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Published July 1, 2009
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Narcotics Task Force gives one-year summary (published July 1, 2009)
The fiscal year ended for the Catahoula Parish Sherriff's Narcotics Task Force
yesterday (Tuesday).
From July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009, the Task Force handled 66 cases and arrested
72 people. Of those 72 people, 42 were charged with possession of narcotics. 15
were charged with possession with intent to distribute. Seven were charged with
distribution, and eight
were charged with manufacturing. (Note: several people were charged with
multiple offenses.)
The Task Force seized 51 pounds, 11 ounces of marijuana, five ounces, 12 grams
of cocaine, 2.4 ounces of crystal meth, and 39 Ecstasy tablets.
Officers also seized 1,785 pills, including Hydrocodone, Zanex, Percocet,
Vicoden, and Valium.
In recent activity, the Task Force, on June 25, arrested James Alfred Smith, 26, of Hunter Rd., in Jonesville, and charged him with
possession of schedule III CDS, obstruction of justice, and three traffic
offenses.
Arrested with Smith were Ricky Herron, Sr., 51, of 402 Second St., Jonesville,
and Juanita Cardin, 36, of Natchez, MS. Cardin and Herron received the same
charges as Smith.
On June 24 the Task Force arrested Johnny Ray Taylor, 45, of 443 Bayou Rd.,
Jonesville, on a bench warrant for failure to appear for a
charge of possession of hydrocodone. Taylor received new charges of possession
of marijuana and possession of schedule III CDS.
JPD tallies arrests for June (published July 1, 2009)
The Jonesville Police Department has tallied the following arrests recently:
Kevin L. Davis, 28, of 600 Willow St., Jonesville, charged with possession of
marijuana and no seat belt.
James Tracy Sikes, 44, of Smith Rd., Jonesville, charged with possession of CDS
with intent to distribute, possession of CDS, possession of a firearm by a
convicted felon, possession of a firearm while in possession of CDS, and
possession of drug paraphernalia.
Aaron Isaiah Powell, 28, of Portland, TN, charged with driving under suspension
and speeding 54/40.
Brian Lamar Branch, 35, of 225 Deville Dr., Jonesville, charged with driving
under suspension and disturbing the peace by loud music.
Leon Smith, 29, of 1208 Elvira Dr., Jonesville, charge with simple theft.
Joshua Dewayne Scott, 28, of 23222 Hwy 124, Jonesville, charged with driving
under suspension, no proof of liability insurance, and speeding 58/40.
Phillip Glen Newman, 31, of 151 Newman Rd., Jena, charged with driving under
suspension, no proof of liability insurance, no vehicle registration, and no
seat belt.
Wilbert Douglas Miller, 28, of Pontiac, MI, charged with disturbing the peace by
loud music.
Rickey Ross Myles, 26, of 250 Head Start Loop, Jena, charged with driving under
suspension and speeding 52/40.
Margaret Rose Jackson, 42, of 604 Tenth St., Jonesville, charged with driving
under suspension, no proof of liability insurance, and expired license plate.
Denver L. Green, 25, of 707 Pollard Ave., Jonesville, charged with driving under
suspension and disturbing the peace by loud music.
Robert L. Hood, 61, of 14465 Hwy 84, Jonesville, charged with driving under
suspension, running a stop sign, and expired license plate.
Lucious Micah Hutchins, 30, of 430 Parhams Rd., Jonesville, charged with driving
under suspension and failure to change registration.
Joe Nathan Fisher, 49, 411 Tom Cotton St., Jonesville, charged with driving
under suspension and no seat belt.
Steve Anthony Fisher, 46, of 251 Griffin Rd., Jonesville, charged with
disturbing the peace by loud music.
Ricky Charles Franklin, 47, of 403 Fritz St., Apt. 8, Jonesville, charged with
no drivers license.
Quindaryl Collins, 20, of 1109 Cole St., Jonesville, charged with criminal
damage to property.
Harrisonburg Masons award youths (published July 1, 2009)
The Harrisonburg Masonic Lodge, on June 7, presented Barrett Routon, Tyler Walton, Ethan House, and Jacob
Roark with Honesty and Integrity awards. The Lodge presented Casey Paul Cater
with the Patriotism Award.
Jonesville bridge demolition approaching this month (published July 1, 2009)
Last Thursday the Catahoula Parish Historical Society and Museum board along
with about 35 other interested citizens heard an update from James Construction
representatives on the upcoming demolition of the old Black River Bridge. They
also heard from Butch Lee, an archaeologist with Earth Search on the Great
Mound replica project.
Bill Atkins, president of the Historical Society, noted that things seem to be
progressing well.
Charles Harper with James Construction addressed the group. He explained that as
of
right now the river is at an elevation that is too high to allow them to get out
to the middle to the center span that is turned and is parallel with the river.
"Our intention, unless the water drops suddenly - which we don't expect, is to go ahead and demolish the approach span and the concrete spans that are on
the east side of the river. We'll drop those to the ground, and we hope by the
time we're able to fish all of that debris out on the bank and get it ready to
be hauled out that the river will have fallen sufficiently to allow us to get
out there to the center and drop the swing span in the river. We'll have to get
it out pretty quickly, and then the demolition contractor will finish drilling
wherever he needs to, to be able to demolish the piers and be able to drop
those into the river. We'll be at a point then where we can start with a bucket
and a crane and clean up the bottom of the river."
He explained that the demolition contractor has hit a snag with the State Police
and the permit department as to when they can "shoot the bridge."
He went on to explain that there would be demolition work going on for about a
month after this first big project.
After this meeting, the demolition date was re-scheduled to July 16th.
Harper explained that anyone within 1,000-1,500 feet of the bridge will be asked
to remove from the premises during the demolition.
Atkins then asked Butch Lee to address the group. He said when the demolition is done, a team from Earth Search will sift through
the dirt in 4-5 inch sections when they get down to where the original Great
Mound dirt is. He said the plan is that James Construction will remove soil.
The Earth Search team will go through it and take out any artifacts. He
explained that the clay is to compacted to put it through a screen, but they
will go through it carefully.
Atkins asked if Lee had any idea when they could start. Lee answered that Mr.
Harper would let him know when it was safe to work there. Harper interjected
that it would probably be sometime after the first demolition.
Archeologist Dr. Joe Saunders said they are trying to find out how to build a
mound so they can begin construction of the replica.
Abandoned turtles create a stink in Sandy Lake area (published July 1, 2009)
Seeing turtles out and about is not an unusual sight.
However, residents of the neighborhood behind the Sandy Lake Express Mart in the
Sandy Lake community recently began to notice a large number of turtles showing
up in their yards.
Karen Wascom, a resident of the neighborhood, knowing there was a turtle farm nearby that had gone out of business, decided to
check on the ponds to see if they were the source of these turtles.
What Karen found shocked and angered her. Hundreds of dead turtles were lying
inside the fences that enclose the ponds. She also saw an estimated 1,000 more
turtles still alive in the ponds.
“This property has been vacant since April when the previous owners left,” Karen explained.
What to do?
Karen said she called several turtle farmers who said they would take them, but they
couldn
’t, unless someone gave them permission.
According to Karen, on contacting Concordia Bank, she was told the property was
in bankruptcy, and that someone from the bankruptcy court had come and counted
the turtles and arranged for them to be picked up.
The question of why these turtles are still in the ponds and not being fed remains to be answered.
Karen said an employee at Concordia Bank told her that all the turtles had been
removed and these must be eggs that hatched since that time. However, the dead
turtles and those still in the ponds look to be full grown sized turtles, not
babies.
A call to a local turtle farmer confirmed that hatchlings from April would still
be very small and would not
be confused with full grown turtles.
Last Wednesday a neighbor to the vacant property stated that he had seen an
employee of Concordia Bank there at the property that day.
Several neighbors remarked on the odor they are constantly living with because
of the dead turtles.
Several phone calls by the Catahoula News Booster to Concordia Bank on this
matter were not returned.
Karen stated that she also contacted the
Humane Society in Baton Rouge and the Department of Agriculture.
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She asked if she could buy some dog food and throw in the ponds to try and keep
those turtles from starving until something is done, but was told by the Dept.
of Agriculture not to do that.
The advice was for her protection, she was told, so no one could say that what
she fed them gave them a disease or affected them in any way. Both agencies
said they would be looking into the situation.
In Catahoula and Concordia Parishes, where turtle farmers are numerous, this
situation is not the norm. In fact, no one can recall any other instance where
any ponds have been abandoned with turtles present.
For the time being, Karen and her neighbors are waiting to see who will step up and resolve the
situation.