Mother of Murdered Child on Probation

Vanessa Ferris, the mother of Isabella Thamm, is on probation for charges filed last year in Bossier Parish. According to records in the office of the Bossier Parish Clerk of Court, Ferris was arrested first on February 3rd, 2007 for committing battery on Lance David Thamm in violation of LRS 14:35.3 (domestic abuse violence). She bonded out on the charge and was set for arraignment.

She was arrested again on April 9th, 2007 on the same charge. She bonded out again. She appeared in court on June 20th, 2007 and entered a plea of not guilty. Trial was set for August 22nd, 2007, and then reset to October 3rd, 2007 at the request of indigent defender Richard "T-Dale" Woolbert. On October 3rd, 2007, she appeared before Judge Ford Stinson and was allowed to plead guilty to disturbing the peace. She received a 30 day sentence, suspended, and was put on six months probation. This would mean that she is about halfway through her probationary period.

Remember, Thamm was arrested on February 2nd, 2007 and charged with domestic abuse violence. Unfortunately, no bill of information was ever filed with the clerk of court and no further action taken. Since no bill was filed, we don't know who he committed violence upon. This was the day before Ferris was arrested for physical abuse against Thamm.
Thamm was arrested again on December 28th, 2007 for domestic abuse violence, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphenalia. Again, no bill of information was filed, so we don't know who he abused in this instance.
We will try to fill in the blanks and get more details.

This paints a picture of two very troubled, violent individuals - throw drugs into the mix and it created a deadly environment. I don't know if any investigation was made into the welfare of the child, but it seems that four arrests in the household, two for the mother and two for the father, would be a red flag to authorities when a young child is present.

Thamm Charged Twice for Domestic Violence

Isabella Thamm's mother says 'I can't make sense of it', in speaking of the murder of her 17 month old daughter by her father, Lance David Thamm. Isabella died yesterday in Christus Schumpert Medical Center of injuries suffered in the attack. Thamm has been charged with First Degree Murder.

“I have a lot of anger,” said Venessa Ferris, who was in school when Thamm called her to tell her Isabella was sick. “When I talked to him on the phone he was acting like he would if it was a cold or something. When I got home it took me five to 10 minutes to get her to a hospital. There could have been so many things different. I don’t know if he had fear because he caused it, or if he just didn’t comprehend. I’m asking myself so many questions."

I have a question too. Considering that the Bossier Parish Clerk of Court's criminal records show that Thamm was arrested in February of last year for domestic violence and then again on December 28th on the same charge, as well as charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphenalia, my question would be why was this child still living in a household with a violent, drug using, abuser?

Why were you surprised?

Ferris agreed to donate Isabella's heart and liver for transplant. "If this can help somebody it will make me really happy."

Really?

Killed by Her Protector

Seventeen month old Isabella Thamm died this morning at Christus-Schumpert Hospital St. Mary’s Place, according to a hospital spokeswoman. She had been in critical condition since undergoing surgery there Friday night.

Isabella was killed by the one person in the world who should have been the first to give his life for her; her protector, her father.

Her 34 year old father pushed her head into a doorjamb when she wouldn't stop crying.

On a Dead Child

Man proposes, God disposes,

And so I wander'd up to where you lay,

A little rose among the little roses,

And no more dead than they.

It seemed your childish feet were tired of straying,

You did not greet me from your flower-strewn bed,

Yet still I knew that you were only playing--

Playing at being dead.

I might have thought that you were really sleeping,

So quiet lay your eyelids to the sky,

So still your hair, but surely you were peeping;

And so I did not cry.

God knows, and in His proper time disposes,

And so I smiled and gently called your name,

Added my rose to your sweet heap of roses,

And left you to your game.

'On a Dead Child' is reprinted from An Anthology of Modern Verse. Ed. A. Methuen. London: Methuen & Co., 1921.

Jackson Kennedy has Surgery

Our latest report says that Jackson Kennedy, 6 year old son of Bossier City Police Officer Jeremy Kennedy, underwent surgery in Dallas on Thursday for a brain tumor and will now be undergoing chemo-therapy.
The Bossier City Police Union is holding a fundraiser Saturday from 12 to 4 at Airline High School to help cover expenses.
You may continue to donate at any Barksdale Federal Credit Union location. We will keep you updated as we get more information.

Bossier Parish Snow

This was at about 3:30 Friday:

More on Jackson Kennedy

Jackson Kennedy, the six year old son of Bossier City police officer Jeremy Kennedy, will undergo surgery at Children's Medical Center in Dallas on Thursday. As we reported Wednesday, Jackson has a brain tumor and has been undergoing treatment and testing at the hospital.Mark Natale, public information officer for the Bossier City Police Department, said that he will issue statements to the local media on Jackson's condition at regular intervals.Natale also said that there is no way at present to donate online to help with expenses, but that you still may donate by visiting any Barksdale Federal Credit Union location.We know that everyone is praying for this family and for Jackson's recovery.
From The Bossier Independent

What is Cyber Command?

With all the talk about Cyber Command being provisionally housed at Barksdale AFB, and with the hope that Northwest Louisiana will land the permanent command, how many of us really understand what Cyber Command is or what it will do?
The next war that we fight may be in cyberspace. This will be a totally different war from any that we have ever know, as it will be non-violent. What will this war look like, and what exactly is cyberspace?
From About.com:
Science fiction writer William Gibson, who coined the term "cyberspace" in his 1984 novel, Neuromancer defined it as "a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions … A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data." In the mid-1990s, Gibson elaborated further on the this place that, like art, conjoins reality and imagination, "Cyberspace is a metaphor that allows us to grasp this place where since about the second world war we've increasingly done so many of the things we think of as civilization."
According to Lt Col David T Fahrenkrug, "cyberspace is a very real, physical domain that is comprised of electronics and networked systems that use electromagnetic energy." It is not the information that is housed on those systems.
After reading all of the above, I am more confused than ever. I always assumed that we were protecting our data and information.
If anyone understands this stuff, please let us know.

Help Jackson Kennedy

Bossier City officers held a fundraising lunch Wednesday to help one of their own cope with his son’s brain tumor. Members of the Bossier City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 39 raised $10,826 at the event that was held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Liberty Garden at the Bossier City Municipal Complex.

Proceeds of this and future fundraisers will benefit Jackson Kennedy, the 6-year-old son of Bossier City police officer Jeremy Kennedy. “Jackson has been diagnosed with a brain tumor that will require surgery,” city spokesman Mark Natale says in a release. “Proceeds from Wednesday’s fundraiser will be used to help defray medical expenses that are not covered by insurance.”

The youth and his family are at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas where he is receiving treatment and undergoing testing, Natale said. A bank account to help with expenses also has been established at Barksdale Federal Credit Union in the child’s name. Anyone who wishes to donate to the account can do so by visiting any Barksdale Federal Credit Union location.

Complete story in The Times

Geaux Tigers!

Hey! Fightin' Tigers! Fight all the way!
Hey! Fightin' Tigers! Win the game today!
You've got the know-how, You're doin' fine
Hang on the the ball as you hit the wall
And smash right through the line.
You've got to go for a touchdown
Run up the score!
Make Mike the Tiger stand right up and roar.
Give it all of your might as you fight tonight,
And keep the goal in view, Victory for LSU!!

Bossier Parish Courthouse Pictures

I thought a good way to start the New Year on a positive note was to look at progress made in the last couple of years. Since I haven't been able to find any pictures of the completed courthouse addition online, I thought I'd post a couple.