Columns & Opinions

Caddo Parish Coroner Dr. Todd Toma recently reported that since the first death from Covid on March 24, deaths peaked at 111 in April. January of thi year was also a particularly deadly month with 83 deaths. Of the almost 600 deaths that have occurred over the past year, the overwhelming majority of them were older, and many of them had core morbidity issues, such as diabetes, obesity, asthma and other ailments. There have been 327 black citizens who have died and 245 whites who have died in Caddo Parish, which is a statistic that has been closely watched around the country.

“Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink” is a famous quote from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by the 19th Century English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It could just as easily have been applied to Bossier City and Benton during the recent ice storm. Arguably, the Benton area residents suffered the worst. Thousands of residents were completely without water for days, or, at best, had exceedingly low pressure. Did it have to be that way for Benton, though?

Kurt and I spent hours together as children. We tromped through the rural outdoors at the edge of our small town. We hung out at home.

The recent winter freeze was hopefully a one-time occurrence.

Here we are, you and I, involved with life: What is it? What am I doing here? Those are certainly important questions, and in fact, some of what I refer to as “the Big Questions.” They are really basic questions, and especially important as to how we go about engaging this thing called life. Many people think life is something that happens “to us,” but suppose that life happens “for us”?

Right here in our own backyard, many witnessed the hearts and minds of those who cared. Those who cared when there was a crisis in our area during the recent ice and snowstorm. It was refreshing and reassuring to see the goodness of people. Neighbors helping neighbors, good people coming forth to help others.

There is expressed interest by the parish administration to regulate land use.

That is a recent question from a reader, and honestly, the question should be, what is right with Shreveport? That question might be a little harder to answer right now, but the question of what is wrong with Shreveport cries out for an answer from the people who have been elected to lead the city, the mayor and the seven elected city council members. It is their responses that matter. There needs to be a meeting of the minds to determine where they want to take and how they want to do it together. That is called leadership and vision.