Open letter to St. Charles Parish President Albert Laque, Councilman ‘Ram’ Ramchandran and Public Works Director Greg Bush:

Photo: Alvin Beaubouef

Beaubouef says that after parish workers cut the grass, they still leave trash behind. This is a picture of Panther Run in Destrehan

Gentlemen, parish work crews are finally cutting grass in Ormond subdivision, but let's face it, we're not seeing any real improvement. The Pipeline was cut, but only about half-way.

The areas in front of houses on Carriage Lane look as bad as they did before the grass was mowed. And the entrance to Panther Run - which is the parish's responsibility - looks no better.

The park at the corner of Longview and Nottaway has been trimmed some, but not by the parish. I know for a fact that residents who got tired of waiting did the job themselves.

But what really baffles me is when your crews spend time cutting the first five feet of every unimproved lot and right of way, but instead of taking pride in their work and doing it right, they just mow right over all the trash and leave it scattered on the ground. (see Panther Run photo).

And that leads to the question: "Why is the parish cutting the right of way on a privately owned lot anyway?"

How about making the owner cut it!

I have been complaining about these issues for almost two years now. Doesn’t anyone have a sense of pride?

All of you are going through the motions but nothing gets done. We pay high taxes, and the parish has more money than it knows what to do with. Can we hire subcontractors to do the work?

Somebody needs to take the bull by the horns and get this mess fixed. Can we pass a law or something? Please stop the excuses!

- Alvin Beaubouef, Destrehan