[StBernard] St. Bernard Recovery

[Westley Annis]

"It's  just  sad  for  the  younger  people, they  could  have  had  a
chance  to  have  a  future  here ~  it's  best  that  they  move  on.  --A"

Jer Responds: 
A, We must all remember that youth is tomorrow's future in St. Bernard
Parish. We cannot discount their presence or accept their absence without
realizing the societal, financial, recreational or education aspects and its
losses due to it.

I have witnessed a smaller city in eastern Georgia that has lost its youth
to a bigger city which promised jobs, education and life advancement. Once
the biggest county in Georgia has been downgraded to a ghost town with
Augusta and Atlanta both revitalized and booming. In Waynesboro, (the seat
of Burke County), there is no movie theatre, skating rink, entertainment for
the youth or after hours for the over 18-45 crowd so one has to travel 35
miles to Augusta to get any sort of thrill or entertainment.

The area is "graying" and dying out disproportionally and now has become an
Afro-American threshold (and then, it's low income-welfare cases). The
whites left are decreasing as time marches, and very little contribution (if
any) is given to organizations/clubs or a volunteer effort to revitalize a
once proud and prosperous area.

When the youth go (at least those who can make a promising, positive impact
and not the crime element), we will see a similar fate. People get older,
(and probably less financially capable with only a Social Security check
with no meaning retirement income planned) and properties could decline as
well.

Does St. Bernard Parish want to be the ghost town of this millennium in our
area? Every effort must be made to maintain our youths but can only be
accomplished if da parish's area is revitalized via a good economic
development plan, chamber help to get businesses (and not just Mom and Pop
places) situated. This will take much effort with big-buck-backing because
by expressing the adage: "Bleeding blood out of a turnip", all you get is
turnip juice.

All who are in positions of government to make an impact should exhibit
extra effort to stimulate the area with what it takes to show America that
we want to recover to pre-k days and beyond. Because if this is not met with
what it takes to do so, da parish might have to call in Sci-Fi channel's
Ghost Hunters.

In summary, we need da youth for their energy and learning. We need the
middle age for their work effort and their hard work, and we need the
elderly for their wisdom. Lacking in any is lacking in proper recovery which
will leave a huge hole in our future.

--jer--