Police and fire briefs for Aug. 2, 2009

• Advocate staff report
• Published: Aug 2, 2009

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Fire at Westdale not seen to delay school
A Saturday fire at Westdale Middle School that damaged a teacher workroom is not expected to delay the start of classes, the school principal said.

Firefighters arrived at the school, 5650 Claycut Road, at 11:10 a.m., after two janitors noticed the blaze, Fire Department spokesman Barry Mounce said in a news release. The fire was under control 16 minutes later.

The teacher workroom contained copiers, scanners and computers. An apparent electrical malfunction appears to have sparked the fire, Mounce said. The room was gutted but no classrooms sustained damage.

The fire will not cause any delays in the opening of school, scheduled for Friday, said Principal Sherry Brock of Westdale Middle School.

Mounce estimated the fire caused $50,000 damage to the school.

Authorities arrest 5 on suspicion of DWI
Authorities arrested at least five people suspected of driving while intoxicated in East Baton Rouge Parish and booked them into Parish Prison between 3 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday, booking records show.

Those booked and the counts against them:

• Virginia Louise Smith, 51, 8508 Summa Ave., No. 1, first-offense DWI, failure to maintain control and driver’s license not on person.
• Carl Bynum, 69, 2254 Tecumseh St., first-offense DWI, open container violation, possession of Schedule III drugs and hit-and-run.
• Hugh Lennon Inabnet, 27, 5055 Nicholson Drive, Apt. M304, first-offense DWI, motor vehicle inspection required, reckless operation, improper display of a license plate and driver’s license required/expired.
• George E. Gilmore Jr., 28, 17912 Barnett Road, Zachary, first-offense DWI, open container violation and improper lane usage.
• Larry Hughes, 60, 2307 Skeeter Drive, Jackson, third-offense DWI, driver’s license not on person, driver’s license suspended or revoked and stopping on a roadway.

Compiled from staff reports. To talk to a crime reporter at The Advocate, call (225) 388-0369. For breaking police and fire news, go to the Police and Fire Blog at http://www.2theadvocate.com.