Dubach Mayor Mona Wilson has announced she is running for re-election to a second term. In a statement, she summarized some of the progress in Dubach under her leadership:
As current Mayor of Dubach and seeking re-election in November, I would like to let the residents of Dubach know what it means to serve you. As a lifelong resident of Dubach I attended school in Dubach, and raised my children in Dubach. I want you to know how much I love Dubach and its people.
Over the past five years as your mayor, many things have been improved upon and provided for our residents. I designed the entrance signs to Dubach to give a “Welcome to Dubach” inviting hometown atmosphere. These signs were built to last another lifetime for our residents. I designed a renovation of the James Lake Park and applied for a grant for its improvement. The added walk around the lake has made it a safe place for residents to come and “get their steps in.” Yes, the council must approve all things and they offered some input into them.
We were also able to make some headway with the run down apartments on Wynne Street. The owner was asked to tear down one of the dilapidated buildings and improve the looks of the others. There is still much to do, but it looks so much better than it did five years ago. The Town’s maintenance crew took over the clearing and upkeep of the Nature Trail on James Lake, making this a great place for bird watchers to visit our town and enjoy over 300 species of birds.
In regard to James Lake, I have worked with Wildlife and Fisheries to keep the algae out of the pond. This is an ongoing battle every year. I was successful in getting the park contractors to add a boat launch in their estimate when renovating the park. Many boaters have truly enjoyed being able to launch a boat in James Lake.
As Mayor, I have encouraged and worked with Dubach Legends in all their town projects over the past two years. As Mayor, I have made every effort to bring and assist new business coming to Dubach. I assisted Eric Hanna with bringing the GEM Theater back to our small town. Eric did the work but anything he needed from me or the Town, I was more than willing to help out.
For the past two years I have reached out to an investor about putting a fuel stop in Dubach. The property has been negotiated and hopefully in 2027, this may become a reality. A lot of work and planning goes into getting things of this nature, but I have been diligent about it and have never given up.
Three years in a row I was able to secure grants to install new garbage receptacles around the town and at the ball park. Anywhere you visit our downtown, you are able to see the new garbage receptacles. This helps our town to stay free of litter.
I was instrumental in obtaining enough voter signatures (going door to door) to add the sale of alcohol to the voter’s ballot and the voters were pleased to pass it. Although no alcohol is being sold at this time, it gives new businesses the opportunity to do so. It will also generate more revenue to our town. More revenue will keep our town moving forward in the years to come.
I have been working with local property owners and investors to bring new business to Dubach. A grocery store, a truck stop, a cafe, etc. This all takes time but as your Mayor I am consistently working and encouraging new business in our Town. I have raised donation funds and continue to everyday to bring a sense of community back to our town through town-wide events . These events are solely funded thru donations, large or small.
When I took office the donation fund was less that $1,000 and the Town of Dubach was only able to provide for the Santa Run at Christmas. Since then, I have begun many events such as Egg Drop for the kids, Trunk or Treat on Main Street, Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day lunches, Town wide clean-up day in conjunction with Love the Boot campaign, Pink Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness, continue with the Santa Run deliveries.
I have been instrumental in putting together the Celebrate Dubach event around July 4 for the past three years. It has become one of the largest fireworks shows in our parish. So many things go on “behind the scenes” at Town Hall that make these things become a reality. It takes making a lot of phone calls, letters and visits to people to ask for their support. As a Realtor for 35 years, I have made a lot of contacts and have no problem asking for their help. As the saying goes “it takes a village to run a town.” I could not do it without all of you.
Starting the food pantry filled a need in our community. It solely operates on donations of food and monetary donations. A lot of love and labor goes into it. However, with the rising cost of everything and the bulk of our community being on a fixed income, this has been the biggest blessing of all. The struggle is real people and helping in any way is a blessing.
Our water system has had thousands of dollars of improvements in the past five years. We still have things to do, but we are getting closer to getting a better grade on our water infrastructure. Our water operator of 20 years left and we were able to find not just one competent operator, but two in the last year. They have been able to repair and complete the items that had been overlooked for several years. We have had a rate study done on the water account and a rate increase was necessary to sustain the day-to-day operations of our water/sewer systems. Rates had not been changed in many years with an annual loss of $28,000 before I took office.
Unpaid property taxes were not being collected. I implemented a system to get these collected and in 2026 we collected 96% of the property taxes owed by our residents.
Police traffic tickets were not being collected. I fixed that and have collected thousands of dollars due our town in past due traffic tickets.
So many things have happened in the five years I have been in office. But there is so much more to do and accomplish. I would love to continue over the next four years to help Dubach move forward. I cannot do it alone! I need the support of your Town Council and of course the support of the residents. Make your voice heard and vote to re-elect me in November and I promise to continue fighting for you and our Town. There is still more I want to do! Why? Because I was born here and will die here in Good Ole Dubach, La.
Mayor Mona Wilson
The above information has been provided by a political campaign. Unless otherwise noted, the Lincoln Parish Journal publishing staff does not endorse specific candidates or ballot measures.
