Legislative Auditor Releases Report
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
On Monday,
November 1, members of the Homer Town Council received the newly released
copies of the Financial Audit prepared by the State Legislative Auditor for the
9-month period ending December 31, 2003. Councilwoman Johnette
Faulkner, the only member of the Council to attend the exit conference with the
Legislative Auditor, urged the Council schedule a special meeting to address
the findings in the report as soon as possible. She said the mayor and every
member of the Council could be required to go before the Legislative Auditor's
Advisory Council in Baton Rouge, and, if necessary, they would be subpoenaed.
"We need
to make sure we follow through resolving these findings, because they mean
business," Faulkner said. "This is how serious they are. If this
isn't taken care of in the near future, they are going to stop all grants from
coming to the Town."
Town resident Leamon Cheatham asked how many grants have been
received. Mayor Dean said the Town has
received about $3 million in past two years_one for
the airport, two for the sewer plant, and two for the water treatment plant.
Thomas McDonald
suggested they wait until CPA Carlos Martin completes the financial report.
Dean said he expects Martin to start putting the figures together by the end of
next week.
George Bush Wins Parish, State
In one of the
most contentious elections in the nation's history, Americans went to the polls
in record numbers Tuesday to cast their vote for President. In Louisiana, with
4,116 of 4,124 precincts reporting, Republicans George W. Bush and Dick Cheney
received 1,092,026 votes, or 57%. Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards
received 805,905 votes, or 42%.
In Claiborne
Parish, 6,630 registered voters, almost 75% of the 8,885 registered voters,
went to the polls to cast their votes for President. The Bush and Cheney ticket received 3,704
votes, or 56 percent, while Kerry and Edwards received 2,854 votes, or 43
percent.
In the U.S.
Senate race with 4,116 precincts reporting statewide, David Vitter (R) received
932,548 votes, or 51%. Chris John (D) received 535,636 votes, or 29%, and John
Kennedy (D) received 270,391 votes, or 15%.
In Claiborne
Parish, Vitter received 3,107 votes, or 53%, while John received 1,607 votes,
or 27% and Kennedy received 948 votes, or 16%.
Both parishwide tax renewal propositions were overwhelmingly
approved. Proposition No. 1, the renewal of a 10 year, 2.71 mill property tax for
operating, repairing, maintaining, and equipping the parish courthouse, jail
and other parish buildings, was approved with 3,172, or 71%, voting yes and
1,323, or 29%, voting no.
Propositions No. 2, the renewal of a 10 year, 6.10 mill property
tax for constructing, maintaining and operating public libraries in the parish
was approved with 3,246, or 72%, voting yes and 1,237, or 28%, voting no.
All four
proposed constitutional amendments were approved. Amendment No. 1, the right of
every citizen to hunt, fish and trap, was approved by a vote of 2,826 (87%) for
and 427 (13%) against.
Amendment No.
2, the homestead exemption from ad valorem property,
was approved by a vote of 2,718 (87%) for and 402 (13%) against.
Amendment No. 3, eligibility for veterans for civil service,
etc., was approved by a vote of 2,708 (84%) for and 534 (16%) against.
Amendment No.
4, LA farmers and fisherman support of industries, was approved by a vote of
2,213 (70%) for and 953 (30%) against.
DEQ Officials Inspect Homer Wastewater
Plant
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Marios Papadopoulos, General Manager for American Water and
Wastewater Management (AWM), and Balar Engineer Jim
Hagan joined Homer Mayor Huey Dean to discuss the warning letter issued by the
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding the
non-compliance order received on the Town's wastewater treatment plant and to
meet with DEQ officials. Kelli McNulty and Enforcement
Administrator Peggy Hatch with the DEQ Enforcement Division in Baton Rouge
and Regional Manager Richard Penrod and Tom Hardaway with the
Surveillance Division in Shreveport were in Homer Thursday, October 28 to
discuss the order and inspect the wastewater plant.
Earlier this
year, in February, the Town received a notice of a potential penalty based on
violations at the plant in 2003 that had not yet been addressed. The order
listed a schedule of activities which included removal of sludge from north
aeration basin in March 2004, replacement of the north aeration basin aerator
system in April 2004, and rehabilitation of north aeration basin mixers in
August 2004. The warning letter was issued because the Town had not meet the schedule deadline.
Hagan said the
Town was fully aware of problems at the plant, but they lacked funding needed
to correct those problems. The Town applied for and was awarded a grant last
July in the amount of $860,900 to make the necessary improvements. Since that time, Balar
has been working to design the plan to renovate the plant in order to eliminate
future problems. They have until the end of the year to complete the plan.
DEQ ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS Kelli McNulty and Peggy Hatch met with Homer
Mayor Huey Dean last week to discuss permit violations at the Town's wastewater
treatment plant.
Homer Man's Disappearance Still A Mystery
Two Suspects Arrested In 2002 Have Been
Released
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
The
disappearance of James Ferrell, Jr. almost two years ago remains a mystery. Although
cadaver dogs from the Shreveport Fire Department spent several days trying to
locate Ferrell's body after investigators from the Claiborne Parish Sheriff's
Office suspected foul play, they came up empty handed. The 67-year-old man was
reported missing in December 2002. He was described as a black male, 6' 1"
tall and weighing about 230 lbs. The
last time Ferrell was seen was around 5 PM on December 5, when he was seen
washing his truck at his home on Old Athens Road near Homer.
A respected
member of the community, Ferrell's disappearance was considered unusual. His
locked truck was found parked at his house and his heart medication locked
inside his home.
On December 31,
2002, the Claiborne Parish Sheriff's
Office made three arrests. Charged with first degree murder and armed robbery
were Roland Burns, 32, and Jerome Pickens, 20, both of Homer. They had been
held at the Claiborne Parish Detention Center until Thursday, October 21, when
according to Assistant District Attorney Danny Newell, the decision was made to release the
two for lack of sufficient evidence. Newell said, "We were obligated to
release them and we did."
A third
suspect, a 16-year-old juvenile, was also arrested and charged as an accessory
after the fact to first degree murder and was released sometime in 2003.
"We can
come back if we find any other evidence," said Claiborne Parish Sheriff
Ken Bailey. "They can be arrested again."
The
investigation into the case will continue. Anyone with information on this or
any other crime is asked to contact CPSO investigators Charlie Buford, Duffy
Gandy, Ben Booth, or Chuck Talley at 927-2011.
Firefighters Search For
Lost Youth
A
fifteen-year-old youth from Dallas, Texas lost his way while participating in
an Orienteering meet held Saturday, October 23 at Lake Claiborne State Park.
The competitor was sponsored by the Ark-La-Tex Orienteering Society
(ALTOS).
Of 193
participants who entered the competition where entrants attempted to locate 24
navigational control point markers in the State Park area, 185 returned within
the allotted 90-minute time frame. When five participants did not return, ALTOS
deployed administrators, qualified runners and instructors to begin a search
for the others. Four returned on their own or were
quickly found, while another was still missing about 1:30 PM.
.
D.A.R.T. To Hold Radiothon
November 9
Claiborne Parish Coordinator To Have Booth At Homer Brookshire's
Mary Ellen
Gamble, the Rural Community Organizer for D.A.R.T. in Claiborne Parish will
have booth at Brookshire1s in Homer next Tuesday, November 9 from 8 AM until 12
PM to collect donations and sign up pledges for the annual D.A.R.T. Radiothon which will be broadcast live from 6 AM until 6 PM
on KPCH (97.7 on your FM dial) from Super 1 Foods in Ruston. Volunteers will be
on hand to accept pledges by phone from everyone in the five parishes D.A.R.T.
serves: Jackson, Bienville, Claiborne, Union and Lincoln. Donations will also be accepted in person at
Super 1 Foods. Look for volunteers wearing the official DART logo.
Pledge
Telephone Numbers for November 9 are 318-235-7616 or 318-614-0062. Pledge Lines
were donated by Cingular Wireless, a company-owned
and operated retail store newly located at 1522 North Trenton Street in Ruston.
Registrar Of Voters
Duties Addressed
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Claiborne
Parish Registrar of Voters Patricia Sanders received a response to the
questions recently raised about her duties and responsibilities in regard to
recall petitions by the Claiborne Parish Police Jury. According to Angie Rogers LaPlace,
assistant to Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr.,
the attorney and legal advisor for each registrar is the attorney general
(LSA-R.S. 18:64) and there is no provision in the law for the Claiborne Parish
Police Jury to direct you in your duties as registrar.
In the writ
application filed in the Louisiana Supreme Court in regard to the recall matter
(Young, et.al v. Sanders, No. 04-C-1137), LaPlace explained that for the past 75 years the Attorney
General has been legally advising registrars of their duties with regard to
recall matters.
Since 1929, the
AG has advised registrars "to refuse to certify a name as genuine if it
was signed on the petition differently from the signature on the registration
application, or if it was in a different handwriting."
Christmas Open House And
"Taste Of Homer"
Most retail
businesses in Homer and Haynesville will be participating in this year's Annual
"Christmas Open House" to be held Saturday, November 13 in
conjunction with the annual "Taste of Homer" which will be held at
Homer City Hall from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM. There will be plenty of delicious,
home-cooked food. Tickets are $10 per person. All proceeds will be used for
Christmas lights for the Claiborne Christmas Festival.
Donations Being Accepted For
2004 Christmas Memory Tree
The Claiborne
Parish Christmas Festival will light the Christmas Memory-Honor Tree again this
year. White lights will be placed on the tree in "memory" of someone,
blue lights will be placed in "honor" of an individual, and red
lights will be for all our loved ones remembered. Donations are $5 per name and
may be mailed to Claiborne Parish Christmas Festival at 400 West 3rd St.,
Homer, LA 71040 or dropped off at either of Miss Lizzies stores. Please include the name of the person
(whether being remembered or honored) and the name, address, and phone number
of the person or persons making the donation. For more information, call
927-9009.
Christian Music Jamboree - Lake Claiborne
State Park
Saturday, November 6 ∙ 8 AM - 8 PM
Lake Claiborne
State Park will host their first Christian Music Jamboree on Saturday, November
6 from 8 AM-8 PM at the park. Local Christian bands, choral groups, or singers
are being sought to be a part of the day's activities. Groups wishing to get
their name on the list of participants may contact Elizabeth Entrekin at 927-2976. Carey Armstrong who will be
setting up scheduling after registration can be contacted at (318) 435-6310.
The deadline for registration is October 25. Tell your friends, neighbors, and
church groups about this event so we can make it enjoyable and memorable before
the busy Christmas season begins.
THIS LOG TRUCK
OVERTURNED in front of Crow-Burlingame on Hwy. 79 in Homer
just after 8 AM on Monday, November 1. The logs apparently shifted after the
truck made a sharp right-hand turn which caused the truck to overturn and empty
the logs onto the roadway and shoulder. No one was injured but three vehicles
received some minor damage.
