DOTD to hold dedication & sign unveiling for Pinkie Wilkerson Memorial Interchange, Lincoln Parish
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at 4:15:54 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2017
Contact: Erin Buchanan
Public Information Officer
(318) 549-8402
erin.buchanan@la.gov
DOTD to hold dedication & sign unveiling for Pinkie Wilkerson Memorial Interchange in Grambling, Lincoln Parish
WHO: The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and Secretary Dr. Shawn Wilson, Rep. Patrick Jefferson, Sen. Jay Luneau, Martin Lemelle (GSU), Mayor Edward Jones (City of Grambling), Family of Pinkie Wilkerson
WHAT: A dedication ceremony and sign unveiling to name the I-20 interchange at LA 149 in Grambling in honor of former State Rep. Pinkie C. Wilkerson
WHEN: March 17, 2017
Time: 10 a.m.
WHERE: I-20 interchange with LA 149 in Grambling, La – Lincoln Parish
MORE INFO: DOTD is announcing the dedication of the I-20 interchange at LA 149 in Grambling in honor of former State Rep. Pinkie C. Wilkerson. A sign indicating the naming of the interchange will be unveiled at the ceremony.
Wilkerson (D-Grambling) was killed August 1, 2000 in a multi-car accident on I-20 in Bossier City. She was rear-ended by the driver of a truck while she and other motorists sat in stalled traffic in a construction zone.
Wilkerson represented House District 11, which encompasses Claiborne Parish and parts of Bienville, Lincoln and Union parishes.
Wilkerson, a Grambling attorney, was first elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1992. Wilkerson was the first and only female chair of the Louisiana Legislative Rural Caucus, elected to that position in 1997 and was still an active member at the time of her death. She was heavily involved in projects and issues affecting rural areas of the state.
In the area of health, Wilkerson was active in awareness programs on diabetes, cancer, lupus, and heart disease. She also passed legislation in 1993 establishing a 24-hour statewide compulsive gamblers helpline, also having the number placed in gambling establishments and on lottery tickets.
That same year she passed legislation authorizing courts to issue restraining and protective orders for abused parents. Along those same lines, in 1995 she passed legislation which includes grandparents and grandchildren within the coverage of the family violence programs related to community-based shelters for victims of family violence.
Prior to serving in the House Wilkerson was an assistant district attorney and an assistant attorney general and also worked in the private sector. She was an Assistant Professor at Southern University Law School from 1981 to 1984.