[StBernard] Jumonville Bouncing Back

[Westley Annis]

ON THE REBOUND
Upscale Meraux subdivision rebuilds at dizzying speed 
Sunday, December 18, 2005
By Karen Turni Bazile
St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau 
Tony and Carol Ortego waited a long time for their dream home in Meraux.
They're not about to let Hurricane Katrina take it from them. 

The couple bought their house in St. Bernard Parish's Jumonville Plantation
subdivision about 18 months ago, and they say it will take a lot more than 6
feet of floodwater and 3 inches of silt from the storm to force them out. 

 
And from the looks of things in the upscale subdivision of about 100 homes,
the Ortegos aren't alone. Mountains of debris line the streets of the
neighborhood, testament to a community coming back strong. 

"The piles of stuff in the street don't bother me in the least," Ortego
said. "It means they are coming home." 

In the Ortego house, workers are expected to finish hanging new Sheetrock in
the coming days. Many of the couple's neighbors also seem on the fast track
to rebuilding; only a handful of the subdivision's homes appear to have not
been gutted. 

The progress in Jumonville Plantation, a 12-year-old subdivision nestled
behind an elaborate landscaped entrance near the Mississippi River, is a
welcomed sight in a parish swamped by Katrina. It has come back much faster
than some parish officials had predicted after the storm flooded the parish
rim to rim, tearing many homes apart in the process. 

Like the rest of the parish, Jumonville, where home prices approached the
$300,000 range before the storm, was victim to the fast-rising storm surge.
But while some other areas of the parish were covered by 12 to 15 feet of
water, the depth of the water in Jumonville was somewhat less. And none of
the 126 hurricane deaths in St. Bernard were in Jumonville. 

"I think several factors contribute to the resurgence of that particular
neighborhood," said St. Bernard Parish Councilman Craig Taffaro, who
represents the area. "First and foremost is the sense of community within
that subdivision. People have really fed off of each other's motivation." 


Holding on tight 


The neighborhood, like most in St. Bernard Parish, now has basic utility
services, including water, sewerage and electricity, although gas service is
taking a little longer to re-establish, Taffaro said. 

"I'm very impressed and very encouraged by their spirit to not wait around
and to get things done because they are able to. Unfortunately, not everyone
is in that position," he said. 

While residents in other pockets of the parish are rebuilding, many more
residents cannot proceed because they haven't settled with their insurance
companies, didn't have adequate flood insurance or perhaps are waiting to
see whether the government will buy their oft-flooded homes. Others are
skeptical that the levee system will ever be strengthened enough to protect
the area from intense hurricanes. 

"We made our decision to return early on, as a family," Ortego said. 

Since then, the family has focused on recovery -- not the tragedy. 

"It made me glad to be alive again," said Ortego, quality director at Boasso
America. "It saved me. It has been dominating my life -- to come home. 

"I wasn't letting Katrina take this home from us," Ortego said. "I waited 24
years for this house and she wasn't getting it." 

Not that the road to recovery has been without bumps. 

Tony Ortego and the couple's 14-year-old daughter, Carol Ann, live in a
trailer on the grounds of Boasso America at the St. Bernard Port in
Chalmette. Carol Ann, a freshman at the parish's lone operating school,
hastily opened in November to help spur the recovery, was "over the moon" at
being able to return, her mother said. 

Carol Ortego, meanwhile, splits her time between the trailer with her
husband and daughter and a house in Baton Rouge that is home to a dozen
extended family members and seven dogs. 


Feeling of satisfaction 


Another Jumonville Plantation resident, Kevin Boss, said his elderly mother
in Arabi isn't returning, and he understands why. After all, her home
flooded for Hurricanes Betsy, Katrina and Rita. 

But Boss, 47, couldn't fathom the idea of leaving. So he talked his wife
into coming back to the flooded home on Etienne Drive they built 11 years
ago. 

"I don't want to go anywhere else and start over," said Boss, a supervisor
at CII Carbon in Chalmette now living in a trailer city for employees in
Houma. "I feel sorry for the people who are leaving because they are leaving
behind everything they had all their life. 

"I work here and all my friends are here. Why am I going to move somewhere
else and come here and visit all my friends on the weekend?" 

Rebuilding also brings a sense of satisfaction. 

"When you first look at your house and you can't tell the dresser from a
sofa, you've just got to get in and get started," Boss said. "When you start
getting the mud out, that's when you could see more and more light at the
end of the tunnel." 

Tony Ortego and Boss said they understand how some folks -- even some of
their neighbors -- might be unsure about returning. However, they believe
the neighborhood is safe and they are hoping the levees will be raised. 

While they said they know not everyone shares their enthusiasm at coming
back, they hope their determination is contagious. 

"I respect these people who are not coming back," Tony Ortego said. "They
need to respect us for coming back." 

. . . . . . . 


Karen Turni Bazile can be reached at kturni at timespicayune.com or (504)
352-2539.