CONVENT, La. (WGNO) — As of Wednesday, September 8, at 10 a.m, 8,061 residents in St.James Parish still have no power after Hurricane Ida swept through the state.

If you are a resident in the area here is the recovery update:

Entergy update:

• Percentage of damage assessments complete: 100%
• 781 poles broken
• 700 spans of wire down
• 218 damaged transformers

Accomplishments:

• All substations feeding St. James Parish are energized. That includes Lutcher, Bagatelle, Convent, Romeville, Uncle Sam, and Vacherie.
• St. James Hospital is energized.
• Lutcher High School is energized.
• Few customers in Lutcher/Gramercy area off N. Airline are energized.
• Winn Dixie and subdivision behind it is energized.

Plans of Action:

• We plan to energize River Road from Zen-Noh Grain to Hwy 44 and 22.
• We have crews working on Hwy 3125 from Grand Point Road going towards Lutcher.
• We have crews working on River Road from V&M Motors going towards Grand Point Road
• Crews continue to work on the West Bank of St. James Parish working from Hwy 18, going towards Donaldsonville.
• We have crews working out of Convent Substation along 3125 going towards Paulina. Some of those feeders are in the cane fields, and we will need special off-road equipment which is on the way.
• A total of 350 electrical workers in St. James today.

Garbage Collection:

• Waste Management residential collection has resumed. All previous temporary drop-off waste collection sites are closed.
• Tuesday customers will be collected on Wednesday, Sept. 8^th
• Thursday customers will be collected on their regular collection day, Sept. 9^th
• Friday customers will be collected on their regular collection day, Sept. 10^th

Storm Debris Pick Up:

• DOTD began picking up debris on Saturday and will continue to do so.
• Debris must be categorized by type in order for it to be picked up. [Normal Household Trash, Vegetative Debris, Construction and Demolition Debris, Appliances, Electronics & Household Hazardous Waste.]
• Absolutely NO bagged trash or debris will be picked up.
• Residents are asked to please refrain from stacking debris near AT&T Boxes, gas meters, water meters, or fire hydrants to prevent any damages when debris pick up begins.

Shelter Operations & Human Services:

• The Parish Shelter is closed. The Red Cross Shelter at Lamar Dixon in Gonzales is open for residents that may need shelter.

Point of Distribution Location Updates:

Additional POD Locations opened today from 10am-4pm:

1. St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Convent | 10120 Hwy 44
2. Welcome Park in St. James | 7260 Park Street
3. Vacherie Elementary | 13440 LA 644

*Ice, Water MREs, and Tarps available*

FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams Available to Help Residents at 2 POD locations:

• Beginning, Wednesday, September 8th to Thursday, September 9th they will be at the Gramercy POD location located at Sacred Heart Church.
• Starting Friday, September 10th to Saturday, September 11th they will be at the Vacherie POD location located at St. James High School.
• Please know the Disaster Survivor Assistance Team will be available at various locations throughout the parish in the coming days after. 

Utilities:

• Parish-wide boil water advisory in place until electricity is restored.

Citizen Service Center (225-331-8187)

• Operating on normal schedule Monday-Thursday 7:30am to 4:30pm and Friday 7:30am-11:30am. The CSC will be closed Saturday and Sundays. All calls can be directed to our dispatchers at 225-562-2200.

Crisis Clean Up:

• We have several volunteer groups who are in the parish to assist residents with cutting tree limbs and storm clean up.
• The Church of Latter-Day Saints has established a Crisis Clean Up line where residents can call 844-965-1386 to place a work order for assistance.

Oxygen Cylinder Exchange

• Residents may call 225-562-2364 to have their Oxygen cylinder exchanged.
• Cylinders will be exchanged at the Emergency Operations Center located at 5153 Canatella Street, Convent 70723
• In order to get a new cylinder, residents must bring an empty one.

Sheriff’s Office Updates:

• Reminder: A curfew remains in place and will be strictly enforced between the hours of 7 pm and 5 am daily.

St. James Parish Hospital Updates

• Hospital power has been restored.
• The hospital has seen an uptick in COVID cases. Please be cautious and wear a mask when necessary.

Open Critical Services [Fuel, Groceries, Food, Supplies, Pharmacies]

• Matherne’s Supermarket – 7am – 6:30 pm
• Veron’s Supermarket – 9 am – 3 pm
• China King – 11am – 7pm
• Home Hardware Center – 7am – 3:30pm
• Belmont Lumber – 7 am – 4:30 pm (closed between 12&1)
• Blues Grocery – 10am – 2pm – cash only (Monday thru Saturday)
• Golden Grove
• Superstop – closes at 7pm
• Jubilee gas station- closes at 7pm
• Pop-in-Go #11 Vacherie – closes at 6:45pm
• Sunshine Plaza – 24hr schedule
• Shell in Gramercy – 6 pm
• Tompkins Pharmacy 9am – 2pm day by day
• Winn Dixie Pharmacy – open 8-5 Monday thru Saturday
• Gem Drugs – Gramercy – Open 9-6
• Napa Auto parts – Vacherie
• Louisiana Federal Credit Union 12-2

**We are working to update a complete list of businesses open – if you know of any please contact the PIO at 225-264-3309 or email publicinformation@stjamesla.com.

Clerk of Court Updates

• All criminal and civil court for Judge Steven Tureau the week of September 13^th is cancelled and will be notified for a future date.