Pine Prairie council talks raises and adding a police officer

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The approval of pay raises for police officers and the hiring of an additional officer were tabled at the monthly meeting of the Pine Prairie Village Council last Thursday night.
Chief of Police LC Deshotel said that he believed “the police department needs a raise and that we should hire Richard McMurray as a full time officer.” The chief went onto say McMurray “resigned from Turkey Creek, and now he is working for the sheriff’s department.”
Mayor Quint West suggested the idea of tabling the issue until it can be further discussed by the council. He said, “I don’t know if we will be able to do both at the same time. That raise might have to wait so we can see what the budget looks like.”
The mayor also reported that he received an email from someone in Jennings about getting a police unit for the village. He said, “They are paying 35% of the police unit.”
Councilwoman Tammy Hammond further reported that “GEO prison wants to give $1 thousand to the softball girls and Dixie Youth boys. The ball field needs more lighting in certain areas, and, on the ball field on the boys’ side, a canopy needs to be fixed.”