Clark named new interim fire chiefGRAMBLING — Grambling police chief Tommy Clark took on the added duties of interim fire chief Thursday during a contentious City Council meeting at Grambling City Hall.
Grambling fire chief Carl McCarter announced during October’s regularly scheduled council meeting that he will step down from his position as of 4 p.m. today. As he gave his final report, McCarter thanked Mayor Martha Andrus and the City Council for allowing him to serve as Grambling’s fire chief.
The City Council passed Clark’s appointment with a unanimous 4-0 vote (alderman Alvin Bradley was absent from the meeting). »
Seasonal creativity
The countdown begins to the kickoff of the North Central Louisiana Arts Council’s 12th annual Holiday Arts Tour. The tour includes more than 50 artisans who will exhibit and sell their wares at 20 venues across Ruston with many of them located in downtown shops. This year’s events include several new additions including plenty of live music and two unique gallery exhibits.
As part of the tour, NCLAC and the Lincoln Parish Museum will open “Voices and Visions of the Great Depression.” This exhibition is being presented in conjunction with the Eye 20 Creative Corridor’s Great Depression commemoration, Triumph Over Tragedy.
“By offering its exhibit, ‘Voices and Visions of the Great Depression,” in conjunction with the tour, NCLAC hopes to remember the Great Depression and New Deal Era by recognizing the struggles and successes of those who lived during this time of tragedy and triumph, and by celebrating the optimism and creativity of the American spirit,” said NCLAC’s assistant director April Hoenaker. »
Cocaine cartel cracked
Law enforcement officers across all of north Louisiana described it as the largest, most well organized and complex drug operation they have ever seen — and it all originated out of Ruston, they said.
Top law enforcement officials from across north Louisiana gathered in Ruston Tuesday to announce the results of what they said was the largest drug bust of their careers. Some of the people allegedly involved with the drug operation were arrested last spring. Law enforcement officers, including Lincoln Parish Sheriff Mike Stone and Ruston Police Chief Steve Rogers, said Tuesday, however, that they had to keep many of those details secret from the public at the time.
“We still can’t give out too many details, but I can tell you that this (organization) was the largest single source of cocaine in north central Louisiana,” Stone said. »
Council OKs ‘green’ zoning changes
Ruston’s aldermen unanimously approved changes to the city’s Planned Unit Development ordinance at the regular monthly meeting on Monday.
PUDs are typically made up of a combination of commercial and residential developments, or various residential types, such as town homes and single-family detached homes.
The new alterations lessen restrictions for PUDs, making it possible for houses of varying lot size or commercial sites and homes to be located in closer proximity to one another. »
Show honors veterans
The Dixie Center for the Arts will honor veterans with its second performance of the Dixie season at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Sponsored by Kilpatrick Funeral Homes, War Bonds: The Songs and Letters of WWII is a full-length, live stage show of the broadcast now airing on public television stations across the country. Award-winning artists from EbzB Productions of North Carolina will sing wartime tunes and stir wartime memories. »
