WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2013
| INSIDE THE RIVER PARISHES |
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St. John Parish weathers the storm BY KIMBERLY HOPSON L’OBSERVATEUR
LAPLACE – Like many areas in the Louisiana, St. John the Baptist Parish suffered greatly in the wake of Hurricane Isaac last year. Things aren’t completely back to normal in the parish, but Parish President Natalie Robottom has found a way to make it work despite the problems from the storm. “Even though half our year was consumed with Isaac, we were fortunately still able to get
St. John the Baptist Parish President Natalie Robottom addresses the media during one of many press conferences held at the P.D. Hebert Building in LaPlace following Hurricane Isaac.
a lot of things accomplished. As horrible as the flooding and the
impact to the community was, out of it comes opportunities,” she
said. “Our job as leaders will be to capture those opportunities and
put them to use in a way that improves our parish for the long haul
and hopefully, makes it more resilient in the face of other disasters.” And, true to these words, Robottom said her administration has completed $25 to $30 million worth of projects across all areas in the parish so far. Robottom said much more work has been done than the public realizes. Much of the work was focused on drainage and water improvements, two areas that collected about $8 million worth of work apiece. Robottom also said the parish has an inSEE ST. JOHN, PAGE 6