By Pat Culverhouse
Ward 1 Marshal Danny Weaver’s decision to display the photos of past Marshals in a new, specially designed frame led to a rather surprising revelation.
“While I was looking at the photos of the past Ward 1 Marshals I had, I found out that our office is 100 years old this year,” he said. “I had no idea until I saw the picture of Marshal Larkin Turner showing he began serving in 1925. I thought, ‘Hey, this is 2025. That’s a hundred years.’”
During its 100 years, only nine individuals have served as Marshal of Ward 1, an area that extends from near the Couchwood area to the southern boundary of Webster Parish. Retired Marshal Randy Shelley, with 24 years in office, had the longest term of service.
Marshals are elected to six year terms, and their primary duty is to serve as officer of the Minden City Court.
“We serve all civil papers associated with Ward 1 in the parish,” Weaver, who is in his first term, said.
When it’s necessary to serve those papers, Weaver takes a different approach which he says keeps individuals from “throwing good money after bad.”
“The law says you try two times to serve papers and are unsuccessful, you turn them over,” he said. “We don’t do that. We continue until the papers are served.”
Some sources of income for the Marshal’s office include citations, garnishments, and the MPD’s Safety Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). Weaver’s office also receives money from the City of Minden and the Webster Parish Police Jury.
As his revenue stream improved, Weaver began upgrading his staff and equipment. Currently, two full-time and three part-time deputy Marshals plus one reserve officer are on the rolls. Weaver also purchased three new, fully-equipped vehicles.
“Some Marshals like to keep a very low profile, but I want the people of Ward 1, the people I work for, to know who we are and where we are,” he said. “
Weaver has also used some of the funds from his office to assist other law enforcement agencies. He most recently presented a $36,000 check to the Minden Police Dept. for license plate readers and purchased spike strips for the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“We have a very good relationship with other law enforcement agencies and we want that to continue,” he said. “We have been there with them when a call for assistance went out.”
