Enforcement Fire Department |
The Union Parish Sheriff’s main office is located in the Parish Court House in Farmerville and handles all of the criminal, civil and tax division operations, as well as police protection, throughout the parish. There are 20 full-time deputies, 12 of them providing 24-hour patrol throughout the parish, and 12 part-time deputies. Union Parish has 6 volunteer fire departments with 9 stations and over 200 volunteer firemen located throughout the parish. |
|
The parish has two hospitals, located in Bernice and Farmerville, which provide 60-plus beds for area residents. Union General Hospital in Farmerville has a full service emergency room. The medical field is comprised of 9 doctors, 3 dentists and specialists which provide medical care for the area. Four nursing homes with 444 beds also serve the community. A local 911 service is being established in the parish for police, fire and ambulance services. Residents also have access to the large number of medical facilities located in the regional area, including the LSU Medical Center in Shreveport and numerous other public and private medical facilities in Monroe, Ruston and Shreveport. |
|
and Recreation |
Union Parish has 2 golf courses, several community swimming pools and ball fields and many tennis courts. Boating, tubing, and fishing on local rivers and lakes are also major activities for visitors and residents of the parish. 15,000 acre Lake D¸Arbonne is particularly attractive for these activities. There are over 50,000 acres of hunting preserves within the parish, with over 700 acres being developed as a state park. Shreveport has a symphony, opera and ballet and NCAA college athletics are available from Grambling University, Northwestern State University, Louisiana Tech University, and others. AA Professional Baseball is available with the Shreveport Captains at the Fairgrounds only 85 miles from Farmerville. Louisiana Downs, 80 miles away off I-20 and U.S. 80 in Bossier City is one of the nation¸s top thoroughbred racetracks. The four-level, glass-enclosed grandstand contains a variety of restaurants, bars and seating areas. Racing season runs from April to November, Wednesdays through Sundays. Off track betting is available January through March. |
|
The Shreveport Central Business District and Bossier City are only an hour and a half away, and have seen an explosion of retail activity in the past few years. Monroe, Louisiana is 40 miles to the southeast with a regional shopping center. |
|
|
Communications in the area include a local weekly newspaper (The Gazette‹Farmerville). Metropolitan daily newspapers from Shreveport Ruston and Monroe are also circulated in Union Parish. There is one AM (KTDL) and one FM (KWJM) station in Farmerville. Several Shreveport and Monroe stations are available in Union Parish. Television stations can be received from Shreveport or Monroe including all four networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX). Cable service is also available in the parish and provides up to 16 stations. |
|
| Union Parish enjoys a complete seasonal cycle with pleasant spring and fall seasons. Winter months are usually mild with cold spells of short duration. Snowfall is less than 2" per year. The summer months are quite warm, with an average daily maximum temperature in July and August of 93 degrees. |
| Union Parish is located in north central Louisiana. It is bounded by Arkansas on the north, Morehouse Parish on the east, Lincoln and Ouachita parishes on the south and Claiborne Parish on the west. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highways |
From Union Parish, a manufacturer can realistically expect third-day truckload service to major markets in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Within this 31-state area are 69 percent of the nation¸s population and 70 percent of its manufacturing plants. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This road is on the Federal Aid Primary program (FAP, 50ft. ROW with 24 ft. paved surface). To the south of Union Parish this highway connects with I-20 and continues through Alexandria to I-10 in the southern part of the state. It moves north through Bernice and Lillie near the western border of the parish into Arkansas toward Little Rock. This highway is well used and maintained for commercial traffic toward I-20 and the southern part of the state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This road is on the Federal Aid Secondary program (FAS, 50ft. ROW with 24 ft. paved surface). It winds through the central portion of the parish toward the eastern and western borders of the state. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This road is on the Federal Aid Secondary program (FAS, 50ft. ROW with 24 ft. paved surface). Cuts diagonally through the parish from the northwest where it intersects with U. S. Highway 167, to the southeast where it intersects with U. S. Highway 80 near Monroe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This road is on the Federal Aid Secondary program (FAS, 50ft. ROW with 24 ft. paved surface). Cuts diagonally through the parish from the southwest where it intersects with I-20 near Ruston to the northeast where it crosses into Arkansas. | The main transportation arteries through Union Parish are U. S. Highway 167 and State Highways 2, 15 and 33. Numerous parish roads also serve local markets. Interstate Highway 20, which runs a few miles south of the border of the parish, allows easy access to the east or west coast of the United States. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Union Parish is served by the Union Pacific Railroad. The tracks run north-south through the eastern portion of the parish. Rail rates in Louisiana for many commodities tend to be lower than those in the other states because of the competition from barge carriers. All lines handle a significant volume of containers, TOFC and carload traffic between Louisiana and most of mid-America. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Facilities |
While Union Parish has no navigable rivers its location between ports on the Mississippi and Red Rivers should not be overlooked. Northwestern Louisiana and various state and federal agencies are working together to bring a viable water transportation route back to the Red River, which will enhance access to the Port of New Orleans and other ports on the Gulf Coast. Planners are committed to building ports on the river, which can contribute significantly to the parish¸s economic potential. The first indication of this is the establishment of a 100-acre warehousing, manufacturing and distribution center located in Shreveport. Interport, as it is called, has been designated a Customs Port of Entry, a Foreign Trade Zone and an Enterprise Zone giving it multiple tax advantages. These advantages plus the location of Shreveport near the center of United States¸ population makes Northwest Louisiana an ideal location for warehousing/distribution facilities. Cargo can be delivered by barge from Louisiana to all of mid-America via the 19,000 mile Mississippi River System. Louisiana also sits at the center of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway system that rims the northern Gulf of Mexico. Further, the state itself has 4,500 miles of navigable waterways served by 25 harbor and terminal districts, many of which can issue low-interest industrial revenue bonds to finance manufacturing and storage facilities. Also through the state there is a port construction and priority program that may assist in funding port facilities. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Louisiana¸s lower Mississippi corridor is the leading port area in the world with a total annual tonnage of over 345 million tons. The port area stretches 230 miles inland on both banks of the river with more than 110,000 acres of large, affordable deepwater sites with barge and ship access. There are several campus-type industrial parks suitable for warehouse/distribution operations, offices, sales/service facilities and light manufacturing/assembly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Union Parish Airport, with a 3,000 foot paved, lighted runway, accommodates business jets. It is located just two miles from the downtown area of the city. The runway is lighted for night flying, fuel, storage and maintenance are available on premises. Shreveport Regional Airport serves Northwest Louisiana with more than 20 national airlines. It is 66 miles from Ruston and accessible via Interstate Highway 20. Commercial carriers include American, Continental, Continental Express, Delta, Northwest, Northwest Airlink, American Eagle and L¸Express. One of the two runways is 8,350 feet long, 200 feet wide, grooved with category II lighting. Major repair facilities and fuel are available. Sixty-eight Louisiana cities have hard-surfaced public airports, most with night landing capability. Another 250 private airports can accommodate light aircraft. The nearest commercial airport is Monroe Regional Airport only 35 miles away. It has a 7,000 foot runway and is served by L¸Express, American Eagle, Northwest Airlink and Delta Airlines. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Delivery |
Nationwide passenger and parcel service are provided by Greyhound Bus Lines. Emery/Purolator, United Parcel Service and Federal Express are available. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carriers |
The following freight carriers service the area: SAIA Motor Freight Line, Roadway Express, Red Ball, Consolidated, Jones Truck Lines and Yellow Freight Lines.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
