CPSB names new superintendent
Janice Kennedy-Williams to take the helm
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The
Claiborne Parish School Board has selected its next superintendent.
Janice
Kennedy-Williams will take the helm on June 1. A committee will be appointed by
School Board President Will Maddox to meet with Kennedy to negotiate a
contract. That contract will be presented before the entire school board at its
next regular monthly meeting on May 7.
Kennedy-Williams
said she “graciously accepts” the challenges she faces in her new role.
“I
really am pleased with the amount of trust you’re putting into my abilities,”
she told the school board and members of the audience. “However, my contingent
still is that I’m going to put the needs of the children first. My background
is education and instructional leader, and that’s what we will do – when I say
we, I mean the entire central office. I’m going work diligently with parents,
principals and the teachers in our school system to make the Claiborne Parish
school system what it needs to be.”
The
vote for Kennedy-Williams was unanimous and was done by a paper vote. Votes
were handed to Maddox, who read out loud each individual vote.
Kennedy-Williams
has a long career in education, both as a teacher and in leadership roles. She
currently serves the school board’s central office as its instructional
supervisor.
She has
a teaching certificate from the State Department of Education, and as of 2006,
it makes her eligible to take the role as superintendent.
Her
educational background includes degrees from Louisiana Tech University, including a doctorate in administration and leadership; plus 30 educational hours
in administration and leadership; masters of arts in curriculum and
instruction; and a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education, all from Louisiana Tech University.
As a
resident of Homer, she has served Claiborne Parish Schools in several
capacities including principal at Claiborne Parish Alternative School from
2001-02; principal at Homer Junior High School from 1999 until 2002;
administrator in Arkansas schools as well as a teacher.
Her
educational affiliations and memberships include LAPCAE (Louisiana Association
for Public, Community and Adult Education); Phi Delta Kappa; LASE (Louisiana
Association of School Executives); and ASCD (Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development). Other professional accomplishments include District
Assistance Team (low performing schools); School Improvement Plan Reliable
Reader; and Trainer, Evaluator and Mentor for LATAAP.
After
accepting the position, Kennedy-Williams received many well wishes and hugs of
congratulations.
Current
Superintendent of Schools Wayne King announced his retirement in January, which
will take effect at the end of his contract on June 1. King will spend the next
month in transition with Kennedy bringing her up to speed to make the final
transition by June 1.
Jubilee seeks artists, quilters, writers
Event to be held May 8, 9
The
Claiborne Jubilee will once again be held on the square in Homer on May 8-9,
and welcomes talented residents to share their work with the public at that
time.
Prizes
will be awarded in various media, and visitors to the festival on May 9 can
enjoy the wares of vendors from Claiborne Parish and beyond.
Quilters
should bring their quilts on Wednesday, May 6, to the LSU AgCenter office in
the Police Jury Complex at 507 West Main Street in Homer. Quilts must be
prepared for display by sewing a four inch wide band across the backing 90
inches from the bottom. Judging will be held on Thursday and the display will
be open to the public on Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Each quilt must have the owner’s name and address on the back of the quilt.
Poetry
must be submitted by email attachment to . The
Claiborne Parish Library has computers for use by those who need access to one.
The deadline for all poetry to be considered is May 3.
Art
should be brought to the square by 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 9 to be displayed
for judging at 10 a.m. Winners will be announced at 2 p.m.
There
is no entry fee for quilts or poetry entries and none for art entries of those
age 18 and under. Adult fees for art are $6 each or 4 for $20 for those paid by
May 6. After that date entries are $10 each or $25 for three. Checks may be
made out to and mailed to Claiborne Jubilee, c/o Town of Homer, 400 East Main Street, Homer, LA 71040. For more information go to claiborneone.org/jubilee,
email or call 318-927-2566.
Police seek Sonic burglar
The Guardian-Journal
Homer
Police are asking for the public’s help in apprehending the person who broke
into the Sonic drive-in in Homer last Friday.
According
to reports, Officers J.D. Faulkner and John Bailey responded to a call Saturday
morning in reference to a burglary that happened sometime after closing the
night before. An undisclosed amount of cash was taken from the restaurant.
Police
obtained surveillance video from around the time the burglary occurred but were
unable to identify the burglar.
“If
anyone has any information on this burglary, please call the police station,”
Homer Police Chief Russell Mills said.
No
description of the perpetrator has been made public and very little details are
being released at this time. If anyone has any information regarding this case,
please call the Homer Police at 927-4000. Any calls in reference to this case
will remain confidential. Police just want information, not your name.
In
other police news, a Homer man was arrested and charged with possession of
Schedule IV drugs.
Jerry
Casey, 24, of Homer, was arrested Friday, April 24, and charged with possession
of Schedule IV CDS (controlled dangerous substance) Darvocet, with bond set at
$5,000. He also had an active warrant for failure to appear, in which he is to
serve five days in jail.
According
to reports, Officer Van McDaniel observed Casey standing next to a vehicle on Pearl Street. As the officer passed Casey, an odor of what was believed to be marijuana was
detected. McDaniel stopped to speak with Casey and could still smell the odor
coming from his person.
No
indication of any drug use was detected in regards to the driver of the
vehicle.
A
background check on Casey revealed an active warrant, and the suspect was
placed under arrest. As the officer searched Casey’s person for officer safety,
that search revealed a pill in his pocket.
Further
investigation revealed the pill was a schedule IV narcotic. He was transported
to the Claiborne Parish Detention Center for booking.
Sheriff: Watch for counterfeit checks
The Guardian-Journal
The
Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office has received a number of counterfeit check
cases of recent, and Sheriff Ken Bailey wishes to caution citizens about them.
“Please
be advised that we have had multiple cases of counterfeit checks being mailed
to citizens in our parish,” Bailey said.
The
letter attached to the check will direct you to deposit the check into your
bank account and mail back a portion of the check to a particular company.
These checks are counterfeit. Please do not cash these checks or put them into
your bank account.
You
will be responsible legally for the money if you deposit them. You will be
liable for the full amount of the check and you will have no way to recoup your
money. You are also subject to prosecution, because according to law, this is
deemed as theft.
The
Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office makes every effort and takes every precaution
to take care of our citizens and keep our people informed. Remember the old
adage, “If it sounds too good to be true, it generally is.”
If you
have any knowledge of a check of this type, please contact Detective Ben Booth
at 318-927-9800.
In
other CPSO news, Deputy J.T. Williams arrested Annette Hicks Williams, 60, of
Haynesville, on Wednesday, April 22. Deputy Williams served a warrant on
Annette Williams for possession of methamphetamine. The warrant was obtained by
Agent Adrian Malone, of the Haynesville Police Department. Annette Williams was
booked into the Claiborne Parish Women’s Facility with bond set at $5,000.
Lions Chicken Charbroil May 8
The Homer Lions Club 22nd annual chicken
charbroil will be held Friday, May 8 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Tickets are $7. Meal includes 1/4 chicken, beans, salad and bread. Pick up your tickets from
any Lions Club member. Plates will be distributed at Regions Bank in Homer.
Don’t forget to vote Saturday!
On the May 2 ballot are Fire District No.
3, including precincts (part of) 03, 22, 31, 34, 35, 36, and 37; Fire District
No. 5, including precincts (part of) 05, 07, 41, 42, 92, and 93, and all of 51.
For more information, please call the
Registrar of Voters Office at 318-927-3332.
Local vet visits WWII Memorial
JIMMY DEAN, Feature Writer
Rollin
Cochran, a World War II veteran who lives on Dutchtown Road in Homer, recently
enjoyed the experience of a lifetime.
He was
one of several local World War II veterans who visited the National World War
II War Memorial in Washington, D.C., courtesy of Louisiana HonorAir.
Cochran,
now 84, describes the experience as “breathtaking.” He says their chartered
flight included approximately 100 veterans plus another 80 or so fellow
travelers.
Antsy
with excitement, Rollin was up at 2:45 a.m. Saturday, April 11, and on the way
to Shreveport by 3:30 a.m. Flying out at 7:30 a.m., the plane was landing a
couple of hours later at Reagan National Airport. Louisiana HonorAir had
arranged shuttle transportation to the Memorial.
Rollin
was one of four veterans chosen to participate in the changing of the wreath
ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He describes that, too, as
“unforgettable and a real honor.”
Asked
about the circumstances of his military enlistment, he says, “I was 18 years
old and had two brothers who were already serving. Back then, my job allowed me
a deferment, but I felt it my duty to serve along with my brothers, so I went
down and asked them to send me a callup notice. I knew that was the only way my
parents would let me go. The next week I was serving, too.”
A
native of Toledo, Ohio, Rollin came to Claiborne Parish for the same reason as
others: the love of a woman. After working in Texas and Bossier City since the
1970s, he met Minerva Price, a Claiborne Parish native. They married, and he’s
been drinking the local water ever since.
Returning
to the trip, Rollin says, “We got to see Memorial Plaza with its 56 pillars,
the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Kilroy engraving, the Pacific Arch, and
the Freedom Wall with 4,000 gold stars honoring the 400,000 who sacrificed
everything for our country. It was deeply moving.”
Concluding
a day crammed with activities, they were back in Shreveport by 8 p.m.
As for
Louisiana HonorAir’s arrangements, Rollin describes it as “first-class all the
way.” He explains that HonorAir arranges special volunteers (“guardians,”
according to the website) who accompany veterans needing help with physical or
health limitations in order to make the trip. Ground transportation from the
plane to the Memorial, meals, and so on are provided at no cost to the veteran.
According
to the website www.louisianahonorair.com, Louisiana HonorAir is “an
organization of local people whose mission is to provide every WWII veteran who
is physically able to travel the opportunity to view their World War II
Memorial for the first time.”
Louisiana
HonorAir has in place arrangements for additional trips on May 9 and May 16
from Shreveport. The website states that other trips will be scheduled until
every WWII veteran has had the chance to go to the Memorial.
The
website also seeks volunteers to act as guardians to help those vets needing
personal assistance. More information is available at the website www.louisianahonorair.com.
In His Own Words
Before the June invasion which landed at Normandy, I taught waterproofing to the troops in England so the equipment could be waded
to shore off the LST (landing ship transport) boats. I participated in five
campaigns, the first being Omaha Beach (WWII) and the last bringing me to Berlin, Germany. I was thrilled when Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal gave me the Louisiana Honor Medal. On April 11(2009) I went to Washington, DC, with a group of WWII
veterans and enjoyed the wonderful sights starting with the National World War
II War Memorial. While there I was honored to be one of the four GIs to
participate in the wreath ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All of
us who participated in the trip offer a ‘Big Thank You!’ to Louisiana HonorAir.
— Rollin Cochran
Haynesville, Fire District 3 evaluated
The Guardian-Journal photos/Michelle
Bates
The Haynesville Fire Department and Fire
District 3 were busy last Thursday as they were tested for their property insurance
rating. During this evaluation, firefighters had to shuttle water from a
fireplug to a holding tank at least one mile away continuously for two hours.
Currently, Haynesville and the fire district have a rating of 4. During this
evaluation, the district was attempting a rating of 3. They were able to pump
1,250 gallons per minute without losing pressure or prime. Haynesville and Fire
District 3 should learn their rating status within a couple of weeks, Fire
Chief Mark Furlow said.
Internet safety and networking websites
Sheriff Ken Bailey addresses rise in use
of social networking websites
During
the past five years, the use of social networking web sites has become a part
of everyday life for many including children. Sites like Facebook, MySpace and
Twitter allow people to form online communities where they can create networks
of people with similar interests to more easily communicate and share
information with others.
According
to a recent study, 87 percent of children between ages 12 and 17 years of age
use the internet. Of those, 55 percent use social networking sites and almost
half of them visit social networking sites once a day or more. Unfortunately,
those same sites have also become havens for child predators.
This
past February, MySpace reported that during a two-year time period, they have
turned over the names of 90,000 sex offenders banned from its site. In March,
Facebook reported that they have removed more than 5,500 sex offenders from
their site during a nine month time period.
“The
real danger lies in the fact that children are sometimes naïve to the fact that
everything they post online becomes public information, and that the person
they connect with online isn’t always who they say they are,” said Claiborne
Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey. “This is the dark side of social networking. Along
with favorite bands and best friends, kids are posting phone numbers, class
schedules, and other personal information that makes them vulnerable to anyone
who wants to track them down.”
Last
year, new security standards were set by both MySpace and Facebook in an
attempt to further protect minors from sexual predators. Some of the changes
include banning convicted sex offenders from the site, putting limits on older
users’ ability to search profiles of members under 18, and finding better ways
to verify users’ ages and identities.
Even
with these protective measures, your child’s best protection is you. As a
parent, you can help your child navigate through the internet safely, so that
they can benefit from the wealth of information available to them online.
Bailey offers the following tips
to prevent cyber predators from entering your lives:
•
Children and teenagers should be supervised at all times when surfing the
internet. Put your computer in an open area where you can see what they are
doing online.
• Spend
time online with your child and establish ground rules for his or her internet
use.
• Keep
an open line of communication with them and talk to them about the issue of
cyber crime. They need to understand the dangers, but they also need to trust
you enough to tell you what is going on, or if something makes them feel
uncomfortable.
• Block
and report anyone that sends you unwanted or inappropriate communications.
• Help
your kids understand what information should be kept private. For example,
phone number, address or pictures showing specific whereabouts.
•
Remember people aren’t always who they say they are.
• Kids
should never arrange to meet anyone they meet online, no matter what.
• Tell
your child not to share his or her password with anyone except a parent.
• If
you are not already, become computer literate yourself. Learn how to block
objectionable material and check your child’s history if necessary.
•
Understand privacy settings and use them to restrict who can access and post to
your child’s website.
“Think
of the internet as a tool as powerful as getting behind the wheel of a car,”
Bailey concluded. “You only hand over the keys to the car after education,
training and adult supervision. The same should hold true for your child using
the internet, except here your child has the key to the world with the click of
a mouse. It is up to you as a parent to help them navigate safely.”
Ribbon Cutting
The Guardian-Journal photo/Michelle Bates
A ribbon-cutting for Kathy’s Real Soul
Food was held Friday, April 24. Now a member of the Claiborne Chamber of
Commerce, the locally-owned restaurant offers home-cooked meals to the citizens
of Homer and Claiborne Parish. Pictured from left, back row are: Chamber member
J.T. Taylor; Homer Town Clerk B.J. Lowe; Chamber members Joey White and Wesley
Emerson; Charles Etta and husband Charles Johnson of Homer. Front row, from
left are Chamber President Steve Koskie, owners Kathy Miller Willis and mom
Marie Miller; and Chamber Executive Director John Watson. In the next picture,
Miller-Willis, center, is shown with District 5 Councilwoman Patricia Jenkins,
left, Koskie and Watson.
National Day of Prayer to be observed
May 7
On
Thursday, May 7, the citizens of Homer will join millions of Americans to
observe the 58th National Day of Prayer as they come together on the grounds of
the Claiborne Parish Courthouse at noon for a time of prayer.
This
will make 17 years our Homer citizens have observed the National Day of Prayer.
The Homer Ministerial Alliance and the Trinity Bible Study and Prayer Group
join together to sponsor a prayer meeting to pray for our nation, its leaders,
local and state officials, law enforcement personnel and the family. The Call
to Prayer at the courthouse will be given shortly before noon by the sounding of the siren of a Homer Police car circling the courthouse square. Plans are
for the meeting to be brief enough to enable the participants to attend and
have time for lunch before returning to work.
At 7 p.m. the same evening, a program of “Prayer and Praise” will be held at Trinity Southern
Methodist Church. There will be special music featuring “Prayer and Patriotism”
by some of the best singers and musicians in our community.
Some of
those featured will be Sandra Langley, Sadie Garrett, Ronald Day, David Fowler,
Judy Fowler, Joe Richardson, Erline Richardson, Tommy Gore, Brady Allen, Vic
Middleton, Barbara Martin, Lana Pugh and others. An area will be reserved near
the church entry for cars to unload and load passengers. Cars may park on the First United Methodist Church lot.
This is
a tumultuous time in American history. The conflict in the Middle East,
corporate corruption has grabbed the headlines, thousands of people are out of
work, families are struggling to stay together and we daily live under the
threat of terrorism.
“Where
can we turn to, for help other than God?” asked Shirley Dodson, chairman of the
National Day of Prayer Task Force.
We are
in desperate need of the Lord. But, how can we arrograntly ask for His
blessings and wisdom when we live contrary to God’s standard of righteous
living? It is imperative to understand that our survival and well-being as a
nation rests solely on our willingness to live according to His purpose.
This
year’s theme, “PRAYER, AMERICA’S HOPE” is based on the scripture “May your
unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”(Psalm
33:22).
Beth
Moore is the 2009 National Day of Prayer honorary chairman. Beth founded Living
Proof Ministries in 1994 with the purpose of teaching women how to love and
live on God’s Word. She has written numerous books and Bible studies that have
been read by women of all ages, races, and denominations. Beth attends Houston’s First Baptist Church, where she hosts an interdenominational Tuesday-night Bible
study for women in her city.
Because
of her burden for unity in the body of Christ, Beth counts serving women of all
denominations as one of her greatest priviledges in life.
The
National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for the community of faith to
take advantage of our freedom to worship and bring the Lord back into the
public arena. The Homer Ministerial Alliance and the Trinity Bible Study and Prayer
Group urges all citizens to come together on the Courthouse Square at noon on
May 7, to pray for our nation and for other needs of our people.Those who will
be unable to attend the meeting are asked to stop at noon and join in prayer
wherever they may be. The Trinity Bible Study and Prayer Group have distributed
posters throughout the town to businesses, churches, schools, nursing homes and
other places to remind all citizens of this “CALL TO PRAYER” and to gather for
prayer on May 7.
It is
hoped that many will take the time to attend both services observing the 58th
anniversary of the National Day of Prayer.
—Submitted by Mary Turner, Local Coordinator
Fire destroys mobile home
The Guardian-Journal photo/Michelle Bates
The home of Nathan Morrow, at 2810 Hwy.
518, near the Claiborne/Webster parish line, went up in flames Wednesday
morning, April 22. With response from the Homer Fire Department, Fire Districts
4, 5 and the Minden Fire Department, firefighters arrived on scene within
minutes of the alarm at 10:45 a.m. Above, firefighters discuss the best option
to extinguish the flame. At right, this firefighter sifts through what remains
of a bedroom in the single-wide mobile home. Pafford Ambulance was on scene to
attend to any fire-related injuries. No injuries were reported, and the cause
is yet to be determined, according to Fire Chief Dennis Butcher.
