A good friend called me two days ago and asked if I could meet on the riverbank the next day at 5:15 to say a few words about Victor Jones. I said “absolutely!” So, the next day, I arrived at the stage downtown 30 minutes early, just in case. I sat there in my truck for 20 minutes, craning my neck both north and south along the riverbank in search of any gathering. Finally, I called my friend to see if they had maybe changed the location. It was then he informed me that the group had met at 5:15 that MORNING! I’ll forego the details of how badly I felt to have missed an opportunity to speak about the good friend Victor Jones has been to me. Here is what I would have wanted to tell Rick Rowe:
Our former Sheriff is one of the most unpretentious persons I know. If you met him on the street, you would never know he was the Sheriff. He is humble, dependable, and forever in search of someone to help. I would rather have Victor’s “word”, than his signature on a contract. What he says on Monday, is always still good on Friday. His parents raised him that way, and it is ingrained in his DNA.
He is the classic example of working your way up the ladder of success. He started out a patrolman, then a detective, and was finally elected Sheriff of Natchitoches Parish. He will tell you that he is prouder of the kids he helped keep OUT of jail, than the ones he had to put IN. He employed many programs that sought to “teach” and “guide” our children, pointing them in a better direction.
He was our most visible elected official. He never wanted any citizen to say, “We only see you at election time.” And so, he went to every festival, every parade, every fundraiser, every barbeque, every ball game, and every celebration of our Veterans. His first year of speechmaking at these events was a little awkward. But when a friend told him to throw away his notes and talk from his heart, he became comfortable and totally at home speaking to the folks.
When the Sheriff’s Department needed a tax passed to provide needed services to the people, it was Sheriff Jones himself who went the length and breadth of Natchitoches Parish to talk about the need. But more importantly, Victor went to all those places to “listen” to the concerns of his constituents. As a result, the proposition passed easily, no small accomplishment.
Today, you can still find the former Sheriff at his grandchildren’s baseball games, basketball games, and football games. He continues to be committed to countless church and community endeavors. And if you pulled up a chair and began a conversation, you STILL would never know he was the Sheriff for twenty years!
I have always thought it was important to people, to know that they made a difference in the lives of other people. As Victor goes to the hayfield in his retirement, and rides his horses in the Arkansas mountains, he can be assured that he DID make a difference in so many people’s lives. We are all better individuals . . . we are a better Parish . . . for Victor Jones having come our way!
Louie Bernard
