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Thursday, July 31,1986-5th Year, Number 44 And get free home delivery!
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PONCHA TO ULA TIMES 50
prisoners on Sheriff J.
Layrisson's Work Release
ram under the direction of Dep.
Honey (in uniform) finish
. Emergency hay
loading this tractor trailer wlm hay week by Ponchatoula's Harry
desperately needed by ranchers in McKneely(left).
South Carolina. It was donated this (Times Photo)
Ponchatoula hay shipped
to drought..stricken S.C. ranches
Ponchatoula hay is being shipped to
the drought stricken farmers of South
Carolina- thanks to Harry McKneely.
McKneely said that reports he saw on
television of devastation in the Deep
South pasturelands prompted him to
donate hay he had baled to sell off his
Yokum Road farm.
The local funeral home owner and
operator made his donation through the
Louisiana Department of Agriculture,
which contacted the Ag Department in
South Carolina.
A South Carolina Electric & Gas Co.
flatbed and diesel truck donated for the
emergency set out for Ponchatoula
from Columbia, South Carolina 9 a.m.
Saturday.
It was loaded and on the road back to
South Carolina before noon Monday,
thanks to Sheriff J. Edward Layrisson
who assigned prisoners on the Work
Release Program under the direction of
Deputy Vernon Haney to load the
truck,
The man at the wheel of that South
Carolina rig told The Times, "Wells are
going dry back home, it is so hot. Some
farmers are selling out. The ones
hanging on are desperate for this hay to
feed their stock."
anchac fishermen promised
o double-cross on fish pier sale
By BRYAN T. McMAHON
Editor & Publisher
Department officials
the fishermen of Manchac on
they would not sell their docks
first telling them.
two police jurors, Troy Davis
Irwin Jenkins. announced at the
meeting held 1:30 p.m. Monday
Manchac Fire Station that they
back a plan for the police jury to
OOO feet of bo canal;
I.
officials with the Department of
)ortation and Development
appeared in agreement that
police jury assuming responsibility
docks could solve the problem.
they made no promises and no
either to the fire house
of commercial fishermen, or to the
of onetime property owners
argued that if anyone should get
it should be them.
as an "Informal public
ng," the meeting was called by
highway officials Merlin
District Administrator; Gene
Chief of Maintenance and
and Huey Duncan, real
official with the department.
public hearing marked a new
by the Highway Department,
new officials in charge. It was
Ponchatoula Times which several
ago blew the whistle on the
quiet attempt to sell the
Lg space as surplus property
Monday's meeting Waguespack,
is new on the problem, acknow-
that such a sale had been
saying he helped cancel the
the land from the state.
Police Jury President Troy Davis told
the state officials. "We would like the
state to keep it and keep it public. If the
fishermen are pushed out they are out
of business. I have been laid off myself
and I know how that feels," said Davis,
who added that he would formally
introduce the parish takeover idea to
the police jury if that was the only
solution.
"It (police !ury approval) would sure
F " :
gwe me a tool." replied Waguespack.
Police Juror Irwin Jenkins said the
police jury could approve the plan as
early as Wednesday's special meeting,
adding that the docking area was
important to the parish from a civil
defense and from a law enforcement
standpoint.
That angle was enforced with the
comments of Chief Deputy Sheriff John
Dahmer of Ponchatoula, who told
state officials, "Fishermen have pla,
-keyrole -with the law
community, especially with search and
rescue missions. The Sheriff's Office
highly argues that the boats be allowed
to remain here."
Others speaking in favor of the
government allowing the commercial
fishing fleet to remain moored to the
state owned land included: Donald
Henry, Merlin Saltzman, Neal Saik, and
members of the Burns family.
All were assured that nothing would
be done to sell the property until every-
sufficient no, me.
Fisherman spokesman pleads for dock
said that a "quiet" bid
would not occur again, assuring
Concerned: "We are not going to
any decision today. You will all
about it before a final decision is
signalled that he stood
)romise too.
highway men heard from two
Copper fountains
bring Ponchatoula artisans fame
Staff Report
The water flows from green bottomed
pool to green bottomed pool down a
slow cascade past cattails, split leaf
philodendrun, caladium and climbing
pothus, all welded into place with the
precision of artists.
The leaves are copper, treated to age
rapidly to a color of rain washed green,
each with delicate veins, each with
stems that would seem real as any in the
swamp, were they not metal•
These copper fountains are the
sculpture art of Ponchatoula's Hobby
Van der Weyden, Eva Hansen, Delores
Fernandez and Judy Spear.
Their three building compound on
Hauber Lane off Dunson Road keeps
collectors of their work from across the
country supplied with tee unique
copper artwork - when the four artisans
can keep up with the demand.
Marketing their creations under the
name of Copper Fountains by Hobby
through a professional representative,
they have caught the attention of buyers
thr9u¢thout the South.
One custom fountain was placed in a
private lake at White Oaks Landing near
Baton Rouge. It stood nine feet high,
stretched 17 feet in length and was eight
feet wide.
More commonly, the interior or
exterior self-contained fountains stand
about four feet tall.
Float boat trips along the ]akeshore or
in the Tangipahoa or Tchefuncte rivers
yield the cypress driftwood that is
included in almost every fountain
design. It is stacked to dry beside the
building used for most of the cutting and
welding.
Delores Fernandez is an ex-school
teacher who specializes in finishing the
work prepared and put together by the
others, all of which are skilled with the
torches of their trade.
On the day The Ponchatoula Times
was invited to tour the workshops Judy
Spear, a nursing supervisor at West-
park Hospital, was busy with her torch
at her workshop station, the most recent
arrival who has been working with the
other three for about four years now.
The others have been together some 15
years.
Eva Hansen is the former head of the
PLEASE SEE PAGE THIRTEEN
Ponchatoula artisans Judy Spear.
Delores Fernandez, Hobby Van der
Weyden and Eva Hansen pose with an
unfinished driftwood and copper
fountain handcrafted In their artist
workshop of/Dunson Road.
(00mes I00oto)
groups, a collection of senior
who said they represented the
owners of the property, before
state exercised its right to take the
for the purpose of building
and the local fishermen.
"Pat" Connolly told the state
he represented eight of the
property owners who used to
roughly one third of the canal-side
state is considering selling.
cited a state law mandating
any land taken by the state and
sold to private interests must first
offered for sale to the original
and others who have an owner-
the property vowed a court
t if the question did not go their way.
for the fishermen was
Albert Poche, president of
Fisherman's Association.
will be a tremendous hard-
on the partsh's fishing
tf this land is sold. This is the
left where we can leave our
In the water and reach the lake to
This has been a traditional port for
has always been a fishing village.
Income of many people is deter-
by the use of this area."
went on to reveal overtures he
made to the police jury in an
keep the land in the public's
saying the district attorney had
saw no legal barricade to the
jury assuming responsibility for
Agricultural losses throughout the
Southeast are estimated at up to $1.9
billion and the heat is blamed for killing
48 people so far.
Only McKneely's small farm in Pon-
chatoula and another one tn Baton
Rouge is providing hay from Louisiana,
according to the trucker sent here to
bring back the generous gift.
Tons of hay donated by New England
farmers, farmers living on the northern
plains and elsewhere in the nation
where the weather has not been so
deadly hot has been moved Into the
Southeast by trucks and Air Force cargo
planes.
To realize how huge the problem
really Is, how great the need, it ts
important to know that Just the hungry
herds of North Carolina alone consume
about 7,690 tons of hay every day and
according to one official in that state,
the need will continue for out-of-state
hay until next spring.
!
MY PONCHATOULA
By OLE HARDHIDE
The Alligator
ALLIGATOR CAMPGROUND,, Hammond .... Whew! I've been so busy
up here in Hammond teaching those SaintKi'xkles how to do the famous
Alligator Shuffle I haven't had time to ogle, drink pond water, or luxuriate In
the sun - to name just the most strenuous activities offered at APJgator
Campground.
! wonder if I might not just save myself and the Saints' nice Mr. Benson
(suppose his kid ever has to ask to borrow the car? He probably borrows a
dealership) a lot of my high-price training time if ! just sign a Saints contract
and let Ole Hardhide the alligator take to the field! (The first time an
opponent blocked me I'd let it pass. The second time he'ld be breakfast!).
Anyway, I'm thrilled and honored that the NFL's premier team of the
1986 season decided to come to Hammond for summer camp as soon as !
tipped them off that this is where l'd be. Maybe when Mr. Bodker finishes
the Ponchatoula High sports complex and the Chamber finishes my cage
we can arrange to stay in Ponchatoulal
Meanwhile, look for Doc Gideon on television. He is playing himself in a
made-for-TV short (very short - a commercial actually) being filmed by
Acadian Ambulance Company.
The ambulance company can scrap Its plans to build a special substation
in Mlllville. Doug Daigle this past weekend ripped out the strip of pungl
sticks (actually it was that polnty stuff they use to keep wall-to-wall carpets
tacked down) out of his kitchen doorway. This will not only knock a hole in
Acadian's emergency runs but will noticeably lower the howl level in
Millville, especially among those hapless few devious Doug invites to his
pool for a barefooted swim.
Famle Henagan the artist has had just about enough of back surgery and
all the rest, now thankfully behind her (so to speak). What she needs Is a
broken foot or a sprained wrist or some other injury where she would at
least have a cast to paint. She's on the mend in Lafayette according to son
Randy.
lnez Layrisson Is back In the hospital and if she d ,oesn't get her Irish up
and get better rm going to have to report her to Smllin Joe McCarthy.
Psssst! You could gobuy a brand new Ford Bronco from Jimmy Achord
over at Gateway by just walking into the showroom and waiting until Jimmy
finishes with all the other customers for your turn to order. But if I were you
l'd take advantage of his big Bronco raffle, where for }ust a few bucks a
ducket you can have a chance to win a multi-thousand dollar vehicle.
Jimmy's at 386-6906 or 386-7790.
How about Oresta Pevey's new pen pal.? i suppose everyone now knows
that the Queen of England and the queen of Real Estate Reggte's heart are
exchanging pleasantries via the mail (if it was a chain letter from Olde
England would it be chain mall?), Anyway, one of Elizabeth's ladies-in.
waiting wrote for her to Oresta (the queen doubtless too busy herself
thrashing Margaret Thatcher for her foreign policy or duldng Randy Andy
her son), thanking the Ponchatoula traveler for her recent letter
complimenting the queen on the good conduct of her people.
Be sure to ask Dr. Ralph Maxwell how he got stranded up a creek without
a paddle in the same state of North Carolina where Ned Richardson got
stranded in a lakeside cabin without a lake.
in Pumpkin Center on Wednesday someone was moving an old
farmhouse up the road and don't you know that folks just ran out of their
homes and flocked to the roadside, having read all about the Parade of
Homes and figuring this must be part of it.
Mrs. Baseball, Margte Lessard, was just a huffing and apufflng as she
jogged round and round my big vacation cage up here in Hammond and
when her knees finally buckled out from under her and she flopped down I
asked her what all the excitement was about.
It seems she got a notice in the mail that she had been named to the
Sports Illustrated All Star Team. I asked to see the letter and it looked like
some big offer an NFL p.layer would !ikely_,get from a big team, everything
from a free camera to a tree copy ot the 5I s famous Swimsuit Issue, a pre-
Meese Committee collector's item. Of course, some of her first year contract
money to play on the team has to go for a Sports lUustrated subscription,
but that seems fair enough given the big salary not mentioned in the letter.
Jumping jacks now Mrs. Baseball A-one, a-two, a-three; now round the
cage again hup-two-three, bend a knee, five laps now if you pleaser ru just
add you to my Saints workout.
You too Judy Lilly of Shirleen Street in (I hope one day In the near
future) My Ponchatoula Now that nine months o!,bon-bons and easy living
has produced a fourth son for easygoing Joe, I m sure you're readu fn,
some exercise. Right? Drop that dirty diaper! ..... " --"
'h
Buddy Bei a,t Cabby/, s as developed a whole set of calisthenics especially
destgneo tor me sma. army ot media types who have swarmed the Saints
training camp here at my.,Alligator Campground facility and at SLU, where I
send them to rest unoer me care ot their gentle coaches when i m done with
them. Buddy Is building tight forearms and strong gripping hands by serving
reporters beer in heavy mugs and mixed drinks with a half ounce more
weight than usual, One, two, three - ]iftl
