Additional charges filed against
Dennis T. Knowles
The Guardian-Journal
Additional charges have been
filed against a registered sex offender who was arrested last week on rape
charges.
According to a press release
from the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Ken Bailey stated on
Thursday, August 22, Dennis T. Knowles, 29, was arrested on warrants obtained
by Detective Randy Smith for criminal trespass, simple criminal damage to
property and simple burglary.
These warrants were served on
Knowles at the Claiborne Parish Detention Center.
Total bond on these charges are
set at $14,000.
This arrest comes after an
investigation into a burglary that occurred at a local business. The burglary
was reported to the sheriff’s office on July 31. The investigation of this case
is ongoing and has led to the discovery of crimes in other parishes.
More arrests are expected from
these jurisdictions.
Homer officer terminated
Another placed on leave alleges corruption,
retaliation
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
A Homer Police Officer is
alleging corruption within the department, including improper tasing, following
the decision of Chief Russell Mills to suspend him without pay.
Another has been terminated for
insubordination, Mills said, and another has been placed on administrative
leave without pay.
“One officer has been terminated
for failing to report for duty, one officer has been placed on leave (without
pay) pending an investigation and the other officer has been placed on leave
without pay pending a hearing before the council,” Mills said.
The chief would not release
their names.
However, Officer Frank Evans,
one of the two officers suspended, is speaking out through a letter addressed
to Mayor Alecia Smith and the town council asking for their intervention in
regards to the disciplinary actions taken last week.
A copy of the letter was
obtained by The Guardian-Journal, in which Evans claims he’s been wronged by
Chief Mills for allegedly airing corruption within the police department.
Mills says the reason for his
suspension has nothing to do with “airing” alleged corruption but on a
different matter entirely. While he would not disclose the reason behind Evan’s
suspension, he said it has nothing to do with what Evans wrote in the letter.
“I have no comment at this time
due to pending litigation, and as far as his being placed on leave, it’s
strictly administrative,” Mills said. “It has nothing to do with the ongoing
investigation dealing with that officer (the other officer placed on
administrative leave without pay). It has nothing to do with the FBI investigation;
it has nothing to do with the other officer. Everything he’s portraying it has
merit to -- it has none.”
Evans accuses the chief of poor
leadership and corruption within the department, naming at least two officers
in particular. He also gave examples in which he alleges these two named
officers improperly tased suspects, “threatening people, cussing them for no
reason and using their badges to intimidate people.”
He also discussed the other
officer placed on administrative leave without pay, citing his “behavior was
unbecoming of a police officer and very unprofessional.”
With the termination of one
officer, Mills now has to fill that position. He’s been running short on
officers for several months now, and just recently hired Officer Terry Yetman
part-time to help alleviate some of the overtime costs attributed to making
sure all shifts are covered.
“I’ve knocked my manpower down
from eight to five full-time officers,” he said. “I can assure the public that
we are doing everything we can to keep the town covered, and we’re going to
(continue to) do so pending this hearing and investigation.”
The events leading to the
termination of the one officer and the suspension of the two other officers are
unrelated to each other, the chief said.
This is not the first time the
police department has come under fire, and pending litigation between the chief
and Mayor Smith continue. In March, the FBI raided the police station,
confiscating a computer, but later returned it to the department. According to
Mills, the FBI is still conducting an investigation but would not say the
nature of that investigation.
In February, the council voted
to disband the police department, citing poor leadership among other issues as
its reasons. However, that vote was rescinded.
The hearing and discussion of
the two officers’ suspension will be discussed at the next town council meeting
set for Monday, September 9 at 6 p.m. in council chambers, located inside Homer
City Hall. The meeting date was moved from the first Monday of the month as
September 2 is Labor Day.
Mills versus Homer court date set for September 12
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The Town of Homer and Police
Chief Russell Mills will meet in a courtroom again on September 12 regarding an
amended petition making additional allegations against the town claiming it
continues to violate the law.
In May, a petition was heard
before Second Judicial District Judge Jimmy Teat regarding an ordinance that
was introduced in March regarding the police department’s budget. Judge Teat
ruled the issue was moot because the town withdrew the ordinance and never took
any action on it. However, Mills’ attorney, Pam Breedlove, brought up
additional issues to show the town continues to interfere with the police
department’s budget and has caused additional problems.
The suit, filed in Claiborne
Parish on June 13, added several petitioners with Chief Mills, including his
wife, Dana and Lt. Roger Smith and his wife Brittany.
Defendants named in the petition
include the Town of Homer, Mayor Alecia Smith, Linda Mozeke, District 1,
Michael Wade, District 2, Don McCalman, District 3, Carlette Sanford, District
4 and Patricia Jenkins, District 5.
The plaintiffs in the petition
are asking for “mandamus, injunction and/or declaratory relief prohibiting the
defendants from violating the LGBA, interfering with the operation of the
police department including the interference with expenditures of funds
appropriated for the department among other things.
“The Board of Selectmen
introduced the ordinance during the special called meeting (on March 2) by
title only and indicated that the Town was going to take money from the police
fund budget and return it to the general fund budget,” according to the suit.
“Upon information and belief, the Mayor and some members of the Board of
Selectmen intended to eliminate or so drastically reduce the police budget as
to make the department inoperable in violation of the Louisiana Local Government
Budget Act (LGBA).”
The suit goes on to allege Mayor
Smith has refused to pay and/or delayed paying bills for the police department
and “insisted that the elected Chief of Police does not have control of his
expenditures despite the appropriations in the 2013 budget and Chief Mills has
been unable to get any of the defendants to correct this.”
Allegations also include the
fact the town failed to pay health insurance premiums of the employees and
retirees which resulted in the suspension, and in some cases the cancellation,
of health insurance in May.
“The Town of Homer withheld life
insurance premiums from Roger Smith’s paycheck but failed to pay the premiums
to the insurance company which resulted in the insurance being cancelled until
such time as Roger Smith could get the Town to pay the premium,” the suit
alleges. “The Town of Homer withheld child support payments from Roger Smith’s
paycheck in compliance with a support enforcement order but failed to turn the
money over to the support enforcement office in violation of that order.”
The Guardian-Journal published
an article which showed insurance premiums had been cancelled or suspended, and
Smith indicated to this newspaper his federal income tax refund was withheld to
satisfy the support enforcement order for child support.
The documents were obtained by
this newspaper with permission from each individual listed in the previously
published article in the May 9 and May 16 editions.
Also in the suit, vacation time
and pay were addressed. According to the petition, “the Mayor introduced a new
policy regarding vacation and holiday pay without amending the police
department’s manual or the Town’s employee manual.”
The policy approved eliminates
six paid holidays but increases all employees’ vacation time to 200 hours with
the exception of Captain Donald Malray (increased to 260 hours) and former Town
Treasurer Shenovia Harris (increased to 240 hours).
Mills objected to this,
according to the suit, because it places an ever increasing burden on his
department to fill the shifts as others are on vacation, plus pay the overtime
required.
The hire of a part-time officer
was also addressed, in which the suit claims the mayor and town refused to
allow Chief Mills to hire a part-time officer to help cover some of those
shifts. However, in the August town council meeting Officer Terry Yetman was
hired after months of a standoff between Mills and Mozeke, who is chair of the
police hiring committee.
The suit also addressed the
police hiring committee, saying the town is imposing requirements on Mills that
are not required for other town employees. In the suit, claims were made that
the review board is not provided for in the town’s special legislative charter
or by law. It cites a revision to La. R.S. 33:423, which lists the duties of
the marshal and does not list any provisions for a review board or any
authority of a review board.
“For all other departments, the
Town policy requires the department head to make a recommendation to the Board
of Selectmen who then vote to approve it,” according to the petition. “However,
the Town has hired at least 10 employees in other departments without any such
recommendation or vote during a Board of Selectmen meeting since 2010.”
Mark Your Calendar!
Senior
Expo set for September 7
The SALT Council of the
Claiborne Parish TRIAD invites all senior citizens to the annual Senior Expo
set for Saturday, September 7 at Homer City Hall. Registration begins at 8:30
a.m. and the expo starts at 9 a.m. All festivities will end at noon with a free
hamburger lunch served at 11:30 a.m. Local health and government agencies will
provide booths with helpful information, along with blood pressure checks. This
year, Sheriff Ken Bailey and Scott Freeling, of Willis Knighton, will be our
featured speakers. Door prizes will be given away and we will be featuring
BINGO! (Charitable gaming license E5821). All seniors are encouraged to come
out and enjoy!
Trash
Bash this Saturday!
The Homer Clean City Committee’s
Trash Bash will be held this Saturday, August 31, from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.,
beginning at Oil Mill Road, between the old cotton warehouses and housing
apartments.
This is available to Homer
citizens only, and please be prepared to show ID.
Metal and white goods
(refrigerators and washing machines, etc.) and regular trash accepted. No limbs
accepted unless bundled in 6 foot long pieces.
For more information, please
call 318-927-3271 or 318-927-2342.
South Claiborne Water System boil advisory cancelled
South Claiborne Water System in
Athens was under a boil advisory last week, but that advisory has now been
cancelled. The areas in the advisory included: the intersection of St. John Rd
and Highway 146. Follow Highway 146 west towards Homer -- this also included
Pixley Rd, Kings Point and Hammontree Rd.
FBC Homer to host annual 9/11 observance
The Guardian-Journal
First Baptist Church in Homer
will host its annual September 11 observance and remembrance program on
Wednesday, September 11 at 6 p.m. in the Family Life Center.
The purpose of the program is to
show remembrance to those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks on the
World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. as well as
those flight passengers who took down a plane in Pennsylvania preventing
another attack. It is also to recognize police, firefighters and emergency
responders.
A fish fry with all the fixins’
will be available and the event is free of charge. Everyone is invited to
attend this important remembrance and observance.
Don Piper, a nationally known
speaker and author, will be the guest speaker. He was just on Fox News
recently.
Johnny Parrick, formerly of the
Kingsmen Quartet, coming to sing.
According to a press release,
Piper has mesmerized and inspired nearly 3,000 audiences around the globe since
the release of his New York Times bestselling book in 2004. Millions have
experienced the “90 Minutes in Heaven” story in person, on television, radio
and print media.
Piper has sold more than five
million copies of his books in 40 languages.
His first book, “90 Minutes in
Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life,” remained on the New York Times
best-seller list for nearly four years. This book, from Baker Publishing
group’s Fleming Revell, is widely considered to be a landmark book that has led
to a renaissance in the interest of Heaven.
Following his radio and
television broadcasting career, Piper pursued a calling he had on his life
since adolescence and became an ordained Christian minister. During his service
as a pastor -- in fact on his way to church -- Piper was killed in a horrific
car crash in 1989.
A pastor who was on that lonely
highway behind him, felt called by God to pray over Piper’s dead body and did
so for 90 minutes. Others were told of the accident, but not of the minister’s
death, also prayed. After about an hour and a half, as the pastor prayed over
Piper’s lifeless body, Piper began to sing a song.
He returned from the gates of
Heaven to endure 13 excruciating months of hospitalization, 34 major surgeries,
including some never before attempted in the United States, and years of
painful therapy and rehabilitation. He now shares his incredible lessons of
answered prayer, miracles, overcoming tragedy, pain and loss and the reality of
Heaven. Indeed, each time Piper rises to speak, people are so astounded that he
can even walk onto the platform. But he does, and those in attendance are
simply not the same after he concludes his presentation.
Around the world, Piper has
shared the story of hope and healing. He’s appeared on NBC’s Today Show,
Dateline NBC, ABC’s Nightline, Fox Network’s Sean Hannity’s America and The
O’Reilly Factor. A frequent guest on Trinity’s Broadcasting’s Praise the Lord
and Christian Broadcasting Network’s 700 Club, Piper has also appeared on D.
James Kennedy’s Coral Ridge Hour, and Life Today with James Robison, among many
other programs. He’s also been interviewed by literally hundreds of radio
stations, newspapers and magazines all over the world.
Piper has released three
additional books: “Daily Devotionals: 90 Readings for Hope and Healing” in
2006, “Heaven is Real: Lessons on Earthly Joy” in 2007, and “Getting to Heaven: Departing Instructions
for Your Life Now” in 2011, all from Penguin-Putnam.
Piper is known around the world
as “The Minister of Hope.” He founded the Don Piper Ministries, a 501(c)3
entity in 2007 to channel revenues from book sales and speaking income to help
more than 40 ministries here and abroad.
Johnny Parrack is a name
synonymous with Southern Gospel Music for 42 years. He grew up singing with his
parents in Texas and culminated his career by singing with The Kingsmen Quartet
in the 1970s. Southern Gospel Music fans honored him by awarding him the “Tenor
of the Year” award in 1976.
Though Johnny sang about a
Savior for many years, he did not surrender his life to Christ until 1981 while
on staff in a church position. Since that time, he has given himself and
devoted his ministry to reaching those who sit in church pews, have been
baptized and serve their church, yet do not know the Savior.
Until 1993, he travelled
extensively, sharing Christ in churches as an evangelist until he assumed his
first pastorate and served in a pastoral position. In 2009, he resumed an
Evangelical Ministry and began to travel and share through song and the Word.
His message is clear, concise and powerful to surrender one’s life to Christ.
Every church member in America
needs to hear the challenge to “examine themselves, to see if they are in the
faith” as the Apostle Paul exhorted in II Corinthians 13:5. The call is clear
and the message is certain that the time is short, for our Savior is coming
soon.
Construction of Mayfield water storage tank completed
The Town of Homer recently
completed construction of a new 70,000 gallon water storage tank at its water
treatment plant at Mayfield Park. The tank replaced a similarly sized tank
that was constructed in 1993 and that had numerous leaks as a result of age and
deterioration. The existing tank was demolished earlier this summer to make
way for the new tank. The new tank features an epoxy coating designed to
better resist corrosion and deterioration compared with the original galvanized
tank.
Through the persistent efforts
of Mayor Alecia Smith and the Town’s Board of Aldermen, the community secured
approximately $66,000 in grant funding for the project from the Community Water
Enrichment Fund (CWEF) administered by the Louisiana Office of Community
Development. The Town contributed approximately $84,000 in industrial
development funds to undertake and complete the project.
According to Mayor Smith, “The
project was long overdue and had the old storage tank failed, water service to
the Town’s 1,700 water customers would have been impacted or disrupted for an
extended period of time.” Mayor Smith added that “replacement of the tank is
part of the Town’s master plan for upgrading the water, sewer, streets, and
other assets in the community using available grant and low interest loan
funds. The Town’s administration and leadership are committed to being more
proactive in addressing deficiencies in its municipal utility systems and
buildings. We plan on demolishing the abandoned elevated water tank at Joe
Michael Park this fall using additional CWEF funding the Town recently
secured.”
Organizational meeting for education set for September
1
Meeting
sponsored by Claiborne Chapter of NAACP, Mothers Standing Up for Education
Anyone interested in working to
improve public education and wants to become part of an organization of
like-minded individuals is invited to attend a meeting at 3:00 PM Sunday,
September 1, 2013 at Mt. Superior Baptist Church where Bro. Willie Johnson is
the pastor/teacher. The meeting is being co-sponsored by the education
committee of the NAACP Claiborne Parish Branch and Mothers Standing Up for
Education, an outreach initiative of Seeds of Light Ministry.
According to the chairman of the
education committee Sadie Flucas, there has been an ongoing effort to collect
the names of individuals interested in becoming more actively involved in an
organization to support public education in Claiborne Parish. And those persons
will receive a phone call urging them to attend the meeting. Most are female
parents or grandparents of children in Claiborne Parish public schools, but
some are male and some have children in school elsewhere. Flucas said, however,
that for some reason the timing never seemed right to schedule the first
meeting. That all changed when she received a call from Aleisa Norton.
Norton had called Flucas to
discuss another matter; but during their conversation Norton mentioned that she
had discussed the need for parents to become more involved in their children’s
education with some of the mothers who came into the Seeds of Light Thrift
Store. In addition, Norton had collected the names of those who expressed
interest in working with others with similar interests. Flucas said that as
soon as Norton spoke those words, she knew in her spirit that Norton was the
missing connection that had stood in the way of the committee’s ability to act.
Flucas said that while every
stakeholder must view him/herself as having the power and authority to act as a
change agent, there are some people (especially women) whose life experiences
have left them feeling helpless to influence the education system or very
little else that impacts their children. They also are less likely to join or
persist in a joint effort with others. Such women could benefit from
involvement with a women’s group whose goal is transforming the lives of
mothers so that they feel more empowered to become effective change agents for
their children. Mothers Standing Up for Education, will help them gain the
confidence that they need as they work with the larger group to improve public
education in our parish.
Everyone, regardless of his or
her ethnicity, is invited and encouraged to become involved. If you have
questions, suggestions or need directions to Mt. Superior please call Flucas
(318-927-6411) or Norton (319-927-3674).
Coaches excited about upcoming football season
The Guardian-Journal
The football coaches of
Claiborne Parish schools all say they are excited about this upcoming season,
although some have a tough road ahead of them.
Coaches Josh Willeford (Homer
High School), Ryan Lassiter (Claiborne Academy), and Tony Gantt (Haynesville
High School) were recently the speakers at the Homer Lions Club.
Homer High School’s Head
Football Coach Josh Willeford said while his team does not have the best
reputation, he is excited about turning the Fighting Pelicans around by going
back to the basics.
“We’re going to try to get back
to roots so they can be proud of their program and their school,” he said. “I’m
not going to lie to you. The reputation of the football program and the high
school in this parish and in this state is not very good right now. My goal is
to try and make my program one that makes this community proud.”
He said it’s not something that
happened overnight, and it won’t be fixed overnight. Small changes will be
taking place, he said.
“In my opinion, last year, they
relied on two gentlemen to carry that team, and we don’t have those two
gentlemen this year,” he said.
He spoke of the inner-squad
scrimmage a couple of weeks ago, and he said nine kids “touched” the football.
Last season, only two players “touched” the football.
“The more kids can touch the
football the better their practice is, and the better their practice is, the
better the game,” he said. “We’ve gone to fundamentals -- blocking, tackling
and executing a small playbook. From there, hopefully it builds every week.”
The goal this year is to advance
in the playoffs, he said. To build a program, he said, “we want to build a tradition
so that when people talk about Claiborne Parish football, we’re mentioned in
that same breath with Haynesville.”
And while football is important
to Homer High School, the education of the players is just as important to
Coach Willeford. In fact, there is a study table for players to sit, do their
homework and study on Thursdays following practice. After that, they go back to
the school to be tutored by teachers who have volunteered to stay after school
and work with them.
“We want to make sure that the
discipline they learn on the football field is carried over into the
classroom,” he
said. “If we can get these kids an education in the classroom, it helps them
and it helps this parish. It gets this parish a workforce that will help
promote this parish.”
Also, he said he brought in a
coach who taught ACT prep at Jonesboro-Hodge and for the upperclassmen, there
will be ACT prep on the computer.
“We’re going to do what we can
to help these kids,” he
said.
Claiborne Academy’s coach, Ryan
Laster, said he is proud of the team at Claiborne Academy. He was proud of the
turnout for summer workouts this year. He said 90 percent of the team came to
the weight room and worked out.
And while he’s proud of the high
school team, he said a pee-wee program has been started at the private school
so they can start in at the bottom and work their way up. He’s excited about
the upcoming season as well.
While Haynesville Head Coach
David Franklin could not be in attendance, Coach Tony Gantt talked about the
Golden Tornado, saying the team has 16 seniors this year. He said much of the
time will be spent keeping the kids focused, and he was surprised at how
focused they really are right now.
“I feared the kids getting the
‘big head’ after last year’s playoffs, but I was surprised because we didn’t
the get the hoopla we expected,” he
said. “The kids haven’t lost focus.”
Currently, the newly renamed Red
Franklin-Memorial Stadium is undergoing some major renovations, including the
installation of a new scoreboard, a press box as well as painting and other
projects. Gantt said none of it would be possible without the support of the
community.
Claiborne Fair a little different this year
The Guardian-Journal
The Claiborne Parish Fair will
be a little different this year due to scheduling conflicts.
According to Lee Faulk, with
Claiborne Parish 4-H, the carnival portion, or the general fair, will be the
week of September 16, with the livestock sale and show on October 15-17.
“Hopefully, this is a one-year
deal,” Faulk said. “We hope go back to a one-week fair next year.”
He explained the week of
September 16 will also include the food exhibits, art contests and all the
events that come with the fair.
“We had some problems with time
for some of the producers,” he said. “A lot of the producers didn’t have enough
time to change some of their practices to get their animals ready for the fair
in time. With that said, we’re going to have the same events; it’s just going
to be separated. The fair board has worked with us very diligently to make this
happen.”
According to Claiborne Parish
Police Jury President Scott Davidson, an election was scheduled which means the
fair dates had to be moved.
“It created a problem with the
livestock breeders,” Davidson
said. “They already had their animals bred to deliver at certain times.”
He further explained these
animals have to be a certain weight in order to be entered into the livestock
shows, and time did not allow for that.
“I want to encourage everyone to
attend both events at the fair this year,” Faulk said. “They’ve put a lot of
work into the fair this year, and we hope this is a one-year deal.”
Davidson praised Faulk and
everyone who worked on it for working together to make it come out for the best
for everyone.
More information will become
available as the week of the carnival and general fair approaches.
If anyone has any questions
regarding the Fair, please contact the LSU AgCenter Claiborne Parish Extension
Office at 927-3110.
