Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

CONVENT — St. James Parish officials issued the following updates regarding Hurricane Ida recovery.

Open Stores & Gas Stations:

Stores:

• Matherne’s Supermarket in Paulina – open until 6 pm (cash only)
• Schexnayder’s Supermarket in Vacherie – open from 9am to 5pm (cash only)

Gas Stations:

• Jubilee Hwy 20 in Vacherie – closes at 7pm (cash only)
• Pop-in-Go #11 Hwy 70 in St. James – closes at 6:45pm
• Sunshine Plaza by Sunshine Bridge – opening at 6:45pm and will resume 24 hr. schedule.
• Super Stop Hwy 70 in Convent – closes at 7pm (cash only)

POD Sites: 

o     Two PODS (Points of Distribution) have been established in the parish. These locations will be open daily from 8 am to 5 pm. As of now, the only items being distributed here are MRE’s and Water.

o    West Bank Location: St. James High School in Vacherie

o    East Bank Location: Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Gramercy

o    *Please note: our parish transit busses will be delivering water and MRE’s to hard-hit areas where debris has prevented residents from traveling to the POD site.

Entergy Power Outages: 

o    Our Emergency Operations Center has been in touch with Entergy representatives today and have determined based on Entergy’s damage assessments that nearly all transmission lines feeding into the parish are damaged. All four substations that feed our parish are heavily damaged as well.

o     We ask for your patience while we work with Entergy to get all repairs made and restore energy. With a storm of this significance which has caused this much widespread damage we can expect a power outages for upwards of several weeks.

Roadways: 

o    Entergy has been working for the last several hours to clear and repair downed lines which have kept HWY 20 blocked in Vacherie and this major highway is now open.

o    Nearly all other major roadways in the parish have been reopened but residents are asked to please travel with caution as there are still many power lines down

Garbage Collection: 

o    The Parish landfill is open and operating as normal

o    Waste Management has suspended garbage collection for the remainder of the week due to power lines prohibiting the travel of large garbage trucks on the roadway.

o    *Please Note: Our EOC is currently working on a solution for residential trash pickup.

Storm Debris Pick Up: 

o    Debris Removal operations will begin later this week. Residents are asked to separate their debris by category in order to have it picked up.

o    DOTD has activated their debris removal contract and anticipate beginning to pick up debris along state highways in St. James Parish by Friday or Saturday.

Shelter Operations: 

o     Currently housing 28 residents in the Parish Shelter. Our Department of Human Resources is working diligently to continue assisting residents whose homes have been damaged and working to locate long-term shelter for those who need it.

Citizen Service Center: 

o    Operating daily from 6 am to 6 pm.

o    Please call 225-331-8187 for assistance or information.

Parish Council Meeting: 

o    September 1, 2021 Council Meeting Cancelled

o    Due to ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Ida, the regularly scheduled parish council meeting has been postponed until a later date.

Crisis Clean Up: 

o     We have several volunteer groups who will be in the parish in the coming days to assist residents with cutting tree limbs, and storm clean up.

o     The Church of Latter Day Saints has established a Crisis Clean Up line where residents can call 844-965-1386 to place a work order for assistance.