LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / September 16, 1998

EDGARD – A special Household Hazardous Material Collection Day has been set for St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parish residents to drop offhazardous materials for free disposal by area industry.

Parish President Arnold Labat announced the Nov. 14 event at Tuesday’smeeting of the St. John Parish Council.The event is planned in cooperation with Shell Chemical Co., Norco, withcooperation from DuPont, DuPont Dow, Marathon Oil, Monsanto, Nalco Chemical, Occidental Chemical and Union Carbide.

Two sites are being planned, in LaPlace and Boutte, but are not yet confirmed.

Acceptable material to be collected include oil-based paint, latex paint, solvents, tires, old auto batteries, household cleaning products, aerosols, acids, fluorescent tubes, tars, resins, adhesives, pesticides and herbicides.

Those items which will not be accepted include explosives, medical wastes, compressed gas cylinders, asbestos, old smoke alarms containing radioactive waste, business and commercial wastes.

In September 1997, Marathon conducted a similar event.

Zoning also occupied the Parish Council during Tuesday’s meeting when a group showed up to find out what would happen regarding a mini-mall proposal at West Fifth and Acorn streets in LaPlace.

The matter came up as a late addition to the council agenda, submitted by Parish Councilman Joel McTopy, who was late to the meeting and missed the discussion.

The agenda item read: “Reconsideration and/or action on Ordinance 98- 75.”The proposal, from Eldridge Bartholomew, was withdrawn by letter by Bartholomew prior to the Aug. 25 Parish Council meeting. The councilvoted then to accept the withdrawal.

By accepting the withdrawal, Bartholomew could, if he chose, re-submit his application in 90 days from Aug. 25. However, if the council had takenaction to deny the application, he would have been barred from submitting a new application for one year, as was done in 1997.

The proposal called for a mini-mall containing a check-cashing service, delicatessen and barber shop. Neighbors attended the Aug. 25 meeting andlikewise attended Tuesday’s meeting, demanding to know what would happen now.

J.C. Weber spoke Tuesday and declared: “You’ve postponed this two months.Every time we come, you have to look again.”Planning and Zoning Director Laurette Thymes pointed out the matter was a dead issue unless Bartholomew chose to submit a new application. If hedoes, the application would have to start all over in the process, including public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Parish Council.

“I thought that ended the matter,” Parish Councilman Duaine Duffy said, surprised to see the continued interest.

Thymes also stated if the Parish Council had taken no action at the Aug.

25 meeting, the application would have been approved had it not already been withdrawn.

“At this point, the application is dead,” Duffy pointed out.

Parish Councilman Dale Wolfe snarled at the absent McTopy for bringing the matter up, even though it was a dead issue.

“I really don’t appreciate Joel McTopy dipping in. He has a way of playingwith people. Joel McTopy needs to stop being so two-faced and stop usingpeople,” Wolfe said.

McTopy later dismissed Wolfe’s comments and said he had the right to bring up the issue, as he still had questions as to the legal procedure used in the matter.

Parish Councilman Clinton “Rock” Perrilloux commented to McTopy: “Please don’t let us be blindsided again.”In another matter, Wayne Machado of Mosquito Control Inc. reported to theParish Council that eight cases of human encephalitis, a brain-damaging illness transmitted by mosquitos, were reported in Jefferson Parish.

With accelerated spraying, no such cases have been reported in St. JohnParish. He added that on Aug. 31, a check of traps indicated 29 per trap, analready-low number. By Sept. 7, the number had dropped to 13 per trap. Thesummer drought also helped in keeping numbers down.

“We feel we’re on top of this,” Machado assured the Parish Council.

Anyone who would like their neighborhood sprayed for mosquitos can phone 1-800-256-8784.

In another matter, Parish Councilman Wolfe complained about the absence of the cable TV camera at the Edgard meeting. Parish engineer E. BuddyBailey, who normally operates the camera, was on vacation this week and had arranged no back-up to the camera operation at the meeting.

“We’re paying people to do a job,” Wolfe said. “It’s a damned shame.”Labat later accepted full responsibility for not following up and making sure there was a camera operator.

The Garyville Volunteer Fire Department will purchase a new rescue vehicle at a price of $229,240, as approved by the Parish Council. ParishCouncilman (and former Garyville VFD Chief) Nickie Monica voted against the purchase, and said the money could be put to better use.

Fire Chief Faron “Slim” Duhe responded the purchase is necessary to upgrade the department. Civil Defense Director Bertram Madere concurred,and added: “There’s no reason to penalize one department trying to better itself.”The Parish Council voted to approve the joint venture firm of Charbonnet & Associates and Burk-Kleinpeter Inc. to serve as consultants for theAvenue of the Americas project, which will connect the Globalplex facility directly to St. John Airport and, ultimately, Interstate 10.Finally, Labat’s proposal for a new driver’s license office building, to be located near St. John Airport, was postponed to the Sept. 22 meeting.Parish Councilman Perry Bailey said he wanted a financial update before voting to spend the money.

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