VIDALIA — A Concordia Parish Correctional Facility inmate who walked away from a work detail in Vidalia last week was a topic of discussion during Monday’s night’s Concordia Parish Police Jury meeting.

Last Wednesday, Matthew Morgan, a Concordia Parish Correctional Facility inmate, was recaptured near the Vidalia Walmart where he allegedly held a woman at knifepoint, forced her to get in the passenger side of her vehicle, attempted to abduct her and take the car before a group of women confronted him.

The inmate fled to a nearby bank where a state trooper and Vidalia police officers apprehended him.

Monday evening, District 4B Juror Jimmy Wilkinson made a motion that the board send a letter to Concordia Parish Sheriff Kenneth Hedrick requesting that he require inmates to wear identifying clothing while at the courthouse as well as not allowing any inmate convicted of violent or aggravated offenses to assume trusty status.

“Any prisoner or trusty on the grounds of the courthouse needs to be identified as an inmate,” Wilkinson said. “They need to put them in shirts or do whatever they need to do so that people here can look into the crowd and pick out the inmate. We’ve had complaints voiced already, but I want to make it official and send the sheriff a letter to address that.”

The motion passed by a vote of 5-0, with District 1B juror Joseph Parker Sr., District 3B juror Whest Shirley, District 4B juror Jerry Beatty and District 5B juror Red Tiffee absent.

In other matters during the Concordia Parish Police Jury meeting Monday evening, the board approved the following actions by a vote of 5-0:

• Approved a motion to advertise three open positions at the parish maintenance unit, including heavy and light equipment operators and a labor hand.
• Appointed Kale Davis to the Board of Recreation for District 3 to replace Wesley McCarver, who resigned Jan. 13.
• Approved a 4-percent pay raise for a health unit employee who transitioned from part-time to full-time status.
• Approved a request to notify the owner of a developing residential area in Ferriday of ordinance violations regarding culverts and ditches.
• Approved an occupational license for BL&B Lawn Services in Ferriday.