There were very few seats left open during State Representative Rodney Schamerhorn’s recent town hall meeting, which was held in Many during the early evening hours of January 18.
The legislator began the meeting by commenting how great it was to see so many show interest in what is going on in Baton Rouge. He commented that the Many meeting was the sixth one held and that it was also one of the best attended.
He then went into a year in review, hitting on a number of high points.
One of the first points made was pandemic and hurricane relief. He works closely with the state to get aid where it needs to go.
“I’m proud of the services provided to constituents,” Schamerhorn said.
He took a moment to comment that he came up with a plan to get the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Many opened. It remained closed for a long time during the pandemic, and a time-splitting plan with several other local offices provided a local option for those needing the service provided.
He is also working on victims’ rights. Schamerhorn stated that he wants a deal with district attorneys on restitutions. As it stands now someone needing to pay restitution only has to do so for a year.
When it comes to municipal funding, Schamerhorn was quick to say that his office signs all that comes to him.
He’s also looking to overhaul the notary public service. He states that right now it is basically a mini-BAR exam to be certified. He also made note that his office has trained notaries that are happy to help in any way possible.
Schamerhorn is also looking to speed along local highway projects. He notes that Highway 6 is set to go to bid on October 22, and he’s hoping to speed projects along, as the $2 billion surplus the state has this year could be used for lots of improvements.
Schamerhorn moved on by reminding everyone that redistricting begins on February 1 and that Republicans are in for a fight.
Some attention was paid to public notices in the newspaper, a system that has worked for decades, but now comes under assault by the legislature in seemingly ever session. The representative said that he felt the money could be used elsewhere, but is taking it under consideration due to the service it provides to the public.
“In many cases newspapers like the Index is the only communication a town has,” he said.
Water systems soon became a topic of interest. Schamerhorn took the stance that the amount of chlorine currently used by water systems is too high at five percent. His explanation was that with such high levels, it lets everything else grow in the system.
“A lower chlorine level will give less food for bacteria,” he said.
In closing, he stated that there is a group of 68 conservatives in the Louisiana House, and he thinks bringing up a conversation about moving back to a closed primary system is in order.
“The pros of this are going to outweigh the cons,” he said. “We can’t have four more years of a governor like Edwards.
Before leaving, the state representative took comments and questions from the audience.
Zwolle Mayor G.J. “Pie” Martinez asked about Highway 171, as the road is in rough shape, having hit a hole on the road and receiving a flat tire. Schamerhorn stated that the road was going to let soon.
In responding to another question, he let it be known that he is not for government man dates and is in support of the right to carry arms.
“It’s not my right to comment on those,” he offered.
In further conversation about local water systems, Schamerhorn offered a sample letter. He recommends sending that correspondence to the four addresses listed.
He’d go on to say that he feels all the water systems in Sabine should be able to pull from each other in case of outages or other problems. Currently, the systems use different chemicals that don’t mix, and he feels it should be changed. He also shown interest in switching to well water instead of the lake, which provides its own complications.