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A Bossier Parish jury found Jonathan Daniel Wager (45) of Plain Dealing guilty of Sexual Battery of a Child Under Fifteen. The victim disclosed the sexual battery after she and her siblings were removed from the defendant’s custody by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services. Once the disclosure was made, the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation and arranged for the child to be questioned by a Forensic Interviewer at the Gingerbread House Children’s Advocacy Center.

“Allie did an excellent job of presenting this case to the jury.” said Bossier/Webster District Attorney Schuyler Marvin. “Protecting our children from predators is an effort that I will not waver on,” noted Marvin. “Our office is committed to aggressively prosecuting individuals that exploit children and will work tirelessly with our partners in law enforcement to protect children from these vile predators” Marvin commented.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Allie Aiello Stahl. Wagar will be sentenced following a pre-sentence investigation. Sentencing by Judge Michael Craig has been set for March 3, 2022. Wagar faces no less than twenty-five years and up to ninety-nine years without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.

BATON ROUGE — Gov. John Bel Edwards is announcing the launch of the Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Fund, a federally funded relief program for homeowners financially impacted by COVID-19 who are behind on their mortgages and at risk of foreclosure. The program is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, which provides $10 billion in federal relief for vulnerable homeowners. Louisiana is set to receive $146.7 million in funding to provide up to $25,000 per eligible homeowner.

The program is available statewide to homeowners experiencing financial hardship after Jan. 21, 2020, and earning less than 150 percent of the area median income or 100 percent of the national median income, whichever is greater, based on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development income data. The Louisiana Office of Community Development is administering the program.

“We know that many Louisiana homeowners are struggling financially from the pandemic and, in many cases, have fallen behind on their mortgages and are facing foreclosure,” Gov. Edwards said. “This program provides an avenue for resources and assistance that has not been available before, and this is an important step to help ensure that low- and moderate-income homeowners and their families are able to stay in their homes. I encourage everyone who may be eligible to apply.”

Eligible homeowners include those who meet the following criteria:

– Own and occupy a home in Louisiana as their primary residence

– Meet income qualifications

– Experienced a financial hardship associated with the COVID-19 pandemic

The state will work closely with lenders and mortgage providers to ensure the availability of funds is communicated to homeowners who would benefit from the program.

To learn more about the program or to apply, visit haf.lacovidhousing.com or call 833-88-LAHAF.

Stacey Tinsley, Bossier Press-Tribune

Teal Jones Group, a privately held Canadian forestry products company, broke ground on a 235-acre sawmill facility near Plain Dealing in Bossier Parish in July of 2022. The project is to be completed one-year from now and is estimated to generate 500 new jobs for our area.The $125M project is hailed as a community investment.

Rich Lamb, a local attorney who specializes in tax law and business transactions, was crucial in landing the private investment portion of the project. The private investment in this project helped to secure one of the biggest economic wins of 2022 for our area. This project is also a major and much needed economic win for the Plain Dealing area.“Many people assume that if you have enough land then you can build anything. That is not necessarily true.”

Rich Lamb, in explaining the amount of effort it takes to land a major economic project says,““Many people assume that if you have enough land then you can build anything. That is not necessarily true. Any large-scale manufacturer (requires) a lot of infrastructure such as plentiful water, gas, power and transportation infrastructure. The site near Plain Dealing had all of these things.”

“A lot of families from our region, including my own, invested a lot of capital into this project. Over $68M of equity has been raised, with nearly half coming from investors in the Shreveport-Bossier community and the other half coming from partners outside of the area,” Lamb said.

However, Lamb didn’t work in a vacuum. His knowledge of mergers and acquisitions, real estate, securities and entity formation, combined with the initiative of Rocky Rockett, executive director and president of the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation (GBEDF), helped to secure the spot in Bossier Parish. “Having these critical strategic incentives and the active participation of both our local and state partners enabled GBEDF to help get the project approved and funded expeditiously for the Teal Jones Group,” said Rockett. “It’s exciting to see our collaborative process working for the good of the region and bringing new economic prosperity to this community.”

The Port of Caddo-Bossier worked to utilize the Port’s conduit financing mechanism, which allowed bonds to be issued to lenders and eased placing the debt. Further, a number of banks inside and outside of Louisiana stepped up to make the loan happen.

“My good friend Art Carmody, market president of B1Bank in Shreveport, led the charge to get this done. Without Art and Chad Carter, this project never would have happened. So Art, Chad, and the folks at B1Bank are in many ways the ‘founders of the feast’ with respect to positives coming from this project,” Lamb said.

Lamb says he is not an investment banker or your typical “promoter.” So, working this aspect of a deal was a new experience.

“Like so many people in our region, my family has owned timberlands in this area for many generations and I knew we needed a sawmill in this area. So, I began pursuing it and doors kept opening to keep it alive,” said Lamb. “I found the Teal Jones Group and was immediately convinced that this family-owned business was the ideal partner. We want this to be a long-term business, not a quick build and flip, and that is how Teal Jones Group thinks and operates.Lamb raised equity capital, secured loans, and helped to select the site.

“It was a rollercoaster, but with the help of a lot of people in Shreveport, Bossier, and Plain Dealing, we were able to get it done. This is an excellent example of what can happen when both sides of the Red River work together,” he added. Additionally, Lamb says the area will benefit by being involved in a “tremendous industry” at the right time.

By harvesting the area’s timberlands, more severance tax revenue will be collected by local governments and the public will see benefits as well. “The possibilities emanating from the project seem endless as we learn more about the use of wood products in the future. Furthermore, it will utilize timberlands in our region which will benefit a lot more people than just the equity investors and the lenders,” Lamb said.

This project is just the start as the group is working with other partners to bring similar job opportunities to the site.

“Our site is 241 acres and will have rail access. So, it is an attractive location for similarly situated businesses that need the infrastructure we are building right now near Plain Dealing,” Lamb concluded.

On a slightly overcast summer day Plain Dealing was bustling with people to celebrate the groundbreaking of a $110.5 million sawmill facility.

"This is a fabulous announcement," said Don Pearson, Secretary for Louisiana Economic Development.

The Teal-Jones Group broke ground with Gov. John Bel Edwards, Pearson, Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation and a host of regional and local collaborators on July 11.

"We are excited to invest in this project, one that will bring long-term prosperity, jobs and other development opportunities in rail and infrastructure to Plain Dealing," said Tom Jones, CEO of the Teal-Jones Group.

Teal-Jones is the largest privately owned timber harvesting and primary lumber product manufacturing company in British Columbia. The company began in 1946 in New Westminster, B.C., Canada.

Over 70 years Teal-Jones has expanded into the United States acquiring Southern Yellow Pine sawmills in Oklahoma, Virginia, Mississippi and now Plain Dealing, Louisiana.

"The Plain Dealing mill is an exciting and important step in our continued expansion," said Jones.

The Teal-Johns Group initially proposed Plain Dealing as the site due to its easy access to railway infrastructure. The 235-acre sawmill facility is underway and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2023.

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Edwards said, "this is a big deal, not just for Plain Dealing, not just for Bossier Parish, not just for Northwest Louisiana, but for the state of Louisiana."

The sawmill will produce a wide range of dimensional and specialty lumber products and is expected to bring in nearly 500 new jobs.

"We are gonna have about 125 new direct jobs averaging about $50,000 a year," said Edwards.

A competitive incentive package was offered by Louisiana to secure the project. The LED FastStart workforce development service will support this project by recruiting and training. Bossier Parish will offer a PILOT agreement which allows Teal-Johns Group to make property tax payments on an agreed schedule instead of paying the standard tax amount.

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Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at [email protected].

The dogwood tree blossoms are a symbol of spring in the South, and the tiny town of Plain Dealing played host to an annual celebration that marked their arrival for over fifty years. Do you know the history of the Dogwood Festival in Plain Dealing?

In the 1500s, Spanish explorers including De Soto’s chronicler recorded the natural beauty of what seem to be describing the areas of North Bossier and Plain Dealing. For hundreds of years, however, this beautiful hilly terrain proved difficult to travel, so the masses did not get to enjoy all of the splendor.

By the 1950s, there was enough desire to enjoy the blooming dogwoods that organizations like the Lions Club, the American Legion and several others joined the town officials of Plain Dealing to create a drive that would allow regular access through some of the landscape. The drive provided some areas that could be accessed with a vehicle and others that would suit equestrians, cyclists and pedestrians.

The first festival

In 1951, the first Plain Dealing Dogwood Festival was held in the springtime and it ran every subsequent year until 2003. The festival brought in thousands of visitors from all throughout the Ark-La-Tex and provided a range of fun activities which were really carried out over the course of a whole week, rather than just a day or weekend.

People attending the festival were in for a treat! The kids could participate in fishing tournaments and Easter Egg hunts. Artists were able to submit works for competition, display or sale. There was a mystery treasure hunt with a cash prize that could happen to go unsolved from one year to the next. Live music, square dances, equestrian and Harley rides, and fun-runs were also favored activities. Perhaps one of the most esteemed attractions was the parade which was filled with marching bands, floats, dancers and various groups. Of course, what big festival and parade would be complete without the coronation of its very own beauty queen?

Dogwood royalty

The Dogwood Queen, as she was titled, was first crowned in 1952 and then every year following. The pageants mostly included evening-wear and swimsuit categories, and the contestants were asked to answer questions for a panel of several professional judges.

The Dogwood Queen of 1969, Charlotte Hamiter (formerly Charlotte Giles), still lives in Plain Dealing today, where she owns and operates Giles Snack Shop on Palmetto Avenue.

“It was a whole week of festivities that everyone in the town joined into,” said Hamiter, who had attended the parade every year throughout her childhood.

“Everybody enjoyed it, they participated in it…it used to be a family deal. You couldn’t get down the streets on the day of the parade because of all the people.”

As the Dogwood Queen, Hamiter competed in the Bossier Parish pageant where she placed third and was then asked to be Miss Army Recruiter for North Louisiana.

“I went to a different pageant, a different parade, every weekend for a year and a half! I was a senior in high school and I was representing Plain Dealing.”

More festivals in the future?

The dogwoods on the drive have decreased greatly in their numbers, and thus decreased in some of their splendor, over the years but are still lovely to see. During the final few years of the festival, Hamiter said the activities had dwindled a bit and it had become more centered around arts and crafts.

Because of issues the town was having with policing the crowds and being able to handle the clean-up after the festival closed, Plain Dealing decided not to continue the annual celebration from 2004 on. There are whisperings though, among the town folks, that with a new Town Council and a new Mayor, there might just be a chance the festival will be brought back for future generations to enjoy.

Featured image courtesy of Richard A. Seaton and the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center

PLAIN DEALING, La. — From Louisiana Economic Development:

Teal Jones Group owners Tom and Dick Jones announced that the company is evaluating Bossier Parish for a planned $110.5 million southern yellow pine lumber plant. The new sawmill would support 125 new direct jobs, with average annual salaries of $47,000, plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project would also support at least 369 indirect jobs, for a total of 494 prospective new jobs in Louisiana’s Northwest region. The production facility would generate up to 120 construction jobs at peak construction.

The planned production facility would produce a wide range of dimensional and specialty lumber products. Teal Jones has secured through its partners major sawmill, planer, kiln drying and ancillary equipment required for the project, ensuring that the mill in Bossier Parish can be built on time and within the specified budget.

“Louisiana’s wealth of timber resources has made it a prime destination for lumber and sawmill investment over the past several years,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “The proposed plans by Teal Jones and partner investors would bring tremendous economic activity and good jobs to Louisiana’s Northwest region. On behalf of the State of Louisiana, I welcome this proposed new project and all of the economic benefits that would follow.”

The company plans to locate the greenfield facility on 235 acres in Plain Dealing in Bossier Parish, which features easy access to rail. The facility will be ideally located in close proximity to transportation and railway infrastructure, as well as to timberlands.

Teal Jones expects to source southern yellow pine timber from their landowner partners in this project, as well as other regional suppliers. In addition to lumber, the company plans to sell residual fiber products, including chips and sawdust, to local pulp and pellet plants.

“The level of support and engagement we’ve received from the folks at the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation, North Louisiana Economic Partnership, the local community and officials, and the state has been incredible,” said Tom Jones, CEO of Teal Jones. “At full capacity, this mill will have a production capacity of 300 million board feet, with world-class productivity and lumber recovery, and a competitive product mix. This will give Teal Jones and its partners a competitive advantage in the region for years to come.”

Teal Jones is a 70-year-old, family-owned company based in British Columbia, Canada. The company is the largest privately held forest products company operating on the western coast of Canada. Along with its B.C. operations, Teal Jones operates southern yellow pine mills in Antlers, Okla.; Martinsville and Kinsale, Va.; and Liberty, Miss. The Plain Dealing project would represent the company’s first investment in Louisiana.

“We are so excited for the town of Plain Dealing and the surrounding areas,” Plain Dealing Mayor Shavonda Stumon said. “The number of jobs and economic opportunity will be a great benefit to Plain Dealing. As mayor, I look forward to working with Teal Jones and its partners.”

To secure the project in Bossier Parish, the State of Louisiana offered the company a competitive incentive package that includes the services of LED FastStart – the No. 1 ranked workforce development program in the nation for the past 12 years. Additionally, the company is expected to utilize the state’s Quality Jobs program. The company is also pursuing a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreement with local taxing entities.

“The Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation (GBEDF) has been working with so many of our local and state partners, from LED to the Town of Plain Dealing and the Parish of Bossier, to welcome Teal Jones and their partner group to Bossier,” said Lance Mosley, Board Chairman of the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation. “We are delighted to have them as part of our community and welcome them knowing they will enjoy many years of success and prosperity in Bossier and Northwest Louisiana.”