VIDALIA, La. &045; Government officials in Concordia Parish want to know if you have evacuees staying in your house.

Officials from Ferriday, Vidalia and the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office are trying to compile a list of evacuees staying with friends or family in Concordia Parish.

&uot;We still need to get a handle on how many evacuees are in private homes,&uot; Sheriff Randy Maxwell said.

The list, one of a number of issues discussed by the group of local governmental, business and religious leaders at a Tuesday meeting, will help the Federal Emergency Management Agency assess the parish’s needs.

People housing evacuees are urged to contact their city hall (318-337-5206 in Vidalia and 318-757-3411 in Ferriday) or the sheriff’s office (318-336-5231) if they live outside Vidalia or Ferriday with their name, address, telephone number and number of people living with them.

Concordia Parish Civil Defense Director Morris White said the situation in the parish had improved dramatically since the group’s first meeting Thursday.

He said national relief groups have begun making their way to Concordia Parish and other areas after concentrating their early efforts on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

&uot;When the hurricane hit, all parishes north of us were sucked in like a vacuum,&uot; White said. &uot;It took a little while for them to get back up to us and help.&uot;

The three shelters being operated in Concordia Parish &045; the Community Center, First Baptist Church, Ferriday and First Baptist Church, Vidalia &045; have a total of 244 people. White said he is saving the small amount of extra space available in them for evacuees who may have to move out of overcrowded houses.

The committee also decided the parish needs one person to be in charge of coordinating information and making sure different entities are working in concert to help evacuees.

&uot;All of us have to begin to focus on what’s next,&uot; Delta Bank President Cliff Merritt said. &uot;We need someone to emerge as a central location for information clearing.&uot;

Ferriday Mayor Gene Allen said his town has worked to get evacuees housing, including waiving utility hookup fees and contacting owners of vacant houses about the possibility of using those buildings.

&uot;We’re trying to get people placed,&uot; Allen said. &uot;We’ve contacted the owner of every vacant house in town and we’ve placed a lot of people in these vacant homes.&uot;

Allen said a survery by the town indicated there are about 3,000 evacuees staying with family and friends.

With help from the sheriff’s office, Ferriday has prepared the old elementary school on Florida Avenue for possible use by FEMA or other agencies, Allen said.

Other

issues:

FEMA officials are looking at two sites in Concordia Parish to set up a local office, something White said should happen within the next week.

Concordia Libraries Director Amanda Taylor said her staff has increased its hours to allow evacuees to use computers to check on their home areas and begin the FEMA application process.

The Doty Road Center will have a preschool for children of evacuees, CPSO’s Sandy Burget said.