DRUG-FREE ZONES, SEAFOOD MARKET HEAD TO COUNCIL

HOUMA -- Terrebonne Parish Council members will discuss establishing
Drug-Free Zones near churches Monday.

Agendas this week also include drainage projects and regulations for mobile
vendors and seafood markets.

Councilman Wayne Thibodeaux proposed establishing a Drug-Free Zone near
Morning Star Baptist Church in Schriever earlier this month. Deacons from
the church's board asked the council to approve the measure.

A Drug-Free Zone would establish tougher penalties for anyone convicted of
drug offenses within 1,000 feet of the church, at 108 Livas Lane.

The deacons' letter says activity near the church includes illegal use and
sale of drugs and is "negatively impacting the quality of life for the
senior citizens and youths in the community."

Parish attorneys told the council that state law does not include churches
in the list of areas local officials can establish as Drug-Free Zones.
Thibodeaux disagreed with that opinion and with the council's vote to ask
for a state attorney general's opinion on the matter.

The church does have the ability to post signs and establish its grounds as
a Drug-Free Zone on its own.

Also Monday, the council will hold a condemnation hearing for a building at
218 Henderson St.

SEAFOOD VENDING

Council members will discuss parish regulations for the mobile seafood
vendors at the Public Services committee meeting Tuesday.

Over the past few months, members have swung from endorsing an open-air
seafood market to almost denouncing one.

Commercial fishermen have urged the council to help them cope with low
prices by allowing them to avoid the middleman and sell seafood directly to
customers. Some shrimp wholesalers and retailers have opposed the plan.

BUDGET HEARINGS

Hearings on the administration's proposed 2003 parish budget begin this
week. Council members discuss how money will be used for different
agencies, projects and programs.

They will review 15 areas Monday including the Drainage, Engineering,
Planning, Road and Bridge departments as well as the Downtown Development
Corp., mosquito control and the Rural Transit System.

Here's the lineup for this week's meetings:

Monday: Policy, Procedure and Legal Committee, 5:30 p.m.; Budget and
Finance, 5:45 p.m.; special session for condemnation hearings, 6 p.m.

Tuesday: Public Services, 5:30 p.m.; Community Development and Planning,
5:45 p.m.

Wednesday: Full council, 6 p.m.

The meetings are open to the public in the Courthouse Annex, Goode and
School streets. Anyone may address the council provided he or she fills out
a public-speaker card before the meeting.