Again we saw really poor voter turnout for tax renewals and Sulphur municipal elections. Dependin’ on de district, de average wuz about 25 percent uf de registered voters. Now notice we sed REGISTERED voters. It makes me fasheyed (angry) when I hear people of votin’ age tell me day aren’t registered.
De udder mornin at KD’s a buncha uf us old men wuz discussin’ de reasons why folks ain’t votin’ like day used to. Some sed dar wuz too many elections an’ we have to agree wit’ dat. Seems dat every time we turn around, dar iz anudder election for folks to vote on.
Udders sed dat day wuz turned off by all dem negative ads whare folks or dar PAC groups attack de udder side. One can only tink uf de one on TV right now where de lady sez she don’t like political commercials an’ den starts bashin’ Mary Landrieu.
Durin’ dat meetin’ at KD’s, Shorty stopped by de table and axed what de topic wuz, an’ when we tolt him, he sed he didn’t vote cause hiz vote didn’t make any difference. Well me, I jumped on dat one. Dar wuz two examples in de recent Sulphur Ciy Council races dat show how every vote counts. I told him to tell dat to Drew Ellender an’ Randy Hebert; Drew won by only two votes. Or tell dat to Lelan Laborde, who ran for city council an’ missed makin’ de runoff by two votes.
Parishwide, even in de big elections whare we vote for governor on down to dog catcher, de voter turnout iz only 40 percent uf de registered voters. Clerk uf Court Lynn Jones does a great job uf tryin’ to get de vote, an’ he keeps scratchin’ hiz head wonderin’ what to do.
One uf dem fellers at de KD’s roundtable sed day should let folks vote online. Ross Perot proposed dat when he ran for president 25 years ago. Can you imagine de fraud you’d have if dat happened? It would be worse dan Leesville an’ New Awlins put togedder.
But shame on Calcasieu Parish for not turnin’ out to vote in dis las’ election. Sulphur … you have a chance to do better wit’ de runoff for mayor an’ de city council race comin’ up.
School Boad Races Could Be Heated
Long time ago, de terms uf school boad members wuz staggered. Dat kept dem from havin’ a whole new boad at any one time.
Dis fall, voters in Calcasieu parish will vote for dar school boad member to continue or to put a new one in dar place. We understand dat az many az 9 uf de 15 current school boad members won’t run in de fall.
De current boad members have been faced wit’ many headaches: everyting from charter schools to de “Jindal Jangles” out uf Baton Rouge have been a real challenge for our boad members, many what work or have bidnesses. We’ll keep you posted on what will happen in your district.
In de meantime we urge you to find out what your school boad member will do, an’ if day decide not to run, make shore you gonna have a qualified person to replace him or her. We can’t begin to tell you how important dis iz for our future. A good school boad member will make shore de schools in dar district will have all day need to produce smart kids. An’ smart kids grow up to be smart adults an’ smart adults get good jobs dat pay good. It’s az simple az dat.
Mo Bigtime Events Mean Mo Dollars
We’ve tolt you recently about a large number uf folks dat will be gadderin’ in SWLA for de LHSAA Fast Pitch State High School Championships an’ de State High School Baseball Championships dat will be taking place in Sulphur.
Now we learn uf a huge — an’ we mean huge — youth basketball tournament comin’ to town. It wuz recently announced dat de Baseline Stars Lake Charles Classic will take place here May 9-11. Teams of boys and girls 10-17 from trewout de south will compete in dis AAU-sanctioned event.
Now folks, we’re talkin’ about 70 teams dat will invade our area to compete in various age groups. Many teams will be tryin’ to qualify for de AAU nationals what will be helt later dis summer.
Dis iz huge for de area. Again, all tree events will bring folks to our area; day will stay in hotels, eat in our restaurants an’ buy gaz for dar vehicles. When you see dem teams in our area, be shore to welcome dem to Southwest Louisiana. Dis iz a pollution-free industry dat’s bringin’ millions uf tax dollars to our area.
Judges Races Shapin’ Up
Me an’ my wife Sedonia went to a charity event de udder night an’ you’d a taught we wuz at a judges convention. In de crowd wuz Jamie Yelverton an’ Judge Kent Savoie, who are runnin’ for de 3rd Circuit Court uf Appeal. Also shakin’ hands wuz Mitch Redd, who’s runnin’ for Savoie’s seat. Family court judge Guy Bradberry wuz also in de crowd.
All de district judges iz gonna be runnin’ dis fall, along wit’ de D.A. Rob McCorquodale, who’s runnin’ for Ward 3 City judge, wuz also busy shakin’ hands. He’d a probably kissed a few babies had there been any dar. Me, I wanted to kiss a few uf de babes dat wuz in attendance, but Sedonia doesn’t go for dat. Anyways, it wuz nice visitin’ wit’ all dem judges an’ judges candidates.
Ronald McDonald Isn’t Too Old
If you’ve seen de Taco Bell commercial whare day show all de men from trewout de country, you’ve seen a Ronald McDonald from Plaucheville in Avoyelles Parish. McDonald is justice uf de peace in dat small central Louisiana town.
Recently he wuz at de Legislature along wit udder justices uf de peace az well az constables an’ judges tryin’ to change de age retirement law. State law now sez if day are 70, day can’t run. Dat’s why Judge Tom Quirk ain’t runnin’ again.
Now we agree wit’ McDonald dat it’s time to do away wit’ dat law or at least back it up to 75 or so. If 60 iz de new 50, den 70 should be de new 60. Dis silly law forces some really fine judges an’ justices uf de peace an’ constables to end dar service long befo day have to.
Superintendent Will Get Politics Outta Education … Not!
Tip O’Neill once sed dat all politics iz local, an’ dat iz certainly de case wit’ our Louisiana Legislature dat relies bigtime on de folks back home who iz elected officials, an’ dat includes police jury and school boad members.
Now de legislators hear complaints all de time from dar school officials about de Superintendent John White. White can be a little difficult to deal wit’ at times, but one can never question hiz intention iz to make Louisiana kids smarter, an’ in de long run, richer, which iz what our state really needs.
But legislators and school boad members an’ many teachers don’t want to hear none uf dat. Dar perfectly happy complainin’ about Common Core, teacher pay an’ whatever appears to be popular at de time.
Now, here come some de legislators who want to make de office uf superintendent uf education an elected position. We had dat before an’ it didn’t work out very well. What you had wuz a superintendent who did exactly what de school boad an’ teachers unions told him to do because, after all, day had elected him.
We don’t need to go back to dat system. Yes, dars politics in de appointment by de governor, but I can assure you you’d have a whole lot mo politics in education in de great state uf Louisiana wit’ an elected superintendent.
Deep Taughts While Eatin’ My Third Tray Uf Boiled Crawfish
10) Iz de Astros mathematically eliminated yet?
9) Can Barbe win anudder state baseball championship dis year?
8) Why does my doctor keep tellin’ me I’m not doin’ what he wants me to?
7) Wuz it T Claude or Bubba who stole my crawfish nets?
6) Why does Mary keep attackin’ de “Jindal Gap”?
5) Why don’t we have Louisiana strawberries at dem big box grocery stores in SWLA?
4) Can Snookie really count cards at dem casinos like he sez he can?
3) When are day gonna fix all dem pot holes on my street?
2) Who ordered all dem mosquitos and flies?
1) If day want Congressman McAllister to resign, why not “Diaper Dave” too?
Final Shot
Lefty wuz quick to visit wit’ new gamin’ control boad member Dennis Stine to ax him for a job az a pitt boss. Dennis told him he wuz mo like dealer material. Lefty stormed outta Denis’ office an’ swore he wouldn’t vote for him when he ran for reelection to de Gaming Control Board. Sometimes Lefty, him, he lacks a little knowledge about who’s elected an who’s appointed. Besides, like many uf my franz, he would never pass de State Police background check.
‘Til next time, lache pas la patate.
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