Sheriff Ken Bailey: Wafer toddler
drowned
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
Claiborne Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey confirmed the cause
of death for little Devion Wafer as drowning.
This means that Devion was alive when he went into the
water, he said. As to how he got there or if he was intentionally killed -- the
sheriff did not say.
However, authorities are still awaiting toxicology
results on the little boy’s mother, whose body was found Sunday, April 3,
behind an abandoned store at the intersection of Highways 2 and 806. Devion’s
remains were found in a creek near Lisbon Landing on Hwy. 2, Wednesday evening,
March 23.
Sheriff’s investigators and deputies spent several hours
Thursday morning, April 7, combing the wooded areas on Hwy. 2 near Lisbon
Landing looking for anything that might help them solve the case.
“We were out there looking in the woods for clues,” the
sheriff said, “but we didn’t find anything.”
Ruby Wafer, 19, and Devion were reported missing on
Monday night, March 21. The father of the child called authorities saying that
he was concerned because of messages Ruby had sent saying she was going to hurt
herself.
At this time, authorities are releasing very limited
information in this case as they follow leads and conduct their investigation.
The toxicology results on Ruby Wafer could take at least
a couple of weeks to come back -- and that, he said, “will tell us a lot more
and give us more information as to what happened.”
Before Ruby was found, the U.S. Marshal’s Service joined
the search for her. When she was discovered, Bailey said she was fully clothed
and had no obvious signs as to her cause of death. Also, there were no marks on
the boy’s remains to indicate foul play or how he died.
According to reports, Ruby was pregnant with her second
child at the time of her death.
Both Ruby and Devion’s remains were sent to Little Rock,
Ark., for autopsies. Devion was laid to rest on Wednesday, March 30, at Forest
Grove Cemetery in Homer.
There is no word yet when Ruby will be laid to rest.
Haynesville woman busted for meth
The Guardian-Journal
A Haynesville woman was arrested on several drug charges
on a traffic stop where she allegedly had meth in her possession.
On Monday, April 4, Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Deputy
Steve Harbour was traveling east of the Haynesville corporate limits and
observed a vehicle traveling west at a high rate of speed.
Upon making contact with the driver, Harbour found her to
be Jennifer Frick, 32. The deputy allegedly detected an odor of meth coming
from the interior of the vehicle.
Haynesville Police Officer Ricky Goode, along with his
canine partner, arrived on scene to assist.
A scan of the vehicle by the canine showed that he
alerted to the presence of illegal drugs. As Harbour continued his
investigation, he noticed a plastic baggie containing what was suspected to be
meth on the ground beside the truck.
Frick then allegedly informed the deputy she had two
points (needles) in her shorts and pulled out two needles and syringes.
Harbour transported Frick to the Claiborne Parish Women’s
Facility where she was charged with possession of meth with intent to
distribute with bond set at $3,500, possession of drug paraphernalia with bond
set at $500 and speeding 76/55 with bond set at $250.
School Board member retires
The Guardian-Journal photo/Michelle Bates
District 5 School Board Member Stanley
Edwards announced his retirement from the Claiborne Parish School Board after
more than 26 years. He is pictured above with Superintendent of Schools Dr.
Janice Williams.
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The Claiborne Parish School Board honored one of its
members who is retiring after more than 20 years on the board.
District 5 School Board Member Stanley Edwards was
presented a resolution to be documented in the school board’s minutes in honor
of his service to Claiborne Parish. He served 26 years for District 5, where he
resides, serving “the citizens of Claiborne Parish with devotion to the
students, parents, school administrators and staff as he served on the school
board,” the resolution states.
During his service, he served as chairman of the finance
and transportation committees as well as served on the long-range planning,
buildings and grounds and executive committees.
When he was presented the resolution, he said a heartfelt
thanks to the board and the citizens of Claiborne Parish for allowing him to
serve as long as he did.
In other news, three students will be traveling to the
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Convention in Orlando, FL from June
28 through July 1. These students placed in the 63rd Louisiana FBLA State
Leadership Conference hosted in Baton Rouge in March. They will go on to
compete in the national convention.
The school board approved travel expenses for $600 per
student to go towards the trip.
Jarvis Morgan, Kamal Pickens and Spincir Silver will
attend the national convention, qualifying for nationals with their second
place finish in the business financial plan, representing Homer High School’s
FBLA.
According to a press release, FBLA members from all areas
of the state gathered at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge to attend the
opening and closing sessions, elect new the new state leadership team and
compete in competitive events such as accounting, desktop publishing, banking
and financial systems, business math, website development, cyber security and
entrepreneurship at the state levels.
In the most competitive events, the first through third
place winners advanced to the national leadership conference.
Morgan also placed ninth in the Richard D. Clanton
Memorial Award. Other students who placed included Tim Crew, Jarvarious
Hardaway and Kendrick Norton, who placed seventh in the Business Plan Project,
Brianna Cotton, Ferdizeo Kimble and Kabrecia Solomon, sixth in the community
service project, Jazmine Norton, sixth in the electronic career portfolio,
Jasmine Lewis, ShermaDee McDaniel and Tamminesha Peterson, fifth in the local
chapter annual business report, Korsica Anderson, Nakia Aubrey and Victoria
Pearl, third in partnership with business project, Alex Crain, Malcolm Cooper
and James Sumlin, ninth in website design, India Adams, fifth in Louisiana
Who’s Who in FBLA Award, and India Adams, tenth in Ms. Future Business Leader.
Homer High School’s FBLA was also recognized in the
following: sixth in largest chapter membership, second in the Louisiana
Foundation Award, first in Contributions to State Chapter Operations Award and
fourth in the Gold Seal Chapter of Merit.
After the school board’s approval of support for these
students, the school board’s financial consultant Fred Evans presented the
board with what he called “good news.” However, his “good news” involved the
school board tightening its belt even more financially.
A budget revision has to be done because the Department
of Education has said a mid-year Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) adjustment
must be made.
The MFP is the state funding each parish school system
receives each year to pay teacher salaries. This funding is based on a per
pupil basis.
Evans said the mid-year adjustment is “devastating”
because there needs to be a total of $714,705 reduction in this fiscal year’s
budget. For the 2011-12 school year, Evans predicted cuts of $2.5 million,
keeping in mind that 88 percent of the school board’s funds go to pay salaries
and benefits.
“There will be another budget revision before this
(fiscal) year’s over with,” Evans said. “The ‘good news’ I’ve given you is in
fact not good news at all. Mid-year adjustments have not been something that we
have seen in several, several years.”
This reduction comes because as of February, Claiborne
Parish has lost 102 students. As of October, projections show an estimated
decrease of 66 more students.
This year’s budget actually started at $14,203,313, which
has now been reduced to $13,039,377 for this fiscal year.
“When you get to the bottom line, that bottom figure is
not far off from 2003-04’s budget,” he said.
In 2003-04, the MFB budget was $13,020,650, and this
year’s is $13,039,377. This is because of student count, he said. Also, the
cost of living increase the school systems have received every year have
stopped.
“We’re not getting these boosts anymore,” Evans said.
“We’re living off our student count -- period, and our student count is going
down.”
Despite budget woes, the business of the school board
must continue. In respect to that, the school board approved advertising for
legals for the next fiscal year.
They also approved driver’s education for summer school.
It will be held at Homer High School and Keith Morgan will teach the class.
Personnel actions were also approved. Several
resignations took place, and four of those were already retirees. Noel Moore of
Homer High (disability retirement), Tandy Causey of Homer Elementary (resignation),
Cynthia Hamilton of Homer High (resignation, Martha Harson of Haynesville High
(resignation), Flossie Flucas of Homer Elementary (retirement), Bylon Cooper of
Summerfield (retirement), and Dorothee Garner of Homer Elementary
(resignation).
The school board also agreed to a hiring freeze for the
remainder of the 2010-11 school year. Williams said this freeze is mainly for
teaching positions, however, if one that must be filled should become vacant,
then they will hire someone to fill that position.
The school board also reset the school board’s monthly
meeting time to 6 p.m. each month. Before, the school board held a work session
at 6 p.m. and the regular meeting at 7 p.m. According to Claiborne Parish
Schools Superintendent Dr. Janice Williams, they needed to change the time to
be in compliance with public meeting law. The regular dates will remain the
same -- the first Thursday after the first Sunday of each month.
In other news, the school board discussed entering into a
cooperative endeavor agreement with the Town of Homer to use school property
for their activities. That building is the old Homer Junior High building where
the Boys and Girls Club, Homer Unit, is housed now as well as the old
principal’s house and the art building. Right now, this is just to start the
process of entering into the agreement, Williams said.
Robert Sanders, who used to be heavily involved with the
Boys and Girls Club, said that everything the Town of Homer’s Recreational
Director, Fred Young, was asking for would be duplicated because what they want
to do is what the Boys and Girls Club does already. However, the start of the
process was approved.
Students, don’t forget on Friday, April 15, you may wear
blue jeans for $1 to help raise money for the annual Relay for Life. For those
employees who would like to participate, blue jeans will cost $5.
The next meeting of the Claiborne Parish School Board
will be held at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 5, in the meeting room at Central Office.
For more information or for questions, please call their office at
318-927-3502.
Wreck sends one to hospital
The Guardian-Journal photos/Michelle
Bates
An accident on Hwy. 146 at the
intersection of St. John’s Road sent one to the hospital with moderate
injuries. According to officials at the scene, Eryn Tacker, the driver of the
1991 Mazda was coming off St. John’s Road turning west when she pulled out in
front of Edwina Hylan, driving the Ford Taurus. Hylan was headed eastbound on
Hwy. 146, coming home from work, when she said she saw the Mazda turning out
onto the highway. The car did not stop and Hylan swerved to miss her, but did
not. The Mazda had a semi-clear trash bag taped to the driver’s side window as
there was no glass in the door. According to Tacker, the passenger, her sister,
was looking through the windshield looking to make sure no traffic was coming.
Upon impact, the passenger sustained moderate injuries and was transported by
Pafford Ambulance to Homer Memorial Hospital. Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s
deputies were on the scene directing traffic as well as working the accident.
Louisiana State Police were called in to investigate.
Police Jury honors retiree
The Guardian-Journal photo/Michelle Bates
Dan Pruitt, road foreman, pictured right,
retired from the Claiborne Parish Highway Department after serving 30 years
with the police jury. He received a plaque in appreciation for his years of
service. Joe Sturges, District 4 Police Juror, is pictured with him.
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The
Claiborne Parish Police Jury honored one of its own last Wednesday for 30 years
of service to the police jury’s highway department.
Dan
Pruitt retired after giving 30 years to the police jury as a road foreman, and
he was presented a plaque of appreciation during the meeting. The jurors each
congratulated Pruitt on his retirement, especially District 4 Juror Joe
Sturges, who had nothing but praise for the retiree.
“He’s
been here about as long as I have,” Sturges said of Pruitt. “Dan was one of the
first ones to be put out on the road when I came on. We thank you and we
appreciate you.”
During
the public comment portion of the meeting, several of the jurors congratulated
Pruitt on his retirement and thanked him for his years of service to the police
jury’s highway department.
Along
those lines, the police jury also approved the chip/seal road list, which means
this list is the roads that will get some repair or repaved this season. That
list was put before the jury as follows.
Two-shot
coverage, or C-2 and C-3, include Wilson Road at .8 tenths of a mile, Thompson
Road at .9 tenths of a mile, Academy Road at 1.2 miles, Lonnie Road at 1.3
miles, Wasson Road at .2 tenths of a miles, Darling Road at .5 tenths of a
mile, Corney Lake Road at 1 mile, Bicycle Road at 1 mile, Flat Lick Road at 1.9
miles and Quail Trail Road at .7 tenths of a mile.
One-shot
coverage, or C-3, includes Corney Lake Road at 1.9 miles, Youngblood Road at
2.4 miles, Bear Creek Road at 1.2 miles, Hebron Road at 1.5 miles, Hubie Lewis
Road at 2.3 miles, Richardson Loop Road at 1.3 miles, Old Town Road at 2.5
miles, Laban Ware Road at .7 tenths of a mile, Sugar Creek Road at 1.2 miles,
Bicycle Road at 1.4 miles and Harmon Loop Road at 4.6 miles. Total mileage for
both 2-shot and 1-shot coverage is 30.5 miles at an estimated cost of $439,500.
During
the public comment portion of the meeting, Road Superintendent Tommy Durrett
said bush hogging will begin on April 18.
“We will
be on the roads, so everyone needs to be careful when they see us,” he said,
speaking of motorists on the parish highways.
He also
discussed ongoing construction on Maddox Road, saying there would be a “good
bit” of construction on that road right now.
“We
want people to realize that they’re going to have to bear with us a little
while,” he said. “There’s going to be dirt patches in the blacktop for a while.
It’s going to have to set up. There’s been a lot of heavy traffic on that road,
and in order to get this road back into shape, we’re going to have to redo the
base in a lot of areas. We want people to realize that we’re not just going in
there, tearing it up and leaving it. We’ve got to fix the base on the road.”
District
2 Police Juror Mark Furlow reiterated that, saying that the highway department
is fixing the road, not just tearing it up.
From
the grants committee, District 10 Police Juror Willie Young referred one grant
to Secretary Treasurer Dwayne Woodard concerning an application for a FEMA Road
Drainage Project they’ve been working on for a while, he said. They’d received
four submissions which were graded. Three scored evenly, he said, and the
recommendation presented to the jury was from Cochran, Graff and Smoke
Engineering Services. The recommendation was approved.
District
3 Police Juror Bob McDaniel updated the jury on several projects the buildings
and grounds committee has been working on, beginning with the purchase of the
old Claiborne Drug building for use by the district attorney’s office in
Claiborne Parish.
“We
have all agreed to continue to pursue the acquisition of that property, and we
propose an offer not exceeding $65,000 for the purchase of that building,”
McDaniel said.
The
motion was approved. A motion was also approved to get Cochran, Graff and Smoke
Engineering Services to assist in the designing the floor plan and construction
needs for the district attorney’s office. If the offer is accepted, then they
will move forward with those plans.
They
also discussed the old Armory Building. J.T. Taylor Realty evaluated the
building for its fair market value, which will be submitted to Police Jury
Attorney Danny Newell.
“Next
month, we should have more information toward putting together the lease on
that building,” he said.
In
February, the Friendship Missionary & Education Association asked the
police jury to consider allowing them to lease the Armory Building to “provide
wholesome Christian educational opportunities and activities to the youth of
our parish,” a letter by the Rev. Cleon Warren stated.
The
association is made up of 11 churches throughout Claiborne Parish, and with the
lease, they agree to provide security coordinated with the Homer Police
Department and the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office as well as planning,
supervision and custodial services that would be provided by the various member
churches.
If
Newell approves a lease agreement, the association would then be allowed to
lease the building for 50 years.
In
other news, Olivia Ward with Trailblazer RCD approached the police jury letting
them know that the organization is still educating children on water conservation
as well as its entrepreneurial program.
“Our
primary objective right now is to create jobs,” she said. And with this, she
can do presentations on several different areas related to job creation.
She
also gave some updates on other things as well.
During
the public comments portion of the meeting, Claiborne Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey
thanked the police jury for the roofs on the Criminal Investigations Division
as well as the sheriff’s office. He informed the police jury as well that Tax
Sale day will be Wednesday, May 25. He also reminded everyone that there is an
election on April 30 which is asking for four tax renewals, including the one
that helps fund the sheriff’s office.
“This
is a tax that was put on the books about 30 years ago under Sheriff J.R.
Oakes,” he said. “This is a renewal. I know how people are when they see the
word ‘tax’, but these are renewals.”
He also
reminded voters that there is one renewal that is parish wide and two that are
for two school districts.
The
police jury also approved:
• The
lowering of the purchase price of surplus walking pallets from $100 to $50.
• The
hiring of summer part-time labor for the spraying of Parish System roads
through Manpower Services.
• A
request from the North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory to appoint Claiborne
Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey to the North Louisiana Crime Laboratory Commission.
• Three
separate motions concerning the 2012/2013 LCDBG (Louisiana Community
Development Block Grant) Program: 1.) Citizen Participation Plan/Citizen
Complaint Procedure, 2.) Submission of Public Facilities Application, and 3.)
Authorization to proceed with Procurement and Selection of Professional
Services.
• A resolution
for State Contract Provides, as requested by the Claiborne Parish Police Jury
OOCS, which is the Office of Community Services. The contract provides
transportation for clients to GED classes and work sites.
The
next meeting will be held at 9 a.m., Wednesday, May 4, in the police jury
meeting room at the Claiborne Parish Police Jury Complex. For more information
or for questions, please call their office at 318-927-2222.
FirstCall emergency system implemented
at DWCC
The Guardian-Journal
The
Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DSP&C) has
implemented a new emergency notification system to alert citizens of escaped
offenders or other major incidents, according to DSP&C Secretary James M.
LeBlanc.
Through
FirstCall Emergency Notification, a national company based in Baton Rouge,
state correctional facilities will be able to send text messages, emails or
make phone calls to citizens who sign up to be alerted, especially those who
live near the facility. Previously, most facilities had manual lists and would
make telephone calls only, often taking much time to reach all individuals on
the list.
“We
will be able to advise the public instantly in the rare occasion of an escape
from one of our state correctional facilities,” LeBlanc said. “The system will
also be used to notify offender family members of visitation cancelation due to
a storm or other emergency situation, as has happened in the past.”
In the
rare instance of an escape, LeBlanc explained that the instant communication
would allow the public to call in with pertinent information as well.
Matthew
Teague, president of FirstCall, said the unified system will allow citizens to
visit the DPS&C website, www.doc.la.gov, to register their personal
information, including street address, home phone number, mobile phone number
and email address.
“It
gives the people that live around the prison an opportunity to register online,
or they can call us at 927-0405,” DWCC Warden Jerry Goodwin said. “And if we
have an escape or a disturbance then they would be automatically notified.”
“All
information registered on the site will be kept secure and confidential and
will not be shared, loaned, given or sold to any others,” Teague and LeBlanc
said.
Through
the new system, citizens can sign up to be notified about any escapes or major
incidents at the following correctional facilities: Avoyelles Correctional
Center in Cottonport, C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center in DeQuincy, David
Wade Correctional Center in Homer, Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson,
Forcht Wade Correctional Center in Keithville, J. Levy Dabadie Correctional
Center in Pineville, Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Rayburn
Correctional Center in Angie and Elayn Hunt Correctional Center and Louisiana
Correctional Institute for Women both in St. Gabriel.
Privately
owned Winn Correctional Center and Allen Correctional Center have their own
notification systems.
If
people were signed up on previous notification lists, the Department is asking
them to visit the department’s website and register with FirstCall in order to
receive the notifications. There will be two options to choose from: Prison
Emergency Notification Registration (to be notified in case of escape or other
institutional emergency) and Visitor Notification Registration (to be notified
of sudden visitation cancellation due to weather or other situations that might
unexpectedly arise). It is possible to sign up for both notifications but
individuals would have to fill out both forms.
If an
individual does not have Internet access or an email address, he or she can
call the facility from which they want to receive alerts, asked to be placed on
the list and give their notification information. The FirstCall system will be
used internally as well to alert correctional staff to emergency situations
such as a facility’s tactical team being notified to mobilize. The new
technology will save significant staff and response time as well as inform the
public on a real-time basis via several different notification methods.
“Right
now, in the old system, we’re using the same process that we started using in
1980, when the prison opened,” he said.
With
the old system, a person actually has to go down a list and make phone calls to
notify people.
It
should also be noted that residents/businesses with a landline telephone that
live or operate near a correctional facility and that haven’t signed up will
still be contacted if prison officials determine that notification within a
certain area around the prison is in the best interest of the public.
CPSO recognizes ‘Victims’ Rights
Awareness Week’
April
11-16 is designated as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and a time for us to
reflect upon our justice system and the treatment of victims of violent crime.
This
year’s national theme is “Reshaping the Future, Honoring the Past.” In order to
fully appreciate what victims have experienced, we must remember past times
when most victims were treated unfairly and with disrespect or not recognized
at all. They seldom were even informed of the outcome of a case that involved
them or their family. They were excluded from the courtroom and had no
knowledge of the whereabouts of the person or persons who violently changed
their lives.
Thankfully,
in today’s time, our system works diligently to include the victim and victim’s
family in all proceedings. Great strides have been made in recognizing crime’s
impact on the lives of the innocent and victim assistance programs across the
country are reaching more and more people.
While
these efforts begin to help us understand victim’s rights, these victims still
face many challenges. We must never forget the damage crime inflicts on our
citizens, both physically and psychologically. For the victims of brutal
attacks of physical or sexual assault, the family members of a homicide victim
or the person left permanently disabled due to a drunk driver, the violent
crime they experienced will never be over.
Although
most of us do not hold public office, we do have the power to help. Employers
can prevent workplace violence and actively protect stalking and domestic
violence victims who work for them. They can be understanding regarding court
appearances and time required to be off work. Teachers, clergy members, youth
workers and health professionals can assist law enforcement in looking for
signs of abuse or sexual victimization in people they come into contact with in
their daily lives. We all have a responsibility to be mindful and alert
concerning fellow human beings.
In
order to honor that responsibility, we must actively seek to help others. Many
times, this may simply involve giving victims information about where to seek
assistance. According to statistics from “Childhood Victimization” by David
Finkelhor, only two to 15 percent of crime victims access needed victim
services. Those numbers are extremely small.
There
are many great quotes in history regarding the plight of the human condition,
but American Bishop Thomas Monson stated one of the most poignant: “The past is
behind, learn from it. The future is ahead, prepare for it. The present is
here, live it.”
We must
look at the history of victim’s rights to learn from our mistakes, prepare for
the future of victim’s rights by protecting victims and look at current day
activities to lend assistance to them. Remember, for every crime committed,
there are victims of that crime and entire families who are devastated. “Every
victim has a lesson to teach us...” Are we listening?
If you
or someone you know has been the victim of a violent crime, the Claiborne
Parish Sheriff’s Office has a program that may be able to help. Please contact
Deputy Donna Smith at 318-927-9800.
Deputy
Donna Smith, Crime Victim’s Advocate
Claiborne
Parish Sheriff’s Office
Courtesy of the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement.
Information obtained from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice
Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) Statistics.
