Louisiana Tech University’s College of Education and Human Sciences (CEHS), in collaboration with JUMP Math, has released the outcome of an education study providing evidence-based tutoring support to over 1,000 historically underserved students in school districts in Louisiana.
JUMP Math, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to multiplying every student’s potential and fostering equitable classrooms and communities through math education, created the study with Louisiana Tech through the support of a grant from Accelerate, a national initiative supporting education in historically underserved communities.
The study demonstrated significant positive learning outcomes for students in math proficiency, understanding, confidence, and enthusiasm for the subject. The study’s goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and support systems required to successfully implement a scalable tutoring model to address learning loss among students in underserved communities.
“This international partnership is resulting in direct impact in Louisiana,” said Dr. Lindsey Keith-Vincent, Associate Dean for Research, Outreach, and Innovation, Department of Science and Technology Education Center. “In addition to improving the academic outcomes of elementary learners, students in our AROS division in the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Louisiana Tech University are also directly benefiting, as they engage in hands-on learning through the data collection and analysis process.”
The key findings in the comprehensive report by the University highlight the successful impact of the program. Results show improved overall math proficiency among participating students, whose learning progressed rapidly while using the JUMP Math lesson modules over a two-month period, with a statistically significant improvement in scores across all modules.
Additionally, the study revealed that math learning increased at almost the same rate for boys and girls, demonstrating the gender-neutral, equitable approach of the modules. The tutorial modules also resulted in positive student learning outcomes, regardless of prior exposure to the classroom modules.
“The College of Education and Human Sciences is thrilled that, through Dr. Tillman Sheets’ leadership, we have formed a solid relationship with JUMP Math that is resulting in additional college faculty co-constructing math interventions better to support learners in this state, this nation, and internationally,” Keith-Vincent added.
Beyond the academic gains made by students, this initiative also revealed a transformation in students’ sense of self-efficacy and attitudes toward math.
“The generous support provided by Accelerate has allowed us to advance our mission to transform math education for the students who need it most through our evidence-based approach to math instruction,” says Ken Aucoin, CEO of JUMP Math. “These results demonstrate the power of well-researched and designed support and resources to enable all students to achieve math success.”
The 104th Annual Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet, presented by Century Next Bank will be held Thursday, February 1, 2024 at the Ruston Civic Center at 6 p.m.
Awards to be presented by Chamber: * Robert E. Russ: Tom O’Neal * Business of the Year: Johnston and Murphy Dental Care * Young Business Leader of the Year: Chris Garriga
Awards to be presented on behalf of Ruston-Lincoln Organizations: * Rotary Club of Ruston, Bill Best Humanitarian * Kiwanis of Ruston Outstanding People: Firefighter of the Year; Law Enforcement Officer of the Year; Educator of the Year * Lincoln Parish Schools, Distinguished Partner in Education * Experience Ruston, Hospitality Award * Junior Auxiliary of Ruston, Betty Robbins Volunteer of the Year
The banquet, presented by Century Next Bank, will begin at 6 p.m. with networking and refreshments. Dinner will be served at 6:45 p.m. Attire is business or semi-formal. Tiered level sponsors of this event are Origin Bank, Etheridge Pipeline & Conduit, Good Day Farm and Hunt, Guillot & Associates (HGA).
A free workshop on growing and caring for roses will be offered on February 6, 2024, at the Lincoln Parish Library in Ruston, Louisiana. At this workshop, LSU AgCenter Horticulture Specialist Mark Wilson will offer information on rose garden maintenance, including pruning, fertilization, mulching, disease management, and insect control.
On-site registration begins at 5:15 p.m. on February 6, 2024, at the Lincoln Parish Library, 910 North Trenton Street, Ruston, Louisiana, with Johnny’s Pizza. The workshop begins at 6:00 p.m. and concludes at 7:30 p.m. To pre-register or for more information on the workshop, call or text (318) 237-8350 and provide your contact information and name of workshop.
Free registration and refreshments for this workshop are made possible by the support of these partners and sponsors: Drax; Hunt Forest Products, LLC; Mudd & Holland Consulting Foresters, LLC; Canfor Southern Pine; Burnham Construction; LSU AgCenter; Louisiana Forestry Association; Louisiana Sustainable Forestry Initiative; and Trailblazer RC&D.
Trailblazer RC&D is a nonprofit organization that provides leadership, coordination, partnership development, and technical assistance projects to encourage strong communities, sustainable agriculture, and a healthy environment.
A Grambling State University student was arrested in his dorm room Monday after housing staff found him with a large bag of marijuana.
Brandon Washington, 19, of Glendale, Wisconsin, was arrested by GSU Police Monday afternoon after a resident assistant called officers to a Tubman Hall dorm room.
Police were shown a bag of approximately 53 grams of marijuana, a “blunt roller,” scales, packaging materials, and over $200 in mixed bills.
Washington was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, and violation of the drug-free zone law. His bail amount was not available at publication time.
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.
An Arcadia man was arrested Thursday evening after the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated a reported domestic assault and a subsequent wild chase.
Devin Tyshun Holland, 19, was arrested for domestic abuse battery with child endangerment after the investigation.
Deputies located Holland and some of the parties involved on Hull Avenue just off West California Ave. Other deputies responded to the reported scene of the incident at a residence on La. Highway 544 and talked to the reported victim.
Deputies were told Holland stopped by his ex-girlfriend’s residence and discovered another man there and got upset. Holland physically took his daughter from the ex-girlfriend by pulling her left arm and grabbed the victim by the throat, stating he was leaving. He made statements about not wanting to hit her.
Holland left with his daughter and was encountered on Walnut Creek Road by another individual who pulled in front of Holland and stopped suddenly. Holland was unable to stop and struck the man’s car. Holland then continued and eventually reached Ruston on I-20 while being followed by the man.
Holland reportedly reached speeds over 90 miles an hour and eventually stopped on Hull Ave. with the other parties behind him. Holland was arrested and booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center. His bail amount was not available.
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 return for legendary Ruston Bearcat Scotty Thurman was spoiled Tuesday night in large part due to a stellar third quarter performance by Ruston to win over his Parkview High Patriots from Arkansas.
The Bearcats would outscore the Patriots 26-6 in the third quarter after only leading by two at halftime.
“This was a great bounce back after Friday night,” Ruston High head coach Ryan Bond said. “I’m proud of our attention to detail. Joran Parker did a great job of defending their best player in the second half. Aidan Anding and Trey Dimmer took care of the ball tonight. Ahmad Hudson stayed out of foul trouble. We were able to keep him on the floor for longer stretches.”
For Thurman, it was not the homecoming he had envisioned based on the play of his team.
“It’s always good to come back home,” Thurman said. “You know, obviously I would like to have had a better showing in this, but it’s always good to come back and see familiar faces, friends and family. I’ve got my niece and my great-niece and nephew here. It was pretty big time to come back and coach in front of friends and family. Like I said, I wish we could have played a little bit better.”
Ruston lead 14-8 after the first quarter, but a quick 10-0 run by Parkview to start the second quarter gave the Patriots an 18-14 lead with nearly 5 minutes to go in the first half. The two teams would practically trade baskets for the rest of the quarter, and Ruston would go on to lead 25-23 at the half.
Anding led all scorers with 20 points on the night after draining six three-pointers on the night.
“He looked like Scotty Thurman shooting the ball tonight,” Bond said of his junior guard’s performance. “I could tell today during practice he was locked in and ready to play.”
Both Hudson and Dimmer ended with 12 points apiece.
Parkview’s Dallas Thomas is a commit for Clemson’s men’s basketball team and scored 19 points.
Ruston returns to action Friday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gym.
Zoey Venters (14) scores two of her game-high 14 points. (Photo by Darrell James)
by Malcolm Butler
After St. Frederick had fought its way back into the game with Cedar Creek, Lady Cougar Zoey Venters fought them back off.
Venters scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in the decisive third quarter to lead Cedar Creek (14-9, 3-0) to a 54-36 road win over the Warriors. (3-13, 0-3). With the victory, the Lady Cougars maintain their lead in District 2-1A with a showdown at OCS set for Friday.
With Cedar Creek holding a 30-22 halftime advantage, Venters scored 10 of the first 12 points of the third quarter as the Lady Cougars extended their lead to 46-25.
Venters hit back-to-back short corner jumpers before following with a layup at the 5:30 mark to make it 36-5. After a Caroline James bucket, Venters scored back-to-back baskets again as the lead ballooned to 42-25 on her offensive rebound and putback with 3:03 to play in the stanza.
“Her engine never stops,” said Cedar Creek head coach Katie Hall. “She was worried about picking up fouls and I told her to trust her instincts. She plays hard. She rebounds. She hit some big buckets for us in that third quarter. I love her energy.”
The Lady Cougars jumped out to a fast start, taking a 17-5 lead on a Venters bucket with three minutes to play in the first quarter. Mallory Smith scored the first four of the game and then Olivia Underwood buried a corner three and a pull up jumper to spark the Cougars early.
“We were trying to push it early,” said Hall. “We knew they didn’t have many players and couldn’t got deep on their bench. We wanted to play fast and take advantage of that.”
Creek led 18-11 at the end of the first and a Mary Grace Hawkins bucket early in the second quarter made it 20-11. However, a Warriors three-pointer started a 10-2 run over the next three minutes as St. Fred cut the deficit down to 22-21. However, Leah Sutherland started a quarter-ending 8-1 run with and putback and James netted the final six points of the frame to make it 30-22 at half.
The Lady Cougars took advantage of their depth against the six-person St. Fred’s squad, pushing the ball in transition in the third quarter.
“I feel like especially in the second half, they got tired,” said Hall. “We kept pushing the ball in transition and I thought it was effective. And I thought our defense in the second half was much better.”
Hall was able to provide some extended minutes to her bench in the fourth quarter as Arlyn Boyet recorded her first varsity basket in the final quarter.
In addition to Venter’s double digit scoring night, Sutherland added 12 points and James chipped in with 10.
Jersey Alexander led St. Fred’s with 11 points.
The Lady Cougars will travel to face OCS Friday with the outright district title on the line. OCS edged Lincoln Prep 42-39 last night to stay within a game of the Lady Cougars.
(Editor’s note: One of prop bets for Super Bowl LVIII [or 58 if you’re tired of Roman numerals, which we don’t use except at Super Bowl time because we are not Roman, DUUH! ] is whether Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce will propose to superpower Taylor Swift, who has recently been classified as her own planet, displacing Pluto, on the field. As of Tuesday, odds were long on Super Love Sunday: to wager on “no proposal,” you’d have to bet $2,200 and, if there were no proposal, you’d win $100 and get your $2,200 back. Betting-wise, not a great proposal.)
Sunday’s two NFL conference championships games were examples of why it would be fun for coaches to interview journalists now and then, instead of always the other way around.
Because first, the games were shining examples of why sports are the only true reality television.
Baltimore had the best running game in the NFL in the regular season, rushed for 229 yards in a 34-10 route of Houston Jan. 20 in the AFC Divisional round — and ran the ball only 16 times in a 17-10 loss to Kansas City in the AFC title game. The Ravens running backs rushed just six times. The Ravens defense held Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes scoreless in the third quarter, gave up just 17 points, but did not even really try to run, just expected quarterback Lamar Jackson to be Superman and/or silver-armed Tom Brady, so did NOT do “what brung ’em,” and lost.
Detroit pretty much DID do what brung ’em, but they lost too, 34-31 in San Francisco. Dan Campbell, a big man who in three years as head coach has turned Detroit’s franchise around and made them winners for the first time since Moses was cleaning Red Sea slime off his sandals, has gambled since he took over the team, running and gunning on fourth down, rolling the dice, all that sort of thing. Playing with a reckless, carefree confidence. Those results paid off — until they didn’t Sunday, when ill-timed fourth-down decisions in a game with No Tomorrow didn’t go as Campbell and Detroit and their long-suffering fans had hoped.
“Part of the gig,” Campbell said afterward, having been around long enough to know you win some, you lose some, you get praised for some, you get criticized for some, but you dress out for all of them. He didn’t read the room right Sunday, but you’ve got to love the guy.
This is what might have happened had Campbell gone to the press box 45 minutes after the game and had a press conference with the writers, tables turned, concerning several stories and TV reports that all those critical failures to convert fourth downs contributed to Detroit’s loss, which they did. Same as they’d have contributed to a win had they succeeded.
Coach: “So here’s the lede you wrote: ‘Four chances. Four chances on fourth down for Detroit to show the football world what it’s made of. The Lions blew them all.’ You start a sentence with a NUMERAL and end a sentence with a PREPOSITION?! Where did you learn grammar, K-Mart?”
Writer: “I got your ‘starting a sentence with a number’ right here. How about ‘Four score and seven years ago.’ Sound familiar? How about this?: ‘Sugar and spice and everything nice. That’s what little girls are made OF.’ It’s only one of the most famous nursery rhymes ever and has been around 10 times longer than since Detroit last won a playoff game.”
Coach, to another writer: “You start a story with ‘It,’ the ultimate in lazy. You wrote, ‘It will go down as one of the great blunders in NFL Championship history.’ As in, ‘I can’t think of how to describe ‘it’ right off the bat so I’ll just say ‘it’ and explain later. Hopefully.’ Pitiful.”
Writer: “Really? REALLY? ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’ If it’s good enough for Chuck Dickens, it’s good enough for me. I almost went with ‘Call me Ishmael,’ ‘Ishmael’ being Arabic for ‘Guy Who Should Have Taken The Field Goal.’”
Coach: “You said our second-half defense was a ‘colander.’ Did you mean ‘sieve’? The phrase is ‘a sieve-like defense,’ not a ‘colander’ defense.”
Writer: “Sieve. Colander. Sling blade. Kaiser blade. Potato. PoTAHto. You’re nit-pickin’ now! Tell me, when’s the last time you wrote on deadline? The next time will be the first time, that’s when. You make a B+ on a freshman theme or win an award from the Optimist Club for an essay and think you’re Grantland Rice. I’m done here: I still have to write a column and a sidebar…”
Coach: “Well why not try for something lighter, something more optimistic, something like, ‘It was the best of times, it was the could-have-been-a-little-better of times…’”
Brett Bell (3) guards a Warriors ball-handler during Tuesday night’s action. (Photo by Darrell James)
By Malcolm Butler
Peyton Odom scored 20 points and Parker Robinson added 15 to lead St. Frederick to a 76-36 win over Cedar Creek Tuesday night in District 2-1A action.
The Warriors (11-9, 2-1) used a tenacious run-and-jump half court defense to force turnovers that led to transition buckets while never allowing the Cougars (12-9, 1-2) to get into any type of offensive rhythm.
“It comes down to the atmosphere and the noise in the gym,” said Cedar Creek head coach Lance Waldron. “I couldn’t communicate to my players. They couldn’t communicate to each other. That caused us all of our troubles.
“We couldn’t get where we needed to be. We only have so many timeouts. Even when we called a timeout it was hard to communicate to the guys. It caused a lot of problems for us.”
Jack Bell opened the game with a corner three for the Cougars, giving them an early 3-0 advantage. However, it was short-lived as St. Frederick rattled off 14 straight points over the next five minutes of the quarter to build an 11-point lead.
Bell added an elbow jumper and a late quarter three-pointer to score eight of the Cougars nine first quarter points as they trailed 20-9 after the opening stanza.
The Cougars struggled to successfully attack the Warriors half-court, physical defense as the Warriors scored the first 16 points of the second quarter to push the lead to 36-9 with just over three minutes to play before the half.
“They were out for blood,” said Waldron. “They wanted to send a message with this game it looked like to me. They overwhelmed us and just beat us down.
“We put it on the floor too much. We would come down and we were one pass maybe, and we were shooting a shot and it was off-balance most of the time. We never seemed to get back to our fundamentals. We seemed to push the panic button the entire game.”
Cougars leading scorer Jake Doan was harassed all night by the Warriors, constantly being double and triple teamed throughout the contest. Doan, who ended the game with 16 points, scored six points in the closing few minutes before halftime but the Cougars trailed 43-19.
“This is just one game,” said Waldron. “The wheels aren’t falling off even though they beat the mess out of us. We are a better team now than we were three games ago. Sometimes that is hard to see because of who you are playing.”
According to Waldron one of the bright spots for the Cougars was sophomore post Blake Robinson. The all-district linebacker for the Creek football team has started to get more minutes over the past few games and is providing the Cougars some inside play.
“Blake really came in and gave us some muscle and some size,” said Waldron. “We are going to need that moving forward. It has taken him some time to figure out what we are wanting and to work within the system with the other guys. He has really giving us something we needed. The last two games he has really done a nice job out there. Adding Blake to the mix has given us some muscle that we really, really needed.”
Bell added 10 points in the loss while Landon Hall chipped in with five points off the bench and Robinson added three points.
Lincoln Prep’s Steven Burks III led the Panthers with 29 points in Tuesday night’s home win over Ouachita Christian. (Photo by T. Scott Boatright)
By T. Scott Boatright
Stephen Burks III exploded for 29 points overall — including all of the Panthers points in the opening stanza — to lead Lincoln Preparatory School to a 64-49 win over District 2-1A rival Ouachita Christian Tuesday night at the LPS Gym.
Lincoln Prep led 14-12 at the end of the opening stanza thanks to Burks’ strong start, but OCS battled back to cut the Panthers’ lead to two points at 26-24 at intermission, thanks to a pair of big dunks from Eagles post player Tate Hamby.
OCS opened the third quarter with a full-court pass to Hamby, who dunked again to tie things up only 22 seconds into the second half.
Lincoln Prep led by only one point at 40-39 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Panthers outscored the Eagles 24-10 in the final eight minutes to pull away for the win.
“You’ve got to give credit to OCS —- they came in with a pretty good game plan and man, they’ve got some tremendous athletes and play really physical,” said Panthers coach Antonio Hudson. “Fortunately we were able to withstand that and pull away at the end.”
But while he was glad to see the win, Hudson still wasn’t thrilled with the trio of dunks slammed home against his squad.
“We were lazy from the beginning,” Hudson said. “I’ve never seen a team dunk on us the way OCS did tonight. And I don’t like it. But again, it’s a testament to the fact that they’ve got some athletes. The good thing is that at the end of the day, a win is a win and we were able to pull it out. We’ve got a busy week.
“We were coming off a rivalry again over Arcadia Saturday night (a win for the Panthers), and sometimes coming off that kind of game you have a lull. We didn’t practice on Sunday, so we only had one day of practice between games.
Burks was strong in all phases, adding 11 rebounds and three steals to his scoring effort.
“He stepped up big,” Hudson said of Burks. “He’s got to trust it more, especially on a night like tonight when he got hot. “He played his tail off tonight, and that’s what I expect from a senior. He’s played hard for four years and has been around the program for six because his older brother played for us, too, so I expect him to step up in big moments and I’m proud of the way he did that tonight.”
Devin Burton also doubled-doubled for the Panthers, pouring in 14 points and pulling down 10 rebounds while Trumarion Smith added seven points and five assists for the Panthers while Armarje Young chipped in with seven points and five assists for Lincoln Prep.
The Panthers, now 12-7 overall and 3-0 in district play, make a quick return to the court tonight as they play host to Homer.
Lincoln Prep’s Asijah Wright sets up to stop and pop for two points during Tuesday night’s home loss to Ouachita Christian. (Photo by T. Scott Boatright)
By T. Scott Boatright
In a back-and-forth contest from the get go, it felt early on like Tuesday night’s District 2-1A showdown pitting the Ouachita Christian Lady Eagles at Lincoln Preparatory School would come down to the free-throw line.
Unfortunately for the Lady Panthers, that’s exactly what happened as Ouachita Christian held on for a 42-39 road win at the LPS Gym.
OCS led 16-8 at the end of the opening stanza and maintained a four-point halftime advantage at 19-15 largely in part because the Lady Eagles were hitting more free throws than the Lady Panthers.
And Lincoln Prep managed to cut the OCS lead down to two points at 28-26 at the 1:22 mark of the third quarter when Synniah Spann banked a jumper off the glass before the Lady Eagles regained a four-point advantage at 33-29 heading into the final eight minutes of play.
But that left Lincoln Prep with a chance, and the Lady Panthers took advantage with Asijah Wright’s putback jumper tying things up at 33-33 with 6:21 remaining.
The :Lady Panthers moved out on top 35-33 at the 5:06 of the final period on a Ajah Saulsberry layup before pushing their advantage to four points at 37-33 on a Cali Cotton putback with 4:06 left on the clock.
That left the Lady Panthers in the driver’s seat with the free-throw line being the vehicle they had to drive to a win.
But Lincoln Prep went 0-for-4 (with a lane violation) at the charity stripe while the Lady Eagles went 2-of-3 from the foul lane in the final stanza to escape with the win.
“You can’t go 12-of-25 at the free-throw line and expect to win,” said Lady Panthers coach Fred Hearn. “It’s as simple as that. And that’s what made the difference tonight — the difference between a win and loss.”
Wright led the Lady Panthers with 12 points while Jayleen Spann added eight for the Lady Panthers, now 8-13 overall and 1-2 in district play.
“We’re made a lot of progress since winning only three games last season,” Hearn said. “We’re still learning, and part of that is learning to take advantage of situations and learning how to win. Anything can still happen, but now we have to try and win out the rest of the way.
“But anything’s possible and we’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to keep working and keep learning and see what happens.
Next up for the Lady Panthers is a district contest at St. Frederick on Friday.
Choudrant girls basketball coach Brandy Roberson and her Lady Aggies down stand at 3-0 in District 2-B after defeating Forest at home Tuesday night (Photo by T. Scott Boatright)
By T. Scott Boatright
The Choudrant High School basketball teams made a quick night of it as the Aggies’ boys and girls squads both earned commanding home wins over Forest with each contest featuring running clocks because of the scoring disparities in those contests.
Lady Aggies 62, Lady Bulldogs 20
Choudrant built a 10-point advantage by the end of the opening stanza at 12-2 as the Lady Aggies remained undefeated in District 2-B play with the 42-point win over Forest.
The Lady Aggies led 24-10 at halftime before turning up the “O” in the second half, outscoring Forest 21-6 in the third quarter and 20-4 over the final eight minutes of play.
Reese Brown led the way for Choudrant with 22 points while Brelyn Pyle added 17 and Alyssa Bell chipped in with 10.
The Lady Aggies (11-18 overall and 3-0 in District 2-B) will next play host to Simsboro on Friday.
_____________________________________
Aggies 72, Bulldogs 36
Senior post player Michael Jones powered his way for 32 points Tuesday night as Choudrant doubled Forest’s scoring total at the CHS Gym.
But the Aggies didn’t control from the start.
Forest led 17-15 at the end of the opening stanza, and 27-25 at halftime before the Aggies came back out hot on both offense and defense after intermission, outscoring Forest 28-3 in the third quarter and 19-6 in the fourth to race away for the win.
Braden Soto added 18 points for the Aggies, who now stand at 19-12 overall and 2-1 in District 2-B action.
It been an expectedly quick scheduling for Ruston High head coach Jacquelyn Bean, considering the official pairing was only announced yesterday.
But the No. 12 Ruston High Lady Bearcats (8-8-1) will be hosting No. 21 East Jefferson (7-6-5) tonight with first touch set for 5:30 p.m at Hoss Garrett Stadium.
“The decision was made around lunch time (Tuesday) to play Wednesday due to East Jefferson being on Mardi Gras break at the end of the week, beginning Thursday, and their team possibly not having their full squad to travel because of the break,” Bean said. “I didn’t expect that East Jefferson’s request would be so soon; I requested later in the week because we just played last night in the rescheduled district match from the week of ice.
“I wanted to do what was right, and we want to win, but I also want us to deserve the win. Everyone understands it’s playoffs and if you lose you’re out, but I want the team to feel they deserve to be in the next round, not advance because we played half their squad because of other factors out of East Jefferson’s control. I reached out to the older girls on the team for how they felt about playing so soon in a match so important and they said it best: Let’s go.”
Admission with be $5 for adults and students will be able to get in free. Elementary students will be admitted for free with an adult.
Decisions, decisions, decisions…. that is something both coaches and tournament anglers have in common. For a baseball coach, he must decide when to make a pitching change. If he waits too long, the opponent will take advantage and push runs across the plate. For a football coach, calling the right play at the right time can be the difference between winning or losing.
But for a tournament bass angler, he or she must make the right decision all the time or they’ll get to watch someone else walk across the stage collecting the check that was meant for themself. For anglers, it’s about being in the right place at the right time. Timing in bass fishing is everything and it’s important that the angler plan out his day and try to be in the right location approximately at the same time he might have caught them the day before, give or take an hour.
Some anglers keep a log of every practice day and make notes on when, where, and how they caught fish. Some anglers use what is called an iSolunar Chart which is a predictor of daily wild game activity. This chart is based off the position of the moon and its location in the sky. For example, when the moon is underfoot or overhead, game activity is supposed to be at its peak. I’m a firm believer in this chart and it has proven itself to be fairly accurate over my many years of fishing and hunting.
Now don’t misunderstand, it’s not an exact science but it is based off science. The way I attempt to use this chart is to make sure I’m in one of the better areas I found in practice during the predicted peak time the chart says. The problem with using this type of logic, or science, is that if you don’t catch them during this so-called peak period predicted, it can cause you to spin out or lose confidence, which is something all anglers try to avoid.
For tournament bass fishermen, confidence is very important. You must believe in and try to execute whatever game plan you’ve put together. Whether they believe in moon charts or horoscopes, an angler’s mental state of mind is crucial for their success. But the one constant that great anglers tend to have is the ability to adjust their game plan depending on changing conditions that mother nature presents.
In bass fishing, every day is a new day and how you caught them in practice may not be how you catch them on tournament day. Bass fishing is a constantly evolving game depending on the conditions. No two days are hardly ever the same except during the summer months when the weather tends to be stable with less fronts coming through.
Once again, tournament fishing is all about making the right decision at the right time. Like a poker game, you must know when to hold them or when to fold them. Till next time good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to apply your sunscreen. Melanoma is the number one killer of all types of cancers. Don’t take any chances, wear good UV protective clothing, and use sunscreen.
Louisiana Tech’s Niilo Maki-Petaja continued his strong play in round three on Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass, shooting 70 (E) to finish in a tie for fourth among the 84-player field at the Sea Best Invitational.
It was a jam-packed leaderboard for much of the final round as 4th through 10th was separated by half a dozen strokes throughout the morning, a portion that included LA Tech.
The Bulldogs had a chance to move up from their 8th-place position coming into round three, but a tough finish on the final three holes dropped them back to ninth shooting 297-288-288=873 (+33).
Maki-Petaja was steady with three birdies, three bogeys, and 12 pars to make it three straight rounds at or under par for the freshman in recording his first career top-5 finish.
Will Patrick and Lake Juban each registered their best round of the tournament, shooting 72 (+2) apiece to finish tied for 48th and 55th, respectively.
Hunter Battles was the fourth scorecard used in the third round. The senior was flirting with a top-20 finish, but a triple-bogey on the last hole dropped him into a tie for 33rd as an individual shooting 74 (+4).
No. 26 Florida took home the title, followed by North Florida and Louisville who both rank in the top 50 in the country.
The Lincoln Parish School Board held a public forum Monday in Ruston High School’s auditorium to offer an opportunity for public feedback regarding a bond proposal for capital improvement plan considerations in the April 27 election for residents within Ruston School District No. 1.
And while a majority of the feedback could be classified as curiosity regarding portions of the proposal, a heated exchange took place toward the end of the night.
Newly elected LPSB president Gregg Phillips began with an address to the crowd, which numbered close to 100 total of parish-wide community members, teachers, students and administrators.
“We just wanted to get together and begin the conversation and dialog with our community to talk about some of the issues that we see at the board,” Phillips said to the crowd. “These are some things that we’d like to address, over the next few years. So where we landed was, we decided that we were going to put together an idea for a five-year millage. This is a renewal of a current millage that we would do for five years to address some of the infrastructure needs, security needs and some other items that we would like to address as a district.”
LPSB superintendent Ricky Durrett then outlined the proposal for the a 17.5 million dollar bond that the school board will vote on during the February session. If it passes, it will head to an election in April.
Preliminary Proposal:
RHS Roof: $1,000,000
RHS Entrance Upgrade for Security: $750,000
RHS Body Scan Machines: $300,000
RHS Parking Lot by Gym: $330,000
RHS Covered Pavilion: $5,000,000
RHS Softball Field Upgrades: $3,500,000
RHS Boys & Girls Basketball Renovations: $1,500,000
During the question and comments section, multiple parish residents voiced concerns regarding different matters from questions ranging from the purchase of activity buses to body-scan machines to the covered pavilion.
First, a question was brought up to clarify the cost of buses that are in the general fleet as opposed to buses that are being utilized for afterschool activities. The proposal for the $900,000 activity buses would strictly go toward buses that would be used to transport students to sporting and extracurricular activities. The activity buses would be air-conditioned and will have storage and seatbelts, as well.
A longterm goal of purchasing activity buses would be to offset the cost of chartering for various school activities. Currently, the school district has around 10 activity buses.
Newly-elected Lincoln Parish Police Jury member Diane Richards spoke near the beginning with questions regarding the softball complex upgrade to Bittersweet.
“Why can’t the girls use the boys’ baseball field?” Richards asked Durrett in the public microphone. “What’s the difference?”
Durrett responded by explaining the different sizes of the fields and the size of the mounds being two of many reasons why it would not be possible to share fields between baseball and softball.
Allyson Foster, research attorney for the Louisiana second circuit court, is a softball mom at Ruston High and spoke afterward to the need for an investment in Lady Bearcat softball.
“I really want to make sure that Ruston High softball has the equal opportunity as any other sports program in the parish to be able to stay competitive as a program,” Foster said. “And we haven’t had a complete use of our facilities for years. In order to stay competitive, we should be able to have access year round, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We’ve got some great athletes, but we can’t develop them and give them the opportunity to continue to build when we don’t have access (to a facility), and we’re treated like a part time sport, which we’re not. So we can’t compete in our district without being able to have the same opportunities as everybody else that we play against.
“Other schools in Lincoln Parish– you’ve got Choudrant, Simsboro, Cedar Creek; every single school, every single softball program in North Louisiana (has their own facility). And in our area, they’re all practicing; they’re all there on the weekends. They’re all doing everything. We just can’t keep up, right? You’re really blocked from developing your program any further without having complete use of a facility.”
An audience member followed afterward by questioning the maintenance and repair costs of new construction in Ruston’s district, citing his expertise as a civil engineer.
A further question arose regarding the prioritization of the listed projects, despite the bond measure being allocated to cover all of the proposed items on the agenda.
“Our number one priority is security for Ruston Junior High and Ruston High School,” Durrett said. “Ruston Junior High is probably higher on the list because of Buc-ee’s coming sometime in 2025.”
From a security perspective, Ruston High School’s entrance security would be upgraded to change some of the doors to prevent people and students from coming in and out and safely getting students into the school through a main entrance that will have body-scanners. These scanners are designed for students to walk through without having to stop and will only flag if something appears to be out of sorts in pockets or a bag, such as a weapon.
There will be three body-scan machines purchased for Ruston High and two for Ruston Junior High. All five will be portable and can be used at different sports events as need be.
Dr. Liz White spoke during the public comment time to the mental health of students who may be anxious about being scanned upon arrival.
“I’m all for security, and we definitely need security for our kids,” White said. “There is some discussion on the use of those machines and the effect it has on student anxiety. We definitely don’t want there to be anything that hinders their performance in school.”
“We’ve talked to several districts,” Durrett responded. “Some use metal detectors. What we’re talking about is something called the ‘Evolve System.’ It scans gun parts, knives, vape pens; there’s different settings to put it on. But the kids are just walking through and not stopping if you don’t have anything in there. If you do, it will show up on a device and the child will be stopped to show what has been identified. Kids will be able to figure out over time what they can and cannot bring.”
The proposal also includes a $5 million covered pavilion that will be built near the Chick Childress Field House. The pavilion will be able to be used by multiple sports, not just football, and for pep squads and the band, as well.
Toward the end, tensions percolated when Ruston resident Bill Smith spoke to the speed of which he deemed the school board to be moving forward with the plans.
“I’m an older man and it takes me longer to read and understand all these things that we’re discussing,” Smith said. “We’re always in a rush to do these things. And it doesn’t appear to be enough thought and consideration being given. I think we need to slow down a little bit and figure it out.”
Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh responded to Smith’s comments and defended the preliminary proposal.
“I take exception to that,” Baugh said. “That’s my job on a daily basis: it’s to try and evaluate all sorts of things these kids need. I would encourage you to come look at some of these places and listen to some parents about what their arguments are for the kids. I think you’re quick to say ‘no’ without going through and researching for yourself about what we need to do for our kids. At the end of the day, that’s what I feel like we all need to be following more in the same direction to do what’s best for the kids involved.
“I would also add that if we pass this, it’s not like you can pick and choose what parts you feel like you need more than the other.”
Smith quickly responded.
“I’d like to take exception to that,” Smith said. “You tried real hard a few months back to get the indoor facility passed. Didn’t work. And you haven’t said anything about it to John Q. Public since that tax failure. And now you want to come up and talk like you look at an item in ten minutes and decide what’s best for these stakeholders. All I said was that we needed time to think about it.”
Smith then went personal with his comments to Baugh.
“You get your paycheck from him,” Smith said, referring to Durrett. “I would expect you to jump out of Durrett’s pocket and bark and support what he does. It doesn’t mean it’s right.”
“That means you don’t know who I am,” Baugh said.
“I know exactly who you are,” Smith said louder. “I know exactly who you are, Baugh.”
As the crowd sat stunned, Baugh exited the room in an effort to de-escalate the situation.
Dr. White then addressed the room to thank Durrett and the school board for holding the open forum, despite the disagreements.
“I want to thank the superintendent for bringing us together,” White said. “I think it’s great for the community, and it’s great for us. As we go into this, let us go into this together. I just appreciate you bringing us together.”
Ladarius Mamon, owner of Phat’s Barbershop, said after the meeting he was pleased with the preliminary proposal.
“It’s a great proposal,” Mamon said. “I’m not a timeline guy, so I just want it all to be done. And I loved having a public forum. This is my first time coming to one, and I didn’t know what to expect. And, honestly, right now, I could have stayed and listened longer. I loved hearing the views from people — that’s one of the things that, even with my podcast, that I like to present to the people of Ruston and Lincoln Parish. So I’m thankful for the school board for having this forum. This is great.”
Ruston High principal Dan Gressett also expressed his gratitude for the public forum.
“I think the meeting went well overall,” Gressett said. “We probably had 150-plus in attendance. There were some good questions. We are fortunate to have a superintendent that supports us, asks our needs, then acts on it. We don’t get everything we ask for. There’s nothing on that list that I don’t feel like we need. Some we have to have now. Do we have nice facilities? Yes. But we want the best. We want to be the best in everything. Do our girls need their own softball facility? Yes. I’m speaking as a parent of a 7th grader and as a principal. We want our kids to have the best. We didn’t just come up with these ideas on a whim. We have talked about most of this stuff for years — people that are invested in Ruston High School have talked about it. You’re either moving forward or you’re moving backwards. At the end of the day it’s about what will benefit our kids.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to see most of the facilities in Louisiana and even surrounding states. I’ve driven a bus for thousands and thousands of miles. How nice would it have been to have those activity buses that have been proposed? How nice would it be to have a covered facility that nearly all of our athletes and many other students would benefit from? Baseball needs renovations. We must have a new roof. We must have security upgrades. Again, that list is good. We have some great things going at RHS, but we can’t remain stagnant. Be for it or against it. But be informed. That meeting tonight was a chance to be informed.”
The bond proposal will first be voted on by the members of the school board on Tuesday, February 6, at noon at Ruston Elementary.
Former Ruston Bearcat Scotty Thurman will lead his Parkview (Ark.) High School team into Memorial Gym tonight to face his alma mater. (Courtesy photo)
By T. Scott Boatright
A hometown hero returns to Ruston tonight as the Parkview High School Patriots from Little Rock, Arkansas, head south to take on the RHS Bearcats inside Scotty Robertson Memorial Gym on the Louisiana Tech University campus.
Tip-off for that contest is set for 6 p.m. today.
That hometown hero is Scotty Thurman, a former hoops standout at Ruston High, where he was was president of the student body his senior year and was a regular on the school’s honor roll.
Thurman then moved on to play for the University of Arkansas, where as a Razorback from 1992-96 he may be best known for a late 3-pointer to give the Hogs the lead for good in the 1994 national championship game against Duke.
During his three-year Arkansas career, Thurman scored 1,650 points and currently ranks 10th on the school’s all-time scoring list.
Thurman remains the only player in Arkansas history to be named to the All-SEC first team three times, and continues to hold Arkansas’ single-season record for 3-pointers in a season with 102 and also ranks second on the career 3-point chart with 267.
After college, Thurman played 11 seasons of professional basketball overseas in Lebanon, Greece, Cyprus and Italy. His successful pro career came to a close after the 2006 season.
Thurman, who has coached at Parkview since 2019, had led the Patriots to a 12-12 record so far this season while Ruston head coach Ryan Bond has guided his Bearcats to a 13-8 mark so far this season.
Bond, who played for Louisiana Tech from 1992-96, first got to know when the pair were both playing high school hoops in north Louisiana (Bond graduated from Weston) and the two especially first connected when Thurman would return home to Ruston during his playing days and they’d get together for some pick-up action.
“We’d play pick-up ball against each other in the early ’90s, and back when I was in high school and he was as well, we’d both go to the (Louisiana) Tech individual camps and we saw each other there some,” Bond said. “Obviously, everybody at Ruston and Louisiana Tech kept up with Scotty when he was playing at Arkansas and then getting into coaching.”
Thurman has his own memories of first meeting, and actually getting to play with, Bond.
“We first got to kind of know each other at the (Louisiana High School Athletic Association) All-State game after our senior seasons,” Thurman said. “And our paths have crossed every now and then over the years.
“Ryan and I might not talk a whole lot, but we do sometimes. and we’re always willing to help each other out and that kind of thing, so it’s going to be really good to go down there for this game. It’s something I’m really looking forward to.”
Bond said he saw bringing a hometown hero in Thurman back to his old stomping grounds seemed a good move for both Ruston’s and Parkview’s basketball programs.
“I reached out to him the first time I don’t know when — maybe out three years ago — about trying to do this,” Bond said. “We had trouble finding a compatible date for both teams. We finally found a date that we played the exhibition on last year and finally this year we got something worked out where they could come here during the regular season.”
“For me personally, I think it’s neat that he gets to come back home to where he’s still got so much family and gets to coach in front of them. I wish we were playing the game at (the RHS) campus, but that’s impossible with all of the construction going (at the school’s gym).”
While Thurman realizes the experience will be different for him, he’s also hopeful it will be fun.
“I’ve had an opportunity to watch the Bearcats some on video, and they look like a really good team,” Thurman said. “They look like a good team and we believe we’re a good team and playing well at the moment, so we’re going to step out of conference for a little bit and try to build on that going up against some out-of-state competition we know is going to be good.”
Bond has similar feelings concerning tonight’s showdown between the Bearcats and Patriots.
“They’re a really good team,” Bond said about Thurman’s Patriots. “They’ve played a tough schedule. Their best player (Dallas Thomas) is going to Clemson. He’s about a 6-9 kid. He can post up, put the ball on the floor and hit 3-pointers.
“But he’s not the only one, they’ve got a lot of good players. They play multiple defenses that they change up a lot.
Thomas, who holds a 3.5 GPA, averaged 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.1 points per game for Parkview last season.
Bond hopes bringing Thurman home with a team from another state will build a solid excitement surrounding the game.
“I sure hope so,” Bond said. “I hope we have a good crowd come out to show Scotty some love and support. He’s one of the best basketball players to ever come through Ruston.
“We’ve got a good team, too. We stumbled a little bit on Friday at Ouachita, but we still have a good team with a lot to play for. We made too many mistakes on Friday, but we’re still the team that won 11 in a row. We’re going to continue to work and bounce back and go out and compete the best we can against Scotty’s team.”
While Thurman is focused on his team and their game against the Bearcats, he admits a personal Homecoming will be a good thing, too.
“I talk to my family in Ruston a lot,” Thurman said. “I think the last time I was able to make it back home was three or four months ago. I try to get down there periodically just to see family.
“My daughter (Romani Thurman) is at North Carolina this year (where she plays volleyball for the Tar Heels), and that’s made it a little different and harder, so I don’t haven’t gotten down there as much as I would have liked to. But I do every chance I get, which is what makes this opportunity so good and exciting. It should be a lot of fun.”
North Louisiana’s Century Next Financial Corporation is pleased to announce it has ranked number 25 on the 2024 OTCQX Best 50 list. The prestigious ranking includes companies traded on the OTCQX throughout the U.S. and internationally. Century Next Financial Corporation (OTCQX: CTUY) is the holding company for Century Next Bank, both whose main offices are in Ruston
Bill Hogan, President and CEO of Century Next Financial Corporation and Century Next Bank, remarked, “This selection reflects our commitment to strive for excellence in all that we do. We are honored to have been only one of nine U.S. community banks to be included on the list.”
Century Next Bank has branches in Lincoln and Ouachita Parishes in Louisiana, as well as in Ashley County, Arkansas. With seven branches in three market areas, the bank has been serving its communities’ banking needs since 1905.
This list is an annual ranking of the top 50 U.S. and international companies traded on the OTCQX Best Market composite index based on an equal weighting of one-year total return and average daily dollar volume growth. Companies on the list are ranked based on their performance during the 2023 calendar year.
Century Next Financial Corporation stock has been publicly traded on the OTCQX since August 2018 and was previously included in the Best 50 in 2020.
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Century Next Financial Corporation trades under the stock symbol CTUY and can be purchased through various stock trading platforms. For more information, please consult a registered investment advisor or firm.
The OTC Markets Group press release of the 2024 OTCQX Best 50 can be found here. Please visit cnext.bank for more information about Century Next Bank.
“Cattle rustling”—the theft of livestock–and farm and ranch equipment, and even saddles, is alive and well in Louisiana and across America. Louisiana combats agricultural crimes through its Brand Commission, a team of law enforcement officers with specialized training.
The Brand Commission has embraced technology in its efforts to recover stolen saddles. A good saddle can run from hundreds to thousands of dollars and does not bear serial numbers or other identifiers to trace it back to its owner.
Stolen Horse International, a U.S. nonprofit organization, suggests microchipping saddles as well as horses and other animals. While the practice isn’t widespread in the U.S., the Brand Commission is working to microchip saddles of Louisiana residents.
The microchip identification program provides all saddle owners in Louisiana the opportunity to have their saddles registered and identified with a microchip implant. If a microchipped saddle is stolen, the program allows brand officers to confirm ownership and return the property.
The Brand Commission, a unit of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF), will host a saddle microchipping event on Thursday, February 1, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event will be held at the LSU AgCenter’s DeSoto Parish Extension Office, 10117 Highway 171 in Grand Cane, La.
The microchipping service is provided free to the public.
“Saddles are expensive and typically do not have identifiable marks or serial numbers,” said LDAF Commissioner Mike Strain. “This program assists with the return of saddles in the event they are stolen. We’ve had great success with the program thus far, chipping hundreds of saddles. We are proud to be able to bring this service to our equine community.”
Should there be any questions, please contact the Livestock Brand Commission at 225-925-3962.
Virtual reality (VR) is advancing across various fields, and Rhonda Boyd, an instructor in the Department of Kinesiology, aims to broaden her students’ understanding of Kinesiology through immersive VR studies.
“I was fascinated by a webinar presentation by Patrick Olivo that incorporated VR goggles to help individuals with balance and orthopedic issues,” Boyd said. “The system can be used to test an individual as well as used in rehab with the ability for real-time adjustments.”
With the information she gathered, Boyd contacted Olivo, U.S. general director of Virtualis. Virtualis is a French-based company that was founded by physiotherapist Frank Assaban to incorporate the full potential of virtual reality in rehabilitation and health.
“Virtualis separates itself with its state-of-the-art virtual reality goggles that simulate a variety of scenarios that would require patients to master their balance and control their physical stance,” Boyd said. “At its core, Virtualis brings virtual reality into rehab for advanced results, and helps patients recovering from orthopedic, neurological, or cervical ailments with a range of tests that culminate into an all-in-one tool for comprehensive patient management.”
Olivo presented to Boyd’s class over Zoom in 2021 and connected her to Dr. Jerry Yarborough, founder of Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers in Ruston which was the first Virtualis system in the U.S. and currently the only one in Louisiana. Yarborough graduated from Louisiana Tech University and was excited to support students in the area to help them achieve their educational goals. In the fall of 2022, Boyd’s class began attending in-person demonstrations to get a full experience of the system.
“VR is some of the most innovative equipment utilized to assist clients to focus on normal movement while having fun in a virtual environment,” Yarborough said. “In the field of kinesiology, VR allows the client to focus on normal movement during fun functional activities. We can use VR to help clients improve joint AROM, gross neuromuscular control, vestibular rehabilitation, and improve functional endurance, posture, and cognitive function.”
Aislinn Cobb, a junior in the Kinesiology department, said, “It was amazing to be able to participate in a simulation in which vestibular and proprioceptive simulations came to life. In the height and roller coaster simulation, I wore a headset that gave visual input to the experience while I was standing on top of a movement board that followed the motions of the experience. In the classroom, we learn many topics, but it is not an everyday experience in which we can see those things come to life.”
The Virtualis VR experience allows Kinesiology students to experience equipment they’ve never seen before and immerses them in the different possibilities available in their major.
“Our class collaboration with Fyzical Therapy & Balance Center shows students a patient’s perspective as well as helps them realize that there are so many cool things out there available to help patients,” Boyd said. “Students have been able to see firsthand how testing is done and view the programs to improve balance, motion sickness, and height issues. It is a truly incredible experience.”
For more information on Andy Halbrook at Edward Jones, CLICK HERE.
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As you go through life, you’ll have various financial goals — and to achieve them, you’ll need to invest. But just recognizing the need to invest is not as useful as matching specific types of accounts or investments with specific goals. How can you make these connections?
Let’s look at some common goals and how they could possibly be met with appropriate accounts and investments:
Saving for a down payment on a house – When you’re saving for a down payment, you want a certain amount of money available at a certain time — so, for this goal, you won’t want to take too much risk. Consequently, you might consider investing in certificates of deposit (CDs), which will pay you regular interest payments and return your principal when the CDs mature. CDs are issued in a range of maturities, from one month to 10 years. Other vehicles you might consider are money market accounts or other cash equivalents.
Saving for a child’s education – If you have children, and you’d like to help them pay for some form of higher education, you may want to consider a 529 education savings plan. Any earnings growth in a 529 plan is federally tax free, provided the withdrawals are used for qualified education expenses, and you may also receive state tax benefits. A 529 plan can be used for college, approved trade school programs, student loan repayments and some K-12 costs. And if the child you’ve named as a beneficiary chooses not to continue their education, and doesn’t need the money in a 529 plan, you can generally switch beneficiaries to another immediate family member.
Saving for retirement – This is the one goal that will remain consistent throughout your working years — after all, you could spend two or even three decades in retirement, so you’ll need to accumulate as many financial resources as you can to pay for those years. Fortunately, you likely have access to several good retirement-savings vehicles. If you work for a business, you might have a 401(k) plan, which offers you the chance to put away money on a tax-deferred basis. (If you have a Roth option in your 401(k), your withdrawals can be tax free, although, unlike a traditional 401(k), your contributions won’t lower your taxable income.) If you work for a public school or a nonprofit organization, you may be able to participate in a 403(b) plan, which is quite similar to a 401(k), and the same is true if you work for a state or local government, where you might have a 457(b) plan. And even if you invest in any of these plans, you can probably also contribute to an IRA, which gives you another chance to invest on a tax-deferred basis (or tax-free basis, if you’re eligible for a Roth IRA). Try to take full advantage of whatever retirement plans are available to you.
Here’s one final point to keep in mind: While some investments and accounts are appropriate for certain goals, they may not necessarily be suitable for your individual situation — so keep all your options in mind and take the steps that are right for you.
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This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
