The Daily Review from Morgan City, Louisiana • 6

Page 6, The Daily Review, Morgan City, La Thursday, i-'eptemher 25, 2003 Sinking coastline; finally getting researchers' eye NEW ORLKA. (AP) Satellite photographs show that Plaquemines Parish lost 31 sqije milen of land over the last 10 years Parish official will learn Thursdajust how endangered the rest may U. National Geode Survey researchers used global positioning nystem equipment to memre the height of the parish's evacuation route! Louisiana Highwaj 23 and 39 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer i -all v-: A 1 veyed flood protect levees on either Kide of Highw ay 23 Plaquemines is tli first coastal parish to get such a comprehensive survey, Parish Preside! Benny Rousselle said Wednesday, in an announcement of the meetinj It will help the parish manage evacuation routes, improve flood protean levees and restore its coast, he said. 2, "This is hard dataw they can build the levees high enough to support important infrastructire and (areasi where people live down there, Roy Dokka, head of Luisiana State University's Center for Geoinformatic.

Hr Tim lrana inH rr 1 1 1 r- rtmk said Wednesday. III. I 1 I txf POSITIVE IMAGE AWARDS were presented Tuesday by the Morgan City Mayor and Council to a pair of local Knights of Columbus councils for their leadership and support of the community. Mayor u. 10 1 recognized members from Sacred Heart KC Council 1373 and).

a Cross Counci 121 79 dur ing this week counci meeting. LSU, OSU team in dead zone battle 1 1 tn control ana more wiKiiu across the Mis sissippi basin, Dav said. Vr treatment plants across Iowa need exncnsiv xitrate-removal svs- lems 10 meet ieaerai gulden. "We're not mst nskinir thX tt of the Missis- sippi basin to do something us," Dav said "There's a generalized benefit. 'II illl BIIHIV asm.

1 iaquemins arm xases up a large mi 01 nir mKK-u Louisiana's Um, runing from just south of New Orleans, between Jefferson and St Bernard Irishes, out into the Gulf of Mexico. It is a lacework of myous, swamps and marshes in 190. land made up only one-qmrter its 2,571 square-mile area, according to the S. Geological Survy. Satellite photgrnh data indicates that the parish has lost 34 square miles of land btwen 1990 and 2000, USGS researcher John Barrass (pronounced BAJR jh) said Wednesday.

That's about a 55 percent loss, but the rate anuth higher in the southern part of the parish. From Port Suihur south. Barrass said, the Gulf of Mexico has claimed 27 square miles the showing in more than 9 percent. Geodetic Survt researchers used a truck-mounted GPS and stationary units to measure roadway's height, as they did early this year on La 1 and last month mJt. Charles Parish.

Dave Zilkoski, dputy director of the National Geodetic Survey, said his agency a branh of the National Ocennographic and Atmospheric Administration me to Pointe a la Hache fr the presentation He said he hopee.be figures, and more surveys in the future, will help ensure that Louisiias coastal restoration work is haw-d on the most up-to-date informatioijossible. "The National (flidetic Survey's intent is to provide one set of subsidence rates that eirybody believes in and trusts and has reliability," he said Wednesday What even nvr important than getting the figures to parish official is getting them computer modelers who work out the flood maps on which evacuation fins are based Mil'' 1 If II' 1 la- The current estimate is that a 5 million acres of wetlands and 19 of forev would be TO. ...1 1. U. .1 NEW ORLEANS (AP) Louisiana, a state working against time to keep its coast from sinking into the Gulf of Mexico, is looking to the Midwest for help with a related problem a seasonal "dead zone" in the Gulf.

The problem is that nitrogen-rich water from streams that empty into the Mississippi River feeds a population boom of one-celled organisms so many that when they die and decompose at the bottom, the process eats oxygen out of the water from the bottom up. That creates a dead zone in the Gulf that's usually 6,000 to 7,000 square miles, though tropical storms this year churned up the water and mixed oxygen back in, shrinking it to 3,300 square miles in July the annual measure-ment month. Wetlands and forests usually trap and use nitrogen and other nutrients carried off of fields in rainwater and turning a tiny fraction of Midwestern farmland back to marshes or swamps and returning forests to riversides and flood-plains could go a long way toward a dead zone solution, researchers say. Louisiana's coastal erosion 25 to 30 square nines a year is also inextruahiv ilea to the Mississippi River Flood emit nl levees throughout the basin keep the Mississippi's waters within its banks But without the mud Hoods leave behind the land sinks a bit every year, until it is underwater. Louisiana's coastal restoration program is paying $150,000 to have researchers at Ohio State and Louisiana State universities figure out how much new upriver wetlands are needed to cut back the dead zone, where they should go and how they should be set up.

If a wetland isn't the right size and in the right position, it won't he much help, said John Day, LSU's chief researcher. His counterpart at OSU is William Mitsch, who has created 30 acres of swamp and marsh on some university land north of he main campus. "Together, north and south, we can tackle his problem," Mitsch said. "Louisiana has a hypoxic dead zone that's due to runoff from farms throughout the Mississippi watershed A large restoration of wetland areas in the Midwest is the answer." It also would mean better ater, better flood iirrueu. i m- vteiouiu.i initio lane ''ypjj (lf current farmland in affected states, M.

"This is not an attempt to point liyrs a( fanners," he said "The upper Midwest an $S0 billion-a-year farm economy They't during food that feeds us all "We want to work with the farm to pnce programs that will allow them to their jo produce Jood in the most cost-efective and at the same time improve water calitv On the Net: Uu.edu http:8wamp.osu.edu lacoast gov' we're not the majorj.ors So we're learning as we go," he said On the Web ht Vww noaa gov, http Vw usg gov, http w-ww usare armvmil Lt. governor's race: Landrieu and which Republican? NEW ORLEANS (AP) Due to an unusu the things we did Wayne Parent, a political science professor hen I was heutenan gov ernor and ill do (, friendly to busmen. Bennett, who is rxiTutive director of the Young Leaders Academy of Baton ftxige. Mid his candidacy republican will attract young blatk voters who have less kyalty to tin- iVmotTBtic Party tlian the previous generation. He said he entered the race bet a use be has three children ursl the age of 5 and "I want them to build their futures here Bennett said his campaign is gaining momentum, and despite having less name rerttfuU'm tiiat Schwegmann and Hlloway.

he has tiie resources to compete "Our obj-tive is to be in second place on Ckt 4, he said. Landneu said it would be "miraculous" if he won without a runoff, due to the large lumber of candidates The other Republicans in the race are 2ick" Axikesheln, vice president of a New risk management company, yl Sdjorr. a Thihudau pharmacist, and iy Sullivan, a restaurant owner in New Ans and Memphis who has run unsuc-campaigns for the Louisiana House ation and tourism to the lieutenant governor's office. The office became synonymous ith efforts to build the state's Umnsm industry one of the few economic set-tors of the state that expanded during the lSy0t. Now, a common theme of the race is expanding the economic development role of the office U-yond tourism, either officially or unofficially.

Schwegmann, who has been in the House since 1 said she is running on her past record as lieutenant governor, bolstered by six vears on the House Committee on Health and Welfare. In addition to continuing to push for touixsm, the lieutenant governor has the flexibility to addnss other issues such as overall economic development, and the problems of senior citizens, children and the disabled, she said. Schwegmann said she would re-establish a task force in the lieutenant governor's office to address senior issues. "A lot of my opponents are talking about things they ant to do, she said. They were at Louisiana State University, said Landrieu beat the others to the punch by getting his support lined up early.

"He has the benefit of Ixang seen," Parent said. "He may well not win in the first election, though he might. He gives the impression of not only having the support of I k-moc-rats, but a lot of Republicans." The six Republicans will have problems gaining attention with the tiKht governor's race, Parent said. Likely, only Schwegmann, Holloway, and Kirt Bennett, a black Republican from Baton Rouge, stand a real chance of making a runoff, he said. At one time in Louisiana, the lieutenant governor, the first in line should the governor die or leave office before the end of his term, also was the presiding officer of the state Senate.

But when the state constitution was rewritten in 1973, the Senate began electing its own presiding officer, leaving the lieutenant governor with little to do. In the 1980s, Gov. Edwin Edwards switched the Department of Culture, Recre al lineup of candidates and some party-switching, the Oct. 4 primary for lieutenant governor may be on track to produce a runoff between Mitch Landrieu and one of his Republican opponents. Landrieu, the brother of U.S.

Sen. Mary Landrieu and son of former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu, abandoned his Louisiana House seat after four terms and became the only Democrat to file for the lieutenant governor's post. Among the Republicans seeking the post are state Rep. Melinda Schwegmann, who served one term as lieutenant governor before losing a race for governor in 1995, and former U.S. Rep.

Clyde Holloway, who lost his congressional seat to redistricting and has since run three unsuccessful bids for Congress and one for governor. Schwegmann switched from the Democratic Party in late June after top Democrats voiced their support for Landrieu. The office came open when Kathleen Blanco filed for the governor's race. Undneuaays be because he wanted if )Cuj on development through inc U)umm courting businesses else moving the state econon. deveiopnmt agency under the lieutenant The stale has to he more asvs)vt.

ting companies that are 1 mg, he said But you also will to within the state to come up Wlf plan We now have parishes against parishes for busim-ss" Holloway, who considered running ernor, said he decided to enter the UeuuLj governor's fray after talking with RepuhiL governor's candidate Jay Blossman and fin mg that the two agreed on how to approach economic development. The two are running on an informal ticket "We have to turn this economy around, Holloway said "If we donV well kae another congressional seat because of outmigration We have to have an environment that is Vmwoiuu seal ui ii-iuiramTv Vet school lab at LSU damaged, officials suspeciradicals research animals. The ransacked lab was under renovation but normally is used for inhalation and toxicology research, said Patricia Edwards, director of institutional advancement at the vet school. The lab is in a small, metal building behind the School of Veterinary Medicine. Other labs in the building were not vandalized, LSU Police Capt.

Ricky Adams said. The damage is estimated at several hundred thousand dollars, Adams said. Adams tial federal ry is invojv, and forw or vioence used. Edwards sa for mdl0. vascular and reta on fnvi.

ronmental toxins are Uy used the There werent t.nimtU in the Ub when it was fadh 1. being renovated JF Th1 inhaU. tion lab used by faculty gtaff and not students, Edwards said. BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Police and the FBI are trying to determine if an animal rights group vandalized a research laboratory at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

Construction workers discovered the damage early Wednesday. In an e-mail to Baton Rouge media outlets later in the day, a group claiming to be the Animal Liberation Front said it destroyed computers and splashed red paint inside the lab to stop the suffering of said equipment was demolished but declined to go into more details about the damage. The e-mail, purportedly from the Animal Liberation Front, claimed the lab was being used to subject animals to doses of cigarette smoke and industrial pollutants. "It should be clear that animals do not deserve to be tortured and die in this pointless research," the e-mail says. Adams said authorities are investigating the validity of the e-mail.

The Animal Liberation Front, which has a Canadian post office box address, is an organization whose members are anonymous. According to the group's Web site, ita mission is to carry out "direct action against animal abuse in the form of rescuing animals and causing financial toss to animal exploiters. Adams said the vandals left no messages inside the lab. FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne said the agency is involved "to rule out poten- Serial killer suspect Lee indicted in woman's killing in Stott LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) A grand jury here indicted serial killing suspect Derrick Todd Lee on a first-degree murder charge in the beating death of Trineisha Dene Colomb, one of six victims linked to a single killer by DNA evidence.

It is the second murder indictment against Lee. The first was returned earlier this year in Baton Rouge, where most of the murders allegedly linked to him by hid DNA sample occurred and where he is being held. Lee is scheduled to stand trial March 1 in Prosecutor Bill Babin said he intends to seek the death penalty in the case. "We all understand that this will be a lengthy prosecution that formally starts now," he said. Babin declined to comment on what evidence was presented to the grand jury in the Colomb case, citing the grand jury confidentiality rules.

Colomb, 23, was found dead in a wooded area in Scott in November 2002 after her car was found abandoned. Baton Rouge for first- degree murder in the beating and stabbing death of Charlotte Murray Pace. Lee pleaded innocent in the case. Prosecutors there say they plan to seek the death penalty and hope to include evidence from four other cases, including Colomb's, at the trial. "It's one step forward to hopefully bringing an end to all this one day," said Colomb's father, Sterling Colomb.

"I hope if anything it will show people you cant do this and get away with it." It is too early to say when Lee would stand trial in Lafayette. Also on Wednesday, prosecutors in nearby St. Martin Parish announced that they intend to file charges of attempted aggravated rape and attempted murder against Lee. Prosecutor Chester Cedars said his office intends to formally charge Lee within the next two weeks in connection with the July 2002 attack of a woman north of Breauz Bridge. Lee is accused of talking his way into the woman's home, brutally beatir jjer an(j then trying to rape her.

The womaj attacjj. er fled after one of her relatives arr ing the attack. Cedars said his office has been tjn with the other prosecutors involved iig case and that he met with Lafayette prt. cutors Wednesday during the grand ju. proceedings.

"I think everyone's objective ia the same, to work together so that victims and their families have their day in court," he said. Outside, review ordered for Corps water mm said. The outside reviews were recommended by a National Academy of Sciences panel commissioned by Congress in 2000 after a corps economist accused agency officials of doctoring a $54 million study of the upper Mississippi River navigation system to justify a $1 billion expansion of barge locks. On the Net: Information on the bill, H.R. 2557, can be found at http:thomas.ioc.gov Upper Mississippi River.

This is "the most environmentally friendly" water projects bill that Congress has produced, said Rep. John Duncan, chairman of House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on water resources and environment. The bill would reduce from 60 percent to 35 percent the nonfederal share of costa for deep draft, navigation projects between 45 feet and 53 feet. The House's 412-8 vote sends it to the Senate, which is putting together its own version. cut flooding by California's American River and $153 million to improve a shipping channel at Corpus Christi, Texas.

Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, the House Transportation Committee's senior Democrat, said the independent reviews of large-scale water projects "will help restore the confidence Congress has hng put in the Army Corps of Engineers, but has been shaken lately." The nation needs the corps. The corps also needs to be sure that its proposals withstand the strictest scrutiny," Oberstar The White House said in a statement it does not support the bill because of its costs and new funding formulas, saying it would delay completing more than $20 billion in backlogged corps project. These authorizations will create expectations for future funding that cannot be met given competing fiscal priorities including deficit reduction, the White House statement said. Among the projects are $719 million effort to reduce hurricane and storm damage in coastal Louisiana, $257 million to WASHINGTON (AP) The House on Wednesday put new reins on the Army Corps of Engineers in authorizing $4.7 billion in new water projects over the next 15 years.

For the first time, the agency would be required to submit its environment and cost-benefit studies on its projects for a review by outside experts. The requirement was inserted into an otherwise routine authorization bill after the corps was accused of doctoring data to justify a $1 billion expansion of barge locks on the.