Global Strike Command announcement tops local news stories of past year

1. Global Strike Comes to Barksdale

U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command was stood up at Barksdale Air Force Base August, resulting in a population and economic boom, as well as security for Barksdale.

An activation ceremony for the global strike took place Aug. 7 at Barksdale. Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, participated in the ceremony with General Schwartz serving as the presiding officer.  

“Today will achieve a major milestone in revitalization of our nuclear enterprise and we’re indebted to many men and women who have worked hard to make today a reality,” said Donley.

Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz assumed command of Global Strike Command, the first new major USAF command in 27 years.

“It’s an extraordinarily important signal of the importance of Barksdale Air Force Base to the Air Force and the country that the decision was made to set up Global Strike Command here. I think it also speaks to the importance of the nuclear deterrence and global strike missions,” said Klotz.

On Dec. 1, the command assumed responsibility for the 20th Air Force in Cheyenne, Wyo. which controls 450 Minutemen Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). They will assume responsibility Feb. 1 for the 8th Air Force and bomber wings at Barksdale and by summer of 2010 have all of the 900 employees on base.

In addition to the previously mentioned missions, the command also obtained the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base in Nebraska, the 341st Missile Wing at Malstrom Air Force Base in Montana. They will also take control of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

The new command will have tremendous economic benefits with new personnel and businesses arriving and military construction of a new, 270,000 square foot headquarter facility. It will also bring an initial 900 jobs — 145 civilians and 755 military personnel — with families arriving and contractors coming in to support the command personnel.

“Bringing 900 people on this base is going to create a demand for real estate and office space. We have a phase plan by which we will occupy space as we come in,” said Klotz.

The command is also expected to have a multi-billion dollar impact on the area, based on the average economic impact from the air force’s eight other commands scattered throughout the country.

It was announced June 18 that Barksdale Air Force Base is the official home of the U.S. Air Force’s Global Strike Command and, by diffusion, all of the force’s nuclear capabilities.

Barksdale had been identified as the Air Force’s preferred alternative in April, pending the environmental analysis process. An Air Force press release stated the environmental assessment, which included a 30-day public comment period, resulted in a Finding of No Significant Impact which allowed for a final basing decision and formally standing up global strike.

2. Storms and Flooding Push Bossier to Brink of Disaster

Officials spent the week of Oct. 30 through Nov. 7 battling rising flood waters and assessing damage from an outbreak of storms that spawned tornadoes and torrential rains Oct. 29.

A series of severe weather systems with strong winds, heavy rains and tornadoes passed through the north and west part of the state Oct. 29 that caused flooding into Friday and severely damaged homes in Bossier, Caddo and Jefferson Davis Parishes.

A tornado touched down between Fillmore and Bossier City the afternoon of Oct. 29 afternoon while three more tornado warnings were issued from 4-7 p.m. Homes in the Haughton area were damaged and winds from storms knocked down a power pole at Benton Road just north of I220 that resulted in a fire at Greenacre Townhouses on Greenacres at Benton Road.

Just a day after the storms, there were approximately 33,000 homes without electricity reported in the Caddo/Bossier area.

That day, Gov. Bobby Jindal issued a statewide emergency declaration to assist in the deployment and staging of state assets to support affected parishes in responding to the emergency.

Emergency officials worked Saturday and Sunday to fortify weak spots in the bayou fed by the Flat River, which prevented the levee at Dogwood Trail and Stockwell areas from breaching.  

Approximately 2,500 people in north Bossier Parish near the Red Chute Bayou levee in Bossier City were evacuated Sunday as water continued to rise and a breach seemed possible.

An evacuation advisory was issued Monday, Nov. 2 for an area from Highway 157/154 south to the Loggy Bayou Bridge and west to the Red River.

Officials decided Nov. 3 that residents living in the vicinity of Red Chute Bayou and Flat River in northeast Bossier City could return to their homes after Red Chute crested and waters slowly began to recede.

3. Bossier City Council Deals With Budget Crisis

The Bossier City Council endured a month of debate and outrage among its residents over a $6.5 million general fund budget this November.

During the budget process taking place in October, the city administration found that projected revenue for the 2010 general fund, which provides funds for the city’s operating expenses, will have a $6.5 million shortfall.
The budget does not meet the amount needed to maintain the current level of personnel and services provided by the city and adjustments must be made in staffing and other expenditures. The city has been offsetting this in recent years by pulling money from the fund balance, but the deficit has grown too large and the council agreed to not make this change again.

Mayor Lorenz “Lo” Walker had proposed a workforce reduction of 117 Bossier City staff members, mostly from the police and fire departments, to offset the deficit.

The police and fire departments would see a reduction of 40 positions each while other city departments would lose 37 positions.

Council President Don Williams and council member David Montgomery, Jr. came up with an amended budget that incorporated ideas from the council that will save 35 fire and police jobs.

“We feel like we’ve done what we can to balance the budget, streamline government and offer the same efficiency level in public safety and the other governmental services our citizens enjoy,” said Montgomery.

The amended budget adds back 18 firemen, 17 policemen and two permits and inspections employees. However, it also affected 26 city employees.

The budget asks department heads to reduce all non-personnel line items expenditures by 15 percent. It also eliminates the yearly 2.25 percent step, or cost of living, increase for non-public safety employees. It also eliminates the annual longevity increases of two percent for fire and police for anyone with over 23 years of service and the education pay incentive for fire and police employees. The budget also includes no raises or merit increases other than anyone with less than 23 years of service.  

Built into the budget is a hiring and manning level freeze for 2010 as well as no increase for department heads.
The budget resulted in heavy debate among council members and drew plenty of ire from Bossier City residents upset over the loss of public safety personnel.

The council voted four to three to approve an amended budget presented by Council President Don Williams and council member David Montgomery, Jr. at the Nov. 17 meeting. Montgomery, Williams, council members Jeff Darby and Scott Irwin voted in favor of the budget while councilmen David Jones, Chubby Knight and Timothy Larkin voted against it.

Heather Carter, wife of a police officer, tearfully pleaded to the council prior to the vote on Dec. 1, “I need to know now if my husband will have a job. You’ve had your chance, I can’t wait two weeks.”

Doris Sanders, a Bossier City purchasing department employee who would lose her job under the amended budget, said, “It’s very scary to think we’re going to be laid off in an economy where for every one job there are six people waiting.”

“I think this has been a wake up call to Bossier City and its voters. They elected you guys to do the job and you haven’t been doing the job, you’ve been asleep at the wheel. It’s time for a new focus, energy and dedication to safeguarding my tax dollars as well as the tax paying dollars of Bossier,” said Bossier City resident Bob Nelson.

4. Bassmaster Classic Major Success
The Bassmaster Classic arrived on the shores of Bossier City this February, bringing the largest crowd in the history of the event and several million dollars in economic impact.

The 2009 Bassmaster Classic featured the sport’s top 51 anglers battling it out on the Red River Feb. 20-22 for the $500,000 grand prize. The field featured 50 men and one woman; six past Classic champions and 12 Classic rookies; nine with at least one Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title to their names; and representatives of 23 states.

Spectators watched the anglers depart from the Red River South Marina every morning. They then spent their day at the Bassmaster Classic Outdoor Expo at the Shreveport Convention Center and watching the weigh-in at CenturyTel Center.

The event drew 137,700 spectators to the area — the largest crowd in the history of the event. The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau (SBCTB) estimated the event brought in more than $26 million into the local economy.

In order to accommodate the influx of visitors to the area, the SBCTB organized over 100 volunteers to help welcome Classic spectators and competitors. As part of this effort, the SBCTB set-up eight “AmBASSador stations” at the Shreveport Convention Center, Hilton Shreveport, CenturyTel Center, Clarion Hotel, Eldorado Casino and Hotel, Sam’s Town Casino and Hotel and Diamond Jack’s Casino Resort.

To help local stores and restaurants attract visitors, special banners, window clings, stickers and posters were provided free of charge to put up in their sores. Shreveport-Bossier City events board’s marketing/advertising and public relations subcommittee is also putting money into recruiting people outside this community to come to the event.

To host this event, the area has seen unprecedented cooperation between Bossier City and Shreveport as well as the Caddo Parish Commission and Bossier Parish Police Jury.

“Much as it takes a community to raise a child, our entire community has come together to host the Bassmaster Classic. Both sides of the Red River, Shreveport and Caddo Parish plus Bossier City and Bossier Parish have all come together to host the classic,” said Mary Ann Tice, executive director of the Shreveport Regional Sports Authority (SRSA).

5. Fallout from Air Repair Scandal

The Bossier Parish school system underwent a legislative audit in the wake of the Ark-La-Tex Air Repair scandal and the men responsible received their sentence after pleading guilty in federal court.

The audit stemmed from the conspiracy between former board employees Winfred Johnston, William Rhodes and Mark Rowe and air repair owners Garrett Gene Wilson and Allen Victor Lee to defraud the district of over $780,000. The group allegedly overcharged the district for equipment installed, charge for equipment that was not installed, replacing functioning units and charging amounts over the contract price from 2004 to 2008.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report, released in April, on the Bossier Parish School Board and school system found several violations. These included:

— The Bossier Parish School Board Administration paid $291,266 to Ark-La-Tex Air Repair, Inc., for overcharges, replacement costs covered by warranties, installations that did not occur, and one missing unit.

— On two occasions, the School Board administration may have violated Public Bid Law for air conditioning purchases and installation totaling $254,598.

— The School Board may have violated the Open Meetings Law by discussing the Haughton Middle School roof and mold remediation contract during executive session. In addition, the School Board may have violated Public Bid Law through a $1,067,000 emergency mold remediation contract.

— School Board Maintenance Department employees authorized credit card transactions totaling $1,833 with Ark-La-Tex Air Repair, Inc., for air conditioning duct cleaning and sanitizing and the replacement of a control board that did not occur.

— The School Board Maintenance Department is missing $1,472 from the sale of scrap metal and may have violated record retention laws through discarding records of scrap metal sales and the subsequent purchases with the proceeds. In addition, the Maintenance Departmentdid not comply with Louisiana law when disposing surplus movable property.

— One current School Board employee performed work and received $3,894 from a current vendor of the School Board in possible violation of Louisiana ethics laws.

— One former School Board employee may have violated Louisiana ethics laws by receiving $105,769 for services performed for the School Board within two years of the end of his employment.

— A School Board attorney may have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct during the time he performed services for the School Board. In addition, the School Board Administration did not execute a signed contractual agreement with its external contracted attorneys.

Johnston, Rodes, Rowe, Wilson and Lee pled guilty earlier this year to fraud after a federal investigation showed the men conspired to defraud the school board.

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