stop for people needing Ocean Springs information.
"We want a one-stop shop for citizens to get all of the information," said Mindy McDowell, Ocean Springs deputy city clerk.
So the city just launched a new Web site. McDowell said the site is current, easy to use and put together by professionals.
"We never had one that was professionally done," she said. "The one we did have was made in-house and never maintained."
With just a click of a button, you can find out about Ocean Springs board meetings, agendas, various departments and their duties, upcoming events and the city directory.
McDowell says you can even find all of the latest news articles about the city under the "office of the mayor" tab.
One of the features McDowell believes will definitely come in handy is the ordinance link.
"I get a lot of questions on anything like, 'What's our ordinance about farm animals, firecrackers or open containers?' I can just go to the link and search online to find out," McDowell said.
Usually citizens call or stop in City Hall to find information they need. McDowell said citizens can still do that if they want.
"This is just another way of getting information out," she said.
To visit the Web site, log onto http://www.oceansprings-ms.gov
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Audrey2Katrina
- Category 5
- Posts: 4252
- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Insurance rates soar on Alabama's coast
Some homeowners' costs have tripled after past heavy hurricane seasons
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. - Property owners are stunned by insurance rates that have tripled for some properties on the Alabama Gulf Coast after back-to-back years of hurricane damage.
Owners of the 35-unit Romar Tower at Orange Beach saw their annual premium jump last month from about $35,000 to more than $424,000.
"It was a complete shock to us," Romar Tower owners association President Maynard Hellbusch told the Press-Register for a story Sunday.
"If we didn't have some people with mortgages in this building, we probably wouldn't have insurance," Hellbusch said.
Owners of the Four Seasons of Romar Beach condominiums saw their annual premium soar from about $40,000 to nearly $1.1 million, said Robert Smith, president of the Four Seasons owners association.
Smith said he wrote a letter to Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell asking whether the huge premium increase was legal.
"It doesn't sound legal," Smith said.
Hurricane Ivan repairs increased the value of the two Four Seasons towers from $12 million to $24 million. But the insurance increase means additional expenses of nearly $15,000 a year for owners of each of the 71 condos.
The Baldwin County coast was hit by Ivan in 2004, but spared major damage from Hurricane Katrina in August. However, the insurance industry took hits from multiple storms from Texas to Florida.
Some traditional insurers have pulled out of coastal markets, often leaving only reinsurers and state-sponsored insurers of last resort.
The lack of competition, combined with the need of reinsurance syndicates and state-sanctioned insurers to reload their coffers quickly, has pushed coastal insurance prices to unprecedented levels.
Unlike traditional insurers, who usually must get approval from the state Insurance Department to raise rates, reinsurers do not have to answer to Alabama regulators, according to department officials.
Reinsurers - the large, typically international, syndicates that back insurance companies like State Farm or Nationwide - also often invest in risks, such as multimillion-dollar Gulf-front condos, that mainstream insurers deem too precarious.
Tommy Robinson, a principal of Brett/Robinson, offered examples of the annual premium increases at some of the condo towers that his real estate firm manages: Phoenix III went from $71,000 to $225,000; Phoenix East rose from $73,000 to $225,000; Island Winds East climbed from $41,000 to $165,000.
Madarinn Group owner Patty Madaris said each of the 23 local property owner associations that her Gulf Shores company manages has been hit with increases, with 300 percent being the norm.
Daniel Craven, an attorney who represents more than 100 local condominium owners associations, said some of his clients, particularly those with older, wood-frame and stucco buildings, are having trouble buying enough coverage to insure the entire cost of their structures.
Foley Mayor Tim Russell, who is treasurer for the area's insurer of last resort, commonly called the "beach pool," said the insurance situation has the pool "growing at a tremendous rate."
"In my 34 years I've never seen it like this," said Russell, who is president of Baldwin Mutual Insurance Co.
Jay Ison, of the Mobile insurers Thames Batré Mattei Beville & Ison, said that traditional insurers largely handled damages arising from the five hurricanes including Ivan. According to the Insurance Information Institute, those storms created $23.7 billion in insurance claims.
"As bad as those storms were collectively, those storms individually were not that catastrophic and did not pierce the reinsurance bucket," Ison said.
In 2005, six hurricanes struck - including Katrina, Rita and Wilma - resulting in $53.7 billion in claims, according to Insurance Information Institute data. That, Ison said, used up a third of the reinsurance reserves.
Ison said reinsurers must replenish the till, and they're doing so by charging high premiums.
Reinsurers eventually will earn their money back. When that happens, he said, other companies will see how much money the reinsurers are making and they'll want to re-enter the market, driving down prices.
Some homeowners' costs have tripled after past heavy hurricane seasons
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. - Property owners are stunned by insurance rates that have tripled for some properties on the Alabama Gulf Coast after back-to-back years of hurricane damage.
Owners of the 35-unit Romar Tower at Orange Beach saw their annual premium jump last month from about $35,000 to more than $424,000.
"It was a complete shock to us," Romar Tower owners association President Maynard Hellbusch told the Press-Register for a story Sunday.
"If we didn't have some people with mortgages in this building, we probably wouldn't have insurance," Hellbusch said.
Owners of the Four Seasons of Romar Beach condominiums saw their annual premium soar from about $40,000 to nearly $1.1 million, said Robert Smith, president of the Four Seasons owners association.
Smith said he wrote a letter to Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell asking whether the huge premium increase was legal.
"It doesn't sound legal," Smith said.
Hurricane Ivan repairs increased the value of the two Four Seasons towers from $12 million to $24 million. But the insurance increase means additional expenses of nearly $15,000 a year for owners of each of the 71 condos.
The Baldwin County coast was hit by Ivan in 2004, but spared major damage from Hurricane Katrina in August. However, the insurance industry took hits from multiple storms from Texas to Florida.
Some traditional insurers have pulled out of coastal markets, often leaving only reinsurers and state-sponsored insurers of last resort.
The lack of competition, combined with the need of reinsurance syndicates and state-sanctioned insurers to reload their coffers quickly, has pushed coastal insurance prices to unprecedented levels.
Unlike traditional insurers, who usually must get approval from the state Insurance Department to raise rates, reinsurers do not have to answer to Alabama regulators, according to department officials.
Reinsurers - the large, typically international, syndicates that back insurance companies like State Farm or Nationwide - also often invest in risks, such as multimillion-dollar Gulf-front condos, that mainstream insurers deem too precarious.
Tommy Robinson, a principal of Brett/Robinson, offered examples of the annual premium increases at some of the condo towers that his real estate firm manages: Phoenix III went from $71,000 to $225,000; Phoenix East rose from $73,000 to $225,000; Island Winds East climbed from $41,000 to $165,000.
Madarinn Group owner Patty Madaris said each of the 23 local property owner associations that her Gulf Shores company manages has been hit with increases, with 300 percent being the norm.
Daniel Craven, an attorney who represents more than 100 local condominium owners associations, said some of his clients, particularly those with older, wood-frame and stucco buildings, are having trouble buying enough coverage to insure the entire cost of their structures.
Foley Mayor Tim Russell, who is treasurer for the area's insurer of last resort, commonly called the "beach pool," said the insurance situation has the pool "growing at a tremendous rate."
"In my 34 years I've never seen it like this," said Russell, who is president of Baldwin Mutual Insurance Co.
Jay Ison, of the Mobile insurers Thames Batré Mattei Beville & Ison, said that traditional insurers largely handled damages arising from the five hurricanes including Ivan. According to the Insurance Information Institute, those storms created $23.7 billion in insurance claims.
"As bad as those storms were collectively, those storms individually were not that catastrophic and did not pierce the reinsurance bucket," Ison said.
In 2005, six hurricanes struck - including Katrina, Rita and Wilma - resulting in $53.7 billion in claims, according to Insurance Information Institute data. That, Ison said, used up a third of the reinsurance reserves.
Ison said reinsurers must replenish the till, and they're doing so by charging high premiums.
Reinsurers eventually will earn their money back. When that happens, he said, other companies will see how much money the reinsurers are making and they'll want to re-enter the market, driving down prices.
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Audrey2Katrina
- Category 5
- Posts: 4252
- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Posted on Mon, Jul. 17, 2006 sunherald.com
AROUND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
Evacuation transportation registration ongoing
Emergency operations officials in all three coastal counties are asking people with transportation problems that would prevent them from evacuating to preregister for their planning efforts.
A prior survey by MEMA did not retain information from its respondents. To register, call: Harrison County: Coast Transit Authority, 896-8080; Hancock County: Emergency Operations Center, 466-8200 or 463-1035; Jackson County: Erin Lee, 762-2455.
BILOXI
Boys and Girls Clubs paint mural on the wall of Bankston's Paint
The Boys and Girls Clubs and Hands On Gulf Coast are painting a 52-foot by 9-foot 3-inch mural on the wall of Bankston's Paint, 856 Division St., Biloxi. The "Hometown Thoughts" mural is set to be complete by Friday. Bankston's Paint and Hands On Gulf Coast are funding the project.
- SUN HERALD
GULFPORT
Class of 1995 sets reunion date for September 8-9
The Gulfport High School Class of 1995 will have a reunion Sept. 8-9. The classmates will attend a GHS football game at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 8. A family picnic will be held at James Hill Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 9, and the evening event will begin at the IP Casino at 6 p.m. Classes from 1993-1996 are invited.
Details: Jamye at (304) 876-3244 .
- SUN HERALD
High School Class of 1954 to host luncheon reunion
The Gulfport High School Class of 1954 will have a luncheon reunion at 11 a.m. Sept. 2 at the Blow Fly Inn on U.S. 49, Gulfport.
Details: 697-8989.
- SUN HERALD
JACKSON COUNTY
Road Department temporarily closes bridges, road sections
The Jackson County Road Department has temporarily closed bridges in both the St. Martin and Helena communities. A small section of Yellow Jacket Boulevard in St. Martin was closed on July 5 to replace an existing bridge.
The project is expected to take three weeks to complete. Drivers can take a detour route from Kippie Cutoff Road to Eglin Road to Old Fort Bayou Road.
Part of Saracennia Road in the Helena community was closed on July 10 to allow crews to remove the old bridge over Black Creek. The project also includes replacing culverts, installing guardrails and road paving. The closure is expected to last until the first week in August. Drivers can use a detour route off Coda Road to Pollock Ferry Road to Greenfield Road.
- SUN HERALD
OCEAN SPRINGS
Class of 1976 reunion to be held in September
The Ocean Springs High School Class of 1976 reunion will be Sept. 16 at the Sacred Heart (Nativity) Center in Biloxi.
Details: Laura Pitalo Parker, 697-1526 or http://www.oshs76.com
- SUN HERALDs
GAUTIER
Officer slightly injured as high-speed chase ends in arrest
A Gautier police officer suffered a minor injury after a high-speed pursuit late Sunday morning, police said.
The driver of a stolen vehicle took off from the officer and led him on a chase that ended in an Interstate-10 wreck over the Mississippi 63 overpass bridge. The police car and the stolen vehicle collided before the officer took the driver into custody, police said, and the stolen vehicle was totaled.
The driver was being processed by Gautier PD and the officer was treated and released from the hospital midday Sunday. No other details were provided.
- MIKE KELLER
AROUND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
Evacuation transportation registration ongoing
Emergency operations officials in all three coastal counties are asking people with transportation problems that would prevent them from evacuating to preregister for their planning efforts.
A prior survey by MEMA did not retain information from its respondents. To register, call: Harrison County: Coast Transit Authority, 896-8080; Hancock County: Emergency Operations Center, 466-8200 or 463-1035; Jackson County: Erin Lee, 762-2455.
BILOXI
Boys and Girls Clubs paint mural on the wall of Bankston's Paint
The Boys and Girls Clubs and Hands On Gulf Coast are painting a 52-foot by 9-foot 3-inch mural on the wall of Bankston's Paint, 856 Division St., Biloxi. The "Hometown Thoughts" mural is set to be complete by Friday. Bankston's Paint and Hands On Gulf Coast are funding the project.
- SUN HERALD
GULFPORT
Class of 1995 sets reunion date for September 8-9
The Gulfport High School Class of 1995 will have a reunion Sept. 8-9. The classmates will attend a GHS football game at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 8. A family picnic will be held at James Hill Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 9, and the evening event will begin at the IP Casino at 6 p.m. Classes from 1993-1996 are invited.
Details: Jamye at (304) 876-3244 .
- SUN HERALD
High School Class of 1954 to host luncheon reunion
The Gulfport High School Class of 1954 will have a luncheon reunion at 11 a.m. Sept. 2 at the Blow Fly Inn on U.S. 49, Gulfport.
Details: 697-8989.
- SUN HERALD
JACKSON COUNTY
Road Department temporarily closes bridges, road sections
The Jackson County Road Department has temporarily closed bridges in both the St. Martin and Helena communities. A small section of Yellow Jacket Boulevard in St. Martin was closed on July 5 to replace an existing bridge.
The project is expected to take three weeks to complete. Drivers can take a detour route from Kippie Cutoff Road to Eglin Road to Old Fort Bayou Road.
Part of Saracennia Road in the Helena community was closed on July 10 to allow crews to remove the old bridge over Black Creek. The project also includes replacing culverts, installing guardrails and road paving. The closure is expected to last until the first week in August. Drivers can use a detour route off Coda Road to Pollock Ferry Road to Greenfield Road.
- SUN HERALD
OCEAN SPRINGS
Class of 1976 reunion to be held in September
The Ocean Springs High School Class of 1976 reunion will be Sept. 16 at the Sacred Heart (Nativity) Center in Biloxi.
Details: Laura Pitalo Parker, 697-1526 or http://www.oshs76.com
- SUN HERALDs
GAUTIER
Officer slightly injured as high-speed chase ends in arrest
A Gautier police officer suffered a minor injury after a high-speed pursuit late Sunday morning, police said.
The driver of a stolen vehicle took off from the officer and led him on a chase that ended in an Interstate-10 wreck over the Mississippi 63 overpass bridge. The police car and the stolen vehicle collided before the officer took the driver into custody, police said, and the stolen vehicle was totaled.
The driver was being processed by Gautier PD and the officer was treated and released from the hospital midday Sunday. No other details were provided.
- MIKE KELLER
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Audrey2Katrina
- Category 5
- Posts: 4252
- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Rummel to hand out $1.8 million
East Jefferson bureau
Unlike other schools that are mailing checks, Archbishop Rummel High School will begin distributing $1.8 million in tuition reimbursement money in person Thursday as part of a federal program for families that paid extra to educate children while being displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Rummel took in as many as 1,700 students from 14 different high schools when it opened a transitional program on Oct. 3. Students, most of whom had paid tuition at their regular schools before Katrina, were charged a pro-rated tuition based on the school’s annual $5,000 tuition. Rummel waived all fees.
Disbursements for the first and second academic quarters will be given out Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Rummel gymnasium, but only to the parent who signed the reimbursement request form provided by the school, the school said. Proper identification is required.
A second distribution will be held in early August for parents unable to attend on Thursday.
Displaced students who stayed at Rummel for the full year will receive their third and fourth quarter reimbursements when that money becomes available.
The Hurricane Education Recovery Act provides a maximum of $1,000 per quarter for each displaced student. Under the act, Rummel is allowed to deduct waived fees such as those for registration, buildings, technology, books and courses.
Parents who have moved out of town and cannot not attend Thursday night are asked to call Rummel at (504) 834-5592 after Aug. 1 to make other arrangements.
East Jefferson bureau
Unlike other schools that are mailing checks, Archbishop Rummel High School will begin distributing $1.8 million in tuition reimbursement money in person Thursday as part of a federal program for families that paid extra to educate children while being displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Rummel took in as many as 1,700 students from 14 different high schools when it opened a transitional program on Oct. 3. Students, most of whom had paid tuition at their regular schools before Katrina, were charged a pro-rated tuition based on the school’s annual $5,000 tuition. Rummel waived all fees.
Disbursements for the first and second academic quarters will be given out Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Rummel gymnasium, but only to the parent who signed the reimbursement request form provided by the school, the school said. Proper identification is required.
A second distribution will be held in early August for parents unable to attend on Thursday.
Displaced students who stayed at Rummel for the full year will receive their third and fourth quarter reimbursements when that money becomes available.
The Hurricane Education Recovery Act provides a maximum of $1,000 per quarter for each displaced student. Under the act, Rummel is allowed to deduct waived fees such as those for registration, buildings, technology, books and courses.
Parents who have moved out of town and cannot not attend Thursday night are asked to call Rummel at (504) 834-5592 after Aug. 1 to make other arrangements.
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