A man was arrested Sunday morning after a Ruston police officer stopped his vehicle for no license plate.
At about 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning, Officer D. Smith saw a Nissan Altima with no license plate on Vaughn Avenue. After the car was stopped, the officer saw a temporary paper Texas tag, but a records check showed it belonged on a Volkswagen.
The driver, Kyran Davis, 20, of Ruston, said he did not have a driver’s license in his possession but that it was valid. A records check showed Davis was wanted on six warrants from Ruston City Court for failure to appear on several traffic violations, possession of marijuana, and theft under $1000.
After the license plate was determined not to belong to the vehicle and Davis’s driver’s license was verified as suspended, he was arrested and taken to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center where he was booked on the six warrants and driving under suspension and operating an unregistered vehicle (no license plate).
Bail was set at $27,000.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video 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.
A stolen car and a missing youth were recovered Friday afternoon after a Ruston police officer stopped a suspicious vehicle.
A RPD officer saw a red Chevrolet Tahoe with a South Carolina license tag on Reynolds Drive about 12:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. The vehicle made several suspicious maneuvers, and the officer was unable to run the license number because part of the plate was altered. The Tahoe sped away from the officer as if the driver was attempting to flee. The driver pulled into the rear of the Graham Shopping Center and a male opened the driver’s side door and stepped out. The officer told him to get back in the car, but he fled on foot. He was later apprehended by other RPD officers.
A female passenger, Zayla Stacks, 18, of Lancaster, SC, was taken into custody. A record check showed the vehicle was stolen in South Carolina, and the male who ran away was a 17-year-old who had been reported missing in South Carolina.
Stacks was arrested for possession of the stolen vehicle, contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, and no driver’s license.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video 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.
As we kick off the 2022 high school football season, the Lincoln Parish Journal wants to recognize our wonderful spirit squads for our area high schools.
The young ladies that make up these squads are a huge part of the gameday atmosphere each and every Friday night in the fall.
The LPJ says thank you for your love and loyalty for your school.
The 2022-23 Bearcats Pom Pom Squad
Top row (L to R): Calyri Hunter, Jermya Shivers, Jada Hightower, Kevinlynn Wright, Clemmiqua Hill, Trinity Pinto, Imori Runner
Middle Row (L to R): Quaneica Rogers, Ramyah Brooks, Reagan Williams, Keshanti Graham, Megan Modest, Emma Pilgreen
Bottom Row (L to R): Captain Shantorria Johnson, Co-Captain Mya Samuel
Kermetria Johnson’s path to teaching was not straight, but it was the right path for her. Johnson is beginning her thirteenth year of teaching and her seventh year at Cypress Springs Elementary where she teaches third grade ELA — English Language Arts.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in sales and marketing from Tuskegee University, Johnson wasn’t sure what to do next, but she wasn’t without direction.
“Everything happens for a reason exactly as it’s supposed to,” she said. “There’s only so long you can run from your purpose.”
Johnson was working at a bank part time and taking some classes in the English department at Louisiana Tech when she started to feel pulled toward a career of service. At the time, Johnson was unsure whether she wanted to work with children or adults.
“But there was a longing to make a difference,” she said.
After making the switch to education, Johnson knew she had found her purpose.
“I knew it was the right fit,” she said. “This was where I needed to be.”
Coming from a long line of educators, Johnson felt things had come full circle. She said to herself, “Let’s go with what you know in your heart–what you actually want, your purpose and what you actually want to do.”
Since then, a passion for teaching has kept Johnson coming back year after year.
“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion, and your passion will lead you to your purpose,” she said.
Johnson’s favorite thing about teaching ELA is that she gets to teach the foundation of reading.
“I want kids to love to read,” she said. Johnson also wants to provide her students with opportunities to read texts from a variety of cultures and perspectives. “Reading allows for world travel,” she said, “without ever leaving your home or your classroom.”
Johnson strives to be creative in her approach and to foster students’ engagement with every text.
“I meet students where they are,” she said, “and progress them to where they need to be.”
At the same time, Johnson lets her students know that her classroom is a safe place to make mistakes.
“I give them grace,” she said. “I don’t expect perfection from them, but I expect their best.”
Although teaching the curriculum is important to Johnson, there is so much more to teaching for her.
“I’m not just there teaching to the test,” she said. “I can go in and do my thing, but I’m also there to show them somebody in the classroom cares for them. I’m there to help them grow socially and academically. I want to support them in all areas of development.”
Ruston finds itself ranked No. 5 in the LSWA preseason Top 10 poll in Class 5A.
Two Lincoln Parish football programs appeared in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Preseason Top 10 polls released this morning.
Fresh off its 27-6 win over West Monroe in the jamboree on Saturday, Ruston comes in ranked No. 5 in Class 5 as the Bearcats received 78 total points. Defending 5A state champion Zachary is the unanimous No. 1 in Class 5 followed by Catholic, Karr, Acadiana, Ruston, Destrehan, Brother Martin, Captain Shreve, Jesuit and West Monroe.
The Bearcats open their season Friday when they host Warren Easton, who comes into the season ranked No. 2 in Class 4A.
Cedar Creek is listed among those receiving votes in the Class A poll. The Cougars are “ranked” No. 12 with a total of 13 points. Defending Class A state champion Homer is No. 1 while Ouachita Christian is a close second.
The Cougars open their season Thursday night at Glenbrook with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Others receiving votes: Archbishop Shaw 21, Cecilia 21, De La Salle 21, Belle Chasse 14, Lakeshore 9, North DeSoto 5, Carver 1, Booker T. Washington-New Orleans 1, West Feliciana 1.
Class 3A
School 1st rec pts
Sterlington (7) 0-0 114
University (3) 0-0 109
Union Parish 0-0 98
E.D. White 0-0 83
Madison Prep 0-0 75
St. Martinville 0-0 71
Amite 0-0 65
Lake Charles Prep 0-0 44
Abbeville 0-0 33
Church Point 0-0 30
Others receiving votes: St. James 28, Iowa 20, Jena 9, Westlake 1.
Class 2A
School 1st rec pts
Many (9) 0-0 119
St. Charles Catholic (1) 0-0 109
Newman 0-0 89
Notre Dame 0-0 86
Oak Grove 0-0 77
Dunham 0-0 56
Avoyelles 0-0 53
Calvary Baptist 0-0 37
Mangham 0-0 32
North Caddo 0-0 30
Others receiving votes: Loreauville 24, Rosepine 17, Episcopal-Baton Rouge 13, Ascension Episcopal 11, General Trass 10, East Feliciana 7, Franklin 5, Jonesboro-Hodge 4, Welsh 2.
Class 1A
School 1st rec pts
Homer (7) 0-0 115
Ouachita Christian (2) 0-0 109
Southern Lab (1) 0-0 92
Logansport 0-0 73
Kentwood 0-0 69
Opelousas Catholic 0-0 59
St. Frederick 0-0 55
Vermilion Catholic 0-0 51
Haynesville 0-0 45
Riverside Academy 0-0 29
Others receiving votes: Ascension Catholic 24, Cedar Creek 13, St. Mary’s 13, St. Martin’s 10, Basile 10, Catholic-Pointe Coupee 3, Oberlin 1.
U.S. Representative Julia Letlow will meet with veterans and their family members this Wednesday at a Vets with Letlow town hall meeting.
Letlow will discuss some of the items she’s been woking on in Congress, such as the national defense budget, and then a Q&A session will follow. Veterans have already submitted questions for Letlow to answer, and then she’ll have closing remarks.
The event will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the Ruston Civic Center, 401 N. Trenton Street., and doors will open at 1 p.m.
Malcolm Butler and Teddy Allen will provide the call of Bulldog football in 2022.
Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Malcolm Butler and Teddy Allen return to the airwaves as the duo will be in the radio booth to call the 2022 Louisiana Tech football season.
For the 24th straight year, the flagship station KXKZ 107.5 FM will carry every Bulldog game. Fans can also catch all games through the Louisiana Tech Athletics app.
Starting with the season opener at Missouri on Sept. 1, the Bulldogs can also be heard on KDBS 94.7 FM/1410 AM (Alexandria), KNCB 95.5 FM (Atlanta), KJVC 92.7 FM (Mansfield), KZBL 100.7 FM (Natchitoches), KSYR 92.1 FM (Shreveport), 104.1 FM/1320 AM (Vivian), and KVCL 92.1 FM (Winnfield).
Butler enters his second season as the Voice of Bulldog football while Allen begins his 12th season serving as the color analyst.
Former Bulldog quarterback and LA Tech Athletics Hall of Famer Luke McCown returns as the sideline reporter for LA Tech Sports Network for a select number of games during the 2022 campaign while former Bulldog o-lineman Jerry Byrd will also serve as the sideline reporter for selected home games.
The LA Tech Sports Network team will host a 90-minute pregame show prior to kickoff and a 30-minute postgame show.
The hour-long Inside Bulldog Football radio show with first-year head coach Sonny Cumbie gets underway on Monday, Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. live from Portico in Ruston (will return to the Dawghouse Sports Grill once it reopens).
Cumbie will join Butler each Monday night (minus bye weeks) for the show which fans can listen to on KNBB 97.7 FM (Ruston), KDBS 94.7 FM/1410 AM (Alexandria), and the Louisiana Tech Athletics app.
As the school year begins, teachers are stepping back into the classroom to tackle another year, but school systems across the country are struggling with teacher retention.
Dr. Luke Simmering, Director of Research at EPIC: Educator Perceptions and Insights Center and Louisiana Tech graduate, is a co-consultant for the Kansas Teacher Retention Initiative alongside Dr. Bret Church, a professor at Emporia State University.
The Kansas Retention Initiative is a data-driven and statistics-based approach to helping the school districts of the state understand the perspectives of educators who may be considering leaving the profession and what the school districts can do to better engage their faculty.
The Kansas National Education Association (KNEA), Kansas Association of School Boards, United School Administrators Kansas, and Emporia State University (ESU) provided funding to conduct the survey and deliver a state and district-level report to determine why educators choose not to remain in education.
In 2021, Kansas reported teacher vacancies are up 63%. Simmering and Church have a general understanding of what is causing the shortage. More teachers eligible for retirement are choosing to do so now, and many are choosing new careers. In addition, fewer college graduates are choosing education as a career. What they really want to know is why.
“It’s really understanding the mentality or the reasons why [educators] might leave or why they’re choosing a different profession, why they’re wanting to just completely get out of education all together to do something else,” Simmering said.
With the amount of data that is being collected through the study, Simmering looked to Louisiana Tech’s Applied Research for Organizational Solutions (AROS) group to help in analyzing the data.
AROS is a group of graduate students in the Industrial-Organizational Psychology program at Louisiana Tech under the supervision of Dr. Tilman Sheets, Dr. Mitzi Apter-Desselles, Dr. Frank Igou, and Dr. Steven Toaddy.
“Dr. Simmering’s willingness to work with our students through our AROS group is a great example of alumni giving back to Tech,” said Sheets. “It has provided our students with valuable hands-on experience working with a seasoned consultant.”
These College of Education graduate students analyzed data from over 200 school districts in the state of Kansas and provided feedback for the initiative. The data, compiled from a 10-minute survey, allow Simmering and Church to assist in consultations for school districts.
“Partnering with EPIC for their Kansas Teacher Retention Initiative was one of the most fruitful learning experiences that I had throughout my time with AROS,” said Sidney Thomas, an Industrial and Organizational Psychology doctoral student. “I felt confident in my abilities to work with a client and present data in a digestible way.”
As the Kansas Teacher Retention Initiative continues to bring understanding on the retention of educators in Kansas school districts, states like Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Missouri are reaching out to participate in the survey. As more states take part in their own research studies, AROS students will continue to work alongside the EPIC team.
“We look forward to our continued relationship with Luke as this project grows and expands to other states,” Sheets said.
Bigger question. Are you ready to win $150 in cash and prizes each week?
Starting in September, the Lincoln Parish Journal will hold the Karl Malone Toyota NFL Pick’em Contest presented by 511 and Black Rifle Coffee.
Anyone is eligible to participate and each weekly winner will go home with a $100 cash prize as well as a $50 gift card to one of our many local advertisers.
Each week the winner will be the participant with the best record out of 10 selected NFL games (ties will be broken by two separate tiebreakers consisting of guessing the total points scored in two of our weekly contests).
Our contest will be conducted for all 18 weeks of the NFL regular season. There is no entry fee, just like there is no cost to subscribe to the Lincoln Parish Journal.
It takes 20-30 seconds to sign up and not much longer than that to make your picks.
All contest decisions by LPJ management are final. Weekly winners will be notified Monday and are will be requested to take a photo that will run in the following week’s LPJ.
Every participant will receive a FREE subscription to the Journal, if you’re not already signed up for the easily-navigated, convenient 6:55 a.m. daily e-mail.
Enjoy it all, for FREE, and enter each week’s contest. You could collect $100 plus a $50 gift card each week!
Alan Scott Killen (60), son of Winston and Dorothy Killen, was born in Hodge, Louisiana on August 19, 1962. Jesus welcomed him home on August 26, 2022.
He grew up in the Ruston, Louisiana area. After graduating high school, he joined the Marine Corp and attended Louisiana Tech University. Once he graduated from Louisiana Tech, he married Melinda Welsh and attended Tulane University. He received his law degree and the couple returned to Ruston to start a family. The Lord blessed the couple, and Scott became the daddy of two beautiful children – Kirstie Shane and Christian Kane Killen.
He loved Jesus, his family, friends, church, his music, movie “classics”, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Dunkin’ Dawgs with a passion.
Over the past year, he battled and strongly fought cancer as long as his body would allow. He received strength from the grace of God, as well as, the love and support of his family and friends daily. He is now pain free and at peace, worshiping the Lord with gladness.
A visitation will be held September 2 at LifeChurch.La-Ruston at 3:30 p.m. and will be followed by a casual Celebration of Life at 4 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, please send any donations to LifeChurch.La-Ruston or the American Cancer Society in his memory.
Funeral services for Dolores Odom Williams will be 10:00 A.M. Tuesday, August 30, 2022, at Simsboro First Baptist Church in Simsboro with Dr. Matt Endris officiating. Interment will follow at the Simsboro City Cemetery under the direction of Kilpatrick Funeral Home in Ruston, LA.A visitation will be Monday, August 29, 2022, from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM at Kilpatrick Funeral Home in Ruston, LA.
Dolores was born March 21, 1930, in Ruston, LA to Alva B. Odom Sr. and Zada Ann Odom.She entered into rest on August 26, 2022, in Natchitoches, LA. Dolores was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Al Odom, James Odom, and Milton Odom; and sister Nita Beck.
Dolores, the daughter of a Baptist preacher, grew up in Jena and Hico and graduated high school from Lake Providence.She attended Louisiana College briefly but returned to her family to work at the telephone company and later at the Holiday Inn in Ruston, LA.
Several years after Dolores retired, she went back to work for NLAC and the Dixie in Ruston.She was a member of Simsboro First Baptist Church and later a member of Fairview Baptist Church of Coushatta, LA.Dolores’s desire in life was to serve the Lord, share his message, and nurture and support her family and friends. Her joy was in sewing and giving to her children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.She will be deeply missed by those who knew and loved her.
She is survived by her daughter, Lisa Worsham and husband John of Fairview Alpha; five grandchildren and their spouses, Laura and Eric Mayeaux of Natchitoches, Jessica and Aaron Watkins of Haughton, Jennifer and Michael Lofton of Bossier City, Mark and Taniuska Worsham of Thornton, CO, Sarah and Chris Jett of Florien; nine great grandchildren, Hadley Mayeaux, Sofia and Evan Watkins, Journey and Addison Lofton, Audrey and Nathan Worsham, Landry and Maisyn Jett; her brother, Floyd Odom and wife Linda of Simsboro; her sister, Glenda Reed and husband Norlen “Joe” of Simsboro; sister’s-in-law, Alice Odom and Faye Odom of Arcadia; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be made to Missions at Fairview Baptist Church of Coushatta, LA or Simsboro First Baptist Church in Simsboro, LA.
Pallbearers will be Chip Pickett, Hunter Pickett, Brian Odom, Keith Odom, Barry Odom, Darren Odom, and Bruce Odom.
Alan “Scott” Killen August 19,1962-August 26, 2022 Casual Visitation at LifeChurch.LA Ruston, September 2, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. Celebration of Life at LifeChurch.LA Ruston, September 2, 2022, 4:00 p.m.
Susan Cooper August 13, 1939 – August 28, 2022 Visitation: Friday, Sep 2, 2022, 1:00 PM-2:00 PM at Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home Funeral Service: Friday, Sep 2, 2022, 2:00 PM at Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home Cemetery Committal: Friday, Sep 2, 2022 at Fellowship Baptist Cemetery in Quitman
It’s been 17 years since Barbara Lewis heard sounds of extreme emotions expressed in the Ruston shelter where she served as a Red Cross disaster volunteer.
“Some things I tried to forget, like seeing families separated, watching males put their wives and children on a bus while they stayed behind. But the greatest joy was when families reunited,” Lewis said. “But despair was the sound of the wailing when someone found out a loved one didn’t make it.”
These are the sights and sounds the 71-year-old Ruston native remembers from working as a volunteer during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that made landfall of the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were displaced from their homes, and experts estimate that Katrina caused more than $100 billion in damage, according to history.com.
Lewis, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Grambling State University, worked on the intake team for special cases. She recalled a young woman, a student who had evacuated from Xavier University, who was “emotionally traumatized” after witnessing a volunteer bitten by an alligator. Volunteers were able to contact her parents and get her on a plane home.
There was also a busload of evacuees who had travelled for 18 hours to Ruston.
“There were diabetics on that bus for 18 hours who needed to get food supplements. You don’t realize how blessed you are until you see people who don’t have something as simple as an apple to eat,” Lewis said.
For more than 30 years Lewis has been a member of the American Red Cross. It’s a civic duty that has been instilled in her derived from her experiences throughout several decades.
“I went to University of Chicago and majored in P.E., but I always loved health promotions. One of my first jobs at University of Chicago was working in oncology. I got a chance to value life by watching others lose theirs,” she remembered. “There’s an old gospel spiritual that says, ‘If I can help someone.’”
And Lewis helps others, just as she and her family were helped in 1957 when Hurricane Audrey came through Lake Charles where her father was stationed for the military.
“I remember my father came home and told me to get my dog, Brownie, a cocker spaniel, and whatever else I wanted because when we came back it might not be there,” she said. “We stayed in an airplane hangar for a couple of days.”
Lewis was about 7 or 8 and said she remembers they were bringing bodies that had been dead in the water – a smell she will never forget.
In 2005, many evacuees came with only the clothes they had on. Lewis, as well as other volunteers, did what they could to provide, often working around the clock, sometimes 19-hour days.
“I didn’t realize it was that many hours. I went home, got a few hours of sleep then came back,” she said. “I was just trying to help and help people find loved ones.”
Lewis recalled her emotions weren’t high, as the focus was on simply getting the job done.
“If an emergency happens, I jump into work. We have a process: check, call, care, and there’s no time to be emotional,” she said. “The people are emotional, and if you are too what are you going to get accomplished? It’s a time when color, race, socioeconomic doesn’t matter. We’re all in the same boat trying to get to the same shore.”
But it was rewarding as well, Lewis noted. It’s the joy that one gets from helping others that Lewis wishes more people would adopt.
“I try to get people to understand compassion, learn to love, like and respect each other. Walk in another person’s shoes to understand how they feel,” she said. “What you get out of it is the joy that you’re helping somebody. I wish more people would instill in young people the importance and blessing of volunteering.”
The blessing of volunteering is one that was spread across the city, particularly at Trinity United Methodist Church where Allen Tuten recalls over 200 hands on deck during the aftermath of the hurricane. Tuten, shelter manager at the site and a Red Cross volunteer for approximately 20 years, remembered about 220 evacuees at the peak of the shelter’s occupancy.
“I stayed pretty busy,” Tuten recalled, noting that he remembers 12-hour days, at times longer, and working 26 of the 30 days the Trinity shelter was open.
“You know you have a job to do, and you get on with it,” he said. But being at the shelter that many days and that many hours also allotted for bonds to be formed.
“Hour by hour as time goes on you get to know people by name and not just a face. It was nice to be able to share with people, wish them well, and give them hope.”
Volunteers on site helped link people to let them know their friends and families were safe; they also did everything from washing clothes, registering people, and working in the kitchen, Tuten said, noting those were just a few of the ways the community got involved.
“The Sheriff’s Department maintained security for us, and they were fantastic in providing someone there 24 hours. Some people brought pets, and although they weren’t allowed inside, they kept them in kennels in their vehicles, went out to feed them and walk them. There was also a group of veterinarians that helped take care of pets,” he said.
“Probably the most overwhelming part was all the volunteers who came out. We made a brief announcement at church, but it wasn’t just at Trinity. It was a real community effort.”
For more information on how to get involved with the American Red Cross check out https://www.redcross.org/.
Friday’s LPPJ Ambulance Committee meeting saw a number of attendees voice their desire for city officials to return to the discussion.
By Malcolm Butler
During Friday afternoon’s Lincoln Parish Policy Jury Ambulance Committee meeting, there was a push by a couple of police jury members in attendance as well as some committee members for the City of Ruston to be invited back into the discussion.
Almost two months ago the LPPJ voted 6-3 against the City of Ruston’s proposed price tag of $645,000 to continue serving the entire parish in regards to emergency and rescue operations.
Since that vote “Plan B” has included researching the feasibility and cost of signing a contract with Pafford EMS and a memorandum of understanding with the Lincoln Parish Fire District to handle these responsibilities starting January 1 – a price tag that could eclipse $1,000,000 per year.
Policy Jurors Sharyon Mayfield and Glenn Scriber spoke during the public comment portion of Friday’s meeting. And despite the fact they both originally voted against the city’s proposal in July, Mayfield and Scriber feel that it’s important to try to get the City of Ruston back to the table.
“When I made my statements at the July (police) jury meeting, I stated that because of the big increase (in cost) that we were looking at that I didn’t think we were doing the parish justice unless we overturned every stone,” said Scriber. “We needed to look at every possible scenario so we could make the right decision for the parish. Since that time the stones have been overturned.
“We have gotten figures back that we did not have at the time of the vote. Now I would like to see if the City of Ruston would circle back and be willing to talk with us about it again. If they don’t, then we will move forward with what we have to work with. But I would sure like to try.”
Mayfield, who is in her 12th year serving on the Police Jury, agreed, citing numerous discussions with parishioners throughout the area.
“I feel like we didn’t get enough of a conversation going with the city of Ruston before we voted (in July),” Mayfield said. “When it was presented at that meeting, all we heard was $645,000. I could not visualize that amount of money. I didn’t understand where we were going to find that amount of money at this particular time.
“Right before I came to the meeting (Friday), I called (Ruston Fire Chief) Chris Womack and said the city needed to come back to the table. He said no one had invited them back. That’s why I got up in the meeting and spoke. We need to try to get everyone back at the table.”
For more than two decades, the City of Ruston handled all emergency and rescue operations for the entirety of Lincoln Parish for a cost of $30,000 annually. This year that total increased to $120,000, and the proposal from the city for the near future was that plus an annual 5 percent increase.
However, somehow, that offer never made it to the entirety of the Lincoln Parish Policy Jury members.
Instead by the time the jurors heard from the City, the proposal was up to $645,000. How and where the line of communication broke down is one of the big issues in this entire situation.
“We had been stuck at $30,000 for over 20 years,” said Womack. “The (proposal of) $120,000 was very open and honest; this was not where we ultimately needed to be. The documentation that was given to (Richard Durrett) and others stated this is what this is but not where it needs to be. But let’s get this in the door, and it’ll give us a couple of years to work out long-term funding. The $120,000 was never meant to be long-term. That got lost somewhere in the shuffle.”
By the time the July meeting was held, the City of Ruston’s offer was at $645,000 – which was seen as a huge increase and a bit overwhelming to many policy jury members.
“What I was really voting against was the fact we didn’t have all the information that we needed,” said Scriber. “As a matter of fact the night of the vote I didn’t think we were ready to vote. I really didn’t think that we were prepared to make such a serious decision with no more information than what we had.
“I voted no in hopes of revisiting this thing when we got all the numbers in. Then we could make an educated decision.”
Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker said Friday during a phone conversation that it would take an “overwhelming” majority to possibly get the city back to the table.
“The police jury, not the ambulance committee, but the police jury voted us out when they rejected the offer,” said Walker. “So the only way we would even consider – and I’m not saying we would do it – but the only way we would even consider coming back to the table is for the police jury to vote overwhelmingly that they want us back.
“They originally showed that they did not (want us at the table) until they found out the real price of doing it. Now they are fixing to spend twice as much as we offered with that $645,000.”
Walker took it a step further.
“The city didn’t pull out,” Walker said. “We got voted out by a (6-3) vote. I think it will have to be a 12-0 vote (to get us back). We have been in this process since April of 2021. It’s not fair to my firemen, my police officers, or anyone else that works for the city to drag this on forever.”
Womack said at this point that time is of the essence, regardless of whether the final decision lands on a Pafford EMS-Lincoln Parish Fire District model or a City of Ruston model.
“We have to buy equipment and be able to do the things that we need to do in order to do the job properly,” said Womack. “No door is ever shut. But everybody is in a time crunch here including us.”
When asked directly if egos had played or were now playing a role in the situation, Womack reiterated Mayor Walker’s comments about the Police Jury needing to show overwhelming support. And he added one more thought.
“Egos can’t play a role in this,” he said. “It’s public safety.”
Dr. Jackie White, affiliated with Northern Louisiana Medical Center and a member of the LPPJ Ambulance Committee, was very vocal in Friday’s meeting about a number of subjects, including bringing all parties back together to have further conversations.
Although Scriber said he could only speak for himself, he believes the members of the Lincoln Parish Policy Jury are very interested in talking with the City of Ruston again.
“I think as a collective group we are in favor of talking to the city again,” said Scriber. “But there’s no way I would go out on a limb and say that I think we could get a unanimous vote on it. I can’t speak to that. I think I have enough confidence that the majority of the jurors would be in favor of (the City) coming back to the table. Beyond that I would not speculate.
“I think by acknowledging that we would love to talk to the city again, that’s a positive thing and a step in the right direction.”
The next Ambulance Committee meeting is set for Sept. 8 at 9 a.m.
A Monroe woman was arrested early Wednesday morning on drug charges and numerous warrants after a Lincoln Parish deputy found her walking in the roadway of La. Highway 820.
Deputy S. Carr was on patrol about 3 a.m. when he saw Brianna Carter, 29, walking. Carter pointed out her broken down vehicle nearby.
The deputy followed Carter to the vehicle where he observed multiple items lying on the ground around the vehicle. One of the items was an opened reading glasses case containing a clear glass pipe commonly associated with smoking narcotics and a clear plastic bag of suspected methamphetamine.
Carter claimed ownership of the contraband.
A records check indicated Carter was wanted on several warrants from Ouachita Parish. She was arrested and booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and six Ouachita Parish warrants. The nature of the Ouachita warrants was not specified in the deputy’s report.
Bail on the local charges was set at $2,500.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video 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.
Ruston High’s Dyson Fields takes the toss and heads towards the end zone in Saturday’s Jamboree. (Photo T. Scott Boatright)
By Malcolm Butler
Ruston High
There was plenty to be excited about following the Bearcats impressive showing against West Monroe on Saturday night.
Special teams was one of them, highlighted by placekickers RJ Brown and Will Fendley. There are some big shoes to fill with the graduation of Brady Beason who was solid all season long for Ruston High during the 2021 campaign. And Saturday night, Brown and Fendley both made the most of their opportunities.
Brown was 2-for-2 in extra points while also drilling a 37-yard field goal in the second half while Fendley converted his only extra point while successfully hitting a 23-yard field goal in the second half of the 27-6 RHS win. Brown also put both of his kickoffs into the endzone for touchbacks.
Another highlight was wide receiver Aaron Jackson, who caught three passes for 57 yards, including an 18-yard TD that gave RHS the early 7-0 lead. Jackson played at Neville last season before returning to Ruston for his senior year.
Bearcat Quotable: “Aaron (Jackson) Is a kid that came through junior high here. He wasn’t out here last year as he went to Neville, but he came back. We knew him coming up through the system. We knew he was going to be the premier receiver in that class. It’s good to have him back.” – RHS Head Coach Jerrod Baugh
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Cedar Creek
Matt Middleton said numerous times leading up to Saturday’s jamboree against Evangel Christian that one of his main goals was to get through the game injury free. He came within about three minutes.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, the news was not good on offensive lineman/linebacker Jordan Vail who was injured on the last play of the game. Vail went down on an Evangel running play in the closing seconds and had to be helped off the field. On Sunday, Middleton confirmed Vail had a broken fibula and will be out for an undetermined amount of time.
Vail had actually come in on the O-line for starter Jake Smith, who had to be helped off the field just a few minutes earlier with a leg injury. Middleton said they were still waiting on the news on Smith — who also plays a key role on the Creek defensive line — and would probably know something today.
Cougar Quotable: “It was just all about being healthy through these first two games (Sterlington and Evangel). Now we have to prepare for the games that really matter. Our goal is to make it back to the playoffs this year.” – Quarterback Caden Middleton
Grambling Police arrested a Ruston man Wednesday afternoon after responding to a report of a shoplifting in progress at the Dollar General Store.
Responding officers saw the store manager running on R.W.E. Jones Drive. She stated she was chasing a man wearing blue jeans and a black shirt. She said the suspect had stolen several items totaling over $50 from the store and left running.
Police reviewed surveillance footage at the store and was able to identify the suspect as Jeremy D. Hardyway, 26, of Ruston.
Grambling officers went to a Wilson Street address Hardaway was known to visit. Hardaway saw the officers arrive and allegedly attempted to flee out the back of the apartment. He was arrested and booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for theft and criminal trespass at the Dollar General. He was also booked for a warrant from the Ruston Police Department for theft by shoplifting and one from Grambling PD for theft under $100.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video 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.
As we kick off the 2022 high school football season, the Lincoln Parish Journal wants to recognize our wonderful spirit squads for our area high schools.
The young ladies that make up these squads are a huge part of the gameday atmosphere each and every Friday night in the fall.
The LPJ says thank you for your love and loyalty for your school.
The 2022-23 Bearcat Belles
Anna Bowling, Cierah Brooks, Bethany Colvin, Kylie Foster, Alexis Goree, Matti Grillot, A’Kira Hatcher, Mary Laura Hunt, Ginger Johnson, Teagan Leblanc, LaTrinity Mardis, Kate Pullin, Ella Quarles, Ellen Ramsey, Gabrielle Simmons, Preslea St. Andre, Mattie Stephens, Paige Taunton, Brooklyn Williams
We definitely are celebrating her birthday today, but we didn’t celebrate it 17 years ago. At that time, we were glued to the television set wondering how in the world we were going to get through the next week.
Today, 17 years ago, I was sitting in my parents’ house, trying to figure out how I was going to get married on Saturday and where my new husband and I were going to live – and if we would have jobs after we said “I do.”
My supervisor at the coffee shop was in a full-blown panic. He, way more than me, recognized the severity of the hurricane crashing down on New Orleans. When I told him I wasn’t sure if I was coming back to New Orleans this whole week, he very exasperatedly told me, “I don’t know if any of us are.”
Kyle and I watched throughout the week as more and more bad news seemed to flood out of the New Orleans area. We searched the news for any sight of our apartment, our friends’ apartments, our places of work. We saw our nearby mall underwater – we had purchased a necklace from a store in that mall and left it there to be resized for our wedding day.
Thankfully, we weren’t planning to get married in New Orleans. My dress, my shoes, our location – all in north Louisiana.
By Wednesday, by the grace of God, we had secured jobs in Ruston. Remember that job that Kyle told Malcolm he couldn’t take because he had just signed an apartment lease? Turns out that job was still available – and, as you can see, changed the whole course of our life.
With jobs secure, we still had no place to live, but we figured that was a small matter in comparison to having jobs to pay rent. With an immediate future that was quite different from the one we had planned just six months previously, we exchanged vows that weekend in front of friends and family – many of whom were also hurricane evacuees.
It wasn’t a smooth day – I don’t think wedding days ever are. In fact, we forgot to purchase a cake cutter, so my dad and I rushed up to town just hours before the wedding to find one. My father, who eloped with my mother and offered me cash instead of a wedding, saw how stressed I was and said, ever so eloquently, “You know, you could be on a beach in Hawaii, and I could be mowing the yard, and we both would be happy.”
Thanks, Dad, for that pep talk.
In the end, Kyle and I ended up married. We said our vows, we exchanged rings, and we were married. Despite a hurricane, despite loss of jobs, gain of jobs, moving and not having all of our belongings, we were married. And that’s all that really mattered.
But the cleanup with Katrina – including, for us personally, retrieving our belongings – had just begun.
Jaden Osborne enters his third year as the starting QB for the Bearcats, and he looks poised to make RHS a title contender. (photo by T. Scott Boatright)
By Malcolm Butler
Jaden Osborne isn’t going to click his heels together, say no place like home, and end up at the Dome in New Orleans in December.
But the third year starter at QB for Ruston High may lead his team there the old fashion way.
On Saturday night, Osborne looked like a more well-rounded, confident quarterback as he led the Bearcats to a 27-6 jamboree “win” over West Monroe at Joe Aillet Stadium.
From his sophomore year when he first started for Ruston until now, Osborne has taken tremendous strides under center.
“His maturation process has been really good,” said RHS coach Jerrod Baugh during postgame interviews. “Jaden should be settled in at this point. He’s a three-year starter at quarterback. Having that experience back there for us is really handy from the perspective that you bring a guy back who’s really familiar with the offense. He’s been playing with these guys for a long time.
“It doesn’t matter what league you play in whether it’s high school or college of the NFL, you see teams that go a long way in the postseason usually have an experienced quarterback and the guys around him are comfortable with him. That’s no different with Jaden and us. He looked comfortable back there tonight.”
The 6-foot, 170-pound Osborne will be a key – if not the key – if the Bearcats are to make a deep run into the Louisiana Class 5A playoffs this year. Based on what the Ruston defense looked like Saturday night (as well as the special teams units), if Osborne can orchestrate a talented offensive unit into a consistent big-play scoring machine, the Bearcats may just have a chance to make a run all the way to the dome.
But first things first.
As a sophomore, Osborne was an athletic kid who was asked to play quarterback. Now three years later, Baugh admits that he is a quarterback that is athletic.
“He relied on his natural abilities as a sophomore,” said Baugh. “He can run and jump and do all of those things, and he throws the football really well. But there’s only so far that can take you if you don’t mature and turn into a quarterback. I think that’s what he’s done.”
His skill-set and his arsenal was on display Saturday night. From a frozen rope on a deep slant that converted a third down on the Bearcats opening drive to an 18-TD strike to wide receiver Aaron Jackson that gave Ruston an early 7-0 lead.
Osborne looked comfortable sitting in the pocket, buying his receivers time, and making a throw – even if it wasn’t his first read. And he made a number of nice throws on deep passes, including a 42-yard down the field strike to Logan Malone, as well as some timely check downs to running backs.
Not only did Osborne look like a veteran quarterback Saturday night, but it appears he has a number of weapons from the wide receiver position to tight end to running back. But Osborne is the ultimate key to making the Bearcats click.
He did that Saturday night.
“I think it’s Jaden having confidence in himself and the guys that he’s throwing the football to,” said Baugh. “I like to do what we can do to move the football and score points, whatever that may be. I told our guys that we had a lot of dropped balls in the Byrd scrimmage, and I challenged our receiver group.
“I told them that we are going to have to decide what things it is we are going to do well and what things we have to do to move the football and get points on the board. All the receivers took that challenge and made some plays tonight. We’re going to need that throughout the season.”
Osborne completed 8-of-16 passes for 166 yards and a TD in the win. And it came on a night where the Bearcats could muster only 37 yards rushing on 21 attempts against a stingy Rebels run defense.
In the past that lack of running production would have spelled doom for Ruston against West Monroe. But this year looks a little different for the Bearcats.
“Our first group (offense) has been going against our first group defense, and I feel like we have a really good defense,” said Baugh. “I think Jaden was a little bit more comfortable back there tonight since it wasn’t our guys he was going against.”
