Suburban Terrace Civic Association
November 2024 President’s Report
Hello neighbors!
Due to Hurricane Helene, our September meeting was cancelled. We hope everyone stayed safe and made it through the storm with minimal or no damage.
This letter contains our July meeting recap along with the information for our next meeting on November 12, 2024.
Fall weather should be knocking on our door soon. Let’s take advantage of this warm weather to do some winter prep work to our homes. Winter will get here eventually!
Here are a few tips:
• Protect people, pets, pipes, and plants.
• Check weather stripping on windows and doors.
• Clean out your gutters.
• Change the filters in your heating system.
• Have a plan to protect your pets from cold weather.
• Protect your pipes.
• Cover delicate plants or bring them indoors.
July 9, 2024, Meeting Recap
JPSO
Captain Walsdorf gave us a brief crime report. Not much to report. Good for us! Keep looking out for suspicious activity and report when necessary. Help JPSO help us. They can’t be everywhere. We are their eyes and ears!
JPSO has noted the suspicious activity at the LaBella Motel on Jefferson Hwy., and they are monitoring the situation.
Jefferson Parish Emergency Management Department
Dustin with the Jefferson Parish Emergency Management Department spoke about hurricane preparedness. He informed us that his department works closely with JPSO and JPFD. Here is a recap of the information given:
• Make sure that everyone is signed up for JP alerts to be alerted for the most up to date information.
• Follow JP on social media.
• Jeffparish.gov – hurricane dashboard for comprehensive current information
• Evacuation (if you are able) is the best plan.
• Public assistance evacuation centers – Alario Center, Westbank and Vineyard Church, Kenner
• Mandatory evacuation must be declared by the Parish President
• Must have 48-72 hours before landfall to initiate contraflow – can’t be done the day before
Jefferson Parish Homeless Commission
Our Jefferson Parish Councilman Deano Bonano updated us on the progress of Homeless Commission in Jefferson Parish. He provided a few facts and some action that is being taken:
• Homelessness has been a problem for many years.
• Has increased since the pandemic.
• Estimated that 90% of homeless suffer from mental illness or drug addiction.
• A lawsuit has been brought against drug manufacturers of opioids.
• Jefferson Parish could win $33M from the lawsuit.
• Money will be spent over 18 years to help institute programs to rehab the homeless
Save the Live Oaks
We had a group from Save the Live Oaks at our meeting recapping their efforts to Save the Live Oaks in Jefferson Parish with a particular focus on the Ochsner expansion for the new Children’s Hospital. This is slated to be built on the property to the west of the current main campus. This would put the live oaks on Betz Avenue and Deckbar Avenue in jeopardy. We are happy to report the effort to save the trees has been partially successful. Oschner has been given the approval by the Jefferson Parish Council to build their Children’s Hospital, but will have to protect eight out of the 14 large live oak trees. There will be a 30,000 ft.² area designated as green space which will protect the exist in trees. There is one other concession which will benefit the longevity of Old Jefferson residence. Oschner will no longer purchase any Old Jefferson residential properties. This mandate will protect our R-1 residential neighborhoods from being taken over and will stop the expansion of Oschner into our residential communities.
Neighborhood News
Our neighbors to the east of us have formed their own Civic Association. The Old Jefferson Community Association (OJCA) was recently formed with boundaries of Causeway Blvd. to the West, Monticello Ave. to the East (at the Jefferson/Orleans Parish line), railroad tracks to the North and the Mississippi River to the South.
They will hold their own meetings separately and apart from our Suburban Terrace Civic Association (STCA) meetings, have their own membership roll, their own website, their own Facebook page and pay dues separately.
We look forward to having another Civic Association in our area that strives to protect our neighborhood and keep Old Jefferson a community that we are proud to call home. Welcome neighbors!
STCA Facebook Page
We have created, maintained, and monitored our Suburban Terrace Facebook page. The page is dedicated to exchanging information between the paid members of our Suburban Terrace Civic Association. If you are a user of Facebook, are current on your membership dues, and would like to join, please send a request to join. We will check our membership rolls and allow admittance to our members. Anyone with an internet connection can access our website to find out more information about our association and join at: https://suburbanterrace.org/
Membership fees for 2025 are now due.
Individual Membership: $15.00/year
Household Membership: $30.00/year
Please renew your membership at our meeting by seeing either our Treasurer, Rhonda Gauthier, or our Secretary, Kim Catalano at the welcome table or visit our website and renew online.
Online payments are payable through PayPal.
When you are at our meeting, please visit our Advisory Board Member Suzanne Falgout to purchase 50-50 tickets. This helps add to our treasury and you could win money!
For everyone’s information, the annual dues collected are used to pay for refreshments at our meetings, yard signs that inform our neighbors of our meetings, our Annual Night Out Against Crime refreshments and entertainment, meeting supplies such as 50/50 tickets and various other essentials needed to run our organization. If any member would like a more detailed explanation of how our dues are spent, please make a request at our meeting and it will be sent to you.
Night Out Against Crime
We had a fabulous turnout for our annual Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday, October 8. The weather was beautiful. We all enjoyed hot dogs, nachos, chips, cookies and sno-balls as we listened to some great music played by our DJ. We sold 50/50 tickets, and the lucky winner went home with $40! As always, we had great participation from members of our Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. They are very supportive of our organization and our neighborhood, keeping us safe morning, noon and night. Thanks to all who came out and celebrated with us.
November Meeting
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at the Pink House (Thomas C. Laughlin Building) located at 4518 Jefferson Hwy. We are using this building until further notice.
The doors open at 6:30 pm and we will start promptly at 7:00 pm.
Our Guest Speakers – November 12, 2024
Shelly Ferro with the Urban Tree Alliance of Jefferson Parish.
Shelly has a short presentation of all the benefits we gain from having properly maintained trees on our property. She will have some useful information about the environmental and financial benefits we gain from trees as well.
Unfortunately due to the special session Senator Henry will not be able to attend and we have RESCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 14, 2025
Louisiana State Senator J. Cameron Henry, District 9, also serving as the President of the Louisiana Senate, will provide us with Legislative updates. We appreciated Senator Henry taking time out of his busy schedule to come and talk with us.
Lisa Loup, our President, will give an update on the special session.
Refreshments – November 12, 2024
Refreshments for our next meeting will be festive fall cookies and bottled water. Our refreshments are provided by our STCA Hospitality Committee. We thank Jeanie Knesel, Suzanne Falgout and Kristy Reeser for their work in providing us with a sweet treat at our meetings.
Upcoming Events
Please put our next meeting on your calendar, Tuesday, January 14, 2024.
We thank you all for your support. Your Suburban Terrace Civic Association would not be in existence without a team effort by our STCA Advisory Board Members. We live and work in this neighborhood right alongside all of you. Let us know where we can help. We do what we do on a volunteer basis to help preserve our neighborhood and make sure that it is a place we are proud to call home.
Hope to see you at the meeting!
Judy Wolf
STCA Advisory Board Member
Suburban Terrace Civic Association