Last year’s Gustav debris

Remember Hurricane Gustav, that unwelcome guest that blew through town and knocked down thousands of trees and left us powerless for weeks?

A new hurricane season is upon us, yet there still are pockets of Gustav debris. Who’s responsible for the stuff, and what’s their story? We tracked down a few property owners to try and get some answers.

Dangerous pole position: Home renovation contractor Tom Strait was sick and tired of driving past this perilously leaning power pole (pictured) at the intersection of N. Acadian Thruway and Fairfields Avenue east of downtown. “I called the Mayor’s office for a month, on almost every weekday,” Strait said. “They even hung up on me once.” Same story for the utility companies, the Baton Rouge Police Department and the Department of Public Works. Only after 225 magazine also called for answers did the pole finally come down in April.

Cracked Mac attack: Gustav did a number on several golden arches around the city, so we asked McDonalds’ man about town Charlie Valluzzo, who owns most of them, to explain. “The original supplier for the manufacturing of the signs went bankrupt,” he says. “We basically had to go back to square one. We had to find a new supplier, bring in another engineer and pinpoint each sign (in need of) repairs.” The signs will be replaced by summer.

Essen Square repair: Owner Roy Bell says he intends to re-paint the façade of his Essen Lane strip center by summer. “As for the sign, I’m going to dress it up and re-paint it too,” Bell says. Improvements to the center are set for completion this summer.

Drusilla mystery: Several businesses people at the landmark shopping center grumbled privately about how long it took Gary Lewis Properties to fix signs broken by Gustav. The center’s sign was finally repaired in May. We contacted the company to ask why it took so long, but an employee refused to explain the delay.