Creating a common vision

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, January 30, 2013

By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

EDGARD – The first evening of St. John the Baptist Parish’s “One Parish, One Future: Building Back Better and Stronger” campaign drew a sizeable mix of residents out to the West Bank Community Center in Edgard on Monday night.
The citizens came out to address concerns that they had about property, community development, aid for the disabled and more.
Pam Williams, 59, said she was happy to see the event take place.
“I like the areas that are being introduced to us — it’s comprehensive. I’m concerned about flooding on this side of the river in future. If you remember the rains, it was horrendous,” she said. “And that water stayed for over a week. If it continued I didn’t know what would happen because if it tops over on the road it’s a big concern. I think we are at a cross roads, and I’m looking forward to us making improvements. As a resident, we have to be willing to compromise and contribute more.”
 “I think it’s a great idea for them to let us know exactly what we have in here and what we should be looking forward to, but we can’t look forward to anything if nobody helps us move forward. I feel like with the knowledge we have of what’s going on here, we can expound on that,” said Earlie Saul, 62.
Although Saul said she was looking for information about how she can make her home more conducive to her needs as a disabled person, it is not her only concern. Saul said she acts as a relay for her neighbors and friends that cannot get out because of a disability or because they are caring for disabled family members. She said that many of them do not have the help they need, but also do not have the option to go and find it.
“My primary concern was trying to get information for me as a disabled person on how to get help in my home. I have a lot of issues in the house. I can’t get anybody to come there because of the money. If they have grants, I don’t know where to get them,” she said. “I can get online and try to find it, but that doesn’t always work. I’ve been doing that anyway. I’m not complaining about that though. I’m complaining for the people who don’t have the means to look for the information that they need to help themselves. I think that’s the real problem.”
Sixty-four-year-old Nancy Dumas, a retiree, came to the event with concerns about available housing and decaying structures.
“There’s a lot of dilapidated homes in the area that need to be taken down, destroyed. With the land that’s available, sometimes it belongs to families, but you don’t know until you go down to the courthouse,” she said. “A lot of times people foreclose with land when they don’t pay their property tax. But we don’t know either that unless you really look into the paperwork at the courthouse. If more land was available, I think more people would migrate to the area because they know they could get it at a good price.”
“It’s gone by the time they get there,” Carter Lumar, 65, added.
“In order for this side of the river to grow, you have to have homes and living places available and for industries to come, as well,” she continued. “This is our little community. It doesn’t have stores and things like that. So we’re at a point where people are not coming to this area, and there’s not enough jobs available for the younger group, so they go out of state.”
Dumas also mentioned concerns about the lack of signage between St. Charles and St. John parishes for the town of Lucy. She said the water tower is visible, and first-time visitors and passers-by need a sign so they know where they are.
“On the River Road, there’s not a sign that says Lucy when you’re coming from St. Charles Parish to St. John. So people are looking for something, but they don’t know. They just see the St. John sign, but they should have both a Lucy sign and then an Edgard sign where Edgard begins,” she said.
Parish representatives and other organizers were also pleased with the turnout. Federal Emergency Management Agency representative Mark Alleman considered the event a success.
“I would venture to say that all of the people in this room who are involved in the recovery process are very happy to get the level of participation we’re getting from the locals. Ultimately the focus of this whole process is to get input from citizens, who, in the long run, this process is going to affect the most. It’s very exciting, meeting a lot of great people and enjoying getting some comments from them,” he said.
The Rev. Donald August, chairman for Natural and Cultural Resources Committee, said government can only do so much. Therefore, it’s essential for residents to take a more aggressive stance with local matters so they can have more control over the things that determine their futures.
“I’m glad to see as many people come out as we’ve seen so far. It’s a good turnout, considering it’s a Monday night and people have other things to do. I’m looking at the notes that we have on the boards,” said August. “Not only are the residents coming and looking at the displays, but they’re also giving recommendations, suggestions and ideas that hopefully we can use going forward to enhance what we’re trying to do.”
“We believe that there’s a lot of good things here in St. John. And this is where our families are,” he continued. “We want to raise our families in a good area, to know our history and we want them to also be proud to stay in this place we call home.”