Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Funeral services for Robert Dale Ammons of Collierville, Tennessee (a native and former resident of Many, Louisiana) were held at the Collierville Funeral Home on Saturday, March 13, followed by graveside services at Magnolia Cemetery. Family and friends gathered in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Max Ammons following internment.

Serving as pallbearers were his sons, Monte Ammons and Max Ammons; his grandson, Adam Ammons; and nephews, Spencer Redburn, David Ammons and Paul Ammons.

Mr. Ammons died Wednesday, March 3, following a short illness. He was 26 days short of his 80th birthday.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Connie Wright Ammons; his parents, Cliff and Ethel Ammons; a brother, Larry Ammons; and his in-laws, Melvin and Marguerite Wright, all of Many.

Survivors include his sons, Monte Ammons and wife, Benicia, of Johns Creek, Georgia and Max Ammons and wife, Katie, of Collierville; sisters, Dr. Dianna Johnson, PhD. and husband, Dr. Rusty Johnson, PhD. of Memphis; and Suzanne Ammons of Many; a brother, Kenneth Ammons and wife, Donna, of Many; a brother-in-law, Tommy Wright and wife, Connie of Houston, Texas; five grandchildren, Adam Ammons, Caroline Ammons, Abigail Ammons, Mary Claire Ammons and Beau Ammons; and nieces and nephews, Karen Warren, Spencer Redburn, Catherine Wright, Ellie Wright, David Ammons and Paul Ammons.

Lifetime

Robert Ammons was the oldest of five children born to Cliff and Ethel Ammons of Many on March 29, 1941.

From a young age, strong work ethics and community service were instilled by his father, who was instrumental in developing Toledo Bend Lake and serving as a State Representative for the Louisiana Legislature.

Robert attended Many schools and graduated from Many High in 1959.

Following high school, he joined the Louisiana National Guard and completed Officer’s Candidate School at Camp Beauregard. He was most proud of his completion of Jump School in the Ranger Unit of the Guard and earned the title of Jumpmaster, known expert paratroopers in an Airborne Unit.

The completion of high school, also introduced him to his college years at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge (LSU), where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity and earned a degree in Agri-Business in 1964.

Following college, he returned to Many and joined his father’s business, Help Real Estate, developing and selling properties on Toledo Bend Lake.

In 1966, he married Connie Sharon Wright of Many. They enjoyed 52 years of life together before her death in May, 2018.

His professional career was established at Fort Polk in Leesville. He worked for many years in the Federal Employment Payroll Department.

In 1980, he left Fort Polk after he and his wife purchased Many Marine Center in his hometown. 

In 1985, he returned to Fort Polk and help set up salary scales for federal employees before retiring.  Around the same time, his wife retired as principal of Many Elementary School after serving for 21 years in the position.

During the Ammons’ lifetime together, they served as Co-Directors of the Miss Sabine Parish Pageant, and were active with the Sabine Parish Mardi Gras Krewe. Ammons reigned as King in 1993 with his Queen Cherry Williams.

The couple was always in the stands at Many High football games, cheering their sons on to victories and enjoying the lively atmosphere with friends.

A Many Jaycee member, he also served as President of the Sabine Parish Chamber of Commerce and was a faithful member and Sunday School teacher at Many’s First Baptist Church.

Robert served the Town of Many as a City Council member, after being elected by the citizens.

In his spare time, he took great pride in his Ponder Street home. Even though the couple lost their home to a massive fire, they rebuilt on the same lot and continued to enjoy life. He worked in the yard, nurturing his plants and flowers, and being recognized with numerous “Garden of the Month” awards.  He also faithfully helped care for his widowed mother-in-law, Marguerite, who resided next door and then later at Sabine Retirement and Rehabilitation until her death in 2016.

Friends and family were important to the couple and they doted on their grandchildren.

The couple moved to Collierville, Tennessee in 2015 to be close to their grandchildren. They resided at Heritage at Forest Hill – Irene, where they made many friends with both residents and staff. Following the death of his wife, Robert became very active in his support of the spiritual and physical well-being of other Heritage residents. In recognition of his efforts, the Heritage staff affectionately bestowed Robert with the title of “Mayor of Heritage”.

The family requests that any memorial donations be made to the Robert D. Ammons Memorial Fund at Saint Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in memory of their beloved father. To donate, use the following link: http://giftfunds.stjude.org/RobertDAmmons.

Well, right here at election time, Truman Nichols, candidate for Police Jury from District 3, has made a bold move. His ad that started running on the radio Monday states, “The system is stacked against you getting your road repaired. Not only have Police Jury Members added a 50 per cent raise to their salary, they have you pay over 80 per cent of their health insurance, and they also charge you mileage when they come to the Police Jury meeting.”

He continues, “You heard me correctly:  Police Jury members get paid mileage to drive to the Courthouse to tell you they have no money to repair your road. That will be my first motion – to do away with mileage and change the system.” He closes by saying, “I approve this ad and did not charge mileage to come and record it.”

Observations did some checking, and travel and convention expenses for Jurors for the year 2020 amounted to $4,012.59. A breakdown shows:  Bo Stewart, Dist. 1, $195.13; Mike McCormic, Dist. 2, $1,457.54; Charles Brown, Dist. 3, $204.20; William Ruffin, Dist. 4, $366.85; Jeff Davidson, Dist. 5, $242.40; Eric Garcie, Dist.6, $411.11; Ricky Sepulvado, Dist. 7, $514.04; Kenneth Ebarb, Dist. 8, $411.11; and Randy Byrd, Dist. 9, $210.21.

Our good friend Ms. Robbie Edwards is in need. She operates Southern LaDeez new and vintage boutique shopping mall located in the old Hancock Furniture location on San Antonio Ave. in Many.

Her son Joel R. Weldon, 43, of Hot Springs County, AR was killed Sunday, March 7, after being stopped by Dallas County sheriff’s deputies in Sparkman.

Ms. Edwards does not have the necessary resources to bury her son, and we ask that you help her, if you are so inclined. Donations may be made at her business or directly to Warren Meadows Funeral Home in Many.

According to reports, the deputies were on patrol when they stopped Weldon in his truck. He fled and the deputies pursued the vehicle. During the pursuit, Weldon reportedly stopped and began firing a gun at the deputies and they fired back. The chase continued, and he later stopped and the deputies order him to show his hands and he did not comply. Weldon stopped the truck, still armed, began walking away and collapsed. The sheriff’s office has requested the State Police investigate the death.

Ms. Edwards lost a daughter to Covid-19 only nine months ago. We extend to her our deepest sympathy and hope you see fit to be of help to her.

There was a shooting just after midnight Tuesday in the wee hours of last Wednesday morning on Highland St. in Many, which injured three persons.

Two females and one male were hit. One had minor injuries, which were treated and the person was released from care. One victim was transferred to Rapides Parish for surgery and released the following day. Bullet fragments were recovered in that wound. The third victim – one of the females – at last report was still at Ochsner LSU Health Medical Center in Shreveport after sustaining an injury from the shooting that severely injured her lower leg.

Many Police Chief Cheryl Wooley said an investigation is ongoing.

The Many PD called in Caddo Parish crime scene ballistics experts to help with the investigation and gained some good information concerning the weapons used. They are also analyzing video surveillance footage.

The Police Dept. is asking the public to please share any information that might lead to the arrest of the shooter.

“Any verifiable information concerning the shooting can be called into Many PD and can be kept confidential,” Chief Wooley said. The station number is (318) 256-5617.

The Police Dept. also wishes to thank the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, who have both assisted in the investigation.

ELECTION DAY IS THIS SATURDAY! Be sure to cast your vote on March 20.

According to Registrar of Voters Zack Faircloth, a total of 339 persons voted early last week.

YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE! There are some 1,400 registered voters in the Town of Many, but only about 475 voted in the last mayoral election. It is hardly democratic for less than one-third of registered voters to decide these important decisions. So, do your patriotic duty:  VOTE!

Sarah Jo Ezernack was offended by the short piece we ran in Observations a couple of weeks ago about her views of the Town of Zwolle water being off during the recent storm.

She sent us the following statement Tuesday giving more information about her original statement, which was posted on The Cenla Report. In addition, Ms. Ezernack sent us a better picture because she apparently didn’t like the one included with the rant.

It should be noted that Observations is just a column, not a book. We simply don’t have room to print everything a person might want, although we did humor Ms. Ezernack and did not edit a single word of her seven-paragraph, 454-word “retraction letter” (as she titled it), which is published below. We stand by the information in the earlier column. It was all taken from her rant. So, if Ms. Ezernack remains displeased with what we shared earlier, perhaps she should listen again to her original tirade shared by The Cenla Report.

Here is Ms. Ezernack’s statement:

“I was amused to see that you found my profanity laced Facebook rant over the Town of Zwolle not having water ‘newsworthy.’ However, I do believe that you could have done a better job and writing it. Perhaps you should have asked me first, or at least get my side of the story.

“To clarify, my rant was not over the fact that I could not take a bath. My rant was because the Town of Zwolle notified residents through Facebook that if they were to turn their meters on and use water, they would be fined for theft of utilities. This was posted by the Zwolle Chief of Police, and on the Town’s Facebook. I have enclosed a screenshot of that. After notifying residents not to use water, the Town of Zwolle allowed certain business, as well as town council members and their family members continue to use water. When my husband and I contacted Town Council Members to ask about this we were told that there were no business using water. We told them we had video proof and the response we received was that they were not going to make them shut it off because they did not want bad relations with the businesses. Later that day it was posted on Facebook that the next day they would begin turning water back on, starting with the school and businesses.

“That is why I made my rant on Facebook! The Town of Zwolle should have put their residents first. Other than having the guard come in to distribute water they did nothing to help their residents. The guard was not even brought in until residents had already gone 2 weeks without water. I will say that the Zwolle Police Department did a great job at helping distribute water to those who had no transportation to the festival grounds.

“Town Council members have gone out of their way to try to cover up what went on with the Zwolle Water System. Perhaps the question people should be asking is ‘If the Town of Zwolle received a grant to replace water lines throughout the town, why are all the lines still old and rusted?’ I know several residents express the same concerns as I do. Perhaps it is time for everyone to start speaking up and voicing their concerns to the Town Council. I know I for one will be attending town meetings to ensure I know what is going on in my community.

“On a side note, I feel that your statement about me not being a ‘native’ resident of Zwolle was irrelevant. It was almost as if you were stating that only ‘native’ residents should have a voice.”

It is signed “Sincerely, Sarah Jo Ezernack”

Longtime Observations reader Joey Harris has had it. A statement from him follows:

“Myself, as well as my entire family, are off the voter rolls. Federal elections don’t matter nor count now due to mass mail-in ballots. The people of Louisiana do not need our help in keeping Louisiana dead last in everything and electing crap governors, legislators, judges and mayors.  I’ve been voting every year since 1984 on dang near everything and you know what, my life ain’t changed one damn bit. We are still driving down roads that you can’t even call roads and you have to have a four-wheel drive just to get to our house. Feels good to be free. Best of luck and to Louisiana. We are done!”

Goodbye, Old Friend

Our friend Donnie Wooley posted these images of the soon-to-be-no-more Many water tank near the corner of Church and Main Streets. It is reported the tank cannot be saved and must come down. Things sure will look different through there now. It’s been a landmark, for sure. And we bet there is more than one who climbed the old tank and might have some interesting stories to tell. Any takers?

The FBI-LEEDS-SLI Class was held March 8-12 at Cypress Bend Resort, according to Sabine Sheriff Aaron Mitchell. He said 19 of his supervisors and command staff attended the class, as well as law enforcement supervisors from across West Louisiana and East Texas, in addition to the Chiefs of Police from Many, Zwolle, Converse and Fisher.

Those attending learned leadership skills, which will help in their daily supervisor roles. They thoroughly examined the concepts of credibility, accountability and motivation which, with becoming familiar with aspects of liability and discipline, are vital to leadership in law enforcement. Instructors were Commander Tim Plotts and Chief Larry Horak.

Sales tax collections in Sabine Parish were down by $106,335.46 during February over the same month in 2020, according to Sales Tax Collector Nolan Rivers. Sales tax collections in Many were up by $11,037.31; by $2,351.66 in Converse; and $2,046.43 in Pleasant Hill. All other government entities were down. The breakdown follows:

A Sabine Parish man suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a single-vehicle roll-over crash on Hwy. 71, south of Clarence just north of the Natchitoches-Winn Parish line about 4 a.m. Sunday. Deputies found one person trapped in the vehicle. They said the 49-year-old man was operating a 2005 GMC pickup truck. He was transported from the scene by EMS to Natchitoches Regional Medical Center. The driver of the truck was later identified as Thomas Brumley of Converse.

Brad Ford of BDC Radio snapped this picture Tuesday. The big rig was parked in front of Tractor Supply Co. in Many. Thanks to him for letting us borrow it.

Last, but not least, we wish all of our readers a very happy St. Patrick’s Day filled with friends, fun, smiles and suitable shenanigans. As the old Irish blessing goes, “May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.”

Be sure to wear something green so any leprechauns who are out and about can see you and bring you good luck. We didn’t use to believe in leprechauns, but since we saw a few Good Gracious cupids with our own eyes on San Antonio Ave. back in February, anything’s possible.

That will do it for this week. See you soon and as always, thank you for reading.

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