Bastrop Louisiana LA Warrant Search

Bastrop, Louisiana Bastrop is a city in and the parish seat of Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,988 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Bastrop, Louisiana Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Monroe-Bastrop, Louisiana Combined Statistical Area. History Bastrop was founded by the Baron de Bastrop (born Felipe Enrique Neri), a Dutch embezzler who falsely claimed to be a nobleman. He had fled to the then Spanish colony of Louisiana to escape prosecution, and became involved in various land deals. He received a large grant of land, provided that he could settle 450 families on it over the next several years. However, he was unable to do this, and so lost the grant. Afterwards, he moved to Texas, where he claimed to oppose the sale of Louisiana to the United States, and became a minor government official. He proved instrumental in Moses Austin's plan (and later, that of his son, Stephen F. Austin) to bring American colonists to what was then northern Mexico.Bastrop formally incorporated in 1857, and is the commercial and industrial center of Morehouse Parish. In the 19th century, it was notable as the western edge of the great north Louisiana swamp, but more favorable terrain resulted in the antebellum rail line connecting to Monroe, Louisiana, further to the south.Bastrop was a Confederate stronghold during the American Civil War until January 1865, when three thousand cavalrymen led by Colonel E.D. Osband of the Third U.S. Colored Cavalry, embarked from Memphis, Tennessee, for northeastern Louisiana. Landing first in southeastern Arkansas, Osband and his men began foraging for supplies into Louisiana and established headquarters at Bastrop. They brought in a large number of horses, mules, and Negroes, according to the historian John D. Winters in The Civil War in Louisiana. When Osband learned that Confederate Colonel A.J. McNeill was camped near Oak Ridge in Morehouse Parish with eight hundred men, he sent a brigade into the area. The Union troops found fewer than sixty Confederates, most of whom fled into the swamps, leaving behind horses and mules.*During the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, Bastrop was the site of a relief camp for refugees. During World War II, it was the site of German POW camp. Economics The area economy is largely based on forestry, cotton farming, and rice farming, but has suffered from a long-term decline caused by progressive failure of the paper industry. Hunting, camping and fishing are popular area pastimes in the many bayous and river, and there is a minor amount tourism based on these. The Snyder Museum keeps information relating to local history and displays furniture typical of fine homes from the Civil War and early 20th century periods.Attempts to diversify the economic base have met with very limited success; the area is becoming known as a center of retirement communities. Otherwise, In the last few years, the economy has all but collapsed due to loss of key industries. IPC mill closing On November 21, 2008, International Paper Company, the largest area employer, announced that it will cease operations of its Bastrop mill. The company said the closure is 'indefinite' and subsequently confirmed that the exodus is 'permanent'. At least 550 workers will lose their jobs. Another two thousand employees in auxiliary businesses, some 17 percent of the area workforce, could also face layoffs or downsizing. Clarence Hawkins, the Bastrop mayor of at the time, said that he expected the impact to be spread throughout northeastern Louisiana and southern Arkansas because employees and suppliers come from all over the region.Governor Bobby Jindal deployed a Louisiana Work Force Commission team to open an information center in Bastrop. Jindal requested that U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu and U.S. Representative Rodney Alexander work for the extension of unemployment compensation for the displaced workers. Jindal indicated that he will pursue an economic transition plan for Morehouse Parish. The governor explained that the closure resulted because is 'simply no market for [pulp] produced at this mill. I don't want to sugarcoat this. There would have to be a dramatic change in the world economy for it to reopen, and it would have to strengthen as quickly as it weakened.' Jindal said the state offered 'more direct assistance to International Paper than we have to any other company since I've been governor.' The company, however, explained that the issue was no longer one of inducements to stay but the vanished market. The largest customer of the Louisiana mill was China, where orders ceased with international economic downturns and the tightening of credit markets. Poultry plant shutdowns affect Bastrop Three months after the announcement of the International Paper mill closing, Pilgrim's Pride, a poultry company, confirmed the closure of operations in nearby Arcadia in Bienville Parish, Athens in Claiborne Parish, Choudrant in Lincoln Parish, and Farmerville in Union Parish. The closings will cost this section of mid-North Louisiana a combined 1,300 jobs.Robert C. Eisenstadt (born 1954), an economics professor at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, told the Shreveport Times that the closures, unlike previous exits of State Farm Insurance and International Paper, will have a disproportionate impact on lower-income workers: 'This is our largest employer of low- to medium-skilled workers. In our area, there aren't a lot of good alternative opportunities for them and they don't have as many resources to leave the area for opportunity as did the workers at those other companies.'The closures will also impact Morehouse Parish. Bastrop Mayor Hawkins estimated about five hundred, or nearly half of the Pilgrim's Pride processing plant workers in Farmerville commuted from Bastrop, many in vans running on a regular schedule.Meanwhile, Governor Jindal and the legislature, in a bid to save the jobs at stake, have moved to subsidize with $50 million from the state's megafund the incoming owner of the poultry plant, Foster Farms of California. Update: Foster Farms are the new occupants of the Pilgrim's Pride; as stated above . Foster Farms, with the help of the state of Louisiana, acquired the facility from the bankrupt Pilgrim’s Pride company, which announced in February it would idle the Farmerville and El Dorado, Ark. processing facilities May 9. Foster Farms has indicated that when the plant reaches full capacity, it will employ at least 1,100 plant employees with a corresponding payroll of over $24 million.Foster Farms has begun extending contracts to Louisiana growers in advance of the July 16 plant opening.At full capacity, the plant will process around 1.3 million chickens per week. Accounting for both direct and indirect economic effects, the Farmerville facility will lead to 3,970 total Louisiana jobs by 2011 and $379 million in annual economic output.http://www.wdsu.com/money/20025956/detail.html New Bastrop mayor Betty Alford-Olive upset incumbent Mayor Clarence Hawkins in the primary election held on April 4, 2009, for the top position in city government. Alford-Olive polled 58 percent of the ballots. Her fellow Democrat, Hawkins, received 29 percent, and a third candidate, Troy L. Downs, garnered the remaining 12 percent. Alford-Olive, who is completing two terms on the city council, called her victory a sign that people want change in municipal government. 'We hope to get small businesses to grow and involve the banking industry. We have to look at where the economy is emerging. We have to make sure we have a trained work force,' said Alford-Olive.Hawkins, meanwhile, has applied for a position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Geography Bastrop is located at 32°46′40″N 91°54′54″W / 32.77778°N 91.915°W / 32.77778; -91.915 (32.777855, -91.914944). It is situated at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 425 and U.S. Highway 165. La. Highway 2 also runs through the town.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (22 km2), all of it land. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 12,988 people, 4,723 households, and 3,301 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,543.9 people per square mile (596.3/km²). There were 5,292 housing units at an average density of 629.1/sq mi (243.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 34.67% White, 64.50% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.There were 4,723 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were married couples living together, 28.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.25.In the city the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 82.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.3 males.The median income for a household in the city was $20,418, and the median income for a family was $26,250. Males had a median income of $30,477 versus $15,813 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,769. About 29.6% of families and 35.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.2% of those under age 18 and 30.5% of those age 65 or over. Government Bastrop is governed by a mayor and board of alderman. Outgoing Mayor Clarence Hawkins is the first African-American to serve in the top municipal position in Bastrop history. He will be replaced on July 1, 2009, by city council member Betty Alford-Olive, who handily defeated him in the April 4 primary election. J.D. DeBlieux, who spent his later years in the Bastrop area, was perhaps the first white politician in Louisiana to support the civil rights agenda.The Bastrop City Hall and Police Station were designed by native son Hugh G. Parker (1934-2007), who overcame childhood polio to become a significant architect in Louisiana.Bastrop and Morehouse Parish are represented in the Louisiana House of Representatives by a Republican, the retired farmer Sam Little, who won his seat in the November 17, 2007, general election by a margin of only nine votes over the Bastrop dentist, Buddy M. Quinn. Education There are two branches of the Morehouse Parish Public Library System in Bastrop, the main branch of the Parish Library System and the Dunbar branch. There are two high schools; Bastrop High, which is a part of the Morehouse Parish School system, and Prairie View Academy, which is a private school serving grades 1-12. In addition, there is one postsecondary technical college; Louisiana Technical College-Bastrop Campus--this campus also has a second location near the Bastrop airport. http://www.region8.ltc.edu/index.cfm?md=pagebuilder&tmp=home&pid=86Nearby colleges and universities within 25 miles radius: The Northeast region is home to University of Louisiana at Monroe and the Louisiana Delta College. http://www.morehouseedc.org/quality_of_life.html Notable people Ronnie Coleman, professional bodybuilder. Matt DeVille,Tiger Rag Magazineeditor from 2002-present. LSU sports writer, radio and television personality. Bill Dickey,Major League Baseballplayer. Luther E. Hall, Governor of Louisiana Sam Hanna, Sr.,newspaper publisherbegan his journalism career at theBastrop Daily Enterprise. William Kennon Henderson, Jr., founder ofradiostationKWKHinShreveport,Louisiana, was born in Bastrop in 1880. Mable John,Motown Recordssinger, was born in Bastrop. Sam Little, member ofLouisiana House of Representatives Bob Love,NBABasketball Player Shane Reynolds,Major League Baseballplayer. Talance Sawyer, was also born in Bastrop and later played for the Minnesota Vikings. John Wesley Ryles, Country singer was born in Bastrop in 1950. Twelve Gauge Valentine, a band, is from Bastrop. Stump Edington(1969),Major League Baseballplayer that died in Bastrop. Ed Head(1980),Major League Baseballplayer who died in Bastrop. Calvin Natt,National Basketball Associationplayer who was born in Monroe, but attended Bastrop High School, later NLU and was an NBA All-Star with the Denver Nuggets.