James Scriber Named School
Superintendent
Bids On Phase
II Homer School Project Rejected
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
James E. Scriber was named the new
school superintendent by the Claiborne Parish School Board at a special called
meeting last Thursday, May 20 and will assume the position June 1. Scriber, who was present at the
meeting, said, "I have been there before and I know what a difficult job
it is. My interest is in this school system. I love this system and look
forward to working with you to solve some of the problems we have and will
continue some of the good things we are doing."
Scriber expressed his appreciation to
Interim Superintendent Sherman Brown for the job he had done. Board members
Tommy Davidson, Will Maddox, and Blake Hemphill echoed his sentiment. Davidson
said, "You have provided us a good steady hand in a hard time."
Sherman said he had been humbled by the
experience, serving as interim superintendent. He was just a country boy who had
little growing up, however he did have parents who believed in education and
they gave him and his two brothers an opportunity. It has been very rewarding
and very taxing, and he did the best he could and made what he thought were the
right decisions.
Scriber and board members encouraged
Brown to stay on. Although his health has improved, Brown would not commit
beyond his July 31, 2004 retirement date.
Homer Issues Town Water Advisory, Limits
Water Use
Homer Mayor Huey Dean is asking water
customers to boil their water for drinking and cooking as a precautionary
measure until the Town can get its main water well back online within the next
two weeks. Dean said there were some electrical problems over the weekend in
the main water well which tripped the breaker, shutting down the well.
Employees discovered the problem Monday morning and switched to the Dutchtown and Caver wells. By that time however, the water
tank was almost empty.
According to Clay Bowers, district
engineer with the Department of Health and Hospitals in Shreveport, when water
gets low in the tank it picks up sedimentation in the bottom of the tank. This
is not necessarily harmful, but it may affect the water's color, taste and
odor. These are not desirable qualities but do not necessarily mean there is a
health risk.
Mayor Dean said it would take a week or two to
complete repairs to the Mayfield Well. Since the Dutchtown
Well cannot handle the amount of water normally used by town residents, they
have to rely on backup from the Caver Well. He would like for town residents to
restrict their water use until the Town can get their main water well back
online. They could do this by not watering lawns or gardens or washing cars for
the next two weeks.
The Town issued the boil advisory as a
precautionary measure until they can be sure the water is okay. Local
Sanitarian John Warrington took water samples Tuesday morning and transported
them to the state lab in Shreveport for testing. Results will not be known
until late Wednesday afternoon. Town residents can call Mayor Huey Dean at
927-1312 or 927-3555 or John Warrington at 927-6127 at the Health Unit after 3
PM Wednesday to get the results of the testing.
Two Arrested For Shooting Into School
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
According to Sheriff Kenneth Volentine, the Claiborne Parish Sheriff's Office was
contacted by Summerfield High School around 7:45 AM on Tuesday, April 27 when
school officials discovered gunshots had been fired into the windows of one
classroom sometime the previous night. Someone apparently had fired several
shots into the windows of one classroom, through the opposing wall and into a
second classroom during a time when no students or faculty were present in or
around the school. Sheriff Deputy Ben Booth arrived on the scene and conducted
the initial investigation.
The same morning about 9:30 AM, Lavon
Hanson of Lavon Hanson Logging Co., contacted the CPSO, reporting some logging
equipment left on a location off Cupp Crossing Road
had been damaged when someone fired shots into the equipment sometime during
the night of April 26. Sheriff Detective Charlie Buford initiated an
investigation into both shooting incidents.
Investigator Kevin Brown with the
Louisiana State Police, at the request of the Claiborne Parish Sheriff's
Office, assisted in both investigations and on May 11, John Samuel Bailey, Jr.,
19, of 1717 Bailey Town Road in Haynesville was arrested and charged with two
counts of illegal use of a weapon, two counts of simple criminal damage to property
(over $500), and one count of carrying a firearm in a firearm-free zone.
On May 12, James Blake Green, 21, of 425
Mack Foster Road of Haynesville, was arrested on the same charges. Both were
transported and booked into the Claiborne Parish Detention Center. Bond for
each was set at $13,000.
NW Regional Alliance Meets With Legislators
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
In a show of solidarity for a newly
formed Northwest Louisiana Regional Economic Development Alliance, 40 volunteer
and professional economic developers traveled to Baton Rouge during a downpour
on Wednesday, May 12 to meet with area legislators. The purpose of the meeting
was to request the inclusion of the Alliance in the state's budget for regional
economic development activities.
The Alliance is a cooperative endeavor
of the Economic Development Organizations (EDO) in ten parishes in Northwest
Louisiana (Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto,
Lincoln, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine and Webster). Its mission is to promote
economic growth by working together in a cooperative effort to retain and
assist existing industries and attract new businesses and related jobs to the
ten parish area of Northwest Louisiana.
J. T. Taylor, chairman of the
Homer-Claiborne Chamber of Commerce, presented Claiborne Parish at the meeting
which was held at Sullivan's Steakhouse in Baton Rouge. Legislative guests
included State Senators Robert Adley and Mrs. Adley, Sherri Smith Cheek and Lydia Jackson and State
Representatives Hollis Downs, Beverly Bruce and husband Morris Bruce, Roy
"Hoppy" Hopkins, Mike Powell, Speaker of the House Joe Salter, Jane Smith, and Wayne
Waddell. Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu also attended the meeting.
Besides Taylor, other hosts for the
event included Robert Church, Frank Williams, Lance Moseley, Don Pierson, Kay
Pierson, Diana Simek, Sue Gruber, Karen Vines, Gail
Potts-Roque, Pat Todd, John Holt, Michael Wainwright,
Andy Holbrook, Dick Bremer, Lindy Broderick, Joe
Taylor, Harold Cornett, Jo Rose, Buck Trussell, Diann House, Ann Walling, Neal Baremore,
and Robbie Lafitte.
The Alliance was formed to provide a
united front in utilizing the limited funds that the region has for its
economic development activities. If state funding can be obtained, the Alliance
will devote its energies to the following:
∙Assisting companies located in
the region in order to retain current jobs and create new jobs through growth
and expansion,
∙Assisting entrepreneurs to create
new companies and associated jobs,
∙Undertaking joint marketing
efforts to more effectively work to attract new companies to our area.
Membership in the Alliance is open to
all chambers of commerce and qualified economic development organization in the
ten Northwest Louisiana parishes. For more information, contact Mr. Taylor at
(318) 927-6333.
Where Do Economy, Retirees Fit In I-69
Plan?
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Why is Louisiana the only southern state
losing retirees? Why is North Louisiana, Claiborne parish in particular, losing
more than the rest of the state? What is being done to turn around that trend?
Where is the economic benefit of I-69 through Claiborne and Webster parishes?
How could I-69 be utilized to attract retirees to this area? These are some of
the questions that will be addressed by Dr. Alice Stewart when she speaks to
the Homer Lions Club at noon Thursday, May 27.
Stewart says Louisiana is not only
suffering from a "brain drain" where its best and brightest youth are
moving to other parts of the country to find good paying jobs, but the state is
also suffering from a "silver exodus." Elders who can afford to are leaving, taking
with them a potentially profitable retirement industry. Louisiana was the only
southern state that did not attract retirees between 1995 and 2000. In fact, it
was the only southern state that lost population in the 65-74 age category.
About half the Louisiana parishes made
gains between 1995-2000 in the 65-74 age bracket, however, in Northwest
Louisiana, only two parishes gained in that population, Lincoln and Bossier.
Six other parishes (Caddo, Webster, Claiborne, Union, Bienville, and Winn) lost
in the 64-74 age population during the same period. Stewart says this is
happening in spite of the fact that North Hills Parishes have good basic and
potential natural amenities that usually attract retirees - climate, hills,
lakes and streams, and access to urban amenities.
Stewart and her husband are retirees who
moved to Claiborne Parish for those very reasons. They have lived here for the
past 15 years and are very concerned about the decline of the parish. If
Claiborne Parish wants to grow, they have got to attract retirees and they want
to help.
Dr. Stewart has been working with noted
economist and retired professor Dr. James Robert Michael, and with Herb Byars and Robin Bridges in Webster Parish, to develop
several area lakes for the region.
Their multi-parish lake project has
several objectives to help alleviate the stress on the Sparta Aquifer which
serves 16 North Louisiana parishes and several counties in South Arkansas, to
provide recreational opportunities for both local residents and tourists, and
to create an atmosphere that would attract some of the 76 million baby boomers
who will be retiring over the next three decades.
According to an article in USA Today
dated April 19, 2004, a surprising number of officials see only economic and
social-service disasters with the aging population. The fact is, as a group,
older people are the ones with most of the money. Ken Dychtwald
estimates 50-plus men and women control $7trillion or 70% of the total wealth
in this country. Retirees bring money from somewhere else and spend it locally,
while costing communities nothing to generate—no tax break, no polluted air.
"And just like plant salaries, this new money creates jobs."
"Buckle Up: NO EXCUSES"
Campaign To Run May 24 - June 6
To Focus On Pickup Trucks, Teens, Child
Safety Laws
The Claiborne Parish Sheriff's Office
will join more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies in a nationwide crackdown
on seat belt violators during Operation ABC Mobilization, as they crackdown on
at-risk drivers who don't buckle up. According to CPSO Lt. Jimmy Brown the
two-week enforcement wave, which runs from May 24-June 6, is based on a proven
public health model to increase belt use called "high visibility enforcement."
He said, "Traffic crashes killed 4,530 teens ages
16-19 in 2002_many of those teens could have survived if only they had buckled
up. Claiborne Parish Sheriff's Office is working harder than ever to prevent
those tragedies as part of the National Operation.
As a part of this effort, we are
surrounding teens and young adults with the strong message, "If you won't
buckle up to save your life, then buckle up to save yourself a ticket."
During the Mobilization, officers will intensify enforcement of seat belt and
child passenger safety laws_conducting Patrol
Saturation and ticketing drivers who violate Louisiana Laws. No exception, no
excuses.
We participate in high visibility
enforcement because it works. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, if every state conducted high visibility enforcement, 5,000
lives could be saved each year.
Ants Invade The
Library
The 2004 Summer Reading Program,
"Buggy About Books" will begin on June 1 and
continue until July 10, 2004. And yes, there will be ants in the library during
the first week of June. On Wednesday, June 2 the storytime
in Haynesville will be about ants and other bugs. Children ages 3 through 4th
grade are invited to the Joe Webb Memorial Library at 10 AM for an hour of
stories, crafts, games and fun. The Homer Library will present a pre-school
program for children ages 3-K on Thursday, June 3 at 10 AM. Another fun-filled
program of "antsy" games, stories, and crafts will be presented to
the older children, grades 1-4, at 2 PM on Thursday, June 3. For more
information on the 2004 Summer Reading Program or library hours please call
927-3845 or 624-0364.
