Court Sides with Mayor, Recall Effort
Stalled
Three Former Town Employees File
Discrimination Suit
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Just one day before Governor Kathleen
Blanco issued a proclamation to call for the recall election on November 2,
2004, Homer Mayor Huey Dean filed a lawsuit in district court, alleging that Lurry Crew did not live inside the city limits of Homer and
therefore did not qualify to serve as chairman of a mayor recall and that
neither Crew nor Vice Chairman Maxine Wilson had followed Louisiana State Law
by providing Dean with a copy of the recall petition. Dean made five requests
for copies of the signatures on the recall petition, sent by certified mail to
Crew and Wilson on March 13, March 28, April 14, June 2, and July 24. On
Thursday, August 26, District Judge Jenifer Clason presided over a hearing held in the Claiborne Parish
Courthouse to resolve the issue with .
Clason stated Huey Dean made several requests
under the provisions of public document law to obtain a list of the names on
the recall petition which the law states shall be provided within 72
hours. These requests were routinely
ignored or excuses at the time that neither Chairman Lurry Crew or Vice-Chairman Maxine Wilson had
physical access to the document. According to Judge Clason,
there excuses were "unpersuasive."
Following a short recess, Clason
handed down her ruling, ordering a permanent injunction to prohibit Governor
Kathleen Blanco and Secretary of State Fox McKeithen
from issuing a call of an election for the recall of Mayor Huey P. Dean.
Louisiana State Law states under the
election code that the trial judge shall render a judgment within twenty-four
hours after the case is submitted, and in the case of an appeal, the trial
judge "shall fix the return day at a time not to exceed three days after
rendition of judgment." Clason referred to a statement in the ruling handed down in
the Second Circuit Court which upheld Judge Jimmy Teat's order to return 66
names back on the recall petition, that since a recall is a harsh remedy, the provisions of
the statute must be strictly construed.
On August 23, 2004, Mayor Huey Dean
received notice that former town employees Debra S. Sarpy, Linda K. Robinson,
and Linsey E. Jones had filed a complaint for
employment discrimination against the Town of Homer, Mayor Dean, and Councilmen
J. C. Moore, Billy "Kirk" Jenkins, Johnette
Faulkner, Thomas McDonald, and Jesse Ford. The suit alleges that a disparity
was imposed on the three plaintiffs precluding them from their jobs because
they were black. Sarpy was town treasurer, Robinson was the mayor's
administrative assistant and Jones held the position of animal control officer.
Sarpy, Robinson, and Jones are seeking back pay and all benefits, as well as
compensatory damages for the mental anguish, pain,
suffering, humiliation and upset they have undergone. Mayor Dean has twenty
days to answer the complaint.
Homer Man Arrested For Burglary In Athens
Claiborne Parish Sheriff Deputy Jeff
Pugh responded to a report of a residential burglary at 194 Gandy Road in
Athens on July 15, 2004. Firearms and other items were reported missing
according to Sheriff Ken Bailey.
An investigation by detectives with the
CPSO Criminal Investigation Division resulted in the recovery of several stolen
items, including two firearms. Billy R. Gray, Jr, 33,
of the 200 block of James Street in Homer was arrested and charged with illegal
possession of stolen things valued over $500. Gray was booked into the Claiborne
Parish Detention Center pending a bond set at $10,000. Gray is also being held
for on a separate probation violation.
Oversight Committee Requests Meeting
With School Board
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Members of the Homer School Project Oversight Committee met
Monday, August 30 to elect officers and discuss the status of the Homer School
Project. The Committee first elected
David Aubrey and Bill Owens to serve as co-chairmen and to represent the group
before the Claiborne Parish School Board.
Members discussed the purpose of the committee and agreed the
main duty given them was to make sure the bond money was spent correctly.
Lawson Wilder said it was inferred at the last School Board meeting that the
Oversight Committee shared responsibility for the way in which the money had
already been spent. John Tinsley asked how could the
Committee could be responsible if they were not allowed any input.
Committee members agreed to submit a letter to each member of
the Claiborne Parish School Board and request a meeting prior to their next
regular meeting scheduled for
September 9, to be held either on Tuesday, September 7 or on
Thursday, September 9 at 5 PM.
Lake Claiborne Drawdown To Begin Tuesday, September 7
The fall drawdown scheduled for Lake
Claiborne will begin Tuesday, September 7. Members of the Claiborne Watershed
District Commission will be on hand Tuesday morning to observe as Elnur Musa, dam safety and water resoursce engineer from Baton Rouge, and
DOTD field engineer from the Shreveport office, Harvey Christian, open
the gates. The Lake will be lowered at a rate of 3-4 inches per day until the
water level has reached seven (7) feet below normal pool stage. The gates will
remain open until January 14, 2005.
Director Gives Update On
Library Plans
Pam Suggs, Director of the Claiborne
Parish Library, gave an informational talk to he Homer
Lions Club at their last meeting. She explained to members how the Library
Board of Directors had been actively working on some long range plans for
expansion of the library which would double the amount of space the Library has
now. The entire project is estimated to cost about $4 million and will include
construction of a larger meeting room, more work area for the staff and
additional parking.
The first phase would add about 9,200
sq. feet to the existing building_adding a new
meeting room, more work area for the staff, and a larger children's area. It
would also include renovation to a portion of the existing building, both
inside and out. The cost of the first phase is estimated around $1.5 million.
Bird Tests Positive For
West Nile In Homer
Claiborne Parish Police Jury Issues West
Nile Precautions
The Claiborne Parish Police Jury was
notified last week that a dead bird found on Maple Street in Homer on August
9th had tested positive for the West Nile Virus. In light of this report, the
Jury would like to remind citizens of important precautions they can take to
avoid infection. Although the mosquito season is April through October, West
Nile virus occurs primarily in the late summer or early fall.
Mosquitoes spread this virus after they
feed on infected birds and then bite people, other birds and animals. It is not
spread by person-to-person contact and there is no evidence that people can get
the virus by handling infected birds.
Most people who are infected with the
West Nile virus will not develop symptoms. Some people may become ill 3 to 15
days after being bitten by an infected mosquito and will develop mild symptoms
that include headache, slight fever, a rash, body aches, and swollen lymph
glands.
Chris John's 50-City Tour Stops In Claiborne
Senate Candidate Says, "A Strong
America Begins At Home"
Congressman Chris John said his campaign
for the U.S. Senate is focused on a strong America that begins here at home in
Claiborne Parish. John made a stop in Homer on Wednesday, August 18 as a part of his 50-city
Strong At Home Tour across the state. "If we can rebuild roads, schools
and hospitals in Iraq, we ought to be able to do it right here in Claiborne
Parish," the Democrat from Crowley said. "A strong America begins
here at home in Louisiana." John is traveling the state in the Strong
America Express, his campaign bus, rallying support and unveiling his platform
as the next U.S. Senator from Louisiana. John pointed to his record in Congress
as proof he can get things done for Louisiana as its next U.S. Senator,
replacing retiring Sen. John Breaux, who has already endorsed John for the
office. He said, "As a U.S. Senator, I will fight for more jobs with
higher pay and better benefits. I will fight for stronger schools, saving our
coastline, fair trade policies and healthcare for Louisiana's 800,000
uninsured," John said. "As a congressman representing Southwest
Louisiana, I proved I can get these things done. As a U.S. Senator, I will take
this fight for all Louisianians to the floor of the
U.S. Senate and win." For more
information on Chris John's platform, to see upcoming events with the Strong at
Home Tour or to sign up for Chris John's Journal, a regular e-mail newsletter
from Chris John, go to www.chrisjohn.com. John will be regularly posting
updates on the tour from the Strong America Express at his campaign blog on the same web site.
Butterfly Festival To
Include A Nature Photo Contest
The Sixth Annual Haynesville Celebration
of Butterflies will be held Saturday, September 11 at the Claiborne Parish
Fairgrounds in Haynesville beginning with the Butterfly Parade at 9:30 AM with
Grand Marshal Dr. Charles Allen and granddaughters Krislyn
and Baylia. The day's activities will include a
number of activities including several educational workshops, musical
entertainment, creative fun for kids and a nature
photography contest. Allen, who is a retired biology professor for the University
of Louisiana at Monroe and a botanist for Ft. Polk, will conduct a workshop
entitled Edible and Useful Plants at 10:30 AM.
There is no entry fee for the nature
photography contest. Entry classes will be elementary/junior high, high school,
non-professional adult, and professional adult. All photographs will be on
exhibition during the festival with winners being announced from the
stage. Awards for each class are first
place $20, second $15, third $10, and honorable mention for fourth place.
Any group or organization interested in
marching or riding on a float in the Haynesville Butterfly Festival on
Saturday, September 11 beginning at 9:30 AM is asked to please contact Linda
Knox at 624-1606 or 624-1084 before Monday, September 6. There will also be a
children's pet parade with prizes for the largest pet, smallest pet, most
unusual pet, and best decorated pet. Join us for a day of fun.
Sponsors for this year's event are the
Claiborne Chamber of Commerce and the LSU AgCenter.
Click Here for Schedule of Events
Exhibits and demonstrations throughout
the day will include Backyard Composting with Martha Pee of Trailblazer, Inc., Bugacious Exhibit with SAU professor of entomology Dr.
Randall Adams, Basketweaving with Roberta Jones, and
Quilting with Nurlie Foster.
Festival Highlights will also include
sale of butterfly plants, books, posters and T-shirts; community art and
photography exhibits; craft and food vendors, face painting, and construction
of take-home Butterfly Towers complete with caterpillars and food.
For more information on the festival or
for an entry form for the nature photography contest, contact Loice Kendrick-Kacy at (318)
624-1929 or (870) 234-4910; 203 Troy St., Magnolia, AR 71753.
Schools, Coaches Urged To Submit Sports
Scores
The Guardian-Journal is anxious to have scores and other
information from all the schools in the parish. Due to the limited staff, the
newspaper does not have the ability to cover all the sports events at every
school throughout the year. We rely on the schools and the coaches to provide
the information_scores, highlights and stats. We want
very much to give these student athletes coverage in our newspaper. We highly
encourage coaches or their representatives to either fax the scores and
highlights of each game to 318-927-3542 or to email the information to
.
