THE DAILY NEWS

FRANKLINTON — Parish officials took the first step toward bringing a reservoir to Washington Parish last night.

Eleven local individuals were officially sworn in to serve on the Washington Parish Reservoir Commission, which will study the feasibility of creating a 500-600 acre lake in the parish within the next decade.

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Civic statesman Huey Pierce, who recently headed up the parish's Road Funding Task Force, was selected chairman of the commission. Charles Mizell, who worked with Pierce n the Road Funding Task Force, was elected as vice-chairman, Lou Major Jr. will be secretary and Mike Burris will be the treasurer - although the commission currently has no funding.

In addition to Pierce, Mizell and Major, Marshall Jenkins is the other member of the commission from the Bogalusa area.

In addition to Burris, Franklinton-area members are Mike Creel, Bob Bateman and Henry Harrison.

Other members of the commission are Ralph Pierce from Angie, who served on the Road Funding Task Force, William A. Jenkins from the Pine-Sheridan area and Beryl Schilling from the Mt. Hermon.

The ultimate goal of the group is to figure out a way to develop a reservoir, or two, in the parish that will also help promote tourism and recreation. The commission will eventually present a formal written report of its findings and recommendations to the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development. Local legislators, who were instrumental in passing legislation to create the committee, say the feasibility study is the first step on a long journey.

"This project is worthwhile," Sen. Jerry Thomas said, adding that Washington Parish lends itself to recreation-type economic opportunities.

Rep. Ben Nevers sees a reservoir or series of reservoirs as a perfect fit with the parish's current and future outlook. The reservoir project, Nevers said, is about bringing jobs to the area while protecting the natural resources and the way of life in Washington Parish. Nevers has talked of possible reservoir sites in the central part of the parish and on the Pearl River at the eastern edge of the parish.

Each of the legislators say they know the process will be laborious, and insist the reservoir commission is a step in the right direction.

Thomas said he has been around politics long enough to know that in order to get a project done of such magnitude, the foundation must be constructed years in advance.

Nevers and Rep. Mike Strain concurred. Strain says planning for a reservoir — if one is ever to be built — should be done now, because in two or three generations the parish's rural land will be subdivided and unavailable for a project of this type.

"If we don't start the task we might not get a reservoir or economic development," Nevers said.

After the group had elected its officers, Pierce charged each commission member with formulating his thoughts concerning the process of studying a possible reservoir and drafting a recommendation for the state.

The group will gather and discuss those ideas at its next meeting, which has not been scheduled.