Despite above-average rainfall, burn ban remains

Saturday’s late morning rain pushed at least northeast Bogalusa past the July monthly average. According to U. S. Climate Data, the July average for Bogalusa is 5.67 inches.

The rain started as a light shower about 10:45 a.m., but wound up as a full-fledged deluge before the morning was over.

By the time Saturday’s rainfall ended, 1.8 inches was in the rain gauge and 6.7 inches in the catch basin for the year. Then, on Sunday, about .25 inch fell, pushing the monthly total to 6.95 inches.

Thus far in northeast Bogalusa, there have been eight days in July with measurable precipitation and two days when a trace was recorded.

Despite the rainfall, which has been reported parish-wide, a burn ban remains in effect.

Because of the depth of the drought in the area, neither Washington Parish Homeland Security Director Tommy Thiebaud nor Bogalusa Fire Department Chief Richard Moody is willing to lift the burn ban.

“It’s just been too dry,” Moody said. “It may seem wet, but a fire can get out of control in a split second.”

Thiebaud said every shower and rain helps, but that until the state fire marshal lifts the ban, it will remain in effect in the parish.

“We can get to calls pretty quick,” Moody said, “but the firefighters in the parish sometimes have to drive a pretty good distance to get to the fire … so just because it seems safe in one place doesn’t mean it is in another.”

The National Weather Service forecast for the remainder of the week calls for a wetter than normal pattern with numerous occurrences of showers and thunderstorms expected, especially during daytime hours.

Locally heavy rainfall will remain a threat, although severe weather is not expected.

Thunderstorms dump 3 inches and more; more possible

Heavy thunderstorms moving southwest from Mississippi into Washington Parish dumped as much as 3 inches of rain in parts of Bogalusa.

At 6:30 p.m., the heaviest rains had passed through Bogalusa, leaving behind street flooding all across the city. In addition, some yards abutting Coburn Creek had water in them from the quick rise following the deluge.

In South Bogalusa, from about the point where Columbia Street intersects with Highway 21, there were also intermittent power outages from that point north until past Northshore Technical College.

Daytime heating created conditions perfect for the development of the thunderstorms, which resulted in the National Weather Service issuing a severe thunderstorm warning.

At 7:35, radar showed another line of thunderstorms stretching from west of Columbia to east of I-59. Those storms were tracking to the south/southwest with the strongest cells reaching Washington Parish about 9 p.m. and passing over Bogalusa about 9:30.

Measurable rainfall for the month of July in Bogalusa totaled 4.1 inches at 7:30 Wednesday evening, following .55 inches on July 2 and another .55 inches on July 5.

Widening, resurfacing of City Limit Road nearing

If not the roughest street in Bogalusa, City Limit Road has to be near the top of the list.

Marked by pot holes, patch jobs that have been patched and re-patched and, for the past few several months rougher still because of the relocation of drain lines and collection basins, there are brighter days ahead for those who drive the road.

That's because bids will be let on August 19 for a widening project that will result in a street that is safer and easier to navigate.

"After the bids are opened, we'll start the project to widen it to 20-feet from Highway 21 to the railroad tracks," explained Leo Lucchesi, director of public works for Washington Parish.

Lucchesi said the city of Bogalusa had moved the drainage lines and installed new collection basins, filling in a wide, deep ditch that ran along the north side of about one-half the length of the street, which runs about 4,800 feet.

"The city did that work and we (Washington Parish) will oversee the widening and paving on the project," Lucchesi said. "The new drains and collection basins went where that ditch was."

Bodies of two men recovered after separate drownings on Bogue Chitto this weekend

The bodies of two men who drowned in separate incidents on the Bogue Chitto River this weekend have been recovered.

The body of 21-year-old Kirk Craig, Jr., of New Orleans, who drowned during a tubing outing Saturday, was recovered by divers from the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office Sunday morning.

Then, about 6 p.m. Sunday, officials were notified that 31=year-old Reginald Burris of Franklinton was missing, He had last been seen while swimming with one of his children off a beach inside Bogue Chitto State Park. Witnesses said Burris appeared to be in trouble, then disappeared. The child was rescued. His body was recovered about 8 p.m.

The drownings were the first on the river since last July 9, when 14-year-old Chris Ernst of Plaquemine drowned while tubing the river with his family. Burris was the second person to drown in the state park since it opened last year.

Rayburn funding stays in Senate version of HB1

Funding for Rayburn Correctional Center and four other state prisons remained in the final version of HB1, passed by the Louisiana Senate by a 36-2 vote at 8:27 p.m. Sunday night.

The bill now goes back to the House for another review and vote. Gov. Bobby Jindal has said he will sign the bill if the House approves it.

The bill authorizes 13 administrative, 290 incarceration and three auxiliary positions for Rayburn for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The House had cut $27.5 million, roughly 5 percent of the total budget of the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DOC), earlier in the legislative session. Those proposed cuts prompted DOC Secretary James M. LeBlanc to send letters to the wardens of the five prisons, outlining the state's "layoff timetable" and setting July 17 as the employee termination date. The memo, which was published on wpnewsblog on Friday, June 3, caused widespread panic in Washington Parish.

This past Wednesday, Sen. Ben Nevers (D, Bogalusa) and Sen. Jack Donahue (R, Covington) explained that money had been moved around. Donahue is a member of the finance committe, while Nevers was deeply involved in helping find funding to keep Rayburn open.

The committee’s members said they tried to maintain the spirit of the House’s version by matching one-time money to one-time expenses. The shuffling — including the use of $55 million in leftover hurricane recovery funds — resulted in a restoration of the $200 million in funding that the House cut.

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

No sweating allowed in Bogalusa library

For years, library patrons have understood the unspoken “Shhhhh” rule. You remain silent so as to not disturb others enjoying their visit.

Portable air conditioners, like these,
along with box and upright fans,
are the only cooling available in
the Bogalusa Branch Library. It's
common for temperatures inside
to be in the upper 80s.
(Photo by John H. Walker)

These days in Bogalusa — and going back to the middle of last summer — there’s a new admonition … don’t let your sweat drip on the reading material.

That’s right … sweat. As in perspiration.

While one wouldn’t think that would be a possibility, except for the fact that this is the second summer for the Bogalusa Branch Library of the Washington Parish Library to be without air conditioning.

“It’s horrible,” one employee told wpnewsblog. “Thank you so much for coming to tell our story.”

Branch manager Emmett Guy, Jr. said, “It gets bad. It doesn’t cool off much at night” despite leaving portable air conditioning units running around the clock. Those units, along with a variety of box and upright fans, are the only line of defense against the heat.

Guy said he thinks one problem with getting the system repaired in the absence of a system librarian, although that position was occupied when the AC went out a year ago.

“The library board met in May and decided to advertise for bids for a new system,” Guy said. “That takes 30 days …”

This sign greets patrons
at the Bogalusa library

The co-worker was less forgiving. “It’s like they’ve forgotten about us. That we don’t exist … or don’t count.”

Guy says he has no official way of knowing, but suspects that the high temperatures in the building are having a negative impact on the facility’s usage.

“I suspect so,” he said. “People get in and get out and don’t spend much time at all.”

In addition to wearing down staff and patrons, Guy said the constant heat is affecting the computers as well — slowing them as the heat climbs.

“And I don’t know, but I suspect there’s an impact on the books and audio materials, too.”

Most of the patrons on Tuesday were youngsters participating in the Summer Reading Program, although there were three adults reading in a lounge area.

A youngster is oblivious to the
heat inside the library Tuesday
morning, although adults were
complaining and leaving.
(Photo by John H. Walker)

Guy said the lack of AC has caused a shift in library hours since June 1. “Because of the heat, we’re only open from 8:30 until 2:30, because it just gets so hot.” Those hours will remain in effect until the system is repaird

Guy said he estimated the average temperature in the library is in the mid-to-upper 80s. “Eighty-six, 87, 88 degrees, I would guess.”

The Bogalusa branch is part of the parish system, which receives taxpayer funding for a portion of its operating expenses. The libraries are part of Washington Parish government and have a library board to oversee them. The board includes Katherine Jenkins, Louella Jackson, Sally Thomas, James “Jim” Adams, John Lewis, Emma Ross and Donald Westmoreland. Westmoreland is president.

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

(This is a reader news tip story)

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)

Probe under way in Dexter School fire

This is all that remains of the main building

at Dexter Attendance Center following a fire

late last Friday afternoon.

(McComb Enterprise-Journal photo)

DEXTER, Miss. — Fire destroyed the 70-year-old main building at Dexter Attendance Center late Friday afternoon and an investigation is under way to determine the cause. Two adjacent buildings were not damaged.


Firefighters from Washington  Parish joined firefighters from Walthall, Marion and Amite counties in battling the blaze, which was discovered about 5 p.m. Fire destroyed the main school building, but firefighters were able to save side and rear structures.

Dexter traditionally had competed against Pine in high school athletics and it is only about 13 miles between the two communities. Residents of the area interact on a regular basis and youth in Pine, Thomas and Dexter grow up knowing one another.

“When I got there I probably saw 10, 15 trucks, tankers, and firemen were everywhere. A lot of them were totally
exhausted,” Walthall County arson investigator Bobby Walthall told the McComb Enterprise-Journal. “They had been there fighting that fire for hours in the heat. Nobody had any dry clothes on.”

“I’m so proud of those firemen. They just really went above and beyond, I thought,” McGinnis said.

McGinnis reported the fire to the state fire marshal’s office but said it’s too early to know the cause.

“That’s a 75-year-old building or older and it had ancient wiring in it. (With) a power surge, you don’t ever know. That was the old-type construction made with the best wood available back then, which was heart pine.”

Some teachers had been working at the school until late in the afternoon but were gone when the fire broke out, he said.

Firefighters fought the blaze until nearly 10 p.m.

“I am so thankful the kids were not there,” said Superintendent of Education Danny McCallum. “That’s most important right now. We just finished the school year, so if it had to happen it was at a good time.”

The burned building contained the school offices, records, a computer lab and around eight classrooms. Undamaged were elementary buildings, a new science building and a gymnasium built after Hurricane Katrina damaged the old one.

“I could hear the computers going up,” McCallum said. “I could hear them popping. It just sounded like a big balloon. I heard 20 or 30 of those go off. It was unbelievable, that fire, the strength of it. That heart pine was just unstoppable.”

McCallum said the school board will discuss the situation at a budget meeting 10 a.m. Monday.

“We’re just going to focus right now on cleaning up and whatever paperwork we need to do,” he said. “We’ve got records we’ve got to think about.”

The K-12 school contained student folders, teacher paperwork, plus trophies, photos and other memorabilia.

The building was insured, as are all the school district buildings, McCallum said.

“We have worked real hard this year to try to restore that school, with test scores,” McCallum said. “I say we — that staff down there. We were really planning for a great year next year, and then had the wheels knocked out from us so to speak.”

As for the future of the school, “it’s too early to say,” McCallum said. “That would actually be a school board decision. They’ve got to put a lot of thought into it. It’s going to be a big issue.”

The school has an enrollment of less than 300 students, and there may be enough remaining class space to hold them, at least for now.

Isabel Swamp Road (partial) paving ahead

Bids for paving the Washington Parish portion of Isabel Swamp Road will be opened on July 15, which means drivers cutting cross-parish to St. Tammany won't eat as much dust.

Or, in the event it ever rains again, have to navigate as much mud.

"It's taken up three-and-a-half years," Parish President Richard Thomas said. Thomas pointed out that federal government officials promised "enough" money to pave the entire road, but have not yet delivered.

In other road news, members of the parish council learned that as many as 50 miles of roads could be paved in the parish this year.

"The key," pointed out Councilman Ken Wheat, "is that this is being done pay as we go."

"That's correct," agreed Public Works Director Leo Lucchesi. "There's no bond money in this."

Wheat said that in reading the state municipal league newspaper, he learned that there were counties and parishes across the country where roads that had previously been paved were being torn up and returned to gravel.

"I think it's important that we have folks working to do as much as they can without spending a lot of money.”

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

Landfill not only council action taken

While discussion of the operation of the Choctaw Road Landfill dominated Monday night's meeting of the Washington Parish Council, it wasn't the only item up for consideration.

Council approved Ordinance No. 11-551, which will help parish officials move towards their goal of providing broadband wireless technology parish-wide.

Dempsey Parden, parish IT director, explained that the lease for space on a tower owned by Broadband IP, Inc. will allow for the continued expansion of internet service in the parish.

"We hope to cover all of Washington Parish within 12 to 18 months," he said, explaining that in a survey of residents, 39 percent said they would consider moving their service to another provider."

Parden said the parish effort can also be tied to economic development, because while having broadband might not help attract a business to the parish, not having broadband can keep the parish out of consideration.

"We're finding more and more that businesses have to have broadband to operate," Parden said.

In other action, council members approved Resolution No. 11-522, which allows for entering into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Washington Parish Communication District concerning a 400-foot communications tower being built on Dollar Road.

Homeland Security Director Tommy Thiebaud said communications was identified as a major issue during Hurricane Katrina.

"Communications was one of our biggest problems," he said, adding, "We identified that as we reviewed the issues surrounding the storm and it came out as one of our top priorities."

Grant funding is available for all but $130,000 and Thiebaud said that once the tower is constructed and paid for, Homeland Security will turn it over the the 911 District.

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

'Worst case' prison memo causes panic

A worst-case scenario memo from state Secretary of Public Safety and Corrections James LeBlanc to wardens at five prisons, including Bobby Tanner at Rayburn Correctional Center, has caused widespread panic in Washington Parish.

The memo was sent to Rayburn, David Wade Correctional Center in Homer, Avoyelles Correctional Center in Cottonport, J. Levy Debadie Correctional Center in Pineville and C. Paul Phelps Corrections Center in DeQuincy.

In the three-paragraph memo sent Thursday, LeBlanc told wardens to, "Proceed immediately in implementing a layoff for all positions at your institution."

LeBlanc attached a 16-step tentative layoff timeline "to affect a layoff on July 17, 2011 COB." Key steps in the memo include sending a general notice to employees and submitting a layoff plan to civil service officials on Tuesday, June 21.

Ryan Seal, director of the Washington Economic Development Foundation, told wpnewsblog he was aware of a story posted on a regional television station's website, but that he thought, "It (closing) is not a done deal. I believe this is something they have to do in the event of a worst-case scenario and a budget deal cannot be worked out."

The possible closures are the result of $27.5 million in budget cuts to the DOC and an ongoing battle between Gov. Bobby Jindal and state legislators.

Rayburn officials are currently eliminating 46 jobs to meet previously announced budget cuts. Should the budget impasse fail to be resolved, Washington Parish would lose 350 jobs on top of the previously announced 149 from Sitel's closing and 12 positions with the Bogalusa City Schools.

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

Temple-Inland donates funds to AgCenter

Temple-Inland’s paper mill in Bogalusa recently donated $5,000 to the Washington Parish office of the LSU AgCenter to help fund its programs.

Present for Temple-Inland’s $5,000 donation to the

LSU AgCenter’s Washington Parish office were, from let

Bobby Fletcher, LSU AgCenter regional director, Luther

Bennett, mill manager, Henry Harrison, LSU AgCenter

county agent and Ellis Sampson, HR manager at the mill.

(Photo by Johnny Morgan, LSU AgCenter.com)

The donation took place on May 24.

“This donation means there’s confidence in our agricultural programs, and as a result it helps us in meeting our local financial match,” said Henry Harrison, the LSU AgCenter county agent in Washington Parish. “Plus, we have someone who is a part of agriculture making this donation. So it’s just a win-win situation.”

Echoing those sentiments, LSU AgCenter regional director Bobby Fletcher explained the importance of local support during these tight economic times.

“This is extremely critical to how we’re going to continue to operate with our youth and our agricultural programs,” Fletcher said. “We’ve had really good support from our police juries and other public entities around the state. But getting private industry involved in agricultural education and youth development shows they see the value in developing youth and the positive outcomes.”

“When we think of 4-H, we know how important it is to keep that agricultural focus for the young kids and keep it moving forward,” Plant manager Luther Bennett said. “It’s important to share the funds from our mill to financially support these programs.”

Bennett, who moved to Bogalusa from Texas, is familiar with the 4-H youth development program.

“My children were in 4-H and were involved in livestock projects,” Bennett said. “We basically went all over the country showing animals. My son showed steers from the time he was nine on through high school.”

In addition to showing steers, Bennett said his son also showed pigs and capons.

Supporting agricultural programs and 4-H began for him while he was employed in Texas, Bennett said.

“I think this donation is a great opportunity to let other private businesses know they can support youth development and the extension service through the LSU AgCenter in their own communities through donations such as this,” Fletcher said.

(Submitted by LSU AgCenter.com)

Memorial Day an observance, not a holiday

The word "holiday" conjures up a trip to the beach, presents under the Christmas tree or hunting eggs while humming "Here comes Peter Cottontail."


It should not, however, cause one to think of American flags on graves in a cemetery or the playing of "Taps" or the firing of a 21-gun salute.


Memorial Day is not a holiday, yet thanks to members of Congress looking for a long weekend, it was moved from May 31 to the lasy Monday in May


Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country and some think it is a day for honoring veterans.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."

The Moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to returning the meaning back to the day. What is needed is a full return to the original day of observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country.

But what may be needed to return the solemn, and even sacred, spirit back to Memorial Day is for a return to its traditional day of observance. Many feel that when Congress made the day into a three-day weekend in with the National Holiday Act of 1971, it made it all the easier for people to be distracted from the spirit and meaning of the day.

As the VFW stated in its 2002 Memorial Day address: "Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."

Thankfully, Bogalusa and Washington Parish have not forgotten. No, there won't nearly be enough people at Ponemah Cemetery at 6 p.m. Monday, but those present will know why they are there and they understand the significance of the solemn observance.

When Hon. John Gallaspy recites "In Flanders Fields" there will be those who know and understand ... who form a mental picture of a poppy and a battlefield grave of rifle stuck in ground with helmet resting on the bayonet.

And when those haunting strains of "Taps" reach across the gardens of stone that make up Ponemah, others will feel their eyes grow damp as tears well up at the thought of a loved one who went away, never to return and there are the shudders that simply can't be willed away when the rifles sound in 21-gun salute, their retort bouncing off the pines.

I suppose it's hard for something so somber to compete with the start of summer ... hamburgers and hot dogs and a trip to the river or the beach ... and it should have never been placed in such a position.

But rather than bemoan that fact, let's be thankful for those who served so that those who may never understand what Memorial Day is all about will have the opportunity to do their thing ... because had they not given their all, we might not have the opportunity to gather in their honor.

Hooah ... hoorah ... huzzah ... Semper Fi ... and God bless.

(The segment on the creation of the three-day weekend around Memorial Day was taken from http://www.usmemorialday.org)

Thunder, lightning ... Rain!

After a lengthy dry spell, portions of Washington Parish got rain beginning about midnight Wednesday.By 8 a.m., only puddles remained in Bogalusa - and it was barely damp heading south of town ... but that all changed about mid-morning, as a heavy band of thunderstorms moved through.

"My weather radio kep going off," one Bogalusa resident said. "There was warning after warning."

According to weatherbug, the official weather service for wpnewsblog, another heavy band should move through the area between about 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

"We really need this water," said a local watermelon grower. "It's been pretty bad, but if we can get some moisture along through here, we may have some good melons for July 4."

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

Parish council deals with busy agenda

Tommy Thiebaud, parish
director of Homeland Security,
explains the need for a burn ban.
(John H. Walker photo)

FRANKLINTON — Members of the Washington Parish Council methodically worked their way through a busy agenda here Monday night.

By the time council members were finished, they had held three public hearings — without any public input — introduced four ordinances and three resolutions.

Most prominent was an emergency, 30-day burn ban (see top right column) implemented parishwide. Council members also held a public hearing and approved Ordinance No. 11-546, which keeps the parish tax levy at 28.42 mills, the same as last year.

Additionally, Resolution No. 11-549, which will allow Parish President Richard Thomas to enter into an agreement with Landworks, Inc. for the operation of the Choctaw Road Landfill.

After the meeting, Thomas told wpnewsblog he was comfortable with the process undertaken to advertise for and review proposals for the operation of the landfill.

"We held three public meetings where people could attend and ask questions,” he explained. "These proposals were reviewed and it was a studied decision ... it wasn't done like it was in the past,” he said.

A public hearing and vote will be held on the resolution when the council next meets on June 6.

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

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.

OPINION — Are Parish drivers being gouged?

Jr. Food Mart at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Crude is below $100 per barrel. The national average has dropped from above $4 per gallon, yet cheaper gas prices are as close as Bush.

With the Texaco by the Pearl River still at $3.929 and Jr. Food Mart in Bogalusa at $3.899, one has to wonder how much traffic is going out of town to buy gas?

Gas was $3.76 per gallon (on average) in Covington on Sunday and $3.65 on Tuesday — the same as in Picayune. If you shop at Winn-Dixie and participate in Fuel Perks, that means a 20-cent-a -gallon discount gets your gas for $3.729 in Bogalusa or $3.45 in Covington and Picayune.

And that raises the next question ... if you can save that much at the pump, why not just go to the grocery store there as well?

Gas prices aren't just less expensive in larger communities, they're cheaper in the country, as well. Just drive up Highway 21 and cross into Mississippi ... the little country store on the west side of the highway was at $3.63 LAST week and has dropped further!

Gas is already below $3.50 a gallon in the Jackson area and New Orleans Metro. The price ranges between $3.60 and $3.75 in the rest of the area — outside Washington Parish — which makes one think long and hard about paying an extra 30 to 40 cents a gallon.

We're all for shopping at home, but not at the expense of common sense!