By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / July 7, 1999

GRAMERCY – Kaiser Aluminum will rebuild as soon as possible, a company official said Tuesday. He spoke to dispel the rumor that company officialswere considering cutting their losses and leaving town in the wake of the explosion and the 9-month-old labor dispute with steelworkers.

Company controller John Jennings said a construction crew is already being selected to get into the damaged area. “They’re chomping at the bit,ready to move in as soon as we get the word,” he added.

Meanwhile, investigators from the Louisiana State Police and the Mining Safety and Health Administration, accompanied by representatives of the state Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency, remain on site to determine the cause of Monday’s explosion and its impact.

“If they wouldn’t have been on strike, it would’ve have had a more huge impact,” St. James Parish President Dale Hymel Jr. said, as he assessedthe economic fallout of the explosion.

“I’m optimistic they can rebuild the plant in a year, year and a half,” Hymel continued.

He also speculated the explosion could speed a settlement in the labor dispute, to help bring back on site the experienced workers. As it is, mostof the replacement employees at the plant are not local residents, Hymel said.

Meanwhile, the 300 Kaiser workers on strike since September are working with Gramercy and Lutcher town officials and businesses to help residents rebuild and clean up.

James Pepitone of the United Steelworkers of America reported that the union has made an unconditional offer to return to work at the current contract offer “to help in any way we could.”Kaiser has not responded to the offer, he said.

Also, the union is working in the community to help rebuild damaged homes and businesses.

As it is, picketing has been cut back, with only a token striker at each gate, Pepitone said.

In responding to speculation the Kaiser explosion might have been sabotage, Pepitone immediately called it “a ludicrous statement.”He added, “We’re trying to protect our jobs.”Union officials are “very hurt” that the explosion occurred, but thankful no lives were lost.

While the explosion’s impact was immediately felt by Kaiser employees, work at two other local plants was affected.

Laroche Industries, which relieves power from Kaiser, could not be immediately contacted for response to its losses from the explosion, as the power failure knocked out that plant’s telephones. CII Carbon, whichreceives its water from Kaiser’s facility, continued to have no water on Tuesday.

The Gramercy emergency operations center was busy Monday as effects from the explosion were felt in the area.

“We were on top of it,” said Joseph Samrow Sr.

Hotlines were set up to handle citizen concerns and complaints, and a Kaiser representative was also on hand to deal with these concerns.

Gramercy Mayor Ronald J. St. Pierre praised the response of lawenforcement agencies, which did damage assessment, closed roads and contacted business operators.

St. Pierre said he is concerned about the long-range impact of theexplosion. “It’ll be a big blow,” he concluded.Paul Bourgeois, co-owner of the Winn-Dixie on Louisiana Highway 3125, where ceiling tiles were knocked down by the explosion, said only a few customers were in the store at the time. He said there was no seriousstructural damage.

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