10 reasons to be thankful you live in Avoyelles

As Avoyelles prepares to observe Thanksgiving, your community newspaper looks at 10 things for which this parish can be thankful. The items are not listed in any particular order.

(1) PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE

One thing is the overall culture -- often described as joie d’vivre. The French phrase is used to describe a person that “enjoys life.”

That can be in conversation with friends, eating good food or any other activity that expresses a joyful spirit of life.

In a way, several of the other “Top 10” are linked to that philosophy of life, but are important enough to merit separate mention.

Cottonport Bank Mansura Branch Manager Blake Tassin (left) and bank courier Ryan Firmin manned the BBQ pits to prepare burgers for 1st Responders at the Mansura branch and at other bank branches in the “Burgers for Badges” event on Sept. 20.

(2) FOOD
When you think of Avoyelles Parish, one of the first -- if not the very first -- thing that comes to mind is food.

There’s traditional French dishes like crawfish, cochon de lait, gumbo, etoufee, jambalaya and anything sweet potato-related. That is mixed with home-cooked Southern favorites like fried chicken, BBQ, chili and all manner of ways to prepare an Irish spud.

The food is so good and so plentiful, visitors may gain 10 pounds just by driving through.

If the parish is not the envy of every other parish in the state and county in the nation, it’s only because they haven’t come by to see what they’re missing.

(3) FESTIVALS

Avoyelles likes to share its joie d’vivre and its love of food in its many community festivals and smaller local events. It seems the parish adds at least one new festival a year. The latest addition is October Fete -- a slightly French twist on the German Oktoberfest -- sponsored by Cottonport Bank.

We won’t attempt to name all of the festivals and annual events. We would probably leave someone out, and we wouldn’t want to do that.

All of the organizations, communities, businesses, churches, schools and individuals who work to keep these traditional get-togethers coming back year after year are to be commended. They probably are not told nearly enough how much their efforts are appreciated.

Allen Kimble fishing from the Atchafalaya River in 2005.

(4) OUTDOORS

The first rule of success is to build on your strengths.

What does Avoyelles have a lot of? Sunshine, woods and waterways.

This means we have a lot of fish and game and good weather to take advantage of that bounty.

The parish has been drawing out-of-parish and out-of-state hunters and fishermen for many years.

In fact, the abundance of fur-bearing animals -- combined with its fertile agricultural soil (see more later) -- was one reason the French decided this was a good place to settle.

The parish would be in a very good position if beaver fur ever came back into fashion.

Despite the problems posed by those pesky rodents and the equally bothersome wild hogs, Avoyelles is home to large bucks, large bass, catfish, bream, squirrels, ducks, doves, alligators, bullfrogs, crawfish and many other species of mammal, reptile, amphibian and fish.

Avoyelles residents may take these natural treasures for granted, but a growing number of “eco-tourists” are discovering and enjoying the parish’s great outdoors.

The wildlife and scenery not only attract those who wish to hunt and fish. It also brings in the nature lovers, the bird watchers and those who like to look at the many varieties of plants this parish grows.

Whether you want to shoot the wildlife with a gun or with a camera, Avoyelles is the place to “improve your aim.”

(5) AGRICULTURE

And speaking of growing plants, a list of things to be thankful for would not be complete without noting the blessing bestowed on us in the fertile fields.

Whether its growing tall trees for lumber and paper mills or field crops, Avoyelles has one of the most diverse selection of agricultural products in the state.

Cash crops include soybeans, corn, sugar cane, rice, crawfish, milo, cotton and sweet potatoes.

Small home-based producers sell pecans, satsumas, many vegetables, blueberries and honey, to name just a few.

It is just a slight exaggeration to say that if you stick a wooden pencil in the ground in Avoyelles Parish, it will sprout leaves.

(6) HISTORY

There are places in this nation with more historical sites, where major events unfolded that shaped this nation’s destiny or where famous men and women once called home.

Louisiana can hold its own in the history game, and so can Avoyelles Parish.

We can start by noting that an early Native American community was established here. The site of this tribe’s burial and/or ceremonial mounds is so archaeologically significant that it was named the Marksville Culture.

These first Avoyelleans lived here about 2,000 years ago.

The Marksville State Historic Site is semi-closed. It is sometimes called the Prehistoric Indian Park or the Marksville Mounds Park.

It was once a major tourist attraction with its museum and other features.

Perhaps the site could become a bustling attraction once again.

The Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe (see more later) has expressed an interest in taking over operation and maintenance responsibility for the park. That could involve building a new entrance road, off La. Hwy 1, to replace the more circuitous route to reach the entrance on Martin Luther King Drive.

While we don’t have large Antebellum plantation manors like Scarlett O’Hara’s “Tara,” we do have many structures that have been named to the National Register of Historic Places.

We won’t list them here.

The parish also has a mostly undeveloped State Historic Site -- the Civil War-era Fort DeRussy, located near Red River.

In 1864, the fort was on Red River. Cuts have separated it from the waterway it once guarded.

There are a few markers, including a monument where the fort’s designer, Lewis DeRussy, is buried.

Tour groups still call Friends of DeRussy President Stephen Mayeux for information and to schedule tours of the site.

That interest in a place that is basically a “what you see is what you get” tourist attraction lends hope that with a little effort, attention, creativity and money, Fort DeRussy could find its way onto the list of “places to see in Avoyelles Parish.”

There are several local efforts underway to develop historic/cultural districts that will highlight those areas’ important historic achievements and locations.

(7) TUNICA-BILOXI

In the early 1990s, Avoyelles Parish had a double-digit unemployment rate. Population was falling. There seemed to be no hope for things to change.

Then the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe -- which had received federal recognition several years earlier -- opened a tribe-owned casino. It was the first land-based casino in Louisiana.

Now, 25 years later, Paragon Casino Resort regularly receives casino-industry awards for its hotel, convention facilities, dining options and overall appearance.

It is known nationwide as the casino “with alligators in the lobby,” a reference to the Louisiana bayou scene in the hotel lobby and atrium.

It was once, literally, almost the only game in town and was able to provide local governments with ample funds under its state gaming compact.

With increased competition within the state and in nearby Mississippi and other states, profits fell. Income has recently been on the rise and the tribe is optimistic for the casino’s long-range success.

The tribe is also looking at ways to kick-start economic development in the parish that is not gaming-related.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe’s commitment to the overall community -- not just the small tribal community -- makes it a perfect example of a “good neighbor.”

The Paragon casino and hotel complex is one of the most strikingly beautiful structures in the parish -- and possibly in the state.

Even if you never go to the casino, or if you are philosophically opposed to gambling, the tribe’s efforts on behalf of the local economy is worthy of appreciation and the beauty of this property is something the parish can be proud of.

(8) IMPROVING SCHOOLS

Rural communities with limited financial resources are often found low on a ranking of successful public school systems.

Avoyelles Parish is no different.

For many years, the parish found itself in the bottom 10 districts.

After being ranked at 65 out of 70 districts five years ago, and having dropped from a “C” to a “D” in its overall School Performance Score, the Avoyelles Parish School District mounted an improvement effort that has now put the district at No. 45 -- a 20-place jump.

The 10-school district is also close to improving from a “C” to a “B.” It has shown the most improvement of all districts over the past four years.

This improvement occurred despite Avoyelles receiving one of the lowest appropriations from the state’s Minimum Foundation Program and having a teacher salary schedule at or near the bottom of the 70 public school districts.

The parish also has four parochial schools and two independent public charter schools.

Avoyelles Public Charter School, which has been open for 20 years, is rated one of the best schools in the state. It is also nationally recognized.

Red River Charter Academy opened this year with grades 6-8, so there is no state assessment scores to determine its academic success.

There will be a lot of eyes on those scores next year -- some, who opposed a new charter, hoping the scores fall at or below the APSD scores and some, who believe independent charters are the wave of the future, who hope superior scores will bolster their calls for more charter schools.

There is room for improvement in the local public schools, but their efforts over the past four years is certainly something all Avoyelleans -- even those associated with the parochial and charter schools -- can be proud of and appreciate.

(9) HEALTH CARE

Doctors, dentists, veterinarians, etc. are people most of us don’t want to see very often. When we do, there’s usually an unpleasant reason.

Still, when we need them it is good to know they are there.

In the past few years, there has been more and more improvements to local health care options.

Both hospitals have completed major remodeling/expansion projects. There are two psychiatric facilities focused on senior citizens’ care. There is an urgent care in the parish that provides after hours treatment when the several rural health clinics have closed for the day.

In addition to improvements we have already witnessed, there are plans to expand health care services in the near future.

Residents in rural, small population parishes often find themselves forced to travel an hour or more for basic medical or dental attention.

This parish is fortunate that is not the case here. Our doctors, dentists, vets, optometrists, etc. could no doubt make more money elsewhere.

We are lucky that these dedicated professionals have decided that instead of making money, they would rather make a difference.

(10) LOW TAXES

This one could be considered a “double-edged sword.”

On one side, everybody loves low taxes. It gives us more money to spend to buy things, which in turn means the merchants are more profitable so they can hire more people to serve their customers’ demands. This grows the economy.

On the other, taxes are needed to fund public services provided by the local governments. It can become a case of “You get what you pay for,” when local governments don’t have money to pay to improve or maintain infrastructure like roads, bridges and drainage, or they have to reduce the number of employees in their public service departments.

Avoyelles Parish has been recognized nationally by an online “places rated” site for having one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation. That rating even takes into consideration our above-average sales tax rate.

Property taxes are among the lowest anywhere. Homestead Exemption means the taxes on many homeowners’ property is significantly lower. Some properties fall below the Homestead Exemption threshold, so they pay no property taxes.

The parish’s low property tax rate gives citizens two reasons to be thankful.

First, low taxes. D-uuuuuh.

Second, it gives them room to approve future property taxes without creating an unbearable burden.

If new schools are needed or a comprehensive road-bridge-drainage improvement campaign were proposed, there could be a property tax that would not empty the property owners’ wallet.

If the parish had a high property tax rate, there would be no room to address emergency needs or progressive plans.

CONCLUSION

So these are 10 reasons for the parish, as a whole, to be thankful this Thanksgiving. There are probably many others -- possibly even better reasons -- we didn’t mention.

Perhaps that would be a good family game to play after the feasting is over.

“Why are you thankful to live in Avoyelles?”