This past Thursday I had the honor of joining several of our civic and community leaders to cut the ribbon on the Just for Kids Dental Clinic. This private company located in the Delmont Village Shopping Center will be providing free dental services for children in the community!

L to R: Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, Rep. Regina Barrow, Councilwoman Tara Wicker, School Board Member Jill Dyason, Councilman Mike Walker, Dr. Levy, Councilwoman Denise Marcelle, Rep. Pat Smith, Assistant CAO of Baton Rouge Irma Plummer and School Board Member Darryl Robertson.

This morning I joined Mayor-President Kip Holden and others to break ground on the 13th Green Light Plan project — the Picardy Ave. extension. Although this project is only 1/2 mile long, it is vital to helping alleviate the traffic woes here in Baton Rouge.

When this project is completed, you will be able to drive on Picardy Ave. from Bluebonnet to Essen — a vital link connecting Our Lady of the Lake and Baton Rouge General. Additionally, the new road will have a two-lane curb and gutter with subsurface drainage, as well as sidewalks for those living in neighboring subdivisions.

You can see a picture from the groundbreaking as well as a map of the proposed roadway below.

The following is an important scam alert from the St. George Fire Protection District PIO:

I’ve been notified by the president of the St. George Professional Firefighters Association that someone or group of persons is making telephone solicitations supposedly on behalf of the firefighters of East Baton Rouge Parish. Neither St. George nor the Baton Rouge Fire Department solicits funds by telephone. The employee organizations of both departments raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in their annual Shake the Boot for MDA campaigns, however, they do not do so on the telephone. Should you receive such a call and can ID the caller, please call the police with that information.

Folks if you receive a call from anyone soliciting donations on behalf of the firefighters in East Baton Rouge DO NOT give out any personal information. And if you can identify the number from which they called, write it down and immediately contact the Baton Rouge Police or East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. Numbers for both are below:

Police Department: 389-3800
Sheriff’s Office: 389-5000

Today we broke ground on the 12th Green Light Plan project right here in Southeast Baton Rouge. This project will widen Jones Creek Rd., between Coursey Blvd. and S. Harrell’s Ferry Rd., to four-lanes with a raised median and sidewalks. It will also replace the bridge over Jones Creek.

This is fantastic news for the residents in Southeast Baton Rouge who drive this road everyday, and I was privileged to be a part of the team that helped move this project forward.

You can see a picture from today’s event as well as a map of the roadway below.

This morning I was privileged to join Mayor-President Kip Holden, Councilman Smokie Bourgeois and others to break ground on the eleventh Green Light Plan project. This project is very unique in that it combines two much-needed projects into one. Not only will it extend Essen/Staring Lane from Highland Rd. directly to Burbank Dr., but it will also tremendously improve sewer capacity in that area with a new force main.

By combining the two projects, we’re not only able to upgrade our sewer capacity and get traffic FLOWING, but we’re also able to save taxpayer money by completing both jobs simultaneously. You elected us to do a job, and we’re going to make sure we can do that job as efficiently as possible!

You can see a map of the new roadway below.

This afternoon Mayor-President Kip Holden kicked off his “2009 Listening Tour” at St. Thomas More Church in District 8. And what an amazing turnout we had! I want to thank everyone for taking the time out of their day to share with us their thoughts, concerns and suggestions for how we can make East Baton Rouge even better. If you were unable to attend the town hall meeting today, but have something you would like to share please don’t hesitate to email me at mike@mikewalker.net or call your Council district office at 272-9088.

Mayor-President Kip Holden and members of his staff will be in our area to hear your thoughts and concerns for how we can make our community better. I invite you to join us this Wednesday, February 4th at 4pm at St. Thomas More Church and have your voice heard! A map to St. Thomas More Church, located at 11441 Goodwood Blvd., is provided below: