FERRIDAY &8212; With many focused on the damage to New Orleans, U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu assured a Concordia Parish crowd Thursday that northern Louisiana has not been forgotten.

Landrieu was in town to talk about tax breaks for rural businesses and answer questions at Concordia Parish Community Center.

&8220;We have not forgotten northeast Louisiana,&8221; Landrieu said. &8220;We have had to focus our effort on southern Louisiana to get things settled.&8221;

When hurricanes washed south Louisiana residents from their homes, they impacted the rest of the state, putting stress on communities, even those as far north as Ferriday and Vidalia, she said. Many of these residents went to stay with family.

&8220;Everybody got a little close this year,&8221; Landrieu said.

The goal was to get residents back to their homes eventually, she said.

&8220;As we do that, we&8217;ve got to stay focused on rural Louisiana,&8221; she said. &8220;HUD has to realize we have to get grants to help the areas impacted,&8221; including those who absorbed new residents.

Landrieu said she realized rural areas, not just coastal communities, had challenges to face, like bringing in businesses and the upkeep of the infrastructure.

She laid out plans to get more money for the state, such as recovering money she said the federal government owed in the past for off-shore drilling and trying to expand Louisiana&8217;s Gulf Coast opportunity zone, areas that may get federal assistance because they were affected by Hurricane Katrina.

&8220;We have a lot of things to be proud of, but we don&8217;t want to gloss over the problems,&8221; she said.