Governor Bobby Jindal, after attending First Baptist Church here on Sunday morning, met with area elected officials and others at the Town Hall to present the parish with a check for more than $500,000 in grant funds.
The funds, from four different grants totaling $521,219, will go toward hurricane recovery efforts, hazard mitigation and enhancing the criminal justice system, siad Jindal.
"I said in church, 'We're praying for a quiet storm season,'" Jindal said to the small crowd of local officials and residents at Town Hall.
The four grants awarded include a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) totaling $150,000; Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding totaling $150,000; and two Byrne/JAG grants totaling $221,219.
The CDBG funds are to aid the recovery efforts from hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which caused widespread housing and infrastructure damage last year. Damage levels were determined for each parish based on HUD analysis and FEMA damage assessments. In order to use CDBG funds, states must present action plans for federal approval.
The Hazard Mitigation Grant will support local hazard mitigation projects to protect the parish from future damage following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The funding comes with a requirement for local and state governments to pay 25 percent of the cost of the projects.
One of the Byrne/JAG grants will go to the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office in the amount of $138,611 to be used to enhance job skills. The other is marked for the 30th Judicial District Court in the amount of $82,608 to help reduce court delays.
The Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice issues grants through a competitive process to programs which enhance law enforcement, prosecution, adjudication, treatment and technology in order to improve the criminal justice system.
After presenting the check, Jindal went on to address the crowd, with a nod toward the national stage.
"I do think we need to break our addiction to debt," he said, referring to national trends, before moving on to the state's low unemployment ranking and high economic development ranking.
He also touched on recent legislation concerning sexual predators, state health care reform and DWI bills before promising to return to the parish as part of his Working Tour of the state to talk in greater detail about economic development for Vernon Parish.
Anacoco, La. —
