Top stories of 2000 reviewed
Published 12:00 am Saturday, December 30, 2000
Leonard Gray
LAPLACE – The final year of the 20th Century was filled with transition, change and closure, as the River Parishes made ready to step into the 21st Century.
At LObservateur, the editorial department reviewed the events which helped shape local events and deeply affected people, finally settling on a list of the top 10 stories of the year.
1. LEAP tests affect area students.
Students in fourth and eighth grades throughout Louisiana took the LEAP test, part of a new state requirement in order to advance to the next grade. The language arts and mathematics tests, first given in March, caused some anxiety among parents and educators, but on the whole, students took it in stride, doing well in most parishes, including in the River Parishes.
Many teachers administered diagnostic tests to see where weaknesses existed, and only a small minority of students failed to achieve a satisfactory grade. Of these, most took a retest in mid-summer and advanced to the next grade.
2. Housing authorities racked in turmoil.
The St. John the Baptist Parish Housing Authority continued in controversy, with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development telling Parish President Nickie Monica in May the local authority was poorly run in the wake of a HUD review in 1999. The New Orleans regional HUD office threatened to cut funding if the housing board members were not replaced. As a result, the St. John Parish Council dismissed chairperson Sheila Morris. Executive Director Thomas Gholson quit in September.
In St. James Parish, the housing authority likewise dealt with its own problems, stemming from the head-butting between Executive Director R.M. Jackson and the housing board and parish council, which finally resulted in Jackson being fired in October. Since then, the St. James Housing Authority is struggling to stay out of receivership and Jackson has filed suit.
3. Swamp fire keeps firefighters busy.
A swamp fire near the border between St. John and St. James parishes in October and early November virtually shut down travel on that portion of the East Bank, as firefighters contended with the blaze. Early on, two Plaquemines residents died when their car rear-ended a truck near Gramercy.
As the days wore on, state Department of Agriculture and Forestry workers joined firefighters from both parishes to combat the blaze, which consumed more than 1,000 acres. The cause remains unknown.
4. Kaiser union workers return to work.
Workers for Kaiser Aluminum in Gramercy returned to work, two years to the date of the walkout and little more than a year since the explosion at the plant, blamed partially on poor training of the replacement workers.
The strike and explosion had various effects on Kaiser, with a January 1999 lockout ruled illegal and the explosion itself resulting in fines against the plants management.
The strike itself was non-violent, marked by a round-the-clock vigil at Kaisers gates by picketers and the strikers help to the Gramercy and Lutcher area immediately following the July 5, 1999 explosion.
5. Albert Laque deals with inherited crisis.
St. Charles Parish President Albert Laque returned to office after eight years of Chris Tregre, only to find a host of problems facing his administration, beginning with an absence of rights-of-way to finishing new wastewater treatment plants.
That was only the beginning, however, as it was soon found that operations of the new federally-mandated plants would cost more than expected, and that there were insufficient funds for running the plants. Voters will consider a one-cent sales tax in April to help bail out the wastewater treatment program. Meanwhile, Laque is planning a severe, across-the-board General Fund budget cut to maintain the wastewater system.
6. Marathon faces problems.
Construction of a new coker unit at Marathon/Ashland near Garyville drew loud, long and angry protests from neighbors. The unit, to employ 900 people during the height of construction, continues to fight an uphill battle toward approval.
Meanwhile, Marathon faced other problems, including a bomb threat in May and an oil spill at the plants river dock in October.
7. Daniel Blank sentenced to death.
Daniel Blank was sentenced to death in Edgard for the May 1997 murder of Joan Brock of LaPlace, one of six attributed to him during a killing spree in 1996 and 1997 which terrorized three parishes.
Centerpiece of the prosecution was a four-hour taped confession provided by Blank to investigators.
Blank still faces trial for the murders of four other people, including Sam and Louella Arcuri of LaPlace, Barbara Bourgeois of Paulina and Victor Rossi of St. Amant.
8. St. John animal shelter in controversy.
The embattled St. John Parish animal shelter experienced round after round of problems, ranging from angry letters exchanged in LObservateur between animal-rights activists to a parvo virus quarantine. Along the way, an animal control officer was arrested in September and charged with 55 counts of animal abuse.
In April, the St. John Parish Council voted to take over management of the shelter from the St. John Humane Society, which had been operating it for nine years.
9. Brian Matherne pleads guilty.
Norco teacher and coach Brian Matherne pled guilty in February to 33 counts of child molestation and aggravated crime against nature in a case which anguished a multitude of families whose sons were his students.
He was soon sentenced to 29 years, 11 months and 29 days, to ensure he remains in prison the maximum allowable time and not be eligible for parole. He originally faced a possible sentence of 480 years.
At his sentencing, several of his victims addressed their tormentor and verbally lashed out at him, declaring how Matherne had destroyed their lives.
10. Motiva/Convent explosion injures several.
Nine workers were injured at Convents Motiva plant in August, only weeks after a fire at the IMC-Agrico plant at Uncle Sam which, though, injured no one.
The IMC plant was in the midst of a turnaround when the fire erupted in an ammonia unit. The Motiva incident was much more serious, with the workers burned in a heater unit shut down for repairs.
The incident heightened awareness at the area plants, raising concerns among parish residents.
Many other stories affected the lives of people in the River Parishes. These included the threatened closing of parish health units, the continued problem of people disregarding railroad crossings, the waterworks non-crisis in St. John Parish, the closing of American Iron Reduction in Convent, the closing of Delchamps in LaPlace and the temporary shutdown of Bayou Steel in LaPlace. On the other hand, the long-feared “Millennium Bug” failed to materialize, thanks to the advance preparations made by virtually every goverment agency which connects to the Internet.
Also, Patti Amato of Grand Point made news by her neighbors turning out in incredible numbers to financially assist her with her meningitis. Fund-raisers, including a benefit golf tournament and “PattiFest,” held in August, helped the stricken woman in her time of need. She is now home and regaining control of her legs.
