Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Sabine businessman and community leader Conrad Cathey has sent another request to the Sabine Parish Library Board seeking more information about the 5.05 mills tax renewal to be voted on Saturday, Nov. 13. Cathey wrote the following to Donna Ammons, President of the Library Board:

“First, thank you for attempting to answer the question that I request. I believe that a voter should have as much information as possible to be able to make an informed and fair vote. I realize the questions that I have asked, such as the actual visits per month to each branch, appears to be questions that you have no actual counts on. The situation is the same for my request for actual total cost of each branch. But, to provide clarification, I assume that you do not have an accurate dollar amount of what it cost to have the architect draw plans for a new library.

“Also, in visiting with the tax assessor’s office, it appears that you will start out receiving a minimum of $1.4 million a year and, adjusting the income for the remainder of the tax period, would be receiving in excess of over $2 million per year by the end of the 10-year tax period. What will the new library cost? What is the budget to use the money that is projected; including, but not limited to, construction of the new library along with increased cost and operation through the taxing period. And what is the projection for money not used during this 10-year period?

“I pray that you will make yourself or a representative available to all media in a question-and-answer session so that the voters can make an informed decision when they visit the voting booth. Thank you for your time and review of the information contained herein.”

Cathey has for several months now questioned the tax renewal, saying that not enough information has been provided the public. He has proposed that the vote on the tax be called off until more information is forthcoming from the Library Board. Cathey questioned the number of people who now use the library, the cost for building a new building and the need for 5.05 mills.

Observations has proposed that the Library Board look into remodeling the old Post Office building on San Antonio Ave. as a library. It would be a lot cheaper than a new building, it would save an old historic structure, and it would keep the library in downtown, where we think it needs to be.

A friend from Natchitoches called last week to say the Library there some years back purchased an old building used by a Savings and Loan Association as the main library, and it has worked out really well.

Cathey was on Tedd Dumas’ popular “No Hostage Report” program Tuesday morning and proposed that Board President Donna Ammons and Kenneth Ebarb, a member of both the Police Jury and Library Board, be invited to share their perspectives about the tax on the radio. Dumas said he would give them the time, and Cathey said he would conduct the interview. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Observations was very pleased to learn this week that our own Virginia Burkett has applied to be President of Northwestern State University.

“I am applying, and we will all learn more from NSU later this week,” Burkett confirmed to Observations on Monday. A search for the university’s 20th president is underway. According to the NSU News Bureau, “A new president for Northwestern State University could be named as soon as Nov. 8 with that individual taking office in January 2022.”

Marcus Jones is serving as Interim President after the retirement on June 1 of this year of NSU President Chris Maggio, who had served since January 2017.

We don’t believe NSU could select a finer candidate than Virginia Burkett. Her work credentials and work ethic are impeccable, and she is known in all quarters for her intellect and integrity.

Dr. Virginia Burkett is the Chief Scientist for Climate and Land Use Change at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). She served as Chief Scientist for Global Change Research at the USGS during 2006-2014 and as the USGS Associate Director for Climate and Land Use Change during 2015-2017. Burkett was appointed Co-Chair of the U.S. Global Change Research Program in 2016 and served as Chair during 2017-2019. Burkett is the United States’ alternate representative to the Executive Committee of the international Group on Earth Observations, which coordinates the collection and delivery of satellite and in-situ Earth Observations from 108 nations. 

During 1990-2006 Burkett served as Chief of the Wetlands Ecology Branch at the USGS National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, LA, and subsequently the Associate Regional Chief Biologist for the USGS Central Region. Dr. Burkett was the Co-Chair of the Strategic Science Planning Team that developed the 10-year science strategy for the Climate and Land Use Change Mission Area in 2009.

Prior to her federal service, Burkett was Secretary/Director of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, where she had formerly served as Deputy Secretary. She has also directed the Louisiana Coastal Zone Management Program and served as Assistant Director of the Louisiana Geological Survey.  

Burkett has published extensively on the topics of global change and low-lying coastal zones. She was a Lead Author of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third, Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports and the IPCC Technical Paper on Water. She was a Lead Author of the First, Second, and Third U.S. National Climate Assessments and she served on the Federal Steering Committee for the Fourth National Climate Assessment (2018). Burkett has been appointed to over 70 Commissions, Committees, Science Panels and Boards during her career. She is a Senior Editor of the journal Regional Environmental Change. She serves on the Editorial Board of the journal Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics. Burkett received her doctoral degree in forestry from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX in 1996.

In her letter of interest, Dr. Burkett noted she is one of three generations of Burkett family to attend and graduate from NSU, earning her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees there. In addition to her impressive national and global work credentials, she also shared leadership strengths:

“I have served on roughly 70 Boards, Committees and Science Panels during my career. My business acumen has been honed with the management of budgets at the State and Federal level exceeding $140 million annually. I have been responsible for leading large teams of employees (including a state agency with 750 employees) and I frequently work on international teams with representatives from 20+ countries. I draw upon my extensive leadership experience and skills that help me inspire and empower others, which I feel is the most important role that I play in leading people,” Burkett said.

She was inducted into Northwestern’s Long Purple Line in 2011 and has served on the NSU Foundation Board since 2012. 

On a personal note, Burkett is married to Sabine Parish District Attorney Don Burkett and is the mother of two sons, Stephen Van Sickle of Natchitoches and Caleb Burkett of Many.

We wish Dr. Burkett the best and enthusiastically support her in this effort.

The Northwestern State University Presidential Search Committee will meet virtually at 1 p.m. this Thursday, Oct. 14 to review applications and select semi-finalists to interview publicly. The meeting can be streamed on the UL System YouTube channel.

Those wishing to make a public comment may submit name, affiliation and comment to northwesternpresidentialsearch@ulsystem.edu with the subject line “Public Comment.”

Mark your calendar now. Lt. Robert “Robbo” Davidson of Mansfield will be in Many on Thursday, Oct. 28, to autograph his new book, “The Evil I Have Seen.” The event will be held at the KWLA/Baldridge Dumas Radio Station offices at 605 San Antonio Ave. from 2-4 p.m. The general public is invited to attend and meet and greet Lt. Davidson, who is retired from the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office after many years of service.

The book is about seven homicides in Sabine and DeSoto Parishes, all high-profile cases with unusual circumstances. Several persons from Sabine Parish are included in the narratives. Lt. Davidson is widely known in this area and is highly regarded as a lawman.

Books will be available to purchase at the signing and are also available online at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Target.

Sincere condolences to Donnie and Cheryl Wooley, Donnie’s father, Lynn, Donnie’s siblings and all the family and friends of Donnie’s mother, Mrs. Nadine Ellen Wooley. Mrs. Wooley passed away on Oct. 8.

Originally from Mason City, IA, she met her husband of 66 years, Lynn, after graduating from Woodward High School in Woodward, IA. Eventually they returned to establish their permanent home in Sabine Parish, in the Pendleton community. From their home, she managed the couple’s water well drilling business and cattle ranch for over 30 years. She served her community tirelessly as a three-term school board member for the Negreet district, member of the Sabine Council on Aging Board of Directors, member and officer of the Zwolle/Toledo Lions Club, and her church, Pendleton Assembly of God, where she served as the church greeter for decades. She was a Godly woman who loved her Lord with all her heart, never missing a chance to worship with her church family.

A real joy in her life was just spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Not a day passed that one or several of her family stopped in for a welcome visit.

We extend our deepest sympathies to the Wooley family.

We remind all that Mayor Robert Hable and the Alderwomen of the Town of Many have announced the date and times for the town’s upcoming Halloween activities. They are as follows:

On Friday, Oct. 29, local businesses will hand out candy from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. Neighborhood and Church Trick-or-Treat activities will take place from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. the same evening, then a free movie will show that night at Many Community Center [Sabine Theater], “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” which begins at 7 p.m.

It looks to be a jam-packed evening of fun for families and all their little ghosts and goblins, so be sure to mark it down and make plans to enjoy these special events in the Town of Many.

October is a “spooktacular” month and this Saturday, Oct. 16, you can see a spectacular show at the Many Community Center [Sabine Theater.] The Music in Many show starts at 7 p.m. The theatre will open at 6:15.

Nationally acclaimed musician Brandy Roberts will perform a rollicking show that will have you rocking and rolling in the aisle and on the dance floor. And the best news is that the show is absolutely free to all attending

The only requirement is that a mask be worn to keep everyone safe.

Brandy Roberts is a high-energy performer offering a Jerry Lee Lewis type show. Brandy is personally endorsed by “the Killer,” himself. Brandy Roberts is known for entertaining and pleasing his audiences.

Brandy has opened shows for Jerry Lee Lewis and performed at Jerry Lee’s private birthday celebrations from 1995 to 1997. At the gathering, celebrating Jerry Lee Lewis’ 40th year in the music business, Brandy performed on stage with Jerry Lee.

Brandy Roberts was a member of the Louisiana Hayride in Bossier City from 1985 until it closed in 1987. He performed at the world-famous Reo Palm Isle in Longview, Texas from 1997 to 1999. There he opened shows for performers such as Gary Stewart, Johnny Rodriquez and Eddie Raven.

When recording his first CD in Memphis, TN, Brandy used Jerry Lee Lewis’ All Star Road Band.

Wherever Brandy Roberts plays, the audience taps their feet, waves their arms, claps in time with the music and even dances in the aisle. That is all expected to happen Saturday night, Oct. 16, at the Many Community Center as the first Music in Many show in 2021 gets underway with Brandy Roberts.

This Music in Many concert is sponsored by Mayor Robert Hable, the Many Cultural District Advisory Committee and the Many City Council. As always, soft drinks and popcorn will be available for only $1 each.

(Special thanks to Mary Brocato for the above article.)

Signs Along Life’s Highway

Someone said this is what the bureaucratic Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spouts along the way. Some think he will never be finished as long as he can continue to tell us to wear a mask, or two or three. So enjoy Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, but be sure to wear your mask.

WE GET LETTERS: This one from Derek Campbell:  “I have a question. I’m sure you are aware that the school boards are going to the Department of Justice and asking that parents who question them be put on a list labeling them as Domestic Terrorists. Seeing as the governor’s order isn’t a law, why can’t we petition the Police Jury to make a law disregarding it? I know it wouldn’t hold water, but it would give the parents some support. They could also make one against [the teaching of] critical race theory.”

Heard Along the Way

“The Old School could have a lot of fun with the New Generation in only a few steps:  Put the youngsters in a room with nothing but a rotary phone, an analog watch and a TV with no remote, then leave directions on how to operate everything in cursive.”

The Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office (SPSO) arrested 15 suspects last month for felony narcotic and firearm charges. Most suspects and details of charges were published previously in Observations and SPSO news releases.

The Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Tactical Narcotics Team executed four narcotics search warrants plus another search warrant where illegal narcotics were discovered with assistance from Detectives and Patrol Deputies.

Approximately 2.75 pounds of methamphetamine, 2.3 ounces of marijuana, synthetic cannabinoids, numerous Xanax, Ecstasy, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone and other pills, various drug paraphernalia, nine firearms (one stolen), and $3,505 in cash were seized during these searches and arrests.

In addition, three suspects were indicted and sentenced in federal court in Shreveport last month.

Sheriff Aaron Mitchell said he intends to aggressively investigate and arrest the drug users and dealers in Sabine Parish.

Sheriff Mitchell also commends the public for sharing their information of illegal narcotic activity in the parish. Many of the public’s tips and other information has led to the investigations and arrests of these suspects.

The SPSO asks all persons who may have information about illegal activity in Sabine Parish, to contact them at (318) 256-9241 or at (318) 590-9475. A tip may be submitted through their Sabine SO App or sent by private message on the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

Observations sends kudos to Sheriff Mitchell and all the SPSO team for continuing to fight the good fight.

(Information for the above article provided by Det. Wade Seegers, whom we thank.)

It is with interest that Observations is watching more and more shortages develop across the nation. From the recent Homecoming dress photos we have seen posted on social media, looks like there is also a shortage of fabric.  

Local historian and pastor of Cold Springs Church, Rickey Robertson, hosted a dedication service Saturday morning, Oct. 9, for a new historical Cold Springs School and Church sign on Peason Ridge.

Among those attending was Robertson’s mother, Ms. Minnie Craft Robertson, whose father and uncle attended the Cold Springs School in 1910. Ms. Robertson’s grandmother, Minnie Brown Craft, was baptized at a Cold Springs Church revival in 1913.

“[There are] many, many memories today at this place where our ancestors attended school and church,” Rev. Robertson said. “And at the location, I even found one of the original bricks used as a cornerstone for the old building. Look for this location if you travel through Peason Ridge!” he invited.

We appreciate all of Rickey’s efforts to preserve and promote the history of Peason Ridge and this entire area. We all owe him a debt of gratitude; learning our history and the lessons of the past prepares us for a better future.

This Friday, Oct. 15, will mark our last lagniappe edition of Observations remembering the late Gov. Edwin W. Edwards’ ties to Sabine Parish. We appreciate the many nice comments readers have sent about the series, and we are glad to have brought back some good memories. Be sure not to miss it if you are interested in this series.

-30-