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March 1, 2001

 

Grand Jury Indicts Three For Second Degree Murder

For Murders Of Brenda Dunn, Shannon Denise Capers, And Stephanie Mitchell

By Susan T. Herring, Editor, The Guardian-Journal

The Grand Jury was convened on Tuesday, February 27. They examined twelve cases and returned twelve True Bills. Darryl D. Heard was indicted for the second degree murder of Brenda Dunn. Maurice Tate was indicted for the second degree murder of 13-year-old Shannon Denise Capers, whose skeletal remains were uncovered in a wooded area behind the Mill Street Apartments on May 4, 1999. Tate is presently housed in the Claiborne Detention Center. He pled guilty on February 13 to one count of distribution and one count of possession with intent to distribute Schedule I and II, and was sentenced to two 15-year sentences, to run concurrent.

Former Housing Authority Director Could Face Ten Year Prison Sentence

By Susan T. Herring, Editor, The Guardian-Journal

Former Executive Director of the Town of Homer Housing Authority , Kerry L. Sims entered a guilty plea on Thursday, February 22 before U.S. District Judge Donald R. Walter to charges of theft from the agency. Sims is attributed with a total loss to the Authority of $86,488.15. He was released on bond pending his sentencing set for May 17, 2001 and faces a maximum sentence of not more than ten years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Cain's Senate Bill May Not Protect The State’s Water Supply

By Susan T. Herring, Editor, The Guardian-Journal

Voice your support of a state water policy that will protect the future supply of groundwater in the state, that will stop the present depletion of the state's aquifers, and that will leave the enforcement of such a policy with local water districts, by calling Representative Rick Gallot at (318) 251-8480, Senator Robert Barham at (318) 728-6830, and Senator Foster Campbell at (318) 746-2078.

At the meeting of the Sparta Groundwater Conservation District on February 26 in Ruston, members voiced their concern about Senate James David Cain's bill. Dudley Hixson with Meyer, Meyer, LaCroix, and Hixson, Inc., gave an update on the Sparta Aquifer Study to commission members. He said. "We are headed for disaster" unlesss the state passes a bill with more teeth, one that gives the commission the ability to manage the groundwater usage. Commission member Olevia McDonald said, "I haven't talked to anyone who thinks Cain's bill does anything."

Jordan Announces Candidacy For Mayor Of Haynesville

J. Larry Jordan has announced his candidacy for Mayor of Haynesville. making the announcement, Jordan made the following statement, “It is my belief that each of us must take a renewed interest in government at all levels if we are to enjoy safe, clean, and economically sound communities in which to live and work. It is for this reason that I plan to offer myself as a candidate for Mayor of Haynesville. I have been a resident of Haynesville since 1981. My wife, Betty and I have enjoyed raising four children in this community. During theses years, we have seen a slow but constant decline in the economic well being of our community. THis depressed economy has affected every facet of life in Haynesville.

Larry P. Jones Announces Candidacy For Chief Of Police In Haynesville

Police Officer Larry P. Jones has announced plnas to seek an at-large position Chief of Police of Haynesville in the citywide election April 7, 2001. Jones graduated from Minden High School in 1986 and has earned college credits at Bossier Parish Community College in Criminal Justice. He graduated from the Bossier Parish Criminal Justice Institute in 1997.

Rebel's Story To Be Featured On Dateline NBC Sunday, March 4

The story of Rebel McCleskey's tragic death will be one of several stories featured on Dateline NBC on Sunday night, March 4. Rebel’s mother, former Homer resident Edith McCleskey, is set to go on trial April 30, 2001 in Shelby County, Texas, for his murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The Dateline program will address opposing views over gun laws in this country.

Law Enforcement Panel To Discuss Drugs At Public Forum Today

“Are you concerned about the problem with drugs in our community?“ Then don’t miss the opportunity to voice your concerns at a public forum tonight, Thursday, March 1 beginning at 6:30 PM at Homer City Hall. The forum is being sponsored by the Drug Committee with the Louisiana Small Town Program. Local officials who will serve on the panel are Sheriff Kenneth Volentine, Police Chief Rodney Hollenshead, DWCC Warden Kelly Ward, CDC Asst. Warden Loyd Manuel, Judge Jenifer Clason, District Attorney Walter May, CPSO deputies Ben Booth and James Spillers, and School Superintendent Gary Jones. Concerned citizen are encouraged to attend the forum, where they will be allowed to submit their questions and comments to members of the panel.

Candidate Forum To Be Held Tonight In Haynesville

The citizens of Haynesville will have an opportunity to meet and question the candidates for the April 7 election at a forum to be held in the auditorium of the Haynesville Elementary School beginning at 6 PM tonight, Thursday, March 1. Beginning at 5:30 PM, citizens will have a half hour to get acquainted with the candidates. During the forum, each candidate will respond to questions on the issues within a limited amount of time. A limited number of questions from the audience will also be allowed. The forum is being sponsored by COPE, Incorporated and the Concerned Citizens Committee of Haynesville, Inc. Refreshments will be served.

March 1, 2001

Homer Doubleplay Booster Club To Hold Spaghetti Dinner Sunday - The Homer Doubleplay Booster Club will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser from 11 AM to 1 PM Sunday, March 4 at the Homer High School cafeteria. Plates include spaghetti, crackers, salad, cake and tea. Eat in or carry out available. Tickets are $4. Call Terry at 927-9722 for info on tickets or any baseball team member.    All Summer Ball Organizations Will Meet Thursday, March 8 - All coaches and individuals who plan to use the Town of Homer’s facilities need to attend the meeting at Homer City Hall on Thursday, March 8 at 5:30 PM. The meeting is to discuss the upcoming season and the needs at the ball fields and park areas. For more information , call Fred Young at 548-2110.    Pineview High School To Hold Special PTSA Meeting March 1 - A Special PTSA Meeting is set for March 1 at 6 PM at Pineview High School. The primary topic of discussion will be LEAP21, IOWA, and GEE21 tests which are to be administered in March and April.    American Legion Baseball To Host Team Bass Tournament - Claiborne Parish American Legion Baseball will host a Team Bass Tournament on Lake Claiborne on Saturday, March 10, from 6 AM to 3 PM. Entry is $60 per boat, with $10 optional Big Bass Pot. Prizes to the top five places with a payback of 80 percent. Applications are available at several local stores. For more information, call Bill Herring at 927-9312.    Local Governing Bodies To Meet - The Homer Town Council will meet Monday, March 5 at 6 PM in the Council Chambers. The Claiborne Parish Police Jury will meet Wednesday and Thursday, March 7 and 8 at 10 AM in their board room. The Claiborne Parish School Board will meet Thursday, March 15 at 7 PM following their work session at 6 PM.    Legion Auxiliary Unit To Present US Flags To Athens High - Yvonne Winzer and Judge Jenifer Clason, representing American Legion Auxiliary Unit 73, will hold a formal presentation of U.S. flags to Athens High School on Thursday, March 1 at 1 PM. Auxiliary members expect to present flags to other Claiborne Parish schools. Interested persons or other Auxiliary members are welcome to attend.    The Homer-Mayfield Alumni School Reunion To Meet March 6 - The Homer-Mayfield Alumni School Reunion will hold their regular monthly meeting March 6 at 6 PM at 904 South 4th Street, across from Washington Street, the second building on the right. All alumni and interested persons are asked to please attend.    Trailblazers, Inc. Is Collecting Newspapers For Recycling - Trailblazers, Inc. of Ruston is collecting newspapers for recycling and will be picking up newspapers at the following locations--Homer City Hall, Haynesville City Hall, and Athens City Hall. Papers can be bound with string or placed in paper bags. No plastic bags. People are encouraged to drop off newspapers ONLY. Please do not place colored ad slicks or magazines in the bins.    Goodwill Industries To Hold Job Class At Parish Library - North Louisiana Goodwill Industries will hold a Job Class for Claiborne Parish residents looking for employment on Tuesday, March 7 at 10 AM at the Claiborne Parish Library at 901 Edgewood Drive in Homer. Participants will complete applications for employment in the Shreveport/Bossier and Homer area. In addition to matching people with jobs, the job class will conduct mini-seminars on appearance, attitude, self-esteem, and interviewing skills. The class is free and open to the public. Attendees must bring a valid picture identification card and social security card to the class. For more information, call Rosemarie W. Gerhardt at 318-868-4701.    Webster Parish Head Start Now Recruiting Homer Area For 3 And 4 Year Olds - Webster Parish Head Start is now recruiting and accepting applications in the Homer area for three and four year olds born before October 1. Children with special needs are given first priority. Any person desiring to enroll a child must have a certified birth certificate from the state the child was born, proof of income, child’s social security card and current immunizations. For further information, visit the ABC Head Start Center at 1003 Pearl Street in Homer or call Connie Joyner, Family Services Specialist at (318) 377-7022 Ext. 144. Head Start is an Early Childhood Development Program sponsored by the Webster Parish Police Jury Office of Community Services.    Claiborne Council On Aging March Calendar Of Events - Bingo is played every Friday after Lunch. Lunches are serveddaily Mondy thru Friday. Exercise treadmills and rowing machines are available. Slip and molds are available for ceramics. March 1 Tommye Jane English 11:30 am March 5 Dr. Clint Butler 11:30am March 6 Corrine Strickland 11:30am March 7 Sheriff Kenneth Volentine 11:30am March 9 Beau Bridges 11:30 am March 13 Dora Ann Hatch 11:30 am March 14 Blood Pressure/Sugar 11am-noon March 14 Triad 2-3 pm March 15 Northwest Legal Services11:30 am March 16 Alternative Touch 11:30 am March 20 Lil Sanders - Singing 11:30am March 20 Crafts 1pm till March 22 Dr. Greg Woodall 11:30 am March 27 Crafts 1pm till Bingo is played every Friday after lunch. Lunches are served daily Monday through Friday. Exercise treadmills and rowing machines are available. Slip and molds are available for ceramics. Northwest Legal Services, Inc. will visit the be at the Council on Aging March 15 from 10am to noon. Individual professional counseling is available from an attorney on a non-fee generating case basis. Appointments may be made by calling the Council of Aging at 927-6922 or 800-308-8951 or Northwest Louisiana Legal Services at 800-621-2488.    March Events At Lake Claiborne Park - For information on upcoming events at Lake Claiborne State Park Call 888-677-2524 toll free or 318-927-2976. March 3 - Jeb Johnson's Great Escapades, 7 PM. Visitors can learn more about the life of a local legend who lived in Claiborne Parish and fought in the Civil War. March 10 - Woodpecker Wonders, 7 PM. Visitors are invited to a program that discusses different types of woodpeckers, their niche in nature, their biology and their nesting habits. March 24 - Storytelling, 7-8 PM, Visitors are invited to hear stories about Native Americans, animals and plants. March 31 - Miniature Wonders Nature Walk, 9:30 - 10:30 AM. Join the park naturalist for a nature hike to discover small plant and insect life often overlooked in the natural world.     New Cabins At Lake Claiborne State Park Are Open - Ten new vacation cabins opened at Lake Claiborne State Park on January 9. Units rent for $65 with a 2-night minimum on weekends. and have everything but towels and soap. To reserve your cabin, call toll free (877) CAMP-N-LA (226-7652) from 8 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday.    Claiborne One Site Additions Under Construction! - The complete Community Service Directory originally produced by The Family First Coalition will be presented online. Information covered includes: Educational Programs & Resources, Hotlines, Health && Medical Resources, Social && Community Programs, Clubs && Organizations, Related Internet Resources and much more. Portions are now online with additions monthly. The Internet Multi-Search page searches/opens up to six sites with one entry. A variety of links are now online: Search Engines, Meta-Search Engines, Health/Medical, International News, Online Newspapers, News/Discussion Groups, Sports News, Software, Entertainment, Acceptable Sites for Teens, Kids/Educational, Travel, Job Search, Financial/Stock Market News, Online Shopping and now Metric Conversion Calculators. Coming soon will be Clip Art, HTML and Javascript Repositories.				Second Community “Ole Time” Gospel Singing Saturday, March 3 - The Second Community “Ole Time” Gospel Singing will be held Saturday evening, March 3, at Trinity Southern Methodist Church, beginning at 6:30 PM with the audience singing from the “Heavenly Highways” songbook. Jerry Thompson will again be master of ceremonies. Many area singers, Wayne Smith, Pat Gladney, Rodney Hollenshead, Mike Calhoun, Ronald Day, Carolyn Musgrove, David Fowler, Nancy Nelson, Sandra Langley, Jerry Thompson, and others who participated in December are expected back, along with many others. Jane Talley and Sandra Langley will serve as accompanists. All are invited to come and join in the Saturday night fun.    Scouts To Deliver Goodwill Clothing Bags Saturday, March 3 - Boy Scouts will deliver Goodwill clothing bags on Saturday, March 3. Troop 72 Boy Scouts will pick up filled bags at 9 AM on Saturday, March 10. Clothes donated will benefit the local Clothes, Etc. on the square in Homer.    Haynesville High Class Of 1981 To Hold Reunion Meeting - Members of Haynesville High School Class of 1981 will have a meeting on Saturday, March 17 at the Haynesville Band Room at 10 AM. All 1981 Class members are encouraged to attend this meeting for the purpose of planning a class reunion.    Cancer Society To Hold St. Paddy’s Day Patty Drop - The Claiborne Parish American Cancer Society and members of the Relay of Life Team are selling tickets to the 2nd Annual St. Paddy’s Day Patty Drop scheduled for March 17 at the Homer High School practice football field. For more info, call 1-800-ACS-2345.    Used Sweat Suits Needed By Claiborne Parish FCE Clubs - The Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs in Claiborne Parish are looking for new or used sweat suits to recycle into teddy bears for their Christmas project. Please drop your sweat suits off at the Thrift Store located on the east side of the Homer Square any Tuesday or Saturday. All donations appreciated.    Minden Forestry Office To Hold Annual Shade Tree Sale March 5-9 - The Louisiana Office of Forestry’s Annual Shade Tree Sale will be held March 5-9 from 8 AM to 5 PM at the forestry office, 1304 Lewisville Road, Minden, LA. Hardwood packets will include one each of: red maple, green ash, redbud, river birch, and 2 baldcypress (total of six). Pine packets will have 20 superior loblolly pines. All packets are $3 each. Packets are available on a first-come basis and cannot be reserved in advance. Sometimes they sell out of a certain species, so they recommend coming early in the week. For more info, call 318-371-3007.    Donations Sought For Family Whose Home Burned - Donations for the family of Marie Gillis are being collected by Rev. Willie Young and the New Hope Missionare Baptist Church. Gillis' home burned to the ground Monday, February 19. Gillis wears size 26. Her niece, Rishanne, wears 22. Her sons, Marquis, wears a boys 14 and Jarondey wears 4T. Her daughter Shanderick wears 4T. Marie's brother-in-law Bobby Webb wears 34w30l. Her son, Robert Daniels, wears 34w32l. Her nephew, Raffael Henderson, wears 40w30l For more information, call 927-4773 or 927-4777.    Friends Of Genealogy, Inc. To Hold Meeting In Shreveport March 3 - Mary R. Zimmerman will speak on "Migration Routes to North Louisiana" (1800-1860) at 1 PM on March 3 at the meeting of Friends of Genealogy, Inc. to be held at the Louisiana State Exhibit Building at 3015 Greenwood Road in Shreveport. Admission is free. For information or directions, call Laura Duffy at (318) 424-7648 or John Head at (318) 929-1701.    Law Enforcement Panel To Discuss Drugs At Public Forum - The Louisiana Small Town Program Drug Committee will hold a public forum to address the drug problem in Homer on Thursday, March 1 at 6:30 PM. Those invited to serve on the panel are Sheriff Kenneth Volentine, Police Chief Rodney Hollenshead, Warden Kelly Ward, CDC Asst. Warden Loyd Manuel, Judge Jenifer Clason, CPSO officers Ben Booth and James Spillers, District Attorney Walter May, and School Superintendent Gary Jones.    Bank Account Set Up For Family Whose Home Burned - An account has been set up at First Guaranty Bank for the family of Beverly Crew, whose home was destroyed by fire on January 25. Anyone who would like to donate clothes can drop them off at Sunrise Bakery at 206 North Main, where Beverly is employed. The couple have four children and one grandchild. Bianca wears ladies 5-6, Ricky wears boys husky size 16, Julia wears size 15-16, Arien wears 36w-34l pants, Grandbaby wears 4T, Beverly wears 2X-3X and Harry wears 32w-33l pants.    March 7 Last Day To Register For April 7 Election - According to Registrar of Voters Patricia Sanders, the last day to register or to make any changes to your voter registration status for the April 7 election will be Wednesday, March 7. Absentee voting will begin March 26 and continue through March 31, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, and 8:30 AM till noon on Saturday.    Board of Election Supervisors To Meet Friday, March 9 - The Parish Board of Election Supervisors To Meet Friday, March 9 at 10 AM in the Registrar's Office to draw commissioners and alternates for the April 7 and May 5, 2001 elections.    Claiborne Baseball/Softball Schedules and Scores Online - Claiborne One to feature baseball and softball schedules and scores for Claiborne Parish Schools. Now online: Homer, Haynesville, Summerfield, Mount Olive and Junction City. Coming Soon: Athens, Pine View and Claiborne Academy. Please email updates to schedules and scores to GJ_Editor@ClaiborneOne.org.    Claiborne One Site Now Features Area Image Archive - Archived images from the recent Homer Christmas Festival and Parade are now online. Upcoming image archives to include: Haynesville Butterfly Festival 2000, Homer Christmas Festival 1999, Claiborne Parish Scenery, Lake Claiborne State Park and more. To submit your images for inclusion in the Claiborne One Image Archive you may email them to webmaster@ClaiborneOne.org.    HMH offers MRI's - Homer Memorial Hospital is proud to announce the availability of MRI procedures two days a week in Homer.     The JCAHO-accredited system, provided by Alliance Imaging, is a Siemens 1.0 with a fast pack. The moblie MRI produces images as good as an on-site MRI.     MRI procedures performed in Homer by Alliance Imaging specialists are read by radiologists from Diagnostic Associates; films become part of the patients permanent record and stay on-site at HMH.     Appointments should be made through your physician; the ordering physician does not have to be a local physician.     "We are proud to offer this service to our community. Residents no longer have to drive to Shreveport to receive a state-of-the-art MRI examination." reminds Homer Memorial Radiology department.    Attention: Girls, Grades 1-6 Invited To Join Girl Scouts - Girl Scouts of American Troop 344 invite all girls in grades 1-6 to "Where Girls Grow Strong,". For more info call Melissa Smith at 927-4585 or Stacey Hollenshead at 927-4601.    Country, Bluegrass, Gospel Music Every Friday In Homer - The Homer-Mayfield Alumni School Reunion will hold their regular monthly meeting March 6 at 6 PM at 904 South 4th Street, across from Washington Street, the second building on the right. All alumni and interested persons are asked to please attend.
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