By Pat Culverhouse
Reports presented to Webster Parish Police Jury members Tuesday show the holiday season and multiple events will be keeping parish agencies busy.
One event, the 26th edition of Main to Main Trade Days which is considered the state’s longest yard sale, is scheduled November 7-9 and will wind its way roughly 50 miles along U.S. Hwy. 371 from Sibley to the Arkansas state line.
Jury members were told the event is expected to draw up to 10,000 visitors and will feature crafts, collectibles, antiques and more along the route which links Sibley, Downtown Minden’s Main Street District, Dixie Inn, Cotton Valley, Sarepta, Cullen and Springhill’s Downtown Main Street.
For the first time, pre-registration is required for participants who will be displaying items for sale, and tourism officials say it will help centralize and not separate the various towns.
Registration will put each vendor on an interactive map which will also provide visitors with additional information on sites along the route and on individual towns and sales locations.
To register for Main to Main, participants may visit https:linktr.ee/maintomaintradedays.
Also scheduled for the upcoming weekend is the first edition of the Miss Louisiana Volunteer pageant, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Minden Civic Center.
According to its website, Miss Louisiana Volunteer is a scholarship-based program designed to uplift, equip, and celebrate young women through service, style, and leadership.
Also, jury members learned from Melinda Davidson, Director of the Webster Parish Office of Community Services that no delays have occurred in funding local programs despite the government shutdown, which began Oct. 1 and continues.
Webster Parish 911 Director Angie Chapman told jury members that more than 2,600 calls for assistance were handled during the month of October. She also reported 121 hangup calls to the service.
Chapman also reported dispatchers handled 100 percent of calls in 10 seconds or less.
In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, police jury members:
• Approved payment of invoices pending review by jury member Daniel Thomas.
• Approved ratification of action taken on Local Hospital Tax Assessment, adding 10 additional providers as of Oct. 30.
• Learned parish property tax notices will be mailed this week, and that taxes may now be paid online by visiting http://www.webstersheriff.org and clicking on link labeled “Pay Property Taxes.”