June 1 is the Start of Hurricane Season 2009

Are you prepared? Go to lpb.org/hurricane.

Ike Transitional Sheltering Assistance Has Been Extended

New Orleans, Louisiana, October 13, 2008 – The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s transitional sheltering initiative for applicants displaced by Hurricane Ike, originally scheduled to end Oct. 14, has been extended.

 

Applicants who have been determined eligible for FEMA housing assistance under the Individuals and Households Program or have not yet received a FEMA inspection of their damaged home have been extended until Tuesday, Oct. 28. FEMA may authorize extended stays beyond Oct. 28 as needed and will notify those applicants individually.

 

Applicants who are deemed ineligible for transitional sheltering assistance are being notified that FEMA will no longer pay for their hotel beyond Oct. 28, 2008. These applicants will not be granted a further extension and applicants who choose to remain in hotels the night of Oct. 28 and beyond will do so at their own expense. Applicants who believe they have received their notification in error or who may have other disaster-related questions may call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 or visit www.fema.gov by clicking on “Apply for Assistance” for more information.

 

The intent of transitional sheltering assistance is to provide shelter alternatives to evacuees who need a place to stay because they are unable to live in their homes due to damage or power outages caused by Hurricane Ike. Transitional sheltering assistance allows eligible individuals or families to stay in a hotel or motel for a limited time and have the cost of the room and taxes paid directly to the hotel by FEMA. Meals, telephone calls and other incidental charges are not covered.

Corps warns homeowners to be wary about Blue Roof contractor scams in Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La., Sept 24, 2008 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisiana Recovery Field Office, in Baton Rouge, La., is warning homeowners to be wary about Blue Roof contractor scams.

There has been a report this week that there are people impersonating contractors working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Blue Roof temporary roofing program and installing improper roofs and having homeowners sign forms.

            Corps officials at the Louisiana (LA) recovery field office (RFO) in Baton Rouge, La. urge homeowners to be wary of people impersonating contractors or government workers and asking them to sign forms.

            “The only time a homeowner will sign a form associated with the Blue Roof program is when they first sign up for the program,” said Mark Davidson, Corps’ spokesman. “There are no forms for the homeowner to sign when the contractors are installing the temporary blue roof or when the job is done.”

            Corps Blue Roof team members will have proper identification and uniforms.  Citizens should not hesitate to ask persons approaching their property for proper identification. 

            If the homeowners have any doubts or think there is a potential contractor scam occurring, they should immediately contact local law enforcement officials.

 

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.

A Teacher’s Close Call with Gustav

Old Fears, … New Worries

By Elizabeth Walters

Would you come back?

This is the question that dogs me every morning as I drive through the streets of New Orleans. Past the rebuilt homes and ramshackle shells, past the fresh trim jobs and spray-painted search crosses, past the cleared concrete slabs and the piles of debris that still litter every block, I travel and interrogate my own strength.

I had never visited this area before Hurricane Katrina devastated it three years ago, so I am spared the firsthand comparisons of before and after that can make life here untenable for longtime residents who try to return. While I love the lessened, wounded city I currently call home, I often doubt that I could live here with the memory of what it used to be. And so every morning on my way to work, I ask myself this question, to remind myself of the strength of the people I meet, and to remind myself of the strength of the students I teach—children who had no choice in their destiny.

My morning ritual took on more urgency about 10 days ago, when it became apparent that another hurricane, Gustav, was taking aim at south Louisiana. Suddenly, everyone worried that we would get hit again. The grocery stores ran out of gallons of water. The gas pump lines were three cars deep.

Nowhere was the stress more apparent than among my students.

 “Ms. Walters, where will we have class if the school floods again?” one of them asked me as I was taking roll.

 “I don’t want it to flood. If it floods again, we are not coming back,” another wrote in his class journal.

A land destroyed

The kids had especial cause for worry. I teach ninth grade in St. Bernard Parish, which lies due east of New Orleans, between the Mississippi River and an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico; my school is about eight miles from the French Quarter. Although it attracted only a fraction of the news coverage given to the city, the parish—a suburban and rural parcel of land comparable to a county—bears the dubious distinction of being the only parish where Katrina’s waters covered 100 percent of the land. Every single structure was damaged or destroyed.

I know that most of my students did not ride out Katrina at their homes, because if they had, they might be dead. The flood came as a wall of water, inundating structures within seconds. In some areas, it reached depths of more than 15 feet.

“My house didn’t have a water line on it,” one administrator told me when I was hired. “The water went up over the top of the roof.”

The floodwaters lay in some neighborhoods for weeks, shining sickly with the evidence of a secondary disaster, a spill of mixed crude at the Murphy Oil refinery that coated everything it touched. Every school building was rendered uninhabitable, including two that were used as shelters of last resort. After stranded residents were rescued from their attics and rooftops, many of the pets they had been forced to leave were left to languish, dying slowly and alone. In St. Rita’s Nursing Home in the rural, eastern end of the parish, the bodies of 34 patients who drowned in their beds awaited proper burial.

Coming back

St. Bernard Parish has come a long way in the past three years. My school district’s administrators managed to reopen a school in trailers in November 2005; since then, the district has grown to eight schools. Because the local hospital and doctor’s offices closed after the storm, my school hosts a full medical clinic. It also offers a counseling program for children who were particularly affected by Katrina.

Still, signs of the storm remain everywhere. Population estimates for the parish vary, but most set the current number at a third to half of the pre-storm population. Most of the stores are gone, as are the roller rink and the movie theater. The civic center has boards on the windows. Some families are still living in FEMA campers in the driveways of their ruined houses. At night, it is possible to drive through a subdivision and see blocks with only one or two houses lit up.

Most of my students are glad to be back. St. Bernard Parish is a largely working-class oil and fishing community, the type of place where families can trace their roots back more than a century. In their journals, the kids have written of their love for their home, as well as what they learned from having to relocate—what it’s like to be the new kid in school, what it’s like to play in snow. But they have also recorded the upheaval of their lives after Katrina, and they have no desire to repeat those experiences.

 “I lost my dog and everything that I had,” one student wrote the day after Gustav set everyone on alert.

 “My parents will be sad because they will have to find new jobs,” another wrote.

 “I hope the hurricane doesn’t come this way,” another wrote. “It’s hard to leave your friends, and you might never see them again.”

New worries

By the time I was driving to work on the morning of Aug. 29, the business owners of St. Bernard Parish were outside hammering plywood over their windows. In her first period class, the teacher next door to me had 14 absentees. After the announcements and the Pledge of Allegiance, one of my students said, “Ms. Walters, where are you evacuating?”

It was the exact third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The worry built over the course of the day, as did the number of absentees as parents finished packing their cars picked up their children on the way out of town. In my classroom, my students helped me pull bookcases away from the windows, elevate materials on high tables and unplug computers.

After lunch, we filed into the gym for the Day of Remembrance ceremony, a ceremony to memorialize Hurricane Katrina. Mercifully, the theme of the event looked forward and focused on values such as giving back to the community, rather than the storm’s devastation.

I planned to leave as soon as school was over and drive with my housemate to stay with friends in Memphis. Just past dismissal, I was locking up when one of my students stopped by.

 “If the storm hits, will you come back?” he said.

I told him I would come back no matter what. If the school was damaged, I would try to help fix it. If there was no building, I would teach in a trailer. If there were no homes, I would live in a camper.

 “Me too,” he said. “I hope I see you soon.”

A constant threat

To live now in St. Bernard Parish, or New Orleans, or any other Gulf Coast community that has been destroyed over the past few years requires the ability to simultaneously acknowledge the past and believe in your heart that history cannot repeat itself so cruelly. If someone truly thinks that another storm will bring destruction on the scale of Katrina, then south Louisiana is just not a place it is possible to live.

The people here elevate their houses, urge the government to strengthen the levees and do everything they can to prepare themselves for the next time a storm comes. But ultimately, this place is at the mercy of wind and water, and its future is left to forces beyond our control—to fate, to luck, to God, to global warming, to probability. Although we dodged a bullet with Gustav, the storm succeeded in shaking that faith.

On Monday morning, the yellow buses will arrive again in front of the school. I will be there to hug each student hello and ask them how they spent our weeklong hiatus. I will be happy to see them. But I also won’t forget the fears they laid bare in their writing.

 “I pray to God that this hurricane turns around and doesn’t hit New Orleans,” one of my students wrote the day before the evacuation. “I know everyone is wishing the same thing, because this is terrifying.”

Would you come back?
 
Elizabeth Walters is a former reporter and editor for the Concord Monitor in Concord, N.H. She teaches English at Chalmette High School in Chalmette, La.

Multiple Sites In Calcasieu, Cameron and Vermilion Parishes Providing Food, Supplies Thursday

BATON ROUGE , La. (September 18, 2008) -These are active food sites in Calcasieu Parish for Thursday, Sept 18th:

• Vinton City Hall (Calcasieu Parish), Hot Lunch – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Hot Dinner – 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• West Calcasieu Arena in Sulphur (Calcasieu Parish), Hot Lunch – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Hot Dinner – 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Maplewood Baptist Church in Sulphur (Calcasieu Parish), Hot Lunch – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Hot Dinner – 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Lagrange Soccer Field in Lake Charles, behind the old Applebees (Calcasieu Parish), Hot Lunch – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Hot Dinner – 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Managhan Center in Westlake (Calcasieu Parish), Hot Lunch – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Hot Dinner – 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Second Harvest Food Bank with Church of the King/PRC at Vineyard Church, Gulf Highway, Cameron Parish line
  Noon – 7 p.m., Non-perishable items, Water, MREs , Hot lunches served daily starting at 1pm, serving until meals are gone
• Second Harvest Food Bank at Greater St. Mary’s, 1401 Moeling Street, Lake Charles (clothing only)
  10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
• Second Harvest Food Bank at Maplewood Baptist Church , 4501 Maplewood (Sulphur), Cleaning items, Beginning Wednesday after lunch

Second Harvest Food Bank has many other food distribution/pantry sites in the region – please call 211for other locations.

These are active food sites in CAMERON Parish for Thursday, Sept 18th: FOR CAMERON PARISH RESIDENTS ONLY!

• Salvation Army, Wednesday, Sept 17^th, Hot Lunch 11-1; Hot dinner 4-6, At the Grand Lake High School, front parking lot
• Salvation Army, Wednesday, Sept 17^th, Hot Lunch 11-1; Hot dinner 4-6, Hackberry Post Office

Cameron Parish in most areas still has 24 hour curfew.  Only in areas previously mentioned and posted (such as Grand Lake/Sweet Lake) have curfew hours shifted from 8pm through 6am.

Check-in for services for Cameron Parish residents will be held at the Cameron Council on Aging (951 Hwy 834), and they will be assisted by Catholic Charities staff. You will be able to get passes based on residency for POD distributions only from this check-in location.  Then, residents will be instructed to one of the sites:  Council on Aging or Hackberry Community Center. 

Other distribution locations for Cameron Parish residents:

• Sweet Lake Church, Water, MREs, cleaning supplies, other items, tarps

Additional sites will be opened as access to other areas is safe and only when approved through the Cameron Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness.

A mobile non-perishables distribution site has been established for Abbeville, Vermilion Parish for Thursday, Sept 18th, from 4-6pm at:

• Vermillion Health Care Center, Inc., 14008 Cheneau Road, (Off Hwy. 14 in Nunez), Boxes for 250 individuals/families

 

Louisiana Bridges, Roads Affected by Ike Receive $2 million from U.S. DOT

BATON ROUGE, La. (September 17, 2008) – Governor Bobby Jindal today thanked U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters for her announcement that Louisiana will receive $2 million in immediate emergency funds for roads and bridges damaged from Hurricane Ike.

“I appreciate the federal government’s recognition of the toll Ike took on our infrastructure,” Jindal said. “This $2 million will be put to very good use as we work to remove debris and re-open damaged roads and bridges. We will continue to work to get the additional resources we need to complete this work.”

In a statement issued today, Peters called the money “a down payment on our commitment to the people of this region” and announced that Louisiana would receive the money as “quick-release” funds from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Emergency Relief Fund. The quick-release funds help Louisiana’s cash flow as the state continues its emergency response and recovery work.

Damage assessment teams from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) continue to assess hurricane affected areas. For Ike, DOTD estimates it will cost about $66 million to repair roads and bridges that receive federal highway funding and to pickup debris along those routes.

DOTD Secretary William D. Ankner said, “We thank Secretary Peters for these first funds, which will immediately go toward expenses we are incurring every day. We look forward to continuing this federal-state partnership as we address our $66 million in needs from Ike.”

FEMA Expands Public Assistance Program Assistance to 25 Parishes, at Request of Governor Jindal

BATON ROUGE – At the request of Governor Jindal, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) amended its disaster declaration for Hurricane Gustav to add all remaining categories of Public Assistance (PA) for 25 parishes.

 

The following parishes are now eligible for the FEMA Public Assistance (PA) program for categories C-G, which includes repairs to damaged public facilities: Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Catahoula, East Baton Rouge, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, La Salle, Lafourche, Livingston, Natchitoches, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Helena, St. James, St. Landry, Tangipahoa, Vernon, Washington, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, and Winn.

 

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is conducting Public Assistance Applicant Briefings throughout the state for applicants. The Governor requested that all 64 parishes be provided federal assistance following Hurricane Gustav, and is continuing to work with the federal government to add additional parishes to their declaration for assistance.

 

Governor Jindal Receives Confirmation on Request for Federal Fisheries Disaster Relief in Aftermath of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike

BATON ROUGE – Governor Bobby Jindal has received confirmation from U.S. Commerce Secretary M. Carlos Gutierrez that a formal fishery resource disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has been declared due to the devastation of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

 

The declaration, prompted by the Governor’s Sept. 5 letter that began the Hurricane Gustav recovery effort sets in motion provisions of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act that authorize assistance to fishermen affected by natural disasters. This action also makes small fishing businesses eligible for certain Small Business Administration loans.

 

“Our fishing industry has sustained another set back, that may well be as formidable as the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and this action begins the early response initiatives,” said Governor Jindal. “The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will coordinate the use of recovery funds provided through this process. We know more help will be needed, but this is a necessary first step.”

 

Commercial fishing in the affected areas consists mostly of finfish, shrimp and oysters. NOAA will work with the states to further assess damage to the major fishing ports and the seafood processing facilities in Louisiana and Texas.

 

The initial affected areas under today’s declaration are Texas and Louisiana. DOC/NOAA will continue to work with the region to assess the impacts of the storm in other areas of the Gulf.

 

“The economic impacts of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike on fishing communities in the Gulf of Mexico will hurt these communities,” Gutierrez said. “We have a lot of work to do, but this disaster determination is an important step in the recovery process.”

 

The fishery resource disaster determination was made pursuant to NOAA’s Fisheries Service will work with the states to distribute any funds appropriated in response to this determination.

 

“Working with the fishing industry and NOAA Marine Fisheries, we will assess fishing industry damage and move quickly to deliver recovery funds where needed,” said Robert Barham, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries secretary.

Plans and Information for Cameron Parish School Families; Cameron Parish Schools News Update

CAMERON PARISH , La. (September 17, 2008) – Cameron Parish School Superintendent Stephanie Rodrigue today released important information about Cameron Parish schools to its students and families.

There is no need to enroll students in other schools.  Once the parish is safely accessible and families have returned, openings will be announced.  Plans are in place for alternate sites, where necessary. Students will be taught by their same teachers, graduations will be conducted on schedule, and student activities and athletics will quickly resume.  Cameron Parish School Board members are in constant communication in these efforts.

As soon as Grand Lake, Sweetlake and Big Lake is opened and families return, school openings with some alternate sites will be announced.  Each school will open as soon as plans for each school are complete, not necessarily all at the same time.

South Cameron students will not be housed at Grand Lake.  Plans for an alternate site are in progress.  Plans for Hackberry and Johnson Bayou will be announced as soon as we have a timeline from the restoration company.

Restoration needs will be assessed at Johnson Bayou and South Cameron High Schools today and tomorrow and will begin as quickly as the schools can be accessed.

Principals have been requested to communicate with coaches to adjust athletic practices and games and secure locations for alternate gyms.  Information for Grand Lake, Hackberry and Johnson Bayou basketball plans and transportation will be announced as soon as all details are complete.  There are no issues with Grand Lake’s gym. 

Grand Lake girls basketball practice is scheduled for Wednesday, 8:30 AM; Boys basketball – 10:00 AM until noon on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, all at Grand Lake High School.  No games are scheduled at this time.

Hackberry High School athletes are asked to call coaches Terry Murphy at 513-3826 and Byron Gibbs at 540-2928.

Johnson Bayou athletes are asked to call coaches Darrell Lee at 304-6289, Todd Jinks at 794-6364 or Principal Gene Reynolds at 515-4910.

South Cameron High School will play football at Kinder High School on Saturday at 4:00 PM.  Football practices are scheduled at Kinder High School on Thursday and Friday at 8:00 AM.  Bus transportation to Kinder High School will be available.
Bus pick-ups are as follows:

• 6:15 AM – Holmwood Grocery, Grand Lake Baseball Field, Salon Elegance;
• 6:25 – Chesson’s Grocery, Burton Coliseum southwest corner;
• 6:30 – St. Patrick’s Church:
• 6:35 – Fuel Stop 36;
• 6:35  – Wal-Mart, Nelson Road;
• 6:45 – VF Factory Outlet.

Athletes are asked to bring uniforms and equipment.  Cheerleaders and dance line will receive information from their sponsors.

Employees are asked to take care of their homes and handle personal issues, such as FEMA and insurance, while the schools are forced to remain closed, so that the focus will be on our students when they return.

Payroll will be handled through direct deposit on September 25, 2008.  Check stubs will be mailed.  All invoices and substitutes were paid before evacuation was called.

Architectural and engineering assessments have been completed at Grand Lake and Hackberry High Schools.  Grand Lake has only humidity issues which have been addressed since Saturday night when Jeff Davis Electric restored electricity to that portion of Grand Lake.  Hackberry had from 24 to 36 inches of water throughout the school with silt, mud and debris remaining.  A restoration firm will be in the school as soon as Hackberry can be accessed in a vehicle.  They will also be working at Johnson Bayou High School as soon as the assessment team can get in to direct them.

The architects and engineers could not access Johnson Bayou School even by boat yesterday, but hope to access by airboat today.  On-site reports include extensive water damage and some structural issues.

South Cameron High School will be assessed on Wednesday, if high water transportation is available.  On-site reports include extensive water and structural damage.

The Louisiana Public Assistance Temporary Facilities Group has a meeting scheduled with Superintendent Rodrigue and Project Manager James Hoffpauir at 10:30 Tuesday morning to expedite temporary buildings for the classrooms of Johnson Bayou and South Cameron High Schools.  In the meantime, plans are in place for short-term alternate sites.

Projected post-storm needs for schools were requested through resources of the Louisiana Department of Education, so meeting those needs should be expedited, as well.

The contractor for the new elevated South Cameron High School was at the site on Monday, preparing to bring in equipment as soon as the highway is opened.  Construction on the concession and and restrooms will continue at that time, as well.

The Cameron Parish School Board Central Office reopened on Sunday and has been made available to other parish offices, in addition to school board business.  Any public officials needing office space should call 337.905.5784, extension 114 for Angie Styron or 109 for Anna Murphy.  Central office employees will be called to work when needed and will be notified of any necessary new assignments or relocations.

Cameron Parish families and employees are encouraged to contact FEMA at www.fema.gov or by calling 1 (800) 621-3362. TTY users can dial 1 (800) 462-7585 to use the Federal Relay Service. 

Information and registration for food stamps is available through www.dss.state.la.us or by calling 1-888-524-3578.

OEP Director Clifton Hebert is arranging for individual commodities assistance in both Grand Lake and Hackberry.

Mail for Cameron and Johnson Bayou (70631), Creole (70632) and Grand Chenier (70643) is now available at Drew Station on Lake Street on Lake Charles.  Hackberry (70645) mail is at the Sulphur Post Office.

For more information, Cameron Parish School Board families and employees are asked to check the website at www.camsch.org and listen to My State alert messages.  Videography and photography of Cameron Parish are continually being added to the website.  Families are advised that the aerial shots appear far more promising than what is the reality on the ground for most of the homes, schools and buildings in Cameron Parish.

Governor Jindal Issues Executive Order on Oyster Damage Inspections

BATON ROUGE , La. (September 16, 2008) – Governor Jindal schedules a one day damage inspection period to inspect for silt and vegetative overburden on oyster leases for Thursday, September 18, 2008.