Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019

Several months ago we watched an interview with former Attorney General Ed Meese on Fox News. I had not thought of Mr. Meese in years, but the program brought back memories of the time I was fortunate enough to meet him.

It was May 3, 1984 and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington was honoring Roy Acuff, the King of Country Music and long-time member of the Grand Ole Opry. Only 500 persons had been invited and I was fortunate to be included in that number, as Roy and I had been friends for several years. President Ronald Reagan was honorary chairman for the event. Roy was being honored for his 52 years of contributions to the entertainment industry.

That afternoon there was a reception for Roy at the Embassy of Turkey. It was a beautiful building. I was talking with Roy and Charlie Collins, a member of his band, when all eyes turned toward the door as Attorney General-designate and Mrs. Ed Meese walked in.

I noticed Roy kept looking in the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Meese as we spoke. Finally, after a while Roy said, “I sure would like to meet Ed Meese.”

 “I can take care of that for you,” I answered and walked to where the Meeses were. I introduced myself and we made a little small talk.

“Mr. Acuff would like to meet you,” I told him. Mr. Meese replied, “I would like to meet Mr. Acuff, too.” Then he pulled up his pants leg to show off a new pair of cowboy boots. “I bought these just for today,” he said.

They walked over to Roy with me and I introduced them. Roy had always been interested in politics – in fact he had run for Governor of Tennessee back in 1948 – and the two had a good conversation. I found Mr. Meese to be very friendly and very likeable. 

President Reagan nominated Meese as Attorney General on Jan. 23, 1984. For more than a year the Democrats repeatedly charged Meese with unethical conduct in order to keep him from being confirmed. Finally, in February 1985 he was confirmed.

Attorney Archibald Cox reported to the Senate that Meese “lacked ethical sensitivity” and had a “blindness to abuse of power.”

But, in 1985 Meese received the Government Executive Magazine annual award for excellence in management for his service in this role.

Meese resigned in 1986 when independent council James C. McKay was highly critical of Meese’s ethics and urged further investigation.  President Reagan publicly voiced support, saying, “If Ed Meese is not a good man, there are no good men.”

Meese believed in jurisprudence of original intent when interpreting the U.S. Constitution. He was well-known for his opposition to the Miranda Warning ruling by the Supreme Court requiring a suspect’s rights be read to him before being questioned by authorities.

The night of the shindig in Washington, the stars came out to shine for Roy. After a meal, the audience saw performances by Minnie Pearl, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Charlie Daniels, Gene Autry, Charlie Pride and the Melvin Sloan Dancers.

It was a day and night to remember.

A former Pleasant Hill resident, Robert Clifton “Cliff” Poimboeuf, pleaded guilty last week in Federal District Court in Shreveport to filing false tax returns. According to documents filed with the court, Poimboeuf, 57, and his wife Donna owned and operated D&G Holdings, LLC, a medical business operating as Doctors Lab, that provided laboratory and phlebotomy services.

From 2011 through 2015, Poimboeuf filed false tax returns that underreported gross receipts earned from D&G.

“Mr. Poimboeuf cheated on his taxes in order to lower his tax bill,” said U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph. “In doing so, he committed a crime and failed in a duty we all owe as American citizens. He now awaits sentencing for this crime.”

Sentencing is set for April 21 of next year before Chief U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr.  Poimboeuf faces a statutory maximum sentence of six years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release and monetary penalties. He has agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $1,904,477.

Downtown Coffee, Gift Shop & Eatery Now Open

There’s another great reason to celebrate downtown Many and just in time for Christmas! San Antonio Rollz & Keegan’s Korner are now open for business in the right-hand/old tools section of the former Many Pawn Shop location at 867 San Antonio Ave.

Owner Thiisha Vines has done a stellar job renovating the space into a beautiful Coffee Shop and Eatery with bar and table seating for almost 20 persons.

Brewed and pod coffee is available as well as hot chocolate, other drinks, muffins, snacks and candy at this time. Lunches will be added soon.

The Keegan’s Korner gift shop portion of the shop is named after Vines’ grandson Keegan Berg, and it offers new and twice-loved home décor, gifts and more.

Most useful this time of year are all their Christmas items, including special Christmas gifts designed especially for teachers.

“My neighbor told me she only shops locally for Christmas. If it isn’t available here, she doesn’t get it,” said Vines. “I really admire that and hope more people will make a practice of supporting local businesses and merchants,” she said.

In the spirit of community, Vines said all first responders and all law enforcement officers get complimentary coffee when they stop in – that includes EMS, Fire Dept., Police Dept. and the Sheriff’s Dept.

In a few weeks, the spot expects to be ready to serve plate lunches similar to Jason’s Deli type items. Lunch will be available Monday through Friday. Diners can eat in or get delivery by calling (318) 315-5862.

Vines said cool weather lunches will feature comfort foods like chicken and dumplings, gumbo and soups, and warm weather lunches will be lighter fare like sandwiches, salads, chips and fruit.

She also looks forward to spring, when Keegan’s Korner will expand to include cute clothing for little boys aged 12 months to 5 years. Vines feels those needs are currently underserved locally, so she is very excited to be able to offer those items soon.

San Antonio Rollz & Keegan’s Korner are open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call (318) 315-5862.

We were pleased last week to have a visit from Dr. Ted “Bussey” Mims, a native of Many and the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Henry Mims. He is the retired head of the Computer Department at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

He flew into Shreveport Wednesday of last week and stayed with his former Northwestern roommate Taylor Burford in Stonewall. They came to Many and visited with me and Bussey’s nephew, Allan Fullerton. On the way back to Stonewall, they got five dozen hot tamales in Zwolle. Thursday they went to Jasper to visit Bussey’s cousin Jennie Hollis and then to Nacogdoches to have lunch with another cousin, Carole Nett.

On Friday a group of former Northwestern classmates gathered, some of whom Bussey had not seen since 1969. They included Richard Burford, Chuck Burford, Taylor Burford, Bernie Johnson and Mike Murray. Continuing the whirlwind tour, on Saturday he went to a production at the theater in Grand Cane. And on Sunday he was in services at the First Baptist Church in Gloster. That night they went back to church for a breakfast dinner and the singing of Christmas carols. It is always good to visit with him and we appreciate Bussey stopping by.

The sales tax report for November has been issued by Nolan Rivers, Sabine Parish Sales/Use Tax Administrator. The amount of change noted is in relation to November of 2018.

A special thank you to Mary Brocato for the following two articles.

The 2019 Honorary Grand Marshal of the Many Christmas Parade on Dec.21 is a woman who is involved in her church and community, has a career, and is a loving wife, mother and grandmother.

Mary Collier Perry is known and loved by almost everyone in Many because of her involvement and work throughout the Many community. The story of her life is an inspiring one.

Mary Perry was born in Florien, the daughter of a minister, Rev. Lee Collier and his wife Rachel. Except for a time when she lived in Shreveport, she’s been a lifelong resident of Sabine Parish.

Ms. Perry was a graduate of Florien High School in 1974. She then attended Ayers School of Business in Shreveport where her major was in business technology. She completed her studies and graduated.

Soon after, Mary married Galvin Cary. The couple had four daughters:  Sharonda Cary, Tracey Gosey, Kristle Cary and Gabrielle Cary.

After a divorce, Mary moved to Many in 1995. Her first job in Many was at Kentucky Fried Chicken. After working there for a few years, Mary was named manager. Sometime later, the fast food restaurant closed down because of the owner’s death.

Mary found herself without a job. She started a job search and walked into the Many Ford dealership looking for work. Gene Smith, the owner, hired her immediately. Mary says Smith told her, “If you can sell chicken, then you can sell cars. You have a wonderful, outgoing personality and a beautiful smile. That will go far in your career in auto sales.” Mary worked at the Ford dealership for Smith until it closed in 2008. That first job in car sales was the start of her career in the automobile sales industry.

Mary then went to work for Natchitoches Ford dealership but did not enjoy the commute each day. When she had the chance, Mary returned to Many to work for Foy Chevrolet where she has worked ever since.

Mary Perry loves working with the public. She is active in her church and in several community organizations and groups.

Perry was recently elected President of the Many Rotary Club. Her election marks the first time an African American woman has been elected to that position. Her ascension to the presidency was rapid as she joined Rotary only four years ago in 2015.

Perry says she was drawn to Rotary because of its international stance on polio. When she was only five years old, she had a light case of polio. The family doctor sent Mary to the LSU Hospital in Shreveport where she spent eight months until she was pronounced cured. 

Mary says polio is something no child should ever have to endure when a vaccine is available to prevent a child from contracting the disease. She is looking forward to helping Rotary raise money to keep this dreaded disease at bay.

Mary is a member of several boards, including the Council on Aging, the Rotary Board of Directors, Project Celebration, the Many Zoning Board, and Many’s Christmas Festival Committee.

She’s also a member of RedLand Baptist Church where the pastor is Moderator Donny Edmondson who was honored in 2018 at the Sabine Parish Hall of Fame. Mary is the church’s secretary and a Sunday School teacher for the youth.

Mary has a large family. She is the wife of Bobby Perry, and she is the grandmother of eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She has one brother, Robert Collier.

Our 2019 Christmas Parade honorary grand marshal sums up her life in this way, “I love my family and my community. But first I love God and I will always honor and cherish Him. I pray that God will bless me to see many, many more years to help my family, my church, and my community.”

The Town of Many, Mayor Ken Freeman and the Many City Council are proud to have Mary Perry as the Honorary Grand Marshal of the 2019 Christmas Parade.

Many Mayor Ken Freeman is pleased that the Town of Many has received a grant of more than $20,000 to purchase playground equipment for the children of Many.

The grant came from Blue Cross/Blue Shield Foundation of Louisiana and was supplemented with additional funds from the Town of Many. The grant was written by Many grants writer Jane Hardwick.

Freeman said there was a real need at the Sabine Parish Fairgrounds for an area where younger children could safely play when siblings were participating in different sports at the ball park.

The new playground equipment was installed by city workers and has swings, slides, rope ladders and other things for children to safely play on. There are also tables and barbecue grills so the entire family can enjoy watching the children have fun.

City workers will also update and paint the older equipment when weather permits. Still to be installed is a rubber matting that will go below the new equipment.

Freeman is pleased with the new playground and thinks it’s a really good addition to the facilities at the fairgrounds.

We remind all that the big Down Home Christmas Show by the Stewart Family & Friends is just around the corner. Mark it down on your calendar to attend this free holiday concert featuring traditional carols, Country, and Bluegrass Christmas music. It will be a big time.

It all happens on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Many Community Center (Sabine Theater) in downtown Many.  See you there!

Thanks for reading! I welcome your thoughts and ideas for future articles, so send an email to robertrgentry@gmail.com or call me at (318) 332-8653. To see Observations of the past year, follow the pages below. To view older ones, see our archives on our Facebook page, where columns are listed by date under Photo Albums. To save, send or print this week’s column, click on the appropriate icon below.

-30-