Entry 4: Jordan Butler

We got back from our first visit to NORCO today. The initial reaction was that this town is very different from even New Orleans. As you get off the interstate and onto the highway, you pass an area that looks like one massive refinery, but the signs around say that it is for Shell, Valero, and Air Liquide. The smog in the air is pretty noticeable and a few of my teammates feel a shortness of breath when we first step out of the car.

Our first stop is a sub shop/convenience store. We begin talking to one of the employees, Rose. We ask her what it is like to live around the refineries and her immediate answer, "shitty". Her sister has recently died of cancer and her family, who have lived here all their lives, have had problems with respiratory diseases, as well as cancer. She talked to us about how the neighborhood is full of "good kids", but the cops seem to be looking for whatever reason to arrest you. Her son and daughter are both in jail now as the result of a citywide police raid, that arrested "60-90 people". She told us that this is almost a yearly event.

Rose also talked about the chemical plants as an everyday aspect of life. She complained how the plant will fire its furnaces at 2am when they "think everyone is asleep. Her and several other residents have complained to the plant, but with little effect. One good thing she did have to say about the plants, was that Shell helps out a bunch with the schools in the area. They buy books, supplies, and sports equipment.

Our next stop brought Emily and I to one of the local bars. There we met three guys who were willing to talk to us. Robbie, Jason and Kenny, were initially very hesitant to talk to us. We introduced ourselves as Tulane students, looking for some help with our project on NORCO. Robbie's immediate reaction was that he was afraid we were trying to bash the plants. He informed us that anyone that works at the refineries keeps pretty tight lips about the plant.

Jason has been working at the refinery for 10 years now and he was working during one of the two plant explosions that Shell has gone through. He said that the sound and light from the explosion could be heard and seen all the way in New Orleans (approx. 1/2 hr away). We asked Jason what their relationship with the minorities of NORCO was like. He said that there was hardly any of them left. After the refineries bought up all the housing in the Diamond Neighborhood, most of them left. He said "and those that didn't leave keep the house to 'cook' their money", referring to crystal meth labs.

All three of the guys mentioned that the cops harass the citizenry quite a bit. They knew all about the police raid this past year. They told us the police called it "Operation Sleighride", and that closer to 30 people were locked up for a variety of crimes the police had been documenting for months. Jason told us that for the most part, the crime problem in NORCO is the result of the younger generation acting stupid towards the cops.