Kirk’s bond denied
The Guardian-Journal
A woman accused of second degree murder in
2010 was denied bond in a Jackson Parish courtroom Monday.
Patishi S. Kirk, 24, went before a judge in
Jonesboro.
Second Judicial District Attorney Jonathan
Stewart said she went before Judge Jimmy Teat in Jonesboro because that’s where
he was holding court.
“At the conclusion of the hearing, her bond
was revoked,” Stewart said. “She’s ordered to remain incarcerated pending
trial. The state produced evidence that she had been involved in recent
criminal activity, which violated the terms of her bond.”
Kirk willingly turned herself in Tuesday,
June 11, at the Homer Police Station where she was taken into custody and
transferred to the Claiborne Parish Women’s Jail for booking on a charge of
imminent danger to the community with no bond.
She has been charged with second degree
murder in the stabbing death of Vincent Dunn in July 2010. Police say she
admitted to the stabbing but gave police indication as to motive. Dunn was
found deceased at a residence on Hunter Street, and Homer Police Captain Donald
Malray, at the time, said evidence was collected at the scene and entered into
evidence.
Since then, she has been cited in Ruston for
simple battery for fighting from an incident involving another boyfriend.
She was also arrested for aggravated assault
by Homer Police in August 2012, when she reportedly was seen at Mayfield Park
waving a gun around from a vehicle.
Trial is set for July 22.
Former NFL great to speak to Homer Lions
The Guardian-Journal
A former NFL great who’s returned to his
college career roots will be the guest speaker for the Homer Lions Club this
month.
On June 27, at noon, at Nicky’s Mexican
Restaurant, Tim Rattay, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, will speak
about his current position as assistant coach to Bulldogs Head Coach Skip
Holtz.
Rattay returned to his alma mater, Louisiana
Tech University in Ruston, in late 2012, after an amazing college career with
the Bulldogs and moving on to the National Football League.
“I am super excited to get back to Louisiana
Tech,” Rattay said in an article published on La. Tech’s website. “It is a
place that has given me so much, and it is a program on the rise. So many good
things have happened to Tech in the last 10 years and there are a lot of good
things still to come for Louisiana Tech football. I am just glad to be a part
of it, and I want to thank Skip Holtz for the opportunity to come back home.”
According to the college’s athletic website,
Rattay returns to Tech where he rewrote the Louisiana Tech record books while
permanently etching his name in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic
Conference) record books during his three-year career with the Bulldogs from
1997 through 1999. Spurned by most Division I programs due to his undersized
stature, Rattay possessed an uncanny ability to dissect defenses with his
pin-point accuracy and exploded onto the national scene in 1997 as he passed
for 358 yards and three scores in the Bulldogs 30-23 win over Bowling Green.
Following his collegiate career, the
All-American was selected in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the San
Francisco 49ers where he spent eight years in the league with the 49ers, the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals before retiring from the NFL in
2007.
During his NFL career, Rattay recorded a
number of impressive performances, including breaking the 49ers single game
completions record with 38 in a 31-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals in 2004
(Joe Montana held the previous mark with 37). He also became the only player in
NFL history to throw three consecutive passes all going for touchdowns, a feat
he accomplished while with the Cardinals in 2007.
He led the Buccaneers to the franchises’
biggest comeback ever. Trailing eventual NFC champion Chicago by 21 points in
the third quarter on December 17, 2006, he tossed three fourth-quarter
touchdowns to send the game into overtime where the Bears eventually won 34-31.
Rattay was inducted into Louisiana Tech’s
Athletic Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2007.
“Tim brings a vast experience around the game
of football,” Skip Holtz, Bulldogs Head Coach, said. “His father was a high
school coach, so he grew up around the game. He was a college player and then
played 10 years professionally and has had the opportunity to coach at the
professional level the last few years. He is a Louisiana Tech guy; this is his
school, this is where he played and this is where he wanted to be. I am really
excited we have the opportunity to give him the chance to get into college
coaching at his home at Louisiana Tech.”
Rattay earned his bachelor’s degree from Tech
in 2001, and is married to the former Allison Walker, also a Tech alum. The
couple has three children, Riley, Taylor and Sloane.
Mayor, chief court battle continues in amended
petition
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
Another petition has been filed in the
ongoing court battle between Mayor Alecia Smith, the Town of Homer and Police
Chief Russell Mills.
This petition is an amended one stemming from
a court date on May 16, where the Second Judicial District Court sided with the
town referring to an ordinance that was introduced and withdrawn by the council
allegedly to alter the Homer Police Department’s budget as to render it
inoperable.
“As significant interference with the
operation of the police department has occurred and the defendants violated and
continue to violate law, the plaintiffs hereby amend and supplement the
original and first amended petition and supplemental petition...,” according to
the document filed in the Claiborne Clerk of Court’s Office on Thursday, June
13.
On May 16, Pam Breedlove, attorney for Chief
Mills, argued the town continued to violate law and hamper the chief’s ability
to run his department and spend the money already budgeted to him as he saw fit
for his department. Among other allegations, new ones have been added to this
petition as well as three additional plaintiffs in the case -- Dana Mills, the
chief’s wife, Lt. Roger Smith and his wife Brittany.
Named as defendants are the Town of Homer, Mayor Smith
and all five council members, Linda Mozeke, Michael Wade, Don McCalman,
Carlette Sanford and Patricia Jenkins.
Among the allegations in the petition are the
mayor allegedly continues to restrict Mills’ ability to run his department by
not paying his bills timely, making him bid out all purchases (including the
purchases of batteries for patrol units), choosing the higher bid thereby
taking more money from his budget, and that “she has to approve all police
department expenditures instead of him.”
Also alleged in the petition is fees above
Town Attorney Marcus Patillo’s contracted amount are paid out of the police
department budget for Mayor’s Court, which is not a function of the police
department.
The town also failed to pay health insurance
premiums for employees and retirees, causing a lapse in coverage in May,
despite the town collecting premiums from retirees and withholding the
employees’ portion of the premiums from their paychecks.
“The mayor refused to provide information at
the Board of Selectmen meeting on May 6, 2013 claiming the bill had been paid
but the insurance company did not receive the payment until May 8, 2013,” the
petition alleges. “The town also failed to pay the premiums in January 2013
which resulted in temporary suspension of benefits.”
The suit continues its allegations in that
the town withheld life insurance premiums from Lt. Smith’s paycheck but failed
to make the payments to the insurance company that carries his policy. This
resulted in the suspension of life insurance for Smith “until such time as
Roger Smith could get the town to pay the premium.”
The town also withheld child support payments
from Smith’s paycheck but never turned the money over to the support
enforcement office in violation of a support enforcement order, the suit
continues.
“When Roger filed his federal income tax
return, approximately half of his income tax refund was withheld by the federal
government and turned over to support enforcement to pay child support that the
Town had withheld from his check,” according to the suit. “Roger has still not
received all money withheld from his check but not initially turned over to
support enforcement.”
The suit continues to allege the town’s
adopted budget does not comply with requirements of the Louisiana Government
Budget Act in that the town adopted a policy of 200 hours of vacation time for
all town employees without budgeting the money to cover the vacation time.
After the adoption of the budget, Captain Donald Malray and Town Treasurer
Shenovia Harris was approved for 260 hours of vacation leave, again, not
amending the budget to cover the vacation leave.
This also affects the police department’s
budget, because this vacation time was not accounted for in his budget,
resulting in overtime for officers who cover shifts for others while on
vacation.
“The mayor has admitted that the budget does
not account for the increased hours or necessary overtime and pay caused by
these policies, yet the defendants have done nothing to correct the budget
which is not in compliance with law as the defendants know that the budget is
not accurate and that the expenditures will exceed revenue,” according to the
petition.
Along those same lines, the suit alleges the
mayor has not allowed the chief to hire a part-time or full-time officer to
help with the cost of overtime that accompanies the huge increase in vacation
time.
“The motion was made and seconded by the
Board of Selectmen but the mayor would not let the vote take place because one
Board of Selectmen was not at the meeting even though a quorum existed,” the
suit purports. “Despite knowledge of the revision to La. R.S. 33:423, the mayor
and some of the defendants still insist that all potential police officers must
be voted on by a review board that is not provided for in the Town Charter or
by law.
“The defendants have continued to interfere
with the operation of the police department and budget appropriated by them for
the police department in violation of the LGBA while at the same time
permitting the mayor to incur and pay expenses not allowed by law,” the suit
continues. “Plaintiffs fear that the defendants will continue to do so to the
detriment of the department and the safety of themselves and other citizens of
the Town of Homer.”
Mills and the other named plaintiffs are
seeking mandamus, injunctive or declaratory relief to require compliance with
the provisions of the LGBA.
A court date has not yet been set.
CPSO to begin renovations
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office is well
on its way to getting a face lift, starting with the equipment room for the
E-911 system.
Buildings and Grounds Chairman Bob McDaniel,
District 3, recommended spending $5,000 for construction of a bigger equipment
room and to relocate said equipment. It was approved unanimously.
“The 911 equipment room is basically a broom
closet, and we just need to get it into a bigger room,” Claiborne Parish
Sheriff Ken Bailey said. “We’re in the process of getting all our vendors to
get their equipment into the bigger room. You got telephone lines, 911
equipment; it’s $300,000 worth of equipment and we can’t have a lightning
strike because we’ll be in trouble.”
The sheriff’s office houses all of the
equipment for dispatch, including all the servers and networking equipment that
is the heart of the law enforcement agency.
The “closet” already has a separate air conditioning
system to keep the equipment cool.
“(It will be) basically demolition of the
room and hulling it out,” said Secretary Treasurer Dwayne Woodard. “This $5,000
is for the construction of the project, not for new equipment.”
Inmates from the Claiborne Parish Detention
Center will take care of the labor needed to complete the project.
“We also discussed the formation of a
committee to look into the possibilities of the construction of an
(administrative facility for the sheriff’s office),” McDaniel said.
“We’re about to have to spend a bunch of
money on a 40-year-old, landlocked building that can’t be upgraded,” said
Police Jury President Scott Davidson. “It would basically have to be gutted or
build a new facility. We’re going to form a committee to discuss feasibility
and see what’s out there.”
On the committee will be Jerry Adkins,
District 9, (chair), the Rev. Willie Young, District 10, McDaniel, Bailey, Chic
Hines, Mark Furlow, District 2, Walter Johnson, Claiborne Parish E-911 Director
and Cathy Greeson with Claiborne Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness.
Bailey said the ultimate goal is better
facilities for the women’s jail and modern facilities for the sheriff’s office.
The building was built in the late 70s by
then Sheriff J.R. “Snap” Oakes. The women’s jail was the first modular jail in
the state, Bailey said.
In other news, the police jury approved:
• The official journal for the police jury,
which went to the Haynesville News again this year. District 7 Police Juror Roy
Lewis made a motion for The Guardian-Journal, but it died on the table due to
the lack of a second. The Haynesville News received a vote with seven in favor
and one opposed.
• The Legislative Auditors Compliance
Questionnaire for the 2012 audited financial statements.
• Resolution 2013-010, a resolution
authorizing the president and the secretary treasurer to sign documents
concerning the transmittal of the 2012 audited financial statements.
• Moving the September 4 monthly meeting to
September 11, as the police jury will serve as the Board of Review for tax
assessments for the year.
• Resolution 2013-011, a resolution calling a
special election in the parish for the renewal of a one-eighth of a cent sales
tax on October 19.
The next police jury meeting will be at 9
a.m., Wednesday, July 10, in the meeting room at the Claiborne Parish Police
Jury complex. For more information, or for questions, please call their office
at 318-927-2222.
Lake Claiborne Boat Parade, Fireworks Show July 5
The 2013 Lake Claiborne Boat Parade and
Fireworks Show is set for Friday, July 5.
The boat parade begins at 7:15 p.m. with line
up at Pleasure Point Marina. The route will make its way around the lake to
Lake Claiborne State Park. A commemorative hat is given to each boat parade
captain while supplies last, with one hat per boat only.
This year’s show is expected to be a huge success with
more fireworks this year than any other time! Beginning at 9 p.m., the
fireworks show will be a spectacular event with 1,330 display effects. Handling
the fireworks show again this year is Artisan Pyrotechnics of Wiggins, Miss.
Even with the show coming up quickly, there
is still time to make a tax deductible donation to help make this year’s show a
bigger success than the previous year. To donate, please make checks payable to
Fourth of July Fireworks for Lake Claiborne, Inc., and mail it to P.O. Box 181,
Homer, LA 71040.
Coke Mural Prints on sale
The Claiborne Jubilee is taking orders for
prints of this painting which is being transformed into a 16’x20’mural to be
attached to the old Coke bottling plant building on East Third Street in Homer.
The original painting is on display in the lobby of First Guaranty Bank, where
orders may be placed. The prints will come in two sizes: 16”x20” for $50 or
8”x10” for $20. Payment should be made at the time of ordering. Each print from
the first printing will be signed and numbered by the artist, Judy Peterson
Buckner of Athens. Buckner grew up just around the corner from the park and
drew on her own memories as well as those of many others who grew up in Claiborne
Parish in the 1950’s and ‘60’s when the park was the site of many events. For
more information, contact Cynthia Steele, 318-927-2566 or .
Lions Camp really does help the kids
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
Living with diabetes can be difficult, but
for a child it can be especially hard.
That’s why the Louisiana Lions Camp hosts a
summer camp for children living with diabetes. While these children, like Jade
Anderson, the speaker for the Homer Lions Club this past Thursday, have fun and
do all the activities other summer camp children do, the Lions Summer Camp also
teaches them how to better manage the disease.
“I wanted to say thank you for sponsoring
me,” she said. “The first time I went it was really scary, but we meet a lot of
friends and we do a whole lot of activities there.”
She said they give out ribbons at the end of
the week for things like which cabin is the cleanest and other things. The camp
offers several activities throughout the day, like swimming, arts and crafts,
archery, playground equipment, fishing, nature, dancing and an awards ceremony.
But more importantly, her mother, Amy
Anderson, said, is the camp teaches the kids about their diabetes and how to do
things to enhance their quality of life.
“They teach them about their diabetes, how to
count carbs, how to account for their exercise and how to check their blood
sugar,” Mrs. Anderson said. “We really appreciate y’all sponsoring her. She and
I both are diabetic and it’s a big financial burden with all the medication and
things.”
Mrs. Anderson also explained some of the good
things about the management of her daughter’s diabetes like the fact that since
she was put on an insulin pump, she can better manage her blood sugar. Also,
with the particular pump Jade has, she can swim in it and not worry about
damaging the pump itself.
Camp Victory is located at the Louisiana
Lions Camp near Leesville. Camp Victory is on 170 acres of rolling piney
woodlands that sit on the edge of Lake Vernon. The facility includes bunk
houses, cabins, kitchen and dining hall, infirmary, a multi-purpose room and
much more.
“Providing the youth of Louisiana a safe and
rewarding camping experience has been a major focus of the American Diabetes
Association since its beginning,” according to the camp’s website,
www.diabetes.org. “Our campers are educated daily about diabetes in many ways.
In addition to the fun educational games they play with our dietitian interns,
they will also experience many ‘informal teaching moments,’ a sort of learning
without knowing it.”
Physicians and medical staff are on site 24
hours per day, seven days per week. Mrs. Anderson said all of the campers
medical needs are met on a daily basis.
The Homer Lions Club sponsored Jade, or paid
her camp fees, for camp in 2012, and Jade will return to camp again this year
in July.
Fiscal session boosts education dollars
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
While this year’s legislative session was a
fiscal session, much was done to boost education dollars, and because of a
court’s decision, school systems across the state will get a refund for what
they spent on voucher payments.
District 11 Rep. Patrick Jefferson said he
was proud that so much was accomplished for education, which includes the $12
million refund.
“I wish I could just tell you X, Y, Z,” he
said referring to how much each school system in his district will receive.
“It’s a very complicated formula, and I can’t tell you how many
superintendents, business personnel have been scratching their heads. The MFP
(Minimum Foundation Program) is not like saying 1 plus 1 equals 2.”
The MFP is the formula used to calculate what
each school system will receive in state funds for teacher salaries and
benefits, based on a per pupil basis.
However, he did say that Claiborne Parish
would benefit more from the refund than Bienville or Lincoln parishes, because
Claiborne’s school system is more dependent upon state dollars.
“Bienville receives a very small percentage
of MFP, because you have a higher tax base as far as your properties,” he said.
“The reason behind this was there has been an increase per pupil allocation.
Even so, administrators and educators have done a lot with just maintaining.”
Jefferson said the legislature got a
commitment from Gov. Bobby Jindal that the 2.75 percent increase reinstated
would continue to be an annual increase. For roughly the past four or five
years, this annual increase had been frozen because of budgetary issues.
Also, the $69 million put towards education
in this fiscal session will be split between teacher pay raises and some will
go towards helping with payments to retirement. Some of that money will also go
towards higher education (colleges, universities).
More importantly, he said, this is the first
time “in most people’s memory that the budget was concocted the way it was.”
Typically, the governor proposes a budget and
the legislature tweaks it.
“But in this instance, we had the House
taking a substantial lead in what we were going to do as it relates to our
budget in Louisiana,” Jefferson said. “Also, this is the first time that House
Bill 1 passed unanimously. There were so many people at the table. You had the
Louisiana Black Caucus, you had the Democrats, you had the Republicans, the
‘fiscal hawks’ and we had Cameron Henry, who brought everyone together.
“We all had input as to what was important
for us,” he continued. “As we began negotiations, we went into this fiscal
session knowing that we had to redo our tax code, because it was so complicated.
As it came time, we kept saying we have a diverse state, but these are some of
the things that matter the most to us.”
