NOTE: Today most people only know that Caney Creek Reservoir and Caney Lake State Park is considered one of the jewels of Sportsman’s Paradise, as the state is called. Few remember the countless trials, tribulations, pitfalls and roadblocks that had to be overcome or the role that Woody McDonald played in changing the woods into water. This week – Treen and a hill of beans!

In 1980 Edwin Edwards was forced to relinquish his role as Governor after two terms, paving the way for Dave Treen to win the election. The shift in power was exuberating to all who was involved with the construction of Caney Lake, especially Jackson Parish Watershed Commissioner Woody McDonald, who immediately began lobbying the new state leader as soon as he took office.

“Treen is in agreement with us that the project needs to be finished,” McDonald was quoted as saying in a May 30th article published by the Shreveport Times. “He is going to start to look for funding and hopefully we will be able to let the dam contract later this summer.

The statement was a welcome relief after nearly a decade of setbacks in the 70’s and led to excitement of what the 80’s would bring. What needed to be raised was roughly $3,000,000.00 dollars but an old ally, who had become an detriment was once again in position to be a big help. After two terms as Speaker of the House where he became a bitter political adversary to Edwards, Jonesboro native E.L. “Bubba” Henry was now high up in the Treen administration and worked closely with funding matters.

McDonald continued to burn up the road to Baton Rouge and after many more meetings the hope became stronger that the needed money would soon be available. Also, on several additional fronts, after all the roadblocks and stonewalling of the past four years, the project suddenly began to pick up momentum.

The completion of the spillway, which was about three quarters of the way from being completed and two additional clearing projects were now expected to be completed by the fall. Contracts called for the main channels to be completely cleared for waterskiing and boating with timber being left in the inlets and upper end except in boat rows to enhance the fishing.

Also, despite all the turmoil of the previous years, McDonald and the JPWC had continued to diligently raise money which resulted in the commission having roughly $800,000.00 to put towards the building of the embankment and a bridge on Hwy 4 with an additional $250,000.00 being available by the time the construction started.

All was not well on the home front though. The attacks and disgruntlement that for years had been centered in Baton Rouge soon started locally and of all people, McDonald was in the cross hairs. This came from local residents who were upset that during all the delays in construction that McDonald and partner Glen Pullen had planted a soybean patch in the lake bed.

According to June 28, 1981 article in the Shreveport Times, local residents were claiming that now the nearly $5,000,000.00 dollars that taxpayers had paid wasn’t amounting to anything other than a “hill of beans”.

The nearly ten years of delays were beginning to wear thin the patience of landowners to the point that some threatened to file suit to regain rights to the property. Many had sold servitude in the early 1970’s to the state on the condition that the lake be flooded within 10 years, a time frame that had long gone past.

In reality, McDonald had received permission from the landowners, the state Office of Public Works and informally from the previous group of commissioners to plant the crop. As one landowner stated, he had no problem with it as he figured the land might as well be used for something during all the delays. McDonald said at the time the idea was to keep the land cleared and that by farming it accomplished that goal.

By the end of the summer of 1981 and the spillway now completed the dispute would be “water under the bridge” as the focus turned once again to getting the money needed to complete the earthen dam that had to be constructed so that the lake would begin filling up. But another “curveball” was coming. Next week: Trouble with Tenneco.