News Flash

The City of DeRidder completed an Automated Road Analyzer (ARAN) project — the first initiative of its kind for the city.In the past, the Department of Public Works evaluated streets by driving each one and assigning a general condition grade of red, yellow, or green. Those ratings served as a guide for street reconstruction and paving priorities. Final decisions were then influenced by a combination of council input, Public Works recommendations, traffic volume, and available budget.With this new technology, DeRidder can now assess every street using scientific data rather than opinion, printed maps, and highlighters.ARAN technology gathers precise data on pavement conditions, giving municipalities a more accurate way to prioritize maintenance, reduce repair costs, and support equitable pavement management across the city.While council input and traffic data will still play a role in future decisions, this technology helps remove politics from the process and creates a more objective, data-driven approach to street planning.The project also included the collection of comprehensive roadway video. This means Public Works employees will now be able to virtually “drive” city streets from their computers whenever they need to review road conditions or reference specific areas.

The City of DeRidder would like to make residents aware of some changes in collection from Waste Connections, the city’s contracted garbage collector.Going forward, anything sitting outside residential trash bins will not be picked up the same day of your scheduled collection day. This change is due to a total transition to fully-automated trucks. These trucks are now single-operator and loose items cannot be picked up from the ground like before when there were two operators. Again, loose items will now be treated as bulk pickup.Residents can request an extra bin to take care of the overflow. Waste Connections will service any container that is 65 gallons or larger — they do not have to be a Waste Connections container.Waste Connections will be sending out mailers to customers' homes with this information.To check on requesting a second bin, click here: https://www.wasteconnections.com/.../residential-garbage...If you have questions, you may call 1-844-708-7274.

“Shining Lights On Autism,” a fundraiser for the Louisiana Autism Center in DeRidder, will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 18 at the Beauregard Parish Fairgrounds in DeRidder. There will be a car show, bike show, and off-road show ($20 per entry). There will also be a live auction, raffles, a bake sale, and plate lunch ($7-$10). All of the proceeds from the day will go toward the center.This is sponsored by: Free Patriots MC, Bayou Reaperz MC, VFW Riders Post 3619, and Lucid Customs.For more information, call one of the numbers listed on the flyer. Everyone is welcome, make your plans to come out and support this worthy cause!