Police Juror: Advocate and Visionary

14 years ago, at an annual Police Jury Budget meeting, I discovered that the maintenance and upkeep of the JS Clark Cemetery was the responsibility of the Police Jury. It had no perpetual funds set aside for this feat, so the upkeep was done at a bare minimum. It was the forgotten child and was in deplorable condition. More importantly, it was in my district therefore, it was my responsibility to advocate for a major change. This was my first and one of my most fulfilling projects as a newbie Juror.

It took a minute, but major change came. The Jury poured money into the project. Forgotten graves were located, and community buy-in was phenomenal. The Friends of JS Clark, a non-profit organization was formed. It was comprised of a dedicated group of stakeholders who put their time and effort into the cleanup of the cemetery. We met often. Then, the most amazing thing happened. The Friends of JS Clark joined with The Sons of the Confederacy, and both groups, along with a group of scouts, commenced to clean the cemetery...stone by stone. We celebrated Veterans Day together, with all groups showing up in full force. It was a beautiful site to see.

The Friends continued to work hard to help the Police Jury manage the site. Ms. Dupree became the unofficial official Guardian of the Gate, where she labored to identify every grave in the cemetery. She was/is often conferred with in locating loved ones and available sites. We lost a few Friends along the way. Still, there is a faithful residual crew who have continued to

invest in the cemetery by putting up flags and wreaths at the appropriate times. As I pass by the cemetery 14 years later, I am so pleased to see how well it is now maintained. In fact,

more land has been cleared for additional sites. There remains one more thing that we still need to accomplish. We wanted to erect a Gazebo in the back of the cemetery where family

and friends can gather. We hosted a golf tournament years ago and still have a few funds left in the account, faithfully guarded by the appointed president of Friends. I envision a beautiful gazebo placed in JS Clark in memory of all those Friends who labored and left us to complete the work. When re-elected, this will be one of my projects.