Police Jury Trent Clark, skilled in operating a trackhoe, decided to install a culvert on a parish road after the equipment sat at the site for about three weeks. “One morning, I had had enough,” Clark said. Clark was chastised for taking matters into his own hands and apologized, saying he has "read the law since then and I know I was wrong." {Photo by Raymond L. Daye}
Avoyelles Police Juror Clark scolded for installing culvert on parish road
Thu, 07/14/2016 - 05:00
Raymond Daye
"One morning, I had had enough"
Raymond L. Daye
“Patience is a virtue,” but sometimes an elected official may feel compelled to take matters into his own hand.
Avoyelles Police Juror Trent Clark was mildly scolded for taking matters -- and a parish trackhoe -- into his own hands to install a culvert on a parish road.
“The use of parish equipment by a private citizen to do work on a parish road is a ‘no-no,’” Assistant District Attorney Norris Greenhouse Sr. told the Police Jury at its committee meetings on July 7.
Clark quickly confessed that the question to the district attorney’s office was prompted by his actions.
“I used a parish trackhoe to put in a culvert on Lemoine Lane to aid with drainage in that area,” Clark said. “I have read the law since then and I know I was wrong. I tend to be proactive and that’s what I did in this case.”
Juror Henry Moreau said Clark “should be commended” and not criticized for his action.
Moreau said the trackhoe was sitting at the site for about three weeks before Clark decided to do the job if the Parish Barn was unable to.
Parish Superintendent Keith Greenhouse said the site was too wet when the equipment was first brought there, then there was some manpower issues that caused a delay.
Clark said he acquired a key for the trackhoe and enlisted two friends to help put the culvert together. He then operated the trackhoe to dig out the site and install the culvert.
Clark said he had received numerous calls over the three-week period from residents of that area asking when the culvert would be installed so they could get some drainage relief.
“One morning, I had had enough,” he added.
Police Jury President Charles Jones said he understands why Clark did what he did, but he also realizes what kind of liability nightmare could have ensued had one of Clark’s volunteer helpers been injured during the six-hour project.
“I know people want to help and they think they are doing the parish a favor by volunteering to fix a problem for the parish,” Jones said, adding that such “Good Samaritan” efforts are against the law.
“The most important thing to take from this is that we understand the risks in this kind of action and we move on,” Jones said.