Enforcement Fire Department |
The Washington Parish Sheriff’s main office is located in the Parish Court House in Franklinton and handles all of the criminal, civil and tax division operations, as well as police protection, throughout the parish. Washington Parish is under 24-hour patrol by the criminal division, which presently has 61 regular deputies. The department has 19 cars to patrol the parish. Washington Parish has 6 fire stations with 37 firemen and 63 volunteer firemen located throughout the parish. |
|
The Bogalusa Community Medical Center and the Washington-St. Tammany Regional Medical Center provide 150-plus beds for Bogalusa area residents. The medical field is comprised of 35 doctors, 17 dentists and specialists which provide medical care for the area. A rest home with 205 beds and the Bogalusa Mental Health Clinic also serve the community. In Franklinton Riverside Medical Center is a modern 72 bed facility with a six-bed Intensive Care Unit, a Kidney Dialysis Unit and new Physical Therapy and Respiratory Therapy Departments. Two rest homes are also located in Franklinton. Other local health and related services include those run by a state-supported parish health office, 2 ambulance services, and four volunteer agencies (Mental Health Council, Red Cross, Council on Aging and Washington Parish Activity Center.) A local 911 service is being enhanced in the parish for police, fire and ambulance services. Residents have access to the large number of medical facilities located in the regional area, including Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which is one of the largest teaching hospitals in the country, the clinics of both LSU and Tulane Schools of Medicine, the prestigious Ochsner Foundation Hospital and Clinics, and numerous other public and private medical facilities. The medical care in the New Orleans region is among the finest available in the world. |
|
and Recreation |
There are several festivals and fairs each year in the parish. The Washington Parish Fair is reputedly the largest free fair in the country, drawing close to half a million people each year. Organized sports leagues include little league, YMCA, YWCA and church league activities. Washington Parish also has 2 golf courses, 4 community swimming pools, 10 tennis courts, a skating rink and a bowling alley. Boating, tubing, and fishing on local rivers are also major activities for visitors and residents of the parish. The parish also has access to the vast recreational and cultural facilities of the metropolitan New Orleans area: including the new Aquarium of the Americas, the New Orleans Symphony, opera and ballet, the National Football Leagueµs New Orleans Saints, NCAA college athletics from Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Louisiana State University, and others. |
|
The New Orleans Central Business District is only 69 miles away, and has seen an explosion of retail activity in the past few years. The Riverwalk, Canal Place, and New Orleans Centre have added several specialty retail outlets, including national chain outlets like Lord and Taylor, Macyµs, Brooks Brothers, Sharper Image and Saks Fifth Avenue. Baton Rouge also provides many shopping opportunities. Smaller retail centers are located in Slidell, Louisiana and Hammond, both within a half hour drive of the parish.
|
|
|
Communications in the area include a local daily newspaper (The Daily News ‹Bogalusa, Circulation 8,500 daily, 9,000 Sunday) and a weekly (The Era Leader ‹Franklinton, circulation 3,500). Metropolitan daily newspapers from New Orleans and Baton Rouge are also circulated in Washington Parish. Local radio stations include WFCG (AM), WIKC (AM) and WBOX (FM). Many New Orleans stations are also available. Television stations can be received from New Orleans including all four networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX), as well as several independent and public broadcast stations. Cable service is also available in the parish. |
|
| Washington Parish enjoys an average of 300 days of sun per year. Prevailing winds are from the north and northeast in the winter and fall and from the southeast in the spring and summer. Washington Parish Weather Wettest Month (July) 6.210 inches Annual Average Rainfall 60.11 inches Average, Coldest Month (January) 49.4 Average, Hottest Month (July) 82.1 |
| Washington Parish is located in the region of Louisiana known as the Florida Parishes and Bogalusa, the industrial heart of the parish, lies on the Pearl River, the eastern border of the state. It is bordered on the west by Tangipahoa Parish, and on the south by St. Tammany Parish. To the north are Walthall and Marion Counties across the Mississippi state line at the 31st parallel and to the east is Pearl River County, Mississippi. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highways |
From Washington 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 nationµs population and 70 percent of its manufacturing plants. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Highway x U.S. Highway x intersects Interstate x at x xx miles to the west and near New Washington about x miles to the east. Highway 90 also intersects with Interstate x in x. It also continues to 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). To the west of Washington Parish Highway 10 extends past its interchange with I-55 in Tangipahoa Parish. In the parish it is the main road connecting Franklinton to Bogalusa. To the east it crosses the Pearl River and connects to I-59 near Poplarville, Mississippi. Franklinton is 25 miles from the I-55 interchange and 41 miles from the I-59 interchange. Bogalusa is 46 miles from I-55 and 20 miles from I-59. Extensive changes to this roadway between the Mississippi River and I-59, including widening and bridge replacement is in the planning stages. Construction approval depends on expected industrial development along this corridor. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This road is on the Federal Aid Primary program (FAP, 50ft. ROW with 24 ft. paved surface). To the north of Franklinton Highway 25 extends past the Mississippi state line to Tylertown. To the south it connects to I-12, 32 miles away near Covington in St. Tammany Parish. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This road is on the Federal Aid Primary program (FAP, variable ROW with 24 ft. paved surface). To the north of Bogalusa Highway 21 extends past the Mississippi state line to Columbia. To the south it widens briefly to a four- lane divided highway to Bush in St. Tammany Parish and connects to I-12, 33 miles from Bogalusa near Covington in St. Tammany Parish. Also from Bush, State Highway 41 extends south to an interchange with I-59 near Pearl River, La. (38 miles from Bogalusa) and to I-10 in Slidell, La. (42 miles from Bogalusa.) | The main transportation arteries through Washington Parish are state Highways 10, 21 and 25. Highway 21 and 25 connect Bogalusa and Franklinton, respectively, to Interstate Highway 12, part of the I-10 system which stretches to both the east and west coasts of the United States. State Highway 10 connects in Tangipahoa Parish to Interstate Highway 55, which runs northward through Jackson, Miss. and Memphis, Tenn. and on to Chicago, Ill. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington Parish is served by the Illinois Central Railroad. The tracks run north through Bogalusa, Varnado and Angie. Rail rates in Louisiana for many commodities tend to be lower than those in the other states because of the competition from barge carriers. Illinois Central Railroad handles a significant volume of containers, TOFC and carload traffic between Louisiana and most of mid-America. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Facilities |
The Washington Parish Industrial Development Foundation, the City of Bogalusa and various state and federal agencies are working together to create a small port on the Pearl River Navigation Canal with access to the Port of New Orleans and other ports on the Gulf Coast. The community leaders are committed to building a public port on the canal, a viable waterway which will contribute significantly to Washington Parishµs economic potential. Anticipated use of the port by Gaylord Container Corporation, the areaµs largest industrial firm, is enough to make the canal worthwhile. Recent expansion of the paper mill will necessitate shipping a substantial increase of raw materials and finished products which readily lend themselves to barge movement. Other bulk shippers have also indicated an interest in using the port once year-round navigability on the waterway is assured by the U.S. Army Corps of EngineersŚ current dredging project . Commodities which reflect such interest include agricultural chemicals, lime and fertilizer, sand and gravel, export wood and wood chips and containerized freight forwarding. 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. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Two of the nationµs five largest deepwater ports are available on the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Together with the stateµs two other deepwater ports at Lake Charles and the South Louisiana Port Commission at LaPlace, they provide superb access to world markets and sources of raw materials. The four ports handle almost 300 million tons of cargo annually and are called on by some 6,000 vessels. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Bogalusa-Carr Memorial Airport, with a 5,000 foot paved, lighted runway, accommodates business jets. It is located within the Bogalusa Industrial Park, just north of the city. Franklinton Airport is located approximately 3 miles southeast of the town limits. The runway is 3,000 feet in length with an asphalt surface. The runway is lighted for night flying, fuel is available on premises, and automobile rental is offered by Franklinton auto dealers. Only 40 minutes away is New Washington International (Moisant Field) This airport is easily accessible via Interstate Highway 10 or U.S. Highway 90. This airport nad the New Orleans Lakefront Airport serve southeast Louisiana with more than 20 national and international carriers providing direct passenger and cargo transportation to destinations in the U.S., Europe, Central and South America, and Asia. New Orleans International Airport is 70 miles from Bogalusa and accessible via Interstate Highway 10 and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. Baton Rouge Airport is 90 miles from Bogalusa and accessible via Interstate Highway 12. Sixty-eight Louisiana cities have hard-surfaced public airports, most with night landing capability. Another 250 private airports can accommodate light aircraft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Delivery |
Nationwide passenger and parcel service are provided by Greyhound Bus Lines. United Parcel Service and Federal Express are available. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carriers |
The following freight carriers service the area: SAIA Motor Freight Line, Jones, Haynes, Barnes, Southeastern and Ozone.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
