Sunday, October 02, 2005
October 2, 2005 OPERATION: JUNK MAIL
With 90% of our parish decimated and our lives changed forever, this is perhaps our best opportunity to finally bring an end to the terror to St. Bernard known as the Mississippi Gulf Outlet.
Regrettably, our Federal officials, including those who received a substantial vote from our parish, have gone along with the Port of New Orleans' "foot drag" approach in which closure of the MRGO will not happen until the Lock Project is expanded.
This is unacceptable on several fronts: 1) who is to say they won't lie to us once again; 2) there should be no correlation between people's lives and property and an obsolete shipping channel.
Senators Vitter and Landrieu have announced their plans to divert billions in Federal dollars to south Louisiana but have yet to utter a peep about the source of our destruction.
As the MRGO has largely silted up because of Katrina's Tidal Surge and has been rendered out of operation, this is our best chance of killing this monster so that it does not plague a third generation of parish residents by having Congress block any monies to finance future dredging.
Senator Boasso has pledged his assistance in blocking the money, but this is a Federal issue and he is a state legislator. Petitions have been circulated but they have little effect on Federal officials. Within a month of my swearing in as councilman, I personally handed to members of Congress hundreds of signatures demanding the MRGO's closure.
What we need to do as a community is to exert pressure on Congressmen and Senators via personal contact; share with them our pain, anguish, and loss.
Literally.
And so I would like to propose a new strategy in convincing the Feds of its power of destruction to St. Bernard.
It's called Operation: Junk Mail.
This might sound a little radical but it will certainly get attention.
I am asking the people of St. Bernard to write personal letters; not Xeroxes or mass mailers but individual letters addressed to members of the House and Senate Transportation committees.
Included in our personal pleas should be one or two photos of our damaged homes interior and exterior and one other important ingredient: a piece of our loss.
If you had a small heirloom, whether it be a valuable baseball card or collector's item or family photograph of any value now ruined by water and muck, put it in a ziploc back and mail it in to Congress with your letter and home photos.
I will soon post info on who needs to be contacted and addresses to reach them along with internet sites that contain useful info on the MRGO.
This is our chance to save St. Bernard for the future; even if you do not plan to go back, help others by taking action against the MRGO and those who benefit from the source of our current misery. ¶ 7:35 PM
With 90% of our parish decimated and our lives changed forever, this is perhaps our best opportunity to finally bring an end to the terror to St. Bernard known as the Mississippi Gulf Outlet.
Regrettably, our Federal officials, including those who received a substantial vote from our parish, have gone along with the Port of New Orleans' "foot drag" approach in which closure of the MRGO will not happen until the Lock Project is expanded.
This is unacceptable on several fronts: 1) who is to say they won't lie to us once again; 2) there should be no correlation between people's lives and property and an obsolete shipping channel.
Senators Vitter and Landrieu have announced their plans to divert billions in Federal dollars to south Louisiana but have yet to utter a peep about the source of our destruction.
As the MRGO has largely silted up because of Katrina's Tidal Surge and has been rendered out of operation, this is our best chance of killing this monster so that it does not plague a third generation of parish residents by having Congress block any monies to finance future dredging.
Senator Boasso has pledged his assistance in blocking the money, but this is a Federal issue and he is a state legislator. Petitions have been circulated but they have little effect on Federal officials. Within a month of my swearing in as councilman, I personally handed to members of Congress hundreds of signatures demanding the MRGO's closure.
What we need to do as a community is to exert pressure on Congressmen and Senators via personal contact; share with them our pain, anguish, and loss.
Literally.
And so I would like to propose a new strategy in convincing the Feds of its power of destruction to St. Bernard.
It's called Operation: Junk Mail.
This might sound a little radical but it will certainly get attention.
I am asking the people of St. Bernard to write personal letters; not Xeroxes or mass mailers but individual letters addressed to members of the House and Senate Transportation committees.
Included in our personal pleas should be one or two photos of our damaged homes interior and exterior and one other important ingredient: a piece of our loss.
If you had a small heirloom, whether it be a valuable baseball card or collector's item or family photograph of any value now ruined by water and muck, put it in a ziploc back and mail it in to Congress with your letter and home photos.
I will soon post info on who needs to be contacted and addresses to reach them along with internet sites that contain useful info on the MRGO.
This is our chance to save St. Bernard for the future; even if you do not plan to go back, help others by taking action against the MRGO and those who benefit from the source of our current misery. ¶ 7:35 PM
