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The work of recovery goes on in southwest Louisiana four days after Hurricane Laura hammered the region with 150 mph wind. Private as well as public resources are being brought to bear on power outages, water shortages, and feeding and sheltering those left homeless.

As of Monday, Gov. John Bel Edwards said:

--324,000 homes and businesses remained without power as of 3:30 p.m., Edwards said. The map at poweroutage.us put the number at 285,000 at 5 p.m.

Power in central Louisiana is being restored relatively quickly, but infrastructure damage in Cameron, Calcasieu and nearby areas means extended power outages there, Edwards said.

A virtual army of 17,000 utility linemen is at work on the outages, the governor said.

--More than 100 water systems remain offline, either because of power outages or, as a matter of more concern, damage to the water systems themselves.

--At least 14 ,000 evacuees remain in hotel rooms hired for the purpose in Louisiana and Texas.

Here are some ways you can help:

--Vitalent, the company that collects donated blood in this region, has been hit with a triple threat -- COVID-19, summertime's added demand on the blood supply and reduced donations as hurricanes Marco and Laura approached. You can give blood at the Morgan City donation center, 1234 David Drive. The hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

To schedule an appointment to donate call 877-258-4825 or visit http://bloodhero.com. Holiday hours may vary. Please call 985-384-5671 to verify hours on holidays.

--The Red Cross is providing 33,000 meals a day in storm-damaged areas and will soon take over the shelter program. To give to the Red Cross, go to https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/, click on the Donate Now button, and then find Hurricane Laura in the drop-down menu.

--The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is playing emergency host to the Southwest Louisiana foundation. Donations to http://foundationswla.org will go to grants in the affected area to help tide people over until federal aid becomes available, said John Spain, executive vice president of the Baton Rouge foundation.

In the 24 hours ending at 3:30 p.m. Monday, 5,000 people had donated more than $300,000. Verizon pledged another $500,000, Spain said.

Cheniere LNG has also pledged $500,000, Edwards said.

On the public sector side, nearly 6,200 Louisiana National Guard troops have distributed 1.3 million liters of water, 800,000 meals ready to eat, 100,000 bags of ice and 20,000 tarps for temporary roof repairs.`

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been assigned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to run the Blue Roof roof tarp program in the six parishes already declared eligible for individual assistance: Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis and Vernon.

In addition to protecting property, the program will be able to make some damaged homes livable and reduce the pressure on the hotels being used as shelters, Edwards said.

People in the six parishes can register at http://www.usace.army.mil/blueroof or by calling 1-888-roofblu.

DSNAP, or expanded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, aren't yet available in Louisiana. When they area, people in the affected areas who already received SNAP benefits -- food stamps -- will receive the extra benefits. Those who think they may be eligible should register now at http://dcfs.la.gov/dsnap.

While frequent comparisons have been made between Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Rita, for St. Mary Parish, it was Rita along with Hurricane Ike that provided the bench mark for the current level of protection from storm surge.
Since those two storms, the St. Mary Parish Levee District has installed floodgates on the western end of the parish on the Yellow Bayou and Hanson and Franklin canals and is working on a floodgate on Bayou Teche to protect other areas of Franklin. That project is scheduled to be complete later in 2020, and will protect the Eastwood Subdivision, among other areas.
The floodgates com-pleted since Ike worked as projected during Laura.
“Some of the investments that have been made in the levee system over the last few years are certainly paying off in those particular areas,” levee district Executive Director Tim Matte said.
While there was success, there still is a disconnect with the numbers the state gives the parish for projected storm surge, St. Mary Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness Director David Naquin said.
He said the storm surge numbers the parish receives don’t factor in all current protection improvements.
“It makes a difference,” he said, noting that projections for inundation in some areas don’t materialize because the parish has levees in place to protect those areas.
Therefore, the local levee district has to convert the projected storm surge totals given to them to factor in the additional protections, Naquin said,
Naquin said the parish will be looking to get the state updated on the levee protections in the parish as soon as possible so the parish receives accurate num-bers in the future.
While the protected flood structures worked as planned, Matte cautioned that they only are built to meet a certain level of protection and may not provide relief from every storm.
“For example, if in fact Laura had hit Vermilion Bay or hit more directly on the west end of the parish, those same structures that I’m saying protected us, might not have been sufficient to protect us to these higher levels, so there’s always that storm that’s bigger than the levees you have,” he said.
As for updates since Rita and Ike, the Yellow Bayou and Hanson Canal floodgates installed since Ike kept water from the Centerville area where U.S. 90 was underwater in previous storms.
The Franklin Canal floodgate also has kept water from flooding the Pecan Acres area in Franklin, an area that flooded in Rita and Ike.
Since Hurricane Barry, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has raised levees near Cabot Corp. in Franklin. The facility flooded during Barry, but it didn’t flood during Laura.
The parish also has raised the Yokley Levee, which extends from the pump station in Franklin to the Charenton Canal.
“I don’t know if they would have been topped in this event, but there again, we’ve added some protection there,” Matte said.

James “Jim” Joseph Anslem was born in Morgan City to Pete and Hazel Anslem on October 7, 1948. He died at his home at the age of 71.

If any of you knew James, you knew his love for the great outdoors; hunting, fishing, crawfishing, and a little bit of shrimping. He was also a boat captain for many years, working at C&H Boat Rentals. He loved being with family and friends. He also could throw down an awesome crawfish boil.

He left behind six children, Jamie Anslem Carpenter and her husband Chris Carpenter, Julie Anslem Pruis and her husband J.T. Pruis, Joy Anslem Sanders and her husband Ronald Sanders, Jason Elmo Anslem and his wife Jamie Anslem, Mark Griffin and hife Annette, Crystal Griffin Green and husband Greg; 15 grandkids, Micaela, Jaylen, Eban, Omry, Ezra, Breanna, Cody, Alexus, Angelle, Hunter, Malynn, Donavon, Eriq, Gage, and Caroline; two brothers, Johnny Anslem and wife Pat, Michael Anslem and companion Elaine; sister-in-law, Shirley Anslem; a host of nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Olize and James Scadlock and Ivy and Irene Anslem; parents, Pete and Hazel Anslem; his wife, Corneila Adams Anslem; one brother, Gerald Joseph Anslem.

A private family gathering will be held Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

March 10, 1933 — August 29, 2020
Funeral services celebrating the life of Bobbie Oxedine Paul will be held Wednesday, September 2, 2020, at 2 p.m. at Ibert’s Mortuary in Patterson. Following the service she will be laid to rest in Ibert’s Memorial Park Cemetery. Pastor Tommy Fromenthal and Pastor Herb Stanley will conduct the services. A gathering of family and friends will be held from noon until service time.
Bobbie was born on March 10, 1933, in Ferriday, the second of six children born to Ebb and Letha Oxedine, and passed away at her home in Patterson at the age of 87 on Saturday, August 29, 2020. On June 25, 1950, she married the love of her life, Carlie Paul. After moving around with her husband following oil field work, they settled in Patterson where she has resided for the past 62 years. Bobbie was a loving wife and mother to all. In addition to her two children, she helped raise several of her siblings, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A Christian woman of deep faith in the Lord, Bobbie’s deeper calling was that of a prayer warrior. She prayed for everybody she crossed paths with and never shied away from sharing God’s word. It was that faith that led her to take in countless people in need, providing shelter and food, living out Jesus’ words that whatever you do for the least of these you do for me. Her home was truly open to all. She will be missed beyond measure and will be fondly re-membered by all who were fortunate to have known her.
Those she leaves to cherish her memory include her daughter, Vickie Paul Melvin; her son, Carlie T. “Teddy” Paul Jr. and his wife Rita F. Paul; two grandchildren, Bobbie Jo Paul and Nathan Paul; four great-grandchildren, Kannen, Elijah, Cy’lon and Carter Paul; one step-granddaughter, Tasha Lombas and her four children; her siblings, Polly O. Olwell and Clifford Oxedine; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, family members, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 63 years, Carlie T. Paul Sr.; her parents, Ebb Oxedine and Letha Haigler Oxedine; three siblings, Dan Oxedine, Betty O. Bone and David Oxedine; and her son-in-law, Charlie Melvin.
Serving as pallbearers will be Bobbie Jo Paul, Nathan Paul, Kannen Paul, Elijah Paul, Cy’lon Paul, Joey Adams and Glen Ghiradi Jr.
Due to the current restrictions concerning limited sized gatherings, current state guidelines will only allow for up to 65 family members and friends to be in attendance during the visitation and funeral service at Ibert’s Mortuary. Visitors are asked to wear face coverings/masks and to practice social distancing.
Family and friends may view the obituary online by visiting www.iberts.com and are encouraged to share their condolences, cherished memories, love, and support for the family.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert’s Mortuary, Inc., 1111 Lia Street, Patterson, LA 70392, (985) 395-7873.