AMY SZPARA

PHOTO: ADDING FINISHING TOUCHES, Jamie LaBranche and Rico Miller move the Virgin Mary statue into the new stone grotto that will house it at Place Dubourg. The grotto is the last part of a project to create a memorial site for victims of the 1999 Mother’s Day bus crash. (Staff Photo by Amy Szpara) It’s been nearly two years since the fatal Mother’s Day crash that took the lives of 22 people and left the LaPlace community in shock, a shock that faded into sadness then to quiet reflection on memories of those who died. Residents at Place Dubourg, who mourned the loss of eight of their own, have a garden dedicated to the victims where they go to pray and remember loved ones. The garden, complete with a beautiful three-tiered fountain, several other statues, benches and a Virgin Mary statue is a serene place where residents, family and the community can reflect on their loving memories of family and friends and offer up prayers. There was only one thing missing until now, a stone grotto to house the large Virgin Mary that is expected to be completed by Mother’s Day. PHOTO 2: JAMIE LABRANCHE holds up a piece of stone that will cover the newly constructed grotto that will house the Virgin Mary Statue at the memorial site for the 1999 Mother’s Day bus crash victims. (Staff Photo by Amy Szpara) Jamie LaBranche, who helped design and build the memorial dedicated to the victims a year ago, said the grotto was part of the original plan but funds weren’t available at the time. Thanks to donations from businesses and individuals in the community, the garden and statues were built a year after the crash. Money is now available to build the grotto because Christopher Holmes, the management company that owns Place Dubourg apartments, provided funds. LaBranche, whose uncle was seriously injured in the crash, said he wanted to design something for a memorial from the start. “We took donations from the community and put a lot of time into it,” he said. “All these people had passed away, and I wanted to make a memorial so people would have a place to go and pray for them.” His wife, Kim, and Jamey Lynn, Shelbi and Matthew LaBranche all helped with landscaping. Kim got the sponsors for the original project, and Jamie’s company, Riverlands Horticulture Service, along with Brown’s Concrete, completed the site. Rico Miller helped LaBranche with painting the statues. The stone grotto is expected to be completed in about two weeks, said LaBranche. “We’ll definitely have a dedication for Mother’s Day.” He added he and Miller will repaint all of the statues and get the site ready for Mother’s Day. They recently ran a line under the street to get power to the fountain so water can flow out of it. “It’s coming to an end now,” said LaBranche. “It’s going to all be finished pretty soon. We’ll come out here, though, every month to make sure it’s all good. We’ll do landscaping, too.” The first dedication ceremony, which took place in July 2000, brought out lots of family and friends of those who died in the bus crash. The bus, loaded with people heading to a Gulf Coast casino, crashed in New Orleans May 9, 1999 in what was one of the worst accidents in state history. LaBranche said he wanted to create a place of peace for families of the victims. When the stone grotto is completed the project will be finished. “We’ll have a little dedication to finalize the project. We want everyone to know it’s finally finished, and we want to thank all the sponsors,” he said. LaBranche and Miller stood in front of the almost complete grotto on Good Friday, looking at the site. “We’ve both put in a lot of hours out here,” LaBranche said. “It’s going to be real nice.”