Slain deputy will be laid to rest Thursday posted Saturday, March 6th, 2010 @ 4:39 pm The funeral for Ouachita Parish Sheriff Cpl. J.R. Searcy will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church of West Monroe. Burial will be at Kilpatrick's Serenity Gardens under the direction of Kilpatrick Funeral Home of West Monroe. Visitation is 5-9 p.m. Wednesday at the church. Searcy was responding to a call Thursday in southwestern Ouachita Parish when he was shot by 26-year-old Michael Tanner. Tanner was immediately shot to death by a deputy who accompanied Searcy to the scene. Searcy was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe following the shooting. He died Saturday night at the hospital. A bank account to benefit Searcy's family has been set up at Progressive Bank. Read More…

ULM to present domestic violence workshops March 10-12 posted Friday, March 5th, 2010 @ 9:39 am Read More…  The University of Louisiana-Monroe's School of Visual and Performing Arts will host domestic violence workshops at 7:30 p.m. March 10-12 in Spyker Theatre. The workshops are free, though donations benefiting the domestic violence awareness organization V-Day will be accepted.

Ouachita deputy shot, in critical condition at St. Francis Medical Center posted Friday, March 5th, 2010 @ 9:06 am Read More…  Suspect was shot and killed by another deputy

Officials give V-Vehicle more time by Scott Rogers - posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:16 am Read More…  Local governing bodies will give V-Vehicle Co. at least through the end of March to secure a $320 million loan from the U.S. Department of Entergy to provide funding for the company to establish an automobile manufacturing presence in Ouachita Parish.

Caldwell, Moore clash over study by Scott Rogers - posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:14 am Read More…  The Ouachita Parish Police Jury didn't act on a proposed $50,000 study for a comprehensive plan for the police jury's two minority districts following some heated discussion that prompted one police juror to leave the meeting before it concluded.

Accent still working to avoid layoffs by Scott Rogers - posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:12 am Read More…  Accent Marketing continues to market its Monroe facility in hopes of landing a new customer to make up for the loss of its biggest client.

Police jury seeks more money for sewer work by Scott Rogers - posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:11 am Read More…  Lazenby & Associates will seek additional funding for a project that would connect West Ouachita Sewer District No. 16 to West Ouachita Sewer District No. 5.

City takes action against delinquent payers by Scott Rogers - posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:10 am Read More…  The Taxation and Revenue division for the city of Monroe has begun legal action against 12 local businesses presumed delinquent on approximately $1.2 million dollars in local sales tax.

CenturyLink reports lucrative fourth quarter posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:08 am Read More…  CenturyLink's board of directors voted last week to declare a quarterly cash dividend of 72.5 cents per share, representing a 3.6 percent increase over the previous 70 cent per share quarterly dividend.

First Louisiana Bank merges with Community Trust Bank posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:08 am Read More…  Community Trust Financial Corporation, parent company of Community Trust Bank and First Louisiana Bank, announced this week that First Louisiana Bank has merged into Community Trust Bank.

Attorney pleads guilty to felony theft posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:07 am Read More…  Bernard Grenrood Jr., a former Ouachita Parish attorney, pled guilty Monday to six counts of felony theft in excess of $500.

Alexander optimistic about V-Vehicle's loan by Scott Rogers - posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:04 am Read More…  U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander remains optimistic V-Vehicle Co. will secure a $320 million loan from the Department of Energy to largely finance its venture into the automobile manufacturing business.

911 launches awareness campaign by Scott Rogers - posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:03 am Read More…  Ouachita Parish 911 officials will begin an awareness campaign to inform citizens about misusing the emergency call service.

LEAP/GEE testing dates change posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:02 am Read More…  LEAP and GEE tests for 4th, 8th, 10th, and 11th grade students will be administered in two parts beginning in March. The first part of the test, Phase 1, will be given on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. The second part of the test, Phase 2, will be given the week of April 12 - 16, 2010.

Group looks to make promising future for families by Scott Rogers - posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:01 am Read More…  Sandra Jones knows what it's like to be homeless.

ULM debuts mobile health screening unit posted Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 10:00 am Read More…  A mobile health screening unit, operated by the University of Louisiana-Monroe's College of Health Sciences made its formal debut this month at the Ouachita Council on Aging. The mobile unit is made possible with the support of financial institutions including IberiaBank, BankcorpSouth and the Living Well Foundation.

V-Vehicle misses deadline posted Sunday, February 28th, 2010 @ 6:08 pm Read More…  V-Vehicle Co. won't have $350 million on hand Monday, March 1, which the company was required to have to access millions of dollars in incentives that state and local governments extended to V-Vehicle to aid its efforts to establish an automobile manufacturing operation in Ouachita Parish.

DOTD announced I-20 lane closures posted Friday, February 26th, 2010 @ 3:54 pm Read More…  Westbound, I-20 in West Monroe and Monroe from Stella/Mill to Texas Street will have an outside lane closure with periodic ramp closures on Saturday, Feb. 27 beginning at 7 a.m. and should be complete by 1 p.m. for interstate sign inspection. Eastbound, I-20 in West Monroe and Monroe from Stella/Mill to Texas Street will have an outside lane closure with periodic ramp closures on Sunday, Feb. 28 beginning at 7 a.m. and should be complete by 1 p.m. for interstate sign inspection.

Honeycutt chronicles EWE for Rotarians posted Thursday, February 25th, 2010 @ 11:23 am Read More…  Ouachita Citizen Online Exclusive

Deadline arrives for V-Vehicle by Scott Rogers - posted Thursday, February 25th, 2010 @ 10:01 am Read More…  The Ouachita Parish Police Jury unanimously approved a resolution Monday to issue $11.5 million in bonded indebtedness as part of local governments' financial obligation to V-Vehicle Co.