More Progress in St. Tammany Parish
October 2, 2005
An open letter to CEO John Mathew from Slidell Sentry-News publisher Terry Maddox.
John, all:
Our recovery from Hurricane Katrina continues at a rapid pace.The remarkable steps forward by our papers and the parish amaze me.
Today we published a 48-page joint publication of the SlidellSentry-News and News Banner. Our retail advertising staff of just three, and ourPontchartrain Newspapers Classified Call Center sold an unbelievable $22,000 ofadvertising in it. Our editorial staff packed it with news that was informative,helpful and entertaining to our readers. And our distribution people got 30,000copies out with very limited workforce.
I can't say enough about our dedicated and talented employeeswho are making this happen. J Kennon and I thanked them in a long overdueeditorial in today's edition.
J and I continue to work on short term and long term plans forthe two newspapers. We're extremely excited about how well the joint publicationhas been received by our advertisers and readers, and are convinced that itshould continue. We will, however, offer zoned editions on both the east andwest sides of the parish. More on this later as things materialize.
A curfew remains in effect for St. Tammany Parish from 11 p.m.until 6 a.m., however we've been able to get our parish president, Kevin Davis,to grant immunity to our carriers for delivery purposes. For this we are quitegrateful.
Services throughout the parish continue to be restored at aremarkable pace. Most subdivisions now have power, water and sewage.
Housing is still needed for many, and parish president Davisthreatened to take all available parish law enforcement personnel, as well asmembers of the general public, to go to Baton Rouge to hijack FEMA trailers forour displaced citizens. They have been sitting up there for days. I'm sure thatat least partially due to this warning that FEMA finally acted on it. Thetrailers began rolling into Slidell today. I hope to get one to place on myproperty.
Traffic continues to be a nightmare. Trips to and from Slidelland Covington have been as long as two and half hours, normally a 20-30 minutetrip.
Thankfully the Red Cross has opened up facilities in Slidell andMandeville to assist residents with financial aid. Early on they asked displacedcitizens to phone a 1-800 number or go online to file for help, but many did nothave phone service nor Internet service to do so. The new centers have been mosthelpful but have added to our traffic woes. The first day they were open carswere lined up for miles in every direction.
We are working on a "Traffic Watch" update to run in everyedition to aid our readers as to what they can expect, traveling to and fro inthe parish, as well as to New Orleans and Baton Rouge. I think this will be agreat service to them.
Thanks to Bob Wick and Tom Riebock who visited us this past weekand offered personal messages of thanks and hope to all of our employees.Unfortunately, due to traffic problems, they were unable to visit the Slidelloffice and other areas of devastation on that end of the parish. Hopefully theywere able to do a fly-over.
I'm happy to report that the bottom floor of the SlidellSentry-News building has been gutted from floor to ceiling, then treated withchemicals, and is now drying out. Should be ready for reconstruction soon.
Thanks again to you, John, and all the wonderful employees ofthe Wick publishing family. Your continued support and numerous acts of kindnessmean much to us. God bless all of you.
On a personal note, John, I know you know, but I'm sure there'sseveral others who do not, that j celebrated a birthday during this wholeordeal. And maybe I'll get in trouble with her for saying so, but it was one ofthose biggies - the old speed limit. Those of you who know her may wish to sendher an e-mail, even though she's got more than she can handle, just to saybelated happy birthday. I'm sure she won't mind getting a few extras for thatpurpose.
Thanks again, y'all.
Terry Maddox, publisher
Slidell Sentry-News