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From August 2nd through August 4th the Louisiana Municipal Association held its annual summer conference at the Monroe Civic Center. Over 1,200 delegates from across the state were there. These Louisiana Municipal governments, Baker, Colfax, Elizabeth, Gonzales, Lake Charles, Port Allen, Monroe, Natchitoches, Slidell, Springhill, Sterlington, and Vivian—took home the Louisiana Municipal Association's most prestigious award for outstanding municipal improvements and accomplishments.

Announcement of LMA’s 2006 Community Achievement Awards was made Saturday night, August 4, at the annual banquet of LMA’s 70th Annual Convention at the Civic Center. The LMA’s annual awards program recognizes municipalities for outstanding achievement in basic services, community development, and economic development.

The competition is co-sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association, and LMA.  The Town of Sterlington won first place in the Basic Services for sanitary sewer system improvements.
 

You may likely have noted that Sterlington has received considerable positive “buzz” over the past couple of years regarding its efforts to progress as a community.  Though this feels nice to read or hear, all significant change causes anxiety and controversy.  Such discomforts in principle represent growing pains, and thus, are healthy signs of life as opposed to stagnation, which in today’s world is often fatal; however, I, like most people, resent having anxiety-provoking change pushed on me if I do not understand–at gut level–the reason(s).  Quite frankly, I don’t always respond well, especially when there are significant, perhaps unanticipated, personal costs.

To repeat a quote (source unknown) shared recently by one of my fellow council members:  “Vision without action is a daydream; action without vision is a nightmare.”  As regards the community, I propose a second version of this quote, wherein “vision” in the latter clause is replaced with “shared vision”.  I was not raised in Sterlington; thus, in my service on the council, I have tried to do a great deal of listening (undoubtedly, I can never do enough of this).  Over the years, some have expressed their belief that one of the best attributes of Sterlington is an “anything goes” environment, and I personally have always preferred living in a somewhat laid-back and diverse neighborhood.  The problem with reckless abandon, however, is that such an environment tends not to retain or attract those who would invest in businesses–which create jobs and a tax base supporting the things most folks associate with quality of life:  safety and security, good schools, good roads, effective public maintenance, and attractive recreational facilities.   People who live within towns (as opposed to “out in the country”) in general tend to expect these things, and with regard to business investments, as a region we no longer compete only with Texas or Illinois, but with China or Brazil or India as well.

My personal vision is that we would have a clean, safe town having neighborhoods of diverse character, but sharing and contributing to a vision for a bright future–one that will persist “to the seventh generation”, improving all the while.  I suspect most folks in Sterlington have a similar general vision, but we must include the ideas of every caring individual in further defining this vision, and do so relatively soon because of the pace of ongoing change; otherwise, we risk self-defeat.  Practically everyone keeps plenty busy just meeting the rigors of daily life--myself included--but I have some ideas as to how we might work together on this with very modest time commitments.  Knowing that your ideas as to how we can best develop a collective vision may be even better than mine, I ask that you call me or contact me with them (soon!).  I look forward to hearing them, so that I can serve our community as effectively as possible in this pursuit.
 

Public Works Director Brian Stires has announced that the public works department has conducted a smoke test of the town’s sanitary sewer system to check for leaks. If you notice orange paint sprayed in your yard it means you have a leak and public works will be contacting you soon.
 

Work on replacing the old siding at town hall has now been completed. The $ 15,000 to pay for this work came through the Louisiana Government Assistance Program through the State of Louisiana. We are working hard to bring your tax dollars back home to you and to put it to good use.
 

Saturday September 15, 2007 Ouachita Parish will join in a nation wide event to clean our waterways and shorelines. “Water Sweep “ will begin at 0800 and end at 1200. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Keep Ouachita Parish Beautiful, Keep West Monroe Beautiful, Keep Monroe Beautiful extend an invitation for your organization to join us in participation.

Louisiana is a “sportsman paradise”. Our abundant waterways gave the state this reputation. After a summer of fun it is now time to clean-up our waterways and shorelines. It is essential to the state’s environment and economy to keep these areas clean.
 

The new Club Car that was recently purchased from American Outdoor Products for the Public Works Department will be used in maintenance, weed eating and mowing the roadsides inside our town and it will also be used for the removal of trash and litter from our ditches.
 

The St. James Baptist Church Youth were blessed August 12, 2007 during Youth Sunday as the guest speaker, Reverend Rodney McFarland Jr., delivered a wonderful message from God. Rev. McFarland’s message “I thirst”, had every member of the audience thirsting for more of God’s word. It was a blessed time in the Lord. The St. James Baptist Church members can’t wait for Reverend McFarland’s next visit. At the end of the Service each youth was blessed with bags of school supplies compliments of St. James’ Annual School Supply giveaway. Many thanks to all of the St. James members who donated the supplies that helped to make this year’s school supply give away a success.

St. James Youth Services are every Second Sunday at 11:00. Please call 261-9400 if you need a ride to service. Rev. David Brown Jr., Pastor

Many of the youth involved in St. James’ Youth Ministry also participated in a summer camp this summer in collaboration with Community Connections, Inc., a local non-profit agency. “Expanding Our World, Building Friendships, Serving Our Community” was the theme for the 2007 summer day camp program.

Camp highlights included a visit to The Children’s Museum and visiting ULM. Central to the camp program was the idea of service to the community. The campers wore their ULM shirts, and cleaned up the areas around Mt. Mariah, Mt. Sinah United Methodist, and St. James Baptist churches.

Sterlington Mayor Vern Breland and Chief of Police, Barry Bonner, visited the camp and shared inspirational thoughts and shared with the campers a formula of success. The staff and volunteers worked very hard to make this first ever summer day camp in Sterlington, LA a great experience for the youth.

 

When Mayor Breland was in Washington D.C. in February, he had the opportunity to spend some time with Senator Mary Landrieu and presented her with a packet of information about Sterlington.  On Saturday, July 7, 2007, Senator Landrieu met with Mayor Breland and the town council at Johnny’s Pizza. We discussed the economic growth that has occurred in our community  and our plans for managing future growth and the issues associated with such growth. Our Town Engineer, Tom Holtzclaw, gave a presentation on the issues the town is facing with water infiltration into the sewer system to Senator Landrieu and her staff.  The original system was constructed in the early 60’s using clay pipe that is currently nearly  50 years old. Many of these pipes have cracks, which allows rainwater to infiltrate the sewer system. The town has already completed work on replacing the clay pipes on Gilford Street, Harvey Street and a portion of Francis Ave. Plans are currently underway to have the clay pipes on Taylor Street replaced. Mayor Breland asked Senator Landrieu to secure 1.7 million dollars in funding for the Town through the Water Resource Development Act to completely replace all of the clay pipes in Sterlington. The meeting lasted for almost 2 hours and concluded with Senator Landrieu touring and pledging to help our town.

Sterlington Public Works Director, Brian Stires, has announced that that the Public Works Department has resumed mosquito spraying inside the town limits. Our Public Works Department is working in conjunction with Dr. Cole Church from the Ouachita Parish Mosquito Abatement Program.  The Parish will spray our town twice a month, and Sterlington Public Works Department will fill in the gap by spraying  on the weeks that the parish does not spray. This will double the amount of mosquito control in our town and provide continuous coverage for the entire month.

The success of the very first meeting of the Sterlington Chamber of Commerce was overwhelming as more than 100 people were in attendance for the June 15th inception meeting at Frenchman's Bend Country Club. Charter membership in the Chamber offers a unique opportunity for individuals and business owners/operators to be part of history in the making as Sterlington's role is defined as a viable player in the economic and social well-being of Northeastern Louisiana. The formation of this Chamber will give our business community a voice in the marketing strategies of our town, as well as in our overall region. This will enhance the quality of life for all the citizens of Northeastern Louisiana.

   As plans are made to move forward and grow , a mindful eye must be focused on the recent suggestions of current economic development studies for our region. These studies suggest that the economic development partners of our region form a unified front in soliciting business endeavors.  Collaborative efforts must be put into practice when planning, organizing, and implementing our region’s goals for the future. There will be issues unique to Sterlington businesses, as there will also be for other more localized business communities, however in this region, it is vital that we have an organization such as the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber serves as the main marketing tool for economic growth for the area it serves. It is also a way for the business community to present a unified front when faced with issues that affect the citizens who serve as its consumer base. Please consider joining your Sterlington Chamber of Commerce on an individual, business, or corporate level.  Become a part of positive change for YOUR town and YOUR region. For membership information contact Ladd Williams at 512-6767 or Mike McGee at 665-4571.  You can also request information by email at sterlingtonchamber@yahoo.com. The next meeting will be held at noon  July 31, 2007 at ANGUS Chemical, Hwy 2 in Sterlington. Lunch will be provided at a minimal charge. Make plans to attend.  Exciting changes are happening in our community and we urge you to get involved and be a part as Sterlington advances toward a very promising future.

The Town Council has voted to apply for two new grants. The first grant is from the Louisiana Transportation Enhancement Program and will allow the town to build sidewalks from the recreation center, down Fairway, to Old Sterlington Rd. The total amount of the grant will be $175,000. The second grant is from the Louisiana Government Assistance Program. This grant will allow the town to pave the parking lot at Town Hall. Every grant that we can get for our town is your tax dollars returning to Sterlington to work for you.

Chief of Police Barry Bonner and Capt. Donald Duncan are pictured here on May 17, 2007, with the smiling faces of Mrs. Perry and her 2nd grade class at A.L. Smith Elementary. Chief Bonner and Captain Duncan taught several bicycle safety classes that day, and Chief Bonner says that he hopes to keep teaching our children at our elementary school about drug awareness and bicycle safety every year . “Our children are our greatest asset, and it is totally up to us as a community to make certain they get every opportunity to learn and grow so that they have the opportunity to become the future leaders of our country, state, parish, city or town.” Remember summer vacation is here! Let’s all be aware of the children playing about our town and make this a very safe summer for all.

Before the May 3rd storm was gone, your Public Works Department was out cutting and removing downed trees from the streets of Sterlington. Once the trees were removed, the hard work of cleaning up began. Brian, Pat and Les worked a total of 150 hours removing and cutting all of the limbs that were placed beside the roadways. The limbs were fed into a chipper and the mulch was blown into the new dump trailer that was purchased for public works prior to the storm. The mulch has been saved for use by town citizens.

ANGUS Chemical received tribute in a special ceremony on June 5, 2007 at the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge as the 2007 District 7 State Lantern Award Winner. Mayor Breland was honored to represent Sterlington as Mike Albano, Maintenance Manager for ANGUS, came forward to accept the award on behalf of the company. The Prestigious Lantern Award was presented to ANGUS by Louisiana Economic Development (LED) and the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association (LIDEA). The Lantern Award recognizes excellence in manufacturing and community involvement. Congratulations to ANGUS for an excellent job. We are pleased to have you as part of our community.

We were so excited when the number of folks attending the community wide prayer breakfast nearly doubled last month at our second meeting. This is a sure sign that the citizens of our town are actively engaged in prayerful thought as our town moves forward. The decision was made to suspend our meetings during the summer months and then resume again in August. So keep watching the town news letter for information about the next meeting and make time to join your friends and neighbors for good food and fellowship.

There has been a great deal of new construction in Sterlington over the past few years, and we are very excited about the Keystone Plaza Development that is currently underway on Hwy 165.  The first stage of the development is expected to contain a variety of businesses, including a coffee shop, clothing store and salon.

The recent increase in development of our area means available jobs closer to home for the citizens of Sterlington.  It also means improved quality of life for our citizens who will be able to work, shop, and dine in Sterlington without having to travel outside our town.  This is an exciting time!  Please know that your town officials are working very hard to manage the growth in a manner that continues to make Sterlington a great place for us all to call "home."

We are interested in starting a Sterlington Community Fest for our area.  Our idea for this festival is that it would showcase some of our wonderful local talent with contests and competitions, great food, music, and craft booths featuring and selling items created by the citizens of our town.

Festivals require a great deal of work, and we need to know how much interest we have within the community for such an event.  We will need many volunteers.  We will need people to help coordinate and plan the event. And we will need people who have crafts or other goodies to sell or demonstrate.  Please contact us at Town Hall and let us know if you would be interested in volunteering or participating in our Community Fest. Then watch for more details in the future!

As you may have noticed, there is a great deal of road work going on in our area out on US Hwy 165.  This work is part of a 1.2 million dollar upgrade to the highway that is being done by the State.  The upgrade will install new and larger drainage culverts under 165 and it will extend the turn lane at La. 2 and 165. The State anticipates that this will alleviate the problem of flooding in that area during heavy rains. Please be careful when traveling in this area while construction is ongoing.

Mayor Breland, Alderman Bullock, and the Town Engineer, Tom Holtzclaw, recently had a meeting at Town Hall with representatives from the State Safe Routes to School Project. This is a new program being operated by DOTD. 10 municipalities in the state were awarded grants for this project. Sterlington and Bossier City were the only 2 awards granted in the northern portion of the state. Sterlington received $250,000.  Six-foot sidewalks will be built along High Avenue, Harvey Avenue, and Francis Street in an effort to encourage more children to ride their bicycles or walk to school instead of riding the bus. Mayor Breland envisions once the project is completed that a majority of the children attending A.L. Smith who live inside the Village will ride a bike or walk to school. The town included funds in the grant money to build a new covered bike parking area with new bike racks. Future grants will be applied for in hopes of possibly building additional sidewalks along Fairway and Old Sterlington Road, typing all Sterlington to A.L. Smith School. Construction of the sidewalks is anticipated to begin in August.

I would like to thank all of the people who volunteer to help make our jobs at town hall easier. Our town is fortunate to have those of you who volunteer to help make our town a better and more attractive place. The Sterling "Town" Beautiful committee and others give selflessly of their valuable time to do all kinds of jobs; such as picking up litter; painting fire hydrants; planting flowers, bushes and trees; building a gazebo; or just cleaning up their own property. Each task is as important as the other, and enhances our community, our image and our attitudes.