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Residents of the Diamond FEMA trailer park near Port Sulphur have affectionately called the neighborhood the “450” for the number of units at the site.
But as FEMA strives to deactivate all trailers in Plaque-
mines by May 31, the “450” can now be called the “124.”
“The aggressive time line coincides with moving families out of temporary trailers and mobile homes before the start of hurricane season,” said a FEMA written statement.
Since first announcing the park closure timeline in Nov. 2007, 91 group parks have closed, leaving 20 currently open.
Roughly 1,035 individuals and households continue to reside in FEMA temporary group housing sites, down from over 4,200 in October 2007.
At its peak, Plaquemines held more than 4,400 trailer units either on group sites or on private property.
As of last week, FEMA reports that Plaquemines had 1,696 trailers ready for removal.
Park closure dates ranged from the end of March to the latest on May 31 and are dictated by parish-mandated closures, lease end dates and the natural progression of residents realizing their permanent housing plans.
FEMA also announced that the park closure dates might change, but residents must continue working towards their permanent housing plan.
For more information on finding permanent housing, contact FEMA at 1-888-294-2822.
Trailers active at group sites:
Billy Nungesser: 14
Captain Larry: 56
Davant: 60
Diamond: 124
James Courville: 3
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BC SALON DONATES TIME TO CANCER RESEARCH |
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Plaquemines Parish’s locally owned and operated day spa, Renaissance Salon & Spa, was recently invited to donate their talents and services to help raise funds and awareness for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is the largest volunteer-driven fund raising event for children’s cancer research. At St. Baldrick’s events, volunteers request donations to shave their heads in solidarity with children fighting cancer. The event was held last month at the Tulane Hospital for Children.
When Renaissance massage therapist Kristee Schurr heard about the event, she was not initially asked to volunteer. At the time the event coordinators were only looking for cosmetologists that could donate their time by shaving volunteer heads. After asking if she could donate a massage chair, it wasn’t long before she received a very enthusiastic “yes” from the event coordinators.
“When I took the day off of work to volunteer, I didn’t ask any of the other girls at first if they wanted to go,” Schurr said, “because I didn’t want them to feel obligated. But I did ask our hairstylist, Cynthia Garcia, if she would shave volunteer heads.”
Garcia quickly agreed to attend and soon Renaissance’s owner Alexis Jackson and massage therapist Lori Vess were volunteering to massage also. Jackson shut down the shop for the day so that all of the workers could attend and raise money for childhood cancer research.
Garcia shaved about 30 heads. Several of the men and women donated their long hair to Locks of Love. Between the three massage therapists $352 was raised. Even Boudreaux, the Zephyrs mascot, took part in the fund raising and planted his giant foam frame in Shurr’s massage chair.
The money raised from the massages stay at Tulane and will be spent on the new “boundless playground,” which is for children who are in wheelchairs and otherwise would not be able to access a playground.
To contact Renaissance Salon & Spa, call 504.394.3800. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, go to www.stbaldricks.org or call 1.888.899.BALD.
Plans are underway to make the shave an annual event for the Renaissance staff. |
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BULOT INDUCTED INTO LOUISIANA 4-H HALL OF FAME |
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Plaquemines Parish kindergarten teacher Brenda Bulot was recently inducted into the Louisiana 4-H Hall of Fame.
She and 13 other honorees are among the initial 4-H Hall of Fame members, who were selected as part of the 100th anniversary celebration of 4-H in Louisiana, according to Dr. Steve Mullen, the LSU AgCenter’s regional director for the South Central/Crescent Region.
The inductees represented 11 south Louisiana parishes and will join 86 others from across the state who will make up the first 100 members of the 4-H Hall of Fame.
The LSU AgCenter formed a special committee to develop the nomination process for the Hall of Fame. Each parish was given the opportunity to nominate three candidates, and the state 4-H office nominated three volunteers who made an impact statewide.
Bulot said she volunteered to work with 4-H more than 16 years ago, but she would never give it up.
“I didn’t grow up with 4-H, but my daughter was a member. So when her volunteer leader decided not to do it, my principal asked me to help out,” Bulot said. “From that point, I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Bulot said she often looks for something to lay aside so she can slow down, but 4-H has never been one of the things she could walk away from. |
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