By Renee Allemand
COMMUNITY SERVICES THANKS INDUSTRY PARTNERS.
Weeks after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the St. Charles Parish Department of Community Services remained hard at work getting groceries to those in need.
With the help of the Recreation Department, food and water was delivered to residents with no transportation. Others made their way to the DCS office in New Sarpy to get staples such as peanut butter, pasta and bread, DCS Director Maurya Glaude said.

The effort would not have been possible without generous donations from local industry, including Dow, Entergy, AME and Hexion in conjunction with United Way of St. Charles. DCS thanks these companies for easing the recovery for so many parish residents.

Please call the St. Charles Parish Department of Community Services at (985) 764-7944 for more details on the many programs available through this local Community Action Network affiliate. The Web site is http://www.stcharlesgov.net/departments/comm_serv.htm.

DOTD HAS ST. CHARLES PROJECTS ON DRAWING BOARD.
Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. at the Sept. 22 council meeting outlined a slew of new DOTD projects to be completed in St. Charles Parish.
Among them are:

--Deck overlay of the Des Allemands bridge should start this month and be complete by December 2008 at a cost of $593,000.

--Overlay of I-310 South from the Luling Bridge to Hwy. 90 should be finished by July 2009 at a cost of $2.1 million.
--Overlay of Barton Avenue to begin in October 2008 with estimated completion in January 2009 at a cost of $926,000.
--Cable replacement on the Luling Bridge to begin January 2009 at an estimated cost of $20 million to $30 million.
--Overlay and drainage improvements on Almedia Road in St. Rose at a cost of $1 million to $2.5 million.

Please be mindful of construction workers in these areas in the upcoming months.

PLANS FOR NEW PARISH WEB SITE MOVING SWIFTLY.
The St. Charles Parish Web site committee last week met with a representative of Vision Internet to begin discussion about organization and design of the new parish Web site.
Plans are to launch the site on Jan. 1, 2009.

New features will include an interactive events calendar, filtered news pages and advanced features such as RSS. There will be an increased emphasis on functionality, making it easier for citizens to get access to meeting agendas, parish permitting forms, and other important information.

Even though the site will focus on government, it will also become a community Web site, offering visitors a look at local attractions and residents a chance to connect with neighbors and keep up with St. Charles Parish happenings.
Stay tuned for opportunities to submit your own ideas and photos of St. Charles Parish for display on the new Web site!

(Renee C. Allemand is the Public Information Officer for St. Charles Parish. She can be reached at (985) 783-5000 or rallemand@  stcharlesgov.net)

Read More Stories at HeraldGuide.com!