[StBernard] (no subject)

[Westley Annis]

3 years later, an unconquerable spirit lives on in St. Bernard

10:00 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Bill Capo / Eyewitness News 

It was a madhouse at the St. Bernard Community Center for a special event,
20,000 children's books given away free, first come, first served. But in
the 20 months since it opened, the community center has become a parish
centerpiece, providing help to thousands of residents. 

"Oh, it's very important to us, because we come here and get things that we
need most of the time," said Lily Mae Brown, a St. Bernard resident." 

"If you want Road Home information, you can get it. If you want computer
classes, you can receive that," said Patsy Pulliam, an Arabi resident. 

The community center gave away 112,000 pounds of food to 3,000 residents
from January to June. Patsy Pulliam was one of them, and she wanted to
explain how vital that service is to her. 

"I personally draw $700 a month, so you can imagine how important it is to
me," said Pulliam, adding that she wouldn't be able to eat without it,
causing her to cry when she thought about it. 

The community center's executive director, Iray Nabatoff, says so many
people still need help on the third anniversary of Katrina. 

"We have families that are living in trailers where you can't store much,
trying to rebuild their houses, unable to find work because the businesses
haven't returned," said Nabatoff. 

Looking for a neighbor 

Pass Don Lane's house a few blocks away, and chances are you'll find him in
his rocking chair on the brand new front porch he built. 

"But it's nice, you know, wearing this rocker out," Lane said with a laugh.
When Eyewitness News first met Don in January of 2007, the retired
ironworker was struggling to rebuild his flood damaged home, driving himself
to exhaustion, the work, stress and worry leaving him physically sick. 

Today the FEMA trailer is gone, Don and Honey, his wife, have moved into the
home he finished with the help of relatives and friends. Honey designed it,
Don built it. 

"I didn't have an outside contractor put a nail in it, piece of wire, or
anything," Lane said. 

Many of his neighbors are gone, but Don believes the empty lots around his
home will one day support new houses, as new families move in, creating a
new St. Bernard, and they'll find a new friend waiting, a man who
understands what it means to be home again. 

Don can drive for dinner at Tony's Restaurant, which opened in 1972, and
reopened 14 months after Katrina. It was so important to be back in the
parish that owner Tony Fiore took a big financial chance. 

"What we feel is if enough businesses and plenty of good people came back in
the parish, which we're seeing, that people will come back home to St.
Bernard more," said Tony Fiore, owner of Tony's Restaurant. 

But he has hardly taken a day off, saying running a business is so much more
challenging now. 

"We're actually busier than before, but we work harder than before, because
the utilities, the insurance, the cost of everything, the food cost is a lot
more now, so it makes it harder." Fiore said. 

Population researcher Greg Rigamer says statistics show that St. Bernard's
population is still far below what it was before Katrina, declining from
around 67,000 in the year 2000 to around 26,000-thousand now, and that the
median household income is $33,000, down seven percent. FEMA reports the
number of trailers in St. Bernard, once 7,600 is now down to 1,100. 

Services still needed 

But for those who have returned to St. Bernard and those who still want to,
there remain concerns about crucial issues, from what happens the next time
there is a hurricane to the need for a new hospital. 

"I still worry about the schools, and the groceries, and the shopping
centers because we don't have no Wal-Marts back over here now," said Brown. 

"Their sense of hope is greatly diminished, their sense of frustration is
elevated and the resources are fewer now than they were after the storm,"
said Nabatoff 

"I would say the main ting is taking care, we need a hospital, we need to
reassure our parish with the levee system," said Fiore. 

But among the many bright spots are people like these, the 7,500 volunteers
who have helped the St. Bernard Project rebuild 140 homes so far in the
parish, 40 more are under way. 

"One thing that I've learned is that the American people care, you know.
Folks want to come down and make a difference, and I think, especially out
here in St. Bernard, a lot of volunteers that come through really identify
with the families down here," said Liz McCartney, the founder of St. Bernard
Project. 

St. Bernard is a parish still facing many challenges, but talk to those who
came back, and you'll find out how glad they are to be here. 

"People are tenacious," said Nabatoff. "This is no place like home, and if
the surge comes in tomorrow, the very next day people will be back gutting
and rebuilding. There is no place like St. Bernard."

Video: Watch the Story
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl082608mlstbern.169c9159.html