As part of Legislative Shadowing Week, held Feb. 4-8, some special visitors recently got an up-close look at the meals program in the Bogalusa City Schools.
Continue reading at The Daily News:
Nevers, Seal take part in Legislative Shadowing
Fate Ferrell took the podium during the Bogalusa City Council meeting Tuesday to passionately call for a cleanup in his neighborhood.
View post original at The Daily News:
Council hears call for cleanup
The Bogalusa City School Board on Tuesday unanimously approved the Bogalusa High School instruction schedule be returdn to a seven day period for 2013-14 school year, replacing the 4×4 model currently
Read the original at The Daily News:
7-period day to resume next year at BHS
The Bogalusa City School Board met on Monday for a committee meeting, hearing from department heads and tackling undisclosed personnel issues. The regular monthly school board meeting was held last ni
See more at The Daily News:
Changes to class schedule discussed
Bogalusa City Councilman Michael Oree will take on a new role this Sunday when he is set to preach his first sermon at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church.
Oree said he got his first calling about 12 years ago when he was a senior in high school. He was surprised at being selected to attend a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Camp in Shreveport, since he was always in trouble until his senior year, he said. But while he was there, a preacher approached him and told Oree God was calling him into the ministry, and it was something he needed to pray about.
“From that point on I was having visions and I was having dreams and people were always reminding me and telling me that I’ve been called to preach,” he said. “After dealing with it for the past couple of years, the calling was more intense on my life, and I had to go ahead and submit to God and accept the calling.”
After accepting the calling in November, Oree met with his pastor, and the date for his first sermon was set. Oree is a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church, under the leadership of the Rev. Christopher Matthews, but since his church has burned down he will be delivering his sermon at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, 841 E 6th St., where Tom Bailey is pastor.
Oree has been a member of Bethlehem since 2009 and a deacon for the past two years. He was raised in that church but moved away from it with his mother when he was about 10, he said. He returned to Bethlehem after college.
Oree completed a master’s degree in sports administration at Grambling State University in 2006 and is a 2001 graduate of Bogalusa High School. In addition to his work with the City Council, Oree is a counselor for YouthBuild Bogalusa, a program of Northshore Technical Community College.
Oree said he has been called at a critical time because of “what’s going on in our world, what’s going on in our city” and that strong and solid people are needed to “stand up for the word of God.” He has also come to the conclusion that he is going to become a preacher and is getting prepared for that.
“I know God’s got something bigger and better for me to be doing, and I always knew it,” he said. “And I’m just happy about it now.”
He plans to enter school in August and further his divinity education.
As a minister, Oree will not be preaching every Sunday. Instead, he will “be ready when the opportunity presents itself.”
“My job right now as a minister is to be prepared to preach,” he said, adding that he will get his youth ministry program, aimed at teenagers, going again next month.
The average person in Bogalusa, Oree said, does not know he has been arrested nine times, expelled from school twice and suspended from school about 40 times from kindergarten from 11th grade, or that he was involved in things like fights as a teenager.
“My life was really headed downhill,” he said. “I was actually facing some serious criminal charges at one time in my life and was looking at the possibility of some long jail time.”
Thus, the experience of becoming a minister has been meaningful to Oree.
“It means that God is everything,” he said. “I realize that no matter where you come from, what you’ve done or where you’ve been, God can still use you.”
Oree said he is appreciative of the support he has received from his family, including his wife, Christa Oree, and his children, Mighonna, Michael Jr., Mikel, Mighelle and Milaya Oree.
“I’m real thankful for my family and all my friends and everyone who’s offered a kind and encouraging word to me,” he said.
As of the time of his interview, Oree said his sermon was almost prepared and will come from the book of Second Timothy.
The church service will take place Sunday at 3 p.m., with food to be served afterwards. The public is invited to attend, Oree said.
See the original article at The Daily News:
Oree to preach Sunday at Mt. Carmel
The Bogalusa City Council met for about half an hour Tuesday, passing one resolution and introducing four ordinances. There were no public hearings, and no one from the public spoke on any issue.
The first ordinance would put a moratorium on street name changes and billboards until guidelines, based on further discussion, are put in place. The proposed moratorium would be in effect for 180 days but could be extended by the council if it deems necessary.
The three other introductions propose acceptance of offers by William D. King to purchase adjudicated properties in the Richardson Addition. The only one of the three with an address is located at 901 Oak Ave.
Public hearings for the introduced ordinances will take place during the Feb. 5 council meeting.
The resolution will enable the city to apply for funding through the Division of Administration Community Water Enrichment Fund.
The state Office of Community Development is accepting applications for funding through its Community Water Enrichment Fund, and application requirements include a resolution of support from the municipal governing body.
The council unanimously approved the resolution for the city to submit an application “for the benefit of its citizens.” The requested grant amount is $50,000.
See the original article at The Daily News:
Street name ordinance introduced
An ordinance that would adjust the rate for plots in Bogalusa and Ponemah cemeteries to $400 will be up for public comment and vote at the Bogalusa City Council meeting Tuesday.
In the past, the rates were $100 at Bogalusa Cemetery and $150 at Ponemah Cemetery. That was changed when the council passed a two-phase ordinance last January. The rate at both cemeteries went up to $350 in March 2012, and the second phase — a $350 increase that brought the total cost of a plot to $700 — automatically went into effect Jan. 1.
The proposed ordinance would set the rate at $400 per plot at both cemeteries.
The fees were raised to offset the city’s cost for plots in the cemeteries, and Councilman Michael O’Ree said $400 would be sufficient to cover the fees for surveying and everything that needs to be done to get a plot ready.
The change, O’Ree said, is needed because $700 “is a lot of money to pay” for a plot when the fees are not more than $400.
“If we’re doing $400, that would be enough to handle everything that needs to be taken care of,” he said. “If it needs to be changed, if the prices go up in the future, of course we can revisit it then.”
If the ordinance is passed, the new rate would go into effect immediately, O’Ree said.
The council will meet Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Read the original news story at The Daily News:
Plot rate ordinance on council agenda
During a short meeting Tuesday, its third of the month, the Bogalusa City Council passed one ordinance and introduced three others.
After a public hearing that prompted no comment from the public or the council, an ordinance that authorizes Mayor Charles Mizell to enter into an agreement between the city and Professional Engineering Consultants Corp. for HVAC repairs at City Hall was passed unanimously.
Public hearings and action on ordinances that would set the rates for plots in both the Bogalusa and Ponemah cemeteries at $400, enable an agreement for in-car videos for the police department and authorize a three-year service agreement for Public Works employee uniforms will take place at the first meeting in January.
Since the council generally meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month and the next first Tuesday is New Year’s Day, the January 2013 meetings were moved to Jan. 8 and Jan. 22.
After the short regular business agenda was finished, Mizell thanked the council for “being aggressive in tackling tough issues” throughout the year and said, “Some have been done, some still need to be done.”
The mayor said he expects continued progress next year.
“If I have one prayer for us in 2013 it would be that it is filled with opportunity for everyone,” he said.
Councilman Teddy Drummond commended the “volunteer spirit we have here” and reminded everyone to shop at home.
Councilman Michael O’Ree, a deacon at Bethlehem Baptist Church, which burned down Sunday, praised the Bogalusa Fire Department for its response.
He commended Chief Richard Moody and Assistant Chief Steven Moses for being on-site throughout the event and even returning later in the day, and he praised the entire shift for keeping the raging fire contained in the church building.
O’Ree said he was impressed to see the firefighters in action and to witness their compassion in the aftermath.
“They did a great job,” he said. “In times of need, you need a good friend, somebody to help and support you. Our fire department demonstrated that Sunday morning.”
Follow this story at The Daily News:
Bogalusa council wraps up 2012
Bogalusa City Schools acting Superintendent Willie “Toni” Breaux took over under the most difficult of circumstances in June, stepping into the fray when her embattled predecessor, Louise Smith, abruptly resigned, likely one step ahead of the school board’s axe.
By all accounts, at least according to scuttlebutt from board members and staff, Breaux has performed exceptionally, even bringing clarity and direction to the often confusing dilemma of the reconfiguration of schools, set to take effect in 2013.
Now it’s time for the board to make a decision about her future and whether the interim title should be changed to permanent.
Breaux is no stranger to the school system, having devoted 40 years of her life to the children of Bogalusa. She has served in a number of capacities and even applied for the superintendent’s position at the time Smith was hired.
An apparent miscommunication between the search firm hired to find a replacement for Ruth Horne, who also made an abrupt exit, and Breaux prevented her from even interviewing, much to her disappointment.
But now board members have a second chance to get it right, if Breaux is the candidate found satisfactory to all. First, though, the hiring process must be followed and the position advertised.
Applicants must be interviewed and information weighed before a decision can be finalized. This all takes time and the clock is ticking.
Obviously nothing will commence before the Christmas holidays, leaving the school system a relatively compact window to complete the process. Clearly, parents have a right to know who will be shaping the vision for the future so they can make informed decisions about where to send their children.
Students in Bogalusa have options that previously have never been available. They can elect to attend Annunciation Catholic School and take advantage of the state’s voucher program or can opt to attend the planned charter school scheduled to open in time for the 2013-14 school year.
Granted, the voucher program faces significant legal hurdles in light of the recent ruling by a Baton Rouge judge but the appeals will likely tie up both sides in court for months, allowing the fledgling program to continue.
On the surface Breaux appears to be a godsend for the school district, stabilizing what had been a chaotic situation for quite a while. She has gained the respect of many teachers and others in a relatively short period of time.
Is she the long-term solution? Perhaps, but that’s a decision resting squarely on the shoulders of the board members, and one that should come early in the new year.
See the article here:
OUR VIEW: Time for board to make decision on superintendent
Good news is welcome news for Bogalusa City Schools, a beleaguered system that in the past two years has been plagued by a carousel of superintendents, parental apathy, declining enrollment, labor unc
Read more from the original source:
Our View: Performance scores offers hope for BCS schools