Archive of Recent Front Page items

Pineville’s new Office of Motor Vehicles will be open for business, Monday, April 29th, at 8:00am, at 831 Main Street, next to the Senior Citizens Center, in downtown Pineville. The new location also brings 80-new parking spots to the downtown area. Half of those new spots are dedicated to the Senior Citizens Center, while the other half is for the OMV. The last day for the OMV at the Pineville Community Center on Highway 28 East, will be Thursday, April 25th. The OMV will be closed Friday, April 26th, for relocation. A ribbon cutting and dedication of the new city building for the OMV is set for Monday, April 29th, at 10:00am. (Click on picture for larger view.)

A "Walking" Miracle

Since an off-duty traffic accident last August that took his left leg, and nearly his life Lt. Robert Brown has been determined to walk again. 7-months later, Lt. Brown stopped by Pineville City Hall to show Mayor Fields, and anyone else who would listen, just how God has blessed him in spite of the circumstances. Brown, a 20-year veteran of the Pineville Police Department, was hit by a car as he stepped out of his vehicle to collect contents of a box that had spilled onto the highway from his truck. Parked on the highway's shoulder, Brown was struck when the car veered off the road and hit him. Brown spent 6-days unconscious in intensive care, and 42-days total, before beginning the rehabilitation process that includes more than 10-screws in his right leg, and a prosthetic leg for his left. Brown says he knows God spared him for a reason, and he hopes to continue to share his story of overcoming adversity. Now that he has accomplished his goal of walking again, Brown hopes to someday return to the police department ... and based on his success thus far ... Brown seemly can accomplish anything he sets his mind too. (Click on picture for larger view.)

Pineville Election Results

The citizens of Pineville made their choices in the April 6 election for Mayor and City Council. Here are the results:

Mayor
Clarence Ray Fields	2,373	79%
Irving Wainwright, III	636	21%
City Council, District 1
"Joe" Bishop	308	80%
"Bob" Haselman	75	20%
City Council, District 2
Gary Baden	202	26%
Kevin Dorn	581	74%
City Council, District 3
Carol Jeukens Cunningham	unopposed
City Council, District 4
"Tom" Bouchie	348	58%
Andre' Martin	255	42%
City Council, District 5
Randy King	511	72%
"Tom" Ryder	203	28%

At the end of the evening all the newly-elected and re-elected officials gathered at the Main Street Community Center where a reception was being held for Mayor Fields, Alderman Dorn and Alderman King. They posed for this impromptu picture. From left to right: Mayor Clarence Fields, Alderman Joe Bishop (District 1), Alderman Kevin Dorn (District 2), Alderwoman Carol Jeukens Cunningham (District 3), Alderman Tom Bouchie (District 4), Alderman Randy King (District 5).

The newly elected officials will take office until July 1, 2002. The details of the swearing in ceremony will be posted here on Pineville.net once the information is complete.

Info on KCS closure

Some of the pre-construction work is done, and now a time table is in place for the replacement of the Kansas City Southern railroad overpass bridge, over Main Street, in downtown Pineville. A special ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Tuesday, April 23rd, at 2:30pm. The 5.1 million dollar project should begin May 1st. (Click on picture for larger view.)

The first signs of work will be seen further up Main Street, on Shamrock Street, as drainage work will begin at the bridge just before the Central Hospital grounds. That part of Shamrock will be closed for 30-days when that phase begins. As far as the KCS Underpass is concerned, contractors will wait till the last possible moment to close that part of Main Street, with a window between late August to the first of October to start diverting traffic. Once closed, contractors are hoping to have the underpass open by early next spring.

The new structural steel overpass will be 150’ long and will have a clearance of 16’-8” for motorist. The existing railroad overpass (with a clearance of 11’-4”) will be removed; however, the contractor will maintain rail traffic until the completion of the new structure. Other improvements will see the Main Street - Military Highway - Donahue Ferry - College Boulevard intersection completely redesigned for a safer, less confusing route – with a new traffic signal system.

Carroll Stephens - Newest Commissioner for Pineville Downtown Development District

New Commissioner for PDDD

At March's meeting of the Pineville Downtown Development District, a new commissioner joined the team. With the assistance of the district's vice-chairman Tom David, Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields swore in Carroll D. Stephens. Stephens was selected by fellow members of the District One Neighborhood Watch Group to represent them on this special group of commissioners, who work to improve and enhance Pineville's downtown district. (Click on picture for larger view.)

Moving More "Downtown"

The March meeting of the Pineville Downtown Development District took place in a room that has seen a lot of Pineville business conducted within it's walls over the years, but was seeing this group for the first time. Pineville's Old Town Hall Museum was the site of this monthly meeting, and members liked their surroundings so much, they voted to move their regularly monthly meetings (first Tuesday of each month) from the conference room of City Hall to the museum located on the corner of Main and Shamrock streets. (Pictured from left to right are District Chairwoman Sue Miller, newest member Carroll Stephens (back to camera), John Dennis, Vice-Chairman Tom David, Secretary Jackie Loyd (back to camera) and Frank McClammey. (Click on picture for larger view.)

The two-story restored structure once housed the city courtroom, jail, library, mayor's office, judge's chamber, utility office, police and fire station. Built in 1931, it is the only museum in Louisiana dedicated to city government. Pineville's Old Town Hall Museum is open for tours Monday thru Friday from 8:00am to Noon and the Development District voted unanimously to work with the City of Pineville to monitor and help preserve "this jewel in the midst of downtown" anyway they can. To schedule a tour, call Museum Curator Evelyn Zander at 449-5650.

City Addresses Traffic Problem

The City of Pineville is entering into a joint cooperative effort with Wal-Mart and Spectra Development (the group bringing in the new strip mall in the Kingsville area) to provide safer access to the Wal-Mart parking area which fronts several businesses. Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields called a meeting of all the interested parties three month ago and outlined his concerns and possible solutions. All three entities are sharing in the estimated $60,000-$80,000 cost of a road from Pinecrest School Road to the Wal-Mart parking lot, beside Spectra's new strip mall. (See graphic at right.) The new access road to Pinecrest Drive is part of the Pineville's plan to help traffic in that area, as plans were already underway for commercial development on both corners of Military Highway and Pinecrest Drive. Pineville Officials are currently working with the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) to remedy traffic concerns with the future expansion of this intersection. (Graphic courtesy of The Town Talk.)

New Hotel in Pineville!

Construction has begun on Sleep Inn and Suites, a three-story hotel to be located at 3411 Monroe Highway in Pineville. The new Pineville hotel will have 68 units, a conference room and an indoor pool and is next door to the Pizza Hut, across the highway from the Kings Country Shopping Center. Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields says it is just another sign of the economic growth Pineville is experiencing. The Pineville Sleep Inn is part of the Choice Hotel International franchise group and owner Jay Sachania says they hope to be open by late July of this year. (Graphic courtesy of The Town Talk.)