By MOLLY DRYMAN

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE — Kansas City Southern Railway Company will pre-pay their 2005 property and real estate taxes to 11 parishes in Louisiana, including St. Charles, St. James and St. John the Baptist Parish, and three counties in Mississippi to aid survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

Approximately $105,000 will be distributed between the River Parishes with St. Charles receiving $28,300, $31,410 going to St. James and St. John receiving $46,000 in pre-paid property taxes that are usually due by the end of the year.

“We realize that state and local governments face enormous demands right now, at a time when their local tax base may not be generating enough revenues for them to respond with,” said Michael R. Haverty, KCS chairman, president and chief executive officer. “That’s why we decided to go ahead and prepay our local taxes so these local governments can get these payments now when they need them most.”

The KCS Charitable Fund has also contributed $10,000 to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, $10,000 to the Mississippi Hurricane Relief Fund and $5,000 to both the Louisiana and Mississippi Salvation Army, helping the current relief effort, according to information provided by KCS.

KCS has currently been cooperating with F.E.M.A, the Federal Railroad Administration and the rail industry’s combined effort to provide assistance to the relief effort. KCS trains have been made available to move emergency relief supplies and equipment to the disaster areas and responding to requests to make some of its vacant building available for storage of relief supplies, according to KCS.

KCS is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., as a transportation holding company that has railroad investments in the U.S., Mexico and Panama.