Crowley landmark up for sale

The American Legion home on U.S. 90 west is up for sale. The asking price, according to realtor Sharon Core, is $275,000.
Acadia Post 15 Commander Tola Myers said he doesn’t yet know where the Legionnaires will relocate.
“It’s all up in the air,” he said. “The place is just too big for us right now.”
The post acquired the nearly 17,000-square-foot building, formerly the Rice City Lanes bowling alley, in an even swap with now City Judge T. Barrett Harrington in 1981. For his part, Harrington got the building on Parkerson adjacent to the courthouse where the post headquartered during its heyday of social and political influence in the parish.
The Highway 90 property sits on 2.1 acres with another 1.36 acres adjoining, Core said.
During the Great Depression, Acadia Post 15 — so named because it was founded by 15 World War I vets — gave up immediate hopes for a Legion home and instead bought a failing sanitarium, antecedent of today’s American Legion Hospital. In 1934, the post leased the empty Missouri Pacific Railroad passenger depot, now home of the Chamber of Commerce, for a dollar a year. Toward the end of World War II, the post turned that facility, nicknamed the “Hut,” over to the USO.
In 1945, the post bought the old city hall on Court Circle for $12,500 and, according to news accounts of the day, spent another $15,000 renovating it. There was an auditorium used by most of the civic organizations and an upstairs bar where a generation of candidates were first nominated.
Swelled by the returning veterans of World War II, membership in Acadia Post 15 reached over 1,300 in the immediate post-war years. It now stands at less than half of that, only a fraction of which are active.

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Council opposes adult
novelty shop

Word that an adult novelty store is planning to open for business in the historic downtown area of Crowley drew the ire of the City Council here Tuesday night.
Responding to a request from Providencia Johnson, Main Street manager, the council amended its original meeting agenda and offered a resolution in opposition to the business.
The only reason council members didn’t outright ban the business is that they couldn’t.
"Government has very little regulatory authority in this area," Tom Regan, city attorney, informed the council members. "You can’t zone a business out of town, but you can zone to certain locations."
One problem with that theory is that the business, "Fantasies," has already applied for a temporary occupational license for the space at 119 N. Parkerson Ave.
Tina Sue Hanks is the permit applicant and, according to the application, she plans to handle lingerie, movies and adult novelties at the location.
"The Main Street board of directors requests that the council introduce an ordinance that would not permit adult novelty stores in the Main Street area since we encourage tourism and all of our events are all family oriented." Johnson said in her monthly report to the council.
Councilman Vernon "Step" Martin agreed with Johnson’s sentiments.
"This will destroy the whole integrity of downtown," Martin said.
While Regan pointed out that the council could not outright "ban" such businesses in the city limits, he added that some ordinances currently on the books could come into play if certain restricted items are sold. He didn’t elaborate.
Laurita Pete noted that, since the temporary occupational permit had already been applied for, "we’re kind of closing the door after the horse is trotting down the driveway." She suggested that the council "let the shop open and see what they’re selling. Let’s see if they break the law."
Following the unanimous vote on the resolution of opposition, Anthony "Tiger" Istre, said, "I think – I hope – the citizenry will get behind us on this."

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No foul play in
inmate’s death

Foul play has been ruled out in the death of an inmate who tried to escape from the Acadia Parish Jail last week and died in the process.
Noah Stoute, investigator with the Acadia Parish Coroner’s office said the cause of the inmate’s death is still unknown, but there was no foul play.
“The 34-year-old inmate, whose identity was withheld pending notification of next of kin, died from natural causes,” Stoute said.
In the foiled escape attempt, the inmate scaled a razor-wire fence in the exercise yard of the Detention Center then ran about 300 yards through a rice field before being caught by deputies.
Emergency medical technicians at the scene noticed that the man had stopped breathing and attempts were made to revive him. He was then taken to American Legion Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Acadia Parish Lt. Wayne Melancon said.
An autopsy was performed in Calcasieu Parish by Dr. Terry Welke and reports show no signs of the inmate dying from asphyxiation or physical trauma, Stoute said.
A toxicology report from a Dallas lab is due before a ruling on the cause of the inmate’s death will be made.
The inmate was an undocumented individual from Jamaica and had been booked into the Acadia Parish Prison 10 months ago on drug charges.

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School board to continue
committees

It took a vote by the man who implemented the committee system for the Acadia Parish School Board to stick with it.
Charlie Daigle, who, during his term as president, recommended and ultimately put into place the current committee system used by the 16-member panel, cast the deciding vote to break a 6-6 deadlock, thus assuring that the system remains in place — at least for the time being.
Daigle, now vice president, was presiding over the March meeting of the School Board in the absence of President John Suire.
Board member Lyle Johnson had recommended that the board can the committee system and return to meeting twice a month with any special committees named as they are needed.
The board currently meets once per month, on the first Monday of each month.
Johnson explained that the committee system as it is currently being used “just isn’t working.”
He said most issues that are discussed by committees are subsequently discussed again — “sometimes for an hour or more” — by the full board before a vote is taken.
Fellow board member Woodrow “Woody” Marceaux added that, by meeting twice a month (the Board at one time met on the first and third Monday of each month), issues could be handled in a more timely manner — introduced and discussed at one meeting then acted upon at the next meeting two weeks later.
Kitty Valdetero, who also favored abolishing the system, pointed out that many committees are not meeting on a regular basis “because they can’t get a quorum of members to show up.”
Nolton Senegal was the most vocal of the proponents of the committee system.
“One of the best things that ever happened to this board was the implementation of the committee system under Mr. Daigle’s administration,” Senegal said. “If it is used properly and given the time and attention and care it deserves, we (the full board) do not have to spend the entire night discussing a particular issue.”
Wadie Helen Bias also spoke in favor of the system, saying that she feels that it has worked to speed up full board meetings.
Put to a roll call vote, those in favor of abolishing the system and returning to a twice-a-month meeting schedule were Johnson, Valdetero, Marceaux, Bill Pinac, Lynn Shamsie and John Quebodeaux.
Voting to keep the system intact were Senegal, Bias, Rodney Trahan, Johnnie Smith, Shirley VigÈ and Dr. Robert McManus.
With the vote knotted at 6-6, Daigle, who had remained silent throughout discussion, cast the deciding vote to keep the system.
Suire, Roland Boudreaux and Paul “Joe” Bellon were absent.

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