Lane Burroughs (left) and Ethan Bates (right) earned the CUSA Coach of the Year and Player of the Year Awards.
Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech earned eight Conference USA awards, the league announced on Tuesday. It is the first time in program history that Tech earned five first team all-conference awards, with the previous high being three back in 2022 and 2017.
Coach Lane Burroughs was named CUSA Co-Coach of the Year, for the first -time in program history. Burroughs led the Bulldogs to a 41-15 record after a previous 28-31 season in 2023. Tech went 18-6 in Conference USA, earning the 2024 CUSA regular season title, and held a CUSA-best 11-1 record at home in league games. The Bulldogs secured a 26-5 record at JC Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
Ethan Bates was named CUSA Player of the Year, becoming the first Bulldog to receive this accolade. The Hot Springs, Arkansas native was named to CUSA All-Conference first team utility for the second year in a row. Bates’ 75 hits this season rank seventh in CUSA, and his 20 doubles rank first. Bates also led the conference in RBI with 69 while his 15 home runs ranked in the top five.
Dalton Davis, Cole McConnell, Luke Nichols, and Sam Brodersen were all named to the CUSA All-Conference First Team. Davis earned his first CUSA All-Conference selection after batting .332 with 64 hits and 49 RBI this season.
McConnell had a CUSA-best batting average of.382, while he also led the conference in hits with 83 this season. The senior outfielder ranked in the top three in Conference USA for RBI with 66, home runs with 17, and runs with 62.
Nichols was second in the Conference USA with a 3.50 ERA. Nichols had his first complete game this season against WKU on May 11, in which he went seven innings with five punchouts and allowed five hits with two runs. Missouri native Nichols had a career-high nine strikeouts against Liberty on May 17. Nichols has 73 strikeouts with 25 walks in 72 innings pitched (15 appearances).
Brodersen has a 2.55 ERA in relief this season. Brodersen leads Tech’s bullpen with 85 punchouts and 35 walks, while batters facing Brodersen are hitting .159 at the plate. The D-II transfer also has seven wins on the mound for the Bulldogs.
Grant Comeaux was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team. Comeaux is batting .250 with 42 hits and 20 RBI. The redshirt freshman also has two homers and 20 doubles this season.
Player of the Year Ethan Bates, LA Tech
Keith LeClair Co-Coaches of the Year Lane Burroughs, LA Tech
First Team All-Conference INF: Dalton Davis, LA Tech OF: Cole McConnell, LA Tech SP: Luke Nichols, LA Tech RP: Sam Brodersen, LA Tech UTL: Ethan Bates, LA Tech
The Grambling State University baseball team landed three student-athletes on the 2024 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Postseason All-Conference Teams, announced by the conference on Tuesday evening.
Cameron Bufford and Tiger Borom garnered first team honors while pitcher Mason Martinez earned second team recognition.
Bufford, the all-time career home run leader at GSU, had a dominant regular season, batting .337 with 43 RBI, eight doubles and six home runs. He has a slugging percentage of .491 and an OPS of .954. The South Holland, Ill. native also has 13 stolen bases on the season. Bufford made history on March 2 in a game versus Florida A&M, when he broke the GSU all-time home run record in a 3-2 victory over the Rattlers.
Borom, a senior from Jonesboro, Ga., had a phenomenal 2024 campaign. He’s batting .339 with 40 RBI, 16 doubles, two triples and four home runs His 16 doubles currently ranks him first in the SWAC. He’s also sixth in the conference in runs scored (56). He’s also proven to be patient at the plate, drawing 37 walks, the sixth most in the SWAC. Borom has been almost perfect on stolen base attempts, swiping 15 bases in 16 tries. In the field, he holds a .968 fielding percentage.
Martinez earned a spot on the second team following a regular season that saw him dominate opposing hitters and lead the SWAC in wins. Martinez went 10-2 as a starter. He ranks third in the SWAC with 73 strikeouts and his ERA of 4.50 ranks him fifth. He’s also proven to limit the power of opposing hitters. In 96.0 innings pitched, he’s only allowed two home runs, the least in the SWAC. His also seventh in opposing batting average, limiting hitters to a .266 average.
The Tigers will take on SWAC Eastern Division No. 3 seed Alabama State today at 12 p.m. at Russ Chandler Stadium on the campus of Georgia Tech.
All-SWAC Baseball Teams and Individual Award Winners
Co-Coach of the Year Jamey Shouppe, Florida A&M
Co-Coach of the Year Michael Robertson, Texas Southern
Player of the Year Ali LaPread, Alabama State
Hitter of the Year Edwin DeLaCruz, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Pitcher of the Year Caleb Granger, Florida A&M
Relief Pitcher of the Year Pablo Torres, Bethune-Cookman
Freshman of the Year Juan Cruz, Alabama State
Newcomer of the Year Tanner Boccabello, Bethune-Cookman
All-SWAC Baseball First Team C – Edwin DeLaCruz, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 1B – Juan Cruz, Alabama State 2B – Randy Flores, Alabama State 3B – Cameron Bufford, Grambling State SS – CJ Castillo, Texas Southern DH – Jose Gonzalez, Bethune-Cookman OF – Ali LaPread, Alabama State OF – Tiger Borom, Grambling State OF – Ty Jackson, Florida A&M SP – Tanner Boccabello, Bethune-Cookman SP – Caleb Granger, Florida A&M RP – Pablo Torres, Bethune-Cookman
All-SWAC Baseball Second Team C – Broedy Poppell, Florida A&M 1B – Manny Souffrain, Bethune-Cookman 2B – True Fontenot, Florida A&M 3B – Adam Haidermota, Florida A&M SS – Kyler McIntosh, Alabama State DH – Myles White, Jackson State OF – Janmikell Bastardo, Florida A&M OF – Jordan McCladdie, Jackson State OF – Michael Burroughs, Prairie View A&M SP – Mason Martinez, Grambling State SP – Ranard Grace, Southern RP – Christian Womble, Jackson State
The first major wagon train to the northwest departs from Elm Grove, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail.
Although U.S. sovereignty over the Oregon Territory was not clearly established until 1846, American fur trappers and missionary groups had been living in the region for decades, to say nothing of the Native Americans who had settled the land centuries earlier. Dozens of books and lectures proclaimed Oregon’s agricultural potential, piquing the interest of white American farmers.
The first overland migrants to Oregon, intending primarily to farm, came in 1841 when a small band of 70 pioneers left Independence, Missouri. They followed a route blazed by fur traders, which took them west along the Platte River through the Rocky Mountains via the easy South Pass in Wyoming and then northwest to the Columbia River. In the years to come, pioneers came to call the route the Oregon Trail.
In 1842, a slightly larger group of 100 pioneers made the 2,000-mile journey to Oregon. The next year, however, the number of emigrants skyrocketed to 1,000. The sudden increase was a product of a severe depression in the Midwest combined with a flood of propaganda from fur traders, missionaries, and government officials extolling the virtues of the land. Farmers dissatisfied with their prospects in Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee, hoped to find better lives in the supposed paradise of Oregon.
On this day in 1843, some 1,000 men, women, and children climbed aboard their wagons and steered their horses west out of the small town of Elm Grove, Missouri. The train comprised more than 100 wagons with a herd of 5,000 oxen and cattle trailing behind. Dr. Elijah White, a Presbyterian missionary who had made the trip the year before, served as a guide.
The first section of the Oregon Trail ran through the relatively flat country of the Great Plains. Obstacles were few, though the river crossings could be dangerous for wagons. As they traversed through Native American territories, the danger of attacks was a small but genuine risk. To be on the safe side, the pioneers drew their wagons into a circle at night to create a makeshift stockade. If they feared Native Americans might raid their livestock—the Plains tribes valued the horses, though generally ignored the oxen—they would drive the animals into the enclosure.
The pioneers quickly learned that they were more likely to be injured or killed by a host of other causes. Obstacles included accidental discharge of firearms, falling off mules or horses, drowning in river crossings, and disease. After entering the mountains, the trail also became much more difficult, with steep ascents and descents over rocky terrain. The pioneers risked injury from overturned and runaway wagons.
Yet, as with the 1,000-person party that made the journey in 1843, the vast majority of pioneers on the trail survived to reach their destination in the fertile, well-watered land of western Oregon. The migration of 1844 was smaller than that of the previous season, but in 1845 it jumped to nearly 3,000. Thereafter, migration on the Oregon Trail was an annual event, although the practice of traveling in giant convoys of wagons gave way to many smaller bands of one or two-dozen wagons. The trail was heavily traveled until 1884, when the Union Pacific constructed a railway along the route.
For more on this day in history, go to history.com.
Not many people reach legendary status. But there’s one man who lives just across the Louisiana/Texas line that falls into the category of a legend. He’s a guy who for years has conducted the greatest bass tournaments in the world. He’s become so big that National Geographic came to East Texas and did a one hour special on his amateur bass tournament trail. His name…Bob Sealy! He is the owner and creator of the Bob Sealy Big Bass Splash Series.
Back in the 1980’s, Bob had this great idea to conduct a big bass tournament on Lake Sam Rayburn as part of an initiative to bring tourism to the lake area. Little did he know that 40 years later it would explode nationwide, and now globally, as anglers all over the country and the world come and compete in one of his many big bass tournaments held all across the south.
Bob was also the guy who sat down with Ray Scott, the founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.), and convinced him to bring a professional bass tournament to Sam Rayburn. This brought national exposure to the area as Sam Rayburn became one of the legendary lakes in America with its reputation for producing huge bass and 30-pound tournament winning stringers.
Why so much success over a bass tournament? What has been the reason so many people have come and continue to make their way to all Bob Sealy events? It’s all due to a simple formula Bob figured out a long time ago. He realized most anglers will never have the opportunity to make the kind of money professional bass fishing offers. That’s when he came up with the slogan, “Where amateurs win like the pros!” As they say, the rest is history!
Another reason for the Sealy success is the fact that Bob does what he says he will do. Early on when he started these big bass tournaments, he took a few financial losses mainly due to the promises he had made. There were times when he did not have enough entries to cover the amount he was giving away. Bob still wrote checks and borrowed money from the bank in order to make sure everyone got paid.
Another example of why Bob has had so much success is his willingness to give. There’s one aspect of all Sealy tournaments where he offers $5000 each day for any angler that weighs an exact 3.00, 4.00, or 5.00-pound bass. Even if no one weighs in an exact size bass, he will put all the entries from the tournament into a hopper and will draw a random name to give away three $5000 checks. Most tournaments would just pocket this money and move on. Not Bob Sealy, he wants anglers to walk away with money in their pocket!
These are just a few reasons why Bob Sealy has so many participants follow his tournament trail. Bob does what he says he will do, no matter what the cost. This is the key to any successful bass fishing circuit. Anglers only want two things: enforce the rules and make sure the payout is exactly what each event says it will be.
Today we salute Bob Sealy on his commitment and dedication to making this tournament trail so successful. Sealy events are for all weekend warriors who love to fish. It’s also about family by offering something for all ages with plenty of food, entertainment and kids fishing division. As a member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame and the Outdoors Hall of Fame, Bob continues to set the bar for all bass tournaments.
This article would not be complete without recognizing and thanking the entire Sealy Outdoors staff and volunteers who coordinate and make all Sealy events possible. Without these folks, the Bob Sealy Big Bass Splash would not be possible.
To learn more about the Sealy Big Bass Splash Series of tournaments go to sealyoutdoors.com. Till next time, good luck, good fishing and when in doubt…. set the hook.
Funeral services for Doyce Ann Wilson Houck, 83, will be held on Thursday, May 23, 2024, at Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary. Visitation will begin at 12:30 p.m., services will be held at 2 p.m., and burial will follow immediately at Harmony Chapel Cemetery in Hico.
Doyce was born on April 8, 1941, in Kimbletown, LA, and entered Heaven on May 15, 2024, in Ruston, LA. She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 62 years, Willie Wayne Houck, her parents Samuel Daulton Wilson and Sarah Lorelle Revel Wilson, brothers S.D. Wilson, Jr., Steve Wilson, and sister Geraldine Wilson Lunsford.
She is survived by her three children, Teresa Houck Yelverton (Jack), Tracy Wayne Houck (Angela) and Amy Houck Sutton; grandchildren Sara Yelverton, Lauren Houck Holomon (Cohen), Addison Yelverton, Anna Houck and Colter Sutton; sister Christine Wilson Lazenby (Jerry), sister-in- law Christi Wilson, “adopted sister” Brenda Houck Grafton (Donnie), dear friend of 50 years, Jean Pee (Fred), and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Doyce lived an active and engaging life, and while she faced health challenges from her late 20s onward, she was a fighter who never wavered in her resolute faith in the Lord, her Savior, and in her total devotion to her family, especially husband Willie Wayne, who served as Lincoln Parish Sheriff for 24 years, and as a local law enforcement officer for a total of 60 years.
If ever there was an example of “beside every great man is a great woman” it was Doyce, who never sought the expectations and spotlight of a public servant’s wife, but she met those obligations with steadfastness and grace.
She graduated as valedictorian of her class at Lisbon High School and was a fierce competitor as point guard for the high school basketball team – which is where her husband caught a glimpse of her. They later married, moved to Ruston, and both graduated from Louisiana Polytechnic Institute (LA Tech University). Her competitive nature and love of sports continued through her life, and she enjoyed playing church intramural basketball, softball, and volleyball.
Doyce was an active member of Cook Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School. She also taught preschool at Trinity Methodist Church and worked for many years at Ruston State Bank.
A witty and bright woman, who had a “way with words” and a special love for the English language and literature, Doyce was well-known for her remarkable memory and ability to recite lengthy poems and prose throughout her life – “Little Boy Blue” and “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” were two favorites. She also played piano, favoring Gospel music.
Doyce was a great cook who enjoyed “putting up” summertime corn and purple hull peas, making a variety of jellies and fig preserves, and eating onions, her favorite food. She also loved Coca-Cola, believing it could cure most any ailment, and breakfast always included a glass of the magic elixir for everyone.
For her children, Doyce was an unwavering presence, providing strength, safety, and comfort, acting as cheerleader and problem solver, and possessing an uncanny ability to always deliver exactly what was needed (even if it might not always be what was wanted). She led by example, showing her children the blessing of unconditional love, saying “I love you” often, and sharing her deep love of Jesus with her family.
She is missed and will be loved forever.
Pallbearers will be Mike Lunsford, Bradley Wilson, Joeseph Wilson, Stowie Sutton, Jack Yelverton and Paul Halaszyn. Honorary pallbearers will be Jeff Lazenby, Nathan Wilson, David Lazenby, Scott Wilson, and Ronnie Cook.
Special appreciation and gratitude are given to Doyce’s devoted home caregivers: April Fox, Linette Williams, Paula Knight, Nicole Levingston, Vallory Bridges and Anitra Owens, who were truly a blessing sent from Heaven.
“Surely goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalms 23:6
Doyce Ann Wilson Houck April 8, 1941 – May 15, 2024 Visitation: Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, Thursday, May 23, 2024, 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Service: Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, Thursday, May 23, 2024, 2:00 pm Cemetery: Harmony Chapel Cemetery, Thursday, May 23, 2024
ReNalda T. Harland Osborne Thursday 10/24/1985 — Sunday 05/12/2024 Family Gathering: Friday 05/24/2024 2:00pm Visitation: Friday 05/24/2024 3:00pm to 6:00pm at King’s Funeral Home Celebration of Life: Saturday 05/25/2024 12:00pm, Zion Traveler Baptist Church, 1201 Martin Luther King Drive, Ruston Interment: Saturday 05/25/2024 Following Service, Mt Mariah Cemetery, Chatham
The partnership between the City of Ruston and Louisiana Tech Athletics is as strong as it has ever been if you ask both sides.
Under the city leadership of Mayor Ronny Walker and the University’s leadership of former Tech President Les Guice and current president Jim Henderson as well as the Tech Athletics administration, the two entities continue to team up to put on some top-notch events.
This week one of those events will be on display as the 2024 Conference USA Baseball Championships come to town as J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park serves as the host site.
And the ability to promote and serve as the premiere host of the league championship is only possible through a strong relationship between the two.
“We are extremely appreciative and thankful for our relationship with the city of Ruston and Mayor Ronny Walker,” said Tech Director of Athletics Ryan Ivey. “This partnership creates a strategic opportunity to showcase the great assets in both the city and campus while driving economic development opportunities for everyone involved. I look forward to growing this partnership for years to come.”
Eight teams (counting the host Bulldogs) and their respective fan bases will travel to north Louisiana as the five-day, double elimination tournament begins Wednesday morning. As many as 15 games could be played from Wednesday through Championship Sunday, and it will provide a platform for the City of Ruston and Louisiana Tech to put its best foot forward.
“It’s an incredibly strong relationship between the City and the economic driver of our city which is Louisiana Tech University,” said Walker. “I just want to thank Tech for going out and recruiting these types of conference championships to come here. This is incredible not only for the economy of Lincoln Parish and Ruston, but all of north Louisiana.
“I can promise people are staying in hotels outside of Ruston because we are probably all full for the weekend. This is a regional economic driver. We appreciate Ryan, and Lane (Burroughs), and Gerald (Jordan) and everyone who has been involved with this.”
This isn’t the first time that Tech has played host to not only this CUSA Championship but multiple league tournaments over the past five years. Tech hosted the 2021 baseball championships, the 2022 soccer championships and the 2023 softball championships.
Tech also hosted the 2021 NCAA Regional.
Deputy Athletics Directory Gerald Jordan said the feedback received from fans, students athletes, coaches and administrators alike from participating schools has been nothing but positive in the past. Jordan credits Tech’s philosophy on hosting these types of events.
“We want to make sure everybody has an unforgettable experience,” said Jordan, who serves as the tournament director and baseball sport oversight. “When they leave, they know Louisiana Tech did it the right way. They walk away and have nothing but positive things to say about their experience.”
Jordan also said this type of success wouldn’t be possible without the City of Ruston’s buy in.
“It’s the town and gown relationship that makes us special,” said Jordan. “We know what we do well, but without the hotels and restaurants and volunteers and the people of our community, our ability to run a top notch event wouldn’t be possible.
“Every time we have hosted one of these over the past five years, we have heard consistently from the participants about the hospitality of our city and University. It’s what makes us special. This just advances our brand and strengthens our reputation, not only within the league but in so many other avenues.”
Walker said it’s just another opportunity to showcase the city and the parish.
“This is big,” said Walker. “We are just five years removed from that stadium being totally demolished. It’s big for the University and incredible important for the city and the parish. It brings so many people to our city who have never seen our great city. This is a chance to come and experience what we are all about.”
The 2024 Conference USA Baseball Championships begin Wednesday at 9 a.m. with four games on Wednesday and Thursday, two on Friday, up to four on Saturday and the championship game on Sunday.
Starting this week, Lincoln Parish Journal readers will receive an LPJ Digital Deals email each Thursday that will include coupons from local businesses, giving out loyal readers opportunities to take advantage of special savings from local businesses.
The coupons must contain (a) a savings and (b) an expiration date that falls within one month if the date of run
Any business who wishes to take advantage of this new piece of inventory may contact the LPJ at LPJNewsLA@gmail.com. The cost of the weekly coupon to run within the special Thursday afternoon email and then again on Friday morning as an all-inclusive LPJ Digital Deals is $125 per week (or a discounted rate of $350 for a 4-week run).
This is just one more way that the Lincoln Parish Journal can bring its advertising partners together with our loyal readers.
Moving to update a pair of policies were the primary orders of business last week during a short 17-minute May Lincoln Parish Library Board of Control meeting.
The tweaks were made to the LPL’s library card policy and fax machine use policy.
As far as the fax machine policy, the LPL Board of Control approved moving to a $1.50 flat per page fee for both sending and receiving faxes with no fee charge for the cover page.
Previously the fee was $1.50 per page, including the cover page, for faxes sent locally and $2 per page, including the cover sheet, for faxes sent long distance, and $1.50 per page including the cover sheet for receiving faxes.
LPL Director Jeremy Bolom said the price tweaks were simply a sign of the times.
“We got a new part and have the fax machine up and running,” Bolom said. “I never understood why we still had a higher fee for the long distance faxing when it’s all done over the internet now, anyway. I just wanted to simplify things.
“The only thing that might still seem a little weird is that we still don’t have a fee for a cover page, which is required. Sometimes people think they get away with just writing on the cover page to avoid any charges, but no, we can’t let that happen, There will be no cover page sent without a second charged page being involved.”
Remaining is the library’s previous policy that the LPL must be notified in advance when a patron is receiving a fax and that the fax must be picked up the day sent or be shredded at the end of the day.
Changes to the library card policy included raising the annual fee for a card to $30 and tightening control of materials minors are allowed access to after Louisiana’s legislature revised state statute 25:225, which states that as of June 1, cards for all currently and newly registered minors under 18 years old are limited by default to check out items from their corresponding age groups (children or teen).
Minors will not be allowed to check out items from any adult section or have access to any digital library collections of databases.
The updated policy stipulates that parents or guardians creating a minor’s account or who provide proof of guardianship may opt out of the default restricted card for minors at any time by adding a signature of acknowledgement to their child’s patron record, converting it to a Teens Plus or Children Plus card.
For emancipated minors, a parent’s or guardian’s permission will not be required to obtain a library card.
Minor Patrons are broken into the following age categories:
Children —- Ages 1 day through 12 years old with access restricted to Children’s Section materials only
Children’s Plus — Ages 1 day through 12 years old with full access to all library materials with the permission of a parent or guardian.
Teens —- Ages 13 through 17 with access restricted to Children’s and Teen’s Sections materials only
Teens Plus — Ages 13 through 17 with access for all library materials with parental permission
The Louisiana Tech architecture program is celebrating a decade-long partnership with MedCamps of Louisiana by dedicating its latest project, a new field house at Camp Alabama.
What
Dedication of student-designed and built field house facility for MedCamps of Louisiana.
Where
MedCamps of Louisiana Camp Alabama 136 Highway 821 Choudrant, LA 71227
When
May 24 at 4 p.m.
Tours can be scheduled earlier in the week for a more thorough view the projects.
Who
Participating in the building dedication are representatives from Louisiana Tech, including School of Design faculty and students and MedCamps of Louisiana’s executive director.
Details & Highlights:
Since 2014, this design build studio, led by associate professors Brad Deal, An Le, and Robert Brooks, has developed an ongoing partnership with MedCamps of Louisiana, a nonprofit organization that provides free summer camp experiences for children with a range of chronic illnesses and disabilities.
The design build program at Louisiana Tech allows future architects to understand the consequences of their design decisions by seeing projects through the construction process and observing as the projects are used by MedCamps staff and campers. The studio creates a culture of camaraderie infused with accomplishment, a robust work ethic, and a sense of humility for what is not yet known as these young designers complete their third year of architectural education.
The nine completed projects have led to an improvement of MedCamp’s fundraising and operations while also earning the studio national recognition in both professional and academic arenas.
Ruston, LA – Louisiana Tech University is now accepting applications for a newly developed master of business administration (MBA) concentration in aviation management. The program will be offered completely online as part of the professional MBA.
By combining a comprehensive understanding of business principles with concentrated coursework in aviation, the 36-hour graduate degree explores the intersection of business and flight.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the Department of Professional Aviation to offer this in-demand program and enhance the knowledge base of airmen and others in the aviation field,” said Dr. William McCumber, associate dean of graduate programs and research in the College of Business. “This concentration is an excellent example of how a strong foundation in business disciplines combined with industry credentials can work to build a highly qualified workforce for a business sector.”
The interdisciplinary nature of the MBA prepares innovative and ethical leaders for success in today’s rapidly changing business environment, while coursework in aviation management exposes students to the real-world opportunities and challenges facing the industry.
Students will complete the core MBA curriculum as well as 12 credit hours in aviation-focused courses on operations, human error impact, and regulatory processes.
“With today’s pilot, mechanic, and air traffic controller shortages, this graduate program will be vital to airmen’s growth in their respective positions,” said Matthew “Monty” Montgomery, chair of the Department of Professional Aviation. “Combining aviation with the MBA is a perfect match to provide the training, vital tools, and knowledge for growth within aviation businesses. Also, the program will prepare existing business and management majors with an opportunity to obtain positions within aviation.”
In addition to aviation management, six other concentrations are offered as part of the MBA program:
A Ruston man was arrested early Thursday morning after Lincoln Parish deputies investigated a reported domestic violence incident.
Calvin Armstrong, 40, was arrested for domestic abuse battery just after midnight Thursday.
Deputies responded to a Kathryn Lane residence where a woman said Armstrong had hit her in the face. Deputies saw a swollen area under the woman’s right eye.
The woman said a series of arguments occurred, and Armstrong allegedly grabbed her face and told her to be quiet. In another argument, Armstrong placed her in a headlock. and hit her in the face with a closed fist. She said she scratched at his arms to make him let go. Deputies found scratch marks on Armstrong’s upper right arm.
Armstrong was arrested and taken to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center and booked. 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.
The City of Ruston announces, weather permitting, that Tech Farm Rd between Franklin Ave. and Roosevelt Dr. will be closed to through traffic today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This closure is necessary for the replacement of a culvert.
The City of Ruston regrets any inconvenience this necessary work may cause residents and motorists. We appreciate your patience, and any questions can be received by the Public Works Department at (318) 242-7703.
Summer nights as a child were some of my favorites. I was an only child, and growing up, I always thought it strange that my parents wanted to sit outside during dusk instead of inside, where there was AC (Hello, Louisiana summer!) and a television. After all, what were they going to watch, the birds? (More about my love for amateur birding in another column.) And while we traveled and did various activities, most of my childhood summer evenings were spent in our front yard with my family.
We didn’t have fireflies like I do now here in Ruston. My kids love to chase fireflies and it’s one of my adult favorite summer activities to watch them frolic — because, yes, in summer, you frolic – through our grass, often accompanied by our family dog, chasing fireflies. No, we didn’t have fireflies, but we had rabbits. I loved watching the rabbits hop all around in our backyard. They were so cute and fluffy, and they would just scamper around while we watched them and the sunlight faded.
I’ve mentioned to my husband how odd I find it that now that I live in Ruston, we don’t have rabbits in our backyard. In the three different homes we’ve owned here, we’ve never had rabbits in our yard. Instead, we’ve had squirrels.
Now, I’ve got to pause here and say that I understand that many of you think that squirrels are just a menace. In fact, I had a coworker one time refer to them as “rats with fluffy tails,” which is still one of the funniest descriptions I’ve heard given to squirrels. As a child, my mom and I wanted to see squirrels so much, but we just didn’t have the big trees in our yards to house squirrels.
We definitely have squirrels now, and while I do understand their annoying behavior as I’ve lost multiple bird feeders because of them, I do love watching them just as much as I enjoyed watching the rabbits as a child. My dog particularly loves chasing them up a tree. I’m pretty sure she feels a sense of pride and accomplishment at watching them dart up a tree because of her presence. She’s barely a foot tall, too, so anything that runs from her is a win, I suppose.
One other summer animal presence that I’ve had as a child and adult has been bats. I love bats. I love that they eat mosquitos, and our family will sit outside at dusk and watch our five bats fly around in the sky. We have even named them: Bruce, Wayne, Bruce-Wayne, Batman, and Frank. Of course.
I will say, we didn’t have bats long at my childhood home. My mother, who was a science teacher, put a bat house in one of our trees, and I think they startled my dad one too many times when he’d come home from work, and it wasn’t long before that bat house “mysteriously” disappeared.
As school winds down (Can I get an Amen?) and the nights get longer, my husband and I have found ourselves drawn outside in the evenings more and more, watching our kids chase fireflies, watching our dog chase squirrels, and watching the bats fly across the darkening back yard.
Ruston Police arrested a local man Thursday night after investigating a disturbance.
Officers responded to the intersection of Neal Street and East Georgia Avenue where they found a woman outside a black SUV slumped over complaining of pain in her left arm and shoulder. Steven Cano, 32, of Ruston, was seated in the vehicle.
The woman said Cano had pulled her hair and arm, causing dislocation of her left shoulder. She explained Cano was her boyfriend of five years and they had an argument that this escalated to Cano battering her.
The woman said Cano pulled over and tried to remove her from the vehicle and that’s when her arm was injured. She said Cano also took her cell phone and threw it out the window of the vehicle. Officers found the phone on the pavement near the vehicle and saw that it was damaged.
When officers attempted to arrest Cano, he pulled away and refused to comply with commands to stop resisting.
Cano said the injury to the woman occurred when he defended himself while she was fighting with him. EMS personnel who responded to this scene suspected the woman had suffered a fracture.
Cano was taken into custody and booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for second degree battery with serious injury, resisting an officer, and simple criminal damage to property.
Bail was set at $6,000.
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.
American pilot Charles A. Lindbergh lands at Le Bourget Field in Paris, successfully completing the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight and the first ever nonstop flight between New York to Paris. His single-engine monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis, had lifted off from Roosevelt Field in New York 33 1/2 hours before.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh, born in Detroit in 1902, took up flying at the age of 20. In 1923, he bought a surplus World War I Curtiss “Jenny” biplane and toured the country as a barnstorming stunt flyer. In 1924, he enrolled in the Army Air Service flying school in Texas and graduated at the top of his class as a first lieutenant. He became an airmail pilot in 1926 and pioneered the route between St. Louis and Chicago. Among U.S. aviators, he was highly regarded.
In May 1919, the first transatlantic flight was made by a U.S. hydroplane that flew from New York to Plymouth, England, via Newfoundland, the Azores Islands, and Lisbon. Later that month, Frenchman Raymond Orteig, an owner of hotels in New York, put up a purse of $25,000 to the first aviator or aviators to fly nonstop from Paris to New York or New York to Paris. In June 1919, the British fliers John W. Alcock and Arthur W. Brown made the first nonstop transatlantic flight, flying 1,960 miles from Newfoundland to Ireland. The flight from New York to Paris would be nearly twice that distance.
Orteig said his challenge would be good for five years. In 1926, with no one having attempted the flight, Orteig made the offer again. By this time, aircraft technology had advanced to a point where a few thought such a flight might be possible. Several of the world’s top aviators–including American polar explorer Richard Byrd, French flying ace Rene Fonck–decided to accept the challenge, and so did Charles Lindbergh.
Lindbergh convinced the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce to sponsor the flight, and a budget of $15,000 was set. The Ryan Airlines Corporation of San Diego volunteered to build a single-engine aircraft to his specifications. Extra fuel tanks were added, and the wing span was increased to 46 feet to accommodate the additional weight. The main fuel tank was placed in front of the cockpit because it would be safest there in the event of a crash. This meant Lindbergh would have no forward vision, so a periscope was added. To reduce weight, everything that was not utterly essential was left out. There would be no radio, gas gauge, night-flying lights, navigation equipment, or parachute. Lindbergh would sit in a light seat made of wicker. Unlike other aviators attempting the flight, Lindbergh would be alone, with no navigator or co-pilot.
The aircraft was christened The Spirit of St. Louis, and on May 12, 1927, Lindbergh flew it from San Diego to New York, setting a new record for the fastest transcontinental flight. Bad weather delayed Lindbergh’s transatlantic attempt for a week. On the night of May 19, nerves and a newspaperman’s noisy poker game kept him up all night. Early the next morning, though he hadn’t slept, the skies were clear and he rushed to Roosevelt Field on Long Island. Six men had died attempting the long and dangerous flight he was about to take.
At 7:52 a.m. EST on May 20, The Spirit of St. Louis lifted off from Roosevelt Field, so loaded with fuel that it barely cleared the telephone wires at the end of the runway. Lindbergh traveled northeast up the coast. After only four hours, he felt tired and flew within 10 feet of the water to keep his mind clear. As night fell, the aircraft left the coast of Newfoundland and set off across the Atlantic. At about 2 a.m. on May 21, Lindbergh passed the halfway mark, and an hour later dawn came. Soon after, The Spirit of St. Louis entered a fog, and Lindbergh struggled to stay awake, holding his eyelids open with his fingers and hallucinating that ghosts were passing through the cockpit.
After 24 hours in the air, he felt a little more awake and spotted fishing boats in the water. At about 11 a.m. (3 p.m. local time), he saw the coast of Ireland. Despite using only rudimentary navigation, he was two hours ahead of schedule and only three miles off course. He flew past England and by 3 p.m. EST was flying over France. It was 8 p.m. in France, and night was falling.
At the Le Bourget Aerodrome in Paris, tens of thousands of Saturday night revelers had gathered to await Lindbergh’s arrival. At 10:22 p.m. local time, his gray and white monoplane slipped out of the darkness and made a perfect landing in the air field. The crowd surged on The Spirit of St. Louis, and Lindbergh, weary from his 33 1/2-hour, 3,600-mile journey, was cheered and lifted above their heads. He hadn’t slept for 55 hours. Two French aviators saved Lindbergh from the boisterous crowd, whisking him away in an automobile. He was an immediate international celebrity.
President Calvin Coolidge dispatched a warship to take the hero home, and “Lucky Lindy” was given a ticker-tape parade in New York and presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor. His place in history, however, was not complete.
In 1932, he was the subject of international headlines again when his infant son, Charles Jr., was kidnapped, unsuccessfully ransomed, and then found murdered in the woods near the Lindbergh home. German-born Bruno Richard Hauptmann was convicted of the crime in a controversial trial and then executed. Then, in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Lindbergh became a spokesperson for the U.S. isolationism movement and was sharply criticized for his apparent Nazi sympathies and anti-Semitic views. After the outbreak of World War II, the fallen hero traveled to the Pacific as a military observer and eventually flew more than two dozen combat missions, including one in which he downed a Japanese aircraft. Lindbergh’s war-time service largely restored public faith in him, and for many years later he worked with the U.S. government on aviation issues. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed him brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve. He died in Hawaii in 1974.
Lindbergh’s autobiographical works include “We” (1927), The Spirit of St. Louis (1953) and The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh (1970).
For more on this day in history, go to history.com.
Baton Rouge – Earlier today, Louisiana State Police held its annual awards ceremony to honor Troopers, public safety personnel, and civilians from across the state for performing above and beyond the call of duty in 2023. Along with those individuals receiving awards, commissioned personnel who have been promoted since January 2024 received special acknowledgment for their achievement. The ceremony was held this afternoon at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy Auditorium on Independence Blvd. in Baton Rouge.
The law enforcement award ceremony is a prestigious event held to honor the bravery, dedication, and exemplary service of these women and men. Being recognized at such a ceremony reflects hard work, sacrifice, and commitment to upholding the law, protecting communities, and ensuring public safety. The recipients of these awards are often chosen based on their exceptional acts of courage, quick thinking in high-pressure situations, successful operations that result in the apprehension of dangerous criminals, or significant contributions to crime prevention and community outreach programs. Overall, the law enforcement award ceremony is an opportunity to commend deserving individuals and showcase their professionalism and integrity.
For Trooper of the Year, Investigator of the Year, Communications Officer of the Year, and DPS Officer of the Year, all nominees are listed. An asterisk (*) indicates the award winner. Awards presented to these extraordinary individuals are as follows:
Blue Max Award – The Blue Max Award is given to the Trooper who has recovered the most stolen vehicles with arrests in a 12-month period.
TPR David Webster
Meritorious Service Award – The Meritorious Service Award is given for any act or performance of duty which exceeds the normal expectations of duty and demonstrates an exceptional degree of good judgment, initiative, and competence.
SGT Matt Jones, Jr.
Investigator Melissa Welch
Lifesaving Award – The Lifesaving Award is an award that is given to individuals who perform acts which result in the saving or sustaining of a human life.
SGT Prentiss “Trey” Bellue
SGT Brittany Pias
TPR Justin Wardell
TPR Mark Charpentier
TPR Todd Henry
TPR Daniel Berrincha
TPR Tyler Evans
Service Injury Award – The Service Injury Award is given for any act or performance of duty which exceeds the normal expectations of duty and demonstrates an exceptional degree of good judgment, initiative, and competence.
DPS Officer Austin Fontenot
Lifesaving Award for Civilians – The Lifesaving Award for Civilians is an award that is given to citizens who perform acts which result in the saving or sustaining of a human life.
Jared Heller
Richard Honeycutt Award – Awarded for outstanding service and dedication to duty by a Communications Officer.
Region 1 Communications Officer Supervisor Aime Young
Region 2 Communications Officer Supervisor Brooke Patin *
Region 3 Communications Officer Kathy Golemon
Communications Officers Aime Young and Kathy Golemon were awarded the Meritorious Service Award for their nominations.
DPS Officer of the Year – The DPS Officer of the Year is for the individual who has demonstrated unusual skill and ability in performing his/her duties.
DPS Investigator Patrick Deshautelle *
DPS Investigator Darren Foil
DPS Officer Matthew Mayeux
Investigator Darren Foil and Officer Matthew Mayeux were awarded the Meritorious Service Award for their nominations.
Investigator of the Year Award – The Investigator of the Year Award is for the Trooper/Investigator who has demonstrated unusual skill and ability in performing his/her duties.
TFC William Seymour
TFC Jack Uhle *
TFC Brandon Ostarly
TFC William Seymour and TFC Brandon Ostarly were awarded the Meritorious Service Award for their nominations.
Trooper of the Year Award – The Trooper of the Year Award is for the individual who has demonstrated unusual skill and ability in performing his/her duties.
TPR Darrious Williams
TFC Julius Rolland
TPR Mark Charpentier
TFC Chris Castro
TFC Kenneth Fuselier
TPR Jacob Hale
TPR Nicholas Rowell *
MT Samuel Lorio
TPR Joshua Dennis
Troopers Williams, Rolland, Charpentier, Castro, Fuselier, Hale, Lorio, and Dennis were awarded the Meritorious Service Award in recognition of their Trooper of the Year nomination.
All-tournament passes and single-session tickets are available as Louisiana Tech gets set to host the 2024 Conference USA Baseball Championship sponsored by Super 1 Foods May 22-26 at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
Fans can purchase an all-tournament pass to attend up to 15 games for $200 for chairback seats and $150 for right field berm seats.
Fans can also purchase single-session tickets. Games played on Wednesday, May 22 and Thursday, May 23, will be split into morning and evening sessions with each session consisting of two games. Chairback seats for a session can be purchased for $40 while tickets for right field berm will be available for $30.
Full-day passes for games played on Friday, May 24 or Saturday, May 25, are also available for $40 (chairbacks) and $30 (right field berm). Tickets for the championship game on May 26 will be priced at $30 for a chairback and $25 for the right field berm.
Students from every school competing can show their student ID at the J.C. Love Field Box Office to receive a $10 ticket for the right field berm each session of the championship. Meanwhile, ages three and under get in free for the entire tournament.
To purchase tickets for the 2024 CUSA Baseball Championship, fans can go to LATechSports.com/Tickets or call the LA Tech Ticket Office at (318) 257-3631. The box office at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park will be open two hours prior to the first game each day of the championship.
All parking will be free for the championship. Outside of the designated donor lot, which is the parking lot across the street from the Love Shack on the corner of Tech Drive and West Alabama Avenue, available parking for the public will be at the LA Tech Athletics Village, Lambright Sports and Wellness Center, Memorial Gymnasium, and the West Mississippi Avenue lot.
Due to graduation, parking on Saturday will be more limited as there will be no free parking within the LA Tech Athletics Village (on the west side of Tech Drive). Parking at Memorial Gymnasium and the West Mississippi Avenue lot will be the best options. Fans are encouraged to follow @LATechBSB on Twitter for parking updates.
The 2024 CUSA regular season champion Bulldogs earned the No. 1 seed and will face No. 8-seed Middle Tennessee in the first round on Wednesday, May 22 at 4 p.m. CT.
Trailblazer will be offering a free workshop on fish pond management on Friday, May 24, at the Lincoln Parish Library Events Center from 10:30 a.m. – noon.
To register, call or text 318.237.8350 and provide your contact information and the name of the workshop.
On-site registration will begin at 10 a.m. the day of the workshop.
Doyce Ann Wilson Houck April 8, 1941 – May 15, 2024 Visitation: Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, Thursday, May 23, 2024, 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Service: Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, Thursday, May 23, 2024, 2:00 pm Cemetery: Harmony Chapel Cemetery, Thursday, May 23, 2024
ReNalda T. Harland Osborne Thursday 10/24/1985 — Sunday 05/12/2024 Family Gathering: Friday 05/24/2024 2:00pm Visitation: Friday 05/24/2024 3:00pm to 6:00pm at King’s Funeral Home Celebration of Life: Saturday 05/25/2024 12:00pm, Zion Traveler Baptist Church, 1201 Martin Luther King Drive, Ruston Interment: Saturday 05/25/2024 Following Service, Mt Mariah Cemetery, Chatham
After a tremendous inaugural group was named in 2023, the Lincoln Parish Journal is now seeking nominations for this year’s “Rising Lincoln Leaders.”
Our parish is full of young, rising professionals and leaders, and we want to recognize the next group of leaders through this summer series.
Nominee criteria includes:
39 years of age or younger
works in Lincoln Parish
resides in Lincoln Parish
Deadline to submit nominations is by 5 p.m. on Friday, July 5th. All nominations should be emailed to LPJNewsLA@gmail.com with the subject line of Rising Lincoln Leaders.
Please include the following information within the nomination:
Nominee’s name
Age
Employer
Contact info, including phone
750 words or less about why the individual is being nominated for this award; including accomplishments, awards, etc.
Contact name and info (including phone) of the person submitting the nomination
The Lincoln Parish Journal will run a series profiling each of the “Rising Lincoln Leaders” during the summer.
The Lincoln Parish Courthouse, often maligned for its cracker box appearance, has served the parish well for nearly 75 years.
The utilitarian exterior has been disparaged by many, especially when they see photographs of the beautiful classical-style building it replaced in 1950.
The parish completed it first courthouse in Ruston in 1903 for less than $30,000 and lasted nearly 50 years. It replaced a small plain, wood frame court building that had been moved from Vienna when Ruston became the parish seat in 1886.
The charming brick building topped by an elaborate dome and cupola surrounded by oak trees served its purpose when parish offices maintained small staffs. For example, the sheriff’s office of the early 1900s consisted of the elected sheriff and one deputy. The clerk’s office also consisted of two men. The jail sat next door in a separate building.
Founded as a town in 1884, Ruston developed steadily. With new businesses and residents and the growth of Lincoln Parish, the stately courthouse, showing significant wear by the 1940s, was obsolete and bursting at its seams.
World War II ended in 1945 and within a year, citizens representing various civic organizations met with the police jury and requested serious consideration of construction of a new courthouse. Far from meeting the post-war demands of the parish, the old 1903 courthouse needed to be retired.
After the meeting, an architect joined ongoing discussions. Neild and Somdal Associates prepared plans and estimated about $700,000 would be needed to construct the proposed building.
In 1947, Lincoln Parish voters approved a bond issue to build and equip a new courthouse. Shortages due to the recent global war delayed construction so the police jury invested the $700,000 in interest-bearing government loans earning almost $14,000 in interest.
However, rising prices meant the $700,000 plus the interest would be insufficient to meet the estimated cost. The police jury set aside $45,000 in its 1950 budget to make up the difference for a total of $758,000.
The bonds sold in 1948 and a contract was executed with the architect to prepare final plans and to supervise construction. The contract was awarded to Southern Builders Inc. of Ruston in 1949. The domed courthouse was demolished and construction on the current courthouse began in 1950 on the same spot.
In addition to Lincoln Parish, Bienville, Franklin, Grant, Union, and Webster Parishes were either building new courthouses or planning for one in the near future. Each featured architecture typical of most government structures erected in north Louisiana at that time—plain, unimaginative, uninspiring brick squares. Many citizens still lament the loss of beautiful courthouses and abhor the cracker boxes that replaced them.
The Cold War raged at the time and the new courthouse basement was stocked with survival supplies and designated a fallout shelter. Some of those supplies were still in the basement 50 years later.
When the courthouse opened in 1951, it housed 17 entities. With room to spare, state agencies and non-profit organizations acquired space in the building:
–parish assessor
–parish clerk of court
–parish sheriff
–registrar of voters
–parish jail
–police jury
–judge, Third District Court
–district attorney, Third District Court
–Lincoln Parish School Board
–American Red Cross
–LA State Police
–LA Driver’s License Bureau
–LA Cooperative Extension Service incl. 4-H program
–LA Department of Revenue
–LA Department of Public Welfare
–LA Department of Veterans Affairs
–Concession stand operated by Division of Blind & Sight Conservation, Department of Public Welfare
Only five of those agencies remain in the courthouse—the clerk of court, registrar of voters, district judge, district attorney, and police jury. At nearly 74 years old, the courthouse can not provide the space the parish’s growth demands. Other parish agencies, including newer ones like the Office of Homeland Security and Geographic Information Systems, operate in other police jury-owned buildings.
In 1984, a furniture store across from the courthouse was purchased to house some parish offices. Agencies from 4-H and the Cooperative Extension Service to the sheriff’s office juvenile unit have rotated in and out of the building. Today it contains the parish’s most used courtroom.
In 2009, the Police Jury spent $1.5 million to purchase the block containing the “old County Market building,” known to older residents as the former site of Gibson’s Discount. The block bordered by Texas, Trenton, Arizona, and Vienna Streets was acquired to expand the footprint of parish government and perhaps serve as the site of a future courthouse.
Off and on for decades, the jury has discussed constructing a new courthouse on the property, consolidating parish offices now housed elsewhere.
Talk of a new courthouse comes and goes but with little discussion of the idea in recent years. It would be a massive financial undertaking, likely requiring new taxes, something officials are reluctant to promote. The $758,000 cost of the courthouse in 1950 is equivalent to about $10 million today.
Bienville Parish voters approved a 3-mill 20-year property tax in 2010 to pay for a new $11 million courthouse and annex. But Lincoln Parish has a population three times that of Bienville and would need a larger facility if intended to encompass all parish offices.
Engineers familiar with the current building say it is solid as a rock. Any deficiencies are in systems, much like any structure of that age—electrical, plumbing, mechanical, technology.
If and when Lincoln Parish builds a new courthouse, hopefully it will be reminiscent of the 1903 classic beauty rather than a jigsaw of cracker boxes.
