Flooded Jail Ready To Re-Open
Hundreds of prisoners, evacuated in September ahead of Hurricane Gustav, are scheduled to return next week to the Terrebonne Parish LA jail refurbished after flooding by Hurricane Ike, which occurred during their absence. This report from The Thibodeaux Daily Comet.
Inmate workers … stuffed soap, toothpaste and other hygiene basics into empty pillow cases Thursday morning, creating hundreds of jail-style welcome bags for Terrebonne’s returning exiled prisoners … The inmate workers, a team of trusties who remained in the parish during the jail’s seven-month closure, have done much of the repair work. The total cost for repairs is about $730,000.
On Thursday the parish opened the building for public tours, showcasing its newly painted interior, an added 50 beds and security and electronics now placed lifted off the ground, in case of another flood. The possibility of future flooding was on the minds of many public officials who toured the building, which is just as vulnerable to flooding, they say, as it was a year ago. “We’re rolling the dice,” said Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois, who staffs the parish-owned building. Parish President Michel Claudet said an $850,000 ring levee protecting the jail and nearby juvenile detention center will be completed this year, but not before the start of hurricane season …
Hurricane Ike flooded the jail with about a foot of water for two days. Male inmates evacuated to the State Penitentiary in Angola, where they remain. Women prisoners were evacuated to three other prisons in the state. The Juvenile Justice Center, a parish-owned building, flooded during the storm. It opened in October after repairs, said Jason Hutchinson, its director …
Though inmates will start returning from Angola by bus next week — about 100 at a time — 40 prisoners from the parish Courthouse Jail Annex were shipped to the jail Thursday. The Courthouse Annex Jail has housed many prisoners arrested since the storms before they are ferried to Angola or another detention center.
There is much more detail and background in the article at The Thibodeaux Daily Comet.