By Rita Shirley LeBleu
Almost 40 Cameron Parish community members, mostly fishermen, filed into the Cameron Parish Police Jury Board Room Monday, Mar. 9, for the monthly agenda meeting. They were there to show support for Cameron resident Brandon DeBarge.
DeBarge addressed jurors to “shine a light on things the community is dealing with on a daily basis.” He was motivated to do so after his son’s school bus was held up for 45 minutes to allow Venture Global workers to exit.
“He got off that bus crying because he had an accident in his pants and he was scared he was going to be in trouble,” DeBarge said.
Traffic is a main concern, according to DeBarge. It starts backing up at 2:30 a.m. Some of these early morning drivers play loud music. What used to be a 5-minute commute for locals now takes 30-45 minutes. Clumps of dirt on the main thoroughfare are common. Future plans are to widen the road to a four-lane, which will create additional congestion.
Secondly, DeBarge compared Grand Lake and Hackberry camper park regulations requiring fencing, spacing and limiting the number of units to Cameron’s camper park regulations.
“In Cameron, we have nothing, he said. “It’s the wild, wild west.”
Eighty-two locals live in Cameron RV parks. The 1,592 remaining campers are occupied by nonlocals, he said.
DeBarge believes the Cameron community in general and fishermen in particular could be better represented by its elected officials. He noted a past Juror worked for an LNG facility. Another bought land out from under the Police Jury that was proposed to be set aside for local fishermen. The juror made considerable profit.
DeBarge didn’t point fingers at the LNG industry, or people who lease their land to companies. He said the men and women who work for Venture are doing so to provide for their families, but fishermen have “no where to tie boats, no where to unload product and nobody cares.”
He is ready for a buy out, to leave Cameron to LNG plants and camper parks.
Fishermen Phillip Dyson, Robert Doxey, Sr. and Anthony Theriot also addressed the Police Jury about concerns. Dyson is tired of Jake breaking and boat-damaging wakes from LNG traffic, some of which caused damage to his boat. The parish has ordinances against both.
Theriot told jurors the mud on Cameron’s main thoroughfare that DeBarge referred to is coming from leaking dredge pipes.
“When we see that, how do we know mud’s not leaking out there at all those other spots?” asked the oyster fisherman. At last month’s meeting, he said dredging incidents have created conditions that make it impossible to market his oysters. At this meeting, he told jurors that he would like to see a 1-800 number to call to report problems.
Cooper Fournet told jurors that there have been three dredge spoil releases in addition to the releases that Kim Montie, Port Director reported during the meeting. Regarding this information, Parish Administrator Katie Armentor clarified. Montie’s report was based on work during the Port dredging permitted project, the Loop part, the administrator said. The three incidents Fournet mentioned are “relevant to work being conducted by Venture Global privately,” a different permit.
Mark Daigle, Dist. 5, said he was not aware of a separate dredging permit.
Last month, the jury requested the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries conduct an independent study into the relationship between dredging incidents and the condition of the oysters, but they have not received a response.
“Wildlife and fisheries need to come to the table and do something,” Daigle said.
Police Jury President Michael Fewell, Dist. 2 (Hackberry) told DeBarge that his voice was appreciated.
It takes courage to speak out. “A man should be proud of his community.” Fewell shared his own frustrating experience. When Cameron LNG was being built, Fewell’s son broke his arm. The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Department would not let him bypass traffic to take his son to the emergency room. They were stuck for 35 minutes.
More than one Juror expressed the willingness to work with DOTD and the Sheriff’s Department on the school bus transportation issue.
Before closing the two-and-a-half hour meeting, Fewell respectfully asked men and women who wished to speak at a future agenda meeting to stick to agenda items or call the office and get on the agenda.