Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Sales taxes totaling $2,895,893.16 were collected in Sabine Parish during July, according to a report issued by Wanda Rivers, Sales/Use Tax Administrator.  Her report follows:

Last week Joseph “Joe Pat” Sepulvado withdrew from the race for Sabine School Board Member in District 1.  Incumbent Daron Chandler still faces Stacy Stewart Alford in the race.

Many’s Tackett Curtis is listed No. 1 in the 2023 ESPN Top Inside Linebackers list.  He brings great attention not only to himself and his family, but to the community and Many High School Tiger football.

He was sought by multiple top universities and recently announced he will be attending University of Southern California.

Tackett is the son of Moses and Leslie Curtis.  He is the grandson of John and Pam Curtis and Warren and Ann Founds, all of Many.

We are all proud of Tackett Curtis and wish him continued success.

Caleb Dennis of Florida brought his talented troupe to Sabine last weekend, performing his special brand of South Alabama Bluegrass Gospel at several churches in the area over a long weekend.

Caleb is a guy a lot of you may already know. He began touring across the nation with Bluegrass Gospel stalwarts The Sullivan Family when he was 11 years old. It was about that time I met him and was immediately impressed with his musical abilities on a variety of instruments, as well as his passion for making great music. A native of Walnut Hill, FL, Caleb started playing the fiddle at age 9. After those early beginnings, he quickly added banjo, guitar, mandolin, dobro, piano, acoustic upright and electric bass to his long list of musical accomplishments. Enoch and Margie Sullivan put Caleb to work on the fiddle first, but it wasn’t long before they asked him to take up a new instrument – the banjo.

Whatever instrument he picks up, he’s always a joy to hear. I think back to the days I listened to Caleb picking at the big Rebel Park shows I used to hold in Marthaville and it does not surprise me he continues with such passion for the music.  With lots of good experience playing places like Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO, and Charlie Waller’s Grand Ole Gospel Reunion in Greenville, SC, Caleb knows how to please his audience.

Caleb is a unique vocalist who is a blast from the past with a full-throated style that hearkens back to the vocal delivery of early Country artists like Martha Carson, Roy Acuff and Wilma Lee Cooper, who were never known for holding anything back. As a thirty-something, Caleb also brings modern influences to bear in his vocal style, a mix which seems to satisfy young and older listeners alike.

A talented multi-instrumentalist who prefers holding forth on upright bass, Caleb keeps his fiddle handy for a hot tune or two at each concert. He was joined on this tour by Jesse Reynolds on acoustic guitar and Tim Harper on snare.

Observations caught Caleb and his band at Prospect Community Church in Florien Sunday morning, and again Sunday evening at Blue Ridge Methodist in Pleasant Hill. Blue Ridge Pastor David Hill had earlier asked my wife Laurie to sing a couple Sunday evening, which she was glad to do.

We hope Caleb and his band will start making this part of Louisiana a regular stop on their tour schedule.

Mary Gore, missionary leader at Toledo Bend Resort Ministries, oversaw another great Back-to-School Rally for Sabine Parish on Saturday.  It was held at the First United Methodist Church Family Life Center and very well-attended.

Plans for this week included prayers for Sabine Parish Supt. Shane Wright and all of the school principals across the parish.

Mary is a member of First Baptist Church in Many. She has been praying for Sabine’s educational leaders for 12 years.

(Special thanks to Donna Smith Ammons for the above information and several photos.)

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Genevieve Gordon of Many has been elected second vice-president of the Louisiana Retired Teachers Association (LRTA).  She will serve as chairman of the State Program Committee, making her responsible for working with the district second vice-president on program promotion.

Ms. Gordon serves on the Sabine Parish School Board and retired with 31 years of experience as an educator.  She has been a member of LRTA since 2009 and previously served as president of LRTA District VIII, which encompasses Sabine, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River and Winn Parishes.  In 2014 she was the recipient of the Horace G. Robinson award and LRTA Name of Fame.

Ms. Gordon earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Education and a Master of Science from Northwestern.  She also earned a Certificate in Education Specialist concentrating in administration and supervision from LSU.  She is an active member of the Aimwell Baptist Church and in her spare time, she and her husband love to travel.

John Belton, candidate for Louisiana Attorney General, spoke to a large group at Merci Beaucoup Restaurant in Natchitoches on Thursday evening, July 28.  The event was sponsored by several area District Attorneys including Sabine DA Don Burkett and Natchitoches DA Billy Joe Harrington.  Present Attorney General Jeff Landry intends to run for Governor.

In a brief address to the more than 100 present, Belton said he has the advantage as a candidate in a statewide race because he has both North and South Louisiana roots.  He was born in South Louisiana and grew up in Acadia and Evangeline Parishes.

Belton and his wife Alana met in Baton Rouge and married in 199l, then moved to North Louisiana where he began his career as a prosecutor, working with law enforcement as an Assistant District Attorney in Lincoln and Union Parishes.  In 2014, he was elected District Attorney for the Third Judicial District, which includes the two parishes.

He has an inspirational life story for everyone, especially youth, as he was handicapped with leg braces as a kid.  With love, support and prayers, he was named a high school football defensive MVP at Basile High School and played college football at McNeese.  He received his law degree from Southern University Law School.

Belton said he has the support of every District Attorney in the state because he is a prosecutor with a proven record of fighting crime to protect families and communities.

At Thursday’s event, Belton visited with everyone in attendance and made brief but powerful remarks highlighting his faith, his strong support statewide, his personal story and his ties to this area. He and Sabine Deputy District Attorney Ronald Brandon enjoyed catching up as well. They were law school classmates at Southern from 1987-90.

The Sabine Prevention Alliance in partnership with First United Methodist Church of Many and the Town of Many hosted the Sabine Community Forum on Saturday, July 23, at the FUMC-Many Fellowship Hall. The forum was attended by community sector representatives from Sabine Parish including education, law enforcement, health, behavioral health, substance abuse services, faith-based organizations, American Indian tribal leadership, congregational youth leaders, recovery groups, business and municipal government leaders and parents.

The goal of the Community Forum was to connect community sector stakeholders of Sabine Parish with information and resources to address risk and protective factors facing Sabine’s youth. Objectives of the Forum included:  describing the current risk and protective factors affecting Sabine youth, demonstrating effective leadership in Sabine communities, developing network opportunities for supporting services and programs serving youth and families, identifying community and congregational resources, and strengthening local efforts in prevention for Sabine citizens throughout their lifespan.

The facilitator was Drew Brooks, Executive Director of Faith Partners Inc., a non-profit organization providing leadership, training and consultation to develop congregational prevention and recovery support team ministries. The Faith Partners (FP) team approach is an evidence-based intervention with over a thousand trained congregational teams from 23 different faith traditions in 29 states. Drew has worked in the prevention, treatment, and public health fields for nearly 40 years with Hazelden, Johnson Institute and other organizations providing training and consultation with faith communities, schools, and community organizations across the country.

The forum began at 9 a.m. with an opening prayer and introduction of participants, their roles in the community and what they were expecting from the forum. After a presentation on prevention across the lifespan and the prevalence of local risk and protective factors effecting the use of substances by our children, youth and families, six groups were organized to brainstorm new ideas on how churches, schools, youth groups, agencies and families could work together to fill the gaps in the existing continuum of services and programs.

After lunch, products from the groups were presented, categorized, and organized into areas of interest for future work by participants. The remainder of the afternoon was spent reflecting on how participants felt and reacted to the discovery process, developing action plans and making commitments to continue the process on Saturday, September 10. The general evaluation results of the Community Forum Day were positive. Participants said that they want to continue the process and to get down to concrete steps that they can take to their families, neighborhoods, schools and congregations to help keep their children and youth safe, sober and successful.

The Sabine Prevention Alliance invites any who wish to be a part of this community prevention process, to contact the SPA at (318) 315-0081, (318) 602-9206, to visit SPA social media platforms: sabineprevents.com. Facebook/ Sabine Prevention Alliance, Instagram, Snapchat, or to visit the office at 259 Fisher Rd. in Many.

(Special thanks to James Wagley for the above article.)

IMPORTANT:  FURNITURE & GARAGE SALE BENEFIT

A benefit for Debbie Martinez, who will soon undergo a liver transplant, is being held this Friday and Saturday, Aug. 5 and 6, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Harmony Cove Baptist Church on Kites Landing Rd. in the Toledo Bend Lake area. It is off of Hwy. 191 south of Negreet. Watch for signs.

Please support this worthwhile effort to aid Ms. Martinez.

Anyone wishing to make a donation may call Ann Stuckey Davis at (318) 479-4246, or mail to P. O. Box 157, Florien, LA 71429.

The Sabine Parish Police Jury and the Sabine Parish Dept. of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness issued a joint “State of Emergency Sabine Parish Burn Ban Declaration” on Tuesday.

The ban prohibits the outside burning of all “garbage, grass, leaves, brush, etc.” Anyone seeking a burn permit must do so with one of Sabine Parish’s three Fire Chiefs.

Their press release, dated Aug. 3, said the burn ban will remain in effect “until the impending threat has subsided” or for 30 days, whichever comes first.

Dangers listed included high heat indexes, lack of moisture and dry tree and grass foliage, which were all cited as factors in “excessive forest and grass fires.”

The document noted the impending impact of an extreme drought on the safety and security of Sabine Parish citizens, especially a potential excessive demand of local resources and public facilities that could result due to fire outbreaks.

With the burn ban declaration, the organizations also said all Emergency Preparedness Plans and the Parish All Hazard Emergency Operation Plan should be activated, if it becomes necessary.

Anyone who violates the Burn Ban will face a fine of $100-$500, plus court costs.

The declaration was signed by Police Jury President Ricky Sepulvado and Director of the Dept. of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness David Davis.

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