Join the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum for an afternoon with anglers from the LBAA Women’s Pro Bass Tour on Saturday, Sept. 5 from 2-3 pm. Families are invited to come learn about professional bass fishing as some of the top female competitors in the nation demonstrate their techniques. The afternoon will also include information on habitat, knot tying, conservation, preservation, and fish identification.
The Lady Bass Anglers Association will kick off their 10th Anniversary Season traveling to beautiful Cane River Lake for their first regular season event Sept. 11-12.
Regulations regarding masks and physical distancing will be followed. This event is free and open to the public. Call (318) 357-2492 for more information.
NSU– Northwestern State’s fall sports schedules are moving to the spring of 2021.
The Southland Conference announced Thursday the league will postpone fall sports conference competitions in football, volleyball, soccer and cross country with the intent of playing in the spring semester.
The league’s fall sports teams are allowed to keep contracted non-conference games, if they so choose, and can schedule additional games, as well. NSU has chosen not to participate in any fall athletic competitions.
The decision was reached Wednesday by the Conference’s presidential Board of Directors, in consultation with campus athletic directors, in full consideration of the health, safety and well-being of the league’s student-athletes, coaches, administrators, support personnel and fans on the league’s 13 campuses. Southland members have been monitoring national, regional and local developments related to the worldwide COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic since the cancelation of spring sports in mid-March.
“All of us at Northwestern and other schools in the Southland Conference regret the negative impact on our students, personnel, alumni, friends and fans of suspending competition in athletics for the fall semester,” said NSU President Dr. Chris Maggio. “Our plans for resuming intercollegiate sports competition that is so deeply ingrained in the university and its image are already under way.
“Most conferences and universities in the nation are postponing athletic competition in the fall based on guidance from medical agencies and authorities across the nation. We feel it is in the best interests of our university, students and community that we also suspend intercollegiate sports, as much as we regret it.”
Added Director of Athletics Greg Burke: “Our athletic program has been preparing to play – and wanted to play – since the start of voluntary workouts began in June. Most recently and in compliance with an NCAA Board of Governors directive, a COVID-19 PCR testing option was secured and utilized for student-athlete testing while other protocols continued to be followed by our sports medicine staff.”
“This is not the outcome for which we were hoping. It, however, reflects the continuing volatility of a pandemic which has had a grip on our nation, including the world of college athletics, for nearly five months,” added Burke, who noted that nearly 90 percent of NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) football programs have already canceled their competitive season.
NSU was scheduled to open its 2020 football season with a September 3 home game versus conference opponent Incarnate Word while other fall sports also were set to start their season in early September.
The Southland joins a growing list of all but two FCS conferences that have altered, canceled or postponed all or portions of fall competitions, including the Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Ivy League, the Mid-Eastern Athletic, the Missouri Valley Football League, Northeast, Patriot League, the Pioneer Football League and the Southwestern Athletic conferences.
The Southland’s fall sports offerings include football, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country and volleyball.
The cancellation of fall sports follows similar action taken in the spring that resulted in not holding the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, as well as the Indoor Track and Field Championships. All spring sports activities were also cancelled.
Said Burke: “This, again, is most disappointing for our student-athletes, who are dedicated to representing NSU both in the classroom and on the field of competition. The same sentiment applies to our coaches and staff, who invest in immeasurable amount of time year-round in preparing for each season. Finally, I know how much our fans, alumni, former athletes, parents and campus community look forward supporting our teams and this leaves yet another void for them.”
Burke indicated NSU teams will continue to remain engaged in athletic-related activities within the department’s “inner bubble” as allowed by NCAA rules. Ongoing testing and daily monitoring will also be a part of the health and safety protocol. The Southland Conference also is in the planning stages to conduct regular season championships in all four sports in the spring of 2021 with potential plans for NCAA postseason competition also a possibility.
The Northwestern State Athletics Mental Health Committee also has been and will continue to be involved and provide guidance regarding the impact this decision can have on NSU student-athletes.
If you were raised in the Deep South or even have relatives in the South then you are aware of the summertime rituals that pepper the memories of most southerners. These mental snapshots most likely include some type of family member, a porch and some type of vegetable that needed tending to.
My summers were no different.
While my family never had a garden to tend, we always seem to have an endless supply of the goodness that came from God’s green earth. Snap beans. Purple hull peas. Tomatoes. Squash. Okra. Corn. These are just a few of the vegetables that became our chore during the heat of the summer.
When my siblings and I were much younger it produced many hours of joyful entertainment. As we grew older we discovered there were many more summer pleasures that we were missing out on because we were too busy being part time farmers. Farmers with permanently purple stains on our fingertips and under our nails.
We were interested in anything that did not include shelling, shucking, blanching or Zip-Lock bags.
One particular summer my parents left us in charge of shelling what seemed to be four mountains of purple hull peas. They had to be shelled and washed before we were allowed to partake of the lake activities with our friends. We felt like we were in a purple hull hell. Why did we need so many peas? It was never ending.
I called one of my friends and advised her of the terrible pea situation and that we may be late leaving for our date to soak up the rays at Saline Lake. Being the good friend that she was she explained that she had access to a pea sheller, a small machine that will shell these peas for us in a record amount of time.
What? There is a machine for this? I was in utter disbelief of this black magic. Of course, we took her up on her offer of salvation from the purple hull mountain that we were facing. When she showed up, she also brought another friend. This pea sheller did not disappoint.
We had formed an assembly line.
We had two friends force feeding the peas in the sheller and three of us washing and cleaning up the mess. When we were done there was nothing standing between us and our summer shenanigans. We proceeded to the lake even though, I just had a suspicion that we cheated the system. Our fingertips lacked the purple dye that normally accompanies the shelling. Something just felt off but we would have to worry about that later.
We had a lake, friends, baby oil and iodine waiting on us.
The water at Saline Lake seemed to be more beautiful than ever that day. The sun was beaming perfectly and not a cloud in the sky. There was even a small but helpful breeze blowing. It was a perfect day and I wish that I had realized at that moment that it would be the last time I saw the lake that summer.
When we arrived home, both my mom and dad were waiting outside for us as if to deliver the bad news that someone had passed away. But, it wasn’t a somber look. I recognized this look. It was a look that can only be delivered from the angry face of parents who love Jesus but will go ham on their children at the drop of a hat.
We slowly exited the vehicle as our parents waved goodbye to our friends. It was the last time we saw our friends that summer.
Apparently there is an art to operating a pea sheller. You were only supposed to feed it only a few at a time. Therefore, due to our lack of research we smashed more than half of that crop of peas as we fed the machine handfuls at a time. I tried to explain that we were never advised to not use an electric pea sheller. If you don’t set expectations then thats when things may go awry.
My poor explanation bought us eight weeks of sitting at home to think about our lazy and selfish ways. Looking back I do firmly believe that the Holy Spirit was trying to warn me by saying, “Hey sis, you are cutting corners and this will end poorly for you.”
I should have listened to that still small voice.
Cutting corners has never worked for me, even though I give it a try every now and then. It seems as though I am most successful when I remind myself daily that everything we do we should act as though we are doing it for the Lord. Hard work always pays dividends in the end.
These days my purple hell peas come from the frozen section of the grocery store or a local farmer who has already done the grunt work. The great thing about buying peas already shelled and prepped is that there is no purple dye left on my nails for days. The sad thing about buying peas already shelled and prepped is that there is no purple dye left on my nails for days.
The best life lessons were learned on a porch in the heat of the summer with some vegetables.
“May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us. yes, establish the work of our hands” – Psalm 90:17
Defend Against COVID-19. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Recognize the symptoms. Cover your cough. Wash your hands. Stay home especially if you are sick.
Maintain a Social Distance of 6ft. Social distancing means keeping 6ft. of physical space between yourself and others. This helps to prevent the spread of illness.
I think most would agree that the past five months has seemed more like five years. None of us will likely ever forget these days that we are currently living in. It’s amazing to think how one virus has impacted so much. You don’t need me to recap all that we have experienced since this all began, but every area of life has been impacted. Like most of you, I am eager for the day when we can talk about the Coronavirus in past tense.
The Coronavirus is called a pandemic. Webster’s Dictionary defines,“pandemic” as prevalent over a whole area or country; that which is universal epidemic over a large region, often said of a disease. As bad as it sounds, there may be another pandemic that is worst. Fear. Many people are living today with a great amount of fear and anxiety. Fear of getting the virus, fear of sending our kid’s to school, fear of being alone, fear of losing possessions, fear of losing a job, etc. Fear is real and at times can be very healthy. It has actually been built into us by our Creator so that we might preserve our lives and fulfill His will for us. Healthy fear leads us to plan and prepare, to be wise and careful as we move forward in faith. I like to say, fear and doubt are paralyzing, but faith and confidence are mobilizing.
Unhealthy fear is fear that leads to panic. Unhealthy fear makes us do crazy things or react in out of control ways. One negative reaction to fear is running away from it rather than face it. Psychologists say many react to fear by trying to escape it. Escape is when you try to get out of the situation. You may have heard the story of the old country boy who came home one day with his clothes torn, shoes worn, and looking totally exhausted. He had been gone for over a week and when he came in, his wife said, “Where in tarnation have you been?” He said, “Well, I went out to check on the cows and all of a sudden this giant bear jumped out, the biggest bear I’ve ever seen in my life. I took off running. I ran like crazy and never looked back. I ran until I finally lost the bear. I’ve never ran faster in my whole life.” His wife replied, “You’ve been gone all week. Where have you been since then?” He said, “I’ve been walking back.”
The most repeated command in the world’s best-selling book, the Bible, is this…”Don’t be afraid.” Even when life seems out of control, God is ultimately in control. Down through the centuries in times of trouble, crisis and struggle, God has brought courage to the hearts of those who love and trust Him. I love the words of the Psalmist found in Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.” So run! Just run by faith the race that He has set before you.
Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin is reminding everyone that Saturday, August 15 is Election Day. 38 parishes have parishwide and/or limited jurisdiction proposition elections, including: Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bossier, Calcasieu, Catahoula, Claiborne, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafourche, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Red River, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Union, Vermilion, Washington, Webster, and West Baton Rouge. Six parishes have a run-off and parishwide/local proposition elections, including: Concordia, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Natchitoches, Ouachita, and St. Tammany. Three parishes have run-off elections only, including: East Feliciana, Evangeline, and Orleans.
In preparation for Saturday’s Election, Secretary Ardoin encourages voters to remember:
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Anyone in line at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
Voters can find their polling location and sample ballot by downloading the GeauxVote Mobile app for smartphones or by visiting www.GeauxVote.com.
Voters should bring an ID with them to vote (Louisiana driver’s license, Louisiana Special ID card, a generally recognized picture identification card with name and signature such as a passport or a digital license via LA Wallet).
Voters without an ID will be required to fill out an affidavit but will be allowed to vote.
Due to COVID-19, some polling places located at nursing homes, senior centers, or other senior-related locations have been moved in accordance with the Secretary of State’s Emergency Election Plan. Parish registrars of voters have also notified affected voters by mail with their polling relocations.
Parishes with polling location changes include Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Catahoula, Jefferson, Madison, Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita, St. James, St. Mary, St. Tammany and Washington.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our polling commissioners will be supplied with personal protective equipment and will regularly sanitize designated areas and wipe down voting machines. Hand sanitizer will be provided to voters and masks are recommended, although not required.
For more information, contact our Elections Division at 800.883.2805.
Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Deputies, Louisiana State Police, Natchitoches Parish Fire District #7, La. Department of Transportation and Development and Archie’s Towing Services remain on the scene of a two-vehicle crash on I-49 north of the Powhatan exit according to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office.
This morning, Aug. 13, NatCom 911 Center received multiple calls reporting an eighteen wheeler/private vehicle crash on I-49 (southbound) near milepost# 153 north of the Powhatan exit.
Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Deputies, Louisiana State Police, 2 Natchitoches Regional Medical Center EMS Units, Natchitoches Parish Fire District #7, NPSO Rescue, Natchitoches Fire Department Rescue, and Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development responded to the call.
Deputies say upon their arrival, some private citizens were assisting the operator of the eighteen wheeler as he was attempting to crawl out the cab of the extensively damaged truck.
According to LSP, a 2014 Ford Eclipse operated by 69-year-old Peter Wetzel of Keatchie, La. was traveling southbound on I-49 near milepost# 153. At the same time, a Freightliner eighteen wheeler pulling a trailer containing several thousand pounds of meat products operated by 47-year-old Richard K. Thrower of Ada, Oklahoma was also traveling southbound behind the Ford Eclipse.
For reasons still under investigation, the Freightliner apparently impacted the rear of the Ford Eclipse causing the Freightliner to leave the road on the right side traveling down an incline/ditch causing the truck to overturn.
Mr. Wetzel and his passenger (69-year-old Betty Sue Wetzel of Keatchie, La.) were both transported by EMS to Natchitoches Regional Medical Center with what is believed to be non-life threatening injuries.
Richard K. Thrower was transported by EMS to Natchitoches Regional Medical Center with what is believed to be non-life threatening injuries.
Kisatchie National Forest is excited to announce the Louisiana Champion Tree for longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) was found on the Calcasieu Ranger District! This whopper stands at 105 feet high, spread of 61 feet, and has a circumference of 11 feet and 1 inch! The tree is located in Forest Hill, LA (31°03’25.9″, -92°32’25.5″).
The public can nominate a champion tree to be included in the National Register of Champion Trees by submitting a form with estimated measurements of the tree they’ve found. Forms can be emailed to jzeringue@laforestry.com. The directory comes out in March of each year. Nominations for national champion must first come through the Louisiana Champion Tree program.
Thanks to Christian Cobb and Brooklyn Frerks for finding and nominating the winning longleaf pine. For more information on Champion Louisiana Trees, please visit https://www.laforestry.com/champion-trees-in-louisiana
In September of 1940, American Forests (then The American Forestry Association) launched a campaign to locate the largest living specimens of American trees. The National Register of Champion Trees started out as a competition, a national hunt to discover and preserve the largest specimens of American tree species. The campaign to find America’s largest trees grew from a desire to protect and preserve them for future generations. The trees people hunted for were scattered through forest and field, along roadways, and in backyards.
Over 75 years later that competition lives on today.
Locate, measure, and nominate the largest trees you can find to American Forests’ National Register of Champion Trees. The challenge to all tree lovers is to locate and nominate trees larger than those currently listed, if they exist. Strike out on your own or take friends with you. Find the Champions of the nearly 900 tree species and varieties eligible for the register.
NATCHITOCHES: Jameka L. Waldrup August 17, 1995 – August 10, 2020 Service: Saturday, August 15 at 10 am at the Winnfield Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in Natchitoches
SABINE: Ben D. Peterson September 20, 1936 – August 11, 2020 Service: Saturday, August 15 at 10 am at the Festival Grounds in Florien Larry Herrington February 14, 1943 – August 10, 2020 Service: Friday, August 14 at 2 pm at Pine Grove Baptist Church
WINN: Thelma Jo Carter Gresham February 26, 1932 – August 09, 2020 Jeffery Lynn Braswell October 15, 1956 – August 11, 2020 Service: Saturday, August 15 at 10 am in the Southern Funeral Home chapel of Winnfield
John Harvey Evans September 17, 1933 – August 11, 2020 Service: Saturday August 15 at 10 am at Jena Cemetery
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE POSTPONES LEAGUE COMPETITION IN FALL SEMESTER
FRISCO, Texas — The Southland Conference Board of Directors has determined that league competition in the sports of football, volleyball, women’s soccer and cross country will be postponed from the fall semester with an intent to explore conference competition in the spring semester. Meeting frequently in recent weeks, including Wednesday afternoon, presidents of the 13 Southland members also authorized planning for spring semester championship events for volleyball, soccer and cross country.
Institutions may choose to participate in limited fall competition.
“After thoughtful consideration, the Southland Conference Board of Directors reached consensus in postponing league competition for our fall semester sports,” Dr. Houston Davis, Board Chair and President of the University of Central Arkansas, said. “Protecting competitive opportunities in a safe manner for our student-athletes was paramount in the review, and a delay to the spring allows campuses and athletic departments to get a better handle on issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The Board concluded that an entire fall sports season is not likely, and that a postponement to spring can provide the important opportunities our teams annually seek,” Southland Conference Commissioner Tom Burnett added. “While disappointed that we won’t be playing these sports in the Southland’s 58th year of fall competition, we look forward to a unique spring season of athletics that also includes NCAA postseason opportunities.”
It is expected that Southland athletic directors will immediately begin work with the Southland staff to determine spring competitive planning and other issues.
The Natchitoches Parish Farm Bureau Board of Directors is proud to present its local George ‘Ronnie’ Owens Memorial Scholarship this year to Salem Johnson. Salem graduated Lakeview High School this year and also served as a Louisiana FFA State Officer.
We at Farm Bureau are also pleased to announce that Salem was also chosen as a recipient for the Louisiana Farm Bureau, Linda & Wayne Zaunbrecher scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to five recipients statewide.
Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Deputies and Agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries responded on Aug. 12 at 10:20 am to reports of a large alligator in a yard on Independence Drive just south of Natchitoches according to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies say when they arrived on scene, the 8-foot alligator was lying calmly in the yard just watching them, however, when they asked it to move on it just remained there.
A wildlife agent arrived on scene. After an hour of negotiations the alligator slowly walked off and returned to its nearby habit.
A new generation of chemical fire retardants and suppressants have come into use over the course of the last decade. Given current climatic trends and predictions of continuing climatic instability, it is safe to predict an increase in wildfire activity across the American west and that chemicals will continue to be applied to suppress these wildfires.
The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) is initiating research on the interaction of fire suppressants used to extinguish wildfires with cultural heritage.
The goals of this research are to:
1. Study the effects of fire suppressants on cultural materials, and 2. Identify methods to remove fire suppressants from cultural materials.
Joining NCPTT to undertake the two-year research project is Kaitlyn Eldredge from Boise, Idaho. Kaitlyn is an historical archaeologist interested in experimental archaeology. Her past research includes the impacts of mechanical fireline construction on archaeological sites. She’s also the daughter of a retired wildland firefighter.
Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Deputies, Louisiana State Police, Natchitoches Parish Fire District #1, Natchitoches Regional Medical Center EMS and SWEPCO responded on Aug. 12 at 9:23 am to the scene of a single-vehicle crash on Hwy. 490 just west of Hwy. 1 at Chopin, according to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies say the operator of the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu was traveling westbound on Hwy. 490 when he left the roadway on the right side, striking a utility pole.
Utility lines were down in the area.
The driver was treated at the scene for minor injuries by EMS.
Company ranked No. 2 out of 144 utilities nationwide
Cleco Power has been ranked second out of 144 electric utilities nationwide for its communication and response to the COVID-19 pandemic by J.D. Power in its second-quarter 2020 Electricity Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.
The study, which consists of questions that measure residential customer satisfaction in multiple areas such as power quality and reliability, was conducted during the months of April, May and June. J.D. Power added questions about the COVID-19 pandemic to the second-quarter study.
Customers responded to questions about how they have been personally impacted by COVID-19, what their utility has done in response to COVID-19, how they would rank their utility’s response to COVID-19 and how the utility’s response has positively or negatively changed their impression of them. Out of over 23,000 national customer responses, Cleco Power customers had the second highest percent of “more positive” customers.
“This feedback lets us know our customers believe we’re doing the right things,” said Shane Hilton, president of Cleco Power. “Since mid-March, Cleco Power has been using multiple external communication platforms, including its website, Facebook page, customer newsletter, as well as TV and radio to keep customers informed of the steps taken to help those experiencing financial hardships during the pandemic, as well as making customers aware of other resources such as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.”
On March 13, Cleco Power suspended service disconnects and late fees to assist customers experiencing financial challenges, and on April 15, the company began reimbursing customers the electronic bill payment processing fee charged by a third-party service provider. Last month, Cleco Power announced a long-term payment plan to help customers pay off prior balances by spreading the total amount over an extended period with no interest.
“Cleco Power’s ranking confirms that we have the resources and experience to navigate any type of crisis even those we’ve never experienced before,” said Hilton. “We’re proud to share this good news, as we continue working to meet our customers’ needs and exceed their expectations during these unprecedented times.”
This week, the U.S. Census Bureau began following up with households nationwide that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census. Based on the current self-response rate of 63.3%, the Census Bureau estimates it will need to visit about 56 million addresses to collect responses in person. Up to 500,000 census takers across the country will go door to door to assist people in responding to the 2020 Census.
Census takers began following up with households on July 16 in a limited number of areas and added additional areas each week thereafter. Starting Aug. 9, all remaining offices began following up with households nationwide. Census takers have completed training on social distancing and safety protocols, will follow local public health guidelines, and will be required to wear a face mask when conducting follow-up visits.
“America has answered the call and most households responded to the census online, by phone or by mail,” said Census Bureau Director Dr. Steven Dillingham. “To ensure a complete and accurate count, we must now go door to door to count all of the households we have not heard back from. During this phase, you can still self-respond online (at 2020census.gov), by phone (at 844-330-2020), or by mailing your completed questionnaire.”
The Nonresponse Followup (NRFU) operation is the final stage of conducting the once-a-decade population count of everyone living in the United States. Households can still respond now by responding online at 2020census.gov, by phone at 844-330-2020, or by completing and mailing back the paper questionnaire they received. Households can respond online or by phone in one of 13 languages and find assistance in many more. Those that respond will not need to be visited to obtain their census response.
What Households Can Expect
In most cases, census workers will make up to six attempts at each housing unit address to count possible residents. This includes leaving notification of the attempted visit on the door. The notification will include reminder information on how to respond online, by paper or by phone. In addition, census workers may try to reach the household by phone to conduct the interview.
Census takers will go to great lengths to ensure that no one is missed in the census. After exhausting their efforts to do an in-person interview with a resident of an occupied housing unit, they will seek out proxy sources — a neighbor, a rental agent, a building manager or some other knowledgeable person familiar with the housing unit — to obtain as much basic information about the occupants as they can.
Census takers are hired from local communities. All census takers speak English, and many are bilingual. If a census taker does not speak the householder’s language, the household may request a return visit from a census taker who does. Census takers will also have materials on hand to help identify the household’s language.
How to Identify Census Takers
Census takers can be easily identified by a valid government ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date on the badge. To confirm a census taker’s identity, the public may contact their regional census center to speak with a Census Bureau representative.
The Census Bureau Will Follow Up With Some Households by Phone
In order to minimize the need to send census takers to households in person, the Census Bureau is training census takers to follow up with households by phone. Using information provided to the Census Bureau and third-party purchased data, the Census Bureau has a strong contact list for both landlines and cellphones assigned to houses on the Census Bureau’s address list. These phone calls will enable the Census Bureau to have maximum flexibility for conducting field operations, and is one more method that census takers can use to reach nonresponding households. Phone calls will be used on an as-needed basis and when in-person contact attempts have not resulted in an interview. If a voicemail is available, the census taker will leave a message asking the household to call one of the Census Bureau’s call centers.
Census Response Representatives to Visit Low-Responding Areas
The Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) program will continue through Sept. 30. This is a separate activity from census takers going door to door. MQA representatives are in open, public places in the lowest-responding areas of the nation to encourage people to respond to the 2020 Census. These locations are where people naturally visit when leaving home and can be used to help increase self-response rates. MQA is part of the Census Bureau’s final push to encourage people to complete the 2020 Census.
NATCHITOCHES: Jameka L. Waldrup August 17, 1995 – August 10, 2020 Service: Saturday, August 15 at 10 am at the Winnfield Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in Natchitoches
SABINE: Larry Herrington February 14, 1943 – August 10, 2020 Service: Friday, August 14 at 2 pm at Pine Grove Baptist Church
Jimmy Earl Bush January 2, 1945 – August 9, 2020 Service: Thursday, August 13 at 10 am at Warren Meadows Funeral Home Chapel
WINN: John Harvey Evans September 17, 1933 – August 11, 2020 Service: Saturday August 15 at 10 am at Jena Cemetery
Sometimes a person can have talent, ambition, take all the right steps, and make all the right moves, but is unable to achieve success. It usually takes an act beyond their control to reach their goal. It can be a chance meeting or just being in the right place at the right time. Oftentimes, it can be a coincidence, and other times it can be as the result of an accident. George’s life changed as a result of one such accident.
Shortly after 3:30 a.m. on Friday, November 19, 1954, George and Charles left Las Vegas, Nevada, en route to Universal-International Pictures at Studio City, Los Angeles, California. George was going to the movie studio to record the theme song “Six Bridges to Cross,” for the motion picture of the same name. George agreed to record the song because he was good friends with Tony Curtis, star of the picture, and Jeff Chandler, the song’s lyricist and narrator for the picture, and because it was a good professional move to have his voice heard during the opening credits. George had made some television appearances, but most of his work was on the nightclub circuit. This was to be George’s first credited recording for a motion picture, and he hoped this recording would elevate his career to new heights.
The trip should have taken them just over four and a half hours to complete. George and Charles left Las Vegas following one of George’s performances as part of the Will Mastin Trio at the Last Frontier Hotel. Unable to sleep from the adrenaline the show had produced, George told Charles that he could get some sleep. He, George, would drive. Charles climbed into the back seat of George’s convertible and quickly fell asleep.
Just after 7:00 a.m., with about an hour left in their trip, George drove down Kendall Drive in San Bernardino, California. Up ahead, a car operated by 72-year-old Helen Boss was stopped in the middle of the road. She and her passenger, 69-year-old Bessie Ross, had missed their turn and were preparing to turn the car around. George saw no brake lights, nor did he see a blinker. Once he realized the car was stopped in the highway, he slammed on the brakes. It was too late. George’s convertible slammed into the stopped car. Mrs. Boss suffered a back injury and Mrs. Ross suffered a broken leg. Charles was thrown from the back seat into the rear of the front seat and broke his jaw. The force of the impact slammed George’s face into the hard-plastic and metal steering wheel. George received several cuts on his face, but the most damaging was a severe gash to his left eye.
Paramedics rushed George, Charles, and the women from the stopped car to the hospital. Dr. Frederick H. Hull, a well-known San Bernardino eye specialist, examined George’s eye. Later that evening, Dr. Hull operated on George, but, unfortunately, Dr. Hull was unable to repair and save George’s left eye. As a protective measure, Dr. Hull covered both of George’s eyes with bandages.
Entertainers and movie stars called the hospital to check on George. So many of them called that the switchboard jammed. George received hundreds of telegrams from entertainers, some he knew, most he had never met. He received hundreds of letters from fans wishing him a speedy recovery. In addition to telephone calls, telegrams, and letters, George received flowers and gifts from famous people, many of whom were not personal acquaintances. Well-wishers included such notables as Judy Garland, Louella Parsons, Jack Benny, Mary Livingston, Jeff Chandler, Will Mastin, Sammy Davis, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Cantor, and Red Skelton, just to name a few.
Some of his friends even offered to give George one of their own eyes. However, whole eye transplants were, and remain, medically impossible. During the operation, Dr. Hull repaired George’s eye socket so that he could eventually use a false eye, and the false eye would move in unison with his good eye.
George was in good spirits throughout his recovery. When George awoke from surgery and realized his left eye had been removed, he quipped to nurse Iona Smith, “Thank God it was my eye and not my leg.” He would not allow the loss of one eye hinder his career as a nightclub entertainer. Three days after the operation, Dr. Hull removed the bandages from both of George’s eyes. Nurse Smith said George “was very happy that he was able to see again.” “God must have had His arms around me,” George said, “Otherwise, I would be blind today.” “This can’t hurt me,” George said bravely, “I can still dance as well as I could before. I can still sing as well. Nothing has changed.”
Just as George had predicted, his return to the stage was triumphant. In fact, he reemerged as a larger star than he had been before. Suddenly, people with more clout in the entertainment industry started paying attention to George’s many talents. Before the accident, George only appeared in three Hollywood “short” films. Following the accident, however, George secured nightclub bookings in multiple cities for the Will Mastin Trio. George received offers to appear on Broadway, television, and in movies. He eventually starred in more than seventy television and film productions in a career which lasted until his death in 1990.
Following his accident, he also began a ten-year recording career with Decca Records, followed by another ten-year contract with Reprise Records, and shorter recording contracts with companies such as Verve Records, Motown Records, and MGM Records. Although he had many hit songs, his only number one single came in 1972, some eighteen years after his accident.
Had George not lost his left eye as a result of an automobile accident, we might never have seen him in “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Robin and the 7 Hoods,” and, “The Cannonball Run.” We might never have heard him sing “Candy Man.” The omission of Junior behind Sammy Davis’s name in the list of well-wishers was no accident. You see, it was Sammy Davis’s son who lost his left eye in the car crash. George was the middle name of Sammy Davis Jr.
Sources: 1. The Napa Valley Register, November 20, 1954, p.1. 2. The San Bernardino County Sun, November 20, 1954, p.19. 3. The San Bernardino County Sun, November 21, 1954, p.17. 4. Daily News-Post and Monrovia News-Post, November 22, 1954, p.14. 5. Oakland Tribune, November 23, 1954, p.24. 6. Pasadena Independent, November 23, 1954, p.16. 7. The San Bernardino County Sun, November 23, 1954, p.26. 8. Daily Independent Journal (San Rafael, California), December 1, 1954, p.4. 9. The Sacramento Bee, December 4, 1954, p.11. 10. The San Bernardino County Sun, December 4, 1954, p.29. 11. Valley Times (North Hollywood, California), December 7, 1954, p.2. 12. The Folsom Telegraph, December 16, 1954, p.11. 13. The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California), January 10, 1955, p.2. 14. IMDb.com. “Sammy Davis Jr.” Accessed August 3, 2020. imdb.com/name/nm0002035/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1#actor. 15. YouTube.com. “The Candy Man.” Accessed August 4, 2020. youtu.be/o5vFvt3fJpw.
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