The Belle Chasse Garden Club would like to acknowledge the following as recipients of Garden of the Month awards for June 2022: • Civic: Pleasant Ridge Homeowners’ Association, Woodland Highway • Community: Jeff and Shara Robichaux, 104 Morning Glory in Springwood • Member: Stacie Jaufre, 102 Oak Park Ct in The Parks.

Two hundred years after the birth of Timothy and Margaret Collins O’Brien, their descendants held a reunion to celebrate their lives, in the last two communities they lived… Homeplace and Nairn, Louisiana.

The June 23 Plaquemines Parish Government (PPG) council meeting was both sparsely attended—with district 4 council member Stuart Guey, district 6 council member Trudy Newberry, district 9 council member Mark “Hobbo” Cognevich, and parish president Kirk Lepine being absent—and unusually devoid of agenda items to be voted on, with many being deferred until the next meeting or completely withdrawn.

A delegation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) made the trip down to Ironton to speak with district 7 council member Carlton Lafrance, Ironton resident and former council member Audrey Salvant, former parish president Amos Cormier, and state representative Mack Cormier about the many ongoing issues Ironton has endured in the wake of Hurricane Ida. With council member Lafrance by her side, Audrey Salvant tells FEMA officials about how Ironton residents have reacted to impacts from Ida and the lack of assistance they have received.

On June 18, 2022, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards vetoed a bill that had the potential to cost Plaquemines Parish $3 million in tax revenues. The bill in question is Senate Bill 241—which would have allowed companies that have made a “clerical error” in their annual tax reporting to “make a claim to the Louisiana Tax Commission” and receive “a credit against future ad valorem taxes.” In other words, companies that have supposedly overpaid taxes due to their own error can avoid paying future taxes based on the amount they “erroneously” paid in the past.

The NOLA Oil Terminals export facility serviced its first vessel on Monday, June 20. The development of this $930 million project has been essentially secured for some time, with construction beginning several months ago. However, the fact that the company is already servicing cargo ships shows that all the excitement around it was justified.

In an attempt to raise the salaries of deckhands who operate the ferries in Plaquemines Parish, the Plaquemines Port Harbor & Terminal District (PPHTD) board approved an ordinance that will provide for the training and certification requirements” for those deckhands at their June 23 meeting. Specifically, this will allow port deckhands to receive certification as “firefighters,” which means they could be approved for an extra $500 a month from the state of Louisiana through its supplemental pay program.

Starting Tuesday, June 28, access to Avenue G from Main Street to Highway 23 will be closed to vehicular traffic. Belle Chasse Ferry access will be diverted to Main Street. Ferry lines will begin on Main Street. This closure is scheduled for four to six weeks. According to Parish President Kirk Lepine, Avenue G is being shut down for the installation of drainage pipes beneath the road.

Sheriff Gerald A. Turlich, Jr. announces the arrest of Mark Cambre, 57, of Marrero, Louisiana as a fugitive from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Florida for the charges of Kidnapping, Burglary with an Assault or Battery and Robbery with a Firearm.

Sheriff Gerald A. Turlich, Jr. announces the arrest of Trevor Terrance, 19, and Antonio Encalade, 26, of Pointe- A-La-Hache along with Ranzanae Jeanpierre, 18, and two juveniles from New Orleans. Terrance has been charged with Reckless Operation, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Aggravated Flight from an Officer, Contributing to the Delinquency of a Juvenile, Unauthorized Entry of an Inhabited Dwelling and Illegal Carrying of a Firearm. Jeanpierre was charged with Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Aggravated Flight from an Officer, Contributing to the Delinquency of a Juvenile and Unauthorized Entry of a Inhabited Dwelling along with outstanding warrants. The two juveniles were charged with Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and Resisting an Officer while Encalade was charged with Accessory after the Fact.