The Shreveport Journal from Shreveport, Louisiana • 3

SHREVEPORT SHREVEPORT JOURNAL SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY LA TUESDAY AUGUST 7 1984 3a $135 million renovation for airport annex Florentine is supper club again Booker promises food with flair By DAVID CONNELLY Entertainment Editor By ERIK SANDIN Journal Staff Writer Three projects including one that will turn the Shreveport Regional Airport's terminal annex building into an executive terminal and meeting facility were outlined Monday at a Regional Airport Authority meeting LB Irish president of Shreveport Air Center Inc which owns the annex building said work on the first of three phases of the $135 million project has begun and should be finished in October In addition to that project Royale Airlines President NK Mclnnis said his company plans to build a 24250-square-foot maintenance hangar at Regional Airport The third project proposes development of group-owned hangars at Downtown Airport Developer Mike Fess said each hangar would be sold for up to $15000 to owners of singleengine aircraft Currently 250 small planes are based at Downtown Airport with 175 to 200 stored outdoors On the terminal annex project Irish said when all three phases are finished the building will house executive offices an Exxon Avitat executive air service facility and an additional hangar Shreveport will join 15 other cities The elegant Florentine Club at 728 Austin Place is returning to its past for a new beginning According to Gean Barnett club manager the Florentine will close Aug 18 for refurbishing and will reopen as a supper club Sept 5 Willie Booker owner-manager of Seafood and Steak House will be new business partner The original Florentine closed as a supper club on 1961 According to Barnett and for the past 13 years he has operated it as a bar and for a brief period as a restaurant Now he is going back to the original purpose will allow people to dine in a Victorian Barnett said Booker will continue to operate his restaurant at 1038 Texas but he said the food at the Florentine which is around the corner from his original restaurant will have have the same menu as we have at but the food will have more flair going to serve seafood and steak and feature Alaskan king crab and lobster also have a full line of desserts and seven or eight different Dinner prices will range from $595 to $1595 according to Booker There will be valet parking and uniformed Journal file photo a supper club again after 13 years of being run as a bar and a short The Florentine Club will become time as a restaurant security Dress will be casuaL The supper club which will be open seven days a week will provide for its diners Dorsey Summerfield and the Polyphonies regulars at will play at the Florentine Sept 7 and 8 and after that will perform regularly at the club Soft piano music will be provided for the lunch crowd Booker There will be no membership fee at the new he continued club is open to everyone and we will do catering and private parties two restaurants so close together gives me the opportunity to serve all of Shreveport at all levels The Florentine is a step up for me in terms of Booker said added Lunch prices will range from $450 to $595 and there will be luncheon drink specials Bloody Marys martinis and Manhattans will be $125 and wine will be served for $1 a glass during the lunch hour The Florentine will not close after lunch It will stay open throughout the afternoon Booker noted 12 in the US and three in Canada served by Avitat when the Ipcal facility opens Oct 1 The Avitat terminal will house executive conference rooms lounges for passengers and pilots flight planning aids multi-service charter and aircraft sales offices aircraft service facilities including FAA-certified repair stations and complete ramp and fueling services theme of this is to draw industries to Irish said Mclnnis said continued growth in Shreveport prompted the decision to build a new maintenance hangar at Regional Airport Royale has done is expanded like a weed in he said Mclnnis said Royale currently carries about 36000 passengers per month throughout the system adding that figure could increase to 40000 by this fall Mclnnis said the new hangar can house three Gulfstream planes the main aircraft in fleet and will increase the size of the Shreveport maintenance facility to 33250 square feet Royale is coummuter airline serving 16 cities in Louisiana Texas Mississippi Florida and Tennessee Federal judge postpones gambling trial A federal gambling trial for what authorities say was the largest known bookmaking operation in this area of the country was postponed indefinitely Monday by US District Judge Tom Stagg The trial of Arthur Richard Stevens III and Robert Merillat was scheduled to begin Aug 27 in federal court here but Stagg delayed the proceedings giving no reason for the delay in his order Stevens is accused of running a bookmaking operation out of his home on Jennifer Lane In uly Stagg ordered a US Justice Department investigation into allegations by attorney Graves Thomas that FBI agents were trying to frame him with possession of cocaine The findings of that investigation have not yet been released The gambling investigation which began more than a year ago originally began in the Bossier City-Shreveport area but spread to cover a 10-state region Approximately 30 people including several other Shrevcporters are still under investigation in connection with the federal probe into sports gambling Court records said more than $66 million in wagers were phoned into telephone between Dec 14 and Jan 2 prior to his arrest Miss Wheelchair to crown title heir as pricing analyst for Moore Business Forms have let me off a lot during the past year to travel and speak as Miss Wheelchair active invol vment with the family buiness (several convenience stores) and her own gift shop that she oversees Two years after the accident that left Cottam paralyzed from the chest down she termed her attitude negative I just stayed home I did Some friends persuaded her to enter the first Utah Miss Wheelchair pageant saw what others had done with their lives I realized the potential was she said This pageant turned her life around Lori entered our state pageant in 1983 it was a very clear decision for the judges" said Sherry Repscher coordinator for Miss Wheelchair activities also in town for the pageant accomplishments over the past 13 years the things she was doing with her life and her impact on the public concerning disabilities as well as the advocacy work she was doing for the disabled made it easy for the During the past year Cottam has traveled more than 30000 miles (twice to Washington DC) speaking to groups in an effort make them aware of the capabilities of handicapped people and to educate them about the hindrances created by architectural and attitudmal barriers I want people to realize that individuals who have handicaps make good employees that they can get out in society and do things and that they should have By MARGE FISCHER Journal Staff Writer not much Lori Ann Cottam Miss Wheelchair America 1983-84 do The reigning Miss Wheelchair America who lives in St George Utah drives her own car swims snowmobiles skis (on both water and snow) rides horseback and has toured Yellowstone by burro hard to understand how the 29-year-old Cottam is classified as until last year as far as sports were concerned said I could never rappel or sky said Cottam then had people call and say found a way for you to rappel and sky dive Let us know when you want to Will she? Cottam arrived in Shreveport Monday by car (her sister Gayle Carter came with her) and will take part in the week-long activities connected with the Miss Wheelchair America pageant at 7 pm Saturday at the Bossier Hilton The pageant the 13th annual competition is sponsored by the Shreveport-Bossier chapter of the Indoor Sports Club Cottam who has studied business management and fashion merchandising plans to go back to school to complete a degree in marketing at the University of Utah also plan to study to qualify as a para-legal she said Her background includes a full-time occupation Will Jackson Banker elected to Red Cross board Will Jackson senior vice president at Commercial National Bank has been elected to a three-year term on the board of governors of the American Red Cross The board of governors is the national and local guide of the Red Cross and is responsible for setting standards for approximately 3000 local chapters and operational policies for chapters providing Red Cross services throughout the country The board is made up of 50 volunteer members 30 of whom are elected at the annual convention eight who are appointed by the president of the United States and 12 who are elected by the board as members-at-large More than 100 nominations were submitted by local chapters to fill five vacant board positions Miss Wheelchair America Lori Cottam that Does she mind asking for help when needed? Not a bit usually depends on how long the person has had the disability and how adjusted to it It bother me at all In fact I appreciate Cottam has one simple bit of advice: "Treat a person with a disability the same way you yourself would want to be Campaign promise revisited What is Freeman doing? lieutenant governor ought not to have offices all over the state" said Sen Sydney Nelson With Eldwards back in office said Nelson seems to be less of a need for that than "I have never understood why Bobby Freeman needed an office in said think any justification for it" Said Soon a political office just for him to establish presence here to help him in his political Campbell however defended Freeman saying "I think if active it could help I think his office up here is useless if they work at Freeman who opened the offices shortly after taking office in 1980 said the lieutenant influence with some state agencies goes farther than that of a state representative or senator may not have the contacts I he said And he argues the cost of maintaining the two branch offices is A spokesman for office in Baton Rouge said the Shreveport expenses include $38673 a year for salaries for two employees The Shreveport office is operated by LF Peters and administrative assistant Sunni Sellers who say the office handles an average of about 20 cases each month Many of the cases involve referring a constituent to another government office Peters said But Peters and Sellers say they also assist people who have problems with food stamps Social Security disability assistance or other government programs "I want to get too he said "I like to go over there day after day and be visible and try to impose my will The Fair kept me so busy and I just stay around the Eld wards the recently concluded session kept him too busy to assign Freeman more duties But the improvement in relations between the top two elected officials has meant that Edwards is not hesitant to leave the state in hands whenever he leaves the state Treen on the other hand was reluctant to leave Louisiana during his term knowing a political enemy would be in charge Freeman who says he wanted to attend last Democratic National Convention stayed home to tend to the business go because the governor he said Although the constitution says the secretary of state is third in the line of succession it spell out is who is in charge of state business if the governor and lieutenant governor are out of state is totally silent on giving anyone else the authority if we are both out of the Freeman said think they (the Legislature) are going to have to bring in some corrective Despite his increased activity critics still insist that his offices in Shreveport and Monroe are not needed Some lawmakers especially say that the offices which specialize in helping citizens cut through government red tape are performing a function for which lawmakers are paid $381000 in operating expenses for office forcing him to lay off 11 employees and close his Shreveport and Monroe offices temporarily Freeman sued Treen but the veto was upheld in court Freeman with endorsement campaigned last fall on the promise that if re-elected he would be given important duties by Edwards And since he took office Freeman has been heavily involved in the business of the Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans have been quite involved with representing the governor in the Freeman said time there is an international day they expect some head of state to be there The governor do that every time So been taking over some of that stuff" Said Edwards: "Bobby has been very involved in the operation very effective and had much of the credit His name been in the paper very Edwards said he sometimes used Freeman as a liaison with fair officials who were seeking loans from the state to keep the financially troubled fair open Edwards also said he plans to use Freeman in the industrial inducement program as 'special representative to Freeman said he hopes to use that position to put more emphasis on developing the state's ability to market seafood timber and other renewable resources of just harvesting them sending them off and have them sell it back to said one area lawmaker a Democrat Freeman is hoping to raise about $400000 by taking supporters on a week-long trip to Hawaii next month much in the same manner Edwards raised about $4 million in January by taking more than 600 supporters to Paris France really not that close to said Sen Foster Campbell a Democrat "So not a good judge of what he does I know what be Reps Johnny McFerren and Willie Singleton both Democrats also said they saw little of Freeman during the past session and were not aware of his increased activity State Sen Greg Tarver said he knew of activities with the Fair but was not aware of any other specific duties "I really don't know what Bobby Freeman is said state Rep Bruce Lynn a Republican thing that I heard most about Bobby Freeman is his putting together his trip to Hawaii "I see any of him last said Lynn I see any more of him the past Said Republican Rep BF cannot see that Bobby Freeman was any more active under Edwin Edwards than under Treen There any difference (during the last session) other than he "Pm hard pressed to find what he does any time any said Rep Art Sour a Republican I know why he needs an office up here to do Freeman readily acknowledged his absence from the halls By BOB MANN Journal Political Writer Three and a half months into his second term Lt Gov Bobby Freeman says thanks to Gov Edwin Edwards he is once again a busy man But more than a half-dozen area lawmakers asked about activities under the new administration said they rarely saw Freeman during the past legislative session and did not know that his duties had increased substantially Other lawmakers acknowledging they saw little Man in the news of Freeman during the session said they were aware of his increased activities with the New Orleans Fair and the Interim Emergency Board Those legislators also differed on the need for branch offices in Shreveport and Monroe which some said duplicate state services so much better for me now and so much better for the said Freeman a Democrat who spent most of his first four-year term of office in a constant feud with former Republican Gov Dave Treen Treen and Freeman never agreed on any specific duties for the lieutenant office The state constitution gives no specific duties to the lieutenant governor except to say that shall exercise the powers delegated to him by the feud with Treen got so strident last year that Treen vetoed Bobby Freeman More manufacturing and processing plants in Louisiana Freeman said would enable the state to broaden its revenue base "By doing this we diversify instead of being so dependent on oil and he said Freeman also says his membership on the Louisiana Exposition Authority and the state Bond Commission and his chairmanship of the Louisiana Interim Emergency Board keep him much busier than during his first term was more said Democratic Rep Bobby WaddelL "He was on the floor a lot But other area lawmakers disagreed about visibility during the recent session been raising money to pay off his campaign debt and take a trip to.