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Wrongful deaths, beatings, false arrests alleged in lawsuits against Rapides law enforcement
A string of lawsuits lays out allegations of death, violence, negligence and unwarranted arrests, stops and searches against Rapides Parish law enforcement in recent years. Plaintiffs point fingers at leadership for permitting a climate of misconduct. A Louisiana Illuminator review of federal and state court records since 2020 found multiple complaints against the Rapides Parish […]
Rapides sheriff’s siblings receive low-ball property assessments and $0 tax bills
Public records show Rapides Sheriff Mark Wood has taken multiple loans against his home worth far more than the figure Ducote has placed on it.
Rapides assessor adjusts some property values for elected officials; repercussions limited
ALEXANDRIA — Rapides Parish Assessor Rick Ducote has updated some of his numbers after the Illuminator published an investigation that revealed he assigned super low property values for multiple elected officials, resulting in minimal tax obligations — and even tax bills totaling zero in some cases. Sheriff Mark Wood, for example, has been billed $0 […]
Super low property valuations for some Rapides officials result in smaller tax bills
ALEXANDRIA — Public records available on the Rapides Parish assessor’s website show properties for some elected parish officials, including the former and current sheriff are valued so low that they pay no or what appears on first blush to be anomalously low taxes for sizable properties with many coveted amenities. Former Sheriff William Earl Hilton’s […]
AG Landry offers no opinion on Rapides library children’s book policy
ALEXANDRIA —Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has declined to weigh in on the constitutionality of an amendment to the Rapides Parish Library’s collection development policy, as requested in January. He offered no reason in his office’s March 2, 2023, letter to the parish’s Library Board of Control. At issue is a policy change the Rapides […]
LDEQ draft permit rattles neighbors of hazardous waste disposal site
COLFAX – Sliska Larry read the proposed operating permit for the expanded Clean Harbors hazardous waste disposal site, less than 2 miles from her home, with her 9-year-old grandson at her side. She instinctively pulled him closer, as if to shield him, as she absorbed its details. “It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Larry said. […]
Deportations out of Louisiana part of racist immigration policies, advocates say
ALEXANDRIA – After a brief lull, deportation flights have resumed to Haiti from the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) staging facility at Alexandria International Airport, a nexus for detention centers in the federal agency’s New Orleans region. In the past six months, more than 120 ICE Air Operations flights have departed from Central Louisiana. Four […]
Governor expects DEQ response soon to Grant Parish burn pit complaints
Neighbors of a hazardous waste disposal facility in Central Louisiana should hear soon from state regulators regarding health issues they have linked to burn pits used at the site, according to Gov. John Bel Edwards. On the Louisiana Radio Network’s monthly “Ask the Governor” show, Edwards fielded a pointed question about the proposed permit renewal […]
‘The Rock’ residents once lived off the land. They blame a burn pit for turning it toxic.
GRANT PARISH – Their chickens had leukemia. The Hoskins family, residents of a community outside Colfax known as The Rock, wonder how long they had been eating the eggs of the cancerous birds they raised outside their home. It haunts them. It’s one of the nightmares they and others in The Rock say they have […]
AG Jeff Landry asked to weigh in on Rapides library policy
ALEXANDRIA – The board with oversight of the Rapides Parish Library is asking Attorney General Jeff Landry to weigh in on their attempt to remove books deemed inappropriate for children and teens. The Rapides Library Board of Control met Tuesday to consider the new policy. Following the advice from the parish attorney, members chose not […]
Tight-knit Colfax community combats open-burn pit: ‘We are the flush toilet…’
COLFAX – The drive to Terry Brown’s farm is peaceful and scenic no matter which route one takes. The Central Louisiana roadside is lined with woodlands, pecan groves, vast open fields and, nearer to the Browns, a well-kept horse farm. The 71-year-old Colfax native planted 50,000 daffodil bulbs in fields where watermelons and cotton used […]
Rapides traffic stop shooting shines light on window tint enforcement
ALEXANDRIA – James Kittling remembers Nov. 6 starting like many other Sundays during football season. He was going to watch the Saints game with his brother, Derrick. “I was gonna smother some pork chops,” James Kittling said, “make some rice and gravy, string beans, probably put some corn on the side. Before he left, I […]