By Renee Allemand
Come out and celebrate. It’s July 3. If you’re reading this column, I’m most likely out at the West Bank Bridge Park helping to set up for our annual Independence Day Celebration.
Please come join me and thousands of your friends and neighbors tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. Fireworks begin at 9, and there’ll be entertainment, food and patriotic observances throughout the night.
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West Nile woes
Mosquito Control Inc. has been spraying around the Bridge Park in anticipation of tonight’s event, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take extra precautions to protect yourself from mosquito bites.
West Nile Virus has been found in mosquito samples on the East Bank and now on the West Bank in Boutte. Though the virus is common during the summertime, there have been no human cases in St. Charles Parish so far. We’d all like to make sure it stays that way.
Entomologist Steven G. Pavlovich, of Mosquito Control Inc., urges limiting outdoor exposure during dusk and dawn hours, covering up with light-colored clothing and using mosquito repellent that contains DEET. Perfumes and colognes can also attract the bugs; so residents should avoid their use during peak mosquito activity.
For more information on West Nile Virus, visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile.
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Infrastructure update
St. Charles Parish Public Works crews Monday repaired a jack and bore culvert underneath the railroad tracks at the end of Annex Street.
The fix will improve drainage outflow in the neighborhood bounded by River Road and the tracks, Public Works East Bank Superintendent Steve Truitt said.
The railroad’s limestone rocks as well as pieces of reinforced concrete from the damaged culvert had clogged the structure, which is 36 inches in circumference.
Truitt said he made an emergency call to the railroad Thursday to secure permission to complete the project. Railroad workers assisted Public Works employees to marry the pipe back together and remove blockages from within the culvert.
“This shows what can be done in a short length of time when everyone works together,” St. Charles Public Works Director Sam Scholle said. “It’s been a great example of team work in fixing a very important outfall drainage problem.”
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Preserves contest at Farmers’ Market.
The German Coast Farmers’ Market “The Best of Preserves Contest” is scheduled for July 12.
Information booklets are available at both markets provided by the LSU AgCenter.
Judging criteria includes quality and appearance of the product, and contestants are allowed to enter more than one canned item. Products must be labeled to include the name of the preserve along with the month and year the preserve was made.
Entries are to be self-preserved by the contestant, and participants are to sign up at the market prior to the contest date.
The East Bank Market is located on River Road in Destrehan on the grounds of Ormond Plantation. Market hours are from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday. The West Bank market is open from 3 to 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday on River Road in Luling, only 0.7 miles from the I-310 exit ramp onto River Road.
Produce includes fresh fruits and vegetables, freshly baked pastries, Italian bread and pastries, snowballs, fresh meats, hogshead cheese, fresh sausage, rotisserie meats, fresh seafood, specialty dishes prepared with local seafood, gourmet rice, pepper jelly, pesto, hot plate lunches, soy candles, goat milk soap and lotions, kettle corn, cracklin, local wines and jellies, bedding plants, herbs and much more.
Live music is scheduled every Saturday throughout the summer.
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