Rediscover Claiborne Parish: A Tourist Destination
Chamber banquet a huge success
The Guardian-Journal photo/K.H. Hightower
2008 Claiborne Chamber of Commerce board members are, from left,
Wesley Emerson, Chic Hines, Gurvis Vines, J. T. Taylor, Stephen Lewis, Cynthia
Steele, Kelly Waller, Patricia McMullan, Beverlee Killgore, Benji Winn, Nicole
Sanders, Travis Tinsley, John Wesley Cooper Jr., Steve Koskie, and John Watson,
chamber director. Not pictured are J.R. Oakes, Fred Lewis, and O.P. Pearson.
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The Claiborne Chamber of Commerce Banquet was a huge
success complete with good food and an outstanding speaker.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal gave a short speech that
seemed to be motivating and high-spirited. He spoke about issues that will
bring Louisiana into the spotlight, especially in the northern region of Louisiana.
He said that Louisiana’s greatest export is the state’s
young people. Louisiana is losing its youth to other states.
“That must end,” he said. “Our sons and daughters must
stay. If we want to keep our young people at home, there are three important
steps we must take.”
He went through his three point plan, including fighting
corruption and incompetence in the state, providing the education needed to
keep them here and taking care of the companies already in Louisiana.
The state needs more course training to meet the needs of
the employers in Louisiana, he said. Statistics show that in Louisiana, only 20
percent of its youth receive technical or community college training. An even
smaller percentage of the state’s youth go to a four-year university.
“Let’s face it,” Jindal said, “not all of our kids are
going to go to college.”
One of his goals is to up the stakes on competitive
course training and one way he’s doing that is providing the first $50 million
of the state’s surplus to the improvements needed to bring Cyber Command to
Barksdale Air Force Base.
In fact, when he was in Washington Monday, he spoke with
top officials there about bringing Cyber Command to Barksdale Air Force Base
and making it permanent in Louisiana.
This command center is expected to bring approximately
10,000 civilian jobs to the region – high tech, good paying jobs, he said.
He said all the colleges and universities in Louisiana are stepping up to the plate and offering the courses needed to train people to
make sure that Cyber Command comes to Louisiana.
He talked about many other things, including ending
corruption and incompetence, disclosure of finances for elected officials and Louisiana’s economy.
Jindal recognized all local and state elected officials
and highly praised Claiborne Academy’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
for the wonderful service they provided for everyone.
The governor was presented with a gift basket of coconut
macaroons from the Sunshine Bakery in Homer and peanut brittle from ?? in
Haynesville.
After Jindal’s speech, outgoing Chamber President J.T.
Taylor recognized the local and state officials, and the area Chambers of
Commerce present.
Taylor and Executive Director John Watson highlighted
many of the accomplishments reached during 2007, including completing the turn
lanes on Hwy. 79 in Homer, and many other accomplishments. Nine new chamber
members were added in 2007.
The officers and directors for 2008 include President
Steve Koskie, Vice-President J.T. Taylor, Secretary Nicole Sanders, Treasurer
Patricia McMullen, J.R. Oakes, Fred Lewis, Cynthia Steele, Travis Tinsley,
Wesley Emerson, O.P. “Pete” Pearson, Benji Winn, Beverlee Killgore, Gurvis
Vines, John Wesley Cooper Jr., Kelly Waller, Chic Hines and Stephen Lewis.
A special thanks was given to David Wade Correctional
Center for providing the backdrop for the stage; the Town of Haynesville for
the use of the Claiborne Parish Fair Complex and their assistance in preparing
for the chamber banquet; Haynesville High School students for helping set up
tables and chairs; Haynesville Police Chief Anthony Smith and the Town of
Haynesville for providing security and parking assistance; and Claiborne Parish
Sheriff Ken Bailey and the sheriff’s department.
The 2008 Diamond sponsors for this year include Emerson
Oil Company, Citizens Bank and Trust; Procell Dental Clinic; Gibsland Bank and
Trust; First Guaranty Bank; E. Stuart Butler; Tinsley Inc., and John Wesley
Cooper.
Platinum sponsors included Claiborne Electric Cooperative
Inc., R&V Works, Rose-Neath Funeral Home, Killgore’s Pharmacy, Capital One
Bank, Kilpatrick Life Insurance Company and Colvin, Weaver and Cerniglia LLC.
Gold sponsors included Claiborne Insurance Inc.,
Representative Rick Gallot, Barnette & Benefield, the Town of Arcadia, Lynn’s Flowers and Gifts, Entergy, David Raines Community Health Center, Inc.,
and Steven J. Koskie, CPA.
Silver sponsors included Thomas Auto Care & A Steel
Magnolia; Dr. Sam Abshire; I-69 Coalition, Northwest Louisiana Economic
Development Foundation, and Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Minden.
Bronze sponsors included Northeast Properties,
Advertising Unlimited, Winn Surveying & Engineering, LLC, Farm Bureau Insurance,
Regions Bank, Clyde C. Hightower, Stillwater Enterprises, LLC, O’Neal Gas,
Inc., Presbyterian Village, Stephen Lewis, Synco Motors, Inc., Joe Richardson
and Stallion Heavy Haulers.
State troopers provide security for
Jindal
Submitted photo
Louisiana State Troopers provided security for Governor
Bobby Jindal at the 2008 Claiborne Chamber Banquet. Jindal stopped a moment for
these troopers before leaving to return to Baton Rouge. Pictured are Trooper
Rusty Taylor, Trooper Michael Allen, Jindal, and Trooper Doug Pike.
Brown resigns from school board
The Guardian-Journal
The Claiborne Parish School Board accepted the
resignation of Sherman Brown in a special meeting Tuesday night.
A.D. Williams, pictured above being sworn in, will take
his place as interim District 4 School Board member until a special election
can be called.
Williams will fill the vacancy left by Brown, who was to
serve another term ending December 31, 2010. Williams will serve as interim
board member until the special primary election can be held, slated for
Saturday, October 4. On November 4, a special general election will be held,
with qualifying dates to be held beginning July 9-11.
Brown took office as Haynesville’s interim mayor on
Monday, January 21, in the wake of H.U. “Mutt” Slaid’s death.
Early voting ends this Saturday
Early voting ends this Saturday, February 2. Voting times
will be from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. each day.
This is a closed party election, which means residents of
Homer must be registered as Republican or Democrat. If not registered as one or
the other, those residents will not be able to vote.
The presidential nominees for the Democrats include:
Hillary Clinton; Christopher J. Dodd; Kennis J. Kucinich; Barak Obama and
William “Bill” Richardson.
The presidential nominees for the Republicans include:
Jerry Curry; Daniel Gilbert; “Mike” Huckabee; Duncan Hunter; Alan Keyes; John
McCain; Ron Paul; Mitt Romney; “Tom” Tancredo; and Fred Thompson.
In Haynesville, residents do not have to be registered as
one party or the other. Haynesville residents will be able to vote.
On the ballot for February 9 is a special election for
those in Haynesville to choose a nominee for District 4 Council member. Those
nominees include Brian Bogle, no party, #342 on the ballot; Alfred Buggs,
Democrat, #343 on the ballot; and “Jeff” Willis, Republican, #344 on the
ballot.
For those who are running for office, please remember
that no nominee on the ballot may campaign within 600 feet of the entrance to a
polling place on Election Day or during early voting. Nominees cannot offer,
promise, solicit or accept money or anything of present or future value to
obtain or influence a vote or registration. They cannot intimidate any voter
concerning voting or registration; vote or attempt to vote more than once;
disobey election officials or interfere with elections equipment.
All voters must be able to produce valid photo
identification or sign an identification affidavit before voting. Voters may
use a driver’s license, special Louisiana identification card or other form of
photo identification containing the name, address and signature of the voter.
For questions or more information, please call the
Registrar of Voter’s Office at 318-927-3332.
Parish officials learn benefits of GIS
mapping
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
Claiborne Parish is moving forward mapping the parish
with the most current information available.
Greg Thompson, president of Geographic Computer
Technologies, LLC, (GCT) taught a seminar to local parish authorities about the
importance and benefits of current aerial photographs of the parish and its
municipalities. Several were in attendance including representatives of the
Claiborne Parish Tax Assessor’s Office, Claiborne 911, the Claiborne Parish
Sheriff’s Office, the Claiborne Parish Police Jury, LSU Agcenter, Homeland
Security and others. Also, John Stanley, director of Homeland Security in
Webster Parish attended.
The entity to benefit the most from the program, Thompson
said, will be the Tax Assessor’s Office, because the photos would allow more
accurate mapping for properties owned in the parish. The tax assessor’s office
would have access to what’s called a parcel map, which is a map highlighting
property lines in the parish.
Kelly Waller, deputy tax assessor, agreed.
“We have a place in Homer, five trailers in a trailer
park, that all have the same address,” he said. “Another problem is spelling of
addresses.”
Patricia Sanders, with the Registrar of Voters Office,
said spelling is a huge problem because the spelling of the street names has to
be exactly right. The address itself might be right, she said, but people spell
it different ways and there needs to be one universal spelling for each street
name.
This type of mapping would solve many of these types of
problems, Thompson said. It’s not 100 percent accurate, but at least 98 percent
would be solved by using this topographical mapping.
GCT will take aerial photographs of the entire parish and
set up a mapping system in which the parish can update on its own or be updated
by the company.
GCT builds the data and builds the website that allows
parish officials to use it.
This is how it works. The mapping system builds
“blueprints” of what the user needs. For example, if someone needs to know
where all the water systems are in the parish, the user would be able to enter
that information into the software, and it will highlight (on top of the
photographs) all the water systems in the parish.
The user will be able to zoom in or out, depending on how
close he/she needs to see. The photographs will be clear enough to see inside
the back end of a pick up truck as opposed to just seeing a fuzzy square in the
picture.
“The photograph itself is good to have to use in some
instances, but really the main use for having this photograph is to start
creating information on top of it,” Thompson said, “like your buildings, your
roads – your jurisdiction.”
Thompson went through Webster Parish’s mapping system and
showed what they had done. All the water/sewer lines in the city limits of Minden were shown. All the buildings and their addresses could be shown – manholes,
streets and street names – just about any information one could ask for. All of
this information is overlaying the aerial photograph.
Other information the photographs are good for is mapping
out railroads and other systems that need to be mapped, he said.
Users can also get topographical information like ground
contours, levels of ground, and even floodplain information. Dwayne Woodard,
secretary/treasurer of the Claiborne Parish Police Jury, said that information
is very important to the parish because there are areas in the parish, besides Lake Claiborne, that have flood areas.
“We have a lot more floodplain issues than people
realize,” Woodard said. “Between Corney and Claiborne, most people just think
of the lake, but they don’t think about all these offshoots out there. So, when
spring comes and [water] gets high, they’ll say, ‘Well, I’m flooded now,’ and
didn’t get a floodplain permit and their insurance didn’t cover it.”
Setting up the parish to use this system is not going to
be an overnight process, Thompson said. It will take two to three weeks to get
everything set up and teach people how to use the program and the mapping
system itself.
For more information on the GIS system or for questions,
call Scott Greeson, Claiborne 911 director, at 318-927-9400.
Downed trees block several roads Tuesday
The Guardian-Journal photos/Michelle
Bates
This downed tree was called into the
Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office Tuesday afternoon. Had crews and the State
Department of Transportation not acted quickly, traffic could have been backed
up for quite some time. The area was dangerous as the tree fell into a valley
between two hills on Hwy. 520 just north of Homer.
The Guardian-Journal
Claiborne
Parish Sheriff’s deputies were busy chasing downed trees around the parish
Tuesday afternoon as winds blew strong at 20 miles per hour, with gusts as high
as 30-40 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service’s website.
Trees
were also reported down on Friendship Road in Homer, Isaac Road off Hwy. 9,
south of Homer, on Hwy. 520, north of Homer, and White Oak Road just outside of
Homer. State Department of Transportation crews came with chainsaws in hand to
open the roads back up as quickly as possible.
Winds
were expected to die down with Wednesday’s weather looking a bit calmer.
Forecasts predict weather to be sunny with a high near 52. A northeast wind 5
to 10 miles per hour will be coming southeast. A 20 percent chance of rain is
predicted after midnight, with a low of about 38.
Winds
could pick up again Thursday with a 70 percent chance of showers and possible
thunderstorms. Wind gusts could get as high as 20 miles per hour. Thursday
night is expected to be partly cloudy with a low around 35.
All weather information was obtained through the National
Weather Service’s website at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/shv/.
Chamber president lists 2007
accomplishments
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The Homer Lions Club had a very special guest speaker
this past Thursday.
The club welcomed Claiborne Chamber of Commerce President
J.T. Taylor, who highlighted many of the accomplishments made during 2007.
Among those highlights was the hard work to complete the
turn lanes on Hwy. 79 in Homer and the I-69 initiative. Taylor and others
worked tirelessly with state and local officials to see the completion of the
turn lanes as well as getting things done with the Homer Bypass.
“I’m proud to say we did it,” he said. “It (turning
lanes) started off in the federal safety program, but we had to go back to the
drawing board when Wal-Mart left. To make a long story short, we did out of the
state’s surplus fund.”
Many others were involved in getting the turn lanes done,
he said.
Regarding the Homer Bypass, it could be August of this
year before a contract has gone through to begin construction.
Louisiana Hwy. 2 is also being overlaid.
“Four years ago, when I was elected to be president, I
was real hesitant, but I had some goals that I’d like to see done in Claiborne
Parish,” he said.
One thing he did was to combine the Homer and Haynesville
Chambers into one, now called the Claiborne Chamber of Commerce.
He set other goals as well, including lobbying to bring
the I-69 route through Claiborne Parish. He has also worked closely with
elected officials and other chambers, and spent time promoting the film industry
within the parish.
During his four year term as chamber president, Taylor has spent much time in the political world, pushing and promoting Claiborne Parish.
As a result of his promotions, he caught the attention of Governor Bobby
Jindal.
He was even invited to Jindal’s inauguration, which he
said was a very “festive” experience.
“When I say it was a festival, it was a festival,” he
said. “They had all kinds of different Louisiana foods and music. I’ve never
seen so much excitement. These people were just so excited about what was going
on about the future of Louisiana.”
He was also named to Jindal’s workforce advisory council
on economic growth. Taylor received a certificate certifying that he was
nominated on the small business advisory committee.
“Members of the Small Business Advisory Committee support
efforts to cut government bureaucracy, eliminate red tape delays, and remove
regulatory burdens that hinder small business growth in the State of Louisiana,” the certificate says.
Taylor is one of many from
across the state on this committee to help promote and change economic growth
in Louisiana.
Steve Koskie is taking his place as 2008’s chamber
president.
Vendors sought for Arts Festival in
Minden
Arts and Craft vendors are being sought for the upcoming
14th annual Spring Arts Festival to be held in Minden at the Moess Center for the Arts & City Farm.
The April 23-26 festival is sponsored by Cultural
Crossroads and will include a one day only exhibit for artisans on Saturday,
April 26th. Arts and Craft vendors will be allowed to set up on the four acre
festival site and show and sell their wares from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The cost of the booth space is $20 for the day. No commissions will be collected,
however, sales tax will be collected on items sold at the festival.
Anyone interested in booth space are asked to contact
A&C chairman, Nan Jones at 377-8350 or 364-6336.
“Artisans will enjoy the rustic and landscaped grounds
that make this festival small, quaint and highly desirable to artists who
appreciate nature and the outdoors,” said Jones.
All Arts & Crafts vendors will be expected to provide
their own covering, tables and chairs. Electricity is available on a
first-come, first served basis at no charge. All items for sale must be handmade
or crafted by the vendor. No commercially produced items will be allowed.
Applications are available on line at www.artsinminden.com and can be returned
via email.
This year’s festival theme “Discover China” will include a variety of special events and exhibits in celebration of this
fascinating and ancient culture. The Spring Arts Festival committee’s main
focus is bringing the arts to children.
On Wednesday and Thursday of the festival, third graders
are bused into the festival grounds for their “Day on the Farm.” More than 500
children are expected to attend and will be treated to an all day art
experience with hands on activities under the guidance and instruction of
professional artists.
“For many of the children attending the festival, this is
their first real art experience,” said Chris Broussard, chairman of the board.
To learn more about Cultural Crossroads or the
Spring Arts Festival, visit their website at www.artsinminden.com.
School zone lights still at forefront
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
Interim Mayor Sherman Brown did not take the mayor’s
chair at Haynesville’s regular town council meeting, citing that he wanted to
observe the town’s proceedings before jumping in with both feet.
Sitting in the audience, Brown observed how the council
meeting was run. As he sat quietly on the sidelines, several issues came before
the council, including an update on the school zone warning lights.
Claiborne Parish Police Juror Bob McDaniel went before
the council with some quotes on what it would cost to have LED lights put on
the existing poles on Hwy. 79 in the school zones. A quote turned in by Temple,
Inc., includes all the materials and labor of what it will take to get the
warning lights up and running again.
Once McDaniel explained the process and what it would
entail, he asked the council if this was an avenue worth pursuing. With several
nods, the council gave McDaniel authorization to pursue the issue.
In other council news, the Town of Haynesville received
welcome news as the town’s audit report came back with good reports.
Councilwoman Joyce Major also gave an update on the
progress of the baseball stadium and said the dirt work for the batting cage
covers had begun and concrete was being poured.
While on this topic, Councilman Herb Taylor brought to
light another issue at the baseball stadium. The dirt, he said, is being washed
out from under the bleachers to the point that the concrete poured around the
bleachers’ frames was showing. The town agreed to purchase timbers from the
police jury to help shore up the dirt. The approximate cost would be $500.
Haynesville Fire Chief Mark Furlow came before the
council to get them to appoint two members to the Fire District #3 Board. At
January’s police jury meeting, the jury chose two members, and at Furlow’s
urging, the council chose two more – Tom Crocker and Eddie Bailey. These four
members will serve two year terms.
In other news, a grant contract was awarded to Pro-Build
to improve Haynesville’s waste water treatment plant. Brown has visited the
facility and said that although the plant is in bad shape visually, everything
still works.
Also, Major brought up the issue of the AARP building in
Haynesville, because it needs to be renovated. Although some work has already
been done, more work is needed, she said. The council appointed two members to
go look at it and bring back comments. Alfred Buggs and Herb Taylor are
expected to bring back their opinions at the next council meeting.
Grant Writing Workshop on February 12 in
Natchitoches
The Guardian-Journal
The Louisiana State Grants Management Section (SGMS) is
offering “Introduction to Grant Writing,” a free workshop, at the Natchitoches Events Center on February 12. The program begins at 8:30 a.m. Louisiana Regional Introduction and will conclude between 3-4.
This workshop offers grant writing basics, e.g., how
grant funding works, how to review your group’s funding needs, how to register
to apply for federal grant funds, how to locate funding sources, and how to
organize and write a grant application.
Intended to help Louisiana groups do well in the grant
funding arena, the workshop is designed to help interested parties secure
competitive grant funding.
Although state personnel and local governments can
benefit from the workshop, nonprofit groups and anyone else interested in grant
writing may attend.
The deadline to register is January 31.
Because seating is limited to the first 100 registrants,
those interested should register right away by calling 225-342-7412.
If emailing, specify the date and name of the workshop
you want to attend, name(s) of attendee(s), organization name, contact phone
number, and return email address.
This Film by Michael Haynes Productions was created in conjunction with 
