[StBernard] Courthouse blues

[Westley Annis]

Jer:
       After reading of your tale of woe at the courthouse I immediately
went to check the bathrooms.  There are five public bathrooms within the
courthouse.  There is a men's bathroom and women's bathroom on the first and
second
floors and a single bathroom on the third floor.  While each of the
bathrooms have two sinks in them I found only 1 faucet working in one of the
men's bathrooms.  It is not normal for there to be no working faucet in a
bathroom and that would not be tolerated.  The missing pipes are for hot
water which had not been connected for a number of years prior to Katrina.
Since Katrina there have been occasional problems with the plumbing but
these were resolved quickly.
       The courthouse is a public building owned and maintained by the
Parish Counsel.  Aside from repairing the damage from Katrina flooding, the
biggest problem we faced was that small leaks in the roof had gotten much
worse.  The prior administration contracted and the roof has been repaired.
Under Craig's administration a regular maintenance person has been assigned
to the courthouse which has been helpful in resolving day to day problems as
they arise.  Additionally Mike Ginart who heads the Courthouse committee has
met with all interested parties to identify our most pressing needs.  All
agree updating the bathrooms is the most urgent task and the repairs are
already being planned.  Hopefully at your next visit you will be able to see
some improvement.
          In the future if you encounter any such problem please bring it to
the attention of myself or one of the other Judges who may be able to
rectify it.
                                                                 Judge Bob
Buckley

	-----------------------------------------------------
	I despise un-cleanliness. (Unrelated to the storm), I've seen
unmentionable
	filth streetwise (and I don't mean it's privy to an after-parade in
St.
	Bernard parish). The dirge extends throughout my memory when touring
	Louisiana in general. Paper and garbage thrown from vehicles lace
the
	highways and byways, along the neighborhood streets and yes--it even
extends
	to some homes I've experienced --- unfortunately. 
	
	It's awful enough to confine it only to a household. However when
trash
	extends outside one's residence and migrates across the street to
the
	neighbor's property or outside one's car to the highway - this
disturbs me.
	
	I've traveled somewhat outside of the country, to Europe, Mexico,
Bahamas
	and even applys to some decent states (and yes, Disneyworld). To
have
	experienced this degree of cleanliness in comparison, I'm highly
	disappointed at adult's negligence or their negligence/lack of
common
	courtesy/decency in respect to the environment/earth. Most of these
areas
	I've seen won't reveal trash on the ground as everyone (including
government
	and responsible agencies) must do his or her/its part in perfecting
an
	attitude toward cleanliness.
	
	I don't wish to leave my place of birth as I don't subscribe to this
	defeatist attitude of giving up when I might make the significant
difference
	in helping educate or make my small contribution in helping.
Everyone should
	examine his/her conscience to determine if all has been done to keep
our
	world out of the colossal garbage bin of stench and refuse.
	
	Cleanliness:
	
	With that said, let me share a brief note toward the court house.
Yesterday,
	after the utilization of the bathroom facility--one of my very
common/sure
	practices is to do the basic afterward: wash my hands. It should be
a given
	right in a government establishment. 
	
	However, I was deprived of this action. Upon finding no water in one
sink, I
	moved over to the second. Incredibly, it also was bone dry. **Yes,
there was
	plenty of soap, but no water to make the action workable. Upon
further
	examination, (I feel uncomfortable using the tripe word: chagrin ),
I
	noticed pipes were missing under the sinks. Appalling? How about
spellbound,
	as I was forced to wipe the liquid soap off my hands repeatedly
until
	totally rubbed to extinction.
	
	I felt compelled to bring this to the attention to the "food court"
outside
	of the Clerk of Court's domain. The attendant claimed (whether a
concern to
	him or not) as he shrugged his shoulder that there's nothing he
could do
	about it--nor knew if anything was in the works. 
	
	I was further confused. Imagine if I led a life-practice of
	"whistle-blowing" --how there would be a field day explaining the
state
	board of health and other agencies that a beaucoup of possible
germs,
	viri/viruses and diseases could be spread from everyone to everyone
by the
	neglect displayed at this site. To imagine people who use the
facility
	(including the food maker attendant) who are subjected to eat, bring
into
	court, visit the clerk/accessor's offices, etc. is unconscionable. 
	
	The attendant says the parish government is responsible and I find
it hard
	to believe NO ONE has brought it to the attention of either the
parish or
	the board of health in seeing that this issue is resolved
successfully and
	soon.
	
	I'll wait a short while to see if Craig or others in their duty can
address
	the issue. It is needed and sickens me to have been placed in this
	situation. 
	
	--now, I'll step off the soapbox and allow others to digest a
disgust for
	the similar experience. Hopefully, though they do not depend upon
visiting
	the bathrooms until what is indeed broken--is expedited to a
complete
	conclusion, satisfactorily by those who must experience using the
courthouse
	restrooms.
	
	It's called cleanliness--even though responsibility is a huge part
of the
	problem.
	
	--jer--