Accident On Hwy. 79 Leaves One Dead

BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal

            Jimmy L. Sanders, 31, of Springhill died of injuries received in a 2-vehicle accident about 4 miles south of Haynesville on Thursday, July 21, 2005. According to Sgt. Mickey Mondello with the Louisiana State Police, Sanders was headed north on U.S. Hwy. 79 about 1:50 PM when the 1997 Ford welding truck he was driving crossed the center line and collided head on with a 2003 Mack logging truck driven by William R. Smith, 35, of Campti.

            Both vehicles overturned and ended up on opposite shoulders of the road. According to the investigating officer, State Trooper William Hughes, neither driver was thrown from their vehicle although Smith was not wearing a seatbelt. The investigation is ongoing and it is unknown at this time whether Sanders had his seatbelt on or what caused him to cross the center line.

            Local resident Faustine Heard, 82, was standing on her front porch watering her plants sometime after 1 PM when she was startled by a loud boom. She turned around to see two trucks overturned in the roadway approximately 100 feet from her house. The log truck was still moving and smoke was coming from the welding truck. She called 911. Shortly after, she heard an explosion and the welding truck burst into flames. The fire was so hot it scorched trees in her yard and across the road.

            Ambulances, fire trucks, sheriff deputies and state troopers were on the scene for the next six hours, investigating the accident, diverting traffic, and clearing the roadway. Highway 79 was closed until around 8:00 PM until leaking fuel from the log truck could be  cleaned up. Traffic was diverted down Standpipe Road to Old Town Road and Hwy. 534. The last to leave was the wrecker, around 8:50 PM, hauling the log truck.

            Sanders was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith was transported to Homer Memorial Hospital where he was treated for moderate injuries and released.

Haynesville Police Chief Takes Aggressive Stance

New Police Chief Anthony Smith Told The Town Council, " I want to see loud music down and sagging pants up."

BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal

            New Police Chief Anthony Smith gave the Haynesville Town Council a lengthy overview of changes being made in the police department, telling them his department would be taking a more aggressive stance against disturbance calls. Officers will no longer continue to respond to calls 2-3 times per night. "We now go one time and they are issued a citation for disturbing the peace. That is $150 per person," he said. "When we go back—it is jail time."

            Right now the town has no tolerance on loud music. He would like to see the council adopt an ordinance on sagging pants as well. He said, "We want the music down and the pants up." If we can't get the kids, we'll get the parents, but we need it in writing. Officers will also be walking the streets at night. Citizens will not know what approach the police  will be coming.

            In the past two weeks, Smith said officers have written over 158 citations, many for loud music and disturbing the peace. He said, "We are not just stopping people for seat belts and stop signs, we are stopping people who break the law...and we don't care if they are black or white, but only whether they are right or wrong."

            Publicizing outstanding arrest warrants in the newspaper was a great success, and from now on, Smith said every court docket will be published.

                        The police chief asked the council to approve promoting Jason Branch to assistant chief with a pay raise to $15 hour and promoting James Bolton to detective. He said the department also needs a full-time secretary, from 8-5, to help with reports, answering the radio and responding to calls.

            He presented copies of a new 138-page policy procedure manual to Mayor H. U. "Mutt" Slaid, Attorney Danny Newell, and council members Alvin Kendrick, Alvin Moss, Joyce Majors, Renee Buggs, and Carla Frazier Smith, asked them to review it for 30 days and suggest any changes before approving it.

            Smith said more than 40 persons have submitted applications to the reserve officer program. He wants to initiate a "ride along" program to help determine which applicants are serious about the position. He also wants to set up a program that will help determine if new officer candidates can pass the pre-test at the police academy before hiring them. Presently they have mostly one officer on duty per shift and, he said, "That is not good."

            Slaid suggested Smith present a recommendation in writing and allow the council time to compare figures against the budget, so they could make a decision at the next meeting. 

LA. DNR SECRETARY Scott Angelle (left) speaks with Mickey Mays, President of Lincoln Parish Police Jury and Richard Durrett, President Sparta Groundwater Commission, about the critical designation needed for Sparta Aquifer at a meeting last week in Ruston.

DNR Secretary Hears Sparta Concerns

BY CHUCK CANNON  (Article and Photo Courtesy of Ruston Daily Leader)

            Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle heard firsthand on Thursday why area residents and political leaders are calling for a critical designation for the Sparta Aquifer.

            Angelle met privately with a small group of local leaders before joining a larger group in the Ruston Civic Center's Peach Suite for lunch. He said he appreciated the invitation from those concerned with saving Louisiana's natural resources.

            "I heard a lot of great things today," Angelle said. "We'll go back and talk about it, that's all I can say now."

            The final decision on whether the Sparta is designated "critical" rests with Office of Conservation Commissioner Jim Welsh, Angelle said.

            "I realize this is a tough issue and I'll talk to the Commissioner," Angelle said. "But ultimately, it's the Commissioner's authority."

            Lincoln Parish Police Jury President Mickey Mays said the meeting was "fantastic."

            "There was great acceptance of the facts from a very smart individual (Angelle)," Mays said. "We appreciate his coming to Lincoln Parish. I believe Secretary Angelle now better understands the opinions of the people of North Louisiana when it comes to the critical nature of the Sparta Aquifer."

THEN AND NOW Kenneth Nutt in front of Hebron Baptist Church, Summerfield, where he has been the preacher for the past 50 years.

Kenneth Nutt: 50 Years At Hebron Church

BY JIMMY DEAN, Feature Writer, The Guardian-Journal

            Five decades...two score and ten...half a century...however you say it, 50 years with the same Baptist church is an accomplishment. And  it was over 50 years ago that Reverend Kenneth Nutt  preached his first sermon at Hebron Baptist Church in Summerfield.

            In a recent interview Nutt said that Hebron Baptist Church called him soon after that first sermon. It was August 1, 1955, that Nutt relocated to serve as Hebron's pastor. He had no idea he'd still be with them fifty years later, but he is.

            "We were up to 79 enrolled in Sunday School back in those days, but when Hunt Oil closed in the fall of 1959, we lost about half the membership," he said. Even so, it would take more than a plant closing to shut down Hebron Baptist. After all, the church was established almost 160 years ago in 1848.

            A church history prepared in 1984 states that Reverend R. A. Hargis was the first preacher, Richard Young was the first deacon, T. W. O'Bannon was the church clerk and Elder J. W. Melton was the moderator. The deed for the original 4.5 acres on which the church was built also mentioned  a school and cemetery to be located on the property. The history refers to the present building as the fourth church serving Hebron's membership.

            Nutt says that over the past fifty years he has handled many funerals, married a lot of couples, visited every Summerfield resident he heard of in the hospital ("It didn't matter to me if they attended Hebron or not"), and held a lot of grieving hands.

            Thinking back over the past fifty years, Nutt concludes, "If I had it to do over, I'd still serve Hebron—I might do one or two things a bit different—but it's been a joy to serve the Hebron fellowship."

CLAIBORNE BUTANE MOVED to their present location on Hwy. 79 in 1952, about the time this picture was taken. Standing in front of center truck, were co-owners L. R. "Bob" Anderson, Phil Fincher, and owner and founder W. M. "Willie" Rainach with son, Bill, who assumed management of the business in March 1977. The company opened with one delivery truck driven by Reece Robinson (seated top right truck). When sold earlier this year to O'Nealgas, the company had seven delivery trucks serving 4,500 customers from El Dorado in South Arkansas to Coushatta in North Louisiana. The familiar "Marlin Blue" painted trucks with the Claiborne Butane "flame" insignia will soon be replaced by O'Nealgas trucks.

Claiborne Butane Sells To O'Nealgas

BY JIMMY DEAN, Feature Writer, The Guardian-Journal

            Claiborne Butane has been scattering "marlin-blue" butane tanks across North Louisiana for almost 60 years, but over the past fifteen years, those familiar Claiborne Parish fixtures went the way of bell bottoms and bouffants. Now the Claiborne Butane flame logo  will soon be history as well. On February 1, 2005, Claiborne Butane officially became O'Nealgas.

            Bill Rainach said his father W. M. "Willie" Rainach opened the original office for Claiborne Butane in December, 1945, in the Gill Building about where Rex Young's Barber Shop is now located. The telephone number was 75; today the number has expanded to 318-927-3575. The business operated from that location until about 1951 when the office moved to its current location on the Haynesville Highway. Dennis Butcher and Bill Rainach assumed management in March, 1977, until Rainach retired from the business this past March.

            Many local folks will recall in the first half of the 20th century, rural homes had no telephones, no electricity, and no running water. They cooked on wood stoves and kerosene heaters. 

            Before opening Claiborne Butane, Willie Rainach first established Claiborne Electric during the early 1930s, in an effort to bring electricity to rural homes in Claiborne Parish.  He later decided to get out of the business to go into politics.

            Bill remembered as a child, his family once ran out of butane around Christmas.  In those days, the one butane supplier  made deliveries only once a month. They had to wait four days for the truck to come from Shreveport to fill their tank. His dad would later install another tank for a reserve supply.

            According to the website at www.onealgas.com, Onealgas was founded by John A. O'Neal in March, 1952, with one delivery truck and one employee providing "butane" gas service to residents of the community.

            With the recent acquisition of Claiborne Butane, O'Nealgas, Inc.,  now has a small fleet of delivery and service trucks and nearly 50 employees over 6 office locations providing residential and commercial propane service to 18 parishes in Louisiana and 4 counties in Arkansas.

            Tom O'Neal, President of the company, said that O'Nealgas will continue to provide residential and commercial delivery of propane gas to both customer-owned tanks and company-owned rent tanks. They also will expand their product lines in Homer. In addition to the propane-related merchandise, O'Nealgas will offer natural gas appliances, home heating products, and outdoor gas accessories.

            Note: Susan Herring contributed to this article.

Residents Warned To Lock Vehicles

            The Homer Police Department would like to warn individuals to make sure their vehicles are locked even when they are at home. At least five cars were burglarized sometime Monday night after dark. Two cars on West 6th Street, one on Beech Street, one on Oak Street, and one on South Main. Items stolen included a number of CDs, one cell phone, some potting soil and paper towels. None of the vehicles were broken into, all were unlocked. At least one owner had nothing stolen, but found the glove compartment open and items strewn across the seat.

            Elderly residents are also advised to keep the doors to their homes locked and should be cautious when opening doors to strangers. If you have any reason to be suspicious of someone knocking at your door, call the Homer Police at 927-4000, the Haynesville Police at 624-1355, or the Claiborne Parish Sheriff's Office at 927-2011.

Parish Health Unit To Offer "Free" Immunizations

            Beat the Back-To-School Rush!! The Claibome Parish Health Unit will be extending regular business hours on August 4, 5, and 6 to offer immunizations at no cost to local school children. The health unit will be offering free shots from 2 PM until 8 PM on Thursday, August 4, until 5 PM on Friday, August 5, and from 10 AM-4 PM. on Saturday, August 6. No appointment is necessary and no fees will be charged. This gives parents the opportunity to update their children's shots before the beginning of school. For more information, call 927-6127.

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