Statement from Parish President Kevin Davis
7:30 pm

Hurricane Gustav is not over. St. Tammany Parish is still feeling the effects of this storm.
I just returned from a tour of St. Tammany Parish. This is what I saw:
Trees took power poles an

Published on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 4:18 PM CDT

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Hurricane Gustav is not over.� St. Tammany Parish is still feeling the effects of this storm.

� I just returned from a tour� of St. Tammany Parish.� This is what I saw:

Trees took power poles and lines out across St. Tammany Parish.� Power outages are widespread.� However, the damage is consistent with that of a strong tropical storm, not a hurricane.

� The winds are lessening across the parish, but we may still lose more trees and power lines.

Lake Pontchartrain'��s elevation has stabilized, but wind is still driving water in some areas.

Water crossed U.S. Highway 90, north of the Rigolets.� Indian Village Road is under water.� Water crossed the roads on Debbie, Evella and Carr drives but did not enter homes.� We are assessing Palm Lake, Bayou Liberty and Lacombe at this time.� Water is up to Jefferson Street in Old Mandeville.� The flood waters crossed� Water Street in Madisonville but it is passable.

For these, and other public safety reasons, I am keeping St. Tammany Parish closed tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 2.� A decision for re-entry will be made tomorrow.

Without electricity, sewer and water systems cannot operate.� Give us Tuesday and Wednesday to make major repairs.� The Department of Health and Hospitals is conducting an assessment of all central water and sewer systems across the parish.� �

The curfew remains in effect tonight and remains in effect until dawn.� We will re-evaluate the curfew tomorrow.

We estimate that over 45,000 households in St. Tammany Parish are without power at this time.� CLECO is beginning its damage assessment now.� By noon tomorrow they will have a restoration timetable.� Washington St. Tammany Electric Co-op is also making an assessment at this time. WST has 300 additional linemen en-route to assist with restoration and will be working through the night.

Charter Communications reports that a major fiber line between Mandeville and Slidell was damaged, causing a loss of cable services in the western side of the parish.� A full assessment will be made at daybreak.� Repairs will begin at the end of the assessment.� I have been assured that Charter Communication will move with as much haste as possible.

The St. Tammany Parish Public School system is requesting that all principals check their schools on Tuesday and provide their site checklist to the Central Office as soon as possible.

At this point,, schools will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Decisions about reopening schools will be made once the readiness of the school sites is determined.

Parents and employees are advised to watch the School System web site and local media for further announcements.

Tonight, I ask the citizens of St. Tammany to say a prayer for the other residents of Louisiana who were not as fortunate today as we were.

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Comments

17 comment(s)

Stephen wrote on Sep 3, 2008 3:00 PM:

" Can anyone tell me, how is the historic business district in the city of Covington, Boston st. area after Gustav?
-Thanks,
Stephen "

Randy Who S S T wrote on Sep 3, 2008 8:17 AM:

" Kevin Davis is a great government leader. He handled Katrina well and will handle Gustoff well, He gets My vote. Still some government problems in East St. Tammany Parish. Goodmorning Mr. Morris! "

Frank wrote on Sep 2, 2008 10:35 PM:

" I am interested in knowing if Covington Country Club Estates had major damage? "

Rich wrote on Sep 2, 2008 10:05 PM:

" Doreen Murray, I heard that the election is still on. "

Rich wrote on Sep 2, 2008 10:03 PM:

" To answer Laura's question, I was by Covington High, River Forest and Penn Mill Road this afternoon. I saw no damage but electricity still off. A couple of trees blew down in River Forest but I didn't see any damage, however I didn't drive through the whole subdivision. "

christine wrote on Sep 2, 2008 9:21 PM:

" does anyone know about deval dr in mandeville (damanges) please nlet me know "

joy wrote on Sep 2, 2008 7:57 PM:

" Can anyone tell me about Pearl River, la. We liive on Cherrywood Lane. Is there power and water service. "

Doreen Murray wrote on Sep 2, 2008 3:08 PM:

" Hi All\
Does anyone know if the election scheduled for this Saturday has been cancelled??I checked the Clerks website and nothing on it..

thanks "

Peggy Ballou wrote on Sep 2, 2008 2:53 PM:

" Is I-12 from Slidell to Baton Rouge open and passable at this time? We are traveling east to west to get back to Lake Charles. "

David wrote on Sep 2, 2008 9:54 AM:

" Can anyone tell me if there was damage to Marina Del Ray? How high did the storm surge get in this area? "

Denise wrote on Sep 2, 2008 8:12 AM:

" We live by the lake front. We evacuated to Houston. Can you tell me if the electricity is out in that area? Also is it possible to get back in "

HTeadt wrote on Sep 2, 2008 12:28 AM:

" Thank you for all your hard work keeping our friends and neighbors out of harms way. As much as I want to return to Slidell and take a look at my home, I feel safety is first!

Opened the city too soon, people would be angry and saying how crazy you were for not having "their" city safe to live in. Keep people away for safety reasons, they are angry and try to demand entry even if it isn't safe!

Keep up the good work and thanks for caring and doing your job correctly! "

Laura wrote on Sep 2, 2008 12:21 AM:

" I live in Covington not far from Covington high school, what is the damage in this area? "

Chris wrote on Sep 1, 2008 11:04 PM:

" Thanks for the info.We are far from home but making the best of the situation.Thanks in advance to all the power workers trying to get the juice flowing again. "

cheryl wrote on Sep 1, 2008 10:29 PM:

" I am taking your decision is not mandatory therefore people will be coming back. I have evacuees who say if not allowed back in tomorrow, they will not leave again for futher storms if they can't come home when they want to. "

Amalie wrote on Sep 1, 2008 10:17 PM:

" Thank you for your info - while I struggle to find out what is happening - you have shed some light on the Mandeville situation. Much appreciated! "

Greg Bartley wrote on Sep 1, 2008 10:09 PM:

" Our thoughts and prayers are with the residents of St. Tammany Parish, other residents of Louisiana and our friends at the St. Tammany News. "

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