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Thursday, October 23, 1986--6th Year, Number 4 See co.PO. - Page Two
PON CHA TO TIMES 50€
calls for grand jury
heriff's investigation underway
By BRYAN T. McMAHON
Editor & Publisher
Detectives from the office of Sheriff J.
Layrisson were called to the
ula City Hall by Mayor
Gideon to investigate charges
0( public thievery levelled by a district
COuncilman.
Gideon told The Times on Tuesday
hat he plans on requesting a grand jury
into the matter and will
D.A. Duncan Kemp to subpoena
Danny Pepitone as the star
witness.
"1 want Councilman Pepitone called
grand jury so he can tell them
names of those he accuses of
from the city. 1 want to move
stone to find the theft he says is
place because I have investi-
gated this and I have found nothing
remotely connected to thievery," said
Gideon.
"If his allegations are not true, 1 want
him to apologize to all the city workers,"
added Gideon, noting that the thievery
charges have hit the workers very hard.
Pepitone had raised his unsubstantiated
charges initially at a special council
session earlier this month and had left
the impression he would go public with
the names of those he said were stealing
when the council met in regular session
this past Thursday.
Challenged to come forward with the
names and facts to back up his charges,
however, Pepitone on Thursday
revealed nothing to give credence to his
claims, saying he was "still investigating"
the matter. Gideon laressed him none-
theless, reminding him of the serious-
ness of his charges.
Then Gideon announced his own
decision on the matter, saying he would
call in investigators from the parish
sheriffs office and take other action to
respond to Pepitone's accusations.
He now says he wants the former
Frank Edwards auxiliary
deputy to be ordered before a session of
the parish grand jury to be made to
reveal any substance behind his charges
of criminal behavior at City Hall.
"1 will have a room set up, the city
council chambers for interrogations and
interviews with any and all of our city
workers, l have instructed City Clerk
Mary Methvin to cooperate fully with
the detectives and to furnish them all
records they may need," said the
mayor.
Gideon identified the detectives
assigned by Sheriff Layrisson to the case
as Lt. Norman Davidson and Deputy
Larry Westmoreland. "They have just
left my office," he said in Tuesday's
telephone interview with The Times. "I
have asked them to speak with anyone
they like, to see if these allegations are
true,"
Refering to published reports that
Pepitone had c}aimed a thief or thieves
had stolen copper, shells and other
materials from the city, Gideon
expressed mystification: "We sat down
and pondered this thing - missing
copper. We haven't even used copper
in a year. l want the proof, l want a
grand jury investigation following this
police investigation because calling
anyone a thief is a very serious charge."
homecoming
new high school
zd this Friday
By TERRY ANN McMAHON
Times Reporter
The first Ponchatoula High School
ing in the new school will be
Friday, October 24.
A "mini-parade" will circle the school
9rounds at 8:10 a.m., followed by a
rally in the new gym.
football game in the evening will
tee the Green Wave battle Slidell. Half
IIe festivities will include the presenta-
lion of the Homecoming Court and the
of the queen by Principal A.J.
Mrs. Carol Clark has been named
Chairman of Homecoming
rm Bureau
lawsuit ended?
Staff Report
it appears that the recent decision of
state Court of Appeals will put to
a longstanding legal fight involving lhe 1986 Ponchatoula High
Ponchatoula Farm Bureau. School Homecoming Court Includes:
.rccording to Ponchatoula attorney (Back row, left to right) Junior Maids
est G. Drake Jr., the decision in the Miu Lisa Kraemer, Mlu DonJah
Case Joe Ebrecht vs. Ponchatoula Farm West, and Mi Carla Foster; (Center
PLEASE SEE PAGE TWO row) Freshman Maicls Miss Mella
: r
.!
\\;
1986 Ponchatoula Homecoming Court
Lavigne, Miss bhana block, and Miss
Valancla Pines; Sophomore Maids
Mi Wondearla Foster, Miss Susan
Bohning, and Mi. Wendy Miles;
(Front row) Senior Maids Miss
Vandeila Ltvers, MI. Wanda Dotey,
Miss Sandi Bridges, Miss Karin
Mollere, Miss Amber Gregoire, and
Miss Robin Lemoine.
(Photo by Terry Ann McMahon)
Cleanup blitzers pick up Ponchatoula
Ponchatoula looked brighter and
cleaner Monday morning than it has in a
long time. thanks to the weekend
volunteer cleanup drive.
Singled out for special mayoral
thanks for a job well done were the Boy
Scouts of Scoutmaster Leonard Kraft's
Troop 101, City Beautification head
Mrs. Violet Collier, some citizen volun-
teers and Sheriff J. Edward Layrisson.
The sheriff on Sunday transported 13
prisoners on his prisoner work program
to Ponchatoula, where they filled litter
bags with refuse collected from the city's
residential neighborhoods.
Mayor Charles Gideon said that the
sheriffs help stretched Ponchatoula's
participation in the parishwide
municipal cleanup to a two day event.
@
Frank Castjohn honored
Secretary of La. Department of
,ortation and Development
G. Grave= presents a spedal
tertite of achievement to Pumpkin
Center's Frank CastJohn for his
Invention of a trolley car wetem for
Inspecting the state's tallest bridges.
mpkin Center man
uilds trolley to the sky
Staff Report
How do you get to the top of a huge
supported interstate bridge over
River?
You take a trolley.
As unlikely as the idea sounds, that is
how .Pumpkin Center's Frank
won the praise and acclaim of
nation's engineers and of highway
the length and breadth of the
Most motorists would get dizzy just
up to the top of bddges like the
span crossing the Mississippi at
but bridge inspectors must visit
eagles would feel comfortable
order to insure the safety of
thousands.
That was the situation at the new
span in Luling when engineers detected
cracks in the polyethylene sheathing
that protects the thick cables that
support the four lane interstate bridge.
Someone had to get a closer look 250
feet above the roadway.
How to accomplish that feat was the
challenge put to Castjohn, Statewtde
Bridge Maintenance Superintendent.
The Pumpkin Center man soon
found out that the old method of hiring
a crane to lift an inspector that high
costs a pretty penny indeed - $20,000
per inspection, or $100,000 to hire
consultants to do the tob.
PLEASE SEE PAGE TWO
The Ponchatoula Cleanup Blitz
Saturday morning consisted of Byron
Randolph, Thomas River==. Troop
101 Scoutmm,ter Leonard Kraft, Boy
Scout= Shannon Chestmolocz and
Michael Stone, and City
Beautification. director Mrs. Violet
"Flower Lady" Collier. They took time
out from cleanup duty so the scouts
could raise the American Flag over
Colilnswood Museum. Mayor and
Mrs. Charles Gideon donated the
flag.
(Tim Photo)
Stop and Look
By VIOLET COLLIER
Garden Editor
We have another new and beautiful flower bed in town: around the flag
pole at the post office.
I think all the citizens of our town need to know that the soil and all of the
plants were paid for and presented as a gift from Postmaster Richard Palisi
and the employees of the post office.
All Charlie Dixon and I did was the work. Thank you to these fine people.
We need more like you and maybe the Beautification Program could
continue to function in our little city.
If not, well, it may be over.
i i ii
!
MY PONCHATOULA
By OLE HARDHIDE
The Alligator
Whewt l got Shorty Rogers to drive me by the site of my old cage just
before writing this and at first glance I thought the mysterious City Hall thief
had stolen all the building supplies to complete my cage.
Just then, who should drive up accompanied by a big Southern Pride
concrete truck but Ronnie Perrtn and Al Courouleau, both armed with
trowels. The concrete mixer started churning and the second phase of my
new reptile luxury condominium began to begin.
Say Doug O'Bannon, is my new gator cage fountain still safe or has the
elusive City Hall thief taken it? (Easy now, big fella. I know the good pie girls
and boys at the berry-topped-bunker are beyond reproach - just, heh-heh,
kidding). But where's my promised (get this Ponchatoula) petrified wood
fountain (Yept).
Prediction: Councilman Danny Pepitone's mysterious City Hall thief is
what our revered former Ponchatoula Mayor "Buddy" Dufreche would call
(1 can hear him) "a big shoo-shoo," a firecracker that won't ever go off, a
dud. The Ponchatoula City Hall Shoo-Shoo.
Ah but when ! get back to main street how I'll whip them all into line. It is
obvious that in my absence certain of our erstwhile leaders have been
allowed to run amuck. That is why last week we began talking about who
should be approached (by you) to encourage them to run for political office,
precisely for the reason that (A) they are not politicians, and (B) they re so
busy making a sucr-.e out of private te that they shou|d be called on todo
some public =rdce;u they sure don t need the job Just to have
something to write in the:Occupation space when they re filling out a oan
application: folks like Lloyd Ballard, Bobby Zabbia, Lawrence Kluka,
Bootsy Thibodeaux or Harry Gabriel. And how about a councilwoman-at-
large this time, like, say, Jeanne Zaleskl, who has proven she cares about
Ponchatoula and is willing to do something about it? How about baseball
commissioner Al Courouleau? Wouldn't he make it to the slate being
prepared by the Clean Sweep Party?
Do you know that Steve Bahm has got to be the last area building*
contractor still motoring about town In a Mercedes.
Randy Norred tells me that stripping his acres of mustard greens this year
is bringing in more money than stripping furniture. (He stopped for gas at
Tucker's on his way to market and nearly caused a food riot that emptied his
truck, filled his pockets and sent him home for more green leaiys.
1 often wondered why good-natured Pat Schmidt was promoted to
management at Pon Foods. Now I've got it figured out - Ole Pat is truly
valuable as a mechanic. Why, when thieves (real ones) broke In the place
last week and tried to steal one of Tony Berner's big rigs they couldn't get it
started and were forced to leave on foot. (Thataboy, Pat).
According to Ace Hardy, Bedico's Marshal Keith Bardwell is going to
form the Bedlco Globetrotters.
Ask upcoming groom Danny Bordelon if he plans on horsing around
after his big upcoming marriage to pretty Diana LeBlanc (hold that one in
your head for a while, okay?).
The Times Picayune made a big deal about Mandeville's Skipper defense
ripping off the shoe of Greenle offensive great Otis Cooper and taking it
back to the Mandevllle sidelines during last week's game. I don t know what
the big deal is all about. They left his pants ont
Doug Johnson, Tom Waterman, and Ross Reynolds, together with the
two doctors they brought with them (for what is, I am sure, obvious rea!ons)
all returned safe and sound from white water rafting three of North
Carolina's wildest rivers. Perhaps when my cage is painted and filled (two
weeks, says Councilman Ronnle Perrin - or is it Mayor Perrtn) they can give
us a demomdration of their style.
l'm stuck up here in Hammond and already I can catch a whiff or two of
Rusty Sauls' scrumptuous Smokehouse flavor. Is it really true she's opening
up her eatery just a giant inhale from my new cage next to Robert Jackson
and Sparky Welles' insurance emporium? (One smoked nutria, and a
smoke armadillo on the half shell wRh pond water on the side, and run it
through the garden (swamp), if you please).
What is this heavy correspondence the mailmen keep complaining about ,
between My Ponchatoula and Highland Park, Michigan, Chryskrr world
headquarters, between Mrs. Linda Drake (the one who drives that lemon
smelling van) and presidential refusenik Lee loccoco? Hey, Ernle!
Who will have bid on the Fannaily Mansion (speaking of the above)
which went on sale Wednesday of this week under the sheriff's gun handle
gavel? Dr. Winkler was reportedly interested too. But who will buy this pad,
second only to my pond in time spent on construion? Stay tuned.
I hate to agree with folks who say the pre-holiday commercial season
locally is moribund, but it has been at |east three weeks now since the Junior
Tate (conglomerate, corporate, combine) announced the opening of a new
company on East Pine.
There are those Pass M anchac fishermen, and plenty too who cast their
expensive lures to the stuck up bass of Bedico Creek and Manchac Borrow
Canal, who tell tales of ferocious fish who have skillfully got away with
hook, line, sinker and everything else that cost money you can tie, squeeze
or attach to a fishing line - whales of powerful fish, so the stories go. But isn't
Rodney Ferrant expecting us to believe a bit too much?
Rodney claims there are giant man eating shdmp in our nearby lakes that
would make these bait stealing bayou fish look puny and unexercbed.
While other anglers have been losing hooks with rubber worms on them,
Rodney has been losing entire shrimp trawls to killer shrimp (ask him how
many).
boBetter get master knotsman Tommy Keaghey to braid your nets to your
at, Rodney. He is the best man with a rope in all My Ponchatoula, right
Darrell Adams?
Ask Harley Vtnyard why he brings his umbrella to work.
Ask Donald "Bull's Eye" Clark if he s making his regular plans for the big
-hunting season to come.
And for all those folks who love the color of the newly pinked house in
Wadedaoro, or the newly pinked house on Hwy. 51 near Seventh Ward,
you are going to go ape over the Seventh Ward Hospital Auxiliary Bazaar
thrown at Hammond Square October 25 by the Pink Ladies.
ASk Bruce Kinchen i( it was he who came up with the bumper sticker
message now available at University Bookstore near my cage: "Get really
stoned - drink wet cement."
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