[StBernard] Governor Blanco, LRA Announce Louisiana Recovery Planning Day

[Westley Annis]

Governor Blanco, LRA Announce Louisiana Recovery Planning Day
National Planning Event to be Held on January 21, 2006


BATON ROUGE, La.- Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today proclaimed
Saturday, January 21, 2006 as Louisiana Recovery Planning Day, a day for
Louisianans to provide input on rebuilding their communities. The day will
be marked by open house meetings throughout Louisian! a and the nation to
allow people to express local needs and define a community-based vision for
recovery. The complete proclamation is available online at
http://www.gov.state.la.us/ . 

Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) Executive Director Andy Kopplin announced
the proclamation at a meeting of the LRA's Long Term Community Planning Task
Force saying, "Louisiana Recovery Planning Day provides an opportunity for
citizens to offer input about the long-term recovery of our state. As we
move from short-term response and clean-up to large-scale recovery projects,
public participation is critical to ensuring that the final plans for
rebuilding Louisiana safer, smarter and stronger also reflect the needs and
desires of our local communities."

Louisiana Recovery Planning Day is an important part of the Long Term
Community Planning (LTCR) effort, which is being coordinated through the
Louisiana Recovery Authority in partnership with local, state and federal
agencies. 

"The goal of long-term recovery planning is to engage as many Louisianans as
possible in creating the vision for the future of their state and their
communities regardless of where they may currently be living. Coordinating
all of these public events simultaneously is both complex and challenging,
but key planning decisions are imminent and we want to reach out now as
broadly as we can," says The Department of Homeland Security's Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Long Term Recovery Director Brad Gair. 

Louisiana Recovery Planning Day will consist of a series of open house
meetings which will be held concurrently in impacted parishes across!
Louisiana, as well as in a number of national locations where large numbers
of displaced Louisianans are residing. Citizens are invited to stop by
throughout the day. No appointments are necessary. All open houses will be
conducted from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

The open houses are designed to gather public input that will be used to
identify priority recovery issues unique to each community as well as define
each community's recovery principles, visions and goals. Participants will
be asked to share their thoughts and ideas via feedback forms, notes placed
on maps and charts, and one-on-one discussions with planning team members.
The open houses will also provide an opportunity for parish planners to
share information about the long-term community recovery planning process. 

Nineteen parish-specific events will be held in the following parishes:
Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis,
Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Mary, St.
Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Vernon and Washington. 

Five additional in-state events will be held in the following cities:
Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Monroe and Shreveport. 

Six additional out-of-state events will be held in the following cities:
Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Memphis and San Antonio. 

By conducting open house events in these locations, more than 80 percent of
those displaced from their homes will be within commuting distance from an
organized open house event.

Louisiana Recovery Planning Day is a significant part of a year-long,
locally-driven planning effort to deal with the recovery of South Louisiana.
Louisiana Recovery Planning Day will serve as the first of several
opportunities for Louisiana citizens and community organizations to have an
impact on the recovery planning effort for their parishes.

Specific locations for some open houses are to be determined. A complete
list of locations that are currently available is attached below. More
information will be released as it becomes available.

Allen Parish Community Storefront
130 W. 6th Avenue
Oberlin, LA

Cameron Parish- Grand Lake High School 
1039 Hwy 384
Lake Charles, LA

Iberia Parish Community Storefront
113 West Main Street
New Iberia, LA

Jefferson Parish Community Storefront
4436 Veterans Memorial Boulevard, Suite 18
Metairie, LA

Jefferson Davis Community Storefront
108 N. Railroad Avenue
Jennings, LA

Plaquemines Parish Community Storefront
8495 Highway 23
Belle Chasse, La

St. Charles Parish Community Storefront
124 Apple Street
Norco, LA

St. Mary Parish Community Storefront521 Main Street
Patterson, LA

St. Tammany Parish Community Storefront
124 Gerard Street
Mandeville, LA

Tangipahoa Parish Community Storefront
313 East Oak Street
Amite, LA

Vermillion Parish Community Storefront
102 N. Henry
Abbeville, LA

Vernon Parish Fairgrounds
Leesville, LA

Washington Parish Community Storefront
1004 Bene Street
Franklinton, LA

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The LRA, a 26- member body appointed by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
to identify and prioritize short and long-term needs of the recovery, is the
planning and coordinating body that will assist in implementing the
Governor's vision for the recovery of Louisiana. It will seek out and value
local input as it plans and implements the recovery. 

### 

The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), Louisiana's fund for
Louisiana's people, has been established by Governor Kathleen Babineaux
Blanco in order to support long-term family restoration and recovery and
help provide assistance to our citizens in need through a network of
Louisiana charities and non-profit agencies. 

1-877-HELPLA1 (877-435-7521) www.louisianahelp.org