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After communicating with Parish President Richard “Ned” Thomas Jr., State Rep. Malinda White, State Sen. Beth Mizell, State Rep. Larry Frieman, Bogalusa Mayor Wendy Perrette and the Washington Parish Council, several drop-off locations have been identified to allow Washington Parish to come to the aid of its neighbors in southwest Louisiana who have been impacted by Hurricane Laura.

The tragedy of Hurricane Laura has left fellow Louisianans in great need of certain items of importance. Those items include bottled water, snack foods (i.e., breakfast bars), mops, brooms, one-gallon pump sprayers, bleach, five-gallon buckets, rags, brushes for cleaning, soap, rubber gloves, hand sanitizer, Lysol or Pine Sol, roof tarps and garbage bags.

Due to the essential need of especially these items, and the limited space in the transportation of such, it is important to focus on these needs and not bring items such as clothes.

The above items can be dropped off beginning Wednesday, Sept. 2, and continuing through Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the following locations:

• Washington Parish OEP (behind Moore and Jenkins Insurance), 803 Pearl St. in Franklinton, from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. except Saturday and Sunday.
• Bogalusa Fire Department Central Station (next to Bogalusa City Hall), 200 Arkansas Ave. in Bogalusa, 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.
• Our Lady of the Angels Hospital, 433 Plaza St. in Bogalusa, 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. except Saturday and Sunday.
• Franklinton Fire Department, 415 11th Ave. in Franklinton, 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.
• Storehouse Church, 9850 Ellis St. in Franklinton, seven days a week after 3 p.m.

The Washington Parish Government and President Thomas appreciate the support from Our Lady of the Angels Hospital, Franklinton Fire Department, and the Bogalusa Fire Department, and invite any other church organizations, local businesses or groups who would like to participate in the drive to contact the local Washington Parish Homeland Security Office at 985-839-0434 or Parish Government human resources at 985-335-1304, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.