Sixth Business Counseling Center Opens to Help Small Businesses Impacted By Hurricanes

Louisiana Economic Development (LED), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Louisiana Small Business Development Center Network (LSBDC) and the Southwest Louisiana (SWLA) Economic Development Alliance today announced the opening of a Louisiana Business Counseling Center in Lake Charles.

DSS to Operate 41 Disaster Food Stamp Program sites on Monday, Sept. 15th

BATON ROUGE La. (September 15, 2008) – The Department of Social Services (DSS) has taken more than 194,000 applications for Disaster Food Stamps in less than a week and will have 41 sites in operation on Monday, Sept. 15th where eligible Louisiana residents affected by Hurricane Gustav can apply for the federal Disaster Food Stamp Program.

The Department of Social Services recognizes the efforts of local city officials and organizations that have assisted in preparing sites of operation that have been closed due to the impact of Hurricane Ike.

The following sites will be open as of Monday September 15th. Please make note of the locations highlighted in bold with extended hours of operation from 6:00AM – 8:00PM DAILY. All other sites have regular hours of operation from 8:00AM – 8:00PM DAILY

Visit http://emergency.la.gov/Releases/091508FoodStampLocations.html for a complete list of locations.

State Posts Compilation of Hurricane Photos for Google Earth

The state of Louisiana has compiled photos of the state after Hurricane Ike and have placed them into an interactive map so that citizens can better understand the storm’s destructive power in the state. The interactive compilations displays on Google Earth Software pinpointing the location where the photos were taken.

Visit emergency.louisiana.gov for more information.

Calcasieu Parish Announces Feeding Sites, Trash Pickup

From emergency.louisiana.gov…
LAKE CHARLES La. (September 15, 2008) – Local officials have announced that the 24-hour, parish-wide curfew has been lifted. A modified curfew, beginning at 8:00pm – 6:00am, has been issued for all residents. This modified curfew will remain in place until further notice. No vehicular and pedestrian traffic should be on the roadways once the curfew begins, except essential emergency vehicles.

Waste Management will resume their regular garbage collection routes Monday September 15th.  In addition, for a two-day period, the parish will provide two manned drop-off sites for household solid waste only.  This is not for debris from the storm.  The sites are Post Oak Pavilion, 2911 Post Oak Rd., Sulphur and Ward 1 Parish Barn, 461 Parish Rd. , Moss Bluff. The sites will be open Monday and Tuesday only from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

The only remaining shelter open in Lake Charles is located at MLK Community Center, 2009 N. Simmons, Lake Charles, 337-491-1497.  This shelter is now being operated by the Red Cross. 

All waterways in Calcasieu Parish are closed to boat traffic.

Feeding sites for Calcasieu Parish are being opened tonight and tomorrow at the following locations:

Second Harvest Food Bank at Church of the King, 2145 Oakpark Blvd, Lake Charles, Hot lunches at lunchtime, cleaning supplies, non-perishable food items, Monday, Sept 15th, noon DAILY

Second Harvest Food Bank at Catholic Charities Lake Charles, 612 Louisiana Avenue at the Sacred Heart School Gym, Lake Charles , non-perishables and food pantry items only, Monday, Sept 15th 2-4pm, DAILY

Second Harvest Food Bank at Greater St. Mary’s, 1401 Moeling Street, Lake Charles, pantry items, clothing, other supplies, Monday, Sept 15th, 9am – 2pm, DAILY

The Salvation Army, Nelson Road WalMart, Lake Charles, hot lunches and hot dinners available daily; also have clean-up kits available, DAILY

The Salvation Army starting Monday, Sept 15, hot lunch and hot dinner at the Thrift Store; also have clean-up kits available, 2008 Hampson, Westlake, DAILY

The Salvation Army starting Monday, Sept 15, clean up kits only, Thrift Store, Moss Bluff (Sam Houston Blvd STARTS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

Corps opens up two more Blue Roof collection sites

BATON ROUGE, La., Sept 15, 2008 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisiana Recovery Field Office, in Baton Rouge, La., has opened up two more Blue Roof Right of Entry collection sites today.  All collection site days and hours of operation are subject to the damage results from Hurricane Ike.

 

Jefferson Parish – Westwego Library, 635 4^th St., Westwego 70094 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Orleans Parish – New Orleans Main Library, 219 Loyola Ave., New Orleans from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

To find the location of all of the Corps’ Blue Roof collections sites in Louisiana,

call 1-888-ROOF-BLU (1-888-766-3258)

 

The Corps’ provides FEMA emergency support function 3 (ESF3) mission, response and recovery for temporary roofing. Additional missions include emergency power, commodities and technical assistance to facilitate a rapid recovery from Hurricane Gustav.