Crime was the hot topic at Tuesday’s two-hour long city council meeting. Not only was the subject of crime the main discussion among the council, concerned citizens voiced their opinions as well.
Cody Vidrine, owner of Vidrine’s Ace Hardware, gave an impassioned plea to stop the crime waves that have plagued the city. He said they had three incidents in the last two weeks at his store. According to him, a teenager stole some knives from the store. Later, he saw the individual, who upon making eye contact, ran away from Vidrine. Vidrine got into a customer’s vehicle and chased the teen. He found him and called the police department and asked for a police unit. The dispatcher told him they could not send anyone because the only officer on duty was on another call.
Vidrine said a few days later a ten-year-old child threw a brick through an employee’s glass window. He called the police, and again the only officer on duty was on another call. The following week, there was another incident where he locked a suspect in his store and called the police. The officer who responded said he had to leave a traffic accident to see about Vidrine’s call.
“I really feel terrible for those young men and our police department,” said Vidrine. “I cannot believe what I heard earlier about the pay for these officers. I am concerned about getting some police officers on the street. I love Ville Platte, and I’m tired of hearing negative things about us.” He added, “Either myself or another individual that’s a hardworking person in this community is going to get killed or they’re going to do something to someone else if something doesn’t change.” He also said he is not the only store owner it has happened to in the last few weeks.
Mayor Vidrine said incidents have also happened to Paul’s Meat Market, the three dental offices, and Ville Platte Clinic Pharmacy. She asked the chief how they can make parents responsible for their children. Lartigue said they write the parents a ticket which runs $300-$400 once convicted in court. Under the age of 10, the children are not responsible for their actions, according to state law.
Riggs brought back the issue of finding money for the police, saying state troopers come to Ville Platte and some times write eight tickets in four hours for major violations. He said the town is losing money on those tickets. “I’m going to be honest with y’all, this is going to be the future of Ville Platte: for us to keep surviving, we’re going to get smaller and smaller, we’re going to be a village like Pine Prairie or Turkey Creek, or we’re going to maintain what we’ve got. We’re going to have to pay for what we want to keep this town viable. We have to put the money where it’s supposed to go and use it right.” He said they will get the money for the police.
Perron said when he was growing up there were 12,000-14,000 residents in Ville Platte, and now the city is down to about 7,000. He said the city is suffering from lack of money coming in. “It’s not that we’re not trying, it just takes money.”
Angie Schexnayder, who was present at the meeting, said she calls dispatch to send an officer at her pharmacy, but she is getting told the officer is busy on another call. She said her adult children do not want to move back to Ville Platte because the crime is so bad. She said the drugs on the street is a huge problem as well. “These people with the drugs on the street really don’t care.” According to Schexnayder, her pharmacy has been broken into about 20 times since she has been in business.
Lemoine said the crime waves have not just hit businesses, but residential neighborhoods, too. “I live in a subdivision. We’ve had a truck stolen, they go through our cars left and right. We’re like sitting ducks,” she said.
Mayor Vidrine said someone knows where the drugs and guns are coming from, and she reminded the public if they see something, say something. She said Tip Ville Platte, the new phone app for the city, will launch soon. It is a way for citizens to report illegal activity anonymously. She also reminded the public that, starting today, 911 will be handling police dispatch. Residents can still call the police number, but the call will be transferred to 911.
Look for more coverage of Tuesday’s meeting in the Sunday edition of the Ville Platte Gazette.
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Nancy Duplechain
Associate Editor