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Published April 29, 2009
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BHS hosts mock DWI accident (published April 29, 2009)
A mock drunk-driving accident was staged in the Block High School parking lot
Monday to remind students not to drink and drive. With Prom coming up this
weekend, it was a timely message for the entire student body.
Sponsored by the Regional Office for Addictive Disorders in Alexandria, and
organized by Chauncey Hardy of that office, the mock accident was staged and
worked with the assistance of Block High School students, principal Donald
Money, the Jonesville Police Department, the Catahoula Parish Sheriff
’s Department, Sandy Lake Fire Department, Jonesville Fire Department, Parhams
Fire Department, Louisiana State Police, Young
’s Funeral Home, Assistant Coroner Jackie Rouse, Ryan’s Auto Salvage and Northeast Ambulance Service.
This project is an effort of the local Catahoula Parish Healthly Initiatives
Coalition.
According to Hardy, Block High School is the only school in Central Louisiana
where an accident is being staged this year. When Principal Donald Money
contacted their office and requested the mock-up, Hardy was eager to set it up.
The
“accident” involved one automobile with four students inside hitting a light pole.
The wreck was “observed” by several students who ran for help. Other students came to the scene and gave convincing performances of distress and grief at finding their
friends injured.
The student body, faculty and staff watched as John Davis, the “drunk driver,” who was basically unhurt, was arrested and handcuffed and placed in a sheriff’s patrol unit.
The scence was narrated for the on-lookers and they were told that one passenger
had died so efforts went to helping the survivors. Meanwhile,
other first responders had arrived with sirens screaming and lights flashing to
assist the victims. Fire fighters used the jaws of life to
“extract” one of the students, Suan McClure, from the front passenger seat while other
responders carefully placed another student, Jerome Jefferson, on a back board
and carried him to a waiting ambulance.
The other student, Shawanda Harbor, was pronounced “dead at the scene” by Asst. Coroner Jackie Rouse. Students watched as Shawanda was actually placed
in a body bag and then taken to the nearby hearse belonging to Young
’s Funeral Home.
As the scene was wrapping up, on-lookers heard Shawanda’s voice, the student who was “killed,” as if she were speaking to her parents and friends asking what was happening
and telling her parents she was sorry.
Principal Money and one of the State Troopers spoke to the student body before
dismissing them back to class, encouraging them be careful especially on Prom
Night.
Woman’s Club to hold Celebrity Waiter Dinner (published April 29, 2009)
The Jonesville Woman's Club is sponsoring a “Celebrity Waiter Dinner', on Friday May 8th at 6:30 p.m. in the gymnasium of
First Baptist Church in Jonesville.
In addition to the fun of having local celebrities serve you delicious food, the
evening will also be filled with some great music by Gerald Huffman and Ben
King followed by a fun filled auction where those in attendance will have the
opportunity to bid on many valuable items.
The celeritiy waiters include Sheriff James Kelly, Clerk of Court Janet Payne,
District Attorney Brad Burget, Parish Coroner Raymond Rouse, Police Jury
members Libby Ford and Delores McEntyre, Mayor Hiram Evans, School Board Member
and personnel Wayne Sanders, Curtis Shavers, and Kristi King, Jonesville
business men Darrell Floyd, Terrell Williams, and Ronny King.
The Jonesville Woman's Club contributes to many local projects including giving
a scholarship to some deserving senior, assisting with the homecoming
festivities of Block High School, making donations to the local library, as
well as sponsoring gifts during the holiday season at the local CARC center and
the nursing home.
Make plans now to attend an evening of fun and entertainment, and contribute to
a great cause.
Tickets are $25.00 per person with a delicious menu of prime rib and all the
trimmings. The dinner will be catered by Jackie's Riverside Resturant.
For further information on this fun-filled evening contact the committee from
the Woman's Club for this event, Mary Edwards, Ruth King, Jackie Rouse, Renae
Kelly, Lana Taunton, Sue Sandifer, Melissa Davis, Brenda Sones, Dianne
Nicholson, and Susan Bean.
Atkins asks Jindal for help with Great Mound dirt (published April 29, 2009)
Bill Atkins recently penned the following letter to Governor Bobby Jindal in an
effort to procure help for the Catahoula Parish Historical Society and Museum's
project to build a scale model replica of the Great Mound that once stood in
Jonesville:
Dear Governor Jindal,
The Town of Jonesville has a once in a lifetime opportunity to greatly enhance
our ability to improve our economy through tourism. And the State of Louisiana
has a once in a lifetime opportunity to make up for a past mistake. The success
of our shared opportunity depends upon saving the dirt from an ancient Indian
mound that was located in Jonesville.
The mound I’m referring to is called the Great Mound because it was the tallest in Louisiana
and the second tallest in North America. However, it was destroyed in 1931 when
the State of Louisiana built a bridge across Black River in Jonesville and used
its dirt as road fill for the bridge approach.
The state has built a new bridge to replace the 1931 structure and the dirt from
the Great Mound is obtainable. The Town of Jonesville is proceeding with plans
to build a large replica of the Great Mound by using the dirt from the original
mound.
The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians supports this endeavor and has spoken of a
ceremony in conjunction with it.
Our initial contacts with the road construction company led to us to believe
they would donate the dirt to the replica project. However, the road contractor
recently said,
“This dirt is rare”, and they would not donate it. They said they intend to haul it to another road
construction site where it will once again be used for road fill. Time is short
because the desired dirt will soon be moved out.
Please help us preserve this extremely important aspect of our Cultural Heritage
and to partially make up for a wrong that happened in 1931.
Shonda Butts to perform at Strauss Theatre (published April 29, 2009)
Shonda Butts will be performing in a play at Strauss Theatre in Monore from April 30 through May 17.
The play, Don't Dress for Dinner, is a comedy about a married man who invites his mistress for the weekend,
along with his best friend, for an alibi. Add the twist that this "best friend"
is having an affair with his wife, who decides to cancel her trip and stay
home. Stir in the fact that no one knows who is sleeping with whom and throw in
a dash of spice when the caterer, and her jealous husband each arrive and
pretend to be someone they
’re not. This is a recipe for disaster for the characters, but a generous helping of fun
for the audience.
Shonda will be playing the part of the mistress.
Ticket information and show times are available at the theatre's website, www.strausstheatre.com.
Break a leg, Shonda!
Teen killed in crash near Rosefield (published April 29, 2009)
A single vehicle crash has claimed the life of a teenager from Pollock. The crash occurred in LaSalle Parish near the Rosefield Community.
Troopers responded to the crash today around 6:30 pm, which occurred on LA Hwy
126.
The crash involved a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse, driven by Mary L. Floyd (W/F 21
yrs) of Olla, LA.
The Mitsubishi was east bound on LA Hwy 126 when Floyd lost control and exited
the right side of the roadway.
After exiting the roadway, the vehicle collided with a stump and began
overturning.
Floyd was not wearing her seatbelt and received moderate injuries. She was transported to LaSalle General for treatment. Her only passenger, Taylor N. Poole (W/F 16 yrs) of Pollock, LA, was not wearing
her seatbelt and was ejected during the crash.
She was pronounced dead.
Floyd was charged with Careless Operation.
Routine toxicology tests are pending. The crash remains under investigation.