Proposed parish pipeline provides promise
May 3, 2011
Rebecca Cheramie
May 5, 2011“I shouldn’t have been there,” said Tony Alford one week after he was issued a citation for simple battery involving a musician at a Houma tavern.
According to witnesses and police reports, Alford, who once owned the building where the City Club is located, was in the establishment at about 1 a.m. on April 21, drinking while a rock band, called Pop Evil, from Grand Rapids, Mich., performed.
“I don’t remember what happened. They said I threw a pack of sugar at the guy,” Alford said in response to claims that he got into an unspecific altercation with the band’s lead singer, 34-year-old Leigh Kakaty.
According to published reports, Alford and Kakaty’s fight involved punches being thrown and ended with the singer receiving a black eye.
Alford is chairman of the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District board of commissioners, a state appointed position. He is an insurance broker, trucking business owner and president of the South Central Industrial Association.
A diabetic who wears an insulin pump, Alford said that he has a tendency to get easily agitated when his blood sugar levels drop. It is a problem that is amplified with alcohol.
“Sometimes my blood sugar just drops out. It doesn’t matter if you are drinking or not drinking, the first thing that goes is your brain. I guess my blood sugar dropped out while I was drinking and nobody noticed it until it was too late. I’m not using that as an excuse. That’s just the way it is,” Alford said.
“I initially went out to drink a few drinks instead of going home like I should have,” Alford said. “Bottom line is it is my fault.”
Houma Police fined Alford for his actions, but the amount was not revealed.
“The thing is you can’t use that [diabetic] condition as an excuse,” Alford said. “I’m ashamed. I’m going to work on it. I’m going to suck it up and do what I have to do.”
