Police: Dead man was aggressor in Monday incident

The man who was shot in the 300 block of Florence and died about an hour later at LSU-Bogalusa Medical Center has been identified as the aggressor and not the victim.

Kendrick Rashard Cook, 23, died about an hour later in the emergency room after police and other emergency personnel responded to a call at 3:38 p.m.

Upon arrival, police found Cook on the ground and a second male, identified as Brandon "BeBe" Morris with his hands up in the air, Bogalusa Police Chief Joe Culpepper told wpnewsblog.

"Witness statements led us to believe Mr. Cook opened fire on two people walking down the street," Culpepper said. "One of the two men had a gun in their car, got it and shot him. When police arrived, he (Morris) had thrown his weapon on the ground and hand his hands in the air."

Culpepper said the police department was treating the case as justifiable homicide.

Cook has a history of violent crime, having been arrested for attempted second degree murder and use of a dangerous weapon after an incident in June 2010.

Culpepper said Morris had "no history" with the department.

Culpepper said because a death was involved, he would send the department's investigation file to the district attorney's office for a decision on disposition of the case.

Investigation under way in Bogue Projects killing

Bogalusa police are investigating a Monday afternoon shooting in the Bogue Projects that claimed the life of an unidentified male.

The shooting took place on Florence Avenue about 3:30 p.m. Officials said the victim was shot several times and was transported to the emergency room at LSU-Bogalusa Medical Center, where he died.

LSU starts moving departments to old armory

So pressed for room that a storage facility had to be rented across town, LSU-Bogalusa Medical Center has now taken possession of the former National Guard Armory on Avenue B and begun consolidating operations.

Kurt Scott,
LSU-BMC CEO

“We’re excited about it,” Kurt Scott, LSU-BMC’s chief executive officer said in an exclusive interview with wpnewsblog. “When the armory was vacated (in August 2008), it got to the point where it was going to be put on a state surplus list. They called to see if we had any use for it,” Scott said, adding, “We told them we could certainly put it to good use.”

Scott said that following the completion of some remodeling, the hospital’s receiving, stores and warehouse moved from rental space on South Columbia Street last Tuesday (June 14).

“The building has that great, big drill hall that worked out very well for the warehouse,” he said.

“Next (to relocate) will be the HR (Human Resources) Department from our other campus (on Memphis Street) and we will also be moving our IT (information technology) department,” Scott explained. “HR was not in a good location and just didn’t have any room, so this building, with all of the office spaces, will work out well.”

Scott said the building location, at the corner of Avenue B and Willis Ave., is perfect in that it is between the Memphis Street campus and the main hospital.

“It’s much more accessible,” he said.

Those moves are just part of the ongoing expansion at the hospital.

Next up is a project in the hospital’s north tower.

“We let bids yesterday on a $4 million infrastructure project in the north tower … when that is completed, we will have invested $20 million in this facility and community in the past four years,” he said.

And that’s not it, because the doubling of the facility’s emergency department, from eight to 16 beds, is on the calendar as well.

“The ER is the front door to the hospital,” he explained, noting that LSU-BMC sees about 50,000 patients annually in its ER, only about 2,100 patients less than St. Tammany Medical Center.

“We’re working of on a $7.5 million expansion of the ER,” Scott said, noting than about $1.5 million of that is already in-hand. “We’ll expand the waiting room, triage area and admitting in addition to doubling the beds.”

Scott said he was pleased with the progress being made at the facility and the quality of care being delivered.

“We’re a regional hospital now,” he explained. “Our residents don’t have to drive 30 miles for care … and we have people driving from all over the Florida Parishes, from the South Shore and from Baton Rouge.

“We’ve been recognized for our quality of care and we’re still working to do more and to be better.”

Scott points out changes planned during the expansion
of the emergency room. The orange is the present area
and the green is the planned expansion, which will double capacity.
(Photo by John H. Walker)

Police issue warrant in Thursday shooting

Nakai R. Butler

A warrant for attempted 2nd degree murder has been issued for 22-year-old Nakai R. Butler of Kentwood in connection with the Thursday afternoon shooting of a 17-year-old black male near the intersection of Church and Lincoln Streets in the Poplas Quarters area of Bogalusa.

The victim, who was shot through the jugular vein on both sides of his neck, was taken to LSU-Bogalusa Medical Center shortly before 4 p.m. Emergency personnel were able to stabilize him and control the bleeding and he remains in the hospital. His condition has not been disclosed.

Reports indicate the victim's girlfriend identified the shooter in the incident, which took place about 3:30 p.m. There were also concerns about the girlfriend's health because of the emotional stress and the fact she is pregnant.

A large crowd gathered at the scene of the shooting, as well as at the hospital, where the crowd was estimated at between 50 and 100 persons.

(Posted first at www.wpnewsblog)

Who is highest paid state employee in parish?

Did you ever wonder what state employee makes the most money in Washington Parish?

Well, according to the website http://www.louisianasunshine.org, there are two who shared the No. 1 spot in 2010 — both physicians at LSU-Bogalusa Medical Center or, as it is still carried in state payroll records, Washington-St. Tammany Regional Medical Center.

Dr. Richard Colon and Dr. Hamid Hussain both earned $350,000 while carrying the designation of Physician I. They earned the same amount in 2009.

Four other physicians — all at LSU-BMC — earned more than $225,000 in 2010. Those four were Mark D. East at $290,000, Rojina Jasani at $250,000, Anthony T. Pham at $240,000 and Maria Buenaflor at $227,000. Pham was listed as director while the other three were shown as Physician I staff members.

Other high-profile state employees in the parish, their job description and salary for 2010 included:
  • Dennis LaRavia, Med. Dept. Dir., Rayburn Correction, $180,000
  • Kurt Scott, CEO, LSU-BMC, $163,862
  • Jerry A. Thomas, Physician I, LSU-BMC, $145,600
  • Regina Runfalo, COO, LSU-BMC, $102,761
  • William Wainwright, Dean, LTC System, $98,788
  • Bobby Tanner, warden, Rayburn Correction Center, $93,434
  • Beverly Sheridan, Dir.-In-Service Ed., LSU-BMC, $92,144
  • Richard Friend, Dir., LSU Fam. Med. Clinic, $82,500
  • Henry Harrison, Assoc. Prof., LSU Ag Center, $73,923

The highest-paid state employee overall, according to the website, was John Lombardi, president of the LSU Board of Supervisors. Lombardi was paid $550,000 in both 2009 and 2010.

The website details records for 189,852 state workers and a total payroll of $8,422,808,835 in 2010. The average pay was $44,365 was a minimum of $0 and a maximum of $550,000.

The website can be found at www.louisianasunshine.org/payroll. There are a number of search options available.