Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Day 44 of Lockdown:  It’s hard to believe April is almost gone and we are still under stay-at-home orders. Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Monday they will continue until May 15.

What Sabine Parish needs is to get back to work.

The Governor said most restrictions will remain the same in Louisiana, since the state doesn’t yet meet the Phase I guidelines released by Pres. Trump’s task force outlining the necessary criteria for reopening.

The only somewhat major changes in coronavirus policy Gov. Edwards shared is that starting Friday, business employees who deal directly with the public are supposed to wear face masks; all citizens are encouraged to wear facial coverings when going in public; and restaurants and bars with patio seating can let patrons sit at their outside tables a minimum of 6 feet from others, but table wait staff is not to be provided. So basically if you order food to go from a place that has patio seating, you can sit there and eat it as long as you practice social distancing from other dining patrons.

Meanwhile the state of Texas, just 20 miles west, will reopen restaurants and other regular businesses with precaution, continuing social distancing and other good health guidelines.

LaSalle Parish [Jena] declared they plan to reopen the parish on a limited basis starting May 1.

“We want to make it very clear to all of our residents,” LaSalle Parish District Attorney J. Reed Walters said, “this plan is an effort to allow us as a parish to ease back into our normal lives…not rush back, full steam, as we were before the shutdown.”

Starting this Friday, LaSalle Parish small businesses, clothing and retail stores, restaurants, and churches will be allowed to open as long as they follow guidelines established by parish leaders.

LaSalle leaders have made this decision and continue, despite Gov. Edwards’ most recent guidance for the state. And as of now, we hear of no push back from the state regarding their plans.

Sabine Parish mayors are attempting to sway Gov. Edwards’ decision on the ability to do business locally with their version of a safety-first reopening for Sabine Parish. See article below. It makes sense to us for parishes that have experienced low COVID-19 numbers to now be allowed to slowly and safely reopen to prevent further economic disaster.

Sabine District Attorney Don Burkett has become Sabineland’s go-to guy for daily coronavirus updates. Here is his latest information, posted on social media shortly after noon today:

“April 28: The State has raised Sabine to 16 cases and 1 death, but local Homeland Security and I account for 22/1. [Other area parish stats in cases/deaths are:] Caddo 1,497/100, Bossier 277/14, DeSoto 188/11, Rapides 255/10, Natchitoches 77/3, Red River 23/5 and Vernon 16/2. Statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations are down 17 to 1,666 and [the use of] vents down 18 to 244. Presumed recovered are 17,303 out of 27,286 cases reported. Statewide deaths in last 24 hours spiked from 27 yesterday to 61 today for a state total of 1,758. Still a ways to go it seems,” said DA Burkett

The mayors of Many, Zwolle, Pleasant Hill, Florien, Converse, Fisher and Noble sent a letter on Friday, April 24 to Gov. John Bel Edwards, Sen. Louie Bernard and Rep. Rodney Schamerhorn expressing their desire to have Sabine Parish businesses re-open with certain health and safety precautions in place.

They noted their deep concern for Sabine Parish’s faltering economy and suggested the following 11 steps to assure safe reopening practices:

1. 6-foot Social Distancing

2. [No more than] 5 People per 1,000 Square Feet of Shopping Space

3. The Use of Protective Screens

4. Employees to Wear Masks [No Gloves because of Cross-Contamination]

5. Counters Washed with Sanitizer or Bleach after Each Customer

6. All Shopping Carts Washed with Sanitizer or Bleach after Each Use

7. Open two hours [specifically] for Citizens Age 60 and Older with Underlying Health Issues

8. One-way Shopping Aisle Designations

9. Daily Temperature Monitoring of Employees Before Each Employee Starts Work

10. Temperature Monitoring of Each Customer Upon Entry to Store

11. Businesses with Alternative Service Option to Keep Lobbies Closed

Seen:

“Nice gentleman with three dozen rolls of toilet paper seeks attractive lady with equal amount of hand sanitizer for good, clean fun.”

We had a nice visit with educator Dale Skinner Tuesday morning.  He is battling cancer and said he is doing a lot better. He said he feels fine except for not having the stamina he once had. He is taking medicine for his problem and it is working, so he won’t have to take any more invasive cancer treatments. A lot of people have been praying for Dale and the prayers are working. We wish him continued success.

Someone recently called to our attention a Facebook page entitled “Abandoned Louisiana.”  On that page, among many interesting posts of forgotten places and structures, is a series of 40 pictures of the abandoned Many Junior High School. The photos were posted by Gonzo Form, a photojournalism enthusiast in Lake Charles. The Gonzo Form journalistic approach is described thusly:  

“Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as a part of the story. Form is the structure, pattern, organization or essential nature of anything. ‘Gonzo Form’ is my own style of photojournalism, where instead of photographing staged scenes and environments, I prefer to immerse myself into places and cultures to obtain a better understanding of the essential nature of our world and the people who inhabit it.”

The photographer’s one rule is zero censorship. He writes, “With that being said, I try to inform people ahead of time that I take photographs that everyone can enjoy and will find aesthetically pleasing: at the same time there will also be a lot of photographs that some people will find offensive.

“This is not to say that I agree or disagree with the messages and images that people create; rather, I simply prefer to photograph the work as I find it, documenting the pleasant with the unpleasant. I believe that it is imperative for everyone to see the beauty that nature and our world has to offer, while refusing to turn a blind eye to the state of decay and horror that we are allowing so many of our fellow citizens to call home.”

And speaking of decay, the old Many Junior High School is a prime example. The Junior High has been moved out of its old buildings for years. The buildings were good when the school moved out of them. After that, the site could have been used for something productive, but it wasn’t. It is sad to see the amount of furniture left in the building to ruin. What a shame.

We note that a new fence has been built around the vacant old Many Elementary School facility. The fence is about 10 feet tall and has razor wire at the top. We would hope that might protect it from vandalism, and we would also hope that the School Board might find a good use for the building for, lest it go the way of the Junior High buildings.

In commenting on Facebook, Sheri Ehrhardt Sandlin said, “Just do not really understand why they just leave all that stuff in those schools that are closed. Such a waste.” And Charles F. Seale wrote:  “WASTE!  And the education system is always complaining they don’t have any money.”

After Observations was published, we received the following information and update from Sabine Parish Schools Supt. Sara Ebarb:

“The school board has not owned the old Many Jr. High for many years. It was not owned by the school board when I came in 2011. The old elementary is in process of becoming the Warehouse and will house the Tech Dept. and Transportation Maintenance.”

Kowonno K. Greene, a 1999 Many High School graduate and lifelong resident of Ward 4 – Dist. 4, was appointed by the Sabine Parish School Board at their Monday evening meeting to fill the Board seat left vacant by Roderick Davis. You may recall Davis pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud at his job with Sabine Association of Retarded Citizens, and he was required to resign his School Board seat as a part of his plea.

Appointee Kowonno Greene was sworn in by recently elected Clerk of Court Shelly Salter, who officially takes office on Friday, May 1. His mother, Johnetta Dean, attended his swearing in.

Greene currently serves in the Louisiana National Guard and owns Greene’s Handyman Services LLC, specializing in small construction and home repairs. He joined the Guard after having served in the Naval Reserve and before that, served in the U.S. Navy from which he received an Honorable Discharge.

Greene earned a Criminal Justice degree from Northwestern State University in 2011 during his deployment to Afghanistan and a degree in Intelligence Operations Studies from Cochise College [Arizona] in 2016.

Greene will serve in the School Board Ward 4 – Dist. 4 seat until an election is held on Nov. 3 of this year for the position.

We remind all that there will be a “Waves and Whistles Parade” at Many Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center at 120 Natchitoches Hwy. on Thursday, April 30 at 2 p.m. The Grand Marshal will be Mayor Ken Freeman, and all are invited to participate.

Those who wish to join are asked to remain in their cars and to line up ahead of time at the VFW parking lot near the Many Fire Department located at 1710 San Antonio Ave.

That will do it for this Tuesday. Thanks for reading, as always. To save, send or print today’s column, click on the appropriate icon below. To share your thoughts for future articles, send an email to robertrgentry@gmail.com or call me at (318) 332-8653. I love to hear from you. To see older Observations, please follow the page links below and visit our Facebook page.

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