Doyline residents losing patience with road blocks
By: Alese Underwood
Updated: December 6, 2012
Moving six million pounds of illegally stored materials continues today at Camp Minden, while people living in the town of Doyline are becoming restless and want their roads open again.
We caught up with Doyline resident Sheryl Burch on her way to the grocery store. She said. She understands that safety is an issue as operations at Camp Minden push on for the rest of the week, but she wonders what the point is to have detours that stretch miles out of the way when people are in town and the evacuation wasn't mandatory.
"It's like a ghost town," Burch said, adding that people are home in Doyline, but are afraid to come out. Since evacuating Doyline was never mandatory, people living in town say that most people either stayed or have returned to their homes, making them wonder why roads are closed off.
Today is the fifth day access to Doyline has been difficult, and, for those living there, turning things like getting to work, school or even and running simple errands is a major project.
Now, the main question they're asking is why...
Michelle Bryant, a student at Virginia College in Bossier City says her formerly 15-minute drive from Doyline to school has turned into a 45-minute drive, as she navigates around country roads and state highways due to roads she normally takes to get on I-20 being blocked or closed by law enforcement.
She said the situation is extremely difficult, particularly when she sees law enforcement and other officials drive on the roads closed to residents of Doyline.
"I have to go all the way around before I can finally get on the Interstate. It's terrible...I just want to know why."
She added that she spent so much time driving to and from school; she doesn't have time to study.
Speaking of studying, if schools in Doyline open back up on Friday, students will be able to complete their exams next week.
Although NBC 6 News tried several times to speak with Webster Parish Sheriff Gary Sexton, he was tied up in meetings all day.
We were told the clean-up operation has slowed down since Tuesday, as more work is happening in tight spaces. We will continue our coverage of this story and update as information becomes available.
