[StBernard] Honoring a True Louisianian

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Wed Nov 4 19:36:49 EST 2009


Dear Friends,



This past week Louisiana lost a truly great man, former Governor Dave Treen.
Governor Treen served our state as both Governor and as a member of the
United State's House of Representatives, and his efforts to make Louisiana a
better place for us all were only surpassed by his own kindness. I was
honored to speak at his memorial service Monday, and I know that his service
to our state will never be forgotten.

We did, however, also welcome some good news last week. As Bloomberg
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c973%7c9390&digest
=Lo8P4iDsZeOeCSlcRbGU8w> reported, our "economy outperforms the U.S. as a
whole.[and] Louisiana has maintained an unemployment rate below the national
average since early 2006." Also our Department of Economic Development won
an award for their innovations in attracting new opportunities, which, as
the Baton Rouge Advocate
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c974%7c9390&digest
=2gwHGV4pE%2f206%2bYq84ITig> reported, was awarded in "competition with
hundreds of North American economic development groups.


<http://app7.publicaster.com/ImageLibrary/account848/images/20091103-JindalB
RCommerce.jpg> We welcomed the expansion of Orion Instruments in Baton
Rouge, which represents a $5 million effort. Also, as I said in the Baton
Rouge Advocate
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c985%7c9390&digest
=b24vydzmwr%2bf3bYIDLvvug> , Orion's expansion is "not only going to create
35 new jobs, it will also create an additional 61 indirect jobs." The
project is estimated to generate more nearly $7 million in combined local
and tax revenues over the next 15 years.

Also, RoyOMartin Lumber Company has announced that they will speed up their
proposed expansion in Chopin, offering new employment opportunities for many
in Central Louisiana following IP's announcement that they will close their
plant in Pineville. RoyOMartin's expansion will, as reported by the
Alexandria Town Talk
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c986%7c9390&digest
=QaLNWgFVp83s5AcFi03kAQ> , "add between 40 and 50 jobs as part of a $10
million expansion to be finished in spring 2010." This is great news for the
Alexandria area, and shows that the good we can do by working together to
help our neighbors out.

I traveled to Shreveport and Northwest Louisiana Sunday to survey the damage
brought by last week's storms, and to offer the state's assistance to all
the affected families. As reported by KTAL-TV
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c987%7c9390&digest
=bUcsnWp%2ffJB1xvN7MrLLnQ> , "We're continuing to work hand-in-hand with
local parish and city officials to make sure their response and recovery
needs are met." We will work swiftly and efficiently to ensure that the
residents of Northwest Louisiana recover quickly from the storms.

Sincerely,

Governor Bobby Jindal





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