Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Sabine Sheriff Aaron Mitchell announced on Tedd Dumas’ popular “Open Line” radio show Monday morning that Jennifer Comeaux has gone to work as Chief Civil Deputy. Sheriff Mitchell and Chief Deputy Brad Walker also asked voters to renew a one-fourth cent sales tax in the election upcoming on April 30. Although the monies go into the general fund, they are desperately needed for the operation of the Sabine Detention Center. The tax was first approved in 1993 and has been running for 30 years. The Sheriff pointed out that it is not a new tax, but a renewal.
When Mitchell took over as Sheriff in May 2020, it was found many things needed to be done at the Detention Center, including fencing, cameras, locks, clean-up, remodeling, gates and work in the control room.
During the program, Sheriff Mitchell announced that Jennifer “Jenny” Comeaux had joined his staff as Chief Civil Deputy. She said she was excited to join the Sheriff’s Department and is ready to do her part to serve the parish. It was pointed that that she will oversee the Sheriff’s $8 million per year budget and all accounting and bookkeeping duties. In addition, the Sheriff’s Office is the property tax collector for the parish. She pledged to work hard to fulfill her duties and have a clean audit.
Ms. Comeaux was born in Robeline, the daughter of Johnny and Cindy Jenkins. She was graduated from Many High in 1991 and from LSU in Baton Rouge in 1995 with a degree in Finance. She met her husband, Chris, while at LSU and they married in 1997. They moved to Robeline in 1996. Chris is a logger and real estate investor. Their two sons, Jonathan, 22, and Carson, 19, are both students at Northwestern.
She was hired by Premier Bank in Baton Rouge prior to graduation from LSU. She worked for Premier, which became Bank One, until 1998 when she moved home. At that time, Jan Varnado, who was on the Board of Peoples State Bank, got Ms. Comeaux an interview with President J. J. Blake, and she got a job as a Credit Analyst. She worked her way up to Chief Financial Officer at Peoples and after MidSouth purchased the bank, she became Loan Operations Manager. She resigned that position in 2017 and was hired by Sabine State Bank President and CEO Lee McCann to create a Mortgage Loan Servicing Department for their secondary market loans. She recalled that she had a lot of fun doing this and in 2021 was promoted to Credit Manager.
In explaining her current interest, she stated, “As you may know, the rise in regulations has made community banking increasingly difficult and there are more and more such regulations added each year. I had become very disenchanted with banking and had started to think I was ready for a career change. Gary Elam, the current Chief Civil Deputy, and Chief Deputy Brad Walker each reached out to me regarding Mr. Elam’s pending retirement and my interest in applying for the job. The timing seemed right for me to step into the Chief Civil Deputy job. I am excited to now serve my community by ensuring the efficient and accurate accounting of tax revenues and disbursements and by looking for ways to improve overall efficiency of the Sheriff’s Department.”
And knowing Ms. Comeaux, she will do just that.
It was a very interesting interview when radio personality Tedd Dumas had Judge Stephen B. Beasley on “Open Line” last Thursday morning. Judge Beasley has announced that he will resign from the job he has held for the last 27 years on April 1. “What are you going to do?” Dumas asked, and the Judge said he was looking at possibly running for a statewide office.
The Judge said he felt comfortable resigning at this time because he has seen two important things he has worked hard to bring to Sabine Parish accomplished. One is the opening of the Many Mental Health Clinic which provides outpatient services for the mentally ill, both adult and children. The other is the opening of the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) which provides outpatient treatment. These two treatment centers are something Judge Beasley has worked diligently for throughout the years.
During the program, the two reminisced about the days when Judge Beasley worked at the radio station before he went to law school. And in a surprise to listeners, Judge Beasley once more did some announcing “in his best radio voice.” It was fun.
Three fishermen have drowned on Toledo Bend Lake in the last couple of weeks. Sheriff Aaron Mitchell warns about being out on the lake when the strong, choppy March winds are blowing.
In the most recent drownings, two fishermen’s remains were identified and covered from Toledo Bend Lake, according to an announcement by Sabine Sheriff Aaron Mitchell.
Two men never returned from a fishing trip they made on Friday, March 11. They were reported missing to the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office at approximately 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 12.
Sheriff Deputies, Wildlife Agents and other volunteers began the search from the Solan’s Camp boat launch at the end of Hwy. 482 in the Ebarb community.
The first fisherman’s body was located at 8 p.m. between a boat lane and the shore just south of the Solan’s Camp area. He was identified as George Diboll, age 61, of Oakdale.
The search continued Sunday, March 13, with help from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from Fort Polk.
Later that day, the fishermen’s 18’ aluminum vessel was located and marked by a United Cajun Navy volunteer using his boat sonar/chartplotter electronic equipment.
Shortly before daylight on Monday, March 14, Sabine Parish Sheriff Deputies, Louisiana Wildlife Agents, and a United Cajun Navy volunteer met at Solan’s Camp to develop a plan of action to recover the boat, which was sitting on the bottom in approximately 17’ of water between an island and a boat lane in the main part of the lake.
A short time later, the Desoto Parish Fire District 1 Toledo Bend Search and Recovery (TBSR) Team arrived. The TBSR divers were able to attach large air bags to the vessel and bring it close to the surface, but high winds and choppy lake conditions made recovery efforts difficult and time-consuming.
The boat was eventually towed to the Solan’s Camp boat launch by the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Marine Unit with help from Louisiana Wildlife Agent vessels.
In the late afternoon of Monday, March 14, the second fisherman’s body was located miles away near Holly Park Marina off Carters Ferry Road near Milam on the Texas side of the lake. The man was identified as Marvin Parsons, age 61, of Lafayette.
This incident is under investigation by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries. Autopsies will be conducted on Diboll and Parsons to determine their exact causes of death.
Sheriff Mitchell extended his thoughts and prayers to the families of those who perished, and also expressed his extreme gratitude to everyone who was involved in the search and recovery efforts.
(A special thank you to Det. D.W. Seegers for the article above.)
Cole Moore of Anacoco, above, caught this 10.27 lb. fish in Toledo Bend Lake on Saturday, March 12. He weighed it in at Buckeye Landing; the fish is number 018 for the period of May 2021 to May 2022.
We recently had some fun awarding “prizes” for best social media comments after the online outcry following the anonymous letter article which questioned operations at the Town of Many.
Readers may recall our 1st Place pick was “No worries, you’ll still have a** when they ain’t got no teeth. Let’em chew.” We did not credit the folks who posted the comments, but perhaps we should have. We are happy to share the 1st Place winner was none other than our good friend, Donnie Wooley.
We saw Donnie yesterday and he said his dad, Mr. Lynn Wooley, is a faithful reader of Observations. After reading the column which contained the quote, Mr. Wooley told Donnie he recognized that little nugget as one of his own. He then told Donnie to tell us not to use anymore of his pearls of wisdom without giving him credit. Consider it done, Mr. Wooley. That’s the funniest line we’ve heard in a long while.
We thank the Sabine Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Larry Alford and the Town of Many for the flag disposal box now located at Veterans Park on the W. Mississippi Boulevard between Guys and Dolls Hair Salon and Faithlynn’s Learning Academy.
There are a few different ways to honorably dispose of the U.S. flag. One is to hold a flag burning ceremony at home or another private location. In this traditional ceremony, the flag is folded in its customary manner, then respectfully placed in a fire large enough to completely burn the flag. The flag should not touch the ground in the process. Finally, as the flag begins to burn, it is saluted and those in attendance recite the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence. The flag is then thoroughly burned so nothing remains except ash. The ashes are then buried.
A community disposal box, as we now have in Many, is a great way to properly dispose of worn-out flags as well. Throughout the year, organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts or other patriotic groups collect the disposed flags and hold ceremonies to retire them.
Flag Day, June 14, is one of the most common days to hold flag disposal ceremonies.
Thanks again to all involved who helped make possible this worthwhile project.
The Town of Many reminds all that their first annual Bloom on Main event is just around the corner. It is set for Saturday, April 2 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. in downtown Many on San Antonio Ave.
They are looking forward to a great time with food trucks, music, vendors and games. They are also looking for additional vendors. To fill remaining spots, they are seeking anyone with plants, garden décor, metal or iron work, food vendors or anyone else who sells anything homemade or organic, including honey or syrup, fresh eggs, bread, cheese, vegetables, fruit and baked goods. They also welcome the sale of baby chicks and rabbits.
“Not homemade or homegrown but would like to be a vendor, we would love to have you,” their info reported.
Contact Crystal Hable at (318) 471-6852 or Many City Hall at (318) 256-3651 for more information, to register as a vendor, or to confirm vendor registration.
The 5th Annual Autism Day Walk in Many is set for Saturday, April 2 at 11 a.m. The Walk will begin at Many City Hall. For more details, contact Amanda Darwin on Facebook or Town of Many Alderwoman Anita Wolfe Darwin at (318) 379-8683.
They also have t-shirts available for pre-order. It is like the photo shown at right, full-color on a gray background, with “Team KJ” on the back. Small to Large sizes are $13, and XL to 4X are $17.
Picture of the Past
Some 85 years ago in the building now occupied by the BDC radio offices was Rives Garage. After the garage, the spot at 605 San Antonio Ave. was later Many Motors. We zoomed in on the photo showing the gasoline pump, and it was priced at 27.9¢ per gallon. These photos are from the mid-late 1930s.
Seen:
“Pretty excited. Our loan was approved. We’re closing on a full tank of gas this weekend.”
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