New Alderman

October 4th, the voter of District 5 welcomed a new member to the Pineville City Council. Nathan Martin was elected to finish the term of the late Randy King, and took office October 16th. Martin was elected from a field of three candidates, and joins the “Board of Aldermen”, as it’s properly known. Martin is the Associate Pastor of Christian Challenge Worship Center in Pineville, and co-owner of Precision Woodworks in Downtown Pineville. Although new to elected office, Martin’s knowledge of Pineville City Government is not new. For the past 5-years, he designed and has maintained the city’s website, www.Pineville.net. Martin has also served as a commissioner on the Pineville Downtown Development District. His affinity for websites can be seen in his own at www.NathanMartin.net. Welcome aboard!

THANKS Mrs. Broussard!

The October 14th Pineville City Council meeting ended with an item that wasn't on the agenda...but was the most memorable of the evening. Flanked by members of the Pineville City Council, Mayor Clarence Fields read from a proclamation declaring October 15th "Carrie Broussard Day", as Mrs. Broussard was completing a second term of "special" service to her city. With Councilman Kevin Dorn, Joe Bishop, Carol Cunningham and Tom Bouchie looking on...part of the proclamation read like this:

On two separate occasions, Carrie Broussard has stepped in to help Pineville through difficult times. On each of these occasions it was during a time of personal crisis for her. In spite of her grief, Miss Carrie made herself available to fill the void left by the passing of her husband, Lee J. Broussard, who had served as councilman for 22 years. Then, just a couple of years later, she again was called upon to serve after the untimely death of Councilman Randy King, who was very close to her family and was like a son. On both occasions, she served through her time of grief for the betterment of the City of Pineville. For that, we are very grateful.

Thanks Again for giving unselfishly to the City of Pineville!

Pineville to House Parish's First State Park

A historic signing took place September 26th, on a historic site. Representatives from the Louisiana Office of State Parks, the Department of Health and Hospitals and the Red River Waterway Commission. The Pineville site where officials of these three state agencies signed papers Friday morning to pave the way for Fort Randolph State Park is a hayfield…but it will become Rapides Parish’s first State Park. The Red River Waterway Commission will head a project that started toward reality when it agreed to commit $1.4 million for the access road and design work needed. Now $5.5 million has been committed to the project from local, state and federal funds.

The park will take about 14 months to build. It should open in the spring of 2005. Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields shared his vision of 25,000 visitors a year turning off Main Street, near Lee J's on the Red River levee and taking Riverside Drive northwest to the park. Dwight Landreneau of the Louisiana Office of State Parks sees the park as "the hub of the Red River Campaign Trail." The site of the former Fort Randolph will celebrate and point to Fort Buhlow and Bailey's Dam. All three Civil War sites were built in 1864.

Harmon Belgard of the Red River Waterway Commission said the agency has had plans for such a facility "on the drawing board since 1985…but it was the teamwork of local, parish and state leaders that finally brought it all together. He singled out the teamwork on the state level of House Speaker Charlie Dewitt, Senator Joe McPherson and Representatives Rick Farrar and Israel “Bo” Curtis.

The proposed park will have a visitor’s center and inter-active museum, an overlook of Bailey's Dam, and an elevated boardwalk for a walk-through tour of the fort site, a maintenance facility, a manager's residence, roadways and trails.

Field of Dreams

Progress is steady as Pineville's new "Field of Dreams" continues to take shape off Donahue Ferry Road. The Ward 9 Recreational project already has $2-million worth of clearing and drainage work underway. Later this year, bids will be accepted on another $3.5-million for site preparation, including the construction of 10-baseball/softball fields, 8-soccer fields, two playgrounds, a jogging path and parking spaces for 600. The adjacent photo shows an aerial view from the north side of the property. The two roads that merge at the bottom left are Donahue and Pinehurst Drive. Empowered by the Rapides Parish Police Jury, and supported by the City of Pineville...the Ward 9 Recreation District has been moving quickly to transform 165-acres on the campus of Pinecrest Developmental Center, in hopes of having some fields ready for play next summer.

Smithsonian Coming To Pineville

United States history will be on display at one of Pineville's most historic locations. Past visions of tomorrow will be on display in May 2004 at Pineville's Old Town Hall Museum, on the corner of Main Street and Shamrock, in Downtown Pineville. A new Smithsonian traveling exhibition titled "Yesterday's Tomorrows: Past Visions for the American Future" comes to Pineville for a month-long visit, beginning May 1. Admission will be free. Five freestanding kiosks that show futuristic predictions about homes, transportation and communities are to be installed upstairs in the old courtroom portion of the museum. Examples of popular culture - such as ray guns, robots and plans for a nuclear-powered car - are used to show how 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century Americans envisioned the future. From the buoyant and optimistic tomorrows of General Motors' 'Futurama' at the 1939 World's Fair to a bleak future presented in the films 'Planet of the Apes' (1968) and 'War of the Worlds' (1953), this exhibit explores a range of visions from the past.

State Representative Rick Farrar brought a grant proposal to the Historical Association of Central Louisiana, who then partnered with the City of Pineville to make this project a reality. Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields told a press conference to announce the exhibit that this will enhance the downtown area and all of Central Louisiana...and the educational opportunity to our children would make it worth the city's investment in the exhibit. (Pictured: Mayor Fields and his assistant, Rich Dupree, look at a poster promoting the upcoming exhibit.)

It's Now OPEN!

Downtown Pineville moved into the 21st Century with the completion of the KCS Railroad Underpass on US 165/Main Street, at the entrance to Louisiana College. Monday, September 8th, marked the ribbon cutting and opening of the $5.1 million state project which began in April 2002. Merrick Construction Co. Inc. of Cottonport replaced the old railroad bridge with a new structural steel overpass spanning 150 feet with a 16.5-foot clearance. The former bridge had only an 11.25-foot clearance, and was better known for the number of 18-wheelers that have become lodged under the previous structure. Hayes Manufacturing of Pineville also played a big part, using their crane service to place the new overpass in place…as well as painting the new steel structure.

Other benefits to the underpass replacement included a new drainage system and concrete paving of the highly traveled intersection. The project also included a new signal on Donahue Ferry Road, which will now intersect with Military Highway as it approaches downtown. Motorists approaching downtown on Donahue Ferry will be directed to either a right turn onto Military Highway or a left turn toward the underpass. A traffic signal remains at the Main Street intersection in front of Louisiana College. Motorists exiting LC will now find with a left and right turn-lane onto Main Street.

Here is a link to a Power Point Presentation prepared by DOTD employees to commemorate the new underpass. You'll need either Microsoft Power Point or the free Power Point Viewer to see the presentation. (And be aware that it's over 9 megs!) KCS_UNDERPASS_Ribbon_Cutting_Ceremony.pps

Pineville Welcomes Plastipak

More economic growth is being planted in Pineville with the announcement that Plastipak Packaging Inc. of Plymouth, Michigan, will build a 500,000-square foot plant near Procter & Gamble. Over 100-jobs will be created by this new 45-million dollar structure. The company that makes plastic bottles for Pepsi and Coke is coming to Pineville to make bottles for Procter & Gamble to fill with liquid detergent.

The Plastipak plant, which expects to be in full production within a year, will help the Pineville P&G plant as it completes its expansion. In December, the Pineville P&G plant announced it is expanding to make liquid detergent in addition to the dry detergent the local plant has produced for decades. The Plastipak plant will be built on a 62-acre site on Pardue Road, across from P&G. The initial group of employees will range from utility laborers to people with highly technical skills. Plastipak officials said that as automation comes on line, the jobs will become more technically oriented.

Plastipak projects manager Mitch Kasten (left in picture, with P&G Plant Mgr. Todd Hoffman and Mayor Fields) said that phase one of the plant should come on-line some time in the first quarter of 2004 and be in full production by the middle of the year. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Hutchinson, who was in Pineville for the announcement, told Kastein that using the term "Phase One" implied a "Phase Two." Kastein replied that while Plastipak's initial phase is a partnership with Procter & Gamble, and he hopes the company will attract enough business from other firms to merit expansion here.

Plastipak has 14 plants, 12 in North America and two in Brazil. Most of its U.S. operations are in the Midwest, though it has two plants in Texas. Among the customers for Plastipak's plastic bottles are Pepsi, Coke, Tropicana, Kraft Foods, ExxonMobil and Johnson & Johnson. Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields called it a great day for Pineville and shows what can happen when State, Parish, and local leaders work together for economic development.

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