[StBernard] TAFFARO recall attempt - my opinion

[Westley Annis]

I recall  watching the news right after Katrina's devastation.  They stated
then that it would take 5-10 years to recover.  It IS ludicrous to be
demolishing  homes or even threatening to demolish, that people are putting
lots of money into and working hard to get back home.  What a shame to do to
hard working people after such a disaster.  Unbelievable.  I think Jer hit
the nail on the head with the following:  It's called "The Vote of
Confidence" but is it really admiration for bringing in da troops with
wrecking equipment? 

EH

	-----------------------------------------------------
	Originally my wife and I thought that the parish would be back in
3-5 years
	(this was our discussion when we were taking a break from digging
thru the mud
	and debris trying to find something to save) it wasn't long when we
realized
	it would be more like 10-15 years and it will NEVER BE AS IT WAS
BEFORE.
	
	I will say that I have  been working on my home, mostly by myself,
the entire
	time since returning to work 2 months after returning from north MS.
I'm  95
	% finished living in the house, but the wife is in Hammond and will
not return
	to Chalmette. Too sad a place. 
	
	I guess what I"m trying to say is if you didn't think the parish
would
	look like it does 3 1/2 years later (your math is correct) then you
were
	dreaming when you rebuilt. My area had mostly returned, but recently
I drove
	down 
	Genie to Blanchard to visit someone and was surprised to see so many
homes torn
	down and slabs everywhere. I personally think an abandoned home
being kept up is
	better than a slab on a lot. Easier to sell and to rebuild.
	
	Now having the parish pushing to demolish homes to the point of
demoning homes
	that were being worked on is ludicrous and insane. Although I had to
deal with
	alot during my rebuild, I'm not sure how I would have handled going
to the
	house and finding the water or sewer lines dug up. I really feel for
the people
	having to deal with that.
	 
	I've lived in St. Bernard my entire life. Maybe that is why I'm
holding
	on but it isn't without a cost.
	
	Sincerely
	David