Berwick arrests rose, wrecks decreased in 2016

Arrests and traffic citations rose significantly in Berwick from 2015 to 2016, while total complaints and vehicle crashes decreased, Police Chief James Richard said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The Town Council met Tuesday at Town Hall.
During the meeting, Richard said traffic citations issued in 2016 exceeded 2015’s totals by about 200 tickets, going from 753 to 962 tickets, and arrests were up by roughly 150, rising to 407 from 253 arrests in 2015.
Total complaints handled during the year were actually down from 2015 to 2016, dropping to 4,882 compared to the 5,129 complaints handled in 2015. The number of automobile accidents in Berwick followed that same downward trend in 2016, decreasing from 120 to 100, Richard said.
Regarding this past weekend’s freeze, Berwick police didn’t receive any complaints regarding issues pertaining to the freeze and had no crashes, Richard said.
Fire Chief Allen Rink said December was “a lot quieter than normal” for the fire department. But January has started off with more activity, with firefighters responding to two fires already this year, one house fire and one stove fire, he said.
Berwick only had one major fire in 2016 in addition to a few small fires. Rink hopes, with the warmer weather coming into the area, fire activity will quiet down.
Public Works Director Rafael Lopez said AT&T is currently doing underground work along La. 182 to install services, including internet service in Renwick Subdivision.
Also at the meeting, Councilwoman Jacki Ackel said Berwick will participate in the next Leaders Against Leaders cleanup March 10. Officials are still determining the location and time of the cleanup, she said.
In other business, the council approved the annual mayoral appointments, including the addition of a Lighthouse Festival Committee to be co-chaired by Misty Pillaro and Newell “Bubba” Slaughter.