Homer School Project Short Needed
Funding
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Claiborne Parish School Superintendent
James Scriber met with Claiborne Parish School Board members, President Vera Meadors, Joe Lee, Blake Hemphill, and Stewart Griffin on
Monday, June 14 to discuss possible options on how to complete the Homer School Consolidation
project since the $2.8 million left from the bond proposition was not nearly
enough to complete the project. Scriber said a decision would need to be made
soon since the remaining money would need to be spent by August of 2005.
The School Board rejected the bid for
Phase II at their meeting on May 20 because the low bid of $3.7 million was
$900,000 more than the remaining funds available. Phase II was the construction
of the junior high wing on the north side of the Homer High School building.
Plans were for 16 classrooms for 18 teachers, or two classrooms short. This still did not take into account
renovation of the high school building or the all weather track. Hemphill added
there was still not enough room for parking.
Scriber said Phase I of the Homer
project would soon be complete, the construction of two new wings at Homer
Elementary, refurbishing the existing building and adding on and refurbishing
the cafeteria to accommodate all students between PreK
and 12th grade. Phase III was to refurbish the existing high school building,
roughly estimated at between $800,000 and $1 million and Phase IV was the
construction of an all-weather track. The original cost to construct the track
around the football field was estimated at $600,000. Hemphill said by moving
the track to the elementary school playground, they lowered the cost to about
$300,000.
Travis Tinsley, who supported the school
bond proposition, earnestly recommended the Board not to shortchange the
students nor the voters because the funding had now
proven to be inadequate, for whatever the reason. He said it appears the
estimates provided by the architect were way off. The architect is employed by
the Board to give accurate figures which the Board then takes to the public,
not to come up $3-4 million short because he didn't do his job.
Hemphill said he did not think it was
the architect. Rice Gregory told him privately there was not enough money for
renovations to the high school building, even though former superintendent Gary
Jones had continued to assure him there was.
Board members decided to meet again on
Monday, June 21 at 5 PM and invite members of the Oversight Committee.
Police Jury
Backs New I-69 Corridor
Jury
Names Seven To New Claiborne Parish Industrial Board
BY SUSAN T.
HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Dr. James Robert Michael and Dr. Alice
Stewart presented a proposal for a shorter, straighter I-69 corridor through
Claiborne Parish to the Police Jury at their regular meeting last week. Michael
said this route (see map on page 5) would best serve the retirement
industry-based economic development in both Claiborne and Webster parishes as
described in the Claiborne-Webster Aquifer Recharge and Economic Development
Initiative. Corridor 1d is totally not in the best interest of Claiborne
Parish. He criticized the URS Study Team for ignoring the economic impact I-69
could bring to the area and for failing to give any consideration to the
shorter, straighter route. He said they violated every single criteria they listed. In every case, the straight path is
more advantageous than the one they selected.
Michael urged the Jury to support an
I-69 corridor that would provide the best economic benefit for the
multi-purpose lakes being proposed in the parishes of Webster, Claiborne, and
Bienville. He said no one is going to get off the Interstate at Leton. By going with this straight line route to Minden,
you can develop a mini-metropolitan area needed as a viable attraction for
tourists and retirees. Another 40,000 people in the Minden area would give
everything needed for retirees.
This route goes by seven of our lakes.
Michael said, "In real estate, location in everything." He referred
to how businesses in downtown Shreveport all moved to the shopping centers,
citing a few miles does make a difference.
Claiborne Chamber President J. T. Taylor
said Arkansas has been a big player in this and the best we can hope for is
straightening the path from Haynesville to where it meets I-20. Rather than
delay the project by muddying the water, he suggested they get behind and
support the alternate route being considered outside Corridor 1d. Bob McDaniel
of Haynesville agreed.
Michael suggested utilizing Hwy. 80
which he said was a perfectly good highway that was not traveled at all.
Christy Wilson said she has been told they will not consider using I-20 or U.S.
Hwy. 80 as a possible route. Dr. Stewart said she was told the same thing by
Kent Dussom with URS, but as a taxpayer, she said she
could not understand why they refuse to utilize the existing highways in order
to save money.
Michael said they had already spoken
with Gov. Kathleen Blanco and were planning another meeting with her and with
Sen. Jim McCrery's office where they will present the savings to the state.
Jurors voted 7-0, with one abstention
(Joe Sturges) and one absent (Mark Furlow), to support the I-69 Corridor proposed by Dr.
Michael. Furlow indicated he too would have
abstained.
Although President Weldon Kilpatrick had
appointed a committee of Willie Young, Scott Davidson, and Jerry Adkins to come
up with a list of names for the new economic/ industrial development board, he
suggested each juror instead submit the name of a person to serve on the board.
After some discussion as to whether the
committee Kilpatrick had appointed was official, the Jury voted unanimously to
accept the resignation of former members of the Claiborne Economic Development
Board. They then voted 7 to 1 to approve the following names: Dennis Butcher,
Melissa Watts, Tom Sherman, John Wesley Cooper, Renee Buggs,
Kenneth Volentine, and Benji
Winn to a new Claiborne Industrial Board. Lavelle Penix was the only juror to vote against the motion. Jurors
agreed the statute would allow them to add up to five more members. Davidson
also suggested that either the Jury or the new Industrial Board could appoint
an advisory committee which would be representative of a broader spectrum of
the parish
Elderly Citizens Being Victimized
Several senior citizens in Haynesville
have reported that a tall young white male has attempted to gain entrance into
their homes by posing as a carpenter or as an individual capable of power
washing their homes.
During the contact with the homeowner,
the suspect requests to use the bathroom. There have been some reports that
prescriptions have been stolen. The thefts are discovered after the suspect
leaves the property. The suspect is believed to be driving a white Ford Explorer.
The majority of the residents contacted
by the suspect have been elderly. The Haynesville Police Department recommends
that no one allow strangers to gain access to their homes for any reason. Call
the police whenever anyone tries to gain admittance to your home for any
reason. The phone number for the Haynesville Police Department is (318)
624-1311.
Ludlow Employee Honored By Miss
Louisiana
"I've heard in songs and in church
that sometimes angels walk among us. It's always been a nice thought, but I'm
quite sure I'd never met one until one day last year," according to Pam Laster, Human Resources Generalist For Ludlow Coated
Products in Homer. Laster was speaking of her first
meeting with Willie Burns, Jr., who has worked as a bundler at Ludlow for the
past ten years. Laster, who is also the editor for
the Tyco Plastics and Adhesives
Newsletter, The Scoreboard, had received an email from her boss suggesting
Burns would make a great human interest story. So she set up a meeting.
"When you first see Willie you
notice instantly that there is a peace about him. He has a quiet way of
approaching you and a comfortable feeling around him. His voice is low and
soothing. He is a tall man with broad shoulders that look like they work hard,
but to say that Willie Burns works hard is an understatement and only half of
the story."
Laster was not the only person who was
inspired by Burns. Miss Louisiana USA, Melissa McConnell, originally of Ruston,
came to Homer last month to honor Burns with her H.E.R.O. (Hope Empowers and
Renews Others) Humanitarian Award.
Homer, Haynesville High Go To 7-Hour
Class Schedule This Fall
Claiborne Parish School Superintendent
James Scriber informed the School Board at their regular meeting on Thursday,
June 10 he had spoken to Homer High Principal Jeff Holmes and Haynesville High
Principal Steve Craig concerning the block schedule and recommended they
consider going back to a 6- or 7-period schedule this fall. Scriber said the
block schedule was proven not to be academically sound. You lose 25% of class
time and in four years, an entire subject, and common sense says it is not good
to take math one half the year and no math the other
half. Schools in Dallas are getting away from the block schedule because of the
economics....it costs more.
After doing some research, both
principals agreed to go to the 7-period day this fall to accommodate scheduling
the required subjects for present junior and senior students. Once these
students graduate, they can then revert to a 6-period schedule.
Scriber said he had some other ideas to
improve the school system. He is concerned about the ACT scores and students
taking remedial classes in college. He said, "My one desire is for us to
improve academically....we have a lot of room to improve. Nobody likes
athletics better than I do. It is an important part of our school system, but
it cannot be what drives us. Academics has to be what
drives us." Tommy Davidson said in the past we used to drive academics
with athletics. "If you didn't make your grade, you didn't play."
That was pretty good encouragement.
Proposed I-69 SIU 14 (Shreveport To El Dorado)
Open Houses Present Alignments For Consideration
BOSSIER CITY, LA _ The Louisiana Department of Transportation
and Development (LDOTD), the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department
(AHTD) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have scheduled a series of
Open House events to allow for public consideration of four possible alignments
in the Interstate 69 SIU No. 14 project study area.
Open House Events:
June 22 _ 4:00-7:00pm _ Parkers Chapel
School, 401 Parkers Chapel Rd., El Dorado, AR
June 23 _ 4:00-7:00pm _ Claiborne Parish
Fair Barn, 1563 Fairgrounds Dr., Haynesville, LA
June 24 _ 4:00-7:00pm _ Minden Civic
Center, 520 Broadway, Minden, LA
June 25 _ 9:00-11:00am _ I-69 SIU 14 Program Office, 425 West Main St.,
Homer, LA
The four 300-foot alignments were
selected from many possible alternatives developed by the project team using
field data and input from agencies and the public. The four proposed
alternatives meet the project's purpose and need and offer a better chance of
balancing transportation benefits with unavoidable adverse effects to the
community and the environment.
To insure that all alternatives
developed by the project team were reasonable and workable, agency and project
team biologists, engineers, and planners conducted field studies over the
winter and spring of 2004. Field studies
included review of alternate Bayou Dorcheat crossing
locations, more specific identification of wetland and other sensitive natural
areas, floodplain boundaries, hazardous sites, and residential areas.
The Louisiana Department of Natural
Resources provided information regarding the Sparta Aquifer to be included in
the evaluation. Additional research
yielded specific locations of active oil and gas wells in the region, and the
proposed locations of the North Hills Lakes Project sites.
All information compiled for the
Alignment Study will be presented at the open houses, and will be available for
review at the Program Office after June 24th.
Town Of Homer Hopes To Have Pools Open
Next Week
Mayor Huey Dean said the Mayfield Water
Well is back on-line and the
Town of Homer hopes to have both swimming pools open sometime
next week. For more information, contact Homer City Hall at 927-3555.
July 4th Fireworks, Boat Parade To Have
Extra Parking
The Fourth of July Fireworks and Boat
Parade will be held on
Claiborne Fireworks, Inc., the
non-profit, tax-free corporation responsible for the Annual Fourth of July
Fireworks and Boat Parade in Claiborne Parish is asking for public support and
assistance in acquiring public parking for these events.
For more information, call Fred Lewis at
927-9180 or Dick Dorrell at 927-0039.
