Bunkie City Council says farewell to Armand
Bunkie said thanks and farewell to longtime alderman Travis Armand and welcome aboard to the woman who will serve District 3 constituents until a special election is held to fill the seat for the remainder of
Armand's term.
Lynette Clarke was appointed acting alderman. A special election will be held March 20 to elect an interim councilman to serve the remainder of Armand's term. The regular election for the position will be in March
2022. The current term ends on June 30, 2022.
Armand resigned from the City Council after 20 years because he is trading houses with his elderly father. His father was still living in Armand's childhood home in Eola. Armand said his house in Bunkie is more appropriate for his father's needs.
A NEW ALDERWOMAN
Clarke is a Bunkie native who moved away with her family when she was a junior at Bunkie High. In a strange twist of fate, she met a former Bunkie High classmate in a supermarket in Houston. It turned out that she
and John Clarke were living in the same apartment complex.
They fell in love, married, and when it came time for both to retire they decided to come home to Bunkie.
"That was 17 years ago," Lynette Clarke said.
She has five children by a previous marriage and he has three, but they consider all eight to be theirs together. The Clarkes have 20 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Clarke did not seek the appointment, and didn't even think about serving on the council until she got a call from City Hall asking her if she would accept the appointment.
"I hate politics," Clarke said, "but I do care about my town."
She said she prayed about the decision before agreeing to serve.
"I told myself that if I am ever going to help, then I have to go when I am called," Clarke added.
She is looking forward to her first meeting as a council member, which will be Nov. 12.
Clarke does not have a "political agenda" of projects she would like to see completed or programs she wants implemented.
"I want to do whatever I can do to help make things better," she said. "I'm a peacemaker -- but I also have strong views that I will hold to."
Service to others is not a new thing for Clarke. She serves on the Avoyelles Commission of Tourism, the Bunkie Service League, the Mes Amies group and teaches Sunday School at First Baptist Church-Bunkie.
She said she has no intention of running for the seat in either the special election in March or the regular election in March 2022.
Clarke is content to be a "caretaker" alderwoman to continue the tradition of serving District 3 as her predecessor has done since 2000.
FAREWELL TO ARMAND
Mayor Bruce Coulon presented Armand with a plaque on behalf of the city to recognize his "twenty years of outstanding service and dedication to the citizens of Bunkie."
Craig Foster, a former Bunkie councilman now serving as an administrative assistant to state Rep. Daryl Deshotel, presented Armand with a commendation for his service on behalf of Deshotel and the Louisiana
House of Representatives.
Other tokens of appreciation and affection included a certificate of appreciation presented by Phyllis Morris on behalf of the Essence Social and Civic Club and a fountain pen from a group of District 2 constituents.
"Thank you all for making this evening exceedingly special and infinitely meaningful for my family and me," Armand said.
"This job has afforded me the opportunity to forge lasting bonds with people -- and those relationships will remain long after my time here has ended.
“My rump might reside in Eola," Armand said, "but my heart will always be here in Bunkie."
OTHER ACTION
In other action at its Oct. 8 meeting, the council:
-- Appointed Dorothy Stewart to the Bunkie Housing Authority to replace the late Larry Pete Riche. She will serve on the authority until April 2022.
-- Voted to advertise for engineering services for Bunkie Municipal Airport. The engineering contract will be for five years.
-- Adopted a resolution requesting funds from the DOTD Aviation Division for improvements to the airport under the facility's master plan.