Jindal awards $395,000 in grants to Tensas Parish posted Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 @ 8:33 am  E-mail Story |  Print Story  Gov. Bobby Jindal awarded five grants totaling $395,000 to Tensas Parish on Monday that will go towards hurricane recovery efforts, hazard mitigation and infrastructure improvements. Jindal awarded the funds to local officials in a ceremonial check presentation during a townhall meeting in St. Joseph as part of his "Louisiana Working Tour." The five grants awarded include a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) totaling $150,000, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding totaling $150,000 and three Community Water Enrichment Fund (CWEF) grants totaling $95,000. Jindal said, "After Gustav and Ike devastated so many communities last year, we made a commitment to help our people get back on their feet as quickly as possible. That's why we decided to cut through the red tape and give these funds directly to the parish so local officials can make their own decisions about how to rebuild and get prepared for future storms." The CWEF grants totaling $95,000 included one $35,000 grant each to the towns of Newellton and St. Joseph to purchase new equipment for their water systems, and a $25,000 grant to the Village of Waterproof to upgrade water lines and purchase billing software.