Homer council recalls term limit vote

Public’s questions about expenses still go unanswered

MICHELLE BATES, Editor

The Homer Town Council recalled its vote to do away with the term limits for the mayor and the council, but not without some questions from the public regarding town expenses.

In a meeting that nearly became heated, the council still refused to answer questions asked by citizens and business owners.

Mayor Alecia Smith made it clear that they wanted to have a productive meeting.

“We’re really trying to have a productive meeting and not to bash the council or the mayor for any reason,” she said.

Pat Clawson, a local business owner, questioned the mayor and council about travel allowances, saying it was a legitimate question and that he wasn’t there to “bash” the council and mayor or say anything bad.

“I’m confused about some of the allowances,” Clawson said. “I do understand that we do have a $200 mileage allowance for the mayor. Checks are paid to Mayor Smith for mileage. With that $200 allowance, do we have to itemize that to show that we’ve used the $200 when you go on a trip or do a travel expense where you get reimbursed at 50 plus cents per mile? Is there an itemization somewhere that I can see?

“This is a legitimate question,” he continued. “How do I get this information if it’s public record? I have it here, but it’s not itemized. I’m just asking if there’s a $200 a month per diem for car mileage, but yet we’re turning around and turning in all these receipts for car mileage, where’s the itemization for the $200 a month to show that we went over the $200 a month to be able to get $6,142.84 in mileage for one year? I’m not throwing stones; it’s a legitimate taxpayer’s question.”

Town Attorney Marcus Patillo said, as he has in past meetings, that the public comments portion of the meeting was for public comments only, not to answer any questions. He also stated a procedure was being developed so that citizens can ask questions of their council members or the council member that represents their area.

In attendance was also Homer Police Chief Russell Mills’ attorney, Pam Breedlove, who shot back that it is “ok” for the council to answer questions from the public during the public comments portion of a meeting.

“You do know that the law permits you to do this?” she asked. “I can tell you that the council over in Grambling when you ask a question of a council member or the mayor, you get an answer.”

Ronnie Anderson, a resident of Homer, spoke up and said he wasn’t there to bash the mayor, saying, “You’re sitting here looking at the police department, but yet you’re spending an extra $200,000 or $300,000, wasting it on too many employees in the town office.

“You have 10 people working there now and two and three and four people used to do it,” he continued. “And you’re sitting here not wanting to lead by example, like the mayor spending a lot of money on an attorney that’s not doing the job of telling you you’re doing illegal activities. You’re spending money like it’s growing on trees, yet you’re scrutinizing someone else. That’s worries me. Let’s look at other ways to cut expenses. I’d rather have a good police department and cut back in town hall.”

The mayor never asked if there were any other public comments.

In moving to the next item on the agenda under Old Business, the council approved a letter of engagement with Tom Arceneaux, the attorney who co-counseled with Patillo in the police department hearing, to assist Patillo with issues with the police department budget issues “that may or may not be there.”

At that time, John Markley spoke up wanting to know why the town needed two attorneys, of which the mayor answered “No outbursts in the meeting sir, you had public comments.” At that time, Mayor Smith asked Chief Mills to restore order.

“You had three minutes,” he said. “She’s moved on to something else on the agenda. Public comments are over at this time. I’ve also asked that the agenda be amended but that hasn’t been done either.”

Mayor Smith continued with the business at hand, asking the council to entertain a motion to accept Mr. Arceneaux’s letter of engagement. While the council was dealing with the matter at hand, there seemed to be a collective murmur among those in the audience, at which time, Benny Holyfield, a resident of Homer, stood up and said, “Y’all are too damned old to be acting stupid.”

Chief Mills quickly went to Holyfield and informed him that what he did was disturbing the peace, and as Holyfield continued to speak, Mills asked him to sit down. With another outburst, Mayor Smith asked Chief Mills to follow the same procedure.

When the council returned to the vote of the letter of engagement, District 4 Councilwoman Carlette Sanford said she didn’t understand the letter of engagement. At that time, Mr. Patillo explained the letter to her, and at the time of the vote, all five voted in favor to accept his letter of engagement.

The mayor then amended the agenda to include a bond resolution for the 1996 and 2009 bond issue, which restates $2.5 million in funding bonds, the introduction of Ordinance 13-905 and a request from Chief Mills.

The resolution adopted reads by title, “A Resolution Amending and Restating a Prior Resolution Granting Authority to Preliminary Action Relevant to the Issuance and Sales of Bonds Not Exceeding $2.3 million of Refunding Bonds.”

This resolution grants Wes Shafto, bond attorney, permission to refinance the bonds to save the town money, Mayor Smith said.

The next item on the agenda was the introduction of Ordinance 13-905 regarding the $2.285 million of revenue refund bonds. Sanford made the motion, and District 1 Councilwoman Linda Mozeke seconded. The ordinance was introduced.

A motion was made by District 2 Councilman Michael Wade and seconded by District 3 Councilman Don McCalman to amend the agenda to add Chief Mills’ request. However, one was opposed, so the agenda could not be amended. However, Patillo said they could answer his question, that all they were waiting on was “the judge’s signature.”

“I just want to know what account it’s coming out of and not the police department’s,” Mills said, in regards to his attorneys fees Second Judicial District Judge Jimmy Teat ordered paid by the town. “I don’t think it should come out of the police department’s budget because it wasn’t anything caused by the police. It was caused by the council allowing something to be done that was found unlawful.”

The next item on the agenda dealt with the term limits.

“From the meeting on February 11, 2013, there were questions in regards to the term limits,” Patillo said. “There were some issues that may or may not be there, and I just thought it best that the council recall that vote.”

The motion was made by Wade, seconded by McCalman and the motion passed.

In the mayor’s report, Mayor Smith encouraged everyone to attend the grant committee meeting that will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 20 at City Hall in council chambers.

Also, she spoke of a request from Jim Colvin, with the Dixie Youth Baseball League, who requested the council’s support for Armory Park for park maintenance, umpires, concession stands and equipment. She said those funds have already been allocated to the Dixie League.

She also thanked those who put in their hard work, sweat and dedication to the Demetrius Bell football camp at Mayfield Park this year. She said Bell announced that he’d like to host two camps per year instead of one.

“None of this would have been possible without Demetrius Bell, his organization Flying Colors Sports, Town Hall Public Works, Town Hall Recreation Department, Town Hall Parks Department, Coach Bursey from Homer High School; we had several volunteers come out, and thanks to Coca-Cola Bottling for their sponsorship,” the mayor said.

The next regular monthly meeting of the Homer Town Council will be at 6 p.m. Monday, April 1, in council chambers, located inside City Hall. For more information, or for questions, please call their office at 318-927-3555.

Butcher warns of fire dangers

Photo courtesy of Dennis Butcher

A grass and woods fire broke out Saturday afternoon burning nearly 40 acres. U.S. Forestry assisted the Homer Fire Department in extinguishing the blaze by plowing ‘fire lines’ to stop the blaze.

A fire over the weekend that burned more than 40 acres off Highway 520 has sparked a warning from Homer Fire Chief Dennis Butcher.

According to Butcher, the fire began from a tree limb falling onto a power line Saturday, March 16 and jumped several fire lines, which are plowed lines of dirt to stop a fire from spreading.

At this time, Butcher is issuing a warning, although no burn ban is in place.

Outside burning should be at a minimum and citizens should be aware of wind and weather conditions before burning, he said.

As spring approaches, humidity is lower, which creates an environment for fires to spread more rapidly, getting out of control.

With springtime temperatures and warmer weather, people are outdoors more and are burning more. While the number of calls to the fire department increase during this time of year, most of those calls come from unattended burning and garden clearing, Butcher said.

For those who wish to burn, please remember to have a water source close by and never leave a fire unattended.

“If you must leave, make sure you put it out before you go,” he said.

Town expenses questioned

MICHELLE BATES, Editor

After researching and studying several financial documents from the Town of Homer, The Guardian-Journal has learned that Town Attorney Marcus Patillo was paid by the town to attend the Louisiana City Attorney’s Association Conference in March 2012.

According to the ledger, the town paid $88 in meal expense for the two days and wrote a check for $112 for meal expense for the Law Office of Marcus Patillo on September 27, 2012.

Also a bill for $120 for the “registration for LMA City Attorney Conference (Atty. Patillo)” on November 5, 2012 was listed in the ledger. Patillo was also reimbursed $62.76 for “mileage expense for the LCAA Conference 3-23-12 and 3-24-12.”

Also found was a bill for “reimbursement for hotel stay” in the amount of $336.74 on October 25, 2012.

Another ledger entry shows that on September 27, 2012, a check was written to Patillo for “mileage expense” in the amount of $352.80.

There is no provision in his agreement for the reimbursement of his expenses.

Article VII, Section 14 of the Louisiana Constitution says, “Except as otherwise provided by this constitution, the funds, credit, property, or things of value of the state or of any political subdivision shall not be loaned, pledged, or donated to or for any person, association, or corporation, public or private...”

It was also discovered the town is paying him $500 per month for performing duties of the magistrate court. This is not specified in his contract proposal. All the contract proposal states is that he will receive $2,250 per month for his services. A copy of the actual contract was requested Monday afternoon, March 18, and what the newspaper received was his contract proposal, which was approved by the town council in December 2012.

The Guardian-Journal also learned through an examination of public records, the town’s credit card records matched with the general ledger, show that Mayor Alecia Smith is not only charging meals and mileage on the credit card, but she is turning in reimbursement forms for meals and mileage as well.

For example, on January 5, 2012, the Visa statement has a charge for $26 at Shell Oil in Minden, and the general ledger states a meeting with Marcus Patillo. Another charge on the Visa statement from that same month shows a charge of $4 at the Sooo Good Bakery in Bossier City, where the general ledger shows a charge to the Visa card for “Sooo Good Bakery meal expense for meeting with Balar.”

It is shown on the travel expense form, dated January 7, 2012, where she turned in mileage reimbursement for $56.28 and total expense for meals at $44, for total expenses of $100.28.

Another example shows where Mayor Smith turned in a travel expense form for the FBLA Conference in Shreveport, where she turned in expenses for mileage for $64.50 with a meal allowance of $44, totaling $108.50. The general ledger states “travel expense and meal expense.”

On January 23, 2012, the general ledger shows where Mayor Smith was paid a monthly travel expense of $200. Mayor Smith is given a $200 per month mileage allowance with $125 per month telephone allowance.

These are just a few examples.

In the recreation department, 2012’s payroll shows that Recreation Director Fred Young’s wife, Annette, was paid as the manager of Mayfield Pool in 2012. Fred Young is paid $1,000 per month as recreation director.

Since February 11, the town has been divided over these issues since the town council attempted to disband the Homer Police Department, citing budget overruns, numerous lawsuits and concerns of leadership. Homer Police Chief Russell Mills filed suit within days, obtaining a temporary restraining order, effectively stopping the council from enforcing its vote.

In a hearing on Monday, March 4, outside counsel hired by the Town of Homer readily admitted the council took the vote illegally and asked the court to void it, of which Second Judicial District Judge Jimmy Teat did.

Another suit filed recently by Mills states the town council improperly voted to do away with term limits for the mayor and council, of which the council voted to recall that vote in a special called meeting on Monday, March 18.

The vote to disband the police department was prompted after council members and the mayor attempted to work with Chief Mills, according to a paid ad in a recent edition of the Haynesville News, the town’s official journal.

“Since 2008, the Homer Police Department has continued to exceed the approved budget amount, with no explanation to the council,” the ad states. “With the continued overruns, the council and mayor were faced with a burden that demanded attention and action from the council for the town.”

The ad also stated several options were presented to Mills to help reconcile his budget with regards to the “excessive overtime” by five of the eight officers employed by the Homer Police Department.

Those options included placing some officers on salary, utilizing non-full time officers to handle overtime periods, having on call officers, Chief Mills taking a shift, or going to a “paid time off method.” Another option included placing the top ranking and highest paid officer on salary.

However, a study of the budget for 2012 shows that in a nine month period, other funds were also over budget, which were cited as findings as well in the 2011 legislative audit. In the nine month average period in 2012, it shows that other funds besides the general fund were over budget, with the exception of the enterprise fund:

• In the general fund, budgeted for 2012 was $360,560, and by September 2012, the nine month average showed $528,871.60, making the general fund 46.68 percent over budget.

• The enterprise fund in 2012 is actually under budget by 18.22 percent with a budgeted amount of 1,151,885, and the nine month average showed $974,368.66 spent.

• The recreation department was budged for $67,114, and in a nine month average it showed $144,145.35 spent, making it 114.78 percent over budget.

• The police department’s budget for 2012 is $632,400, but average spent over a nine month period is $645,102.68, only 2.01 percent over budget.

• The streets fund was budgeted for 2012 at $263,628, with a nine month average spent at $303,692.36, putting it at 15.20 percent over.

The total overall puts the budget at least 5.83 percent over.

In the ad, the mayor and council contend that “we do not take it lightly that the financial status of the police department has bled into funding from the Town’s General Fund repeatedly. Our recognizing that by addressing these findings are avoiding possible legal percussions by the legislative auditors.”

Patrol cars grant still on the table

The Guardian-Journal

The USDA grant to procure new police cars for the Homer Police Department continues to move forward, although there have been a few snags.

According to Gene Coleman, grants committee chairman, when the town originally applied for the grant, they thought they were applying for $180,000, which he said is what Homer Police Chief Russell Mills submitted to them to get seven new fully equipped police cars.

“The first thing we ran into was that in order to be considered for it, there had to be some adjustments made,” Coleman said, “and the town had an architect come in. When he came in, they said it would take $100,000 to get it all done, and we said we couldn’t do it. We negotiated and they reconsidered, and we got some adjustments done that were much less.”

On June 23, 2011, The Guardian-Journal reported the town’s application to the USDA for approximately $200,000, a combined effort among Mayor Alecia Smith, Lt. Roger Smith, Coleman and Grant Writer Shelly King. In the May 31 edition of The Guardian-Journal, in a mayor’s report, a meeting was held with USDA officials and Balar’s engineers in order to make sure the town became compliant with Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act (UFAS/ADA) requirements. Those requirements included renovating a handicapped parking space, putting grab rails in the women’s bathroom and lowering a portion of the counter up front.

The town did complete those projects, and as far as Coleman knows, the grant is still in motion. Coleman said they will be meeting with USDA officials later this month “to tell us what we can and must do.”

But, there has been some misunderstanding with what the grant itself entails. According to Coleman, they thought they were applying for $180,000, but that’s not the case. They are only applying for 35 percent of the total amount given to the USDA for the entire state, which is 35 percent of the amount given in this particular category. This equates to about $25,000 to $35,000 of which the town has to match by at least $60,000 to $65,000 to make it an approximate $100,000 total.

“The town would have to come up with it out of the police budget,” Coleman said. “When we got that information, we called him (Mills) to come to the grant meeting and go over what we said.”

He said Captain Donald Malray went to the meeting in Mills’ stead, and explained all this to Malray.

“The bottom line is this: Is he going to have the money to do the match in his budget?” Coleman said. “We have not heard a word from Russell one way or the other. We need a decision out of him as to whether he can adjust his budget to come up with approximately $65,000 so that we can ask for the match. We think we can get the match if he can come up with the $65,000.”

Mills said Lt. Roger Smith was delegated to attend the grant committee meetings, and on the morning of February 11, Lt. Smith came to him and said a meeting with USDA officials that morning had been cancelled.

In one of his many public records requests, Mills asked for all the paperwork pertaining to the USDA grant application and in that paperwork he found a letter addressed to the Town of Homer dated February 14 that said, “According to the phone conversation with your office (Town of Homer), the application for federal financial assistance from USDA Rural Development for the purchase of police vehicles will no longer be required. Please advise this office in writing if you wish to continue this application.”

The deadline to advise the USDA was March 1, which was the date the council had set to disband the police department. Mills received a copy of the letter on Thursday, February 28, he said.

“When I got this letter and started reviewing this, I called her,” Mills said. “I spoke with [Cheryl Rodgers, Community Programs Specialist] and told her I couldn’t afford to lose this $180,000 grant.”

He said she explained the terms of the grant application as described above.

“She said she was under the impression the police department had been disbanded and the grant would no longer be required,” he said.

He said he then had his attorney, Pam Breedlove, fax a copy of the temporary restraining order to Rodgers in order to keep the grant open.

“I just found it odd that she (Ms. Rodgers) knew early that morning (February 11) that the police department was going to be disbanded,” he said.

The Homer Police Department is in desperate need of newer vehicles, because a chunk of the department’s budget goes to repairs of the current fleet. Many of the vehicles currently have more than 100,000 miles on them and are in need of replacement. In 2011, the City of Shreveport donated four of their surplus patrol units to the Town of Homer, but Mills doesn’t have the money to get them striped or equipped to be put into service. While one of those four patrol units is in use, three are not.

The grant committee will meet Wednesday afternoon to go over the grant application again among other issues. The grant committee meets every third Wednesday of the month and all meetings are open to the public.

Bookmobile schedule and book drop changes

Beginning Monday, March 18, the Bookmobile schedule will be changed.

The Bookmobile will only be making deliveries on Fridays of each week. Please email all requests for materials to cpplbookmobile@yahoo.com, or call the Haynesville Library at 318-624-0364 or 318-927-3845.

Please let the Haynesville Library know you will need the books delivered. The Bookmobile Librarian will contact you as soon as possible. The book drop has been moved from the main library to behind the Claiborne Parish Police Jury Office Complex. You may drop your books there at any time.

Relay for Life set for April 13

Exciting plans are underway for Relay for Life here in Claiborne Parish. Relay will be held on Saturday, April 13, from noon until midnight. For the first year this year’s Relay will be held on the lawn of the Claiborne Parish Courthouse. This year we have 11 teams participating and this year’s theme is “Cancer Never Takes a Holiday”. Each team will decorate their “campsites” with a selected holiday. Several teams will have games, food and raffles going throughout the day. In addition we will have entertainment through the day also. The Relay will begin at noon with registration and lunch for survivors. Opening ceremonies will be at 12:30 followed at 12:40 by the Survivors walk.  Bark for Life will be held at 3:00 p.m. The luminary ceremony will be held at 9:30 p.m. This is a very moving ceremony where all the lights are turned off and bags with a candle and with the names of those deceased or survivors are placed around the “track” and lit and the names of those who have lost their lives to cancer are read as well as survivors.  Please mark your calendar to joins us on Saturday, April 13th for Relay of Life. Bring your lawn chair and make a day of it.

Bark! Bark! Bark!

Canine event for a good cause

Man’s best friend, or so it’s been said. Woman’s too, but here’s something new!

Relay for Life, an American Cancer Society, fund-raiser, is adding a canine event to help cancer. This event is open to all dogs. Categories include: fastest dog, cutest trickster and best dressed! Registration fee of $5 includes bandanna for pet & wristband for owner. Prizes awarded to three top dogs. Enter as many categories as you want or just bring your dog to enjoy the fun!!!!!

For more information contact Christina at (318) 927-3596.

Easter Egg Hunt March 24

First Baptist Church of Homer’s annual Easter Egg Hunt will be at the Holloway Home, located at 1581 Harmon Look in Homer, at 1:30 p.m. for all children from birth to 5th grade. Don’t forget your Easter basket!!!

Tour de Claiborne

Team Cade Benefit Ride set for May 4

The Tour de Claiborne Cystic Fibrosis benefit ride will be Saturday, May 4. Sign in is between 8:30 and 9 a.m. at Homer High School with the ride beginning at 9:30 a.m. The entry fee is $50. There will be three routes this year:

1. 8 miles: South on North Main Street, left onto Highway 3, left onto U.S. 79 Bypass, left onto North Main Street to the finish line.

2. 14 miles: South on North Main Street, left onto Highway 2, left onto North Main to finish line.

3. 30 miles: South on North Main Street, right onto Highway 2, left onto Lewisville Road, Highway 159, left onto Pistal Thomas Rd, right onto Highway 2, right onto North Main Street to the finish line.

Register online at Bikereg.com. Onsite registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and closes at 9 a.m. on the day of the event. At registration, please put your shirt size at the end of your name.

Child seizure free five months after surgery

Jeri Bloxom, Special to The Guardian-Journal

Emilee Holloway is working hard to re-wire her brain and learn how to use her body and speak.

In September, the toddler had brain surgery to stop debilitating seizures when medications failed. Surgeons removed the portion of her brain causing the seizures and disconnected the rest of the left side, and her brain is re-routing itself to compensate for the loss of that left side.

"We have an appointment coming up soon, where Emilee will have an EEG," Emilee's mother Jennifer Holloway said. "If it comes back showing there has been no seizure activity, we will be able to take her off her last medication."

Emilee has taken as many as five different medications at one time in an effort to control her seizures. She has been seizure free since her surgery, approximately five months ago.

"Before the surgery, Emilee might take a few 20 minute naps a day and get three or four hours of sleep at night," Jennifer said. "We were exhausted, and so was she. Now, she can sleep up to eight to 10 hours at night."

Jennifer has said Emilee's whole demeanor changed after the surgery.

"She is happy all the time and is now discovering a whole new world," she said. "She is learning at such a fast pace. It really is remarkable."

Emilee now goes to therapy in Monroe four times a week. Each day of therapy consists of one hour of physical therapy, one hour of occupation therapy and one hour of speech therapy.

The right side of Emilee's body is a main focus of her therapy.

"She wears a leg brace and is learning modified sign language, because she can't move her right arm or hand that well," Jennifer said. "But, we are hopeful she will be able to walk. I want her to be able to do all that she can. I worry about her being wheelchair bound and where she will go to school. For now, we are working hard and praying."

Emilee is now learning to use a fork and develop her fine motor skills.

"She scribbled with a crayon for the first time the other day," Jennifer said. "It may sound trivial, but it was such a milestone for her."

"It's almost like having a brand new baby getting to watch all these things happening," Jennifer has said. "It's the small things that she can do now. It's unbelievable what the brain can do. It's a real-life miracle that we've all seen."

As this toddler continues to make progress, she seems to have a bright future.

Jennifer said support from friends, family and people she doesn't know has been important to the family's morale.

"The power of prayer carried all of us through this storm in our lives," she said. "Please continue to pray for Emilee. Although she is doing well, she has a long road ahead of her.

"We have insurance and her surgery is mostly paid for," Jennifer continued. "Where we are coming up short is the gas money to get to and from therapy. We spend a lot of time on the road."

A raffle fundraiser is being held for Emilee, and all funds raised will go towards medical bills and rehabilitation cost. The drawings will take place March 30. Tickets are $5 each.

Prizes include:

1-Framed Shadow Box with "PRAYING FOR EMILEE" t-shirt, car decal, picture of Emilee, and a picture of Frank and Ashli Foster. All items in the shadow box are autographed by Frank Foster.

1-case of Trace Adkins Hightower sausage

1-whole cheesecake from Cheesecake Bistro

2-$10 gift certificates from Shooter's BBQ

1-$50 Visa gift card from Gibsland Bank

1-Oilfield Camo waterproof bag from Michael's Men's Store

1-$50 gift certificate from Fred Smith and Sons

1-$200 gift certificate to Haute' Couture Photography

1-gift certificate for a pair of jeans from The Vault (any size or style)

1-Scentsy warmer (Charlemagne) with 2 scent blocks from Scentsy consultant Jan Smith of Athens

1-gift certificate for from All About You Salon in Minden for a cut and style

1-$100 gift certificate from Milisa Pickett Photography

2-case knives from Homer Motor Supply

1-full service oil change from Presto Oil in Homer

1-$50 fuel card from Emerson Oil

1-$100 gift certificate from Cheesecake Bistro

1-custom shirt for hoodie from Ragamuffins in Springhill

Tickets can be purchased in Homer at Emerson Oil, Claiborne Animal, and Homer Loans and in Minden at Gibsland Bank on Homer Rd and The Vault.

This story was reprinted with permission from the Minden Press-Herald.

Claiborne Parish tourism initiative is underway

JIMMY DEAN, Feature Writer

The Claiborne Chamber of Commerce has put together an assortment of materials to highlight where to go and what to do and see in Claiborne Parish. “Whether you’re a visitor or a local resident, Claiborne Parish has a driving tour CD set that you will find interesting,” says John Watson, Executive Director of the Chamber.

“The CD is one part of a major initiative aimed at helping others see and appreciate what is wonderful about Claiborne Parish,” Watson notes.

Asked what else is a part of the initiative, Watson explains that a colorful tourism brochure has been prepared. In addition,  there is a new website www.claiborneparishtourism.org.

Also, a cemetery brochure includes a map of the parish with the locations of 156 cemeteries in the parish or within a few miles of the parish line.

Finally, television ads have appeared describing Claiborne Parish as a desirable tourist destination.

Describing the tourism brochure, Watson says it highlights points of interest in Homer, Haynesville, Athens, Lisbon, Summerfield, and other areas of Claiborne Parish. It points out that 10 buildings in the parish are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The brochure includes pictures of the Claiborne Parish Courthouse, Herbert S. Ford Museum, Lisbon’s Killgore House, the mural on the west wall of Haynesville’s Killgore Pharmacy,  Homer’s Old Town Cemetery, the Hill Farm, Summerfield’s Alberry Wasson House, and Lake Claiborne.

The cover of the “Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, Cemetery Guide” notes that it is intended to be “A guide to finding the resting places of your ancestors.” A brief description gives directions for each of the 156 cemeteries There is also a map in the brochure marking the approximate location of each.

The new tourism website, www.claiborneparishtourism.org, describes Lake Claiborne State Park and lists local lodging such as Panther Creek Bed and Breakfast at Summerfield and Lake Claiborne Vacation Cottage on Harmon Loop.

The website describes “eateries” such as the Rebel Stop and Moon’s toward Summerfield, Port-au-Prince on Lake Claiborne, Sunrise Bakery and Restaurant and Homer Seafood and Pizza as well as Yesterday’s Grill in Haynesville.

Highlights related to Homer, Haynesville, Lisbon, Athens, Summerfield, and the parish’s historic cemeteries are all mentioned on the website.

Some parish events are plugged including the Butterfly Festival, the Claiborne Jubilee, the 4th of July Fireworks and Boat Parade, Lake Claiborne Antique Auto and Bike Show, and the Christmas Festival.

The set consists of two CDs with 41 tracks of information highlighting areas of interest around the parish. For only $3 visitors or local residents can learn things about Claiborne Parish that’s not in the history books, stories passed down from grandparents to grandchildren that has become the stuff of local legend and lore.

Of course, the internet website is free as is the tourism brochure. With the cemetery guide available for $1 and the driving CD sets for $3, the whole tourism package is available for $4, a token cost to cover expenses of production.

Many local citizens donated many hours to the brochures, the cemetery guide, the driving CDs, and the website.

Brochures and CD sets are available at the following locations:

* The Grapevine

* Port-au-Prince Restaurant

* Killgore's Pharmacy & Gift Shop

* The Rebel Stop

* Claiborne Parish Library

* Delta Interiors

* The Chamber Office at Ford Museum

Brochures only are available at the following:

* Courtyard Florist

* Lake Claiborne State Park

* Haynesville City Hall

* The Guardian-Journal

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