Bus burns in Nebo
A freak fire destroyed a LaSalle Parish school bus during the first day of school for students following an extended Christmas and New Year's break last Tuesday, January 7.
According to LaSalle Parish School System Transportation Supervisor Glen "Slick" Joiner, the fire started as the bus driver left her house to start her route and no children had been picked up yet.
"Kaye Huffman lives about a mile from Nebo Elementary and from her house to the school the fire started in the engine," Joiner said. "She pulled over across the street from the school and the smoke was coming out from the engine."
That was around 6:45 a.m. She immediately called Joiner to inform him of the situation and the fire department was paged. By the time Joiner arrived to the location less than 10 minutes later, the bus was completely engulfed in flames.
Retail sales holds steady last year
Retail sales in LaSalle Parish for the year just ended remained about the same as they did for the previous year, according to figures just released for 2019 by the Concordia Sales Tax Collection Agency, which collect sales taxes for several bodies in the parish.
Overall, retail sales in 2019 parish wide stood at $267.8-million, compared to $269.6-million during the previous year of 2018. Parish wide, retail sales were down by just .007%, while retail sales in the town of Olla was up by 12% and up in town of Jena by .06%.
Tullos officials get good audit report
Town auditor CPA David Vercher's audit report review was a main topic of discussion at the January meeting of the Town of Tullos Council last week. The findings and summary of the budget were presented to the Council.
Vercher informed the Council that the town received an unmodified opinion, which is the best the town can receive. He then went into the breakdown of the town's funds, starting with the General Fund and Special Revenue Fire Fund. He updated the Mayor and Council on the following financial statements regarding Governmental Funds.
"Overall, the General Fund is making enough to cover itself," Vercher said. "You had a transfer out of about $24,000 to water and sewer but that happens sometimes. And you basically broke even with the special revenue fire fund and that's what you want to see."
Collapse of local news is national crisis
School board and city council meetings are going uncovered. Overstretched reporters receive promising tips about stories but have no time to follow up. Newspapers publish fewer pages or less frequently or, in hundreds of cases across the country, are shuttered completely.
Vaping… A major problem
BATON ROUGE--One LSU student walked through security and ID checks to purchase a legal vape cartridge filled with cannabis oil in Los Angeles. Another walked up to the back of a van off a dimly lit road somewhere in Louisiana to buy one illegally; no ID checks, no security and no certainty that the purchase was safe.
Governor, Legislators to take oaths Monday
Louisiana's Governor and Legislators will take office next Monday to serve citizens of this state for the next four years. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on the steps of the Louisiana Capitol in Baton Rouge, weather permitting.
2019 Top FB Posts
As social media continues to have a larger part of LaSalle Parish residents' lives, The Jena Times is constantly working to improve its online resources to keep readers informed on the latest news.
For many years the LaSalle Parish newspaper has maintained its website, www.thejenatimes.net, and about eight years ago it expanded its operations to include viewing the entire paper each week on computers, laptops, phones, and other devices via its website.
In 2016, a larger effort was made to expand its online services, specifically through the world-wide interaction social media source of Facebook, and to date, that Facebook Page, "The Jena Times Olla-Tullos-Urania Signal" has just under 8,000 followers.
LaSalle jobless rate tied for 4th lowest in state
The unemployment rate for the month of October 2019 in La-Salle Parish was the lowest of any parish in north Louisiana, and tied for the fourth lowest in Louisiana. No other parish north of the I-10 corridor had a rate lower than La-Salle.
At 4.1 percent, La-Salle was tied with Jefferson, Ascension and St. Tammany Parishes. The three parishes with lower rates include Cameron at 3.5 percent; Calcasieu at 3.8 percent; and Livingston at 3.9 percent.
The October jobless rate for LaSalle, at 4.0 percent, was up slightly from the 4.0 percent recorded in August. The number of people employed in LaSalle Parish also fell slightly, by 33 people between the two months, from 6,514 in September to 6,481 in October.
History made
History was made in LaSalle Parish during the 2019 fall elections with one official being replaced after 60 years of service, one official becomes first to be elected to more than three terms, new senator and two new representatives elected, and half of the Police Jury replaced.
For the first time since 1960, or 60 years, La-Salle Parish will have a new Coroner beginning in 2020.
Dr. I. C. Turnley, Jr. was first elected as Coroner in 1960 and served 15 terms – the longest of any parish official and among the longest of any official in the state of Louisiana.
Property taxes due by Dec. 31
Property taxes for both parish and municipal taxes are due by Tuesday, December 31. However, interest of 1-percent will not be added until after January 31, 2020. Tax notices were mailed earlier this month, a little later than usual because of a computer glitch.