New Westwego City Hall Will Be Constructed by Boasso Construction

Founded as simply a railway town for the Texas and Pacific Railroad in May, 1870, Westwego is actually a conglomeration of several small villages: Salaville, Seven Oaks Plantation, Whitehouse Plantation, and surrounding farmland, which is why the name of the city is a mystery to most residents.  The first theory is that it originated fromwestwego-proposed-city-hall-rendering the name of the location by which the railroad was paid to build the railroad yard and dock on the Mississippi River.  The second theory / urban legend is that as travelers departed the station they heard the conductor yell “west we go.”  Either way, this one square mile city on the West Bank across from New Orleans, Louisiana, has finally been able to secure a contract to build a new city hall.

The contract was awarded on Thursday, January 17th to a construction company out of St. Bernard Parish in the city of Mereaux called Boasso Construction LLC.  Their low bid of approximately $3.52 million was just a mere $1,500 less than the second lowest bidding company.  The new Westwego City Hall will be constructed according to the engineered and thoroughly vetted engineering plans of Meyers Engineers, according to the mayor of Westwego – Johnny Shaddinger.  The vetting of the city’s plans for the new city hall building went through two rotations – once when the plans came back as too expensive for the city’s $3.8 million budget and the second time when the project was completely halted because the Westwego City Council requested an independent review of the engineered plans.  The budget was actually set by a federal arbitration agreement from 2010 which ordered FEMA to cover the cost of building the new city hall.

Mayor Shaddinger persisted, though, and he will now be able to sign the contract for the construction job which should start some time in February.  Boasso Construction, LLC will have to provide proof of their corporation status with the state as well as go through the formalities of the paperwork process in order to be approved to finally sign the contract for the new building job.  Construction of the new city hall will move the building from its current location at 419 Avenue A to 4th Street and Central Avenue.  The current location was aged and prone to flooding.

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Plaquemines Parish School District Moves to 8th Highest in Louisiana

Climbing a record 5 places from the 2012 – 2013 school year to the 2013 – 2014 school year, the Plaquemines Parish school district moved from 13th in the state of Louisiana to 8th in the state.   The school district is graded on school test scores, and in addition to making such an amazing jump in ranking, the school district itself also achieved enough points to move it from a B grade last year to an A grade this year.  The school’s 2014 annual district performance score was 104.8 overall out of 150 compared to a 95 last year.  Even though Common Core standards are being hotly debated and even set aside by some state government, the Plaquemines Parish school district had gone ahead and implemented the standards, and the schools achieved high scores despite the new system.

Zeroing in on the best performing schools in the district the report found that 3 out of 7 school systems in Plaquemines Parish received an A grade on their performance scores as well. Belle Chasse Primary School became the 5th best school in the New Orleans area based on the scores of non-magnet schools and placed 17th best in New Orleans overall.  Not to be outdone, the Belle Chasse Academy charter elementary and middle school was just .1 point behind Belle Chasse Primary School in the scores – Belle Chasse Primary received 115 points, and Belle Chasse Academy scored 114.9.

For Plaquemines Parish public schools both Belle Chasse Primary and Boothville-Venice Elementary School showed about a 10-point improvement year-over-year.  The biggest improvement in the Plaquemines Parish school district was the 21.6 point increase of scoring for Phoenix High School which moved from a D grade last year to a B grade this year.  You can search for and view individual schools in Plaquemines Parish by visiting this link.

“Plaquemines Parish ranked in the top 20 districts on growth in students at Basic and above and the top (sic) 10 districts on growth in students at Mastery and above,” the annual report said.

While district performance scores were released one day earlier, teacher evaluations showed that maintaining high expectations for teachers, especially in leadership were the key to success in Plaquemines Parish.  Teacher evaluations are based 50% on student academic progress and the rest on actual classroom observation.  The report claims that the high standards for leadership and results placed on the teachers in Plaquemines Parish directly resulted in the school district’s 10% increase in test scores.  The report went on to say that 40% of parish teachers were rated highly effective, 55% were scored as effective: proficient, 3% as effective: emerging, and only the last 2% as ineffective.

If you are considering moving to the Greater New Orleans area, consider Plaquemines Parish for its growing and continually improving school district as well as lower taxes, and the convenient proximity to the City of New Orleans – just 10.2 miles to the Central Business District.  To purchase a new home in the area, Visit The Parks of Plaquemines by scheduling a tour.  Call 504-364-2350 or E-mail [email protected].

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Algiers Annual Bonfire – A Festival Created

It has been said (and heard) that living in the Greater New Orleans area is like living in a different culture.  First-time visitors to the city often find themselves either falling in love with the city or absolutely disliking the place and wishing never to return.  Luckily for the New Orleans the-algiers-bonfire-rTourism Industry, it’s more of the former than the latter.  One of the examples of the “other-worldly” aspects of the City of New Orleans and beyond is the tradition of the Christmas bonfires which are said to “light the way” for Papa Noel (or Santa Claus, depending on your ancestry).  In Europe, this practice is common in France, Germany, and even England.  The Christmas Eve bonfires begun by the French and German immigrants in St. James Parish between 1880 – 1900 have taken on a life of their own in the New Orleans area.

Just like Mardi Gras and every other “season” in New Orleans (an NO, we’re not talking about the weather), New Orleanians started a tradition about 20 years ago to start off the Christmas season with a bonfire on Algiers Point.  Originally, the Algiers Bonfire was started by a joint effort of the Algiers City Council, the sheriff’s department, and the fire department.  Even though lighting a bonfire on the levee of the Mississippi River is no small task, the event did not have the usual “gusto” that goes into organizing a celebratory event in the city of New Orleans.  This year, the Algiers Bonfire has (you guessed it) turned into a festival, complete with sponsors, a stage, and a musical lineup.  Even the Algiers Ferry is scheduling special hours to accommodate the event with extended hours Saturday night, December 6th.  The last ferry will leave from Algiers at 9:45pm and the last ferry will leave from Canal St. at 10pm.

This year’s Algiers Bonfire / Festival / Event is sponsored by First NBC Bank and the Algiers Economic Development Foundation along with other local business and food and drink sponsors.  Guests will not go hungry or thirsty as there will be food trucks and beverages served.  Below is the musical lineup for the evening as well.  If you are planning on getting out and about on the West Bank of the City of New Orleans, be sure to keep a watch and a ferry schedule handy and enjoy the kickoff to the Christmas season with this year’s Algiers Bonfire and Festival.

Entertainment Line up

DJ Rik Ducci
5:00pm – 5:20pm
    
Romy Kaye and The Mercy Buckets
5:20pm – 6:20pm
    
DJ Rik Ducci
6:20pm – 6:35pm
    
Diablo’s Horns
6:35pm – 7:45pm
    
Second Line to Bonfire
7:45pm – 8:00pm
    
The Lighting of the Bonfire
8:30pm

Visit the Website to Learn More About This Annual Event.

 

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Residents Welcome Fares for New Orleans Ferries

With an unexpected show of support, residents of Algiers and New Orleans celebrated a decision by the New Orleans City Council to start charging fares for the ferry service from Algiers to New Orleans and Algiers to Chalmette.  Since voters re-voted to rid the Crescent City Connection of toll charges back in May, funding for the ferry boats was turned over to the State Department of Transportation. However, because of a bill signed into law by Governor Jindal in June, 2012, money from the CCC’s tolls were not allowed to be used to fund the ferrys anymore making the voter’s decision a moot point.  This was a death knell for the extended ferry hours enjoyed by residents on both sides of the river.  Ferry hours were slashed, leaving workers, residents, socializers stuck without transportation after 7pm at night in July of this year.

algiers-ferries

Galvanized, West Bank residents held several meetings, and while they were doing that the responsibility of the ferry operations changed hands again when it was transferred to the Regional Transit Authority (RTA).  RTA turned around and “sold” the ferry services to Veolia Transportation Services, the French company that already runs the city’s bus and streetcar lines.  One resident in Algiers said that they actually were “begging for the city to take their money.”  Also, Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer, whose district includes Algiers said, “This is not a choice of fares or no fares. This is a choice of ferries or no ferries. It’s as simple as that.”  The residents of Algiers strong opposed the restricted hours, and the businesses on both the West Bank and the Southshore suffered a reduction in business because of the reduced ferry traffic.

Deciding that something had to be done, the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously Thursday to increase the fares for Mississippi River crossings between Algiers and either downtown New Orleans or Chalmette. Most passengers will have to shell out $2 each way starting Oct. 1.  The pedestrian and vehicle ferry fees are designed to cover the shortfall of $2.8 million in funding that is needed to keep all ferry operations afloat.  The other $6 million required to run the services is provided by federal and state subsidies.  So, while the ferry fares are new and unfamiliar to some residents and tourists, those who live on the West Bank and work in New Orleans (or vice versa), welcome the opportunity to see the ferries running again 18 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The charges for the two ferry lines will be as follows:

Algiers Point – Canal Street line

• $2 each way, $4 round trip, for every walk-on ferry passenger, car driver, car passenger and cyclist. No extra charge for bicycles.

• $1 each way, $2 round trip, for each passenger who is disabled, a senior citizen or a Medicare patient.

• $7 for a daily pass for combined ferry, bus and streetcar services.

• $30 for a five-day pass for combined ferry, bus and streetcar services.

• $105 for a monthly pass for combined ferry, bus and streetcar services.

• $18 for a five-day pass for ferry service only.

• $65 for a monthly pass for ferry service only (reduced from an initial proposal of $75).

• No charge for children 2 years old or younger.

• Special, to-be-determined rates could apply during major events, such as French Quarter Fest or the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Lower Algiers – Chalmette line

• $2 each way, $4 round trip, for every walk-on ferry passenger and car driver.

• $1 each way, $2 round trip, for every walk-on passenger who is disabled, a senior citizen or a Medicare patient.

• $1 each way for every passenger in a vehicle beyond the driver.

• No charge for car passengers who are disabled, senior citizens or Medicare patients.

• $3 each way for a trailer.

 

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Great Granddaughter of City Founder Attends 100-Year Celebration

The great granddaughter of one of Gretna’s city founders John Ehret celebrated the city’s 100-Year-Old birthday party at city hall in Gretna on gretna-celebrates-100-yearsAugust 20, 2013.  This event was a culmination of the birthday celebration which began with Gretna Heritage Day on August 17, 2013.  The event, which began at 11am at Gretna City Hall and ended with a 100th Birthday Commemoration at Mel Ott Multipurpose Center on Belle Chasse Highway at 6pm in the evening, featured many different people dressed up as the founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson as well as costumes of the times.

“We have very deep roots,” said Jackie Majeste, the great-granddaughter of Ehret. “Even though the city has changed, it still has a small town feeling. Many of them (residents) are related and still very active.”  Majeste is not the only descendent of John Ehret, there are reportedly 48 other cousins living in the Greater New Orleans area that can trace their roots back to this particular Gretna city founder.

The city of Gretna was founded August 20, 1913 because of a desire of its residents to incorporate and break away from Jefferson Parish Ehret is credited with acquiring the necessary public services for the city once it became incorporated, getting gas, water, and electric services to the entire city within just 2 short years.  For such a small town, the citizens have many historical events of which to reminisce.  One was a visit by Huey P. Long himself during the gubernatorial race in 1928.  One of the campaign promises of which he made good was the promise to pave the streets of the small city.  Copernicus Street was renamed Huey P. Long Avenue in his honor.

The ferry in Gretna is currently in the middle of controversy since the decrease of funding from the Crescent City Connection has all but eliminated the finances needed to run the 3 ferry lines from the West Bank to New Orleans.  Residents reminisce that the ferry was in existence long before the Crescent City Connection was even built.  Therefore, it is bittersweet to be losing the ferry to keep the bridge as the ferry is a definite part of the city’s history.  Gretna has many historical homes and builders, and Councilman Joe Marino, whose district includes City Hall, pledged to preserve Gretna’s historic houses and structures. “I’m very proud of this district. It’s the historic district in the center of our city,” he said. “We’re going to do our part to make sure we keep Gretna’s history alive.”

 

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