Bossier Sheriff Looking for Haughton Woman

Summer McWhiney

Bossier Sheriff Larry Deen says his investigators are seeking the public’s help in locating a Haughton woman who has been missing since last night.

Summer McWhiney, 26, of the 100 block of Chimney Lane has been missing since she was released from WK Bossier last night at about 7:15. Her mother, who was concerned about how she had been behaving, had sent her to the hospital for observation. Witnesses say she was picked up at the hospital by a white male who appeared to be about 20 years old. He is said to be her ex-boyfriend’s friend.

Bossier Sheriff’s investigators are concerned about McWhiney who functions with the I.Q. of a 12 or 13 year old. They would like to find her as soon as possible.

If you have any information as to McWhiney’s whereabouts, you are asked to call the Bossier Sheriff’s Office at 318-965-2203 and ask for a detective.

The Inquisitor reports on the Rock Solid/Calvary situation

Finally, an investigative story on the Rock Solid situation.

People are talking about this incident, and most are wondering why the newspaper and TV stations haven’t dug out some facts and given them to the public. There are plenty of rumors floating around, but very little factual coverage.

Well, until the Inquisitor came out this morning. I’ve been approached by several people this week and every one of them has said ‘wait for the Inquisitor, maybe we can find out what happened’. They were right.

Now I know Danny Lawler doesn’t have the resources of Gannett or Viacom, but what he lacks in resources he makes up for in practical application. By that, I mean by picking up the telephone and asking questions.

Now The Times, KTBS and KSLA all have some great reporters. My question is, who stopped them from reporting on this and why?

Coverage from The Times

Coverage from KTBS
(KSLA removed their story)

No one is out to get Rock Solid or Calvary. I don’t think that Rock Solid is bad, or that the people involved in it are bad.

I do, however, think the way they handled this with the parents of children attending their camp is deplorable. They should have notified parents, called a meeting and laid it all out. How could they possibly think that they would buy parents trust by stonewalling the affair?

They also need to explain their situation as regards licensing.  Apparently they say they are not a day care, but it seems to me that if you leave your children with them from the time they get out of school until you pick them up, or send them to a summer program, that is daycare.

Shreveport Detective Jeff Allday said that had someone from the camp gone looking for the boys and reported the situation, it may have never been known. As far as it goes, that is true. I still have a problem understanding how a 14 year old and an 8 year old ended up together in a locker room shower, half hidden by a curtain.

Rock Solid’s website says that they ‘guarantee’ the safety of the children. I don’t think so.

I have an 8 year old grandson. His parents considered putting him this program because they had heard so much good about it, but the distance to South Shreveport was a little too much. He ended up staying at his Aunt’s house in his cousin’s charge during work hours. She seemed to enjoy it and so did he.

I feel a great deal of relief knowing that Rock Solid didn’t ‘love on him’ this summer, his cousin did just fine.

Grab your buck-fifty and head for the corner store, you need to grab an Inquisitor.

Bossier Sheriff inducted into Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame

Bossier Sheriff Larry Deen was recently inducted into the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame.
“I couldn’t have achieved this nomination without all of the great people here at the Bossier Sheriff’s Department and the wonderful citizens that we serve,” said Sheriff Deen. “This is an extremely high honor for both me and our department.”
On July 16, Bossier Sheriff Larry Deen was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was selected unanimously from a list of more than 100 nominations for this honor. This award is for the men and women of Louisiana who serve their community and state in the honorable profession of law enforcement, judiciary and related fields including governmental service, corrections, education communications/media, victim services, volunteers, sponsors and community activists.
All nine inductees have an exhibit in the museum for one year which is then part of a permanent display with all of the previous inductees.
Sheriff Deen’s display case in the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame features memorabilia and photos from his 22 years of service to the people of Bossier Parish. The case includes photos and collateral from his meetings with three presidents.

For more information on Sheriff Deen’s award or the museum, visit http://www.angolamuseum.org/.

Rock Solid not licensed as day care

Rock Solid, the company that is operating the day camp at Calvary Baptist Church has also been operating after school facilities.
After Rock Solid failed to inform parents of the nature of the 'incident' that occurred at their day camp, namely the alleged rape of an 8 year old by a 14 year old, I did some checking.
Rock solid, on their website, says: We run on a 6 to 1 camper to counselor ratio and guarantee both the safety and growth of your child.
The State of Louisiana requires that day care operators be licensed.  Their definition of day care is:
A Child Day Care Center - any place or facility operated by any institution, society, agency, corporation, person or persons, or any other group for the primary purpose of providing care, supervision, and guidance of 7 or more children, not including those related to the caregiver, unaccompanied by parent or guardian, on a regular basis for at least 12 1/2 hours in a continuous 7-day week. Related or relative is defined as the natural or adopted child or grandchild of the caregiver or a child in the legal custody of the caregiver.
Louisiana DSS has a website with a list of all licensed daycares in Caddo Parish.  Rock Solid is not listed.
Calvary Baptist has announced that Rock Solid will not operate their after school program on their property this fall.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions.
1.  Why did Calvary allow them to operate on their property without being licensed?  Calvary's daycare is properly licensed and in good standing.
2.  Why, with a staff ratio of 6:1 was a 14 year old able to get to a place with an 8 year old where this could happen?
3.  And once again, why weren't parents of children attending the camp informed of the nature of what Rock Solid described as an 'incident'.
There are a lot of angry parents out there demanding answers, and I hope they are forthcoming.

Child rape reported at Day Camp

KSLA is reporting on an alleged rape of an 8 year old by a 14 year old at a Shreveport summer camp.
Police say they were called out to Calvary Baptist church on Linwood last Monday, where a 14 year old reportedly raped an 8 year old during a summer camp.
I know someone whose child was attending this day camp - was being the key word. 
There are a lot of unanswered questions.  For instance, why weren't parents notified of the nature of the incident which had occurred?  This is the letter that was sent out to parents.
Of course the names of any minors involved could not, and should not, be released.  Parents should, however, have been informed of the nature of the incident, and they were not.
There are some other unanswered questions about this, which we will address later.

Drownings shock the nation

Two sets of siblings, three from each family.
Takeitha Warner - 13 years old
JaMarcus Warner - 14 years old
Litrelle Stewart - 18 years old
Latevin Stewart - 15 years old
LaDairus Stewart - 17 years old
JaTavious Warner - 17 years old
It is impossible to imagine what these families are going through right now.  I sincerely hope that all of our love, prayers and best wishes are with them.
I asked Shreveport City Councilman Calvin Ben Lester, Jr. for his thoughts on the drownings.  This is what he had to say.
As with many others in the area, my heart burns for the family of those affected by the 6 tragic deaths of the young people last evening. As a parent, my first thought was for the safety of my own children and I can't imagine or fathom the depth of the despair being felt by those parents. I pray GODs blessing and especially his mercy on the parents and family members. I want to personally thank all those who have reached out to offer condolences and to those who are donating to the fund for the children's services. This should serve as a reminder to all of us that no matter the background, there are many things that we all share, primarily, the love of family and cherishing our children.

Texarkana soldier killed in Afghanistan

August 02, 2010
DOD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. Kyle B. Stout, 25, of Texarkana, Texas, died July 30 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Candidate Forum: Randall Hayes, U. S. Senate

On August 28 Louisiana will, for the first time in living memory, hold
three statewide party primaries. One will be for the Republicans, one
for the Democrats, and one for the Libertarians. This provides us with
a great opportunity to reject the two major parties and support a third
option. Each vote that is cast in the Libertarian primary will make one
more dent in the armor of the two party duopoly.
I am a candidate in the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate. Whether
you vote for me or for Tony Gentile, I hope that you will take
advantage of this historic opportunity to participate in a third party
primary. A significant vote share in the Libertarian primary will raise
the profile of Louisiana’s smaller political parties and make it more
likely that those parties will have an impact in the future.
The Libertarian primary is open to registered Libertarians and to
unaffiliated voters. Unaffiliated voters are those voters who either
have no party affiliation or who are affiliated with one of Louisiana’s
nonrecognized parties (e.g., the TEA Party, the Conservative Party,
the Constitution Party, the Pirate Party, the Southern Party, the
Americans of Color Party, the Marijuana Party, the Christian Party).
In 2008 I started and organized the effort to place Ron Paul on the
general election ballot in Louisiana and I served as a Presidential
Elector candidate for the Ron Paul slate.
I have a B.A. in Radio/Television/Film from ULM and a J.D. from
LSU. I’ve worked in television production, finance, and other fields. I
was born and raised in north Louisiana.
I am a member of several civic and advocacy groups, including the
Coalition for Free and Open Elections, Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition, the Marijuana Policy Project, Mensa, and the Kurt
Vonnegut Society.
I blog at The Bald Cypress.
You can follow my campaign and learn more about my ideas by
visiting my campaign blog at anti-politician.com.
If you are a candidate for any office and want to get your message out, email me with a few paragraphs about why you believe you should be elected and we will publish it. Send it to mybossier@gmail.com.

Six teenagers drown in Red River in Shreveport/Bossier

Reports are just coming in.  The coroner is on the scene.
You can keep updated at KSLA, KTBS or The Times.
I will update here as more information comes in.

From the KSLA site, according to Cindy Chadwick, spokesman for the Caddo Parish Sheriff's office, two adults and six teenagers were on the scene.  The teens, who didn't know how to swim, were wading and as they walked out into the water there was a sudden dropoff.

Former BCPD officer speaks out for Philip Vernon

I received this email this afternoon and am putting it in as a blog post.

My name is Mike Moore. I am a former full-time Bossier City Police Officer. I left BCPD to pursue another opportunity in the hopes that it would save another officer’s job amid the budget crisis our city faced this year. I, unlike many others, was lucky enough to have stable financial support from my family. My proudest achievement was the day I was sworn in as a Bossier City Police Officer. It was my lifelong dream to serve my community as a police officer. As you can imagine, my decision to leave was one of the most difficult that I have ever made. Not a day goes by that I do not think of my fellow brothers and sisters who serve our community still. Having said that, I still feel an obligation to protect and defend those men and women when they come under fire.
I am writing in response to posts regarding the officer involved in the incident with Assistant D.A. Sherb Sentell. It is not my wish to bash Mr. Sentell or our city. I simply want to offer another point of view regarding the incident. The officer’s name is Phillip Vernon and I am proud to call him my friend. I worked alongside Officer Vernon on the night shift for more than a year and a half. His service to our city has never been anything less than exemplary. There was never a doubt on those nights that Officer Vernon would be a reliable source of assistance, knowledge, and service. He never took his responsibilities lightly and it reflected in his work, his demeanor, and his professionalism.
There is no typical night in Bossier City for a police officer. They perform their duties no matter the situation, time of day, or weather. They run to the things that most of us run away from. They always show up during every holiday, event, or disaster often sacrificing time with their own families to serve the needs of the community. It is not unusual for an officer to respond to call after call after call. It is not unusual for an officer to be in the middle of handling one situation while others in need await the next available officer. The men and women of the BCPD pride themselves in the services they provide our citizens. The needs of our citizens have always been and will remain the top priority of our police officers. Phillip Vernon is no exception. It is his desire to serve our community with the same dedication and conviction.
The question remains, did Mr Sentell threaten officer Vernon’s job? I don’t know Mr Sentell. Perhaps, he is the upstanding citizen he and others claim he is. I do, however, know Phillip Vernon. He is a man of character and integrity. He had nothing to gain by lying about Mr. Sentell’s actions. I believe wholeheartedly that Officer Vernon did exactly what he thought was right. He did exactly what he would have done no matter who the man or woman was in that patrol car. He did exactly what any of us would have done in the same situation. As I see it, the officers involved in Sentell’s arrest couldn’t have won that night. If they had let Sentell go, and he had harmed his wife, what would we all be saying now instead? They did what they were instructed to do under the law and as they would have no matter who the victim or suspect were. I believe that ultimately it didn’t matter which officers had been involved. The outcome would have been the same.