[StBernard] St. Bernard Sheriff's Office registers its 1, 000th location for free Business Watch program

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Sheriff's Office registers its 1,000th location for free
Business Watch program
Print NOLA Community Submission By NOLA Community Submission 
on June 28, 2014 at 7:52 AM

Armand Serignan, 74, has been working since age 12 at the service station
his father opened in 1927 at 6544 St. Claude Avenue at the corner of Angela
Street in Arabi, in the first block of St. Bernard Parish and one of its
oldest operating businesses.

He doesn't plan on relocating either his service station or home in Arabi.
"I'm too old to go anywhere,'' says Serignan, whose father was also named
Armand. "I enjoy it. It's not just a job to me.''

Because of its location, Serignan's station is No. 1 on the registration
list the Sheriff's Office keeps for its free Business Watch program, Sheriff
James Pohlmann said. The program uses an identification decal system placed
on a storefront for patrol deputies to use to call the Communications
Division, which keeps the contact information in case of after-hours
emergencies at a business.

Now, Serignan has a new neighbor in Studio Inferno and its owner Mitchell
Gaudet, at 6601 St. Claude, on the opposite corner on the other side of the
avenue at Angela.

Gaudet makes glass and metal creations there in a building he purchased
which is best known to older St. Bernard residents as the former site of the
Arabi picture show from the 1950s and early '60s.

Studio Inferno recently became No. 1000 on the Business Watch list of the
Sheriff's Office, which Pohlmann said is an achievement for the department.

Gaudet, who moved his business to St. Bernard after establishing it in the
Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans in 1991, said he is glad to be part of
the Business Watch program and considers safety in St. Bernard to be one of
the prime reasons he relocated, along with lower property taxes and a bright
future for Arabi.

"I am excited" about being part of the business environment in St. Bernard,
Gaudet said. "Arabi is on a huge rebound.''

"I also like old buildings and the history of the movie theater'' which
existed in his building so many years ago, Gaudet said.

Pohlmann said, "We like that our Business Watch program is growing and
continues to be a quick and easy way for our officers to get contact
information on a business in case of a problem after hours." He added, "It's
to the advantage of a business owner to make sure they are registered in the
free program.''

To register, call Capt. Charles Borchers, head of Community Relations at the
Sheriff's Office, at (504) 278-7628 or Lt. Billy Cure, who deals directly
with companies in the Business Watch program, at (504) 583-9840.

If a business has opened without getting registered, is changing locations,
or if a decal on an established business has been torn off or defaced, make
sure to get registered, the sheriff said.

Pohlmann said that business operators can be assured the Sheriff's Office
will use contact information on the decal to reach them if they are needed
to come out to secure their building.

"Reasons for us needing to reach someone after normal business hours,''
Sheriff Pohlmann said, "could include a burglary or act of vandalism
discovered by a deputy on patrol, weather-related damage or perhaps an
electrical outage that could affect a business' perishable goods."

St. Bernard, which had more than 2,500 businesses before Hurricane Katrina,
has built back to the 1,000 mark.

Business Watch was created by the Sheriff's Office in the 1990s, part of its
crime prevention program.

Borchers said a deputy on patrol who comes upon a burglary or other type
problem at a business, calls in the I.D. number to the Communications
Division, which gets in touch with the business' after-hours contact people.
They may be asked to meet with the deputy at their business to take actions
needed to secure the building, Borchers said.

The information in this article and pictures were provided by the St.
Bernard Sheriff's Office Director of Public Information Steve Cannizaro.