Dearman highly qualified for alderman posted Thursday, March 15th, 2012 @ 12:04 pm  E-mail Story |  Print Story  Editor: I have been a resident of West Monroe for 65 years and during that time have served on numerous non-paying city boards. I have known the last four Mayors and most of the aldermen in West Monroe for the last 50 years. L.O. "Sam" Yeager was a personal friend of mine and I do truly miss him. Sam and I talked several times during his illness and we talked about Marvin Dearman running for alderman. Sam was a friend of Marvin's and I know personally that he encouraged Marvin to seek this position, How do I know? Because the three of us talked about it on many occasions. I have known Staci Albritton since she was 14 years old and I just recently met Johnny Carter. Both of these individuals are honest and hardworking people, who West Monroe can be proud of. Marvin Dearman's qualifications outweigh the other two candidates. Marvin served as a Military Police officer in the United States Marine Corps Reserves for six years and received an honorable discharge with the rank of Sergeant and was a police officer on the Monroe Police Department for 30 years and during his last few years helped manage a $10- million budget. He retired with the rank of Major and managed a sporting goods store until he sought the job of General Manager of Kilpatrick's Serenity Gardens. The Kilpatrick family hired Marvin to manage the old Twin Cities Memorial Cemetery, which they purchased after the State of Louisiana Cemetery Board had put it into receivership. In the three years Marvin has managed the cemetery it has made remarkable progress. Marvin has also authored several articles that have been published in national and international magazines. Having worked on as many City of West Monroe boards as I have I know when someone has leadership ability. Marvin has made a difference everywhere he has worked. He has compassion and understands the wants and needs of all people. He is married to Cheryl Watson Dearman and they have a truly blessed marriage. Please join me in voting for Marvin Dearman for West Monroe City Alderman on March 24th. Ron Downing West Monroe