At its meeting Thursday evening, the Pine Prairie Village Council learned from Village Engineer Ronnie Landreneau the village was awarded $35,284.37 in funding from the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act.
Landreneau told the council the village “took the high road” and applied for just over $57,000.00.
The approved funding was part of Round 1, and Landreneau said his office is working on applying for additional funding during Round 2.
“We will be applying for as much as before,” Landreneau said.
He added he hopes the additional funding would at least cover what was not included in Round 1.
Landreneau said, “We’re going to ask for it again because the window didn’t go away.”
He went on to say he does not believe it is mandated how the village spends the money even though “the bulk of it was a result of first responders and law enforcement.”
Mayor Quint West stated, “That really helps us out.”
Later in the meeting, sparks flew as Josh Estes announced he is running for chief of police in November.
“This past Tuesday,” Estes said during his announcement, “Chief Deshotel came to my home and asked my wife to have me come to his residence. When I arrived, Chief Deshotel advised me he intended on running a dirty campaign and told me he would give me until the following Tuesday to drop out of the running for the race or face consequences. Despite this threat, I am choosing to move forward with the decision to run for chief.”
Chief Deshotel responded, “I didn’t tell you we were going to run a dirty campaign.”
The two went on to exchange words until Mayor West swiftly moved into new business.
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Tony Marks
Editor