News

At the last Coordinating and Development Corporation (CDC) meeting, the Board of Directors elected Reggie Roe, Sr., President of the DeSoto Parish Police Jury as the 2021-22 CDC Chairman and CEO. Jesse Davis, CEO of the Red River Police Jury, will serve as Secretary.

The CDC is a private, nonprofit, membersupported corporation that serves ten parishes in Northwest Louisiana, ten counties in Northeast Texas, and five counties in Southwest Arkansas. They assist their members in expanding economic opportunities through securing funding for communities to improve their quality of life, advising new businesses/entrepreneurs, providing business financing, and helping economic development efforts.

Roe said that when rural parishes are in a predicament, the CDC is there for them to turn to. The group can work with Louisiana Economic Development to help get their businesses up and running. The CDC also can assist in the grant writing process.

What: Keep DeSoto Beautiful is celebrating IP’s Mansfield Mill’s 40th Anniversary by planting 12 Crepe Myrtle trees at the DeSoto Parish Airport and holding a tree giveaway of 142 trees to parish residents! Arbor Day Foundation is assisting in hosting the event to be held on Saturday, October 16. DeSoto Parish has lost hundreds of trees over the last few years to damaging storms. This gift to the community by International Paper will help restore some of the tree canopy that has been lost.

When: Saturday, October 16 9:00 to 12 noon

Where: C.E. Rusty Williams Airport, 211 Independence Ave, Grand Cane, LA 71032

How: Register for the tree giveaway at Keepdesotobeautiful.org. There will be five species of trees available: Magnolia, Cypress, Red Maple, Live Oak, and Shumard Oak. All will be 5gallon trees, about 4 feet tall. During pickup, tree planting instructions will be given. Residents are asked to report back in six months on the health of the tree!

During the celebration of National Newspaper Week, October 3-9, 2021, The Enterprise and Interstate Progress join our sister publications all across North America for the 81st recognition of the service of newspapers and their employees, sponsored by Newspaper Association Managers. As for the The Enterprise, we have been in operation for 117 years, and will celebrate its 118 “anniversary” on July 1, 2022.

Dear Editor and Readers:

I want to encourage everyone to make every effort to attend the next Logansport Chamber meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 5th, 7 pm at the Logansport Library. A meal from Whataburger will be provided by the Chamber at no cost to all active members who confirm attendance.

We’re at a critical junction point for our organization in that we will be instituting our revised by-laws to elect new executive officers as well as deciding use of 2021-22 state funds. However, in order to proceed with usage proposals and funds acceptance, an executive election must take place.

Please reply to this email if you have any questions or concerns or wish to reserve a seat at the meeting. Additional information regarding the itinerary and meal will be provided as we draw closer to the event date.

Hope to see you there!

Respectfully,

Mark Armstrong, President

Do you have too much “stuff ” in your house and you would like a chance to get rid of it while making a little extra cash? Organizers are making plans to help you out with the annual non-ceasing yard sale to wind through DeSoto Parish and end in Joaquin, Texas. The “Fifty Mile Trail of Treasures” will be a continuous yard sale, with vendors setting up on Hwy 171 in Stonewall, where they will continue through Mansfield. Shoppers and treasure seekers will then find their way down Hwy 84 through Stanley and Logansport, cross over the bridge into Texas with Haslam and Joaquin lying at the end of the trail.

On September 17th, a Retirement Party was held at the DeSoto Sheriff Training Facility for Lt. Kenny Gingles and Capt. James Clements. Surrounded by coworkers past and present, family, and friends, Lt. Gingles and Capt. Clements retired with a combined 50+ years of outstanding service to DeSoto Parish.

Lieutenant Gingles retires with 20+ years at the DeSoto Parish Sheriff ’s Office, starting his career under former Sheriff Hugh Bennett. He has served under three Sheriffs in DeSoto Parish. Lt. Gingles began as a Correctional Deputy where he worked for approximately 3 years until moving to the Patrol division. He went on to serve on the D.P.U. (Directed Patrol Unit) before being promoted to rank of Lieutenant over Special Services, a position he held at retirement.

BackAlley Community Theatre’s 2021 Annual Board Meeting will be held Monday, September 27, at 6:00 p.m. at our theater in Grand Cane.

We are especially proud to be “Celebrating 20 Years of Live Theater in DeSoto Parish,” and will present activities throughout the year to support this milestone. We are pleased to announce that as part of our anniversary celebration, Paul Moore, founder of BackAlley Community Theatre will be our guest speaker. In 2000 Paul Moore, who was living in Grand Cane at the time and had a life-long interest in community theater, noticed the unusual structure had good acoustics and a spark was lit.

We welcome you to join us and learn about our upcoming season, meet BackAlley’s founder, and enjoy “Celebrating 20 Years of Live Theater in DeSoto Parish” with refreshments and a delicious celebration cake.

DeSoto Parish’s own Mardi Gras Krewe, The Krewe of Demeter, held its annual Coronation VI this past Saturday night at the beautiful Clista Calhoun Center in Mansfield. With a record breaking sellout crowd in attendance, and in true Mardi Gras tradition, Demeter’s Captain Linda Carter hosted the event. Master of Ceremonies was none other than friend of the Krewe, Dominique Benn from KSLA Channel 12 in Shreveport. The theme for this year’s Mardi Gras festivities was Crusin’ with the Krewe (a cruise ship theme).

On Monday, September 13, 2021, just before 11:00 a.m., Troopers assigned to Louisiana State Police Troop G began investigating a fatality crash involving two commercial motor vehicles. The crash occurred at the intersection of LA Hwy 5 at LA Hwy 3015. The crash claimed the life of 37-year-old Lakendrick Thomas.

The initial investigation revealed that 42-year-old Chad Sharpley, of Frierson, was driving northbound on LA Hwy 5, in a 2019 Peterbilt tractortrailer. At the same time, Thomas was traveling southbound on LA Hwy 5, in a 2020 Kenworth tractor-trailer. Sharpley lost control of the truck. As a result of this, Sharpley’s trailer struck the cab of the Kenworth.

Sharpley was restrained and was not injured. Thomas, who was wearing his seat belt, suffered fatal injuries as a result of the crash. Impairment is not suspected to be a factor; however, routine toxicology results were submitted for analysis. The crash remains under investigation.

It seems like only yesterday DeSoto Parish’s citizens and government entities were blessed with the signing bonuses and windfall for leasing property for the Haynesville Shale boom. In 2008 through 2010, people were made millionaires over night and the parish flourished like never before. The DeSoto Parish Police Jury as well as the School Board both were among those receiving unprecedented funds to invest and/or improve their services.