The News-Star from Monroe, Louisiana • Page 9

Opinion Giving blood cements status as super hero Details on 3B SECTION TUESDAY September 9, 2008 The Drainage dominates OPPJ meeting By Robbie Evans revansthenewsstar.com Ouachita Parish police jurors began dialogue Monday on ways to fund drainage projects throughout the parish. District A Juror Charles Jackson asked jurors to begin considering ways to address funding for parishwide drainage projects. Currently, the Police Jury has no dedicated funding source for drainage improvements and maintenance. The parish received unusually high amounts of rainfall last month and was inundated with drainage issues last week following Hurricane Gustav. With major drainage canals and bay funded by acreage assessments.

Mitchell said those districts have historically encompassed smaller areas such as neighborhoods. "I think the law would allow for larger districts," said Mitchell, referring to the possibility of larger districts the size of wards or police jury districts. Jackson asked jurors to develop ideas and suggestions to present at the jury's next regular meeting Sept. 22. In the meantime, District Juror Pat Moore said she would begin discussing ideas with constituents.

Moore's district is in southeastern Ouachita Parish, which was heavily flooded in some areas last week. ous already at high levels, parish officials believe major flooding could take place later this week if Hurricane Ike moves through the region. "I felt like it was important tc get that on the table and get some sense for it," Jackson said. "I don't have any preconceived notions of how we should go about it." The parish funds what little drainage work it's able to do with a portion of a 1-cent sales tax for roads and road-related drainage that generates around $6 million a year. But a lion's share of that fund is used for road improvement.

The only other source the Police Jury can access for drainage projects is the general fund. This year, only $200,000 earmarked as matching funds for state-funded flood-control projects. Police Jury attorney Jay Mitchell said jurors have two options on how to approach the issue. The first would be to ask voters to approve a parishwide drainage millage to fund drainage projects. The second option would be to create smaller drainage districts then appoint a board of commissioners consisting of landowners in the district to oversee management and improvements within the district.

Those districts are typically "Something has to be done," Moore said. In other action, the Police Jury voted 6-0 to approve a curfew ordinance for juveniles under the age of 17. The curfew is from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday and between midnight and 5 a.m.

Friday through Sunday. The curfew will also make it unlawful for parents or guardians of minors to knowingly permit a child to violate the curfew. The curfew wouldn't apply to children returning home from participation in civic, religious or school-sponsored of the curfew could result in a fine of up to $500 and not more than 30 days in jaiL FIREFIGHTERS DOUSE FIRE BEGUN IN BEDROOM Backwater flooding an immediate threat I -TJ- ft mm E. Margaret CroftThe News-Star Fire broke out Monday morning in the bedroom of a Harrison Street house causing $20,000 in damage. There was no one home at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire had not been determined late Monday and was still under investigation. PHOTO GALLERIES: See more images of the house fire on Harrison Street by going to thenewsstar.com. Tanglewood Drive at mercy of canal By Laura Johnson ljohnsonmonroe.gannett.com Flood debris ranging from a baby stroller to water-soaked carpet and twigs littered the ground outside homes on Tanglewood Drive Monday as rising water in a canal behind the homes posed a new threat. At least one homeowner blamed the flooding on sofas and other debris clogging the canal, and more looked to the Ouachita Parish Police Jury for answers. Parish public works director John Tom Murray said workers investigated the claim and found no debris stopping the water flow.

Murray said water from the canal drains into Petticoat and Raccoon bayous. Both are full, and the water is backing up into the canal. Gourd Bayou was also backing up. Officials said it's a problem across the area. The problem is that Bayou Lafourche, where the water from the bayous drains, can't hold any more water and has begun pushing water back into the streams that normally feed the bayous, Murray said.

Officials say rain that washed over Arkansas after Gustav's landfall is flowing into Louisiana, causing water levels to rise. Flooding in Ouachita Parish was the main topic at Monday's Ouachita Parish Police Jury meeting. "We know we have a flooding problem down there," said Juror Pat Moore before the meeting. "We're trying to create some solutions." Parishes outside Ouachita continued Monday to face serious flood threats. In Morehouse Parish, nearly three dozen Louisiana National Guard soldiers assisted local law enforcement with stacking sand bags and removing debris in anticipation of Hurricane Ike.

Morehouse Parish Sheriffs Chief Deputy Brian Shoemaker said Bayou Bartholomew is predicted to crest just 1 foot below level. Guardsmen and law enforcement officers were preparing to protect the low-lying areas of Bonita, Jones and Oak Ridge, which were at serious risk of flooding. In Richland Parish, backwater reportedly caused nearly 100 homes to flood. There, the good news is the Boeuf River crested just one-quarter inch below flood stage and started falling, said Larry Wheeler, parish manager. The bad news is more flooding is expected from backwaters.

Officials said it is imperative people report flooding because they will need the information if the federal government gets involved. In Franklin Parish, Greg Humphries, parish superintendent, and Harvey Guimbellot, president of the Police Jury, said floodwater has begun to recede and crews are assessing roads. Broken-up roads and badly damaged bridges have been exposed by the receding waters, causing officials to close six bridges in the parish. Bridges in Franklin that remained closed late Monday included Willie Hill Road, Burke Road, Bush Road, Loflin Road, Low Water Bridge Road and Pine Street Bridge. United Way to launch annual fundraiser day from people who need help getting food and help people who are struggling day-to-day, Durden said.

The organization's 2-1-1 line received 30,000 calls from northeast Louisiana last week during Hurricane Gustav, and Durden said calls are still being answered from other parts of the state. Gov. Bobby Jindal noticed United Way's work over the last week. He told Durden that "2-1- United Way and our partner agencies and what we're doing in the community for the following year," said Janet Durden, president of the United Way of Northeast Louisiana. "So it's a critical, critical time." Donations can be made at www.uwnela.org.

United Way performs myriad tasks year-round, even though it gets most of its attention during hurricane season. Workers take calls every 1 is saving lives." On Wednesday, visitors will be able to set up a fundraising program for their company and meet United Way community leaders. "Nothing's more important than what we're going to do Wednesday, which is to publicly open the funding that makes all of these services available," she said. Those interested in attending should call 325-3869 to RSVP. By Stephen Largen slargen monroe.gannett.com The United Way is kicking off its annual funding campaign Wednesday, and the organization is asking people to donate to help keep critical services like 2-1-1 available to the state.

The event will take place noon to 1 p.m. at Monroe Motor Speedway. "Those pledges will be what we use to run Large Hadron Collider, Tech-associated project, set to take off in Geneva University's physics program anticipates continued involvement By Stephen Largen slargenmonroe.gannett.com The Large Hadron Collider will finally launch Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland, and Louisiana Tech University's physics program is anticipating continued involvement in the massive experiment. Lee Sawyer, head of physics at Tech, said the first beam will be fired Wednesday, and scientists expect the first particle collisions to occur sometime later this fall. "This is really sort of like a shakedown: proving that all parts of the particle accelerator and detector work," said Zeno D.

Greenwood, associate professor of physics and director of the nuclear center at Tech. The school has had multiple professors and students involved with what is dubbed "the biggest experiment ever" during the past year, and Sawyer anticipates sending more graduate students to Geneva. "We're in this for the long haul at this point," Sawyer said. When the collider is turned on, two beams of protons will race toward each other at nearly the speed of light in a 17-mile underground ring, guided by super-cooled magnets. Eventually, the beams will smack into each other, and that's when hundreds of scientists will start to collect data, using a piece of equipment called the ATLAS detector.

They will be looking for new and hard-to-see particles that hold some of the answers to science's big questions about the fundamental nature of the universe. Some of the questions scien tists hope to answer: Why are some particles massive and others massless? How did the world come into existence? Are there more dimensions out there than we can see? Why does the universe have matter and not antimatter? "These are questions we've been working on for over 40 years in particle physics, and we really feel that we're close to that final goal," Sawyer said in July. WXOcuk TMM4MM'nMMIAU ON THE AIR NEWS-STAR BLOGS In the notes for Iced Earth's latest release, the label's publicist writes, "To the delight of all Iced Earth fans, Jon Schaffer and Matt Barlow have reactivated their long-term artistic partnership As a long-time fan of the band, I'd like to respectfully disagree. Certainly I'm not delighted with the departure of Tim Owens, who brought a more aggressive style to the band, and while I may be In the minority, I know I'm not alone. That said, "The Crucible of Man" turns out to be a better record than I expected.

Fred Phillips STORY CHAT Online users respond to Laura Johnson's article about break-ins on Quail Ridge Drive: That reminds me of the logic my Dad used at our hunting camp. The camp was pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, and all the camps in the area were getting broken into repeatedly. Every time we would leave, Dad would just close the door to the camp and not lock it. He said if burglars wanted in, they would get in. While our stuff would still be gone, at least he didn't have to repair a broken lockdoorwindow.

While everyone else's camps got broken into, ours never did. Go figure dkll968 Catch the latest news, as gathered by The News-Star local information center, with reports throughout the day on these Radio People stations. And tune in to talk 540 KMLB-AM at 5 p.m. weekdays for The News-Star hour featuring interviews and a preview of your morning The News-Star. WANT TO WEIGH IN? Register at thenewsstar.com's forums.

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