Cov PD Fraternal Order Presents a Pro Rodeo!

Wait, you've lived in Covington for over ten years and you've never taken your children or grandchildren to a rodeo at the Fairgrounds? Now's your chance! Pony rides, petting zoo and memorable smells ; ) Proceeds benefit the Covington Police Department's Fraternal Order of Police.

Engineering and Public Works Taking Care of Business

For the City of Covington, the past couple of weeks have been marvelous and productive. The hard work and focus of our engineer and of our Public Works Department has led to several engineering and construction contracts being executed: Engineer selected for drainage design for Dutch Alley / Harrison Street. Engineer selected for design of a new boat launch, slips and pier at Menetre Park. Engineering contract for city wide bridge inspections. Engineering contract for capacity study of the waster water / sewer plant. Construction contract for subsurface drainage on Harrison Street near the St. Tammany Hospital Emergency Room. Construction contract for a new sewer force main from Ronald Reagan Highway to the treatment plant. Construction contract to clear and de-snag Blue Swamp Creek (Barkley Parc, Oak Alley).

On the Horizon ...

The shed at at Hubie Gallagher Park that houses the instrumentation for the 16th Ave water well needs renovation and climate control. We are awaiting bids. Lurline Drive in River Forest requires being re-built. We are at this time going out for bid. William Pitcher Jr. High on 17th Ave and St. Scholastica Academy on Boston Street both need pedestrian crosswalk lighting. Permitting is complete and devices are on order. Projects wrapping up include miscellaneous bridge guard rail repairs around the city, replacing the highway style guard rail on West 11th Ave with a cement one and a waterline main replacement on Beth Drive in River Forest. Additionally, road panel replacements have been completed in the Savannahs and in Oak Alley. Major sidewalk improvements are wrapping up in downtown.

Waste Water / Sewer Upgrades Effluent pumps (pumps 1,000,000 gallons of treated water per day to the Tchefuncte River) at the sewer plant needs replacing. We are now waiting on the bid documents from our consultant. To create redundancy of our treatment plant's belt press (removes solids from treated effluent prior to being pumped to the river) a centrifuge-style device is in final design process. Terracotta sewer lines in River Forest have been smoke tested and videoed. Due to atypically long lateral lines, additional video is now being created. This will lead to breaks being repaired and a synthetic lining being inserted into each pipe.

A new generator has been installed at the waster water / sewer plant. Another new generator was installed at the Bolifield water well pump station. The Bolifield generator is being permanently mounted to an existing trailer and electrically fitted to serve the sewer lift stations at Nose Park and at Barkley Parc. The old plant generator will be permanently assigned to the Rec Center lift station and a new generator will be installed for Ozone subdivision. Lift Station Fun Fact: The city has 62 lift stations pumping millions of gallons of waste water to the treatment plant on a daily basis.

Special Shout Outs

A special thanks to Chief Administrative Officer Erin Bivona and to city engineer Callie Baker and and their staffs for getting each of these projects underway and / or completed. As I am fond of saying, the procurement process in government is tedious, time-consuming and miserable. These professionals have done a remarkable job taking these improvements through the maze of bureaucracy, out of the office and into the field. Kudos to them : )

Also a shout out to Director of Public Works Jim O'Berry, Assistant Director Charles Arthur and the Public Works Department for the assistance they give to all the engineers and contractors that do work in the city. Their help in each phase makes the process a little more tolerable and the work product quite a bit better.

Litter Mitigation A second shout out to Public Works for the current cleanliness of the city. It looks great. I remind everyone the city does not have the resources nor the manpower to pick up all the litter that is tossed onto our roadsides.

The only way we can get the upper hand is if more folks stop littering. I am particularly grateful for the residents that help in front of their homes or on their block. We are seeing more and more of these efforts and it is making a big difference.

Dem Signs Ain't Dere No More Special thanks to Kemmione Callahan, Kevin Bradford and Calvin Bickham for tackling the plastic signs that seem to pop up every week across the city on wire posts and telephone poles. Also, congratulations to Jerry Hudgeons for recently being named Public Works Employee of the Month. Jerry's work ethic and mechanical prowess are a great addition to the waste water / sewer plant team.

The Spider Excavator Finally, Public Works recently completed clearing and de-snagging Frederick Creek in Old Landing, most of Cherokee Creek near Cherokee Lane and are currently knocking out Kathleen / Ellen canal in River Forest. No one around today can remember the last time these cricks were cleared. Big Thanks to the City Council for approving the purchase of the new Spider Machine which makes this work possible.

Kathleen / Ellen Canal Home of Black Eye Bump Spider Excavator Rear The Claw

Get Your May / June Copy of the #CovLA Newsletter

Free ... And Useful The City's new May / June newsletter is now available across town in those "FREE" green boxes outside of stores around town as well as City Hall.  Of particular value is page 3, the calendar of events. It allows one to keep a handy reference (made out of paper) around the home. If magnets still stuck to refrigerator doors you could have kept it there.

May / June 2022 Front Cover May / June Page 3 Calendar of Events

From The Little Store to Gibsons to Walmart

The corner of 7th Ave and Massachusetts was once home to "The Little Store," the epitome of a small neighborhood milk, candy and bread store. Karen's grandmother, Sue "Mawsy" Lacroix DeBellevue, worked as the cashier.

Eventually, Mawsy moved onto the big time, working at Gibsons. Gibsons was located in the parking lot of the Bogue Falaya Mall, near where Gilsbar Insurance is today (between Abita Roasting and the river). She finished her career as a cashier at Walmart ... when it was located on Claiborne Hill, currently the site of Rouses Supermarket.

Karen was close to her grandmother. Like all of us, she was distraught at Mawsy's passing. She prayed for a sign. Suddenly a wave of peace and serenity "like I have never felt before" came over her. Mawsy was in a good place. Years later #3 son Evan, rummaged through a box of old clothes. He came down the stairs wearing, unbeknownst to him, Mawsy's old Walmart smock. Also unbeknownst to him, it was her birthday. Happy Birthday, Mawsy!

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