Town Hall Meeting attended by mayor, council members

By Howell Dennis

NEWS EDITOR

CROWLEY – The Martin Luther King Center was the setting for a Town Hall Meeting which was sponsored by Alderwoman Laurita Pete, Vernon “Step” Martin, Thomas Sonnier, Alton Stevenson, Israel Syria, Mrs. Providencia “Rita” Johnson, Cliff Andrus, and Mr. Kelly Mills.

Following an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance by Martin. Crowley Mayor Greg Jones welcomed the crowd to the event.

The group then moved on to committee reports with Curtis J. Wilson and Clifford Andrus addressing Crowley’s upcoming youth programs. They were followed by Mrs. Laverna George and Horace Lewis who discussed ways to solve the littering problem in Crowley as well as the beautification of the town.

Mrs. Jessie Thibodeaux, who leads the police and community relations improvement committee was next to speak. Crowley Chief of Police K.P. Gibson was on hand to address the issues that were brought forth from those in attendance.

“Sometimes people in West Crowley are afraid to call the police out of fear of reprisal from some of the kids in these neighborhoods,” said one audience member.

“I cannot emphasize enough that we serve the entire city of Crowley,” said Gibson. “That means east, west, north and south. Please don’t ever be afraid to contact us whenever we are needed. That’s what we are here for.”

Several other topics were touched on including a plea by Israel Syrie, of the Acadia Parish School Board, who spoke about many topics such as teen sexuality.

“Anyone who doesn’t think that this isn’t going on needs to pull their heads out of the sand,” said Syrie. “It is very important that we address this and properly educate these kids as to the responsibility that is involved when a teenager gets pregnant.”

Clifford Francis was also recognized by the group for the hard work he has done as the Martin Luther King Center sponsor.