‘Go back to selling bottle rockets’ – Calcasieu Parish Police Juror Responds To Flooding Concerns
In a public Facebook post dated August 1, 2017, Dan Rhodes says he sent an email to the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury (CPPJ) regarding flooding issues, and received a one-sentence reply from District 12 Police Juror, Judd Bares.
In his Facebook post, Mr. Rhodes says he emailed 19 photos to the CPPJ on July 22, 2017, showing area flooding from August 12th and 13th of the previous year. The areas included Pentangeli Square subdivision, North Perkins Ferry Road, and Sanctuary Church property. According to Mr. Rhodes, the photos showed "muddy water draining from the storm water holding ponds located in the Orleans Square subdivision", which he claims added to the flooding problem.
He says he received the following reply from juror Judd Barnes two hours later:
"Mr. Rhodes,
Go back to selling bottle rockets."
Mr. Rhodes took a photo of the email and posted it to social media, where it has generated more than 50 comments and over 100 shares. The post has also spread to multiple local community groups, sparking spirited commentary and discussion.
Mr. Barnes responded to this story with the following statement:
"Over the last several years, there has been much correspondence between myself, the other jurors, and Mr. Rhodes. This specific communication involved a discussion on drainage and his thoughts on what he feels is needed to fix our issues. I can say without a doubt that drainage is the number one priority of the Police Jury and we continue to seek input regarding the proper path forward to remedy the situation."
We've also reached out to Mr. Rhodes for comment, but have not yet received a response.