11:41 AM CDT on Thursday, September 1, 2005

WWLTV.com

Citizens call 985-898-2323 for info

A MESSAGE TO ALL CITIZENS OF ST. TAMMANY PARISH FROM ST. TAMMANY PARISH PRESIDENT KEVIN DAVIS

St. Tammany Parish has sustained catastrophic damage from Hurricane Katrina. Some areas are still underwater. Rescue efforts are ongoing. We are working our way into areas that were cut off by the storm to provide relief. St. Tammany Parish Government and Law Enforcement have been in continual operation since the Friday prior to Hurricane Katrina s landfall. We are working 24/7 to provide relief.

Communication with the public and agencies outside St. Tammany is difficult. Until this morning, we had limited communications outside of the parish. We still have little or no contact with the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Only one local TV station remains on the air, and media contact is difficult and sporadic.

We are coordinating our efforts with all municipal, law enforcement and relief agencies from the Emergency Operations Center in Covington. Sheriff Jack Strain and the entire Sheriff s Office are working rescue operations around the clock.

Our first task is to clear major roads to allow personnel to respond to emergencies. All fire departments are operational. Ambulance services are present. At this time, medical response is available only in life-threatening situations. We are clearing roads to allow FEMA and American Red Cross trucks access to the parish. They are arriving.

Water is being delivered, feeding stations are opening, and additional shelters are opening. There are no utilities in St. Tammany Parish at this time. No water, electricity, sewer service, etc. are available.

DO NOT RETURN TO ST. TAMMANY PARISH. PLEASE STAY WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS OUT OF TOWN. IF YOU ARE IN ST. TAMMANY AND HAVE RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION AND A PLACE TO STAY OUTSIDE OF THE HURRICANE IMPACT AREA, LEAVE NOW.

There is no gasoline in St. Tammany Parish. If you enter, you will be stranded if you run out of fuel. Do not attempt to cross St. Tammany to reach any areas on the south shore. ALL bridges are closed. Most have severe structural damage or are closed indefinitely for safety reasons. THERE IS NO ACCESS TO NEW ORLEANS OR ITS IMMEDIATE SUBURBS FROM ST. TAMMANY PARISH.

All St. Tammany Parish Public Schools are closed at least until Oct. 1.

Your loved ones who stayed behind to be the first response team are all safe. No first responders, from Parish government public works personnel to Sheriff s deputies, were injured.

The Red Cross has established meal distribution twice daily at the following locations. This is a single meal per person.

Times are approximate: 11:30 a.m . until 1:00 p.m. --- 1st serving, and 5:00 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. 2nd serving

Boston Street Covington (across from the old courthouse)

Pineview Middle School 1115 W 28th Avenue, Covington

William Pitcher Jr. High 415 S Jefferson St, Covington

Abita Springs Middle School 72079 Maple Street, Abita Springs

5th Ward Jr. High School 81419 Hwy 21, Bush

Creekside Elementary 65434 Hwy 41, Pearl River

6th Ward Elementary 72360 Hwy 41, Pearl River

Pearl River High School 39110 Rebel Dr, Pearl River

Riverside Elementary 38480 Sullivan Dr, Pearl River

John Slidell Park Intersection of Robert Blvd and Country Club Blvd (next to I-12)

All patients and staff of Pontchartrain Nursing Home and Lacombe Nursing Center that were relocated to the Special Needs Shelter are in good condition. All additional employees are requested to report to work at Covington High School 73057 E Stadium Dr, Covington, as soon as possible.

TO THE FAMILIES OF ALL ST TAMMANY PARISH EMERGENCY WORKERS: WE ARE ALL SAFE, AND ARE WORKING HARD. WE WILL CONTACT YOU AS SOON AS WE CAN. WE LOVE YOU.

IF YOU HAVE EVACUATED ST. TAMMANY PARISH, DO NOT RETURN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE PARISH IS CLOSED. There are no utilities available. There is no gas available. Citizens returning early will only stress the very limited resources available at this time.

IF YOU HAVE RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION AND AN EVACUATION SITE, LEAVE ST. TAMMANY PARISH. STATE POLICE RECOMMEND USING I-12 TO I-55 AND CONTINUING NORTH BEYOND JACKSON, MS. IF YOU EVACUATE WEST, YOU MUST GO TO BATON ROUGE OR BEYOND. NEIGHBORING PARISHES ARE ALSO HEAVILY IMPACTED.

Medical: Emergency medical personnel are responding to life-threatening situations only.

Fire Services: All fire departments are operational and able to respond to calls.

Citizen actions needed:

1- Stay at home. SIGHTSEEING IS FORBIDDEN. Do not enter the streets. A curfew is in place from 9 PM to 7 AM. Violators are subject to arrest.

2- Drink only bottled water OR water that has been at a full boil for at least ten minutes. Do not drink or cook with any water that has not been disinfected. If you have any doubts, do not drink the water.

3- Stay out of flood waters. Stay out of ALL flood waters. Flood waters are contaminated.

Reports:

Emergency Operations Food & Water:

Food and fuel for emergency responders are entering the parish. 16 Red Cross Emergency response vehicles arrived yesterday and began commodity distribution. More will arrive today. Tractor trailers of supplies are in-route. Supplies will be dispersed into communities as quickly as possible. Canned and bottled water are in-route.

Roads & Power:

CLECO & WST crews and the St. Tammany Parish Department of Public Works are clearing major roads to allow FEMA to enter parish. Over 1,400 electric crew members have been assigned to St. Tammany Parish. Thousands of poles are down. There is major damage parish-wide. Emphasis will be to restore emergency & medical sites first. Gas line breaks were widespread. Gas companies are working. Expect a minimum of two weeks w/o power.

9-1-1 & Telephone:

The 9-1-1 grid is not operational as of this morning. Work is underway to restore it. No report on cell towers at this time.

Law Enforcement:

The STP Sheriff s Office and municipal police departments are continuing rescue operations. Stay off the streets.

The North span of the Causeway is open to Emergency Vehicles ONLY.

The I-10 Twin Spans are closed in both directions. Sections of the bridge are missing.