Ike: Monday Morning Update

Schools in St. Mary Parish reopened this morning, thanks to the hard work of school district personnel and school administrators, faculty, and staff. Dr. Aguillard just reported that attendance this morning was at 90%--pretty impressive, considered what the past two weeks have been like.

The water from Yellow Bayou has receded since yesterday, and the Central Office parking lot is usable today. It is raining again in St. Mary Parish right now, and it seems obvious that this will add to the flooding problem in some areas. However, the rain brings a mixed blessing in that it should eventually help to wash away the brackish water from coastal flooding, hastening a return to normal for our local waterways.

Hwy. 90 traffic (both east- and west-bound) is being diverted to Hwy. 182 since flood waters are encroaching on that highway (see pictures in yesterday's posting). When I looked down the road this morning at 10:00, there was a considerable traffic tie-up at the light in Centerville, where Hwy. 317 meets Hwy. 182. COC employees report that a 5-minute commute has temporarily turned into a 40-minute stop-and-go nightmare. But this, too, will be gone with the flood waters.

Mr. Thibodeaux is working on a plan for making up school days lost because of the antics of those bad boys Gustav and Ike. The October 17th Teacher-Parent Conference Day/Professional Development Day will now be a regular school day, and we will issue progress reports on Sept. 18.

From Dr. Aguillard: The district is ramping up maintenance and contractor services to quickly schedule the replacement of any ceiling tiles showing water damage. All district buildings will be closely monitored for additional water leaks, and necessary repairs will occur immediately. Air conditioners will be run in all building to assist in drying them out.

I still welcome your photos of damage done by Gustav and by Ike. Please make sure to specify what we are looking at in the photos? Thanks,
sudu