The city of Westlake recently received a $5.7 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. What do they plan to do with it? 

Westlake Interim Mayor Daniel W. Racca said the city has not actually received the funds yet. 

“The funds have been obligated by FEMA, meaning that once it has gone through all the verifications and steps, it has to then be approved by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness,” Racca said. “Once GOHSEP approves everything, the funds will then be sent to us.”

Racca said the funds will ultimately be used to pay for debris cleanup.

“We currently owe Crowder Gulf for services they provided after Hurricane Laura,” Racca said. “The total billed to the city for debris removal is $6,210,429.97.”

Racca was sworn in as interim mayor of Westlake in February after Mayor Bob Hardey succumbed to cancer on Jan. 29. Hardey served on the Westlake City Council for 12 years and was elected mayor in 2014. He ran unopposed in 2018 and was serving his second term.

Racca was elected to the Westlake City Council at the same time as Hardey and served a total of 20 years. 

“We were a team all that time,” Racca previously told the American Press.

 

‘Timeline’ books

Do you still sell copies of Don Kingery’s “Timeline” books? If so, where do I acquire them, and how much do they cost?

We no longer have any copies of the “Timeline” books for sale, but all five in Mr. Kingery’s series are available for check out at Frazar Memorial Library on the McNeese State University campus. 

Kingery served as features and photo editor, wrote editorials and ran the daytime news desk at the American Press for more than 20 years. Upon his retirement, he reminisced about the events he covered in Southwest Louisiana in his “Timeline” column, which were compiled and published into five books between 2002-2006.

Mr. Kingery passed away in 2014 at the age of 90.

 

Correction

The Citgo E-Recycle Day is scheduled for 8-11 a.m. Saturday, March 19, at the Lake Charles Civic Center.

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Informer is written by Crystal Stevenson, American Press executive editor. To ask a question, call 494-4098 and leave voice mail, or email informer@americanpress.com.