Watermelon softball tournament starts Saturday in Franklinton

The Franklinton Dixie Baseball Association will host its annual Watermelon Softball Tournament beginning Saturday morning at the Dixie Baseball Fields on Bene Street.

There will be a men's division and a women's division with the winning team receiving T-shirts and softballs while second and third place teams will receive softballs.

The entry fee is $150.00 per team and is payable prior to playing the first game.  The first 20 teams to prepay entry fees will be assured of a slot in the tournament and ASA rules will apply.

To enter a team, call Allan McCain at 795-9609. 795-0039 or 516-6524 or contact Aubrey Posey at 515-2335.

Competency hearing will start action in Quentin Watson's double murder trial on Friday

The double murder trial of 29-year-old Quentin Watson of Franklinton will get under way on Monday, Aug. 1 in the 22^nd District Courtroom of Judge William Knight instead of Friday as previously reported.

Quentin Watson

Watson is charged with the shooting deaths of Anita Smith, 46, and her nephew, William Lewis, 32, in Smith’s East Acres Subdivision. Their bodies were discovered on Feb. 6, 2008

On Friday, the court will hold a competency hearing for Watson, who first accepted responsibility for the killings when he was arrested in August 2009, then pled “not guilty” during his arraignment and continued to profess his innocence during a jailhouse interview with the Bogalusa newspaper.

Anita Smith

If Watson is deemed competent to stand trial — meaning he understands the charges against him and can aid in his defense — the trial will get under way on August 1.

It was in that interview that Watson even claimed to have talked with the person he believes to be the real killer and said his confession to police was out of fear for the safety for his family and himself.

Watson said he received a call on his cell phone the day the bodies were discovered and was told that if he said anything, he “would be next.”

Law enforcement discounted Watson’s claims and said he was looking for a way out. They also said the person Watson was referring to was never a suspect in the case and that Watson’s claims are not supported by the evidence collected — which includes his DNA.

Getting to this point was not easy, as law enforcement officers spent 18 months following every lead, then going back and following up again. Despite evidence found at the scene, the pieces of the puzzle never quite seemed to fit together.

But that began to change when Watson was arrested for prescription fraud in November 2008. It what Watson described as the first time he ever got in trouble, he says he bought a forged prescription for Lortab from a former nurse and tried to get it filled in Bogalusa.

It was that arrest, and subsequent collection of his DNA by Pardons and Paroles in March 2009, that led to Watson’s arrest.

A backlog delayed the entry of Watson’s DNA into the state system until July 2009 but it was at that point that investigators got a hit with evidence they had collected at the crime scene.

Police began tracking Watson’s movements before bringing him in for questioning when, Franklinton Police Chief Donald Folse said, “he took full responsibility” for the killings.

Anita Smith, William Lewis murder trial to begin July 29 before Judge William 'Rusty' Knight

By the time Judge William “Rusty” Knight brings down his gavel for the first time, it will be within one week of having been three-and-one-half years since the bodies of Anita Smith and her nephew, William Lewis, were found in her Franklinton home.

Anita Smith

Now, Lady Justice has her turn, as the trial of 29-year-old Quentin Watson, charged with two counts of first-degree murder, is scheduled to get under way Friday (July 29)  in the courthouse at Franklinton.

Smith admitted his guilt to officers during the investigation, but officially plead "not guilty."                      He told the Bogalusa newspaper he knew the identity of the real killer, but that he never came forward because he feared for his life and the lives of his family.

Quentin Watson

Smith, 46, and her nephew Lewis, 32, were discovered shot to death at Smith’s home in East Acres Subdivision.

For 18 months, law enforcement officials followed every lead that came their way, but never could seem to gain traction in the case as, from the beginning, clues were minimal.

As detectives looked for the lead that would be the key to unlocking the case, the constant question in the community was, “Who could do this?” and “Who would kill Anita?”

Smith, well-known in the area as a gospel music singer, was a former advertising representative, working at newspapers in Bogalusa, Slidell and Covington along the way. To say she was well-liked would have been an understatement.

Her nephew had come from the Jackson, Miss. area to live with her and regain footing in his life after what had been described as a series of setbacks.

No one could understand why anyone would take their lives.

The break police needed came when Pardons and Parole collected Watson’s DNA in March 2009 following his conviction in November 2008 for prescription fraud. Watson would later say that had been the only time he was in trouble with the law prior to his arrest for murder.

That data was not input into the state system until July but, after it was processed, was discovered to be a match for what officials described as “contact DNA” found at the scene.

It was, it turned out, that key investigators had been seeking.

Police began tracking Watson’s movements before bringing him in for questioning when, Franklinton Police Chief Donald Folse said, “he took full responsibility” for the killings. down.

Bogalusa, Varnado crews to defend titles as Golden Jubilee Bogue Chitto Marathon unfolds

BOGUE CHITTO WATER PARK, Miss. — The water in the Bogue Chitto River, which flows just a few feet away from here, is a little below the norm, at 5.59 feet, but there’s more than enough for the competitors who will head out at 9 a.m. Thursday on the Golden Jubilee of the 110-mile-long Bogue Chitto River Canoe Marathon.

In fact, the lower-than-normal water may work in favor of Bogalusa Venturer Post 313 and Varnado Venturer Post 200, who had battled depleted water conditions all year long.

The race gets under way at the U.S. 98 Bridge spanning the Bogue Chitto, located about halfway between Tylertown and McComb, Miss. It will end a little more than two days and 110 river miles later at Pearl River Navigation Canal Lock No. 2, just a few miles south of Bush on Louisiana 41.

Bogalusa Venturer Crew 313 and Varnado Venturer Crew 200 will be defending their titles in the race, which is run in six legs.

After getting under way, paddlers will head south to their first stop, at Walker Bridge Water Park in Tylertown. As always, this will be a quick-change, untimed stop. The second leg will run to the Warnerton Bridge, located just west of Warnerton on Louisiana 438.

The third leg of the race gets under way at 1:30 p.m. Thursday and continues to VFW Post 7196 in Franklinton, with paddlers expected to arrive about 4 p.m.

In Franklinton, as has been tradition for many years, contestants will be treated to a meal by Post 7196 members and get some much-needed rest as they continue their quest downriver.

Canoes will be in the water early Friday, with paddling getting started at 8 a.m. as paddlers head for Enon, where they will take out at Wayne’s World at about 10:30 a.m. Following a break,  will put in for the start of the fifth leg at 1:30.

Take out for this leg is the Five Lakes Campgrounds, located about three miles west of Fifth Ward School on Louisiana 40. Take out will be about 3:30.

As teams prepare for the final leg to Lock No. 2, they will get the chance to rest and to refuel, as the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office will provide the Friday night meal. In addition to the meal, the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office River Patrol accompanies them  downstream, joined by safety boats from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, helping ensure their safety as they maneuver some rough and remote spots.

The final leg gets under way at 9 a.m. Saturday, with paddlers heading south through numerous twists and turns, including at least one “S” and a couple of near switchbacks before first crossing under the old railroad bridge and then the Louisiana 21 bridge at Sun before entering the Pearl River Navigation Canal.

Canoes are expected to start taking out about 10:30, with the awards presentations to follow after the last racers exit the water.

And, as with so many other traditions in this race, there’s no rest for the weary as Post 313 will be on the road just hours later, heading to an overnight stop near Memphis en route to the 120-mile National White River Canoe Race, which begins Thursday, July 28 at 8 a.m. at Norfork, Ark., as Post 313 defends its title.

Sheriff issues warnings about Bogue Chitto; 3 drownings averted with Memorial Day rescue

Describing it as a "nice, little river," Washington Parish Sheriff Robert Crowe, was quick to point out it could also be a dangerous river to those not familiar with its nuances.

Sheriff Robert Crowe advises tubers with
limited swimming ability to tie themselves
to their tubes for an extra protective measure.

Crowe's warning came just a day after a weekend when two adults drowned in separate incidents on the stream, which from the shore, looks to be a lazy river.

"It still has a little undertow effect to it and it is mostly the locals who know the river and where to swim and where not to swim," he said.

On Saturday, 21-year-old Kirk Craig, Jr. of New Orleans became the first drowning victim of the summer tubing season when he got in trouble while trying to save a youngster in trouble. Craig was reportedly part of a tubing party leaving out from Wayne's World, located 3.5 miles south of Enon on Hunt Road.

Divers from the Sheriff's Office recovered Craig's body Sunday morning.

Then, about 6 p.m. inside Bogue Chitto State Park, 31-year-old Reginald Burris of Franklinton drowned while swimming with one of his children. Witnesses said it appeared Burris got in trouble, went under the surface and never resurfaced.

Crowe said, "If they're tubing and they have any problems with swimming, I would recommend that they tie the tube to them; if they're canoeing I would wear some type of flotation device."

The drownings are the first of the season, although tragedy was narrowly averted on Memorial Day weekend when a woman and her two young children — an infant and a toddler — nearly drowned in a pool of deep water inside the state park.

On Memorial Day, Slidell resident Drew Badeaux heard a faint cry for help, then saw a young woman with her two children in trouble in the water.

Badeaux told Sheila Stroup of the Times-Picayune he heard the woman say, “Help. Save my babies. I’m drowning.”

“It was very faint, almost like a whisper,” he said.

Badeaux said he had taken Red Cross water safety and, because the water where he had been with his son was placid, he thought he would be able to help the woman to safety without much difficulty.

“I was going to do it by the book, and I told her, ‘Don’t worry. I’ve got you,’ but the current said, ‘That ain’t going to happen,’” Badeaux told Stroup. “In a pool, it’s just a whole different scenario.”

Before all was said and done, a friend of the woman's who had come into the water to try and help, was in trouble and Badeauix, who had gotten the one child to the beach, was tiring as he went back after the woman and her older child.

When all was said and done, Badeaux's brother-in-law, David Constance, had joined the rescue as had several strangers. Everyone was safe, but easily, three or more could have died.

Like Sheriff Crowe, Badeaux says there are some basic things a person needs to know if they are going to be around the water — how deep it is, whether there’s a current, and to make sure children are wearing floaties or life jackets or swim vests if they aren’t proficient swimmers.

Heavy rain hits Bogalusa, some power outages

Water runs through low-lying portions of
a yard in Confederate Heights Subdivision,
on its way to Coburn Creek, as Saturday
night's thunderstorm eased after about an hour.
 (Photo by John H. Walker)

For the second day in a row, thunderstorms rolled through Washington Parish early Saturday evening, drenching some areas and leaving others with little more than a sprinkle.

"We probably got a half-inch or so here at the house," said Bogalusa resident John Gallaspy about 8:30 p.m. "We got some here at the house last night, but didn't get a drop five miles south of town, where we grow our watermelons."

The rain was generated by thunderstorms that developed with afternoon heating and began opening up about 7:30 p.m. Gusty winds from the west wind-whipped the rain, which covered yards and streets in parts of Bogalusa.

In the Confederate Heights Subdivision, yards were flooded and ditches were running bank-to-bank and better as estimates of one-inch of rain and more were given.

Elsewhere, traditional lowspots, such as Superior Avenue, had water covering the street in spots as did other streets in town.

Power was out along Highway 21 south of Bogalusa after a tree fell on a line. At about 10 p.m., crews were still working to restore service.

But to the west, in areas around Pine, Thomas and Franklinton, there were only occasional showers — despite the rumbling of thunder and flashes of lightning.

According to weatherbug.com, the official weather service of wpnewsblog, a chance for thunderstorms existed until about midnight.

Radar showed the first storm cells, moving from the northeast, hit Bogalusa about 7:15 p.m. and cleared the city about an hour later. Smaller pockets of light rain remained northeast of Bogalusa in Mississippi at 9 p.m. with heavy rainfall moving southeast from Lumberton, Miss. toward Washington Parish.

To view weatherbug.com's time-lapse camera, mounted at Bogalusa High School, visit http://weather.weatherbug.com/LA/Bogalusa-weather/weather-cams/local-cams.html?zcode=z6286&camera_id=BGLSB&camera_animate=1.

On Sunday, a heat advisory is in place with highs forecasted to reach 96 degrees. Isolated thunderstorms, some severe, have the potential to develop late in the afternoon.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)

Claim made water meters improperly installed

With a municipal court room two-thirds full and a list of 12 persons signed up to speak, alarms should have been going off that this would be no normal meeting of the Bogalusa City Council.

There was no disappointing.

Byrd Avenue resident Jewel Vernon
 looks directly at City Administrator
 Jerry Bailey and Mayor Charles Mizel
 as she criticizes the city's water
meters.  (Photo by John H. Walker)

While most spoke in an even tone, there were moments when emotions got the best of people — such as Mrs. Jewell Vernon. Mrs. Vernon, who lives on Byrd Avenue, said her water bill under the metered system was "ninety-something dollars" and said she had gotten nothing but what she described as a runaround from city officials.

Vernon blames meter installers for damaging plumbing under her house and said she had asked several times for repairs to be made. The city position, though, is that there is no why the installation of the meter could cause any movement of pipes underground to cause exposed pipes under the house to break.

Earl Clark, who identified himself
as a former employee of Vannguard
Utility Partners, shows the tiny
fitting he claims was not imstalled
on many Bogalusa meters at the
direction of Vannguard supervisors.
(Photo by John H. Walker)

Vernon claimed Mayor Charles Mizell treated her in a condescending manner on Monday and said, "I've had it with you, Mr. Mayor."

But Vernon wasn't the only one who talked about water bill concerns. In addition, there was Tony Castagnetta, Gayle McCants, Michelle Byrne,Doonie Saraceno, Fate Ferrell and Terry Quinn ... but the one who drew the most attention was Earl Clark, of New Orleans, who said he was an employee of Vannguard Utility Partners of DeForest, Wis., the contractor hired to install the meters.

Clark rose to the podium and explained he was from New Orleans and had been invited to attend the meeting, then turned toward the audience and said, "You have meter problems because the meters were improperly installed. I know, because I was part of the crew."

The fitting in question

Clark then held a small, one-inch long blue plastic fitting and said, "We didn't have the proper parts to do the job. Bogalusa was using plastic and Vannguard was using metal ... we were told by my supervisor that when we ran out of parts, to use old parts to finish the job. Vannguard was very much aware that these meters were improperly installed."

When asked by Council President Wendy Perrette if others knew about this, Clark said, "I don't know who did know and didn't know. I know the Vannguard people knew and they had meetings with the city, but I didn't know if they said anything (to city officials)."

Clark's disclosure drews "oohs" and "aahs" from an audience already rife with poor planning and mishandling despite the most ardent of assurances and reassurances from city officials.

Gayle McCants voiced concern for a group she described as "my older ladies" who were afraid to use their dishwashers, for example, for fear of an exorbitant water bill.

McCants offered a comparison of rates between Bogalusa, Varnado, Franklinton and St. Tammany Parish and asked council to review the rates for a possible reduction.

Terry "Foots" Quinn asked council to revert to the pre-meter rates until all of the meters are installed, all of the problems ironed out and a more evenly developed rate system is in place.

"That's what I would ask you to do," he said. "Just roll it back until you get it worked out so it's fair to everyone."

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)

Fowler: 'Total surprise' at Citizen selection

Dennie Fowler at the
June 24 meeting of the
Parish Council.

"Total surprise. I was totally surprised."


Dennie Fowler, who, until his work as co-chairman of Washington Parish Recreation District 1 was better known as the parish's former superintendent of schools, was chosen Tuesday night as the 19th Citizen of the Year for West Washington Parish. The award is presented annually by the Bogalusa newspaper.


Fowler, who will be honored at a reception from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, June 12 at Hillcrest Baptist Church, said he had no clue what was happening as he was informed of the selection.

The award is voted on by past recipients and is limited to nominations submitted by the public.


Fowler is serving with Johnnie Daniels as co-chair of the district, which has, as its purpose the development of a multi-purpose recreation facility to serve residents of the district, which includes Franklinton, Mt. Hermon, Hackley, Enon, Isabel, Pine and Thomas.


The complex will consist of fields for boys baseball, girls softball, adult softball and football and soccer fields. Concession stands and restrooms will be near each field. It will also include walking paths, pavilion and picnic areas, a water pad, and plenty of parking for convenient access to all areas. A gymnasium and other features will be constructed in later phases.


Traditionally, the award is limited to recognizing the recipients' work over the past year ... and between his work as a 30-plus year volunteer with the Washington Parish Free Fair and the recreation district, Fowler has been busy.


"I've always worked for the children," he said. "I've tried to stay busy and do things to help others. This was a total and complete surprise."

Franklinton police playing it forward in Joplin

FRANKLINTON — What began as a "what if" type conversation between members of the Franklinton Police Department has turned into a mission to help others rebuild following a disaster.


Just as other area residents were quick to come to the aid of Smithville, Miss., after that community was virtually destroyed in late April, so are members of the Frankllinton PPolice Department in Joplin.


Department members said looking at video on television was almost like reliving Hurricane Katrina and, to a person, they were ready to help pay it forward in response to all of the help that came to Franklinton and Washington Parish.


Having been through a similar situation, department members know what's needed most, and they've collected it and are ready to hit the road.

The Franklinton group will leave for Joplin early Friday, with the 635 mile trip expected to take between 11 and 12 hours. After delivering their supplies, the officers plan to visit with local officials and decide if they need to return with a second load.


(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)

Bogalusa's Whitney Bank to be sold to The First

While Hancock Bank's purchase of Whitney Bank has now received approval from stockholders of both institutions as well as the Justice Department and Federal Reserve Bank, there were some interesting stipulations.

First among them was that Whitney must sell eight locations — including Bogalusa's Columbia Street office — to gain JD approval. Hattiesburg, Miss.-based The First has agreed to purchase all eight locations.

The First currently serves 12,500 customers and has $540 million in assets at its 10 locations. The Whitney Bank branches have more than 15,000 customers and the Bogalusa branch held deposits of $46.7 million as of June 30, 2010.

Next, as part of the initial deal, announced in December, Hancock will switch branding on all of its Louisiana branches to Whitney, while Whitney's branches in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida will carry the Hancock logo.

While no official announcement has been made, the Franklinton newspaper reported that bank employees expect that community's Whitney location to be closed and operations folded into the current Hancock facility. Both banks are located on Cleveland Street.

The last major change is that Hancock will move its headquarters from Gulfport, Miss. to New Orleans, although much of the banks operations department will stay on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

(Published first at http://www,wpnewsblog,blogspot.com)