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!
Our Beloved “unofficial” Mayor of
Summerfield
Brian “Butch” Bays found murdered early
Thursday morning 12/16/2010
Brian Bays,
“Butch” to all that knew him, just 72 years of age, was in his fifth term as District
One (which includes Summerfield, La) Police Juror for Claiborne Parish. Butch was
found slain Thursday morning by a customer at his store, “Butch’s Country Store
and Bait House”, located on La. 2 Alternate.
Claiborne
Parish Sheriff, Ken Bailey, a lifelong friend of Butch, has stated that the homicide
investigation is ongoing with at least one person of interest already in custody.
Butch was a friend to all and was loved by all who knew him.
Funeral
services for Butch will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Summerfield School.
Visitation will be Monday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Rose Neath Funeral Home in Homer,
LA.
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.
DART Christmas Money Raffle
The Claiborne Parish Domestic Abuse
Resistance Team (DART) is holding a Christmas raffle fundraiser with the
drawing to be held Tuesday, December 21.
The cash prize is $300. Tickets are $1,
and the winner need not be present to win.
For more information, please call their
office at 927-2818.
Thank you for your support!
CPSB honors outgoing board members
The Guardian-Journal photo/Michelle Bates
Four Claiborne Parish School Board Members are stepping down after several years of service to the board. Pictured
above are from left, Blake Hemphill, Joe Lee and A.D. Williams with Schools
Superintendent Dr. Janice Williams. Not pictured, but also honored was Terry
Willis.
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
Several
Claiborne Parish School Board members were honored with a small reception
Thursday evening before the start of the regular meeting.
School
Board members Blake Hemphill, Joe Lee, A.D. Williams and Terry Willis will not
be returning to their seats in January, but they each said they enjoyed working
together with each other to make Claiborne Parish Schools better.
School
Board President William Maddox told members that he enjoyed working with them,
and was looking forward to working with the incoming school board members.
Claiborne
Parish Schools Superintendent Dr. Janice Williams also expressed her thanks to
those who served at their last meeting for 2010.
“Thank
you to our outgoing board members,” she said. “You cannot be replaced and we
appreciate your hard work for the Claiborne Parish School Board.
Each
member received a plaque in appreciation for the years of service they
dedicated to the betterment for the children of Claiborne Parish.
After
each received their plaque, the school board got down to business as they
covered a rather short agenda.
Dr.
Williams updated board members on recommendations from the buildings and
grounds committee on a request from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Timber Ridge to
move from the 7th and 8th grade building to another part of the old Homer Junior High School. That request was denied; however, the demolition of the band room
of the school was approved. According to members in November’s meeting,
vandalism had been taking place at the old band room, and is now unusable.
Also, a
request from Athens was also denied by the Louisiana Department of
Transportation and Development. According to Dr. Williams, the school zone
lights in Athens cannot be moved to include Mt. Olive Christian School.
“Extending
this zone farther than necessary may do three things,” Jody Colvin, Traffic
Engineering Management Administrator for La DOTD stated in their official
response to the request. “1) cause drivers to be confused of the need to slow
down for two different schools; 2) the excessive length of the speed zone may
cause drivers to disregard the school speed completely; and 3) create a speed
trap, where drivers are ticketed outside of the necessary school area.
“It is
very important for driver and pedestrian safety that we are consistent and
uniform in how we approach each and every school zone,” the letter continued.
“Also, since one school is a public school and another is a private school
there may be conflicting schedules and holidays.”
Also,
in other news, personnel actions were approved. Medical sabbatical was approved
for Kathryn Lee for the remainder of the 2010-11 school year to allow her to
continue her medical care.
Also,
central office has received several applications for the secretary positions
open at Homer High School and Haynesville Junior High School. There is also a
position open for a maintenance worker. This position is also going back under
the maintenance supervisor’s position.
The
next meeting of the Claiborne Parish School Board will be held at 7 p.m. at Central Office on January 6, 2011. For more information, or for questions,
please call Central Office at 318-927-3502.
Presbyterian Church presents the Live
Nativity
The youth of First Presbyterian Church
will present a Live Nativity Scene on Sunday night, December 19, from 6 until 7 p.m., and again on Monday, December 20, from 5 until 6 p.m. on the south lawn of the church, located behind Capital One Bank in Homer. The annual event will feature
live animals. We would like to cordially invite everyone in the community to
take a few minutes from their busy holiday schedule to drive by and remember
the reason for the season. For more information, please call the Rev. John
McClelland at 927-3887.
Sibley man busted for drugs
The Guardian-Journal
A
Sibley man is now in the custody of the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office after
he was busted for drugs.
According
to a news release from the sheriff’s office, on Saturday, December 11, Deputy Steve Harbour made contact with a passenger in a vehicle he stopped and found the
passenger to be C. Braxton Gray, 17.
A
search of the vehicle revealed an alleged marijuana pipe containing suspected
marijuana, a pack of rolling papers, an alleged marijuana grinder and a package
containing what was believed to be 29 Adderall pills.
Gray
was arrested and transported to the Claiborne Parish Detention Center on the following charges: possession of Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS)
marijuana, possession of Schedule II CDS (Adderall) and possession of drug
paraphernalia.
Bonds on
these charges are to be set.
Claiborne Celebrates Christmas 2010
The Guardian-Journal photos/Jenni
Williams
Saturday was a fun-filled day in
preparation for the Christmas holidays. L&NW’s Santa Train arrived in
several places in Claiborne Parish bringing Santa Claus to each stop. It was
fun for the whole family! Pictured, also, is the winner of the toy train set
given away in Homer. Christian Meadors, pictured with his sister, Ajai, won
this year’s train set. The Claiborne Parish Christmas Parade was held Saturday
afternoon, and citizens got to bring in the holidays with cheer and good will!
Pictured at left is the 2010 Grand Marshal, Claiborne Parish Sheriff Ken
Bailey. The parade presented many different floats for the Christmas holidays.
CPPJ prepares for 2011
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The
Claiborne Parish Police Jury spent the last meeting of 2010 preparing for 2011.
In
their short meeting, several things covered included introducing the 2011
budget, amending the 2010 budget and taking bids for road materials.
District
9 Police Juror Jerry Adkins, chair of the finance committee, went over several
things recommended to the jury to adopt. He discussed some amendments to the
2010 budget to reconcile actual costs and revenue up with the budget.
A
public hearing for the Police Jury 2011 Budget will be held Monday, January 3, 2011, at 3:30 p.m. in the conference room of the police jury complex.
Police
Jury Secretary Treasurer Dwayne Woodard informed jurors that the Community
Water Enrichment Fund (CWEF) grant applications are due January 27, 2011.
Representatives
from several water systems are already contacting him for projects that need to
be done, he said. A grant meeting will be called in early January in order to
prioritize grant requests.
The
Claiborne Parish Watershed District Commission is about to lose some of their
board members as some are resigning or their terms are up.
A few
people threw their names in the hat; however, instead of the police jury
choosing someone to fill those terms, they have asked the watershed commission
to make recommendations on who they would like to see fill the open seats.
The
issue was tabled until the commission could make their recommendations. There
are three positions that need to be filled.
On that
same note, Alice Stewart, one of the commission members resigning, said in the
police jury meeting that she was pleased with the cooperation the commission
has gotten from the police jury as well as the sheriff’s office and other
agencies they have worked with.
However,
she still has concerns weighing on her heart as she steps down from 10 years on
the commission.
“My
concern begins with my alarm that appointments to the commission should be
lakeshore owners and boaters,” she told police jurors and the public during the
public comments portion of the meeting. “…but so far, projects have directly
benefited, almost exclusively, lakeshore owners and boaters.”
She
said that statutes are clear that the State of Louisiana funded the lake to
serve the entire parish.
“Considering
the important powers granted to the Commission, and through it to the parish,
the commission will be of far less use than it could be if it is reduced to a
commission that benefits boaters and lakeshore owners only,” she said. “Now
there is a chance to build a park at Lisbon Landing to provide access to
disabled and other citizens that they may enjoy the lake too.”
However,
she said this project in some ways seems to have been thwarted because her
efforts to obtain a commission, police jury agreement to provide trash disposal
at the public landings has been delayed.
A
concern they gave was vandalism, although all are on board to improve access to
the lake.
She
hopes with the appointment of the new members that the commission can continue
working on parish wide initiatives.
In
other police jury news, they approved merit raises for several highway
department workers. They include Travis Kemp with an increase in pay of 75
cents per hour, Jim Gardner with an increase in pay of 25 cents per hour,
Charles Hoof with an increase in pay of 50 cents per hour, Eric Kennedy with an
increase in pay of 50 cents per hour and Joe Buggs with an increase in pay of
25 cents per hour.
The
police jury also approved:
• The
Claiborne Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness 2011 budget. The police
jury’s share is $24,651.50 per year or $2,054.29 per month. This is an increase
from 2010 which was at $23,061.48 per year or $1,921.79 per month.
• A
request from Teresa Price on behalf of the Claiborne Parish LSU Extension
Office for an increase of their annual budget to $3,699 per quarter for 2011
and for $4,932 per quarter for 2012. This increase will now bring the local
contribution level to 20 percent as mandated by the LSU AgCenter Cooperative
Extension Service.
• A
request from the Town of Haynesville to be included in the 2011 budget for a
donation to the town’s Christmas Decoration Fund.
• A
request from the Claiborne Parish Library Board to reappoint Dianne Spigener
for another five-year term of 2011-2016.
The
next meeting of the Claiborne Parish Police Jury will be held on Wednesday, January 12, 2011, at 9 a.m. in the police jury room. For more information,
please call their office at 927-2222.
Over
the Christmas holidays, the police jury office will be closed from Thursday,
December 23, until January 3, 2011.
Sheriff Bailey:
‘Personal safety is a must this holiday
season’
Shoppers
are making their lists and checking them twice. But, they are probably neglecting
to check their safety.
Just
how safe is shopping at this time of year? Perhaps not nearly as safe as people
assume it to be, according to Claiborne Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey, especially
if people shop alone.
This
time of year has a tendency to attract more shopping-related criminal activity
because of larger crowds and extended store hours. These factors, combined with
the usual distractions related to shopping, create a more favorable environment
for petty thieves and other offenders.
In
light of these facts, Bailey warns shoppers to be on their guard so that they
do not become one of the tens of millions of people a year who are victimized
by some sort of criminal activity.
Across
the U.S., malls and shopping centers are heightening security measures by
hiring additional security personnel and installing surveillance cameras in
areas such as parking lots and entrance ways.
“Unfortunately,
when shopping, people sometimes have a tendency to become distracted and lose
sight of their personal safety,” Bailey said. “However, there are several
precautions busy shoppers can take to help eliminate their chances of becoming
a crime statistic.”
Bailey
suggests busy shoppers take some safety precautions to reduce their chances of
being victimized by criminals who thrive on shoppers at this time of the year.
Those safety precautions include:
Before you leave:
• There
is safety in numbers. Always try to shop with another person. A single shopper
is the ultimate target for theft.
• When
going shopping, make sure you tell someone where you are going and what time
you expect to return home.
• Try
and avoid taking young children into busy shopping areas, but if it is
unavoidable, make sure they know what to do if they lose you, e.g., tell the
nearest counter assistant that they are lost and NEVER leave a shop without
you.
• Agree
on a meeting point with older children in case you get separated.
•
Before going shopping, remove from your wallet or purse any credit cards or
other valuable identification that you will not need to reduce risk.
• Make
a list of all credit card numbers and the numbers to call in case they are lost
or stolen. This will make the incident a lot easier to report.
While Shopping:
• Be
alert and aware of your surroundings at all times, especially in busy areas
where thieves and pickpockets target purses and bags left unattended.
• Be
aware that wearing headphones will decrease your ability to stay alert to your
surroundings.
• Be
alert to distraction theft. Watch out for thieves using a “tag team” approach.
While one person distracts you by bumping into you or through conversation, the
other is snatching your purse or wallet.
• Don’t
get loaded down with too many bags. Plan for your heaviest purchases last. Try
to keep one hand free.
• If
you are in a store and sense that you are being followed, locate a store
employee or security personnel. Be prepared to give them a complete description
of the person you suspect.
• If
you think you spot a thief or pickpocket, alert the police or security staff.
Avoid a confrontation whenever possible.
• If
carrying cash, keep it in a front pocket. This makes it more difficult for a
pickpocket to remove.
• Store
car keys in a pant or jacket pocket. If your purse is stolen, you will still be
able to drive home.
•
Always carry a cell phone for easy access to emergency services.
Parking Lot Safety:
• Don’t
leave lots of presents on display in a parked car as they could tempt thieves.
Remember, out of sight, out of mind.
• Plan
ahead. If you know you are going to return to your car after nightfall, park in
a well-lit area. Note your parking place.
• If
you feel uneasy returning to your car alone, find a security guard and ask him
to walk you to your car.
• Have
your car keys in your hand to avoid spending unnecessary time unprotected from
the security of your vehicle.
• When
approaching your car, check around it and in the back seat.
Sheriff
Bailey concluded, “Have a safe and joyous holiday season from your Claiborne
Parish Sheriff’s Office.”
