Gas leak keeps emergency personnel busy
Leak contained within hours
The Guardian-Journal
A gas
leak on the south side of Homer kept the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office
dispatch busy with phone calls in reference to strong odors of gas.
At
first, the Homer Fire Department was dispatched to Presbyterian Village;
however, firefighters soon realized the odor at Presbyterian Village was
downwind of the leak in town. About the same time, firefighters were then
dispatched to Top Dollar Scrap Yard where emergency personnel found the leak
and cleared the area.
According
to Fire Chief Dennis Butcher, the leak was coming from broken piping from
oilfield scrap that arrived from Elite Oil and Gas, a heavy construction
company. Joshua Abraham of Elite Oil and Gas in Arcadia brought the scrap in
for the company. However, when the gas leak was discovered, emergency crews
were called in. ES&H of Bossier City as well as the Louisiana State Police
Hazmat team to contain the situation.
Emergency
personnel spent the better part of the day at the scrap yard
“This
leak originated from Bienville Parish,” Butcher said. “As he was coming to
Homer, the phone calls of gas leaks followed him all the way to Homer.”
Natural
gas is odorless and tasteless, so companies inject a chemical in the pipelines
to give it a “rotten egg” smell. This alerts anyone within the vicinity of a
natural gas pipeline that there is a leak.
Thankfully,
Butcher said, no one was injured or had to be taken to the hospital for
inhalation illnesses.
As of
press time, the leak had been contained.
Man charged with arson
The Guardian-Journal
A
Haynesville man found himself in trouble with the law after he was arrested and
charged with arson.
Gerald
Thompson, 27, was arrested on Monday, November 21, and charged with driving
while intoxicated (DWI) with bond set at $750, no driver’s license with bond
set at $500, aggravated arson with bond set at $50,000, criminal trespass with
bond set at $500, and a parole violation with no bond.
According
to a news release from the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office, on that day,
Sheriff’s Deputy Randy Pugh responded to an arson call on Hwy. 2. Detective
Darren Keel arrived to assist and deputies discovered Thompson allegedly
attempted to set fire to a residence belonging to his ex-girlfriend, located on
Hwy. 2.
Pugh
observed a place on the outside of the residence where burn marks were located
as well as additional burn marks on a cable inside the residence. The cable
inside the residence was accessed by raising a window.
Keel
conducted an investigation into the matter which led to Thompson’s arrest.
It was
discovered that Thompson had been harassing the victim for quite some time and
was, in fact, arrested for stalking the victim in 2007.
Deputy
Heath Tingle assisted with this incident and observed Thompson driving a
vehicle to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) building. Tingle initially
arrested Thompson and charged him with the above charges.
The
victim was assisted with instructions of how to obtain a restraining order and
was registered with the Louisiana Victim’s Notification System.
Photo courtesy of Dennis Butcher
On Wednesday, November 23, this chicken
house, belonging to David and Teresa Monk of 638 Baker Road in Homer, was a
complete loss. Around 8:30 p.m., Fire Districts 4 and 5 were dispatched to the
scene with nine trucks and approximately 25 firefighters battling the blaze.
The chicken house, 40 feet wide and 400 feet long, was a total loss. According
to officials at the scene, approximately 17,500 chickens were lost in the fire.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the blaze is yet to be determined.
Fire Chief Dennis Butcher said the cause of the fire is still under
investigation.
Photo courtesy of Claiborne Healthcare
Foundation
Construction has begun on Homer Memorial
Hospital’s new intensive care unit, nurses’ station and cafeteria renovations.
All the paperwork has been done, and construction began right after the
groundbreaking in September. Construction is moving at a steady pace as the
weather cools off and rain has quenched Louisiana’s thirsty ground. The project
was awarded to Garcia Construction of Homer.
Sheriff: Keep safety in mind this
holiday season
As the
holiday season approaches, Claiborne Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey urges citizens
to keep fire safety in mind when decorating for the holidays.
Whether
it is careful candle placement or checking the warning label on the holiday
lights, simple safety steps can go a long way in preventing fires and injuries
this year.
Annually,
during the two months surrounding the holiday season, more than 14,000 people
are treated in hospital emergency rooms due to injuries related to holiday
decorating. In addition, Christmas trees are involved in hundreds of fires
resulting in an average of 15 deaths and $13 million in property damage
annually. Candle-related fires lead the list of hazards averaging more than
12,000 a year, resulting in 150 deaths and $393 million in property damage.
“People
turn their attention to shopping, tree-trimming and social gatherings,” Bailey
said, “overlooking the fact that the threat of fires in the home is most severe
during this time.”
According
to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), December, January and
February are the leading months for home fires and home fire deaths in America.
To help
ensure a joyful Christmas and fire-safe holiday season for everyone, Bailey
advises that the following basic fire safety guidelines be observed
Preventing
Christmas Tree Fires:
Special
fire safety precautions need to be taken when keeping a live tree in the house.
A burning tree can rapidly fill a room with fire and deadly gases.
• When
selecting a tree, needles should be green and hard to pull back from the
branches, and the needle should not break if the tree has been freshly cut. The
trunk should be sticky to the touch. Old trees can be identified by bouncing
the tree trunk on the ground. If many needles fall off, the tree has been cut
for too long, has probably dried out and is a fire hazard.
• Do
not place your tree close to a heat source, including a fireplace or heat vent.
The heat will dry out your tree, causing it to be more easily ignited by heat,
flame or sparks. Do not put your live tree up too early, or leave it up for
longer than two weeks. Keep the tree stand filled with water at all times.
• Do
not place a tree in a doorway or in front of escape routes.
• When
disposing of your tree, never put tree branches or needles in a fireplace or
wood burning stove. When the tree becomes dry, discard it promptly. The best
way to dispose of your tree is by taking it to a recycling center or having it
hauled away by a local community pickup service.
Holiday
Lights:
•
Inspect holiday lights each year for frayed wires, bare spots, broken or
cracked sockets and excessive kinking or war before putting them up.
• Use
only decorative lights approved for the specified use you have in mind.
• Do
not use outdoor lights inside the house and vice versa.
• Do
not overload electrical circuits with excessive lighting and extension cords.
• Do
not leave holiday lights on unattended.
Holiday
Decorations:
• All
decorations should be nonflammable or flame-retardant and placed away from heat
vents.
• Never
put wrapping paper in a fireplace. It can result in a very large fire, throwing
off dangerous sparks and embers that may result in a chimney fire.
• Keep
children and pets away from light strings and electrical decorations.
• If
you are using an artificial tree, make sure it is marked “flame-retardant.”
Candle
Care:
• If
you use candles, make sure they are in stable holders and place them where they
cannot be easily knocked down.
• Never
leave the house with candles burning.
• Keep
candles away from flammable areas, and never put them on or near a tree.
• Do
not display candles in windows or near exits.
• Keep
all candles, matches and lighters out of the reach of children.
• Beware
of glass candle holders. The wick may get too close to the glass and shatter
it.
Holiday
Entertaining:
•
Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the U.S. When cooking
for holiday visitors, remember to keep an eye on the range.
• After
holiday parties, check for cigarettes in upholstered furniture before going to
bed. Cigarette fires are still the leading cause of fire fatalities in the
home.
• This
is a good time of year to do an annual test of all smoke detectors, replace
batteries and rehearse an escape plan with your family.
Sheriff
Bailey concluded, “We all have a tendency to think that fire tragedies happen
to other people in other places, but the reality is that they can happen to
people just like you and me. And it is important that we all do our part to
make this a happy and safe Christmas holiday season.”
See what’s going on December 10!
Gettin’ in the Holiday Spirit
Lots of activities slated to usher in
the holidays
The Guardian-Journal
The
holidays are almost upon us, and there will be plenty to do during the holiday
season in Claiborne Parish -- other than shopping of course! So, here’s a sneak
peek at what’s going to be happening to usher in the Christmas holidays.
Piggly Wiggly Homer Rib Cook-Off
Get your
aprons on and your best cooking skills ready for the Piggly Wiggly of Homer Rib
Cook-Off to be held on Saturday, December 10 in conjunction with the Claiborne
Parish Christmas Festival and Parade.
This is
the beginning of an annual event.
Prizes
for the winners include: first place $300, second place $150 and third place is
$75. You provide your team, grill and spices and Piggly Wiggly will provide
three slabs of pork ribs for the cooking.
This
will be a fun day for the family as there will be a car show, entertainment,
fun activities for the children and the Claiborne Parish Christmas Festival and
Parade to round out the day. So bring your family and have a day of good food,
shopping and ringing in Christmas with the parade.
If
interested in having a team and cooking, or being a sponsor of the Piggly
Wiggly Cook-Off, please call Eric Brown or Renea Burch at (318) 927-2353 or
email for entry forms and rules. Registration
deadline is Friday, November 25.
Claiborne Parish Christmas Festival and Parade
You can
feel Christmas in the air with the smell of good food, entertainment, fun
activities for the kids and family at the Claiborne Parish Christmas Festival,
located around the historic Claiborne Parish Courthouse Square in Homer.
There
will be the Santa Train, Christmas Festival, Parade, Car Show and the Piggly
Wiggly Rib Cook-Off. It will be a fun day for the whole family.
Want to
show your talent? Then come on down and help provide entertainment for the
festival.
Want to
sell your arts, crafts, food and other unique items for those wonderful
Christmas gifts? Then we want you.
Booths
for venders are $20 without electricity and $30 with electricity. Registration
deadline is Friday, November 25.
Please
contact Renea Burch at (318) 927-9257 or email
for entry forms or to sign up to provide entertainment during the day.
Santa in Summerfield
Santa
Claus will be at the Summerfield Fire Station from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.,
Saturday, December 10. We will have refreshments available. Bring your children
to have a visit with Santa!
Annual Christmas Food Drive
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 30th 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 in helping to collect, sort and package
food items for delivery.
First
Presbyterian Church in Homer will continue to allow Lions the 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 16.
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 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 Haynesville City
Hall. The deadline to turn in completed applications along with OFS printouts
is Friday, December 9. Completed applications can be turned in to the Police
Jury office or mailed to Spirit of Christmas Food Drive, c/o Cynthia Steele,
309 North Main Street, 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
upon the wonderful generosity of our local citizens,” said Susan Herring,
former food drive chairman for the Homer Lions Club. “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 Chairpersons Dwayne Woodard at
318-927-2222 or Cynthia Steele at 318-927-2566.
HPD picks up surplus units
Patrol cars donated by City of
Shreveport, Shreveport police
Photo courtesy of the Town of Homer
Homer Police officers and Mayor Alecia
Smith traveled to Shreveport on Monday, November 21, and picked up four patrol
units donated by the City of Shreveport and the Shreveport Police Department.
Pictured above are, from left, Homer Police Officer Thomas Davis, Homer Police
Chief Russell Mills, Shreveport Police Officer Ken Williams, Mayor Smith, Homer
Police Officers J.D. Faulkner and Willie Fred Knowles, and Lt. Roger Smith.
Homer
Mayor Alecia Smith and Homer Police officers traveled to Shreveport on Monday,
November 21 to pick up four vehicles from the Shreveport Police Department that
had been declared surplus.
These
vehicles will be added to the Homer Police Department’s fleet. Ken Williams,
with the Shreveport Police Department, was available to assist the mayor and
Homer Police Chief Russell Mills with the transition.
Officers
J.D. Faulkner, Willie Fred Knowles, Lt. Roger Smith and Thomas Davis assisted
the mayor and police chief in bringing the cars back to Homer.
In
August, on behalf of the Homer Police Department and the town, Smith went
before the Shreveport City Council and Mayor Cedric Glover to request the
vehicles for the Town of Homer. Smith explained the budget and revenue issues
of small municipalities and how grateful she and the Town of Homer would be to
receive the donation of the four vehicles.
During
the next regularly scheduled council meeting, the Shreveport City Council
declared the four vehicles -- three 2003 Ford Crown Victorias and one 2006
Chevy Impala -- surplus and donated them to the town.
The day
the vehicles were picked up, Smith, Shreveport City Attorney Terri Scott,
Assistant Chief Duane Huddleston and Ken Williams completed the act of donation
and the cars were presented to the Town of Homer.
“We
appreciate the Shreveport Police Department and Mayor Glover for donating these
cars at no charge,” Mills said. “It will allow us to give the cars some down
time in the hopes they’ll last longer. It’s a blessing and an honor because we
just don’t have the money to purchase new cars.”
However,
Mills said, it will still cost the town some money to dress out the vehicles
with the equipment needed to allow the officers to do their jobs while on
patrol. Even so, the donation of these vehicles will allow Mills to assign a
vehicle to each officer in the department and allow them to take it home when
their shift ends. This way the car will sit at least overnight, which will give
the vehicles the down time Mills mentioned above.
“With
today’s budget challenges, these vehicles provided much needed support to the
Homer Police Department,” Smith said. “The Town has compiled expenditures with
repairs of vehicles, the new surplus vehicles will be assigned to one officer
in hopes of reducing maintenance expenses. Also, the grant committee, the
police chief and I are still working to receive a grant to procure new police
cars for the police department in the upcoming years.”