By Mary K. Hamner
Journal Correspondent

The Village of Castor is located in Southwest Bienville Parish where Louisiana Highways No. 507, No. 4, No. 792, No. 153, Ridge Road, and the Louisiana Trail come crashing together at one stop light. Traffic at the intersection is almost non-stop with cars, school buses, log trucks, pickups, all with business in the area. Founded on the back of the L&A Railroad in 1900, the town has endured where other like towns have silently faded away. The population of the town at 209 people does not accurately portray its business base extending along the highways and byways of the large surrounding area.

A recent after-hours get together sponsored by the Village and the Arcadia/Bienville Parish Chamber of Commerce drew a record crowd of just under 100 people attending. According to Virginia Becker, secretary of the Chamber, "It's the largest After- Hours event we've had. We give the credit to Castor's new Mayor Vicki Pickett. She went out and visited business people in her own area plus businesses in surrounding towns. It was the first Chamber event held in Castor and it served to let people know that the Chamber supports the entire Parish. I sometimes think that people don't know what Bienville Parish towns have to offer," Becker said.

Vicki Pickett's roots grow deep in the town she calls home. "I lived in other places through the years but spent a lot of time here with my grandparents. I graduated from Castor High School and when my granddaughter graduates this year she will represent a fifth generation graduating from the school. Although I love my hometown and its people, I never really thought about running for mayor or getting involved in its government. It just happened," she laughed.

"After I retired from the postal service, I had planned to just relax a while and baby sit a friend's child. That child's grandmother, then Mayor Sally Gray persuaded me to run for alderman of the town council. When Sally became ill, it seemed I was IT and the council elected me to serve as Mayor Pro-tem. It was hurtful to all of us when Sally had to resign because of her illness and I regret that she didn't get to finish her term. I was sworn in as Mayor on October 22, 2008."

Pickett, bringing working experience of two years as Village Clerk before her thirty-year employment as a Castor Post Office rural carrier, and then alderman on the town council, hit the ground running after her appointment as Mayor. Long-time Village Clerk Jo Ann Sutton bolsters her enthusiasm for the job. "Jo Ann and I have a good working relationship," Pickett said. "She has fourteen years of experience in this job and is very knowledgeable. I have yet to find a question concerning the operation that she can't answer. We work together as a team."

"A lot has happened since October," Pickett continued. "Two of our sewer pumps went out and that was a major expense. I already knew the value of our support people, but in dealing with problem areas like this I know how fortunate we are to have people like Roger Corley and George Jacob dealing with the mechanics of putting things back together. A lot of the streetlights around town were out, and I learned that Entergy no longer installs Christmas lights. We hired a contractor to install Christmas lights and bulbs in the streetlights were replaced. Willard Sullivan, long time meter reader, is always on the job and our Police Chief Ricky Emerson keeps the traffic moving slow enough to stop when they come through. He gives speeding tickets now and then and folks have learned that I don't fix tickets. If I fixed tickets it would be no use to pay a policeman," she said.

"The Village of Castor is fortunate in that we have a good tax base," Pickett continued. "Our finances are in good shape. I learned at a recent meeting that due to the economy some north Louisiana municipalities are not and may have to dissolve. We are very fortunate to have a good school. Families sometimes move here just for that reason. I consider our local churches the 'soul' of the town and the school the 'heart' of the town.

We are proud of our new town hall building. It took a tornado to get it, she laughs and, it's an asset." (Pickett was referring to the 2000 tornado, which swept through one month after the town's Centennial, demolishing many original structures.)

"Our community center is another asset and we dedicated the building in November of last year. The after-hours crowd was complimentary in their comments about the center donated by the former CARES Ambulance volunteer group. We have booked several large groups since it opened and keep getting more bookings. It has seating for approximately 100 people with tables and chairs, microwave, and a refrigerator. I and the council members, Ray Bess, Charles Harper, and Beth Warren, think that our town has a good future," Pickett said, "and we see all kinds of possibilities for growth and expansion. Keeping in mind that we are important to future generations we will continue to pull together to make good things happen."

(As of press time, Mayor Pickett faces no opposition in her bid for re-election in the special election of April 4, 2009.)

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