From EBRSO

    East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Deputies along with Baton Rouge Police apprehended four men today following a home invasion that occurred at approximately 5:00 a.m. this morning the Comite Hills West subdivision off of Joor Road.

    According to reports, the victim arrived home and four men in a vehicle pulled in the driveway behind him. Armed with guns, the men forced the victim inside his recidence and stole his cell phone. The four men then fled.

    Deputies apprehended two of the men shortly after in the subdivision. The other two fled into the wooded area behind the subdivision off of Joor Road. EBRSO deputies, detectives, K9s and the Baton Rouge Police helicopter were able to track the two men down and apprehend them. Deputies recovered two rifles and a handgun.

    Corsy Bernard Hollins, 26, of 1305 N. 47th St.;  Loialiki Falauwa Moi, 27, of 722 N. 38th St.; Sherman Trammel Smith, 30, of 4014 Pitcher St.; and James Williams, 18, of  722 N. 38th St. are charged with LRS 14:62.8 Home Invasion, LRS 14:64 Armed Robbery, LRS 14:60 Aggravated Burglary, LRS 14:34 Aggravated Battery, and LRS 14:56 Simple Criminal Damage To Property.

    Special thanks to all the deputies and detectives that stayed on shift and Baton Rouge Police that assisted in apprehending the suspects so quickly.

    Homeowner Kenwan Payne has asked to send a personal expression of thanks to the neghbors of Comite Hills West and to the EBRSO and the BRPD for their quick response and the apprehension of the suspects.

From EBRSO

    East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office narcotics agents arrested three men this past Tuesday in possession of high-grade marijuana. Chevis Ashton Whalen, 18, of 36394 Page Dr. Denham Springs is charged with Principal to  Distribution of marijuana,  possession of drug paraphernalia and attempting to obtain a schedule II CDS.Chase Whalen, 20, of 36394 Page Dr. Denham Springs is charged with Principal to Distribution of marijuana,  possession of drug paraphernalia and attempting to obtain a schedule II CDS.

    Timothy Pena, 17, of 36508 Rosallie Ave. Denham Springs is charged with  Distribution of marijuana, resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia and attempting to obtain a schedule II CDS. Narcotics agents with EBRSO and LPSO conducted a joint investigation pertaining to the distribution of marijuana.  Agents arrested all three men at the Central Wal-Mart parking lot this past Tuesday.

    Agents seized 55.4 grams of high grade marijuana and one digital scale. Agents learned that Chevis and Chase provided a ride to Pena for the purpose of selling marijuana to an undercover agent.  Pena was also attempting to trade an amount of marijuana for an amount of oxycotin pills as payment to the driver, Chevis, for transporting him.

Below: Timothy Pena, Chase Whalen, and Chevis Whalen

From EBRSO

East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Detectives worked a shooting last night at 11388 Blackwater Road at approximately 7:15 p.m. in which a father allegedly shot his daughter's boyfriend to death.
 
According to reports, deputies recieved a call at 7:15 p.m. in reference to a disturbance at the home. While en route, deputies were advised a shot was fired at the location. Upon arrival deputies found a man dead outside the residence and Wayne Landry, 57, standing in the doorway. Deputies took Landry into custody.
 
Scott Shipp, 23, of 18609 Greenwell Springs Rd. #12 was pronounced dead on the scene.
 
According to report's Shipp and Landry had other arguments earlier in the day in which Landry told Shipp not to return to his residence. That evening Shipp arrived at the residence with his girlfriend. She went inside the residence, and Shipp remained outside in the vehicle. Landry then called the Sheriff's Office to come remove Shipp from his property. While deputies were en route, Shipp knocked on the door and Landry said he told him to leave. When Shipp refused to leave, Landry allegedly shot him.  Shipp was unarmed.
 
Landry was transported to the prison and booked for Second-Degree Murder.

From EBRSO

EBRSO is working a shooting that occurred in the 11000 block of Blackwater Road at approximately 7:12 pm in which one person is reportedly deceased. Initial reports show there was a domestic disturbance that led to the shooting. There will be an update when we have further information for release.

By Mia Freneaux

    Back in 1978, a young man named Chris Ferrara joined the recently formed Central Volunteer Fire Department.  He had just moved to Central with his young wife, his high school sweetheart from Redemptorist, and was working at Exxon through Local Union 198 as a pipe fitter/welder/fabricator.  “I got to know a few folks at Exxon who were members of the CVFD, and they encouraged me to join,” Chris reminisced recently, “One of them was Charles Mondrick, recently named Baton Rouge’s Interim Police Chief, who joined in 1977 and is still there today.  He is their longest serving volunteer!”   Chris recalled the efforts it took to keep the fire department afloat in those days. “We had no tax base,” he stated, “Everything was done with fund raisers.  Door-to-door collections, Barbeque dinners, Chicken dinners, bingo at St. Alphonsus, it was all strictly donations.  We’d hit one subdivision at a time.” 

    By 1981, it became evident CVFD needed another truck.  There was no money available, so with typical Central do-it-yourself spirit, Chris and fellow volunteer Richie Hayes faced the challenge.  Huey Kinchen lent his barn on Hooper Road, and Chris and Richie spent hours of their free time welding bits and pieces together.  “We had the chassis from a GMC tanker truck whose tank was bad.  Then we bought as salvage a wrecked fire truck from Alexandria.  It was really just a piece of a fire truck. We cut it apart and welded it to the chassis to make a new truck.  It took several months to build.  We had to mount the pump and the piping.  We fabricated the steel for the 1500 gallon water tank.  We’d be twelve to one o’clock in the morning rebuilding and repairing, then go off to our regular jobs a few hours later.  Huey was so gracious, he let us use the barn whenever we had time to.  That old truck lasted many years.” 

    Chris also remembered what hard work it was, as well. “We’d run up and down the roads at all hours of the night, then go to our regular jobs to pay our house notes.  When there was a fire, dispatch would call the chief, and the Women’s Auxiliary would start a phone chain.  Eventually, we had 5 pagers!  We had one ambulance to service all of Central, plus Pride and all the rural areas.  The Fire Department would often have to help them transport victims.  For all the hard work, though, we sure had good times.  I have great memories of cutting up after fires when we had to wash and clean the trucks – water fights, hose fights.  It was such a close knit organization.  It was a great experience for me from a volunteer standpoint.  We all spent so much time away from our families to help others in their time of need.  But people really appreciated us being there.”  Just a bit of perspective: out of all the major fire departments in this country, 70% are still staffed by volunteers.

Next Week: Ferrara Fire Apparatus – From Dream to Reality

    The Board of Commissioners and the Fire Chief of Chaneyville Fire District #7 are proud to announce that starting September 5, 2011, the Public Protection Classification for Chaneyville Fire District #7 will be changed from Class 7 to Class 5.  All properties located inside the boundaries of this area and within the required distance from a recognized fire station will receive Class 5 rating.

    CVFD has worked diligently for the past 3 years to bring our fire rating down so the citizens can pay less on their homeowners insurance every year.  We asked our citizens to support their fire department and they were there for us.  We could not be more proud of this accomplishment.

    We would like to thank Mayor Melvin "Kip" Holden, our Councilman Trae Welch, State Senator Rob Marioneaux, State Representative Mack "Bodi" White, Mayor Mac Watts. and the City of Central.  We would also like to thank the Fire Departments who assisted anytime there was a need.  These Fire Departments include, but are not limited to, Baton Rouge, Central, Zachary, Pride, Bluff Creek, Olive Branch, Slaughter, St. George and Baker.  Any department that we asked for help always responded.

    The biggest thanks goes to every volunteer who gave their own time, day or night, to do whatever it took to help someone in need.  We will continue to strive to be even better in the future.

Thank you,
Mark Strickland, Fire Chief

    The CVFD #7 Board of Commissioners: David Metcalfe (President), Bobby Watts ( Vice President), Frank Millican (Secretary), Roger Sanford (Commissioner), and Dan Pulliam (Commissioner)

    CVFD District follows Little Sandy Creek from the Parish line south to Peairs Rd., north to North Joor Rd., then south along N. Joor, crossing 64, following Joor Road to Solitude Lane, west to and including Littlefield, then south almost to McCullough Rd. over to the Comite River, then North along the Comite to where it branches with Redwood Creek, then along Redwood Creek back to the Parish line.  EDITORS NOTE:  It was members of the CVFD #7 who worked to get fire hydrants placed along Blackwater Rd. in the past 3 years.  Many thanks for your diligence and care and CONGRATULATIONS!

Mayor Mac Watts declared August 9th to be Cody Overstreet Day and recognized him and his father for their quick actions which likely saved the home of Buddy Wicker (pictured above left). On August 1st, while the Wicker family was away on vacation, a fire began in the shop attached to the house on Conestoga. A lightning strike was the likely cause. From some distance away Cody (pictured above center), and his father saw the smoke, investigated and called 911. The fire department was able to contain the fire before it crossed the carport into the main house. The official fire department report states that the home would have likely been a total loss if not for the quick action of Cody and his father.

From the Central Fire Department

Date: 8-1-11

Type of Call: House Fire

Address: 7737 Conestoga 

Time of Call: 1547

Under Control: 1625   

Structure Occupied During Fire: no   

Estimated Dollar Loss: $75,000                                  

Injuries to Civilians: no

Injuries to Firefighters: no

Other Agencies Assisting: none

Other Information:  The fire started on the shop attached to the home. The carport was in-between the shop and the home all attached. Upon our arrival found fire coming from the attic above the shop. The fire crews pulled down ceiling in order to get to the fire and made a quick stop before it made it into the home. Two cars under the carport were undamaged also. This home can not be seen from the street. A neighbor who lives on Joor Rd. behind this home Cody Overstreet recent graduate from Central Private made the 911 call.   Not being able to see this from the street if the call  from Cody had not been made this home could have been a total loss before a neighbor on Conestoga would have see it. There was lightening in the area at the time. Electrical equipment for the pool pump on the wall of the shop was the ignition point of the fire.

By Mia Freneaux;  Photos courtesy of Central Volunteer Fire Department

Above: CFD's first Board of Directors, left to right:  Jim Fergerson (Secretary); John Parker (Member at Large); Tommy Lee (Chairman); Charles O'Neal (Treasurer); Grover Stephens (Member at Large); L.J. Bergeron (Vice Chairman); C.J. Watson (Member at Large); and E.j. Rogillio (not shown)

    What can we do? These were the words that Jim Fergerson and Grover Stephens asked themselves as they viewed the remains of a house in Bellingrath 40 years ago.  The family had called the Baton Rouge Fire Department, but they had a policy that a truck could not leave Baton Rouge unless there was a back up truck available.  By the time the BRFD had arrived at the scene, the family had lost everything.

    40 years ago, Central was a very different place than it is today.  The sole defense against fires was the hope that homeowners and neighbors could keep the fire at bay long enough with garden hoses for the firefighters to arrive from Baton Rouge.  There was no fire station within miles.  There weren’t even any fire hydrants.  Central, familiarly, was on its own.

    Jim, Grover, CJ Watson, Charles O’Neal, LJ Bergeron, Tommy Lee, EG Rogillio, and John Parker decided to call an organizational meeting. “We took a 4×8 sheet of plywood and painted on it that there would be an organizational meeting at the Jaycee’s hut – we put it at the corner of Hooper and Sullivan.  Everyone who showed up that night voted in favor of a fire department for Central, “ remembered Jim.  Minutes from that first meeting reveal 35 names on the list of Charter Members.

    It is one thing to agree there was a need for a fire department.  It is another to make one materialize out of nothing.  Their first triumph was John Parker presenting them with the keys to a 1947 American LaFrance Primer Truck on February 28, 1972.  The truck had been taken out of commission and put in storage by the BRFD.  It held only 250 gallons of water.  Chris Ferrara and Donnie Nettles welded an additional 600 gallon tank onto the frame.  “They filled it from swimming pools, creeks, whatever they could pull water from,” Charlotte Fergerson shared. The BRFD also donated old coats, helmets, even used boots.  Jim and Grover both have their old helmets, antiques that no firefighter today would consider using.  “Everything we had was cast-off,” Grover said

    After LW Eaton donated his property at the corner of Sullivan and Hooper, Charles Cloy oversaw the construction of the new station.  He got Sanchez Plumbing, Rogillio Real Estate, and many other businesses to donate the materials and labor costs.  On November 4, 1972, they held the grand opening. The station, with 2 bays, a kitchen, and bunk room, was ready, but with the exception of the donated truck, completely empty.

Above: Tommy Lee, Board Chair, hands keys to the first fire truck to L.J. Robinson, first Fire Chief, while Jim Tennison, Grover Stephens, and Jim Fergerson look on.

    Enter the Ladies’ Auxiliary.  Charlotte and Marilyn Stephens remembered the chicken spaghetti dinners (some with a special “firehouse” smoky flavor!), walking the neighborhoods asking for donations, yard sales, bake sales, a gun raffle, a special “Central Volunteer Fire Department Day” at Danny’s Fried Chicken, whatever it took to raise money. For years the Ladies’ Auxiliary worked to equip the men with the tools they needed.  Mr. Carpenter, who lived on Hooper Road, would donate plants he’d pot to sell. “It was all he could do, but he did it,” Charlotte shared. Some equipment was donated by local plants when they would upgrade their emergency supplies.  The Baton Rouge ambulances would donate first aide supplies.  “You can’t say 1 or 2 persons did this.  We had so many people willing to volunteer anything.  They just saw a need and would meet it.  That’s the thing about Central,” Grover stated with pride, “We had a few who refused to support it, said it wouldn’t last, we proved them wrong.”

    Their next big battle was getting the 2% funding built into every insurance policy that was to go to the rural departments that provided fire protection.  The City of Baton Rouge was keeping it all.  Representative VJ Bella who was also a rural fire chief, Bill Elam from St. George Fire Department, and Grover went before the legislative committee and pled their cause.  As a result, a resolution was passed that the money would be given to the fire district it was meant for, not Baton Rouge.  Bella ended up the state Fire Marshall.  “The Mayor was not very happy with us,” Grover said.

    The volunteers, all with full time jobs, were called to fight a fire through a phone chain.  When someone got a call about a fire, they would dash out the door while their wife would start the phone chain rolling.  There was no other means of communication.  “Many times a fireman would arrive at a fire and have the situation assessed, gas turned off and meter pulled before the truck even arrived,” said Grover.  Woody Dumas took up the call and told Central he’d get them what they needed.  As a result, they received a repeater station on Hooper Road and pagers for all the volunteer departments in the parish.

    The need for a second truck became imperative.  So Grover was able to obtain an old Wildlife and Fisheries truck bed from state surplus.  They found a green tank from Mrs. Jackson at Father Colbert’s Camp on Planchet and welded it on the chassis to be their tanker truck. The first NEW truck that Central owned was purchased with funds borrowed from Baker Bank.  Jim, Grover, Charles O’Neal, Tommy Lee and Huey Kinchen signed personal notes to secure this loan.  Central, which started with a fire rating of 10, was brought down to a 6 in just a few years.  The situation improved even more when Central received a tax district and fire hydrants.  “That was my fondest memory,” shared Jim.

    Grover and Marilyn, Jim and Charlotte shared many memories, which can be found at www.centralspeaks.com.  Take some time to go there and maybe share a few of your own!

    This walk down memory lane proves that once again, there’s just something special about Central.  We can accomplish ANYTHING if our attitude is the same as Jim’s and Grover’s and so many all those years ago – “What can we do?” They just saw a need and would meet it.  That’s the thing about Central.

Above: The Adventures played at the grand opening of the Central Fire Station.  Left to right: Keith Stevens, David Powell, Barry Pourciau, Doug Barnett, and Ricky Hollingsworth

Next week: Central Volunteer Fire Department plants a seed

Jim and Charlotte Fergerson, their daughter Alicia, and Grover and Marilyn Stephens graciously granted an interview on July 25, 2011.  Here were some of the memories they shared about the early days of the CVFD.

At Christmas time, a member of the Fire Department would dress as Santa Claus.  Parents would bring a wrapped gift to the firehouse for their child.  The parents would slip the gift to someone who would put it in a big bag and then Santa would then ride up to the station on the truck and bring the “gifts” to the children. Alicia remembered running up to grab her gift and running away, because Santa was so scary to her!   The Fire Department would also drive around the city with Santa on top and call to the children.  The Fire Department always had a Christmas celebration, at which time an award would be given to the unfortunate firefighter who pulled the most bone headed stunt during the year.  It was called the “Who Done It” Award. Grover good naturedly remembered the little model they made of the incident when he parked his car on the newly sodded Comite levy, only to watch it slide down the sod and almost end up in the river.  Then there was the award given another firefighter for trying to pull the 1947 American LaFrance, with a full tank, up the hill from the Stephens’ home (it had a dead battery) with a rope and a little sedan.  Fire Chief Huey Kinchen was awarded a compass after the he got the Brownsfield fire chief lost trying to get back from a fire that burned a wooden church in Chaneyville. Another firefighter was given the award for mistaking a kitchen fire for a light bulb left on over a sink, yet another for setting his neighbor’s boat cover on fire.  “We had a lot of fun,” said Grover.  Santa would also appear in the CABA (now Central Chamber of Commerce) Christmas Parade. 

Jim was the secretary for the first 13 years.  He kept a file cabinet in the foyer of his house that had all the station records in it.  He and Charlotte remembered filling out the paperwork to get the Station’s non-profit status and typing all the minutes of every meeting on an old Royal Portable Manual typewriter Charlotte had had since the 9^th grade.

As an effort to raise money, a letter was sent to every household in Central asking for a $10 donation.  The volunteers and Ladies’ Auxiliary then walked every street in Central collecting it.  Charlotte was the only casualty, suffering a dog bite.  Jim remembered a grandma and grandpa coming out of their house with $5, and the grandchildren, whom they were raising, coming out with their hands full of their piggy bank money.   A well to do individual gave Huey Kinchen 50 cents, at which Huey responded, “Keep it, you apparently need it more than we do!”  Charles O’Neal was the treasurer for many years.  He kept index cards on every resident in Central, noting how much money they’d given each year.  He made special boxes to keep the cards in.  “He was the best I’d ever seen,” remembered Grover. 

For the one year anniversary they held a Cochon de Lait and presented Chief L. J. Robinson the pig’s head, all in good fun.  Another fun memory was firefighters Jim Lorio and John Sanchez manning a hose at a fire at a carpet warehouse.  “It was like Mutt and Jeff, Jim was 6’9”, John was about 5’5”,” smiled Grover. Another funny memory was the newly minted volunteers running off to fight a barn fire, only to have Mr. Buhler tell them, “Wait! I WANT it to burn!”

“We also had the distinction of never having lost a slab,” Jim joked.

For uniforms, the volunteers bought maroon polyester pants and white shirts with patches someone made for them.  Their red jump suits also sported patches sewn on by their wives.  “Fortunately, the polyester pants were only for dress uniform,” Charlotte smiled.

All the local ministers were aware, if the pagers went off, people were going to go – even in the middle of the sermon.  The volunteers worked floods, tornadoes, wrecks.  They remembered when the flooding in the early 80’s went over the railroad trestle on Frenchtown Road.  One man had refused to evacuate, even when told the flood was coming.  He started phoning that evening, saying he was having to go upstairs, as the floodwater was coming in his house.  He called a while later to say he was having to stand on a table on the second floor, and the water was still rising.  Then he phoned to say he was going on the roof and to come get him!  The sheriff sent an army duck, but it got stuck between trees.  A bass boat got flipped by the strong current.  Finally a gentleman came down the Amite to rescue him.  A fire started during that same flood at a house on Greenwell Springs Road.  The water was up to the top of the windows.  It burned down to the flood line because they couldn’t reach it to put it out.  They remembered the tornado that hit Blackwater Road and having to be called out for rescue.  Another incident they responded to was a car that had flipped in the ditch on Flannery Road.  They could hear a man yelling, but couldn’t find him.  They finally found him under the upside down car, completely unharmed in the mud.

The worst fire in memory was the one on Thibodeaux Road.  They pumped 40,000 gallons of water out of Bellingrath alone according to the water department.  “That was a fire and a half!,” Grover said.

Another fire was on Hooper Road on an extremely foggy night.  A huge “Boom!” alerted a motorist who called the fire department.  The fire had vented thru the roof.  Grover was so busy that he didn’t realize his helmet was on backwards till someone teased him later about looking like a duck.  They fought that fire for over 4 hours. 

Grover remembered with a shudder a bad fire on Liberty Road.  “There were so many trees.  We were short staffed and took 3 of the junior firefighters with us.  The fire got so bad I couldn’t find the boys.  I get cold chills to this day.  That fire got out of control on us that night.”  Many times there were so few firemen available that junior firemen were called in to help with equipment, but never were they allowed to actually fight a fire.

Thankfully, the only injury received by a firefighter in all that time was when Bobby (called “Crazy” by his friends) Craven fell through the roof of a burning house on Dyer Road.  He received some1^st degree burns. Bobby was also the first paid firefighter Central could boast, the second was Tommy LeSage and then they hired John Moak who stayed with the department until his retirement.

Goose Carroll, fire chief at Baker and LSU Director of the Fire School, and John Parker were the trainers for the volunteers.  All volunteers took courses at LSU.  They were all at least certified in Advanced First Aide.  And all this done on their FREE TIME after they came home from their regular jobs!  “The Fire Department wouldn’t be what it is today if not for all those old fellows who started with nothing.  Most are no longer here,” said Grover.

Charlotte remembered the “saddest sound I ever heard. It was at LJ Robinson’s funeral at Zoar Baptist.  Surrounded by his honor guard, at the time the funeral was to start, every firefighter’s pager in the church went off – “Last call for Chief Robinson.”

“Why would anyone be a firefighter?” Grover’s granddaughter, Victoria Hudson, asked him.  “I guess because you just want to help,” he replied.