Wednesday, June 14, 2023
The May Sales and Use Tax report for Sabine Parish has been released by Administrator Wanda Rivers. Total collected during the month was $2,939,264.21 up by $170,809.26 from the amounted collected in 2022. Only the Town of Zwolle and the Village of Pleasant Hill collected less. The complete report follows:
Sabine Parish Sheriff Detective D.W. “Wade” Seegers was graduated from the 286th Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA on June 8. The ten-week program began on April 3.
His time in the Academy included undergraduate and graduate coursework in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, health and fitness, law enforcement communication, and forensic science.
It also facilitated the sharing of ideas, techniques, and experiences with other law enforcement officers to create lifelong partnerships extending well beyond state and international borders.
In addition, his stay included the opportunity to visit New York City and New Jersey, and see the Statue of Liberty and Times Square, among other landmarks.
Candidates to attend the Academy had to be invited through a nomination process and meet several qualification standards to be accepted. Detective Seegers was one of only 250 law enforcement officers from across the U.S. and several foreign countries to attend the 286th Session.
Notably, Detective Seegers is the first law enforcement officer in the history of Sabine Parish to have the opportunity to attend the FBI National Academy.
He has worked for the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office for over 20 years, and now handles digital forensic investigations, social media and regular media news releases and IT issues as well as having several other duties.
When Detective Seegers was selected to attend the FBI Academy, Sheriff Aaron Mitchell said he was excited for Seegers to bring back increased knowledge, leadership skills, and relationships to further the professionalism of the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Mitchell and Chief Deputy Brad Walker have made training and advanced certifications for Deputies a top priority since taking office in 2020.
Congratulations to Detective D. W. “Wade” Seegers on this notable accomplishment.
The Woke movement is at our back door this week. Fort Polk was renamed for New York National Guard Sgt. William Henry Johnson, labeled a World War I hero, during a ceremony on Tuesday, June 13. The complex is now known as Fort Johnson.
The Army installation was named for Confederate Gen. Leonidas K. Polk, a resident of New Orleans who was killed in combat in 1864.
The new namesake, Sgt. Johnson, was born in Winston Salem, NC and moved to Albany, NY as a teenager. He worked as a porter at Albany’s Union Station when he enlisted in the New York National Guard two months after the U.S. entered World War I. He became a national hero after he fought off a German raiding party with a knife and saved a fellow soldier.
Johnson was a World War I Medal of Honor recipient and served in the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment.
Fort Polk is one of nine Army forts named after Confederate generals which are being renamed. During World War I and II, forts created in the North were named after Union Civil War generals, while those in the South were named after Confederate generals.
The renaming was recommended by the Congressional Naming Commission.
According to Sabine Parish historian Rickey Robertson, Leonidas Polk was an Episcopal Bishop and came to Elizabeth Chapel in Vernon Parish while a bishop. He was a graduate of West Point and had a good military record.
Robertson writes, “But in today’s world, just his name brings out the worst because (1) he was a Christian and (2) he was a Confederate General.”
He concluded, “I have been told the public WILL NOT BE ALLOWED when the change of name ceremony takes place. Seems like I was taught that as Americans we have the privilege and right to peaceful assembly. Sad day in our area… they may change the name on the sign, but not in our hearts and minds.” We agree.
The post encompasses about 198,000 acres. It began as a base for the Louisiana Maneuvers in 1941 and was called Camp Polk. When the post changed to permanent status, the name was changed to Fort Polk.
According to reports, it will cost the ever-giving taxpayers about $1.4 million to get the name changed on all signage and assets at the installation. There is also some privately borne expense: Chairman Rick Allen of the formerly named Fort Polk Progress organization said it cost that group alone $30,000 to change its name in anticipation of Fort Polk’s name change. The Progress organization works to highlight the fort’s positive impact on local communities.
Dr. David Jeremiah said culture may change, but the Bible doesn’t. That is also true for history. We suppose the fort will remain “Fort Johnson” until someone in the Woke future decides Sgt. Johnson’s record is unworthy as well. They’re awfully good at that sort of thing.
It was our pleasure to share the news of Sabine District Attorney Don Burkett’s induction into the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame last week in Observations. We have a bit more information on his career that we would like to share with readers this week:
Don Burkett is in his seventh term as the 11th Judicial District Attorney.
First elected in 1984 to serve DeSoto and Sabine Parishes, in 1989 DeSoto became the 42nd Judicial District. He is officially the longest serving District Attorney in the state history.
After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Northwestern State University in 1975, he attained his Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University.
Burkett is a past president of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association
(LDAA) and has served several terms on its Board of Directors and currently serves on its Retirement Board. He has served on many state boards and commissions and is currently chairman of the North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory Commission, which directs the services of the North Louisiana Crime Lab. As chair of the Commission, Don worked closely with the Louisiana Legislature to secure funding for the construction of a new state-of-the-art crime lab that was completed in 2017 and proven essential to law enforcement.
Burkett has prosecuted hundreds of jury trials, including several capital cases. In 1994, he was awarded the prestigious “J.H. Cain Award” by the Louisiana Moral and Civic Foundation for his accomplishments that “provide, promote and protect a positive moral climate” in our state. He has served on the Sabine Parish Police Jury’s airport advisory commission, has coached youth baseball for many years and currently serves on the Sabine 4-H Advisory Board.
He and his wife, Virginia Van Sickle Burkett, worked with other with other civic leaders to spearhead the establishment of the Taylor House Domestic Violence Shelter in Many in 1995, which has served more than a thousand women and children during the past 27 years.
They are members of First Baptist Church of Many, where Burkett has served as a deacon for over 20 years.
Today is Flag Day. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. The Congress designated the “Stars and Stripes” as the official American flag during the Revolutionary War. May she ever proudly wave.
-30-
