Bossier City Council power transfer about to begin
Plus — Two Bossier City vape shop locations shut down in multi-agency crackdown.
Bossier City weather — Today: Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms this morning, then partly cloudy this afternoon. Highs in the lower 90s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20%. Heat index values up to 105 this afternoon. Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid-70s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid-90s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Heat index values up to 105.
Beyond Bossier
Israel’s strikes against Tehran broaden as Trump issues ominous warning
Former Shreveport charter school employee arrested on sex crime charges
LSU-UCLA College World Series game suspended; will resume at 10 am today
Bossier City Council power transfer about to begin
The Bossier City Council is transforming. Four long-time members will be seated for their final meeting today, though that's not guaranteed — two have been absent from more than one recent meeting.
On July 1, new councilmembers will be sworn in, and the power transfer will be complete.
At-large member David Montgomery, District 3's Don Williams, District 2's Jeffery Darby, and District 4's Jeff Free will answer roll call for the final time. All decided against running for reelection except Darby, who was defeated in the March election.
All four consistently voted against local term limits, repeatedly denying the measure passage to a public vote. Eventually, they were legally mandated to forward the issue to the state Bond Commission, and two versions of term limits were put before voters.
Both passed in separate elections, with a stringent version that would have eventually removed all four from office, gaining favor from the voters most recently.
On July 1, Craton Cochran will join Chris Smith on the Bossier City Council as an at-large member. Brian Hammons will remain the District 1 councilmember. Debra Ross, who took an upset win over incumbent Jeff Darby, will represent District 2. Cliff Smith will be seated for District 3. Joel Girouard will take the District 4 seat, while Vince Maggio won reelection by just 38 votes and will remain the District 5 councilmember.
Two Bossier City vape shop locations shut down in multi-agency crackdown
A multi-agency state and federal crackdown on unauthorized vape products in Louisiana resulted in 10 arrests and more than $1 million worth of illegal vape pens, pods, juices and other products taken off the streets across the state.
Two locations included in the statewide raid were 318 Cloudz at 2307 E. Texas and 2501 Beene Blvd. in Bossier City.
The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control announced the results of Operation Vape Out, a four-week statewide investigation in coordination with Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, Louisiana State Probation and Parole, and the federal Homeland Security Investigations.
State troopers and HSI arrested ten suspects on a variety of charges including possession of schedule I narcotics, unlawful possession of hallucinogenic plants, felony possession of nitrous oxide and immigration violations.
Tens of thousands of illegal and unauthorized products seized, including:
34,000 pens, pods and juices
16,000 CBD gummies, liquids and pre-rolled cigarettes
6,500 containers of nitrous oxide (N2O)
1,800 schedule I narcotics, including marijuana, tianeptine (“gas station heroin”) and psilocybin
1,500 tainted sexual enhancement products
In addition to the arrests and product seizures, ATC issued more than 140 citations for alcohol, tobacco, alternative tobacco and consumable hemp violations; the state Fire Marshal’s office issued more than 150 citations for safety and fire code violations; and ATC suspended the permits of the businesses.
Other statewide locations shut down included:
Vapes ‘R’ Us (334 N. Market Street, Shreveport)
Smokin' Aces Smoke Shop (14455 Wax Road, Baton Rouge)
Candle Hookah Smoke Shop (2865 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Lafayette)
Old Smokey (3302 Johnston Street, Lafayette)
ATC encourages anyone with information about the illegal sale of vape products in Louisiana to submit a complaint at www.atc.louisiana.gov.
Bossier Schools summer meal program continues today
The third week of Bossier Schools Summer Meal Program pickup is scheduled for this morning, June 17, from 7:00 am to 11:00 am.
Check out these helpful tips:
If your children are not with you, please have your scan code and parent pickup forms printed out to expedite the process. The forms are needed each week.
Parkway and W.T. Lewis are the largest sites and have little to no wait.
It's not too late to register. Here's the link https://bit.ly/2025SummerMeals
More than 225,000 meals have already been distributed in the first two weeks.
Bossier business briefs
LSU Health announces new department chairs
M. Frampton Gwynette, MD, has been named Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine effective July 1.
Dr. Gwynette graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) College of Medicine in Charleston, South Carolina and completed training in both Adult Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Dr. Gwynette specializes in autism spectrum disorder, and his research interests include brain stimulation as a treatment for anxiety and depression in autistic patients, pharmacologic interventions targeting irritability in autistic children, and the investigation of genetic markers for autism as Psychiatry Lead for the MUSC site of the Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research Knowledge (SPARK) study, the largest autism study to date.
Jiliang "Leo" Zhou, MD, PhD, has been named Chair of the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Neuroscience effective July 1.
Dr. Zhou comes to LSU Health Shreveport from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, where he was a Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Dr. Zhou earned his Doctor of Medicine from Jiangxi Medical College in Nanchang, China, and a master’s degree in Cellular Biology from Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China. He later completed his Ph.D. in Public Health at Zhejiang University School of Medicine, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in Cellular & Integrative Physiology at Indiana University.
The focus of Dr. Zhou’s research is studying the mechanisms regulating the phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), an essential cell type in the blood vessels that carry blood throughout the body and that plays a role in cardiovascular development, homeostasis, and disease.
Sheriff announces two new Deputies and four new Corrections Officers
Sheriff Julian Whittington was pleased to swear in two new Deputies and four new Corrections Officers Monday at the Bossier Parish Command Center.
The BPSO family welcomes new Deputies Dynesha Wilson and Brittney Young to the team. New Corrections Officers are Kim Beasley, Tiffanie Billich, Corsica Manning, and Avery Opperman.
All six new employees will begin their careers at the Bossier Maximum Security Jail.
If you are interested in a career that offers a competitive salary, great benefits, and allows you to make a difference in your community, then the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office is the place for you. To apply to be a Deputy, applicants must be 21 years of age. However, the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office does offer a Corrections Officer position that only requires the applicant to be 18 years of age.
To start the process of becoming a member of the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, call the recruiting section of the Human Resources Department to schedule a conference today. You can reach them by calling Sgt. Forrest Collins at (318) 935-2146.
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