There will be a Memorial Celebration for Chris Manning on Friday July 10, 2020, at 2pm at First Baptist Church, 508 Second St in Natchitoches. Visitation from noon to 2pm, the service time. Family is finally able to come from Texas, North Carolina and Kansas for this celebration. Many will remember her from Cane Heritage Realty, the church, PEO, Habitat for Humanity, or other sources but all will remember her smile. This photo was taken last year on her last ride down Cane River. We ask that you wear masks.

She is clothed with strength and dignity;
She can laugh at the days to come,
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed.
Proverbs 31: 25-28

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BATON ROUGE, LA – Small businesses can apply for grants to help cover COVID 19-related expenses, according to State Treasurer John M. Schroder.

Through the Main Street Recovery Program, businesses can apply for up to $15,000 to cover eligible expenses. In the first 21 days of the program, grants will be given to businesses who didn’t receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan, insurance payment or an Economic Injury Disaster loan. In the first 60 days, $40 million will go to businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans.

Postlethwaite & Netterville, which is the largest Louisiana-based CPA firm, will serve as the program administrator to take applications, run a customer contact center, help small businesses complete applications and help with statewide outreach. MLCworks, a woman-owned Louisiana business, will help with digital marketing and advertising. Technology will be handled in house through OpenGov, which already operates Treasury’s transparency website.

“Main Street is a life line for small businesses who are going under because of the pandemic. As a business owner, you put your blood, sweat and tears into your business. You shouldn’t see your life investment collapse overnight,” said Treasurer Schroder. “Main Street will deliver grants to businesses who need them the most.”

“On behalf of P&N’s almost 400 Louisiana team members, we are extremely excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the Louisiana Main Street Recovery Program. As a Louisiana-based firm serving clients throughout the state, we have experienced firsthand the impact of COVID-19 on all aspects of operations. We are ready to work hard to help deliver much-needed financial assistance to Louisiana small businesses, and appreciate the confidence the Treasurer has placed in our team to help administer this program,” said Dan Gardiner, P&N CEO and managing director.

For more information on Main Street, visit www.latreasury.com.

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The Creston Water System MEMBERSHIP will hold a meeting on Tuesday, July 21 at 6 p.m.

The location for this meeting will be:

The Westwind Boat Launch
321 Westwind Church Road
Campti, LA 71411

The purpose of the meeting:

The election of a new board of directors for the Creston Water System. There MUST be 51% of the MEMBERS in attendance to vote.

For more information contact Patrice Harper at 318-471-4714.

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Northwestern State University’s Department of Engineering Technology will host a virtual workshop on risk mitigation beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 28. The workshop is scheduled as a 90-minute WebEx event with 60 minutes of presentations and 30 minutes for questions and open discussion. The workshop is free, but registration is required.

“As our supply chains are slowly reopening from COVID-19, now’s the time prepare for the next business disruption,” said Dr. Jafar Al-Sharab, head of NSU’s ET Department. “In this workshop, we’ll discuss preparing to mitigate the effects of VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity). The workshop will cover assessing the risks to your business, the creation of risk mitigation countermeasures and the creation of a business continuity plan/roadmap.”

Topics will include VUCA and its affects, risk-assessment methodologies, supply- and inventory-management countermeasure strategies and operational productivity.

Guest speaker will be Raymond Kelly, a Global Operational Excellence Leader with over 40 years’ experience in manufacturing and supply-chain operations as an industrial- and consulting-practitioner with a career spanning 20+ countries and a diversified array of industries. Kelly recently joined the NSU team as an adjunct professor and advisor to IET. He has authored two books on relevant subject matter, “Optimizing Your Supply Chain Performance – How to Assess and Improve Your Company’s Strategy and Execution Capabilities” and “The Myths and Truths of Lean Transformations – How to Successfully Make the Transition from Theory to Effective Deployment.”

This will be the first in series of free workshops to support the industries in Louisiana and beyond, Al-Sharab said.

To register contact Al-Sharab atjafar@nsula.edu.

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Goldonna began putting up street signs on July 7. Grant money left over from a town park project was used to purchase the signs and a parish work crew is putting them up for the town. Street signs are essential in assisting delivery services such as UPS and FedEx, as well as first responders like police, fire, and ambulance services in finding the appropriate addresses.

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By Brad Dison

At about 5:00 p.m. on December 6, 1933, just before sunset, Nurse Hattie Crawford walked out of her apartment in Miami, Oklahoma. A man approached her and asked if she could tell him where Nurse Crawford lived in the apartment building. She told the stranger that she was Nurse Crawford. The stranger told her that a friend of his had been injured and needed help pretty quickly. It was in Nurse Crawford’s nature to help anyone in need. She sensed no danger and saw that the stranger seemed panic-stricken. She agreed to go without hesitation. Rather than taking her himself, the stranger gave Nurse Crawford instructions. He told her to take the bus to Afton, Oklahoma, about fifteen miles southwest of Miami, which she did. Within half an hour, Nurse Crawford disembarked from the bus at Afton not knowing exactly what to expect. The stranger was there waiting for her in a car with another man she did not know. She entered the sedan and they drove to Vinita, Oklahoma, about fifteen miles southwest of Afton.

The stranger and his companion drove Nurse Crawford to a dark, seemingly abandoned house on the outskirts of town. The sun had set and the car’s headlights were the only illumination. As they approached the porch, a woman opened the door of the house. Nurse Crawford immediately recognized the woman as someone she knew but had not seen in seven or eight years. They spoke only for a second or two before the woman led Nurse Crawford to a bedroom by flashlight, the only light in the house. In the bedroom, a man lay in bed with a gunshot wound on his left leg and similar wounds on his left arm. Nurse Crawford knew better than to ask how he received the gunshot wounds. She asked for bandages and rubbing alcohol. The woman gave Nurse Crawford the rubbing alcohol and tore a bed sheet into strips to use as bandages. Nurse Crawford cleaned and bandaged the injured man’s wounds as good as she could by the dim glow of a single flashlight. Nurse Crawford gave the woman instructions on how to clean and dress the wound.

As soon as she had finished treating the patient, the two men ushered Nurse Crawford out of the house and drove her back to Miami. Unlike the earlier trip, they drove Nurse Crawford all the way back to her apartment building. During the return drive, the two men asked if she could return with them the following night to check on the injured man’s condition. She quickly agreed. They gave Nurse Crawford the hefty sum of $5.00 for treating the injured man, which, adjusted for inflation, would be just under $100 in today’s money. They warned Nurse Crawford not to tell anyone of the incident, or else.

Nurse Crawford’s initial plan was to immediately notify the police of the incident, but she took their warning seriously. She was paranoid that someone was watching her. She feared what would happen if she reported the incident. On the following day, Nurse Crawford waited for the two men to pick her up and deliver her once again to the injured man. Five o’clock came and went. Then six o’clock, then seven o’clock, but the men never returned. Eight days later, on December 14, 1933, Nurse Crawford finally gained enough courage to report the incident to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office.

Nurse Crawford told a deputy about her providing aid to the injured man. The secretive nature of the whole incident got the attention of Craig County Sheriff John York and FBI agent H.E. Hollis. Nurse Crawford described to them the location of the house, described the house itself, along with the furniture within. She explained that she saw the outside of the house only by the headlights of the car and the inside of the house by flashlight. Nurse Crawford said she did not know the men who escorted her to the house, nor was she certain of the identity of the injured man. She was certain, however, of the identity of the woman, whom she was acquainted with several years earlier.

Sheriff York immediately recognized the place Nurse Crawford described as being the home of Mrs. Jane Hall. Mrs. Hall had not lived at the home for several years and left the house in the care of custodian Bob Hill. Bob told investigators that he had no knowledge of and had not given consent to anyone to occupy the house. He granted the investigators permission to search the house.

At daylight on December 15, 1933, Sheriff York, Ottawa County Sheriff Dee Waters, several deputies, and Agent Hollis surrounded the home of Mrs. Jane Hall, but found it to be unoccupied. While searching the home, officers found bloodstained bandages and rags in a bathroom cabinet. They also found a bloody undershirt in another room. Once they were certain the house was unoccupied, one of the deputies drove Nurse Crawford to the home. She immediately recognized it as the place where she had treated the injured man on the night of December 6, 1933. Sheriff York made arrangements and had the home kept under constant surveillance. For several days, deputies kept watch at Mrs. Hall’s home to no avail.

As had happened many times before, law enforcements officers had missed their chance. The woman who allowed Nurse Crawford into the seemingly abandoned home and the injured man whom she had helped were…Bonnie and Clyde.

Source:
United States Bureau of Investigation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, File Number 26-3779, December 23, 1933, Report by Special Agent H.E. Hollis.

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Superintendent Grant Eloi and the Natchitoches Parish School Board members recognized the Lakeview Basketball team at the committee meeting Tuesday evening, July 7, for their achievements and history of success! Go Gators!

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By Royal Alexander/Opinion

“If this country doesn’t give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it.” Hawk Newsome, Black Lives Matter.

It is important that we distinguish between those in our country who genuinely seek social change within our democratic process and those who simply hate America and seek to destroy it.

There is a major difference between sincere activists who honestly seek racial equality and the people behind militant, Leftist organizations like Black Lives Matter. We are witnessing a mob cultural war being waged on America to erase our history, ridicule our patriotism, and fundamentally change our constitutional form of government.

We have now moved past sincere calls for police reform in response to the brutal and tragic death of George Floyd. The best way to insure those reforms is peaceably but diligently marching, advocating and bringing political pressure to bear on elected officials. That’s not what we’re seeing now. That original effort has now been co-opted. We now see random destruction across the country that bears no rational connection to Floyd’s death. What we are now seeing is “Cultural Marxism.”

Cultural Marxism seeks to, slowly and inconspicuously, undermine and weaken every aspect of Western Civilization. This weakening includes attacking our schools, our Judeo-Christian tradition—including marriage, family, faith in God, and sexual behavior. Black Lives Matter, for example, has proudly admitted that “we are trained Marxists.” BLM also specifically states that it seeks to disrupt the nuclear, i.e. traditional family as well as rejecting the notion there are two genders; it seeks to erode the principle of national sovereignty and supports open borders. BLM also believes in guaranteed minimum income, seizure of our private property for redistribution, “free” healthcare, schooling, food, and property; it demands reparations and an overthrow of our system of capitalism. It also seeks to abolish the police and eliminate jails.

Cultural Marxism demands “political correctness” and falsely characterizes every human relationship as between the “oppressor” and the “oppressed.”; “victim” and “victimizer.” It requires that our traditions, symbols, culture, freedoms, religion, art, literature, and history be erased so they will be devalued and forgotten. Marxists dream of a sterile, atheistic world of human drones over which to rule, where government replaces God.

This dogma is a stinging rebuke to virtually every aspect of what we feel makes us freedom-and-equality seeking Americans who live under a Constitution and rule of law.

This is no longer just about the removal of Confederate monuments. They are now coming after the foundation of our nation’s history. They’ve torn down, defaced or removed Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Gen. Grant (who commanded Union forces), a Catholic Saint, Christopher Columbus and Teddy Roosevelt to name a very few. No more “white” Jesus? I assure you they ultimately seek no Jesus at all. Can removal of the Bible be far behind? Anti-Semitic, they’ve begun to march against Israel. What about when they come for the Holocaust Memorial? They will never be satisfied because what they ultimately seek is an ideological “purity” that simply doesn’t exist. We are all flawed. Is there any doubt the historical figures who preceded us—and who made profound contributions to our country—were also flawed? This deceptively simplistic Marxist view grossly distorts history. (Be ready for the next “demand” at LSU to be removal of “Fighting” Tigers because the name derives from the fighting spirit of the Louisiana troops of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern VA. during the Civil War).

They are trying to erase our country’s history because without our history, symbols or traditions to remind us of its greatness—including our rights and rare freedoms—maybe we were never a great country after all? Maybe we don’t really possess intrinsic, God-given rights after all? Maybe we are oppressors? This kind of thinking is moral poison.

Law and order could be restored but there are people in power, aided by an often-dishonest national media, with an interest in not having order restored. Until then, we hold firmly to our love of this country and faith in God and pledge never to allow our history to be erased from our national memory or the chords of our kinship to be severed.

The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Natchitoches Parish Journal.  If you have an article or story of interest for publishing consideration by the NPJ, please send it to NPJNatLa@gmail.com.

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BATON ROUGE, LA – The people of Louisiana will vote in November on whether Unclaimed Property money should be protected in a constitutional trust fund. Senate Bill 12, authored by state Sen. Michael Fesi, cleared the Legislature, putting the issue before Louisiana voters.

The objective of the legislation is to ensure that Unclaimed Property is always available for people and businesses to claim it. In addition to protecting the integrity of the Unclaimed Property Program, the trust fund is expected to generate more than $40 million in investment earnings for the state budget within 20 years.

“My staff and I have worked hard on this issue because I truly believe Unclaimed Property belongs to the people of Louisiana. It should be there whether it takes you two years or 20 years to claim it,” said Treasurer John M. Schroder. “Putting Unclaimed Property into a trust fund will ensure it’s protected for you. The interest earnings will generate millions of dollars for the state budget. Everyone wins here. Unclaimed Property is your money. Claim it!”

Each year businesses turn over millions of dollars in unclaimed cash, stocks, bonds, securities, and insurance proceeds to the State Treasurer’s Office.

Known as “Unclaimed Property,” these funds include payroll checks, old bank accounts, royalties, utility deposits, interest payments, stock certificates, and life insurance proceeds. One in six individuals in Louisiana has Unclaimed Property, with refunds averaging $900.00.

To search for Unclaimed Property, visit www.latreasury.com.

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NATCHITOCHES:
Truman Maynard
April 03, 1938 – July 03, 2020
A Memorial service to honor his life will be scheduled at a later date, once the social gathering restrictions with the Covid-19 pandemic are eased.

Audrey Westmoreland Yarbor
July 6, 2020
Arrangements TBA

WINN:
Ernestine Willis
December 05, 1930 – July 05, 2020
Service: Friday, July 10 at 11:30 am at Hurricane Grove Cemetery

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The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) along with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) has updated information (SEE DOCUMENT BELOW) on sites in Natchitoches Parish to conduct COVID-19 testing through July 10.

COVID-19 tests are free to the public and will be administered at the testing sites listed below from 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. each day. The only criteria to be tested is the participant must be 18 years of age or older and be able to present a valid ID.

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James Adams, Owner of JA Bee Farm, and his assistant Quinton Shipp recently removed a large hive of bees from the concession stand at the Natchitoches Shooting Range. James estimated there were around 100,000 bees in the hive, which has been in the ceiling of the concession stand for about two years now. He had to remove part of the ceiling itself to get to the hive and then slowly removed it section by section.

James has been known for his work removing honey bees from locations where they’re unwanted for the last 35 years. His largest job to date was a hive that spanned 10×12 feet inside the wall of a home. It took seven people over the course of several days to remove it.

James enjoys working with the bees, which he does without any protective gear. The honey bee fascinates him and his goal is to save as many as he can, as people often want to destroy them instead of calling professionals to remove them properly.

“We need bees for more than honey,” he said, although he does sell the honey he collects from his bees. “Bees are the key players in the pollination of plants. They’re important for commercial farming practices around the world. Think of bees as essential workers because without pollination, the world would be a very different place to live.”

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April 03, 1938 – July 03, 2020

Truman Maynard closed the last chapter of a magnificent life on July 3rd, 2020 at 5:44 pm. As an Army officer and business man, Truman served his country, family and community with pride and dignity. He was surrounded by his loving family as he took his last earthly breath and slipped away peacefully. He was preceded in death by his parents, Doyle and Sheila Maynard of Natchitoches, Louisiana. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Martha Middleton Maynard, and their three children Lee Maynard and his wife Jennifer of Annapolis, Maryland, Jon Maynard and his wife Cherie of Oxford, Mississippi, and Patricia DeVilbiss of Lake Charles, Louisiana. He is also survived by 4 grandchildren, Connor Maynard of Starkville, Mississippi, Holly Maynard of Oxford, Mississippi, Haden DeVilbiss and Graham DeVilbiss of Lake Charles. Survivors also include his sisters Suzanne Lanuza of Tucson, Arizona and Christine Maynard of New Orleans.

Truman was a career Army officer who graduated from Northwestern State College in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission in the United States Army. He promptly married the love of his life, Martha Middleton and departed for his first duty assignment at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. His career in the Army included Army fixed wing flight school, where he graduated at the top of his class on the same day that his eldest son, Lee Maynard was born. He quickly departed for a year-long deployment to Vietnam. Returning home in late 1963, Truman worked in various aviation assignments before being selected for a special operations group that would fly specialized Navy aircraft for Army reconnaissance missions in Vietnam. His second son, Jon Maynard was born in March of 1966, and Truman departed less than one year later to Vietnam with the 1st Radio Research Company flying the specially adapted P-2V Neptune designated the SP-2E.

After completing his second tour in Vietnam, Truman attended the Army’s Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was assigned for one year as a student and then remained as an instructor in the department of tactics for another two years. His third child, Patricia, was born in Fort Leavenworth in 1971. After the Command and General Staff College, Truman returned to flight school to learn to fly UH-1 Huey helicopters, He was immediately deployed to Korea from 1973-1974 to utilize his new skill. Assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey, he served as both staff officer and company commander flying missions near the DMZ.

Following his deployment to Korea, Truman and his family moved to Orlando, Florida where he was assigned to the US Army Training Device Agency as a project manager on both ground and aviation simulation projects. Most notably, Lieutenant Colonel Maynard was the project manager for the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) that is still in use by the Army today. This system allowed a greater level of combat simulation by using lasers to designate “hits” on the battlefield. The Army awarded LTC Maynard with the Legion of Merit for his work on this system. This was a high honor for which he was very proud. Truman retired from the Army in April of 1980.

Upon retirement from the Army, Truman moved back to his hometown of Natchitoches, Louisiana to help his father run the family business. The Don Theatre Company operated mostly single screen movie theaters in central and north Louisiana. Truman helped to consolidate the theater chain down to two towns, Ruston and Natchitoches. In 1984 Truman ushered in the first multi-screen movie theatre complex in Natchitoches, the Parkway Cinema 4.

In 1988, Truman was recruited by former colleagues and offered a job at Xerox Special Information Systems in Pasadena, California. This job presented a new opportunity and challenges that were too much to resist. In 1988 he moved to Los Angeles and began a new career developing special projects for Xerox tied to Department of Defense requirements. This career lasted for over 18 years and offered Truman the opportunity to develop new products and meet new challenges the business world.

Truman retired from Xerox in 2006 and he and Martha moved to Natchitoches where he became very involved with their hometown. Truman helped to establish and grow the Northwestern State University ROTC Demon Regiment Alumni Association. In 2017, he was inducted into the NSU ROTC Hall of Fame.

Truman joined the Kiwanis club and became active in the Walter Ledet Coffee Club. He was active in the Sons of the American Revolution as well as the director for several Natchitoches Christmas Festival parades. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015, Truman fought a battle with cancer that finally claimed his life on July 3rd, 2020.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, please make donations to the NSU ROTC Demon Regiment:

NSU Demon Regiment
℅ Department of Military Science
Northwestern State University
418 Caspari Street, Bldg. 31
Natchitoches, LA 71497

Or donations may be submitted on-line by visiting:

DONATE: Click HERE for Truman Maynard

Please follow these instructions to make an online contribution:

1 Change the “Give” to desired amount.
2 Complete contact information
3 Choose category: Select Other
4 Comment block: Type in “Northwestern Demon Regiment” in Memory of Truman Maynard
5 Select Payment Method: Select PayPal option
6 Choose Credit/Debit card option
7 Complete card info
8 Submit your gift contribution

A Memorial service to honor his life will be scheduled at a later date, once the social gathering restrictions with the Covid-19 pandemic are eased.  

Photo: Maynard Family

Due to precautions related to the COVID-19 response, Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Karen St. Germain has announced that four OMV locations will be closed effective today. During the closure, online OMV services will remain available to the public. Citizens may also take advantage of available Public Tag Agent locations.

In addition to previously closed offices, OMV locations in Alexandria, Lafayette, Monroe, and Shreveport will remain closed to the public upon the positive testing of an OMV employee. The OMV employee testing positive for COVID-19 served in an administrative role at several locations and did not have interactions with the public.

Customers are urged to continue utilizing the OMV website at http://www.expresslane.org for available online services such as driver license renewals, identification card renewals, official driving records, and duplicate registrations.

Customers are also encouraged to check their driver license status by visiting http://www.expresslane.org regarding flags, blocks, suspensions or disqualifications. If a customer has flags on their record, they must clear those flags prior to obtaining any OMV services.

The following OMV offices are closed until further notice:

Alexandria
Arcadia
Bogalusa
Clinton
Crowley
Dequincy
Harvey
Houma
Jonesboro
Lafayette
Lake Charles
Monroe
Oakdale
Shreveport
Tallulah

If customers are seeking reinstatements, these will only be provided via phone, mail or a Public Tag Agency. Those customers seeking reinstatements must use one of the following options:

OMV Call Center:
225-925-6146 – Option #3

OMV Mail Center:
P.O. Box 64886
Baton Rouge, La. 70896

Contact your local PTA to ensure they can provide the reinstatement service you need.

For an up to date and complete listing of all open OMV locations and PTA offices, please visit our website at https://offices.omv.la.gov/.