Over 100 community members and elected officials from the towns of Slaughter, Ethel, Norwood, Wilson and Clinton attended a town hall meeting on Aug. 3 at the Slaughter Municipal Building to hear Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal speak about economical development.

Jindal was there to donate grant monies to the three towns and to all of East Feliciana Parish.

Jindal said he is moving Louisiana forward by creating jobs and investing in East Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes. Under his leadership, the state has won economic development projects totaling more than 32,000 new jobs- both directly and indirectly- for Louisiana workers and more than $4 billion in capital investments.

“Louisiana is not a poor state and the reality in Louisiana is better than the perception. Don’t let anyone ever tell you this. We have the ports, oil, gas, and timber that allows us to be on top. We see 15,000 children drop out of school and 15,000 jailed in the same year in Louisiana. I want to put a stop to this,” Jindal said. “One of my top priorities is focusing on education and the schools in the state.”

According to Jindal, more folks are moving in to Louisiana rather than out. Louisiana and Tennessee are the top two states in the nation in terms of new jobs and economic development. Also, Louisiana has been out-performing regional and national economics for more than a year. “Our best days as a country and state are ahead of us, not behind us,” said the governor.

With the investments in Louisiana, the Pan American Capital Group’s Paper Mill will result in 200 new jobs directly and 800 indirectly in West Feliciana and the surrounding area; the Southland Steel Fabricators expansion in St. Helena Parish will create 35 new positions directly and 60 indirectly; and 141 existing jobs will be retained.

Since Governor Jindal took office in January 2008, he has led the investment of state and federal dollars totaling more than $3.36 billion- more than the past three governors combined for the same time period.

Approximately $17.2 million has been invested under the Jindal administration for road improvement projects in East Feliciana Parish including $3.1 million for the reconstruction of the existing road base and overlaying of a 6.4 mile stretch of La. 955 from La. 957 to La. 10 with asphalt; $1.3 million for patching and overlaying of a 6.6 mile stretch of La. 19 between La. 955 and the EBRP line, covering the section between Slaughter and Ethel.

Jindal, as are all emergency first responders, is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best with the 2009 Hurricane Season. Following hurricanes Gustav and Ike, Jindal vowed to speed federal assistance directly to impacted parishes and eliminate bureaucratic hurdles at the state level.

East Feliciana Parish has been awarded $3,011,480 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds to aid hurricane recovery and $713,888 in federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding. The governor also allocated $136,855 in Local Government Assistance Program grant funding for infrastructure projects and long-term capital improvements in East Feliciana Parish.

Additionally, Jindal has appointed eight people from East Feliciana Parish to serve on state boards and commissions since taking office.