Word: parish
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Broussard knows better than anyone the problems of being black in Plaquemines. He was born and still lives in Ironton, an all-black town of 200 nestled against the levee. Ironton has no running water; instead, the parish delivers wat^r by truck to each home once or twice a week. Broussard's wife developed a serious kidney ailment eight years ago, probably from drinking cistern-stored water. Two or three times a week he had to drive her to Charity Hospital in New Orleans. "They lent me a dialysis machine, but I had no water to hook...
...Parish officials, who point out that two white towns also lack running water, say it would cost $200,000 to bring pipes to Ironton. But they recently bought a golf course in a corner of the parish. Asked about these priorities, Chalin Perez replied: "That golf course provides recreation for many people. It's a question of judgment for elected officials to make...
...translates for his uncle as a white-haired mechanic explains the problem with the carburetor. "How much we owe you?" asks the boy. The mechanic shakes his head, refusing payment. Like many others, he is embarrassed by the way the Vietnamese refugees are being chased out of the parish...
Other residents are more sympathetic. One motel owner arranged mooring space in a small canal she owns, and local volunteers helped move the Vietnamese boats there. But after an explosion, parish officials put pressure on her to have them evicted. As in most things, what really matters is how Chalin Perez feels. Father Michael Haddad, who runs a group that coordinates the resettlement of Vietnamese, says, "Perez is quick to enforce the law but slow to be accommodating...
...Tran, head of the Vietnamese Fishing Association, is preparing to move his people to nearby Terrebonne Parish, where he hopes officials will be more hospitable. Says Perez: "They don't understand our laws. They fish out of season. There are reports they catch seagulls, pluck them alive, and when they decide to eat them, wring their necks. Dogs - that's one of their favorite foods too. I have a friend who had a setter, and one day he came home and saw the hide sitting right out front. That's their business if they eat dogs...