Editorial

The following letter has appeared on the internet and was viewed by many readers. Many felt it would be appropriate for the readers of Avoyelles Parish.

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a Methamphetamine lab had been found in a old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, "Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?"

I replied, I had a drug problem when I was young:

I was drug to church on Sunday morning.
I was drug to church for weddings and funerals.

It was supposed to be a slam dunk senate seat for the Democrats. Obama had carried this bluest of blue states by 26 points just a year ago. And the Democrats had led this seat for the past 57 years. But the democratic candidate lost, and now the political world in Washington seems to be in a major upheaval. Could a Louisiana lady, who thought seriously of running, have been able to pull off a victory for the Democrats? Many think she could.

NEW ORLEANS MAYOR’S RACE

MIGHT DECIDE NEXT LOUISIANA GOVERNOR!

By Jim Brown

In less than a month, the election for the next mayor of New Orleans will be held. Current Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu is far and away the front runner, and some are predicting he might win in the first primary. Being the Queen City of the South, there is huge interest in the outcome. But even more so in this election. A Landrieu victory may be the key to picking the next Louisiana Governor.

A letter of interest written by John P. Gagnard was sent to the Alexandria Town Talk, and published Sunday. Gagnard is a Marksville native, son of the late Ralph and Mildred Gueringer Gagnard, and a graduate of the 1968 class of Marksville High School. He has spent much of his adult career with the Louisiana highway department in Rapides Parish as an excutive engineer.

Gagnard's letter:

I have been reading with mixed emotions about the current panel to "streamline" state government.

WHY ALL THE INTEREST IN EDWIN EDWARDS?

By Jim Brown

The new authorized biography of former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards went on sale this week. In three days, the first run of 10,000 books was completely sold out. And there are pre orders for 10,000 more. People in the Louisiana book trade say they have never seen anything like the demand to buy the Edwards book. He is 82 and in the federal penitentiary. So why all the interest?

Remember ole’ Calypso Joe doing the limbo and singing in that deep voice…”How low can you go?” Few would be surprised if they learned he was singing about that state of insurance affairs in Louisiana. To many observers, 2009 cannot end quickly enough. Each month of the year has produced more bad news for Louisiana property owners. Rates have continued to rise and the Insurance Department has been mirrored in one law suit after another. But November has proven to be the cruelest month.