Pooyie!

Pooyie! 07.15.2009

C’est Bon
Bond. City sales tax bond. Public works was shaken not stirred with the sale by Lafayette Consolidated Government last week of $62 million in bonds, which will pave the way for a spate of road and drainage projects throughout Lafayette Parish. The best indicator in the bond sale was the upgrade of Lafayette’s bond rating from AA- to AA by Standard & Poor’s, unheard of, according to an LCG official, in a recession economy. Wall Street’s money masters see Lafayette in very good terms indeed. The money derived through the bond sale will go to such projects as extending North St. Antoine Street and upgrading Pont des Mouton Road — projects essential to the growth and prosperity of the north si, er, upper Lafayette.

Pas Bon
If Grand Coteau residents weren’t riled up enough about the amount of unsolved break-ins in the small St. Landry town before they attended a meeting last week to address ineffective policing, they certainly were after it was over: The police chief and mayor didn’t bother to show up. The special meeting had been scheduled so residents could air grievances about the amount of unsolved crimes, the length of time it took for police reports to be filed, officers not following through on complaints and reports of officers sleeping on the job. Neither Mayor Gail Lark nor Police Chief Margaret R. Coco have explained their absence. Alderman John Lewis said Coco would not even talk to the town board about the small town’s crime problems. “So, we’re just as much in the dark as the people sitting right here,” Lewis said during the meeting, according to The Advocate. So are we.

Couillon
If you’re gonna attempt insurance fraud, you might want to lay low — a no-brainer for a correctional officer with a sheriff’s department, right? Not necessarily, alleges the Louisiana State Police’s insurance fraud division, which arrested 34-year-old deputy Heather Erwin of Thibodaux after it caught her on tape participating in her bowling league. Now you don’t have to be in tip-top shape to bowl, we all know that, but surely constant neck pain from an on-the-job car wreck would keep most of us from just about any physical activity. Troopers told The Advocate Erwin had been on medical leave since early November and received more than $20,000 in benefits under the law enforcement agency’s medical policy. She’s accused of filing a fraudulent workers comp claim, making multiple claims with other insurers and making false statements during medical evaluations. The couillon, who had worked at the jail since mid-2005 and is innocent until proven guilty, was fired upon her arrest. What a turkey.