APOSTOLIC News

Alexandria, LA- June 26th, 2010. Jamie Floyd will ask his fellow Rapides Parish police jurors next month to throw their support behind naming the replacement for the O.K. Allen Bridge after late Pentecostal leader Gerald Archie “G.A.” Mangun.

“That morning he passed away, I thought, ‘How could we honor him?’” said District C Juror Floyd.
Mangun, the longtime pastor of The Pentecostals of Alexandria, died June 17 at the age of 91. Under his leadership, The Pentecostals of Alexandria grew in membership from a few dozen when he arrived in 1950 to about 4,000 today.
“I believe he was a great leader and a great man,” Floyd said. “I don’t know of any other person in Alexandria who touched as many lives as he did.”

The Fort Buhlow Bridge project is an approximately $100 million project to replace the 70-plus-year-old O.K. Allen Bridge over the Red River between Alexandria and Pineville. Letting for the project was originally scheduled for May, but was pushed back three to four months. Construction should start within three months after bid letting and take three to four years to complete.
Nick Verret, engineer-administrator for District 8 of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, said bridges such as the one to be built are named by legislative act. The recent legislative session has already ended, meaning it would be another year before the Legislature considered a naming request.

Floyd said he has spoken with members of Central Louisiana’s legislative delegation, who indicated they would consider supporting the idea. Floyd also said he has the support of other jurors with whom he has spoken.
It would be unusual to name a bridge after a religious figure. Many bridges in Louisiana are named for former governors or other government officials.

“I think we ought to do more for our preachers than we do for our politicians,” Floyd said. “Especially Brother Mangun, who prayed three to four hours a day and fasted. Whenever you try to do something like this, you’re going to have some people who don’t think it’s a good idea. But overall, you’re not going to find anybody who’s more appreciated.”

Floyd attended Mangun’s church as a child and was baptized by Mangun when he was 5 years old. He plans to bring a resolution to the jury at its meeting in July to ask Cenla legislators to support naming the bridge after Mangun.

Jeff Matthews
thetowntalk.com