[StBernard] Pigeons flock to Chalmette gym

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard officials have moved a karate program to a new location after
the program's instructor pleaded with the Parish Council for help in dealing
with pigeons inside Chalmette's Paul Noel Gym. 
 
Darrell Goodyear told the council recently that he had moved the class from
an upstairs workout room because the floor in the room gave out. But in
moving to the floor of the gym, he said, students had to work out on a floor
splattered with pigeon excrement, as the unwelcome birds chirped overhead. 
 
On Wednesday, Dave Peralta, the parish's chief administrative officer,
ordered the class to be moved to the St. Claude Heights Gym in Arabi until a
permanent solution can be found. 

Some officials said the episode is symptomatic of the problems facing
hurricane-ravaged parishes in trying to resurrect their recreational
facilities. 
 
The parish has had some success in restrarting its recreational programs
after Hurricane Katrina, drawing interest from children and parents alike
for soccer, baseball, softball and basketball. 
 
But large-scale repairs of many of the parish's facilities lag, council
members said, because funding is not available. 
 
To date, repairs at a limited number of recreational facilities have been
done using mostly volunteer labor and donations, Councilman Mark Madary
said. 
 
There was a neighborhood cleanup recently in the once-vibrant Val Riess Park
in Chalmette, but facilities such as concession stands and ball fields
remain largely untouched because the parish is trying to get as much as $15
million in federal money in an ambitious plan to upgrade the park. 
 
But Madary and other officials said the federal money isn't coming nearly
fast enough, leaving most of the heavy lifting to the legions of volunteers
working throughout the parish. 
"Volunteers gutted the majority of the homes in St. Bernard," Madary said.
"The volunteers are going to be the ones who are going to rebuild this
parish. . . . I have come to the conclusion that to wait for FEMA would be a
kiss of death for the recovery of St. Bernard Parish." 
 
Goodyear, a longtime Arabi resident, has faced problem after problem in
restarting the karate program. With 70 students, it's at half of its
pre-Katrina level. But finding a suitable place to hold class has been
difficult. Goodyear and volunteers cleaned the upstairs room at Paul Noel
Gym, removing dead rats and old food before putting a fresh coat of paint on
the walls. 
 
But then the floor began to give way, forcing the class downstairs, where it
had to battle the pigeons, who come and go freely from the building through
vent holes in the damaged exterior. 
 
Frustrated, Goodyear recently turned to the Parish Council for help. 
 
"I am embarrassed that you are bringing people into a facility that is in
that condition," Councilman Craig Taffaro told him. "I don't know how we can
allow that to happen." 
 
Michele Konnecker of Chalmette, whose third-grader, Madison, attends the
beginner karate class, shared Goodyear's frustration. 
 
"I think it's something good for the parish, and if they want the parents to
return, they need to provide for the children," Konnecker said of the
program. "I understand the position the parish is in, but I think the
facilities could be in better condition." 
 
John Metzler, director of the Recreation Department, said the department
will try to find the karate program a permanent home. Metzler said his
department wasn't aware of the severity of the problems at Paul Noel Gym
until Goodyear brought them to their attention. 
Metzler said trying to repair the recreational facilities is difficult
because of the money involved. 
 
Despite the hurdles, Goodyear said he remains optimistic. 
"I do believe our future is these children," Goodyear said.