Jindal visits Mt. Hermon

MT. HERMON -- Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal visited Washington Parish Tuesday, speaking to a crowd of hundreds at the Mt. Hermon School gym.

Jindal announced more than $575,000 in grants for Washington Parish. The bulk of the grants were in the form of a $228,286 Community Development Block Grant, which aids in hurricane recovery, and a $206,492 Hazard Mitigation Grant Program aimed at protecting against future hurricane damage.

“Hurricanes Gustav and Ike devastated communities throughout Louisiana last year and we vowed that the recover process would not be held up by red tape and bureaucracy in Baton Rouge,” Jindal said. “That’s why we’re sending these CDBG and HMPG dollars directly to parishes so we can speed up the rebuilding process and better prepare for future storms.”

The Washington Parish Sheriff’s Department received a grant for more than $100,000 that will go toward correctional surveillance enhancement and the Bogalusa government received a $39,000 grant for upgrades to information systems.

In addition to the announcement of the grants, Jindal spoke at length about creating jobs in Louisiana. He cited statistics saying that Louisiana’s unemployment rate has dropped, and is 3 percent lower than the national average.

Jindal recounted multiple examples of either enticing companies to move to Louisiana or encouraging others not to leave the area, creating or sustaining jobs for Louisiana residents.

He also spoke about the importance of education as it relates to a qualified employee base, and said the state’s education focus should not only be at the university level.

“Not every student is going to a university. That’s why we have to do more to provide more opportunities for kids to get technical training even before they leave high school,” Jindal said. “Indeed we know the majority of jobs created in the new economy are going to require training beyond high school and yet short of a four-year degree.”

To close, Jindal entertained the crowd by telling stories about his children, then took the time to pose for photos with those in attendance.