St. Mary recovery effort nearly complete

St. Mary Parish returned to “business as usual” in large part Monday, according to Duval Arthur Jr., director of the parish’s Office of Emergency Preparedness.

Nearly 99 percent of St. Mary Parish residents have electrical power and many of the parish services have been restored.

Three disaster relief centers opened yesterday:

• Sacred Heart Catholic Church Hall and Cafeteria, 318 Third St., Morgan City;

• Franklin City Park Recreation Center, at the corner of Gum Street and Hospital Avenue, Franklin;

• West St. Mary Civic Center, 1472 Hwy. 318, Sorrell.

At the sites, residents can apply for emergency food stamps or the U.S. Corps of Engineers’ tarp program, Arthur said.

Those already receiving food stamp assistance do not need to re-apply for the program, he noted.

All distribution points for food and water have been closed in St. Mary Parish. Those services have been relocated to Lafourche Parish to aid residents there.

All parish-assisted evacuees, excluding those with special medical needs, have returned to the parish, Arthur said.

Throughout the parish, debris cleanup operations are under way.

The parish curfew and liquor ban were lifted Saturday night across St. Mary Parish.

Hurricane recovery questions can be directed to the Office of Emergency Preparedness at (337) 828-4100, extension 135.

St. Mary recovery effort nearly complete