Congratulations to Denny and Michelle Lazarus on winning this fall’s Yard of the Season award. Their yard at 9966 East Inniswold features a beautiful display of interesting and colorful plants. Denny is quite the gardener and enjoys planting a variety of plants including Blue Sky Vine, Ligularia (Tractor Seat Plant), Marigolds, Clerodendrum, and Cat Whiskers. Their yard put on quite a show!

 

The Lazaruses were awarded a $25 gift card courtesy of Clegg’s Nursery.

 

Thank you also to our three other nominees: Jerome and Gay Plauche on Hillyard, Ian Gileski on Cherrywood, and Patti Sollie on Azrok. Their yards were beautiful and made the judges decision quite difficult!

 

We’re proud to have these lovely yards as part of our neighborhood.

Additional photos are on the IEJT Civic Association facebook page. 

Congratulations to Pete Peterson at 10903 Ridgely Road on winning this summer's Yard of the Season award. Many of our neighbors greet Mr. Peterson daily, as he works year-round on his front yard. His incredible garden is filled with many beautiful blooms and greenery, including: althea, pentas, passion vines, coleus, bloodleaf banana trees, geraniums, salvia and begonias. The many shades of red and purple blooms are the highlight of his personal oasis. Mr. Peterson was awarded a $25 gift card courtesy of Clegg's Nursery.

Congratulations also go out to our other nominee, Ian Gileski on Cherrywood Drive. Mr. Gileski's home features a beautiful variety of summer color throughout.

Thank you to both of your nominees for allowing us to visit and share your gardens.

IEJT General Membership meeting 3/13/2017

The General Membership meeting was very well-attended, and we appreciate all those who attended. We had expected Mayor-President Sharon Weston-Broome to be at the meeting; her office had confirmed with us several weeks ago. Unfortunately, she did not show up nor did we receive any communication from her office regarding her appearance.

Our Metro Council representative, Matt Watson, DID show up, with one of his aides, Jonathan Tittlebaum. Matt has a second assistant, as well, Molly McWhorter. We have phone numbers and email addresses for all - we will make sure these are placed on our website, in the “Useful Phone Numbers” section in the left hand sidebar of the website.

Matt was well informed about issues in our neighborhood, and had a lot of good information for us.

He is working with Traffic Engineering to try to fix some traffic issues on Bluebonnet Boulevard to keep traffic moving, which would reduce the number of people using our neighborhood (Cal, Inniswold, Bluebonnet Road) as a means to avoid Bluebonnet Blvd traffic delays. Matt says many of the traffic problems in our neighborhood stem from those delays on Bluebonnet Blvd and he believes they can be relieved if Bluebonnet Blvd delays are reduced.

Matt will also be making contact with the Sheriff’s Office regarding the issue of speeding on our neighborhood streets. Civic Association President Rodney Plauche also made the point that if a sufficient number residents will call the Sheriff’s Office DAILY with complaints about the speeding, the Sheriff’s Office might be convinced to have their patrols engage in more vigorous speed control enforcement.

On the issue of street repairs — Matt said he drove through the neighborhood with a DPW official to make note of the potholes and other areas needing repair. He also said that these projects do take time to get budgeted and contracted — but Matt has done some good work on our behalf to ensure that DPW is made aware of the numerous repairs needing to be made.

About the mowing issues along Bluebonnet Blvd - many of you will recall that last summer, the medians got mowed regularly, but not the sides. A new contract was issued for that mowing, and the contract INCLUDES the sides as well as the medians. The contract also requires that trash be picked up BEFORE those areas are mowed.

The Civic Association received numerous complaints about conditions at a home at 9026 Gail (corner of Gail & Bluebonnet Rd). We have been assured that the situation at that home is being investigated.

We would also like to bring to your attention the RedStick311 app for your phone. This is a very useful app that you can use to report issues to the appropriate Metro government office. The app works with most newer phones, but if it does not work with your phone, you can accomplish the same thing by using the function on the webpage at 311.brla.gov.

We introduced two new board members tonight, Frank Adair, and also Ellen Rooney. Ellen has graciously volunteered to take over the communication functions, answering emails, posting items to the Facebook page and the NextDoor network, maintaining the website and sending blast emails.

The winners of the Christmas Yard of the Season were Civic Association Members Paula & Roy Dollar, who with daughter Leah created an imaginative holiday display!

Featured were large figures of Rudolph, Santa, Frosty, a polar bear, a weiner dog and a pink pig, and Leah's favorite, an elephant giving Santa a ride. Candy canes enclosed the display.

Board Treasurer Danielle Bowen presented the Dollard with a Clegg's gift certificate and the yard sign

Congratulations to Debra S on Sharlane, the winner of the IEJT 2016 Fall Yard of the Season! 

Debra and her husband John moved into their home in 1981, and the yard has been a work in progress ever since.  The yard currently is full of fall colors and blooms. 

Some of the many plants that can be found are chrysanthemums, pansies, roses, petunias, marigolds, hibiscus, mandevilla, and even and old-fashioned potato plant!   

The back yard is an absolute oasis of loveliness with an open covered deck structure and a pathway to a deck beyond that.  

There are cute and quirky ornaments throughout the yard and gardens - two are pictured below.

Pictured here are board Vice President Rodney Plauche with board member Pat Rusk, presenting the sign and a $25 Clegg's gift card to Debra. 

Next are some photos of the front entry:

Love the cute and quirky ornaments! 

The backyard:

Congratulations to Ian Galeski and wife Dawn Carino, whose home on Cherrywood was selected as the 2016 IEJT Summer Yard of the Season!

Ian is the gardener of the house and he has put together a peaceful back patio area with plants that naturally repel mosquitoes.

The front entry area has large elephant ear plants on each side, and of course, the statue of the greyhound dog with Mardi Gras beads! The statue looks a lot like Ian and Dawn's pet greyhound, a real dog named Reba. Ian says that Reba and her buddy, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Archie, only occasionally "help" with the gardening.

The peaceful back patio area has a number of plants that naturally repel mosquitoes.

Around the sides of the home there are a variety of different sorts of plants- cigar plant, a balloon flower and the purple oyster which was overflowing its container.

Our next seasonal yard will be 2016 Fall, to be awarded on or around November 1st. Please keep an eye out and begin sending in your nominations for Fall Yard of the Season to be received by us on or before October 15th. Please send to [email protected], and include the homeowner's name and address.

Board Treasurer Danielle Bowen and Board Member Lois Leblanc presenting the sign and the $25 Clegg's gift certificate to Ian:

The Inniswold Estates/Jefferson Terrace (IEJT) Civic Association hosted its annual neighborhood jambalaya luncheon Sunday, September 11, 2016, at the Jefferson Terrace Pool.

This event provides an opportunity for neighbors to get together and meet each other, and this year for those neighbors hosting friends or relatives who were flooded, it provided a much appreciated day off from cooking!

Many thanks to JT Pool.   If anyone is interested in pool membership, please click the link in the sidebar to the left for "JT Pool and Aquatic Club", which will bring you to their website and membership information. 

 Here are a few photos from the lunch. 

Our youngest helper, Dalton Marchand. 

Civic Association Treasurer Danielle Bowen: 

Board Member Nadine Harrell with Neil Shaw, Board Member Stan Leblanc, and Jan Calvit who was one of our newsletter delivery volunteers!  Thank you Jan! 

Board Member Lois Leblanc, Arthur Lamm, and Board Member Stan Leblanc:

Board Secretary Meaghan Cabaniss and Board Member Caroline Wolf:

Congratulations to Steven Vidrine, 4922 Tealwood, the winner of the spring Yard of the Season!  

We had several additional excellent nominations that we wish to recognize, including Bruce Raff at 4652 Idlewood; Ian Gileski at 5516 Cherrywood; Jerome Plauche at 9873 Hillyard; Liza Fazio at 4913 Tealwood; Pete Peterson at 10903 Ridgely.

Please check out each of these yards!  We are proud of all our neighbors' efforts. 

Some photos of Steven's yard efforts are posted below. 

Our neighbor Steve Vidrine is retired from the La Dept of Education, and currently employed as an adult education instructor at the Gillis Long Youth Challenge Program in Carville, and he has been a resident of IEJT since 1992.

Besides cooking and entertaining friends, he enjoys working in his yard and on his patio, as is obvious from these photos of his yard.

Steve loves a variety of plants, and currently has an eclectic collection of roses, lilies, agapanthus, gladiolus, along with many container plants on the patio and an interesting “Japanese Garden” area.

Steve recently purchased a fountain that will be installed near his outdoor fireplace, and he hopes to become a master gardener once he fully retires from education.

It’s a beautiful yard, perfect for morning coffee where new blooms can be discovered every morning!

The Board held the annual General Membership Meeting at Jefferson United Methodist Church on Monday, March 28, 2016.

Here are some photos of the meeting, and further down, meeting notes:

Board Member Stan Leblanc with Carey Chauvin of BR Dept of Development:

Treasurer Danielle Bowen with Board Member Nadine Harrell and neighbor Cindy Plauche:

Board President Brett Smith with Terry Passman:

Meeting notes:

March 28, 2016 IEJT Civic Association General Membership Meeting Brett Smith, President, called the meeting to order Treasurer’s Report by Danielle Bowen, Treasurer •

 Guy Koonce – reviewed books from 2015 and found them to be in order •

156 paid members year to date (50% of target membership) •

Review of 2016 Budget: 2 neighborhood entrance signs $1,600 2 sign permits $ 400 Newsletter Printing/Delivery $ 200 Office Supplies, Postage, Printing $ 175 Website $ 100 Jambalaya Luncheon $1,600 Landscaping/Lighting/Decorating $2,000 Yard Sale preparation $ 50 Dues: Federation of GBR Civic Associations $ 75 Meetings: annual/monthly $ 300 Computer Repair/Upgrade $ 500 • Motion made to approve Budget by member, seconded, approved

Brett announced 2 new entrance signs to be erected in next few weeks • Inniswold Road • BlueCross BlueShield – Upton/Groner 2016 Entrance Signs to be installed - Bluebonnet Road and Floynell Road entrances Yard of the Season awards rather than Yard of Month • Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter/Christmas Decorations Thanked the newsletter volunteers Announcement of Jambalaya Luncheon on Sunday, September 11, 2016 JTAC pool question – answered by Tim Mercer (www.jtacpool.org)

Speakers: Carey Chauvin, Department of Development • Effective April 2015, reorganized DPW to  distinct departments, each with its own director o

Environmental Services – recycling, sewer engineering, collection, pump stations, treatment, landfill o

Maintenance – landscape, road (not rehab – point repairs only), ditches o

Transportation and Drainage – field and traffic engineering; drainage; capital projects o

Buildings and Grounds – architectural services, prison maintenance and building maintenance (internal) o

Fleet Management – maintain vehicles o Development – permits and inspections; blight; (Kerry is Director of this Department) •

Call 3-1-1 with issues to be routed to correct Department for service o Spending a lot of resources to make the 3-1-1 system more efficient o 400-500 calls/day input by dispatcher o Problem was getting routed to correct Department – closed complaint without resolution. This has been changed. The complaint CANNOT be closed until there is proof of resolution; the Departments can push to different department to get resolution and managers checking the issues to ensure they are resolved o Goal: 24 hour turnaround to get a plan of action for resolution •

ONE phone number for ALL 6 departments: 225-389-3158 • 4 months reviewing budget – cutting $380,000 in salaries to pay for reorganization •

Complaint from neighbors:

Bluebonnet Blvd where asphalt meets concrete by interstate exit. Kerry will look into it. The neighbor has called many times regarding this issue with no resolution. Neighbor has called regarding other, smaller issues, with great response. •

Grass cutting: o single biggest complaint o interstate cutting contract with DOTD (every 5 weeks) which takes all manpower; subcontract out this contract in future to get their manpower back out to the medians and rightaway and other street cuts o

Bluebonnet Blvd – median is subcontracted who cuts every few weeks. The outer edges are NOT subcontracted. Once contracts expire, Kerry says that they will rewrite to include outer edges. Some businesses cut the rightaway and others don’t and it makes the contacts difficult to write since they don’t want to pay for the contractor to cut something that the businesses o

Hackberry/Landsbury resident – pump station 36 – she calls 3-1-1 and various excuses given. They don’t cut the entire area. Kerry mentioned that this is in negotiations to be subcontracted •

Blight Ordinance- tall grass, junk, trash, abandoned vehicles and unkempt swimming pools; if it is occupied, no action can be done; no property maintenance code •

Sewer Repairs – notes on doors on Landsbury; program is in the final phase; this program targets neighborhoods with historical problems with overflows; many moving parts and all the pieces fit together and need to be in place to show results •

Danbury resident – will the open areas be covered; yes, but 1 month for limestone to compact before asphalt/concrete patch

Randy Aguillard, Sheriff’s Office •

Neighborhood Watch – this is something that often falls aside in neighborhoods • Crime is seasonal – Spring is lawnmower; Christmas time – presents • Be observant and aware of surroundings; watch out for each other •

The Sheriff’s office needs to know about the crime; he hears often that people complain to others but don’t report •

Sid Gautreaux – changed to one manned car to patrol – hoping that neighbors have notice more officers in neighborhood • Substation: Gardere Lane – distance doesn’t matter due to technology

THE winner of the IEJT Christmas Lights contest is: 

Roger and Sally Abbott at 8778 Field!

We also wish to mention our other nominated yards:

Joe and Eva Temple at 5065 Floynell

Timothy Martin at 9867 E Inniswold 

Paul and Katie Guidry at 8653 Sharlane

And a special mention to Chris Reine board member on Landsbury with laser lights!

Congratulations to the Abbots. And also to all the other nominated yards; this was a difficult decision to make, as you will see from the photos.

Here is a photo of the Abbots with Board Member Pat Rusk, and a photo of the winning yard:

And our other nominees:  

The Temple home on Floynell:

The Martin home on E Inniswold:

The Guidry home on Sharlane: