~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The minutes for the City Council meetings are posted in the City Council section.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Looking for a Justice of the Peace in Rapides Parish? We've got a list!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Archives!

Looking for items that used to be on the main page? Check out our archive pages!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Looking for a Map?

Here are Pineville maps provided by MapQuest and Yahoo.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION
From the office of our Wastewater Compliance Officer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As seen at:

Pineville is proud to be a...

See our City Profile on City-Data.com!

Thanks for stopping by our website. We hope you enjoy the features available here. If you have any questions, or suggestions, please email the webmaster.

The Pineville Police Department offers Hunter Safety Programs!

In cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Pineville Police Department will be hosting two Hunter Safety Programs, one on May and the other in September:

May 29th, 30th & 31st
6:00pm - 8:00pm Thursday & Friday
8:00am - 2:00pm Saturday

September 18th, 19th & 20th
6:00pm - 8:00pm Thursday & Friday
8:00am - 2:00pm Saturday

Anyone can participate in the basic student course, but only those persons 10 years of age or older are eligible for certification. This course requires classroom attendance, passing a written test with a score of 75 percent or better, and completing a live-fire exercise. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a Louisiana Hunter Education Certification Card that is recognized by all other states.

The Hunter Education courses are FREE.

Act 149 of the 1984 Louisiana Legislature enacted a mandatory education requirement for anyone born on or after September 1, 1969. All young hunters must successfully complete the course prior to purchasing a hunting license.

Older hunters who plan to hunt out of state should check the state regulation where they plan to hunt. All 50 states now require some form of mandatory hunter education certification prior to issuing a license.

For more information contact the Pineville Police Department at 318-449-5652 .

Lowe's is Coming to Pineville!

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. have announced that they will make a $12-million dollar investment in Pineville with the opening of a new store in the Kings Country Shopping Center, in the northeast quadrant of Highway 165 and Highway 167. The footprint of the new Lowe’s will replace the old Wal-Mart building, as well as the former home of Northside Baptist Church. The new Lowe’s store is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2008 and create up to 120-new jobs. The do-it-yourself retailer is known for helping homeowners find the right equipment and supplies to build, improve, beautify and enjoy their homes.

The Pineville Lowe’s will offer 32,000 products under one roof. The home improvement warehouse store will have 94,000 square feet of retail sales space. An additional 27,700 square foot garden center will offer an impressive selection of flowers, bushes, trees and garden supplies tailored to the Louisiana climate and lifestyle. Based in Mooresville, N.C., the 60-year-old company is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com.

Lashney Appointed to City Council

Edwin “Eddy” N. Lashney II has been appointed to the Pineville City Council to serve as City Councilman for District 1. The appointment became necessary when Joe Bishop was elected to the Rapides Parish Police Jury last fall and took office January14th. Lashney’s appointment is good until October 4th, when a special election is set to elect someone to finish the term, which doesn’t expire until June 30, 2010.

Lashney is no stranger to public service or the City of Pineville. Lashney has served as a commissioner on the Pineville Downtown Development District, The Pineville Zoning Commission and continues to represent Pineville on the Rapides Area Planning Commission. Eddy’s email address is elashney@pineville.net.

New Miss City of Pineville

Meghan Melder (pictured right) of Tioga won the title of “2008 Miss City of Pineville” during competition at Pineville High School December 29th. Ten girls from all corners of the state competed in the 2nd Annual qualifier for the Miss Louisiana Pageant next June in Monroe. Melder is a sophomore at Louisiana College and graduated from Tioga High School in 2006. April Nelson (pictured left) of Mandeville was crowned Miss Teen City of Pineville and will also represent Pineville at the Miss Teen state pageant next summer. Nelson is a student at Fontainebleau High School in Mandeville. Each winner also received scholarship help and will represent the City of Pineville at events throughout 2008.

Pineville's First Hotel / Convention Center Now Open!

Petron Commercial Park coming to Pineville

A new bank, hotel and space for a variety of restaurants and other businesses, are a part of the plans for the new Petron Commercial Park, currently under development on Highway 165 North, across from Procter & Gamble. The 9-acre site is the last large tract of land within the northern end of Pineville City limits along the US Highway 165 corridor, and is on the corner of La Hwy. 116, which leads into Camp Beauregard, and has Wal-Mart as its neighbor to the South boundary.

The first announced development is for the first branch of Colfax Banking Company in Rapides Parish. With locations in Colfax, Dry Prong, Pollock and Prospect, this new location will front Hwy. 165 and should be open by next spring. Negotiations are also underway for a national hotel franchise, as well as with clients currently leasing from Petron in other markets.

The first phase of the retail section is a 20,000-square foot building that should be open by early 2008. Three additional buildings will follow in the remaining 30,000-square feet, offering store spaces between 1,000 and 5,000 square feet.

Evangeline Bank opened its doors earlier this year on an acre of this site, which was carved out before Petron Inc. purchased the remaining 9-acres.

$2-million for Louisiana College

Louisiana College has received a one-time grant for two million dollars from the State of Louisiana to begin a new Allied Health program. The new program will include degrees in the following areas:

• Respiratory Therapy

• Physical Therapy Assistant

• Medical Licensed Technician

• Radiologic Technology

Students will be able to obtain an Associates' or Bachelors' degree in all of these areas. Individuals, after completing two years of coursework and completing other requirements for an Associate degree will be able to enter the workforce and help fill the critical need for healthcare professionals in central Louisiana and throughout the state.

Louisiana College is filling a great need in the state, especially the rural areas of the state where healthcare professionals are desperately needed. LC will build upon a solid foundation of academic excellence in nursing and pre-med programs. For decades, the college has produced outstanding nurses and candidates for medical school who have gone on to serve their communities. With this one-time grant from the state of Louisiana, Louisiana College will be able to develop a new academic program that will continue to grow and educate students from across the state.

(Pictured (L to R): Dr. Joe Aguillard, President, Louisiana College; Billy Chandler, Louisiana State Representative; Mary Moffett, Secretary, LC Board of Trustees; Rick Farrar, Louisiana State Representative; Mark Sparks, LC Board of Trustees & Congressman Rodney Alexander)

The new Allied Health program will begin this August with the fall semester. Students interested in these areas should contact the Louisiana College Office of Admissions for additional information (318) 487- 7259. Individuals who apply to enter the Allied Health program this fall will be eligible for additional scholarships specifically for students in the Allied Health program.

Miss Louisiana 2007

Congratulations to Pineville native Amanda Joseph, who was crowed Miss Louisiana 2007, July 22nd, in front of a live audience at the Monroe Civic Center and thousands of television viewers statewide. The 44th annual pageant was broadcast live from the W.L. "Jack" Howard Theatre. Joseph, who won the preliminary talent competition Thursday, said she was excited about winning and ready to work on her platform of art education for underprivileged children statewide. Joseph, a senior at LSU, will receive a $9,000 scholarship and represent Louisiana in the 2008 Miss America Pageant. Amanda is the daughter of Mike and Lisa Joseph of Pineville. Amanda is a member of the Pineville First United Methodist Church and is majoring in Public Relations at LSU, where she is also a member of the LSU Golden Girls Danceline.

A Nice New Welcome If a picture says a thousand words…what does a new sign at the entrance to our city say. A lot!!! Thanks for all the calls and positive comments regarding our new “Gateway” welcome signs. The City of Pineville is investing some of our economic development funds to let people know that they are welcome here and to brag a little about what we have accomplished. People that live here know Pineville is a “Great Place to Call Home”, but now visitors through Pineville also get that statement loud and clear.

Country Inn & Suites by Carlson coming to Pineville

It’s official! Pineville’s first Hotel / Convention Center will carry the flag of Country Inn & Suites by Carlson®. Work has begun on 7.5-acres just off Highway 165, near Word of Grace Church. Construction is scheduled to begin in the next couple of months on the three-story hotel, with 100-rooms and 20,000-square foot convention center, and should be completed by the end of the year.

Country Inns & Suites By Carlson® is a highly successful international mid-tier lodging chain with over 380 locations worldwide. Founded in 1987, this innovative lodging chain is part of Minneapolis, Minn.-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide which also includes Regent International Hotels, Radisson Hotels & Resorts, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, and Park Inn. As a leader in the mid-scale hotel segment, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson locations feature residential architecture and home-like interior design with highlights that include hardwood flooring, lobby fireplace and front porch.

We welcome H.L. Haynes, the hotel’s developer, to Pineville. (Haynes Holding LLC currently operates the Best Western Hotel and Convention Center in Alexandria.)

Tree City USA for 5th year

The City of Pineville received Tree City USA designation from the National Arbor Day Foundation for its tree program in 2005. Pineville City Tree Board members presented the official flag and trophy at the July Pineville City Council meeting.

“The Pineville City Tree Board is proud to present the mayor and council with this recognition for the fifth year in a row,” said Cindy Bouchie, board chair. “In our five years, we’ve done several very visible projects for the city, the latest being the landscaping off the Purple Heart Bridge coming into Pineville. We look forward to working with the city administration to continue implementing projects as well as looking for ways to protect and enhance Pineville’s beautiful community forest.”

The Pineville City Tree Board was established by ordinance five years ago. In addition to the entryway landscaping off the expressway, the board has hosted an educational tree workshop for area residents, developed a Tree Board section on the Pineville.net web site and worked with the council to develop and pass a commercial landscape ordinance.

Tree board members also landscaped Kelso Park and Huey P. Long Hospital Boulevard, sponsored an educational day at Red Dirt for fifth graders, hosted a Building Green Cities seminar and participated in Arbor Day events. In February the tree board hosted another public meeting to unveil its tree management plan for the city.

CLECO Breaks Ground on
Billion Dollar Project

When Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced Cleco's plan to build a new generating unit last July, no one imagined the events that would soon change the state forever. At the project's official groundbreaking May 16th, 2006, Mike Madison, Cleco Corp. president and CEO, spoke about what the new generating unit at Rodemacher Power Station in Boyce, La., will mean to the area and the state. (Pictured at left: Dilek Samil, Cleco Power President and COO, Councilman Nathan Martin (District 5), Charlie Moore, Public Works Director, Councilman Kevin Dorn (District 2), Rich Dupree, Pineville Chief of Staff, Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields, and Mike Madison.

"Growing the economy of our state is more important now than ever," said Madison. "While we work to recover from the effects of last year's hurricanes, it feels good to be able to break ground on a project like this; one that will have far-reaching economic impact. Both the construction and the ongoing operations of this new unit will add substantial income through jobs, business activity and taxes to the area and the state."

The construction phase of the project is expected to last 42 months and Cleco estimates it will spend more than $850 million on materials, equipment, fuel and labor in Louisiana during that period. When complete, the new unit will employ an estimated 80 workers, representing Cleco's largest permanent job creation in more than 20 years. Cleco's total investment in the unit is estimated at close to $1 billion.

Cleco Corp. is an energy services company headquartered in Pineville, La. It operates a regulated electric utility company that serves about 267,000 customers across Louisiana. Cleco also operates a wholesale energy business that has more than 1,350 megawatts of generating capacity. For more information about Cleco, visit www.cleco.com .

New Life Saving Technology

The City of Pineville and The Rapides Foundation have teamed together to bring new life saving technology to Central Louisiana. The Rapides Foundation awarded a $15,000.00 grant in January to the Pineville Fire Department to purchase AUTO PULSE, the most advanced piece of equipment used on patients that are in cardiac arrest.

AUTO PULSE is designed to help with C.P.R. AUTO PULSE will do perfect CPR compressions on each individual patient. The depth and rate are exactly what the American Heart Association recommends for cardiac arrest patients. Fatigue will no longer be a factor, as AUTO PULSE will do all the compressions for medics working on a code patient. The AUTO PULSE looks much like a small backboard. The patient’s upper torso fits onto the board and then a 4-inch strap is placed onto the patient’s chest. The strap is then fitted to the patient and is sized to fit that particular patient for the proper depth and placement. With each compression, there is a better pulse created than what is done by hand placement. There is an increase in blood flow, which means that drugs that are given to a patient have a better chance of reaching their target organs and tissues. AUTO PULSE has shown an increase in the survival rate of cardiac arrest patients by as much as 26%. The Pineville Fire Department joins Shreveport and Bossier City as the only fire departments in Louisiana to have such technology. The Pineville Fire Department works with Acadian Ambulance on every EMS call within our corporate limits. Pineville’s paramedics perform the same life saving skills that ambulance personnel perform. Pineville also has dual response calls with Holiday Village and Alpine Volunteer Fire Departments, and AUTO PULSE will also be dispatched on these calls.

Notice to Property Owners

New Sewer Plant Will Aid
Pineville's Growth

It’s been a project that has been in the planning stages since Procter & Gamble announced its $165-million dollar plus expansion in 2002, but last week, work began on the City of Pineville’s new wastewater treatment plant. The new 3-million gallon per day plant is being built adjacent to Pineville’s current plant, which has been near capacity for several years. The City of Pineville’s current plant could not accommodate the expansion of P&G or realistically, anything else. Pineville new plant will create additional capacity that will fulfill the anticipated needs for P&G and have sufficient additional capacity to handle other companies that have located adjacent to the P&G Pineville Plant or along the commercial/industrial sewer corridor of U.S. Highway 165. Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields says this is big step toward sustaining Pineville’s growth. “As we look to the future, no commercial, residential or industrial developer would look at Pineville, if we are not able to provide such a basic service as sewer. This has opened the door for growth on the north side of the river that like we’ve never seen before”.

The underlying reasoning of P&G's needs is based on changes in the market. Since the market demand for dry granular detergents is slipping across the industry and the demand for liquids is increasing, P&G made a decision to expand its liquids line. P&G created an internal competition for the expansion and location of new liquid manufacturing facility. The P&G plant not selected internally for the expansion into liquids would be in danger of closing in years to come. P&G selected the Pineville plant for the expansion, beating out sites in Georgia and Canada. P&G's selection decision was based on the understanding that the City of Pineville and the State of Louisiana would find all resources necessary to expand sewer facilities, to meet all anticipated future sewer demands of P&G, and of any adjacent plant that may locate in support of P&G’s expansion.

The cost to build the new wastewater treatment plant is close to $9-million dollars. The City of Pineville has worked with the State of Louisiana’s Department of Economic Development to obtain help from the State’s Capital Outlay program, as well as Regional and Federal Grants to cover most of the cost of construction. Mayor Fields says that you have to look deeper though to see the overall impact of P&G’s expansion. “P&G's Pineville facility currently has a $200 million annual impact on the regional economy. This project was designed to retain that impact and to support and secure new investment and jobs. That has been accomplished with the addition of other “cluster industry” businesses like Plasti-Pak, Calvary Industries, and Integrated Packaging Corporation locating here.”

McInnis Brothers Construction, Inc. of Shreveport was the low bidder on the project and hopes to begin the process of bringing in concrete trucks this week. Estimated project completion time is Summer 2007.

In 2003, Pineville was recognized for its efforts in helping secure both the retention and expansion of P&G. The Louisiana Municipal Association presented Pineville its 2003 Community Achievement Award: For Outstanding Community Improvement in Economic Development.

Historic Site to be Preserved

The history of Downtown Pineville would not be as special without Mt. Olivet. And now, Mt. Olivet, a survival of the Civil War era, will be saved and restored for generations to come. Mt. Olivet’s construction began in 1857 and was completed in 1859 in the Eve of the Civil War. The chapel was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk, the first Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana. Polk later became "General" Polk of the Confederate Army. In 2006 Mt. Olivet was added to the list of the Top Ten Most Endangered Historical Louisiana Sites. The list issued by the Louisiana Preservation Alliance to help focus critical attention on historic properties. For more information on the Alliance you can visit them at www.lapreservationalliance.org. As the Gothic Revival architecture and slowly aged the upkeep and maintenance became more and more of a factor. In October of 2004 Bishop MacPherson met with a group of people who were dedicated to the renovation of the structure. At the December meeting of the Diocesan Executive Committee, Bishop MacPherson announced that he had received an anonymous gift of $500,000.00 to fund the much needed renovations. Plans for the renovation will now moved ahead, with the repairs to the chapel to be completed first. The Committee that will oversee the Mt. Olivet Restoration is: Martha Barton, Kirk Domingos, the Hon. Dee. D. Drell, Tish Fresh, Susan MacPherson, Richard Moriarty and Robert Ratcliff.

Enter a City or US Zip:

Pineville Businesses on the Web

Many Pineville business have web sites to tell you about their goods and services. Previously we had provided links to those we knew about on our "Links" page. However, there are now so many that we have created a whole new page called "Pineville Businesses on the Web". Check it out and let the businesses know you found them on Pineville.net! (If you know of a Pineville business with a website that is not listed, please let the webmaster know.)

Looking for an item that was recently displayed on the Pineville.Net homepage? Check out our archive pages!

Vote for Pineville.net in The Cenla.NETwork Top 100!

Mayor's Welcome | City Council | Contact Us | Fire Department | Public Works | Airport | Phone Numbers | City Marshal | Are You OK? | Moms for Kees Park | Pineville Businesses | Museums | Tree Board | Links | Area Churches | Apartments | FAQ | Contents | Guest Book | About Pineville.Net

  -- Last updated: April 28, 2008 --

You are visitor # .