Published: January 27, 2008 02:43 pm      

Volunteers, town have 'come a long way'

Official estimates Chalmette is about a third recovered

CHALMETTE, La. — St. Bernard Parish's governmental center flooded with nearly 12 feet of water after Hurricane Katrina two years ago, and it has yet to be restored.

So government employees lead the roughly 465-square mile parish, based in the town of Chalmette, from trailers set up in the parking lot.

Elizabeth McDougall works out of trailer K2.

The town's recovery has been aided in part by swarms of volunteers from across the country, said McDougall, the parish's tourism director, and their efforts truly are appreciated.

"Somehow, they've found their way here," she said. "It was hard for anyone to help each other because they're all in the same situation. You had to rely on people from outside of your area to come in."

Chalmette is the largest of the dozen or so unincorporated towns in St. Bernard Parish, about seven miles from downtown New Orleans. Census information from 2000 shows the town had roughly 32,000 people.

Pre-Katrina, the parish had about 67,000 people, McDougall said. Only about 25,000 have returned.

Because of St. Bernard's proximity to New Orleans, attention to the city's plight has extended into the neighboring parish, she said.

But on the same token, if New Orleans were to flounder, so would St. Bernard.

"New Orleans is a very important economic base," McDougall said. "Slowly but surely, we're seeing the recovery."

The entire parish, save for perhaps five buildings, was submerged after Katrina, McDougall said.

And rebuilding wasn't just limited to homes. Immediately following the storm, McDougall said, the town's infrastructure virtually was wiped out.

She estimates Chalmette is about a third recovered. It might not seem like much to non-locals, but to those who live there, it's huge.

The town was without a grocery store for a long time. Now there are three.

Small, locally owned businesses are beginning to come back. So are schools.

"Life goes on," McDougall said. "Everything was gone in one 24-hour period, so you started from zero. So if you say how far have we come, we've come a long way."