Central vs. Baton Rouge Loop: What Central Residents Say About Loop

Loop Gets Icey Reception from Central’s Voters

CENTRAL — As the Baton Rouge Loop prepares its application for Federal Highway Administration approval, residents of Central are expressing their disapproval of the project in large numbers.

More than 1,000 Central residents have already submitted comments, overwhelmingly against the Loop.  Loop promoters are hoping FHWA approval will open the door for public-private funding of the project.  “Public” funds could come from federal stimulus money and “private” funds could come from Chinese government-owned banks.

The Capital Area Expressway Authority is a special unit of government not under state or local government control.  Mayor-President Kip Holden has been pushing the project and traveling to China for “private” funding.  The private partner would actually operate the superhighway on a day-to-day basis and receive all the revenue, in order to provide it a guaranteed rate of return.

Citizens have until Jan. 5, 2012, to file public comments.

In order to file comments, send your message via email to centralcitynews@hotmail.com or to Central City News, 13567 Hooper Road, Central, LA 70818.  The newspaper will file all of the comments with the Capital Area Expressway Authority, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Central City Council.

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Here are some of the comments that have been received from Central residents on the proposed Baton Rouge Loop:

We believe the construction of the Baton Rouge Loop across Central would forever change the Central community for the worse.  The loop will divide Central and bring all the problems of the Interstate highway system into the heart of Central.  People will be forced to move their homes and businesses from land that they thought they owned, but will be coerced to realize they do not and at the choice of the government it will be taken away and they will be left with no choice but to relocate, with much difficulty, which should not be necessary.

A loop will not solve the congestion on the I-10 corridor during the local rush hour commuter traffic.  Commuter traffic will not be significantly impacted by rerouting bypass traffic.  It can be solved with much less expense.  The underlying agenda behind the loop project seems to be common greed by landowners in times of economic difficulty and the greed of construction companies, engineering firms, and lawmakers.

The public has rejected the loop project, but that doesn’t seem to matter.  The governor has cut funds, but that doesn’t seem to matter.  Three parish presidents from Livingston, Ascension, and Iberville have pulled their parishes out of the project, but that doesn’t seem to matter.  We don’t want the Baton Rouge LOOP in Central.  What part of NO don’t you understand?

— Michael  & Carol Hopper

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Please don’t cut my Country City in half.  Central is a very unique place to live.  Please come for a visit sometime.  Thank you.

— Warren & Kathy Potts

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How about extending Hooper Road to Hwy. 16?

— Micah Potts

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I strongly oppose, not only because it will divide Central, but because I don’t see how it will help the traffic problems of Baton Rouge.  There are several other alternatives besides a toll road.

— Christine Resweber

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Because it’s going to ruin the rural nature of area with on/off access at Greenwell Springs Road.  There goes the “neighborhood.”

— Charles Cabrea

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I am strongly opposed to the BR Loop for these reasons:

A $4 billion toll loop with $2 to 3 billion of private funding is not economically feasible.  The numbers don’t work!  Even if they did I would be adamantly opposed to private for profit investors being able to expropriate private property.

$1 to 1.5 billion Federal and or state funds used for the loop would dry up resources that could be better used to do much needed projects such as: a) widening I-10 to past Gonzales; b) widening I-12 to east of Walker; c) 4-lane Hooper to LA 16 in Watson; d) 4-lane O’Neal Lane from Central Thruway to I-12; e) 4-lane US 190 from Denham to past Walker; f) and many more.

No benefit to the City of Central, a community that would be most affected by N9 or N10 running through the middle of the city.  There has been little if any public input allowed on the loop project.  As I understand it, the loop is not on the State Highway Department’s most want to do list or the BR Chamber’s priority list.  The BR Loop in its present form is starting to smell like a $4 billion boondoggle!

— Conrad Redman

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As a soon to be again resident of Central, I STRONGLY oppose the loop.  The City of Central has worked too hard to get to the place it is now and is finally its own city.

Most people have lived in Central their whole lives and can’t imagine leaving Central or Central turning into some crazy city full of traffic and issues because of a loop.  Many of the residents like myself, don’t even like to travel to Baton Rouge.  And when we do travel, we know the route to the interstate and a lot of us travel back roads.

We live in Central to be away from all the big city traffic and people.

We want to keep the rural countryside to Central without the loop.

Please take into consideration that the loop is a good idea to help out traffic and is actually needed, but NOT through Central.  In reality, there is actually no point to split up the City of Central by a loop.  Central is rural and I truly believe that is how Central is meant to be.  The residents of Central live in Central for this particular reason and we do not have problems with our routes to Baton Rouge.

Thank you for your time.  Please listen to what the residents of Central have to say about this loop.

— Tuesdai Belle

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I am writing to express my strong disagreement to the proposed Loop Expressway.  Having moved to Baton Rouge from Philadelphia, Pa. in 2003, I am acutely aware of the effects of expressways on the public.  The results will be toxic to the environment and damaging to the health of all residents.

These devastating results include a drastic decrease in air quality resulting in damage to local agricultural resources, respiratory disease [asthma, etc.], potential damage to the next generation from DNA changes, and loss of human life due to the greater speed/number of vehicles as we have seen on our local interstate systems.

If the loop is built, it will not only decrease our beautiful natural resources, but will surely increase asthma rates which are already at an extremely high level particularly in African American men, women, and children.  Our young people deserve a better chance for a healthy life and future.  Have you done any studies on this subject?  I feel we owe it to our children.

— Julie Tullos, RN, BSN, LNC

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We oppose all loop proposals.  Traffic problems could be solved by widening existing roads and extending Hooper Road with a bridge across the Amite River into Livingston Parish.

— John & Genevieve Andre

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No loop thru Central!!!

— Shirley T. Browning

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Only N8 will actually help traffic and not destroy Central.  Do you want to destroy us!

—Jean Barnard

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I oppose all loop proposals.  The solution would be to widen Hooper Road and construct a bridge over the Amite River into Livingston Parish.

— Troy & Jackie Rembert

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When my husband and I move back to our property one of the plans will go through our land.

— Sabrina Spurgeon

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I generally oppose the proposed Loop.

— Rebecca Shelton

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Put a bridge at end of George O’Neal Road to direct people from Central (i.e. for traffic decongestion).  Direct to other ways.  We cannot split Central, that’s what makes us a close knit community.

— Cynthia Diane Ray

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It seems it would be less costly to widen the interstate that has a heavier traffic flow such as O’Neal Lane past Denham Springs.

— David & Sherri Borsky

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It will disrupt our country living, the calm and quiet we have.

— Jeremy Spurgeon

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If there has to be a loop the north bypass would be the best [N8].  Please do not cut Central in half which the other two routes do.

— Judy Roberts

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I oppose the loop going through Central.

— Huey Reames

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  I do not want the loop to divide Central City.  If I needed to vote for a route, it would be N8 only.

— Faye Starks

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I TOTALLY oppose the loop!

First of all, the majority of the traffic comes in from the east and the south — NOT the north.

Second, I don’t believe that it is right for Central to suffer because of the flight from Baton Rouge to escape it’s pathetic excuse for a school system.

Existing roads should be upgraded, and a new bridge constructed across the Amite River.  This would be far more cost efficient, greatly reduce the traffic and displace fewer residents.  We live in Central because of its rural atmosphere.  If that is destroyed, I know that I will be the first to get out of this area.

— David Matlock

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I am opposed to the loop on several grounds.  It is too expensive, will take too long to build, will be too disruptive to existing property owners, and it won’t solve the traffic problems.  There are cheaper alternatives which can be built quicker and will be more effective in solving traffic problems.  For the northern part of the parish, where I live, making Sullivan, Wax, and Hooper roads four lane and extending Hooper to the Amite River with a new bridge across the Amite would greatly ease traffic in the Central area.  Adding two lanes to the existing bridge on Magnolia Bridge Road would also help.  These aren’t new ideas but they don’t get any attention except from Woody Jenkins and other leaders in Central.  All we hear about is the loop and how great a project it is.

I don’t see any way that the loop makes economic sense.  I don’t see how toll revenue can even cover the interest on the capital cost.  The importance of toll revenue has been emphasized but little information has been given on how the toll revenue is estimated.  Outside of rush hours, traffic on the interstates flows well.  The traffic problem is caused by local traffic.  What percentage of through traffic have you estimated would use the loop?

People who live in Livingston Parish and work in Baton Rouge might be inclined to use a loop until they realize how much it would cost.  Using the published toll rate of 15 cents per mile and estimating a 15 mile trip from Livingston Parish to Baton Rouge gives a one-way cost of $2.25 or a round trip cost of $4.50.  An average month has 22 work days so the monthly cost would be $99 which amounts to $1,188 per year.  Has anyone surveyed these people to determine what percentage of them would be willing to pay this amount?

It seems to me that we have the cart before the horse on this project.  We are spending time and money studying various routes for a loop before we have established economic viability and the impact it would have on local traffic.  The problem is local traffic not through traffic.  You haven’t convinced me that a loop is the best solution.

— Warren E. Becker

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I STRONGLY oppose the proposed Baton Rouge loop.

I certainly understand the Baton Rouge government’s desire and need to relieve traffic congestion within the Baton Rouge City limits.  I occasionally drive into Baton Rouge and agree it is an inconvenience at best to get around in our Capitol city.  For those of you that live and work inside the city it is probably quite an ordeal.

For my family, the two definitive words in that last paragraph are “occasionally” and “inconvenience.”  We “occasionally” go into Baton Rouge which means 1-2 times a month.  We can usually choose the day and time to go, so the slight “inconvenience” of traffic is the price I pay for going into Baton Rouge in the first place.  We chose to live outside Baton Rouge city limits for a reason.  We shop, work, go to school, and go to church where we live.  We support our community and want it to remain just as it is, relatively congestion and crime free. (I acknowledge Central is not perfect by any means.)

That being said, I do not think a loop around Baton Rouge and through any of our outlying communities is a good solution.  I have heard better proposals such as to widen the interstate through Baton Rouge, make more creative on/off ramps such as the one at Bluebonnet and for my area widen Hooper Road, widen Greenwell Springs Road, and build a bridge across the Amite River into Livingston Parish.

If a loop were to be built through Central, it is likely that many of our residents including me will move further out of town to avoid the traffic and crime that will likely accompany the loop.  Zachary, Prairieville, St. Francisville all have great rural communities I may have to consider as a future home.  Bottom line: Baton Rouge, we do not need a loop.

— Dewayne Ray

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I OPPOSE the north loop.  Do NOT build it!  I work in Central.  My travel time will greatly increase if you build it.

— Rebecca Arnold, Baton Rouge

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I totally oppose proposed loop.  The loop route (N10) or (N9) go through many family properties and will divide Central.  Route N10 will ruin my family property which has been in my family since the early 1930s.

I am now afraid to make any improvements to my cherished property.  What can I leave to my children, as my father and grandparents were able to do for me?  Extending Hooper Road to Watson (a bridge over Amite River) will solve the northern traffic problems in the parish — NOT A LOOP.  A north loop WILL NOT solve traffic problems in Baton Rouge.  Please do not put the loop in Central.

— Anne Browning Matlock

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The Political Loop Around Baton Rouge.  The loop around Baton Rouge has become a political debate.  I agree with an article that appeared in Saturday’s paper.  We need to address the root cause…

Can’t they see that its when people are going and coming from work that is the main problem and not the travelers that pass thru Baton Rouge.  A loop is not the answer for the root cause.  The best way to help the traffic and reduce the overall cost is to correct the real problem with people from Livingston and Ascension parishes coming and going to work in the morning and afternoons.  My suggestion is to complete the widening of interstates and see how that goes and then if necessary, double deck Interstate 12 to Hammond and Interstate 10 to Gonzales with exit lanes as the present traffic pattern shows the need for…  These options that I have suggested are being used in cities larger than ours.  Our local government is acting like the federal government in both spending and decision making.

— John Lynch

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I did not buy land in this country city to have a interstate go right through it.  I love the trees and rural living that Central has to offer and the thought of building a house in Central and losing that country living, totally disgusts me!  And the loop will not help the thousands of people that drive from Denham Springs to Baton Rouge everyday!  They will still drive Greenwell Springs Road.  Please NO LOOP.

— Bo Sheridan

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A loop built through the City of Central would be detrimental to the well-being of the city itself.  We have made great strides in improving our city and sense of community within Central.  It would be a shame to destroy all of this progress in the name of “progress.”

— Kendall Keating

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No Loop through Central!

— Lorraine Mayeux

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  If we have to have a loop let it be N8.

— Velva D. Smith

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I generally favor the proposed loop, but not N10 and N9.

Why is it necessary to split a city of 30,000 people in half when a workable route is N8.  Livingston could use N8 or four-lane Hooper Road cross the Amite and tie into Hwy. 16 or four-lane Magnolia Bridge and roads leading to it.

— Richard & Jane St. Pierre,

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I generally favor the proposed loop, except N9 and N10.  N8 would definitely suffice, or four-laning Hooper Road, crossing the Amite River, and tying into Hwy. 16.  N9 and N10 would be detrimental to the socioeconomic welfare of an incorporated city of 30,000.

— Lewis & Joyceline Claverie

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  Three people here oppose it. I came here from Katrina, got away fro N.O. — the crime, people, living under loops — I hope I don’t have to move again.

— Barbara C. Smith

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I definitely oppose any loop going through Central.  I live in Central.  It will disrupt my life.  I don’t want to have to relocate.

— Beverly Petrere

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  Why not widen our existing roads.  Look at all the cost of a loop.  Buying up land, dislocating people, studies, trying to copy other cities.  Let’s do it our way.  Build bridges to get the people out.  Save money.

— Ben & Katrina Wicker

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  Central is still country and we want it to stay that way.

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I strongly oppose the proposed loop.

— Jimmie Dewayne Ray

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  No solution to a problem should be so disruptive to a community nor should it impact the financial value of homeowners property.

— Grace & Belton Bielkiewicz

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  I believe they need to leave our city as is.  We just got a city and it so crowded now.  We want our city like it use to be.

— Effie Everett,

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I generally favor the proposed loop.  Other towns were by-passed.  Why do they want to go through the heart of Central.

— Ronnie & Karen Cambre

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  Hooper Road and Greenwell Springs Road needs four-lane and bridges built.

— Travis Watson

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  We need to work on our existing roads and highways to aid in controlling traffic congestion and also adding bridges where deemed necessary.

— Cheryl Meche

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  We don’t need a north loop, we need a south bypass.

— Robert L. Lartigue

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  No loop in Central.

— Kenneth J. Johnson

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  It would be better to widen existing roads or double deck I-10/I-12 with the upper tier restricted to through traffic.

— Floyd Johnson

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We do not believe the loop should divide the City of Central!

— Joseph & Judy Bourgeois

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  Do not need loop.  Four way Magnolia Bridge.  Build a road at Hooper and Greenwell Springs to Watson.

— Phil Garner

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I generally oppose the proposed loop.  Too expensive, other projects needed.  Uncertainty about route with potential damage to City of Central.  Too many unknowns, will it help us here?

— Lorraine Vitanza

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They need to four lane Hooper Road and four-lane Wax Road.  Build a bridge over the Amite River to enter into Livingston Parish.  Stop ALL new subdivision developments. No LOOP.

— Concerned resident of Central,

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I feel other road and highway work would be made beneficial to all of the people in Baton Rouge and surrounding areas.

— Adrain Ann Obeewortmann

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The only route, being more rural, I would support would be N8.  That route would have fewer residents and businesses displaced and more satisfied citizens.

— Dorothy Shaffer

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We do not want our city divided.  The loop should if at all go outside area, traffic problem is Livingston crossing, let them go around!

— Billy & Betty Nettles

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Do not split the City of Central in half.

— Andy Petrere

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Go back to N8.  We do not need the loop coming through Central.  Go back to N8.  This loop would be at my front door and I am in the middle of it so make another move.

— Julian Smith

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I favor building a new bridge over the Amite River from Hooper Road to Watson.

— Mary H. Browning

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I’m a widow.  This loop will be right over my place.  I don’t get much income.  I didn’t want to be in this stupid city.  We weren’t given a choice.  My taxes for EBR was $23, in Central it went to $531.  Just harassment.

— Nettie H. Spurgeon

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Loop should go through undeveloped land.  Fix surface roads first, bridge across Amite at Hooper, five-lane Hooper/Wax, widen bridge at Magnolia, five-lane Sullivan, Do not divide Central City.

—Audrey Lilly

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No to the LOOP!!!!

I completely 100 percent disagree with the loop coming right through the heart of Central.  It is a terrible idea to split in half a city we just incorporated.  Central is a city the long standing residents are attempting to preserve and protect from destruction.

The loop would provide a highway right into the heart of Central and allow for increased crime, increased organized crime, and an influx of illegal aliens.

We do not need any more trouble than we already have.

I completely disagree with all three projected paths through Central.

Keep the loop and find alternate routes for the residents of Livingston Parish to get back home.

— R.L. Lambert, Jr.

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I am really not in favor of this loop,  but if I had to choose one, N8 would be my option.  This loop needs to be placed in the most rural area so that it does not affect the heart of any city.  But again, I am against it completely.  N10 and N9 would seriously injure the heart of the City of Central and many neighborhoods, schools, and families.  Absolutely NO to N10 or N9.  The loop should be placed on the outer rings of major cities surrounding Baton Rouge.

— Melissa Eisworth

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I believe our tax money could be better spent on improving current roads we have so that quicker results could be seen, at less coast.

— Beverly Laudermill

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I generally opposed the proposed loop.  I oppose loops N10 and N9.

— Lloyd Laudermill

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The goal of the planning committee was to create a loop to relieve congestion in Baton Rouge.  The plan was to satisfy 95 percent of the people (it is obvious that not everyone will be satisfied.)  Planning a path directly through the City of Central is not acceptable to any of the people in Central.

Because of the federal laws requiring the loop to be lined with walls, the City of Central would be completely divided physically.  According to the information that I read, the only way through the wall would be on Joor Road.  This would make it extremely difficult to navigate from one end of Central to another regardless of the path the loop would take through the city.

If the proposed path would be moved several miles to the north of Central, the BR Loop would impact fewer people and it may make it more acceptable.  I really do not see how destroying the City of Central, which is an extension of the City of Baton Rouge would be beneficial to the City of Baton Rouge.

— Paula Dufour

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The need for a loop around Baton Rouge has been in the discussion stage for most of the 40 years that I have lived here.  If the powers to be in this city had not been procrastinators and short sighted thinkers, they would have put the loop around Baton Rouge 30 years ago to avoid putting it through Baton Rouge now.  They would not be discussing cutting a newly formed city in half, as well as, displacing many young and old families living in the populated ares north and south of the city proper.  It appears to me, as I travel to large, progressive, cities, that most loops in large communities are placed where traffic goes around the city not through densely populated areas.  Loops are constructed and the population grows up around the loop.  This concept is probably driven by the lower cost of land and by the reduction of conflict brought on by displacing families.

If the goal of the Baton Rouge Loop is to relieve congestion in Baton Rouge, then instead of a loop, the roadways in the Baton Rouge area, that the people of East and West Baton Rouge, Livingston, East and West Feliciana and Ascension parishes use, must be changed to allow for the movement of more vehicles at any one time.  ABMB engineers, Inc. presented 15 proposed priority transportation projects to the Baton Rouge Area Chamber April 1 which did not include the Baton Rouge Loop.

The loop will not help any of the residents of East Baton Rouge and contiguous parishes get across the city any faster.  The loop, as proposed, will be displacing and disrupting families who choose to live in the Baton Rouge area just so people from out of this area can pass through without being inconvenienced by a longer route.  What is wrong with that picture?

Once again, the powers to be have the opportunity to think into the future.  There are a couple of things to consider.  The use of the 75 year old Huey P. Long Bridge as part of the northern loop is not very farsighted and one of the proposed southern loop routes indicates the building of a new bridge.  A northern bypass could be put approximately 40 miles north of Central.  The land would be cheaper and there would be fewer families displaced.  There is already a bridge across the Mississippi River (the John Audubon Bridge) being built south of St. Francisville, going from nowhere to nowhere.  In addition, the use of that bridge and the improvement/widening of State Highway 10, part of which is the Zachary Taylor Parkway, would allow pass through traffic to go from Interstate 49 to Interstate 55.

A southern bypass could utilize the Sunshine Bridge that originally went from nowhere to nowhere and could now be put to good use.  The use of either a northern or southern bypass, both with existing bridges available, would eliminate the need for the proposed loop for pass through traffic.  People who travel across country are often faced with a route that avoids metropolitan areas and does not go as the crow flies.  As for the conveniences travelers need, they will build up around the bypass where ever you put it.

If, after an economic impact study is completed, and it is found that a loop is absolutely the only way we can go, to relieve pass through traffic, then it needs to be placed far enough from the city so that the people who want to live near a loop can acquire property and build subdivisions to meet their need.

Leaders of Baton Rouge, you have inherited a problem 30 years too late.  Do not keep making the same mistake over and over again.  You have paid an engineering firm to give you some expert advice, please make good use of the results and relieve our congestion requiring less cost than the proposed loop while you look for an affordable bypass which will meet the future needs of this growing area.

— Ann & Harry Mills

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We do not want the LOOP to run through the City of Central.  If you must, build it around the City of Central.

The Loop is not the answer to the traffic gridlock in EBR!  And it is too expensive!

No partnership with CHINA!

— Gaila and Homer Starns

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We need the roads fixed and widened in B.R. and Central before we need a loop.  We value our country living and cherish our community and friends and value our children too much to see the problems of the interstate hwy. system come into the heart of Central.  We don’t believe it would justify anything worthwhile by doing this.

— Roy and A. Gautreaux

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As 34 and 36 year residents of our beloved Central City Community, we strongly, firmly, and vehemently oppose ALL proposed routes of this rediculous loop that would split our city in half.

This loop does NOTHING to solve the traffic problems and would simply DESTROY lives.  Period.  Widen the existing interstates and fix the worst interstate system in the WORLD!  Its right here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana!

The people of Central should NOT have to pay the price for the inadequate roads and interstate system developed by the civil engineers of the past.  No considration for growth was given in the least.

— Robby and Kristal Lambert

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There are more cost effective ways of routing traffic without disrupting Central and other cities.

— Ann Ginn

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I would be more inclined to support the loop that would run north of the City of Central.

Cutting the city in half does not serve anyones interest.  Why make a large number of people move going through Central when you can displace a smaller number of people by building a loop north of the city.

— Donald J. Caillouet

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Surface roads, Hooper, Sullivan, Joor, bridge across Amite at Hooper all need to be done before a toll road or free road which the people will be paying for.  No loop will help traffic.

— Audrey Lilly

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Building this loop will have no effect on work hour traffic on I10 or I12 in Baton Rouge.  By now Mayor Holden and others know what road work we need to do to relieve traffic.  I do not travel on roads that I have to pay tolls on.  Anywhere.  A loop will ruin our way of living in Central.

— Prentiss B. Dyess

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All we need in Central is to widen Hooper Road from Blackwater Road to Hwy. 16 and build a bridge over Amite River.  Next widen Sullivan Road.  Next complete the Central throughway to Sullivan and then widen Wax Road to Magnolia Bridge Road all the way to Hwy. 16.  NO TOLL ROADS to come through CENTRAL!!!  Fix that, and we will be o.k.  Please no loop in Central!!!!

— Robert L. Lartigue

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Improve Florida Blvd. pass Walker.  Four lane Hooper Road to Hwy. 16 in Watson.  Improve one of the major roads in south Baton Rouge to 4H Club Road in Denham Springs.  This will get your local traffic off the interstate highway and cost less than a loop.

— Amanda Chemin

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Four lane Hooper Road to the Amite put bridge over to Watson.  We don’t want the loop in Central.

— Carl W. Chemin

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The loop will not help traffic through Central.  I want money spent on solutions to our problems.  Bridge over Amite at Hooper.  Widen Frenchtown Road.

The objective of a loop around Baton Rouge, either to the north or to the south, is to ease the interstate traffic through Baton Rouge — either to New Orleans along I-10 or east along I-12.  Whether or not this will really have the intended impact, I don’t know.  I leave that for the “experts” to argue about.

What I do know is that traffic in Central will benefit very little, if any, from a northern loop.  I don’t believe it will significantly reduce traffic on our local roads; along Greenwell Springs Road or across Magnolia Bridge to Livingston Parish.  It surely won’t do anything to improve our local roads which need widening and repair.

However, by cutting across our community, it will bring noise and unsightly elevated roadways.  If roated at ground level, it could even worsen our local traffic since it will require re-routing of our local roads to yield right of way to the loop.

The cost of our community is high.  The gain for us is small.  Why would anyone in Central support this?  Put me down as against it!

If there is money to be spent on roads, spend it on a new bridge across the Amite River and extend Hooper Road to that bridge.  If there’s any left over, widen Frenchtown Road and do away with the open ditches.  Now, those are projects that I can support.

— Earl Atkinson

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I’m not a person of few words.  I appreciate Woody Jenkins and staff so much.

Thank you for all informatioin to us all.

NO LOOP!!!

The loop has been talked about since the ’60’s.  No way then, no way now.  But wait, we have a mayor who thinks he owns Baton Rouge and he wants to be known as the one that got the loop done.  Another feather in his cap.

If one person loses their home because of the loop, that is one home too many.  No one should lose their home for something that will not work.  If we get financing from China, that would mean China will own another chunk of America.  I really don’t want Cina owning a piece of our Central.  I hate that China owns so mcuh of America as they do.  If we allow China to help fund this loop it’s just another chance for China to further her hold on America.

Think back to the Comite Conversion Canal.  Peopel who had owned property for generations, lost their homes.  The conversion canal has been at a standstill for I don’t know how long.  Never finished — shameful.  It is not easy relocating in these days.

And what is this — people saying N8, we’ll take N8.

We should be saying No Loop!  No Loop!  No Loop!  No Loop!

— Sunday Johnston