WALKER, La. — The Walker City Council welcomed Walker High School’s new girls basketball coach, recognized a statewide award for the city’s disc golf course, and introduced a rezoning ordinance during its Aug. 10 meeting.
The council first welcomed coach Dustin Easley to the community.
“We’re glad to introduce him and welcome him to our community,” Mayor Jimmy Watson said.
Easley began coaching boys basketball at Ponchatoula High School in 2007 and remained there for seven years. After leaving coaching to work in other professions and support his family, he eventually returned “with my wife’s blessing,” he joked, and coached another boys' team for three years.
Easley later decided coaching girls' basketball would be a better fit for him and accepted a position at Loranger High School.
Coaching the girls' team at Loranger "has been a good thing for me,” Easley said. He led the team to the second round of the playoffs during each of his final two seasons there. Despite those achievements, Easley said he was not satisfied with that level of success.
“Everybody was so content, so happy to make it to the second round,” Easley said. “I said, that’s not good. This [other school’s] program was horrible, and they [were able to get] to the second round, so they accomplished what I accomplished.”
When a coaching position became available at Walker High School, Easley said applying was an easy decision.
“I’ve always looked up to Walker,” Easley told the council. “And I would love to coach big-school ball again.”
“All I can say is, it’s been great,” Easley said. “These girls are awesome, so I have high expectations, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
Following Easley’s introduction, the council introduced a proposed ordinance to rezone the site of the new Sombrero’s location from RC to RC-CAB-1. The proposal will be considered at the council’s next meeting.
Finance Director Mike Cotton also presented the city’s June 2026 financial report. According to Cotton, the city was approximately $995,000 in the black. The latest sales tax collections were down 4.5%, while natural gas sales were up 3.5%.
Chief of Operations Jamie Etheridge announced that Walker received a Community Achievement Award during the recent Louisiana Municipal Association conference in Monroe. The city earned the award for its disc golf course.
Etheridge called the recognition “a big deal,” noting that Walker’s course competed against projects from communities across the state.
Earlier this year, UDisc, an app used by disc golfers to track scores and rounds, ranked Walker’s course No. 2 in Louisiana, Etheridge said.
Near the end of the meeting, two residents asked the council to consider installing a speed bump on Ball Park Road because of frequent speeding. They also requested pest control measures to address an increase in rats and snakes following grass cutting on city-owned property behind 13 homes along the road.
Council members said they would consult the city’s engineering department about potential costs and procedures for installing a speed bump. They also plan to contact the Walker Police Department about speeding concerns and investigate the reported pest problems.
