EASTERN ST. BERNARD CELEBRATES LIZ MC CARTNEY, CNN HEROINE OF THE YEAR

What a Thanksgiving for our Parish.

Liz's achievement highlights St. Bernard Parish for all the world to witness our peoples' resiliency following the devastating wake of Katrina's flood waters.

We thank you Liz,and the St. Bernard Project,�for believing in us;�for nurturing and helping us to heal the scars of disaster;�for sharing our faith and commitment to rebuild; for your vision that provided a way for us to�recreate our community; for helping our people return home.

And THANKS to all who kept the votes mounting up�for Liz.

We wish Liz, Zack and all those with the St. Bernard Project many more blessings in fulfilling their vision of bringing�people back home following flood-devastation�here and in other communities,

EASTERN ST. BERNARD ASSOCIATION THANKS YOU, LIZ MC CARTNEY for your initial vision, and for your dedication to fulfill it !!!

SDT Withdraws Application for Waste Transfer Station

SDT Waste and Debris has withdrawn its application for a new waste transfer station in St. Bernard Parish, according to a press release issued Monday.

A hearing had been scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday before the St. Bernard Council to discuss the plans.

The press release cited ‘opposition to the project’ as the reason for having it withdrawn.

Recently WWL-TV has done a series of investigative reports on billing related to the current waste transfer station in St. Bernard Parish run by SDT.

Council To Vote on Regional Waste Transfer Station

Tell the council to VOTE NO to Summary 2264 and Summary 2229.

SDT Waste & Debris Services, LLC has a proposed site selection for a regional waste transfer station adjacent to the recreational marina on Bayou Bienvenue in St Bernard Parish. One acre of the proposed site selection is potential wetlands.. Please sign the petition and tell the St Bernard Council to VOTE NO to a regional waste transfer site on the bayou/marina. Attend the Public Hearing Tuesday November 18, 2008 11AM or submit written comments to the council at radams@sbpg.net by November 25, 2008

St. Bernard Parish deserves better than having the entrance to our parish marred by a garbage site. The diminished reputation of SDT and its sour relations with St. Bernard have been established. SDT claims that approximately 20 trucks a day will use the site. In fact, the actual number is closer to 175 trucks per day based on a two week average. Can SDT be trusted with our future?.Let your councilman know that this massive garbage site will not be a monument to economic development, but a tombstone for all elected officials who support this effort.. Attend the Parish Council meeting November 18, 2008 at 11:00 A.M. to oppose Council approval of this garbage transfer site. Submit written comments to the council by November 25, 2008. Keep in mind that this has already received approval from the Planning commission

St. Bernard suspends garbage collection fee as disposal bill climbs

by The Times-Picayune

Raising questions about the billing practices of the parish's contracted garbage hauler, St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro on Friday issued an executive order suspending the implementation of a $20-per-month fee that residents were to begin paying in December.

Taffaro's order says collection of the fee will be suspended until "questionable costs" stemming from SDT Waste & Debris disposal of waste generated by the parish are examined. SDT is owned by Sidney Torres IV, a Chalmette native who entered the waste collection business after Hurricane Katrina.

St. Bernard Parish officials have questioned bills submitted by SDT for the costs of disposing St. Bernard's waste in the River Birch Landfill in Waggaman. The tonnage being disposed in the landfill has increased significantly, prompting St. Bernard officials to question whether the parish is paying for the disposal of waste from other parishes or commercial customers as well as its own.

SDT operates a transfer station in Chalmette where the company drops off waste from St. Bernard and other sources before hauling it to the landfill.

SDT has said the parish has generated more waste as it rebuilds from Hurricane Katrina and that it is not paying to dispose waste from other sources.

Also Friday, St. Bernard Parish Council Chairman Wayne J. Landry said he will ask the Parish Council next week to allow him to open a formal investigation into the garbage collection issue.

Landry said he and Councilman George Cavignac also planned to introduce an ordinance to rescind the garbage collection fee, which the council approved this summer to offset the cost of collection and disposal.

St. Bernard Parish residents have not paid a collection fee since 1989. A half-cent sales tax is dedicated to garbage collection.

The Effects of Gambling...Chalmette Contractor Admits Repair Fraud

From the Times Picayune - Oct. 15, 2008 - St. Bernard Bureau

A Chalmette Contractor has pleaded guilty to bilking clients out of money they advanced him to repair Hurricane Katrina-damaged homes nad must pay the clients back or face fail time.

If Lyle Torres does not repay the $213,000 during the five years of his probation, he must serve 10-year sentences on each of the eight counts of felony theft exceeding $500 as part of a sentence imposed by state District Judge Kirk Vaughn in District Court in St. Bernard Parish.

Torres, 38, 45 E. Carmack Drive, must also receive counseling for gambling addiction and refrain from gambling as part of the sentence. Torres was paid by customers for construction work he never performed or completed, the Sheriffs Office said.

Torres, who has been jailed in St. Bernard Parish since his arrest in July, has been transferred to a prison in St. Tammy Parish, where he also faces a criminal charge involving contractor-related fraud, according to a news release fro the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office

Announcement of the Death of James Lewis

In Memoriam
James Iddo Lewis, Jr.
1914 - 2008
Beloved and Devoted Husband,
Loving Friend, and Faithful Partner
He departed life Friday Evening, August 22, 2008.
He was a Kindhearted Educator,
a Steadfast Veteran,
and a Highly Respected Citizen Of This Place.
He shall be missed.
His friends were many, his foes were few,
For everyone his kindness knew.
He’s gone -- but aye, he’s freed of pain,
Our loss is his eternal gain.
Dry, dry your tears; he’s gone above,
Where all is joy and peace, and love,
With angels in that blest abode,
His spirit winged its way to God.
EXCERPT - DIARY OF SEBASTOPOL PLANTATION - 1864-1865
“Blessed are they who die in the Lord”

Hospital Holdup?

What's the holdup on the selection of a hospital management group for the planned hospital in St. Bernard Parish? The Hospital Service District (HSD) Board needs to move forward on the selection of a hospital management group. It seems that residents of St. Bernard prefer the Franciscan group over the Oschner group.