By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – U.S. Sen. David Vitter will be making a stop in the St. John the Baptist Parish area next week to talk with residents and business leaders on a variety of local and national topics.

The River Region Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a meet and greet with Vitter Tuesday morning at the South Central Louisiana Technical College Reserve campus, 181 Regala Park Road, Reserve. The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 8 a.m. and will include a light breakfast.

Vitter’s discussion agenda will touch on workforce development in the region, state education funding and west bank flood protection for St. Charles Parish. He will also talk about how the River Parishes will be impacted by the RAMP and RESTORE Acts, two recently proposed amendments to the Federal Government’s highway and transportation budget. Vitter is a co-sponsor on both amendments.

The RESTORE Act would ensure that at least 80 of the fines being paid by BP as a result of the gulf oil spill would be set aside for Gulf Coast states rather than just going into a general fund. The RAMP Act helps restore the revenue from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for maintenance and dredging of major waterways.

For more information about the event, contact the Chamber at 985-359-9777 or email admin @riverregionchamber. org.