Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Qualifying got off to a busy start Tuesday morning, Aug. 6, at the Sabine Clerk of Court’s office with two candidates already waiting at 8 a.m. to qualify and others arriving shortly after to start the process at 8:30 a.m., when qualifying officially opened.

The early bird count was seven, the first three being Chief Deputy Clerk of Court Shelly Salter, candidate for Clerk of Court; Mary Brocato, candidate for Town of Many Alderman at Large; and Donnie Wooley, a surprise candidate for Sabine Assessor.

Arriving next to qualify were Rep. Frankie Howard, candidate for Sabine Parish Sheriff; Ronny Bison, candidate for Assessor; Chris Abrahams, candidate for Sabine Sheriff; and Carroll Ellzey, candidate for Assessor.

At least two races are shaping up to be hot in Sabine – the race for Sabine Parish Sheriff and the race for Sabine Assessor.

The Assessor’s race is at the forefront right now for a lot of folks since receiving their new property assessments in the mail last week.

Candidate for Assessor Donnie Wooley posted on social media Saturday, “This [re-assessment] should have been done years ago for a gradual increase. Just think about all those who have their taxes escrowed – how are they going to suddenly budget for a $100-$200 per month increase in house payment?”

“If regular and honest assessments had occurred over, say, the last 20 years, we’d not be seeing these huge increases all at once. Such a large and sudden increase in taxes is going to really hurt a lot of family budgets,” Wooley said.

In his remarks, Wooley also noted that several parish agencies are about to enjoy a big financial windfall from the new assessments. “Just so thankful those tax increases posed back in the spring failed,” he said.

While waiting to qualify, candidate for Alderman at Large Mary Brocato mentioned she never thought she would ever run for office. But, since her appointment following the death of Alderman Barbara Peterson, Brocato has enjoyed serving the local community and striving to meet local needs.

“When people ask me questions, it’s about their water bills or a pot hole in the street. It is entirely local and I enjoy that,” Brocato said. “It has nothing to do with state or national issues. People want to know how we can help make their lives better here in Many.”

Observations expects campaigning to start in earnest now and foresees an exciting political season for candidates and voters both. 

Pollie Brandon is set to qualify for Sabine Parish Clerk of Court on Thursday. She ran for the office some years back. She is a native of Sabine Parish and the wife of Many Attorney Ronald D. Brandon. Her announcement will be carried in next week’s Observations.

Shelly Salter, a Deputy Clerk of Court, earlier announced for the office. Present Clerk Tammy Foster has stated that she is retiring.

Recently Observations carried an article about re-assessment. We described how the system works and how governing authorities can “roll the assessment forward” in order to get more money without taxpayer approval.

This week we wish to remind readers that several entities will be having public hearings to consider whether to roll the millage forward.

The next hearing to be held will be Sabine Fire District 1 (Wards 3 and 4) who have a hearing scheduled at the Center Station on Tuesday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. to consider rolling the millage forward. The estimated amount of tax revenues to be collected in the next year from the increase is $370,000 and the amount of increase is $90,000.

We encourage all interested persons to attend the upcoming public hearings and voice your support for or against on millage issues.

Other millage hearing dates are as follows:

Sabine Sheriff’s Dept. – Aug. 16 at 10 a.m. at the Sheriff’s Office Room 105

Village of Pleasant Hill – Sept. 3 at 5 p.m. at the Town Hall

Police Jury – Sept. 4 at 9 a.m. in the Jury Meeting Room

Village of Converse – Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. at City Hall

Sabine Parish School Board – Sept. 9 at 5:45 p.m. at its regular Meeting Room

Village of Fisher – Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. at City Hall

As this calendar of dates unfolds, Observations will provide more information on each hearing prior to the meeting when information is available beforehand.

The Robeline Speed Trap story just seems to keep on keeping on. We recently met Ms. Terri Matthews, a long-time critic of the way government operates in the Village of Robeline.

A little background information:  The matter all started when Rep. Frankie Howard offered a bill in the Legislature earlier this year to put billboards in Robeline announcing it to be a speed trap town.

The bill made its way through the House and then went to the Senate Transportation Committee, where we are told Sen. Gerald Long brokered a deal.  Rep. Howard and Mayor Bobby Behan shook hands and agreed that the Village of Robeline would put up signs, at its expense, announcing that the speed limit was strictly enforced. Sen. Long said after the handshake that those in the room gave them a round of applause.

Later Police Officer Brad Raynes announced that an official with the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) told Mayor Behan that he did not have to put up the signs.

Then Ms. Matthews stepped in to find out the details. She informed Observations Monday that she talked to Mayor Behan and he had ordered the signs and was agreeable to putting them up when Dale Craig, Engineer 7, with DOTD said “it wasn’t going to happen, there would be no signs.” 

She continued, “Not only that, but he told the Mayor the ‘Radar Enforced Signs’ would be taken down.” And they were. She said Mayor Behan asked Craig for a letter concerning the matter, but thus far has not received it.

Then Ms. Matthews went to Craig, who she said is District Traffic Operations Engineer. She stated, “Yes, he said he did this, and he couldn’t figure out why I wanted the signs so badly.”

She continued, “I told him I had lived in Robeline 30 years and in that time only about eight people have run off the road in the bad curve in town. Now we have a massive police force and there have been two deaths recently.”

Next, Ms. Matthews called Joshua Hollins of Baton Rouge, Executive Council for DOTD.  He sat in on the Senate Transportation hearing where the deal was made.

She explained, “He told me he was surprised that Mr. Craig would not put up the signs and [was surprised] that he took down the signs about the speed limit being radar enforced.”

Ms. Matthews concluded, “Mr. Hollins told me he would get with Sen. Fannin and Mr. Craig and see what could be done and get back with me.” She said he referred to the handshake between Rep. Howard and Mayor Behan as a “Kumbaya Moment.”

Seems a lot of the confusion was caused by DOTD’s Craig. Sen. Fannin told Observations earlier the signs do not have to be put on DOTD right-of-way, can be put on private property, but must be readable from the highway. 

Rep. Howard believes a deal is a deal and he plans to see that it is carried out.

Just in under the wire – after the above was written about Robeline, we received the following information:

From Sen. Long:  “I spoke to the Mayor of Robeline and told him to have his city council pass new ordinances. They are the governing authority of the village. DOTD has no authority as the village is in compliance of their rules concerning the size and other requirements. The village has the governing authority.”

From Erin Buchanan, Public Information Officer, DOTD:  “If you are referring to the ‘Speed Limit Strictly Enforced’ signs, those are not in accordance with DOTD policy and were placed in the state right-of-way on LA 6 without permission from the Department. As far as a gentleman’s agreement, again, these types of signs are considered supplemental signs and do not comply with departmental policy. Motorists should already be complying with the posted speed limit with the understanding that exceeding that posted speed limit may result in a traffic violation.”

Community Bank of Louisiana is coming to Many.  John J. Blake Jr., longtime respected banker, has accepted a position as Senior Vice-President. He went to work Aug. 5.

The bank will have a temporary location in downtown Many in the old O. E. Williams Store building, across from K&W Clothing. Plans are for the temporary location to be open by October.

In addition, the bank will be acquiring property to build a new office in Many.

“I am so excited to become part of the Community Bank of Louisiana family where I can once again serve the community I so love,” Blake said.

Until an office is complete, Blake said he will be working out of his briefcase. Persons may reach him by calling (318) 581-5113. He added, “Please contact me about moving your personal and business banking to our bank. I promise to make it easy, quick and convenient.”

Blake is from a third generation bank family. His father, J. J. Blake Jr., and grandfather ran Peoples State Bank. He followed in their footsteps and was president until the bank sold to MidSouth some years back. He continued with MidSouth for a number of years.

Attorney General Jeff Landry has announced the arrests of two Sabine Parish residents on numerous child sexual abuse charges.

“Child sexual abuse is a vile and heinous crime that traumatizes victims for life,” Landry said. “The innocence of our youth should be protected, which is why I am thankful for my Cyber Crime Unit and our law enforcement partners who work tirelessly to make our communities safer and bring child predators to justice.”

Dustin Crow, 30, of Noble was arrested on 106 counts of possessing pornography involving juveniles under the age of 13, eight counts of distributing pornography involving juveniles under the age of 13, eleven counts of producing pornography involving juveniles under the age of 13, two counts of indecent behavior with juveniles, one count of sexual battery under the age of 13 and one count of first degree rape under the age of 13.

Samantha Crow, 30, of Noble was arrested on one count of producing pornography involving juveniles under the age of 13, one count of distributing pornography under the age of 13, one count of indecent behavior with a juvenile under the age of 13 and two counts of first-degree rape of juvenile under the age of 13.

The arrests were the result of a joint investigation with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Unit, Homeland Security Investigators, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Louisiana State Police, Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services, Sabine, Vernon and DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Offices and the Sulphur Police Department.

The Crows were booked into the Sabine Parish Jail.

In another case, Herbert Wayne Miller of Many was charged with aggravated crimes against nature, molestation of a juvenile and intentional exposure to the AIDS virus.

Over the weekend Sabine Parish residents got a chance to look at their Notice of Change in Assessment from Assessor Cindy Manasco. What a surprise and shock to many who didn’t know what was coming! Several voiced their frustrations and concern on social media.  

Most assessments took a big jump.

What brought it all about: according to former Tax Assessor Conrad Cathey, the law requires an Assessor to re-assess property every four years, thus allowing it to go up a little at a time.

He said Sabine has not had re-assessment since he was Tax Assessor 23 years ago.

The Louisiana Tax Commission ordered Ms. Manasco to do the re-assessment; the increase notices property owners are receiving now are the end result of that mandated assessment.

It was interesting to see a young pair of pileated woodpeckers on Pete Abington’s lot just off Andries St. in Many last Thursday. I saw a mature pair in our neighborhood a few years back and I hear their calls from time to time.

This bird is one of the biggest, most striking forest birds. It’s nearly the size of a crow, black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest. They whack at dead trees and fallen logs in search of their main prey, which is the carpenter ant. The pairs stay together for life.

They’re here big time this year – the Eastern Lubber Grasshopper. They’re large and colored bright orange, yellow and red. I haven’t tried it, but they say if you pick up this grasshopper it will make a loud hissing noise and secrete an irritating, foul-smelling foamy spray. They sometimes grow up to four inches long and cannot fly.  Instead, the insect moves in short clumsy hops and it can also walk or crawl. They live in Louisiana and throughout the South.

Observations and Tedd Dumas on “Open Line” have been accused of presenting only negative news about the Sabine Police Jury. Tedd told me he had a guest on his program, (he could not remember who), that said the Jury had saved $450,000 on insurance costs. Well, that’s a positive.

So we asked our friend Bill Weatherford, Secretary of the Jury, to provide us some information on the matter.

Here is what he said:

“During the period 2017-19, the Jury has reduced the expenditures for its various insurance policies by $289,527.32 while increasing the types of coverage carried and increasing the coverage on the courthouse from $3 million to $10 million.

“We have also been able to increase the number of employees participating in our employee health insurance program.

“The $450,000 amount is probably in reference to the proposed 15% increase in health insurance cost for 2018. Not only did we reject that increase, but we were able to significantly lower the cost for that year.”

Seven public officials from Sabine Parish have stepped forward to endorse Dr. Ralph Abraham, the Republican candidate for Governor. They are Many Mayor Ken Freeman, Sheriff Ronny Richardson, District Attorney Don Burkett, Noble Mayor Lynn Montgomery, Constable Harvey Nichols and Republican State Central Committee Members Valmore Byles and Bobby Williams. More than 100 public officials have endorsed Dr. Abraham.

Speaking of the election, qualifying is now going on and will end Thursday, Aug. 8.  The Clerk of Court’s office is located at 400 S. Capitol St. in Many and is open daily from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Candidates for the Oct. 12 Primary Election include the following:  State Senator, State Representative, Sheriff, Clerk of Court, Assessor, Coroner and Police Jurors.  Also the unexpired terms as follows:  Noble Alderman; Noble Chief of Police, Many Alderman-At-Large and School Board Member District 5.

The following will qualify with the Secretary of State:  Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Insurance and BESE Members.

Anyone needing information may call Clerk of Court Tammy Foster at (318) 256-6225.

Word is out that Truman Nichols is looking at running for Police Jury, District 3.  Bo Stewart has announced for District 1 and his son Kelly Stewart is running for District 2. Both are musicians and play in a band. Also mentioned is Larry Rivers for Police Jury in Dist. 8.

A big, big drilling pad is going down in the Bethany community near Marthaville.

Indigo has leased Sections 5, 6, 7 and 18 in the Bethany area, and are building a 15-acre “super pad” that can eventually accommodate 12 wells.

Reports are that they plan to initially drill four cross-section wells south from Section 7 across Section 18.

They are bringing in two rigs with a scheduled spud date of Aug. 20.

A dear friend of ours, Ms. Billie Young, just turned 85 years young last Tuesday and we were honored to help her celebrate with a dinner at Cypress Bend Resort.

Ms. Billie, known to many as “Mimi,” now lives in Florien, but is a former resident of Mountain View, AR and is the grandmother of Clancey Ferguson Stewart, who also has Arkansas roots. You may recall fiddle champ Clancey married into the musical Stewart family of Florien when she and Kelly married.

Mimi is loved by all who know her, and with her beautiful smile and sweet spirit she definitely makes 85 look like the new 65!

We wish Ms. Billie a fabulous upcoming year and many, many more happy birthdays.

Happy Birthday wishes to former four-time Gov. Edwin W. Edwards who celebrates his 92nd birthday today. We had the pleasure of visiting and dining with him in Gonzales on Tuesday of last week. We are happy to report that he is doing well and enjoying life. Our friend Conrad Cathey accompanied us on the trip.

A Sabine-Natchitoches Parish Political forum will be held at Marthaville on Thursday, Sept. 5, from 6-9 p.m. It is being sponsored by the Good Ole Days organization. All candidates are urged to save the date on their calendars, as more information will be forthcoming.

Sabine Assessor Cindy Manasco has announced that the new assessment listings and values have been fixed on property in the parish. The fixed values will be open for public inspection from Aug. 16-30 from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. in the Assessor’s Office.

Any person desiring to know what value has been placed on their property may do so at the Assessor’s Office. Anyone has the right to protest the value at a meeting of the Police Jury to be called for this purpose.

Frankie Howard, candidate for Sabine Parish Sheriff, had a packed house last Thursday night at the Festival Grounds in Zwolle. Those attending enjoyed a catfish dinner, entertainment and political speeches.

Guest speaker was Rep. Lance Harris, Dist. 25, who spoke about Howard being a hard worker. “He gets up early and gives 100 per cent to the job,” he said. “In the House, he worked harder than 95 per cent of the members.”

Master of Ceremonies Tedd Dumas pointed out the long time that Howard has been in public service, saying, “All they can say is ‘he’s old.’ And yes, he is old.”

Dumas quoted Dr. Greg Lord of Leesville, who is running for Representative, as saying that only God knows how long a person will live. Dumas stated, “Frankie had surgery six months ago. He was supposed to take one and a half years to recover and he’s a year ahead of schedule.”

“He returns calls and he will get the job done,” Dumas continued. 

Howard took the podium to a rousing round of applause, as Dumas introduced him as “My old, old friend.”

During his remarks Howard said if a person is in jail they probably did something to get there. He said he feels prisoners ought to work. “Picking up trash is work,” he remarked. “I think they ought to grow crops and help pay something back to society.”

Howard pointed out the Sheriff’s Department has a lot of functions and also shared his thoughts about how the Department can better serve Sabine Parish. Among its functions and opportunities to serve:

1. It collects taxes, over $20 million a year –
2. Provides security in schools –
3. “I want to expand the youth program.”
4. “I want a Junior Deputy Program.”
5. He said he wants Community Policing –
6. He pledged to help the loggers in the parish, which is a big industry –
7. Concerning his efforts to put a sign about the speed trap village of Robeline, he said, “My people can’t go see the Christmas lights in Natchitoches without getting a $350 ticket. Sen. Jim Fannin had a gentleman’s agreement with Mayor Bobby Behan to put up signs. We’ll see.”
8. He pledged to have two deputies per car on patrol –
9. Howard pledged to work hard to be sure the quality of life in Sabine Parish is protected –

Howard spoke of his love for Sabine Parish, pointing out he has had an office here for the past 12 years. He said his children were all born at the old Fraser Hospital, that Ray Pass has cut his hair for the past 25 years, that his grandchildren attended Many High School and that for years he bought his groceries from John Curtis at Big Star.

He said the rumor was out that several different people were going to be his Chief Deputy, but said, “You’ve got to be elected before you name a Chief Deputy.”

He recognized Chris Abrahams, who was in attendance and is also running for Sheriff, and said he and candidate for Sheriff Aaron Mitchell are fine gentlemen and noted they are not running against each other, but for the job.

In closing Howard said, “We are taking God out of everything. We need to put God back in America and America back in God. We need a great revival across this country.”

Musical entertainment was provided by Buster Jordan and Sarah Erwin. To close out the musical portion of the event, Jordan sang the old George Jones hit “I Don’t Need Your Rocking Chair.” And he added a couple of lines:  “Frankie is still lean and mean. Just ask the Mayor of Robeline.” The audience loved it.

The opening prayer was given by the Rev. Troy Terrell. Rev. Ricky Robertson led the pledge and Zwolle Mayor Pie Martinez welcomed the crowd. Entertainment was provided by comedian Ronnie Lewing. The closing prayer was by Rev. Phillip North.

Among those attending were Clerk of Court Tammy Foster, Rep. Terry Brown of Dist. 2, Rep. Larry Bagley of Dist. 7, School Board Member Donald Remedies of Dist. 8 and Suzanne Williams, councilperson in Florien.

Candidates introduced were:  Dr. Greg Lord and Rodney Schamerhorn, who are both running for Dist. 24 State Representative; Charlie Greer, a candidate for Commissioner of Forestry and Agriculture; Carl Chance, who is running for Tax Assessor and Chris Abrahams, candidate for Sheriff

Among those recognized for their assistance with the event were Hootie Remedies, Buddy Brandon and Henry Rivers.

Jim and Jan Freeland of Fort Jesup hosted a successful Meet and Greet for Dr. Greg Lord, candidate for Dist. 24 Representative, on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 3.

Dr. Lord was joined by his wife Angelle, daughter Christina, son Gregory and other family members to visit with a number of people who gathered from Many, Fisher, Robeline and Fort Jesup.

The secluded log residence tucked away near Cedar Grove Baptist Church proved to be a good spot for lots of one-on-one visiting with folks of the area.

“The Number One reason I’m running is I believe I can help our state out and am willing to do everything I can to do that,” Lord said.

Lord noted he didn’t get to serve in the military because at that age he was in college, working toward med school and planning to open a practice of his own.

“I think it’s very honorable to serve in the military, but I wasn’t able to serve. So now that I’m on the other end of my life, slowing down in the medical field, I want to try to help our state and our district in other ways,” Lord explained.

Lord has been a medical provider in Vernon Parish for 38 years. He describes himself as a conservative Republican who will work to fight excessive government regulation of business and fight a climate of entitlement. He is pro-life, pro-Second Amendment and pro-business.

“During my years working as Chief of Staff at Byrd Regional Hospital multiple times and serving on the Board, I had to go to Baton Rouge many times to fight for bills and sometimes I had to go to Baton Rouge to fight against bills. While down there, I saw how the process can work really well at times for the good of communities and the good of the state, but at other times I saw good bills shot down for political reasons,” Lord shared. “That really hurt me a lot, and I said ‘One day I’d like to be down here and try to do the right thing.’ We just need honest and good people down in Baton Rouge,” he said.

Lord has been a part-time resident of Sabine Parish for the last 25 years at Toledo Bend. He loves to fish, hunt, garden and be outdoors. He said he has enjoyed bringing people from all over Louisiana, Texas and from Fort Polk to Toledo Bend for recreation.

He hopes to apply the same skill set he has used in the medical field since the early 1980s to his work as a Louisiana legislator to find good solutions to problems facing the state.

“One of my mentors said ‘Politics treats the symptoms, but a good legislator fixes the problem,’” Lord stated. “For close to 40 years, since I’ve been in medicine, I’ve had to diagnose the correct problem, then I could prescribe the correct medicine. In our state there are a lot of problems that have had money thrown at them and other solutions proposed for the problems that just weren’t right. The diagnosis of the problem wasn’t made correctly and the treatment hasn’t worked. I may not can diagnose all the problems, but in my line of work I understand the value of bringing in a specialist when needed. I know how to put a team together, and diagnose a problem correctly and fix it. We need to do the same thing in Baton Rouge,” Lord said.  

Also attending the Lord Meet and Greet were candidate for Sabine Parish Sheriff Aaron Mitchell, who spoke passionately about his desire to end the relatively new, but rapidly growing and serious Meth problem in Sabine Parish, and candidate for Natchitoches Parish Councilman Russell Rachal, who shared a bit of information about how the road repair process works.

Future Observations will provide more info on Mr. Mitchell’s campaign and Mr. Rachal’s campaign.

“Aquaman” is the fantasy-adventure-action movie scheduled for this Saturday, Aug. 10, at Movies in Many. Because it’s filmed underwater, it’s guaranteed to keep you cool and refreshed on a hot summer night when it shows at the Many Community Center [Sabine Theater]. By the way, Saturday’s high is predicted to be a steamy 99 degrees. Admission to the oceanic film is absolutely free including air conditioning and comfy seats. The movie starts at 7 p.m.   

The plot goes as follows:  Aquaman is on a mission to prevent an epic battle between the worlds of ocean and land, and he must win. He is half-human and was born in Atlantis. In this film, he goes on the trip of a lifetime.

Once home to the most advanced civilization on Earth, the city of Atlantis is now an underwater kingdom ruled by the power-hungry King Orm. With a vast army at his disposal, Orm plans to conquer the remaining oceanic people — and then the surface world. Standing in his way is Aquaman, Orm’s half-human, half-Atlantean brother and true heir to the throne. With help from royal counselor Vulko, Aquaman must retrieve the legendary Trident of Atlantis and embrace his destiny as protector of the deep.

“Aquaman” is an adventure action movie that will keep movie goers in suspense as they watch Aquaman, (played by Jason Momoa), struggle to gain the throne that is rightfully his. Among his talents are superhuman strength and the ability to manipulate the tides of the ocean, communicate with other aquatic life, and swim at supersonic speeds.

As always, movie concessions will be available for only $1 each.

Movies in Many is brought to you by Many Mayor Ken Freeman, the Many City Council and the Many Cultural Advisory Committee.  It’s all part of their efforts to bring affordable entertainment to the citizens of Many and Sabine Parish.

A Zwolle man has been arrested by Newton, TX County Sheriff’s Department after being charged with assault of a Constable which left him injured. John Adam Falcon of Zwolle was arraigned by Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Brenda Smith on Wednesday of last week. His bond was set at $250,000 on a charge of aggravated assault on a peace officer.

It was reported that the incident happened on a Sunday when Constable Holton “Bubba” Johnson, who serves the Burkeville area, was attending services at Toledo Bend Baptist Church. Someone noticed a suspicious man sitting in a car on the church parking lot. Johnson went outside to check on the man and immediately saw that he had a handgun in his lap.

Johnson tried to take his gun, but the man took off in the car and dragged the Constable for a distance. Johnson had several injuries, the most serious being to his face. He underwent medical treatment and was released.

Sheriff Billy Rowles said he feared what may have happened if Johnson had not confronted the armed man.

That is all for now. I always welcome your comments and thoughts. Call me at (318) 332-8653 or send an email to robertrgentry@gmail.com. To see recently archived Observations, follow the page links below. For older ones, visit our Facebook page, where they are listed by date under Photo Albums. To save, send or print this week’s column, please click on the appropriate icon below.

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