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VOL. 16, NO. 3 KENNER’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1991 MARCH 2007 OMC-K welcomes Kenner Crime numbers down in January 2007, Police Chief resident as new vice- Caraway holds all officers accountable for their conduct president of operations By ALLAN KATZ arrests and we’re keeping the rest of them hopping. Not allowing the drug dealers to get a foothold is one of the By TROY BROUSSARD At a time when crime num- keys, in my opinion, to holding down violent crimes, bur- bers are up in New Orleans and glaries, thefts and assaults.” When Ochsner Medical u n i n c o r porated Jeff e r s o n Told that the Kenner Star has recently received several Center-Kenner needed to fill Parish, Kenner has seen a dip in compliments from Kenner residents on the courtesy and the position of vice president crime of 18.4 percent wh e n responsiveness of Kenner police officers, Chief Caraway of operations, it had to look no comparing January, 2007 with said, “I’m very pleased but not really surprised. My philos- further than the boundaries of December, 2006. ophy is to hold each officer in Kenner responsible and the city, hiring long-time “Our police officers are accountable for their actions. I’ve told them that on several Ochsner employee and Kenner doing an excellent job,” said occasions. We work for the people of Kenner. They pay our resident Eddy Ramirez to help Chief Caraway. “We know that salaries. The people for whom we work are entitled to cour- establish a direction for the illegal drugs are the catalyst for teous responses, energetic responses and the best profes- hospital’s future. Police Chief Steve Caraway much of the crime in Kenner sionalism we’re capable of. I’ve made it clear that I won’t “I am excited about the and we are putting pressure on tolerate cynical police officers who just go through the Eddy Ramirez o p p o r tunity to work at this the known drug dealers and on the corners where there has motions and regard the public as a burden on their time. hospital, especially since it is been drug trafficking in the past. We’ve made some good continued on page 12 in Kenner, where I’ve lived with my family for 22 years. This facility is important to the community and I look for- ward to both maintaining and growing the services we Kenner Planning Department continued on page 30 proposes new landscape ordinance Corps of Engineers will remove By ALLAN KATZ Rouge and Northshore communities that have worked well. “We really think that Kenner, particularly areas such as diseased or dead trees The city of Kenner’s Planning Department is preparing Williams Boulevard, could be much more attractive today if By ALLAN KATZ a new landscape ordinance for consideration by the city there was more landscaping,” said Hebert. “However, in council that will apply to all commercial, office, multiple- drafting this ordinance, we have worked closely with the The Kenner City Council has agreed that the U.S. family and industrial building permit applicants. city council and the administration. We’re not trying to be Army Corps of Engineers may survey and remove dead or “Our landscape ordinance needs updating,” say s authoritarian. We want to work with property owners, com- diseased trees from private property at no cost, provided Planning Director Jay Hebert. “Other communities have mercial companies and retailers within the constraints of that the property owners agree to it. really moved ahead of us in terms of creating attractive their budgets.” Members of the council emphasized that while the streetscapes that are inviting to customers and present an Hailey Bowen, the city’s landscape architect, said the Corps has the city’s permission to check out dead and dis- attractive façade to people passing by. Landscaping increas- new ordinance – which would require canopy trees, such as eased trees, the permission of property owners is essential es property values, improves quality of life and enhances oak and cypress in addition to shrub planting buffers along before any trees can be removed. the environment.” He said the new proposed landscape property lines, and tree islands in parking lots – would only G ove r nment inspectors will go through the city, ordinance borrows from similar laws passed by Baton continued on page 30 continued on page 30 Copeland’s to open Lentini honored by city of Kenner soon in Kenner sixth largest city. Officials and friends are gathered at the Kenner Pavilion, 3800 Vintage Drive, near the intersection of Vintage and Loyola Boulevard, and unveiled street signs renaming that portion of Loyola Drive, between Vintage and Joe Yenni Boulevard, as Sal Lentini Parkway. The intersection of the new Sal Lentini Parkway with Joe Yenni Boulevard is especially meaningful, because Lentini and the late Mayor Joseph S. Yenni, friends from childhood, ran and were elected on a ticket of reform can- didates that led Kenner from a small city of less than 30,000 inhabitants to more than 60,000 in the decade they served together. On February 2, 2007, the city of Kenner paid tribute Yenni went on to become president of Jefferson to Salvador J. Lentini with the renaming of a major street Parish and died in office during his second term. Lentini in his honor. Lentini led the city of Kenner’s police force continued as police chief until 1990, retiring to his Copeland’s Famous New Orleans Restaurant and Bar on for 28 years, taking it from a small-town marshal’s office W. Esplanade in front of The Esplanade Mall will open in to a modern, professional police department in the state’s continued on page 30 the spring of 2007. 2 MARCH 2007 KENNER STHR KENNER STHR MARCH 2007 3 4 MARCH 2007 KENNER STHR H Government H Kenner charter committee completes work on ten recommendations By TROY BROUSSARD to live in Kenner; Nearly one year after being created to A l l owing Ke n n e r ’s chief of police to conduct a comprehensive review and make transfer part or all of any unencumbered recommendations to amend Kenner’s home a p p ropriation balance among prog ra m s rule charter, the charter committee has ful- within his department, negating any require- filled its mission and submitted ten items for ment that unspent funds from the KPD would consideration in their final report to the revert to the city’s general fund at the end of Kenner City Council. a fiscal year; The 11 person committee met 12 times Consolidating, streamlining and clarify- since last July, and undertook a “line-by-line” ing all charter language pertaining to term review of the existing city charter, drawing limits and vacancies in elected positions; f u r ther guidance from similar documents Providing for the adoption of a public ini- from New Orleans, Monroe, Shreve p o rt , tiative section to the charter, whereby one- Lafayette, New Iberia, Bossier City and the third of Kenner voters can petition to have an parish of Jefferson. “During the review and issue placed on a ballot for consideration by a n a lysis phase, the committee recog n i z e d the public.” there were several inconsistencies in the char- “In my opinion, the most important series ter that have been created by amendments of changes recommended by this committee approved by the voters over the years,” said pertains to the six sections of the charter attorney and committee chairman Jerome M. dealing with vacancies and term limits,” Volk Volk, Jr., who drafted the group’s final report. said. “In its current form, the charter provides “Those amendments have created cert a i n separate sections for the council, mayor and ‘stumbling blocks’ to the orderly working of police chief. In order to streamline the char- government.” ter, we are recommending putting this infor- The committee’s suggested revisions to mation into a single new section.” the charter, which will not have the effect of Volk also believes that the charter com- law unless approved by the council and ulti- mittee’s efforts were a positive demonstration mately passed by a majority of Kenner vot- of the effectiveness of the city’s K-TV cable ers, include: channel. “Reconsider requiring that the council “The televised meetings allowed the pub- president be chosen from among the city’s lic to follow the process from beginning to two at-Large members; end. Because of K-TV, more citizens are well Changing the work experience require- informed on how and why we drew our con- ment for the city attorney, finance director clusions,” Volk said. and planning director from three to five The charter committee was appointed by years; the mayor, the chief of police, the Kenner city Eliminating the entire section of the char- council and the Kenner business community. ter that pertains to the mayor’s appointment Members included Norma Broussard, of a board of sewerage commissioners for the Mildred Congemi, Kevin Delahoussaye, Alan reason that it is no longer necessary; Howland, Timothy Joder, Don Murphy, Ruth Deleting completely the provision of the Rosales, Earl Smith, Jerome M. Volk, Jr., charter that requires city department heads Thomas Willmott and Daniel Zimmerman. H 3501 Chateau Blvd. 465-9444 FEMA agrees to Try one of our healthy salads re-evaluate Kenner’s requests SALADS Following a February meeting at its FEMA office of governmental affairs; rep- Southwestern Chicken Salad state headquarters in Algiers, the Federal resentatives of U.S.

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