The order comes as state government deals with the costs of the two recent hurricanes in the midst of national economic uncertainty, volatile oil prices, state revenue declines, and a projected $1.3 billion shortfall for the next fiscal year.

Limited hiring will be permitted in direct patient care and emergency services areas. All other positions must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Full details can be found on the Governor’s website at:

Governor Bobby Jindal Signs Executive Order Establishing Limited Hiring Freeze in State Government

Rapides Coliseum – November 2008

The Rapides Parish Coliseum (often just called ‘Rapides Coliseum‘ and sometimes, ‘Crossroads Coliseum‘) contains just over 6500 seats in the 65,000 square foot main building.  Built in 1965, the 42 year old, dome building has hosted thousands of events over the years from concerts, monster truck shows, professional wrestling, Senior Olympics and has even been the home to a couple sports teams.  Some of the more famous visitors include Elvis (1977), Martin Luther King (1966), and Ronald Reagan (1975).

Additional facilities on the grounds include a 23,000 square foot exhibition hall often used for trade shows and the 65,000 square foor Lewis-Odom Agricultural Complex (barn) used during livestock auctions and 4-H shows. 

Located on Highway 28 West in Alexandria with parking for nearly 2000 vehicles, the large lot is also used for annual events such as the Rapides Parish Fair every October as well as auto sales shows put on by the many central Louisiana auto and truck dealers. 

Many entertainers who previously would have performed at the coliseum have moved to venues at area casinos, however, internal marketing efforts by the staff continue to bring in other large-scale events.  Recent events include the Barnum and Bailey Circus in December 2008, World Wrestling Entertainment in January 2009, and upcoming is the Gaither Homecoming Tour on March 7, 2009.

The coliseum is governed by a 9-member board known as the Coliseum Authority.  Its membership is appointed by the Rapides Parish Police Jury. 

In April 2009, Rapides Parish voters will find a 1.5 mil ad valorem maintenance tax on the ballot.  If passed, this new issue is expected to generate an estimated $900,000 annually for a ten-year period with priority given to the complex’s electrical system, roof, restrooms renovation and parking lot resurfacing.   This will not cover all the improvements needed for refurbishment, but it will go a long way with facility upkeep.

In late Summer, 2008, a report was produced for the Rapides Parish Police Jury which estimates the total cost of repairs and needed updates to be approximately $10 million dollars.

Rapides Parish Exhibition Hall - Nov 2008

Lewis Odom Agricultural Center - Nov 2008

The following is a list of frequencies of Rapides Parish first responders to include Troop E, RPSO, municipal police, fire and ambulance services.

Please refer to your owner’s manual for instructions on how to program them into your scanner.

Alexandria Police (APD)
APD-155.5500
APD-155.6100
APD-155.9250
APD & RPSO-155.9700
APD-159.1500
APD-155.7600

Rapides Sheriff (RPSO)
RPSO & FD-855.7125
RPSO , APD & FD-857.9375
RPSO & FD-858.2625
RPSO , APD & FD-858.7125
RPSO , APD & FD-858.9375
RPSO & FD-859.2625
RPSO & FD-859.7125
RPSO & FD-859.9375
RPSO & FD-860.2625
RPSO & FD-855.7000
RPSO & FD-860.9625
RPSO & FD-860.2500

Pineville Police Department
Pineville PD-154.9650
Pineville PD-155.4900

Boyce Police Department
Boyce Police Dept.-158.8050

Area Fire Departments
Alexandria Fire Dept.-153.7700
Alexandria FD/EMS-154.3550
Tioga/Alpine FD/EMS-154.1750
RPSO & FD-860.9375

Louisiana State Police
Troop E,F & I-866.2875
Troop E-867.8875
Troop E-866.0125
Troop E-858.4875 (also Caldwell Parish SO)
Troop E-857.7625
Troop E-867.3625
Troop E-856.4625
Troop E-854.9875
Troop E-856.2125
Troop E & G-858.4375
Troop E-858.4625
Troop E & F-857.9625
Troop E & F-855.9875
Troop E & F-856.9625
Troop E-857.4375
Troop ?-858.2375
Troop ?-853.1375
Troop ?-854.0875

Cenla Area Ambulances
Acadian (Alexandria)-155.2950
Med Express Grant Parish-153.8000
Med Express Grant/Rapides Parish-155.3550
Med Express Winn Parish-155.3850
Med Express-154.3100
Louisiana Ambulance Net-155.3400
Life Flight/EMS-151.4600

For other central Louisiana frequencies, please refer to the list compiled by “The Burro” at http://community-2.webtv.net/theburro/CenlaFrequencies/

List Last updated: 5/23/08

For a list of current vacancies, please click:  Louisiana State Jobs in Rapides Parish

State Government Jobs in Louisiana

Louisiana Department of State Civil Service – Louisiana has an excellent website for gathering any and all information you need to become a state employee. For job searching, The clickable map allows you to search by region or extend your options to search By Parish or Statewide.

If you are a current employee of the State of Louisiana you will want to visit the Information for State Employees page for employee services and general employee information.

While only one interstate road, I-49, passes through the parish connecting Shreveport to Lafayette, a number of four- and two-lane state highways converge in Alexandria or Pineville and leave in many different directions.

Prior to the construction of Interstate 49, Alexandria to Shreveport was primarily connected by Highway 1, west of the Red River, and Highway 71 on the east side which remain today as secondary highways through Rapides Parish.  From north to south, Highways 165 (Monroe to Lake Charles) and 167 (Ruston to Ville Platte) crisscross in Alexandria/Pineville, while Highway 28 extends west to Leesville and east to Archie (where 28 becomes 84 to Natchez, Mississippi.

For a downloadable map of Louisiana highways, click here.

The parish is also served by air from three public airports and a couple privates ones.  The largest airfield, Alexandria International Airport (AEX) is at England Airpark and hosts commercial jet and turboprop service to Atlanta (Delta), Houston (Continental), Dallas (American), and Memphis (Northwest) at least twice per day.  England Airpark was formerly England Air Force Base (EAFB) until it was closed in the early 1990′s during military base realignments.

In Pineville, Esler Field (ESF) was the region’s primary airport until the base closure above.  The airport today is now used primarily by the Louisiana National Guard at Camp Beauregard but is also open to general aviation aircraft.  The remaining public airport is a small general aviation facility at Buhlow Lake known as Pineville Municipal Airport (2L0) with approximately 30 aircraft based at the field.

The Port of Alexandria offers many advantages for commercial and industrial commerce with its close proximity to Interstate 49 and Alexandria International Airport.  Loading cranes and storage facilities for barge traffic on the Red River allows the port to load and unload military equipment, grain, fertilizer, construction supplies and aggregate of many varieties by truck and rail.

While there are no passenger trains in the region, Kansas City Southern (KCS) and Union Pacific (UP)  railroads make their way through Alexandria transporting freight of all kinds.  The Port of Alexandria has direct access to these railroads thereby establishing itself as a key waypoint for river and rail traffic for all of central Louisiana.

Intrastate and interstate bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines from downtown Alexandria.  Also, the twin-cities of Alexandria and Pineville have local bus service in the metro areas for shoppers and commuters.