From the News Desk
During the week of December 27-31, The
Guardian-Journal will NOT publish a newspaper that week. Please make sure that
anything to be published in the newspaper arrives at our office before 5 p.m., Monday, December 20.
The next edition of The Guardian-Journal
will be published on Thursday, January 6, 2011.
We hope everyone has a very Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Toy Drop Off
Anyone interested in donating new unused toys for the needy
children of Claiborne Parish may do so by dropping them off at the Claiborne
Parish Sheriff’s Office. The office is located at 613 East Main Street in
Homer, and is open 24 hours per day. Should you have any questions, you may
contact Warden Sophia Burns at 318-927-2011.
First Guaranty donates to Claiborne
Fuller Center for Housing
The Guardian-Journal photo/Michelle Bates
First Guaranty Bank in Homer made a
generous donation to the Claiborne Parish Fuller Center for Housing. Pictured
from left are: the Rev. Ben Booth, vice president of the Claiborne Fuller
Center for Housinb board, the Rev. Russell Grigsby, chairman of the board, Evan
Singer, First Guaranty Bank vice president, Renee Boyle, secretary of the
Claiborne Fuller Center for Housing, and David Colbert, chairman of the board
for Family Partnering. Not pictured is Cynthia Steele, chairman of Resources
Development. She was instrumental in obtaining the generous donation for the
organization.
Homer man shot in the face
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
A Homer
man was shot in the face last Thursday, but the Homer Police Department says
the motive is still unclear.
Around 7 p.m., Homer Police Chief Russell Mills said the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office
dispatched their department to the 900 block of Curry Street in reference to a
shooting. Upon arrival, Captain Donald Malray and Officer Van McDaniel found
that Steve Land had been shot in the face. According to police, Land was able
to identify the shooter before he was airlifted to Louisiana State University
Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC). Approximately one hour later, the suspect,
identified as 20-year-old Cartimothy Rhodes of Homer, was located and taken
into custody for questioning.
Shortly
thereafter, Mills said, Rhodes was formally placed under arrest and charged
with second degree murder with bond to be set. Other charges may stem from the
investigation that is still ongoing. At this time, motive behind the shooting
is still unclear.
As of
press time, Land was listed in serious but stable condition.
“Steve
Land never bothered anybody,” Mills said. “If you didn’t see him riding, he was
working. If he wasn’t working, he was riding his bicycle to go find work. This
is an individual that is 100 percent a victim. In my opinion, Steve never hurt
anybody. He worked and stayed to himself.”
According
to police, a gun was recovered at the scene and placed into evidence. Police
are not yet identifying the weapon, saying the matter is still under
investigation.
Account set up for accident victim
The Guardian-Journal
An
account has been opened at Citizens Bank and Trust for Adam Graves, an employee
of Claiborne Electric Co-op who lost both hands as a result of an accident on
Thursday, December 2, when the line Graves was working on accidentally came in
contact with a high-voltage power line.
Adam
and his wife, Heather, are the parents of three boys, ages nine, seven and one.
The
family is in need of financial assistance because of the expenses being
incurred while Adam is recovering at the hospital.
More
expenses will be incurred during the coming year, as Adam goes through
rehabilitation and learns to use new prosthetic hands.
Donations
can be made to the “Adam Graves Fund” at Citizens Bank and Trust. Donations can
also be mailed to 600 East Main Street, Homer, LA 71040. An account has also
been set up at First Bank in Junction City.
Also,
on Sunday, December 12, at 11 a.m., a benefit luncheon will be held at Dual
State Grill in Junction City. To pre-order a meal, please call 1-870-924-4782.
Santa Train coming Dec. 11
Don’t forget! One lucky boy or girl will receive a train
set from Santa at each stop along the L&NW!
Santa
Claus will be dropping into Claiborne Parish on Saturday, December 11, rain or
shine!
All the
children need to get ready, because Santa is coming to get your wish list!!!
So pay
attention because here’s Santa’s Schedule:
Gibsland
9:30 a.m. It will stop at:
E.W. Merritt Pavilion.
Athens
10:15 a.m. It will stop at:
LA Hwy 518/Athens Ave.
Homer
11 a.m. It will stop at:
Delta Interior parking lot (old Wal-Mart parking lot)
Haynesville
12:10 p.m. It will stop at:
Fair Building – Gantt Street
Clerk’s Office warns of property scam
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
A
Claiborne Parish resident was almost scammed out of approximately $90 when an
official-looking letter he received in the mail asked him to retain a copy of
his “grant deed and property profile.”
For
privacy reasons, in this story, the “almost” victim will be called “Joe.”
According
to Claiborne Parish Clerk of Court officials, “Joe” came into their office with
this letter. The letter stated that in order “to obtain a copy of your Deed and
complete Property Profile,” he would have to “detach and return in the enclosed
envelope with your processing fee of $87.”
However,
at the clerk of court’s office, it only costs $3 to obtain those same copies.
As mentioned above, the letter is very official-looking, with “Joe’s” property
address, code numbers, property zones and other information about his property.
But –
as shown in the letter, it shows “Claiborne County” public information. The
return address from the company is State Record Retrieval Board, 721 Government Street STE 103-249, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, phone 888-637-2652. At the bottom
of the letter, it states that “this product or service has not been approved,
or endorsed by any government agency, and this offer is not being made by an
agency of the government.” At the top, it leads the reader to believe it is a
state government agency with its company name.
And
this is not the first time this has happened to people like “Joe.”
In McNairy County, Tennessee, this same scam is circulating round their county.
“Our
office received a call from a lady that had received a bill from a company
saying that she owed them $87 for a copy of her deed and a $35 late fee,” said
Brian Dickey, Register of Deeds for McNairy. “The register’s office only
charges $1 per copy for a certified copy of a deed. This company is ripping off
hard-working McNairy County people.”
According
to the article in Tennessee, the phone number is the same as the one listed
above and the name of the company is the same as the one listed above.
Clerk
of Court officials are asking the citizens of Claiborne Parish to be mindful of
receiving letters from people like this. Before paying the $87, please contact
the clerk of court’s office at 318-927-9601 or the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s
Office at 318-927-2011 and report it. Citizens may also call the Homer Police
Department at 318-927-4000 or the Haynesville Police Department at
318-624-1355.
Christmas food drive seeking donations
Brookshire’s
Grocery Company is partnering once again with the Homer Lions Club to collect
and distribute food to needy families in Claiborne Parish during the holidays,
as the 29th Annual Spirit of Christmas Food Drive gets underway.
The
Haynesville Lions Club has once again agreed to help with the distribution of
the food boxes in the Town of Haynesville. As in years past, the Claiborne
Parish 4-H Junior Leaders, along with their sponsors, Lee Faulk and Teresa
Price, will offer their valuable assistance by helping collect, sort and
package food items for delivery. The First Presbyterian Church in Homer will
continue to allow Lions to use of their Fellowship Hall to prepare the food
boxes for delivery. Food boxes will be delivered between noon and 5 p.m. on Friday, December 17.
Area
residents are asked to make donations by placing non-perishable food items in
designated bins located at Brookshire’s in Homer. People are asked not to
donate homemade goods or items in glass jars. Bulk items, such as flour, sugar
and corn meal, should be donated in smaller sizes to allow for more variety in
the boxes given to the recipients.
In
addition to the public food donations, each family will receive at least one
coupon for a baking hen from Brookshire’s. All food collected in this area
will be distributed to families in Claiborne Parish.
Families
to be assisted by the Spirit of Christmas Food Drive are selected by local
relief organizations or government agencies according to need. The Claiborne
Parish Office of Family Services (OFS) will again provide printouts to be
submitted with completed applications.
Application
forms are available at the OFS located on East 2nd Street next to Piggly Wiggly
in Homer, at the Claiborne Parish Police Jury Office, and at the Haynesville City Hall. The deadline to turn in completed applications along with OFS
printouts is Friday, December 10, 2010. Completed applications can be turned
in to the Police Jury Office or mailed to Spirit of Christmas Food Drive, c/o
Susan Herring, 231 North Main, Homer, LA 71040.
The
Spirit of Christmas Food Drive began in 1982, when 92 families in Tyler, Texas, received assistance. Last year some 500,000 pounds of food was collected in
the Ark-La-Tex and distributed to more than 16,000 families. In Claiborne
Parish, more than 185 food boxes were collected and distributed.
“The
success of this year’s Spirit of Christmas Food Drive, as in the past, depends
on the wonderful generosity of our local citizens.” Herring said, “We are very
appreciative to everyone who has donated food items in years past, and hope
they will continue to be willing to help those in our communities who are less
fortunate.”
For
more information, please call Homer Lions Chairman Dwayne Woodard at 927-2222
or Susan Herring at 318-548-9146.
Town’s decor committee brightens
Thanksgiving
Submitted photo
The Town of Homer’s Decor Committee and
students with the Homer High School FBLA took time out of their Thanksgiving
holiday to present residents of various nursing homes in Claiborne Parish with
gifts and fruit baskets. The groups visited with residents throughout the day
and wished them a very Happy Thanksgiving.
On
Saturday, November 20, members of the Town of Homer Décor Committee met at City
Hall to distribute 110 fruit baskets to the residents of Presbyterian Village, Claiborne Manor and HealthSouth.
The
baskets, which had been prepared by Piggly Wiggly for the Town of Homer and
decorated by committee members, consisted of oranges, apples, bananas, nuts and
candy. As a sign of the season, they were taken to the nursing homes and
presented to each resident by the committee members, who also took time to
visit with the residents and wish everyone a “Happy Thanksgiving.”
When
the group arrived at Claiborne Manor, they were surprised to be joined by
several members of the Homer High FBLA, who helped with the distribution of the
baskets and visited with the residents. These young people remained at the home
to play Bingo with the residents and bring some joy to the lives of everyone.
The
Town of Homer would like to thank everyone who helped make this event possible,
especially Claiborne Electric Co-op, St. Margaret Catholic Church and Tomeka
Heard Bursey of Piggly Wiggly who actually prepared the baskets.
Town files motion to dismiss in Bender
suit
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The
Town of Homer has filed a motion to dismiss in federal court in Shreveport against a claim of police brutality.
Town
Attorney Jim Colvin’s office filed the motion on Friday, December 3, in the
Western District of Louisiana United States District Court on behalf of the
Town of Homer, and four Homer Police Officers as well as Homer Police Chief
Russell Mills. Those officers include Officers Roger Smith, Mario Thomas, Scott
Glenn (who is no longer employed by the Homer Police Department) and Elvan
McDaniel.
In the
November 25 edition of The Guardian-Journal, a story was published in regards
to Vernecia Bender filing suit against the above mentioned defendants claiming
police brutality. She also asked for punitive as well as general damages in the
amount of $500,000 each.
On the
night in question, police reports say that Officer Mario Thomas attempted to
initiate a traffic stop on Bender’s daughter because the vehicle she was
driving had a headlight out. According to reports, her daughter did not pull
over, instead driving into the driveway to her home. When Bender noticed
officers in her driveway, she went outside to see what was going on.
According
to Bender’s suit, she claims that when she saw her daughter facedown and
cuffed, she panicked and began asking officers what she had done. Because she
is hearing impaired, she claims that she did not hear officers tell her to “get
away.”
She
said she did not understand what they were saying, and she went to Officer
Thomas to find out what was going on.
It was
at that time, she claimed her car was overheating and she went to the car to
turn it off. When she to the vehicle and turned it off, Officer Thomas flashed
a flashlight in her face to get her attention and began asking her slowly and
loudly what she had gotten from the car. She claims she turned the car off and
put the keys in the seat of the car.
“Thomas
once again shined the flashlight into Bender’s face and began to try and say
something to her,” the suit states. “Suddenly, and from behind, she felt the
pain of being struck in the back by Smith followed immediately by a jolt in her
right side as Smith began using his model X.26 Taser on her. Smith continued to
tase Bender at least six times.”
In the
30-page memo in support of the motion to dismiss, the document basically breaks
down Bender’s suit saying she has not shown supporting evidence to her claims
of police brutality or “to state a claim upon which relief can be granted
against any of the defendants.”
The
memo cites several U.S. Supreme Court, federal and state cases that show her
claims aren’t clear enough.
“Moreover,
the individual defendants are entitled to qualified immunity,” the summary
continues. “Therefore, this court should dismiss all claims with prejudice.”
Each
claim in the memo filed is backed up by specific statutory and constitutional
references showing that many of her claims of violations of civil rights are
inapplicable to her allegations against the police officers and the town.
It is
not known when the case will be heard, however, the court may rule at any time
after the matter is deemed submitted.
Town tackles lengthy agenda
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The
Town of Homer got some answers regarding a wastewater treatment plant project
that threatened to bring fines from the Environmental Protection Agency if not
fixed.
The
$65,000 project was supposed to fix some issues of the treatment plant that
weren’t in line with EPA standards. Now that the money has been spent, there
has been some issues with getting the project completed – mainly some finishing
construction and then the certificate of completion.
Jim
Hagan, representing Balar Engineers, said he wasn’t aware the project hadn’t
been finished until he received an email from Homer Mayor Alecia Smith. There
were also some issues last month, because representatives of Balar could not be
reached. According to Hagan, Agape Construction – the contractor of the project
– needs to complete some cleanup and fix some pipe.
“We’ve
talked to Bill Jarrett with Agape about what needs to be done to complete the
project,” Hagan said. “There is a question on what they are supposed to do on
the piping, but we’re going to go ahead and let them do what they were
contracted to do. We’ll have some discussions about what other improvements
need to be made, but the project is about 95 percent complete.”
The
improvements to the plant have to do with disinfection of the water, and those
improvements have been made.
In
other news, Cynthia Brooks, CPA, was hired to work with Melissa Eubanks of
Hulsey, Harwood and Sheridan, to make sure the town’s records match the audits
as well as correcting the findings of the 2009 Fiscal Year budget that Eubanks
noted. She was hired at $75 to $125 per hour. According to Brooks, she will be
working a lot of hours at least until April 2011 or so.
In
other financial business, the council voted to amend the budget including the
introduction of an ordinance revision and the 2011 budget.
In
other news, a portion of the town’s charter came to light at the request of
Homer Police Chief Russell Mills. Town Attorney Jim Colvin approached the
council, noting a portion of Section 7 of the town charter that states “The marshal,
in addition to his salary, shall receive such compensation for removing
nuisances, and for making arrests and summoning witnesses, as may be fixed by
the mayor and selectmen; his fee for arrests and for summoning witnesses to be
paid by the party convicted, and shall not exceed the rates paid the sheriff
for like services.”
What
this is talking about is that when citizens who are convicted of a crime or
misdemeanor will pay a certain amount of money up and above what the fine
amount is. In other words, if a person is convicted of misdemeanor disturbing
the peace, and he pays a $250 fine, then a set amount above the fine will be
paid to the chief of police.
Many
bigger municipalities such as Bossier City or Shreveport have their own civil
marshals and their job is strictly to address summons and fines. Smaller
municipalities such as Homer have a marshal “who shall be the chief of police”
according to the charter. Municipalities in comparison to the size of Homer,
like Farmerville, have a set amount each month that they pay to the chief of
police.
This
does not mean the town will be out any money. What this means is that the
convicted citizens of the municipal court will pay a certain amount above what
the actual fine is.
The
issue was tabled until a special called meeting on December 16 at 5 p.m., in order to have time to review and set an amount.
The
town council also approved:
• The
resignations of Town Clerk Tangie Wallace and Water Department Employee
Jermaine Moore. Lacasha Oyara is serving as the interim town clerk until such
time to appoint another one.
• The
contract with grant writer Shelly King for $7,000 per year or at $525 per
month.
• The
2011 holiday schedule, in which the first council meeting of 2011 will be held
Monday, January 10 so as not conflict with the New Year’s Day holiday.
•
Reserve officers for the Homer Police Department. They are Billy Adams, Ken
Wood and Matt Simmons, of which Wood and Simmons are both certified as police
officers.
• Board
appointments to the Homer Memorial Hospital Board of Directors. They are
Freddie Young, Eddie Clyde Robinson and Dr. Philpot.
At the
end of the meeting, the council met in executive session to discuss the Bender
litigation, Progressive Insurance litigation and the delivery of investigative
findings of police department complaints.
After
the council came out of executive session, no decisions were made.
The
next council meeting will be held Monday, January 10, at 6 p.m. in council chambers, located inside the Homer Police Department. For more information, please
call town hall at 927-3555.
Fire District #6 receives donation
Submitted photo
Byron White, a representative of Linn
Energy, pictured left, presented the Claiborne Parish Fire District #6 Fire
Chief Larry Greer, right, with a donation during their annual Christmas
Appreciation event. The appreciation meeting was held on Monday, December 6.
