Finance America
Employee Arrested For Forgery
BY
SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Homer Police Chief Russell
Mills arrested Jewel G. Robertson, 28, of Homer on Tuesday, July 25 for forging
approximately 30 promissory notes totaling $9,975 while employed by Finance America located in the In-Mart Shopping Center on Hwy. 79 in Homer. According
to Mills, the store manager noticed some discrepancies in the books while
Robertson was on vacation last week and through an internal investigation
discovered about 30 notes that had been forged using names of other Finance
America customers. Robertson was also arrested and charged with felony theft in
the amount of $2,356.40.
Robertson was transported to
the Claiborne Parish Detention Center where she was booked on
$30,000 bond.
Mills said the company is fully
aware of the bogus notes, therefore, no customers of
Finance America should be affected. Anyone who
does receive a notice from the company for a balance they do not owe should
contact Finance America immediately..
Claiborne
Detention
Center
Guard Terminated
BY
SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
The Claiborne Parish Detention
Center Corrections Officer who was transporting inmate Lonzo Nash to E. A. Conway Medical Center in Monroe on Tuesday, July 11 when he
managed to escape has been terminated. Claiborne Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey said
the decision to fire Banks had nothing to do with the inmate’s escape. Antonio
Banks, 21, of Homer was fired Monday, July 17, for violating company policy.
Prison officials discovered Banks had used a Detention Center cell phone to make personal
calls. At least one call, according to Sheriff Bailey, was used to call Nash’s
girlfriend.
Banks told officials that Nash
escaped from the van and ran into the woods about one-half mile east of the
Dubberly exit on I-20 after the transport van apparently ran out of gas. The
following day, on July 12, Banks was suspended.
Last Tuesday, July 18, just one
day after Banks was let go, he was arrested, along with three other adults and
one juvenile, charged with simple possession of marijuana. All were transported
to the Claiborne Parish Detention Center, the same facility where Banks
had worked as a guard just one week earlier. Bond was set at $500 for each.
In the meantime, Lonzo M. Nash
remains at large. Law enforcement personnel are continuing their search, in and
out of the area.
Nash is a 34-year-old black
male, 6’ 1” in height, weighing 285 pounds. He has brown eyes, short black hair
and a moustache. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Lonzo Nash is
urged to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 318-927-2011.
Child Abductors Arrested
Claiborne Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey announced on Monday
that four arrests had been made regarding the abduction of 9-month-old Lakynn
Futch on Wednesday, July 12 from his residence on Holly Springs Road. The child was returned to the
baby’s parents, Jennifer Powell and Clayton Futch,
three days later after arrangements were made through the suspects’ attorney to
transfer the child to the Sheriff’s Office on Saturday, July 15, who released
the child to paternal grandmother Linda Futch, who was granted legal custody at
the request of the baby’s parents.
Arrested Monday, July 24, by
Chief Detective Chuck Talley were Jerry L. Mosley, 52, Sandra J. Mosley, 41,
Timothy M. Holden, 40, and Deanna L. Holden, 34, all of Shreveport. All four
were charged with simple kidnapping and booked into the Claiborne Parish Detention Center with bond set at $5,000 on
each person.
If convicted, persons found
guilty of Louisiana Revised Statute 14:45, the crime of simple kidnapping,
shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, imprisoned with or without
hard labor for not more than five years, or both.
911 Call Results In Marijuana Arrests
A 911 call received by the
Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office regarding a suspicious vehicle on Green Hill
Road on Tuesday, July 18 led to the arrest of four adults and one juvenile
according to Claiborne Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey.
Deputies Randy Pugh and Roger
Ellerbe responded to the call and observed a vehicle off the roadway in the
woods. Five black males were standing around the vehicle. Two began running and
were observed throwing something in the woods.
Deputy Pugh called for Deputy
Brian Pepper and Homer Police officers for assistance. A plastic bag containing
what appeared to be marijuana was found in the woods. The K-9 was deployed and
showed a response to an odor in the passenger compartment. Seeds and cigar wrappers
were discovered throughout the vehicle.
Cordero J. Ewing, 17; DeCarrio
D. Fisher, 19; Levar J. Hunter, 17; and Antonio D. Banks, 21, all of Homer,
were arrested and booked into the Claiborne Parish Detention Center, charged
with simple possession of marijuana. Bond was set at $500 on each. The juvenile
was turned over to Juvenile Officer Ben Booth.
Two Arrested Soliciting
Money From Motorists
Two 47-year-old men were
arrested July 14 after they were found soliciting money from motorists at the
intersection of La. 9 and Hwy. 79 on Thursday, July 13.
An off-duty deputy noticed a
vehicle which had numerous complaints filed in the past and instructed the two
men to remain at the scene until a deputy arrived. The men fled the scene, but
were apprehended by Deputy Brian Pepper.
Arrested were Darryl I. Jones,
47, of Homer, and Cedric Day, 47, of Minden. Jones was charged with no
driver’s license in possession and simple obstruction of a highway of commerce.
His bond was set at $1,000. It was discovered that Day was a fugitive from Tarrant County, Texas, on a warrant for possession
of controlled dangerous substance, Schedule II cocaine, over 28 grams. He is
awaiting extradition to Texas.
Gallot Announces $715,000
For
Town Of Haynesville
BY
SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Mayor Pro Temp Joyce Majors
presided over the regular meeting of the Haynesville Town Council last
Thursday, July 20 in the absence of Mayor H. U. “Mutt” Slaid who had been
hospitalized for a blood clot behind his heart. In the absence of Town Clerk
Penny Fields, who was in the hospital recovering from surgery, Assistant Town
Clerk Sue Lonadier replaced Fields.
State Representative Richard
“Rick” Gallot informed the Council their application for capitol outlay funding
had been approved. Thanks to efforts by Senator Adley, Senator Barham and
Gallot, the Town was able to get the money requested—$300,000 for restoration
and upgrade of the municipal complex, $100,000 for priority two and $615,000
for priority five for the wastewater treatment plant, for a total of $715,000.
The next step will be to get on the bond commission agenda, to sell the bonds
and get the money.
Angie Mills To Sing In Colgate Country Showdown
Angie Mills has been chosen to
compete in the KRMD Colgate Country Showdown to be held Saturday, July 29 at 7 PM at the Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City, Louisiana. She would like to invite any
and all her “fans” to come to the Boardwalk and offer their support. Angie is
the daughter of Nina and Danny Mills of Haynesville.
Angie Mills was carried on stage nearly eight years ago by several college friends who insisted she give karaoke a try. There was an immediate connection and Mills was hooked. Karaoke led her to enter the Colgate Country Showdown in Lafayette in 2002 where she won first place, then went on to take second place in Regionals in Florida. In the fall of 2002, she became a regular on weekends at the Brass Rail in Bossier City. While there an agent heard her sing and signed her up to tour with upcoming country singer Pat Waters. Since that time, she has put touring on hold to begin work on her first album.
SEVERAL HOMER JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS
recently got a peak at the new Homer Junior High School
where they will begin classes when school starts on August 16. Students were
amazed and excited to have such an opportunity to learn in an environment
conducive to education. Principal Keith Beard gave a quick tour, showing
students the state-of-the-art science lab, and computer lab.
Homer Jr. High—New Look,
New Classes
Community Open House Set For August 14
BY
SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Homer Junior High Principal
Keith Beard, Asst. Principal Twyla Pugh, and the teaching staff are getting
ready 
for a brand new year in a brand new school. They have spent the last
couple of weeks setting up classrooms and getting ready for classes to start on
Wednesday, August 16.
Beard said, “Thanks to the
generosity of the Homer community, our students will have a modern state-of-the-art facility to provide the setting for an exciting new learning experience at Homer Junior High.” To further enhance the quality of education,
Homer Junior High will be offering a number of new electives this year. In
addition to art and band, students will be given the opportunity to take
speech, computer literature and keyboarding, history of the Bible, newspaper
and yearbook (journalism or creative writing), and drama.
Besides football, baseball, and
basketball, Junior High athletes will be able to join the new track team this
year as well.
Science classes will be able to
incorporate 
lab projects in the new state-of-the-art science lab. Health and
P.E. will include the Governor’s Abstinence program and Life Skills, a program
that teachers about the effect of drugs and alcohol, making choices,
relationships, and anger management.
Junior High Clubs include 4-H, Student
Council, and for the first time this year, the Beta Club. Pep squad will be
offered year round, giving more opportunity for girls to join a spirit
organization.
Beard said work began Monday on
the new gymnasium/library complex to be located on the south end of the
building, connected by a covered walkway. In the meantime, junior high
basketball players will practice and play games in the high school gym and
junior high football players will share the visitor dressing room behind the
high school stadium.
Eighth grade student Theodonys
Willis worries that students at other schools might be a little jealous,
however, she said, “It is good to have everyone in the Homer schools to come
represent the big ‘H’ on one campus.” Jakayla Hardwell will also be in eighth
grade this fall. She said, “This building is much more beautiful than our last
school.” Both Willis and Hardwell are on the cheerleading squad.
Sixth grade teachers for the
2006-2007 school year are
Debbie Watson, Science; John Carodine, Social Studies; Ellen
Conner, Language; Regina Manning, Math; Rhonda Grigsby, Resource; and Shrocke
Beene, Paraprofessional.
Teachers in the seventh grade
are as follows: Shirley Ford, Social Studies; Stephanie Mott, Reading -Language; and Jessica
Richardson, Math
In the eighth grade will
be Cora Williams, Science; Debbie
Harmon, Social Studies; Kim Hays, Reading/Language; Donald Bellew, Math; Maz
Bursey, Resource; and Amanda Gray, Paraprofessional.
In grades 6-8, Stephenie Gray
and Mike Hammock will teach Health & P.E.; Rhonda Porter, Gifted Art; Donna
Hudson, Alpha; and Lenward Seals, Band.
BANNERS LINE THE HALLS at Homer
Junior High as a constant reminder to students their focus should be on
respect, pride, responsibility, positive attitude and team work.
HJH STUDENTS check out the new "State-of-the-Art" science lab.
THIS ROCK HOUSE BUILT IN THE 1930s on Bonner Street,
now Pelican Drive,
across from Homer
High School,
was the home of Sam and Mary Moore Simpson. Over the years, many third grade
students at Homer Elementary were taught by Mrs. Simpson (or Miss Moore before
she married). Their granddaughter
Shannon Penix recently sold the house to the School Board. The house will
either be sold or torn down to make way for a parking lot for the new Homer
Junior High. Anyone interested in purchasing the house, to be moved, should
call Ronnie McKenzie at the School Board Office, 927-3502.
Bonner Street Is No More .
. .
BY
JIMMY DEAN, Feature
Writer, The Guardian-Journal
Bonner Street is gone, sort of.
It’s still there; it’s just not Bonner anymore. It’s Pelican Drive. Homer Elementary School, the soon-to-be-opened Homer Junior High School, and Homer High School are now within yards of one
another, all in the Pelican Drive area. Pelican Drive used to be
Bonner Street. Street.
612 Bonner Street, the old Pearson house, is
gone, making way for the school complex.
606 Bonner Street—“the rock
house” or “the Simpson house”—will soon be gone. The Guardian-Journal
recently reported its sale to the School Board. The Board had already bought 612 Bonner Street. Now Bonner Street is gone.
Now Bonner Street is gone.
Readers may remember the rock
house across from the Home Ec Cottage at Homer High. Red and Mary Simpson lived
there for years. Mary taught third grade at Homer Elementary for many years,
then went on to teach at Claiborne Academy a while. Mary’s husband Red
lived on at 606 Bonner Street after her death.
Now Bonner Street is gone.
A visit with Shannon Simpson
Penix, granddaughter of Red and Mary, sheds further light on the history of the
house at 606 Bonner. Shannon says her Grandfather Red built it in the 1930s, then he and wife Mary Moore Simpson moved in. They raised
their two sons Sammy and Johnny there.
Now Bonner Street is gone.
Shannon brings out a box of family
memorabilia. Here are Mary’s high school and college mementos. A school banquet
program. There are pictures spanning six or more decades of the 1900s. Here are
several showing a rarity, snow on the front yard at 606 Bonner. Many pictures of Mary Simpson’s students over the years.
Mary Simpson lived at 606 Bonner Street for 50 years as she taught
over 1,000 students.
But Bonner Street is gone.
According to longtime Homer
residents Lawson Guice and Pete Pearson, Bonner Street got its name from the Bonner
family that lived on the street a hundred years ago. The Bonners died in the
early 1900s, leaving a son Jewitt. Little else is known about them except that
they gave their name to Bonner Street.
But Bonner Street is no more.
Possible Uses For Old Homer Junior High Discussed
BY
SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Members of the committee
appointed by the Claiborne Parish School Board to find a suitable use for the
Homer Junior High building on Pearl Street met last week. School
Superintendent James Scriber said he had received several requests for use of
the building. The Claiborne Boys and Girls Club submitted a request in writing
in May asking for use of parts of the building. Director Ron Anderson stated,
“....we feel that an educational facility such as that being vacated could help
us in serving and meeting the needs of more Homer youth.”
A written request was also
received from the Homer-Mayfield School Reunion Organization for use of the
building. Other requests came from Charles E. Sims, Director of Education Turn
Around in Minden and Rev. Lester R. Scott, pastor of White Oak Grove
Baptist Church in Homer.
Sims stated he would be
interested in using two classrooms for the purpose of implementing the
Community-Based Abstinence program. The mission of Operation Turn Around, he
said, was “to provide abstinence education, leadership, character development,
and adolescent risk behavior intervention against drugs, alcohol, sex and
violence for the purpose of preparing young people and young adults to make
healthy choices while pursuing their dreams to become self-sufficient leaders
in their families, schools, communities, faith-based and careers.”
Rev. Scott expressed the desire
by his church, The House of Refuge, to use or possibly own the gymnasium in the
Jr. High building. He explained that a “Stop the Violence Conference” had been
held April 29, with a goal of setting up programs to offer youth alternatives
to violence and negativeness in our community. In the letter, Scott wrote, “Our
youth are being inundated with violence”...from television, CDs, violent video
games, gang activity, drugs, alcohol, and staling. He believes if youth are
offered alternatives, some of the negative activities would stop.
Some of the programs being
planned include Big Brother and Big Sister, Adopt A
Grandchild, sex abstinence, Christian and psychological counseling, After Hours
basketball, and other athletic programs.
Scriber said the building is
large enough to accommodate most of these programs if the Board were to divide
the building into sections which could be locked. All groups would have access
to the lobby and bathrooms. The two separate buildings beside
the 7th-8th grade building could also be used.
Any of the programs mentioned would be beneficial to the School Board
since they would be working directly with students who are already in the
school system, which would in turn help test scores.
Locating the Option 3 and
Alternative School programs were ruled out due to the cost to transport
students to the campus and deliver meals. Scriber said it had already been
decided to keep Option 3 students on the same campus with regular ed students.
The consensus of the committee
was to draw up a lease agreement with the Claiborne Boys & Girls Club for
one year, to make sure the School Board would have no further need of the
building before entering a more lengthy arrangement. Since many of the board members on the
Homer-Mayfield School Reunion Organization also serve on the Board of Directors
of the Boys and Girls Club, it was felt something could be worked out between
the two boards to allow use of the facility, which would be limited.
Scriber agreed to get with
Attorney Jim Hatch to have a draft agreement prepared to present to the School
Board.
“Day For
Kids Carnival”
Friday, July 28, Fair Barn
The dunking booth will be one
of the highlights of the “Day For Kids Carnival” to be
held Friday, July 28 from 12-6 PM at the Claiborne Parish
Fairgrounds Complex in Haynesville. Among those who have agreed to sit in the
dunking booth are Haynesville Jr.-Sr. High Principal Bill Kennedy, David
Aubrey, Leroy Hamilton Jr., and Marcus Jackson. The Carnival, which is being
sponsored by the Boys & Girls Club of Claiborne and Mayor’s Youth Council of
Haynesville, will feature a 30’ giant “Slip-N-Slide”, 33’ Titanic Slide,
obstacle course, electronic basketball shootout, relay races, musical chairs,
cake walk, face painting, and much more. The mission of this event is to build
stronger relationships between positive adults and kids by allowing tehm to
spen meaningul time together, in hopes it will create a platform for youth and
establish a lasting tradition to reinforce that all children need a positive
and caring adult in their loves. Admission is free for Club members. Other
youth are $3. Adult admission is $1. Group rates available.
For more information, call 624-1188 in Haynesville or 927-2718 in Homer. Please
come join us for a day of food, fun and excitement!!
