Community Storefront To Open In Vernon Parish
Release Date: January 11, 2006
Release Number: 1603-270
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) invite local citizens, businesses and organizations to attend the Vernon Parish Storefront grand opening to provide input and ask questions about ways to rebuild their community.
The storefront will house the Vernon Parish Long-Term Community Recovery Team, a cooperative effort between FEMA and the LRA,” said Leesville Mayor Jim Shapkoff. “This is a chance for residents of our parish to offer their ideas, ask questions, and plan our own recovery. We’d like all of our residents to participate in order to develop the long-term plan.”
The storefront will be located at 116 South 3rd Street Leesville, La., and will open to the public at 10 a.m. on Thursday, January 12, 2006. The grand opening is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. The storefront will be open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
“The Vernon Parish Storefront is one of the outreach offices being established in severely impacted parishes,” said Brad Gair, FEMA’s Long Term Community Recovery Director. It is staffed by a group of specialists with expertise in areas such as engineering, architecture, planning, economic development and housing. We’ll work with the local leadership and residents, the LRA and other state and federal agencies to develop a set of essential recovery tools to enable the community to define and plan their recovery.”
The Long-Term Community Recovery Team will use a variety of methods, including storefront surveys, to collect public input and assess the needs of each community in order to develop a long-term recovery plan for Vernon Parish.
The Louisiana Recovery Authority is the planning and coordinating body that will assist in implementing the Governor's vision for the recovery of Louisiana. The authority will identify and prioritize the short- and long-term needs of the recovery. The authority will seek out and value local input as it plans and implements the recovery.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program.
Last Modified: Thursday, 12-Jan-2006 08:39:05