D’Arbonne and Ouachita Flood Updates

From the National Weather Service in Shreveport:

FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
1018 AM CDT SAT OCT 31 2009

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE BAYOU D`ARBONNE AT LAKE D`ARBONNE AT FARMERVILLE LOUISIANA.
* UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE…OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED.
* AT 600 AM SATURDAY THE POOL STAGE WAS 84.2 FEET.
* MINOR FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MODERATE FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FLOOD POOL STAGE IS 83 FEET.
* THE LAKE WILL RISE A LITTLE MORE AND CREST NEAR 84.6 FEET
DURING SUNDAY MORNING.

FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
932 AM CDT SAT OCT 31 2009

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE OUACHITA RIVER AT MONROE LOUISIANA.
* UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE…OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED.
* AT 900 AM SATURDAY THE STAGE WAS 44.2 FEET.
* MODERATE FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MODERATE FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 40 FEET.
* FORECAST…THE RIVER WILL CONTINUE RISING TO NEAR 47.0 FEET BY
NOVEMBER 16TH.

Statewide streamflow table from the US Geological Survey.

Real-time readings from the gauge located at the Farmerville Hwy bridge: (318) 368-2054.

USGS and NWS Links for Flood Info

Statewide streamflow table from the US Geological Survey.

National Weather Service flood watches, warnings and advisories.

Real-time readings from the gauge located at the Farmerville Hwy bridge: (318) 368-2054.

FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
1138 AM CDT FRI OCT 30 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SHREVEPORT HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WARNING FOR
THE BAYOU D`ARBONNE AT LAKE CLAIBORNE NEAR HOMER LOUISIANA.
* UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE…OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED.
* AT 1115 AM FRIDAY THE POOL STAGE WAS 188.2 FEET.
* FLOOD POOL STAGE IS 188.0 FEET.
* FORECAST…EXPECT THE LAKE TO RISE AND CREST NEAR 190 FEET
DURING LATE SATURDAY EVENING.
* IMPACT…EXPECT FLOODED ACCESS ROADWAYS AND DOCKS. SECURE
BOATS FOR HIGH WATER.

FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
1124 AM CDT FRI OCT 30 2009

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE BAYOU D`ARBONNE AT LAKE D`ARBONNE ARKANSAS.
* UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE…OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED.
* AT 1000 AM FRIDAY THE POOL STAGE WAS 82.8 FEET.
* MODERATE FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FLOOD POOL STAGE IS 83 FEET.
* FORECAST…RISE AND CREST NEAR 84.5 FEET DURING EARLY
SUNDAY MORNING. EXPECT FLOODING ABOUT ONE FOOT LOWER THAN
THAT OF MID OCTOBER.

OUACHITA RIVER

FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
1220 PM CDT FRI OCT 30 2009

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE OUACHITA RIVER AT MONROE LOUISIANA.
* UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE…OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED.
* AT 1100 AM FRIDAY THE STAGE WAS 43.2 FEET.
* MODERATE FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MODERATE FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 40 FEET.
* FORECAST…THE RIVER WILL CONTINUE RISING TO NEAR 47.0 FEET BY
NOVEMBER 16.
* EXPECT EXTENSIVE FLOODING BETWEEN LEVEES WITH ALL PARKS FLOODED
THROUGH AT LEAST THE END OF NOVEMBER. EXPECT BACKWATER FLOODING
FROM BAYOU D`ARBONNE TO BELOW THE DAM AT LAKE D`ARBONNE. BOATING
IS HIGHLY DISCOURAGED.

Gannett’s LA Newspaper Circulation Plunges

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, Gannett’s newspapers suffered plunges in circulation from September 2008 to September 2009. The Louisiana newspaper numbers are as follows:

The (Lafayette) Daily Advertiser: (-15.6%)
The (Shreveport)Times: (-10.6%)
The (Monroe) News-Star: (-9.7%)
(Opelousas) Daily World: (-24.2%)

We give them another couple of years before they all literally dry up and blow away.

Si Brown/ConAgra Update

From Forgotston.com:

Two months ago, Si Brown, CEO of Bruce Foods, an 80 year old Louisiana business, appeared on the Moon Griffon statewide radio talk show. (See report here.) Brown explained that the state’s ethically-challenged head of economic development, Stephen Moret was underwriting an out of state competitor using his and our tax dollars.

Brown said that since 2003 he had plans to build a sweet potato processing plant in South Louisiana similar to the one proposed by ConAgra in North LA near Delhi that the state was helping to underwrite. The difference, according to Brown, is that he would have built the plant with incentives from the state at a cost of $8,000 per job ($1 Million) versus the one in North LA at a cost to the state’s taxpayers of $104,000 per job ($37 Million).

Broken promises

While Brown was on the radio show that day, Moret called and left a message for Brown that he was coming to meet with Brown shortly about the matter. The Rhodes Scholar even called Brown and promised to make sure that the project moved forward.

According to Brown, Moret met with him on September 3 and Moret made promises regarding the infrastructure assistance for Bruce Foods’ sweet potato processing plant.

This morning, Brown again appeared on the Moon Griffon Show and reported that after two months and numerous contacts by Brown, Moret has only delivered broken promises.

Today, Brown again appeared on the Moon Griffon Show and reported that after two months and numerous contacts by Brown, Moret has only delivered broken promises.

Lincoln Parish News Online had reported on the story here and here and here.

News-Star on Shreveport Consultant

The (Monroe) News-Star’s Johnny Gunter this morning reports on the move to hire a Shreveport consultant to monitor Monroe’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. LPNO had reported on the story earlier.

Shreveport Firm to “Consult” on Monroe Airport

The Monroe City Council will tonight debate an ordinance authorizing Mayor Jamie Mayo to contract with Shreveport consultant Hall Builders, Inc. to help monitor ongoing construction at the Monroe Regional Airport. The item is VIII (d) on the agenda.

Hall Builders has a history of government contract work and was recommended to Mayo by Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover, according to a source. Lincoln Parish News Online had reported on the Monroe Airport controversy earlier here and here.

Reportedly, the proposed contract amount is $75 thousand per year and will involve consulting on Disadvantaged Business Enterprises.

UPDATE: 3:30 pm – Proposed Contract

Lincoln Parish News Online has obtained a copy of the proposed contract that will be presented tonight at the City Council meeting.

Newspaper Circulation Still Declining

From Editor & Publisher:

Circulation at many of the country’s largest newspapers continued a steep slide as the Audit Bureau of Circulations Monday morning released the latest figures for the six months ending September 2009 — proving yet again that the industry can’t shake the dramatic declines that have taken hold over the past several years.

On a comparable basis, ABC reported that for the 379 newspapers filing with the organization, average daily circulation plunged 10.6% to 30,395,652 — one of the most severe drops in overall circulation. Sunday circulation for 562 reporting newspapers was down 7.4% to 40,012,253.

Here are the top twenty-five newspaper’s numbers, also from E&P:

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL — 2,024,269 — 0.61%
USA TODAY — 1,900,116 — (-17.15%)
THE NEW YORK TIMES — 927,851 — (-7.28%)
LOS ANGELES TIMES — 657,467 — (-11.05%)
THE WASHINGTON POST — 582,844 — (-6.40%)

DAILY NEWS (NEW YORK) — 544,167 — (-13.98%)
NEW YORK POST — 508,042 — (-18.77%)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE — 465,892 — (-9.72%)
HOUSTON CHRONICLE — 384,419 — (-14.24%)
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER — 361,480 — N/A

NEWSDAY — 357,124 — (-5.40%)
THE DENVER POST — 340,949 — N/A
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC — 316,874 — (-12.30%)
STAR TRIBUNE, MINNEAPOLIS — 304,543 — (-5.53%)
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES — 275,641 — (-11.98%)

The PLAIN DEALER, CLEVELAND — 271,180 — (-11.24%)
DETROIT FREE PRESS (e) — 269,729 — (-9.56%)
THE BOSTON GLOBE — 264,105 — (-18.48%)
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS — 263,810 — (-22.16%)
THE SEATTLE TIMES — 263,588 — N/A

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE — 251,782 — (-25.82%)
THE OREGONIAN — 249,163 — (-12.06%)
THE STAR-LEDGER, NEWARK — 246,006 — (-22.22%)
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE — 242,705 — (-10.05%)
ST. PETERSBURG (FLA.) TIMES — 240,147 — (-10.70%)

An analysis from Reflections of a Newsosaur:

Following an average drop of 10.6% in the last six months, daily newspaper circulation has fallen to a pre-World War II low of an estimated 39.1 million, according to an analysis of industry data released today.

The first double-digit circulation decline in history means only 12.9% of the U.S. population buys a daily newspaper. The analysis is based on data provided by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, an industry-funded group.

Newspaper circulation now is lower than the 41.1 million papers sold in 1940, the earliest date for which records are published by the Newspaper Association of America. Back in 1940, newspapers were purchased by 31.1% of the population.

Supreme Court Ouachita Vote Breakdown

We have constructed a spreadsheet that breaks down the vote for Supreme Court in Ouachita Parish by precinct and Police Jury District.

Engineer Requirement Dropped For LPPJ Admin

The Personnel Committee and the full Jury voted last night to remove the Engineer requirement from the Job Description of Parish Administrator for the Lincoln Parish Police Jury. The description title is now Parish Administrator instead of Administrator/Engineer. The Training and Experience paragraph was modified to read:

Graduated from an accredited four (4) year college or university with a major in business administration and/or business management and/or public administration, and five (5) years of progressively responsible supervisory experience.

Under License, the requirement for “Registered Professional Engineer in State of LA” was deleted.

The committee also set the entry level salary at $60 thousand, depending on experience. Final salary would be negotiated between the applicant and the Jury.

The committee voted to advertise for thirty days for the position, starting November 1, 2009. The ads would run in local newspapers and on government job websites. Personnel Committee Chair and District Nine Juror Joe Henderson will oversee the process.

District One Juror Theresa Moore Wyatt said the process would not exclude anyone and that the position was not promised to any potential applicant. Henderson added that among jurors there had been prior “discussions about dropping the engineering requirement” for the job.

Next, the committee authorized additional signatures on the checking account to take effect after present administrator Dennis Woodward leaves at the end of this month.

Full Jury

The full Jury added a couple of items to the agenda – a resolution of appreciation for outgoing Administrator Dennis Woodward and a request to hire a contract Engineer to oversee capital projects.

District Twelve Juror R. D. “Mickey” Mays moved to hire an Engineer. During the discussion about what the Engineer’s duties would be, it was decided that much of the work had already been done by Woodard, who is a PE. The work consists of surveying the parish roads, classifying priorities and reporting to the State. Woodward said he would work toward completing the report before he leaves his position. The motion was then tabled.

The Jury also adopted the committee reports from earlier in the evening and from last week, where the Personnel Committee had recommended appointing Courtney Hall as Interim Administrator.

After reports and travel, the Jury adjourned at about 6:30 pm.

Lincoln Police Jury Meets Thursday Evening

The Lincoln Parish Police Jury will meet Thursday evening, October 22, 2009 at 6:00 pm at the Court House, third floor. Prior to the full Jury, the Personnel Committee will meet at 5:00 pm to establish a job description for the Parish Administrator position.

See the agenda for both meetings here.