LA: Pointe Coupee Parish Pit bull ban vote postponed

Pointe Coupee Parish, LA: Pit bull ban vote postponed
Posted on April 28, 2010 by Stop BSL

Next police jury meeting will be May 11. The proposal from the Animal Control Committee may be ready for discussion at that time. The Police Jury meetings are held every second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 5:00 p.m. in the Police Jury Meeting Room, Courthouse Annex Building,160 East Main Street (located across the street from the courthouse), New Roads, Louisiana.

Contact information for Parish authorities:

Pointe Coupee Parish Police Jury
P.O. Box 290, New Roads, Louisiana 70760
(225) 638-9556 – Fax (225) 638-5555

District 1: Mr. Allen Monk
P.O. Box 285, Batchelor, LA 70715
(225) 492-3704

District 2: Mr. John Pourciau
3768 La. Hwy. 419W, Batchelor, LA 70715
(225) 492-2701

District 3: Mr. Russell Young (pushing for ban)
9005 Mandela Drive, New Roads, LA 70760
(225) 638-3941

District 4: Mr. Glenn Ray Cline
14110 Chenal Road, Jarreau, LA 70749
(225) 627-9511

District 5: Mr. Willie Olinde
P.O. Box 256, Ventress, LA 70783
(225) 638-8726

District 6: Mrs. Melanie Bueche
11850 Hwy 416, Lakeland, LA 70752
(225) 627-4055

District 7: Mr. Albert Dukes
8979 Rodney Drive, New Roads, LA 70760
(225) 638-3383

District 8: Mr. Cornell Dukes
309 Railroad Street, New Roads, LA 70760
(225) 638-8778

District 9: Mrs. Janet Vosburg
9431 False River Road, New Roads, LA 70760
(225) 638-8328

District 10: Mr. Kurt Jarreau
P. O. Box 383, Livonia, LA 70755
(225) 637-2540

District 11: Mr. Joseph Bergeron, Sr.
P. O. Box 90, Fordoche, LA 70732
(225) 637-3486

District 12: Mr. Clifford Nelson
P. O. Box 336, Ventress, LA 70783
(225) 638-3589

2theadvocate.com | News | Police Jury postpones pit bull ban vote Baton Rouge, LA

Police Jury postpones pit bull ban vote

By KORAN ADDO
Advocate Westside bureau
Published: Apr 28, 2010 – Page: 4B

NEW ROADS — Police Juror Russell Young urged passage Tuesday of a proposal to ban pit bull ownership in Pointe Coupee Parish, but the Police Jury shot down his suggestion on a 9-2 vote to postpone action on the measure.

Young said he has pressed the Police Jury for months to amend parish animal control laws, specifically banning pit bulls, because the breed is responsible for between 75 percent and 80 percent of all dog bites in the parish.

The Police Jury has paid special attention to the parish animal control ordinance in response to a series of dog bites in the parish going back several months, but particularly after Michael “Blaise” Landry, 4, was mauled to death by a neighbor’s three boxers in April 2009.

Before Tuesday’s regular Police Jury meeting, the boy’s mother, Tammy Landry, said she didn’t support a breed-specific ban.

“Any breed can cause harm to humans if not properly disciplined and socialized,” she said.

In a meeting that was frequently loud with people talking over one another, Carol Vincent, an officer on the parish’s Animal Control Committee, asked the Police Jury for more time to study the issue.

Vincent said the committee is looking at beefing up existing laws by implementing steep fines for dog owners who allow their animals to run loose and a better registration system that would allow the parish to keep better track of the animals in the area.

Vincent also said the committee would not support banning pit bulls because such a requirement would be expensive and hard to enforce.

“All large-breed dogs can be vicious,” Vincent said. “People just don’t always report it when (bitten by those dogs). It’s when a pit bull bites somebody that big red flags go up.”

Vincent’s suggestion that it is impractical to single out pit bulls drew a loud and long response from Young, who held up a list he said was signed by people opposed to banning the breed.

“I have a list of people and agencies against the ban, but none of them have been bit. You put a ban on pit bulls in the ordinance, and I’ll support it,” he said.

“Let somebody on a higher level tell me it’s illegal,” Young continued. “I’m not going to play with it, people come first. Is it we, the people of these United States, or we, the dogs?”

But the opposition to Young’s suggestion was strong.

Michel “MeMe” Meche, a parish animal control officer, agreed that pit bulls are involved in a large majority of dog attacks reported in the parish, but further agreed with Vincent that the breed isn’t the only problem.

Meche said three vicious dogs were tranquilized in the parish on Tuesday, but only one was a pit bull. The other two, he said, were German shepherds.

Meche said the most practical way to crack down on dog bites is to beef up fines for loose dogs.

“We’ve got to make people more accountable,” he said. “We have to get into people’s pockets to make it work.”

After the discussion, Young offered his motion to ban pit bull ownership, but he was voted down when other police jurors advised him that the parish would have to hold a public hearing before the ban could take effect.

Jurors Joseph “Bozo” Bergeron Sr., Melanie Bueche, Glenn Ray Cline, Cornell Dukes, Kurt Jarreau, Allen Monk, Clifford Nelson, Willie Olinde and John “Sassy” Pourciau voted instead to postpone action on the issue and allow the Animal Control Committee more time to come up with a recommendation.

Jurors Albert “Dewey” Dukes and Young voted against setting the issue aside.

Near the end of the discussion, Bueche said she has spoken with Vincent privately about the matter and is confident it will be resolved in the near future.

“Within three weeks, we’ll probably have something worthwhile to discuss,” she said.


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