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“A Community A-Fair” carnival was held over the weekend at Franklin Senior High school. In addition to rides, games and “The Fearless Flores” act, Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church pastor Rev. Allen R. Randle Jr. presented “You Make A Difference” awards to Beverly Domengeaux, St. Mary Council on Aging, and Wanda Hillard, with the “Spirit of Liberty Pantry” organization
Franklin Police Chief Sabria McGuire reported the following arrests:
Malik Parker, 21, of Genieve Drive, Lafayette, while incarcerated at the Franklin Police Department, was arrested Thursday at 10:46 a.m. on a warrant for the charge of probation violation. Parker was booked, processed, and transported to Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office.
John Haydel, 55, of Sanders Street, Franklin, was arrested Friday at 5:49 p.m. on charges of illegal possession of stolen things and theft between $5,000 and $25,000.
Haydel was booked, processed, and held with no bond set at the time of press release.
Alpacino Greco, 42, of Sanders Street, Franklin, was arrested Friday at 8:10 p.m. on the charge of theft between $5,000 and $25,000.
Greco was booked, processed, and held with no bond set at the time of press release.
Kerri Comeaux, 42, of Charenton Road, Baldwin, was arrested Sunday at 1:04 p.m. on the charge of theft by shoplifting—first offense.
Comeaux was booked, processed, and released on a $1,500 bond.
John Felton, 53, of Hamilton Street, Franklin, was arrested Sunday at 8:12 p.m. on charges of resisting an officer, possession of drug paraphernalia and disturbing the peace.
Felton was booked, processed, and transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center.
Damenn Stansbury, 49, of SJ Lane, Franklin, was arrested Monday at 3:40 a.m. on the charge of violation of protective order.
Stansbury was booked, processed, and held with no bond set at the time of press release.
St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported the following arrests:
Lauren Cormier, 24, of 208 Georgine St., Duson, was arrested Friday at 10:59 a.m. on charges of careless operation with a crash and driving under suspension.
A deputy patrolling Ricohoc responded to a crash on US 90. The deputy made contact with the driver of one of the vehicles, Cormier. The deputy found evidence that Cormier was distracted, causing her to rear-end another vehicle. The deputy also learned that Cormier was operating the vehicle with a suspended driver’s license. Cormier was released on a summons.
Calab Mitchell, 22, of 216 Cedar St., Franklin, was arrested on Friday at 11:12 a.m. on a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of possession of marijuana.
A Warrants Section deputy made contact with Mitchell at the courthouse and learned of his active warrant. Mitchell was transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking and incarceration. Mitchell was released after serving a 24-hour sentence.
Lenis Clement Jr., 56, of 8661 La. 87, Charenton, was arrested on Friday at 3:40 p.m. on a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.
A Warrants Section deputy made contact with Clement at the courthouse and learned of his active warrant. Clement was transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking and incarceration. No bail is set.
Morrell Henderson, 59, of 151 West Syls Lane, Amelia, was arrested on Saturday at 12:03 p.m. on the charge of possession of marijuana.
A deputy patrolling Amelia responded to a residence on West Syls Lane for an unrelated complaint. The deputy made contact with Henderson and found evidence that he had marijuana in his possession. Henderson was released on a summons.
Juvenile male, 16, was arrested Sunday at 4:00 p.m. on charges of burglary—vehicle and theft.
A deputy patrolling the Patterson area responded to a vehicle burglary at a residence on Hendricks Street. Through the investigation, the deputy found evidence that the juvenile male stole items from the vehicle and used a debit card to make a purchase. The juvenile was released into the custody of his guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.
Mervin Miller, 31, of 203 Labau St., Baldwin, was arrested Monday, at 12:05 a.m. on charges of criminal damage to property, resisting arrest and simple arson.
A deputy assisting an officer with the Baldwin Police Department responded to a residence on Labau Street for a disturbance. The deputy made contact with Miller who was placed under arrest by the BPD officer on unrelated charges. While being transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center, Miller kicked out the marked patrol units’ window. Deputies removed Miller from said unit, and while placing him in another unit, he forcefully pulled away and resisted deputies. While inside the second unit, Miller attempted to start a fire, causing damages. Miller was ultimately transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking and incarceration. No bail is set.
Chitimacha Police Chief Hal Hutchinson reported the following arrest:
Nathaniel Menard, 24, of Chitimacha Loop Road, Charenton, was arrested Saturday on a Chitimacha Tribal Court warrant for failure to appear, and was transported to the parish jail.
Menard was arrested by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office on the warrant and was released to the Chitimacha Police Department.
The following are the radio dispatch logs from the Morgan City Police Department. To report unlawful or suspicious activity, call the police department at 985-380-4605.
Friday, June 15
6:42 a.m. 1000 block of Spruce Street; Burglary.
7:23 a.m. La. 70 and Victor II Boulevard; Utilities.
7:40 a.m. 3000 block of Keith Street; Medical.
8:02 a.m. 800 block of Victor II Boulevard; Stand by.
8:18 a.m. Ninth and Florence streets; Utilities.
8:30 a.m. 500 block of Seventh Street; Complaint.
8:46 a.m. 800 block of Fig Street; Complaint.
11:11 a.m. 100 block of Chennault Street; Arrest.
11:59 a.m. 700 block of Railroad Avenue; Theft.
12:03 p.m. 100 block of Mallard Street; Disturbance.
1:10 p.m. U.S. 90 West; Traffic incident.
2:54 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Arrest.
3:06 p.m. U.S. 90 West; Reckless driver.
3:24 p.m. 700 block of Onstead Street; Alarm.
3:50 p.m. 1600 block of Front Street; Burglary.
4:12 p.m. 500 block of Roderick Street; Medical.
4:27 p.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Crash.
4:38 p.m. 600 block of Railroad Avenue; Burglary.
5:58 p.m. U.S. 90 West; Aggravated assault.
6:54 p.m. 400 block of Fourth Street; Crash.
8:17 p.m. 1200 block of Victor II Boulevard; Disturbance.
8:24 p.m. Garber Street; Extra patrols.
8:30 p.m. Centerville; Complaint.
9:24 p.m. 1100 block of Fourth Street; Disturbance.
9:27 p.m. U.S. 90; Traffic complaint.
9:44 p.m. Egle Street; Disturbance.
10:16 p.m. 1000 block of Brashear Avenue; Found property.
10:27 p.m. 1000 block of Brashear Avenue; Remove subject.
10:35 p.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Complaint.
11:04 p.m. Onstead and Front streets; Intoxicated subject.
11:59 p.m. 500 block of Arkansas Street; Animal complaint.
Saturday, June 16
12:53 a.m. 300 block of Second Street; Remove subject.
5:33 a.m. La. 70 and Victor II Boulevard; Utilities.
8:16 a.m. 600 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard; Complaint.
8:19 a.m. 1100 block of Second Street; Burglary.
8:35 a.m. 2400 block of Apple Street; Complaint.
8:36 a.m. 1000 block of Second Street; Theft.
9:42 a.m. Second and Freret streets; Stalled vehicle.
10:29 a.m. La. 182 West; Traffic incident.
1:33 p.m. U.S. 90 West; Reckless driver.
2:35 p.m. 6400 block of La. 182; Crash.
2:54 p.m. 600 block of Terrebonne; Juvenile problem.
3:41 p.m. 3000 block of Catherine; Complaint.
3:42 p.m. 600 block of Terrebonne; Complaint.
4:24 p.m. 2300 block of La 70; 911 hang up call.
7:01 p.m. 1000 block of Shaw; Theft.
7:33 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Suspicious person.
7:42 p.m. 600 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard; Complaint.
8:07 p.m. 300 block of Levee Road; Theft.
8:13 p.m. 6300 block of La. 182; Disturbance.
8:25 p.m. 1200 block of Fig Street; Medical.
8:58 p.m. 2000 block of Keith Street; Frequent patrols.
9:45 p.m. Duke and Seventh streets; Loud music.
9:54 p.m. 6200 block of La. 182; Theft.
10:32 p.m. 500 block of Marshall Street; 911 hang up.
10:55 p.m. 2400 block of Apple Street; Juvenile problems.
11:02 p.m. 2300 block of La. 70; Disturbance.
11:31 p.m. 100 block of Oak Street; Disturbance.
12:37 a.m. 7700 block of La. 182; Complaint.
12:54 a.m. 300 block of Second Street; Removal of subjects.
2:22 a.m. U.S. 90 West; Stalled vehicle.
3:50 a.m. 500 block of General MacArthur Street; Removal of subjects.
Sunday, June 17
7:06 a.m. La. 70 and Victor II Boulevard; Utilities.
9:14 a.m. Chennault Street; Burglary.
9:26 a.m. 1700 block of Federal Avenue; Criminal damage to property.
11:26 a.m. 100 block of Glenwood Street; Crash.
12:39 p.m. 7100 block of Park Street; Alarm.
1:15 p.m. 1000 block of Brashear Avenue; Removal of subject.
4 p.m. 2600 block of Hemlock Street; Alarm.
5:33 p.m. 700 block of Arkansas Street; Disturbance.
7:08 p.m. Bowman and Sixth streets; Disturbance.
7:44 p.m. 2300 block of La. 70; Reckless driving.
8:03 p.m. 500 block of Roderick Street; Disturbance.
8:31 p.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Disturbance.
8:31 p.m. U.S. 90 East; Stalled vehicle.
10:06 p.m. Arenz and Fifth streets; Fire.
10:33 p.m. 1000 block of Ninth Street; 911 hang up.
11:04 p.m. 400 block of Kidd Street; Disturbance.
11:53 p.m. 2400 block of Tupelo Street; Suspicious person.
Monday, June 18
12:01 a.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Alarm.
2:59 a.m. 100 block of Montana Street; Officer stand by.
3:48 a.m. 1200 block of Railroad Avenue; Frequent patrols.
State Representative Sam Jones addressed the Baldwin Board of Aldermen Thursday to report a meeting with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals next week during the special session, in Baton Rouge.
Jones said he would be discussing with the DHH specifics of Baldwin’s out-of-use water well and the condition of the water therein.
He was briefed that the water treatment plant was almost 95 percent complete, but the water had recently been tested with results proving it to be of poor quality with high levels of ammonia, unfit for consumption.
It was further explained that the town had recently received a letter from the state, in which it is discussed that as per Miller Engineers, the chlorine treatment process at the as yet unfinished treatment plant would be counteracted by the naturally occurring ammonia in the water, and that further measures would need to be explored before more grant money from the state should be sought by the town.
Jones’ meeting with the DHH and Miller is reportedly meant to arrange a suitable alternative to the water treatment difficulties.
St. Mary Parish President David Hanagriff also appeared before the Baldwin board Thursday.
He explained the parish government would be bonding $20 million throughout the parish in the next two years—$10 million this year, and $10 million next year. He went on to say that Baldwin had been allotted $200,000 of the first $10 million, to fix and build roads in the town, and that the parish had hired Miller Engineers, who would begin the bidding process as early as August.
In other news, St. Mary Council on Aging presented its annual report, Father Sonnier of Sacred Heart Church announced a special Mass to be held Tuesday evening to celebrate the establishment day of the Diocese of Lafayette and a Senior Citizen Educational Seminar was announced for August 21 at Cypress Bayou Casino, featuring guest speaker Attorney General Jeff Landry.
By ROGER EMILE STOUFF
With 31 years of employment with the City of Franklin, including 13½ as mayor, Raymond Harris says, “I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Now two weeks away from ending his career with the city, Harris sets his sights on the future, with fond—and proud—glimpses to the past three decades.
He was hired by former mayor Sam Jones for a summer to help “catch up the books, and he gave me a chance, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I had to work my butt off. I think of it as a baptism by fire. I probably learned more in those first few years than most people in five or six years.”
Harris served under Jones for 17 years. “I enjoyed learning the business side of city government,” he said. “I enjoyed having a hand in that. And I did some things as (chief financial officer) to move the department forward.”
He updated the office from a manual accounting system to an automated system; he generated a fixed assets list, with help from his wife, Connie.
“You’re talking about $40 million worth of assets,” Harris said. “Before I came in, the city had 13 violations of material weaknesses in their audit report, and after my first 18 months we got that down to two, and one has been cleared by CFO Ed Hay.”
The city did not have a capital outlay plan at that time—a list of construction priorities—and he created one. “We needed a roadmap for the future,” he said. “I didn’t want us to just have a knee-jerk reaction to a problem. I recommended to the charter commission that they put it into the charter, and they did.”
A fiscally conservative CFO, and subsequently mayor, Harris says, “When you’re spending taxpayer dollars you better have good reasons for every dime you spend,” he noted. “Because the city never had much money, we couldn’t afford to have any other position than to be conservative.”
In fact, Harris’s naturally fiscally conservative view led to an $800,000 street overhaul that did not have to be achieved with borrowed bond money.
“Any extra money we had, we put into projects. That’s who I am by nature. I’m a conservative, I don’t like to spend, I’m going to save. That’s served me well especially as mayor.”
He says he is conservative on revenue projections, but liberal on expenditures. “Then if it doesn’t balance, I know where to cut back,” the mayor said. “What we can do to pull that into our favor. When things got real bad and I had to make cuts…you don’t want to make cuts and them not be enough. The cuts I put into place got us through the hard times.”
Harris likened fiscal policy to a hurricane: Start early. “When I see things going off course, I’m going to jump in and do X, Y and Z, and the sooner you make the cuts, you minimize the pain.”
When asked to name his proudest accomplishment, Harris thought for a moment and said, “Wow.”
Once he thought it over, he said, “Coming in as mayor, water plant work. I got a letter on the 18th of October and I was sworn in on the 19th of October. It basically condemned everything in the plant except the bricks.”
Years of renovations followed as Harris and the council took the bull by the horns. “Just about everything over there is brand new now,” he said. “We’ve probably added another 30-40 years to it.”
He said acquisition of the 35,000 square foot former E.A. Crowell Elementary School for a new location of city hall cost a bit more than a dollar per square foot. He is also proud of the number of street rehabilitations accomplished over his terms.
As he prepares to leave office, he is gratified that the funds have been secured for a sewer plant overhaul. “I came in and fixed the water plant, I’m going out fixing the sewer plant. And even though the construction will begin after I’m gone, my administration got the money.”
With a smile, he adds, “I’m proud of the fact that my administration has been boring. We’ve not had scandals, I’ve governed with integrity. We’ve had sound fiscal management, strong law enforcement, and we’ve kept the city looking good.”
Recreation has been an ever-growing partnership between Harris and Jones. “A lot of the improvements we made, especially at Caffery Park, Sam got us the money. Some improvements he started such as the summer feeding program, we continued it. We’ve been able, for a few dollars, to add a program here-and there. Biddy Basketball has been going on since I was a kid…we added a few tweaks and twists.
He credits the board of Little League, now Dixie Youth, for taking much of the load from his shoulders. “Paul Frost has done an outstanding job over there. He and Sam and I partnered together. Paul had a list of what he needed, and Sam got the money. We put up our share, and we got a lot of things done.”
Pecot Park is another example. “The community came to us,” Harris said. “Said we want these improvements, and we were able to do that. We’ve tried different things at Broussard-Harris. We had Little League baseball there, it lasted for a little while. What killed Spark Up the Park (a Christmas lighting and decoration initiative) was vandalism, and what killed Little League was we didn’t have enough support from the men in the community. The moms and the grandmoms supported it, but the fathers didn’t. But I’m real proud of the fact that we’ve always had things for our young people to do during the summer months.”
Lack of finance has been the mayor’s major challenge. “If I had $90 million, I could spend every dime of it wisely,” he said. “We’re getting by, but we need a new public safety complex for police, fire and city court. We need a whole new fleet for the police department, new trucks and equipment for the fire department, public works needs a new fleet…those things.
“The biggest disappointment is that we had to cut the employees (salaries) 5 percent, and the economy hasn’t picked up enough to restore it. I applaud my employees for continuing to work, and my department heads.”
Looking back and ahead, Harris said he is seeking his next position, his next season in life, and feels good about prospects he’s attained. “I hope to continue in municipal government and there are some prospects for that,” he said. “I hope to continue to be involved in management and finance. I like both of them. I also hope to continue to minister, which has always been my passion. I don’t expect a whole lot of changes, though I may be leaving Franklin for opportunity. That might be the biggest change.
“But I’m really looking forward to the next season in my life. It’s going to be good, I feel good about myself and what I have to offer, and the responses I’ve gotten from those who are looking at possibly employing me.”
He expressed his gratitude to the people of Franklin. “I love Franklin, I love the people of Franklin. It’s been my joy, my honor and my privilege to serve the people of Franklin. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
Franklin Mayor-Elect Eugene Foulcard may be seeking the ouster of Franklin Police Chief Sabria McGuire after he takes office July 1.
The Banner-Tribune has received numerous calls on the matter from city residents.
When contacted, Foulcard said he would withhold his comments on the situation until after his inauguration.
Likewise, McGuire chose not to comment, and gave as her reason: She is still discharging her duties as a civil servant and does not think it would be appropriate, saying only, “I haven’t yet received anything in writing.”
However, according to a report filed June 8, by KATC, Foulcard said he plans on “going in a different direction” as pertains to the police department, and cited the city charter as the authority for his appointment of a new department head there.
But Deputy State Examiner Jackie Cummings informed the television station that, “You can’t just come in and clean house of classified employees,” adding that McGuire, as Chief of Police, holds a classified position.
Cummings, in answer to a request for comment from the Banner-Tribune, referred to the revised statutes concerning the Police Officer’s Bill of Rights in municipalities and parishes.
Part of the statute states, “Any discipline, demotion, dismissal, or adverse action of any sort whatsoever taken against a police employee or law enforcement officer without complete compliance with the foregoing minimum standards is an absolute nullity.”
Furthermore, Cummings pointed out that there is a board of appeals as the recourse for any regular classified service employee who feels they have been terminated or subjected to disciplinary action unjustly.
In such a case, the statute states that within 15 days of the issued action, the employee can, “demand in writing a hearing and investigation by the board to determine the reasonableness of the action. The board shall grant the employee a hearing and investigation within 30 days after receipt of the written request.”
As of Monday morning, authorities were still looking for an inmate who escaped from the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center in Centerville.
A Friday night news release from the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office reported the inmate’s escape. The escape comes less than two weeks after four other inmates escaped from the jail and were subsequently captured.
No official information has been released on how the most recent inmate escaped or when he may have escaped.
The escaped inmate was identified as Jeremy Anthony Perez, 25, of the 500 block of Lake Dauterive Road in New Iberia. Perez is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 143 pounds with brown eyes and blonde hair. The inmate was last wearing green colored jail clothing. A warrant has been secured for Perez’ arrest on a charge of simple escape, the release said.
Perez had been incarcerated at the jail on charges of aggravated flight from an officer, no driver’s license, careless operation, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail was set at $6,750.
Anyone with any information regarding Perez or his whereabouts is asked to contact the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office at 337-828-1960 or 985-384-1622.
On June 3, the sheriff’s office reported that four inmates had escaped from parish jail. Authorities captured those inmates within the next two days. Three deputies were fired for allegedly not following proper security protocol in that case. No additional details were given as to what protocol the deputies failed to follow.
Six suspects were arrested in connection with the four inmates’ escape and charged with assisting escape.
Franklin Banner-Tribune
P.O. Box 566, Franklin, LA 70538
Phone: 337-828-3706
Fax: 337-828-2874
Morgan City Review
1014 Front Street, Morgan City, LA 70380
Phone: 985-384-8370
Fax: 985-384-4255