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HAPPY MARDI GRAS,Y'ALL !

I'll be working,
but not EVER forgetting the spirit!

Update ~ St. Genevieve Church

I first posted about Bayou Liberty's St. Genevieve Church about two years ago when it was being demolished as a result of damages sustained from Hurricane Katrina.

Recently I've found some updates on the status of rebuilding the Church. Last week's T.P. ran an article about parishoners' efforts to raise the $1.5M necessary to rebuild the church.


An architectural rendering of the new St. Genevieve Church, Slidell, provides a sense of its elevation – nine feet off the ground. The church will have seating for 500, about 200 more than the building destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
From the clarion herald dot com


From the clarion herald dot com:


When the tides of Hurricane Katrina washed through Bayou Liberty, six feet of water went into the church, and four feet flooded both the rectory and CCD
building, Deacon Haggerty said.

The new church will be elevated nine feet off the ground, making it 16 feet
above sea level, and will have an elevator and some type of elevated ramp. Deacon Haggerty said the church will be about 13,900 square feet and will seat 500 – 200 more than the former church. The exterior will be stucco and metal with a metal roof.

the design committee and building committee then met with architects from Argus Architecture and Engineering, LLC. This work gave rise to a design reminiscent of the wooden mission church on brick piers with a steeple that pre-dated the storm damaged church, which was built in 1958. That edifice had served as a mission for many decades.

I have a myriad of pictures of the church here

Stay tuned for updates.

Why FEMA sucks

Close to four years post Katrina, FEMA continues to demonstrate their unending ineptitude.

Recently Jim Stark, assistant administrator for FEMA's Gulf Coast Recovery Office, did not mention Slidell specifically when he told a newspaper this week that officials in communities impacted by Hurricane Katrina are wasting time "trying to wring more money out of the federal government" when funding might not be available.

Stark told USA Today on Monday that rebuilding projects related to public safety, health and education are not proceeding as quickly as people in southeast Louisiana would like.

Slidell Mayor Ben Morris is seething over a top FEMA official's criticism of local governments for delays in repairing hurricane-ravaged municipal buildings.

"That is the most incredible bull---- statement I've ever heard in my life," the Slidell mayor said Thursday afternoon at a press conference in the trailer office he has used since Hurricane Katrina destroyed Slidell's City Hall almost 3 1/2 years ago. "I'm not trying to wring any money out of the feds that's anything more than we deserve."

FEMA recently has given a new reason as to why it won't pay to demolish and rebuild the building.

The agency told him that it believes the flooding in Olde Towne resulted from a rain event, and not the storm surge that is widely considered to have destroyed south Slidell, and, hence, FEMA isn't required to pay for the rebuild, he said.

However, the seven minute video at this link clearly shows Lake Pontchartrain's waters in downtown Slidell on August 29, 2005.

People affected by Katrina know how dysfunctional FEMA is. After reading the above referenced article, I hope others understand as well.

Something nice for a change

From New Orleans City Business dot com:


NEW ORLEANS - With the nation in a recession, a Mandeville man will give people in Louisiana a little economic stimulus of his own.

Rare coin dealer Paul Hollis plans to give away 1 million pennies in public places throughout Louisiana starting Thursday to commemorate the bicentennial of President Abraham Lincoln's birth and the centennial of the Lincoln cent. One public place will be the Argus Parade Feb. 24.



The pennies, totaling $10,000 or 5,500 pounds, have been a challenge to get to Louisiana.

Hollis needed an armored car service to get 500,000 pennies shipped to New Orleans from Philadelphia.

It cost $2,000 in transportation fees to get $5,000 worth of pennies, he said.

Abraham Lincoln has always been one of my favorite presidents and this is my small way of remembering his extraordinary legacy, he said, adding, "How many people can say they gave away tons of money and really mean it?"•

Scuzzbucket (and perhaps stupidest one) of the week

(Courtesy Kenner Police Department)


Twenty year old Ciara Craig who confessed that she threw her newborn baby into Lake Pontchartrain, with the umbilical cord still attached.

Ugh.

From WAFB dot com

was trying to hide her pregnancy from her parents. She has been charged with first-degree murder. An autopsy is set for Wednesday on the baby girl.

Police say Craig told them the child was moving when she gave birth and that she felt a heartbeat. The baby was found face down in the shallow water in Lake Pontchartrain near the Kenner boat launch Tuesday afternoon. Craig was taken to the hospital and will be booked when she is released.

Several witnesses at the park saw the woman carry a black plastic bag to the edge of the lake and dump the contents into the water, then calmly walk back to her car and drive away shortly before 2:00 Tuesday afternoon.



Screw the ACLU. People who do things like this should be IMMEDIATELY sterilized.

Scuzzbucket without a soul

Rich McKay/rmckay@ajc.com

Stewart Parnell, CEO of Peanut Corporation of America. A man apparently without a soul refused to testify for Congress about his complete disregard for human beings.

Invoking his fifth amendment rights Parnell, along with the plant manager from the Blakely plant, Sammy Lightsey, (below) were dimissed from the hearing, and quickly left a House office building refusing to speak to reporters or others.


Rich McKay/rmckay@ajc.com
Sammy Lightsey, plant manager of the Peanut Corporation of America’s Blakely plant, listens to questioning.

From ajc dot com:

E-mails between Parnell and Lightsey, manager of the company’s Blakely plant, were released as part of the hearing opened by U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, chairman of a House subcommittee on oversight and investigation.

• In one e-mail, Lightsey wrote Parnell discussing positive salmonella tests on its products, but Parnell gave instructions to nonetheless “turn them loose” after getting a negative test result from another testing company, according to testimony.

• In another e-mail, Parnell expressed his concerns over losing “$$$$$$” due to delays in shipment and costs of testing.

• Parnell in another company-wide e-mail told employees there was no salmonella in its plants, instead accusing the news media of “looking for a news story where there currently isn’t one.”

Even in the heat of the nationwide outbreak that has killed nine people and sickened hundreds more, Parnell seemed more worried about his company’s profits than with food safety, according to regulators and congressional investigators.

On Jan. 19, Parnell sent an email to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pleading with the agency to let it stay in business.

He wrote that company executives “desperately at least need to turn the raw peanuts on our floor into money.”


Because of their greed and lack of ethics, nine people have died because of their outrageous actions.

Rot in hell, boys.

"Uninvited" Celebrity

From NOLA dot com
Less than 24 hours after announcing that comedian Carlos Mencia would be one of three celebrity guests in this year's parade, the Krewe of Orpheus uninvited the Comedy Central star.

Doesn't NOLA dot com own a thesaurus?


The reason: a tape of a December 2005 broadcast that shows Mencia making a series of controversial Hurricane Katrina-related jokes at the expense of African-Americans and Hispanics.

My take on it — black people, you’re f**kin’ funny, you’re hilarious. You will get on a bus to go to Million Man March, but you won’t get on a bus to get away from Katrina. It’s funny to me. That is hilarious.”

According to Wikipedia, Mencia’s also the comedy giant behind these steamers:

• “Why are we rebuilding New Orleans? Whose idea was this, Aquaman?”
• “Hurricane Katrina was caused by political correctness. I said it!”
• “I’m glad Hurricane Katrina happened. It taught us an important lesson: black people can’t swim.”


Based on those remarks, "we thought it was best for all concerned -- best for him, best for the club, best for all the citizens -- for him not to ride this year, " Orpheus Captain Sonny Borey said Thursday. "We want to put the best positive light on the city."

Borey said Thursday that he and other Orpheus officials had no idea the explosive tape existed when they announced that Mencia would ride in the parade.


Maybe Orpheus should use Wikipedia to research their picks for celebrity riders in the future.

Finally

1,258 days after Katrina, FEMA publishes its NOLA area flood maps.

Well, it looks as if they just published old data if I'm reading it right.
It is early.

Check it out for yourself


From the Orleans Parish map site
The Orleans Parish flood maps were last updated in 1984. New maps are being prepared using state-of-the-art mapping technology and they will be presented for adoption by the parish upon completion.

Unbelievable.

More sad news for NOLA

Robert Cerasoli, the city's Inspector General has resigned, citing health issues.

Read the story here.

The Truth

As usual that guy on Toulouse Street puts into words better than I could about the rampant crime spree going on in NOLA:

we are living with the product of the second and third generation of people who have given up.

The same hollow eyes and gunman swagger you see in Somali pirates on the evening news, that’s what you can expect when culture and government and all of the things that make a civilization start to break down, and people just give up and do what they have to do to survive. And when the parents have given up, when they accept the street as the way it is, you start down the road that turns out the young men who jack ships off East Afraica and who stalk our own streets.

We have all spent and given too much to be here to walk away now. So which side are you on, boys, which side are you on? Will you run to the Northshore, or add some iron and lights to the house and never venture out? Or is it time to stand up and demand immediate action and results, or dire consequences, for Riley and his boss Ray Nagin and from the entire city government

If you enjoy Mark's writing, may I suggest you pick up is book Carry Me Home . A collection of short essays written under Mark's post Katrina blogs, "Wet Bank Guide" for the first two years Post-K.
I keep it in my car to pick up whenever I'm stuck in traffic. His writing brings you to the place he talks about.

Bald Eagles return to Fontainbleau

From a Northshore newspaper:

image from Chuck Cook - Times Picayune


For the first time since Katrina, the bald eagles have returned to Fontainebleau State Park in Mandeville.


Not exactly a common sight, these living symbols of America's spirit of freedom were first spotted at Fontainebleau about a year ago.

"In fact, a visitor to the park saw an eagle getting fish from the lake," said Rita McMurray, an interpretive ranger at the park. "We had to find the nest."

Bald eagles like habitats near seacoasts, rivers and large lakes, which makes Fontainebleau, with a setting on Lake Pontchartrain, ideal.

They feed mostly on fish, but also eat small rabbits and squirrels, McMurray said.

Eagles are extremely sensitive to human activity and like to keep a safe distance from people.

With his powerful scope set up on a steady tripod, ranger Steven Welch focused it on the uppermost limbs of the tree and pointed out the white head of the female, which sat on her eggs -- probably two, he said. They're the same pair who were at Fontainebleau a year ago

"They're pretty smart," Welch said, as he explained the location of their nest in the park. "It's about 150 feet from the water and a good distance from the campgrounds on one side, and from the day use area on the other side."

The eagles will probably leave the area in the summer and return again next winter. In the meantime, the best time of day to spot them may be the warmest part, McMurray said. You might just catch sight of one of the great birds sitting royally on a tall branch in the distance, head turned to the side, keeping watch.

Here's a two minute video about the birds courtesy of the Times Picayune:

Video: Bald eagles return to Fontainebleau