The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 15

THE TIMES THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1998 3B LocalState REGION BRIEFS theme w.o park won go to public bid Pam Perkins, determined the capital construction budget required all projects financed through state cash and bonds be subject to public bidding. Drennen said he also sought a legal opinion from Gov. Foster's chief attorney, Cheney Joseph, who sided with Harroun and said the exemption was in order. But Drennen said he wanted the issue clarified by the Legislature to avoid future problems. from the traditional application of the bidding process.

"We are of the opinion that the imposition of the bid law on this project would constitute an unwarranted impractical restriction, predictably resulting in its demise," Harroun wrote. Drennen said he will bring the issue back to lawmakers at the 1999 general session to see if they want to continue the exemption. Drennen said he sought the legal opinion after his general counsel, "I think it is fair to say that this is the single most important economic development project in New Orleans East in a generation," said Marc Morial during the meeting. The council's action came a day after the state attorney generl issued an opinion saying developers do not have to take public bids for the project even if they use $10 million in state money to build it. Commissioner of Administration Mark Drennen, who requested the opinion, said he would not chal hi)'" Yr; Watermelon Festival parade is Saturday SALINE A retired Bienville Parish public school employee will be grand marshal of the Saline Watermelon Festival parade to be held Saturday.

Bobbie Coffey re tired in 1994 after 24 years in the public school system as an aide and a cafeteria technician. Christmas festival seeks volunteers HOMER The Homer Christmas Festival Committee needs volunteers to help with this year's event. The panel meets at noon on the second Tuesday of each month at the Claiborne Parish Library, 901 Edgewood Drive in Homer. Participants must provide their own killer denied new trial WaUIi the Hhertront Bloom from your northeast corner office Croat views of the Red River and Cross Lake Choose your own Vinyl Wallcovering Carpet A Super Space at a Great Rate! lenge the decision. Drennen said Louisiana's construction law requires state-financed projects to be bid publicly and awarded to the lowest responsive bidder, but the Legislature has exempted non-profit "economic development corporations" like the one New Orleans is using to build Jazzland.

Assistant Attorney General Robert Harroun III wrote that the complexity of the project's construction and financing exempt it counts of second-degree murder for the 1991 shooting deaths of Latsor Williams and Ken Lowston during an armed robbery as they sat in a parked car at the Caddo Career and Technology Center. Birklett admitted to holding a gun on the victims, according to a statement he gave to police and presented at his trial. Bullets from a gun found in Birklett's possession also were matched to those taken from the victims, Nesbitt said. Emanuel set sentencing for Aug. 5.

Birklett could get up to life in prison. who had affair With credit for time served, Jones was paroled on Dec. 19, 1994. From January 1995 until March 1996, Harris had an "intimate sexual affair" with Jones while she was married to Wade Mulmore, the commission said. After a crime spree in East Baton Rouge Parish that included a car theft, burglary and two armed robberies over 11 days in May 1996, Jones' parole was revoked and he was sent back to prison.

State providing $10 million to The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS Work on a planned $80 million theme park for eastern New Orleans could begin next month. The City Council unanimously approved ordinances Wednesday to clear the way for the development of Jazzland. Convicted By TOM SAUL The Times A Houston man convicted of killing two Shreveporters during an armed robbery won't get a new trial, Caddo Parish District Judge Ramona Emanuel ruled Wednesday.Michael James Birklett, 25, deserved to have his conviction overturned because evidence presented at his May trial portrayed him as a gang member, according to his attorney, Rollin Cole.Birklett also Died papers in the case that contained privileged conversations between him and his Supreme Court The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS A state judge who had an affair with a paroled felon she sent to prison was suspended without pay for 60 days by the Louisiana Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision, the court upheld the recommendation of the state Judiciary Commission which found District Judge Sharah Harris of Plaquemine violated the code of judicial conduct. Executive office reception III I i i file room with coffee bar I Suite 1301 I 1,234 usf Civil War Day Camp set at Mansfield area MANSFIELD A Civil War Day Camp is slated Saturday at Mansfield State Commemorative Area.

It will offer visitors a hands-on look at uniforms and equipment used during the battles of the 1860s. The park south of Mansfield on state Highway 175 opens at 9 a.m. Admission is $2 each for adults. Children and senior citizens get in free. For more information, call (318) 872-1474 or toll-free at (888) 677-6267.

fur Inlnrmaiion rail: I liM 1 uion Udnagcnirnt, 227-4I757 we're more than just a BUILDING Volunteers needed for seniors programs Man on trial says he burned $500,000 cash lawyer, Cole said. "It defeated the whole purpose of what I was trying to do to get up there and defend him," he said. Caddo Parish special prosecutor Woody Nesbitt said the papers Birklett filed were not privileged and could be used against Birklett. They included incriminating statements. Birklett's membership in a faction of the Crips street gang was a key part of the state's case.

The mass of evidence against (Birklett) in this case doesn't justify a new trial," Nesbitt said. Birklett was convicted of two suspends judge Harris, formerly known as Sharah Mulmore, admitted her affair with Rodney Bernard Jones, the son of Warden Johnnie Jones of the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women, and expressed remorse for her misconduct. According to the commission, Jones pleaded guilty before Harris on Feb. 16, 1993, to the armed robbery of a Maringouin bank and she later sentenced him to five years in prison. gaged his property to keep it from being liquidated by the bankruptcy court He borrowed over $300,000 from relatives and put his property up for collateral, Katz said.

"Evidence will show he decided no matter what the court decision was, he wasn't ever going to pay the money back," Kat2 said. Katz is trying to have the mortgages declared fraudulent so the court can sell the property and pay creditors with the money. Defense attorney Jim Rountree said Norris' relatives acted in good faith. Norris, who also is serving as a defense attorney on the case, was interrupted at least twice by U.S. District Judge Don Walter and told to stop his argument The first was when he told jurors that he thought his former law partners wrote a state judge's opinion ordering him to repay the money he took from the law firm.

LONGER REQUIRES Mil 266 Multimedia Computer Package! Includes: 15" Color ttt.i' i 2 Ivl -i i The Associated Press MONROE It's James Norris' story and the former district attorney is sticking to it: he burned $500,000 because money is the root of all evil. Never mind that a federal grand jury accused Norris of lying and indicted him on four counts of perjury. The story rose from the ashes Tuesday in federal court, where Norris' former law partners, Don Johnson and Allan Placke, along with a bankruptcy trustee, are trying to recover some of the money. Courts have ruled that Norris, a former prosecutor in northeastern Louisiana, owes his partners about $800,000. The perjury case has not gone to court.

Norris claims the indictment is double jeopardy, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that it is valid. Steve Katz, an attorney representing bankruptcy trustee Billy Vining, told jurors during his opening statements Tuesday that Norris mort FORCED HEIRSHIP NO onitor (13.5" viewable) y. i t- -CT" Includes it I I I II 1-1 i I r. I I i Model 7302024S Windows 98 standard office or conference room Comer Executive office 1 If.

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Register at NSU via phone, Internet NATCHITOCHES Northwestern State University has extended telephone and World Wide Web registration for the fall semester through July 31. The service allows students to create class schedules. It's open to all NSU students except first-time freshmen who did not attend Freshman Connection. To access the phone registration system, users can call (318) 357-7016 or toll-free at (800) 618-1531 outside Louisiana. Web registration is accessible at www2.nsula.edu.

For more information, call NSU's Office of the Registrar at (318) 357-6171. Humane society plans membership drive COUSHATTA A new humane society in Red River Parish is conducting a membership drive. Several local residents recently formed "God's Creatures," a humane society project which could lead to the creation of a local animal shelter. The group meets monthly. For membership and meeting details, call Kay McElwee at (318) 932-5440 or Michael Boyett at (318) 932-4069.

linden City Market slated for Saturday MINDEN Minden City Market continues at 7 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot across from the Minden Civic Center. The market is held at the same location and time each Saturday throughout the-growing season. Area farmers sell vegetables and fruits. The market also is open to groups and individuals who want to sell baked goods, jams, jellies, arts and crafts and rummage.

Free booth space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call Judy Talley at (318) 371-4258. To contribute a news item: In Bienville, Claiborne, Lincoln and Webster parishes, call (800) 462-6436 or fax 255-3907 or (318) 459-3301. For DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River and Sabine parishes, call Jeff Richard at (318) 352-9605, fax 352-4987. E-mail to newsthetimes.com YOU TO LEAVE HALF OF YOUR ESTATE TO YOUR CHILDREN! WILL YOU LEAVE IT TO THE GOVERNMENT, INSTEAD? We cordially invite you to attend a FREE presentation exclusively for individuals with estates exceeding $1,000,000.

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