[StBernard] truck stop

[Westley Annis]

Thank you Ms Keller for your comments and your vote on the planning
commission.

I am hopeful that the council will recognize the voice of our newly
energized electorate after this past election.  I hope they pay attention to
the concerns of the residents of that area.  After all, those are the people
who have to live with the Council's decision.

Jim





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	As you read in the TP article, the proposes of the truck stop seem
to
	believe that a buck is a buck and St. Bernard's government and
citizens
	cannot afford to be concerned with community planning, public
safety, and
	the welfare of its citizens compared to easy parish revenue. Somehow
the
	statement of "nothing is going on down there" sounds inflammatory to
me.
	Sometimes somebody's nothing is someone else's peaceful paradise, or
a
	quaint historic plantation, or a high school full of teenagers. I'm
not
	against business, I'm not anti-gambling, it's just the wrong
location for
	truck stop/casino. And there must be people who after years of
experience
	with these operations had enough evidence to convince the LA
legislature to
	increase the distance between a truck stop/casino and other
activities such
	that the new law in January 2008 increases the distance from 500 ft.
to
	2500 ft. Once I became aware that experts believe that 2500 ft. is
the
	right distance, it doesn't matter to me personally when it becomes
law. It's
	like knowing that a smoke detector belongs in every bedroom, but
trying to
	get the house built weeks before the new law went into effect that
required
	a smoke detector in every bedroom. It's in the hands of the parish
council
	now for a vote on Dec. 18th. ddk