Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Sabine Parish Coroner Dr. Mark Holder has appointed Christine Arnold of Pleasant Hill as Deputy Coroner. She replaces Ron Rivers, who was relieved of his duties recently. Dr. Holder told Observations that he was “unable to comment on why at this time.” Rivers had held the position for something close to 20 years.

He termed Ms. Arnold as being “well qualified, professional and very personable.”

Ms. Arnold was born Aug. 7, 1986 and grew up in Shreveport where she was graduated from Southwood High School. Originally, she went to college to study nursing, but realized that wasn’t really what she wanted to do. She ended up graduating from Bossier Parish Community College with an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Medicolegal Death Investigations.

She now lives in Pleasant Hill and is married to Shane Arnold, who works in the oil field. They have been married for 12 years and have two daughters, Audrey, 12, and Elexis, 10. They have a small hobby farm where they have goats, chickens, peacocks, a pig and cows. Ms. Arnold enjoys reading, hunting, fishing, spending time with family and playing “Call of Duty.”

In communicating with Observations, Ms. Arnold expressed thanks to her husband and the rest of her family who helped her through school and supported her dreams. She also offered thanks to Dr. Holder for appointing her to this position and said she is looking forward to working for the parish.

The picture of Ms. Arnold was taken on the happy day she was graduated from BPCC. We wish her well and know she will do an outstanding job.

It should be noted that Ron Rivers was also a Sabine Parish Deputy Sheriff and he was also relieved of his duties there. We asked for a comment from the Sheriff’s Office, but they did not respond.

This area lost one of its outstanding citizens and a legend in the grocery business with the death of Doug Curtis on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. He had been in ill health for some time. He was born Oct. 31, 1926, making him 94 years old.

He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Jeannie Barnhill Curtis, his four children and three step children: Douglas Wright Curtis Jr. and his wife Beverly of West Monroe, LA, John Wallace Curtis and wife Pamela of Many, daughters Linda Curtis Sparks and husband J. T. Sparks of Many, and Phyllis Longmire and husband David of Shreveport, LA, step son Robert Lynn King of Dumas, AR, step-daughters, Twila Kay McElhaney and husband Frankie of South Haven, MS and Kimberly Jean Hicks and husband Kelvin of Hornbeck, LA. He was proud of his 18 grandchildren, 28 great grandchildren, five great great grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews. Douglas’s surviving sibling is his brother Wilbert S. Curtis of DeRidder, LA. He was preceded in death by his parents, Alvin Wallace Curtis, Sr. and Myrtle Wright Curtis of Negreet, LA, brothers, Alvin Wallace Curtis, Jr. and Dr. John Cecile Curtis, sisters, Mary Lou Small and Helen Curtis McCollister.

The Curtis family is a beloved group and Mr. Doug was the local branch’s patriarch. He will be missed. The Curtis’s influence in Many and throughout Sabine cannot be measured.

I came to Many in November 1964, and Mr. Curtis was one of the first persons I met. He was operating Curtis Super Market on San Antonio Ave., just down the street from the Sabine Index office. He ran a full-page ad in the paper every week. I had a great relationship with Mr. Curtis and always stepped forward to assist him in any way I could with his business. He was an easy man to get to know. He loved to hunt and fish, and he often gave me shrimp he caught in the gulf when he went shrimping.

Observations was delighted to help honor Mr. Curtis when we and On-Air Personality Tedd Dumas arranged a birthday party for him and two other local World War II veterans back in December 2018.

Mr. Curtis had deep roots in Sabine Parish that dated all the way back to 1822.

He was born the second son of Alvin W. Curtis and Myrtle Wright Curtis of Negreet, LA on Oct. 31, 1926. His older brother, Alvin W. “A.W.” Curtis Jr., became his best buddy and hero. Their later born siblings were Dr. John C. Curtis, Mary Lou Curtis [Small], Helen Curtis [McCollister] and Wilbert Curtis.

When A. W. became school age at six and started to enter Negreet School, Doug at age four, cried and threw a fit to go, too. His behavior wore the principal and first grade teacher down, and the decision was made to let him start with A. W. They said if he couldn’t keep up, they would send him home. It all went well, and he and A. W. finished the eleven grades together and graduated in May of 1941.

Only two months after the brothers’ high school graduation, in July 1941, all United States men over the age of 21 were required to register for the draft. A.W. Curtis enlisted in the Marines and was sent to Hawaii, where he served to the end of the war.

Doug, at sixteen, went to work in the logging industry, later married Geraldine Moore, and they had their first son on the way when he received his draft notice to report for training on Jan. 1, 1944. He was sent to Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, AR to train for the infantry. While he was in training, the flag was raised on Iwo Jima, and Gen. McArthur announced that the Philippines had been liberated.

Curtis shipped out of Oakland, CA, and had been on the boat 30 days in route to the Philippines when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and Gen. McArthur took over command of the Japanese government in Tokyo. Doug was later sent to Japan, where the U. S. was preparing for invasion, and served there until the end of the war. He was discharged on Aug. 27, 1946.

By that time, he and his wife had two sons – Douglas W. Curtis, Jr. and John Wallace Curtis. In 1948, a daughter, Linda Curtis [Sparks], arrived and fifteen years later, another daughter, Phyllis Curtis [Longmire], was born to the family.

Following his discharge, Doug returned to Sabine Parish and went to work at Patterson’s Grocery. He purchased the store about ten years later and became a third generation grocer, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, and several great uncles in Sabine Parish.

Doug sold the store to his son John in 1971. His older son, Doug Jr., was already in the grocery business in Northeast Louisiana at that time. For the next 30-plus years, Curtis owned and operated a restaurant in Natchitoches, farmed, and often worked in the store for son John.

In 1981, he married Jeannie Barnhill and helped her raise her children to adulthood. They are Robert Lynn King, Twila Kay McElhaney and Kimberly Jean Hicks.

When asking his children what they know of his military experiences, they say their father rarely ever talked about it. And if you inquired of him, Curtis would say, “Well, I left the U. S. hating mayonnaise, and when I came back, I loved it.”

His children give him lots of credit, though, for what they learned from him. He took his children to church at an early age, he wanted them to have a good education, he encouraged them to be involved in sports or the band, and he taught them all to love their community with a generous spirit and through their actions. Above all, he instilled in his children an extremely strong work ethic.

Mr. Curtis was an avid LSU fan and introduced his sons to home games during the period that LSU won its first championship in 1958, attending numerous Sugar Bowl games inspiring and supporting their football years at Many High School. He was an avid duck hunter and known for his cooking skills.

He was active in his business years in the Many Athletic Booster Club, The Sabine Parish Chamber of Commerce, the Masons, Shriners and was a member of Fort Jesup Baptist Church. 

When we had the party honoring Mr. Curtis in December 2018, Tedd Dumas and I were awfully happy to see Mr. Curtis also honored with a certificate from Pres. Trump acknowledging his many contributions to life in Sabine Parish and World War II.

The family will have a memorial graveside service for Mr. Curtis at Zion Hill Cemetery in Negreet on Saturday, Mar. 13 at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to any of the following:  Many Athletic Football Program, 100 Tiger Dr., Many, LA  71449; District 8 Baptist Convention for the Toledo Bend Ministries or for Clara Springs Baptist Encampment, P. O. Box 2880, Natchitoches, LA  71457 or The Toledo Bend/Zwolle Historical Museum, 1601 Texas Hwy., Many, LA  71449.

Claudette “DeeDee” Palmer is in the race for Town of Many Alderwoman, Dist. C. Her announcement follows:

“I, Claudette “DeeDee” Palmer, would like to take this opportunity to announce my candidacy for Alderwoman District C, Town of Many.

“I am a lifelong resident of Many, Mother of three – Brandon, Krystal, and DeVante Palmer, grandmother, business owner and concerned citizen.

“I would like to help our town develop plans to attract industry and develop opportunity zones for entrepreneurs; therefore, give our children the option to remain home and provide a good living for themselves in the Town of Many.

“As a business owner, I would like to help the Town of Many make plans to improve economic development, infrastructure projects that are designed to foster growth within our town. NOT just overlaying streets during the spring and digging them up in the summer and fall because of outdated and crumbling water system.

“As a grandmother, I would like to see the development of a recreation department that provides for more than just athletic activities. Although I am a huge fan of sports, I often wonder what the Town of Many does for non-athletic children in our community.

“Finally, as a concerned citizen, it is amazing that the Town of Many has to rely on volunteers to protect its property from fires. Although they should be commended for the work they perform. The Town of Many should have a full time paid fire department.

“I look forward to addressing these and other issues during my campaign. I humbly as for your VOTE and SUPPORT #54 Claudette “DeeDee” Palmer for Alderwoman District C, Town of Many on March 20^th, 2021.”

Many Mayor Ken Freeman is to be lauded for his leadership during last week’s weather event. In addition, he had the foresight for the Town to purchase nine generators back in 2007.  As a result, the town was able to continue providing water and sewer services during Winter Storm Viola. In fact, Many was one of the few towns which kept water and sewer services going.

And related:  the Town of Many said they continue to receive calls and messages about a local boil advisory, but says, “Please note that the Town of Many water system is NOT under a boil advisory and has not been during this entire ice storm event.”

Soon the old Many water tank will come down, Mayor Ken Freeman announced recently. The tank is located at the intersection of Church and Main Streets.

Traffic will be diverted while the tank is removed. Mayor Freeman said the tank is 100 years old and is no longer safe to use.

We do not have the words necessary to express our appreciation for all the power company linemen who were in the area last week during the terrible winter storm. They did an outstanding job and we know some of them worked well into the night. They all are true heroes to those of us who have all-electric homes and who had no power. CLECO had 43,000 customers without power and by Sunday, roughly 97 per cent had power restored. In Sabine Parish there were less than five without power. SWEPCO reported it still had about 15,000 Louisiana customers without power Sunday night.

The linemen were not the only folks who put in long, cold hours. Our law enforcement officers worked diligently, as did the firemen. Persons working on the highway and water systems and on other governmental services are to be commended.

Jeff “Gilligan” Davidson, Sabine Police Juror from District 5, posted the following on Facebook after the winter storm:

“We know the roads are going to be bad from 20 years of neglect. Be patient, it’s going to take time to get all the roads back to the poor shape they were in, but we will be on them. We cannot put the heavy equipment on the roads while they are wet. It will only make them worse. Remember, when I was running for District 5 Police Juror, I put a picture of a tall four-wheel drive truck in the newspaper as the vehicle of the future of Sabine Parish and we’re still headed that way.”

And someone named Mark Billodeaux posted the following response:  “Give back your 50 per cent pay raises that your employers did not authorize. You chose to run and you were elected to serve the citizens of the parish. It’s not a full-time job and doesn’t warrant that parish taxpayers should provide you with raises for inferior performance and health insurance that many of your constituents cannot afford. 

“The problem with government ‘service’ is that government is nothing more than a jobs and benefit program for politicians and those closely connected. They easily rationalize pay increases and benefits for themselves, while crying poor mouth when it comes to capital spending on parish infrastructure,” Billodeaux said.

Mr. Davidson visited both Air Personality Tedd Dumas and I when he was running and asked for our assistance. Pledged that if he was elected, he would keep us posted about what was going on with the Jury. I haven’t seen him since, and Tedd said Davidson contacted him about once.

Sunday after leaving Walmart, we noticed a gentleman on the side of Hwy. 171 as we drove south back toward Many. He was holding a sign saying he was homeless, hungry and needed work. We stopped to visit with him. Turns out his name is Lonnie Foster, and he is originally from Leesville. He lost a long-time construction job and moved up to Many. During the cold snap, a good Samaritan let him stay at the William Ruffin Apartments.

He said he is looking for work. If interested, you may call him at (337) 378-2485.

It was interesting to note that he was sitting along the highway some distance from Walmart. He said folks at Walmart called the Many Police to remove him. The police, whom he said were very nice to him, showed him where Walmart’s property ends and told him he could stay there.

It is also interesting to note that Walmart would not let a homeless, hungry man looking for work stay on their property, but they constantly let folks set up outside their doors to harass customers about buying something from them for many causes that are not local and provide no local benefit.

Don’t misunderstand:  we support all the local causes and groups who do fundraisers at Walmart and on other local lots. We are glad to see and support our local organizations. But it rubs the wrong way to get harassed going in and out of that store by somebody from Timbucktu asking us to support some far-off effort that we’ve never heard of and can’t even properly scrutinize.

Don’t forget the Town of Many election coming up on Saturday, March 20. A new Mayor and members of the Board of Alderman will be elected. Online registration to vote ends this Saturday, Feb. 27. To register online, go to Louisiana Secretary of State at sos.la.gov, and click on “Geaux Vote.” Follow the prompts from there. Early voting starts Friday, March 5, and continues until Saturday, March 13. It’s your civic duty to vote, so be sure to take it seriously.

This month is flying by. Less than a week and it will be gone. Thanks for reading, as always. We appreciate it. See you next time!

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