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I'll take country, country country over crime anytime. As long as Bastrop has a Wal-Mart, what else would you need?
How about decent jobs, good schools, political leaders that are not corrupt and a town that is not controlled by the churches. You'll find none of that here in Bastrop. I know I live here.
My mom, God rest her soul, grew up here and I use to come here on vacations when I was about 13 or 14. It was just a simple country town with the paper mill as its main employer. Actually there were two mills at one time and most of my uncles worked at one or the other. The mills gave off a very putrid smell which drove many people away, but for many others it was the smell of money.
When Katrina hit and I lost my house in Lakeview I came up here because I did not have a lot of options in Southeast La. at the time. I was surprised how much it had changed.
The town has a serious crime problem mostly drugs yet the landscape is dotted with churches. Several of the pastors or ministers or whatever you want to call them serve on the city council or police jury so there is a conflict of interest as far as I'm concern. I'm not saying their all bad but if your going to have separation of church and state than clergy should not be allowed in politics. Anyway back to Bastrop.
There is nothing here for young people so if you have children please reconsider. There is one theater, no skating rinks, bowling alleys, decent parks or anything where young people can go and not get in trouble. The only thing they have to do is go to Bastrop Rams football games or just walk around and get in trouble.
As for jobs well there isn't many. That Walmart everyone is talking about opened about 3 years ago from what I understand it is suppose to be the the biggest in the state. Why they built it here I don't know. People were told " Oh we're going to get an Appleby's and a Chili's and a stripmall and all of these other stores", three years later people are still waiting for all of these stores to built. The only thing that has been built, that is new, is some discount clothing store called Rue' 21 and I believe there is one of those in Kenner on Williams Blvd.
If you are lucky to find a job opening don't tel anyone you're not from Bastrop. The natives don't take too kindly to outsiders especially people from New Orleans. The people here think its the worst place on earth. Also the majority of jobs are filled by someone who knows someone.
I know you're probably asking yourself "If it's that bad than how come you're still up there?". My wife likes it for some reason. I don't know why. Lke me she was born and raised in New Orleans so I don't understand her attraction. I think it has to do with control. But I made my mind up to move back after my son graduates. She can come with me or stay here. I don't care.
One last thing I don't know how true it is but I heard that Walmart is closing at the beginning of the year. All I can say about that is good. People up here think Bastrop is all that and it isn't anything. Find somewhere else to live you'll be much happier.
Wow, Walmart is closing? Must be hot off the press. But really, all little towns in La seem to be like that about not cozying up to "outsiders". I say seem to be because I don't know everything but Minden seems like that too. My goodness, if your from Shreveport you are looked upon as a heretic in Minden or let's just say "not one of our own" probably a troublemaker LOL
This is a big deal... I know my wife goes to this one to shop in bulk to avoid the Monroe one.
Unbelievable, Bastrop is dying like that, dammmmmmmm. Well.....Monroe is ok, that is it you like that kinda thing ya kno, clean, well spreaded out nicely populated area.....yea. Its a Books -A-Million by the Wal-Mart? Rasin Canes? aww for get it
Do not even think about moving to Bastrop, LA--try West Monroe. Here is what happened to me in this place:
TITLE: Citizen expresses bad opinion of the police and they arrest him on false charges in retaliation
All across America people have to listen to another’s music being blared out on high performance auto radio systems. Yet, the police have done little to enforce the laws already on the books. Normally we do not need new laws, we need enforcement. A large percentage of the autos stopped for loud noise are also breaking the law in many other ways. A predominate crime found relates to drug usage and sells. If the police would simply enforce the noise laws with any zeal, they would also be removing many of our drug problems. Because the city police will not do their job, the public has become angered to a melting point this summer. Calls from good Americans to stop the bad guys are being unanswered.
The Bastrop Daily Enterprise had printed two letters written by the citizen. Both letters criticized the Bastrop Police for their overwhelming lack of action against the boom boxes emanating from automobiles. The last letter focused in on comments made by Captain Willy Parker of the Bastrop police to the citizen a few days before the letter was published and heavily expressed a request for the police chief to investigate Parker’s comment. The last letter angered Captain Parker.
The situation began to heat up on Sunday, July 15, 2007. As the citizen passed an auto boom box group, lead by Thomas Robinson, they called out vulgarity at him. He decided to call the police, knowing that it was illegal to call out from private property to a public roadway using profanity. During the course of heated conversation, Captain Willie Parker of the Bastrop Police exclaimed to the citizen, who was complaining about the group, "If you call the police about a boom box, they will not come". Shocked, the citizen reminded the officer that he could not say or do that, he told the officer that he had the wrong attitude and that he would complain to as many people as he could, including the feds if they did not show up. The officer then remarked that the citizen could not tell him how to do his job and that he did not have a bad attitude.
A few months before the same boom box group, lead by Thomas Robinson, had followed the citizen home to learn his location. The citizen called the police to report the incident for the fear of what they might do to his family or property. From that day forward, the Robinson’s group had passed the citizens house at all times of the night, many times returning over and over in the same night to harass him. Not satisfied with just harassment of the citizen, they were planning other things for him. They wanted to teach him a lesson.
Thomas Robinson knew the citizen as the "Boom Box Man" because he had called the police so many times before about their loud music and many others of his group at various times. The Robinson group was 1650 feet away at the citizen's home. They would set up late in the afternoon in front of the location and turn their boom boxes up. The music then blared so loud it was disturbing, even at this great distance. His house is situated on a pipe line right-of-way which carries the sound right to his front door. His office is on the second floor and has no windows facing the noise. He has a hearing loss severe enough that he was not allowed in the military during the Vietnam era. Yet, he has watched the police drive by, while the noise was in full swing and do nothing!
When the citizen decided to pulled over and call the police about their yelling at him, (Cursing at drivers on a public roadway from private property is illegal in Louisiana) he knew that it would do little good to call the police, but he would never stop trying so he made the call. Two cars arrived that day. The citizen knew that two cars were not necessary and that someone had something special in mind for him. The female officer discussed the citizen's complaint and then Captain Parker began to criticize the citizen for calling the police. Parker was actually trying to pick a verbal “fight” or incite anger so he could use it to arrest the citizen. If the other officer had not been present, there is no telling what Parker would have done or claimed. This was the same time the officer made his infamous remark, "If you call the police about a boom box, they will not come".
After obtaining a copy of the complaint between the citizen and Thomas Robinson, it was found to have been dismissed by writing "Cleared Exceptionally" on the document (200706094). Because Willie Parker always seemed to be the one showing up at that location, which he managed to do again that day, research of the reports that were supposed to have been filed was done. That research showed that Parker had failed to turn in any prior complaints the citizen had made, thus wiping clean all the calls off the records for Thomas Robinson. Why was Parker protecting Robinson? It was apparent that the only reason he turned this paper work in that day was that he had another officer with him as a witness.
The citizen was so angry over Willie Parker's behavior and comment that he did write the local newspaper to complain. They printed his letter about the officer. Now many in Bastrop are in an uproar over the policemen's words. They are really going to be angry when they learn that he and the Robinsons’ planned to get the citizen arrested. The angry citizens intend to attend a city council meeting at 6PM on August 9th to discuss the police attitude in the city. Especially Captain Willy Parker’s attitude.
There has been a new twist to the story that has not been released to the public at this time. Within hours of the confrontation between Captain Willy Parker, Thomas Robinson and the complaining citizen, the police wrote a complaint (200706093) which they claim originated from an earlier incident between the citizen and another boom box driver, Brisco Robinson. The complaint was filed without discussing or interviewing the citizen. In that encounter the boom box driver, Brisco Robinson was arrested for not having a driver’s license. In retaliation for the citizen's intent to complain to the media and because the citizen got Brisco Robinson arrested, which is the same last name as the location that Captain Parker was protecting, it is obvious that the police are falsely charging the citizen with Aggravated Assault. Captain Willie Parker, Thomas Robinson and Brisco Robinson conspired against the citizen to make up charges they could use against the citizen. It was just an hour after the confrontation between Willie Parker and the citizen, that Parker and one of his officers filed the false charges as an act of revenge. There was never any assault and the "witnesses" indicated on the incident document were 624 feet away from the "Assault" location, down a hill! The front of Robinson’s auto was facing their direction. It would have been impossible for them to see thru Robinson’s auto and see the citizen’s vehicle on the other side.
The citizen was following the boom box (Brisco Robinson) to provide his location to the police. The citizen does not know Brisco Robinson, so he had no prior reason, except for the noise as he passed the citizens house, to follow him and obtain a location for the police to come to. Suddenly, Robinson stopped in the middle of the roadway, threw open his door and walked steadily toward the citizen’s truck with a crazed look on his face. The citizen backed up his vehicle, providing 15 foot space between the two. If the citizen has chosen to go forward in the left lane, Robinson surely would have struck the vehicle on the sides or hood with his fist. The only direction he could take was reverse to place distance between him and the crazed Robinson. Not wishing to drive down the roadway backwards for any distance, the only solution was to back up out of Robinson’s way and stop, hoping he would stop attacking him and get back in his vehicle.
As Brisco Robinson screamed “Why you keep F---g with me” he approached the citizen again in his rage. The citizen had no idea what Robinson was talking about, having been unable to recognize him from any prior encounter. Never saying a word or rolling down the window, the citizen responded by simply backing up once again. At that time, the citizen thought the madman had finished his attack, so he placed his vehicle back in forward and held his brake. While in this state of readiness, at the same time, he was trying to find the police number in his cell phone and watch Robinson’s actions. To stop the crazy advancing Robinson, the citizen rolled his glass down and told him he was calling the police, showing his cell phone at the same time. The effect was the opposite of the desired. That made Robinson angrier and he began to attack the citizen again by approaching him with arms raised. Even through there was still a good 15 feet between Robinson and the citizen’s vehicle; the citizen hastily pressed the gas to go backwards, but went forward instead. After instantly pressing the brakes, he noticed that Robinson had turned to run. He had no dents in the black vehicle and he did not want this madman to put one on his hood by hitting it with his already tightened fist. The short warning that he was going to call the police did not stop Robinson, but the change in direction of the vehicle did.
When Robinson had turned to run, he never looked back until he was at his vehicle. To the relief of the citizen, Robinson never noticed that the citizen’s vehicle was not moving. Thankfully he continued to exit toward his car. When he did stop to look back, he appeared to be surprised that there was so much distance between his car and the citizen’s vehicle. It was obvious that the citizen had stopped after moving only a very short distance. It was as if Robinson wanted the citizen to “chase” him and was disgusted when he was not able to get him to do so. So he tried three times and only left when he thought he had achieved success. Upon finding he could not get the citizen to chase him, he gave up after the three tries.
In disgust from his failure to scare off the citizen or his failure to get him to give chase, Robinson then got in his vehicle, closed the door and drove 624 feet to another house. This location was visible from where the citizen was at and he needed a photo to use in the noise charges, so he drove to within 30 feet of the location where he saw Robinson park. There he made his photo and backed up 80 feet and parked in the local school ground parking area. As the photo was being taken, the persons rushed to get out of the picture. After backing up and parking, he was finally able to complete his phone call to the police. During the whole incident, the citizen and Robinson were alone in there respective vehicles. No other passengers were visible in the Robinson auto during the course of the event. Nor were there any voices emanating from his car. There were no witnesses. If there were witnesses, they would have seen that it was Robinson that attacked the citizen. The citizen never removed his seat belt, opened his door and attacked Mr. Robinson. He was the aggressor, the attacker and should be reprimanded as such.
The citizen is asking for reporter's help to investigate the Bastrop Police department and connection between the Police and the Robinsons. Of course, the question should also be why is this citizen being framed? Who made the decision to proceed with these false charges? As part of a group of fed-up citizens, he has been forced to attempt to stop a public nuisance that the Bastrop Police have refused to act on. He has received much praise from his neighbors for helping to reduce the abundant noise from the marauding boom boxes. He has never received praise from the local police, why? I bet the chief of police’s and mayor’s neighborhood is not controlled by lawless thugs so why should mine?
Update; 2010 Jan--all charges were dismissed.
Update; 2011 April--The citizen, a life long resident, has hired an attorney to get even for their lack of action. The boom box group has set fire to his property twice and continues to act as if they own the city and the police do nothing. One boom-box person said in a police report she was going to burn down the white...see YouTube -- Bastrop Police will Not arrest her Part 1 and 2 to learn more.
I was born there in 1934, was curious what it was like. Mom & dad left the place soon after. Thanks for all your comments, they were very helpful
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