Baldwin is gearing up for this year’s cleanest city competition judging in April.

Aldermen heard Thursday from Nancy Barras, representing the Baldwin Beautification Club, who said district judging has been set for Thursday, April 18 at about 9:30 a.m.

Barras asked residents and businesses to be ready for the judging by cleaning up, cutting and edging lawns and putting garbage cans out of sight of the judges.

Community cleanup dates have been set for April 6 and April 13. Volunteers are asked to meet at Town Hall at 9 a.m. on those days.

The slogan for this year’s cleanup and contest, "Baldwin is Clean, What A Beautiful Scene" was contributed by Mariah Domingo, a fourth-grader at G.W. Hamilton Elementary.

The Baldwin Beautification Club is sponsored by the Franklin Garden Club.

In other business Thursday, the board looked over a preliminary ordinance concerning vicious dogs in the town, as requested from legal counsel last month.

Mayor Wayne Breaux said the proposed ordinance "covers it pretty well. It’s specific and wide-ranging."

Breaux said other ordinances are still being looked at for ideas.

Chief Gerald Minor noted that he’d like to see a provision that if a dog is picked up and brought to the pound once and retrieved by the owner, on the second pickup the owner would not get the dog back.

"I’d also like to finish getting all the ordinances from every municipality plus the parish," Minor said.

The ordinance identifies the pittbull terrier breed and notes that ownership of any dog with part of the breed’s bloodline would be completely illegal in Baldwin.

Minor said that since the last meeting of the board, he’s located three such dogs and talked to the owners. The dogs were removed from the town limits, he said.

The ordinance will identify non-specific breeds, as well.

"What’s so bad is that they’re walking the streets," board member Patrice Picard said of owners with alleged vicious dogs. "Like, ‘Okay, we know it’s illegal but we’re going to walk the streets with them.’ That’s what I’m seeing."

Also Thursday, Breaux announced that he is in receipt of a letter from the Louisiana State Steam Train Association, of New Orleans, in regards to a stopover in Baldwin during the 2003 Bicentennial Celebration of the Louisiana Purchase.

According to the correspondence, the association is a group of railroad enthusiasts who restore, operate and maintain historic Louisiana steam locomotives.

They are restoring the Southern-Pacific 745 locomotive utilizing federal enhancement funds. Lt. Governor Kathleen Blanco approached them to pull the Bicentennial Train around the state during the celebration.

Baldwin has been selected as a stopover for the tour "due to its history with the railroad, it’s (place) off the main line tracks that is conducive for visitors, and finally because of its down home Louisiana charm."

Nearby school students will be able to tour the train and its exhibits, the letter said. The train’s other nearest stops will be Morgan City and New Iberia.

The board authorized Breaux to send along approval for the stop.