CenLamar | Est. 2006

  • CenLamar Responds: NYT Publishes Reed Walters’s “Justice in Jena” Opinion Letter

    LASALLE PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY REED WALTERS made his literary debut in yesterday’s New York Times. Walters begins his letter: The case of the so-called Jena Six has fired the imaginations of thousands, notably young African-Americans who, according to many of their comments, believe they will be in the vanguard of a new civil rights movement. Whether America needs a new civil rights movement I leave to social activists, politicians and the people who must give life to such a cause. I am a small-town lawyer and prosecutor. For 16 years, it has been my job as the district attorney to…

  • What Do Tilly Snyder and Lee Horne Have in Common?

    SOMETIMES, IT HELPS to belong to a family of “pack rats.” A few months ago, we uncovered a long-forgotten and “valuable artifact” of Central Louisiana campaign history (Anyone want to bid on it?): the “Collector’s Edition” Jay and Shelley record Jay and Shelley Sing John’s Song B/W Ballad of Earl K. Long. I suppose the record is considered to be a collector’s item because on the back of the casing, there’s a campaign advertisement for John “Tilly” Snyder, former Mayor of Alexandria and perennial candidate for other seats. In 1983, one year after being brought back into the Mayor’s Office…

  • Three of Louisiana’s Top Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties Located in Alexandria

    Each year, the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation recognizes the state’s ten most endangered historic properties in order to draw attention to the importance of historical preservation for our rich and varied history. The vanishing Louisiana coastline is perenially named in addition to the ten properties, given its critical importance to both our history and future. Last Sunday, the Louisiana Trust honored the City of Alexandria by identifying three local properties as being among the state’s most endangered this year. The three local properties are the old Cotton Brothers Bakery Building, Mount Shiloh Baptist Church, and the Thompson-Hargis Mansion. The…