Wednesday, August 12, 2020

A Concealed Carry Class is scheduled in Many on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. The class will be limited to 30 persons.

The class will cover basic safety techniques, applicable state laws, proper firing techniques and live-fire exercises. Upon course completion, attendees will receive the required certification to provide proof of training and competence when applying for a Concealed Carry Card.

An official firearms safety and training course is required to apply for the Concealed Handgun Permit, which allows a person to carry a concealed handgun. To register, a person must be 21 or older and a resident of Louisiana.

The class will be taught by Lt. Richard Jennings of the Caddo Sheriff’s Dept. He is a 28-year veteran of Louisiana law enforcement and has over 20 years’ experience as a P.O.S.T. firearms instructor.

For compete details, call Laurie Gentry at (318) 332-7873. Remember, class size is limited and it is filling quickly, so if you are interested, please call now.

It is a real treasure. Going on 103 years old, it is an issue of the Thursday, Dec. 13, 1917 edition of The Sabine Banner, Vol. XXVII, No. 49.  J. J. Blake III, Senior Vice President at Community Bank in Many, found it while going through the belongings of his late father, John J. Blake Jr. The paper had been kept by John J. Blake and was passed to the junior Blake at his death. The newspaper is the Christmas Edition, with the front page printed in color – still remarkably bright – and it contains 20 pages. A year’s subscription back then was $1 per year.

The reason the Blake family kept the newspaper all these years was that Peoples State Bank, which their ancestors helped found, had a full-page ad on the back page, listing bank resources at over one-quarter million dollars. The bank also announced they were paying four percent interest in deposits. E. C. Dillon was listed as President, and J. J. Blake was listed as cashier and a director.

It is so interesting to look through its tattered pages. J. H. McNeely Mercantile Co. of Many had a page ad listing 50 lbs. of lard at $11.25 and overalls at $1.50 per pair. Showing at the Vaudette Theater in Many was “Charles Twin Sister” and “In The Bands of the Enemy.”

The paper contained a column entitled “War Talk” by Uncle Dan.

There were classified ads headed as Wanted, Livestock, Real Estate, and Lost, Strayed or Stolen. In addition, the classified page contained special notices, trespass notices and legals.

It is also interesting to note that Draughons Practical Business College of Shreveport had an ad, as did Luzianne Coffee, Kansas City Southern  and Cardui Women’s Tonic. Florien businesses which had ads were Williams Brothers and Dees Drug Store.

In addition to Peoples State Bank, there are three other banks with ads:  Sabine State Bank and Trust Co. with W. M. Knott as President, the Bank of Zwolle and Noble State Bank.

Zwolle had the following business with ads:  Carter Benevolent Association, Sabine Lumber Co., Meyer’s, Rouss Store, Dover and Dover, S. H. Porter, G. T. Brown and W. E. Holliday and Sons.

Many businesses advertising in the paper were:  Rivers Garage handling Genuine Ford Parts, H. A. McFarland, Motor Inn Garage featuring Ford parts, Many Drug Co., I. L. Pace offering 15¢ off on many items, Dick Sliman’s, French and McDonald Contractors, Mowad and Co., J. W. White and Son, J. G. Brown Trading Co. Ltd., John A. Hoagland, George W. Phillips, C. H. Williams, Dr. J. M. Middleton, W. D. Stille, A. G. Dees and O. E. Williams.

Others were:  Louisiana Long Leaf Lumber Co. of Fisher, and Raimond and Meadows of Noble advertised fireworks.

We are also happy to report the historic newspaper is now being carefully scanned and digitized at the LSUS Noel Library Archives in Shreveport, so it may be added to the Library of Congress newspaper archives, state and local archives.

The Town of Many is very happy to announce that it now has a website. The website address is www.townofmany.org, and on it they will be posting news, events and helpful information for the community.

Customers are also able to now pay their water bill online. Please visit the Town’s new website at www.townofmany.org to access the online payment system. Customers must call City Hall to get their one-time access code to set up their account online. City Hall’s number is (318) 256-2337.

Because of the abundance of news, we’ll be back on bdcradio.com Friday with another Observations. And remember Observations is now in The Sabine Index which comes out each Wednesday. Thanks for reading and we are always happy to receive your comments.

We get letters:

Recently we received a copy of a “stem-winding” letter that was addressed to Many Mayor Ken Freeman. It was signed only “The Watcher.” This makes the second or third time we have received a letter about the Mayor that was signed simply “The Watcher.” In this column we do not use anonymous letters (or their contents) that are not signed by the writer. And on a side note, we are watching the watcher. We’ll keep you posted.

There are no friends like old friends. Sometimes we get so busy living life we don’t take the time to visit as we should. I’m happy to say we’ve enjoyed some good visits in recent days with the following friends.

Joe Don Cook:  He had a bout with cancer last year, and we didn’t even know about it. In addition, he is getting over an injury to his foot from late last year. He has licked the cancer and is recovering from his foot injury. Joe Don is a regular reader of Observations and it was good of him to come by for a visit.

Last week I was going to have lunch with Pete Abington’s Vultures Club and someone in the parking lot called my name. I went over to see who it was and found Shelton Roark and Dale Skinner. They were just coming in from Natchitoches after a round of golf. Dale, too, has been battling cancer and his journey thus far has been nothing short of a miracle. He reported that he is doing fine. I went to Northwestern with Shelton and it is always a lot of fun to visit with him. I recall that he was tutored at Northwestern by Dr. Joe Amos McFerren, which has had a lot to do with his success in life.

Wayne Turner:  I saw Wayne at Glass Technology. He, too, has had some health problems, but is fighting the battle. When we had the big Bicentennial Celebration in 1976, we had a huge parade through Many. Wayne walked the route as Uncle Sam. And he was perfect for it. He was a patriot then and he’s a patriot now. We need more like him.

And last, but certainly not least, I had a good visit with long-time friend Ed Baldridge. He comes by the office on occasion and it is always a pleasure to see him. Ed has been such a success in the business world and he is such an intelligent man. It is always wonderful to visit with him. I always learn from him. And last week he told me the best thing he had ever done business-wise was to hire Tedd Dumas. We agree.

NOTE TO ALL THE IDIOTS WHO WANT TO CHANGE AMERICA FOR THE WORSE:

I’ll Keep My God, My Liberty and Freedom, My Gun and My Money. You Keep the Change.

After a year of serving the needs of local breast cancer patients with support, encouragement and supplies, the non-profit Pink Sisters of Sabine is now holding their first official membership event. It will take place on Friday, Aug. 21 at the next “Social Distance Social,” to be held outdoors in downtown Many at 6:30 p.m.

This street event featuring live music by the Turn-Ups and special guests will highlight Pink Sisters of Sabine, and there will be a few moments devoted that evening to honor all breast cancer patients and survivors. The group will be recognized and information shared about the efforts they are achieving throughout Sabine Parish.

All breast cancer patients, survivors and those who support the work of Pink Sisters are invited to attend. This will be a time to get involved and network with others who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and are surviving. Regardless of whether you have had breast cancer, if you support Pink Sisters of Sabine, you are invited to join!

They will meet at the corner of Capitol and San Antonio [690 San Antonio] at the Pink Sisters table. Attendees are asked to bring a chair, wear a mask and wear something pink. The group plans to enjoy the music, social distance visit and stroll San Antonio to shop the open boutiques and antique malls.

Bayou Crawfish will be open for dinner, and Hard Kor Cafe and Brushy Creek BBQ will also be on site as food vendors. During the event, there will be free prize giveaways sponsored by Nichols, and a Grand Prize $300 Nichols Gift Card provided by Judge Elizabeth Pickett.

Be sure to park on a side street or in a nearby parking lot as San Antonio will be closed to traffic.

Take this as your invitation to join the Pink Sisters of Sabine and sign up as an official member of this new non-profit. At the event, your name will be added to their official membership, and shortly after the event you will receive your membership card by mail.

We always love to hear from our ole Marthaville buddy, Ronald Byrd, who is tucked away up in Virginia. Last week Observations ran a picture of a big bobcat climbing a pine tree. This brought back a memory to Ronny, who wrote the following. Thanks for this piece, Ronny. It is very interesting.

“Back in the late 1940s, one evening close to bedtime we heard Lester’s dogs treeing a coon over on the old Charlie Durr place where we had a corn patch. ‘Those coons are in the corn again,’ Lester said. ‘Let’s go!’ He got his rifle and a kerosene lantern and we set out. Just before we got to the dogs, we heard them taking off after the coon, which had seen or heard us and surprisingly hit the road. This happened two or three times as we got deeper and deeper into the woods.

“Now, if you’ve ever tried to follow someone with a lantern through the woods, you know that you soon get tired of blindly stumbling through briars and brush. Only the person with the lantern can see anything. Finally, the coon was treed permanently and when we got there, the dogs were going wild, but the pin oak’s branches were just too thick for a lantern to help.

“Lester told me to climb up and get the coon to move to a place where he could see him and shoot him. I wasn’t nervous about getting shot. Lester had common sense and was a dead-eye with a rifle. I was nervous about going after a coon that I couldn’t see but back then, you didn’t question an adult so I went for it.

“A few minutes of yelling, shaking limbs and climbing in pitch-blackness was followed by a scream, Lester yelling, the dogs in a fierce fight and me not having a clue about what was going on below. Later, Lester said when that bobcat hit the ground and the dogs hit the bobcat, it was something to see. The fight didn’t last long, the bobcat was gone again. Lester finally gave up on calling the dogs off the trail and we went home. The next day we had some badly scratched-up dogs to doctor and I made a resolution not to climb another tree after another coon!”

Our Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell said that Louisiana utility regulators should extend their moratorium on service disconnections for non-payment because of continued economic disruption from the coronavirus.

“Thousands of families are facing unemployment and possible eviction from their homes due to the virus,” he said. “Now is not the time to add to their misery by shutting off their power, water and other essential services.”

Campbell said he’s pushing for an emergency Commission order to maintain the moratorium which the LPSC froze in March. He concluded, “I’m worried about the families that are in dire straits. We can’t disconnect their critical services when they may have lost their jobs and even their homes.”

A Pleasant Hill school teacher was arrested Aug. 6 on charges of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile-sexting, according to long-time Chief of Police Ray Williams. The charges were lodged against Stephanie Nicole Pulzone, white female, 25. The alleged crime happened at the home of her boyfriend Patrick Canizaro, who was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor on Aug. 10.

Chief Williams said the matter was called to his attention by the mother of Canizaro’s son who lives in Joaquin, TX, and she asked for an investigation. The youth, who is 17, was living with his father and Pulzone. According to reports, the relations between he and Pulzone began when he was 15 years old.

When officers first arrived at the house, the father was putting the son out of the house. The juvenile was taken to the Project Celebration office in Many.

According to reports, Pulzone has taught second grade in Pleasant Hill for about three years.

Schools Supt. Sara Ebarb told Observations that Pulzone has been placed on administrative leave. She added, “I can’t really comment on a personnel issue. This was brought to us by law enforcement and did not happen at school.”

While talking with Chief Williams, I asked about his wife, Mary. You may recall that she was probably the first case of coronavirus reported in Sabine Parish. She is at home doing well and we were happy to speak with her a few minutes. She is happy, feeling good and thanks everyone for their prayers.

Sabine schools are now slated to open Aug. 20. Teachers were to start work on Aug. 10. All students will begin on an A/B Schedule until Sept. 3. On Sept. 8, the Tuesday following Labor Day, all Pre-K through fifth grade students will transition to a five-day schedule, pending no new guidelines from the state.

All sixth through 12th grade students will follow the A/B Schedule until the state enters Phase 3, or the guidelines allow less restriction. On the days students are not in face-to-face classes, they will have assignments that will count for grades. Teachers will use both pencil and paper and virtual tools in instruction and student work. The School Board has ordered Chromebooks for all students and are working diligently to get them set up at the schools as they arrive. Students have been notified of their schedules and should return as scheduled.

“Our teachers are training to more effectively use virtual instruction,” Supt. Sara Ebarb stated. “We appreciate their dedication to providing the best instruction to our students.” She continued, “We appreciate the continued support of the community during this challenging time for our schools. If you have questions regarding the opening of school or our online program, please call (318) 256-9228.”

I love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for future articles. Send an email to robertrgentry@gmail.com or call me at (318) 332-8653. To save, send or print today’s Observations, click on the appropriate icon below. To see columns of the last few years, follow the pages below. To see older, archived ones, visit our Facebook page where they are listed by date under Photos. Thanks for reading.

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