Kevin Chiri
Good Morning,
Along the River

Whew!

So we dodged another bullet, as so many folks like to say.

No, I don’t think anybody is thinking today that we escaped unscathed from Hurricane Gustav, since we only need to walk out into our front yard to see the evidence.

But considering how vividly we all remember what happened just three years ago, I think that we would at least say we dodged the bullet compared to a little lady named Katrina, wouldn’t you agree?

But that doesn’t mean we’re all walking around as happy as could be today.

Nope, I’ll be the first to say that I’m not only unhappy these days, but probably a little downright grumpy right now since I am again using the generator I bought three years ago. That means I’ve got some of the conveniences of life, but only a few. And most of all, I don’t have air conditioning from my generator, and we all know how wonderful that feels in our Louisiana summers.

So don’t get me wrong. I’m at least happy to have escaped the destruction that Katrina left, but I’m still going to be grumpy until I get my A.C. back.

Something tells me I’m not alone.

Spent a fair bit of time on Tuesday hanging around the parish administrative complex on Airline, and it seemed a lot like three years ago with Katrina.

One difference, however, is that I was dealing with a new parish president in Bill Hubbard, rather than Nickie Monica.

One thing you can say for sure. Nickie and Bill are two worlds apart in terms of what kind of guys they are, not only personally, but also in the way they approach a job at hand.

Nickie did a good job coordinating things after Katrina and I don’t think I remember any big complaints about things getting finished, or put back in order as quickly as you could. Overall, I think he did a good job with that disaster. And he would be the first to agree that a lot of that credit goes to a host of strong staff members Nickie had running the show.

But watching Bill in action is certainly a sight to behold. Bill stops in for a short time at the parish office, only to head right back out to survey the problem areas in the parish himself, and stay on the road. I know Nickie made the rounds as well, but there is something different in watching Bill do the same thing. Maybe that’s because Bill has construction experience in running his own business, and seems really at home coordinating a big project like this. For Hubbard, handling the chores after Gustav are nothing more than building a big sewer system….or something like that.

Even when I was driving around late Monday, looking for photos for our paper, who did I see in his jacked up pickup truck? Bill Hubbard, that’s who.

Tracy Perilloux and Donna Vicknair had to be two of the most worn out people around on Tuesday, and I say that knowing how much work a whole pack of other people must have done that day.

Tracy and Donna were the main two people answering the phones in the front office of the Emergency Preparedness Office. Tracy told me that they certainly had hundreds of calls come in during the day, and you knew that was true by standing at the desk for a couple of minutes. The phones honestly never quit ringing.

She said that at least half the calls were people who simply wanted to know when they could come back into the parish, something that Bill has said they are holding people off from doing until they feel like life will be worth coming back to.

I did get some “off the record” information about a lot of those phone calls, and no, I assure you this did not come from Tracy or Donna.

But I was told by one person at the parish office, who certainly knows what is going on, that a high percentage of the calls were from people who were already trying to see what they were going to get out of this storm.

The parish official told me that many of the phone calls were coming from people who were trying to see what kind of check they would get to help them in this disaster.

Man, oh, man, was there really reason enough for people to get money from this storm?

I am so sick of people who are just looking for the next handout they can get, and anytime you have an emergency like this, there is always a pack of individuals who are just looking for the opportunity for a freebie.

I think we all remember the stories after Katrina about people who used every means they could to get free handouts, or free checks from the government. It’s just such a sad thing to see how many people are looking for that.

Even as I stood outside the parish building on Tuesday, I had several people come up there asking about “when they would start giving out the meals.” Sure makes you have to work hard to keep your faith in people when you see that.

As for us here at L’Observateur, I hope folks appreciate our hard working crew here at the paper, who were determined to get a paper on the streets today, to do our part to spread the important news from public officials about what is going on.

Ask my wife. Anytime there is a disaster like this, it’s just second nature for me to get ready to work some crazy hours, and do whatever I have to so we can get a paper out on time.

No doubt that is the true newspaper blood in me. I love the challenge of being the first one to get the news out, but I also see L’Observateur as an important part of the community that has to uphold our responsibility as the information source.

We all know that your true local news source will always be the local paper, and I appreciate the way people have acknowledged the job we have done.

For today, as you read L’Observateur—which we produced thanks to one generator, two computers, a batter-powered lantern, and a wonderful, wonderful fan that is now my best friend—I hope we can continue to be the paper you can count on in these difficult times. I know that we will always do our best to meet that responsibility.

Kevin Chiri is Publisher of L’Observateur and can be reached at (985) 652-9545 or at kchiri@bellsouth.net