$750 REWARD OFFERED
WANTED: Timothy Dustin Meshell. A $750 cash reward is offered for information leading to his arrest.
The wanted man may be driving or may have recently driven one of the trucks shown here.
Timothy Dustin Meshell, age 40, is wanted. A $750 reward will be given for information that leads to his arrest.
Meshell has outstanding arrest warrants for
FTA for status hearing for fines and court cost/restitution for Theft $5,000 - $25,000;
FTA for status hearing for fines and court cost/restitution for Theft over $25,000, Theft of firearm; and
State probation/parole violation.
Meshell is also suspected of recent felony burglaries and thefts in Natchitoches Parish.
He is currently on probation for three years for the above charges he was convicted of last year.
If anyone has any information, they are urged to please call the Sabine Sheriff's Office at (318) 256-9241 or to submit a tip through the free Sabine Parish Sheriff App.
(Special thanks to Det. D. W. Seegers for the above information.)
Our new book, “The Stranger Who Called Himself God,” has gone worldwide. Sabine Parish’s Bradley Marr took a copy with him on a recent trip to South Africa. In the background, giraffes nibble on some tree buds.
This interesting shot shows a lion resting.
Bradley took this photo of a massive elephant.
Bradley Marr, at left, is shown with his guide Adam Davies on the patio of the lodge where Bradley stayed. The beautiful Oilfants River can be seen in the background. Adam is 21 years old and started guiding when he was 17. Adam is also a professional hunter; the work he does requires a lot of training.
This beautiful bird is the Lilac-breasted Roller.
It seems these two giraffes were specifically posing for Bradley Marr’s camera.
It was an historic day when Bradley Marr’s flight from South Africa landed at the Newark, NJ airport across from New York City. It was the anniversary of 9/11. He snapped this picture looking toward the New York City skyline.
Investigator Bradley Marr of the Sabine Parish District Attorney’s Office just got back from what he thought would be a “once in a lifetime trip,” and he’s already wanting to go back. He recently took a “Photo Safari” to South Africa.
He flew from Dallas to Newark, NJ on Sept. 2, and from there to Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. After landing, he drove about five and a half hours to a lodge near Hoedspruit in the Limpopo Province. A river by the same name as the town flows through the property.
The tour was arranged by Wayne Wagner Safaris with host Tao Wagner and guide Adam Davies. The firm does hunting, photo and nature Safaris. Bradley was fortunate in that he was the only one staying at the lodge and said the food was fabulous.
At least 22 species of mammals, crocodiles and countless species of birds make their home in the area. Bradley took daily game drives, including two days in Kruger National Park, which is roughly the size of New Jersey. Kruger is one of the largest National Parks in the world, spanning twice the size of Yellowstone.
Another highlight of the trip was the Blyde River Canyon, one of the largest canyons in the world. “It was absolutely stunning,” he remarked. The visitor took a boat tour through the canyon which featured beautiful waterfalls.
Bradley said he has been dreaming about a trip to South Africa since he was a young lad and read Ernest Hemingway’s book, “Green Hills of Africa.”
He said he woke up in awe every morning because of what he anticipated seeing during the day and went to bed in awe ever night because of what he had seen.
Bradley started planning for a 2025 trip in January of this year. An opening became available in September, and he took it. The area was coming out of winter into spring and the weather was pleasant. The trees had not yet leafed out, so it was easy to see the animals and birds.
The flight back home was Sept. 11, and he flew from Johannesburg into Newark on that historic day. He was able to see the New York City skyline from Newark. From there he flew to Dallas, and then traveled back to Sabineland.
I think it's a young Bigfoot...
My wife Laurie and I were among about 2,000 who recently attended the Bigfoot Festival in Natchitoches. It was a very interesting event with several good vendors, fascinating displays and a slate of speakers to enjoy. I never thought I would see a decent picture of Bigfoot in this area, but as luck would have it, I captured a photo of my very own at my old home place near Marthaville on Friday, Sept. 13, at 8:11 a.m. True to form, the creature did not remain still long enough to get a good, clear picture.
There was a gentleman who was a featured speaker at the Natchitoches Bigfoot Festival from Fouke, AR who has studied “The Fouke Monster” for more than 40 years. He said few good pictures of Bigfoot exist because Bigfoot does not want to be photographed. He had a large assortment of pictures he had taken, but had to use a laser pointer to explain the hard-to-distinguish details, like the eyes, its height, the position of its head, hands, etc. In addition, he said he has discovered that Bigfoot likes to eat Snickers candy bars, and he recounted great success in luring various Sasquatches into camera range with Snickers bars. In fact, he said he used to unwrap the Snickers and strow them around on the ground, but now he has found Bigfoot is perfectly capable of unwrapping the candy, so that makes tracking Bigfoot even easier - he just follows the Snickers wrappers.
Now with these interesting facts, here is what I see in the photo my concealed camera captured. (If I had a laser pointer, I could make the photo's details obvious.) I take this specimen to be a juvenile Bigfoot, probably about four feet tall. It is mostly light brown, having a juvenile coat not yet totally darkened to the deep brown fur of an adult. Its two skinny legs are visible leading up to its butt which is lighter in color. You can see one extremely long arm on the right side of the picture and the upper part of the other on the left. The light place at the top of the picture I take to be Bigfoot’s head. I am under the impression Bigfoot can change color with its head and butt, if needed. And by the way, I found a small Snickers candy bar on the ground that had been stepped on.
Signs Along Life’s Highway
Thanks to longtime friend Ken Simmons of Shreveport for providing this very interesting photo for Signs Along Life’s Highways. Ken is a native of Converse and practiced law in Many before moving to Shreveport.
In Rapides Parish, BOM made a donation to the Friends of the NRA for their Future of Freedom event. Proceeds from the event benefitted the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office and the 4-H Club. Pictured left to right are BOM’s Mark Leger and Randy Bowing.
In Sabine Parish, BOM’s Cole Ryder, left, and Lance Rivers, right, delivered back to school goodies to Cynthia Johnson, center, at Florien High School.
It's time for the Sabine Parish Fair and Rodeo!
The Sabine Parish Fair and Rodeo returns the last week of September at the Sabine Parish Fairgrounds in Many.
This year, the Rodeo events kick off at the Benton Johnson Rodeo Arena on Monday,
Sept. 23 with the Open and Youth 5D Barrell Race at 6 p.m. Rodeo events continue on Thursday, Sept. 26 with the Hometown Youth Rodeo at 7 p.m., then the 7th Annual Benton Johnson Memorial Rodeo on Friday and Saturday nights, Sept. 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. nightly.
Carnival rides open Wednesday, Sept. 25 from 6 -10 p.m., and gate admission will be free. A small fee for gate admission will be charged the following days. Carnival rides
open again on Thursday at 6 p.m. and will be open on Friday all day. Carnival armbands can be purchased nightly as well as Friday morning for $25, along with $1 tickets to ride. Additional entertainment will be provided nightly by DNA-Audio DJ Live.
Friday is 4H and FFA day and begins with a Rabbit Show, followed by the Dog and Pet Show, Song and Yell Competition Talent Show, and the Poultry Show.
The annual Sabine Fair and Rodeo Parade will be held Saturday, Sept. 28, in downtown Many at 1 p.m. and will progress to the fairgrounds. After the parade will be the Cattle Show, the Sheep, Pigs and Goats Show, and then carnival rides from 6 - 10 p.m.
All are invited to come enjoy the food, fun and rodeo action! For a full schedule of events and to learn more, visit ToledoBendLakeCountry.com/SabineFairandRodeo.
(A big thank you to Kelsi Horn, Marketing Director at the Sabine Parish Tourist Commission, for the above report.)
Well, Bo Stewart has gone Rock 'n Roll. Known for his fine delivery of Country and Bluegrass music, Bo, along with Willie Stewart and Friends, will present a Rock 'n Roll Show on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Many Community Center [Sabine Theater] at 7 p.m.
Town Council Member Mary Brocato, who put the show together, posted earlier this week: “Willie told me they are practicing again tonight. He said they are all so excited to do this show. According to him, they are going to ‘rock the theater and the streets of Many’ with their Rock n Roll Show!”
Admission is free, but any donations will be put toward Sabine Program - At Risk Kids (SPARK) School's Positive Behavior Program.
Fireman Christopher Martinez of Zwolle
Fire Engineer Christopher Martinez of Zwolle has been recognized for going above and beyond the call of duty with the Shreveport Fire Department.
On Aug. 19, he and two other employees assisted an elderly female who was stranded. What began as a routine call for assistance turned into a display of compassion, patience and dedication.
The woman was traveling through Shreveport with her dog on her way to Pineville. She had no money for a room or gas for the night. The three found her a place to stay and even paid for it.
What a wonderful thing for those three gentlemen to do. We need more kindness and compassion in today’s world.
Newly-licensed preacher Mr. Kevin Shirley
I want to extend congratulations and best wishes to my nephew, Kevin Shirley, who was licensed to preach this past Sunday morning, Sept. 15, at Magnolia Baptist Church near Winnsboro. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Shirley.
Brother Ron Ferrington and Bro. Eddie Rhymes officiated. Special music was provided by Kristie Emfinger and Bruce Erwin.
Kevin’s grandfather was the Rev. Clifford Shirley, better known as “Red,” who at one time was pastor of the Robeline Baptist Church. Kevin is a very special young man, and we know he will be doing the Lord’s work for years to come. Best wishes, Kevin!
“If you don’t like the message, kill the messenger!”
I have been in the field of journalism, or news dissemination, for longer than I care to remember. Those of us who are old journalists have long had a saying that described what we sometimes found in human nature: "If you don’t like the message, kill the messenger!”
Of course, that means those of us who wrote about public events that some folks did not want written about sometimes got rough treatment. It has always gone with the territory, so you learn to live with it.
That old saying is metaphoric and used to describe the act of someone blaming the bearer of bad news, despite the bearer or messenger having no direct responsibility for the bad news or its consequences. In our case, at times when the message was entirely true but was something a person did not want printed or something they disagreed with, anger was taken out on the writer.
To kill the messenger who delivers the message is not new. It started ages ago. The modern version is when someone blames the messenger for presenting bad news about a favored cause, person, organization, government function, etc. It may be a time-honored emotional response to unwanted news, but it is not a very effective method of remaining well-informed. The emotions felt, and sometimes actions perpetrated, against the messenger normally have nothing to do with the truthfulness of the message. In fact, someone's perception of whether news is "bad" or "good" often depends almost entirely on that person's viewpoint, beliefs, and sometimes whether or not the news subject is a friend or relative.
A long time ago a person from Zwolle was being sued for writing a hot check. He came to me and asked that I not print the news in the Sabine Index, of which I was editor and publisher at the time. I explained to him that we printed all the suits that were filed, that we didn’t pick and choose. I told him, “If it is me who is named in a suit, it will be printed.”
After the paper came out that week, Max Teasley and I were at McNeely Coffee Shop one morning and when we came out, the gentleman from Zwolle was waiting for me. It was cold wintertime and I had a heavy jacket on.
The man had some classic words for me and then ended by saying, “I’m gonna whip your ass right here.” He started pounding his fist into his other hand, working himself up, and getting closer and closer to my face while repeating he was going to whip me. Since it was cold, my hands were in my pockets and I kept them there. After he threatened me for about the tenth time that he was going to whip me, I told him, “Go ahead.” My hands remained in my pockets and quite surprisingly, he replied, “No, I’m not, because if I do, you’ll just print it in the Index next week!” I responded, “You are absolutely right.” And he walked off.
Since I never removed my hands from my pockets, he may have thought I had a weapon. Who knows? I did not have one. It was just a mighty cold day in Many, and I was ready for him to put up or shut up.
Another instance that comes to mind is a certain law enforcement officer who would often come to me asking I not use the name of a person in the paper that he had arrested. I would again explain that we printed all the names of people who were arrested without leaving anyone's name out of the newspaper. Finally, one day I told the officer, “If you don’t want their name in the paper, don’t arrest them!” He never asked again.
One of the matters people have often asked not to be printed was anything dealing with government. But hardworking people fund the government, and they deserve to know what goes on by public officials and in the meetings of governmental bodies. My position toward those holding elected office always was, “If you don’t want it known, don’t do it.”
In the old days, journalism was the unofficial fourth branch of government. Serving as a watchdog of public officials was sure to keep one side or the other (and all their friends and relatives) mad, but historically it served a great purpose for the public at large, our communities, states and nation.
Our work at the Index led to public officials being charged with doing wrong, investigations by the State Attorney General, matters being called before the Grand Jury, people being sent to prison for wrongdoing and other such actions.
In fact, people used to offer me money to leave something out of the paper. I never took a penny.
I’ve been cussed and discussed, both in person and over the phone. In the last decade or two, a lot of it has moved to the internet. But it’s the same ol’ song and dance. Most of the past’s loud voices and today’s keyboard warriors don’t even bear remembering, much less discussing.
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