Local AT&T Store Gets Major Upgrade

Franklinton and the surrounding areas welcomed an updated, modern AT&T store Friday at a grand opening held for the public. Located to the left of Winn-Dixie and behind Wendy's, many citizens got their first look at the business.

"The grand opening was wonderful," said manager Tracey Thomas. "Our town really came out and supported us. The store was filled with customers and everyone was quite impressed."

The store moved to its new location on January 25 after being located on Washington Street for the last 15 years. The new version of the AT&T store is exactly like AT&T stores found in Covington and larger, surrounding areas.

Thomas said the new store will offer all phones and tablets that AT&T has to offer. This includes iPhones, iPads and Samsung phones and tablets. Also offered are assessories including powerrocks, juice packs for charging your phone, cases, chargers, earbuds and Bluetooth. The store offers the same pricing and availability as other AT&T stores.

Customers are also now able to pay their bill at the new store for both cell phones, tablets and home phones. AT&T Internet DSL and U-verse can also be ordered through the new location.

Thomas said the new store has been extremely busy since its move.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to serve the wonderful customers, both veteran and new, and strive to give them the latest devices, plans and accessories right here in their hometown while providing them with excellent customer service.

"There is really no need to drive out of town for any of your wireless, home phone, or Internet needs. Our friendly, experienced staff can handle all your needs right here in our hometown," said Thomas.

Thomas invites everyone to stop by and see what the new store has to offer.

Officer receives new vest after being shot

Friends, family and coworkers gathered Friday at the Franklinton Police Department for a special ceremony that saw Sgt. Chad Dorsett receive a new bulletproof vest.

Dorsett was on duty the evening of December 19, 2013 when he and other officers responded to a 911 call regarding a subject being shot in the arm. After arriving and finding the suspect barricaded in a mobile home, officers attempted to gain entry through a cracked door.

The suspect fired a shot using a 9 mm handgun that went through Sgt. Dorsett's forearm before lodging in his bulletproof vest. Once Dorsett realized he was hit, he turned to Chief Donald Folse to let him know.

"He never panicked and he never lost his cool," said Chief Folse. "He told me that he was hit and I escorted him back near the units to a safe area. He had enough wit about him to tell me that there was a bullet in the chamber and the gun was set to fire. He asked me to take the gun off of him after making me aware. That's the kind of people we have in our department.

"Chad's been around enough to know and instincts kick in. I'm proud of the way he handled himself and I'm proud to have him with the Franklinton Police Department."

Safariland Group, the supplier of bulletproof vests for the department, was represented by domestic account manager Erik Belsom.  Belsom presented Sgt. Dorsett with a new bulletproof vest before honoring him with a plaque to make Dorsett a member of the Safariland "Saves Club".

"We’re here today to make Chad a part of our Saves Program," said Belsom. "He's our 1878th documented save and we want to recognize and acknowledge his sacrifice and commitment. Today is about Chad and the Franklinton Police Department."

Sgt. Dorsett realizes the importance of wearing the bulletproof vest especially after being shot.

"I heard the shot and then felt a burning in my arm," recalled Dorsett. "I didn't realize it had hit me in the vest. I remember telling somebody I was shot – that they got me. I moved back towards the road and then saw the blood trickling down my arm and then it (the pain) hit me in my chest. Then I worried about it going through.

"I took my (injured) left arm and reached under my vest and saw blood when I looked at my hand. Then I realized it was from my arm that had been hit. Then I put my right arm under the vest and realized the Safariland vest had stopped the bullet. I was very relieved and then it was all about preserving evidence."

Bulletproof vests have become hard for police departments to afford these days. They have a five-year life expectancy, but the average vest being worn by Louisiana policemen is 10-12 years old. The vest that Sgt. Dorsett was wearing when he got shot was almost 5 years old.

"We realize the importance of why everyone needs to wear their vests," said Chief Folse."Unfortunately, it's a strain on smaller departments to be able to afford the vests. They're getting very expensive and we used to be able to get grants for them. That's next to nonexistent now. We just have to do what we have to do to make sure our officers are safe."

At Tuesday's Board of Aldermen meeting, Alderman John Daniel stated that funds are already set aside in a Capital Improvements account to purchase new vests for all officers.

"It's very important to us as a Council to make sure we give our officers everything they need to keep them safe and help them do their job," said Daniel.

Belsom with Safariland said the vests cost anywhere from $500-$900 depending on the model. The more expensive vests are lighter and more comfortable. Belsom noted that makes a difference when officers are wearing polyester uniforms on long shifts and working in the August heat. "Vests work and they save lives," said Belsom.

Sgt. Dorsett, his coworkers, family and friends realize how true that statement is.

"I'm a newfound believer in what vests can do," said Dorsett just minutes before taking a family picture with his wife and kids. "I want to thank my wife for being the vest police and making sure I wear it every time I come to work."

Sgt. Chad Dorsett receives a new bulletproof vest from Safariland's Erik Belsom. Chief Donald Folse (left) looks on.

(L-R) Chief Donald Folse, Sgt. Chad Dorsett and Erik Belsom

David Currier takes over BGS football program

Bowling Green School is proud to announce the hiring of David Currier as their head football coach. Coach Currier comes to Bowling Green from Kentwood High School where he spent 30 years, 26 of those as head coach of the highly successful Kangaroos football program.

Coach David Currier, a 1974 Class AAA All State defensive back for the Amite Warriors, is a 1980 graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University.  He and his wife Julia, have two grown children and 3 grandchildren.

 During his 26 year tenure as head coach at Kentwood, Coach Currier compiled a magnificent 253-86 record.   Amazingly his teams enjoyed participating in the playoffs in each of those 26 seasons.  Coach Currier also lead his team to five class 1A championship games, winning two state championships back to back in 1997 and 1998. (Runners up in 1996, 1999 and 2003). Coach Currier is in the top 20 coaches in number of wins in Louisiana High School Football.

Capturing 20 district championships and making 12 semi-final appearances, Coach Currier is a member of the elite Louisiana High School Football Coaches 200 win club. He has also served on the Louisiana Football Coaches Association Board of Directors and was named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Coach of the Year in 1997.

The Currier name is a familiar one to the Franklinton area. David's brother, Donald, had a very successful career as head coach of Franklinton High School. He led FHS to a state championship appearance in 1981 while compiling a career record of 254-111. In 1999, both David and Donald led their respective teams to state championship game appearances.

The public is invited to join the BGS family for a “Meet & Greet” welcome reception for Coach Currier and his wife Julia, Thursday, February 6th at 5:30 in the school’s cafeteria.

David Currier takes over the BGS football program after 26 successful years at Kentwood  High School

FPD Officer Shot; Standoff Has Peaceful Ending

Note: Franklinton police officers along with other agencies put their lives on the line in the shooting situation listed below. Thanks to the professionalism of these brave men and women, the incident ended much better than it could have. A big "thank you" goes out to all officers who put their lives on the line every day to protect the people of Franklinton and Washington Parish. The article below is from the WWL-TV website.

FRANKLINTON, La. - A man robbed and shot his neighbor as well as a police officer who responded to the call; and, also set his own home on fire inside of which was the dead body of his mother, in a rampage Thursday night, according to the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office.

A spokesperson with the sheriff's office said 20-year-old Christopher Rashad Dillon was booked with two counts of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer and a count of aggravated arson. The incident happened in front of a home on 16th Avenue and Lenora.

According to the spokesperson, a man was returning to his home, when he was met in the driveway by Dillon, a man he recognized as a neighbor who demanded money. During the incident, the victim was shot. There were no specifics on his injury, but he was taken to University Hospital and was expected to be OK, according to the spokesperson.

Police said Dillon then retreated to his home, where he barricaded himself inside and shot at one of the officers responding to the scene. The officer was hit in the arm and his injury was said to be non life-threatening.

Police said Dillon then set his house on fire and after it was put out, the dead body of the his mother was found inside of the burned home.

Dillon eventually surrendered and was treated after which he was booked into the Washington Parish Jail.

20-year-old Christopher Rashad Dillon was booked with 2 counts of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer

Pictured above is the trailer where Dillon fired shots at officers from before setting it on fire. He was captured and taken into custody.

Opinion: Voters Should Approve Sales Tax Proposal

Beginning in less than a week the Washington Parish Government will ask voters to approve a 1/3 of one cent sales tax proposal. If successful, the funds would go to the Parish Government’s general fund to help pay mandated expenses dedicated to funding the civil, criminal and juvenile justice system in Washington Parish.

Mandated expenses are those required by the state to be paid. The Parish Government has no choice in the matter as the state forces every Parish Government to pay these expenses. The Parish Government is mandated (required) to fund entities such as the Sheriff's Office, Assessor's Office, the District Attorney's Office, the Clerk of Courts Office and services for judges.

Before this gets too boring, here's what the tax would cost you if approved. On a $10 purchase you would pay 3 cents. Yes, three pennies. If you buy $100 worth of groceries you would pay 33 cents. If you spend $1,000 on that new computer for the family, you'd pay $3.30. It's an extremely minimal amount as you can see and it would greatly benefit our Parish Government.

If you live within the city limits of Franklinton, you wouldn't pay any additional taxes on purchases in Franklinton. If you have a business located in Franklinton, your sales tax rates won't go up at all because Franklinton has reached the legal limit for sales tax charges. Franklinton residents within the city limits also don't vote on this proposal. The remaining registered voters in Washington Parish are eligible to vote.

In a previous election similar to this one, misinformation and untruths were widely spread to voters throughout the parish. Talk of issues that held no bearing on the outcome of the election were put out because a) people distributing this information honestly didn't understand it or b) they intentionally wanted to confuse voters and make them believe something other than the truth. In either case, if you're going to ask people to vote for or against something the least you can do is understand the facts before setting out on your mission.

Through no fault of their own, the Parish Government’s general fund is in dire straits. Washington Parish citizens now have the ability to step up and help for just pennies. It's the right thing to do and the right time to do it. Please vote "yes" during the following dates:

Early Voting Dates: Saturday, October 5 – Saturday, October 12

Election Day: October 19 (the Saturday of the fair)

For more information or to verify the above, you may call (985) 839-7825 and speak to Parish President Richard Thomas, Director of Personnel/Finance Donna Alonzo or others at the Parish Government office.

Online Interview Series Begins

A new online show that features Washington Parish information began airing this week. The show, which is titled "Washington Parish Today", features daily interviews with civic leaders, elected officials, pastors and other people throughout the parish. The show, hosted by former Bogalusa Mayor Mack McGehee, gives viewers an opportunity to listen to thoughts and comments from the various people being interviewed.

The show debuted Monday with a two-part interview with Parish President Richard Thomas. Among other things, Thomas discussed the upcoming one third of one cent sales tax proposal that's on the October 19 ballot. Others to be interviewed include Bogalusa Downtown Development Association Manager Robin Day, Bogalusa Chamber of Commerce director Marilyn Bateman and Mt. Hermon Baptist Church Pastor Micah Rutland. Others to be interviewed will be announced as the show moves forward.

You can view daily programs by going to www.MtHermonWebTV.com. Once there, click on the "Washington Parish TV" button near the top. Then choose the "Watch Washington Parish Today in HD" link. This will allow you to watch the most current and archived interviews. Shows air at 6 PM each day and 8 AM the following morning. You can watch archived interviews if you miss the shows during the above-mentioned times. You may also watch the shows by going to the Bogalusa Daily News website at www.goBogalusa.com.

Washington Parish Web TV also offers over 70 TV programs and hundreds of movies for online viewing. Washington Parish Council meetings, Town of Franklinton meetings, and Bogalusa City Council Meetings are also available to be viewed.

Check out this new, informative and interesting series each day at your convenience!

Remembering Leeke Magee

(This also ran in the 9/11/2013 edition of The Era-Leader)

In the extreme early stages of Washington Parish Recreation District #1, the Board of Directors had identified a piece of property that would be ideal for a new recreation complex. We had already received a $220,000 matching funds grant from the Department of the Interior, but were having trouble raising the matching funds.

We had put several articles in The Era-Leader to let people know of our plans for a new recreation complex. In a couple of these articles, it mentioned bumps in the road that we had to find a way to overcome in order to have a successful project.

Little did we know, but Mr. Leeke Magee had been reading the articles about the Recreation District the entire time and followed our attempts to build better recreational opportunities for the local citizens.

In the spring of 2011, the Recreation District was contacted and advised that Mr. Leeke wanted to assist in making the recreation complex successful. He announced a pledge agreement and partnership with the Washington Parish Recreation District #1 to match every dollar we could raise by the end of the year up to $150,000. This was Heaven-sent to a board that had been trying to figure out a way to raise money to purchase land for the recreation complex.

On the pledge he presented to us, it stated that he "recognized the need for a facility in this area to provide healthy alternatives for the residents and especially the children".

Mr. Magee also "encouraged others to get involved and support this worthwhile endeavor".

He challenged others to get involved and knew that in order to be successful people would have to show a commitment to this project like he had done. He set the example and he simply wanted others to take part in some type of way.

After Mr. Magee ‘s pledge, there was an outpouring of support when over 200 businesses, individuals, sports teams, elected officials and others stepped up to do what they could to see that the pledge was met.

In December of 2011, Mr. Magee and his wife joined the Recreation District’s Board of Directors at Magee Financial and presented a check for $150,000. The money that he had pledged along with the money from generous community support allowed the Recreation District to purchase 115 acres of land in January of 2012. In November of 2013, the recreation district is scheduled to begin construction on Phase 1 of the new recreation complex.

Mr. Magee was an extremely generous and thoughtful man. Certainly he made many donations to help those in need that no one ever knew about. That’s the type of person he was. He took from his own possessions and gave to others to meet a need or simply make things better for an individual or a group.

When Atoka Recreation Complex is complete, everyone can look back to the time when Mr. Magee stepped up and believed in the people of our community and made a difference that will always be remembered. It was the start that the Recreation District needed and allowed for the beginning of something that will touch the lives of many children and adults in a similar manner that Mr. Magee always did.

Mr. Leeke Magee