Franklin shooting death prompts parish council discussion on violence

A moment of silence was taken at the St. Mary Parish Council meeting Wednesday to remember the young Franklin resident who was gunned down earlier in the week, in addition to remarks from two council members and parish President David Hanagriff on the need to do something to try and stem violence among area youth.
Councilman J. Ina and Councilman Rev. Craig Mathews both spoke during the meeting on what can be done to try and convince young people to try and solve problems without the use of violence.
Their remarks were in reference to a shooting that took place on Sunday at approximately 3:50 p.m. in the Augustine Maze Road area. A 15-year old suspect has been arrested in connection with the death of 16-year old Braylen Foulcard. Ina said it was the responsibility of the parish council to address the issue.
“There was a tragedy in our community just a few days ago,” Ina said. “This was a senseless act of violence and it is very disturbing to me. I want to encourage the council to look at where we are as a community and try to put forth an effort to try and find some activities and things for our youth to engage in.”
Mathews seconded many of the points made by Ina and added that there was something being planned to try and address local area youth about handling their differences without resorting to violence. Mathews said a community event is being planned for an undetermined time in November to bring together young people with a variety of speakers and activities that will be hosted by the Baldwin Police Department. Mathews said area youths will spend the night at a local community center where they will learn ways to solve problems and other issues peacefully.
“This can be considered an intervention because an intervention takes place when there is a crisis,” he said. “This is indeed an example of a crisis that is happening with our young people. There will be motivational and inspirational speakers that will engage them in a process of critical thinking and problem-solving. The primary focus will be trying to offer them alternative solutions to conflict resolution and to teach our young citizens to think before they act.”
Other business conducted by the council included the introduction of an ordinance to accept the 2017 Combined Budget of Revenues and Expenditures for the parish. A resolution was also passed to request to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Division of Aviation to complete improvements at the Harry P. Williams Airport.