Robert Gary Ingram
June 9, 2008
Marilyn Chapman Moore
June 11, 2008
Thibodaux Urgent Care’s physician John King has been named Lafourche Parish’s interim coroner. A special election will be held in October for voters to name a full-time coroner.
The Lafourche Parish Council unanimously appointed King to the post at an emergency meeting May 30. Parish Clerk of Court Vernon Rodrigue administered the oath to King following the meeting.
King, a resident of Gheens, replaces his longtime friend Coleridge Franklin who officially retired at the end of May after serving as parish coroner for nine years.
The two reportedly first discussed King assuming the coroner’s role eight months earlier. However, a paperwork snafu left parish officials scurrying to name a replacement.
Parish President Charlotte Randolph said the administration learned about Franklin’s intention to retire six months earlier.
“We already knew Dr. Franklin was leaving, but before we could appoint someone else, he had to send a notarized letter of resignation to the Secretary of State’s office,” she said.
Once the letter was notarized, Randolph said parish officials had 10 days to name a successor. The position initially was to have been filled at last night’s parish council meeting; however, that meeting exceeds the state’s 10-day limit, she said.
During the resignation process, Randolph was also operating under the assumption that Franklin’s seven-year veteran deputy coroners could handle the office until a successor was named.
“There was a lot of controversy surrounding the two deputy coroners and their credentials. It is my understanding that the Secretary of State’s office did not have the proper documentation on them, which would make them ineligible to handle the position,” Randolph said.
The Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office informed the parish administration last Friday that the two deputy coroners did not have valid documentation with its office or the Lafourche Parish Clerk of Court. In the meantime, both deputies are barred from working with the coroner’s office until their paperwork is cleared.
“We are working on getting them squared away with the Secretary of State’s office,” Randolph said.
In the meantime, Lafourche Parish was faced with closing its coroner’s office, a move forbidden by law. In turn, the emergency meeting was called to temporarily fill the position. King will be eligible to seek election to the seat in October.
The parish coroner is responsible for investigating and determining the cause of death. The coroner is also involved with determining the mental well-being of certain citizens.
“I can offer recommendation to remove people from the general public to improve the safety of the community,” King said. “In some cases, this can prevent death and acute situations.”
King said he intends to add three or four deputy coroners to help with the coroner duties, and a team of three or four to handle forensic investigations. Dr. Walter Birdsall has been hired as one of the deputy coroners. King said the other positions will be advertised.
“I want to make this office more in line with other parishes in the area,” King said. “I am well on my way to making this office just a little bit better for the parish. I have already met with the [Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office], which presently handles the forensic side of the investigations, the parish government, hospice and the local funeral homes to get things together.”
The Lafourche Parish Coroner’s Office operates on a $240,000 annual budget, $24,000 of which is paid yearly to the coroner, Randolph said.
King said with a 10 to 15 percent increase in its operating budget, improvements to the department could be made.
