[StBernard] Some St. Bernard Parish residents anxious to return home

[Westley Annis]

Some St. Bernard Parish residents anxious to return home
by Paul Rioux, The Times-Picayune 
Sunday August 31, 2008, 9:46 PM
With the latest projected tracks showing that St. Bernard Parish may be
spared the brunt of Hurricane Gustav, some residents are already asking when
they will be allowed to return, parish officials said tonight.

Sheriff Jack Stephens said he has received calls from at least 10 people
with re-entry passes asking whether they can return before the storm makes
landfall.

"The re-entry passes are only good after the hurricane, not before," he
said.

The passes were issued to emergency responders, utility workers and business
owners whose services are deemed essential to repopulating the parish.

Parish President Craig Taffaro said no one will be allowed to return until
the storm passes. He said he will announce a phased re-entry plan as
conditions allow.

"Our goal is to protect property and present an opportunity for residents to
return to St. Bernard as soon as it is safe to do so," he said.

Taffaro said projected tracks showing the storm shifting ever so slightly
west are good news for St. Bernard.

"If it stays on its current track, we may well avoid significant flooding
and levee overtopping," he said.