Long defunct Hospital Service District abolished

St. Mary Parish Council members approved an ordinance Wednesday abolishing Hospital Service District 3.
Councilman Glenn Hidalgo, who introduced the ordinance during the 15-minute meeting, said when the service district, which was once the site of Fairview Hospital, was closed two municipalities and the biggest part of the unincorporated area “without any representation on any hospital in our parish. That was my reason for this.”
Hidalgo said that Hospital Service District 2 supported the move.
Parish President David Hanagriff noted that the abolishing of the district brings the original two districts back as they were before Dist. 3 was created.
The boundary between the two remaining districts is the Calumet Cut.
In public comment, Councilman Craig Mathews said the school shooting in Colorado “as a result of this epidemic tragedy that has taken place in our country. I’m at a loss for emotions to know how to react to the fact that we live in the United States of America and to stare at my television and watch 12-year-old children try to express the thoughts of defending themselves and trying to save each other’s lives.
“We live in a country with political leaders that have taken a deaf ear and a blind eye to this situation. All far appears to be the love money and power. It moves me so because I still have a school-age child that attends a public school campus…even though this is also happening on street corners, churches, all across every facet of our environment, and nobody’s even attempting to do anything about.”
Mathews concluded that the incident is a sign that “we are living in the most dangerous signs that any of us have ever know, and if there’s anything we can do to help heal families and communities then that should be a core of our agendas.”
Also Wednesday:
—An ordinance was adopted for the 5.72 mills tax supporting the St. Mary Parish Library System, excluding Morgan City, and .31 mills on all property subject to taxation excluding Morgan City.
—An ordinance was passed for a 7.24 mills tax located outside of municipalities and a 3.26 mils tack within, for costs of the criminal justice system.
—A resolution of respect was approved for Warren Span.
—Eva D. Rollins was reappointed to the Fire Protection Dist. 11 board.