[StBernard] Re Chalmette Refinery Lawsuit

[Westley Annis]

   Everybody jump on the lawsuit bandwagon. I'm so sick of this. Spill hot
coffee from McDonalds on yourself and make a fortune (BTW: coffee is
supposed to be hot & you are supposed to be careful). Does anyone think past
the "Free money" that may or may not result from the lawsuits. I know the
lawyers love them.
   Do any of you realize how much this refinery contributes to the
community? They are very involved in community projects and even initiated a
number of them. They put many computers in schools to help our kids. They do
the "Coats For Kids" program. They sponsor a number of charity events that
directly benefit the community. They infuse revenue into the community in
many ways. They employ hundreds of our citizens. They spend money at our
restaurants and businesses. They sponsor a float in the St Patricks day and
Mardi Gras parades and the list goes on and on.
  Our community would be much worse off if they were to close. The reality
is  that could happen. They had layoffs last month and there are more
layoffs to come. This refinery has lost money the last few years and may not
be around in the near future, especially if they have to deal with lawsuits.
   Believe me they are very much concerned with community safety. They spend
millions of dollars on safety training. They spend billions conforming to
EPA regulations (as they should). This release was caused by a power outage.
No matter how careful you are there are somethings beyond your control. 
  The cost of operating this facility is astronomical and with the present
day economy there's just not much money to be made in crude refining.
There's much more profit in plastics and chemicals which this facility does
not do. 
   So when they are gone and we have a few hundred more unemployed citizens.
When your restaurant no longer gets those large lunch and dinner "take out
orders". When the community programs sponsored by them are gone. Then you
can pocket the meager damages you will end up with from your lawsuit. The
lawyers will get most of it anyway, and it will take "YEARS". I hope it's
worth what you will be losing.