Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE – Another day in the recovery after Hurricane Gustav battered St. John Parish and the River Region earlier this week, and officials are reporting only small improvements for residents who are trying to come back home, or for those who rode out the storm.

Electricity continues to be the number one problem, with virtually every problem connected to the lack of power throughout most of the River Parishes.

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St. John Parish President Bill Hubbard reported late Thursday that 4,000 homes in St. John Parish had apparently gotten power back, but that was only because they happened to be near key commercial sites that were at the top of the Entergy priority list.

Entergy reported on Wednesday that all of St. John and all of St. James had lost power from the storm, and St. Charles Parish received a strong hit as well, but was getting power back in many neighborhoods as of late Thursday.

However Entergy Customer Services Representative Sheila Butler was unwilling to commit to any specific timetable for just when residents here would get their power back on, citing the large number of transmission lines, and substations, that received severe damage from the storm.

Butler was unavailable for comment to update the situation by Thursday, but Hubbard said that he knew of 245 out-of-town crews which were already here and helping Entergy. Another 100 crews are mobilizing to come here, and the parish president said that he has ordered the St. John Community Center to be set up as a site to house the workers.

“We are bringing in cots, food and everything they need to be comfortable. We have electricity there, so they will have air conditioning,” he said. “We want all those workers to really like St. John so we are doing all we can to make them happy here.”

Hubbard said that the lack of power continues to keep St. John Parish in a touchy situation with their water and sewer services, since most of those substations are still being run by generators, and they did not have enough generators to power up all 300 of them.

“We’re doing the best we can, and we are keeping the sewer and water working,” he said. “But we are urging people to conserve water as much as possible, to not put too much strain on the system. The more they can keep water from going down the drain, the more it helps our system.”

Hubbard ordered five pumper tanks to begin to pump the various lift stations to help alleviate the problem until Entergy brings power to those areas.

All public and private schools are closed for the rest of the week, with a decision on classes next week still to be made by each individual school, or the public school systems. Again, electricity will be a key factor in deciding whether to have classes or not.

A number of commercial sites on Airline Highway opened for business on Thursday, thanks to electricity that was gotten there as a priority.

Winn Dixie, Matherne’s and Wal-Mart all opened, as did Home Depot. The Racetrak gas station at the corner of Airline Highway and Highway 51 was opened, and several stations are also open near Interstate 10 on Highway 51.

Various other commercial businesses are beginning to open, but they are limited in number, and as of late Thursday, the vast majority of businesses in St. John Parish were still without power.

River Parishes Hospital got power on Thursday and is open for emergencies only, while St. James Hospital reported that they are up and running on a full-time basis. St. Charles Hospital got power back on Tuesday and is also fully operational.

Hubbard said that the Red Cross will begin with a distribution site on Friday, with a giveaway at Frank’s Super Foods on Airline Highway, and Regala Park in Reserve. However no specific time is available yet since the Red Cross has not confirmed one. Water, ice and food will be available.