By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / May 12, 1999

LAPLACE – A special Mass is planned Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Ascension ofOur Lord Church, led by Archbishop Francis Schulte, in memorium to the people who died in the Mother’s Day bus accident in New Orleans.

Also, a memorial Mass is scheduled Monday at St. Peter Catholic Church inReserve, starting at 7 p.m., for the family and friends of the accidentvictims. The public is invited as well.On Sunday, a communitywide, ecumenical memorial service is planned at 3 p.m. at East St. John High School. That service is being coordinated by theSt. John the Baptist Parish government, the St. John Parish Sheriff’sOffice and the St. John Clergy Alliance.Sunday has also been proclaimed a special Day of Prayer by Parish President Arnold Labat.

“All these people were known and loved by their fellow citizens,” said Labat. “No words can express our deep loss.”Labat said the community hasn’t seen such a mass outpouring of loss and grief since the May 21, 1952, auto accident near Garyville which killed four American Legion baseball team members and injured six others.

Ironically, Sunday’s accident also marked the second anniversary of the murders of Sam and Louella Arcuri in LaPlace.

Lt. Michael Tregre of the St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office reported thateven the inmates in the parish jail offered to donate blood if it were needed.

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