One of my readers sent me this link which allows you to receive Amber Alerts via text messages on your cell phone. The service is legitimate and vital. More info here.

In April 1998, 11 year old Lorin Easterling was abducted by a stranger while playing in her front yard in our home town of Slidell. I remember thinking that the information I was hearing must be mistaken, as Slidell was such a safe, family friendly community. I was wrong. Several days later, Lorin’s body was found dumped on the side of a road near New Orleans East. She had been raped and strangled. Lorin was only a year older than my own daughter.

Thanks to the efforts of local and federal law enforcement, Lorin’s murderer, Ralph Stogner, was apprehended and convicted. Stogner was on parole for a prior rape conviction in Wyoming, and was supposed to have been under supervision of the Louisiana Probation and Parole office.

According to a 1999 Louisiana Office of Inspector General Report, page 7, Stogner should have been contacted 120 times by Louisiana parole authorities while living in Arabi from July, 1995 until his arrest for Lorin’s murder in April, 1998. However, the report indicates that because of the workload of parole officers, Stogner had been contacted only four times during this time period.

Lorin’s mother, Trina Easterling, testified before the United States Congress in September, 1998 on behalf of “No Second Chance” legislation. Read Trina’s statement HERE.

If any of my readers can help me with research, it would be helpful to know whatever became of the “No Second Chance” bill. It would also be helpful to know if Louisiana Probation and Parole officers are still under extreme caseloads. Let me know if you can help. Reach me at info@votetherecord.com

Thanks!

It’s midnight in Bossier Parish, and it’s past time that term limits become a reality here. One of the best arguments for implementing term limits is the Bossier Parish Police Jury.

There are 12 members of the Bossier Parish Police Jury. Each of these is an elected position which serves for a term of 4 years. There are currently NO TERM LIMITS on members of the Bossier Police Jury.

Here is a list of Police Jury members, with the number of years they have held their seat {my source is the Louisiana Secretary of State, Candidate Data Inquiry}:

Rick Avery - 20 years

Jerome Darby - 20 years

Wayne Hammack - 20 years

Hank Meachum - 16 years

Eddy Shell - 16 years

Brad Cummings - 16 years

Jesse Williams - 12 years

Henry Mitchell - 12 years

Jimmy Cochran - 12 years

William Altimus - 10 years

Winfred Johnston - 8 years

Jeff Rogers - 8 years {recently moved out of the district, Glenn Benton appointed to serve out the term}

Equally troubling is the fact that the dynasty has such control over Bossier Parish politics that 9 out of 12 of the current Police Jury members have run UNOPPOSED for between 4 and 16 years. Here is the “elected with no opposition list“:

Hammack - Unopposed for the past 16 years

Darby - Unopposed for 16 years

Cummings - Unopposed for 16 years

Shell - Unopposed for 12 years

Avery - Unopposed for the past 8 years

Meachum - Unopposed in 2 out of 4 terms

Altimus - Unopposed for the past 10 years

Mitchell - Unopposed in the past 4 years

Cochran - Unopposed in the past 4 years

Another way of looking at it is that if citizens just sent home the Police Jurors who have been in office for over 10 years, 10 out of 12 of them would need replacing.

These staggering, depressing numbers speak for themselves.

Do Bossier citizens really WANT political dynasties? I ask this question of a lot of people, and I’ve yet to meet anyone (other than an elected official) who opposes term limits as a means of stopping people from becoming career politicians.

Bossier Parish does indeed need term limits. But, until citizens can get a term limit initiative on a future ballot, the only way we can put a stop to politicians from becoming entrenched is to give the pink slip to anyone who has been in office for over two terms.

If every Bossier voter would take a look at these numbers, the Police Jury races this October would very likely signal the end of the dynasty.