Changes

During his time as sheriff, Riser seemed repeatedly at odds with the Webster Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body akin to the county commission in most other states. The dispute centered over the housing and reimbursement of the costs of prisoners. Riser accused the police jury of not paying its bills after the jurors offered barely half of what the sheriff said was owed. The police jury, led by its president, Charles Roger "Charlie" Walker, Sr. (1931-2015) of Doyline in south Webster Parish, subsequently sued Riser, whom it accused of allowing his employees and inmate crews to sabotage the vacant parish penal farm; the damages rendered the facility inoperable for further use as a jail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoominfo.com/s/#!search/profile/person?personId=38045906&targetid=profile|title=Ted Riser|publisher=zoominfo.com|accessdate=September 18, 2014}}</ref><ref>KTBS-TV, [[Shreveport]], Louisiana, July 30, 2003.</ref>Josh Beavers, former publisher of ''The Minden Press-Herald'', said that Walker handled the controversy with Riser fairly: "Through all of the turmoil, I never felt like Mr. Walker was trying to be subversive. He was always honest, always open."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://press-herald.com/walker-remembered-as-father-leader-and-friend/|title=Walker remembered as father, leader and friend|publisher=''Minden Press-Herald''|accessdate=March 16, 2015}}</ref>​

During his time as sheriff, Riser seemed repeatedly at odds with the Webster Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body akin to the county commission in most other states. The dispute centered over the housing and reimbursement of the costs of prisoners. Riser accused the police jury of not paying its bills after the jurors offered barely half of what the sheriff said was owed. The police jury, led by its president, Charles Roger "Charlie" Walker, Sr. (1931-2015) of Doyline in south Webster Parish, subsequently sued Riser, whom it accused of allowing his employees and inmate crews to sabotage the vacant parish penal farm; the damages rendered the facility inoperable for further use as a jail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoominfo.com/s/#!search/profile/person?personId=38045906&targetid=profile|title=Ted Riser|publisher=zoominfo.com|accessdate=September 18, 2014}}</ref><ref>KTBS-TV, [[Shreveport]], Louisiana, July 30, 2003.</ref>Josh Beavers, former publisher of ''The Minden Press-Herald'', said that Walker handled the controversy with Riser fairly: "Through all of the turmoil, I never felt like Mr. Walker was trying to be subversive. He was always honest, always open."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://press-herald.com/walker-remembered-as-father-leader-and-friend/|title=Walker remembered as father, leader and friend|publisher=''Minden Press-Herald''|accessdate=March 16, 2015}}</ref>​

 

Under Riser, a new $7.3 million state-of-the-art prison, the Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center, named for Dorcheat Bayou and located within the former Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant, or Camp Minden, west of Minden, was constructed to house up to 340 prisoners. Because the land on which the center lies is formerly United States Army property, Riser depended on then [[U.S. Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]], a Louisiana Democrat defeated in 2014 by Republican [[Bill Cassidy]], to break through the federal regulations: "She was a real champion for us. She ... helped us get through everything that had to be done in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=273750645&page_url=//www.press-herald.com/news/0327news.html&page_last_updated=2002-03-28T09:42:40&firstName=Ted&lastName=Riser|title=Dorcheat Center Ready at Last|publisher=''Minden Press-Herald''|author=Josh Beavers|date=March 28, 2002|accessdate=September 18, 2014}}</ref>​

Under Riser, a new $7.3 million state-of-the-art prison, the Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center, named for Dorcheat Bayou and located within the former Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant, or Camp Minden, west of Minden, was constructed to house up to 340 prisoners. Because the land on which the center lies is formerly United States Army property, Riser depended on then [[U.S. Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]], a Louisiana Democrat defeated in 2014 by Republican [[Bill Cassidy]], to break through the federal regulations: "She was a real champion for us. She ... helped us get through everything that had to be done in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=273750645&page_url=//www.press-herald.com/news/0327news.html&page_last_updated=2002-03-28T09:42:40&firstName=Ted&lastName=Riser|title=Dorcheat Center Ready at Last|publisher=''Minden Press-Herald''|author=Josh Beavers|date=March 28, 2002|accessdate=September 18, 2014}}</ref>​

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