Volunteers assist with vaccine scheduling at Donaldsonville City Hall

In an effort to assist those in need, City of Donaldsonville employees and several volunteers worked together to host a COVID-19 vaccine scheduling event Feb. 20 at City Hall.

Donaldsonville Mayor Leroy Sullivan, Community and Economic Development Director Lee Melancon, and volunteers held a virtual meeting earlier in the week to workshop ideas.

Volunteer Wanda August said the process of signing up for a vaccination appointment is intimidating to some. 

Especially considering smaller cities and towns do not have access to mass vaccination sites yet, eligible vaccine seekers face a labyrinth of questions when registering online.

Officials have suggested such sites, as seen in large cities across the country, could be set up in central, easily accessed locations like the Lemann Memorial Center in Donaldsonville and the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales.

Melancon said the goal was to reach out to everyone in the community, including Spanish speakers. The city released information on its website and social media accounts in both English and Spanish.

In a social media post, the city extended thanks to all of the volunteers, which included Kim Brown, Jannet Fuentes, Rachnelle Green, Shirley Grimes, Tanisha Mitchell, and Tre Skidmore.

In another matter:

-- Speaking during his Feb. 18 Facebook Live program, Sullivan said the city’s residents were “very fortunate” to fare well with the winter storm that brought freezing temperatures and ice to south Louisiana.

He reported some pipe breaks and lower water pressure. The parish-run water system did not lose pressure, and no boil-water advisories were needed.

Sullivan credited state Rep. Ken Brass, state Sen. Ed Price, and the state Department of Transportation and Development for communicating road and bridge updates throughout the weather event.

“We want to thank them for being there for us and making sure we had the best information to assist our community,” the mayor said.