Wednesday, March 3, 2021
A Zwolle woman is accused of fraudulently claiming thousands of hours of vacation time for her husband, an hourly worker at Weyerhaeuser mill in Zwolle, where she was also employed. The total comes to $145,000.
A federal grand jury in Shreveport Monday indicted Melissa H. Sepulvado, 58, on 25 counts of wire fraud, acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hooke’s office announced.
Ms. Sepulvado was employed as a Senior Support Specialist and her husband was an hourly worker. Her primary duties were to review and approve payroll entries for the hourly workers through the mill’s internet based electronic payroll system. It is alleged in the indictment that from November 2014 through April 2017, the woman devised a scheme to defraud and obtain money from Weyerhaeuser using interstate wire communications, including the transmission of electronic payroll information.
It is alleged she regularly entered fraudulent vacation hours on her husband’s time sheet and submitted electric pay requests for those hours by means of an interstate wire communication in interstate commerce. Although her husband was eligible to receive 200 hours of paid vacation time each calendar year, she entered and approved over 4,000 hours of paid vacation time for the year 2016 alone. She took steps to conceal the fraudulent pay requests by backdating the paid vacation hours to completed pay periods.
The indictment alleges she caused the company to pay over $145,000 in unearned wages to her husband, which were taken and controlled by her. The FBI is conducting the investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cadesby B. Cooper is prosecuting the case.
SAY IT AIN’T SO, JOE!
Since Joe Biden took over as President on Jan. 20, oil prices have gone up by 69 per cent. The price of gasoline has gone up by more than 30¢ per gallon. In addition, inflation has started. Your electric bill is going to go up because of the fuel costs. Have you noticed you are paying more for groceries? Have you noticed the Federal Government has accumulated too much debt and has gone into too much spending? And to top it all off, some of our “leaders,” (and we use that term loosely), want to impose a 40¢ per gallon gas tax. And it’s all just beginning. Say it ain’t so, Joe!
Tedd Dumas has announced that Baldridge-Dumas Communications will sponsor a forum for the candidates for Many Mayor on Tuesday, March 16, from 7-8 p.m. Three candidates have accepted an invitation to participate. They are Robert Hable, Mike Tarver and Ernest “Tea” Williams. The forum will be broadcast on KWLV and KTEZ.
The candidates will each be allowed an opening and closing statement. Dumas will moderate the forum and ask questions. Each candidate will be allowed to answer the question uninterrupted. The candidates will be given a set time to complete their responses, and there will be no communications between the candidates.
Be sure to put the date on your calendar and listen. It’s sure to be a great event! When the public is informed, they can make better decisions as they cast their vote.
The fourth candidate for Mayor, James “Pie Lemon” Kennedy declined to accept the invitation to participate in the BDC Mayor’s Race Political Forum. When asked why, he said the other candidates would take the opportunity to “pick his brain.”
It was explained to him there would be no discussion between candidates, but he still refused. He then responded, “They don’t know what is going on.”
“Is there any way you would change your mind and participate so the voters will know what you stand for?” Kennedy was asked, and he again declined.
A blistering, profanity-laced rant by Sara Jo Ezernack concerning her not being able to take a bath because the Zwolle water system was not in operation was posted on The Cenla Report Sunday afternoon. Her remarks are a stem-winder.
Ezernack said she is not a native of Zwolle, but judging from her remarks, she has a lot of information about the water system. As Observations was posted today, her remarks remained posted on The Cenla Report Facebook page. You’ll have to hear it to believe it.
BENEFIT FISH FRY
The Knights of Columbus Council No. 4818 of Zwolle is hosting a benefit fish fry for Cyndle Rowe on Friday. Ms. Rowe, a former Negreet High student and now at teacher at Zwolle High, has been battling a lengthy illness. All proceeds will be used for her medical expenses. The plates will be $10 each and consists of fish, fries and hushpuppies.
Anyone wanting to purchase a plate or make a donation can contact the Zwolle High Office at (318) 645-6104 or Josh Crow Physical Therapy at (318) 590-9140.
Don’t get DeeDee Palmer mad. She is running for Many Alderman from District C, and someone came into her yard and took her campaign signs.
Saturday morning she posted on Facebook: “Excuse my French, but when I find out who came in my d*** yard and took my campaign signs just know I have bail money!! B****!! My property. You had no business in my yard.”
On Monday, she posted, “To the Town of Many!! Lol, Y’all can’t remove me from the ballot! [two laughing emojis] Keep picking up every sign I put out but while y’all out there how about cleaning up the mess on the east side of town. I’m OVER IT!!
“And yes they have picked up other signs as well. So pointless when so much work is needed to be done.”
Chris Ebel of Many, left, caught this 12.38 lb. fish on Feb. 26. He weighed it in at Toledo Town and Tackle. The fish is number 008 for the May 2020 to May 2021 event. Jason Courville of Hemphill, right, weighed in this 11.51 lb. fish on Feb. 28 at Fin and Feather Resort. It is number 9.
Sabine Parish Sheriff Aaron Mitchell and his Chief Deputy Brad Walker announced they are hosting their first ever FBI-LEEDA training course on March 8-12 at Cypress Bend. Sheriff Mitchell and several of his top supervisors plan to attend the Supervisor Leadership Institute course, along with other law enforcement supervisors from across the area.
It is the first class in a series of three that will be held. When participants complete all three courses, they will be awarded a certificate and receive recognition from the FBI.
The course is a cutting-edge program built especially for first-line supervisors and middle managers with the goal of enhancing their leadership competencies. The faculty members are senior law enforcement leaders who are committed to passing on their lessons learned. Attendees will be engaged in personality diagnostics, leadership case studies, mentoring, developing their people, performance management, risk management and credibility. This institute is student centered and rich in facilitated dialogue and group work.
In other training sessions, District Attorney Don Burkett will lead a class for investigators this Thursday and Friday.
Sheriff Mitchell and Chief Walker have placed great emphasis on having a well-trained staff. They will continue to see that officers are highly trained now and in the future. We tip our hat to them for their care and concern.
Election Day nears – Saturday, March 20. On the ballot will be Many Mayor and Board of Aldermen and Police Juror from District 3. Early voting starts Saturday, March 6, and will continue until Saturday, March 13. Early voting takes place at Registrar of Voters Zack Faircloth’s office in the Courthouse. The hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, excluding Sunday March, 7.
On Election Day, polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m.
It’s your duty as a good citizen. Be sure to vote Saturday, March 20.
Cecil Mitchell is very upset and disappointed that he has been fired by the Sabine Parish Police Jury after 10 years of employment. He was relieved of his duty for insubordination, he reports. He worked at the Carhee Dump site on Hwy. 120 out from Belmont for seven years and at the Sweet Town Dump station for three years.
“I complained because my co-worker was going through the garbage brought to the site and keeping out the items he wanted,” Mitchell explained. “With the guy digging in the garbage and then touching the facilities here, I was afraid I might get COVID. I complained about it to Road Superintendent Bobby Hughes several times, but he did nothing about it.” Mitchell said he issued complaints about the matter for three to four months.
Then it happened. One day Hughes and Barry Goss, who Mitchell said is in charge of the garbage dumps, came by and fired him.
Mitchell brought a sheet to Observations titled, “Responsibilities and Compactor Site Information.” The rules are confusing.
Rule No. 4 states, “If you collect cans or other items, they must be removed at the end of your shift. Larger items such as washer, dryer, etc. must be picked up by the end of the week.”
But Rule No. 9 states: “Do not pilfer in garbage.”
When contacted by Observations about the firing, Hughes responded, “I do not care to comment on personnel issues.”
He did respond, however, to some of the issues raised:
“During the pandemic, gloves, masks and alcohol were available to all the employees,” Hughes said.
“Recyclables such as cans, washers, dryers, and hot water heaters are set aside at all dump sites to reduce the amount of waste hauled to the landfill and to save taxpayer funds. Those items are removed and recycled at no expense to the parish,” he noted.
“Rule No. 9 exists to protect our citizens. Trash, although intended for disposal, at times contains private information such as mail, pill bottles, credit card statements, etc. For this reason we do not allow any access to disposed garbage,” Hughes explained.
Stephen Steinke, at left, a candidate for District 3 Police Juror, and Mike Tarver, a candidate for Many Mayor, were guest speakers at the Tuesday meeting of the Vultures Club in Many. The election will be held Saturday, March 20, and early voting will be held in the Sabine Registrar of Voters office March 6-13.
That’s a wrap for now. Thank you for faithfully reading. We appreciate it. See you soon!
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