By JIM BUTLER

Barring successful appeal it’s back to square one for GAEDA. As for the Police Jury it advances to the next round.

New GAEDA Commissioner John Callis had his day in court Monday, convincing Judge Monique Rauls that the February meeting at which a new director was hired was illegally held.

The ruling voids the hiring and any other action taken.

The hiring before Callis and Greg Upton could take their seats and without an advertised search to fill the post was the flashpoint for the fire storm surrounding the Authority since.

The ruling not withstanding, a called special board meeting last week was clear evidence a wide chasm still exists.

Barbara Melton, the board’s new attorney, asked for the meeting and an executive session to discuss the litigation heard Monday.

Chairman Upton could not get the required two-thirds vote for the closed confab, with the yeas and nays along now-familiar lines.

Melton did confirm that Callis, as the named plaintiff, could not have participated in the strategy session, as argued before the vote by Dr C. Ray Lewis.

The board skipped its regularly scheduled June meeting date on Tuesday of this week.

As for the Police Jury, Judge Mary Doggett ruled Monday its move for injunction relief from juror Jay Scott’s alleged intemperate actions has enough meat on the bone to go to the next round. 

President Joe Bishop filed the action in early Spring, seeking judicial restraint against Scott, who some claim has never met an F word he didn’t like.

Scott argues the legal action is rooted in his reluctance to toe the jury line.

Jurors seem a bit tongue-tied on the matter. Voting in special session this month to retain outside counsel to handle the matter they referred to it only by case number.

By JIM BUTLER

Two Alexandria suspects charged in connection with a Sunday night shooting were previously booked together on a misdemeanor charge.

Trey Robinson, 29, is charged with attempted second-degree murder.

Daria Payne, 28, is charged with accessory after the fact and obstruction of justice by evidence tampering.

Both were arrested Tuesday afternoon. Robinson, owner-manager of a Pineville cigar shop, posted $500,000 bond four hours later; Payne was still in jail Wednesday afternoon. Her bail is $100,000.

Police say the shooting occurred on West Sycamore. Circumstances leading up to the event have not been released.

Both were charged with alleged domestic abuse battery in a June 2020 arrest.

A month earlier Payne had been booked on charges of criminal damage and home invasion aggravated assault. 

Hubie Brown, named the NBA’s Coach of the Year at age 70, still works today at age 90 as an NBA analyst for ABC and ESPN.

I love Hubie. He’s always been my senior citizen role model. I want to be him when I grow up.

On Saturday in Natchitoches at age 67 after 45 years as a sportswriter for nine publications in four states, I’m being inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (which will be streamed live on lpb.org and LaSportsHall.com starting at 6 p.m.; today’s 3 p.m. press conference is on LaSportsHall.com from 3-5 o’clock).

Such an unbelievable honor plus aging forces self-reflection, something rarely done when you have the career pedal to the metal for decades.

My biggest life regret is my job consumed me. I failed miserably to balance it with my family life. My wife Paige (the smartest and best-looking one in our marriage) carried the daily load, working full time and managing the household.

She raised our sons Carl and Jackson. Both fortunately have Paige’s finest traits of intelligence and kindness and are two good men who make me extremely proud daily.

They also have unique senses of humor. I once apologized to Carl for being immersed in my career and not spending enough time with him.

He replied, “Dude, it’s okay. Just give me $10,000 and we’ll call it even.”

My Hall of Fame honor belongs more to my wife and sons than it does to me. They had to live with a maniacal perfectionist who was rarely satisfied, too driven, and always focused on the next story.

I wasn’t a person I would have liked to have been around. I apologize to my family and every managing editor or sports editor wherever I’ve worked.

A few weeks ago, I did a one-hour TV interview with Eric Asher on “Inside New Orleans Sports.” He interviewed me about my career that unofficially started at ages 8 and 13 (my first non-byline story and first byline story, both in the Baton Rouge Advocate).

I rarely go back and watch myself in any interview. But Paige viewed it and said, “I learned things you’ve done I didn’t even know about. And you always think you never accomplished enough in your career.”

I watched the interview and instantly became grateful. It’s like someone drenched me with a Gatorade cooler full of humility.

My career flashed before my eyes, the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met, and the unique situations I’ve experienced.

I once told Bear Bryant to get his team off Legion Field in pregame warmups, was 20 feet away when Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes slugged the Clemson player at the Gator Bowl, shared a Final Four halftime press room refreshment and conversation with actor Jack Nicholson, ordered a pizza 30 minutes before kickoff at a 100,000-seat college stadium to see if it could be delivered to the press box within the half-hour, and picked up a loose basketball that bounced into press row during pregame warmups at a college game and swished a 40-foot shot standing next to my seat (then sat down expressionless like it was no big deal).

I also cruised the streets of Seoul at 2 a.m. with a Korean taxi driver playing a Frank Sinatra cassette tape because he thought all Americans loved Ol’ Blue Eyes, saw an open switchblade thrown at a basketball ref, spent all night in an Atlanta emergency room with food poisoning being released just in time to cover a full day of the SEC basketball tournament, sat courtside at an SEC hoops tourney when a tornado bounced off the Georgia Dome roof, interviewed an apologetic and somewhat drunk Luc Longley who had just rehydrated with a six-pack of beer after an Olympic post-game drug test, and attended the greatest Final Four media party in history at a Kentucky horse farm in 1985.

Along the way, I’ve had so many great mentors like LSU sports information directors Ace Higgins (my late dad) and Paul Manasseh, my Baton Rouge High English teacher the late Laura Cotton, my Angelina College journalism teacher Cassy Burleson, former Advocate sports editor Mike McKenzie and the entire family of the late Joe “String Music” Dean Sr. who became my emotional rescue after my dad died when I was 12.

A huge thanks to my first daily newspaper boss Gerry Robichaux for hiring me, to editor Stan Tiner for hiring me twice in different locales, to the late Advocate prep editor Ted Castillo for assigning me to cover games when I wasn’t old enough to own a driver’s license, to former Scripps-Howard sports editor Marvin West who sent me around the world to cover the Olympics, to former Commercial Appeal executive sports editor John Stamm who always had my back and to longtime friend Jim Kleinpeter and James O’Byrne for bringing me back to Louisiana as a NOLA.com/Times-Picayune columnist after three decades away from home.

And finally, thank you to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, especially Doug Ireland (the unofficial mayor of Natchitoches) and the multi-talented soon-to-be Reverend Raymond Partsch III for making my Hall of Fame honor an unexpected reality.

In the meantime, as long as my employer considers my age and experience a plus and my health is good, I’ll aim to become the Hubie Brown of Sportswriters.

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

You’re invited, free of charge, this evening from 5-7 to a star-studded casual party kicking off the 2024 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration.

It’s in downtown Natchitoches, at the Hall of Fame museum at 800 Front Street (at the traffic circle) in Natchitoches. No need to dress fancy, just enjoy food and refreshments and music and a world-class museum, mingling with some of our state’s greatest sports stars and their families.

The Welcome Reception provides the best possible opportunity to stroll around the 27,500-square foot museum – and to take in the debut of the “Showtime: LSU’s Spectacular Pistol Pete” exhibit in the Atmos Energy Gallery on the first floor. It includes dozens of photos, many taken by Baton Rouge photographer John Musemeche behind the scenes and never seen in public before, encompassing basketball legend Pete Maravich’s days at LSU from 1967-70.

Ralph Jukkola, who is on LSU’s All-Decade Team for the 1960s and was a Maravich teammate, is planning to come up from Baton Rouge to represent his Tiger comrades.

Another LSU basketball legend, Seimone Augustus, headlines the Class of 2024 inductees who will be attending Thursday’s reception. Augustus, from Baton Rouge, is heading into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in October after joining the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in April. She is a three-time USA Olympic gold medalist, one of the greatest players in WNBA history, and is immortalized with a statue outside the Maravich Assembly Center at LSU along with Shaquille O’Neal, Bob Pettit and Pistol Pete.

Flying in from Michigan to be inducted is 1992 Olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson, a three-time All-American wrestler at LSU from 1983-85. Jackson later was a two-time Olympic wrestling coach, inducted in LSU’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.

New Iberia native Kerry Joseph is the new quarterbacks coach of the Chicago Bears, developing 2022 Heisman Trophy winner and 2024 NFL Draft No. 1 pick Caleb Williams. Joseph’s 19-year pro playing career – in which he played quarterback, H-back, and safety in six NFL seasons and became a Grey Cup MVP at quarterback as a standout in the Canadian Football League – followed a record-shattering four seasons at QB for the McNeese Cowboys.

Coming in from South Carolina to be inducted is former Tulane basketball coach Perry Clark, who guided the Green Wave to their only three NCAA Tournament appearances after reviving the program in the early 1990s.

Renowned jockey Ray Sibille, ranking among the best American riders ever with over 4,200 wins, is rolling up I-49 from his home in Sunset to be enshrined. He will be joined by iconic Grambling baseball coach Wilbert Ellis and another incredible coach, Frank Monica, who led three different south Louisiana teams to LHSAA football state championships.

Former Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett, a Louisiana Tech graduate, is in the Class of 2024 along with sports writers Bobby Ardoin, who got his start writing for Northwestern State’s student newspaper, and Ron Higgins.  The other two members of the Class of 2024’s dynamic dozen, former New Orleans Saints star Drew Brees and Daniel Cormier, a two-time Olympic wrestler who became one of MMA’s greatest figures, will be inducted Saturday night during a sold-out ceremony at the Natchitoches Events Center.

There’s no need to dress up tonight. Just come in, and enjoy the visit to a world-class museum with 491  sports heroes celebrated inside, with some of them beginning their LSHOF induction weekend.

Just ahead — the free Friday evening Rockin’ River Fest concert on the downtown riverbank stage. Music starts at 6, with the Class of 2024 inductees introduced on stage at 9:15, followed by a 10-minute fireworks show set to sports-themed music. Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs, the second of two Louisiana Music Hall of Fame bands, will fire back up the music for another hour until 10:30.

There will be a free kids zone presented by Louisiana Propane Dealers with games under the Front Street bridge, and food vendors along with beverages available for sale.

You’re invited to all the fun. Visit LaSportsHall.com or call 318-238-4255 to get more information.

It sounds like something you might see in a horror movie. A monster attacks helpless defenseless people who have no way of escape as it mutilates and destroys everyone in its path.

There is a disease spreading across the country among cervids including whitetailed deer, elk, moose that is strikingly similar to the fictitious monster from the movies. When an animal contracts the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), they die; there is no cure.

The Ruston Rotary Club heard ULM professor Dr. Kim Marie Tolsto, share grim details of what happens once deer become affected by CWD. The disease has been documented in 22 states and as of January, 2022, Louisiana was added to that list. The malady so far has only been found in Tensas Parish but neighboring parishes are likely to learn the disease has spread to their locales.

Just exactly what is Chronic Wasting Disease? Dr. Tolston explained it and why it is impossible to cure.

“It is caused by prions that cause the brain of affected animals to form holes much like a sponge. These prions are proteins, not living organisms which means you can’t kill them,” she said.

“How does a deer get these proteins? It has to be ingested and spreads from one animal to another from saliva, urine, feces or other body fluids. If an infected deer feeds at a feeder and for instance drops a grain of corn or two and another deer eats it, it becomes infected.”

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has published regulations concerning deer that are taken in the control area, which includes all of Tensas Parish along with portions of Madison, Concordia, Franklin and East Carroll Parishes. These controls include prohibiting of baiting, placement of bait or hunting over bait. In addition, only meat that has been cut, boned out and wrapped with no part of the spinal column or head may be taken from the control area.

Eddie Barnes, a Ruston businessman, has a hunting lease in Tensas Parish and he shares his impression of what he has observed since CWD entered Tensas.

“There have been 22 deer that have tested positive in Tensas, our club has shot 16 of them,” said Barnes. “The only way to stop it is to reduce the number of deer. We have some 800 deer on our club and we have been instructed by LDWF to get the number down to 400. We hate to have to do it but it seems the only way we can reduce the spread is to take out lots of deer.

“After we shoot them, they are placed in coolers and LDWF comes and removes the heads and tests them for CWD. The deer that are cleared as not having it are quartered with bones removed, meat packaged and are taken to the Deer Factory in Dubach which processes the meat and donates it to Hunters for the Hungry.”

According to Dr. Tolston, the prions can remain active for at least 10 years. “There was a pen where infected elk that had tested positive for CWD and were all shot and removed. Ten years later, more elk were put in the pen and they all contracted CWD because the prion was still active on the ground where they were penned,” she said.

“The disease affects not only mature deer but even fawns have been found with CWD. The only way to help control it is to reduce the number of deer in affected area because if one gets it, likely as not the entire herd will,” she noted.

The monster in the movies that wipes out victims is bad, but it’s just a movie. Chronic Wasting Disease is worse because it’s real. The entire deer hunting industry in Louisiana could eventually be subject to restrictions if CWD continues to spread.

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

Arrests are accusations, not convictions.

June 18

Weapons

Trey Robinson, 29, Alexandria — attempted murder 2nd degree, $500,000 bail;

Other

Jesse Williams, 38, Olla  — felony fugitive, burglary, parole violation, $10,000 bail;

Alisa Kelley, 28, Colfax — injuring public record, insurance fraud, $2,000 bail;

Bronson Morgan, 28, Pineville — theft 2 counts, monetary instrument abuse use/possession counterfeit or forged 13 counts, $2,500 bail;

Tal Morgan, 60, Pineville — criminal conspiracy, monetary instrument abuse 8 counts, no bail set;

Jennifer Nations, 40, Pineville — criminal conspiracy, monetary instrument abuse 8 counts, no bail set;

Daria Payne, 28, Alexandria — accessory after fact, obstruction evidence tampering, $100,000 bail.

This date: 19 arrests, 8 including one or more contempt counts.

Arrests are accusations, not convictions. 

June 18

Robert Bates, 61, Boyce — possession 2 counts, paraphernalia, $3,500 bail;

James Bennett II, 28, Boyce — possession, contempt 5 counts, $127,500 bail;

Kayne Ferrell, 23, Alexandria — possession, contributing to delinquency, allowing unlicensed person to drive, failure to appear, contempt, $3,100 bail;

Anthony Lawrence, 34, Boyce — possession, operating unsafe vehicle, $1,600 bail;

Jennifer Pennington, 44, Pineville — possession, paraphernalia, $3,000 bail. 

By JIM BUTLER

Clerk of Court Robin Hooter will hold a public hearing at 8:30 a.m. June 28 on her office’s proposed budget for the year beginning July 1.

The hearing notice projects a fund balance on June 30 of this year of $7.85 million.

In the upcoming fiscal year revenues are projected at $4.82 million.

Recurring expenses are estimated at $4.32 million and capital outlay spending at $95.7 thousand.

Those totals will result in $8.25 million in unexpended fund balance on June 30, 2025.

Most agencies do not post their budgets on their web sites and are not required to.

The detailed budget can be reviewed in Hooter’s office in the parish courthouse, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. any weekday, except today which is a holiday.

By JIM BUTLER

The Army Corps of Engineers is inviting interested persons to consider joining the Camp Livingston Restoration Advisory Board.

Four sites at the World War II training site in Rapides-Grant were determined about a year ago to be potentially hazardous.

The advisory board gives those interested an opportunity to influence decisions on the sites’ cleanup, which comes after the great majority of the half million men and women who trained there have gone on.

The Corps began cleanups at former camps across the country at the start of this century.

At Livingston the sites known or suspected to contain unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or munitions constituents (MC) are Little Creek Trail, Grenade Court No. 2, Grenade Court  and the Small Arms Range.

Aside from the obvious danger of unexploded munitions there are soil and water concerns.

The Advisory Board is a non-compensated entity. Its meetings are expected to run 2-4 hours when convened, the Corps notes.

If there is not sufficient public interest in participation the Corps will provide interested stakeholders with opportunities to receive timely and accurate information regarding the project.

Interested parties should contact Project Manager Steve Martin in Fort Worth at 214-497-9564.

His email: Steven.g.martin@uasce.army.mil

Photo: Courtesy of Camp Livingston, Louisiana

This will give you an opportunity to think about things. The application will be personal and thoughtful.

This is the story of a mountain climber, who wanted to climb the highest mountain in the land. He began his journey after decades of preparation. But since he wanted glory for himself, he decided to climb the mountain alone.

His climb started in the bright sunlight and proceeded until night. The night felt heavy in the heights of the mountain and the man could not see anything. All was black. Zero visibility since the moon and the stars were covered by the clouds.

As he was climbing, only mere feet from the top of the mountain, he slipped and fell into the air, falling at great speed. The climber could only see black spots as he went down, and the terrible sensation of being sucked down by gravity. He kept falling. . .and in those moments of great fear, it came to his mind all the good and bad experiences of his life.

He was thinking now about how close death was getting, when all of a sudden, he felt the rope tied to his waist pull him very hard.

His body was still hanging in the air…Only the rope was holding him, and in that moment of stillness he had no other choice by to scream:

HELP ME GOD!

All of a sudden, a deep voice coming from the heavens answered:

What do you want me to do?

Save me God!

Do you really think I can save you?

Of course, I believe you can.

THEN CUT THE ROPE TIED TO YOUR WAIST. . .

There was a moment of silence: the man decided to hold on to the rope with all of his strength.

The rescue team says that the next day a climber was found dead and frozen. . .his body hanging from a rope. His hands holding tightly to it. . .

Only ten feet from the ground. 

Doug de Graffenried is the Senior Pastor of Trinity Methodist Church in Ruston, Louisiana. You can reach Doug at his email:  DougDeGraffenried

Hundreds of kids who dream of playing in the pros – or, kids who just love to play – are registered for the already filled-to-capacity free New Orleans Saints & Pelicans/Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Junior Training Camp on Saturday morning on the Northwestern State campus in Natchitoches.

The JTC annually provides two hours of full throttle fun alongside Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame members and NSU coaches, and staff from the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans community relations department. It is presented by Natchitoches Regional Medical Center.

Everyone who registered should have received an email Monday with a link to an easy-to-complete JTC waiver form that needs to be submitted online by Friday at 5. Those who don’t return that form online will have to complete it Saturday morning before being able to join the fun. JTC organizers are using the online form to hopefully avoid a bottleneck of kids whose participation could be delayed by having to fill out the form on Saturday.

If there are questions about the waiver form, or if it wasn’t received, call the LSHOF Foundation office at 318-238-4255. The camp filled to capacity last month.

The LaSportsHall.com website has the full schedule for the Induction Celebration this weekend. The JTC is one of three free events, beginning with the Thursday evening Welcome Reception from 5-7 at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum at 800 Front Street in Natchitoches. The biggest free ticket is Friday night’s Rockin’ Riverfest concert from 6-10:30 on the downtown riverbank, featuring a fireworks show after the Class of 2024 is introduced at 9:15.

The Junior Training Camp runs from 9-11 a.m., starting with registration between 8-9 a.m. at the Webb Wellness and Recreation Center (WRAC) gymnasium. Due to the full capacity of 350 campers signed up, it’s important for parents to get their campers checked in well before the fun starts at 9 a.m. Then, campers get introduced to the sports stars who will be coaching them for the next two hours, inside focusing on basketball skills, and outside at Turpin Stadium, with football and general sports skills instruction.

Every camper will bring home two free T-shirts, other items, and a coupon for a meal at Raisin’ Canes. Photos from the camp will be posted on the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Facebook page, and so will a highlight video.

The goals of the JTC are simple – a fun, and thrilling, experience for the kids, free of charge; skills instruction from some of the best to ever play, or coach, the games; and promotion of health lifestyles and positive life choices.

The campers are separated into two groups. One stays inside for the first hour for basketball instruction, while the other is next door at Turpin Stadium, having football fun. The groups switch locations in the second half of the camp.

Parents can follow their favorite campers and watch all the fun from the stands in the gym and on the east side of Turpin Stadium – where it will be sunny, and hot, watching some really cool memories being made.

Arrests are accusations, not convictions.

June 17

April Hadnot, 40, Pineville — felony fugitive 2 counts, no bail set;

Dezjhaon Payne, 26, Alexandria — battery on peace officer, resisting by force or violence, disturbing peace language/conduct, possession, $8,500 bail;

Surkelyn Sykes, 19, Pineville — theft of motor vehicle, $1,500 bail;

Jesse Williams, 38, Olla — burglary, felony fugitive, parole violation, no bail set.

This date: 23 arrests, 9 including one or more contempt counts.

Arrests are accusations, not convictions. 

June 17

Weapons

Kevin Johnson, 23, Alexandria — firearm with drugs, possession, $1,000 bail;

Lionell Johnson, 25, Alexandria — firearm possession by convicted felon, firearm with drugs, possession 3 counts, suspension/revocation, tail lamps must be red, probation violation, $23,700 bail;

Other

Colby Deville, 28, Alexandria — possession, possession stolen vehicle, $2,500 bail.