Attend the Black Heritage’s Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 24 from 10 am – 1 pm at the Old Jr. High, located at 850 Highland Ave. in Many.

March 3, 1930 – November 20, 2022

Funeral services celebrating the life of Margie Raybon Anderson will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 26, 2022, at San Patricio Baptist Church, Converse, Louisiana. Rev. Danny Asbell will be officiating the service. Burial will follow at Cassel Cemetery, Converse, Louisiana. Visitation for family and friends will be at noon on Friday, November 25, 2022, at the church.

Margie was born on March 3, 1930, to John and Lucy McDonald and entered into eternal rest on November 20, 2022.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Thomas “Tig” Raybon and Alfred Anderson; ten siblings; sons, Lonny Raybon and Ronny Raybon. Left to cherish her memory is her son, Rick Raybon, and wife, Nita; daughter, Nancy Rigsby and husband, Delmer; 14 grandchildren, and a host of great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Honoring Margie as pallbearers will be Eli Raybon, Joey Raybon, Dylan Raybon, Lonny Raybon, Jr., Eric Raybon, and Adam Raybon. Honorary pallbearers will be Tyler Anderson, Stephen Raybon, Vincent Raybon, Ronny Godinez, Aidan Campbell, Conner Rios, Dillon Sandifer, JoJo Raybon, Finn Raybon, Treyton Raybon, Trevor Raybon, Cameron Carroll, Hunter Lovelady, Jackson Sepulvado, Zachary Faircloth, Jacob Lovelady, Matthew Raybon, Ridge Mitchell, Bentley Mitchell, and Mason Mitchell.

A very special thanks to Superior Hospice nurses, and a very special thanks to our amazing, loving, and awesome caretaker, precious Sandy McAnulty, who cared, still cares, and managed all caretaking, and our precious Tracy Montgomery, and Kimberly Leone and our precious, Jo Lea Procell.

Rose-Neath – The Name you’ve Trusted since 1932

Sabine Parish Sheriff Aaron Mitchell reports several residents in Sabine Parish have had their SNAP benefits compromised according to the Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS).

At this time, it appears the benefits of some local victims were used at grocery stores in the State of Texas.

Many Police Department has also received complaints of victim benefits being used in Texas.

Sabine Parish Sheriff Detectives are investigating these cases and obtaining evidence.

Sheriff Mitchell urges citizens who receive SNAP benefits to check your balance. If you notice benefits missing that you did not authorize, please report it to DCFS and your local law enforcement agency.

Please keep your SNAP benefit information confidential, and do not give your card number or PIN to anyone.

Many City Hall will be closed on Thursday and Friday this week for the Thanksgiving holiday.  

Help keep others in your community warm this winter by donating gently worn coats, jackets, and hoodies!  

Please ensure that all donations meet the following conditions:
 Clean
 No stains
 No holes/tears/rips
 No missing buttons/zippers
 Coats, Jackets, & Hoodies ONLY

Collections will be taken through Dec. 21. 

*Please call 318-315-0778 or via messenger for more information or to drop off donations, or drop them off at Trinity Baptist Church in Many.

*ALL items will go towards families in need around Sabine Parish*

It’s that time of year…..Santa called today! Letters will be received from Nov. 26 to Dec. 17. Letters to Santa can be dropped off at Santa’s Mailbox, located at Many City Hall. All letters will be sent to the North Pole.

One lucky child will receive a special gift from Santa, so be sure to include your name, address, and age in your letter.

Mark your calendars…..Town of Many will light up for Christmas at its Home for Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 6pm at City Hall, with a reception to follow at Community Bank of Louisiana. Bring a canned food item for our local food pantry.

NATCHITOCHES:

Alexander Ryan Nobles Jr.
July 29, 1949 – October 31, 2022
Service: Wednesday November 30 at 1 pm at Blanchard St. Denis funeral home in Natchitoches

Stephen Lane Stroud
October 26, 1959 – November 2, 2022
Service: Tuesday, November 29 at 10:30 am at Rosemary Beach Town Hall in Panama City Beach, FL

WINN:

Ronald Lee Preston
April 7, 1954 – November 18, 2022
Service: Friday, November 25 at 2 pm at Welcome Home Baptist Church

Judy Fay Conerly
February 24, 1945 – November 22, 2022
Service: Friday, November 25 at 2 pm at Warren Meadows Funeral Home Chapel

Rose King Downs
May 4, 1940 – November 21, 2022
Service: Wednesday, November 23 at 10 am at Warren Meadows Funeral Home Chapel

RED RIVER:

Joyce Council
August 18, 1941 – November 20, 2022
Service: Wednesday, November 23 at 11 am at Rockett-Nettles Funeral Home Chapel

Light Up for Christmas is being held on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 6:00pm at Many City Hall, with a reception to follow at Community Bank of Louisiana. Bring a canned food item for the local food pantry! Entertainment will be provided by MJHS cheerleaders.

By Steve Graf

Today I’m writing this article based on my personal experience as a tournament angler. Over the years, I’ve come across a lot of anglers who have always talked about how they should be fishing tournaments because they “ALWAYS” catch fish every time they go fishing. All I have to say to these anglers….”You’re a liar!” These same people will try and tell me how good they are as a bass fishermen and that if they fished in tournaments, they would probably be standing in the winner’s circle at the end of the day. To these same anglers, I say, “Put your money where your mouth is!”

I came across one such angler one day on Toledo Bend, who in his mind, was the best angler on the lake or maybe even the greatest angler of all time! During one of my practice sessions on the Bend, this guy came up to me at the boat ramp. While loading my boat he eased over to me and proceeded to talk about how many fish he caught that day and that he quit counting at 100. I’m not sure why, but for some reason, some anglers feel the need to exaggerate how they caught 100 fish in a day. In reality, they probably really caught about 30 to 35….not 100. If you think about how many casts you make in a day, to catch 100 basses in a day is about 1 bass every 4 casts. That would be an awesome day by anyone’s standards and a day all anglers dream about.

Now during my conversation with this angler at the ramp, he asked me if I was getting ready for a tournament. My answer was yes, and he said that he would probably win it if he decided to fish it. My response to him, with a sense of sarcasm of course, was that if he was on that many fish, he’d be crazy not to fish the tournament. And, that I might as well just give him my entry fee! This is what we call baiting someone!

Well, low and behold he showed up Saturday morning and put up his money (donated). I was a little surprised he showed up because most of these “great” anglers never show up. He actually pulled up beside my boat before takeoff that morning and began to tell me how many fish he had caught the last two days and put in the freezer. It was at this point; I knew he was in trouble. After a tough day of fishing, as the fish did not bite very well at all, I pulled up beside him at the dock and asked how he did. Let me go ahead and state the obvious; he was not a happy camper (angler) due to the expression on his face. I was the last guy he wanted to talk to since he had talked so much trash about how he “always” catches fish every time he goes fishing. He finally answered me by saying how he just couldn’t understand what had just happened. He’s never gone fishing in his life and not caught fish! He was very confused and had that bewildered look (so many anglers have had before) as to what just happened.

It was at this time with a smirk on my face and a wink, I said, “Welcome to tournament fishing!” It just proves that no matter how good an angler you are or think you are, there will be days that you just don’t figure them out. Oh, and with a slight chuckle, I reminded him that the fish he caught the last two days and put in the freezer won’t bite on tournament day after they’re frozen. That’s why tournament anglers practice catch and release. I never saw this guy at a tournament ever again! Guess you could say he got humbled; tournament fishing will do that to an angler. Till next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget your sunscreen. Take it from me, Melanoma does not discriminate!

Steve Graf
Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show &
Tackle Talk Live

Teaching can be an odd thing.

You spend more time with a child, or young adult than you do with your own family. Whether it be in class, sponsoring a club, coaching, going to sporting events, etc., sometimes those boys and girls, men and women, are with you more your own blood, your own kin, those you call family.

You form connections and can make an impact, both fair and foul, on their lives. And they too on yours.

And then they move on, and we all forget.

Oh sure, there are those students you remember, maybe a handful over the course of a career. And oh sure, there are some teachers we remember even as marriages and births and life’s ups and downs come our way. But by and large, we forget, the teacher and the student alike.

I remember a few teachers. Mrs. Sumrall from second grade. Mrs. Waits from seventh. Mr. Waits from math class. Mrs. Kirk from English class. Dr. Horton from college. Mr. Whitehead from college.

But others are hazy. A few faces are remembered. Maybe a few comments. But actual classes are gone. I took 12 hours of Spanish in college and remember almost nothing. Deadlines and commitments took up that space in my brain.

But there is one I remember. One lesson. One teacher.

I took an elective class my senior year of college taught by a guy named Jerry Pierce. It was literally me and one other student. Her name was Mary. I don’t remember her last name and have no idea where life took her after graduation. She came into my life for that class and left to go to her own world. Just one of those people who we meet and never see again.

But Mr. Pierce, I remember, and the reason why is because he taught me how to write. I mean really write. How to connect with a reader and how to evoke an emotional response.

He taught me the two main rules of writing. 1 – Communicate effectively and efficiently and 2 – make the reader care. We read and we wrote, and I got better. I learned the purpose of writing. The art of it. I learned how you can change things with a few well-crafted phrases and shine a light on the good and bad around us without ever saying a word.

Jerry Pierce set me down a path that I never would have gone down without him. He taught me so much, and I still use those two rules of writing today. I base everything I write around those two rules. I teach my students those rules and base all my writing instruction upon that foundation. Commas and structure are secondary. They come later. They come after the two main rules. 1 – say what you need to say and don’t beat around the bush and 2 – grab that reader and make them say “this is worth reading.”

He changed my life.

I haven’t thought of him for a long time. Not until I learned last week of his passing.

His obituary began, “Incomparable impact over 57 years at his beloved alma mater, Northwestern State University, and in his adopted hometown of Natchitoches, along with significant statewide influence in higher education and sports were hallmarks of Jerry Pierce, who died Tuesday in Natchitoches after a brief illness.” He was 83.

Mr. Pierce taught thousands of students over the years, and I highly doubt he remembered me. I was one of those students that he likely forgot with the passage of time. That doesn’t bother me at all.

He may have forgotten me like I have forgotten students like they have forgotten me. It’s part of life. We forget. We forget friends. We forget co-workers. We forget old loves.

But on occasion, there are people who make an impact on us.

Jerry Pierce was one of those people for me.

He was a good one. And he changed my life.

And I will remember him.

Josh Beavers is a teacher and a writer.

NATCHITOCHES:

Geraldine (Gerri) Foster
November 17, 1933 – November 11, 2022
Service: Friday, November 18 at 10 am at Blanchard – St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches

Alexander Ryan Nobles Jr.
July 29, 1949 – October 31, 2022
Service: Wednesday November 30 at 1 pm at Blanchard St. Denis funeral home in Natchitoches

Margo Haase
January 21, 1952 – October 23, 2022
Service: Saturday, November 19 at 11:30 am at St. Charles Borromeo Chapel in Bermuda

Stephen Lane Stroud
October 26, 1959 – November 2, 2022
Service: Tuesday, November 29 at 10:30 am at Rosemary Beach Town Hall in Panama City Beach, FL

Between Nov. 26 and Dec. 17, Many City Hall will accept letters in their “Letters to Santa” mailbox. Make sure to include your name, address, and age on the letter. One lucky child will receive a special gift from Santa. 

BY MATT VINES, Journal Sports 

Playoff time has finally arrived in Many. 

For a Tigers program that has played in the last three Class 2A state championship games, it’s part of the season that Many coach Jess Curtis and players have circled. 

“It’s playoff time, which means you better play your best or you go home,” Curtis said. “That’s all the motivation we need. We are excited about getting started.” 

But this playoff journey will have some new faces on the opposite sideline as the LHSAA condensed its nine-bracket playoff structure into eight brackets in which teams are equally distributed based on school enrollment. 

Case in point – No. 1 Many (9-0) will face No. 17 Richwood, a Class 3A member, in the second round of the Division III Non-Select bracket. 

Many was one of four teams to earn a first-round bye, while Richwood (7-4) slogged through the mud and rain this past Friday to knock off No. 16 Caldwell Parish in 12-8 fashion. 

But the Rams offense has proven they can light up the scoreboard by topping 34 points six times in the regular season. 

And it’s not a stretch to say that Richwood is not a typical second-round opponent Many faces at this stage – three of the four Rams’ losses have come by a combined five points, including a one-point loss to Class 5A West Ouachita, a one-point loss to 3A power Union Parish (No. 3 seed in this bracket) and a three-point loss to rival Carroll, the No. 5 seed in the Division II Non-Select bracket. 

Richwood’s one double-digit loss? A 14-point defeat at the hands of reigning Class 3A champion Sterlington, who also checks in at this bracket as the No. 14 seed and will face a championship rematch with Union Parish in the second round Friday. 

“Richwood is a very good football team,” Curtis said. “They are well coached by (Marcus Yanez), and they have been in some tough games and are going to come in with some confidence.” 

But it’s not like Many hasn’t beaten good football teams this season.  

The Tigers whipped Class 5A members Sam Houston and Haughton, the latter of which won their first-round playoff game against No. 6 seed Airline in the Division I Non-Select bracket. Many kept both teams out of the end zone. 

Many shut down No. 1 national quarterback Arch Manning in a 25-17 win against Isidore Newman, the No. 1 team on the Division III Select side. 

Add to that the domination of District 3-2A en route to their ninth straight district title, including a 42-14 victory against No. 6 Winnfield, and the Tigers will be prepared. 

Many has won its second-round playoff game in each of the last six seasons, all but one by at least 19 points. 

One bonus of the new playoff structure? Many doesn’t have to worry about a second-round road trip if the No. 17 seed wins,

which Richwood did. 

Another bonus – Many’s second bye week this season allowed the Tigers to get healthy. And the team has been laser-focused on a fast start, unlike coming off its first bye against Mansfield when the Wolverines scored a couple times early in what ended up being a 61-18 rout. 

“The bye week was good for us, and we got completely healthy and rested,” Curtis said. “We have stayed sharp in our focus and are getting better every week. We hope to pick up where we left off.” 

Where Many left off was three straight shutouts of Jonesboro-Hodge, Red River and Lakeview, winning by a combined 156-0, all with running clocks in the first half. 

CREDIT: Kevin Shannahan/Journal Sports

Veterans Day Friday reminded me of it, brought him and her and them to my mind and took me back to the late 1960s and being a little boy who knew something was going on but just didn’t know what.  

Because Aunt Daisy was unsure how long it took a letter to get to Southeast Asia, she mailed one just about every other day, an endless stream of news from Carolina, from home. 

And so, there were two things a 19-year-old Jimmy Bass, who’d always bought me milkshakes at the Dairy Maid, could count on in Vietnam: getting shot at by people he didn’t know, and getting letters from Aunt Daisy. She gave me carbon copies of most every one. 

Dear Jimmy, 

Why they decided you needed to be flying a helicopter I do not know, but your daddy tells me you’ve been doing good at it. That’s saying something as I know Newton Bass is hard to please. Before you were born, him and my Hank vowed they had to taste every bottle of whiskey in a store before they could decide which one they wanted to drink for the night. They thought for the longest time that me and your mother felt that was a good excuse. I never thought either of them would quit drinking, but they did, and if you don’t believe in miracles, you should after knowing that. Which is why I expect to see you walking up our driveway any day now. 

Of course I don’t know exactly where you are over there, and even if I did I couldn’t pronounce the name of the town. While you’re over there, why not talk the locals on our side into naming places that make sense, like Sunrise or Rock City or Dillon. If I lived over there I couldn’t tell anybody my address because I wouldn’t know how to say it. They’re either too short on consonants and long on vowels or the other way around. Fix that, Jimmy? It’ll give you something to do and me something to take credit for. 

Nothing much to report here. We’re still trying to get a preacher. We’ve had all the success of a boy mouse in a roomful of girl cats so far. Last week Farmer started talking in the middle of preaching, without meaning to. Him and the Scrap Iron Quartet sung a couple hymns, then about halfway through our substitute preacher’s talk, here Farmer went. I know it don’t surprise you to hear he was sleeping in church as that’s what he always does when he’s not singing. Don’t know what he does better, snore or sing. But by god he’s always there, ain’t he. So he’d plowed ’til church time as always, then about halfway through the sermon Farmer, deep in slumber and obviously dreaming, hollers out real loud like, “Whoa! Whoa!” None of us paid it much mind but it shook the visiting preacher up pretty good.  

Maggie is getting prettier every day. I think she’s in her room writing you a letter right now. We talk about you all the time and hope you get our letters every week. If you can keep from wrecking that plane they’re idiot enough to let you fly, I might let you drive the Falcon again when you get home. Just got the oil changed. 

Love, 

Aunt Daisy 

Even after his momma and Mr. Newt got word Jimmy was MIA, Aunt Daisy kept writing. In fact, she wrote more. She didn’t give up. Neither did Jimmy. So she was the least surprised person in town the day the knock came on her door, and standing there, milkshakes in both hands and a duffle bag on his shoulder, stood Jimmy, threadbare and scarred, but smiling. And home. 

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu