Springhill Medical Center is hiring nurse practitioners for Doctors Clinic. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, prescribe medications and formulate treatment plans.
The older I become the more I appreciate crossroads in life. All of us reach different crossroads at various times during our lives. I can look back over the course of my 62 years and clearly see where I made wise and healthy decisions that impacted my future, and other times when I made the wrong choice and headed down an unwise and unhealthy path. It’s life. We make mistakes. I don’t beat myself up about them. I learn and move on. The best we can hope for is that— as we grow older and reach life’s challenging crossroads— we make wiser decisions more often than we make stupid ones.
My mother made a couple of key decisions at critical times and nailed them both. Her husband— my father— died when she was 34 years old. My brother was 10. I was six. She and my father were in the middle of building a new home together in a neighborhood where many of the men my father grew up with had purchased lots next to each other. It was the first crossroad decision she would face as a single mother.
She could have made the decision to stay in the house we were living in. That would have been the safe choice. Or she could scale down the house plans and move forward in the neighborhood where she and her husband planned on raising their boys before his death. She was making that decision in turbulent times, not only turbulent for our family, but the world. Two weeks after my father died, Martin Luther King was assassinated. Two months later Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. A month after that were the Chicago riots.
Amidst all that turmoil, my mother made the brave choice to go ahead and build a house, on a smaller scale, in the new neighborhood. The beauty of that major-crossroad decision was that the neighborhood was filled with families who had kids the same age as my brother and me, and friends of my parents who took us under their wings. I am the living breathing example of “it takes a village”— and a better man today— because of my mother’s decision.
The second crossroad she met as a single mom was one that might not seem as important as a neighborhood in which to live, but it has played a major part in the adult lives of my brother and me, even to this day. Left to raise two young boys on her own she knew she couldn’t play football in the backyard and had no interest in hunting, but she figured she could learn how to fish. So, she bought a fish camp on the Mississippi Gulf Coast where we spent most of our summers.
In the words of John Prine, “It weren’t much to look at,” just a small, single-wide mobile home three blocks off the water and a 10-minute walk to the John’s Bayou Marina where our bass boat was docked, but it was utopia for us. I don’t know where she got the money to do it. She was raising two boys on a public school art teacher’s salary while also teaching art lessons out of our home, but she did it.
It was one of the best single-mom moves, ever.
We spent our summers fishing, crabbing, water skiing, swimming, and feasting on seafood from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi Sound, the Pascagoula River, and John’s Bayou. She only kept the camp for 10 years, but that decade covered the most vital years that could make an impact on our childhood.
My brother was so bit by the Coastal bug that he has his own fish camp on the Coast and is fanatical about fishing. I am not the sportsman that my brother has always been. Our fish camp hit me on a different level. It is where my love of seafood was born. I ate my first raw oyster down there. I boiled shrimp and picked crab for the first time there. We caught fish and cooked them just a few hours later. I had no interest in the restaurant business at the time, but unbeknownst to me, the hook was set.
It’s the hot and humid days of this current Mississippi summer that has me thinking about that fish camp. John’s Bayou had several families from Hattiesburg that— at the time— were the second generation to have camps there. Even in that environment, I was surrounded by love and stellar adult role models. As a 12-year old I was envious of friends who had camps on the west end of the Coast in Pass Christian and Bay St. Louis. What I didn’t realize at the time was that my mother had chosen one of the most biologically diverse watersheds in the entire country to raise her boys.
Most Mississippians likely don’t know that the Pascagoula River Basin is one of the largest protected natural aquatic ecosystems in the United States, and one of the largest in the entire Western Hemisphere. The area in which I spent my childhood summers was home to over 300 species of birds and hundreds of thousands of other life forms. While I was wishing to be on the other end of the Coast where my friends spent their summers, I was unknowingly swimming and fishing in waters in which the aquatic life is more diverse than any in Central and South America.
My mother’s parental crossroad decision allowed us to spend several months of the year in a river basin that is untouched, and the last unregulated and unimpeded major river system in the lower 48 states. I used to think of our fish camp as the redheaded stepchild to all those camps near the Louisiana border on the Jourdan River, but what I didn’t know— that I appreciate today— is that The Pascagoula River Basin is larger and more diverse than the Florida Everglades.
The area where my mom chose to perform her dad duties was a perfect place to spend childhood summers. The Pascagoula River is an 80-mile-long saltwater-influenced freshwater river. The basin covers approximately 9,600 square miles and drains all, or parts, or 22 Mississippi counties (and parts of three Alabama counties). In all, the Pascagoula River Basin contains over 15,000 miles of rivers that, if laid end to end, would stretch more than halfway around the earth.
It was paradise.
My mom sold the fish camp while I was off at college. My brother and I were mad about it at the time, but today, with emotions removed, and having lived another 45 years I realize that she probably needed the money and didn’t want to admit it to her sons.
On her 80th birthday my brother and I brought her back down to the fish camp. It was just the three of us, just as it was in those early days. We drove a borrowed boat on all the old waterways and drove by the trailer that is still there. I hope the current family gets as much impact and enjoyment as we did. That day, more than any other in my life, made me appreciate my mother and the sacrifices she made, the decisions she chose, and the crossroads she faced.
My childhood home was the smallest house on the block, but it was on the block. Our fish camp was a trailer off the water, but it— like our childhood home— was surrounded by people who loved us. In the restaurant business they say location is everything. It’s obviously something my mother always knew.
Onward.
West Indies Crab Salad
2 pounds Jumbo Lump Crab
1 1/2 cup Yellow Onion, small dice
1/2 cup Canola, cottonseed or peanut oil
1/2 cup Champagne vinegar
1/4 cup ice water
2 Tbl fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbl kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Gently fold all ingredients together and cover tightly. Refrigerate overnight before serving. Just before serving, toss the salad well to redistribute the dressing.
French Bread Croutons
Preheat oven to 400
2 French Baguettes, sliced into 1 inch thick rounds
2/3 cups light olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 Tbl kosher salt
Arrange the sliced bread on one large baking sheet,
Use a pastry brush to brush each slice of bread with the olive oil.
Bake for 4-5 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and quickly rub each slice with the raw garlic.
Sprinkle with the kosher salt and serve.
Yield: 6-8 servings
(Robert St. John is a chef, restaurateur and published cookbook author who lives in Hattiesburg, Miss.)
By Bonnie Culverhouse
Morris Busby may have been known by many titles, but only recently he became “Bird Savior.”
“I was at the church (Calvary Baptist Church) and got a phone call about a bird on the ground at the church,” Busby said. “I walked out there and, at that time, there were three little eggs in … actually they are big eggs for the size of the birds.” The next day there were four eggs.
Killdeer lay their eggs on the ground out in open, often among stones, hiding them in plain sight. The way they keep from being eaten by a snake, cat, fox, or crow is by looking just like the rocks.
“If you get near the nest, the bird that’s sitting on it will run out into the grass and flop around like it’s dying,” said Busby. “It’s a distraction, so you won’t get close to the nest.”
The nests are seldom abandoned; Mama Killdeer sits on it during the day and Daddy takes the night shift.
Busby said he was concerned the lawn service workers would not see the nest, so he contacted Bennie Wood and warned him. Then, Busby picked up a small amount of wire fencing during an estate sale.
“I asked how much it was and the lady told me it was three dollars,” he said. “I told her what I was going to do with it and she said, here, if you’re taking it to protect the birds and help the church just take it.”
After making a few adjustments to the fencing, Busby set up a perimeter around the nest.
“The birds seem to be content with going back and forth,” he said.
Calvary Baptist Church is on the corner of La. Highway 531 and U.S. Hwy. 79 in Minden.
The maturing Southern woman is a lot like most any other woman, only always with better recipes, usually with better looks, and most times with better seats to your bigger college football games.
Usually better cookware and pom-poms, too.
While not perfect, this is a breed that, more than any other, lives really close to that ballpark.
Maybe it’s because I have been around them all my life, but I am particularly hurt when a Southern woman passes away. It’s like a great book going out of print. Maybe worse than that. Maybe it’s more like a favorite picture being lost, and the negative’s gone, and all you’re left with is the picture in your mind.
Part of life in a fallen world is the painful fact that even the fairest of flowers fade.
Remember Dixie Carter, a “Designing Women” star who played a Southern woman both on television and in real life? By now, maybe not.
But I do. Maybe because of her name and the way her voice sounded, or maybe because she married my guy Hal Holbrook, whose theatrical depiction of Mark Twain for more than 60 years is considered the greatest one-man stage show ever.
Dixie Virginia Carter passed away in the spring of 2010, a young 70, and it hurt me. And I didn’t even watch her shows. But her name was Dixie. And she spoke with a tone smoky and assured. She was from a town called McLemoresville in Tennessee, and her parents ran a store that was part grocery, part dry goods.
She’s buried there, in McLemoresville. Holbrook, who passed away in 2021 at age 95, is at her side.
Dixie Virginia Carter. Wish I’d known her.
In the springtime, another of my favorite Southern ladies died at 70. She was my friend and she’d been sick for a year, the only year I knew her. But just in that little window of time, she made me feel better about myself.
The real pros do that for you.
They give the world a lot of flavor, Southern women do. And not just in the kitchen.
I am no rookie in the Southern Women League. One of my grandmothers was an Inez, another Southern Virginia, “Virginia Inez.” (Her birthday is today, God rest her precious, pepper pot soul.) The other was a Ruth. My mom is a Vera, but don’t tell her you know that; she prefers her middle name, Lou.
When she’s in Rocky Branch, she’s called the more formal “Vera Lou.” Some things, you just can’t run far enough to get away from. Not even mommas can do that.
(Come to think of it, the Southern woman catches a break in that she can be named Fannie and no one laughs.)
Not bragging or maybe I am, but with an Inez, a Ruth and a Vera, I’ve hit the Southern Blooms Trifecta.
Inez could fry chicken and make strawberry shortcake homemade, and when she retired from nursing, she sat on a footstool really close to the television set to watch soap operas and on-their-way-to-prison preachers.
She was for sure Southern but, since she had to raise five kids alone, she was too busy to put in all the work necessary to earn any sort of advanced Southern woman degree, which requires some leisure.
Here’s where Ruth excelled. She had hats. She had heels. She had vanilla extract.
She had looks and a man who’d dance with her from time to time. She had a temper, a cast iron skillet, a sense of humor, a perfume cabinet, and a big handbag. When she was in the area, you knew it. If you didn’t hear the gum smacking, you smelled the Kool filtereds. Or the dark chocolate pie. She made you laugh just about all the time, most of the time without meaning to.
How could you not miss a woman like that? She was straight out of a short story by Flannery O’Connor, speaking of solid Southern women. O’Connor knew her kind came in 3D only.
From Scarlett O’Hara to Moms Mabley to Minnie Pearl to Rosa Parks to Aunt Theeta, Southern women leave a mark. Sometimes it’s baseball stitches, but most times it’s lipstick on your cheek.
By GameChanger Media MDD24 topped Ruston National 8U 10-6 Tuesday.
Ruston National 8U opened the scoring in the first after Allie D doubled, scoring two runs. MDD24 flipped the game on its head in the bottom of the first, scoring five runs on four hits to take a 5-2 lead. The biggest blow in the inning was a triple by Cheslie D that drove in two.
Ruston National 8U tied the game in the top of the third thanks to a double by Vivian W, a ground out by Landry P, and a single by Chooty G.
MDD24 took the lead in the bottom of the third. Harper B singled, scoring one run, to give MDD24 the advantage, 6-5. Camryn M hit into a fielder’s choice, which helped Ruston National 8U tie the game at six in the top of the fourth.
MDD24 jumped back into the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning after Marley B grounded out, Ryan G doubled, Andi Brooke H singled, and Aubrey C hit into a fielder’s choice, each scoring one run.
Marley stepped in the circle first for MDD24. The righty surrendered three hits and zero runs over two and one-third innings, striking out none and walking none.
Lily M led things off in the circle for Ruston National 8U. They surrendered 12 hits and 10 runs (eight earned) over four innings, striking out none and walking none. Stella P appeared in relief for MDD24.
MDD24 tallied 12 hits in the game. Harper, Cheslie, and Laikyn H each collected two hits for MDD24. Cheslie went 2-for-2 at the plate as the right-handed hitter led the team with two runs batted in. MDD24 were sure-handed in the field and didn’t commit a single error. Laikyn L had the most chances in the field with six.
Ruston National 8U collected 12 hits in the game. Allie provided pop in the middle of the lineup, and led Ruston National 8U with two runs batted in. The right-handed hitter went 1-for-2 on the day. Landry, Peyton H, and Destin B each collected two hits for Ruston National 8U.
Copyright © 2024 GameChanger Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse or republication of this story must include the preceding attribution and is subject to the Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. Terms of Use, License Agreement, and Privacy Policy.
In the spring of 1925, a wealthy diamond merchant from Strasburg, Germany, named I. Lasker had his personal secretary make arrangements to transport a consignment of precious stones valued at about $100,000 from Vienna, Austria to Budapest, Hungary via airplane. Adjusted for inflation, that would be just under $1,800,000 in today’s money. Lasker could have shipped the diamonds through the mail, but he deemed that too risky. He could have sent them with his personal secretary, but he deemed this too risky as well. To ensure that nothing happened to the valuable cargo, Lasker had decided to charter a plane and deliver the stones himself. Lasker’s brother would await their arrival in Budapest and was instructed to spread the alarm if anything out of the ordinary happened.
On the day of the flight, Lasker and his personal secretary made their way to the Austrian airfield. Lasker and his secretary boarded the small plane and made themselves comfortable. Minutes later, the pilot took off and flew to the southeast on what should have been an uneventful 150-mile flight. But this flight was anything but uneventful. As Lasker peered out of the airplane’s small window, a cloth doused with chloroform was pressed over his nose and mouth. Out of surprise, Lasker gasped which drew the powerful anesthetic into his lungs. He had little time to fight back. Within moments, he was unconscious.
Lasker’s brother waited uneasily at the airfield in Budapest. He knew precisely when his brother was due to arrive with the valuable cargo and the time had passed. He watched the skies in anticipation of the arrival of the chartered airplane. As the old idiom goes, “a watched pot never boils.” Lasker’s brother paced, checked his watch, scanned the skies, and paced some more. Minutes felt like hours. As per his instructions, Lasker’s brother notified the police of the missing plane. Search parties hunted for the missing plane and its occupants along the airplane’s flight path. Five days later, searchers found Lasker’s lifeless body near Sophronia or Shopronia, Austria. Sources vary on the spelling of the town’s name and neither appear on modern maps. Investigators determined that Lasker had been drugged, murdered, and his body had been thrown from the airplane.
The search for the missing plane quickly turned into a murder investigation. Investigators learned that Lasker’s private secretary and the pilot, whom Lasker’s secretary had hired, devised the plot to steal the diamonds. Greed is a powerful motivator. Once Lasker’s body had been thrown from the plane, the pilot continued flying the plane to the southeast. The pilot landed the plane in a secluded spot somewhere in Bulgaria. Once again, greed took over. Police determined that once they landed in Bulgaria, Lasker’s secretary killed the pilot to avoid sharing the proceeds of the robbery and destroyed the airplane. Lasker’s secretary was never captured. Lasker’s secretary had committed the perfect crime and, although his name has been lost to history, he is remembered because he committed the first murder in an airplane.
Sources:
1. Chicago Tribune, June 12, 1925, p.1.
2. The Bridgeport Telegram, June 13, 1925, p.2.
3. The Day (New London, Connecticut), June 13, 1925, p.6.
4. The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pennsylvania), June 13, 1925, p.3.
5. The Sioux City Journal, June 13, 1925, p.3.
Send non-profit calendar events to wpjnewsla@gmail.com .
July 8-12
6 until 8 p.m. Vacation Bible School, Eastside Missionary Baptist Church. We’d love to have your kids SHINE with us as we learn about Jesus. Here’s a preregistration link to get a head start on the fun. Please use this link to pre-register your children: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16Qvm4fl3Au5s8XG9l5WEs1eQp64JfF46btSk6rFyhSw/viewform?edit_requested=true .
July 13
7 p.m. Piney Woods Jamboree, CAC Building, Springhill, La.
July 14
5 until 7 p.m. Young Women’s service Club’s Back to School Bash. Babb Park, 708 Watterman St., Minden. Bounce Houses, food, backpacks, sno cones.
July 15-17
6:30-8 p.m. Vacation Bible School, Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 1978 Hwy. 531, Minden. Classes for all ages. Breaker Rock Beach Romans 12:2.
July 15-19
5 until 8 p.m. Vacation Bible School, First Methodist Church, Minden, 903 Broadway. Kindergarten entering sixth grade. SCUBA – each day students will encounter God through a well-known story of the Bible, interacting with the text tangibly through kinetic, immersive activities. The link for First Kids is: www.facebook.com/fmcmindenkids . The link for First Methodist Church is: www.facebook.com/fmcmindenla . Church office also has registration applications.
August 3
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Mercy’s Closet School Uniform Giveaway, 609 Sibley Road, Minden. No qualifying necessary. First Come, first served.
Occasionally, as a tournament angler, you ask yourself, “Why am I out here? Why can’t I figure out a good fish-catching pattern?” These are just a couple of questions, and many others, I recently asked myself during a mid-June tournament on Sam Rayburn. Then I started trying to make excuses as to why I was not catching fish, like the lake is 7 feet too high, the wind is not blowing, and there are too many people on the lake. The excuses were endless!
For me, and this might be an age thing because I hate summertime fishing for one main reason….it’s too damn hot! I would rather fish in 30-degree weather than fish with temperatures in the mid to upper 90’s. I can put enough clothes on to stay warm and comfortable, but I can’t take enough off to get cool. Nothing is worse than when sweat is dripping off your nose, running down your back, and down the back of your pants.
This is when you must fight through all the negative gremlins running through your head and refocus yourself. But nothing helps your mindset more than when you start catching bass, even if they are not the size you need to win the event. Just getting bites gives you reason to have hope that at some point you’ll find some bigger bass. This tends to keep you in tune and alert, making it easier to stay in the right frame of mind. But when you’re not getting bites, and it’s hotter than a frying pan full of Crisco, frustration starts to set in, and your mind starts to drift.
It’s also when you are constantly trying to figure out what technique will work the best. Should I be throwing a topwater bait, a crankbait or maybe a spinnerbait, or do I need to tie on a good Texas rigged worm and go to work? Do I need to be fishing shallow or deep brush tops in 20 feet of water? But no matter what I decide, nothing seems to be working and did I mention IT’S HOT!
Summertime fishing can be more of a mental challenge than any other time of year. It’s the time of year for tournament anglers when we go “trash fishing.” Now what is trash fishing? This is when you cannot seem to figure out any sort of pattern but can still catch fish on several different baits using many different techniques.
For me at Sam Rayburn this past June, I was totally locked in on a trash fishing pattern. I caught fish on a topwater bait, a spinnerbait, a crankbait, a Texas rigged worm and a jerkbait. Five different baits employing 5 different techniques! Here’s the remarkable thing about this particular day. Five times during the day, I picked up a different bait and caught a bass on the very first cast with that bait! That has never happened to me before!
But that’s what trash fishing is all about, catching bass on several different baits. It is a typical summer pattern, if you even want to call it a pattern. So, the next time you’re struggling to catch fish on one of those hot summer days, don’t load the boat and go home, tie on ALL your favorite baits and go trash fishing.
Till next time, good luck, good fishing and be sure to wear your sunscreen and good protective clothing because Melanoma does not discriminate.
Steve Graf
Angler’s Perspective
Michael S. Martin, 44, Rayville; transported from Caddo Parish to Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center by WPSO on July 8 on charge of second degree battery.
Bobby Hampton, 61, 100 block Milton St., Minden; arrested July 7 by MPD on charges drinking in public place (bond $750 surety), loitering in parking lot (bond $750 surety), on bench warrant (bond $650 cash or $15,000 surety).
Arianna Brooke Rogers, 23, Newton Rd., Sarepta; arrested July 9 by WPSO for aggravated domestic battery, simple assault. Total bond set at $5,500.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Norma Jean Ferguson
August 16, 1940 – July 4, 2024
Minden, La.
Visitation: 5 until 7 p.m. Friday, July 12, 2024, Rose-Neath Funeral Home Minden.
Funeral service: 10 a.m. Saturday, July 13, 2024, Rose-Neath Funeral Home, Minden.
Burial: 11 a.m. Gardens of Memory, Minden.
Donna Veitch Pate
August 6, 1958 – July 4, 2024
Minden, La.
Visitation: 10 a.m. Monday, July 15, 2024, Rose-Neath Funeral Home, Minden.
Funeral service: 11 a.m., immediately following visitation.
Dennis P. Patterson
June 5, 1952 – July 3, 2024
Springhill, La.
Memorial service: 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 10, 2024, Walnut Road Baptist Church, Springhill, La., under the direction of Rose-Neath Funeral Home, Minden.
Robert ‘Bob’ Lee Miller Sr.
Dec. 6, 1946 – July 3, 2024
Minden/Heflin, La.
Funeral service: 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 10, 2024, Rose-Neath Funeral Home.
Burial: Bistineau Cemetery, Heflin, La.
Lewis A. Ray, Jr.
August 3, 1928 – July 2, 2024
Taylor, Ark.
Visitation: 1 until 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 10, 2024, Bailey Funeral Home, Springhill.
Funeral service: 3 p.m. Wednesday, immediately following visitation.
Burial: Welcome Cemetery, Taylor, Ark.
Stacey Janelle Lefeaux Hollenshead
July 27. 1971 – July 6, 2024
Athens, La.
Memorial service: 10 a.m. Saturday, July 13, 2024, Athens Community Church.
Inurnment at a later date.
Webster Parish Journal publishes paid complete obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $80. Contact your funeral provider or wpjnewsla@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Above death notices are no charge.)
By Pat Culverhouse
An investigation into a June shooting incident where one individual was wounded has been concluded by Springhill police with the arrest of two individuals, one a juvenile
Chief of Police Will Lynd said 20-year-old Darious Ja’Ray Mendenhall of Cullen is in custody facing a charge of illegal use of a firearm during a crime of violence. His bond has been set at $25,000.
Lynd said the juvenile involved in the June 13 shooting was taken into custody Monday.
According to Lynd, the incident was the result of an argument between Mendenhall and the juvenile which occurred on a city street where several bystanders were present.
“Mendenhall was inside a truck and a disagreement over things led to an exchange of gunfire between him and the juvenile. This occurred around 3:30 in the afternoon, and there were other persons nearby,” Lynd said.
A passenger in Mendenhall’s vehicle was struck by gunfire, but his wound was not life-threatening, the Chief said. No others were injured during the gunfire, he said.
Mendenhall is currently being held in Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
By Bonnie Culverhouse
Spin-off tornadoes and straight line winds were the order of the day Monday as Beryl made its way through east Texas and northwest Louisiana.
Director of Webster Parish Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Brian Williams said around 5:30 p.m., that there were multiple trees down in the parish, along with some power lines.
“No word of any injuries yet,” he added. Shongaloo and Springhill may have caught the brunt in Webster Parish.
Around 6 p.m., Minden Mayor Nick Cox said he was aware of parish trees that were down but none within the city limits.
As Beryl cleared out of the area, so did chances of rain and flooding.
Tuesday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 7 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 7 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent..
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 68. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 70.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 94.
* Visit your local NWS office at: https://www.weather.gov/shv
By Pat Culverhouse
A local man who apparently didn’t like what he discovered on a female companion’s cell phone now finds himself calling the parish prison home and facing a charge of domestic abuse.
Minden Chief of Police Jared McIver said officers responded to a disturbance call shortly after midnight Sunday and found a couple arguing outside a Clerk St. residence.
“The female subject told our officers the suspect became upset about something he saw in her phone and began hitting her multiple times with a closed fist,” McIver said. “When he began hitting her, she ran outside the residence. Our officers noticed visible lumps on her head.”
McIver said Larry Dyess Cook, 20, a resident of the 100 block of Clerk St., is housed in Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center facing a charge of domestic abuse with child endangerment.
“Officers learned the male subject’s sister and her three young children were inside the residence at the time he started hitting the victim,” McIver said.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Juanita Louise Ratcliff, 81, left this earth in the early hours of July 5, 2024 surrounded by those that loved her. She is preceded in death by her son, Teddy Blackmon, parents, Gladys Louise “Boo” Lockey and Hayward Ratcliff, grandparents Lennie Miller and Jessie Edward Lockey; Lillie Mae Martin and Wylie Lloyd Ratcliffe.
She is survived by a large multitude, as she was the oldest of eight children and was born into a large family. Left to cherish her in their own ways are her two daughters, Diane and Tammy, several grandchildren, and siblings Jimmy/Donna, Judy, Joe/Kathy, Jeanie (Striplin), Jackie/Pam, Janice/Steve (Kaylor), Joy Ratcliff, and dozens of nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.
Juanita graduated from Cotton Valley High School, and shortly thereafter married Dwayne Blackmon in 1963. They had three children together and traveled from Zephyr, Texas to Canada and back during their short marriage. She then found her way home to Webster Parish, Louisiana, to be close to family in Cotton Valley. She worked at the David Wade Correctional Center until she fell from a guard tower, resulting in a TBI in the early 1980’s.
Juanita was a free spirit and restless soul. She lived an adventurous life and went about her days with a carefree spirit. She traveled to many places and experienced as much in life as she could. She grew up a traveler, the small, but growing family following her father wherever he went for work in the early 1950’s. She traveled all over Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana, both with family and without. She loved bright colors and upbeat music, having won many a dance contest in her youth, partnering with her cousin Jimmy Rac.
Her passing leaves a hole in the hearts of those that knew her. Special thanks to her niece, Paula, and those that helped her, for her compassion and caring during her final months on this earth.
A family memorial will be held at a later date.
Please consider donating in her honor to the Northwest Louisiana Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Support Group at https://thinkfirstlouisiana.org/support-group.
Happy Anniversary!
Bennie and Linda Dunn Wood celebrated 50 years of marriage Monday, July 8 … with pizza.
Bennie set the scene describing an afternoon in 1973 when Linda and a friend were riding down King’s Highway in Shreveport.
“A good-looking young man in an orange Ford Falcon Cobra Jet pulls up beside them and tries to flag them down,” Bennie said.
Of course, the young man was Bennie and he worked at Shakey’s Pizza in Shreveport. When the two young women pulled over, he offered them a free pizza if they came to Shakey’s that night.
“That’s how it all started,” Bennie said. “I’ve been paying for that pizza ever since.” Linda agrees.
Bennie contacted Shakey’s corporate office and told them the story. They sent tee shirts and pizza boxes for the celebration.
Springhill Medical Center is hiring nurse practitioners for Doctors Clinic. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, prescribe medications and formulate treatment plans.
By Pat Culverhouse
Webster Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Leander Mathews, who served students as school resource officer at Webster Jr. High School, passed away Thursday, July 4 following a sudden illness. He was 60 years old.
Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, July 13 at First Baptist Bossier under the direction of Hillcrest Funeral Home. Visitation is scheduled July 12 at a time to be determined.
Mathews, a native of Webster Parish, graduated from Sibley High School. He began his service as a parish deputy/school resource officer in 2022.
“Our Sheriff’s Office family is mourning the loss of a very good man who has left us far too soon,” Sheriff Jason Parker said. “He was loved by the students, faculty and parents at Webster Jr. High. Our prayers go out to his family and many friends. He will be missed.”
Mathews’ dedication to his students is reflected in a comment made by the parent of one student when school resource officers were honored earlier this year.
“My son is autistic and I’ve been so scared of him entering junior high. Deputy Mathews has made him feel safe and welcome from day one of this school year. So thankful for him,” the parent wrote.
United Christian Assistance Program has the following needs:
Food: Cereal, powdered milk, Ramen noodles
Household goods: king & queen sheets, towels & wash cloths, pots, pans & skillets
Clothing: men’s jeans 34/32
Toiletries: soap, deodorant, toothpaste
Thank you for supporting UCAP!
UCAP is open from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at 204 Miller Street, Minden, for food, utility and rent assistance. Clothing is dispersed on Wednesdays only.
The Minden 7U Allstar team took the field as underdogs in almost all of the 8 State tournament games they played July 4-7 at Ward 10 Recreation Complex in Tioga, LA. The scrappy team found a way to keep knocking off good baseball teams until the semi final game when they met a familiar district rival, Benton, a great team who Minden has an 0-3 record against this post season.
The Minden Allstars went toe to toe with Benton in a back and forth contest and against all odds, emerged with a 11-7 victory! The young boys then had to get right back in game mode against a great Ville Platte team in the State Championship game. Without much gas left in their little tanks, the boys flame flickered and went out against Ville Platte.
Emerging as #2 in the State from a 12 team field that included great teams like Benton, Alexandria, West Monroe and more is certainly a big accomplishment for a talented but inexperienced group of kids. Their accomplishment earned them a berth into the regional World Series in Laurel, Mississippi later in July. We expect them to keep playing hard as they rep not only Minden, but the State of Louisiana at the World Series!
–Submitted by Andy Pendergrass
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has requested that the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) begin a drawdown of Lake Bistineau in Webster, Bossier, and Bienville parishes on Monday, July 29, 2024 for the purpose of reducing further expansion of giant salvinia. The drawdown will also benefit fisheries populations. LDWF will continue to monitor giant salvinia conditions in the lake in case adjustments to this date are necessary.
Once the water control structure is open, the lake should dewater at a rate of 4 to 6 inches per day until it reaches a potential maximum drawdown level of 8 feet below pool stage. This dewater rate could be impacted, however, by local rainfall in the surrounding watershed. The drawdown gates are scheduled to be closed on November 15, 2024 to allow the lake to refill in time for part of waterfowl season and early spring recreational activities.
Herbicide applications will continue, even during the drawdown period. LDWF began herbicide efforts in early April and have continued to put significant resources toward the giant salvinia issue. During the early June 2024 evaluation of the lake, it was estimated that approximately 640 acres of matted salvinia were present on the lake in various locations. While this estimate is less than the June 2023 estimate, very warm temperatures have allowed salvinia to expand on the lake even in the presence of continued herbicide applications. Regular herbicide applications will be conducted in order to maintain as much public access and recreation on the lake as possible during the summer and prior to the start of the drawdown.
During the drawdown, an estimated 10,000 acres of water will remain in the lake. Boaters can still access the lake during the drawdown from the following public boat launches: Port of Bistineau Launch, Bossier Public Launch, Grice’s, and Bayou Dorcheat Public Launch. Boaters are advised to use caution during the low water period, as boat lanes will not provide normal clearance of underwater obstructions.
The drawdown is a necessary component of LDWF’s integrated management plan to control overabundant aquatic vegetation growth and to improve the Lake Bistineau sport fishery. An annual cycle of high and low water fluctuation can provide beneficial effects similar to a natural overflow lake system. The Lake Bistineau Waterbody Management Plan can be viewed at: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/resources/category/freshwater-inland-fish/inland-waterbody-management-plans
For additional information regarding the drawdown, contact Jeff Sibley, LDWF Biologist Manager, at jsibley@wlf.la.gov or 318- 371-5294.
The following persons are scheduled to be in 26th Judicial District Court July 15:
BLACK, TORRANCE ARDELL
98636 Forgery
98636A Domestic Abuse Battery – 1st Offense
PJD Jury Trial MPD
Yocom, Jimbo Aaron Wilson PDO Doug Stinson
DUNN, RONNY PAUL
98684 Possession of a Schedule II CDS (Less than Two Grams)
PJD Jury Trial MPD
McCullough, Melanie Aaron Wilson PDO Doug Stinson
Codef: H. Taravella
GRIGSBY, CARNNIE LEE
96714-CT.1 Distribution of a Schedule II CDS
96714-CT.2 Distribution of a Schedule II CDS
96714-CT.3 Distribution of a Schedule II CDS
96714-CT.4 Distribution of a Schedule II CDS
96714-CT.5 Possession With Intent to Distribute a Schedule II CDS
96714-CT.6 Illegal Use/Possession/Control of Weapons – Crime of Violence or CDS
PJD Jury Trial WPSD
Yocom, Jimbo Patrick Jefferson Doug Stinson
Please make sure forfeiture of 1999 Ford F-150 and $7,598.97 in US Currency is part of any plea/sentencing agreement.
HAWKINS, UMEKA M.
98763 Cruelty To Juveniles
PJD Jury Trial SPRING
Yocom, Jimbo Aaron Wilson PDO Doug Stinson
IRBY, TOMMI JO
98460 Possession of a Schedule II CDS (Less than Two Grams)
PJD Jury Trial MPD
McCullough, Melanie Charles Bradshaw Doug Stinson
IVERSON, MAURCIONIO L.
98345-CT.1 Resisting An Officer With Force Or Violence
98345-CT.2 Resisting An Officer With Force Or Violence
98345-CT.3 Simple Escape
98345A-CT.1 Domestic Abuse Battery – 1st Offense
98345A-CT.2 Domestic Abuse Battery – 1st Offense
PJD Jury Trial WPSD
Yocom, Jimbo Carey Ellis Doug Stinson
JONES, SR., TERRY WYATT
97270 Illegal Discharge And/Or Disposal Of Non-Hazardous Substance
PJD Jury Trial
Yocom, Jimbo Aaron Wilson PDO Doug Stinson
MARTIN, TONY
98733-CT.1 Aggravated Flight From An Officer Where Human Life Is Endangered
98733-CT.2 Possession of a Schedule II CDS (Less than Two Grams)
PJD Jury Trial WPSD
Yocom, Jimbo Patrick Jefferson Doug Stinson
MEEKS, PATRICK
97658 Illegal Use/Possession/Control of Weapons – Crime of Violence or CDS
PJD Jury Trial LSP
Yocom, Jimbo Ivan Daigs Doug Stinson
MILLER, DEMARCUS D
98441-CT.1 Resisting An Officer With Force Or Violence
98441-CT.2 Obstruction Of Justice
PJD Jury Trial MPD
Yocom, Jimbo Aaron Wilson PDO Doug Stinson
Codef: D. Huey
PERRYMAN, JUSTIN W.
98315 Hit & Run Driving Resulting In Death Or Serious Bodily Injury
PJD Jury Trial WPSD
Holland, Hugo Eric Johnson Doug Stinson
TIMS, RANDALL L.
98295 Possession Of Firearm Or Carrying Concealed Weapon By Convicted Felon
PJD Jury Trial MPD
Holland, Hugo Eric Johnson Doug Stinson
TURK, DYLAN
96809-CT.1 Possession Of Firearm Or Carrying Concealed Weapon By Convicted Felon
96809-CT.2 Possession Of Firearm Or Carrying Concealed Weapon By Convicted Felon
96809-CT.3 Attempted Second Degree Murder
96809-CT.4 Simple Escape
96809-CT.5 Resisting An Officer With Force Or Violence
PJD Jury Trial MPD
Holland, Hugo Dawn Mims Doug Stinson
OC 4/26
WILLIAMS, CHRISTOPHER LEE
97597-CT.1 Indecent Behavior With A Juvenile
97597-CT.2 Possession of Pornography Involving Juveniles
PJD Jury Trial WPSD
•• As trial time approaches, this list may be updated.
Send non-profit calendar events to wpjnewsla@gmail.com .
July 8-12
6 until 8 p.m. Vacation Bible School, Eastside Missionary Baptist Church. We’d love to have your kids SHINE with us as we learn about Jesus. Here’s a preregistration link to get a head start on the fun. Please use this link to pre-register your children: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16Qvm4fl3Au5s8XG9l5WEs1eQp64JfF46btSk6rFyhSw/viewform?edit_requested=true .
July 13
7 p.m. Piney Woods Jamboree, CAC Building, Springhill, La.
July 14
5 until 7 p.m. Young Women’s service Club’s Back to School Bash. Babb Park, 708 Watterman St., Minden. Bounce Houses, food, backpacks, sno cones.
July 15-19
5 until 8 p.m. Vacation Bible School, First Methodist Church, Minden, 903 Broadway. Kindergarten entering sixth grade. SCUBA – each day students will encounter God through a well-known story of the Bible, interacting with the text tangibly through kinetic, immersive activities. The link for First Kids is: www.facebook.com/fmcmindenkids . The link for First Methodist Church is: www.facebook.com/fmcmindenla . Church office also has registration applications.
August 3
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Mercy’s Closet School Uniform Giveaway, 609 Sibley Road, Minden. No qualifying necessary. First Come, first served.
Two recent U. S. Supreme Court cases will help return our national government to the correct constitutional order. These two cases involve, firstly, the immunity of a president from criminal prosecution and, secondly, the practice—now ended by the Supreme Court—of having federal courts defer to agency interpretations of that agency’s rules and regulations.
The first case is Trump. v. United States and involves the charges brought against Pres. Trump for his alleged actions on Jan. 6, 2020. Jack Smith, the highly partisan Special Counsel (who’s very appointment as special counsel is legally suspect) alleged that Pres. Trump supposedly conspired to overturn the election by “spreading knowingly false claims of election fraud to obstruct the collecting, counting and certifying of the election results.” Trump argued, in response, that a president has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions performed within the “outer perimeter” of his official responsibilities and that the allegations fall within the core of his official duties.
This case is especially significant because of the lawfare waged against President Trump—i.e. the weaponizing of our courts and legal system to try to damage a political opponent as Pres. Biden has orchestrated against Trump—that the Supreme Court, for the first time in our nation’s history, was forced to address the issue of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution.
So, what did the Court do?
The Supreme Court laid down “a rule for the ages.” The Court stated that “under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his core constitutional duties and … presumptive immunity from prosecution for all of his official acts” (i.e., “outer perimeter”). The Court also held that “unofficial” acts enjoy no immunity.
Obviously, the need for immunity from criminal prosecution stems from the fact that a president must often make snap, real time judgments with incomplete information on a host of issues affecting many things, including national security. We cannot have a president looking over his shoulder—overwhelmed with worry—that some action he feels needs to be taken on behalf of the country may subject him to criminal charges after his presidency. (Biden and Pres. Obama should be grateful for this ruling, as well).
The Supreme Court sent the case back to the federal district court to determine what alleged acts of Pres. Trump on Jan. 6 were “official” and “unofficial” acts.
I think there will be very little left of these charges against President Trump once the district court jumps through the legal and analytical hoops the Supreme Court laid out in this decision.
The second case is Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce. In its decision the Supreme Court overruled a 1984 decision, Chevron, that required federal courts to defer to an agency’s “reasonable interpretation” of an ambiguous statute that those agencies administer. The reason this is so important is because the enormous federal agencies in our country impose the actual law we live under, and that is wrong. These career bureaucrats were elected by no one.
The Loper Court held that “the Administrative Procedure Act requires courts to exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, and courts may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous.”
It’s important that a federal court, and not an administrative law judge (ALJ) in the very agency itself, decide these cases because an ALJ employed by and within a given agency is invariably going to favor the position of the agency. A given agency simply cannot be allowed to serve as “judge, jury and executioner” in our constitutional scheme.
The dissent in the case argued it is a mistake not to defer to agency interpretation of rules and regulations because “some interpretive issues arising in the regulatory context involve scientific or technical subject matter. Agencies have expertise in those areas; courts do not.” To which Chief Justice Roberts succinctly replied “agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do.”
These two cases are helping restore the appropriate constitutional order. They continue the critical process of removing power from unelected government bureaucrats who falsely believe they have the power to do many things—including exercise legislative policy making authority in their various agencies—that the Constitution expressly reserves to the Congress.
(Shreveport attorney, Royal Alexander, worked in D.C. in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly 8 years for two different Members of Congress from Louisiana. He has witnessed up close several Speaker races.)