Tangipahoa Parish Government

Tangipahoa Parish President Gordon Burgess said Christmas came a few days early to the area, as joblessness in Tangipahoa Parish is on the decline this holiday season.  According to figures released this week, Tangipahoa unemployment numbers dropped by almost a full percentage point between October and November of this year, and it's down more than a full percentage point compared to November, 2010.  The number of Tangipahoa employees looking for work dropped to 4,024 for the November reporting period, compared to 4,403 in October and 4,736 a year ago, according to figures released by the Tangipahoa Economic Development Foundation.  Burgess said that means unemployment now stands at 7.6 percent, down from 8.4 percent last month and 8.7 percent a year ago.  "I am very pleased to see that more of our citizens are able to get back to work, especially as we head into the new year," Burgess said.  Burgess said this news, coupled with the area's strongest building permit report released last week before the Tangipahoa Parish Council, and yet another month of rising sales tax receipts, points to further growth in the local economy.  "We have now had 15 consecutive months of retail growth in Tangipahoa,"  Burgess said, adding that the parish is aggressively pursuing new business opportunities daily to "constantly attract quality jobs to Tangipahoa Parish."  Burgess said that with the recent increase in new home permits, "It looks like 2012 holds a lot of promise for Tangipahoa Parish."

The Tangipahoa Parish Landfill will slightly alter their operating hours over the next two weeks to allow for the upcoming Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Tangipahoa Parish President Gordon Burgess said he has authorized the closure of the landfill on Saturday, Dec. 24, and Saturday, Dec. 31, to afford parish employees holiday time for Christmas and New Year's.

Additionally, the landfill will slightly alter their operating hours on Friday, Dec. 23, in preparation for the holiday closures.

On Fri., Dec. 23, the landfill will operate from 6:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. only.

Burgess said the office will resume its usual 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule the following Monday, Dec. 26.

"On behalf of our entire office, I wish all of you a very safe and enjoyable Christmas celebration," Burgess said.

Tangipahoa Parish President Gordon Burgess and Ponchatoula Mayor Bob Zabbia announced today that they have secured $59,809 in grant funding for Phase 1 of the E. Ash Street/Esterbrook Road drainage improvement project.

Funded by FEMA, the grant will allow the Parish to enter into a design and planning contract with the project engineer, Spangler and Associates, who will complete the design, surveying, and final construction estimates for the project.  

The project is expected to improve drainage in this southeast section of Ponchatoula while adding culverts in most of the deeper ditches along a section of Ash Street.  

Burgess acknowledged the assistance of Governor Bobby Jindal and the local State representatives and senators for their help in securing the requested funding.

"We are pleased to announce the receipt of this grant, but we are more excited to begin this much-needed work for the citizens who live in this section of Ponchatoula," Burgess said.

Burgess said he expects the design and preliminary engineering work on this project to begin immediately.

TRACC Coalition Makes Difference on Roadways in 2010; Parish Sees 50% Reduction in Fatal Crashes

AMITE---Tangipahoa Parish's TRACC (Tangipahoa--Reshaping Attitudes for Community Change) Coalition has helped increase sobriety checks and underage alcohol enforcement efforts by providing funding for thousands of hours of overtime to area law enforcement groups in 2010.

Tangipahoa Parish President Gordon Burgess said the coalition, which is working to create healthy attitudes and community wellness for all of Tangipahoa Parish by recognizing and addressing alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse as a serious social and public health issue, has contributed nearly 2,000 hours in overtime for local police agencies this calendar year.

The program is funded by the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant, a federally funded initiative sponsored through the Governor's office and awarded to Tangipahoa Parish Government.

Burgess said Tangipahoa was ranked among the 10 highest parishes in the state based on the number of deaths and incidents involving injuries due to alcohol abuse.

Burgess said his office worked closely with the Governor's office to develop the coalition, which coordinated a law enforcement taskforce to deter alcohol-related crashes and underage drinking in our parish. Current partners of TRACC's law enforcement taskforce are Louisiana State Police, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office, Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and municipal police in Hammond, Amite, Independence, and Ponchatoula.

The number of alcohol related crashes in our parish has been dramatically reduced by half since the start of TRACC's taskforce efforts began in January 2010. The parish reported 20 fatal alcohol-related crashes in 2009 and only 9 fatal alcohol-related crashes in 2010.

Since January, TRACC has funded more than 830 hours of overtime for increased sobriety checks on Tangipahoa roadways. Those extra man hours have yielded nearly two dozen additional DWI checkpoints during 2010 and provided additional training for nearly a dozen police officers working these checkpoint locations.

The checkpoints screened more than 2,500 vehicles, including boats, and more than 90 field sobriety tests were administered, resulting in 36 DWI arrests through just the third quarter of 2010, Burgess said.

With regard to underage alcohol enforcement, TRACC provided over 1,100 hours of overtime for Tangipahoa Parish police officers, who conducted nearly three dozen underage drinking patrols this year.

These enhanced patrols created training opportunities for 88 police officers from the partner agencies, who cited more than 315 citations for adults and juveniles alike.

TRACC sponsors an anonymous tip line, 1-877-NOT-B4-21, where callers can make complaints about underage drinking in our community. Crime Stoppers of Tangipahoa answers those calls for the TRACC coalition, Burgess said.

TRACC's partnership agencies continue to make our highways, waterways, and communities safer for us all Burgess said,

encouraging residents not to drink and drive or to provide alcohol to underage individuals, especially during this holiday season.

Parish President Gordon Burgess announced Monday that a long awaited radio repeater system, designed to assist emergency services in North Tangipahoa Parish, has been activated, and just in time to help in the search for a wanted suspect in the Kentwood area.