News

On December 28 the Louisiana’s Third Circuit Court of Appeal upheld a lower court’s decision to privatize Catahoula Lake, meaning the lake is no longer a public hunting area.

The appellate court ruled in favor of 9th Judicial District Court (Rapides Parish) Ad Hoc Judge James H. Boddie Jr.’s decision on May 16, 2016 that landowners surrounding the lake actually own the majority of what is known as Catahoula Lake since the lake is “manmade.”

The trial in 2016 of the Crooks vs State lawsuit was very extensive and lasted for a long time before the decision was rendered. LaSalle Parish residents Steve and Era Crooks filed the class action lawsuit against the State of Louisiana on May 6, 2006 but it took over ten years to make it to trial.

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The Cliff Williams Memorial Foundation has provided educators in LaSalle Parish with more than $1,214,405.56 in grants since it was formed in 1990. For the current school year, a total of $39,952.75 in grants was approved by the Foundation for various teachers in the LaSalle Parish School System.

The Foundation was formed when Justiss Oil Company honored the memory of Cliff Williams with an endowment gift to be used for the educational needs of children in LaSalle Parish.

Cliff, the son of Pat and Charles Williams of Jena, was married to Jennifer Justiss Williams Loe, and is the father of Amy Williams Kunkel and Adam Williams.

Cliff was a petroleum engineer and Justiss Oil Company’s Vice-President of Drilling and Production Operations for seven years prior to his untimely death about 30 years ago.

By Huey P. O’Neal

January 9th has been designated Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (LEAD) by national organizations who support law enforcement nationwide. There is a need to show law enforcement officers that our citizens recognize the difficult task that they do to protect our communities and nation.

In 2014, law enforcement in America was changed forever after an officer was involved in a shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. The violence and negativity aimed at law enforcement following that incident sparked National Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) to implement the first L.E.A.D.

January 9 was chosen as a day to encourage citizens to do something special for their community’s peacekeepers and take the time to show their appreciation.

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A 60-year-old Summerville man was killed when the motorcycle he was riding struck a deer on LA 127 near Olla and his passenger suffered moderate injures in the crash which occurred the weekend before Christmas.

Troopers responded to the crash around 11:50 p.m., Saturday night, Dec. 22, 2018, on LA 127 at Loop Road near Olla.

The crash involved a 2008 Harley Davidson, driven by Russell Reeder, 60, of Summerville. The Harley Davidson was southbound on LA 127 when a deer entered the roadway. Reeder was unable to avoid the deer and collided with it.

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As social media continues to have a larger part of LaSalle Parish residents’ lives, The Jena Times is constantly working to improve its online resources to keep readers informed on the latest news.

For many years the LaSalle Parish newspaper has maintained its website, www.thejenatimes.net, and about seven years ago it expanded its operations to include viewing the entire paper each week on computers, laptops, phones, and other devices via its website.

In 2016, a larger effort was made to expand its online services, specifically through the world-wide interaction social media source of Facebook, and to date, that Facebook Page, “The Jena Times Olla-Tullos-Urania Signal” has over 6,600 followers.

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Property taxes for the parish and various towns were due on December 31, 2018, and if not paid during January will face interest being added to the tax bill after January 31, 2019.

The tax statements were mailed in early November by the La-Salle Parish Sheriff’s Office, as the Sheriff is the ex-officio tax collector for the parish. Taxes are based on assessments assigned by the LaSalle Parish Assessor’s office.

LaSalle Assessor Tom Kendrick’s office reports that total assessment of all property in the parish for 2018 amounts to $104,180,240, with $22,147,640 being covered by homestead exemption, leaving $82,032,600 subject to taxation. The total amount of taxes due for year 2018 in LaSalle Parish is $12,701,790.61.

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The top story in LaSalle Parish during the year just ended occurred on November 1 when an EF2 tornado with winds between 111-135 miles per hour touched down and did extensive damage along a five-mile stretch just west of Jena.

The tornado caused major damage in the Belah Community prior to hitting the Mayo Road area and all along LA 772, and then hitting homes in the Trout area. Amazingly, not a single person suffered any injury that required medical treatment.

According to the National Weather Service, approximately 100 structures were damaged in some capacity and many vehicles and property suffered damage. Power lines were downed causing power outage in the area for an extended period of time.

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History was made in LaSalle Parish on January 1, 2019, as incumbent and new officials for the four municipalities in the parish, as well as the LaSalle Parish School Board, began new terms after being elected or re-elected in November.

For the first time in the history of the parish, female mayors head up the administration in all four towns. And for the first time ever, two of those towns (Tullos and Urania) have a wife and husband team serving as mayor and chief of police.

Ten new town officials and one new school board member began their first term of office on January 1.

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The annual “Christmas for Needy Children” raffle ticket fundraiser concluded on December 14th with the winner drawings at the Jena Wal-Mart Supercenter. LaSalle Parish students sold the tickets with all money going to needy children in the LaSalle Parish School System. Over 7,000 tickets were sold, allowing almost 140 needy children to shop at Wal-Mart for toys, clothing and shoes. 

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Olla Elementary’s main building was cleared last week by the Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals for faculty and staff to move back in after a bat infestation that shut the building use down in September.

LDHH issued an order to not allow any public use of the main building until the bats were removed and the entire facility cleaned with sterile cleaning agents. The classrooms were relocated in other school buildings, and the offices were relocated to mobile trailers provided by the LaSalle Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Caldwell Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“About 2 p.m. Wednesday (December 17) we got the okay that we could start moving back in, so that’s why students were out today and half a day on Wednesday,” OES Principal Dawn Book said. “Everybody has pulled together and worked together well just as we did when we moved out. All the classrooms are moved. We just have to get them back in order.”