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Coming Soon to your computer, everything you ever wanted to know about politics in DeSoto and were afraid to ask! Here are some of the stories we're working on!
Coming Soon!!!!
Adams thinks its "just part of being a Judge..." I was not going to write about it. I didn’t
want to be accused of using the tragedy of a murder/suicide and
the resulting orphan, just to make the point that a DeSoto judge
has let at least two men out of jail who have then committed
murder. That is correct, two, two who battered their wives with
guns involved. They were then arrested, they announced what they
would do if they were let out of jail, they had their bail set
by Charlie Adams, they made bail and were freed, and then they
murdered their wives. Then I met a little seven year old red headed
ball of energy. She is the orphan. It was at a Memorial Day
event at a dear friend’s camp on the river. Now I have to write
about it. You see, I believe that Adams thinks the entire matter
is just “part of being a judge”. He was not there when I
overheard her tell another child something that I will not
repeat, I walked away and cried. He was not there to look into
her sad eyes, not there as she looked at other children interact
with their mothers. You, Judge Adams, have taken something away
from that little girl, and it had nothing to do with just being
a judge. That little girl will never be able to tell her mom
‘how proud she is of the way she raised her’. Never will she be
able to say ‘you taught me the meaning of family and the
importance of being there for the people you care about’, or
‘mom, you taught me the difference between right and wrong’. She
will never be able say ‘thanks mom for making me the woman I am
and I am proud you are my mother’. I pray that this little girl will have
someone to tell these things to, and I am sad it can never be
her mom. I am also praying that the next time that the Judge
sets a bond in a domestic matter that he considers what was
taken from this little red headed seven year old child. Legislative Auditor Slams Arbuckle for relationship with Laginappe & Castillo LLC and what the audit didn't say If you haven’t heard, the Legislative Auditor has released its report concerning Sheriff Arbuckle and his relationship with Lagniappe and Castillo LLC. The report which can be read here is critical of Arbuckle and advised him… "We recommend that the DPSO consult with legal counsel and the Louisiana Board of Ethics on the legality of these relationships." Also of concern is what is not in the report. While the auditors were in town doing what they do it was discovered that Lagniappe and Castillo utilized a web site to promote their business. At that site it contained a list of names associated with the company and their years of experience. As it turns out, several of the individuals listed where never associated with the company or where even aware that their names and law enforcement experience was being used to promote the company. Arbuckle knew this and to our knowledge DID absolutely nothing about it. Arbuckle in fact by his continuing actions condones this activity; he does that by continuing to do business with them!While no local media has picked up on this story (The Shreveport Times did but…) the www.louisianavoice.com has. I was intending on doing a piece of this type but in all honesty I could not have said it better. Here is the link to that story... http://louisianavoice.com/2014/04/15/former-desoto-deputy-sheriffs-private-company-ran-half-million-dollars-in-background-checks-through-sheriffs-office/ Comments... 4/16/2014Roe proposes 42nd Judicial District Building, another waste of DeSoto tax dollars What in the world is Reggie Roe thinking? It seems the newly-elected President of the Police Jury wants to build a new Judicial Complex on the Old Church Inn site. The location is now boarded up and rumored to have asbestos in it, which, if it does, that would mean it would require an EPA asbestos eradication plan and a very large sum of money. But, assuming the building is asbestos free, let’s think about this: Every expenditure of taxpayer dollars must have a compelling need before any capital project is undertaken. Simply put, why do we need a new building to house two judges and a court room? Is it because now they have to walk across Adams Street to get from their offices to the courtroom when it is raining? Here’s an idea: buy them an umbrella. Is it because of the so called "security issues"? How about this, assign an extra body guard on court days. Is it because the old courthouse building is not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant? Don’t forget, the building will still be out of compliance for the Clerk of Court, who you intend to leave at the old location. Reggie, are you not aware of the heartache the Sheriff is receiving (and will continue to receive) for building a building we don’t need? Speaking of which, the Sheriff has all but publicly said he has built more building than we need by offering to repair any parish owned vehicle for just the cost of parts. The parish repair shops are really loving that; first the sheriff takes away any work they may have been receiving from DPSO, and now in an attempt to justify the 2 million dollar car wash, he’s trying to take away any remaining work from other government entities in the parish. Back to your Judges’ kingdom where no one would be able to stand in the way of whatever they want to do. Just like in the previously mentioned security plan they put in motion without any written game plan or consulting with the other tenant in the courthouse. So Mr. President, what is the compelling reason for building such a facility? Maybe that’s it, they don’t want to have to talk with the Clerk. Sorry, that’s not compelling enough when it comes to our tax dollars. Comments... 4/12/2014Qualifying brings no surprises for April ballot Qualifying for the April 5 municipal elections in Mansfield and Stonewall has come and gone with no real surprises. Some would argue that Stonewall has a few surprise candidates after Mayor Charles Waldon tinkered with the idea of eliminating the town’s police department in favor of subcontracting that out to the DeSoto Sheriff. What Waldon found out was that bad timing of a bad idea probably cost him a free pass; meanwhile, the Sheriff found out that maybe our citizens actually do pay attention to what our politicians are doing with their spare time. In Mansfield, two long time politicians got much deserved free passes. Winning by acclamation were Mayor Curtis McCoy and Alderman Mitchell Lewis, both for the second consecutive time. There is no better affirmation of the good job one is doing than being blessed with not having an opponent qualify to run against you. Mansfield is a cleaner, more forward thinking town with a positive business climate because of the Mayor and the Council. They have our best interests as their motivating force, not just for the citizens of Mansfield, but for everyone in DeSoto Parish. They have done a great job for us and deserve winning by acclamation. When you see them, thank them for their service to us! Comments... 03/12/2014 A Reader asked about our qualifying article....
A word about this past weeks Brian Horn hearing...... Thanks to Judge Robert Burgess for refusing Horns motion to another delay of 10 to 14 months. We all are aware that the appeal process may very well reverse the Judges ruling, but it is comforting to know that Burgess and DA Richard Johnson are ready to move forward and bring justice to the Bloxom family. Comments... 02/28/2014 Arbuckle's $2 mil car wash and oil change facility Editors Note: On Thursday, November 07, 2013 the following was submitted as a letter to the Editor of the Mansfield Enterprise, they refused to print it. It is also what prompted this web site. “…building for the future” does not hold water… In response to the KTBS story about his 2 million dollar car pool, Sheriff Arbuckle says he is “building for the future.” Hogwash! First of all, this statement implies that there is some sort of business plan, or a future needs study, projecting just what our future holds based on growth patterns, census data, and other factors that only a qualified professional could assess and predict. If such a study has been done, and it does in fact say that we need a two million dollar facility to repair and maintain our fleet of vehicles, I would certainly publicly apologize to the Sheriff for criticizing this absolute waste of our tax dollars. Now, since I’ve asked him to justify that expenditure, I have a responsibility to explain why I believe it’s a waste. No problem. What the Sheriff has not mentioned is that all of these Tahoes we’ve been buying (which, by the way, I believe is a great idea, as they do a lot better on our country roads, and they have a higher resale value when taken out of service) all come with 100,000 mile power train warranties. So if anything goes wrong with the engine, transmission, or drive train of these vehicles—in other words, the major, expensive repairs—it’s not on the Desoto Parish taxpayers to fix this, it’s on the dealer and General Motors. And it doesn’t cost us a thing! The second part of this is, the Sheriff has said on multiple occasions in defending buying the more expensive Tahoes, that he schedules them to be cycled out of service at 80,000 miles to maximize the resale value (again, another good idea). What this means is, as the older vehicles are taken out of service and replaced, we will have a fleet that with few exceptions will be repaired over at Mansfield Auto World, free of charge! That two million dollar repair and maintenance facility will be used almost entirely to change tires and oil, swap burnt out headlights, and for the inmates to wash those new Tahoes! Finally, I want everyone to know that yes, I have been Rodney’s campaign manager since he first ran for office in 1999. I’ve also helped Judge Charles Adams on both of his runs for office, and Jeremy Evans, Anne Gannon and Richard Johnson, not to mention several school board members and police jurors. I have dedicated my life to helping good people get elected to office. I have told all of them I reserve the right to tell them when I think they are doing something that is not in the best interest of DeSoto Parish, a place that I am honored to call home. When I first talked to Rodney about this, he made excuses and told me that it just didn’t matter what anybody thought anymore. That it didn’t matter? To me, that’s just not acceptable, and I think we deserve better. Comments... 02/28/2014 Got a question or comment? This site is owned and operated by Will Melancon. Copyright © 2014. All rights are reserved and no part may be used in any fashion without express written permission. |
