Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Monday is Veterans Day and this week Observations chooses to honor Edwin Pousson, a veteran of World War II, who will be 101 years old tomorrow. Upon retirement, he moved to Toledo Bend, built his house and has enjoyed life ever since.

Mr. Pousson was born Nov. 7, 1918 in Iota, LA. He joined the Navy in 1939, serving first on the USS Broome, on patrol out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was then assigned to the USS MacLeish on convoy duty in Boston.

He said when Pearl Harbor was attacked, he was in harbor at Reyjavik, Iceland on a return trip. While he was on leave in 1942, he married his wife of 71 years. In 1943, Mr. Pousson was transferred to a minesweeper and then a sub-chaser and spent the rest of the war in the South Pacific.

After the war he got a job at the Exxon Refinery in Baton Rouge where he worked for 37 years before his retirement.

Observations honors Mr. Pousson and all veterans, and we thank them for their service to our great country. And we wish him a Happy Birthday as he approaches 101. May he have many more.

Thanks to Mrs. Bonnie Fox-Miles for letting us know of Mr. Pousson.

It was with a great deal of sadness we report that our good and lifelong friend Vernon Birdwell crossed over the river shortly after noon on Monday. I was fortunate enough to call him a dear friend since childhood.

There are so many things that stand out about him. First of all, he was a fine Christian man who loved God, his family and his country. He was a good neighbor who believed in helping people. Vernon was a hard worker. Many are the nights I would drive by his place and see the lights of his tractor as he worked his fields after dark.

He was a patriot with a great love for America. He spearheaded a movement to erect a monument to honor veterans at Bethany Cemetery on Hwy. 1221 in his home community. And for years he placed flags on the graves of veterans prior to the annual homecoming service at Jennings Chapel.

Once Vernon tried to give me something and I did not want to take it without paying for it. He taught me a lesson I never forgot when he told me: “God loves a cheerful giver. If you don’t accept what I am trying to give you, then you deprive me of a blessing.”

Then a few years back, he sent me the following:  “Forget the things that are behind:  Forget injuries, slights, unkind words; be too big to be hurt; too great to be unkind; too busy to quarrel; too wise to engage in unseemly gossip; too strong to permit little annoyances to turn you from life’s big road; too clean to stain your character with any kind of impurity.”

And then he closed by saying, “Never neglect an opportunity to make another person happy, even if you have to leave him alone to do it.”

Knowing that Vernon was nearing the end of this life, Laurie and I visited him at his home last Thursday afternoon. As usual, he was happy to see us and we had a nice visit. Just prior to leaving, his daughter Amy Vercher asked Laurie if she would sing him a song. She sang “Victory in Jesus” and then the old Martha Carson up-tempo, uplifting “Satisfied.”

Though we will miss him dearly, we are so happy we got to spend some precious time with Vernon recently. As usual, the visit was memorable – marked by his wit and love. We send our deepest sympathies to all of Vernon’s family and friends.

Nov. 16 is election day and Many voters will have a choice on whether to have the Chief of Police elected or appointed by the Mayor with approval of the Town Council. Over the last year, the Council has received a lot of complaints relative to Chief Roger Freeman and the Police Department.

So last month, KSA of Shreveport presented the Town with proposed repair work that needs to be done to the Town’s 50-year-old water and sewer systems. Last major improvements to the water system were done in 1999. Total cost to do the necessary work now comes to just over $12 million.

The cost to operate the Many Police Department is about $1 million per year. That’s in addition to the $1.5 million that Many taxpayers shell out to the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The proposal has been made that the Police Department could be abolished and the Sabine Sheriff’s Department handle the job of law enforcement in the town. It would take a Legislative act to abolish the Police Department.

Mayor Ken Freeman said Sheriff Ronny Richardson said his department could take over law enforcement in the town if the Police Department is abolished. The cost to do so would be about $400,000 per year, thus saving the Town of Many about $600,000 per year.

The suggestion is that the resulting surplus be applied to pay for the necessary work to the town’s water and sewer system, which would prevent the taxpayers from having to pay any extra taxes to get the needed work done.

In a related matter, voters in the Village of Noble will also vote on the proposition of whether the Mayor, with the approval of the Council, will be able to appoint a Marshal who will act as the Chief of Police.

Last week Observations carried a story about Jeff “Gilligan” Davidson, who is in the Nov. 16 run-off for Police Juror from District 5.

In the story, Gilligan said he will not take the $400 per month pay hike the Jurors voted, but will use the funds to improve roads. He mis-spoke and called the raise “illegal,” but clarified to say it was “inappropriate” and “unethical.” He continued, “It is my opinion that governing bodies should never vote a pay increase for themselves. If they feel they must vote a pay increase, it should apply to those who serve the next term, not those who are in office.”

Gilligan continued by saying he hopes not to offend anyone, but he will be speaking his mind and thinks everything the Jury does should be “transparent.”

He faces Matthew Murdock Adams in the run-off. Gilligan was the leading vote-getter in the first primary, receiving 422 votes.

Carroll Ellzey, who is in the run-off for Sabine Parish Tax Assessor, picked up two important endorsements recently. Tax Assessor Cindy Manasco, who did not seek re-election, endorsed him, as did Chief Deputy Assessor Carl Chance. 

Ellzey, who served several terms as Tax Assessor, ran second in the Oct. 12 voting. Ms. Manasco was elected Assessor after Ellzey decided not to seek re-election. Chance was a candidate in the Oct. 12 voting, where Chris Tidwell led the field.

“I am very appreciative,” Ellzey told Observations. “I have worked with both of these. I have worked with Cindy the most, and I think she has done a good job. I go to church with Carl. I appreciate both of their endorsements, and they have meant a lot to my campaign.”

The candidate pointed out that he is a conservative Democrat and explained being elected would not cause him to be able to draw two retirements. “I will draw the same retirement if I stay a year or 10 years,” he stated. “It won’t change.”

After making such a big issue about wanting to retain control of the Marthaville Cemetery Committee, James R. “Rocky” Gandy didn’t even show up Saturday at a special meeting ordered by District Judge Lala B. Sylvester of Natchitoches. He apparently took a page from George Jones’ book. The difference is that George made a lot of money with his hit “No-Show Jones.”

Gandy, a native of Marthaville and Managing Partner of Post Oak Financial in Houston, was voted out of office in a Cemetery Committee meeting Oct. 20, 2018. But he refused to go. He also refused to turn over the Cemetery records and minutes from previous meetings. The Committee, through Many Attorney Chris Sylvia, filed suit. No-Show then hired Alan Pesnell of Shreveport as his attorney.

Judge Sylvester ruled the Oct. 20, 2018 was not valid and ordered a meeting for Saturday, Nov. 2, to elect five members of the Board of Directors and from that a President and Secretary-Treasurer. She appointed Natchitoches Attorney Jeffrey H. Thomas to represent the Court at the meeting, Sylvia to represent the plaintiffs, and Pesnell to represent the defendants. Neither Pesnell nor the defendants showed up at the court-ordered meeting.

The new officers and board, all elected unanimously, were Patty Weeks, Pres.; Sue Roe, Sec./Treas.; Fuzzy Hennigan, Donna Horn and Karen Rawls.    

An interesting comment was made by Ms. Nancy Berry Gibson during the meeting. She said she places flowers on her family graves a few times a year. She shared she was doing so one time, and was confronted by Gandy, who called out to her, “What the hell are you doing? Planting a damn flower bed?” She went on the say that, thank God, she is a Christian or she probably wouldn’t have taken his remarks with as much grace as she did. She did not elaborate on what she might have done if not guided by her faith. 

Movies in Many will feature “American Sniper” this Saturday, Nov. 9, in honor of Veterans Day on Nov. 11. 

“American Sniper,” an autobiographical war film directed by Clint Eastwood, will show at 7 p.m. at the Many Community Center (Sabine Theater) on San Antonio Ave. downtown. Admission is free for everyone. Movie-goers are advised this film is rated R for violence and adult content.

“American Sniper” is an Academy Award-winning movie about a true American hero, Chris Kyle, recognized as American’s most lethal sniper. Bradley Cooper, who played Kyle in the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Clint Eastwood, director of the film, was nominated for Best Director. The film was also nominated for Best Film. 

There was much more to this true American hero than his skill with a rifle. U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle was sent to Iraq with only one mission:  to protect his brothers-in-arms. His pinpoint accuracy saved countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, he earned the nickname “Legend.”

His reputation also grew behind enemy lines, putting a price on his head and making him a prime target of insurgents. Despite the danger, as well as the toll on his family at home, Chris served through four harrowing tours of duty in Iraq, becoming emblematic of the SEAL creed to “leave no man behind.”

The record-breaking film “American Sniper” tells the story of soldier Chris Kyle’s life. While the movie was based on Kyle’s autobiography, the ending changed after the production of the film had already started.

The film focuses largely on Kyle’s four tours of duty and how his long list of targeted kills earned him the title of the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history.

Kyle’s story was not over, however, when he returned home to Texas after his last tour of duty. Sadly, Kyle was killed on a Texas shooting range in February 2013, four years after he was honorably discharged from the Navy. The film does not show the moment when the father-of-two was killed but it does show him leaving his home as he headed to the Chalk Mountain, TX gun range where he was later fatally shot.

The film’s epilogue then shares what happened to Kyle, but here are more details about the tragic day:  In the years leading up to his death, Kyle had begun working with wounded veterans and, in some cases, he spent time with them on the shooting range. This particular session turned deadly.

Marine Corps veteran Eddie Ray Routh, 25, was arrested after allegedly fatally shooting Kyle and Kyle’s friend Chad Littlefield before fleeing the scene in Kyle’s truck.

“Routh’s mother may have reached out to Mr. Kyle to help her son, and we kind of have an idea that maybe that’s why they were at the range – for some type of therapy,” Sheriff Tommy Bryant said at a news conference after the shooting.

Kyle’s funeral was held at the Dallas Cowboy’s Stadium to accommodate the huge crowd and his wife Taya gave an emotional eulogy.

“When you think you cannot do something, think again. Chris always said the body will do whatever the mind tells it to. I am counting on that now,” she said. “I stand before you a broken woman, but I am now and always will be the wife of a man who was a warrior both on and off the battlefield.”

The movie shows clips of the ceremony and Kyle’s flag-draped coffin, but some of the most moving moments came when it showed how hundreds of people lined the sides of the interstate to salute the procession as the coffin was moved from the stadium to the Texas State Cemetery about 200 miles away.

Prosecutors at Eddie Ray Routh’s trial decided not to seek the death penalty. Trial judge Jason Cashon sentenced Routh to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Kyle’s killer is imprisoned at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice near Palestine, TX.

Each year the Town of Many hosts a Movies in Many film about American heroes in honor of the Many and Sabine Parish veterans who have served our country so well. These movies are always free of charge.

Only the Tax Assessor and five municipalities in Sabine Parish failed to roll their millages forward under new assessment. According to Assessor Cindy Manasco, her office levied 5.720 mills instead of the 6.43 that the Assessor’s Office had last year. The Town of Many met in special session Oct. 30 and passed a resolution adopting the adjusted millage rate for 2019 from 5.65 mills to 5.34 mills, according to Mayor Ken Freeman.

Sabine Parish Sheriff Ronny Richardson rolled his taxes forward. The original estimated of tax revenue from increased millage was $3,005,556 and the amount of increase in taxes attributable to the increase is $562,573.

The Sabine Parish School Board voted to levy increased millage rates without further voter approval. The estimated amount of tax revenues to be collected in the next year from the increased millage is $4,980,666 and the amount of increase in taxes attributable to the millage increase is $958,831.

The Sabine Police Jury rolled its millages forward providing a total increase of $1,047,478.54.

The charts below show the information from the School Board and Police Jury.

World War II Veteran Douglas Curtis Sr., center, visited the beautiful new Curtis Family Pharmacy last Friday. He was 93 years old on Oct. 30.  He is shown here with daughter Linda Curtis-Sparks and son John W. Curtis.

That is all for this first Wednesday in November, folks. Thanks for reading and thanks for your ideas and thoughts about future articles. They are much appreciated. Always feel free to call me at (318) 332-8653 or send an email to robertrgentry@gmail.com. Older Observations are archived on our Facebook page under Photo Albums, but those of the last year can be found by following the pages below. To send, save or print this week’s column, please click on the appropriate icon below.

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