January 20January 201313

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2013 begins with double murderThe new year began

with a murder inVarnado, as two menwere shot to death andtwo others, includingone victim’s youngerbrother and one sus-pect, were found hospi-talized with gunshotwounds.

The word on thestreet was that the mur-ders of Brandon Alex-ander and Denzell Wisewere prompted by oneof the victims’ refusalto buy a four-wheelerthe suspects hadbrought for him tocheck out and purchase.

Quick work by theWashington ParishSheriff ’s Office resultedin the arrests, withinhours, of Lasean TyreWilliams and Alex Wil-son for the double homi-cide. A third man, Kin-oski Wilson, was alsoarrested after he wasreleased from the hospi-tal.

On a happier note, amore-than-two pointdrop in the WashingtonParish joblessness ratewas announced for theprevious November,and the first of numer-ous bridge replacementprojects in the parish,that of the NoblesCemetery Road Bridge,got under way in Pine.

Bogalusa schoolswere also topping thenews early in the year.The city school systemstarted off with across-the-board shakeups,including departures ofadministrators andteachers and a reshuf-fling of remaining per-sonnel by then-ActingSuperintendent ToniBreaux in advance ofplanned school consoli-dations.

Board members ex-pressed confidence inBreaux, who had justgained full responsibili-ty for personnel deci-

sions when Gov. BobbyJindal’s education re-form package strippedlocal boards of anyinput on hiring or fir-ing.

Midway through themonth, it was announ-ced that a five-yearcharter had been ap-proved for a new schoolin the parish. North-shore Charter Schoolwas approved pendingthe hiring of a princi-pal. Its school boardwas set, and suddenlythere was a new optionfor free public educa-tion in Bogalusa.

By the followingweek, the 205th Engin-eer Battalion of theLouisiana Army Na-tional Guard was un-dergoing pre-deploy-ment training in ad-vance of leaving Bog-alusa for Kuwait at theend of the month.

In Franklinton, planswere announced forrenovations at the ball-parks behind the TownHall. The initial workwould include replac-ing the fencing and ren-ovating the restrooms,for an estimated totalexpense of about$30,000.

The project would befunded through a por-tion of the town’s salestax, which is dedicatedto recreation.

Water rescues alsomade the news inJanuary. Around mid-month, a team that in-cluded the WashingtonParish Sheriff ’s Office,Department of Wildlifeand Fisheries, the Bog-alusa and 7th Districtfire departments andcommunity volunteers,pulled a duck hunterfrom the Pearl Riverafter the boat he and abuddy had launchedbefore dawn capsizedand the two men wereseparated.

The hunter was foundbefore noon, sitting on alogjam in the fog, withhis face still painted ina camouflage pattern.Sheriff Randy Sealadmonished him towear a life jacket in thefuture.

The second rescue, aweek later, involvedquick action by passingmotorists after a carbearing a Bogalusafamily was forced offthe road and into aflooded river embank-ment near the BogueChitto River bridge inSun.

The car quickly sub-merged, trapping MaryWoodward and herthree young children.In the dark of night andas the vehicle beganfloating with the cur-rent, James Garner ofBush, who had beendriving behind herpulled over, pulled offhis shoes and dove tothe rescue while hisown family watched.

After considerable ef-fort and almost drown-ing numerous times inthe process, and withthe assistance of hiswife and others who’dassembled, the man gotthe family to safety.

The month ended on ahigh note, with growingexcitement about theimpending opening ofthe new Bogalusa Wal-mart on Ontario Street.The expanded storewould include a gro-cery, a first for theBogalusa location.

Mayor Charles Mizellcalled the store’s 300jobs, including 85 newones, “important to thelocal economy.”

The old Walmart inShopyard Square wasset to close at 6 p.m.Jan. 31 and the new oneto open, after cere-monies, at 7:30 a.m. Feb.1.

James Rogan,who started offhis day with abuddy lookingfor ducks alongthe river, butended up“thrown” fromthe boat andawaiting res-cue, explainshimself toSheriff RandySeal. The sher-iff was easy onthe youngman, but didadvise him toalways wear alife jacket inthe future.

FILE PHOTO

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FILE PHOTO

Awards were presented to the Washington Parish School System’s Teachers ofthe Year. Pictured, from left, are Elementary School Teacher of the Year AmyEmmons, High School Teacher of the Year Mark Ross and Junior High SchoolTeacher of the Year Cherie Fitzmorris.

FFebruary 20ebruary 201313

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New Walmart opens; Temple Inland pleadsThe first day of

February, the newWalmart opened forbusiness in Bogalusa.By the time the long-awaited moment drewnear, a crowd of peoplehad braved the earlymorning chill to posi-tion themselves forentry. The crowdincluded parish andcity dignitaries, mem-bers of AmericanLegion Magic City Post24, enthusiastic newand longtime Walmartemployees and lots ofready shoppers.

Before the throngswere allowed admit-tance, manager MattHogan conducted ashort ribbon-cuttingceremony during whichhe and other companyofficials commendedthe community and thefacility. After a ribboncutting by some nearly30-year Walmart veter-an employees, followedby a rousing cheer, theshoppers made theirway through the doors.

Also that month, Tem-ple-Inland, former oper-ator of Bogalusa’s pap-er mill, pleaded guiltyin federal court to twocounts in connectionwith the Aug. 9, 2011,release of pollutants in-to the Pearl River. TheDelaware corporation,located in Austin, Tex-as, pleaded guilty be-fore U.S. District CourtJudge Ivan L. R. Le-melle to negligentlycausing the dischargeof a pollutant from itsBogalusa facility intothe Pearl River and tothe negligent taking offish from the BogueChitto National WildlifeRefuge, United StatesAttorney Dana Boenteannounced.

The two-count Bill ofInformation chargedthe company with onemisdemeanor count forthe negligent violationof the Clean Water Act

and one misdemeanorcount for the negligentviolation of the RefugeAct.

The Washington Par-ish Council made pro-gress in February in itseffort to construct apark at Poole’s Bluff, es-tablishing an AdvisoryCouncil to help lead theproject. The council-men added to theiragenda and adopted aresolution that createdthe Washington ParishPool’s Bluff NaturePark Advisory Council.

Councilman KenWheat said the parkconstruction will be anongoing process, andthe Advisory Councilwas created as a meas-ure to ensure the long-evity of the project. Hesaid the advisors wouldserve as liaisons bet-ween the communityand parish government.

A Mississippi manfound bleeding at thecar wash on SullivanDrive died from whatwas later determinedby autopsy to be a gunshot to the back of hishead.

The Bogalusa PoliceDepartment was calledto the Mr. Quik Wash atSullivan Drive and E.4th Street after a passer-by spotted Cedric Fair-ly, 34, of Purvis, “layingthere bleeding,” saidAssistant Chief RockyGerald. The victim wastreated at the scene andtransported to LSU Bog-alusa Medical Center,where he died.

Franklinton wasclouded with smoke ona February afternoonas a beloved, memory-filled institution, Jack-ie’s Cake Shop, was lostto a fire. The fire origi-nated in the rear of thebuilding, Fire ChiefChad Manning said.Owner Jackie Smithsaid she called 911 andthen attempted to putout the flames with a

fire extinguisher. Shewas the only person inthe building at the time,but she said several cus-tomers had left shortlybefore.

The building was atotal loss. The nextmorning, some smokecould still be seen com-ing from the pile of rub-ble. Jackie’s, whichSmith had owned for 32years, was also a fabricand flower shop.Numerous boxed items,a store filled with cloth-ing and many thingsstacked up created alarge amount of fuel forthe fire, Manning said.

February was closedout with a massiveroundup of nonpayingparents. Nearly 200 non-custodial parents whotogether owed about $4million in child supportwere the targets of themajor roundup.

Officers from theWashington ParishSheriff ’s Office, Bog-alusa Police Depart-ment, Franklinton Po-lice Department, Ray-burn Correctional Cen-ter and the offices ofProbation and Paroleand Child Support allgathered early thatmorning at BogalusaCity Hall for a briefing.

The group was thendivided into 14 teams,with each given a pack-et of warrants. Shortly,the officers were on thestreets, under a fullmoon, in search of themen and a few womenwho individually owedbetween $195 and$92,000. Most owedmany thousands of dol-lars and many are tensof thousands of dollarsin arrears.

The roundup was re-portedly the first of itstype in Washington Par-ish in the past six years,and one that SheriffRandy Seal has beenplanning since he tookoffice.

FILE PHOTO

Members of the 205th Engineer Battalion of theLouisiana Army National Guard left for a nearly year-long deployment to Kuwait in February.

Bowling Green’s girls basketball team won the MAIS Class AA State Tournament in February, scoring a55-49 victory over Leake Academy during the championship game. Shown with their trophy are, fromleft, first row: seniors Mackayla Dykes, Caroline Haik and Kelley Slimp; and second row, coach Pat King,Reagan Moody, Ashley Foret, BreAnna McNeese, Lexie Volz, Natalie Michel, Melissa Crowe, Kayla Creel,assistant coach Barry Seal, Riley Robertson, Kristina Jarrell, Jennifer Green and Bailey Prisk.

The Daily News 2013: A Year in Washington Parish Sunday, January 26, 20142

MarMarch 20ch 201313Louisiana Avenue project gets under wayChris Kinkaid, who

covered sports in St.Tammany Parish formore than six years,joined the staff of TheDaily News as sportseditor. He previouslyworked as a sportswriter for St. TammanyNews, which closed onFeb. 28.

And Sandy Seal Cun-ningham, previouslythe publisher at L’Ob-servateur in LaPlace,was named editor andpublisher of The DailyNews.

During a conferencein Baton Rouge the Lou-isiana Association ofFairs and Festivalsnamed the BogalusaBlues and HeritageFestival the New Eventof the Year. It was alsoawarded first place forits poster, which fea-tured artwork by BBHFchair Malinda White.

Louisiana Avenuewas closed to traffic asits long awaited trans-formation began. Thebasic project involvedthe restructuring ofone block of LouisianaAvenue between Ma-sonic Drive and Mem-phis Street, in front ofthe old Charity Hosp-ital.

In keeping with theplans, a brick walkwayand planted seatingarea, with angled park-ing on both sides, rundown the center of thestreet.

A 75th anniversarycelebration is continu-ing at Washington-St.Tammany Electric Co-operative. The co-opreceived its charter tooperate as a nonprofitorganization from thestate of Louisiana onFeb. 4, 1938. Employeescommemorated theoccasion on Feb. 4 witha cake-decorating classand competition. A spe-cial recognition of the75th anniversary wasalso planned for WST’sannual meeting May 4.

Sheriff Randy Sealnotified bar owners op-erating inside theparish but outside the

city limits of Bogalusaand the town limits ofFranklinton that theymust close every weekbetween 12:01 a.m. Sun-day and 6 a.m. Monday,citing a 1978 parishordinance prohibitingthe sale of alcohol onSunday. Businesses af-fected include Birdie’sRoadhouse on Louisi-ana Highway 21 north,outside Varnado; Lan-ders in Hackley; thePub on South ColumbiaStreet, just south ofBogalusa; and the RedZone on LouisianaHighway 21 south, justeast of Bogalusa.

The businesses re-main compliant, butowners do not agreethat the ordinance isvalid. Pub ownerWayne Smith said,“Sunday closings neverwent before the votershere, so it’s invalid.”

The news of DorothyYoung’s passing rippledthrough the communityon Thursday, March 14,when she died at herson’s home in Texas.Young touched the livesof many WashingtonParish residentsthrough the years inher capacity as an edu-cator and as a tirelessadvocate for improvingliteracy throughout thearea.

A native of the Var-nado-Angie area, Youngwas a member ofMary’s Chapel UnitedMethodist Church. Shewas married to ClimelYoung Sr. and the moth-er of four: StanleyYoung, Elder LawrenceYoung, Climel Young Jr.and Rosalind Young.

The annual CassidyPark Cookoff, held tobenefit the Museums ofCassidy Park, attracteda big crowd, thanks inpart to a warm and sun-ny day as well as a repu-tation for offering ex-ceptionally good food.Awards were given inall the usual categories,and the coveted Peop-le’s Choice award wentto Carney’s Kitchen,which offered gumbo

and pulled pork.Bogalusa City Schools

Acting SuperintendentWillie “Toni” Breauxgave her assessment ofthe current state of theschool system and whatshe envisions for thefuture. Breaux notedthat what was for manyyears Bogalusa MiddleSchool will now beBogalusa ElementarySchool and will housegrades 2-5. Grades K-1will be housed at ByrdAvenue School. Middleschool students will bepart of the BogalusaHigh School Campus.

Magnolia Garden Innand Suites opened itsdoors in March, promis-ing to be fully opera-tional by June or July.At that time, accordingto owner Chuck Mizell,Magnolia Gardenwould offer 55 rooms,including 21 suites and34 regular guest rooms.There would be a meet-ing room, and free Wi-Fi and continentalbreakfast. In addition,the non-smoking facili-ty would include 24-hour security cameras,interior access to roomsand card entry. An exer-cise facility is in theworks, Mizell said.

Al St. Pierre retiredfrom International Pa-per’s Bogalusa mill asengineering managerafter having worked atthe facility for just shyof 40 years, beginninghis career there rightout of college in 1973.

“Part of the reason Ienjoyed working at themill was I wanted tomake sure it survivedand would be here formany years,” St. Pierresaid.

On March 27, theNorthside CharterSchool board intro-duced principal JulieRodriguez and sharedsome plans and visionsfor the new public edu-cation option.

It was announced theschool would open forthe 2013-2014 schoolyear with approximate-ly 240 students in kin-dergarten, first-, sec-ond- and ninth-gradeclasses. It plans to ex-pand each year until itis a full K-12 gradeschool.

The population ofWashington Parish willbe smaller and older by2040, according to pro-jections released by theindependent, Washing-ton, D.C.-based firm ofWoods & Poole Eco-nomics, Inc. In 2010, thepopulation ofWashington Parish was47,090. Woods & Pooleprojects that numberwill drop to 44,090 by2040. The number ofparish citizens age 65and older totaled 6,830in 2010, and the popula-tion in that age group isforecast to rise to 8,890in 2040.

At left is Detective Wendell O’Berry, selected Police Officer of the Year andhonored by the Bogalusa Rotary Club. Assistant Chief Steve Moses, right, of theBogalusa Fire Department was selected Firefighter of the Year.

The Daily News2013: A Year in Washington ParishSunday, January 26, 2014 3

Melton Harry, who spent 32 years at Bogalusa HighSchool as a teacher, coach and administrator,passed away at the age of 71.

April 20April 201313The month of April

started off with parishofficials making therounds and issuingpleas for voters to passa .33-cent sales taxincrease that they saidwas needed to keep thegovernment afloat.They cited a decrease insales tax revenues cou-pled with a decline inad valorem tax rev-enues and compoundedby about $1.4 million inunfunded state man-dates a year.

When the propositionfailed with nearly 62percent of the votersrejecting the increase, areeling Parish Presi-dent Richard Thomassaid he had no choicebut to try for anothertax in the fall. In themeantime, cutbacksand possible layoffswere imminent, he said.

The failed tax was notthe only bad news forThomas.

Two days after thevote, Washington Par-ish Sheriff Randy Sealfiled a lawsuit againstthe Parish Presidentand the Parish Councilfor nonpayment ofwhat Seal contendedwere reimbursable ex-penses and asked thecourt to force the parishto pay future “fair andreasonable statutorily-mandated expendi-tures.”

The sheriff, as parishtax collector, addition-ally petitioned thecourt to allow his officeto withhold funds dueto the parish in order touse the money to payfor the expenses hebelieved were neces-sary to fund his office.

According to the suit,the parish had reim-bursed the sheriff ’soffice $150,660.81, butstill owed a balance of$98,408.60.

The parish wasn’t theonly entity with finan-cial concerns.

As the Louisiana Leg-islature started its ses-sion on April 8, the LSUAgCenter Southeast Re-search Station in

Franklinton faced fund-ing cuts that could haveforced closure. AndWashington Parish Em-ergency Managementknew that if the legisla-tive body supportedGov. Bobby Jindal’scuts to local emergencymanagement, it wouldreceive 68 percent lessstate funding.

But the news wasn’tall fiscally disconcert-ing.

In early April, theBogalusa High Schoolcampus was in themidst of a major trans-formation thanks to amulti-phased renova-tion project that includ-ed new windows, airconditioners, interiors,exteriors, and evenincreased technology inclassrooms.

Franklinton nativeLt. Col. Major LeeChappell, a U.S. Armypilot and battalion andcompany commander,was buried with mili-tary honors at Ar-lington National Ceme-tery.

Republican ScottGardner was elected asthe new judge for Div-ision G of the 22ndJudicial District.

Before the month washalf over, Seal announ-ced his intention to puta millage increase tofund a new jail on theOctober ballot.

In another story, thesheriff said he’d filedthe lawsuit against theparish earlier in themonth after a failedattempt at an intergov-ernmental agreement.

The town of Frank-linton extended its gaslines beyond LouisianaHighway 10 to the In-dustrial Park for the lat-est occupant, AcmeMachine and Welding,and future tenants.

Meanwhile in Boga-lusa the cultural renais-sance took a fancifulstep forward when theSoutheastern Louisi-ana University TheatreDepartment broughtWonderland to the per-formance pavilion in

Cassidy Park.The park was packed

with men, women, lotsof children and anassortment of colorfuland interacting charac-ters during “Alice theBrave,” which got wide-spread rave reviewsand calls for a return ofthe troupe in the future.

A few days later, threepeople were chargedwith attempted murderafter what police saidwas a domestic disputethat led to a shooting onAnn Street.

In another matter, thebomb squad was calledto Walmart and a largeportion of the parkinglot was cordoned off forsome time after some-one left a large usedsuitcase in a shoppingcart, apparently afterhe or she bought a newone.

It was ultimatelydetermined to be empty.

The Bogalusa CityCouncil introduced twoordinances that wouldultimately enableNorthshore CharterSchool to take up resi-dence in the vacantArmy Reserve buildingon Walker Street nearthe airport.

As the month contin-ued, residents celebrat-ed the Relay for Life ofWashington Parish inits new location, Cas-sidy Park, which alsoserved as one of severalsites around the parishwhere people gatheredto celebrate Earth Day.

Toni Breaux was an-nounced as the loneapplicant for the posi-tion of superintendentof the Bogalusa CitySchool System, and afew days later she gotthe job.

Former Bogalusa CityCouncilman Paul Pen-ton was among thosearrested in a parish-wide drug roundup.

And Thomas an-nounced that the parishwould lay off threeemployees and parishoffices would soon closeone day a week due tolack of funding.

Parish voters reject sales tax proposition

COURTESY PHOTO/Curtis Creel

The renovation of Bogalusa High School continued in preparation for consolida-tion in the fall. It included both interior and exterior work on four buildings, theremoval of the old, leaky jalousie windows and their replacement with “store-front” windows designed to decrease energy consumption and to keep out rain.

COURTESY PHOTO/Donna Alonzo

Franklinton coach Jeff Tageant gives a speech following a presentation by theseniors at the dedication of the Demon Baseball Clubhouse. Players, from left,are Brandon Thomas, Tanner Jenkins, Jared Varnado, Will McCullough, TerranceRobinson, Austin Armand and Kevin Simmons. The team was also celebrating aschool record 16-game win streak and honoring Tageant, who has coached theDemons for 25 years and just two days earlier won his 400th career game.

The Daily News 2013: A Year in Washington Parish Sunday, January 26, 20144

MaMay 20y 201313

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At the start of May,Carol Duke was namedThe Daily News 2012Citizen of the Year forBogalusa by a group offormer winners. Shelearned about her selec-tion the next morning,when she walked intothe newspaper officeand saw the group therewaiting to surprise her.Duke is a past presidentand current member ofthe Friends of CassidyPark Museums, theFriends of the Wash-ington Parish Libraryand the Civic League.She is a past presidentand member of theLSUBMC Foundationand has served as chairfor that group’s annualfundraiser. Duke hasalso served on theYWCA board and as aHOST mentor and isnow helping plan theBogalusa Centennialcelebrations.

Wayne Kuhn wasselected as Frank-linton’s Citizen of theYear a couple of weekslater and was greetedwith the news as he waswrapping up a workdayat his law office. Anactive member of hiscommunity, Kuhn hasbeen involved with theWashington ParishFair since 1974. Kuhn isa past president of theFranklinton RotaryClub and has beennamed a Paul HarrisFellow. He has alsoserved as president ofthe Washington ParishBar Association, vicepresident of the Frank-linton Chamber ofCommerce and chair-man of the RiversideMedical Center Boardof Commissioners.

In early May, Wash-ington Parish voterslearned they wouldagain be asked to ap-prove a one-third of 1cent sales tax increase,

something officials saidwas needed to balancethe budget. The ParishCouncil voted to ap-prove putting the meas-ure on the ballot duringa special election inOctober. Voters hadoverwhelmingly reject-ed a similar measure inApril, with nearly 62percent voting againstthe tax increase. Thelife of the tax was re-duced from 20 years to10 years in the new pro-posal. Shortly after theApril defeat parish offi-cials said a revenue-producing measurewould be placed on theballot in October.

Thomas said a mill-age increase was con-sidered, but they settledon the sales tax propos-al with a reduced dura-tion.

Lou Major Sr., whosejournalism career withThe Daily News and itsparent company, WickCommunications, span-ned six decades, diedMay 6. Major, a native ofNew Orleans whoresided in Bogalusa for55 years, had resided inSlidell since 2006. Hewas 82 years old whenhe succumbed after aseveral-years’ battlewith lymphoma.

The Washington Par-ish Sheriff ’s Office’sFallen Heroes Mem-orial, honoring DeputyOneal Moore and sevenother officers killed inthe line of duty, wasdedicated in mid-May.The program began onthe steps of the parishcourthouse and con-cluded in the lobby ofthe Sheriff ’s Office,where the memorialwas unveiled.

Sheriff Randy Sealdedicated the memori-al, recognizing eachofficer by name. Hethanked the officers’family members,

friends and descen-dants for their sacrificeand said their lovedone’s memory will con-tinue to make theparish a better place.Everyone who walksinto the Sheriff ’s Officefor generations to comewill see the memorial,he said.

An arrest in the “carwash killing” was madein late May. The Bog-alusa Police Depart-ment arrested ParrishThompson, 20, andcharged him with ac-cessory after the fact tofirst-degree murderand obstruction of jus-tice. Meanwhile, detec-tives were working toget to the man Thomp-son was alleged to havehelped. Later in theweek, police arrestedJames Spikes, 56, andcharged him with theFeb. 18, 2013, first-deg-ree murder of CedricFairly, 32, of Purvis,Miss. Spikes was ar-rested at the Wash-ington Parish Jail,where he was bookedon April 25 on chargesof distribution ofschedule II drugs.Fairly was found onFeb. 18 at the Mr. QuikWash on Sullivan Driveat E. Fourth Streetbleeding from a gun-shot wound to the backof his head. He laterdied at LSU BogalusaMedical Center.

As May drew to aclose, Temple-Inlandwas ordered by a feder-al judge to pay $3.3 mil-lion and serve twoyears of probation forillegal discharges fromits Bogalusa plant intothe Pearl River.

The discharge led tothe deaths of more thanhalf a million fish andother river dwellers inAugust 2011, accordingto the Department ofJustice.

Duke, Kuhn named Citizens of the Year

COURTESY PHOTO

The Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office dedicated its Fallen Heroes Memorial,honoring Deputy Oneal Moore and seven other officers killed in the line of duty.

FILE PHOTO

Residents watched as this stretch of Louisiana Avenue was transformed, withimproved parking, landscaping and seating areas.

The Daily News2013: A Year in Washington ParishSunday, January 26, 2014 5

June 20June 201313

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As the 2012-13 schoolyear ended, the Bog-alusa City School Boardunanimously voted tochange the name of theformer Bogalusa Mid-dle School to CentralElementary School, asit was being readied towelcome students insecond through fifthgrades in the fall. Theadoption of the formerschool’s mascot, theSpartans, was also ap-proved.

Riverside MedicalCenter continued tosearch for a new CEOamid threatened legalaction by ousted CEOCalvin Green, whoseemployment was termi-nated by the board inMarch.

Spring LEAP andiLEAP test results werereleased for the Bog-alusa City School Sys-tem with mixed results.Overall, the percentageof students in thirdthrough eighth gradesscoring at basic orabove remained at 50percent, versus 69 per-cent statewide. Most ofthe schools showed dou-ble-digit losses in per-centage points, al-though seventh-gradersat Northside Techgained nine points andBogalusa Middle Schoolgained 23 percentagepoints. “A lot of thingswent bad, a lot,” accord-ing to April Nobles,supervisor of Second-ary Education. “But weare working to correctit and make sure it willnot happen again.”

An announcementwas made in early Junethat General DynamicsInformation Technol-ogy had verbally agreedto open a call center inthe former Sitel build-ing in the BogalusaIndustrial Park. Thecompany said it wouldhandle calls on govern-ment health care pro-grams and employ atleast 100 people. Thefinal lease was signedon June 11.

The Bogalusa SchoolSystem Code of Con-duct was amended toinclude a bullying poli-cy, and in an effort to“hit discipline hard thisyear,” according toChild Welfare Super-visor Phlesher Mingo, aBoot Camp for repeatdisciplinary offendersin sixth through 12thgrades was implement-ed.

Students, who wouldhave to attend the alter-native school, would berequired to attend thecamp for at least threeSaturday mornings, re-ceive two hours of peercounseling and com-plete two hours of com-munity service. Thefinal portion of the pro-gram requires a parentto attend a final

child/parent positiveinteraction session.Failure to complete theprogram would resultin the student beingreferred to the juvenilesystems of Families inNeed of Services.

The Washington Par-ish Sheriff ’s Office ar-rested one of its ownemployees, PrestonRichard, 29, as he wasarriving for work as aguard at the parish jail.Richard, of Mt. Her-mon, was booked on acharge of malfeasancein office.

He was accused ofallowing female in-mates to make phonecalls from the Sheriff ’sOffice, and allowingthem to sit in the officefor hours at a time. Hewas also allegedly giv-ing female inmatesSuboxone, a drug usedto get people off otherdrugs.

Bogalusa’s first on-line property tax salebrought in almost$23,000, and removed 55of 91 properties off thedelinquent tax rolls.

Wayne Kuhn was hon-ored by family mem-bers, friends and col-leagues as Franklin-ton’s 2012 Citizen of theYear at a reception heldat First Baptist Church.

The Bogalusa CitySchool System announ-ced the installation ofcameras on everyschool bus, a total of 17,in the fleet. Supervisorof Child WelfarePhlesher Mingo saidthe cameras were in-stalled as a safety meas-ure for the children andthe bus driver.

The Washington Par-ish Government re-ceived notification ofan $800,000 grant to con-struct a new water wellin Varnado.

A half-dozen pick-eters from across thecountry sat outside theLouTex offices in theBogalusa IndustrialPark to protest the com-pany contracted tobuild the Parkway Pipe-line. “We’re here toinform the public thatLouTex is hiring un-qualified people,” saidBob Taylor of Pipe-liners Local 798, whichis headquartered inTulsa, Okla.

A pipeline explosionjust before dawn onJune 18 sent up flamesand smoke that wasreportedly seen as faraway as the south shoreof Lake Pontchartrain.There were no injuries,although 55 people wereevacuated as a precau-tion.

“It looked like a bombwent off,” according toWashington ParishSheriff Randy Seal.

Flames could be seenfor hours as the FloridaGas Transmission Co.

burned the residual gasout of the pipeline.Louisiana State Policebelieved the pipelinerupture was accidentalbut the investigationcontinued.

The Louisiana Uni-versity Board of Sup-ervisors agreed to acontract to turn overmanagement of LSUBogalusa Medical Cen-ter to the FranciscanMissionaries of OurLady Health System.The Franciscan system,which already operatesfour private hospitalsin Louisiana, includingOur Lady of the Lake inBaton Rouge, will takecontrol of the Bogalusahospital in 2014.

The Bogalusa YMCAon Avenue B held itsinaugural AdventureCamp. Campers bet-ween the ages of 6 and15 participated in avariety of fun activi-ties, including the newzip line installation.

The Northshore Char-ter School began to takeshape at its 111 WalkerSt. location. Classroomswere filled with chairsand desks and otherequipment waiting tobe set up. An openhouse was set for par-ents and anyone else tovisit the school andcheck out the transfor-mation from Army Re-serve headquarters toBogalusa’s newestschool.

Lt. Col. Robert B.“Bobby” Miller wasannounced as the grandmarshal of the annualFourth of July paradeorganized and spon-sored by the AmericanLegion Magic City Post24, in recognition of hismeritorious service tohis country. Miller, aBogalusa native, servedin the Marine Corpstoward the end ofWorld War II.

Cassidy Park was thevenue for the inauguralBogalusa Gospel Fest-ival, which, despite theheat and the rain thatfollowed, was deemed asuccess by BogalusaDirector of Parks, Rec-reation and CultureLandon Tims. “I feel asthe years pass we cancontinue to grow thisfestival into a must-attend regional event,”he said.

Some of the itemsstolen in Mississippi in2012 and subsequentlydumped into Bogalusa’sLake Vista were recov-ered by the Washingtonparish Sheriff ’s Officedive team in water withlittle to no visibility.The items, antiquesworth more than$100,000, were taken ina burglary in LamarCounty, Miss., part ofthe more than $1 mil-lion in items originallystolen.

Elementary school name changed

FILE PHOTO

FHS grad B. J. Martin helped his Central Alabama baseball team win theDivision I NJCAA championship. The 2010 Franklinton graduate hit .307 for thetournament with five runs scored and three RBI.

The Daily News 2013: A Year in Washington Parish Sunday, January 26, 20146

July 20July 201313

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July opened with aWinn-Dixie official con-firming that the Bog-alusa store would closeby the end of the year,and with NorthshoreTechnical and Com-munity College bring-ing home gold and sil-ver medals from thenational-level Skills-USA championships inKansas City.

As Bogalusa pre-pared to celebrate itsbirthday on the Fourthof July, with extendedopportunities for fami-ly fun, watermelonfarmers said the localcrop was running latebut would be ready forits regular featuredspot in the festivities.When the big day came,the daylong slate ofevents attracted hugecrowds to the paradeled by Grand MarshalCol. Bobby Miller andto Cassidy Park, wheremen, women and chil-dren took part in fami-ly-friendly fun, likesack races and turtleraces, and slurped juicyWashington Parish wat-ermelons. The day wentout with the annualfireworks display.

In Bogalusa, an earlymorning fight the dayafter the IndependenceDay celebrations endedwith a woman in thehospital with knife andbullet wounds and theBogalusa Police Depart-ment checking out a carriddled with bulletholes.

On a more positivenote it was announcedthat the Bogalusa Bluesand Heritage Festivalhad been awarded a$10,000 Louisiana Officeof Tourism grant formarketing. FestivalChair Malinda Whitesaid she appreciated thestate’s gesture of confi-dence as well as theincreased opportunityto bring additionaltourism dollars to Lou-

isiana via Bogalusa.Washington Parish’s

grim financial situationwas made clear at aParish Council meetingwhen that the WilsonLaGraize of the firmKushner LaGraize LLCreported that the gener-al fund balance wasonly $93 at the end of2012.

Thanks to $89,300from the RecreationalTrails Program and aconstruction crew fromRayburn CorrectionalCenter, an agreementwas finalized for con-struction of the Poole’sBluff Nature Park.

In Bogalusa, the revi-talization of ColumbiaStreet under the MainStreet program wasgaining traction withthe addition of a re-opened gas station andconvenience store, ASFood Mart, and a newrestaurant, BogalusaBBQ and Catering.

In Franklinton,Chairman Mike Cas-sidy resigned from theRiverside Medical Cen-ter Board of Commis-sioners, citing “anotherperiod of transition,which is accompaniedby an atmosphere ofdivision rather than un-ity.” He said he wouldremain an ardent sup-porter of the hospital.

It was announced thatDiamond Painting &Sandblasting was plan-ning to become thethird occupant in theFranklinton IndustrialPark. It would be thethird oil- and gas-indus-try related business inthe park.

Former TV and radiopersonality Tim Augus-tine was arrested andcharged with theft ofover $1,500 after alleg-edly taking money in-tended for his employ-ers.

Children’s Interna-tional Pediatric Clinicexpanded into Boga-

lusa, and Magee Auto-plex celebrated theopening of its new facil-ity in Franklinton.

After years of delays,the trial of QuentinWatson, charged withthe 2008 Franklintonmurders of AnitaSmith and WilliamLewis, took place. Aftera three-day trial Watsonwas found guilty andsentenced to mandatorylife in prison.

The Varnado WaterWorks District obtainedan $800,000 grant tofund the construction ofa new water well.

Federal budget cutsforced staff reductionsand fewer slots for stu-dents at local HeadStart Centers, and aftermore than 16 years,Mary Boulware retiredfrom her post as Frank-linton Head Start direc-tor.

After a multi-agencystakeout prompted bythe armed robbery ofthe Resource Bank onAvenue B in Bogalusa,Nelson Ohaver, 30, wasfound hiding in a bath-tub in a vacant housein the 600 lock of Aven-ue B. He was chargedwith armed robberyand resisting an officer.

Near the end of themonth, the reworkedLouisiana Highway 10bridge in Sheridan wasopened to traffic, and itwas announced that thehistoric Bogalusa lib-rary building would bemoved to Lake Vistawhere it would be putback into service as aWelcome Center.

The month ended on ahigh note when state,parish and local digni-taries gathered in theBogalusa IndustrialPark to celebrate withGeneral Dynamics In-formation Technology,which opened a callcenter in the park andbrought approximately600 new jobs.

Winn-Dixie confirms local store will close

FILE PHOTO

Bogalusa Police quickly set up a search perimeter when ResourceBank was robbed. Hours later a suspect was arrested, found hiding ina bathtub in an empty house.

FILE PHOTO

Public officials, community members and Magee Autoplex staff are shown participating in a rib-bon cutting ceremony at the dealership’s new facility in Franklinton.

The Daily News2013: A Year in Washington ParishSunday, January 26, 2014 7

AAugusugust 20t 201313

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Kyle Magee named new CEO at RiversideAugust began with

the announcement thatDr. Kyle Magee wasnamed the new CEO ofRiverside Medical Cen-ter in Franklinton. Thedecision was made bythe hospital’s Board ofCommissioners follow-ing an executive ses-sion during which ap-plications were dis-cussed. The positionhad been left vacant inMarch when the boardfired former CEO Cal-vin Green. Patty Mizellhad served as interimCEO.

Also in August, a proj-ect to repair the Hur-ricane Isaac-damagedHarvey Road bridgebegan with demolitionof the structure byWashington ParishPublic Works. Thebridge, located in theHackley area, was builtin the early 1980s as aprecast concrete sys-tem supported by tim-bers. Two of its fivespans were damaged byIsaac. One section com-pletely collapsed, and asecond was compro-mised. Since the dam-age occurred there havebeen detours on someparish roads in thearea.

The body of missingtuber Melanie AnneBorja was found on aWednesday afternoonin early August, theWashington ParishSheriff ’s Office report-ed. Borja, 22, of Pica-yune, Miss., had disap-peared while tubing onthe Bogue Chitto Riverbetween Enon and Isa-bel. Chief Deputy MikeHaley said the body sur-faced in an area nearthe bank that searchcrews had been over“numerous, numerous”times. Cadaver dogshad just been broughtto the scene but werenot needed, he said. Thediscovery brought clo-sure to a days-longsearch that involved anumber of agencies

and covered the riverand its wooded banks.

A two-day job fairheld in August to helpGeneral Dynamics In-formation Technologyfill approximately 600positions for its newBogalusa call centerwas a big success, ac-cording to TammyCrain with the Wash-ington Parish Businessand Career SolutionsCenter. Crain, clientservice manager for thecenter, said 413 peopleapplied for the cus-tomer service represen-tative, trainer, supervi-sor and senior cus-tomer service managerjobs the first day, andanother 435 applied thesecond day. Another jobfair was held later inthe month.

Gov. Bobby Jindal vis-ited Bogalusa City Hallin August to announcethe Parkway Pipelinewould be up and run-ning in September.Flanked by local electedofficials, plus state Sen.Ben Nevers and Rep.Harold Ritchie, Jindalthanked Kinder Mor-gan and its partnerValero, which formedthe Parkway Pipeline inorder to construct, ownand operate the 141-mile line from Norco,via eastern WashingtonParish, to Collins, Miss.He said 350 of the total1,200 pipeline construc-tion jobs were based inWashington Parish,and five new overseerpositions will remainwhen the buildingphase is completed. Theenergy pipeline willincrease property taxrevenues in Washing-ton Parish by “nearly $1million a year,” Jindalsaid.

Central ElementarySchool Principal Ray-mond Morris resignedto take a job as assis-tant principal at Sal-men High School inSlidell, and was soonreplaced by Assistant

Principal Leslie Ray-born.

An Angie man re-ceived two life sen-tences, plus 228 years inconnection with a Nov-ember 2011 kidnappingand robbery. A Wash-ington Parish jury inMay found DemenecaWestbrook, 25, guilty oftwo counts of aggravat-ed kidnapping, twocounts of armed rob-bery and aggravatedburglary. He was sen-tenced in late August by22nd Judicial DistrictCourt Judge ScottGardner to life inprison for each aggra-vated kidnapping con-viction, 99 years inprison for each armedrobbery conviction and30 years in prison foraggravated burglary. Heordered the sentencesto be served consecu-tively. Westbrook andfour others were arrest-ed in November 2011 bythe Washington ParishSheriff ’s Office aftertwo men were kidnap-ped, beaten and robbedat gunpoint.

The Bogalusa PoliceDepartment arrested22-year-old Andre Lu-cas on charges of beinga principal to attemptedfirst-degree murderand illegal use of aweapon. The police be-lieve Lucas drove thevehicle from whichJames Spikes shot intoa crowd on the eveningof June 23. Spikes, 35,was arrested Aug. 4 andcharged with attemptedfirst-degree murder, ag-gravated criminal dam-age to property, danger-ous use of a weaponand being a convictedfelon in possession of afirearm. Police ChiefJoe Culpepper said thecharges stem from anincident that took placenear Warren Street andGrove Avenue.

No one was hit by thegunfire, but anothervehicle was shot up, headded.

FILE PHOTO

Gov. Bobby Jindal, in a packed Bogalusa City Hall, announces the near completion of the ParkwayPipeline and notes the economic impact it will have on Washington Parish and the state. Shown are,from left: Washington Parish President Richard Ned Thomas, Assessor Jimbo Stevenson, Clerk of CourtJohnny Crain Jr., Bogalusa Mayor Charles Mizell, City Council Vice President Doug Ritchie, Jindal,Varnado Mayor Paris Sumrall, City Council President Wendy Perrette, Parish Councilman Aubrey Poseyand City Councilman Teddy Drummond.

FILE PHOTO

Winn-Dixie shopper Harold Baham said he was not happyto hear that the Bogalusa store was closing, but he was tak-ing advantage of the liquidation discounts. Others in thecommunity were disappointed in the company’s decisionas well.

The Daily News 2013: A Year in Washington Parish Sunday, January 26, 20148

SepSepttember 20ember 201313

Utility companyworkers who werereportedly cutting apower line right-of-wayin southwest Washing-ton Parish told authori-ties they were given aless than cordial wel-come and that gunfirewas involved. The inci-dent occurred in the37800 block of FisherRoad and involvedWashington St. Tam-many Electric andCreel Brothers employ-ees.

Kevin Lester Al-brecht, 44, demandedthe workers get off hisproperty, according toChief Deputy MikeHaley, even though themen were not on hisproperty. An argumentensued with Albrechtreturning to his home,returning minutes latercarrying a pistol, whichhe fired in the air as awarning shot.

When deputies ar-rived at the sceneAlbrecht denied havinga pistol.

Statements weretaken, and Albrechtwas arrested andcharged with twocounts of aggravatedassault on a utilityworker with a firearm,one count of illegal dis-charge/use of a wea-pon, one count of resist-ing arrest and twocounts of resisting anofficer. He was bookedinto the WashingtonParish Jail.

The Flapjack Fly-inevent held at GeorgeCarr Memorial Airportwas deemed a success,when aviators frommiles around the areaflew in to see the air-port and enjoy a pan-cake breakfast on site.By noon, the scheduledend time for the event,more than 60 planeshad landed at the air-port, most saying it wasa great event. “It putsBogalusa on the map,”one pilot was heard tosay.

Heavy rains in Augustcaused a collapse of thecenter wall of Frank-linton’s wastewatertreatment plant sequen-cing batch reactor.

The reconstructionwould require nearly$200,000, with part ofthat funding to comefrom the Delta RegionalAuthority.

Helping to procurefunds were Sen. MaryLandrieu, Congress-man Rodney Alexander,Sen. Ben Nevers, Rep.Harold Ritchie andDRA Chairman ChrisMasengill, as well asGov. Bobby Jindal andhis staff.

Northshore CharterSchool was awarded agrant from the DollarGeneral Literacy Foun-dation to purchasesome new iPads andapplications designed

to improve memory.Principal Julie Rod-riguez said some stu-dents were behind intheir literacy attain-ment and the iPads willhelp to motivate stu-dents to improve. “Weare excited because thisexpands our use oftechnology and inter-ventions.” she said.

The second Businesson the Block Commun-ity Block Party washeld on Avenue F inBogalusa, and despitethe heat participantsseemed to have a goodtime.

Mickey and MinnieMouse posed for pic-tures, contestantsenjoyed an air guitarcontest and classic carswere on display foreveryone to enjoy. Or-ganizer Kallie Brelandsaid the communityinvolvement and res-ponse was great, andshe thought everyonehad a good time.“Spreading the positiveis what it’s all about,”she said.

On Aug. 23 the Bog-alusa Police Depart-ment issued a call forpublic assistance inlocating Paris Moses,19, who was wanted oncharges of attemptedfirst-degree murder,armed robbery, armedrobbery with a gun andillegal use of a weapon.On Sept. 2 the BPDreceived word that po-lice in Tulsa, Okla., hadMoses in custody. Hewaived extradition, andMaj. Scott Adams andCorrections OfficerOtis Taylor went toTulsa and picked himup. He was booked intothe city jail.

Moses was a suspectin an incident that leftone man with multiplegunshot wounds.

LSU Bogalusa Medi-cal Center alerted po-lice about a gunshotvictim being treated inits emergency room.Police believe the shoot-ing took place at theMain Street ballparkabout 3:30 p.m. Aug. 6.

LSU Bogalusa Med-ical Center prepared toenter the contractingprocess on its emer-gency room expansionand renovation project,something that hasbeen four years in themaking. Chief Exec-utive Officer Kurt Scottsaid the hospital wasworking with the Bog-alusa Medical CenterFoundation to reviewthe bids and begin thecontracting process.

The project has ap-proximately $6 millionin construction valueand approximately $7.5million in total projectcosts, including thingssuch as design fees,equipment and furni-ture.

The Washington Par-

ish Sheriff ’s Office cel-ebrated the grand open-ing of its Bogalusaheadquarters on Sept.17. State and parish dig-nitaries and notablesfrom throughout thecommunity crowdedinto the entry room ofthe Bogalusa substationto celebrate the ribboncutting and grand open-ing of the new space.

Last summer theWPSO moved itsBogalusa substationoffices from a smallerspace in the city jailcomplex to the 10,000-square-foot groundfloor of the MasonicLodge building at 302Mississippi Ave. Theextra room enabledexpansion on the east-ern side of the parish.The substation con-tains offices for SheriffRandy Seal, detectives,patrol and Drug TaskForce officers, sexoffender registration,an evidence room, atraining room andmore.

Ruth Fleming Hornewas named the 2013Washington Parish Fairhonoree. Horne is a life-long resident of Wash-ington Parish. She hasa legacy of appreciationand service to the fair,inherited from theBickham and Flemingfamilies, who wereearly residents of thearea and were a part ofthe growth and develop-ment of the fair fromit’s beginning.

Her first volunteer ac-tivities involved puttingup school displays andexhibits in the educa-tion building. Subse-quently, she served onvarious committees andevents.

Bogalusa hosted thesecond Bogalusa Bluesand Heritage Festival,and visitors enjoyed aday of good weatherand good music.

Fair season began inBogalusa with the an-nual flag raising cere-mony held the daybefore a similar eventin Franklinton. Theweather was beautifulthe talk was brief andthe entertainment, pro-vided by high schooland elementary stu-dents, was rousing.

The flag-raising cere-mony Friday at theparish courthouse alsosaw ideal fair weather.

The Franklinton HighSchool band enter-tained the crowd as thefestivities got underway. Band memberslined the street in frontof the courthouse, withthe members of theschool’s support groupsassembled on each side,performing to themusic.

The Demonettes werejoined for the occasionby Bowling GreenSchool’s Buccanettes.

Utility workers attacked; Fly-in a success

The Daily News2013: A Year in Washington ParishSunday, January 26, 2014 9

FILE PHOTO

The Bogalusa Blues and Heritage Festival was a big success. Shown is VastiJackson, one of the main stage acts.

OctOctober 20ober 201313Fair draws big crowds into Franklinton

October started offwith the news that thesecond annual Boga-lusa Blues and HeritageFestival had attractedabout 5,000 people toCassidy Park. Atten-dees from near and farpraised the event for itsstellar musical per-formances and numer-ous children’s activi-ties, including harmon-ica workshops, plus top-notch food and art.Many made special noteof the beautiful, wood-ed park venue.

State Rep. HaroldRitchie made news forawarding a full scholar-ship to Tulane to Dis-trict Attorney WalterReed’s son. Ritchiereportedly had receivedno applications fromWashington Parish resi-dents for the scholar-ship, and Reed’s sonwas well qualified.

Bogalusa marked theend of an era when thelettering of the long-time Winn-Dixie storewas removed from thethen-empty building.

Washington ParishFree Fair month ramp-ed up with the an-nouncement that BillieSue Alford, Ed Branchand Rebecca Jenkinswould be the Honor RollStars for 2013.

Bogalusa chiroprac-tor David Killen wasfound guilty of domes-tic abuse after allegedlystrangling a female inhis Covington home. Hewas sentenced to threeyears in prison.

Work began to changeout a 90-year-old sewerline on Austin Street inBogalusa in advance ofa future street overlay,and the police depart-ment got a new Com-mand Center, free ofcharge, from the Man-deville Police Depart-ment.

It was announced thata $7,000 matching grantfrom the state would

enable Bogalusa to be-gin an inventory of itshistoric buildings,starting with structuresalong Columbia Street,Avenue F and AustinStreet.

In Franklinton it wasannounced that a newLouisiana NationalGuard Readiness Cen-ter would be built in theIndustrial Park. Theguard’s previous facili-ty had been out of com-mission since being in-undated with 5 feet offloodwater in Hurri-cane Isaac.

Washington ParishSheriff Randy Seal wasappointed to the Na-tional Sheriff ’s Associ-ation’s Small RuralSheriff ’s Committee.

The city of Bogalusabegan working with theLouisiana Departmentof Transportation andDevelopment on a roadtransfer deal that wouldlead to widespread im-provements to localstreets.

International Paperannounced that Bog-alusa Mill ManagerTodd Crutcher had beennamed director of In-vestment, Strategy, Con-tainerboard and wouldrelocate to the compa-ny’s headquarters inMemphis, Tenn., andBernie Chascin wouldtake over the mill man-ager position on Nov. 1.

The Northshore Char-ter School Board ofEducation unanimous-ly approved a request byPrincipal Julie Rod-riguez to add one moregrade to the plannedadditions to school nextyear.

2013 Washington Par-ish Fair Honoree RuthHorne was feted, andthe 102nd annual fairwelcomed crowds offun-loving folks. Beforeit was over, BowlingGreen senior TaylorWood was crowned FairQueen, and the Mystery

couple was revealed asDixie and Whit Gal-laspy.

The Bogalusa PoliceDepartment arrestedsix boys, ages 11 to 15,for aggravated rapecharges, and the 15-year-olds were trans-ferred to district courtto be tried as adults.

The Poole’s BluffNature Park project gota boost with a $25,000donation from ParkwayPipeline LLC. Entergymade a donation to Bog-alusa’s Christmas in thePark.

Washington Parishvoters approved a one-third of 1-cent sales taxproposal by a narrowmargin of just morethan 200 votes. A de-lighted Parish Pres-ident Richard Thomassaid if the measure hadfailed, it would havebeen catastrophic. Thetax was set to go intoeffect on Jan. 1, 2014,and expected to bring in$1.2 million for the gen-eral fund.

Two Republicans,state Sen. Neil Riserand businessman VanceMcAllister, advanced tothe runoffs for Loui-siana’s 5th District con-gressional seat, laterwon by McAllister.

Brandy Joy Keenan ofBogalusa was founddead of gunshotwounds in a vacant lotin the Lower 9th Wardin New Orleans.

The Louisiana StatePolice arrested sevenpeople for an allegedbookmaking operationin Bogalusa.

The state Departmentof Education releasedthe district and schoolaccountability scores.The Washington ParishSchool System earned aB. But the BogalusaCity School Systemearned a D, and Sup-erintendent ToniBreaux vowed to makeimprovements.

FILE PHOTO

Shown are winners from the Washington Parish Fair Queen contest, from left,Anna Katherine Slaughter, first alternate and interview winner; Taylor Wood,queen and fashion award; Shea Seal, second alternate; and Sarah Spears, MissCongeniality.

FILE PHOTO

Camille Amthor, in town visiting her grandmother, enjoys the new playground equip-ment at Cassidy Park.

The Daily News 2013: A Year in Washington Parish Sunday, January 26, 201410

NoNovvember 20ember 201313

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Bogalusa man guilty of manslaughterIn early November, a

12-member jury found aBogalusa man guilty ofmanslaughter after athree-day trial in the22nd Judicial DistrictCourt in Franklinton.Judge Reginald Bad-eaux presided. LafelixMiller, 31, was initiallycharged with second-degree murder for theJune 2011 death in Bog-alusa of a Mississippiwoman, but the juryopted to convict on thelesser charge.

According to aspokesman for DistrictAttorney Walter Reed,Miller was arrestedafter he forced his wayinto a neighbor’s home,naked and with bloodall over his hands, andtold them he had killeda woman. Two hourslater the suspect’sroommate returned totheir shared residenceand found the deceasedwoman in the frontyard, he said. BogalusaPolice charged Millerwith the murder at thecity jail, where he hadalready been taken onobscenity and othercharges related to theneighbor incident.

The Washington Par-ish School Board offi-cially asked to be with-drawn from the Com-mon Core State Stand-ards. The board votedunanimously to adopt aresolution asking thatGov. Bobby Jindal, StateSuperintendent of Edu-cation John White andthe members of theBoard of Elementaryand Secondary Educa-tion withdraw theWashington Parish sys-tem and all districts inthe state from CommonCore and Partnershipfor Assessment ofReadiness and Collegeand Careers, or PARCC,testing, due to be imple-mented during the 2014-15 school year.

Superintendent Dar-

rell Fairburn discussedhis concerns aboutCommon Core, includ-ing the speed of imple-mentation being forcedupon the district.

After concerns aroseabout the teens’ safety,Washington ParishSheriff ’s Office ChiefDeputy Mike Haley saidin mid-November acourt order had beenissued to move the lastof three juveniles whowere being housed inthe facility to the FloidaParishes DetentionCenter. The boys, ages15 and 16, were awaitingtrial on aggravated rapecharges. They are beingtried as adults. The twoother teens, who hadthe same public defend-er as counsel, weretransferred after acourt order was issuedthe previous week.

Also in November, aBogalusa man and hisgirlfriend, alreadycharged with exploita-tion of the infirmedand out of jail on bond,were arrested againand charged with con-spiracy to commit ar-son with intent to de-fraud. All of thecharges against Mich-ael Wayne Dillon Jr.and Sharon RachelMizell are the result ofan investigation thatstemmed from an Oct.18 fire that totallydestroyed a house onByrd Avenue, where thetwo lived with Mizell’sdaughter, her brotherand a man who is dis-abled and legally blind,according to the Wash-ington Parish Sheriff ’sOffice.

WPSO and Fire Mar-shal’s Office investiga-tors soon discoveredthat Mizell and Dillonhad assumed power ofattorney over the dis-abled man, who inherit-ed a large sum of mon-ey after the power ofattorney documents

were filed. The disabledman told investigatorshe used his own moneyto pay for the ByrdAvenue residence lastDecember, but Dillonhad convinced him totitle the property in hisname, saying he would“take care of him.”Statements taken byinvestigators began toreveal a criminal con-spiracy by Dillon andMizell to commit arsonof the residence inorder to collect theinsurance money.

A tirade spawned byanger about treatmenthe was receivingthrough the AffordableCare Act ended with aMt. Hermon man al-legedly firing shotsinside his home andthreatening to kill hisgirlfriend and respond-ing deputies before hewas subdued by aWPSO sniper. JohnnieA. Ryals, 56, was trans-ported to RiversideMedical Center inFranklinton, where hewas treated and thenreleased to the jail. Hewas charged with threecounts of attemptedmurder, illegal dis-charge of a weapon,aggravated criminaldamage to property,aggravated kidnappingand possession of mari-juana.

The back wall of thecourtroom in theBogalusa City Hall waslined with firefighters,policemen and othersas the City Council con-sidered pay raises forthe mayor, council andcity prosecutor thatwould take effect withthe swearing in of thenext administration.About a dozen peopleeventually spoke on theissue. Offered duringpublic comment were aplea for “equality andjustice for all,” arequest to reinstate theannual city employeesales tax dispersal,which was redirected in2008, and a statementthat there were moreurgent needs, such asfirefighting equipment.

The salary increaseswere proposed in threeseparate ordinances.The first would raisethe mayor’s annual payfrom the currentapproximately $53,000to $65,000 in December2014 and then to $70,000in January of 2016.That ordinance wasapproved in a 4-2 vote.An ordinance thatwould have increasedthe pay of council mem-bers was voted down 5-1, while an ordinance toincrease the salary ofthe city prosecutorfrom $1,500 to $2,000 permonth starting with thenew term was unani-mously approved.

FILE PHOTO

Veterans were honored during Veteran’s Day programs in the parish. Here, vet-erans participate in the program at Bogalusa High School.

FILE PHOTO

Pine junior Derrick Dillon, who had a stellar seasonand received several post season honors, was cho-sen to play in the January 2015 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, an all-star game for the nation’s topseniors.

The Daily News2013: A Year in Washington ParishSunday, January 26, 2014 11

DecDecember 20ember 201313

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4-year-old dies in wreck; 3 adults injuredA 4-year-old Frank-

linton child was killedin a head-on collisionDec. 2 that also leftthree adults hospital-ized with serious in-juries. The two-vehicleaccident occurred ab-out 9 p.m. on LouisianaHighway 21 north ofVarnado.

The child, LavonneDarlene-Theresa Beard,was improperly res-trained in a boosterseat with only a lap belt,according to LouisianaState Police Troop L.

Master Trooper GregMarchand said thechild was riding in theback seat of a south-bound 2006 Nissan Max-ima operated by LindaD. Beard, 26, of Fox-worth, Miss., whenBeard’s vehicle veeredto the left, crossed thecenter line and struck a2013 Chevrolet Malibuhead on. The occupantsof the second vehicle,Joan Ezell, 56, andRobby Burke, 48, weretransported to Lake-view Regional MedicalCenter with seriousinjuries. Beard, whowas seriously injured,was transported to theInterim LSU HospitalLEVEL 1 Trauma Cen-ter in New Orleans. Shewas charged in the acci-dent.

Bogalusa’s ’Tis theSeason Street Stroll washeld the first weekendin December in con-junction with SmallBusiness Saturday.Main Street ManagerRobin Day declared theevent a success.

Local businessmanSteve Pigott Sr., theowner of ResthavenLiving Center, donated100 trees to be plantedat Cassidy Park.

He said he had pickedup acorns from the oaktree in front of CityHall two years ago andtook them home andplanted them in his gar-

den. The young treesare now between 2 feetand 3 feet tall.

Pigott said he wasinspired to donate themto the park because ofthe city’s ongoing workto make it a specialplace for healthy familyfun.

The Bogalusa CityCouncil adopted the2014 budget and alsopaved the way for a newCivil Rights Museum inthe city. The city for-merly had no zoningprovision for a muse-um, and the clearancewas necessary for theRobert Hicks Founda-tion’s attempts to getgrant funding for theproject. The councilamended the City Codeallowing plans for turn-ing the historic RobertHicks home on what isnow Robert “Bob”Hicks Street into a CivilRights Museum tomove forward.

Members of the Bog-alusa-based 205th En-gineer Battalion of theLouisiana Army Na-tional Guard, who de-ployed to Kuwait onMarch 9, returned tothe United States onDec. 6.

A 12-year-old Wash-ington Parish girl wasarrested and chargedwith attempted first-degree murder by theWashington ParishSheriff ’s Office.

An investigation bySheriff ’s Office investi-gators into the allegedabuse of an infantrevealed that a 12-year-old attempted to mur-der the 8-month-oldchild of her 16-year-oldsister.

The girl said she wasjealous of attentionbeing given to theinfant so decided to tryand kill the baby byadministering liquidmedication to the childwhile the mother of thechild was bathing. Two

different doses of themedication were givenover a two-day period,Haley said.

The baby was taken toRiverside MedicalCenter and has recov-ered from the effects ofthe medication, Haleysaid.

What started with anarmed robbery inFranklinton ended withthe robbery victim anda Franklinton policeofficer shot and the sus-pect’s mother, RobinDillon, found dead in-side a home he alleged-ly set on fire.

Christopher Dillon,20, was ultimatelycharged with armedrobbery, attemptedfirst-degree murder,two counts of attempt-ed first-degree murderof a police officer andaggravated arson.

Terry Partman, whowas shot during anarmed robbery, wastransported to River-side Medical Centerwith severe right arminjuries then trans-ferred to UniversityHospital in New Or-leans. Franklinton Po-lice Officer Sgt. ChadDorsett was treated forleft forearm injuriesand released.

Fifteen suspecteddrug dealers were ar-rested Thursday, Dec.19, one was already inprison and five morewere still being soughtafter a day-long arrestwarrant roundup con-ducted by the Sheriff ’sOffice, the Drug En-forcement Adminis-tration and the Boga-lusa Police Depart-ment.

The action capped alengthy operation bythe Washington ParishDrug Task Force thatled to warrants for 21parish residents ondrug charges, WPSOChief Deputy MikeHaley reported.

FILE PHOTO

Brittany Tillman of Pine, a member of the Louisiana National Guard’s 205thEngineer Battalion, holds her son, Jaxn Franklin, 2, after returning to the BatonRouge Metropolitan Airport from deployment to Kuwait.

Greeting Staff Sgt.James Stewart atBaton RougeMetropolitan Airportupon his return fromKuwait were his wife,Misti; 7-year-old son,Davin; and 3-year-olddaughter, Alissa. He ishome after beingdeployed with the205th EngineerBattalion of theLouisiana NationalGuard.

FILE PHOTO

The Daily News 2013: A Year in Washington Parish Sunday, January 26, 201412