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| September 12, 1985 The Ponchatoula Times |  |
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• General Guste
urges statewide juvenile reform
FROM PAGE ONE
OIDP, they gain "on the job training"
and a great deal of expertise in this field.
Perhaps it might be suggested that the
law schools hold periodic clinics for the
active practitioner in the Juvenile Court
and OIDP could be influential in having
their defenders in the Juvenile Court
participate.
Legal Services (NOLAC) is very
active in the Juvenile Court in New
Orleans and their staff is very well
trained. I am sure they get the last word
on all case law and techniques through
the national office in Washington.
Louisiana has no "juvenile" public
defenders trained to counsel and
defend juveniles as a specialty.
Should we?
Generally a juvenile cannot be.
committed to LTt (Department of Public
Safety and Corrections) for an offense
for a period longer than the maxium
sentence for an adult.
An exception is a juvenile found to be
in need of supervision for a misdemeanor
offense can be kept under court ordered
supervision up to two years.
There seems to be some uncertainty
about whether a child placed on
probation for a delinquent offense can
be kept under probation for a period
longer than the term of the offense if
committed to the Department of Public
Safety and Corrections.
I feel that generally a child should not
be placed on probation for a period
longer than what otherwise would
have been the maximum term of
commitment.
And I am aware of the impression
that when a juvenile is committed to the
Department of Public Safety and
Corrections, the commitment is usually
for a shorter period than adult
sentencing.
Even when the violent offenses are
committed the maximum commitment
is not to exceed his/her twenty-first
birthday.
But the decision must be made by the
juvenile judge on a case by case basis.
Of course, under special law juveniles
may be charged directly in Criminal
Court or transferred to Criminal Court,
depending upon age and nature of the
offense. There seems to be no duration
on a child in need of supervision dis-
position and this should be corrected by
legislation.
The underlying cardinal principle is
rehabilitation and not necessarily
Guste
and to other counselling mental health
clinics and the like where they receive
the benefit of community-minded
citizens and qualified professionals.
All of these programs are certainly to
be encouraged.
In addition, at the present time, it is
illegal to use a juvenile's record when he
is tried later as an adult either for
impeachment purposes and/or
enhancement of penalty after
conviction.
We recommend that the law be
changed in order to allow prosecutors
access to juvenile records for these
limited purposes.
I trust this adequately responds to
your questionnaire.
Yours very truly,
William J. Guste Jr.
Attorney General
By, BRYAN T. McMAHON
When Mrs. Hattie Munson was
entering her second year at
Ponchatoula High School the big
excitement was over the new high
school building.
If that sounds familiar to today's
students, it is likely one of the few
points of comparison between the
Ponchatoula today and the
strawberry capital of over 60 years
ago.
Of course, the school that was
new then is now "the old high
school" and the new P.H.S. is
outside the city limits on La. 22
East. Soon the Ponchatoula-
Madisonville highway will begin a
process of fourlaning that will
mark it as an avenue for expected
future development and growth.
Back then the state highway was a
gravel road narrow enough for
two Model T's to pass.
The then-Miss Hattie Earnest
was editor-in-chief of the first
school annual, called then as it is
now The Greenback. Her grand-
daughter, Miss Wendy Smith.
holds the job in 1985. Southeastern
in those days was a junior college,
as well as the next stop for this
week's recipient of ti'e Lions'
Pride award presented by the
Ponchatoula Lions Club.
Honorees are chosen by a Lions
committee headed by Vernon
Hebert. The dual intent of the
award is to recognize the
THE PONCHATOULA TIMES, SEPTEMBER 12, 1985, SEC. B., PAGE
• How the Ponchatoula
area was first discovered
FROM PAGE B- 1
Lions' Pride --
Honoree
community contributions of those
senior citizens who have
contributed much to the texture of
community life here. while at the
sane time allowing younger
citizens an opportunity to
appreciate, firsthand,
Ponchatoula history and thereby
develop an appreciation for the
contributions made by local
seniors.
This week's honoree finished
her early education in Tyler,
Texas where she was trained to be
Mrs. Hattie Munson
Western Union manager. She
brought those skills back to Poncha-
tou!a where she haded the
Western Union office in the
1920"s and "30"s. It was first
located, she said. next to the
Teens & Queens building, later
moving behind Harris" Drugstore
(now Paul's Cafe). And it was an
exciting time to work for a telegraph
company.
The mills back then were busily
shipping cypress and veneer
products all over the world and
Ponchatoula was one of the
centers of fast-paced produce
buying and selling, thanks to a
thriving strawberry industry. The
Fannalys kept a shipping office
close to the telegraph key. "'The
key clattered constantly. A
shipper in a hurry, to get the word
out to his buyers concerning how
much he had to ship on a given
day would come by the telegraph
office and give us the one
message, which would send to
buyers all over the country. They
didn't have telephones
everywhere in those days either,"
she explained.
In 1930 she married Malcolm
M. Munson Sr.. a lifelong
salesman and automobile man,
covering every aspect of the
increasingly popular mode of
transportation. He put many
Ponchatoulans into their first
driver's seat, selling Model T's in
the early days at the Edwards
Ford dealership for a starting price
of $700. The Munsons erl
children: Joel (Smith), Robbie
(Thibodeaux), Mary LouiSe
(deceased), M.M. "'Skipper" Jr.,
William "Billy" (deceased), Anr, e
(Daigle). and Keith.
"'1 loved the Morse Code." she
recalls today, but sl left he
position at Western Union when it
was time to have her first child.
Like her sister Mrs. Willie Branch,
who died last week she balanced
a full family life with a variety 0i
jobs that included bookkeeping,
library work and other
occupations.
Her husband's job took the
family away from Ponchatoula for
two long periods of time, so she
has had the opportunity of seeing
Ponchatoula make some dramatic
changes, and she believes more
are on the way:
"From the cemetary up HwY
51 to Hammond was nothing t
strawberry farms and forest.
Ponchatoula has grown and I
really' think new people will be
coming here more and more
nOW.
Asked to review her 80 yeaeS
and give some advice to a young
woman in Ponchatoula of lC
who is getting ready to raise.
family, Mrs. Munson offered:
-I
would tell a young family to
stay here. I've had awfully good
times here. a good girlhood and a
good married life. You can hav¢
every advantage.
I III
Birthday Girl
Mrs. Sandra Wall, owner of appear-
ances in The Ponchatoula Mall, got
more than just coffee and biscuits at
PauFs Care Friday. Friends and co-
workers surprised her with balloons
and all the birthday girl extras,
including an outrageous singing
masked messenger who delivered a
punishment.
In this sense, perhaps a child in need
of supervision cannot be successfully
adjusted within six (6) months or some
such relatively short period; and flexibility
may be needed by a child in need of
supervision cases. Perhaps this was the
intent of the legislature.
Under La. juvenile law, a juvenile
found guilty of some offene can be
kept under jurisdiction of the court for
years longer than an adult could be
sentenced to actually do jail time for
committing the same crime. How do
you feel about this?
Over the years. I have known of
many such programs in the school
system funded by federal grants. There
have been such programs in the Orleans
Parish Juvenile Courl in connection
with probation and court ordered super-
vision.
Now. all of these sources of funding
seem to have evaporated
If approached in the right way such
orientation could be handled in
connection with Civic's classes In every
proceeding involving juveniles, a
juvenile has the right to an attorney and
he and his parents are fully advised of
all constitutional rights.
This goes back to the Gault case
(U.S. Supreme Court 1967) and itst
progeny.
What about educating the children
themselves to their responsibilities,
rights, and privileges?
What legislation on delinquency
and child abuse and neglect is needed?
The present body of law seems to be
generally adequate and functional
Various bills are placed before the
legislature regarding this subject matter
at every session, mostly they are
revisionary and procedural.
The joint committee of the House
and Senate on juvenile delinquency aer
active at and between every session of
the legislature. When matters are
discussed before these legislative
committees, meetings are held
throughout the state and. a genuine
attempt is made to seek the views of all
interests.
.Are there any internal/external
safeguards as concerns those in "the
"system" working with juveniles to
insure their authority is exercised
when needed, yet not abused by
them?
Every juvenile and his parents are
advised of their rights to appeal any
judgment entered by the court.
Juveniles have the right to an
attorney in all cases as stated above.
Judges are public officials and are
accountable to the public at election
time.
With regard to state agencies. I do not
know just what type of internal controls
and personnel supervision they have.
To your knowledge and belief, what
is being done or what can be done to
educate juveniles and adults
concerning delinquency, abuse, and
neglect in terms of reporting,
preventing, and/or correcting?
Some courts, ! .don't know how
many, have a
• child abuse monitoring program,
• juvenile restitution program which
seeks to place juveniles on probation in
community service work for a specific
number of hours as a means of making
restitution for their delinquent actions,
• program of referring children to
agencies like Big Brothers, the YMCA
had gone to Canada as a youth. Charles had twelve sons. Nine of them attained
distinction in the French Navy, and three, like their father, died fighting for France.
lberville was twenty seven years old when chosen for this undertaking.
His early life in Canada had made him a skilled woodsman, so he was especially
well prepared to become the head of a new colony. His choice proved to be a wise
one, and Iberville became the colonizer of Louisiana.
On October 24, 1698. lberve saile with 2,soldiers and settlers in a wship,
the Badine Another warship, the Maria, accomianied him. With him also was his
young brother Bienville. who was just eighteen. During the war he had Served
under lberville as a midshipman
Iberville took great care not to repeat the mistake of La Salle. Before sailing he
gathered all the information he could obtain about Louisiana and took with him
copies of the printed narratives collected from members of La Salle's first expedition.
He also took with him Father Douay, a survivor of La Salle's last effort in Texas.
Father Douay knew a little about the coast and could speak several Indian dialects.
On his way to Louisiana, lberville stopped at Santo Domingo where he obtained
further information from sailors who had been in the Gulf. He also secured a guid
who had explored part of the northern Gulf Coast.
lberville sailed from Leoganne, Santo Domingo (Present day Haiti) on December
31, 1698, at 9 p.m. On sighting the northern coast of the Gulf, he sailed westward
with the Badine and Marin, as close to the shore as they could safely go. A small
boat was let down and sent in to get still closer to shore to examine every break in
the coastline that might possibly be the mouth of a fiver. Proceeding in this way,
they saw into the harbor of Pensacola and later into Mobile Bay.
lberville then decided that the best way to reach the river was to leave his ships at
what is now called Ship Island and follow the shore in small boats. He therefore
loaded two ship's boats with food and ammunition and started out with two canoes
in tow. His brother Bienvil[e went with him in one boat, and Sauvole, one of his
officers, and Father Douay went in the other.
To find even so large a river as the Mississippi on that coast was no easy task. The
lands were low and flat, and there were hundreds of small islands covered with
grass and tall reeds that could have easily concealed the mouth of the river. The
explorers were also troubled with fog and heavy rains; but, after four days of
exposure to the bad weather, they sighted late in the afternoon of March 2 what at
first they thought was a number of rocky reefs jutting out into the Gulf. Heavy
winds and high waves were driving their boats straight toward the rocks in the
gathering darkness. To remain afloat during the night in that region meant certain
destruction, lberville ordered the boats to make straight for the rocks, hoping to find
a spot where they could make a safe landing.
As they came nearer they found that the reef was broken in many places, with
strong currents of fresh water flowing between them. The "rocks" were great
masses of driftwood logs brought down by the river at its flood stage and deposited
on the mud bars at its mouth. The sun then baked the mud to a rock hardness.
lberville then ascended the river one and a half leagues (1 league 3 miles) and
camped among the reeds for the night. His very thoughts after safely making camp
were: "'When lying on these reeds, sheltered from the foul weather, we feel the
pleasure there is in seeing ourselves protected from an obvious peril. It is a jolly
business indeed to explore the seacoasts with longboats that are not big enough to
keep to the sea either under sail or at anchor and are too big t o approach a fiat
coast, on which they rur aground and touch bottom half a league off shore, it is
rather cold. although not freezing."
The next day. March 3. 1699. which happened to be Mardi Gras, iberville began
his journey upstream. Six leagues upstream, trees begin to appear on the left side
After four days on the river they met six canoes of Indians and they all went ashore.
iberville gave the Indians a present of knives, glass beads, and axes, and the
Indians gave the Frenchmen buffalo meat and bear meat, and also a guide to go
with them to the village of the Bayogoula Indians that was mentioned in the
narratives of lberville brought with him.
Two clays later they reached a point where the Indian guide showed them a short
portage to a small bayou. The Indian told them this bayou (Bayou St. John) made
it easy for them to reach the Gulf through the lakes, to where their ships were
anchored. This was the site of the future City of New Orleans.
When Iberville and his men reached the lands of the Bayougoulas and
Mongoulachas, (not far above Bayou Plaquemine). they were received with much
dignity and. ceremony by the head men of these tribes and were invited to a nearby
village to smoke the pipe of peace.
On March 16: six and one half leagues above the Indian village, the Indians
pointed out a stream on the right side of the river. They call this stream Ascantia
(Bayou Manchac), and it flows "into the bay where the ships are". The indians used
this route to go to Bylocchy (Biloxi).
The next day they came to a small stream on the right side of the river which the
Indian guides told them was the dividing line between the Bayougoulas hunting
grounds and the Oumas (Houmas} who lived farther north. This was also the first
high lands or bluffs, they had yet seen, and on the bluff was a branchless pole about
30 feet high with fish and bear heads tied on it. The pole was strained red from the
blood of the animals that had been tied and sacrificed on it. The Indian guides
called the spot lstrouma, or Red Stick, and the Frenchmen called it in their
language "Baton Rouge."
On the 18th the boats came to a point where the river made a great bend like a
horseshoe. The Indians pointed out a small bayou that cut across the narrow strip
of land. Iberville and his men, by making portages around log jams, were able to
save a day's journey and named this short cut Pointe Coupee (or cut point). The
river itself finally took this shorter route and now this great bend is False River. After
two more days of hard rowing against the current, Iberville and his men reached the
village of the Oumas. This was as far as he planned to go at this time.
tongue-in-cheek singing telegram.
Happy Birthday!
(Times Photo)
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1985
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
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Offering a complete range of quality,
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