Posted on 08/24/2016 8:18:17 AM PDT by Terry L Smith
Amid the historic flooding many of the rescues in Acadiana, and across the state, are being credited to civilians.
They call themselves the "Cajun Navy."
The group started during Hurricane Katrina, when hundreds from Acadiana went to New Orleans with their boats to make rescues.
"Between us all, we took out quite a bit of people," said Doug Bienvenue, a member of the group.
Now the "Cajun Navy" is back, but the fleet is facing a few challenges.
Bienvenue is an original member of the fleet, so when GoFundMe accounts and t-shirt sales started popping up throughout flood relief under the "Cajun Navy" name, it didn't sit well with him.
"Cajun Navy does not sell anything like t-shirts," said Bienvenue. "We go out to help people, non-profit, from our hearts."
A Texas man tried to copyright the "Cajun Navy" brand, but couldn't. He said he had good intentions.
"Hoping to have a situation where I can help some of the flood victims," said the Texas man. "I have an employee who lives there in Greenwell Springs who lost everything."
And Louisiana State Senator Jonathan Perry is worried groups, like this one, need regulation and training.
"It's going to take some work, but it's very doable to eliminate the liability from the state and also put a cost," said Perry in an interview with KPEL Radio. "Even if it's at $25 or $50 training seminar where the person has some type of identification."
But Bievenue said what the group does has nothing to do with money or liability, it's simply saving lives.
"Nonprofit. That's what it's all about. It's about saving lives," said Bienvenue. "That's what it's about. We're not worried about what we have to go through, or how many hours we have to work."
Dear Freedom,
All these government buzzards want to do is move everybody back into the dying cities, where their utopian dreams of control can coagulate, and in the process become the web to which we are all stuck as flies, and they are the spiders.
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2016/08/24/gop-lawmaker-cajun-navy-get-permit-helping-flood-survivors/
.........................
These idiots have to get in the way and the one in the way is a Republican!!
....................
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – A local beloved rescue crew dubbed the “Cajun Navy” made up of citizen heroes who saved hundreds of residents during Louisiana’s unprecedented flooding disaster could soon find that in order to rescue neighbors, they will need a permit.
Louisiana State Senator Jonathan Perry (R) is working on legislation that could require Cajun Navy citizen saviors to obtain state-mandated training, certifications and even a permit before they rescue residents in the midst of crisis, according to WWL.
Perry said in a radio interview that there are two issues with law enforcement may soon to have with the ‘Cajun Navy,’ which is mostly a loose-band of Good Samaritans.
“At the end of the day, there are going to be two things that are going to be the hurdle when you approach it from the state’s standpoint,” said Perry. “Liability is going to be number one for them. They don’t want the liability of someone going out to rescue someone and then not being able to find them, and secondly, there’s a cost.”
Perry’s plan, according to him, is to de-regulate the ‘Cajun Navy’ by regulating it, with a waiver that citizen heroes would have to sign prior to going out and rescuing residents in times of crisis.
To Cajun Navy member Dustin Clouatre of St. Amant, Perry’s proposal doesn’t make much sense.
“How can you regulate people helping people,” Clouatre told WWL. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”
Perry released a Facebook video to clarify his proposal after he said it was being “twisted” by the media, saying the media was making it seem like he was trying to regulate the ‘Cajun Navy.’
“The intent of what I want to do is to completely unregulate it, to where our volunteers are not stopped from going out,” Perry said in the video.
“It is basically to remove any restrictions and allow people to get to our citizens quicker.”
Perry said that if members of the Cajun Navy continue on without his legislation, they will be stopped by law enforcement officials from rescuing residents past police barricades. Breitbart Texas’ initial report on the group found that each rescue vessel carries a local first responder—typically a sheriff’s deputy—aboard for the purposes of maintaining clear lines of authority and communication with officials.
Under current state law, citizens who cross police perimeters are breaking the law and could face punishment.
Nonetheless, Clouatre told WWL that it was the Cajun Navy who often knew the areas of flooding better than law enforcement because they often come from other jurisdictions to help with rescue efforts.
http://www.wafb.com/story/32835029/cajun-army-emerges-provides-free-help-to-flood-victims
..................
Cajun army form nearyb states 3,000 strong already
!!!
..................
A new group called the Cajun Army is hitting the streets across South Louisiana, helping people with recovery efforts.
MORE
2016 Historic Flooding
Similar to the Cajun Navy, who provided countless water rescues when flood waters were at their highest, the group offers a ‘more boots on the ground’ approach to help those in need.
Suzanne Foret recently enlisted and joined fellow soldiers to gut a home on Lake Avenue in Baton Rouge.
“It feels really good to get out there and help each other and help out other people and get this situation handled,” Foret said. “We’re taking care of each other. Louisiana takes care of each other and that’s what we’re doing.”
Volunteers are not just coming from Louisiana. The group started a week ago under the command of Chris King and two of his friends. Now thanks to social media and a walkie-talkie phone app, the force is now about 3,000 volunteers strong from all over the country.
“We’ve got people in Wisconsin, Texas, Mississippi, and Florida,” King said. “We got all kind of people that are connected with us working behind the scenes from computers.”
King said he never expected the group to catch on the way it has, but said it is a blessing to be a blessing to others.
“The three of us that kind of kicked this thing off we look at each other going ‘what in the world did we start?’ But it’s something special,” King added.
Despite the explosion of recruits, the group is a well-oiled machine, with some crews deployed in homes and others delivering supplies and even food.
Raejean Tubre said she was actually helped by the group. It is something that encouraged her to sign up.
“Once I saw how awesome it was to be helped, I immediately went and offered my own time,” she said.
Volunteers are working long days, but no one is getting paid. In fact, the group is not even asking for money. They say what is most needed is more people to get involved.
“The need is out there and we just need people,” Tubre said.
While there is no salute or uniform, the army is just ordinary people looking to do some extraordinary work.
Click here to volunteer with the Cajun Army or register for help from the group.
dear rodguy,
methinks Perry wants his $50.00, and there is not much to stand in his way!
The Louisiana leges are the worst bunch of spend-and-tax thieves I have ever seen, and i’ve seen ‘em in NY, OR, CA and DE.
Citizens of LA need to kick this guy out and soon let him know hes dead wrong about the Cajun Navy.
dear rodguy,
The good folks of Lafayette have to wait until the next election, but I am sure his name is on their minds.
A recall would be great. But when you think about it the people who could get behind it are out re-building homes (cajun army) or saving lives using their boats(cajun navy).Maybe later.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.