Parish President Craig Taffaro issued cease and desist orders on March 4 to halt progress at all four building sites, but GNOFHAC and the developer, Texas-based Provident Realty Advisors, filed the TRO that same day.

U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan – who has ruled against St. Bernard Parish’s attempts to block the apartments three times – sided with GNOFHAC and Provident Realty again and granted the TRO, which will last ten days or “until such time as the Court holds a hearing to determine appropriate fines, penalties, damages, fees and costs, and other relief.”

A cease and desist order from the Army Corps of Engineers was placed on construction of the 72-unit apartments once before, after a parish resident discovered wetlands next to the building site. However, work has since resumed.

Provident must finish building all of the complexes by the end of this year in order to qualify for $30 million in low-income housing federal tax credits.

Housing has been a topic of contention in St. Bernard Parish since Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the homes in 2005.

Some people – including Judge Berrigan – said there is a lack of rebuilt affordable and rental housing in St. Bernard in an effort to prevent African-Americans from moving into the parish.

At a recent St. Bernard Parish Council meeting, a throng of residents – dressed in red to oppose the apartments – expressed disdain for Berrigan calling racism into question.

Rather, the citizens said the apartment project would lower their property values or change the dynamic of the community.

Several of those who spoke out vouched that there is plenty of rental housing in the parish already, and inexpensive apartments would detract tenants from current landlords.

At that same meeting, the council repealed two zoning ordinances that were passed in Dec. 2009 to prohibit multi-family housing. These ordinances prevented the parish from granting Provident a necessary permit renewal.

National Guardsman DJ Williams was invited to Sweetwater Marina for a fishing trip before he is deployed to Afghanistan. Here Williams is pictured with his daughter, Madison, and his wife, Wendy, next to the boat they went fishing in.

One soon-to-be deployed soldier was introduced through a website to the folks at Sweetwater Marina, in Delacroix, which led to a free last hoorah fishing trip for the man and his family before his move to Afghanistan.

Dalcus “DJ” Williams Jr., a National Guardsman living in Baton Rouge, was on the Louisiana Sportsman website when he posted a question to a forum: Does anyone have an extra seat on a boat?

Williams said he wanted to take one last fishing trip before deployment to Afghanistan.

“[I received] a ton of responses,” said Williams. “There were lots of guys who offered all kinds of stuff. It was really cool how everybody wanted to help me to go fishing.”

Sweetwater Marina responded, and offered to put up Williams and his wife and daughter for the night, cook their meals and take them out on the water, free of charge.

For the duration of the Williams family’s stay, Sweetwater’s Cindy Berry whipped up veal with sautéed crab meat, steamed asparagus, crab au gratin and for dessert, chocolate dorborge cake. In the morning she served the guests pecan waffles and bacon.

“The cooking was incredible,” said Williams.

“I love that bacon,” chimed in Madison, Williams’ five-year-old daughter.

This fishing trip was Madison’s first time in St. Bernard Parish, and her first time in a boat. The trip was also a first for Williams’ wife, Wendy, who had never been saltwater fishing before.

“No one was seasick, we were good,” said Wendy with a smile.

The Williams’ were lucky enough to have sunny skies and smooth sailing, and according to Captain Jack Payne, there was a lot of action all day.

Once the group returned home, the fish were counted, and the tally showed a bounty of 21 red fish and 42 trout.

While the Sweetwater crew cleaned the day’s catch, Madison happily played on the boat – now on dry land – under the watchful eyes of her mom and dad.

Their whole adventure turned out better than Wendy had imagined when her husband first told her about it.

“I was like, ‘Where are we going to be sleeping?’” said Wendy. “I was a little worried, but everything was great. The room was great.”

After the sun set and the fish were packed, the Williams family piled into their vehicle for the drive back home to Baton Rouge, with their memories about this last fishing trip as an invaluable souvenir.

All of the girls in A.J. Middle — which has a total population of about 300 boys and girls — were directed to the gymnasium to have their body searched for a pair of school-issued girls basketball shorts that went missing earlier that day.

Several of the students, from varying grade levels, described the search that took place in early January.

The girls were put into three lines in the gym, those wearing pants were patted down by a female teacher to feel if there were shorts underneath, said one girl. If the teacher felt shorts, the girl would unbutton her pants to show the top of the shorts underneath.

Other girls “lifted their skirts” to show if they had on the missing basketball shorts, said another student.

Two parents filed police reports, but were told it was the St. Bernard Parish School Board’s jurisdiction.

Parents continued to try to get answers at the most recent school board meeting, held Feb. 22, and were told the school was undergoing an investigation and would be notified when the formal review concluded.

Nearly two months after the search, an investigation by the school board is completed.

Beverly Lawrason, assistant superintendent and public information officer to the school board, was overseeing the investigation, which she said took several days to execute.

Students, faculty and staff were questioned during the inquiry, and Lawrason said all of their stories were congruent.

She said the skirts were only lifted to mid-thigh height, none of the girls objected or said they felt uncomfortable.

“If a student felt uncomfortable, the principal apologized,” said Lawrason.

According to the St. Bernard Parish Public Schools Guide to Student Conduct, the principal, Dr. Montrelle Sinegar, has the right to conduct searches, but she should have first notified her superiors.

“If a mass search of students’ persons, desks, lockers or of other school areas is to be conducted, the principal should notify the superintendent’s office in advance of the search for a ruling on the reasonableness or probable cause. This provision may be waived at the discretion of the principal or her designee if the health and safety of a student or students justify the immediate action,” reads page ­11 of the Guide to Student Conduct.

Lawrason contended that the rule only said “should,” not “must,” and therefore is a suggestion, and not something required.

“We would have liked to have been notified,” said Lawrason of the superintendent’s office not being told of the search until after the fact. “This is a brand new principal, a brand new school year.”

However, the superintendent’s office was not the only party in the dark.

“Nobody sent a note home,” said Gwen Martin, mother to one of the girls at Andrew Jackson Middle. “A lot of parents still don’t know.”

Only a handful of parents called about the search, according to Lawrason.

“Any parent who called, we addressed these issues,” said Doris Voitier, superintendent of St. Bernard schools.

Martin said she still has unanswered questions, like what prompted the interruption of class and large-scale search for a single pair of shorts?

“We’re not talking drugs, we’re not talking a weapon,” said Martin.

The shorts belonged to the Andrew Jackson Middle School girls basketball team, which had a game that afternoon.

“The coach felt like the shorts were missing because they weren’t where they were supposed to be,” explained Lawrason.

It was important to find them or a student would not have been able to play, continued Lawrason.

Lawrason said she did not know why there were not any spare uniforms.

The shorts were eventually discovered; according to Martin, the shorts were not found on a student, but were misplaced by the coach.

Lawrason said she could not disclose where or how the shorts were found.

Hoards of residents — and some of the councilmen — attended a council meeting dressed in shades of scarlet in opposition to the four mixed income apartment complexes to be built in the parish, yet the meeting ended with the passage of two ordinances to repeal legislation that bans multifamily housing.

Council chamber was packed at the meeting, held on March 1, and noticeably present were four sheriff deputies at the back of the crowd.

The influx in the council meeting attendance was likely due to the presence of Robert Heffner with the Army Corps of Engineers. Heffner was to explain the recent cease and desist order the Corps placed on construction of one of the apartment complexes after wetlands were discovered on the property. Citizens were ready to protest the apartment project, which is being developed by Dallas-based Provident Realty.

Hefner described the timeline of events relative to the particular parcel of land, located on West Judge Perez Drive, now sprinkled with heavy machinery and work materials.

In 2003, a wetland determination request came in on behalf of the Meraux Foundation, which owned the property at the time. Heffner fast-forwarded to 2008, when a solicitation of use was filed. He described the solicitation of use as having much less detail and a lower level of work required than the wetland determination request.

The map of the building sites that the Corps received was a small black-and-white line map, without any buildings, property lines or landmarks, said Heffner.
The Corps mistakingly thought the property coincided with an area used for FEMA trailers, meaning no wetlands would be affected, continued Heffner.
It was not until two weeks ago that a neighbor discovered the error.

“We saw there would be no wetlands impacted,” said Heffner. “Two weeks ago, we got a call that wetlands were on a piece of the property… The site wasn’t what we identified. The developer was issued a cease and desist order.”

Councilman Wayne Landry, at-large East, said he was offended the Corps allowed Provident Realty to begin construction without a thorough investigation of the land. Wetland intrusion posed a serious roadblock in the permitting process for the public hospital, which is currently being built on the same tract of land as one of the complexes. Landry is the chairman of the Hospital Service District board, and getting the greenlight from the Corps added seven months to the hospital schedule.

“It sounds like it would have been faster if we broke the rules, started building and applied for a permit after the fact,” said Landry. “Now that you know where [Provident Realty is], I think they should be made to go through all of those hoops we had to go through.”

The item to recognize the public was moved up on the agenda, however, Heffner left before hearing any of the community’s comments.

Resident and local realtor, Dana Arcement said her qualm with the project was the detrimental affect the apartments would have on property values in the parish.
“Two of our condominiums [on Jean Lafitte Parkway] just sold for a combined loss of $80,000 to the sellers as a result of Provident Realty building directly next door to our condominium building,” said Arcement.

Arcement, and other commenters, addressed the issue of racism in St. Bernard Parish, a bone of contention U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan cited as the parish’s motive behind opposing the apartment complexes in 2008.

“I don’t like being called a racist,” said Doug Reid, a native to St. Bernard who said he grew up in “the black section” of the parish. “I’m a realist, not a racist.”
Following the public’s comments, the council broke for an Executive Session that lasted nearly an hour and a half.

After their return, the council voted to approve the introduction of two ordinances that would repeal the comprehensive zoning ordinances adopted in Dec. 2009 to prohibit multi-family housing in various areas throughout the parish.

The repeals passed 6-1, with only Landry voting nay.

The next regularly scheduled St. Bernard Parish Council meeting will be Tues., March 15, 1 p.m. at 8201 West Judge Perez Drive.

Sunny skies and warm weather provided a pleasant backdrop to the sixth annual Knights of Nemesis parade, which rolled down the street in Chalmette on the afternoon of Feb. 26.

Hoards of St. Bernardians — living inside and outside of the parish — turned out for the spectacle, and left with lots of loot.

Beads, cups, keychains and toys were tossed from the many floats that lined West Judge Perez Drive to the happy children that shouted, “Hey, Mister, throw me somethin!”

Cheerleading squads, dance teams and marching bands from St. Bernard schools paraded, too, entertaining the crowds in between floats.

The Knights of Nemesis, which started after Hurricane Katrina as a way to return to normalcy, proved to be a popular addition to the parish’s carnival festivities.

Residents representing various St. Bernard organizations gathered to sign a letter stating their commitment to Curb Appeal. Pictured are: back section, from left, Parish CAO David Dysart, School Board President Cliff Englande, Planning Commission Chair Earl Dauterive, Compliance Inspector Johnny Walsh, Coastal Zone Administrator William McCartney, Chalmette Vista resident Anita King, Parks and Parkways Commission member Joey Englert, Compliance Inspector Sid Lydecker, Buccaneer South resident Judy Hoffmeister, Economic Development Commission member Cliff Reuther, Kiwanis Club President Patrice Cusimano, Compliance Inspector Berney Tassin, Chamber member Jennifer Heintz, Compliance Inspector J.T. Henderson, Parc Place resident Melanie Doane. Pictured in the middle from left, Kiwanis club member Susie Showalter, Versailles Plantation resident Rebecca Muscarello, School Superintendent Doris Voitier, Compliance Inspector Loyce Alonzo, Acting Community Development Director Mary Chimento, President Craig Taffaro. Front, Parks & Parkways Commission Chair Howard Luna, St. Bernard Community Foundation Neighborhood Initiatives Director Polly Campbell and Chamber member Claudette Reuther.

Neatly trimmed shrubbery, clean-edged pathways and a manicured lawn set the stage for an assembly of civic and neighborhood groups which came together to sign off on the Curb Appeal Initiative.

The Curb Appeal Initiative is a citizen-based campaign to better enforce codes relative to landscaping, signage, dumpster location and overall upkeep of homes and businesses.

More than 20 residents and organization representatives signed on to the initiative at a press conference held on Feb. 22, including St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro.

Taffaro said this strategy is a sign of where the parish is going; that St. Bernard is no longer in disaster mode, but rather in a growth mode.

Being touted as a quality of life campaign, Curb Appeal will depend on self-policing.

“This really will take a community effort,” said Taffaro. “We’re giving these groups the proper voice and venue to enforce [the codes].”

Parks and Parkways Commission Chairman Howard Luna addressed the crowd, and reiterated Taffaro’s message about transitioning the parish from recovery into creation.

“Help us change the way people feel about living here,” said Luna. “This is just the first step for us.”
Others at the press conference agreed that changes are needed in the parish.

“One of the things we do well in St. Bernard is work as a team,” said Polly Campbell, the St. Bernard Community Foundation Director of Neighborhood Initiatives. “What we need to do now as a team is to work on creating a different perception of St. Bernard.”

Campbell asked why should residents have to go to Disney World or tourist destinations to see picturesque scenery, when “we have every ability and right to have that where we live.”

The media event took place at the Gulf Coast Bank and Trust in Chalmette for its compliance with all zoning codes.

Campbell said prior to the press conference that one problem in the parish is businesses not following rules about dumpsters. In many cases, the dumpster is not located behind the building or contained in a wooden enclosure, both of which are required by law, according to Campbell.

“We’re willing to stand behind the government’s enforcement,” said Campbell. “If [there is] a bad ordinance, or it doesn’t work, then it should be amended.”

The group delves their shovels in at the groundbreaking of the Prince of Peace ARC Center in Chalmette. Shortly after this photo, a tree was planted. From left, John Rigney, Cliff Doescher, Liz Lacombe, Emile Pellittieri, Polly Campbell, BJ Schultz, Warren Campagna, Judy Hoffmeister.

Adults with intellectual disabilities that are living in the parish will soon have a community center to call their own, at the former Prince of Peace Rectory in Chalmette.

Arc of Greater New Orleans, an organization created in 1953 as a network of support for families with children with intellectual disabilities, is behind the project which will provide employment, recreational and social opportunities to people age 18 and older with intellectual disabilities in St. Bernard Parish, New Orleans East and the Lower Ninth Ward.

One feature the new center will have is a farming area where program participants may grow flowers, vegetables and herbs.

However, working is only one of the services the Prince of Peace Center plans to offer.

“Along with jobs, we have a very progressive health and fitness program,” said Valerie St. Amant, associate director of dayhabilition with ARC.

St. Amant said tennis and water aerobics are some of the activities that will be made available on a daily basis.

The new community center in Chalmette will join three other ARC adult bases throughout the metro New Orleans area; the others are located in Metairie, Westwego and Uptown New Orleans.

The addition of a site in St. Bernard will be more convenient for the participants who live in the parish.

There was a former ARC location in St. Bernard Parish, the Schindler Center, but it disbanded after Hurricane Katrina.

Tom Barnes, Director of Employment Service/Individual Option at Arc of Greater New Orleans, said the Prince of Peace building will accommodate between 60 and 75 people, though he expects a smaller group at first, and they will grow as they go.

Currently, the Prince of Peace building is hollow, with a completed outer shell. All of the construction work necessary will be done with volunteer labor, according to Polly Campbell, who spearheaded the campaign.

“The people in St. Bernard know how to gut, they known hot to insulate, they know how to paint,” said Campbell.

The groundbreaking kicks off the fundraising campaign to transform the Prince of Peace building, and contributions of money, labor, materials or plants are all accepted.

Campbell said her second child, who is now 14, was born with Down syndrome. Reading about the challenges adults with intellectual disabilities face sparked her interest in getting involved, she said.

“Everything in my life brought me to this point today,” said Campbell.

The Prince of Peace ARC Center is anticipated to be completed this summer. To make a donation call 504.837.5140.

A building permit has been issued for four apartment complexes to be erected in Chalmette – construction has begun on two of them – after a two-year battle between St. Bernard Parish government and the developer, Provident Realty Advisors.

One building will be located on Patricia Street, behind the Wal-Mart in Chalmette. A second location will be at the intersection of La Fontaine and West Virtue Streets, beside St. Bernard Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home.

Another will be constructed across from the government building on West Judge Perez Boulevard in Chalmette, and the remaining complex is believed to be built East on the same tract of land, in Arabi.

Each of the 72-unit apartment buildings will be mixed-income housing, conditions that Councilman Ray Lauga, District A, said are comparable to the now-demolished Village Square apartments.

Lauga said that as with Village Square, there would be no landlord maintaining the properties, and could lead to high crime rates. The councilman, whose district would be home to three of the four complexes, said he would prefer if the plans were for lower-density, more spread out structures.

However, some people view the parish’s roadblocks to prevent Provident Realty from moving forward with the project, as prejudice toward African-Americans.

It is said that the lack of affordable housing and apartments for rent in the parish is directed at African-American people, adding to the tension that is already felt by the black community in St. Bernard. Complaints of being unfairly targeted by police officers were the subject of a civic meeting in Violet last month.

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department was investigating the parish for racial discrimination, posing a threat to the more than $90 million anticipated from HUD for parish projects, including the new public hospital.

After 30 minutes in Executive Session at the last St. Bernard Council meeting, held Feb. 1, the council passed a resolution naming Wayne Landry as the mediator between the parish and HUD to “mitigate and/or reconcile all compliance issues,” thus ensuring necessary funding would still come through. The legislation was approved unanimously.

Council members will be in Washington, D.C. this week for the Mardi Gras Ball celebration, and they intend to meet with HUD to discuss the matter while there.

Census results are in, and the total population of St. Bernard Parish has plummeted nearly fifty percent since 2000.
More than 67,000 individuals lived in the parish in 2000, and today 35,897 call St. Bernard home, according to the most recent census data.

While many people expected a drop in population after numerous residents evacuated due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, some found such a significant decrease surprising.

“I was thinking it would be higher and hoping it would be higher,” said St. Bernard Council member Kenny Henderson, District C.

Councilman At-Large, Wayne Landry agreed with Henderson, and pointed to the number of households – just shy of 16,800 homes – to prove the number is inaccurate.

Landry said if you assume there is an average household size of 2.5 people, it would put the total population at 40,000.

Furthermore, Landry argued that if the number is accurate, than the number of registered voters is too high.
There are currently more than 27,000 people registered to vote in the parish.

“Everybody but 9,000 people are registered to vote?” asked Landry. “Either our voter registration is too high or the census is too low.”

“I don’t know why [the census population] is low,” Landry continued. “Maybe a lot of people didn’t respond to it. It is very important.”

A precise population count is necessary to appropriate federal funding and also determine the number of seats the parish receives in the Louisiana House of Representatives, Landry said.

Councilman Fred Everhardt, District E, said the parish should not have been required to participate in the census this year.
“I don’t think we should have been in the 2010 census, given the state of disaster we are in,” said Everhardt about recovering from the storm. “Now, we have people moving in every day. When the new census comes in [2020], we’re going to be way overpopulated and under-voiced in the legislature.”

With the return of franchises, like Wal-Mart, street repairs on the horizon and upcoming coastal projects, Everhardt said he expects the former population to return.

“You can take a St. Bernardian out of the parish, but he is always going to find his way back home,” said Everhardt.
Landry said there is a contestation period following the release of the census results, and Everhardt expressed interest in requesting for a recalculation, perhaps through the approval of a resolution.

Parish President Craig Taffaro mentioned at the last council meeting, held on Feb. 1, “we are researching the avenues for additional counting strategies and challenges should the numbers be inconsistent with the numbers that we believe to be accurate.”

Everhardt said he was anticipating approximately 42,000 people to be the census tally.

He suspects people neglected to fill out the census forms thinking they are just one person and therefore do not count, but every person makes a difference when doing the census, Everhardt said.

Clifford Englande President

Ronald Nicosia Vice-President

One of the first orders of business for the St. Bernard Parish School Board was electing a president and vice-president to preside over this year’s meetings.

Clifford Englande, District 8, was re-elected to serve a second year as School Board President. He was nominated by Dr. Hugh Craft, District 6, to fill the seat, and the board voted unanimously in favor of Englande.

“I want to thank the board members for having faith in me,” said Englande after the win.

Englande highlighted some of the projects that are expected to come to fruition this year, such as the Cultural Arts Center opening in March, and a new St. Mark’s Elementary School to be built.

The school board president also said the schools had great test scores last year.

“We will be one of the top districts in the state,” said Englande.

The newly elected vice-president, Ronald Nicosia, District 10, was also unanimously chosen by his fellow School Board members.

Nicosia was an interim Board member until he was elected for a full-term last October.

Nicosia’s predecessor, Diana Dysart, served as School Board Vice-President for two years, and was termed out of running again. She is still a member of the Board and represents District 7.

“I really appreciate the board for giving me this opportunity,” said Nicosia. “Diane is leaving me with large shoes to fill. Anything I can do for the board members, please let me know.”