Sen. Mary Landrieu Supports Lakes
Initiative
Senator Pushes For More Funding For
I-69, I-49 Construction
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Senator Mary Landrieu spent a couple of
hours in Claiborne Parish on Tuesday, June 29 visiting with local leaders,
updating them on current issues including the funding for I-69 and I-49.
Landrieu said, "My goal is to get these interstates built quickly."
Over the last four years, only $14 million has been appropriated for I-49. At
that rate, it will take 30 years to finish construction. She is pushing a
proposal she termed FINISH which will speed up the construction of four of five
high priority north-south corridors across the country including I-69 from 30
years to 10 years, by using six percent of the general highway transportation
bill over the next six years.
President Bush's administration is
proposing an amount of $275 billion in the T-21 Bill for federal highway
funding. The House of Representatives' version sets the amount around $284
billion, while the Senate Bill is for $318 billion. With the Administration's
Bill, Louisiana's federal highway funding will increase only six percent over
the next six years. With the Senate Bill, that increase will be forty percent.
Landrieu said President Bush has also threatened to veto any amount over the
$275 billion the Administration is proposing, although Chamber President J. T.
Taylor said the Administration has indicated they would be willing to increase
their amount some.
Landrieu commended local leaders for
their work on economic development plans to build lakes and reservoirs to
protect the Sparta Aquifer and attract retirees. Besides the financial benefit,
she said retirees have a lot of talent and energy. She encouraged the parish to
continue to develop the things that attract retirees such as the arts, music,
eco-tourism, fishing, etc.
Landrieu recently helped provide $1
million toward the development of the Poverty Point reservoir. She understands
what a good development project can do for an area and is willing to help find
funds to get started.
She also complimented the parish for
staying focused on good quality education. Our state has a high poverty rate
and a high number of disadvantaged children and she has worked to bring more
Title 1 funds to the State. She supports the President Bush's No Child Left
Behind initiative but disagrees with not providing the necessary funding. Louisiana was underfunded $140 million, which could have added $1-2
million to the parish's $18 million school district budget.
Providing a good quality school system
also attracts retirees since grandparents want to live near their
grandchildren. And they want their grandchildren to have good schools.
Since Louisiana has such a good climate
and is located in the middle of the country, Landrieu believes the lake
projects proposed for North Louisiana are a great idea and is willing to help
find some startup funds.
Landrieu recently hosted a summit for
the ten fastest growing parishes in the State. She would like to hold another
summit within the next year for those parishes that have developed a
comprehensive plans to improve the economy. When offered, she agreed to host the event in
Claiborne Parish.
Other issues Landrieu discussed were the
juvenile justice
system, rural healthcare, and trying to get more severance tax
dollars for the State. Presently, interior states get fifty percent of the
severance taxes collected on oil and gas. While Louisiana provides
infrastructure to supply the rest of the country, the State gets nothing from
offshore drilling rigs located more than 3 miles from the coast. She believes
Louisiana deserves the same as interior states. This would add $2.5 billion to
the State's budget which she believes should be reinvested in the land, for
such things as coastal restoration and land and water conservation.
Town Of Homer Awarded $860,900 Grant
Homer Mayor Huey Dean was excited to
receive news this week from Governor Kathleen Blanco that the Town's
application for the 2004 La. Community Development Block Grant for Public
Facilities had been approved. Grant funds will be used to make improvements to
the Town's wastewater treatment plant to correct operational deficiencies and
to address recurring violations of the current State wastewater discharge
permit. The facility is presently inadequately sized and most of the mechanical
equipment is either inoperable or in very poor condition.
According to Marios
G. Papadopoulos, General Manager of American Wastewater Management (AWM) who
oversees operation of the wastewater treatment plant, the Town will be in great
shape once these improvements are completed.
Haynesville Council Adopts Budget
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
The Haynesville Town Council held their
regular monthly meeting on Thursday, June 17. With only a few items on the
agenda, the Council adopted the budget for the fiscal year July 1, 2004 to June
30, 2005 as presented by Town Clerk Penny Fields. With revenues and estimated
surplus totaling $3,370,113.84 and anticipated expenses at $2,570,460.00, the
unexpended fund balance at the end of the year is projected to be $799,653.84.
Prior years unexpended funds will be used to cover
expenditures that exceed this fiscal year's revenues.
The budget includes increased cost of
health insurance for employees and increased cost of the Town's contribution to
the Municipal Employees and Municipal Police Employees Retirement System.
Capital outlay funds
total $440,000 and include $60,000 for a new rescue truck for the fire
district, $300,000 for the Street Repair Program, $30,000 for new bathrooms at
the City Park, and $50,000 for a new sewer line on Frazier Street. The budget
includes a balance of $95,906 in LCDBG Sewer Grant revenues.
To meet the operating cost of the Utility
Department, the budget includes an increase in water rates of $.25 per thousand
gallons. The new minimum rate for water will be $13.96 for customers inside the
city limits and $15.51 for those who live outside the city limits. After 4,000
gallons, the rate will be $3.49 per 1,000 gallons inside the city limits and
$3.88 per 1,000 gallons outside. To assist in the operating cost, $35,000 will
be transferred from the sales tax fund.
Mayor Mickey Mayfield commended Town
Clerk Penny Fields for her work on the budget.
In other business, Councilman Alvin
Kendrick commended the mayor for the work that had been done at the Senior
Citizens Park on the fence and replacing goals and commodes.
Kendrick said everyone in Town should be
treated the same in regard to junk cars. Mayfield said the Police Department
would be responsible for enforcing the Town Ordinance.
A. J. Coleman addressed the Council
concerning some property that needed to be demolished under Ordinance 531
pertaining to old buildings. He said it was nothing personal, but the area was
beginning to attract snakes and was making the community look bad.
Mayfield said he would get with the
local citizens group next week to see what could be done. The building could be
condemned because it is a dangerous and hazardous place. Two years ago he did
some research to find who owned several houses of this type and turned over the
information to the citizens group. Mayfield said other cities are having
problems with old houses. Last year, Shreveport spent over $8 million, yet they
only collected $63,000 in fines to homeowners.
Councilman Otto Black said Webster Parish has a $500 fine. Mayfield
suggested the Council change the Town Ordinance to include a fine and if the
property owner does not pay, the Town can take over the property.
Large Turnout For
I-69 Meetings
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Several hundred attended the I-69 public meetings held last week
in Claiborne and Webster parishes. After viewing a short film explaining the
reasons for the corridor alignment selections, they were encouraged to view the
26' x 8' aerial wall map showing the precise location of each of the four
proposed alignments. Residents were then asked to fill out a comment form
selecting the alignment they preferred and noting the reasons for their
selection.
Scott Hoffeld, Senior Analyst for the
URS Corporation, said the projected timeline for
completing construction on I-69 is around 2012 depending on the funding. He
said the reason for crossing north of Haynesville was a safety issue. They
wanted to divert trucks carrying hazardous chemicals from the north onto the
interstate and away from downtown Haynesville. When asked, he said they did not
have any data or comments indicating there was a problem with northbound trucks
that would pass through
downtown Homer and Haynesville to access the interstate.
Jerry Williams, General Manager of Claiborne Electric in Homer,
expressed his concern at the meeting that his public comment regarding
northbound trucks carrying long poles during emergency power outages in
Arkansas had not been recorded in the official record.
Dr. James Robert Michael said he remains convinced there was no
economic planning included in the selection of the I-69 corridor. Hoffeld and Project Coordinator Wayne Nguyen with DOTD, said the economic benefit from I-69 would begin at the
interchanges which would serve as seeds for economic growth. Nearby towns would
eventually develop along the highways toward the interstate. They agree that
Homer, Springhill, and Minden are located close enough to the interstate to
attract industry.
Comment Forms can be picked up at the I-69 Program Office on
West Main in Homer or downloaded at the I-69 website at i69arkla.com.
All comments submitted via email, written letter, or mail-in comment form must
be post-marked by July 9, 2004. For comments to be included as part of the
official project record, please include your name and address information.
Citizens Urge A
United Front
A group of concerned citizens is urging all
Claiborne Parish residents to complete a comment form for I-69 choosing
Alternative 4. These forms are available at the I-69 office and at many
businesses throughout the parish. This route will give the parish the
possibility of two interchanges within its borders.
Four alternate routes have been proposed
for the El Dorado to Haughton section of I-69. All of the routes call for
entering Claiborne Parish north of Haynesville. Alternate routes 1, 2, and 3
then travel southwest for only a few miles and cross into Webster Parish. Two
of the routes call for an interchange between Haynesville and the Arkansas
state line. However, the interchange for the third route is in south Arkansas,
which would leave Claiborne Parish without a single entrance to I-69.
There is some hope, however, if large
numbers of Claiborne Parish citizens will become involved in the route
selection process. Alternate route 4 is a variation of route 3 and calls for
I-69 to turn south inside Claiborne Parish on state highway 2 east of the
Claiborne-Webster Parish line. It is also critically important to have an
interchange within Claiborne Parish north of Haynesville.
All citizens are urged to pick up a
Comment Form from the I-69 Corridor Program Office at 425 West Main Street in
Homer. Copies of the forms are also available at the Claiborne Chamber of
Commerce office in Homer, Police Jury Office Complex, municipal offices in
Homer and Haynesville, banks, and numerous other area businesses. In addition,
the Comment Forms are available from some area churches.
Forms must be returned not later than
July 9, 2004. Letters and e-mails must be postmarked by that date. Citizens may
log onto the I-69 website at http://www.i69arkla.com where comments in
support of alternate route 4 can be entered.
"What The
Flag Means To Me"
Students in Amy Bays' 4th grade summer
class at Homer Elementary have been working on creative writing skills for the
upcoming LEAP test in July. As one of the assignments, students wrote on the
topic, "What the Flag Means to Me", for a contest sponsored by a
local news channel. Mrs. Bays wanted to share some of these with our community.
Living History Celebration Set At State
Park
Are you looking for something
educational and fun to do with your children? Are you tired of driving hundreds
of miles to find interesting programs? Come to a Living History Celebration at
Lake Claiborne State Park on Saturday, July 10 from 10 AM until 2 PM.
Sheriff-Elect Ken Bailey To Be Sworn In June 30
Sheriff-Elect Ken Bailey will be sworn
by Judge Jenifer Clason at
10:30 AM on Wednesday, June 30 upstairs in the Claiborne Parish Courthouse.
Sheriff deputies will be sworn in by Clerk of Court Patrick Gladney..
Cold Case Files To
Feature 1997 Haynesville Murder
The A&E television series Cold Case
Files will feature the 1997 murder of
13-year-old Shanon Denise Capers on CMA Claiborne
Cable Channel 44 on Tuesday, July 6 at 7 PM. Capers was reported missing from
her home in Haynesville on March 8, 1997. For more than two years her
disappearance remained a mystery until an anonymous tip in May 1999 led to the
discovery of her skeletal remains behind the Mill Street Apartments. Maurice
Tate was later arrested, and in June 2003, jurors took less than an hour to
find him guilty of the second degree murder. Tate was sentenced to life without
the benefit of parole or suspension of sentence and is presently being housed
at Angola State Prison near Baton Rouge.
