YOU NEED TO KNOW…
September 16, 2015
Should I stay or should I go now?
September 16, 2015
Terrebonne Parish Councilwoman Christa Duplantis-Prather announced she is running for re-election to her District 5 seat.
Duplantis-Prather, who would be serving her second term on the council if elected, said she would continue to focus on improving road, drainage, road and levee infrastructure in her district and the rest of the parish as well as a number of other issues.
Another hot-button issue Duplantis-Prather said she would focus her energy on is the fight against an injection well built near North Hollywood Road and Louisiana Highway 182 by Vangaurd Environmental, a waste disposal company that disposes of wastewater generated by the oil and gas industry.
Although she cannot speak about any specific actions lawyers for the parish are taking to continue the case against the injection well, but “We’re still fighting the fight,” Duplantis-Prather said. “The parish is still exploring options at this point.”
The latest round of litigation ended with a judgement in favor of Vanguard.
Duplantis-Prather said she would fight to continue litigation against Vanguard until there is a legal settlement “in favor of District 5.”
She also said poor sewerage infrastructure in the Lisa Park and French Quarter neighborhoods is a serious problem that she intends to address.
Duplantis-Prather also said in her announcement that she will work to complete the extension of
Hollywood Road to Big Bayou Black Drive and Westside Boulevard to Louisiana Highway 311, including adding a second lane to the Westside Boulevard Bridge.
She also said she would ensure the completion of projects to extend Valhi Boulevard to Louisiana Highway 90, Bayou Gardens Boulevard to Bayou Blue and the Main Street/Park Avenue couplet to Howard Avenue.
Another capital project Duplantis-Prather said she plans to pursue “the planning of a high rise four lane bridge connecting the East Side to the West Side to replace the aging tunnel.”
Duplantis-Prather said her accomplishments during her previous four years representing District 5 include the completion of the St. Lewis Canal culvert crossing, securing Federal Emergency Management Administration grants to raise residential homes in flood-prone areas of the parish, and building the Highland Drive diesel generator which serves the French Quarter Subdivision residents and Lisa Park, and securing grants for the development of a recreational area underneath the Houma Navigational Canal Bridge.
Dupantis-Prather serves as the Vice Chairman of the Parish Council. She narrowly beat incumbent Councilman Johnny Pizzolato in a run-off in November 2011.
Duplantis-Prather, who is a nurse at Ochsner Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center, was named in a list of Louisiana’s Great 100 Nurses by the Ochsner Health System in 2012.
She is also a board member of The Haven for battered women and children, a member of the Emergency Nurse Association and Friends of the Terrebonne Parish Animal Shelter.
Duplantis-Prather graduated from LSU Medical School of Nursing in 1991 and the Leadership Terrebonne Program in 2012.
A primary election will be held Oct. 24. If no candidate garners 50 percent of the vote plus one, a runoff will be held Nov. 21.
Duplantis-Prather
