District Attorney Updates Council On Bush Case
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
District
Attorney Walter May gave members of the Haynesville Town Council an update on
the case involving former town clerk Marilyn Bush during their regular meeting
on January 20. He said
every ruling in this case, other than the District Court ruling,
has been in favor of the State and the Town of Haynesville...all unanimous, not
even with dissent.
Bush was
convicted of felony theft from the Town of Haynesville in April 2002 and
sentenced to ten years in prison by District Judge Jenifer
Clason. An investigation by State Legislative Auditor
Dan Kyle and the Louisiana State Police at that time showed at least $432,250
in town funds was missing between July 1991 and September 2000, although Bush
only admitted to taking about $70,000.
In February,
2004, after serving 22 months of her sentence, Judge Clason
vacated that sentence, then resentenced
Bush to a ten year suspended sentence, placed her on four years supervised
probation, and ordered her to pay $100,000 in restitution.
District
Attorney Walter May appealed the District Court's decision, and on July 8,
2004, the Second CIrcuit Court of Appeal unanimously
overturned the lower court ruling and reinstated the original sentence, stating
the motion to reconsider sentence should have never taken place. May said,
"They make it clear in their decision by saying the ruling of the District
Court is vacated."
Bush's attorney
then filed an appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court, and on January 7, 2005, the Supreme Court, in
a unanimous decision, denied any review of that court's decision. May said if
the sentence has been vacated, the defendant should not be out on bond, and his
office has considered filing paperwork with the Court of Appeals.
May said Bush's
attorney has since presented a new motion to the judge to correct the illegal
sentence, along with an order setting a bond at the same $15,000 that has been
posted for two years. The sentence was illegal because restitution was not
ordered under the original sentence as required under a section of the law that
had been amended in the late 1990s. A hearing has been set for March 8 in the
Claiborne Parish Courthouse.
Joyce Major said,
"It looks like to me, she is going to get off scot
free, with time already served, and she is not going to be made to pay any
restitution."
Alvin Kendrick
said "If she would reimburse us our money, I'd rather have the
money."
May said,
"I'm sorry that she stole from you, but at some point in time, you have to be pleased that someone got their just reward."
School Board Gets Third Request
From U.S. Justice Department
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
The Claiborne
Parish School Board recently received the third set of questions from the U. S.
Justice Department according to School Superintendent James Scriber. They have
until February 14 to submit their answers and he believe they will meet the
deadline, even though it is taking an enormous amount of time to research and
answer the questions, time he says would be better
spent on the education of the children in Claiborne Parish.
Scriber said he
has not released any information on the content of the Justice Department
inquiry, but did say some of the questions deal with specific incidents in the
school system, some dating back as far as 12 to 15 years. Besides asking the
racial makeup of the schools, students, teachers, administrators, and support
staff, the questions also address what process is used to select valedictorians
and salutatorians at each high school. Scriber said the selection of these
students has absolutely nothing to do with race. Other issues deal with student
transfers across district lines, bus transportation, disciplinary actions and
expulsions.
The people
submitting the complaints feel the school district has not met their
obligations under the 1970 desegregation order. Scriber disagrees. Scriber said
it is as though they are presumed guilty and are having to prove their
innocence. He feels the Board can answer the questions and give the Justice
Department assurance that everything has been handled properly.
Scriber
expressed his concern about the negative effect this process is having on the
Claiborne Parish School System and the local economy. It absolutely hurts
economic development. The parish has been losing population for years and the
district has seen a steady decline in the number of students. Every time a
student leaves the school system, the district loses about $5,000 a year. This
means less money for teacher pay, which makes the neighboring parishes look
even more attractive. Scriber said, "We are going to suffer if we cannot
come up with an acceptable agreement with the Justice Department.".
CLAIBORNE PARISH CLERK OF COURT James Patrick Gladney (center) issues the oath of office to Dr. Alice Stewart and T.E.
"Gene" Coleman on January 20. Stewart and Coleman were appointed to
the Sparta Aquifer Conservation District Commission by Governor Kathleen Blanco
in December.
Coleman, Stewart Appointed To Sparta
Commission
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Dr. Alice
Stewart and T. E. "Gene" Coleman were recently appointed to the
Sparta Aquifer Conservation District Commission by Governor Kathleen Blanco and
sworn in January 20 by Claiborne Parish Clerk of Court Patrick Gladney. Stewart
will be replacing Dr. James Robert Michael as a representative for the Town of
Homer. Gene was reappointed as representative of the Claiborne Parish Police
Jury, where he has and continues to serve as vice-president. Both terms expire
October 15, 2006.
The Sparta
Aquifer Conservation District was established in 1999 by the Louisiana
Legislature to study and recommend ways to reverse the chronic overdraft of the
aquifer. Coleman and David Aubrey were first appointed to represent Claiborne
Parish. Aubrey was later replaced by Dr. Michael. Coleman said Dr. Michael and
several other professors at Louisiana Tech began studying the Sparta about 25
years ago. Most of their predictions, such as their projection of a two-foot
per year decline in the Aquifer, was very accurate.
The Sparta
Aquifer is the main source of drinking water for north central Louisiana. A
little more than half of Sparta water is used for public consumption and more
than forty percent is used by industry. A poultry processing plant could use as
much water as a town and a paper mill could use as much as a small city. Both
industries provide jobs and are important to the regional economy.
Water levels in
the Sparta were sustainable in 1985. Since that time, however, pumping has
increased more than 25 percent which has caused the water levels in the Aquifer
to decline at rates averaging almost two feet per year. Heavy pumping causes
saltwater to move into the aquifer and threatens to compact the sands that hold
water, which can permanently reduce the aquifer's storage capacity.
In 1991, the
Arkansas legislature established criteria for critical groundwater areas, authority
for withdrawals, fees for incentives to match Federal funds for conservation,
and a mechanism for local groundwater management. Since that time, five
southern Arkansas counties have been designated critical Sparta areas. Voters
in Union County passed a 1 cent sales tax in 2002 to help pay for a $45 million
pipeline from the Ouachita River to the county's four largest industrial users
of the Sparta. In Columbia County, a 1 percent sales tax increase was approved
a few years ago to construct a lake, which will become the county's water
supply replacing the Sparta Aquifer.
Louisiana, on
the other hand, failed to pass a state-wide groundwater control law in the
early 1970's and again in 1984. It was only in 1999, following decades of
agencies' monitoring the Sparta's decline, that the legislature established an
advisory-only Sparta Aquifer Conservation District. Two years later, prompted
in part by plans by "merchant" power plants to use groundwater for
cooling, the Louisiana legislature created a state Commission to study critical
areas and draft appropriate legislation. Finally, in 2003, the legislature
established a permanent Ground Water Resources Division within the Office of
Conservation.
The Sparta
Commission nominated and Governor Blanco appointed Coleman to serve on the
Ground Water Management Advisory Task Force in September 2003. This Task Force
serves only in an advisory capacity for the State Ground Water Commission.
Acting upon the
Sparta Commission's application to have most of the Sparta area in North
Louisiana declared critical, the Office of Conservation issued a draft order in
June 2004, declaring critical the three areas of greatest water use - Hodge,
Monroe, and areas in Lincoln parish. This would pave the way for groundwater
regulation on a case by case basis. Some Sparta commissioners objected that a
critical area designation might discourage new business, but most argued that
the area is indeed critical and voted to endorse the draft order. The Claiborne
Parish Watershed District commended the order as a good, though limited, start
toward corrective action. The period for public comments ended in December, but
as of January 24, no decision has been made.
The
Congressional Budget Office projects that within 15 years, the true cost of
quality water could either double or hold steady depending on the efficiency of
water supply solutions. One approach to Sparta depletion would be to build new
plants to provide treated surface water to current aquifer users. The
engineering firm of Meyer, Meyer, LeCroix and Hixson,
Inc. who conducted a Sparta study for the Sparta
Aquifer Commission, calculated that, if this is the sole approach used, capital
costs would be almost $200 million, operating costs would double this figure,
and financing costs would add to that. The firm suggested revenue to pay
capital costs might be generated by a 1/4 cent sales tax in an 11 parish taxing
district, surface water contract sales at $1 per thousand gallons, and
groundwater extraction fees at 23 cents per thousand gallons.
Chamber Committed To Transportation
Projects
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Claiborne
Chamber of Commerce President J. T. Taylor received a response from Byron Keith
Tindell, District Traffic and Operations Engineer for
the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) on the status
of the bi-directional center turn lane along US 79 in Homer. Tindell said DOTD has recommended that left turn lanes be
installed on US 79 at the intersection of La. 2 and that a center
bi-directional turn lane be installed on US 79 between North 8th and La. 520 in
Homer.
The Safety
Committee has reviewed these recommendations and has placed these projects in
their highway program for fiscal year 2008-2009, providing funds are still
available.
Taylor said he
intends to continue to pursue the completion of these projects even after he
completes his term as president of the Chamber. He is committed to remaining
active in the Chamber and working toward the completion of these and other
projects.
DOTD's preliminary Highway Program for FY 2005-2006 for
Claiborne Parish includes patching La. 2 from US 79 East .48 miles estimated to
cost about $75,000 and the overlay of La. 3062 (Homer Oilfield Road) from La. 2
to US 79 at an estimated cost of $1.149 million.
Also scheduled
for letting bids is the widening and overlay of La. 9 from Antioch to La. 2
Alternate at an estimated cost of $1.879 million.
Several other
projects in the design and development phase include La. 154 (Bienville Parish
line - La. 518), the L&NW Railroad overpass bridge replacement on La. 146,
Bear Creek and Relief Bridge replacement on La. 518, the Drain Bridge
replacement on La. 146, Middle Fork Bayou D'Arbonne
Bridge replacement on La. 520.
Still waiting
for funding is the Homer Bypass project from La. 2 to US 79, at an estimated
cost of $13.481 million.
