[StBernard] Close-Knit St. Bernard Parish Refused To Fail

[Westley Annis]

Close-Knit St. Bernard Parish Refused To Fail
Residents, Businesses Rebound After Hurricane Katrina

POSTED: 11:41 am CDT August 23, 2010
UPDATED: 3:02 pm CDT August 23, 2010

CHALMETTE, La. -- Hurricane Katrina inundated St. Bernard Parish with
floodwaters and forever changed the close-knit community. Five years later,
there are definite signs of progress.

When the storm hit, no one could believe how it swamped the entire parish
with 10 to 20 feet of water. In a matter of minutes, lives changed forever.
Shock, disbelief and anger all led to an immediate, fierce determination to
come back, even before the water receded.

"No question about that, brother. We're building this son of a (expletive)
back and we're going to be better than what we were," then-Parish President
Henry "Junior" Rodriguez said at the time.

Much has changed since the storm. The population is growing with many people
who are new to the parish. The business community, even in a struggling
economy, has traction.

"The people of St. Bernard Parish are so resilient and so tenacious, nothing
gets in their way," said current Parish President Craig Taffaro.

Five years later, 10 schools are open, all of them state-of-the-art. There
are 5,400 students, and test scores are up.

"All of our buildings were completely destroyed or just devastated beyond
all recognition," said school Superintendent Doris Voitier.

Chalmette High School and its brand new ninth-grade academy are now an
example of a "failure is not an option" attitude.

"Any child who comes on to our campus from an academic perspective will have
the finest there is to offer, from special needs children to average kids to
gifted and talented," Voitier said.

The business community -- largely based on seafood -- survived Katrina, took
on the faltering economy and now stands in the face of the oil spill.

"We're rebounding from, I guess you'd say from Katrina, and hopefully we can
rebound a little quicker from this oil spill than Katrina," said Jeff
Pohlman, owner of Today's Ketch Seafood. "As well as this parish has
changed, we have changed. If you don't change, you get lost in time."

Like so many others, Johnny and Susie Melancon had to come back home. They
fled before the storm with only their pictures.

"We're back in the parish, glad to be back, you know," Johnny Melancon said.
"We actually live in a better house than we had before the storm. We're
actually doing a little better I think."

First Baptist Church of Chalmette is also rebounding, and focusing on
rebuilding more than just structures damaged during the storm.

"Now in the aftermath, we're building the body, that is reaching people for
the family of God, for the kingdom of God and therein in lies the greater
miracle," said Pastor John Dee Jeffries.

The church was rebuilt by volunteers from across America.

"Our mess became a miracle, as well," Jeffries said. "We've seen God do some
miraculous things."Copyright 2010 by WDSU.com. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed