Wednesday, January 29, 2020

There are a lot of people that are up in the air about the Sabine Police Jury spending $71,000 from the General Fund to purchase the Dixie Youth Ball Park in Converse. Somehow, the matter just doesn’t seem to pass the smell test. In December the Jury voted to have an appraisal and then at the Jan. 15 meeting, all Jurors except one voted for the purchase.

The ball park is in a bad state of disrepair and will require a lot of maintenance to get it in shape. In addition, there are multiple ball parks at Converse High, which begs the question:  How many ball fields does Converse need?

It is hard to understand why eight out of nine Jurors would vote to take $71,000 from the General Fund for one district. What about the other eight districts? Are they getting anything from the General Fund for their districts? Where is fairness?

If I were a Police Juror, I would offer a motion at the next meeting to spend $71,000 from the General Fund for road work in the district I serve.

This area saw a great loss Saturday with the death of Pleasant Hill native Roy Bush Bridges. We extend our condolences to his wife Judy Winn Bridges and their children Ella and Roy Bush “RB,” II. We attended the wake Monday night in Shreveport. What a crowd turned out. It speaks volumes about the kind of man he was. Roy Bush was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Buss Bridges, who ran Pleasant Hill Pharmacy for many years. He worked at the Bank of Pleasant Hill, was an administrator in the Nursing Home field and served on the Board of Directors of Peoples State Bank.

We extend hearty get well wishes to Many Chief of Police Roger Freeman who suffered a mild stroke last week. We hope he will have a speedy recovery and be back at work soon.

Hats doffed to Many Mayor Ken Freeman and the Town Council for lowering garbage collection fees by $6 per month. The Town went back in the garbage collection business last fall. So far, so good.

Received a nice note last week from Edward “Bo” Chevallier, former resident of Many. He practiced law here and was an Assistant District Attorney. He and wife Kay moved to Horseshoe Bend, AR a few years ago.

A retired DeSoto Parish attorney who at one time was an Assistant District Attorney serving Sabine Parish was arrested in Mansfield for leaving the scene of a hit-and-run accident that injured a pedestrian. Herman L. Lawson, 70, was arrested on Jan. 17 on charges of driving while intoxicated, hit-and-run, obstruction of justice and vehicle negligent injury. He was freed after posting bonds totaling $23,000.

A State Trooper learned at the scene that the driver of a pickup truck had left, and a witness was able to provide a detailed description of the truck. While officers were directing traffic, Lawson drove up in a white Chevrolet Tahoe. Trooper Brent Hardy said he showed signs of intoxication and also smelled of bleach. It is alleged Lawson apparently drove his truck home after the accident, used bleach on it in an attempt to cover the crash evidence, and then drove back to the scene in another vehicle.

NEWS FROM ROBELINE:  The Village Council at its Jan. 13 meeting voted to increase the fine amount collected for traffic violations by $23 each. Former State Rep. Frankie Howard offered a bill in the Legislature last year to erect a billboard signifying Robeline as a “Speed Trap Town.”

Converse High School Principal Cynthia T. Mary was arrested last month for theft from Pleasant Hill Baptist Church where she reportedly served as treasurer. District Attorney Don Burkett said he has received the file on the case and is proceeding. He said the amount of theft was over $90,000 during at least a seven-year period. The amount is reportedly as high as $95,000. Mary’s bond was set at $5,000 by Judge Peyton Cunningham Jr., and she was released on Dec. 19, the same day she was arrested.

Schools Superintendent Sara Ebarb when asked for information on the matter, would only comment, “Mrs. Cindy Mary is on sabbatical leave and has been since July 1, 2019.”

Supt. Ebarb also stated that Jay Booker, who taught at Many Junior High, “…has been transferred to SPARK at the request of Mr. Mason, who needed someone to teach the oil and gas class there.” There were reports of a problem with him at the Junior High, but it is also reported that he is still coaching there.

In addition, Supt. Ebarb said: “State law prohibits the disclosure of confidential personnel information, so I cannot provide additional information, if any, about these two employees of the District.”

Take your valentine to Movies in Many on Feb. 8. Message in a Bottle is a tender love story that your boyfriend or husband, girlfriend or wife will love. Have a couples’ evening and fall in love all over again. 

The Valentine movie is free and it’s the way to spend a romantic evening at the Many Community Center and not spend a fortune. The movie starts at 7 p. m. on Saturday, Feb. 8. Concessions are only $1 each and there may even be a special Valentine gift for your special person.

Here’s a suggestion to make the romantic evening even better. Maybe you could take him or her out to dinner before the movie. There’s Music in Many across San Antonio Ave. at Bayou Crawfish. If you go for an early dinner, you can enjoy an hour of live music and still make it to the movie in plenty of time.

The plot goes thusly:  When Theresa (a Chicago Tribune researcher) finds a letter washed ashore in a bottle, she is so smitten with the romantic nature of the author that she tracks him down. It turns out that the writer, Garret, is a small-town shipbuilder whose wife had died two years previously of pregnancy complications. As a deep and mutual attraction blossoms, Garret struggles to make peace with his past while Theresa battles her own demons of divorce and loneliness. The very thing that attracts Theresa to Garret – his overwhelming devotion and care for his now deceased wife – is what initially stalls his ability to look to the future for hope and new love.

Message in a Bottle gives a healthy nod toward the meaning of true love. Selflessness. Loyalty. Sacrifice. Passion. Additionally, Theresa evidences a huge amount of devotion for her son (from a marriage that fell apart). On one occasion, she puts her work, and even an important phase of her search for Garret on hold because she’s on the phone with her boy and doesn’t want to put him second to her own pursuits. Forgiveness plays a large role in Garret sorting out a long-standing feud with his wife’s family. The pain divorce inherently levies on people is also shown.

You don’t have to worry about explicit sex scenes, nudity, excess fighting, bad language, or too much drinking in this movie. Here’s what happens. Garret and Theresa sleep together twice without sexual involvement. Then they do have sex in an intimate, but not explicit scene. Theresa is briefly shown in her underwear. A brawl in a diner between Garret and his brother-in-law makes for a few bloody noses. A stormy sea does its worst as Garret attempts to rescue a family from a sinking boat. About three-dozen instances of mild profanity and uses of the Lord’s name in vain occur. One s-word also escapes. Drinking (beer and wine) occurs throughout the film.

Message in a Bottle is a touching, romantic and tender love story with many redeeming qualities. As Theresa says at the end of the film, “Loss has been part of my journey, but it has also shown me what is precious.”

Support Movies in Many by attending twice-monthly free movies, usually on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. They are sponsored by Mayor Ken Freeman, the Many City Council, and the Many Cultural District Advisory Committee. Movies in Many is part of an effort to provide affordable entertainment for the residents of Many and Sabine Parish. Take advantage of it.

A special thank you to Mary Brocato for the above article.

Third-generation banker J. J. Blake invites former customers of Peoples State Bank, MidSouth Bank and Hancock Whitney Bank to come do business with him at Community Bank of Louisiana on San Antonio Ave. He reminds current Hancock Whitney customers that their service charges go into effect this month. Blake touts overall savings and ease of transfer when you bring your banking business to Community.

Everyone is also invited to enter the drawing at the bank for a 65-inch TV just in time for the Super Bowl! Hurry, because the lucky winner will be drawn tomorrow – Thursday, Jan. 30.

It all started when Bruce Taylor posted more information about the Police Jury on Facebook Monday afternoon. The dirt contractor was in DeSoto Parish working on a parish road when he posted some pictures of his work. He wrote, “This is what Sabine Parish should concentrate on rather than a ball field.” There were several comments in reply to his post, including one that proposed the Jury do away with road maintenance and go back to contracting it. To this Bruce wrote, “I think you are so right. I am not saying this because I am a dirt contractor as one Juror’s wife stated. I wonder how many in the Jury have a state license for highway, streets and bridges, which is what they are paid to tend to. I wonder how many have a business class that taught them how to manage tax funds?”

Bruce has been a critic of the Sabine Jury and said he wanted the public to know why. He said one of his trucks ran off the Geoghagan Rd. and was damaged. Three days prior, he said, a logging truck ran off in the same place. He asked the Police Jury to pay for the damages and they refused. Bruce filed suit against the Jury and the matter is scheduled to come up for mediation next month.

While working on the Stanley Rd. in DeSoto, Bruce reported he received a phone call from District 3 Police Juror Charlie Brown. Bruce said, “He was cussing and threatened to shoot me. He told me, ‘If you’re a bad-ass, get yourself to Many right now.’ He said he would be waiting on me when I got home.”

Bruce said he returned to Many when he finished his work and was unloading his equipment when Brown came into the road. “He accused me of putting his wife’s name on Facebook and again was cussing me and threatening to whip me,” Bruce explained. “I told him I did not mention his wife’s name.”

“He kept shaking his finger in my face and I kept pushing it away,” Bruce related. “The more I laughed at him, the madder he got. He told me he was gonna knock that smile off my face.”

Shortly, Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Heard arrived on the scene. Bruce continued, “He threatened me in front of the deputy. The deputy asked if I wanted to have him arrested, and I said, ‘No, just get him home and tell him to stay away from here.’”

There was a time Bruce wouldn’t have taken the high road away from the matter.                                       

Congratulations to Edith Jones Palmer for being named this year’s inductee into the Sabine Parish Hall of Fame. She will be honored at the 23^rd Annual Sabine Hall of Fame Induction Banquet on Tuesday, March 31 at Siloam Baptist Church. The church is located at 35480 Hwy. 191 in Many, and the event begins at 6:30 p.m.

Ms. Palmer was graduated from Zwolle High School and Northwestern State College. She was married to William M. Palmer and they owned Palmer-Jones Timber Co. She worked as secretary-bookkeeper while tending two children. Ms. Palmer was raised a Baptist, but joined St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, eventually serving as Eucharist Minister, Lector and teacher.

She has faithfully served her community and parish for years through the Sabine Parish Chamber of Commerce, Tourist Commission, Tamale Fiesta Board, Zwolle Historical Museum, Highway 171 Commission and as project director for the book, Zwolle, Louisiana: Our Story. She has worked tirelessly for the economic growth on Toledo Bend Lake and enjoys gardening.

Tickets to the Sabine Hall of Fame Banquet may be purchased in advance at 1030 San Antonio Ave. or by calling (318) 256-4344. They are $40 each.

That’s a wrap for now. Thanks for reading. Please send your ideas and suggestions for future articles to me at robertrgentry@gmail.com or call (318) 332-8653. I always love to hear from you. To see older, archived Observations, visit our Facebook page where they are listed by date under Photo Albums. To see newer ones, follow the pages below. To send, save or print this week’s column, click on the appropriate icon below.

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