Dystopian Shreveport: What are the Answers to Survival?

Living in Shreveport these days is turning into some kind of twisted, dystopian experience. It is no exaggeration to note that shootings occur every single day in this city, sometimes multiple times, and often with injuries or fatalities. It is tragic anytime a life is lost to this senseless violence but it seems even more so when an innocent life, or a beautiful child, is lost.

And we accept this. 

On March 20, 2021, five-year old Mya Patel was killed when she was hit by a stray bullet.

Wednesday, March 24, social media reflected multiple audio recordings of shots fired early in the evening, shots I heard clearly while reading in my bedroom.

March 30, a woman a few blocks from me was shot in the hip; luckily she is okay.

March 31, Xavier Griffin, 19 years old, shot and killed in the Queensborogh neighborhood. Nineteen years old.

Last night, April 2, one was killed and others injured in multiple shootings.

It is literally every single day or night - doesn't matter what time -- and we are doing nothing about this. You can check the Caddo 911 Active Emergency Events page and almost every single time you'll see a shots fired or a shootings call, and those don't include the ones that never make it to the page or are "holding," waiting for available officers. 

We are doing nothing about it.

"But, what can we do?!"  I hear you. I don't have those answers. My layman's opinion would be to first work through the local elections process to elect leaders tough on crime, willing to enforce penalties on criminals. From the mayor, to the District Attorney, to the city council and the parish commission, we need support. 

We need police officers and the money to pay them. Shreveport ranks woefully low in police pay and our officers do not stay. We need the best and the brightest, willing to work hard for good pay.

We need jobs. We need businesses to come here to grow the tax base and to provide employment. We need all levels of jobs, from the trades to the administrative. We can't continue to depend simply on service industry jobs as our main employers. 

Businesses won't come without decent infrastructure. Our streets are literally crumbling, our water system is collapsing (not to mention their mismanaged billing practices), and the city is covered in trash, litter, and empty buildings. 

We need a vibrant downtown. The downtown area is trying: there are some places to eat, a few renovated buildings for apartments, you can see a movie, look at buildings. Many people avoid downtown due to safety issues. Maybe we need bicycle or mounted units there. Maybe we need more options for our large homeless population on the streets there. 

We need so many things. Old time Shreveporters often speak of the "good ol' days" when we had sports teams like The Shreveport Captains, where families could go enjoy a game on a pretty afternoon or evening. Now, our baseball stadium is empty, crumbling, and filled with bats and toxic guano.

Neil Johnson postcard photo.

For the most part, unless you want to drink or gamble, there is not much for families to do here. There are a few things...SciPort is downtown, and the Aquarium. What else? Someone help me. I know I'm forgetting something -- my kids are grown.

Before anything else happens, safety has got to be addressed. Perhaps I am alone in my concern. Perhaps I am in the minority when I balk at going to Betty Virginia Park to walk or spend an afternoon outside. Maybe I'm the only one who is constantly on guard when I walk my neighborhood.  Maybe nobody else has started taking their dogs out at night earlier, or in the backyard rather than the front yard. Maybe nobody else has installed surveillance cameras around their home. Maybe I'm the only one much more cautious about locking their car at night. Maybe nobody else has had packages stolen off their front porch. 

Maybe all this is just my perception.

I long to see a thriving Shreveport with businesses like when we had Western Electric, General Motors, Kast Metals, Libby Glass, Poulan WeedEater, to name a few. The Captains played baseball in their new stadium and people sat in the beer garden eating hot dogs and sipping nickel beer. New malls and shopping centers dotted the city, and parks were growing. People ate at local restaurants, like Sansone's, Brocato's, Abe's, Monsour's, The Centenary Oyster House, George's, and Fertitta's, to name a few. Downtown was bustling with department stores like Selber's, Hearne's, Rubensteins, and Palais Royal. You could grab lunch at a nice, fancy place downtown or a quick, inexpensive burger place. You felt safe. You could park in the Selber's parking garage and not worry about your car or about getting panhandled or mugged. Shreve Square was hopping on weekend nights: great bands in multiple clubs, people walking between them, great restaurants, good times.

Have you seen the building where The Sportspage or Humphrees used to be?

Humpfrees, 2021. 

We could reminisce about the glory days forever, and everybody knows times change and nothing stays the same, but the truth is, other cities adapt better than we have. When you travel, when you leave the city and see other places, even places within say a three hour radius, it is stunning to see the difference. 

It's possible to have a clean city with happy people. But Shreveport feels like a city with a cloud of gloom over it. We can talk it up and pretend to be positive. I know people will jump on me and say that it's the negative people like me that keeps it down. "If you hate it here so much, why don't you leave!?" I've heard it. 

The answer is I'd like to be part of a solution, not stick my head in the sand and pretend like it's great. It's not great. Listen to that gunfire every night and tell me how great that is.

So. What's the solution. What do we do, Shreveport? What are the answers?

Caddo Parish Set to Name New Animal Services Director

Caddo Parish Animal Services

In early 2015 I attended the trial of Gabriel Lee at the Caddo Parish Courthouse; Lee was eventually convicted of animal cruelty for his abandonment of the dog Braveheart in a storage locker.  One of the witnesses in that trial was a Caddo Parish Animal Services investigator named Travis Clark.  Mr. Clark was instrumental in getting Mr. Lee to jail and in getting him to surrender ownership of Braveheart so he could be saved.

Mr. Clark worked at Caddo Parish Animal Services from 2008 - 2015, and then moved away to work as Supervisor at the animal shelter in Stockton, California.  Clark left his family and friends here in Shreveport because he wanted to advance his training, complete his degree, and expand his skill set, probably with an eye to eventually becoming Director of Caddo Parish Animal Services.  His work in Stockton has given him valuable experience. 

It appears that this might be about to come to fruition.  Rumor has it that Mr. Clark will be the new CPAS director.  Not everyone in the rescue community here is happy about this but most that I have talked to are thrilled.

Caddo Parish Animal Services has been the subject of a great deal of scrutiny and criticism in the past few years for various reasons, and while there are still many problems, it does appear that some changes have been made.

Because of the demands of outraged citizens who truly want a better shelter, there have been outside audits made, and now auditors are auditing the auditors to ensure that when Parish Administrator Woody Wilson says that the shelter is using PetPoint, for example, they really are.  Another huge step in the right direction is the new partnership with Erica Falbaum, founder of PEP!, a very active and important outreach program about responsible pet ownership.  Mr. Wilson also reported in February 2018 that the parish is working with Best Friends Animal Society who will review shelter operation.  Wilson's report can be found in the February 5 minutes of the Commission work session; he goes into more detail about positive steps toward shelter operation.  For the most part, a lot of it is just words, but some of it is really happening.

Caddo Parish Animal Services is an open-intake municipal shelter which means that it is part of local government and we all know that government moves slowly.  Any steps toward the positive are welcome. We are not where we need to be, but there is progress.

One of the items that Mr. Wilson addressed at that February work session was to begin the search for a new director for the shelter; Kelvin Samuel has been serving as interim director since Chuck Wilson resigned in November 2017.  Since Wilson's resignation, many in the animal rescue community have had fingers crossed and lifted silent prayers for the return of Travis Clark.

Going away card for Travis Clark by Shreveport animal community, 2015

Mr. Clark has been a popular figure with many in the local animal community.  While his appointment has not been officially announced, the signs are there that he may be tapped as the new director.  He has resigned his job in Stockton and is in the process of moving home to Shreveport.  In interviews with local media, Mr. Wilson has said that his pick for director would be announced very soon and that the person is currently returning to the area.  It isn't hard to add this up.

It is my belief that Mr. Clark will be a welcome appointment by most in the animal community here and it is widely believed that he will do a good job.  As evidenced by his decision to leave CPAS in 2015, some believe that part of his motivation was to get away from untenable circumstances at the shelter that he was powerless to change.  That distancing, coupled with the fact that he could position himself to become an attractive candidate to lead CPAS by working and training in Stockton, could have been a very smart move.

The rescue and adoption statistics for the Stockton shelter under Mr. Clark's tenure look very good.  The euthanasia rate is steady at about 16% and the adoption and the rescue rates are in the 30 to 35% range.  As an open-intake municipal shelter of course there will be some euthanasia rates: it's not a no kill shelter, but with Caddo's euthanasia rate well north of 60%, the numbers in Stockton look pretty good.

Stockton Animal Services 2017

It is important to remember that a shelter can't lower those euthanasia rates without help from the community; when so many people refuse to spay and neuter their pets there will naturally be too many unwanted animals.  Any incoming director would need to continue the working relationship with PEP! and also develop other community programs like adoption events, PetPoint implementation, a well-trained and compassionate staff, a modern, updated website, funding for medical needs, and a strong volunteer and rescue program.

Perhaps Mr. Clark is the man for the job.

There is no question in my mind that he cares about animals.

Bo Spataro (owned by Braveheart) says Mr. Clark is "an intelligent, respectful, and driven person" who will likely work to turn around public perception of the shelter and who will work closely with the rescue community.  "I think he will do very well and plan on actively supporting him," Spataro said.

Travis Clark

There are those who will not be happy with the choice of Mr. Clark if for no other reason than that he has the approval of Woody Wilson, but in truth, I don't think Wilson cares one iota about the shelter; I think he cares about Woody Wilson and doesn't want the pressure of an outraged public on his doorstep.

It has been the citizens of Caddo Parish who have fought for change at Caddo Animal Shelter through countless appearances at meetings, letters to commissioners, interviews with news media, public protests, and meetings with local politicians.  We have been the voice for change.  We have insisted upon it.  We have not backed down.  And now change is here.

If Travis Clark is tapped for the job, as I believe he will be, then we need to support him.  We need to line up at the door to volunteer at the shelter.  We need to marshal donations for whatever he needs from blankets to money.  We need to organize transports for rescue animals, volunteer at adoption events, wash kennels, and maybe even help set up an inviting adoption room at the shelter.  Whatever he needs we need to step up and lend a hand.

We have screamed for change and now change is coming.  Let's be part of the solution and not perpetuate the negativity. 

Let's give him a chance, but most of all, let's give him some help.


Further Reading:
Problems at Caddo Animal Control Continue (SIGIS, Oct. '17)
Stockton Animal Shelter Statistics
Caddo Parish Commission Minutes access
PEP! Education Outreach
Caddo to begin searching for new director (KSLA, Feb. '18)

Shreveport Water Department Woes Continue

Pooling water from meter leak

Nothing to see here.

Shreveport is doing just fine: we defeated a sports complex and allowed Uber in.  That's only two of our "accomplishments" touted by city officials as 2017 closed.

And Mayor Tyler touted infrastructure:

Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler cited major infrastructure improvements — including 69 new street projects totaling $12.1 million and and an additional $143 million on sewer improvements — as a top accomplishment for 2017.

Seriously.

And the politicians looks to the future:

As far as next year, Councilman Willie Bradford pointed to a long laundry list of upcoming endeavors that will require significant attention from city leaders— including "crime, economic disparity, a dying inner-city, white and middle class flight, and a loss of faith in our city government."

Meanwhile, our city administration is under investigation.

Elliott Stonecipher writes this morning at Real Shreveport about the article in the Shreveport Times print edition by Lex Talamo regarding the corruption and mismanagement at City Hall, specifically the water department.

I'd link to the Times article but as of this writing it is not in the digital edition (which makes me question why I'm paying for that...).

You'll have to read Stonecipher's report:

While the article does, in fact, include details about 1998-2006 Shreveport Mayor Keith Hightower, it also mentions the involvement of those in the 2006-2014 double-term of Mayor Cedric Glover and the current administration of Mayor Ollie Tyler.  

 The Times report clearly intends the article to focus public attention on Keith Hightower, along with Michael Wainwright and Scott Pernici.The three are well-known among locals who care as major political players over recent decades, often as a trio.  

Their 2016 lawsuit against the City of Shreveport over water service under-billing triggered the subject events and investigation.

It's a nasty tangled web and far above my pay grade. And here is the KSLA report from October 2017 about the internal auditor report of the water department which found high risk levels of fraud and abuse.  Here is the KTBS report.

Meanwhile the city's infrastructure crumbles.

The recent cold weather and sub-freezing temperatures exacerbated the problem as water mains burst all over town. Add this to the crumbling city pipes going to residential water meters and we are soon to be a city with major utility problems.

On our street alone there is one meter-leak that has been seeping water into the street and pooling at the ends of driveways for several months.  It was called in several times before the city came out and
put sticks and tape around it, did some spray painting in the street, and went away.

After the freeze last week, another meter three houses down started leaking.  Water is pooling onto the sidewalk.

The city has been called twice on this latest leak.

I spoke to a one water department employee who came out to test the pressure on a hydrant (which made the meter leaks even worse) who said there are "so many busted pipes all over town" there is no way to keep up.

It's not likely to improve. Consider this report from Lex Talamo dated September 2017:

The city's sole water treatment facility is sometimes stretched to capacity and operates, at peak, below its original capacity by 12 million gallons of water per day.  

Cross Lake, which supplies water to the water treatment facility, needs an estimated $200 million in upgrades, including to fight invasive species such as Giant Salvinia. Cross Lake Dam, which stores water for the facility, needs up to $18 million for repairs.  

The city has met its deadlines so far in completing work under a federal order requiring $500 million in fixes to city sewers. But now the work gets more difficult and expensive. A source of funding has not been identified.  

All told, the infrastructure maintenance, repair and upgrade bill facing city government is around $1.5 billion — the result of paltry appropriations for decades.

Meanwhile, our city officials are patting themselves on the back for a job well done.

Further reading:
Shreveport/Caddo Leaders Reflect on Accomplishments
Two Investigations into Shreveport's Water Department
Shreveport Times City Hall Corruption Report a Must Read
Audit: High-Risk Levels of Fraud, Abuse at Shreveport Water Department
Report to the City Council by the City Internal Auditor

Caddo Parish Animal Services: "...things began to go downhill..."

The first of a series of articles about Caddo Parish Animal Services written by Jessica Carr of The Forum is out this week.

With her writing, Ms. Carr hopes to shine some light on conditions at CPAS and attempts by advocates to enact some reform there.  She's done a nice job in this first article laying the groundwork for those relatively unfamiliar with the situation there.  

Those of us that have been following this issue and advocating before the Caddo Parish Commission for so many years sometimes forget that there is a large segment of our community who may be unaware of what is happening at CPAS; they're out there. I've talked to them.  

So, Ms. Carr's article this week lays the necessary groundwork and I hope it reaches a wider audience than we web-warriors have been able to achieve.  Several of our local news outlets have reported on the problems and Lex Talamo at The Shreveport Times has covered these issues.  There is little reason now for anyone to claim ignorance on the mismanagement of this shelter which lies directly at the feet of the Caddo Parish Commission.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, some members of the Commission are attempting to address issues at CPAS but change comes slowly and unless the general public is at the Commission meetings using their allocated three minutes to lobby for change then the Commission seems more than happy to shove the issue to the back burner.  

Here's a snip from Carr's article in The Forum:

To say that it’s been a rough year for the Caddo Parish Animal Shelter (CPAS) would be putting it mildly. The shelter has received a number of complaints from animal rights advocates and members of the community looking for changes to be made. Several incidents this year have only added to the shelter’s murky reputation that has been a consistent topic of heated debate in the Shreveport-Bossier community.  

The incidents and complaints against CPAS have been brought to light by animal rights advocates on social media, personal blogs, and some have been reported by local media. Allegations range from overcrowded kennels and inadequate medical care to CPAS workers wrongfully euthanizing dogs that were claimed by rescue groups on several different occasions.

Carr also notes my ongoing post which logs a small portion of the abuses reported at CPAS which is here.

Any day we can get the media to keep the pressure up on this issue is a good day.  Share the Forum article on social media and pick up a copy. 

I look forward to seeing the next installment.

Further Reading:
A Chance for Change at CPAS  (10/14/2017)
Problems at Caddo Animal Control Continue (April - October 2017)
The Shreveport Times:  Out of Control Animal Shelter, by Jack Whitehead (Oct. 6, 2017)
The Shreveport Times:  There is Something Not Right at this Animal Shelter, by Lex Talamo (1/14/17)

The Caddo Commission Opens the Proverbial Can of Worms

The Caddo Commission meeting last week, on October 19, was a choreographed waste of taxpayer time as obviously the vote on the Confederate monument was already in long before the meeting ever took place.  The vote to remove the monument was 7-5, but everyone knew two things going in to the meeting:

1. The vote would be to remove; every Commissioner had already signaled their vote.  There was no suspense whatsoever and no use for the citizen comments.  The intention to remove was made perfectly clear when the Commission rejected the recommendation of their own Citizens Advisory Committee. 

2. The vote would be purely symbolic.  The Commission knows that the monument does not belong to them - this is not contested.  The Commission also knows that there is a pending lawsuit filed by John Settle for the purpose of determining who owns the land underneath the monument.

The forerunner of the Caddo Commission, The Caddo Parish Police Jury, donated that parcel of land to the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1903, a donation which is recorded in the Police Jury minutes.  That no property deed was ever executed is the Parish's evidence that they own the land, but in fact, the heirs of Larkin Edwards may be the owners of that parcel and the entire courthouse square as no deed for that entire block can be found either.

It's a can of worms.

Via KTBS:

 The official parish position is that they own the land -- that the courthouse has been there since the early part of the 1900s and ownership has passed to the parish through what amounts to frontier rights. An opposing position is that the courthouse square belongs to the descendants of Larkin Edwards, a friend of the Caddo Indians who sold much of the land that was the original Shreveport.  

There is no record that proves Edwards ever sold the land that is now the courthouse square. Early maps show it was to be a Public Square.

Women weren't allowed to vote and had virtually no property rights in 1903 so it's not surprising that no deed was issued.

And what of "squatter's rights," or adverse possession?

This one will be a tangled knot for the judges and attorneys to unravel and is sure to play out in the courts for years -- all at a cost to the Caddo taxpayer.

The cost to move the monument will be exorbitant.  Despite claims in the meeting last week that the monument is "just a piece of concrete," it is in fact a priceless and irreplaceable work of art, regardless of how one feels about the subject matter.

The 20' x 20' base is indeed concrete, but Clio, The Muse of History, is carved from white marble and the four generals are carved from hard gray Texas granite.  There is a 12' tall column upon which a youthful soldier of white marble stands, and he is about 7' tall.

Much, much more than a piece of concrete.

The ownership of the monument is not contested.  It belongs to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a heritage organization founded in 1894.  The UDC is a non-profit organization and is currently raising money for their legal defense fund.  You can contribute either online or with a check.  Go to the UDC website or Facebook page.

At any rate, the meeting on October 19 was pure choreography.  The room was standing room only filled with "citizens" who wanted the monument removed.  To someone who had not been paying attention to this process, one would believe the entire city wants this monument removed.  At one point in the meeting, Caddo Commission President Steven Jackson asked those in the room in favor of removal to stand and I'd say 95% of the room stood up.  Pure choreography (I doubt he would have suggested that had he not already known the answer).

Some of the citizen comments were simply outlandish nonsense, some had valid points or concerns, and maybe the most moving was the 81-year old woman in the wheelchair who spoke for removal and reminisced about how dangerous it was for blacks back in those days.

I heard one comment after another about "Bloody Caddo" - a phrase I've seldom heard in my 58 years living here.  I've read lots of history about our neighboring parishes, Caddo and Bossier, and know plenty of atrocities took place here as in many other places in the South, but I've never heard "Bloody Caddo" mentioned by so many people in so short a time as in that meeting.  Was that coincidence?

One woman came up and spoke about the stench of the smoke and blood, and about brains being blown out, body parts in trees, and such.

It went on for a couple of hours and it was after 6:00 before the Commissioners began putting their two-cents on record, but of course it was already done.

It was a circus, a sham.

Within hours the United Daughters of the Confederacy filed for an injunction to stop the removal as everyone knew would happen.

The Caddo Commission resolution for removal does not say when the monument will be moved, where it will be moved or stored, and does not mention any kind of structural engineer to examine the monument in order to prevent damage.  Since they don't own the monument the Commission (aka taxpayer) will be responsible for any damages cause in the move.  They will also, in all likelihood, be responsible for damages incurred as the monument loses status on the National Historic Register because of the removal.

Commission President Steven Jackson said the attorney fees will not cost anything as legal action will be handled "in house" but don't we pay the salary for the parish attorney now?  And if he thinks the Commission won't have to outsource some of this legal work and hire an attorney, he's way off the mark.  This is going to go on for years and be very, very expensive.

The only winners will be the attorneys.

You can thank the Commission for that.  By the way, they will be bringing up millage renewals soon - remember that as you consider how prudent this Commission is with your tax dollars.


Anyone want to start looking for the heirs of Larkin Edwards?  Start here.

Previous Posts on This Blog:
On Mysterious Flowers and Monuments (9/17/17)

Caddo Monument Rally Bringing Outside Agitators to Shreveport (9/16/17)

The Caddo Parish Confederate Monument is Not Being Moved (9/10/17)

Mitch's Masked Men Scrape Jefferson Davis from his Pedestal (5/11/17)

In Defending Jefferson Davis, Arlene Barnum is a Class Act (4/30/17)

List of Offensive Monuments, Streets, Names in NOLA ...is Puzzling (4/23/17)
Confederate Monument Removal Scheduled for 1:00 a.m. Monday (4/22/17)
The Confederate Battle Flag Rises Again in South Carolina (2/6/17)
Can the Violence in NOLA be Alleviated with Equity Circles? (12/26/16)
Shreveport Work of Art Still Needs Funding for Restoration (10/22/16)
Can You Help Clio? Restoration Fundraiser is Now Underway (9/5/16)
Epperson Demands UDC Remove Confederate Monument Within the Year (7/6/16)
Epperson's Continued Attack on the Confederate Monument (6/22/16)
Report from the Caddo Commission Meeting in Which Ken Epperson Blasts "Jake-Leg Bloggers" (6/9/16)
Caddo Parish Confederate Monument Under Attack (5/19/16)
Joseph Welsh Texada's Life Mattered Too (1/31/16)
The Heartbreaking Removal of the New Orleans Confederate Monuments (1/17/16

A Chance for Change at Caddo Parish Animal Services is Here

The advocates for the animals at Caddo Parish Animal Services may finally have some hope on the horizon.  If you haven't yet seen the Work Session agenda for October 16, take a look at item 8.III, the second PDF file which is entitled "Proposed Internal Audit Process."

This might be very, very good news.

As you recall, Commissioner Matthew Linn has a proposal on the table to amend the Home Rule Charter to allow for an outside audit of departmental procedures in Caddo Parish government.  This was a subject of some hot debate in the October 2 work session and on which I reported here.  The proposal, if the Commission allowed, would have to come before the voters of Caddo Parish and of course this would be costly and time consuming.

Now there appears to be a compromise on the table.

You can read the entire PDF of the new proposal by Mr. Wilson, but I'll excerpt some points here.

Wilson already has the authority, and duty, to establish a system for internal audit of the affairs of the parish. It appears now that the commissioners will have more input into which departments get audited and when.  The audit plan will now come before the Caddo Commission "for review and approval."  And "any changes made in the audit plan would require the approval of the Commission."

So, to me, that sounds like a little transparency and oversight.

I know, we don't trust the Commission, but let's stay with this for a minute.

This is the part I like:

A third-party contractor from the approved list from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.  

This is good.

Then this:

"The selected audit firm shall be independent of all the programs, functions, operations, and activities that will be audited, to ensure the impartiality and credibility of the audit work undertaken."

Even better! 

And first on the audit list?

That's right, Caddo Parish Animal Services.

The audit findings will be presented to the Parish Administrator and CEO, and the Commission and that should also me us, the public.

We need that transparency.

Go read the whole proposal for yourself.  I don't speak legalese and we need as many sharp eyes on this process as possible.

This proposal must go through.  It will save taxpayers the cost of an election and it will save much time for the animals that are at CPAS.  The original proposal to amend the charter and to force this audit issue will take at least two years to get into place; this offers a compromise by Wilson and a move in the right direction.

We will still need an effective leader at CPAS.

If you can, go to the meeting Monday at Government Plaza.   Let them know you are watching.


Doug Dominick: District 1
Lyndon B. Johnson: District 2
Steven Jackson: District 3
Matthew Linn: District 4
Jerald Bowman: District 5
Lynn Cawthorne: District 6
Stormy Gage-Watts: District 7
Mike Middleton: District 8
John Atkins: District 9
Mario Chavez: District 10
Jim Smith: District 11
Louis Johnson: District 12


Further Reading:
SIGIS: Caddo Commissioner: Give Transparency a Chance
The Shreveport Times: Caddo Commission Mulls Over Adding Independent Auditor
The Shreveport Times:  Out of Control Animal Shelter
Association of Local Government Auditors
SIGIS:  Problems at Caddo Animal Shelter Continue

A Chance for Caddo Animal Shelter: Let the Citizens Have a Voice

Marley is a typical example of what happens to dogs at Caddo Parish Animal Services.

A dog is brought in as a stray, or is owner-surrendered.  The dog might be perfectly healthy, as Marley is.  On intake, Marley is heart worm negative.  Thin, but otherwise fairly healthy and so considered "adoptable."

Adoptable dogs are put inside in plexiglass and cinderblock kennels with concrete floors.  The walls are painted in glaring neon colors.  The sound of barking dogs echo through the facility.  Over time a dog gets "kennel crazy" - sort of like cabin fever in humans.  A dearth of human interaction, constant noise, complete over stimulation.  It gets to you.

When this happens, the dog might become "aggressive" or just stir crazy and so is then moved to the "rescue only"  side of the shelter which is outside in the elements; there are usually several dogs in a kennel and they often have to fight for food.  Dogs like Marley will lose even more weight and eventually become unhealthy.

Our local rescues can only pull so many dogs.  Their funds are limited and donations get maxed out quickly.  Vet bills add up.

So dogs like Marley enter that downward spiral toward euthanasia.

Then we end up with high kill rates.

When Caddo Commissioner Matthew Linn proposed an amendment to the Caddo Parish Home Rule Charter in the October 2 work session that would help change the situation at CPAS, most of the commissioners were in favor and recognize that CPAS is "failing miserably," as Commissioner Mario Chavez said in his remarks.

Three of our commissioners, however, don't see a problem, and as I noted earlier in the week, interim Commissioner Louis Johnson thinks we have administrators in place "who are doing a great job."  That may be true in some departments but certainly not with regard to the animal shelter.

Caddo Parish Animal services euthanizes at least half as many dogs as they take in and the percentage is far higher with cats.

CPAS stats: September 2017

Of course part of that is due to the citizenry who refuses to spay/neuter their animals.  But there have been far too many grievous problems and examples of bad policy, procedure, and mismanagement at our shelter that could be improved upon.  Why does this cycle continue?

Commissioner Linn's proposal to change the charter to allow for an outside auditor is a step in the right direction, however some in our community see this as simply "a political ploy" and said "Commissioners like Matthew Linn have no credibility."  (That was a comment on Facebook when I shared my last blog post.  I don't want to call out the commenter by name).

This is disheartening.  Commissioner Linn is trying to do the right thing, trying to implement known best practices in government, and this is something that should have been done long ago.  In fact, had an auditor been involved back when administrators offered CPERS to the commissioners perhaps that tangled mess could have been avoided.

This is mixing apples and oranges.

This is now.

NOW is the time to fix this shelter and turn it into something we can be proud of.

What we need to focus on is not egos but on the animals like Marley who are at this moment suffering because there is nobody in charge to fix this problem and literally no other hope on the horizon for them outside of this proposed amendment.

We all need to unite in this issue.  We need to quit mixing issues and blaming people for past transgressions that have nothing whatsoever to do with this issue.

We have three commissioners who opposed the proposal: Doug Dominick, Louis Johnson, and John Atkins, and they oppose it for different reasons.

Mr. Dominick opposes primarily the cost to the voters.  By that theory the Caddo Commission should never place any more issues on the ballot.

Mr. Johnson, who is up for re-election October 14, believes things are great the way they are.

Mr. Atkins favors a new committee.

As I recall, the Commission rejected the recommendation of their last formed committee so I don't see the purpose of this.

As Mr. Linn pleaded in the October 2 sessionn, "Give transparency a chance."

I would add, let's give animals like Marley a chance, and the hundreds of other animals who will face stress, hunger, exposure to disease, and euthanization before this is resolved.

Call or email your commissioner and ask them to support this proposal; and remember, all Mr. Linn is asking the Commissioners to do is to bring this issue before the voters.  Ultimately, we get to decide whether or not to change the Home Rule Charter.  Why can't we have a voice?

Doug Dominick: District 1
Lyndon B. Johnson: District 2
Steven Jackson: District 3
Matthew Linn: District 4
Jerald Bowman: District 5
Lynn Cawthorne: District 6
Stormy Gage-Watts: District 7
Mike Middleton: District 8
John Atkins: District 9
Mario Chavez: District 10
Jim Smith: District 11
Louis Johnson: District 12


Further Reading:
SIGIS: Caddo Commissioner: Give Transparency a Chance
The Shreveport Times: Caddo Commission Mulls Over Adding Independent Auditor
The Shreveport Times:  Out of Control Animal Shelter
Association of Local Government Auditors
SIGIS:  Problems at Caddo Animal Shelter Continue

Caddo Commissioner: "Give Transparency a Chance"

Caddo Parish Commission Work Session: 10/2/17

The Shreveport Times published a powerful Letter to the Editor last week about the abysmal failure of the Caddo Parish Animal facility that needs to go viral:

Jack Whitehead writes:

Something's wrong here: we have a Caddo Parish administrator in charge of an animal control operation that is obviously out of control. Check the record. Woody Wilson keeps doing the same thing in hiring incompetent animal shelter managers while expecting a different result.  

When does someone start asking meaningful questions about Dr. Wilson's competence here? Does he get supervision? Then, too, what will it take for him to even start thinking about privatizing our "if in doubt, kill 'em" animal sheltering program?  

Management by government isn't working. Management via private means, with public financing, would give us a chance to find managers motivated to make this operation work — for the animals and for us, the citizens. We could do right things right, if we just tried, for a change.

You know the cycle to which he refers.  Something horrific happens at CPAS, like mistakenly euthanizing the wrong cat or dogs tagged for rescue mistakenly being euthanized,  and the animal community gets up in arms.  We all march down to the Caddo Commission meeting, rail at the commissioners for their ineptitude, and nothing changes.  We might write letters or blog posts, we might organize meetings with our commissioners, but nothing changes.

Many politicians and citizens not involved in the animal community refer to us as "those crazy animal people."

We now have a chance for change, and I'm not talking about yet another new director of CPAS.

At the Caddo Commission work session on October 2, Commissioner Matthew Linn introduced
a proposal to amend the Home Rule Charter under which the Commission operates and allow for a provision for the Commission to hire an independent auditor.

Simply put, the way the Commission now works, the parish audits itself.  It's the equivalent of  Parish Administrator Woody Wilson writing his own test and grading it himself.

What Linn has figured out is that an outside audit is needed if anything is going to change.  It's simply good government.  Why wouldn't we want to follow known Best Practices in government and allow more transparency in what is going on in our local government?  There are legislative guidelines for local governmental bodies to follow and the Caddo Commission is not following those guidelines by virtue of their charter.

My theory is that Caddo Animal Services is just a distraction for whatever is going on elsewhere in the parish. Why does Mr. Wilson keep installing people to head that department who are inept?  If we are all up in arms about a mistakenly euthanized cat then we aren't paying attention to anything else.  The Parish Administrator should have fixed this ongoing problem and inept department by now.  I'm not saying anything nefarious is happening elsewhere in other areas of parish government, but how do we know?

Local animal advocate Cindy Marrus passionately appealed to the Commission on October 2, and in

Cindy Marrus: CPC Work Session 10/2/17

her three minutes recapped the latest atrocity at CPAS and pleaded, "How can you allow what's happening out there?  Aren't you embarrassed?  Don't you have pride?  Don't you care?"  Her tone was pleading and sorrowful - she wasn't ranting.  (You can listen to her remarks here; skip ahead to about 8:56).

Under Linn's proposal, the Commission could call for an audit of any department under their purview, including Animal Services.  You would think this would be a welcome change to the Home Rule Charter which currently does not provide for this.

During the meeting on October 2, Linn noted that he had provided literature about Best Practices in auditing and local government to the commissioners and some had even attended a meeting about it. He's done the research.

Ultimately, the voters have to approve this; all Linn is asking the Commission to do is to bring it before the voters.

Three commissioners voted against the proposal: Doug Dominick, John Atkins, and Louis Johnson.

Mr. Dominick said his concern is the cost of bringing this before the voters: if done in a special election (which nobody suggested) it would cost $225,000, but done during another regular election, like our mayoral election for example, the cost would be around $20,000.  Dominick also suggested that this should wait until the committee that meets every four years to discuss the Home Rule Charter convenes.  They last met in 2016 so my question to Mr. Dominick is how many more animals are you willing to see killed before you wait for this committee to meet in three more years?

Mr. Dominick suggested that a committee to audit financial issues might be okay but not operational issues.  "That's a whole 'nother ball of wax," he said.

But what if operations are your problem?

John Atkins expressed concern about changing the current charter and said that he believes the Commission could achieve the same results by forming an audit committee, which in essence is the same as I said before: writing and grading your own test.  This is not transparent and subject to a host of political shenanigans, vote trading, bargaining, etc., - not that I'm suggesting anyone would do that, but clearly an independent audit is preferred and is a known best practice.

Incredibly, to me, Louis Johnson said he thinks things are just fine the way they are.  He said, "We have people in place who are doing a great job...".  It seems that Mr. Johnson confused the issue as a no-confidence vote against Parish Administrator Woody Wilson, and that's simply not what's on the table. While Mr. Johnson said that we can offer compassion to the woman whose cat was euthanized, he said he was offering "a confidence vote for what we have in place."  So, the abysmal failure of CPAS is just fine with Louis Johnson.

Mr. Johnson, by the way, is serving as interim Commissioner after the resignation of Ken Epperson.  The election for this seat will be October 14.

Remember, all that Mr. Linn is asking them at this point is to bring this issue before the voters - asking for the authority to have an independent audit of parish departments if needed. In concurrence,  Lyndon Johnson noted "what we're doing is not working," because the charter right now does not allow for independent audits.  In the meeting Johnson also noted that "we know there are issues with animal services and we need to make a change and see if we can do something different."

Steven Jackson said, "I felt sort of remiss when I heard about this.  This is not a slight on anyone...it's about asking the citizens what is their preferred method for best practices."

Commissioner Chavez agreed: "Caddo Parish Animal Services has failed...We keep putting our trust in what's not working.  Something's got to give."

The list of atrocities at CPAS is lengthy, from selling animals out the back door, to bestiality, and countless accidental incidents of euthanization. It's been going on for over a decade.  Clearly the Commissioners, nor anyone else, know exactly what's going on there.  Just try and volunteer at CPAS - good luck on that.

In truth the only person that knows what's going on in all departments of parish government is Parish Administrator Woody Wilson; the Caddo Commission does not because there's no transparency.  As Parish Administrator, we expect that Woody Wilson would want to utilize known Best Practices in government and offer transparency to voters, animal advocates, citizens.  He should be advocating for this change in charter.  He is not.

Linn said at the work session, "Yes, it's going to cost $20,000 to put this on the ballot but it's worth it to let the citizens vote and see if they want us to follow what is known as Best Practices...Give transparency a chance."

I think he's right.

Everyone in Caddo Parish should advocate for this, and to appeal to your Commissioner to support this.  Don't we want transparency?  Don't we want to ensure accountability?  Look at what the City uncovered when the water department was audited!  We have a chance to change.

If the Commissioners could fix CPAS, they would.  They can't because they can't get involved in the departmental operations there.  This proposal would give them the authority to do that and to uncover the Wizard behind the screen.

Find your Commissioner here. Ask them to support this amendment.

Further Reading:
Shreveport Times:  Caddo Commission Mulls Adding Independent Auditor
Shreveport Times:  Out of Control Animal Shelter
Association of Local Government Auditors

A Courthouse Compromise to Appease All

Caddo Courthouse interior

There are few historians in our area I admire more than John Andrew Prime.  Mr. Prime was recently a member of the Citizen's Advisory Committee appointed by the Caddo Parish Commission for the purpose of determining the fate of the contested Caddo Parish Confederate monument which stands on the north side of the courthouse on a small parcel of land given to the United Daughters of the Confederacy by the Caddo Parish Police Jury in 1903.

That Citizens Advisory Committee voted to make a recommendation to the Caddo Parish Commission to leave the Confederate monument in place and to erect two additional monuments: one to Reconstruction and one to Civil Rights.  This recommendation was the result of months of town hall meetings with the citizens of Caddo parish and the result of study of hundreds of emails and comments from these citizens.

In the end, the Commission rejected the hard work of the committee and in a recent meeting voted to move the Confederate monument.

Mr. Prime, on the other hand, a voice of reason in all this madness, is on the right track.

Mr. Prime realizes that a community divided can only fall upon itself.

Mr. Prime has proposed a grand compromise.

If a Confederate monument standing on courthouse grounds insults Lady Justice and impedes the right of a fair trial for some of our citizens, then we should move the courthouse.

It's not a folly or a whim.

It makes good sense.

Mr. Prime wrote in The Shreveport Times on September 20, 2017:

On the other hand, removing the courthouse to a bigger, better location provides a remedy for the justice complaints and most other ills opposed by the howling anti-history mob. Turning the current courthouse into a museum, dedicated in part to telling the local story of the Civil War, the Reconstruction that led to bloody decades that led in turn to today's era of Civil Rights, also offers an alternative sure to kindle further public debate and discourse, as well as a tourism opportunity of the first order. No doubt the public, as well as historians from many walks of life in Shreveport and Caddo Parish, could offer suggestions for the building.  

 An alternative to building a new courthouse might be to repurpose a building on land already indebted to the city or parish, with copious parking, easily accessible by modern highways. 

What about Mall St. Vincent, the recipient of public largess recently through $16 million in upgrades by the city, owned by Canadian developers following insolvency declarations and reportedly available almost for the asking? It's right off I-49 and I-20, has tons of parking, and is easily accessible from most parts of Shreveport.

How about that!  A solution to appease all sides!

Brilliant!

The Caddo Parish Courthouse is actually outdated for modern use and a new courthouse is certainly needed.  The current building is architecturally and historically significant and has been renovated through the years to include new elevators, plumbing, and electrical upgrades.  It's perfect for a museum.

Why not use currently owned Caddo parish land on Cross Bayou for the site of a new courthouse?  Shreveport has a Triple A bond rating which means we can borrow money at a low interest rate - why not use that?  And I'm willing to bet that private investors would even step up to invest in this civil compromise if for no other reason than to put an end to this issue that is certainly going to cause terrible division within our city.

We don't want to be New Orleans.

If this monument controversy goes forward it will ensnare the city in years of litigation; it's already in the courts thanks to John Settle's lawsuit, but even if that is dismissed, as the Caddo Commission has requested, that won't end the issue of who owns the land under the monument.  This will go on for years and only enrich the lawyers.

The Commission rejected the first compromise offer which the Citizen's Advisory Committee proposed.  Certainly they will have the good sense to entertain and at least explore the idea of a new Caddo Courthouse which would benefit the parish and appease both sides of the monument issue.

Should the courthouse be relocated, the current building could be a museum with exhibits dedicated to Civil Rights, famous Caddo citizens, the Caddo Indians, and even Larkin Edwards who owned the land upon which the courthouse sits.  Caddo Commissioner Matthew Linn even suggested this at one of the Commission work sessions - his suggestion was to turn the upper floor of the courthouse into a museum.  Why not the entire building?! We can even erect a monument on the south side of the courthouse to Civil Rights, as recommended by the Citizens Advisory Committee.  There is no monument on that side.

This is the potential for organic growth which Shreveport so desperately needs to embrace and will be a chance to assist in the revitalization of downtown. We could even add some retail shops, a coffee shop, a gift shop...the possibilities are there.

But mostly, it's a chance for us to come together.  We can be different.  We can unite.

Are we courageous enough to do it?

SIGIS Raising Money for the Confederate Monument

The ladies of the United Daughters of the Confederacy have responded to John Settle's lawsuit filed to determine ownership of the land under the Caddo Parish Confederate monument.

Via The Shreveport Times:

The Shreveport chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy has thrown down its first marker challenging any move by Caddo Parish government to remove the Confederate monument from courthouse grounds. The UDC chapter declared in a court filing that it owns both the monument and the land the monument stands on at the Caddo Courthouse and, as a result, that the parish cannot legally move the 101-year-old edifice.

Settle filed a lawsuit in Caddo District court last month although his standing to file suit is unclear as he clearly is not a Daughter nor a Commissioner.  Settle named both the UDC and the Caddo Commission as defendants in his suit.

The Caddo Commission has asked the judge to dismiss the suit.

Whether the judge dismisses the suit or not, the issue of ownership has been ongoing for years and perhaps now is the time to put that to rest.

Through the years I've had many friends of this blog reach out and chip in when I've asked for support for school supplies or other charitable causes.  I have been astounded at the generosity of my readers and although my readership has dwindled some as I took some time off to write my book, there are still plenty of you still here.  I'm very grateful that you have stuck around!

I am donating all PayPal donations through this blog through October to the United Daughters of the Confederacy local chapter for their legal defense fund.

As Confederate monuments across the South are being ripped from their pedestals, I think we can be different and we can show the nation that we can reconcile this issue peaceably and through compromise.  At the very least this monument is unique among the other monuments across the South; its design is unlike any other.  It is a beautiful work of art.

Some contend that moving the monument to a museum would ensure further appreciation for it but what we would lose is the historicity of the monument: it's historic value comes from the site upon which it sits.

I have made a donation to the UDC to their legal defense fund. It will cost money to fight to keep the monument where it is.  You can donate either through this blog (hit the PayPal button on the right sidebar) or you can mail a check to the UDC.  No amount is too small.

If you can't donate anything, please share with someone who can.

A million protests and a million signatures on a petition won't do what dollars can do.  This monument fight is different than any other across the South: the UDC was donated the land in 1903 and now must fight legally to retain it.  This will take money.

Hit the PayPal button on the sidebar.  We can save this monument.

The UDC ladies back in the day built this monument with donations from bake sales and other fundraisers - a dollar here, a nickle there, and we can save it the same way today.  Donate what you can.

UPDATE:
Thank you "Anonymous" for your $25.00!

Previous Posts on This Blog:
On Mysterious Flowers and Monuments (9/17/17)

Caddo Monument Rally Bringing Outside Agitators to Shreveport (9/16/17)

The Caddo Parish Confederate Monument is Not Being Moved (9/10/17)

Mitch's Masked Men Scrape Jefferson Davis from his Pedestal (5/11/17)

In Defending Jefferson Davis, Arlene Barnum is a Class Act (4/30/17)

List of Offensive Monuments, Streets, Names in NOLA ...is Puzzling (4/23/17)
Confederate Monument Removal Scheduled for 1:00 a.m. Monday (4/22/17)
The Confederate Battle Flag Rises Again in South Carolina (2/6/17)
Can the Violence in NOLA be Alleviated with Equity Circles? (12/26/16)
Shreveport Work of Art Still Needs Funding for Restoration (10/22/16)
Can You Help Clio? Restoration Fundraiser is Now Underway (9/5/16)
Epperson Demands UDC Remove Confederate Monument Within the Year (7/6/16)
Epperson's Continued Attack on the Confederate Monument (6/22/16)
Report from the Caddo Commission Meeting in Which Ken Epperson Blasts "Jake-Leg Bloggers" (6/9/16)
Caddo Parish Confederate Monument Under Attack (5/19/16)
Joseph Welsh Texada's Life Mattered Too (1/31/16)
The Heartbreaking Removal of the New Orleans Confederate Monuments (1/17/16