One might say congratulations are in order after a ribbon cutting ceremony last week officially opened a spanking new kayak launch dock at the public launch site on Bayou Dorcheat in Dixie Inn.
OK. Congratulations. It is, after all, the first such site in Webster Parish and the village of Dixie Inn is now officially on a tourism list of destination sites. That’s good news, especially when considering the launch site is within a chip shot of where a pretty doggoned good restaurant stood that drew crowds to the village.
A group of the usual local dignitaries, including those from the event-organizing and Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Commission, were on hand for the snipping ceremony. And, according to one speaker, folks were excited to be on hand to help the WPCVC open “…their new kayak launch.”
Cool. And we noticed in a story covering the cutting that members of the Dixie Inn council were on hand. What the story didn’t tell us was the DI folks sorta crashed the party. As in, no Dixie Inn official was invited to a dedication at a site in their village. No personal contact. One Dixie Inner wondered if this oversight was a snub or a flub.
Yes, there was a Greater Minden Chamber Facebook “Please join us as we celebrate the Grand Opening of the Bayou Dorcheat Kayak Dock” post, and it’s a good thing that somebody in Dixie Inn is a scroller. Otherwise, there would have been a good chance village officials would have been members of a very large “Wonder what the heck’s goin’ on over yonder?” club in this part of our world.
Surely this was just an oversight. A quick Google shows Dixie Inn is still considered part of Webster Parish. We surely hope a tourism group that features the parish name prominently would consider all of us to be a part of you. Hopefully, your perception of who’s important isn’t a factor. Hopefully.
We also understand a couple of other locations are being looked at for launch sites: one at the public boat launch on LA 164 near Sibley, another on LA 2 near Shongaloo. If these prove doable, we would certainly hope officials from the nearby small communities are invited to the activities. They would most likely appreciate being part of the good things, and they’re only a phone call away.
While we’re on the subject, welcome to Dorcheat Bayou Rentals, the business bringing us the kayak experience. Visit their cool Facebook page. Your humble observer wouldn’t mind giving this a try if somebody could figure a way to put a rockin’ chair in the boat. Old curmudgeons don’t squat very well.
Final thought: There’s a Webster Parish School Board meeting scheduled June 12. We’re looking forward to getting a look at that meeting’s agenda. Last week’s meeting had no item mentioning anything about the board’s building and grounds committee session with the contractor allegedly building a facility at Minden High School.
That committee heard general contractors Ed Angel Sr. and Jr. of ELA Group, Inc. make an appeal for an additional $974,728 to help cover price increases for materials and supplies, plus delays caused by “unexpected” ground water problems.
That tidy sum would come atop the project’s $9.9 million bid price plus just under $700,000 in change orders which, in Golden Triangle terms, ain’t chump change. A curious onlooker might ask just how much of that change order total has been approved by a board vote.
School board members will have to answer the Angels’ request at some point. The project is already many months behind schedule, and the completion date keeps moving like a balloon on a windy day. While we wait, the underspoken word is litigation. Stay tuned.
