Columns

Our story on Page 1 covering the meeting of the East Carroll Parish Police Jury last week is, we believe, an accurate description of events that took place. However, we have chosen to omit many of the harsh words, accusations, and personal attacks that were spoken during a discussion of an agenda item titled “Secretary-Treasurer Appointment.”

Work began last Monday, July8,ontherooffortheEast Carroll Parish Courthouse. The East Carroll Parish Police Jury’s committees met last week and discussed the various projects that the jury is either working on or considering.

Choosing a topic to write about for these opinion columns is very hard for me. I have a journalism degree and worked for several years at weekly and daily newspapers in the region.

At this stage in life I want to pick and choose the things I commit my time and energy to. I want to be sure that they are things that will leave my family, my community, and this world better than I found it.

One of my favorite lines from any book I’ve read – and there have been many – was from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. The book begins, “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.” This book was written in 1859, but it could have been written in 2024. Why? Because right now it is the best of times and the worst of times. Technology has brought us so far in the fields of medicine, telecommunications, and just about everything else. This has made our lives a lot easier for sure, and has reduced the mortality rate in the world today. So as far as the here and now, it is the best time to be alive.

After 43 years of service to East Carroll Parish Farm Bureau, Lynn Dukes officially retired last week. Farm Bureau board and staff held a reception for Dukes at their office on Davis Street. Dukes said that his plans were to “kick my feet up and do nothing. It’s time.”

On a wall in our nearly-finished home hangs a painting a great friend of mine did of Queen Elizabeth. She is sternly looking through side eyes, saying “Mind your manners.” She hangs for all the Queen Elizabeths in our lives. For our grandmothers, especially.

Summer get-togethers call for delicious snacks that are cool and refreshing. This black-eyed pea salsa is a great fit for your next outdoor party, or a healthy snack to keep on hand for little ones to snack on during hot summer days. The base is a traditional salsa mixture, but the blackeyed peas we added provide a good serving of fiber that your regular salsa doesn’t. We’ve also kept it super low in sodium. Pair this with toasted whole grain tortillas or whole wheat crackers for a filling summer snack!

The Rotary Club of Lake Providence was treated to two local guest speakers in the past two weeks. Mayor Bobby Amacker discussed the problems faced by the town with an outdated water system and no money to make vital repairs. The town recently received an “F” rating on the water system. Afterwards, Mayor Amacker fielded questions from Rotarians. Last week, Patten Brown, a self-proclaimed “Civil War nut” gave the Rotary Club an interesting and informative presentation about the use of horses in the Civil War. Brown said that the Union Army had approximately 100,000 horses compared to 75,000 for the Confederacy. He said that it took 30,000 horses just to move the supplies and artillery that each of the armies needed. Hygiene wasn’t very good at the time, and many of the horses would often die of neglect. “Horses paid a great price in the war,” Brown concluded. “Twice as many died as there was human loss.”

A new social media policy approved at the last regular meeting of the East Carroll Parish School Board is tightening down on the use of electronic devices in the school system. The policy stated that no student can have any personal electronic devices in their possession unless they are authorized by the school principal and his/ her designee.