Offers Due by: Friday, September 13, 2024 at 3:00 pm Central Time
Closing Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at 3:00 pm Central (or sooner)
Land Offered: Approximately 2,837.896+/- acres. (comprised of several tracts)
Contact: henry@echotitlecompany.com
Phone: 318-236-6000
WHEN: Saturday, August 31, 2024
TIME: 9 AM
WHERE: 100 Starkway Rd, Coushatta, Louisiana
Partial Listing: (8) Power Generation 30KW Generators, Cummings Engine ~ Approx 50 Solar Solutions Panels ~ Job Boxes ~ Bottle Racks ~ Testing Equipment ~ Valves & Fittings ~ Fuel Tanks ~ Power Units ~ Truck Beds ~ Metal Tables ~ Pipe Racks ~ Lots of Rolls of Electrical Wire ~ Approx 2000 Joints of 2 3/8 inch pipe (lots unused) ~ 500 Joints 2 inch Pipe ~ Log Mats ~ Approx 200 Joints of 3 & 4 inch pipe ~ Approx 300 Joints of 6 inch pipe ~ 50 Joints 10 inch Pipe ~ GN Flatbed Trailers ~ Haul Mark Bumper Enclosed Trailer ~ Cat D5G Dozer, cab/air ~ Ford 575 Loader Backhoe ~ (5) Ford Service Trucks ~ Several other trucks ~ (2) Diamond T GN Dump Trailers ~ Several Bumper Trailers ~ Approx 15 Big Standup Metal Vessels ~ (7) 10,000 Gallon Water Tanks on Skid ~ Irrigation 6 inch Pipe Reels ~ 40ft & 20ft Metal Storage Containers
For more information, call Rex at 318-648-8509 or 318-471-0962 or visit us online at:
www.proxibid.com/lasyone
There’s something for everyone!! We hope to see you there!!
Rex Lasyone, LA lic#:1549, TX lic#: 16267
(Liquidation of Coushatta equipment yard location only)
Directions to Auction Site ~ From Coushatta:
Hwy 71N, go 1 mile, Take Y in the road to the right on Hwy 371 North, go 4 miles, take right on Hwy 786, sale site will be 2 miles on the left. Follow the SWN Entergy signs.
Pelican Broadband, the newly rebranded internet service provider, is excited to announce its official launch, following a recent purchase and rebranding effort. The company, NortheastTel, recently acquired the Louisiana operations of EpicTouch, marking a significant milestone in its growth and commitment to providing superior internet services to Natchitoches and other local communities.
The purchase, finalized in February, brings together the legacy of two telecommunications companies that date back to the 1930’s and 40’s, when the original companies began as Campti-Pleasant Hill Telephone Company and Northeast Louisiana Telephone Company. The new entity, Pelican Broadband, is working to implement and improve internet services in the communities of Campti, Creston, Natchitoches, and Pleasant Hill. Along with the planned improvements, Pelican Broadband is dedicated to continuing to provide outstanding service to DeSoto, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Red River, and Sabine Parishes.
A Commitment to Better Connectivity
Pelican Broadband is currently replacing legacy copper infrastructure with state-of-the-art fiber optic technology to ensure faster, more reliable internet and telephone services. This ambitious project aims to cover approximately 300 miles of fiber optic cable over the next five years. The upgrade will bring minimum speeds of 100 Mbps to underserved areas, with plans for up to 1 Gbps of speed.
Community Focus and Affordability
As a local, family-owned business, Pelican Broadband understands the unique needs of its customers. The company has made significant strides in making its services more accessible, including reducing the prices of most residential packages and simplifying the sign-up process with a flat deposit and no credit check requirements.
“We want to ensure everyone has access to reliable internet, especially in today’s world where connectivity is crucial,” said Mike George, President and CEO of Pelican Broadband.
Expanding Services and Community Involvement
Pelican Broadband is not just about internet and traditional telephone services. The company also offers Hosted PBX phone systems, and will be rolling out Managed IT Services, a new offering to the Natchitoches area.
Additionally, Pelican Broadband is committed to supporting their communities, sponsoring events such as the NPSB Expo in July, a 4-mile run/walk in Morehouse Parish in October, various K-12 organizations & athletics, Natchitoches Christmas Festival, and the annual Tappedtober and NRMC Foundation Gala events.
Trusted Local Service
“Our team remains the same dedicated group of professionals our customers have come to know and trust,” said Chief Operating Officer, Rick Darsey, who joined the company in 2010.
“We pride ourselves on providing personal, reliable service and being an integral part of the communities we serve.”
Pelican Broadband invites current and prospective customers to learn more about their services by visiting their website or contacting either of their offices. As the company looks to the future, it remains focused on expanding into new areas and continuously improving its network to meet the needs of all customers, ensuring that even the most rural areas have access to high-quality internet services.
For more information, please visit pelicanbroadband.com or contact Pelican Broadband at 318-352-0006.
About Pelican Broadband
Pelican Broadband is a local, family-owned internet service provider dedicated to delivering high-quality, affordable internet and telephone services to communities in Louisiana. With a rich history dating back to 1933, the company is committed to enhancing connectivity through state-of-the-art fiber optic technology and a focus on customer satisfaction.
Opportunity available: Account Executive
Areas include: Natchitoches, Sabine, DeSoto and Red River Parishes.
Qualifications: Self-motivated, willing to learn, reliable transportation. Training provided.
Income: Based on 25% sales commissions plus mileage. Paid Weekly!
If you want to work your own schedule, set your own hours, build a lifetime income and Fridays off, then this is the opportunity for you!
Send resume to: P. O. Box 2611, Natchitoches, LA 71457
Opportunities available: Associate Sales Manager – Home Service Independent Home Service Sales Agent, Full or Part-Time
Areas include: Natchitoches, Sabine, DeSoto, Red River, Bienville and Winn Parishes.
Qualifications: Life insurance license a plus but not required. Help with licensing provided to right persons. Training provided.
Income: Based on sales commissions and service pay. Associate Manager provided a base pay plus commissions.
If you want to work your own schedule, set your own hours, and build a lifetime income then this is the opportunity for you!
For more information contact:
Greg Sargee at 318-471-9084 or email greg.sargee@klic.com.
Websites: klic.com; securitynationallife.com
EOE
By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services
“Well, I’ve been known to write a few songs
Lovin’ and leavin’ and getting’ too stoned
Bottle and a pistol by my side
The devil’s always along for the ride”
Last Saturday, he opened for country music star Jason Aldean.
June 20th, he will take the stage ahead of Morgan Wallen – the first of a few dates with one of country music’s biggest names.
Not bad for a guy from Logansport, who twice attempted to kill himself.
“I try not to even stop and think about (my success),” Bryan Martin told the Shreveport-Bossier Journal, a few hours before performing in Oklahoma on Aldean’s Highway Desperado tour. “I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and go, ‘Oh, shi_. I just stumped my toe trying to get in the camper one night and this has all been a dream.’ It’s been amazing. It’s been crazy.”
Martin, who was born in Shreveport and grew up in DeSoto Parish, has Billboard Country’s 16th ranked song with We Ride, from his album Poets and Old Souls. Other charts have the hit song ranked even higher.”
“It just blows me away to be sitting in the Top 10 on country radio and thinking about where all I’ve been and what all I’ve been through. Never in a million years would I have thought I would even be sitting here talking to you about it. It’s just crazy.”
The fact that the 36-year-old, who bounced between schools in Logansport and Stanley before dropping out, is “even sitting here” is something of a miracle. Martin went to work on an oil rig for almost a year before enlisting in the Army. Confusion about whether he should have been accepted led to an uncharacterized discharge, which led to Martin trying to kill himself. He wrote We Ride based off a suicide written when he was 19 years old.
“I felt like a failure. I’ve never quit a job – never been sent home from a job. When I came back home, that’s when I took (30) Percocet’s, and I misfired a .357 Magnum . . . . I remember waking up the next morning and not feeling the effects of the drugs or the alcohol. That blew my mind . . . . I put that bullet back in the gun and took out all the other bullets. I pretty much cussed God and asked, ‘Why are you saving me now? It’s too late to save me.’”
But as many a preacher will tell you it wasn’t too late. Martin was saved. He went into the ministry and was sober for six years. But later, Martin went through a divorce. Then came Covid, which kept him from working.
“Same thing like the military. I just felt like a failure sitting at the house. I couldn’t draw a check. I was going crazy. I couldn’t make the music make sense. I couldn’t make money. I was pulled apart. I went back to drinking again.”
That led to another suicide attempt just three years ago – two days before his divorce was became final. Martin drove off an embankment.
“I went through a really bad brain injury and lost most of my memory. I couldn’t remember any of my songs (he had written close to 800) . . . . I had to pretty much re-teach myself how to play my own songs.”
In the process, Martin proved his doctors wrong.
“They told me I wasn’t ever going to be able to write again because of that brain injury. When I went to writing again (Martin credits medicine for ADHD), I couldn’t stop. The last three years, I’ve done what they told me I couldn’t do in the next 15 (years). The last six months, I’ve done what they said I couldn’t do in the next 10 (years).”
Martin was discovered while performing with some of his Tic Tok friends, who put together a music and comedy tour. But Martin’s current success came fast.
“A year and a half ago, I was on a barstool playing for $400 a night.”
Needing to be close to Nashville, Tennessee, Martin now lives in a town south of the country music capital. His schedule doesn’t allow him to return to Logansport often, where his mother (Donna) and father (David) still live. Martin has been back home four or five times in the last two-and-a-half years.
“When you catch a little breeze, you’ve got to ride with it. It’s a dream come true. Right now, it’s been able to afford me to retire my dad. I’m a long way from retiring, but to retire my dad is something I’ve always dreamed of doing.”
During his younger days, Martin was a frequent visitor to Bossier City.
“I would always spend my money at the arcade at the (Louisiana) Boardwalk. I went to the movies, and anywhere else I could get into. I got into the Rockin’ Rodeo (nightclub) one night. I sang Tracy Lawrence’s Sticks and Stones. That was my first time singing in front of people, at karaoke at the Rockin’ Rodeo.”
Right now, Martin is living the dream, a long way from singing karaoke. But if Martin ends up being a one-hit-wonder, that will be just fine with him. Martin has his songwriting talents to fall back on.
“If people are living life and going through struggles, somebody out there will relate to what I’m going to write next, or what I have coming out next. As long as real life is happening, I think I’ve got a pretty good chance at (staying successful), now that I’ve broke through and gained a few ears.”
But Martin’s professional life isn’t the only thing that’s better than ever.
“I’ve been dating my ex-wife (Bobbie Jo) for three years. It’s been going good. It’s the best it’s ever going to be. We get along good. If we don’t, it’s like, well, we’ll get over it. This time, you ain’t taking everything when you leave.”
Hmmm . . . . Sounds like the makings of a good Brian Martin-writte song.
Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com.
Sabine State Bank & Trust Company, a commercial bank headquartered in Many, LA with more than $1.2 billion in assets. The combined entity is expected to provide access to a broad variety of lending products to all communities served by TDECU and will expand TDECU’s presence in lending to small business owners in oil and gas, agriculture, and energy.
At closing, the combined institution will be expected to have approximately $6 billion in assets and 471,000 Members. The acquisition will expand the field of membership for TDECU, which has a significant presence in Greater Houston, and a growing presence in the Dallas, Fort Worth and Victoria areas.
“TDECU is on a growth journey to expand across the state of Texas and beyond,” said President & CEO Isaac Johnson. “Our mission is helping people navigate their financial journeys, and be financial solvers for our Members’ everyday needs. This acquisition extends our reach to more communities, diversifies our commercial portfolio, and makes our balance sheet even stronger. If our balance sheet is stronger that will enable TDECU to continue to deliver and do more for our existing Members. Together, we will strengthen ties with our membership, partners, and local communities”
A strong performing commercial bank
Founded more than 120 years ago, Sabine has a footprint of 51 branches across Louisiana and east Texas. It specializes in commercial loans with industry concentration in oil and gas, forestry, timber and agriculture, and has many long-standing depository relationships.
“We are excited to become a part of the TDECU family and we share their commitment to strengthening our communities and empowering our customers to build better financial futures,” said Lee H. McCann, President and CEO of Sabine. “Our customers can rest assured that they will continue to experience the best-in-class service they count on from us. Best of all, that service will be enhanced with an even wider array of financial products to help them better secure their futures.”
Strengthening the credit union movement
TDECU has a healthy balance sheet that is focused on consumer deposits and lower-risk investment strategies. Sabine’s strong commercial operations will further diversify the credit union’s loan concentration and support TDECU’s overall growth strategy, bolstering stability and resiliency to provide compelling service offerings to its Members during economic and market fluctuations. The transaction is anticipated to be completed early 2025, subject to receiving all required regulatory and shareholder approvals and satisfying all other closing conditions. TDECU members and Sabine customers should continue to conduct their business as usual until the closing.
Opportunities available: Associate Sales Manager – Home Service Independent Home Service Sales Agent, Full or Part-Time
Areas include: Natchitoches, Sabine, DeSoto, Red River, Bienville and Winn Parishes.
Qualifications: Life insurance license a plus but not required. Help with licensing provided to right persons. Training provided.
Income: Based on sales commissions and service pay. Associate Manager provided a base pay plus commissions.
If you want to work your own schedule, set your own hours, and build a lifetime income then this is the opportunity for you!
For more information contact:
Greg Sargee at 318-471-9084 or email greg.sargee@klic.com.
Websites: klic.com; securitynationallife.com
EOE
By Amy Hays/Contributor to the Journal
An exhibit of Kim Mulkey’s 2023 National Championship season at LSU hangs in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Rightfully so, considering Natchitoches is the small town where the movie Steel Magnolias was filmed.
Kim Mulkey is a steel magnolia personified.
If you have never seen the movie or play, then you may not know what that means. In Natchitoches, the term is understood as part of the local vernacular. A metaphor for the contrasting imagery associated with a tough metal and a delicate flower.
A steel magnolia is thought of as an independent woman who faces adversity with strength and dignity. Just like the sturdy steel frame of a fragile magnolia tree.
When you watch Mulkey on the sidelines of a game or listen to her speak in a post-game presser or radio interview, you know that she embodies a combination of toughness yet kindness.
She loves basketball, she loves winning, but most of all she loves her players and her family. Her players are her family, and she states that often. She is a doting mother and grandmother, but also a devoted coach to young, impressionable athletes.
Society wants us to believe that women can’t be both strong and gentle at the same time. But in the South that is the way women are raised. We are taught to fight like hell for what we believe in. We are taught to be compassionate and tender-hearted. And we can be both of those things at the same time.
In a world where women should be equal to men in all areas. That is most certainly not true when it comes to sports. Women have been marginalized spectators watching as men have made millions of dollars and achieved celebrity status as professional athletes.
Mulkey is still the same person she’s always been but since taking the head coaching job at LSU, opportunities have started to change. She gives her players the freedom to be themselves and they have excelled at becoming entrepreneurs in the new world of NIL. Together they have helped to elevate the game of women’s basketball to a level that could never have been dreamed of even a few years ago.
According to ESPN, 12.3 million people watched the Elite 8 game on Monday night between LSU and Iowa. It was the most watched college basketball game ever on ESPN platforms.
Ironically, this broke the previous ratings record for women’s basketball of 11.84 million in 1983 when USC beat Mulkey’s Louisiana Tech team in the NCAA Championship.
Despite such success and progress, the media have critiqued her every move. Talked about her clothing choices, dug up her family history, nitpicked her coaching, made assumptions about her political and personal beliefs, criticized her personality, and now, even questioned her allegiance to the American flag.
Mulkey can withstand the millions of daggers that are thrown at her because her armor is made of steel. She had to overcome obstacles at a young age in the male-dominated world of sports and continues to have to defend herself and her female players nearly 60 years later.
Our only hope should be that she can pass the strength and resolve that she embodies onto her young players.
The relentless media seems to have taken a Clairee (Olympia Dukakis) line out of the movie to heart, “If you can’t say anything nice about anybody, come sit by me.”
But as any true Steel Magnolia would say, “Bless their hearts.”
Contact Amy at AmyHaysJSLLC@gmail.com.
The sense of irony was sick, but Monday was World Kindness Day, and on that autumn morning, four people were stabbed outside Lambright Sports and Wellness Center on the Louisiana Tech campus, a random act of violence by a young man quickly taken into custody.
Outside of a big gym and workout center. A place where people swim and play.
And the night before in Shreveport, there was a shooting in the parking lot of the YMCA that left one victim dead and another in the hospital.
Not exactly our kind of Kindness Day.
Kindness Day was established in 1998 with the obvious intent of highlighting the good and the positive, of bridging the gap between all our sorts of differences, and to recognize how much we are alike, to encourage unity.
Some of us aren’t getting the picture.
For lots of reasons, the Lambright Center is a special place to me. I remember it being built. I lived in one of the little houses where its parking lot is now. No telling how many hours we were having fun in there, 40 years ago.
The Shreveport YMCA on the parkway is 100 yards from the Little League fields, holy ground to me for about a decade 25 years ago. Sweaty boys and girls running around, eye black smeared, learning the game, making friends. Unbridled joy. Who pulls a gun 100 yards from a bag of baseballs and a concession stand filled with Frito Pies?
I know the people who run the Lambright. The gang who runs the YMCA are friends of mine, and for a long time. Good-hearted people. None of us are naïve enough to think that violence happens only in back alleys, but goodness gracious… Instead of shooting or stabbing someone, why don’t these people just go work out?
Few if any habitual offenders will read this. So I’m preaching to the choir. But the rest of us are going to have to double-up on the kindness beat, it looks like, and cover for the ones who get their kicks by ruining the lives of people minding their own business. Have these people never held a baby? Played catch with a child? Petted a dog or provided a lap for a cat’s nap? Have they never laughed? Never lived?
We don’t get a pass from trying to make things better just because a fraction of the population is intent on making things worse. Mark Twain is credited with saying that kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Maybe some hate-filled soul will see your kindness and it will make a difference.
He passed away several years ago, but Leo Buscaglia was a professor at USC who in the 1980s was called “Dr. Love” because of his popular books and talks on how and why we should connect. This was after a student’s suicide moved him to start a noncredit class he called “Love 1A.” Not a perfect class or a perfect man, I’m sure, but it started a conversation worth contemplating.
“Too often,” he said, “we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
An anonymous quote that has stuck with me is that “what you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”
So welcome to Kindness WEEK. Maybe we can pull some of the slack and get this turned around a bit. Keep plugging and not growing weary in doing good, that kind of thing, even though lately, the lunatic fringe seems to be winning more than their fair share of games.
Meanwhile at Tech, the University’s Counseling Services are available to students individually and in a group setting at no charge. Appointments can be made by visiting Keeny Hall 310, calling 318.257.2488, or visiting the website at latech.edu/counseling-
A campus blood drive is scheduled for Thursday outside Tolliver Hall from 9 until 3.
Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu
It is our honor to announce that the late Walter E. Dorroh Sr. has been bestowed one of Louisiana State University’s highest military honors with his selection into the Hall of Honor of the Cadets of the Ole War Skule.
The induction activities will occur on the LSU campus November 9-11, the weekend of the LSU versus University of Florida football game.
To those in DeSoto Parish, Walter will always be remembered for his presidency of Community Bank of Louisiana (formerly known as Mansfield Bank and Trust). Mr. Dorroh came from a family of three generations in banking in Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi. He was CEO of banks in Olla, Jena and Mansfield. Mr. Dorroh was very proud of his military service in World War II (even though he didn’t boast of his outstanding feats of noble service) and his association with his beloved alma mater. A lifelong member of the LSU Alumni Association and season ticket holder, he was honored in 2003 as the DeSoto Parish Alumnus of the Year. One of the founding members of DeSoto Chapter of the LSU Alumni Association, the chapter honored him with an endowed academic scholarship in his name for scholars from DeSoto Parish, which he served as a community leader in philanthropy and a business leader. He was very active in the VFW serving as an officer, LaSalle Parish School Board serving as President and officer in the Olla Kiwanis Club. Mr. Dorroh graduated in 1941 from LSU where he was president of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and on the LSU boxing Team, then he enlisted in the Marines but due to a knee medical issue, he was turned back. Not to be deterred, he enlisted in the United States Air Corp. Graduating with a commission from pilot training, he served in Europe and Northern Africa campaigns as a pilot of B-26 Maurader aircraft, which Senator Harry Truman labeled a “widow maker” due to its difficulties in landing and controlling in flight. The Mauruders were the oldest medium range bomber group in the Mediterranean theater of combat, yet he piloted 51 bombing missions without losing a plane or soldier. On his 49th mission, his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and he was able to pilot his damaged plane back to his base. He flew missions over Florence, Rome, Bologna, mini gun positions on the French Riveria, rail bridges in the Po Valley, the Astiense rail yards, Florence rail yards and various sites in Northern Africa. When he returned home, he served as an instructor at the flight school to train other pilots for B-26 planes.
Dorroh was awarded the Croux de Guerre with palms by the French government, Distinguished Unit Badge with Gold Leaf Clusters, the Air Medal with 8 Gold Clusters and was entitled to wear the blue, gold framed Distinguished Unit Ribbon. His unit was the only AAF unit to be cited by both the French and United States governments and to be cited by President Roosevelt twice for bombing raid accuracy on Rome and Florence.
Please join us in congratulating the Dorroh family for this incredible honor.
The success of Northwestern State University is vital to Northwest Louisiana.
My wife, Mrs. Laura, is a 1991 Graduate of NSU and nearly 50 of our close family members are graduates of NSU including three of our four parents. Our great grandparents, grandparents, parents, numerous aunts, uncles cousins and siblings were students, athletes, professors, cheerleaders and graduates of NSU.
The beautiful N that lights the night on top of Turpin Stadium was placed in honor of Mrs. Laura’s grandfather E.H. Gilson. He was the Quarterback for the 1939 undefeated Football Team, her Uncle played in the 1960s and her brother played in the 2000s. Her grandmother was the first band majorette for NSU.
Laura worked for several years in the Admissions office, both as a student and in her first post graduate job. She traveled the state recruiting students to attend NSU. She was also on the original founding team of “Freshman Connectors” for incoming NSU students and helped develop the program.
Our families are from Natchitoches for several generations back. I proposed to Mrs. Laura on Front Street.
Our family has bled purple since it was the Normal School, and before the color orange was added.
In this campaign, our opponent’s supporters are spreading ugly rumors that we are somehow anti-NSU. Nothing could be further from the truth!
We are not naive or blind to the current situation at NSU. Changes must be made if we are going to return NSU to the status it deserves as a top regional university. We are committed to making those changes. Most importantly, we have the experience, insight and team ready to make it happen!
It is time for change. I am asking for your vote on Saturday!
WE ARE NORTHWESTERN! 🤘🏻💜🧡
Alan Seabaugh
We at Journal Services, LLC are pleased to welcome our newest publication, Vernon Parish Journal. This online publication joins 12 others across Louisiana. Join us in welcoming Rick & Mary Lou Barnickel, publishers of the new Vernon Parish Journal.
“We feel the people of Vernon Parish – Leesville, New Llano, Anacoco, North Fort Johnson and South Fort
Johnson, and surrounding towns – deserve their own publication,” said Bill Vance. “At Journal Services LLC, we pride ourselves in covering local parishes with high-quality news and advertising to keep our readers up to date on what’s happening in their communities.”
All Journals cover local news, features, and sports. Subscriptions are – and always will be – free. Please visit www.vernonparishjournal.com and sign up today – CLICK HERE.
Click to visit any of our journals:
Bienville Parish Journal
Claiborne Parish Journal
DeSoto Parish Journal
Jackson Parish Journal
Lincoln Parish Journal
Natchitoches Parish Journal,
Sabine Parish Journal
Shreveport-Bossier Journal
Rapides Parish Journal
Vernon Parish Journal
Red River Parish Journal
Webster Parish Journal
Winn Parish Journal
A request for records of the DeSoto Clerk of Court Jeremy Evans is headed to court. The case is set for a court hearing on Friday, August 4, at the DeSoto Parish Courthouse with Judge Nicholas Gasper presiding.
Suit was filed by Coy Fortenberry, a recent graduate of LSU in political science. Fortenberry is researching the local Clerk’s office and filed a request for information under the state’s public records law. Having been bit by the political bug volunteering on local campaigns, Fortenberry accepted the opportunity to work on a private research project about government accountability and transparency. And that lead to the request for information from Evans.
In a media release, Fortenberry said, “A seemingly ordinary request asking for salaries, expenses for travel and entertainment, advertising, and legal fees did not get the results I was anticipating.” Instead, his request was delayed for weeks, which became months.
“First they told me they would provide the records in 30 days. Then, when that date came and went, I followed up with them both by phone and email on numerous occasions. They responded by saying ‘we are gathering the information’, or ‘we are waiting on the CPA to get us the records’,” said Fortenberry.
Louisiana law and the state constitution require public bodies to make available to the public most records, unless explicitly excepted in the statute. The records must be made available within five business days of the initial request or immediately thereafter as soon as the records are found.
After nearly four months of delays and still not receiving the records, Fortenberry filed suit in the 42nd Judicial District Court, demanding Evans to perform his duties and make available the requested public information. “I felt that if I didn’t file this lawsuit, I would not get the records in any reasonable amount of time. That leads me to question their motives for not complying as the law requires,” said Fortenberry.
When the suit was filed on June 30, Evans’ attorney immediately responded to say they had the records all along, but they were misplaced in his office. And the records were redacted to shield the names of the employees’ salaries including the clerk himself.
In the correspondence from Evans’ attorney, Fortenberry was challenged as to if his “need for the records is even legitimate.” However, the public records law specifically prohibits public bodies from inquiring or questioning the purpose of a records request.
“We finally got a portion of the records, but they were not complete and the names of persons receiving payments from the office were hidden. Very suspicious, to say the least. For example, one record shows an employee, whose name was redacted and instead titled ‘Employee #18’, receiving $1.1 million during the two terms Jeremy Evans has served as clerk of court. Also, he spent over $230,000 in legal fees to Shreveport attorneys, with no indication as to the purpose of these expenses. These extravagant expenses question the integrity of the operations of the office and the people’s money,” said Fortenberry.
“It is clear to me that this office is not being transparent with their use of the public’s dollars. They should be accountable for their actions and their spending. No elected official should be able to skirt the law to their benefit, especially when a citizen asks questions about their use of our money,” said Fortenberry.
The public will have an opportunity to hear from Fortenberry and Clerk of Court Jeremy Evans at the court hearing this morning.
The parish wide Boil Advisory issued this week by Desoto Waterworks District #1 has been lifted. The sheriff’s office relayed the word from the waterworks district.
Difficulties with the system and a loss of water pressure this week was the cause for the boil advisory. Water samples sent off to health officials now show the water is again safe to consume.
The 10th annual Crusin’ in Grand Cane has been scheduled for Saturday October 21st. Entries are now being accepted for classic cars, trucks and tractors up through year model 1993.
There will be food vendors, music, antiques, in addition to some mighty fine rides at this year’s Crusin’ event. Organizers promise cash awards for Best of Show, Best Car, Best Truck and Tractor. Coushatta resident John Perkins has won Best of Show the last two shows with his 1953 Chevy pickup. Your reporter will be there with something unusual to show.
Several at the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office were recently awarded by the United States Department of Justice for their outstanding contributions in the field of drug law enforcement. Sheriff Jayson Richardson is proud to share with the public those who were recognized for achievements in their field, and their dedication to serving and protecting the residents of DeSoto Parish.
Those who received awards are:
Sergeant Aaron Anderson
Sergeant Todd Edwards
Corporal Kelby Pearah
Deputy Matthew Brooks
DPSO K-9 Superstar, Rex\
By Brad Dison
For hundreds of years, people have created drinkable elixirs and tonics which they claimed had medicinal purposes. Salesmen, many of whom could be better described as con men, arrived in towns and communities and hawked their tonics. They would tell tales of the miraculous cures that their product was responsible for, sell their drinks to the locals at a low price, and quickly head to the next town while no one was looking.
In the latter half of the 19th century, salesmen of these concoctions began advertising their goods in newspapers. In 1882, “Hop Bitters” was advertised as an appetizing drink which was a “blood purifier, clears the brain, gives tone to the stomach, and cures all diseases of the liver, blood, stomach and bowels, nerves, kidneys, and purifies and cleanses the entire system.” “Beal’s Cure Alls” advertisements claimed that the tonic cured “cough, asthma, bronchitis, spitting of blood, shortness of breath, rheumatism, gout, lumbago, sciatica, sprains, bruises, sore throat, and chilblains.” Some of the names of these concoctions which are no longer in existence are “Brown’s Iron Bitters,” “Electric Bitters,” “Hartshorne’s Cure-All,” “Taraxacum and Podophyllin,” “Samaritan Nervine,” “Pond’s Extract,” “Egyptian Mystery – the Drink of the Ages,” “Charleston Pop,” “Bruce’s Juices,” “Red Head Flapper,” and “Brad’s Drink.”
Most of the tonics had no real medicinal value and were created to make money. However, some of the creators were professionally trained and believed that their drinks were medicinal. Caleb Bradham graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, then attended the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Caleb was on the path to becoming a doctor until his father’s business went bankrupt in 1890. Caleb dropped out of medical school and returned home to North Carolina. He taught public school for a short time, but his interests were still devoted to medicine. In about 1891 or 1892, Caleb opened the “Bradham Drug Company” in New Bern.
With a host of ingredients at his disposal, Caleb began experimenting with different tonics. He wanted to create a new drinkable tonic which had some medicinal value. Many of his experimental concoctions tasted too horrible to ingest more than once and were discarded. In 1893, he mixed several ingredients in a beaker and handed it to his assistant, James Henry King. Perhaps Caleb had tried too many bad mixtures on that day. The hesitant assistant downed the drink. To his surprise, the drink tasted good, and it seemed to sooth his stomach. Caleb had done it.
Caleb knew he was on the right track. He needed a name for his tonic. As to include his reputation in his tonic, Caleb titled the drink after a shortened version of his last name, Bradham. He called it “Brad’s Drink.” He began selling his tonic in his own drug store and eventually sold franchises to other local pharmacies.
After August 28, 1898, however, “Brad’s Drink” was no more. Well, the name, “Brad’s Drink” was no more. On that date, Caleb changed the name of his concoction. The most likely reason for the name change was for marketing purposes. Caleb used kola nut extract in his recipe and decided to use the term “cola” in the new name. The new first name of the mixture could almost be called false advertising. Caleb named the drink after an enzyme which aided in digestion similar to the way in which Caleb believed his drink aided in digestion, but his recipe did not include the enzyme. “Brad’s Drink,” under its more common name, has become the second most valuable soft drink brand in the world, second only to Coca-Cola. The name of that enzyme was Pepsin. Caleb changed the name of “Brad’s Drink” to “Pepsi-Cola.”
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Living Word Church is planning a celebration of the return to school on Saturday, August 5th. Their Back to School Bash at Mansfield Elementary will begin at 11:00 am.
The church posted, “We are partnering with barbers in the Mansfield area and providing 100 free haircuts to students. We are also handing out backpacks full of dental hygiene supplies, and school supplies so that our kids will be ready for an amazing start to their school year.”
The Mansfield Rotary Club invites the public to “Come Meet The Candidates” on Saturday September 9th from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm at the Clista A. Calhoun Center in Mansfield. Invitations have been issued to the candidates for local offices as well as the legislative races and candidates for statewide offices.
The Rotary Club will serve chicken and sausage jambalaya plates for $10. The jambalaya will be created by DeSoto’s own Billy Parker. Advance orders are encouraged. Call Van Reech, Jr. at 318-540-7500 or Robert Burgess at 318-453-1610 for orders and other information. Delivery will be available for groups of 10 or more orders.
Candidates will set up information tables and tents at the Calhoun Center. They will be available to answer your questions and hear your concerns. Water will be available, and candidates are encouraged to bring other beverages and treats to pass out.
“Meet the Candidates” is the fall fundraiser for the Mansfield Rotary Club. Proceeds go toward the club’s local community charitable projects all year around.
This month, Sheriff Richardson has chosen “The Deliverance Crew” which is an offshoot of the Men of Prayer group in Stonewall to receive the Sheriff’s Beard Donation.
The Deliverance Crew is made up of people who share a deep Christian faith and have compassion for the less fortunate among us. They meet every Saturday at 8:00 am behind First Methodist Church in Shreveport to distribute donated food products to the homeless such as canned goods, packaged goods, toilet paper, hygiene products, etc. They begin by serving breakfast sandwiches and coffee which is followed by a short message from either Mr. Tom Gatti or Mr. Mitch Bailey.
Once a month they also do a clothes distribution as well. This group is a part of the 318 Church at the Lovewell Center in Shreveport and is a branch off of the Men of Prayer group out of Stonewall. Sheriff Richardson said, “We are grateful for all the work they do and the compassion that they show to the residents in our community and abroad.”
For those unfamiliar with the beard donations, back in November 2021, Sheriff Jayson Richardson sought out a way to allow deputies to grow out their beards while supporting local charities in the process. For a small fee each month, deputies would be allowed to let those whiskers grow, and the money would be donated to a non-profit charity of the Sheriff’s choosing. The goal would be to post and highlight these groups for the great work they do and encourage others to get involved. Thus far nearly $20,000 has been donated to local charities since 2021.
By Steve Graf
With zero fishing going on due to the hot weather we have been experiencing, today we’ll look at my working career. After walking away from my athletic career in the late ‘80’s, it was time to get a real job. It was time to put my college degree (Industrial Engineering Technology) to good use. One reason I chose this as my major was due to the number of IET graduates the oil and gas companies were hiring out of Northwestern State in the mid ‘80’s. This was my original plan, but the oil and gas industry tanked, and they no longer were seeking graduates with this degree.
Now one thing I’ve learned over the years from the many different jobs I’ve held was that each job helped prepare me in some way for other positions I’ve held. These included car salesman, supervisory role at CONAGRA Poultry, and high school and college coaching. Nothing gave me more satisfaction than coaching did. Working with kids at the high school and collegiate level was truly rewarding and enjoyable. But the hours you put in on the college level are insane and was not a good fit for me personally or my family. I was not willing to make those family sacrifices that college coaches make.
Then in 1990, I decided to apply for an engineering job at a textile company, Holloway Sportswear, based out of Ohio but with factories in Louisiana. Best job I ever had! It was a company that made athletic outerwear and high school letter jackets. Holloway was the Mercedes of the athletic apparel world; they made the best. If you ever earned a letter jacket in high school, there’s a good chance it was made by Holloway who was the original letter jacket company.
After two years with the company, I was promoted to Louisiana Director of Manufacturing overseeing six factories across the state. The job was demanding, but the people were incredible.
Then around 1998, President Bill Clinton signed what was called the NAFTA agreement with Mexico. This was the beginning of the end for Holloway and all textile companies in Louisiana and across the country. It was at this point that my boss and I made several trips to Mexico to set up sewing factories. Then one by one we slowly pulled styles out of Louisiana and sent them to Mexico for production. This was the hardest thing I ever went though as an employee. It was my job at this point to tell all Louisiana employees they no longer had a job.
Many a day after making these announcements, I shed a few tears on the drive home knowing that I had just made life a lot tougher for so many women, many of whom were single moms. Many had no other skills than sewing. Some women were making as much as $14.00 an hour due to their ability to sew. This was good money back in the ‘90’s and there were no other jobs offered in these small communities that paid those kinds of wages.
All the employees were offered the opportunity to go back to school and learn a new trade. But many were in the age bracket of 40 and above and had no desire to go back to school. Many of these ladies had never done anything else their entire life but work in textiles.
It was sad to see the impact this had on the people I cared so much about. People with a strong work ethic and dedication to go to work every day. People who took great pride in making Holloway Sportswear the best company it could be were now being sent home… for good. Some locations that had been in operation since the mid 1970’s were now being shut down.
The old saying, “Nothing lasts forever,” comes to mind when I think about my Holloway days. Again, this was the best job I ever had that came to an end in 2004. Even during those stressful days when I questioned was it worth it, the people were the reason I stayed. One thing about Louisiana people, they take great pride in doing a good job and are very loyal and dedicated to whatever job they’re doing.
After walking away in 2004, Holloway was sold and is now under the umbrella of Augusta Sportswear in Georgia. The Holloway standard is still alive and well today as they have retained their name and reputation as the best.
Next week we’ll get back to more fishing topics as we prepare to head into the hottest month of the year…. August. Till next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to wear your sunscreen and protective clothing.
Rodney Robinson
3/14/1968 – 7/31/2023
Memorial Service will be Saturday, August 5, 2023 at 12:00 pm at Jenkins Funeral Home Chapel 601 Franklin Street Mansfield, LA .
Jewel Yvonne Ryals Fleming
June 27, 1926 — July 28, 2023
Funeral Service was held August 3, 2023 at Kilpatrick’s Rose Neath Funeral Home, 943 Polk Street, Mansfield, LA.
Lula Richards
August 30, 1946 — July 28, 2023
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am on Friday, August 4, 2023, at Blue Ridge Methodist Church, 3500 Hwy 175, in Pleasant Hill, Louisiana.
The DeSoto Parish Journal publishes “Remembrances of Loved Ones” with unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $70. The Remembrance will be included in the emails sent to subscribers. Contact your funeral provider or DeSotoParishJournal@gmail.com. Must be paid in advance of publication.
A reminder that Monday August 7th is the Senior Sunrise at the Logansport High football field. The class of 2024 with their parents and LHS teachers will be treated to watching the sunrise as a class while served breakfast. It all begins at 6:00 am.
DeSoto Schools said, “Pre-K Parents, be on the lookout for information regarding your parent meetings at the school and when your student’s first day will be. Pre-K student, parent, and teacher conferences will be August 7th through 9th. First day for 1/3rd of student will be August 10, 11 and 12 with Tuesday August 15th being the first day for all Pre-K students.
As the late Jerry Garcia said, “What a long strange trip it’s been.” That’s 30. Byline John Brewer!
