Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
July 7
Mary Bass, 35, Glenmora — stalking, unlawful communication, obstruction public highway, $1,000 bail;
Richard Handal, 30, Alexandria — unauthorized entry inhabited dwelling, $2,500 bail;
Sergio Hernandez, 22, Pineville — rape 2nd degree, $250,000 bail.
This date: 15 arrests, 4 including one or more contempt counts.
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
July 7
Teresa Feduccia, 24, Pineville — possession, theft, $500 bail.
By Brad Dison
In the spring of 1925, a wealthy diamond merchant from Strasburg, Germany, named I. Lasker had his personal secretary make arrangements to transport a consignment of precious stones valued at about $100,000 from Vienna, Austria to Budapest, Hungary via airplane. Adjusted for inflation, that would be just under $1,800,000 in today’s money. Lasker could have shipped the diamonds through the mail, but he deemed that too risky. He could have sent them with his personal secretary, but he deemed this too risky as well. To ensure that nothing happened to the valuable cargo, Lasker had decided to charter a plane and deliver the stones himself. Lasker’s brother would await their arrival in Budapest and was instructed to spread the alarm if anything out of the ordinary happened.
On the day of the flight, Lasker and his personal secretary made their way to the Austrian airfield. Lasker and his secretary boarded the small plane and made themselves comfortable. Minutes later, the pilot took off and flew to the southeast on what should have been an uneventful 150-mile flight. But this flight was anything but uneventful. As Lasker peered out of the airplane’s small window, a cloth doused with chloroform was pressed over his nose and mouth. Out of surprise, Lasker gasped which drew the powerful anesthetic into his lungs. He had little time to fight back. Within moments, he was unconscious.
Lasker’s brother waited uneasily at the airfield in Budapest. He knew precisely when his brother was due to arrive with the valuable cargo and the time had passed. He watched the skies in anticipation of the arrival of the chartered airplane. As the old idiom goes, “a watched pot never boils.” Lasker’s brother paced, checked his watch, scanned the skies, and paced some more. Minutes felt like hours. As per his instructions, Lasker’s brother notified the police of the missing plane. Search parties hunted for the missing plane and its occupants along the airplane’s flight path. Five days later, searchers found Lasker’s lifeless body near Sophronia or Shopronia, Austria. Sources vary on the spelling of the town’s name and neither appear on modern maps. Investigators determined that Lasker had been drugged, murdered, and his body had been thrown from the airplane.
The search for the missing plane quickly turned into a murder investigation. Investigators learned that Lasker’s private secretary and the pilot, whom Lasker’s secretary had hired, devised the plot to steal the diamonds. Greed is a powerful motivator. Once Lasker’s body had been thrown from the plane, the pilot continued flying the plane to the southeast. The pilot landed the plane in a secluded spot somewhere in Bulgaria. Once again, greed took over. Police determined that once they landed in Bulgaria, Lasker’s secretary killed the pilot to avoid sharing the proceeds of the robbery and destroyed the airplane. Lasker’s secretary was never captured. Lasker’s secretary had committed the perfect crime and, although his name has been lost to history, he is remembered because he committed the first murder in an airplane.
Sources:
1. Chicago Tribune, June 12, 1925, p.1.
2. The Bridgeport Telegram, June 13, 1925, p.2.
3. The Day (New London, Connecticut), June 13, 1925, p.6.
4. The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pennsylvania), June 13, 1925, p.3.
5. The Sioux City Journal, June 13, 1925, p.3.
By JIM BUTLER
With apologies to the Captain, what the School Board had was a failure to communicate.
After last month’s meeting members evidently ran into constituent grumbling over pricey additions to some District 62 construction contracts.
Labeled change orders for unanticipated work, they were not all that, as it turns out.
Officials from Tudor Construction, one of the contractors involved, and CSM, the overseer of the $100 million bond project, were on hand at this month’s meeting to clear the air.
Bottom line — change orders are amendments to a contract to cover costs of issues found on site — for example unexpected asbestos removal and mitigation.
Changes in scope are requested additions to a project already underway — for example a customer’s decision to soundproof rooms.
When previously sent to the Board for approval all were lumped under “change order.”
Changes in scope sought by principals will henceforth go to the Board as requests rather than as bid settings.
Board members noted the bond issue projects development went through a protracted discussion and evaluation process and clearly feel any additions should get prior consideration and approval before execution.
The changes in project scope already underway all are within the funds allocated to the schools involved.
In another bond issue-related item, the Board approved the ASH maintenance fund loaning about $52,000 to complete funding for track and field facilities improvements.
The work is a bond issue item but the total bid exceeded funds available by that sum.
The Board had hoped to realize the difference when bids were opened Monday for the remaining ASH work – an additional classroom wing.
But that bid date had to be extended to July 15 due to technical issues in the specifications package.
That left the time frame for accepting the track bids expiring before the classrooms bid is received.
The maintenance fund loan will be repaid from bond funds if the classrooms bid leaves leftover money.
As for the Captain, if you wonder, Google search Paul Newman. We’re not talking salad dressing.
By DOUG IRELAND and JASON PUGH, Journal Sports
There was no sure thing that former Northwestern State All-American David Fry would even be in the big leagues at midseason, despite a very solid rookie year in 2023 with the Cleveland Guardians.
Now Fry is on the American League All-Star Team. He made the cut Sunday as rosters were set for the July 16 All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington – 15 miles from Fry’s high school alma mater, Grapevine, and 18 miles from his home in Colleyville.
Fry is among three All-Stars with Louisiana ties. Last year’s No. 1 MLB Draft pick, former LSU pitcher Paul Skenes, became the first No. 1 pick ever to make the All-Star Game in his first season when the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander was selected for the National League roster. Bossier City native and Parkway product Seth Lugo, a nine-year MLB veteran after being a 34th-round pick from Centenary College, was one of the American League pitchers chosen and could be the AL starter – he leads the majors with 11 wins for Kansas City.
Fry has been a spark as Cleveland has been surprisingly successful. The Guardians, 10 games under .500 last year, lead the AL Central with a 56-32 record. Cleveland led all AL teams with five All-Star selections.
Fry’s rapid rise to rank among baseball’s best was mind-boggling. Asked Sunday if he dared to dream about making the All-Star Game, he said, “maybe the Triple-A All-Star Game.”
Fry was drafted by Milwaukee six years ago and was the “player to be named later” in a 2022 trade to Cleveland. After displaying a live bat and defensive versality in spring training last year, he got the call from Triple-A Columbus to Cleveland last May 1 and has made impact since.
He was selected to the ASG as a designated hitter, but has played catcher, infield and outfield positions in both his MLB seasons. He even made a couple of late-game pitching appearances last year.
In 66 games entering Sunday, Fry already has established career highs in games played, at-bats (187), runs (29), hits (57), doubles (14), home runs (8), RBIs (33), walks (29) and stolen bases (4). His .305 average would be tied for eighth in Major League Baseball if he had enough at-bats to qualify. His .920 OPS mark would stand 11th, sandwiched between Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman.
Fry, 28, was a seventh-round draft pick in 2018 following an All-American season for the Demons in which he earned Southland Conference Player of the Year, All-Louisiana Hitter of the Year and Southland Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. He led Northwestern State to its latest NCAA Tournament appearance, and a Corvallis Regional win over San Diego State.
He will be the second former Demon on an All-Star Game roster, following 2019 National Baseball Hall of Famer Lee Smith, a seven-time All-Star from Castor who played basketball during his time at NSU. Smith signed a combined basketball-baseball scholarship with the Demons out of high school, but subsequently was signed by the Chicago Cubs and played minor league baseball while pursuing his favorite sport, basketball, in 1 ½ seasons for NSU coach Tynes Hildebrand before being persuaded by the Cubs to focus on his pitching career.
With his selection to the All-Star Game, Fry becomes the first Northwestern State alum to be selected to an American-based professional league All-Star Game since the 2004 NFL season, when Terrence McGee of the Buffalo Bills made the Pro Bowl as a kick returner. NSU’s football program has produced nine Pro Bowl players, including Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Jackie Smith.
A four-time All-Southland Conference selection at Northwestern State, Fry left Natchitoches as the program’s career record holder in at-bats (851), doubles (74) and total bases (431) while sharing the program’s home run record (31). He remains the record holder in all of those categories except home runs.
He is second all-time in school history in hits (256) and RBIs (156) and remains in the top 10 in program history in runs scored (154, 7th), hit by pitch (29, T-9th) and walks (89, 10th).
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com
Contact Jason at pughj@nsula.edu
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
July 4
Weapons
Terry Archinard, 44, Alexandria — illegal possession stolen firearm, firearm with drugs, possession 4 counts, paraphernalia, contempt 2 counts, $13,000 bail;
Christopher Forbes, 27, Ball — aggravated assault with firearm, battery, $3,000 bail;
Other
Blake Bordelon, 34, Marksville — violation protective order first offense 8 counts, unlawful communication, $9,000 bail;
Kenneth Martin, 32, Alexandria — felony flight, domestic abuse battery child present 2 counts, resisting 5 counts, obstruction public passage, disturbing peace, $9,000 bail;
Jeremiah Torres, 19, Pineville — aggravated battery 2nd degree, $10,000 bail.
This date: 15 arrests, 7 including one or more contempt counts.
July 5
Weapons
Jamari Harris, 20, Alexandria — discharging firearms, resisting, $1,000 bail;
Gary Mathews Jr., 19, Alexandria — illegal possession stolen firearm, discharging firearm where prohibited, resisting, $1,500 bail;
Matthew Snowden Jr., 19, Alexandria — discharging firearm, resisting, $1,000 bail;
Other
James Maricle, 62, Elizabeth — criminal conspiracy, criminal damage, criminal trespass, illegal possession stolen things, contempt, $11,000 bail.
This date: 11 arrests, 5 with one or more contempt counts.
July 6
Kevin Harris, 57, Alexandria — domestic abuse battery serious injury, illegal possession stolen things, no bail set;
Jason Tullos, 47, Deville — domestic abuse battery serious injury, battery on infirm, no bail set.
This date: 12 arrests, 3 with one or more contempt counts.
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
July 4
Colby Deville, 28, Alexandria — possession, possession stolen vehicle, theft of motor vehicle, $8,000 bail;
Gregory Hosier, 56, Alexandria — possession 2 counts, solicitation on interstate highway, contempt 2 counts, $3,500 bail.
July 5
Daniel Bakies, 42, Alexandria — possession, $2,500 bail.
July 6
Arthur Morris Jr., 26, Alexandria — possession with intent, no headlight, $500 bail.
A winner will be selected by RRJ Management. All decision are final, and contest rules can change without notice.
The Rapides Parish Journal and Hahn Roofing are giving you a chance to win pairs of tickets to the Mud Racing Nationals, Friday July 26, at the Rapides Parish Coliseum.
Registration begins Monday July 8. The Rapides Parish Journal will select a winner after the registration closes Tuesday July 23. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, July 24.
Register to win the tickets and receive a free lifetime subscription of the Rapides Parish Journal.
By JIM BUTLER
Another day, another teen accused of gun violence. Such seems to be summer in the city though not what The Lovin’ Spoonful had in mind all those years ago.
Jaquarrius Brevelle, 18, was booked Wednesday in a shooting back in May on Fred Loop.
Held under $1 million bail, he is charged with attempted second-degree murder, possession of a stolen firearm and, by the way illegal handling of a machine gun.
You read correctly — allegedly a machine gun.
What is responsible for a rash of young hooligans allegedly armed with guns — rite of passage, initiation rite, peer pressure, or something else – is for debate outside law enforcement.
The judicial system will eventually decide guilt or innocence (assuming resolution occurs). Cause and effect is a different forum.
A person shot in the May 26 incident subsequently died at an area hospital. Name, age and gender has not been released, nor have circumstances of the situation.
Perhaps or perhaps not related — a woman living at the same Third Street address as Brevelle was also booked Wednesday and charged with obstruction of justice by tampering with evidence.
BATON ROUGE – Surrounded by reporters in late June 2019 at the Manning Passing Academy where he was a counselor, Joe Burrow made one of the boldest proclamations ever uttered by an LSU quarterback considering the historically conservative Tigers had never averaged more than 38.6 points in a season.
“I think we’re going to score a lot of points,” Joe Cool said. “And I don’t think a lot of people are used to LSU scoring 40, 50, 60 points per game. And I think we have that capability.”
Turned out he was a man of his word.
Burrow won the 2019 Heisman Trophy by throwing an NCAA record 60 touchdown passes (averaging one per quarter) in an offense that averaged 48.4 points per game en route to a 15-0 record and the national championship.
A week ago, current LSU QB1 Garrett Nussmeier found himself in the “Burrow Hotseat” as a Manning camp counselor fielding questions from the media.
After reminding him of Burrow’s self-assured prediction for the ’19 offense, I jokingly asked if he had anything as brash to say about the 2024 offense as he takes over for departed 2023 Heisman winner Jayden Daniels who led a unit that averaged a nation’s best 45.5 points.
“Joe is an absolute dog, and he does things his way, and shoot, he’s unreal,” redshirt junior Nussmeier said. “But I don’t like to sit here and say stuff like that. That’s not who I am. I’m just going to let our play do the talking. And I’m excited for Vegas.”
In Las Vegas on Sept. 1 when the Tigers face Southern Cal in the ’24 season opener, it’s the first time Nussmeier has opened a season as a starting quarterback since 2020 as a senior at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas.
He came to LSU as an immature gunslinging four-star recruit, the son of longtime college and NFL offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier.
And now, after playing in 18 games spread over three seasons in which he served as backup to Daniels for the last two years, Nussmeier sounds and acts like a seasoned vet ready to finally take control as the leader of a well-oiled offense.
“I went through a lot in the last two years just learning different things,” said Nussmeier, who played as a true freshman in 2021 under former head coach Ed Orgeron and inexperienced offensive coordinator Jake Peete before transitioning in 2022 to new head Brian Kelly and O-coordinator Mike Denbrock. “There was a different coaching staff, a different system, a new culture and way we do things.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a person. I’ve learned a lot of important lessons, like putting all my trust and faith in God, keeping my head down and working.”
Nussmeier’s patience and undeniable loyalty (“Being the quarterback of LSU has been a dream of mine since I was a kid,” he said) are becoming rare in this new era of college football ruled by transfer portal and NIL deals rule. Half of the projected starting QBs in the 16-team SEC in the upcoming season are transfers.
More often than not, quarterbacks transfer after no later than just two seasons if they aren’t getting substantial playing time. Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning wants to see more patience among young signal-callers itching to play.
“If you choose to transfer, you’ve got to learn a new (offensive) system,” Manning said. “It takes a couple of years to truly get comfortable in a system. There are rewards for the guys that stay and get comfortable in a system.
“Because they’ve had so many reps, they know where the first, second and third reads are in a play. That’s the best way to learn and grow.”
Other Manning camp counselors, such as Georgia starting QB Carson Beck, are examples of having the patience to position themselves for success.
Beck played 12 games in his first three seasons for Georgia, sticking it out even when 2021 national title-winning QB Stetson Bennett decided to return for 2022 and not turn pro.
Last season, a confident Beck started 14 games for the 13-1 Bulldogs and finished third nationally and first in the SEC in passing yards.
“Even now, coming back for my second year as a starter and building chemistry all last season and in this off-season with a lot of guys coming back, I have an even greater comfort level,” Beck said.
Nussmeier’s ReliaQuest Bowl MVP performance as LSU’s starter (replacing Daniels who opted out) – 395 yards and three TDs in last January’s win over Wisconsin – is proof he’ll probably fire on all cylinders from the first snap vs. the Trojans.
Honestly, he should. Burrow and Daniels, both day-one starters as transfers from Ohio State and Arizona State, had to learn new systems upon arriving in Baton Rouge. They were drastically better in their second seasons as LSU’s QB1 when they won Heismans.
Because new offensive coordinator Joe Sloan has been Nussmeier’s QB coach the last two seasons, Nussmeier is far ahead of the learning curve than Burrow and Daniels were heading into their LSU debut seasons.
“I always prided myself, even when I was the backup. to do the best I could to help our program,” Nussmeier said. “I’m excited to hopefully prove the people right that believed in me and in us.”
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com
Growing up in the country, we often had to “make do” when we needed a tool, toy, do-hickey or whatchamacallit.
I can still vividly recall the intricate system of roads, bridges and hills my brother, two cousins and I fashioned underneath our house, which sat high enough off the ground to allow crawl space. Using nothing but youthful vocal chords, we created the sound of engines whining, gears clanking and brakes squealing as our vehicles made their way over sandy roads and across bridges.
There, however, wasn’t a Tonka to be found. In fact, I doubt this popular brand of toy trucks and earth movers had yet been invented. Our vehicles? Brown snuff bottles. Our grandmother, who lived next door, was an avid snuff dipper and dipped and spat enough Garrett during her lifetime to half fill the Big Gully, a deep and wide chasm in the woods near our house. Thus, brown snuff bottles were never in short supply.
Then there were our handy flow-through fish baskets. Before collapsible wire baskets made their way to Goldonna, we used burlap bags, (toe-sacks, to us) to keep our fish fresh.
Before heading to the creek for a mess of fish, we didn’t drive to the bait shop for a basket of crickets; we’d dig our own bait out behind the cow barn. Flipping cow patties with a sharp shooter shovel, it was no trouble to extract enough red wigglers to catch all the goggle-eyes and stump perch we cared to clean.
I was abruptly thrust back to the snuff bottle – toe sack – cow patty days recently when my daughter and her family came for a visit. Keith, my son-in-law, was anxious to show me an intriguing contraption for catching fish bait, a device introduced to him by his brother.
“First, you find two sticks,” Keith explained as he walked me through the process of building a worm-catcher. Picking up two small branches from where I’d trimmed the hedge, he removed the leaves and cut each off to about a foot in length.
“Then you take your knife and whittle out notches in one of the sticks. That’s all there is to it,” he added as he serrated the stick with his pocket knife.
The proof was when Keith took his worm-finder to one of Kay’s flower beds and went to work. First, he planted the notched stick firmly against the ground, holding it in his left hand. With his right hand, he rapidly raked the smooth stick up and down over the serrated stick to produce a fluttering, whirring sound, something not unlike the sound a brown snuff bottle truck makes when it’s climbing a hill.
“Just wait,” Keith said, assuming I was starting to question my daughter’s wisdom in selecting her life’s mate. “You’ll see.”
He was right. Within a minute after beginning his worm-charming episode, night crawlers begin emerging from the mulch by the dozens, apparently agitated by the vibration.
I became interested enough in the idea of “charming” worms that I headed for the internet. I learned that worm charming is nothing new; in fact, they even have worm charming championships in England that have been in effect for decades.
This competition is to see who can entice the most worms out of the ground within a designated time period. How do they do it in jolly ole England?
The ground is banged with garden forks or sticks and because of the vibration of the soil, the worms come to the surface. There was even a man playing a saxophone near the ground.
Why am I just now finding out about these innovative methods of catching fish bait? You think I couldn’t have impressed the cow patty/sharp shooter crowd back then if I’d been able to charm up some fishing worms with a couple of sticks, or a garden rake, or a kazoo?
Life ain’t fair.
Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com
The Louisiana State Fiddle Championship will be held on July 20, in conjunction with the 44th annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival. The Fiddle Championship will be held at 1 p.m. in the Magale Recital Hall located at 175 Sam Sibley Drive on the Northwestern State University campus. Fiddlers may compete in the championship or non-championship, as well as in the twin fiddle category. Registration is at noon in the first-floor foyer outside the Magale Recital Hall. The Fiddle Championship winner will
perform on the main stage in Prather Coliseum at 5 p.m.
Fiddling is a huge part of Louisiana music, culture, and tradition. The Championship competition serves to preserve, celebrate, and appreciate the traditional sounds of Louisiana. It is always the hope of the competitors, judges, moderators, and fans to encourage and promote young fiddlers to rosin up their bows and be a part of not only the competition, but to join in the jam sessions that follow, and to pursue their musical passions, carrying on this important tradition.
Clancey Stewart, 2018 champion and 2023 2 nd place finisher, stated that playing the fiddle and participating in competitions such as the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship is “a way to connect with people from all walks of life. Every culture has its own spin on genres, whether or not you can speak the same language. I may not understand the words that they are singing, but I understand the melodies, and the melodies tell a story themselves. It’s a way to connect with people.”
This year’s competition will host memorable faces, such as Stewart’s, as many past champions will once more grace the stage in hopes of claiming the 2024 Louisiana State Fiddle Championship title. 2023 champion, Curry Perkins of Ragley, LA, will also be present, serving as one of the judges for this year’s competition. There will be fiddling in multiple divisions and age ranges, including non-championship divisions, championship divisions, and twin fiddles. Dr. Shane Rasmussen, director of the Championship and festival, is always pleased with the level of talent each player brings to the Championship and expects this year to continue the excitement as the fiddlers once more “bring the noise” and their phenomenal level of artistry which is pivotal to keeping the tradition of Louisiana music and fiddling alive and thriving here in Natchitoches.
NSU graduate student and Louisiana Folklife Center intern Kristen Townsend observes that “Fiddling is a huge part of Louisiana music, culture, and tradition. The Championship competition serves to preserve, celebrate, and appreciate the traditional sounds of Louisiana. It is always the hope of the competitors, judges, moderators, and fans to encourage and promote young fiddlers to rosin up their bows and be a part of not only the competition, but to join in the jam sessions that follow, and to pursue their musical passions, carrying on this important tradition.”
Held in air-conditioned Prather Coliseum, the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival features three stages of live music, over 75 crafts people, Louisiana cuisine food vendors, dance lessons, informances, narrative sessions, on-site demonstrations, and more. Admission to this family friendly event is $10 for an all-day all event pass, with children 12 and under admitted free all day. For information go to https://www.nsula.edu/folklife/.
For information on pre-registering to compete in the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship as well as Championship rules and prize information, call the Louisiana Folklife Center at (318) 357-4332, email folklife@nsula.edu or go to https://www.nsula.edu/folklife/statefiddlechampionship/ .
Support for the festival is provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the City of Natchitoches, the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, and the State of Louisiana. The festival is sponsored by C&H Precision Machining, City Bank, Cleco, Evans Family, LLC, the Harrington Law Firm, International Paper, Natchitoches Wood Preserving Company, and Young Estate, LLC.
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
June 27
Nickolas Doyal, 25, Ville Platte — OWI 1st, open container, general speed law, no insurance, 1:04 am, $1,300 bail;
Steve Sykes, 48, Alexandria — OWI 3rd, running yellow light, running stop sign, suspension/revocation, expired MVI, cancelled plate, 5:41 am, $30,500 bail.
June 29
Alexander Howard, 39, Pineville — OWI, improper lane usage, no signals, expired MVI, 10:57 pm, $2,300 bail;
Genaro Martinez, 42, Irving, TX — OWI 1st, speeding, tint violation, 8:17 pm, $1,200 bail;
Chassity Metoyer, 31, Alexandria — DWI 2st, 3:10 am, $670 bail;
Gary Summers, 44, Hahnville — OWI 1st, hit & run, careless operation, 6:41 am, $1,600 bail.
June 30
Lynda Cleary, 66, Colfax — OWI, 2:34 pm, $500 bail;
Cassie Hicks, 39, Deville — DWI 2nd, 10:15 pm, $755 bail;
Omar Martinez-Ayala, 34, Forest Hill — OWI 1st, careless operation, no driver’s license, 1:51 pm, $1,200 bail.
July 1
Paul Stafford, 65, Alexandria — OWI 1st, careless operation, 6:59 pm, $1,100 bail.
July 2
John Prentice, 46, Elmer — OWI 1st, open container, careless operation, seat belt violation, 8:03 am, $1,300 bail.
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
July 2
Nicholas Bulger, 55, Ball — aggravated domestic abuse battery child present, contempt 2 counts, $5,000 bail.
This date: 15 arrests, 5 with one or more contempt counts.
July 3
Weapons
Jaquarrius Brevelle, 18, Alexandria — attempted murder 2nd degree, illegal handling machine gun, possession stolen firearm, $1,000,000 bail;
Joseph Gray, 28, Alexandria — illegally carrying weapon, obstruction evidence tampering, contempt 3 counts, $20,000 bail;
James Wise, 45, Hineston — convicted felon with firearm 3 counts, firearm with drugs, theft of firearm, possession, burglary, $60,000 bail;
Other
Drangelo Fontenot, 22, Alexandria — domestic abuse battery, resisting, $2,000 bail;
Marquita Herron, 37, Alexandria — theft of motor vehicle, $1,500 bail;
Mary Landry, 44, Alexandria — obstruction evidence tampering, $10,000 bail.
This date: 16 arrests, 6 including one or more contempt counts.
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
July 2
Joshua Daniels, 24, Alexandria — possession, contraband, unauthorized entry occupied dwelling, probation violation, $4,500 bail;
Cyntoria Horn, 33, Alexandria — possession with intent, $5,000 bail.
By JIM SMILIE
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry is in a hurry.
Not because he had a limited amount of time to speak to the packed house at Tuesday’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Alexandria. And not because his aides were eager to move him along to the next item on his calendar. He said he is in a hurry to implement new programs to move the state forward.
“The media says we’re moving too fast. I think we’re not moving fast enough,” Landry told the crowd filling Alexandria Convention Hall. “When you’re behind, I don’t think you can go fast enough.”
Landry noted that when he campaigned for governor, he made several promises to address crime/public safety, education and the state economy. And, in his first six months in office, he said those items have been among his primary initiatives.
He called for a special session specifically to address crime and public safety. “We passed 20 bills in 10 days to respond to the needs of the people of this state,” Landry said. He cited the expansion of the drug courts as an important measure he believes will provide long-term benefits.
“The most important thing we did is create transparency and give victims a voice,” Landry said. Part of that effort includes clarifying sentencing. “Both the defendant and the victim should know how long a person will be incarcerated,” he said. “It should be clear to a third grader. You shouldn’t need a Harvard professor to figure out how long someone will be incarcerated.”
Once the regular session of the State Legislature convened, Landry focused on education and the economy. “For teachers, we are going to focus on the relationship between the teacher and the child,” Landry said. “So, we put together a program called ‘Let the Teachers Teach.’”
Landry said his goal is to make it easier for teachers to focus on educating students rather than dealing with ancillary mandates and challenges. “We don’t need teachers to be social workers. If we need social workers, we’ll get them, but we want teachers to teach,” he said.
The governor also cited the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP), allowing parents to have a choice in schools, as a significant accomplishment. “This is the first step to getting Louisiana off the bottom because your tax dollars will follow your child,” Landry said. He noted Florida implemented a similar approach about 20 years ago. “They went from last to first in 20 years. I think we can do better than that,” Landry said.
He noted the program is designed to be implemented in phases. “We are starting with special needs students and with the lowest income families,” he said, noting additional groups will be added in future phases.
Regarding the economy, Landry said, “We had a tremendous conversation about how can we make Louisiana open for business,” Landry said. To that end, he said they looked at economic development efforts across the country. “We didn’t want to copy what others are doing,” he said. “We wanted to see what was effective and find ways to make it fit Louisiana.”
Among the changes implemented are an overhaul of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LED) and a streamlining of recognizing professional licenses from other states. “We had doctors who moved to Louisiana who had to wait months to be able to practice,” Landry said. “When you have a doctor shortage, that doesn’t work too well.”
Another highlight Landry mentioned is the allocation of $370 million for road maintenance. And, Landry indicated changes are in store for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to make the department more responsive to the needs of Louisiana residents.
Healthcare is another area Landry’s administration has addressed, creating a new office of State Surgeon General. Former U.S. Congressman Dr. Ralph Abraham, who joined Landry for the Alexandria meeting, has been named the state’s first Surgeon General. “Why is that important? Because now we have a medical doctor who isn’t chained to the bureaucracy who can work with the medical community and the medical schools and the medical associations and capitalize on things that work,” Landry said.
Landry also noted that the Legislature passed 26 bills to address insurance and tort reform in the state. Some of the measures have been controversial, and Landry has heard criticism from both sides, particularly on changes to the prescriptive period for people to file injury suits. “When both sides are complaining, you know it will be good for the people,” Landry said.
He added that 48 states had a longer prescriptive period than Louisiana. “Maine has the longest period at six years, and they have the lowest insurance rates,” Landry said. He noted that allowing more time will allow insurance companies to better investigate frivolous suits from legitimate cases. “We can count the number of lawsuits that were filed last year and then in two years we can count the number of lawsuits filed and I guarantee you it will be lower,” Landry said.
As he wrapped up his presentation, Landry talked about other items he has his eye on, including the way criminal courts are funded. “Do you realize we fund our entire criminal court system on speeding tickets,” he said, adding he suspects Louisiana residents get more speeding tickets than drivers in other states because of the incentive to fund the court system.
In his closing remarks, Landry also addressed one of the most controversial measures he signed into law this year. “I didn’t think posting the 10 Commandments in school would be so controversial,” he said. “But it just tells me I’m right.”
Landry noted other messages are posted in schools as reminders to make good choices, such as posters encouraging children not to do drugs. “We have 10 tenets that spell out ways you can live your life and be a productive citizen,” he said, noting he sees nothing wrong with standing up for and encouraging virtue among young people.
As he wrapped up his comments, Landry closed by saying, “as we look to understand the rule of law and educational reforms we will get a government as good as you,” he said. “In four years, we won’t be 50th. We won’t be 40th – you will see us on the rise.”