Update from St. Bernard Parish President and Fire Chief of St. Bernard

September 3, 2008, 10 pm

THE ST. BERNARD PARISH PRESIDENT AND THE FIRE CHIEF OF ST. BERNARD PARISH GIVE A JOINT UPDATE TONIGHT.

President Taffaro and Chief Stone address the residents of St. Bernard Parish in a 10pm update.

When asked what is the biggest issue for St. Bernard Parish right now, President Taffaro stated, that it is "the lack of power. With that, everything else will fall into place."

Entergy has announced that they have over 100 crews in St. Bernard Parish right now. They are assessing the damage and drawing up a plan to be efficient and safe for the residents of St. Bernard Parish.

A spokesperson for Entergy has told President Taffaro that they will give him a timeline for the work to be done in order to reconnect the residents of St. Bernard parish.

Garbage pickup will resume on Thursday. The schedule that was in place before the evacuation, will be followed again starting tomorrow.

Debris pick up will be on Monday. Please try to pick up any storm related debris before the pickup day. Please try to clean out catch basins on or near your property to ensure the maximum amount of drainage for rain water.

Sewer vacuum and hailing trucks have begun servicing sewer lift stations until the power is turned on. Lift stations have been prepared for power and generated powered lift stations are scheduled to be turned on Thursday.

Water continues to be safe. We have lowered water pressure at the present time in order to address a generator problem at the water plant.

Sheriff Jack Stephens has modified the curfew to dusk to dawn, and will have all businesses close during evening hours. The sheriff's office is also encouraging caution on the streets. The lack of power has prevented any streetlights from working at this time. Residents may enter the parish at any time, but are directed to proceed to their residence immediately.

Doris Voitier, School Superintendent, plans to reopen schools on Monday, again depending on Entergy's progress.

Chief Stone addressed the issue of generators and candle usage during the power outage.

Carbon Dioxide is a huge threat when using a generator, stated Chief Stone. A generator should never be used in a building our any area that is not well ventilated. The caution should be extended when choosing which site to place a generator also. Please do not allow the generator or the cables to be in, or run through any puddles. Also, larger generators pose a risk of backfeeding. The downed lines in the area could be affected by backfeeding, which would make the lines "charged", and very dangerous.

FEMA is now offering individual assistance to those residents that either call 1-800-621-3362 (1-800-621-FEMA) or go to the FEMA website which is fema.gov.

Tune to the local media for information. Also, St. Bernard Parish Government will be issuing updates on its website at www.sbpg.net, on its cable access station at channel 76 for Cox Communications customers and on its emergency communications radio station at 1680-AM.