Over the next two days, the Press-Herald will recap the 10 biggest news stories of 2009 in Webster Parish.
As follows are numbers 10 through 6.

TEN

Ates found guilty

A Florida man who fled to Sibley after shooting and killing his former son-in-law was found guilty November 7 of murder.
Edward Ates, 62, claimed innocence, using his weight and health issues in his defense.

During the trial, prosecutors said Ates drove from his home in Fort Pierce, Fla., to Paul Duncsak’s $1.1 million home in Ramsey, N.J. in August 2006 and shot the pharmaceutical executive six times as he came home from work.

Ates was considered a prime suspect and detectives located him 24 hours after the murder at his mother’s home in Sibley.
Ates’ mother, Evelyn Myra Barnes and sister, Brenda Nell Ates, originally told detectives that he was visiting in Sibley at the time of the murder. The two later confessed that they had been lying. Both were arrested and charged with hindering apprehension and obstruction of justice.

NINE

Moore named Chamber head

In April, after a year-long hunt, Mike Moore  was named the Executive Director of Economic Development and Commerce.
Moore took charge May 1, after making the transition from his most recent employer — Brookshires. He was employed as a Marketing Specialist II at the corporate level in Tyler, Texas.

The extensive search to fill the post involved three entities — The Minden Chamber, City of Minden and the South Webster Industrial District.

EIGHT

St. Jude auction sets new record

Despite harsh economic times, Minden came through once again for St. Jude, breaking 2008’s auction total of $788,611.29 by more than $87,000. The total for 2009 was $876,264.

A blood drive, Children’s Day sponsored by the Young Women’s Service Club, Chili Cookoff and a 5K race were just a few out of many events held to raise money for the auction.

SEVEN

I-20 traffic stop nets huge stash

A traffic stop on I-20 September 24 resulted in the confiscation of  450 pounds of marijuana and the arrests of two Texas men.

Webster Parish’s Community Action Directive Patrol Team (CAD) were working on Interstate 20 when they observed a weaving U-haul truck. The deputies initiated a traffic stop just east of the Hwy. 531 exit.

Search of the vehicle was denied and CAD Patrol Canine Deputy Chesapeake-Cindy was walked around the van by her handler and CAD Patrol Team Lead Lt. Robert Hayden.

Chesapeake-Cindy made a hit on the van, providing deputies probable cause to search.

During the subsequent search, five boxes containing 24 bundles wrapped in plastic and masked with grease were discovered.
The bags were also “booby-trapped” with an unidentified white powdery substance, possibly insecticide.

SIX
Storms, flooding cause big losses

A collection of Webster Parish public entities accounted for more than $500,000 in preliminary costs of response, cleanup and repairs of damages, making it possible for the President to declare Webster Parish a disaster area.

Storms in October and November caused parish-wide flooding, road closures and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to homes, especially in the Lake Bistineau area

There, the body of water finally crested higher than expected, coming to 147.5 feet, just three inches below the all-time recorded level.

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