Baja St. Martin

Crawfishing continues. The price is still $1 a pound as far as I know. The general impression I get when I drive toward Pierre Part and pass the crawfish buying stands, is of not much business. That may not be the reality.
It is beautiful weather lately. In my yard, at least, the plants I’d thought were dead from the freezes are, in many cases, showing signs of life. My schefflera, corn plant, Norfolk pine, allemanda, orchid tree, century plant, Iochroma and Cajun hibiscus are all sprouting greenery. My night-blooming vereus is a goner but I just bought a new one and am trying to find the best place for it. Oh, and my staghorn fern is kaput, also.
I swim three times a week in an outdoor pool with others taking a low-impact aerobic class. It’s wonderful. I really feel trimmer after each lesson. Not for me a hard wood floor, jumping and sweating. I do love to walk but have to admit my walks are not pictures of energy. I saunter. I meander. Sometimes I count my steps so I will get to the next resting spot quicker.
I read in the Teche News the article about the school board being split on staffing at S.E.S. One member was quoted as saying he had attended schools with more than one grade in a room and felt he got a good education. I wonder if he thinks schools should have no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no running water also? Maybe those modern conveniences detract from learning? Perhaps the students should each bring a piece of firewood every day in the cold weather?
I do thank those board members who are willing to give principal Staton an opportunity to increase the school population. He has a great faculty and from the number of students who excelled in academics and the arts at the recent award programs, there is a great source of talent in the community.
We have heard nothing new about the levee rezoning issue lately. The two blue signs marking the proposed site were removed by some unknown person. They were definitely not taken by anyone of us who is objecting to the rezoning. When we told Mr. Babineaux about the missing signs he said the parish would not put up new ones since the issue is nearing a conclusion. The council was originally supposed to make the final decision on June 3 but we hear that the date has been moved to sometime in July. We’re not sure quite why, but considering the possibilities, I certainly can understand that the council might want more time to be fully prepared for eventualities. And we know the council is bending over backward to be as fair and impartial as possible.
Which leaves us time to talk to more agencies, write more letters, and be better prepared ourselves for what might come. Mrs. Wilma Subra has been and still is a wonderful advisor. She has dealt with issues like this one many times before and knows all the tricks of the trade.
Since we first learned of F.A.S.’s proposal the tanker trucks which already pass on the road – Hwy. 997 – seem even more intrusive and dangerous. At times three or four will pass one right after the other. I have been reworking a flower bed adjacent to the highway and at times, the wind created by the trucks almost knocks me over. The current trucks often exceed the speed limit and they pass late in the evening when it’s almost dark. I find myself thinking if there were 50 of these trucks passing every day, my living situation would be unbearable. It would be like something out of a Mad Max movie.

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be e-mailed at lcooke9417@bellsouth.net.