Looking back at events of 2008 as reported in The Eunice News.

January

3 -- Mayor Bob Morris views his inexperience as his biggest drawback in the first year in office.

Seventeen streets are included in an overlay plan the city hopes to fund with a Community Block Grant.

6 -- The Children’s Mardi Gras has been divided into two runs and parades, with the younger children taking a new route from Northwest Center.

The city’s Utility Fund had operating income of $118,000 in the last fiscal year, a return of about 3 percent on revenues of $3.56 million, auditors said.

A committee recommended a former Recreation Dept. employee for the director’s job.

10 -- The City Council confirmed Trish Johnson as Recreation Director and tabled the mayor’s request to cut sewerage fees enough to save users’ $100,000 annually.

13 -- The Board of Ethics dismissed a complaint against Mayor Morris.

Rep. Mickey Guillory thinks the inauguration of Bobby Jindal marks an historic change in Louisiana state government.

The Department of Transportation and Development again rejected Eunice’s petition for a traffic signal at the Wal-Mart intersection with Hwy. 190 West.

20 -- The current owners of Lakeview Park hope to have it opened as a revamped RV park and recreation center in 2009.

Sales tax revenue for the City of Eunice fell 13 percent in December 2007, compared to the same month a year earlier.

Pat Reviere is the volunteer director of the Eunice Food Bank.

24 -- The City Council set a $30,000 ceiling for a study of the wastewater system.

Gail O’Nora is the winner of the Martin L. King Jr. Citywide Celebration Committee’s annual award.

State Rep. Mickey Guillory has been appointed to the Ways and Means and Agriculture committees.

31 -- The St. Landry Parish School Board granted its accountants the same raise teachers received in September. The board also heard an update on the desegregation case, including upcoming reassignment of some principals and a consolidation plan.

City Attorney Jacque Pucheu and City Engineer Karl Aucoin took exception to Morris’ accusations of a cover-up involving work at the wastewater plant.

Two Eunice High students face terrorizing charges after being accused of making bomb threats at the school.

February

3 -- St. Edmund senior Sierra Basile was killed in an accident west of Dallas enroute to a Mardi Gras-break ski trip.

The city is paying for about 25 percent more gas from its provider than it is selling to its customers.

7 -- Mardi Gras drew an overflow crowd for the annual Eunice Courir, which culminated five days of pre-Lenten events.

10 -- Some Eunice residents have been told they may be one of a number of heirs to a Texas oil fortune.

Money is what is needed to get the Imagination Library program off the ground in Eunice.

The School Board accepted a plan to switch principals at five St. Landry elementary schools as part of the effort to meet desegregation requirements.

14 -- The City Council isn’t inclined to consider any changes to its dog-walking laws, particular the idea of muzzling the canines.

Earlene LeJeune was appointed city clerk. She has been the assistant for 12 years.

A decline in sales tax collections is beginning to cause some concerns in the St. Landry School Board office.

17 -- LSUE was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for its Book Buddy Program.

Dotty McDonald is the new Division Head of Nursing and Allied Health at LSUE.

T.H. Harris Technical College’s satellite campus will be located at the career technical center in Eunice instead of the old National Guard armory.

A Eunice woman is the first recipient of an inmate ankle bracelet monitor from the Sheriff’s Office.

21 -- Mayor Morris is spending most of his time these days learning the in’s and out’s of the wastewater management system and what it may or may not need to work more efficiently.

Speaking in Kinder, Gov. Bobby Jindal outlined his hopes for Louisiana’s futures and priorities for his administration.

The City Council has endorsed a skate park located at the Fairgrounds.

24 -- The city solved its gas leakage problem, finding that most of the unaccounted for gas was actually booking error.

A group of business and civic club champions set the Imagination Library project in motion for Eunice.

Sheila L. Mouton is Eunice High’s teacher of the year.

28 -- Chief Gary Fontenot says his officers did not beat accused kidnapper Mark J. Savoy while he was in the Eunice jail. A federal suit by Savoy seeks damages from Eunice, the St. Landry sheriff and the parish council for alleged violation of his civil rights.

Auditors again told the School Board that it needs to get a handle on who purchases what and when they do it.

March

2 -- T.H. Harris Technical College will open a branch campus in Eunice by the end of the month, offering classes in welding and carpentry.

A narcotics detective told Rotarians that illegal trafficking in prescription medicines is the growing drug problem in Eunice.

Former LSUE baseball player Bryan Jaeger took his first steps without the support harness he has used since a paralyzing accident in October 2006.

6 -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission closed former Rec Director Chris Ceaser’s complaint against the city, saying it found no cause of action.

Imagination Library got a big boost from Wal-Mart, which donated $5,000 to the books-for-pre-schoolers program.

9 -- The St. Landry Parish Council heard a number of suggestions for how to fund much-needed road improvements.

A Lake Charles group plans to build a Holiday Inn Express on West Laurel.

The School Board set Aug. 7, a Thursday, as the opening day of the next school year.

13 -- The City Council turned over to the City Attorney the question of which bid to accept for gasoline and diesel fuel.

City Hall is now under the watchful eyes of 16 new surveillance cameras.

The City Council authorized the mayor to continue his study of problems at the wastewater treatment plant.

16 -- Water-consumption based wastewater treatment rates would cost some individuals and businesses much more than they now pay under the “toilet tax”, while some residents would pay less.

Morris suspended the monthly fee paid Aucoin & Associates engineers until issues raised by the Legislative Auditor’s Office are resolved.

School Board member Roger Young was recognized by the National School Boards Assn. for his service to public education.

20 -- Bids for the city’s fuel business remain under study by the city attorney.

23 -- Developers expect to begin construction of low-rent seniors apartments on Nile Street by June.

27 -- The city’s financial status remains good as it spent $606,000 less than it received in the first seven months of its fiscal year.

A man is charged with attempted first degree murder after ramming a police car attempting to block his fleeing vehicle.

Royne Fontenot has been the National Weather Service weather watcher in Eunice for 50 years.

30 -- Another $60,000 to $75,000 is the cost of replacing displaced mixers at the wastewater plant.

April

3 -- There’s a waiting list for carpentry and welding classes beginning at the new T.H. Harris Technical School satellite campus here.

Cleco, Eunice Mardi Gras Assn. and Stute’s Catering won the cooking divisions of the 23rd annual World Championship Etouffee Cook-Off.

6 -- The city attorney sent fuel bids back to the City Council, saying they are a toss up and it’s the council’s choice.

State Sen. Don Cravins, Jr. thinks Eunice should market its unique educational opportunities to business and industry looking for new locations.

10 -- The deadline for filing recall petitions against Morris passed with no documents filed.

Sales tax declines are beginning to give public officials the jitters.

The parish council wants to double vehicle inspection fees to $20 to help raise road improvement funds.

The City Council told the Economic Development Board it will respond within 30 days to the panel’s request for direction as it reported its findings.

Reed Gas was awarded the city’s fuel contract after study showed bids between it and a Crowley firm were equal.

13 -- Slumping revenue has city officials concerned about the upcoming budget year.

Parents began enrolling children for free books under The Imagination Library program.

17 -- The city has paid about $78,000 for professional services during the first eight months of its fiscal year.

-- Three District 6 volunteer firefighters are charged with arson in three different fires.

-- The new Southeast Community Center pavilion is complete.

20 -- Morris asked Pucheu to resign from the city attorney’s post, a request greeted with disdain by City Council members.

-- A Mamou resident was killed in an early morning crash on Hwy. 13 north of Eunice when a vehicle driven by a Eunice man hit another vehicle headon.

-- Former Mayor Curtis Joubert was appointed to the Louisiana Tourism Development Commission.

24 -- School Board President John Miller thinks board attorney Gerard Caswell is paid too much and wants his contract reviewed.

Linda Ouellette of the Pucheu law firm was named Administrative Professional of the Year by the Rotary Club.

May

1 -- Federal Judge Tucker Melancon has given the School Board 120 days to adopt a government school-consolidation plan or come up with one of its own that meets his approval.

4 -- Melancon ordered a revised consolidation plan given to the School Board by mid-May.

Pucheu asked for a public retraction of Morris’ charges regarding state laws and ethics canons.

New LeDoux Library Director Gerald Patout plans to develop a Louisiana culinary history collection at the LSUE facility.

8 -- A proposed 5 percent cut in LSUE’s operating budget has Chancellor William Nunez in a pickle, wondering which vital program to eliminate.

The city’s operating income increased a quarter of a million dollars in March.

A Eunice man died when a trailer he lived in burned.

11-- Parish President Don Menard will propose a 10-year, 10-mill road tax and consolidation of several road taxing districts.

Chancellor Nunez is opposed to legislation which would allow licensed handgun owners to carry concealed weapons on campus.

15 -- A Justice Department plan would shift the Eunice High/Northwest High attendance line to the west, sending more white students to the latter and more black students to EHS.

The City Council unanimously endorsed Pucheu’s work as city attorney.

An undercover sting resulted in 13 persons being cited for allegedly selling alcohol to persons under 21.

18 -- LSUE conferred degrees on 149 graduates.

The City Council in effect endorsed improvements at the wastewater plant despite concerns about the bid process.

The administration’s budget for the next fiscal year expects a slight decrease in total revenue and a 4 percent overall increase in spending.

22 -- Union Pacific will begin by late June construction of an access road to the site for a new railroad bridge north of City Lake as the final phase of cleanup and restoration from the 2000 derailment begins.

25 --The La. Department of Environmental Quality notified the city that its wastewater plant is out of effluent compliance.

The parish council decided to hold public hearings on whether it should call a road-tax election and on whether other-parish garbage should be allowed in the St. Landry landfill.

29 -- The proposed city budget includes a 5 percent raise for all employees making $8 an hour or less.

LSUE joins six other state schools this fall in an on-line degree initiative.

June

1 - Morris asked DEQ to investigate the five-year history of activity at the wastewater plant.

The Bengals returned home national champions for the second time in three years.

5 -- The mayor’s proposed budget includes a $12,000 raise for himself.

DEQ violation notices to the city are nothing new, a four-year review of the record shows.

8 -- City Council members are uncertain about a raise at this time for the mayor.

The School Board plans to eventually hold public meetings on the proposed consolidation plan.

12 -- The City Council tabled the Morris budget with indications it will

reject his requested pay raise.

15 -- DEQ asked the city to include significant proposed milestones in its formal response to the wastewater order.

23 -- The parish council called a special election to seek a parish-wide road tax and to re-allocate the Solid Waste Disposal Tax.

The city’s formal reply to DEQ outlines current and pending plans for wastewater plan improvements.

Rep. Mickey Guillory, who voted against, said he would take the $20,700 legislator pay raise to keep the money from being used elsewhere.

29 -- The first shipment of books for Imagination Library of Eunice has arrived for children 0 to 5 years of age.

DA Earl Taylor thinks the U.S. Supreme Court made the wrong decision in junking a state law providing capital punishment for child rapists.

July

3 -- Morris disconnected water service to the Chamber of Commerce building after his June 30 deadline passed and the building was still connected to a city meter.

Gov. Jindal, rethinking his position, vetoed a legislative pay raise.

The city paid firefighters money due from a pay agreement reached last summer.

6 -- Hundreds turned out for the opening the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall exhibit in DeRidder.

10 -- Morris withdrew his budget request for a $12,000 pay hike.

The City Council voted to pursue an intergovernmental agreement with the Chamber of Commerce.

13 -- The Chamber declined Morris’ offer to reconnect to a city water meter after he learned there was no extra cost from it.

The parish council will most likely drop its plan to hold an Oct. 4 referendum on out-of-parish garbage disposal at the St. Landry landfill.

17 -- Jindal vetoed a $110,000 appropriation for construction of two new tennis courts in Eunice.

Union Pacific proposes to use chemical rather than biological agents to clean remaining contaminated soil at the 2000 derailment site near City Lake.

A two-year-old was critically injured when she tried to jump from a moving truck whose engine was left running when the driver got out at a store.

20 -- Area banks are healthy and there is no reason for concern among depositors, officials say.

Randy Courville, 51, was sentenced to 10 years in a federal prison for internet sex solicitation of what he thought was a minor girl.

24 -- Two Eunice residents were arrested in a steroids sting conducted by the Sheriff’s Office.

A Eunice man was killed when a van being towed with a rope veered into the path of an 18-wheel truck near Mamou.

31 -- Eunice High will use online technology to help parents become more involved in their children’s education.

August

3 -- Gov. Bobby Jindal held a Town Hall meeting in Mamou, updating residents on his campaign promises.

The city and Acadian Medical Center are seeking a solution to pumps burning up at the wastewater lift station serving the center.

7 -- Alderwoman Fontenot’s attorney is demanding a public apology from Morris for remarks about his client. Otherwise, he ways, she might sue for defamation.

The city’s financial condition dramatically improved in the first full year of the Morris administration.

Parish 4th- and 8th-grade students exceeded the state passing average on LEAP testing.

10 -- The St. Landry School System is not in the red, but revenues are shrinking.

Boys initially refused admission at Eunice High because they had their hair in twists were allowed in.

14 -- Alderman Bourque joined Fontenot in threatening legal action if Morris does not apologize for remarks about him.

Allen Frank, 20, was charged with 1st-degree murder in the shooting of DeWayne Lewis, 27.

Justin Thibodeaux, 30, is charged with two counts of attempted 1st-degree murder in an incident involving his ex-wife and her son.

The City Council rolled back property taxes, then rolled them forward to recoup revenue.

17 -- Morris asked Bourque and Fontenot for the exact wording of alleged defamatory remarks he made about them.

21 -- Morris said he will work with the low bidder on a sewer line project despite paperwork errors because bids weren’t necessary to begin with.

The city’s Code Enforcement Officer told City Council members they’ll need to send their complaint issues through the mayor, rather than dealing directly with him.

24 -- Eunice First, a business-based corporation, has filed a recall petition against Morris, the third such effort in 18 months.

City Council members Bourque and Fontenot sued Morris for alleged defamation.

Clyde Arnaud, 52, of Eunice was killed when a storage tank he was welding fell on him.

28 -- The City Council decided to pay back a state grant for wastewater improvements by using an installment plan.

31 -- The area braced for approaching Hurricane Gustav.

The state Health Dept. says a change of engineers on a sewer line project will require re-application for the permit.

September

4 -- Gustav struck Louisiana with a fury, leaving thousands, including essentially all of Eunice, without electricity.

National Guard troops two days after the strike began issuing ice and food to citizens here.

7 -- Digging out and cleaning up from Gustav continues while the threat of Hurricane Ike gathered more attention

Two persons were killed when a Gustav-spawned tornado struck near Mamou.

11 -- The Solid Waste District executive director said Eunice will be eligible for repayment of the local share of debris removal if it follows FEMA procedure.

A four-year-old boy died after being run over in his driveway.

14 -- Morris demanded public retractions from The Eunice News and Eunice First for what he termed lies and misrepresentations.

Code Enforcement Officer Gary Bult resigned.

Hurricane Ike pounded the area with tropical storm force winds.

18 -- Pat Manuel of Eunice was appointed to the Public Service Commission, succeeding Dale Sittig who left for the Offshore Terminal executive director’s post.

Bult went back to work for the city.

Morris told Fontenot and Bourque he would not talk to them except in case of emergency.

21 -- Hurricane recovery remains Topic A as the city prepares to resume debris collection and the parish is just getting started.

A second Mamou woman died from injuries received Sept. 16 after a Eunice man pulled into traffic on La. 13 North.

Two parish tax initiatives, both designed to build better roads, are on Saturday’s ballot.

October

2 -- A Eunice man faces a minimum of 25 years in prison if convicted of the charge of aggravated incest.

5 -- Mayor Bob Morris says he no longer keeps correspondence to his office or from it.

Earl Taylor won a third term as district attorney and St. Landry Parish votes rejected two tax proposals.

Danielle Morgan of Bossier City was crowned Miss LSUE.

9 -- Eunice Superette still is not connected to the city wastewater system, more than a year after being annexed with that condition.

More than 30,000 families in the tri-parish area received Disaster Food Stamps after Gustav.

12 -- Mayor Morris provided requested public records.

City revenue is below budget and below last year but spending is well within the budget.

16 -- Alderwoman Fontenot asked the Police Department to investigate the possible misuse of public records.

23 -- A special committee made school policy recommendations, and suggested leaving enforcement provisions up to individual St. Landry Parish principals.

Morris said he has not gotten rid of any public records.

Attempted murder suspect Nicklous Thomas was caught as he crawled through a rice field trying to escape a police net.

26 -- Morris provided DEQ a full review of wastewater plant upgrades as well as a preview of work still to be done.

30 -- The City Council amended the city ordinances to allow extension of sewer lines to newly annexed commercial property provided a cost benefit analysis favors the city.

November

2 -- The city broke even in the first quarter of the fiscal year though the General Fund went in the hole due to Hurricane Gustav expenses.

9 -- The city ordered 35 radios to upgrade its police communications system.

Official complaints about police behavior have numbered only two in the last 12 months.

13 -- The City Council voted to add streets to the overlay plan after the low bid came in at $150,000 under estimate.

The Solid Waste Commission rejected the proposed rent of space for a trash transfer station at the St. Landry landfill site.

The Food Bank will move to the Northwest Community Center by year’s end.

16 -- School accountability scores reflect the moving target they are.

Fire Chief Wayne Lavergne says the city’s insurance rating should approve on the next review.

20 -- Eunice First says it has about half the required recall signatures at its drive’s half-way point.

23 -- Eunice police officers have used TASERs 18 times since the first of the year.

Glendale and East Elementary’s academic achievements may earn national recognition.

30 -- FEMA will reimburse the city 82 percent of Gustav debris recovery costs.



December

4 -- Chief Fontenot said an investigation into whether Mayor Morris destroyed public records is complete, with no evidence of such.

DEQ set January 2010 as the deadline for the wastewater plant to be in discharge compliance.

Becky Hill was appointed assistant Eunice treasurer. Treasurer Droucy Rougeou said she will retire in January 2010.

7 -- The UCH Clinic is leaving the United Way umbrella in order to qualify for additional grant funding.

Anna Alexander’s trial has been postponed to allow a Sanity Commission evaluation.

11 -- Auditors said the city’s cash reserves grew by $1.3 million in the recently completed fiscal year.

St. Edmund has received bids on its expansion project and expects to begin construction in January.

14 -- LSUE hopes to avoid cutting full-time staff in the face of pending state budget reductions.

The first snow in 20 years turned out to be fun for kids of all ages.

18 -- Horace Pickney is retiring from the Central Middle School principal’s post.

21 -- The School Board and Justice Dept. reached agreement on a school attendance plan for St. Landry Parish.

FEMA has approved $168,000 in Gustav-related expenses for reimbursement to Eunice.

25 -- Two men were charged in the shooting death of a third.