Justice Dept. Requests Information From School Board
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
School Superintendent Sherman Brown
presented copies of the 11-page letter received from Iris Goldschmidt, an
attorney with Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Justice Department to members
of the Claiborne Parish School Board at their regular meeting on May 6. The
letter received Wednesday, May 5 asked for additional information as a
follow-up to the December 2000 visit by the former attorney, Daniel Kohrman, as well as information that was omitted in the
Annual Report in October 2003.
The June 22, 1970 Order requires the
Claiborne Parish School District to report to the Court the number of students
by race enrolled in each classroom in each school, but that information had not
been included in the Annual Report. Information requested by Goldschmidt
included the names, races, and addresses on students in each classroom, on each
bus route, and in each school activity. She also asked for student transfer
policies and procedures, what affect the new construction projects would have,
the number of full-time and part-time teachers by race in each school district,
as well as information on other staff and support staff employees.
Some concerns listed included the race
ratios at Pineview and Summerfield and what efforts
were being made to desegregate those schools. Brown said she wanted the
information by May 21, but agreed to give them an extension until June 30 since
it was near the end of the school year and the Board would be appointing a new
superintendent about that time. Responding to this letter would be one of the
first duties of the new superintendent.
Jubilee Awards Total Almost $4,000
Prizes valued at almost $4,000.00 await
those who enter the Claiborne Parish Jubilee this weekend. The Best of Show
Award in the Art Show for adults is $300.00 alone and there are dozens of other
awards in cash for adults, and savings bonds for
youth. These along with the awards for the Flower and Quilt Shows will be
presented at the 2 PM ceremony where families of those serving in the military
will also be recognized.
The Minden Community Chorus under the
direction of Dan Gibbs will be featured on the awards ceremony and salute to
the Homefront families. They will perform "The
Star Spangled Banner", "A Salute to the Armed Forces,"
"Bring Him Home" from "Les Miserables,"
"You'll Never Walk Alone" from "Carousel," and two
spirituals, "Rise Up Early in the Morning" and "Halle, Halle, I'm So Glad."
Among others who will be entertaining
are Dick Dorrell and Pat Gladney,
Rudy Page, and the Homer High School Chorus and Jazz Band.
Among the generous businesses which are
sponsoring these awards are Gene Coleman and State Farm Insurance, Gibsland
Bank and Trust, Hibernia Bank, First Guaranty Bank, Claiborne Insurance, Toney
Johnson Real Estate, Claiborne Butane, Michael's Men Store, Edward Jones, Synco Motors, Upper Crust Catering, Ludlow, Emerson Oil,
M&M Hardware, Thomas Auto Care, Delta Interiors, Standard Coffee, and
Peterson Contractors as well as the Homer Lions Club.
In the event of rain, all events planned
for the Courthouse Lawn will be moved to the City Hall.
Artists, gardeners and quilters are all
encouraged to participate in this year's festival.
Categories in which quilts will be
placed are Antique, Appliqued, Pieced, Miscellaneous,
and Wearable Art. Entries will be judged on Friday evening and must be
delivered to the Police Jury Complex by 4 PM Friday to be considered. The Quilt Show will be held from 9 AM - 5 PM
on Saturday.
Categories for the Flower Show are
Annuals, Perennials, and Shrubs as single specimens, and in floral design for
arrangements appropriate for (1) Card Table (2) Breakfast or Luncheon Table (3)
Dining Table (4) Coffee Table (5) Entryway in Home (6) Church.
Entries should be brought to the
courthouse between 8:00 and 9:45 AM on the morning of the May 15th. Judging
will begin at 10 AM. Mrs. Rosalie McInnes, noted
judge, will be speaking as she conducts the competition in order for everyone
to understand her decisions and learn from the experience.
Categories for Adult art entries (age 18
and older) and Professional art entries are oil, acrylic, watercolor, drawing,
photography, sculpture, and miscellaneous. Best of Show is $300. In both Adult
and Professional, First Place will receive $75, Second
Place $50, and Third Place $25, in addition to ribbons.
Categories for children (age 8 and
under), Juniors (ages 9-12), and Youth (ages 13-17)
will be drawing, oil, acrylic, watercolor, and miscellaneous. In each age
group, there will be one Best of Show awarded, a $100 Savings Bond and Ribbon.
First Place will receive a medal, $50 savings bond and ribbon. Second and Third
Places will receive a medal and ribbon. All participants will receive a ribbon
for exhibiting.
Entry fees for adults are $6 or $20 for
up to four entries. ($10 for one and $25 for up to three
after May 10). Fees for children, juniors and youth are $1 each.
For more information, contact Cynthia
Steele at 318-927-2566.
Jubilee Schedule of Events
Friday, May 14
- 4 PM - Deadline for
quilts to be delivered to Police Jury Complex, 507 West Main, Homer
- 4:30 - 6:00 PM -
Judging of Quilt Show
Saturday, May 15
- 8:00-9:45 AM - Flowers
and art works will be received on the Courthouse Lawn. Registration forms
must be completed for each entry.
- 10:00-11:00 AM -
Judging of art and flower entries
- Throughout the day the
Athens Garden Club will demonstrate wreath making techniques
- 11 AM - Flower
Arranging Demonstration by Lynn May of Lynn's Flowers
- 11:00-2:00 PM -
Various musical performers including the Homer High School Jazz Band, the
Homer High School Chorus, Rudy Page, and Dick Dorrell
and Pat Gladney.
- 2 PM - Announcement of
winning design - What Home Means To Me Plaque,
- Minden Community
Chorus, Dan Gibbs, Director
- Recognition of
Families on the Home Front and Presentation of Plaques
- Presentation of Awards
to Art, Flower, and Quilt Show Winners
- Recognition of
Sponsors
- 3:00-5:00 PM - Viewing
of exhibits will continue
Jury Calls Tax Renewal Election,
Repeals Bottle Club Ordinance
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
At their regular meeting on May 6, the
Claiborne Parish Police Jury approved calling an election on July 17, 2004 to
renew the Claiborne Parish Library tax which runs out in 2005 and, after
voting to add it to the agenda, approved adding the renewal of the maintenance
tax for the Claiborne Parish Courthouse which also expires at the end of the
year. The cost of an election is about $30,000 and this was the last date to
get the tax propositions on the ballot this year.
Jurors approved repealing the Ordinance
on bottle club permits. This will have no effect on current bottle clubs, but
the Jury will not renew those permits once they expire.
AG Appeals Recall Decision
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Assistant Attorney General Angie LaPlace filed a Writ of Certiorari on May 7 to the Supreme
Court of Louisiana on behalf of Claiborne Parish Registrar of Voters Patricia
Sanders. The Writ asks the Supreme Court of Louisiana to review the April 7,
2004 judgment issued by Second Circuit Court Judge James Stewart and reverse
his decision to uphold an earlier ruling by District Judge Jimmy Teat that ordered Sanders
to place 66 names back on the petition to recall Homer Mayor Huey Dean.
The Writ states the Second Circuit
decision is in direct conflict with decisions of this Court and the Courts of
Appeal, 3rd and 5th Circuit, which state the legislature is well aware of the
ability of registrars of voters to verify the signatures on a petition with the
signatures on file in the registrar's offices, that is a misdemeanor for any
person to sign the name of another on a recall petition and that it is within
the discretion of the registrar to determine the sufficiency of the
signatories' address so a fair identification can be made.
The lower court decision erroneously
interpreted the definition of a signature, resulting in an absurdity that any
printed name on a recall petition shall simply be compared to the name on the
registrar's record, with no comparison for genuineness.
Since 1929, the practice in the State of
Louisiana has been just the opposite. The registrar has refused to certify a
name as genuine if it was signed differently from the signature on the registration
application, or if it was in a different handwriting. The Attorney General
argues that for the past 75 years, registrars of voters in Louisiana, upon
legal advise of the AG Office, have been certifying
petitions by verifying signatures with signatures on file in their offices. The
Election Code specifically prohibits the registrar from including any person
who has not affixed his signature to the petition. If a person did not
"print" his signature on his voter registration application, then his
name "printed" on a petition is not his signature.
With no comparison of the hand or
writing style with the voter registration card, the requirements for
certification of a recall petition would limit the registrar ability to certify
the name as genuine and would significantly affect the public interest.
This would shift the burden or duty to
verify the signatures from the registrar to the public official who would be forced to file a contest
just to have all the signatures verified, rather than have the registrar do as
they have for the past 75 years.
With the political nature of a recall,
one person could bring about a recall by obtaining a list of registered voters
then printing the required number of registered voters' names on the petition
and giving the Registrar of Voters no authority to validate those signatures.
The Writ states the lower courts erred
in finding that "handwritten" in the election code means
"printed". Of the 42 printed names ordered to be placed back on the
Petition, no evidence was introduced to validate 17 of those printed names.
Requiring a printed name to be certified
as a person's signature opens up the floodgate for fraud, as a
"printed" name may be made by any person.
The lower courts interpreted the
Election Code as providing no statutory scheme of certification of petitions.
Adding the word "handwritten" to the Election Code provision was
necessary to ensure that all election documents had signature written in a
person's hand, rather than an electronic or digitized signature. Here the
letter of the law for handwritten signature has been interpreted by the lower
courts to lead to the absurd conclusion that any printed name is a signature
that must be certified without verification as to genuineness.
Shreveport attorney Larry English, who
represents petitioners Willie Young, Sr., Lurry Crew,
Maxine Wilson, Linda Robinson, Vannessia Thompson
Kirk and Leamon Cheatman,
has 15 days to file a response.
Claiborne Academy Graduates May 13
Claiborne Academy will hold their Commencement
Exercises on Thursday, May 13 at 8:00 PM in the school gymnasium. Valedictorian
is Ginger Erin Clements and Salutatorian is Trae
Walker Milam.
The 2004 candidates for graduation are
Joseph Benjamin Abshire, Katie Faye Bailey, Kyle Evan
Bailey, Daniel Bays, James Dustin Cella, Ginger Erin
Clements, Sarah Elise Collins, Kendal Kay Copeland, Maggie Dowies,
Broddie Ebarb, Bryan
Emerson, Marcus Harmon, Amanda Haynes, Audrey Heard, Jonathan Mark Lafitte,
Jenna Alaine Lee, Trae
Walker Milam, Brittney Murray, Taren Dusty Sims,
Joshua Harold Stanley, and Candace Traylor.
Haynesville High School Graduation Held
May 11
Haynesville High School held
Commencement Exercises Tuesday, May 11, 2004 in the school auditorium. Frank
Williams welcomed everyone. The opening prayer and pledge of allegiance was led
by Stormy Cockrell. Co-Valedictorians Tinique Beene and Katie Hamilton and Salutatorian Maggie Anne Bower
gave their addresses. Principal Steve Craig recognized honor graduates and
those receiving scholarships, then presented diplomas
to graduating seniors. Frank McDaniel recited the Graduates' Creed and Mindy
Toney led the closing prayer.
The 2004 Haynesville High graduates who
received diplomas were Kentario Traonte
Aubrey, Cercy Dylan Bailey, Marshall Lance Bailey, LaQuantinee LaCastinique Beene, Latoni Shamice
Berry, Ashley Nicole Bittle, Marquis Aquino Bittle, Maggie Anne Bower,
Stormy Leann Cockrell, Antwine Detrile
Davis, Drew Cole Durham, Shari Rashaun Faulk, Katie
LeAnn Hamilton, David Allen Hanvy, Devin Hope Hardin,
Shannon Renae Harris, Reesa
Hazel Hicks, Christopher Carl Jackson, Lori Deann
Johnston, Austin Darrell Kennedy, Christopher Paul Kirkpatrick, Tabrea Tynette Lane, Franklin
Edward McDaniel, Collin Bruce Merritt, Charles Edward Owen III, Chance Adam
Sanders, Sammy James Sanford, Eric Shaun Staggs, Sheila Lagale
Thomas, Mindy Claire Toney, LaToya Treneice Turner, Tameka Nacole Turner, Ce'Tera Chardonnet Tyson, Demarcus
Waller, Cameron Andrew Ware, Franklin Dale Williams Jr., Jared Matthew
Williams, Michael William Woods, and Anthony Thomas Zangara.The
2004 Haynesville High graduates who received diplomas were Kentario
Traonte Aubrey, Cercy Dylan
Bailey, Marshall Lance Bailey, LaQuantinee LaCastinique Beene, Latoni Shamice Berry, Ashley
Nicole Bittle, Marquis Aquino
Bittle, Maggie Anne Bower, Stormy Leann Cockrell, Antwine Detrile Davis, Drew Cole
Durham, Shari Rashaun Faulk, Katie LeAnn Hamilton,
David Allen Hanvy, Devin Hope Hardin, Shannon Renae Harris, Reesa Hazel Hicks,
Christopher Carl Jackson, Lori Deann Johnston, Austin
Darrell Kennedy, Christopher Paul Kirkpatrick, Tabrea
Tynette Lane, Franklin Edward McDaniel, Collin Bruce
Merritt, Charles Edward Owen III, Chance Adam Sanders, Sammy James Sanford,
Eric Shaun Staggs, Sheila Lagale Thomas, Mindy Claire
Toney, LaToya Treneice
Turner, Tameka Nacole
Turner, Ce'Tera Chardonnet
Tyson, Demarcus Waller, Cameron Andrew Ware, Franklin
Dale Williams Jr., Jared Matthew Williams, Michael William Woods, and Anthony
Thomas Zangara.
Junction City To
Graduate May 14
Commencement Exercises will be held at
Junction City High School on Friday, May 14, 2004 at 8 PM in the school
gymnasium.
Lori Hux is
the valedictorian and Shaymoria Paschal is the
salutatorian. The Top Ten Graduates for 2004 are Lori Hux,
Shaymoria Paschal, Koby
McKinnon, Carole Nichols, Drew McKinnon, Cole Cates, Perla
Hernandez, Ashley Langley, Scott Owens, and Shelly Rowland.
The 2004 candidates for graduation at
Junction City High School are Rebecca
Gail Beason, Kayla Neekohl
Boone, Cassey Markeita
Branch, Katey Michelle Brewer, Sarah Marie Cardin, Brannin Carter, Cole Cates, Justin Ray Cole, Matthew Edmund
Courtney, Jake William Dolden, Katina
Marie Duggar, Joshua David Dunn, Travon
DeShon Fields, Judia Charel Flowers, Samuel David Gatewood,
Jarad Matthew Grafton, Natalie Nacole
Henry, Shameka Renee Henry, Perla
Esmeralda Hernandez, Aaron Holland, Santana Denise Holyfield,
Charlie William Honza, Brianna Gail Louise Huskey, Lori Alicia Hux, Crystal
Jackson, Jahi Jones, Steven Joyce, Keith Dwayne Knight,
Ashley Michelle Langley, Jonathan Alex Loyd, Myranda Malone, Andrew Scott McKinnon, Steven Koby McKinnon, Brandon Deshaun
Meadows, Gary Meeks, Maurice Lavern Moore, Carole Annice
Nichols, Jana Diane Norris, Scott Britoon Owens, Shaymoria Jalinda Paschal, Ashley
Elizabeth Post, Scarlet Joelle Risher,
Shelly Michelle Rowland, Ronald Kevin Sehon, Ashley
Ann Smith, Keisha Renea
Smith, Mary Yolanda Michelle Stratton, Joshua Colby Sumrall, Brittany Rose Thurlkill, Zavier Kantrelle Tubbs, Kevin Waller, Matthew Houston Whatley,
Jeremy Scott Wheeler, George Edward Williams, Kenyetta
Yvette Williams, and Brandon Lee Wood.
Mt. Olive Graduation Is May 14
Mt. Olive Christian School will hold
their Commencement Exercises on Friday, May 14 at 7:30 PM in the school
auditorium.
The valedictorian is Tasha
Sabo and the salutatorian is Justin Stapleton.
The 2004 candidates for graduation at
Mt. Olive Christian School are Bradley Jordan, Tasha
Sabo, Justin Stapleton, Daniel Lonadier, Brooke
Perry, and Kelly Frugé.
