Governor Bobby Jindal signed House Bill 881 into law Tuesday afternoon, vetoing many items from the bill. Morehouse Parish fared well in the bill, as none of the items presented were vetoed.
The Morehouse Parish Police Jury was granted $12,000 for repairs to the Courthouse roof as well as $10,000 for repairs to Holly Ridge Road and $10,00 for repairs to Jones Water Service. These repairs will likely be made at critical crossings, which are where the water lines cross canals.
Police Jury President Terry Matthews was thrilled with the funds.
“We are excited that Morehouse Parish was able to receive funds,” said Matthews. “We are trying to take Morehouse Parish forward and these funds will help do this. We want to thank Sam Little and Mike Walsworth for all that they have done for us.”
The Morehouse Parish Sheriff’s Office also received $10,000 which, according to Sheriff Mike Tubbs, will be used for upgrades to the communications center at the MPSO.
“Because technology is always changing, we are in need of new equipment for the communications room and this money, along with another grant we received and assistance from the 911 Service District, will enable us to upgrade what we have,” said Tubbs. “We, too, are very thankful to Representative Little and Senator Walsworth.”
Bonita will receive $5,000, which Town Clerk Barbara Sharik says will likely be used for road repairs.
“We have a couple of really bad areas in need of repair and that is what we will focus on with this money,” said Sharik.
The Morehouse Junior High School-based Health Center received an operational grant in the amount of $144,000 for the center, which is to be located on the campus of Morehouse Junior High School and will be available for all students at the Junior High and High School.
Katie Parnell, CEO of Morehouse Community Medical Center, said this program will help students who are sick, but not sick enough to be at home, obtain treatment and then go back to class. This not only helps attendance rates, but also helps parents who work, as they do not have to leave their jobs to take their children to doctor appointments.
The MCMC is the sponsoring agency for the school-based program and Parnell said they are excited to be able to provide this service to students.
“Because we have seen what the school-based programs have done in other areas, we know that this is going to be so helpful in Bastrop,” she said. “It’s going to take the community learning what we offer and how much we can aid their children, but I think this program will be an asset to the school system.”
The program will initially employ four workers: A registered nurse will serve as coordinator, a nurse practitioner will be on-site as well as a licensed professional counselor and a receptionist. Parnell says most programs eventually employ anywhere from five to 10 workers, depending on the size of the schools. High school students who want to be seen at the center will be transported to the Jr. High, treated and either transported back to school or sent home.
“We are extremely grateful to Senator Walsworth for getting this money for us,” said Parnell. “He was so instrumental in securing these funds, as were representatives Little and Chaney.”
The Morehouse Council on Aging also will receive funds through HB 881.
“Northeast Louisiana came out very good from House Bill 881 and it is because our delegation stuck together and tried very hard to work as a team for all of the area,” said Rep. Sam Little. “We may have disagreed on some things, but for Northeast Louisiana, we stayed together.”
With 53 vetos, Jindal cut $3 million from the budget. This was his final action on the 2009-10 budget, which took effect Wednesday.
Many of the items stripped from the budget were for projects or organizations Jindal said did not meet his requirements for add-ons. Another $31 million in lawmakers’ earmarks were left in tact.
