Dawn Slezak, Rickey Cash, Oswald “Bert” Brown and Deneise Barlow were re-appointed to their various boards by the Jackson Parish Police Jury (JPPJ) during their regularly scheduled monthly meeting held on March 8th at the Charles H. Garrett Community Center in Jonesboro. More appointments and re-appointments are expected soon as terms expire.
Slezak and Barlow retained their position on the Tourism Board with Slezaks term running until the end of the year and Barlow’s extending until
After a delay of 30 minutes due to the extended comments that were made during the Public Hearing that preceded the meeting Todd Culpepper, President Amy Magee, John McCarty, Tarneshala “Niki” Cowans, Regina Rowe and Lynn Treadway listened to comments made by James Ginn of Jonesboro and Lester Allen of Eros.
Dawn Slezak, Rickey Cash, Oswald “Bert” Brown and Deneise Barlow were re-appointed to their various boards by the Jackson Parish Police Jury (JPPJ) during their regularly scheduled monthly meeting held on March 8th at the Charles H. Garrett Community Center in Jonesboro. More appointments and re-appointments are expected soon as terms expire.
Slezak and Barlow retained their position on the Tourism Board with Slezaks term running until the end of the year and Barlow’s extending until December 31, 2023. The reason for the different lengths of appointment was due to the JPPJ electing to stagger the terms of the board members at the February meeting. Rickey Cash will remain on the Recreation Board until February 28, 2024 while Brown will stay on the Watershed Board until 12/31/2022.
The meeting began 30 minutes later than normal due to the extended comments that were made during the preceding Public Hearing on the upcoming sales tax election. After JPPJ President Amy Magee called the session to order Todd Culpepper, Magee, John McCarty, Tarneshala “Niki” Cowans, Regina Rowe and Lynn Treadway listened to comments made by James Ginn of Jonesboro and Lester Allen of Eros. District Two representative Lewis Chatham was absent.
Ginn, who is an Alderman for the Town of Jonesboro but commented as a private citizen, thanked the Police Jury for their help with the water issues that plagued the parish during the winter storms. Allen, who stated he was speaking on behalf of the 13 families who live on Shennandoah Road in Eros, pleaded with board members to follow through with continued promises made over the last couple of years to repair the road as now it is virtually impassible by residents and emergency vehicles if required.
“We need your help and we need it now,” pleaded Allen. “The road is impassible unless you have a four-wheel drive. There are 13 families that live on this road and if one of them needed a fire truck or an ambulance they couldn’t get there.”
After President Magee promised she would look into the matter and get back with Allen the panel moved to approve the reports from the Operations and Finance Committee, as well as, reports from the Superintendents and heads of the Road, OEP, Solid Waste and Finance Departments. Of note was the approval of a letter of response to Plum Hill Missionary Baptist Church and the execution of a two year “exchange” contract with Acadian Fleet Management. Authorization to apply for a federal assistance grant for road maintenance on Gansville Road and the decline to purchase the land adjacent to the Blake Building in Jonesboro was also agreed on. The meeting was adjourned after comments made by Jury members where District 4 representative McCarty instructed other Jury members to begin forming teams in their respective districts in preparation of the “Jackson Parish Clean-Up Day” event slated for the 12th of June.
