[StBernard] Nunez is Back

[Westley Annis]

Editors Note:  This article is also available on the Internet at:
<http://www.cajuncrossfire.com>


Nunez is Back
Point of View by Ron Chapman
Good News! Nunez Community College will be holding classes on the Chalmette
Campus and in Slidell starting this January. Nunez is a significant
component of St. Bernard's recovery. Remember, St. Bernard Parish is one of
only seven parishes in the state that enjoy a community college. 

Many displaced students will now have the opportunity to continue their
college education at Nunez. Also, there will be some students whose parents
can no longer afford room and board at a distant college. These students can
enroll and transfer their courses once the family situation stabilizes. TOPS
is accepted. 

High school juniors and seniors also enjoy an advantage. Nunez still has 75
tuition waivers available. For a minimum fee these students can enroll in
college classes and earn credits without paying tuition. Trust me, this is a
tremendous opportunity. My daughter was able to accumulate 14 credit hours
at Nunez and transferred those credits to the University of Southern
Mississippi. Remember, TOPS only pays for four semesters. This is like
getting an extra semester on the cheap!

In addition to all of this, Chalmette Refining LLC and Murphy Oil
Corporation have been extraordinarily generous by donating the equipment and
funding to re-establish the Industrial Technology courses that were just
beginning at Nunez before Katrina. 

This curriculum prepares students for employment in the oil, chemical, and
industrial sector. The old days of just applying for a high paying job at an
industry are nearly over. Having a certificate in hand will soon be the ONLY
way you will even be considered for a job. These classes begin in January as
well. 

The college is also offering an assortment of online courses for those who
may find it difficult to regularly attend classes or are displaced, but want
to continue working toward their degree. 

As you can see, Nunez Community College is doing everything in its power to
provide the necessary higher education service our community needs. If you
are interested in registering, come to Nunez on January 17th or go to
www.nunez.edu. You will find all the information you need on the college's
website including student aid and al of the class listings. 

The New Year

This New Year's will be like no other in St. Bernard's history. After nearly
300 years of prosperity, our entire community was destroyed in one day.
Hopefully, New Years 2007 will find us in a much more celebratory mood as
our parish struggles to recover. However, we must all resign ourselves to
the reality that it will take time to rebuild. This New Year will be like no
other!

Consider, on December 26th 2004, one year ago, the tsunami struck the Indian
Ocean basin. Those poor people are still digging out. Recovery for them is
years from completion. St. Bernard could learn from their experience.
Patience is the key. 

Besides, there are many major obstacles to our reconstruction. The lack of
some very critical information leads the list. People need answers to
important questions before they can return. So, what's the government's
rush? 

The Parish President had urged the Parish Council to pass an ordinance that
would force citizens to declare by January 31st whether or not they were
returning to the parish. In a short month, Mr. Rodriguez wanted us to decide
to rebuild our homes and businesses or abandon them for destruction. This is
a shocking disregard for residents' situation.

The Parish Council wisely delayed this cruel and shortsighted move. They
delayed action to March 31st. Still, far too soon! It would be best if no
such deadlines were established at this time. The situation is too fluid.

The fact remains that several pieces of the puzzle must be in place before
it is advisable or even safe for residents to return. Forcing members of our
community to make decisions too hastily is unfair, or worse!

Several examples of problems the need to be addressed first:

The volunteer St. Bernard Parish Citizens Recovery Committee (SBPCRC) is
still meeting. The SBPCRC has set up committees that are working hard to
design a plan for putting the pieces back together in a sensible manner. The
initial report will not be out until January 25th. That report must then be
folded into the overall state recovery plan. It will take months before the
entire project is finalized. 

This process should not and cannot be rushed. It took nearly 300 years to
build St. Bernard. It will not be rebuilt in a month! Asking citizens to
make commitments before the SBPCRC has completed its task essentially
nullifies everything the Parish Council charged the SBPCRC to do. 

The committee is listening to St. Bernard Residents. At our last Executive
meeting we reviewed EVERY suggestion submitted by citizens either by survey,
personal appearance, or Internet contact, including Westley Annis's most
helpful web and email service. We carefully sewed these separate components
together to develop a picture of what YOU want St. Bernard to look like.

But the committee has much more to do and we need the time to do it. There
should be no gun put to the committee or to St. Bernard residents' head.
Face it folks, this is going to take years to fix, so you might as well be
patient and do it right!

Next, it is irresponsible to ask residents to make any decisions about
returning until the situation of levees and MRGO are settled. Until home and
business owners can be guaranteed a safe and secure environment.NO ONE
should return!

The levee system is not slated to be repaired until April 1st. Assuming that
they make the deadline, the repaired levee system will only protect us from
a category #2-3 storm. The 2006 hurricane season is only six months away!
Many experts expect it to be as active and intense as 2005. Everyone must
consider that before making any decisions.

One major factor in the levee controversy is New Orleans. We know that there
is a strong effort to build a unified levee system based upon a single levee
board. This is a wonderful idea.but can you trust New Orleans? The President
has signed into law an additional $1.6 BILLION for levees. Will St. Bernard
get any of that? Already it is reported that New Orleans is attempting to
take it all. We will likely hear arguments that "the survival of the central
city is critical to the region." Now is the time for proof that a
centralized levee authority can work for everyone! The needs of St. Bernard
must be addressed too, or cooperative efforts are dead. 

Until and unless the citizens of this parish are convinced that they can
bring their families' home and rebuild without a significant threat to their
lives and livelihoods from another disaster, it would be wise to wait.
Putting undue pressure on residents to hastily make costly decisions is
unfair and potentially dangerous. 

One must also consider that you cannot expect people to make such expensive
and critical decisions about locating into a community that lacks basic
services: Telephone service is at a minimum. Our hospital is in a trailer.
Some wonderful doctors and nurses bravely staff it, but they lack critical
supplies and equipment. There are few streetlights. 911 does not exist.
Natural gas service might be as much as 18 months away. The parish is still
covered in debris. The water system and sewerage systems are working, but
not up 100% capacity. Our police and fire personnel are exhausted after
performing a tremendous job.they need rest and a chance to put their
infrastructure back together. There are no grocery stores, pharmacies,
hardware stores, precious few restaurants, and no place to purchase
clothing. Parish workers have been strained to the maximum. Many of our
streets have yet to be cleared of houses. All of this should be in place
BEFORE you FORCE people to make decisions about returning.

Then we have FEMA. What will be the new flood elevations? Will residents be
forced to raise their houses? If so, by how much? How much will flood
insurance cost? Can you even get flood insurance? When will the insurance
companies pay residents their claims? When will the SBA approve loans? Until
residents have money and flood insurance they cannot rebuild.

Until and unless all of these questions are answered, people cannot
responsibly make a decision about returning. By delaying making a decision,
people are acting responsibly. Government should behave likewise.

I urge the Parish Council to postpone any ordinances that precipitously
force residents to make decisions about their lives, their families' lives,
and livelihoods until all of these issues are addressed. This is not the
time to set ANY timelines!

To do otherwise leads one to believe that something else might be afoot
here. Why is the Parish President in such a rush to force people to make
critical decisions about their property? Is some other agenda in play here?
Is someone out to make a profit from others' misery? Or, is this just a
colossus failure to realize the magnitude of our problem.