Father David Dohogne recently assumd pastoral duties at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dexter. He succeeds Father John Sheeley.

The members of Sacred Heart Parish in Dexter have a new leader of their fold. Father David Dohogne may be new to the parish, but not totally new to the area. Dohogne is originally from Oran and is currently splitting his time between Sacred Heart and St. Joseph in Advance. Currently, Dohogne is in Advance Sunday through Tuesday and in Dexter Thursday through Saturday with Wednesday being, “sort of a personal day,” Dohogne said. “I already knew a few people in the area, because all of the parishes in the region interact and do things together,” Dohogne commented. In fact, Dohogne knows a few of the parishners better than he thought. “I went to high school with a few members of the parish. It took us a minute to recognize each other after all of these years. Back in school we were all as skinny as bean-poles,” he said with a smile. Dohogne began his career in 1992 as an associate pastor at St. Agnus in Springfield. After four years there he was assigned to the St. Benedict parish in Doniphan. He served in Doniphan and Ripley County for seven and a half years before being assigned here. Dohogne sees no problem with splitting his time between two parishes. “There will be common needs, but also there will be some different needs because of the size of the parishes. There will probably be more activity here because Dexter is bigger with more things going on,” said Dohogne. Dohogne is impressed with the town and the people who live here. “My own personal experience has shown me that the people seem to have a good spirit of caring and also of hospitality and welcome, which reflects on the parish here and the town in general.” Dan Burkemper can be reached via e-mail at dburkemper@dailystatesman.com