By Edwin Crayton/Opinion
I like “Peanuts” —the snack and the comic strip. If you like the comic strip too then you’re probably familiar with a gag in which Lucy pretends she is going to hold the football so Charlie Brown can kick it. But when he runs and tries to kick it, she pulls the ball away, causing him to fall flat on his backside. (Hey, that’s what friends are for, right?) Well, I believe that is what is happening in real life. Only, instead of cartoon kids, it involves real grown up people—including you. I believe the Natchitoches Community Improvement Foundation (NCIF) is doing pretty much the same thing to the citizens of Natchitoches that Lucy does to Charlie Brown. But before I explain that comment, I believe it will help if you will allow me to give you a brief backstory.
In the late 1990’s, Tennessee Gas was sued after a spill of pcbs into Sibley Lake. This resulted in a settlement. The money was placed in a foundation that eventually became the Natchitoches Community Improvement Foundation. The foundation was ordered to give the money to the people of the city of Natchitoches. It was designated to be given away in the form of grants and scholarships in these areas: recreation, education, housing, economic development and used for seed money to get grants. NCIF was actually founded in 2003 and since that time, it has frequently been involved in controversy and lawsuits. In fact, it has a court date on Monday, October 2, 2023 at 9am in District Court (200 Church Street). An organization of citizens called Citizens for Democratic Action and a current NCIF Board Member, Helen Obioha are suing NCIF for term limit violations and other issues. The court-approved bylaws of NCIF say that no member can serve more than six consecutive years. But in fact, four NCIF board members have been on the board since 2015, which is 8 years. That means they are two years over their term limit (They are: Leo Walker, Oswald Taylor, Mildred Joseph and Diane Blake Jones). Two other board members–Gwen Hardison Davis Antee and Gwen Williams– have been on the board 7 years, putting them 1 year over their term limit.)
The suit also says, that NCIF has not held fair elections and has not been transparent about finances. Indeed, for the last 9 months, NCIF treasurer Oswald Taylor has not given a treasurer’s report. Sure, elections are good. In fact, for about a year or more I have asked NCIF members to step down from their expired seats and have elections as their bylaws require. Now, they are announcing a search for board members only after being sued. They have claimed they have not had elections because they cannot find people to fill their seats. Really? Well that’s hard to believe, because if you will look at their agendas for the past year, you’ll see that none of those agendas even mention elections. Apparently, it wasn’t even on their radar.
Such acts are why I compare NCIF’s actions to Lucy pulling the football from underneath gullible Charlie Brown. Historically, like Lucy, what NCIF has done when under public pressure to change is go through the motions of changing, and just when you think they’re going to reform, they yank that football from under those who believed they were on the level. Here are a few brief historical examples. Leo Walker is two years over his term limit. He is “acting” as chairman. In April he “submitted” his resignation letter which said he was resigning immediately. But he had one condition: the board had to accept his “resignation”. Surprise. They rejected it. I should mention that of the 9 people who voted that evening, six were also over their term limits. The other three people abstained. So, using that flimsy excuse, Walker stayed on and is still chairing meetings. However, the bylaws say that the board cannot reject a resignation letter unless the letter indicates a future date when the person will resign. Walker’s letter did not indicate a future date. In fact, it said he was “resigning immediately.” So, he should be gone right? Not in the altered reality world of NCIF.
Second example: This year, at a quarterly meeting, I asked why there was no treasurer’s report. I was told it was because Oswald Taylor, the treasurer was not there. The next quarterly meeting Mr. Taylor showed up. You guessed it. He did not present a treasurer’s report. Did not even mention it. The third example is most telling of all. In 2014 as part of a suit against it, NCIF was permitted to submit revised bylaws. Two of the things those bylaws specified were that no board member would serve for more than six consecutive years. The bylaws also specified that the foundation would have annual audits. Yet, 9 years later, six board members are in violation of term limits and I have seen no evidence that there have been audits since 2014. Like Lucy, there is a pattern operating here. 1) NCIF feels some kind of public pressure. 2) They then promise to do something to fix the problem. 3) When the pressure eases or they are given a break, they go back to their old behavior—-Lucy pulling away the football. Swoosh!
You’ll notice I said the announcement that ran in the Natchitoches Times earlier this month was odd. Well, it was and it has shades of the kind of greasy business I just mentioned. Here’s what I mean: The newspaper article said that NCIF is looking for board members. The entire board is supposed to be notified of actions by the board. But I checked and two board members didn’t know anything about the election announcement: Helen Obioha and Elton Wade. Ms Obioha as mentioned is a plaintiff in the suit. Elections are good. No problem there. Many people have been urging NCIF to have them. It’s the timing that it is weird and problematic. Why is this one happening after the suit was filed and not before it? And why is NCIF asking that nominations be postmarked October 1, 2023? That’s just one day before their court date. Actually, as I read the announcement, it struck me that this feels like an announcement for jobs instead of an announcement about opportunities to serve on a community board. What I mean is, the article and the “application” I got from the library stress that NCIF is particularly interested in people with certain skills. For a job announcement that would be alright. But NCIF is supposed to make these seats available to the general public whether they have business skills or not. In fact, the only qualifications people need are: They need to be at least 21, live in the City of Natchitoches and not be a felon. To be fair the article kind of points that out, it just wasn’t specific enough about the exact qualifications and NCIF needs to make sure people are not intimidated by their preference for people with expertise. In other words, it’s important that the public knows that a store clerk or laborer is as equal as a CEO. Otherwise, people may be intimidated and not apply for the seats. That would shut out a lot of people in a town with many blue-collar workers.
It’s disturbing and a bit sad that NCIF members are clinging to their seats so desperately that it has come to the point of a lawsuit to get these volunteers to step down in compliance with the court approved bylaws. And I hope that the public isn’t paying for the defense of people who are not really board members. After all, it would be an injustice if it turns out that foundation money—which is really money for the public—is being used to defend people who are not legitimate members of the board. Anyone who fits that description should not be able to have their legal bills paid for.
Considering NCIF’s history of not keeping promises and frequently not doing the right thing after being given many breaks and opportunities to do what’s right, it seems reasonable to wonder if this board in general, can be trusted to play by the rules any more than Lucy could be? Ask Charlie Brown–when he gets up off the ground.
“You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” -Jesus, John 8:32
“Let everything be done decently and in order.” -1 Corinthians 14:40
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” —(a wise old saying, possibly from the 17th Century.)
