This past weekend a dedication ceremony was held in Honor of Mr. Norris “Butch” Millet, whom the LaPlace branch library was most recently named after.

This was a collaborative effort between the Library Board of Control, the St. John the Baptist Parish Council and our State Legislature.

Councilmember at Large Jaclyn Hotard and I introduced a resolution several weeks ago at a Council meeting that was unanimously approved by the Parish Council. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of those involved, especially my fellow Council members to see this come to fruition.

It was a rare honor to have the honoree, Mr. Millet, present at this dedication. State legislation has to be amended to allow for exceptions to name any pubic building after a non-deceased individual.

Mr. Leroy Williams and former Sheriff Lloyd B. Johnson were the only two others in St. John that this was done for

(Unfortunately, Williams and Johnson passed away before dedication ceremonies.)

Mr. Millet was a long time public servant in our library system, being one of the founding members that brought public libraries to St. John Parish. Mr. Millet has had 52 years of service and dedication to St. John and our Public Library system. It was truly an honor to be a part of this dedication and a special thank you to Mr. Millet for his over five decades of service to St. John Parish.

The Parish Council will hold a utilities workshop tomorrow (Thursday/Aug. 24) beginning at 6 p.m. in the Joel McTopy Chambers in LaPlace.

This workshop will be a presentation to the Council of the latest Water Meter Technologies available. This was scheduled as part of the ongoing problems with the Parish Water Meters and the Council’s and Administration’s diligence in finding long-term and short-term solutions.
Drainage project construction on Belle Terre Blvd is currently on hold due to the relocation of a private utility line, according to DOTD.

DOTD officials are working closely with the contractor and private utility company to relocate the line by Sept. 4 at the latest so that construction may resume.

St. John Parish officials are also monitoring the project and are in discussion with all parties to move the project forward as quickly as possible. Please remember to drive slowly in the area and be on the lookout for work crews, signs and equipment. Intermittent lane closures on Belle Terre Boulevard will be in effect for the duration of the project.

Nearly two years after the groundbreaking, Pin Oak Terminals had a ribbon cutting to celebrate the beginning of operations of a new multi-product liquid marine terminal. This site has the capacity to construct more than 10 million barrels of storage of crude oil, refined products, chemicals and other liquids.

Pink Oak Terminals directly and indirectly hired approximately 600 people from our local community and brought economic income to the area. Over 75 percent are local residents of the River Parishes.

The terminal is beginning operations with one dock, a two-bay truck rack and four tanks holding a total capacity of 424,000 barrels of refined products and biofuels.

Neighbors can expect construction to continue as the remaining permitted tanks and infrastructure are built. Pin Oak Terminals plans to continue to expand by adding new customers, tanks and infrastructure.

Thank you to Pin Oak Terminals for being a great partner and an economic driver for St. John Parish.

This week is Voter Registration Week (Aug. 21 through Aug. 25).

Representatives from St. John’s Registrar of Voters Office are conducting voter registration drives throughout the Parish to increase voter registration. For more information on elections and voting, please visit the LA Secretary of State’s Office website at sos.la.

The remaining Voter Registration Drives will take place at the following locations:

Wednesday/Aug. 23
8:30 a.m. – Riverside Academy, Reserve
10:30 a.m. – St. John Council on Aging (Westbank), Edgard

Thursday/Aug. 24
8 a.m. – West St. John High School, Edgard
11:50 a.m. – St. Charles Catholic High School, LaPlace

Friday/Aug. 25
10:30 a.m. – St. John Veterans Home,  Reserve

Michael P. Wright is St. John the Baptist Parish Council District 5 representative and Council vice chairman. Contact him at District5@sjbparish.com or m.wright@sjbparish.com.