The Belle Chasse Garden Club would like to acknowledge the following Belle Chasse business and residences as recipients of Garden of the Month awards for August 2023: • Community: Norris & Melinda Babin, 114 Woodchase Street

Last week the governor declared a state of emergency for all of Louisiana related to the drought and heat that has been ongoing with no end in sight. We aren’t strangers to emergencies, what’s different here is that we know how to prepare for and respond to things like storms from the gulf, flooding, and wind damage on our property. This unending hot, dry weather with little relief in temperatures even in the overnight hours means all plant life is stressed, and some things will probably not recover unless we get relief soon. Along the I-10 corridor to Slidell there are a few miles of dead trees on the lake side of the interstate. I’m getting calls about pecans shedding their crop prematurely. Some “bomb-proof” south Louisiana landscape staples like ‘Encore’ azaleas and Indian hawthorn are giving up the ghost. And don’t get me started on lawns. Without irrigation many lawns are a crispy mess. We are behind in our annual rainfall totals by over 22 inches and counting.

The Louisiana Secretary Of State’s Office is conducting Louisiana’s Annual Voter Registration Week from August 28 to September 1, 2023. The Plaquemines Parish Registrar of Voters Office will be conducting voter registration drives at the following locations: • Monday, August 28, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Buras YMCA, 36342 Highway 11, Buras

Two candidates in the race to be the next state representative for the 105th representational district (Joanna Cappiello- Leopold and Don Vallee) had received challenges to their candidacy for differing reasons. However, both candidates have successfully maintained their positions in the election. But like the reasons behind them being challenged, the reasons each candidate was able to stay in the election were different as well.

November 18 At their August 24 meeting, the Plaquemines Parish council approved an ordinance that would change the parish Home Rule Charter on the November 18, 2023 election if approved by voters. The change being proposed is to add a “Director of Arts, Parks, and Recreation” to the Plaquemines Parish Government (PPG) structure.

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In the wake of former Plaquemines Parish School Board (PPSB) school system Superintendent Denis Rousselle’s sudden retirement due to personal health reasons, the school board held a special meeting on August 21 to appoint an interim Superintendent.

The August 24 Plaquemines Port Harbor & Terminal District (PPHTD) saw deputy director and executive legal counsel Melissa Folse deliver a big announcement to the port board regarding their proposed container terminal project.

re’s no doubt about it, these 120-degree heat index days make it di_cult to do anything outdoors. I regularly hear lawn mowers, string trimmers, and leaf blowers in the early morning hours and long after sundown. re’s an “early morning watering club”, consisting of myself and two other neighbors who are also out watering their plants at 5 AM before heading to work in a desperate bid to keep some things alive. In the past week, I’ve heard from two landscapers, a gardening friend, and a farmer’s market vendor that all went to the ER with heat related illnesses. Two had collapsed and got themselves an ambulance ride.

Judge Michael Clement and the Belle Chasse High School Football Team, led by Head Coach Stephen Meyers, hosted its annual “Under the Lights” youth football camp this past Friday August 11, 2023 at Belle Chasse High School. Coach Meyers said he and his team are happy to be able to host this event every year. The “Under the Lights” camp is a wonderful event and I know that our coaches and players look forward to it every year, it is important for us to instill the values of teamwork, discipline, and community service to our players at a young age. I am glad to have this opportunity with Judge Clement to give back to our community,” Meyers said.