Parish dodged a bullet from storm; COVID-19 testing postponed
By UPDATED MONDAY JUNE 8,- 755 reads
Monday morning, Washington Parish President Richard Thomas said he was relieved. "We dodged the bullet once again," he said.
"Tropical Storm Cristobal produced wind and rain, but not what was originally forecast for Washington Parish," he said. Thomas and other parish officials monitored the storm throughout the weekend, and he said there was plenty of relief when the storm turned out to be so much less than predicted. Thomas said Washington Parish received about 3 inches of rain, very few power outages, and no damage was reported.
"Our local rivers are still forecasted to rise but we do not expect any major impacts from these rises," he said. "As of 8 o’clock this morning (Monday) the Bogue Chitto at Franklinton was at 2.5 feet. The river is expected to rise to a crest of 9.0 feet early Wednesday morning. The Pearl River was at 11.0 feet. The river is expected to rise above flood stage Wednesday morning to a crest of 14.0 feet. It will then fall below flood stage late Thursday evening."
Thomas noted that the public work crews were prepared for damage and flooding. "It turned out to be a trial run as to what the wind and rain can do," he said. "Five trees were reported down on roadways in the parish and our crews were able to remove them in a timely manner, keeping the citizens of Washington Parish safe."
Thomas concluded, "While the forecast from the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center indicated greater impacts for our area, I am thankful that they were minimal. However, I urge every citizen to remain vigilant and not let your guard down, because this hurricane season is forecasted to be 60% above normal."
COVID-19 TESTING POSTPONED
COVID-19 testing that was scheduled for the week of June 8-13 has been postponed until the following week. Varnado testing has been moved to June 18; Pine testing has been moved to June 19; Angie testing has been moved to June 25; and Mount Hermon testing has been moved to June 26. But the locations and times will remain the same