Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Sabine Parish Sheriff Aaron Mitchell was very passionate about doing something about the illegal drug business in the parish as he campaigned last Fall. Folks were ready for a change, voted him into office and he took charge on July 1.

Here’s what happened his first month in office. He put together a new Tactical Narcotics Team. And the patrol deputies became more active in drug apprehensions. Apparently, we had not had an active one for quite awhile.

According to Sheriff Mitchell, 22 persons were arrested on drug charges during the first month. More than $20,000 was seized during the arrests and four handguns were taken.

Here’s a breakdown on the drugs seized:  Marijuana, 5 ½ lbs.; Mojo, 30 grams; Schedule #4 Zanax, 36 grams; Ecstasy, 259 pills; Methamphetamine, 6.8 ounces; and Cocaine, 0.25 grams. We attempted to place a street value on these illegal drugs, but were not successful. We will continue to try to get those values for you in the future.

Now, here is the tragic news of what illegal drugs lead to:  Sheriff Mitchell says in the last six weeks (as of last Friday), there were 17 drug overdoses from Mojo in the parish. And there was one death. Tragic figures. The use of illegal drugs leads to crimes and wrecked lives, not only for the drug users, but for their families.

We commend Sheriff Mitchell, his Chief Deputy Brad Walker and his force for doing something about the drug problem in Sabine. We shall keep our readers posted as they move forward.

Sheriff Mitchell urges citizens to report illegal drug activities. You may call the Sheriff’s Office at (318) 256-9241 or Sabine Crime Stoppers at (318) 256-4511. 

We extend our sympathy to Chief Deputy Walker on the death of his father, Donnie Walker, on Sunday morning. Remember the Walker family in your thoughts and prayers.

J. J. Blake, Senior Vice President at Community Bank of Louisiana in Many has announced that work will soon start on the new branch of Community Bank at 504 San Antonio Ave. in Many. The construction site was cleared earlier this year, but work was delayed because of the Coronavirus. The new bank, as shown above, will be a lovely addition to downtown Many.

One of our regular, faithful readers is Ms. Barbara “Bobbye” Allen of Many. We have known her family for years. Her late husband, A. J. Allen, worked at Lowrey Chevrolet for years, including as sales manager. Ms. Allen retired after many years at the Sabine Parish School Board Office. Our next door neighbor is her son, Gary Allen, and his wife Beth. Great neighbors. In addition, her other children are Jeffrey Allen and Kim Schoth, both of Many. Ms. Bobbye has a green thumb and has always enjoyed growing plants. She is known for her chicken dressing and she also loves to cook desserts. She is now grandmother to 12 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and counting.

Addison Hable, the daughter of Robert and Crystal Hable, was involved in a wreck near Many High School on Hwy. 6 on Friday morning.

Thank God she nor any of the other persons involved were seriously injured.

We caution all to slow down and be very observant around all the entrances and exits around the school property. It is a busy place traffic-wise twice a day and it is easy to not see every vehicle turning, stopping or emerging from there.

As most readers know, I had the Coronavirus and was quarantined for three weeks. I am now doing fine and was able to come back to work Monday. Again, I am very thankful for those who called, sent me messages, prayed for me and extended many acts of kindness.

Last weekend I was already recovered and feeling much better, but as you sometimes do, felt something different to eat would “just get me over the hump.”  

Saturday night, my wife Laurie went to the Community Bank’s An Evening with Mike Morris downtown and she made a special trip home mid-concert to bring me a big plate of cookies. 

“Gail Thomas sent you these,” she said. My eyes lit up as I grabbed the first one. Boy, they were good. I had to have a second and then a third. I don’t know what kind they were, but they were homemade and had a lot of good stuff in them.

Thank so much, Gail. I believe that’s what got me over the hump. 

I had a message from long-time friend Cindy Ezernack of Zwolle and was sorry to learn that both she and husband Jerry had the Coronavirus. She wrote a very interesting post on Facebook about how the virus affected their lives.

She said, “Jerry and I have been married over 41 years. In those years we’ve been through some really tough times, but going through Covid together was one of the toughest.” 

She continued, “To protect others, we stayed home for three weeks except to go to the doctor. We are now back to living our life. I realize even more how precious life is and I know I won’t ever take it for granted.

“The loss of energy, strength, smell and taste, the fevers, the hospital stay, the IVs, the shots, all the meds, breathing treatments, the loss of work and I could go on. Seems like every case is different. Jerry and I didn’t even seem to be sick with the same virus, but we were. Jerry lost 20 pounds.  Folks, that Covid is serious. To me ours was bad, but in reality, I know it could have been so much worse. God was with us!

“If it had not been for prayers, our physician, our children, grandchildren, family, friends and wonderful nurses, I’m not sure what we would have done. We are at a loss to express our gratitude to them.”

Cindy said her purpose in writing about her experience is the hope that it might help someone. Thanks so much, Cindy. Your remarks were well-written, and you hit the nail on the head.

Hurricane Laura did a tremendous amount of damage to pine and hardwood timber. Figures have been released for the 20 parishes affected. And we thank friend Joey Harris for providing this information to us. Total damage for those 20 parishes was estimated at $1,114,502,632.

Sabine Parish damage was listed at $5,813,363, Natchitoches Parish at $21,603,510 and Vernon Parish at $359, 725,203.

Our nation is in trouble. And we’ve got to do something.

A lot of folks might think, “I’m only one person. What difference can one person make?”

The answer is we can each do something very powerful. We can pray.

It is a critical time in America, maybe the most critical any of us have ever seen. We are in the grips of a pandemic, we see violence and rioting in our cities – though originally based out of peaceful protests, now in many places it has devolved into a mob mentality, fueled by crime. Our culture is quickly changing due to landmark court cases, and we see people hard at work trying to take God out of every aspect of life.

An effort called “The Return” – a National and Global Day of Prayer and Repentance – is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26 at 9 a.m. The Return offers daily devotions on their web site now and is asking people to pray for the return of our nation to God’s leadership and blessing. Visit return.org to learn more.

In conjunction with that, a prayer march led by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will be held in Washington DC on Saturday, Sept. 26 from noon to 2 p.m. Christians from across the country will fill the National Mall to pray. The group will meet at the Lincoln Memorial at noon and march to the Capitol, stopping along the way at several points to pray. There will be no special speakers, no special music – just simply prayer for the nation. For more details, visit prayermarch2020.com.

Whether you can travel to DC on Sept. 26 or plan to be home, please join in these prayer efforts.

These are ways that were shared that people can pray:

• With humility and repentance, asking God to forgive our sins and heal our land
• For our military, police, other law enforcement and their families, and for security and peace for the nation
• For salvation of the lost, renewed strength in our families and solutions to the coronavirus pandemic
• For our President, Vice President and their families
• For compassion and kindness toward one another, respect and reconciliation between races, and healing in communities torn by violence and injustice
• For religious freedom, for churches to stand firm with the Word of God and to share Jesus Christ in a troubled world
• For our Congress and other leaders at the national, state and local levels, for the Supreme Court and for judges across the nation

Gypsy Boutique opened in their new location in Many on Monday. You may recall they were in the old Hitchin’ Post Western Wear location downtown. Now they are in Wright’s Shopping Center in the former Sears store.

The boutique offers the latest fashions, along with cute footwear and trendy jewelry,

Owner Shelly Haigh told Observations she had more plans for the old San Antonio Ave. location.

“We’re going to turn that into all home decor and gifts,” Haigh said. “We are shooting to have it open by Nov. 1, but it could be as early as October.” Seems like that timeframe will allow holiday shoppers to add another local, downtown Many stop to the growing number of boutiques and antique malls already located on San Antonio. We’re glad to see it.

Gypsy Boutique at 206 Elizabeth St. is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Their number is (318) 508-0705.

SOCIAL DISTANCE SOCIAL SET FOR SEPT. 25

We remind all that the next Social Distance Social is only ten days away. It will be Friday, Sept. 25 on the sidewalk in front of Sabine Theater at 6:30 p.m.

The Turn-Ups and their musical guests will entertain as usual. The Social will focus on the Sabine Humane Society as its fundraising effort, and the Society will offer lots of cat and dog supplies – toys, treats, collars, etc. – for sale, in addition to providing lovely prizes to be given away.

Two pieces of stunning fall home decor, created by the talented Robbie Edwards of Southern Ladeez, will be awarded to two lucky winners and the Grand Prize, sponsored by Cypress Bend Resort, is an overnight stay in a resort suite with two complimentary dinners and two complimentary breakfasts. That is a fine getaway close to home. You can drive a little over 20 minutes and feel like you’ve traveled far away. And who couldn’t use that after all the craziness of 2020?

Adam Lehr at Rigs & Racks Fitness has announced the Sept. 25 Social Cornhole Tournament will be the last tournament of the season, so interested two-man teams should register immediately with Adam at RRF or by calling (318) 508-1514. Remember, the winners take home a cash pot, so it’s well worth the time and a lot of fun.

Hard Kor Cafe will be on the street with their loaded teas and customer favorite food items, so that’ll be a big treat as well.

Watch for more information about the next Social in upcoming Observations.

We’ll be back Friday with more Observations, so be on the lookout for it.

We’re already halfway through September and that is hard to believe. Please let me hear your thoughts and ideas for future columns. I always welcome it. Call (318) 332-8653 or send an email to robertrgentry@gmail.com, To save, send or print today’s column, click on the appropriate icon below. To see Observations of the past few years, scroll through the pages below. To see older ones, please visit our Facebook page. Thank you for reading.

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