[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish held several events to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish Government held several events to mark the fifth
anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

 

St. Bernard Parish Government - marking the passage of the fifth anniversary
of Hurricane Katrina - held a series of events that both remembered the
tragedy and those who lost their lives as well as celebrated how far the
parish has come. 

 

St. Bernard currently leads the region in spending its federal recovery
dollars to finish projects. Its population is coming back strong with more
than 45,000 residents - more than 65 percent of its pre-Katrina population.
Its ball parks, gyms, fire stations, public buildings and schools are
rebuilt new and better as well as its neighborhoods which are coming back
with more enthusiasm. More civic groups exist now than before Katrina.

 

St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. said that as residents
embraced the fifth anniversary, everyone had different views of how they
handle the affects of Katrina to this day.

 

"The fabric of who we are will be forever affected by Katrina," Taffaro
said. "The community as a whole has risen up. We are more invested. We have
more than 37 civic organizations. That is more than we had before Katrina.
The main message to remember is. We will survive." 

 

On Thursday, President Taffaro held an appreciation dinner to recognize
officials and individuals who have helped since Katrina, from those who did
search and rescue to the volunteers to those who are rebuilding the parish. 

 

A Katrina Recovery Tour Friday made stops at a sampling of completed
projects throughout the parish where local ministers blessed and dedicated
the facilities, including Los Islenos Museum Complex, Fire Station No. 7,
St. Bernard Animal Control Facility, Val Riess Park, Paul Noel Gym and the
Fuel Youth Center, the Council on Aging and the Frederick J. Sigur Civic
Center Auditorium where the St. Bernard Katrina Photographic Gallery:
Historic Past, Promising Future was displayed.

 

A Katrina Team Building Dodge Ball Tournament was held Saturday at Cypress
Gardens Gym, when heavy rains scuttled a planned softball tournament. The
tournament included recovery partners, and various government agencies and
departments competing in a fun-filled team building day.

 

On Sunday, the parish held its annual Hurricane Katrina Commemorative
Service to honor those who lost their lives to Hurricane Katrina at the
Katrina Monument in Shell Beach on the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. The
granite monument built for the first anniversary in 2006 sits at the end of
the land where the community of Shell Beach meets the Mississippi River Gulf
Outlet. A metal crucifix stands in the waters of the MRGO nearby. It has the
names of 163 St. Bernard residents who died as a result of Katrina. 

 

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