Daily World from Opelousas, Louisiana • Page 1

Clinton drops executive privilege argument Opelousas man flees from police on court date LSU Tigers blast their way to another win VOL 58 N0.137 OPELOUSAS, LA. TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 1998 SOC VENDING 30e HOME DELIVERY A A ViLLE PLATTE emetenes vandalized They took out a skull, a jaw bone and some pieces of leg bones' By WAYLAND GRIFFITii Staff Writer least 39 graves in two Opelousas cemeteries were vandalized in a weekend spree that included one grave being opened and the bones tossed around the Myrtle Grove Cemetery. Headstones and decorative concrete vases were knocked over and broken in both the Myrtle Grove and Jewish cemeteries. Captain Ronnie Trahan of the Opelousas Police Department said some of the damage apparently happened late Friday night while the rest was reported Monday. "The Jewish cemetery was just destroyed," Trahan said.

"One of the graves, that has been sitting there since 1874, it was the Bloch family grave, it looks like they took a maul or something and just smashed the marble slab." One grave in Myrtle Grove was opened and Trahan said bones from that grave were recovered in various parts of the cemetery. ".3 at the Jewish cemetery in Opelousas. They took out a skull, a jaw bone and some pieces of leg bones," Trahan said. "As of this morning (Tuesday), we do have a lead." He said there was no evidence of any cultic or Satanic activity associated with the vandalism. He said evidence like cigar wrappers and other paraphernalia associated with making marijuana cigars See Vandals Page 14 Ar-At i unice woman muretered One of the vandalized tombstones 1 i 'r n-r i f.MF' 1 Thirsty rice fields keep pumps on Another two weeks without rain will be devastating to crops, Evangeline Parish coun ty agent chairman Keith Fontenot said.

With about 50,000 acres of rice fields in Evangeline Parish, Fontenot said farmers are having problems because the wells are running for much longer periods of time than usual. He said the high evaporation rate is compounding the problem. We ve had no rain at all since April 28," Fontenot said. Even the scattered thunderstorms last week left the area untouched. In the May 26 U.S.

Department of Agriculture crop report, the department said, "Cattlemen are cutting hay but some fields are not regrowing as fast due to dry conditions." "Pastures are in bad shape and beef producers will probably sell their calves earlier than usual because there isn't enough grass to support them," Fontenot said. He added that the weather has already affected hay production and there may not be enough for this winter to feed the cattle. According to the crop report, "Soybean farmers are waiting on rain before planting and See Dry Page 14 Viealiief: Hot, dry and partly cloudy Fair tonight with lows in the mid 70s and south winds at 5 to 10 mph. Partly cloudy Wednesday with highs from 90 to 95 and south winds at 10 to 15 mph and gusty. INDEX Acadiana 7 Ann Landers 8 Classified.

11 Comics 8 Crossword 11 Editorial 6 Horoscope 8 Obituaries 5 Sports 9 WORLD WIDE WEB Visit the Daily World on the Internet at www.dailyworld.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Missing your paper or wanting to subscribe? Call 942-8852 until 6 p.m. weekdays. 7 Photo by Freddie Herpln This was the scene Monday night in Mathilda Subdivision in Eunice following the stabbing death of Gloria Skinner, 33. Police received a complaint at 8:31 p.m. Monday.

Denise Marie Doyle, 39, was charged with second degree muder in connection with the incident. Photo by Freddlt Herpln Opelousas man dies in house fire By WAYLAND GRIFFITH Staff Writer An investigation is still going on into the cause of a fire that killed an Opelousas man early Tuesday morning. Joseph Jackson, 89, of 1746 Bossier St, was found dead of smoke inhalation on the floor of his home, Captain Ronnie Trahan of the Opelousas Police Department said police were alerted to the house fire by a neighbor. "Upon arrival, officers were told by a neighbor he had gone to open his window to get some fresh air and smelted smoke," Trahan said. Trahan said the man, whose name was not released, went to Jackson's home because he heard the elderly man yell for help, and shouted to another neighbor to call police.

"He heard Mr. Jackson yell out and went and saw the front door was completely engulfed," Trahan said. "He told Mr. Jackson not to try coming out that door, and two or three minutes later he yelled again but got no response." Jackson's body was found on the floor near the back door. Jesse Bellard, an investigator with the Opelousas Fire Department, said the cause of the See Fire Page 14 seek medical attention.

"But he was afraid he'd get in trouble," Don fools said. "He was in the Army." The family thinks he may have been suffering from amnesia. The car was found about 30 miles from the base where he was stationed, his brother said. D'Antoni said he met the man he knew as Danny Fools through a woman who called herself Pam Parker. At the time, Danny Fools was living with a couple D'Antoni knew only as Gerald and C.C., in a yellow brick house with a swimming pool and a hot tub near the old Provisions meat processing plant He said the couple had financed the home on a settlement resulting from an automobile wreck.

Don Fools and his wife Chris spent several days here, trying to find the couple, locate their house, sifting through records of insurance settlements, all to no avail. They did find something, though. They found a wonderful, warm, friendly community. "My wife likes it so much that, this fall, we have a vacation coming up and she wants to go back," he said. By WaVLAND GRIFFITH Staff Writer An argument between two women left a Eunice woman dead and her neighbor arrested for murder.

Eunice police were, called to the home of Gloria Skinner, 33, at 821 Bulah Apt. 5-C, shortly after 8:30 Monday night for a reported argument. According to a police report, Skinner called to report a disturbance with her neighbor, Denise Doyle, 39, 821 S. Bulah Apt. 5-D.

Records show Doyle called one minute later to report she had a fight with Skinner. found Skinner lying on the 1 floor of her mother's nearby apartment with what appeared to be a single stab wound to the chest. Officers immediately called an ambulance, but no sign of life could be detected in Skinner, who was pronounced dead by St. Landry Parish Coroner Dr. Russell Pavich at 8:38 p.m.

Monday. Doyle was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and is scheduled to be at a magistrate's hearing in Opelousas Tuesday morning. Skinner's body was taken to Ardoin's Funeral Home in Eunice pending an autopsy. Assistant Police Chief Jesse Manuel said the is still under investigation and no further details were available. Charter school may pressure budget fey JACQUELINE COCHRAN Staff Writer Randy Manuel, the St.

Landry Parish School Board financial director, is concerned that the proposed opening of a new charter school will cause budgetary problems for the public school system. "It (the opening of the charter school) could cause a lot of ichanges to the budget," Manuel said during a Monday meeting of the board's finance committee. The St. Landry Charter School, approved by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, is scheduled to open in September. St.

Landry school anticipates a minimum enrollment of 300 recruited from the Opelousas area, said Vincent Shaw, charter coordinator. The St. Landry Charter School has budgeted for $1.15 million in Minimum Foundation Program funding from the state. The state pays $3,870 per pupil. Manuel said in addition to the possible draw of 300 or more students from the St.

Landry Parish Hit, ii If iir'4 now. In 1983, Danny Fools was 22 years old. He was 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed about 185 pounds. "It was the Very first lead on the case," Don Fools said. "It was a miracle sent from God." Don Fools knows about determination and investigation, too.

Not only is he searching for his identical twin, one of six children raised by their father as a close-knit family after their mother died, but in Oklahoma Don Fools is a cop. His father was a cop, too. This investigation is not likely to get shelved. St. Landry Parish Sheriffs Office Detectives Roland Rivette and Rene Speyrer are still seeking information here.

"My brothers and sisters are very, very close," Don Fools said. "This was not like Danny at all. "He used to call Dad on a weekly basis." What happened in the days preceding the discovery of Danny Fools' car led the family to believe he was suffering a physical and psychological trauma. He got into a fight in a bar and somebody hit him on the head with a bottle. Witnesses told police in South Carolina that it was a serious wound and they urged him to FSmily myStGry Fifteen-year search centers on Opelousas Oklahoma man looks for twin brother in Louisiana By CHRIS SEGURA Staff Writer They finally found the car at the end of a lonely dirt road in a remote area of South Carolina.

There was blood on the seat, That was Jan. 14, 1983. Where the road ended the mystery began. Early this year, the trail led to Opelousas. Don Fools of Quinton, has been looking for his identical twin brother, Danny Fools, for more than 15 years.

Danny Fools He came to Opelousas on something stronger than a tip. By luck or fate or an act of divine intervention, a man who claimed to have known Danny Fools, made contact with the twins' older brother, Billy Fools, in New Orleans. The older brother works in construction there. "He (the informant named Terry D'Antoni) saw my brother's name on a mailbox for an apartment next to his (D'Antoni's). He thought it was Danny," Don Fools i I 4.

It was the very first lead on the case It was a miracle sent from God' said in a telephone interview Monday. Billy and Don Fools were convinced D'Antoni had seen Danny Fools in Opelousas two years ago. "He described him perfectly," Don Fools said, "the type of individual he is, what he looked like right down to his tattoo." The tattoo is of a skull and cross-bones on his biceps over the inscription "Ironworker," he said. Over the skull are tattooed the letters "D.J.F." "He told Billy that Danny looked just like him." He looks even more like Don, of course. The twins are 35 years old, See Finances Page 5 i.