I’ve got no quarrel with anyone who wants to display his loyalty to a particular college or professional sports team. As a Louisiana Tech graduate, I naturally pull for the Bulldogs and because I live in Denham Sprints, right next door to Baton Rouge, I’m an LSU baseball fan.
And I’ve been a Boston Red Sox fan all my life, dating back to the days of the greatest hitter of ‘em all, Ted Williams who also, incidentally, was very active in helping raise money for the Jimmy Fund, a benefit program for children suffering from cancer. He did so quietly and privately, regularly visiting sick children. There was one ground rule, however: no media were to know when he was there. On one occasion a sick child was holding Ted’s finger in his hand. As Ted tried to leave, the child wouldn’t let go. Williams had a nurse bring a chair to the child’s bedside and he sat there all night holding his hand.
I have LSU, Tech and Red Sox caps and T-shirts but no bumper or window stickers but see nothing wrong with those who openly support Mississippi State, Florida or even Alabama on LSU turf—even if that person happens to Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter.
You remember Larpenter. He’s the one who got a judge to sign a search warrant so he could raid the home of a blogger whose only sin was being critical of Larpenter. You know, free speech and all that.
A federal JUDGE threw that search warrant in the trash can and in doing so, gave a Larpenter a verbal lashing and a refresher course on the First Amendment while clearing the way for a civil rights lawsuit against the high sheriff.
Well, now we learn that Larpenter, even as he cut back on his department’s matching deferred compensation for his employees and cut a boat load of other benefits as well in an effort to overcome his department’s $3 million deficit, saw nothing wrong with blowing a tidy sum on special tires and rims for one of the Sheriff’s Department’s vehicles.
In what was obviously a hilarious joke on the local LSU fans, Larpenter’s tires have nice white raised lettering reading “University of Alabama Crimson Tide.”
And while the “in your face” rolling proclamation might rankle resident Tiger fans, it should really raise the hackles of local taxpayers who’re paying for this unusual expenditure.
This little gesture must certainly fall under the “What the hell were you thinking” classification of really stupid things to do, Sheriff. It would have been far more economical to just get a Tide rear window sticker—and it’d be a lot less offensive to those who write checks for their property taxes each December.
But then again, this is the type mentality we get from elected officials who feel sufficiently immune to voter outrage and who seem to think of their office as just that—their office, instead of belonging to the people who have bestowed upon them the privilege of occupying the office temporarily.
(Lord, I hope he doesn’t get a search warrant to come barging through my front door at 6 a.m. to seize my laptop the way he loves to do to bloggers who criticize him. I just painted the door and put in new flooring following last year’s flood and don’t need the aggravation.)
Speechless.
Louisiana Sheriffs Association, HEAL THYSELF!
Louisiana Sheriffs Association, HELP THIS IDIOT!
Mr. Tom,
There is no need to be afraid because Jerry Larpenter would never come to your door with a search warrant after what happened to him after his last court ruling with Judge Africk. Praise God, he finally got put in his place! To coin one of my really good friends saying, ‘IT AIN’T OVER UNTIL THE FAT ANGEL SINGS”
I felt sorry for the Andersons but I am so happy they won so far. They have a well-respected dynamite attorney. I hope they take him down the rest of the way.
We had two deputies do the same thing to me and my husband years ago. They came to my house and seized a telephone tape from me because the Sheriff had his regular deputy doing detail across the street from our home at a skating ring that was allowing the owner to violate the law while he protected the owner.This was an illegal seizure. When they found out that I had a telephone tape of the conversation he sent two deputies to our home and told my husband that he had permission to come into our home and turn it upside down if we didn’t give him the original tape. They needed the original because I would have needed it to come back on them in court. This is how dirty they play, hiding behind their badges. On top of that, they expect me to shut up and keep quiet. Hell will freeze over first. This is how it went down. One night, a new deputy that I had never seen before showed up at my home after I called in a complaint.He heard the noise and it was really, really loud. The deputy asked to use my phone and called in his superior officer at the s/o and was told to go and issue a summons for loud music but the officer in my kitchen told the s/o officer that one of their own, Tommy, was in the place doing detail. All of a sudden the instructions changed to go tell Tommy to lower the music and resume patrol. The business was protected by the detail deputy. I had to hire my own p.i. and get the proof for the noise to cease. We could not hear our t.v. unless we put it full blast. Needless to say, we weren’t happy home owners. I even called State Police Troop C, even though I knew that they couldn’t help but I did it to document a paper trail. The s/o wasn’t protecting this business for a $25/$50 fine. There was drug activity, sex, car alarms going off, underage drinking, drag racing with their head lights off backwards on the side road. I even reported one of his Captains to the La.Sheriffs Association for driving at a very high speed on the road in front of my home. Poor Sheriffs’ Association, every year they would send out request for support and I would send it back telling them when they found me a Sheriff in Terror-bonne parish then I would send them a donation!
The s/o attorney William Dodd years ago sent me a threatening letter saying that we would be sued if I kept speaking out against Jerry Larpenter- one hand-delivered letter and two certified mail to both my husband and myself. We still have those letters and we were never sued and never stop talking about him. Guess he didn’t want to give us some of that good ole subpoena power, just want to scare us!
Now, please tell me, who is afraid of who?
Keep exposing these ass hats
He can have all the Crimson Tide stuff he wants, on his own dime, but not on public funds, the fact that his ethical compass didn’t tell him this is indicative of the breakdown of our values.
He’s a loser..
Back in the day, tires were purchased off of a state contract price. I recall the tire store dealer making the statement that we bought tires cheaper than he could buy them. Bet these aren’t on any state contract.
It occurs to me he might have gotten a good deal on them because nobody else in Louisiana wanted them 🙂
Now if they’d take the time to look at the purchase, they’d be aware of the substantial savings the department got on the purchase in relation to the normal tire purchases!
You guys do realize those letters are photoshopped into that picture, right?
Ha-ha, chuckle, chortle, guffaw.
Photo-shopped indeed! Nice try, but afraid not. We have other photos from different angles, from further away, one even with the license plate in clear view. You claim photo-shopped, another of your pals is claiming a financial savings. You need to get together and get your stories straight.
By the way, the TPSO.org email address kinda gave you away.
I hope the people who voted for him are happy!
I’m a graphics designer…id like to see the other photos. And i work for myself and dont even care who this guy is…this looks like photoshop to me too.
Years back, he used to bring his boat and a few of his friends boats to the old motor pool to fill up. During hunting season it was the same with the four wheelers The man that used to be in charge complained and once he did, he was told that he was no longer needed. He let him go.
My point here is if he wouldn’t pay for his own gas to go fishing and hunting why would he pay for his own tires? This would not be the Jerry that I know. He hates to pay for his own food. He is a miser when it comes to his money.
The Expose Dat saga showed his true colors when they exposed the money in his pocket in addition to his wifes salary on the insurance deals. He was like a mad dog with rabies. Why you think he got so angry?
Well after all these years I find myself compelled to respond to your article. First having lived and taught school in Houma years ago I love hearing news from the Parish but your self-proclaimed challenge to Our Bulldogs and Red Sox was great but you were on thin ice when it came to LSU. Fortunately you must have woke up and added Baseball. The part that concerns me is your lack of dedication to our Ruston High Bearcats! By the way I love your article l especially but feel free to remember your roots. Jimmie Martin RHS 63.
Jimmie and I shared time in the Ruston High School BEARCAT band under the direction of Oscar Barnes, another of those wonderful teachers we had. (Jimmie, you must have missed several of my earlier posts in which I paid homage to our teachers at RHS, the best of the best, in my opinion.)
Let the judge shopping and illegal search warrants begin! Great reporting. Keep up the good work!
Well, this is an honor Wayne. I have wanted to tell you and your wife in person to tell you how sorry I am that your family was attacked by the mad dog with rabies.
We have lived in hell since 1979 when the music box with no knobs to control it from our side of the street opened up. (Wheels-R-Rollin)
Jerry Larpenter started this war in 1976 when he came to our home in the previous Sheriff Rozands’ (who just happened to be related to him) private car loaded with weed and cocaine in the trunk returning from his pickup location in New Orleans. I assume he thought he was all that when he opened that trunk on our driveway in the presence of our minor child. We were upset and my husband told him to leave and never come back on our property with any kind of drugs. That is the day he told us that the people of Terror-bonne Parish are stupid if they think that they burn that stuff. Well, I am not the brightest bulb in the package but what else can you do with it then? Eat it, sell it, trade it, smoke it, sniff it? All of those options are illegal so just what was he trying to point out is still a mystery until today.
I had absolutely no interest in what was going on in downtown Houma UNTIL THAT DAY! He messed up big time. He should have taken his stash and gone back to Houma and left us alone. Now it is too late. He created a monster that won’t go away and he can blame it all on himself.
As far as Judge shopping, illegal search warrants- been there and done that.
I'[m seventy years old and still kicking it and I am not quitting until I get justice for what he put my family through. I am not interested in money. I want him to be prosecuted for what he done to us. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to lower the knob on a music system, heck, a two year old could do it but it was all done to make us suffer. I learned long, long,ago every dog has its day!
The best of luck to you and your family but you are going to be o.k. because you have a dynamite attorney and I think you are in better hands with her than Allstate buddy!!
God Bless your whole family and I am sorry you had to go through this but it only made you stronger! Mrs.Jennifer is a heck of a woman. She has got some spunk going on for sure!
I have to comment on this. They by no means AT ALL did they blow state funds on these tires. I know b/c they bought them from me. These tires were covered under state contract pricing. Which is way below you are I would pay for tires. They actually pay less than our cost! They have a normal side to them which is black with and reads Firestone Destination A/T. Terrebonne Sheriff office paid no more for theses than if they would have bought the ones without Alabama on them. These are what were available at the time and yes maybe they thought it would be funny but most definitely not a waste of our tax dollars.
Well, I guess that clears up the photo-shop question.
I hope it clears up everything.
If that’s all you people are bitching about is tires , then you are stupid . I know these reason behind the tires and it’s a great idea. I’m not saying this because of who I am . I’m not stupid to this approach . If you don’t get it then you are stupid as well . Nice tires !!!!!!!!!!!!