Discover the Cedar Creek Difference at Our Preview Day

For more than 50 years, Cedar Creek School has been dedicated to nurturing the minds, hearts, and spirits of students in a Christian environment that prioritizes both academic excellence and character development. Join us on Tuesday, November 5th at 8:15 am for our Preview Day and see why families choose Cedar Creek, where we strive to live by our motto: Super Omnia—The Best of All.

Cedar Creek isn’t just a school; it is a community where students are encouraged to become their best selves. We invite you to explore our campus, meet our dedicated faculty, and learn more about the diverse opportunities available to students of all ages.

Why Choose Cedar Creek School?

A Foundation in Faith:
At Cedar Creek, we believe that a strong moral foundation is essential to a well-rounded education. Our Christian environment provides a supportive and faith-based backdrop where students are encouraged to grow spiritually as they prepare for life beyond the classroom.

Academic Excellence:
Our students consistently achieve remarkable results. The class of 2024 boasts a 100% college acceptance rate, with the top half of the class earning a 28 or above on the ACT. Collectively, they earned over $6 million in college scholarships. Additionally, Cedar Creek offers 13 Advanced Placement courses and dual enrollment opportunities, allowing students to earn college credits before they graduate. Cedar Creek is also nationally recognized as a Gold Member of the AP Honor Roll based on creating a college-going culture that gives students opportunities to earn college credit and maximize their college outcomes.

Holistic Learning Opportunities:
From the earliest grades through high school, Cedar Creek provides a comprehensive and cohesive curriculum that supports a love of learning. Young students have daily access to PE, recess, and character development programs. We also offer music, art, drama, computer, library, and foreign language classes, including both French and Spanish, ensuring that our students are well-rounded and culturally aware.

Small Class Sizes:
We prioritize individualized attention with small class sizes from the Early Learning Center through our high school courses. This close-knit learning environment allows our dedicated faculty to tailor their approach to meet the unique needs of each child.

A Thriving Community of Leaders and Scholars:
Cedar Creek is proud to foster a community of service-oriented leaders. Our graduating class of 2024 completed over 7,000 hours of community service and included two National Merit Scholars. Students have access to a wealth of extracurricular activities, with 100% of 2024 graduating seniors involved in at least one activity. Cedar Creek is a member of the LHSAA, offering 16 high school sports teams and spirit groups, along with 29 clubs and organizations on campus. Sports and activities start early at Cedar Creek, beginning with our PeeWee sports program for our elementary students. We believe that students should be encouraged to pursue their interests, develop new skills, and give back to their community.

Lifelong Preparation:
With our focus on building a foundation for the future, Cedar Creek prepares students not just for college, but for a lifetime of success. Our commitment to excellence has earned us national recognition, and our graduates continue to make a positive impact long after they leave our halls.

Register Today for the First Round of Consideration!

Attending Preview Day gives your family an opportunity to be part of the first round of consideration for Cedar Creek School admission. Don’t miss this chance to see why Cedar Creek is consistently recognized as one of the premier schools in Louisiana. Whether you’re looking for a faith-based education, strong academics, or a community where your child will be supported and challenged, Cedar Creek offers The Best of All.

To reserve your spot, visit https://cedar-la.client.renweb.com/oa/inquiry.cfm?memberid=3154. We look forward to welcoming you on November 5th to experience all that Cedar Creek has to offer.

This is a paid advertorial

The Lincoln Parish Journal wants to thank Karl Malone Toyota, Northern Louisiana Medical Center and Johnson Physical Therapy for their title and presenting sponsorships of this year’s College Football Pick’em contest.

We also want to thank Dubach Air and Heat, Ginn’s Autobody, Hart Designs, Dawghouse Sports Grill, Pattons Western Wear, Tanyard Creek, Stows Moving Co., Ruston Athletic Supply, Hot Rod’s BBQ, and Charlie’s Carpet Cleaning for their Pick’em Partnerships within the contest.

We encourage all of our readers to utilize the services and products provided by our advertisers!

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Another week. Another winner.

John Krobetzky was this week’s winner of the Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by Northern Louisiana Medical Center and Johnson Physical Therapy.

He walked away with $200 after going a perfect 15-0 on the week!

Would you like to win $200 in cash … with the potential to make it $400 if you are perfect on the week (including predicting the No. 1 tiebreaker exactly right).

The Lincoln Parish Journal is proud to host the Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by Northern Louisiana Medical Center and Johnson Physical Therapy.

If you live in the deep south, you know College Football is King!

Readers are eligible to participate and each week one lucky winner will go home with a $200 cash prize (maybe $400).  Each week the winner will be the participant with the best record out of the predetermined 15 college football games (ties will be broken by two separate tiebreakers consisting of guessing the total points scored in two of our weekly contests).

Only one entry per participant will be accepted each week.

The Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by Northern Louisiana Medical Center and Johnson Physical Therapy will be conducted for 14 regular season weeks of the college season starting with this week’s games.

There is no entry fee, just like there is no cost to SUBSCRIBE to the Lincoln Parish Journal where it will come to your inbox every weekday morning at 6:55 a.m.  It takes 20-30 seconds to sign up and not much longer than that to make your picks.

All contest decisions by LPJ management are final. Weekly winners will be notified Monday and will be requested to take a photo that will run in the following week’s LPJ.

Every participant will receive a FREE subscription to the Journal, if you’re not already signed up for the easily-navigated, convenient 6:55 a.m. daily e-mail. Enjoy it all, for FREE, and enter each week’s contest. You could collect $200 each week!

Week 1: Alethea Gipson

Week 2: NaTyra Bolds

Week 3: Barbara Bradshaw

Week 4: Jason Corley

Week 5: Sheila Nugent

Week 6: Brandon Williams

Week 7: Robert Grafton

Week 8: Shane Grubbs

Week 9: John Krobetzky

Follow the Lincoln Parish Journal each morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. It’s FREE! Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

Good chicken salad is like pornography. We can’t really define it, but we know it when we see it.

And taste it.

We live among a people bent on throwing wrenches into what should be the simplest things. Pee wee ball. Music awards shows. The high school prom.

And chicken salad. 

Instead of just playing, singing, dancing, or eating, we end up injecting everything with steroids, putting it under strobe lights, and driving people crazy.

These are the people our parents warned us about, the kind of complicated folk who mess up one-car funerals. And it’s not because they’re stupid. It’s because they want to add seven more cars, two taxis and a tow truck — just because. Too much time on their hands.

Big problem.

Nowhere is the disease more rampant than in your foodstuffs. I offer, for your consideration and contemplation, chicken salad. So simple, yet so misunderstood. It falls into a troublesome category of food that can be either really good or really bad. Usually, it turns bad when people try to glorify it and lift it above its reason for being. 

Think of a jacked-up VW with chrome and mud flaps. Some things just aren’t meant to be. 

My friend Ma Parker came back from lunch this week lit up like a Christmas tree. The reason was music to my ears.

“I just had,” she said, “some really, really good chicken salad.”

Sweet. It’s hard to come by in these modern times, so hard that, when you find it, you have to seek out a friend and comment, spread the love.

Chicken salad need not be complicated. I am no pro but when I think chicken salad, I think chicken, a little mayo and hint of mustard, some ground pepper, a smidge of lemon juice, and you’re ready to roll. 

Remember when you were little and you got sick and had to go to the doctor, and your mom always tried to do a little extra something special for you to get you over the hump? 

Mine bought me a chicken salad sandwich at a pharmacy that had a grill in the same town that had a doctor. Spoiled me for life. David’s Pharmacy in Mullins, S.C. They had a sandwich press deal and it would toast the bread with your “chick sal” stuff already inside and it came out crisp and heavenly.

The word I’m looking for is succulent. So succulent. It was almost worth getting sick just to get one.

On the panini sandwich deal, they were 40 years ahead.

Forty YEARS.

So I had David’s when I got sick, and every other day I had my momma’s understated chick sal in a clear Tupperware bowl in the icebox at the house. You just snatched a bit, put it on a piece of white bread, fresh and lush, folded it over and went back to your bicycle. 

Sweet.

But today … cranberries and grapes and nuts in chicken salad? Apples? 

Seriously? Would you put pork butt roast in your jello mold?

No doubt there are different strokes for different folks. To each his own and to and fro and all of that but …

I’m on a campaign to get celery, whose popularity defies logic, out of tuna fish sandwiches and chicken salad and I know my work is cut out for me there, but grapes? Nuts? Really? I love trail mix. 

But not in chicken salad.

Where we error is when we think “adding stuff” makes things better. Not always.

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu

For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

Two men were arrested by the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office after they refused to stop for a deputy and attempted to elude capture in a pursuit in a Ruston residential area earlier this month.

Robert Posey, Jr., 35, and Benny Osbon, 27, both of Eros, were booked October 19 on numerous drug and traffic charges.

A Lincoln Parish deputy on patrol encountered Posey’s vehicle on La. Highway 33 at the I-20 interchange. When the deputy attempted to stop the vehicle for an extremely loud exhaust, Posey allegedly attempted to escape capture by circling through numerous residential streets in southeast Ruston at high speeds.

A deputy’s report said Posey fled at high speed on streets in the area of S. Farmerville Street, Vernon Street, and Texas Avenue before finally stopping in the 400 block of East Arizona Avenue.

After the suspects were secured, the vehicle was searched after deputies saw narcotics paraphernalia and empty baggies containing a white residue in the vehicle. During the search, a brown metal box was located in the center console containing a glass vial of suspected methamphetamine, two suboxone pills, and a benzodiazepine pill. On the passenger side floorboard, officers found a glass smoking pipe containing suspected methamphetamine residue. A used hypodermic was located on the back seat.

Before the suspects were transported to the detention center, Posey said he may have methamphetamine hidden in his underwear. The methamphetamine was recovered at the detention center.

Posey was also wanted on two arrest warrants from the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office and his driver’s license had been suspended for earlier violations.

Posey was booked for aggravated flight from an officer, driving under suspension, improper exhaust, possession of methamphetamine, possession of subozone, possession of benzodiazepine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and the Ouachita Parish warrants. His bail was set at $80,000.

Osbon was booked for possession of methamphetamine, possession of subozone, possession of benzodiazepine, and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail was set at $30,000.

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. 

Follow the Lincoln Parish Journal each morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. It’s FREE! Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

by Malcolm Butler

Christie Sides is in the majority.

Usually that is a good thing. Usually.

But on Sunday, Sides became one of the seven WNBA head coaches (out of 12 teams) that have been fired during the off-season.

The former Louisiana Tech player and assistant coach who has spent her entire career coaching the game on the collegiate and professional (both WNBA and overseas) levels recently took the Indiana Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016.

In just her second full season with the franchise, Sides led the Fever to a 20-20 record and the No. 6 seed in the WNBA playoffs. Indiana dropped its best of three series 2-0 against the Connecticut Sun with both games played on the road.

When Sides inherited the the job towards the tail end of the 2022 season, Indiana was the league’s cellar dwellers. They were bad. 5-31 bad.

In Sides first year in Indiana, she led them to an eight-win improvement as they posted a 13-27 mark. Then this year, a 7-win improvement. So in two years, she increased the franchises win total of 5 to 20.

That’s 400 percent win growth in two years. I think any of us would love that in our mutual fund.

And her thank you from the Fever? A pink slip.

“We are incredibly thankful to Coach Sides for embracing the challenge of leading us through an integral transition period over the last two seasons, while also positioning us well for future growth,” said Fever President of Basketball Operations Kelly Krauskopf in a statement on the Fever’s website.

“While decisions like these are never easy, it is also imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana. Coach Sides was an incredible representative of the Fever and our community, and we wish her nothing but success in the future.”

What a load of horse manure, Kelly.

Sides not only led the franchise to a pretty impressive turnaround in two years but she had to manage the circus and hoopla that came with drafting women’s basketball phenom Caitlin Clark this year.

I read plenty of social media comments from all the fan “experts” throughout the season, some calling for Sides job due to the fact she wasn’t “utilizing” Clark to her fullest potential. Why? Well from what I could tell because she was actually coaching her and had expectations for the rookie phenom.

I would say Sides way worked.

It’s a far cry from the NCAA’s Iowa Hawkeyes to the WNBA ranks, even for Clark. I remember Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird both talking on TV during last year’s NCAA title game about how Clark was going to have quite the learning curve once she stepped foot on the floor with other more experienced professionals.

Clark proved she more than belonged, capturing the WNBA Rookie of the Year award. But it didn’t happen without some hiccups at times.

I never read or saw any type of statement from Clark about Sides during the year. She was never publicly critical of her head coach that I ever saw so I don’t know their relationship.

What I do know is that the league’s front offices have fired seven of its 12 head coaches, including coaches from three franchises that made the WNBA playoffs. Sure makes you scratch your head.

I don’t watch the WNBA like I once did when numerous Louisiana Tech players were gracing the floors. But I have known Christie Sides since she was a player for the Lady Techsters in the late 1990s. She is a great coach and a better person.

In my opinion front offices have lost their way at times in this day and age of athletics, both college and professional. Sure. Sometimes coaches need to be fired for different reasons.

But to fire a coach after two years that quadrupled a franchises win total and that led the franchise to its first postseason appearance in almost a decade … welp, the Fever front office deserve what they get if the decision goes south.

Is it bad I’m hoping for regression?

For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

One of the best things about traveling and fishing across the south is that you never know what or who you might encounter. Sometimes you come across some nice folks who like to strike up conversation with you at the gas pump. Then there are times when you just want to get back to the truck and get the heck out of there! But either way, it’s all a part of the so called “road time” that all anglers must endure. 
 
While most of my experiences have been positive, there’ve been a few that I would rather forget. The worst trip I ever had to make was an 18-hour drive (one way) to Lake Okeechobee in south Florida. The drive alone was brutal, and this is where I developed a major respect for the guys that fish for a living.
 
While traveling, I’m not one to stop and spend the night at a hotel especially pulling a bass boat, as you can quickly become a target for theft. So far, I’ve been very fortunate to have never been taken advantage of.  But I feel safer pulling into a rest stop occasionally for a quick power nap.

Traveling all hours of the night, I seem to do well driving after dark. All I need are sunflower seeds and a large, sweet tea and I’m good to go! But there was one occasion where I guess you could say I hit a bump in the road. 
 
While traveling back from Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee, I had a blow out on my boat trailer. This has happened to me several times, so often that I could probably try out as a tire changer on a NASCAR pit crew. 
 
But on this particular night, my pit crew would have fired me! Let me set the stage for my debacle. It was in the wee hours of the morning, around 1:00 AM, as I was coming through Birmingham, Alabama, when I felt a major vibration in the steering wheel. This usually means one thing…a blown tire on my boat trailer. So, I pulled over in an area where there was some major highway construction taking place. Keep in mind that it is very dark and the only light I had was a weak cell phone and the headlights of passing cars. 
 
After emptying the entire back end of my truck so I could get to the floor jack and my pneumatic wrench, I slowly started the process of changing the flat tire. Now understand, there’s a right and a wrong way to put lug nuts on a wheel. Each lug nut has a beveled edge that is supposed to go on the wheel one way. 
 
Turns out, this is very important but when you’re changing a tire in the dark, some things you just don’t pay attention to. I was just wanting to get this tire changed and back on the road as quickly as possible. 
 
Getting the job done in record time that any man would be proud of, I was back on the road and headed for Louisiana. One hour later I needed gas, so I pulled into a Love’s Truck Stop (which are great) and hopped out of my truck and began to fill the tank. As the gas was flowing, I decided to do make sure the tarp on my boat was secure. 

Well, was I in for a shocking surprise! As I got to the trailer tire that I had changed out, I was amazed to see that the entire wheel was completely gone! WTH…where is the tire I replaced about an hour ago? It was obviously somewhere on the side of the road just west of Birmingham, Alabama! 
 
Still in shock, I pulled into the garage area of the Love’s Truck Stop and asked the mechanic if he had a trailer tire that would fit my boat trailer. Of course, he did not, but did know a local tire dealer who would. So, he made the call and the tire dealer sent me his store address that was luckily only ten minutes away, and told me to meet him there. 
 
Being 2:00 in the morning, I really hated to wake someone to get me a tire so I would not have to limp all the way back to Louisiana on just three tires. But this guy was not just a tire dealer, but the member of a local band that had just got in from a gig. 

He was so gracious and told me that one of two things probably happened for me to lose the wheel off my boat trailer. I either put the lug nuts on backwards, or I didn’t tighten them up tight enough. Of course, I blamed it on the dark and the fact that I couldn’t see what I was doing.  
 
Either way, this gentleman saved the day, and I pulled into my driveway 8 hours later. Again, this is all a part of the adventure of traveling and fishing some of the best lakes in the country. While things can get interesting quickly, you just have to stay positive and enjoy the drive…….most of the time!  

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

The Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Department arrested an Arkansas man after he told a deputy he had “a good amount” of marijuana in his vehicle.

Jarvis D. Reed, 19, of Camden, Arkansas, was arrested on October 18 when a deputy saw his vehicle traveling on U. S. 80. The deputy stopped him for an equipment violation and saw what appeared to be a partially smoked marijuana cigar in the ashtray in the center console.

When questioned about any illegal substances in the vehicle, Reed said he had “a good amount” of marijuana.

A bag of marijuana was found in the center console on top of a box of sandwich bags and a digital scale, items indicative of drug distribution.

Reed said he was on the way to a concert on the Grambling State University campus. He was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, and improper lights. Bail was set at $15,000.

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. 

Follow the Lincoln Parish Journal each morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. It’s FREE! Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

Funeral services for Dorothy Schrock are scheduled for 10:00 AM, Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at Owens Memorial Chapel in Ruston, LA with Rev. Jerry Smelley and Rev. Kenneth Swanner officiating. Interment will follow in Liberty Hill Cemetery in Bienville, LA under the direction of Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home of Ruston. Visitation will be 9:00-10:00 AM, Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home. 

Dorothy Maxine Hamilton was born on June 19, 1936, in St. Clair County, MO, to parents William T. and Gertrude Blanche Hamilton, she was the youngest of 6 children.  She led a very full and active life and was very interested in everything, especially if it included travel. Dorothy was a member of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church and loved the women’s meetings and Christmas parties. At one time she was an active volunteer Hospice worker, a member/officer of the VFW and went to the Council on Aging daily. Dorothy enjoyed woodworking, quilting, doing flower beds and playing games. One of her favorite games to play was Wahoo with her great grandchildren and ringing her bell when she won.

In the last few years, she has had a very special friend Mr. Jim Adkins, who has come out daily to drink a good cup of coffee, play a hand or two of Rummy and watch a little Bonanza.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband of 43 years, David J. Schrock; her parents William and Getrude Hamilton; sisters: Anna Laura Potter and Opal June Mowat; and brothers: Robert Hamilton, Frank Hamilton, and James Hamilton.

Dorothy is survived by her daughters, Peggy Smelley and husband Jerry of Quitman, LA, and Trish Albritton and husband Dick of Choudrant, La. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Shane Bell (Lenae), Amada Fallin (Jared), Jamie Bell (Jayme), Heather Smelley, David Smelley (Amy), Laurie Murphy (Chris Trainor), Leigh Ann Albritton, Jason Albritton (Katie) and Teresa Aulds (Jim); great grandchildren: Christopher (Jeannine), Madison (Judd), Logan (Zack), Anna, Aaron, Cameron, Hannah, Emma, Alyssa, Karson, Camille, Ella, Mayson, and Eyan; and great great grandchildren: Harper and Hudson.

Serving as pallbearers will be: Shane Bell, Jamie Bell, Jared Fallin, David Smelley, Paul Harper, and Steve Adkins.

Dorothy Maxine Schrock 
June 19, 1936 – October 28, 2024 
Visitation:Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM, Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home 
Funeral Service: Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 10:00 AM, Owens Memorial Chapel 
Cemetery Committal: Wednesday, October 30, 2024, Liberty Hill Cemetery, Off Of Hwy. 508, Bienville 

James “Jim” H. Norris  
March 3, 1946 – October 25, 2024  
Visitation: Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM, Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1515 S Service Rd W, Ruston  
Funeral Service: Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 2:00 PM, Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1515 S Service Rd W, Ruston  
Cemetery Committal: Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 3:30 PM, Pleasant Hill Cemetery, 601 LA-34, West Monroe 

by Hanna Singh

Beloved English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher Diamond Mitchell has been named Lincoln Parish Elementary School Teacher of the Year. Her dedication to her students at Dubach Elementary and commitment to their growth is what makes her a deserving recipient of this award.

Mitchell’s passion for teaching began early in her life. During summer visits with her great-grandparents, she would teach them the alphabet and show them how to write their names.

“I would play school with my great grandparents, who were born in the early 1900s in rural unincorporated areas in a surrounding parish,” Mitchell said. “At the end of the summer, I printed them out certificates of achievement, and they were so proud. I believe these acts provided a foundation and sparked an interest for my love of teaching and the importance of an education for me.”

Mitchell’s career journey began at Grambling State University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After initially working as a substitute teacher, she discovered a true passion for the profession. Determined to pursue a teaching career, she returned to Grambling and completed a Master of Arts in Teaching, with certifications in General Education and Special Education.

Mitchell has taught in Lincoln Parish for 11 years, serving in multiple roles. For the past decade, she has worked as an inclusion teacher and, throughout her career, has taught English Language Arts and Social Studies in general education. Her years in teaching have allowed her to educate students from pre-kindergarten up to fifth grade, all while serving on different committees in her school and parish.

After years of dedicated service to students and families, Mitchell finds the most rewarding part of teaching is watching her students grow. She takes pride in seeing students who were initially uncertain of their abilities gain confidence and master new skills over the course of the year.

“It’s wonderful to observe the growth that a student displays from the beginning of the school year through the end of the year,” Mitchell said. “It’s really a special treat to not only see the growth but experience the fruit of your labor when you see your past students doing well in middle and high school. Some families greet me while shopping at the grocery store, and some students send me emails to thank me for caring and teaching them.”

When the weight of teaching feels heavy, Mitchell strives to remain positive. She understands that, despite the challenges of being an educator, she can be intentional in ensuring her good days outshine the difficult ones. Her optimism resonates with her students, fostering a classroom environment filled with confidence and hope. Each year, Mitchell carries out a personal tradition to reflect on her journey and prepare her for the coming school year.

“At the beginning of each academic year, I go hiking and climb Mt. Pinnacle. Each time I climb, my steps and path aren’t exactly the same, but the outcome doesn’t change,” Mitchell said. “I come prepared, work hard with a vision in mind, and make it to the peak to witness the scenery around me reminding how far I’ve come from the first step that I took. My students and I are on the same journey.”

Mitchell’s positive attitude in the school has not only been recognized by the students, but by her administrators as well. Dubach Elementary principal, Tiffany Curry, described the level of professionalism and dedication Mitchell brings to her job.

“Mrs. Mitchell always works toward perfection. I often have to remind her that progress is better than perfection. Nobody can be perfect, but she always works toward being better and taking that next step,” Curry said. “She is always moving in a positive direction. That’s why she was named our elementary teacher of the year.”

For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

by Malcolm Butler

It will be a Dog and Kat fight tonight when Louisiana Tech travels to Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas, to face Sam Houston State.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be heard on 107.5 FM with Malcolm Butler and Teddy Allen providing a call of the action.

Tech (3-4, 2-2 CUSA) is coming off a 14-10 win over UTEP last week while Sam Houston (6-2, 3-1) is coming off a 10-7 victory at FIU.

“This game is very important in the conference landscape,” said Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie. “When you look at the rest of the teams that we play … they are all ahead of us in the standings. So if we want to make a run in October and November, then we have to beat those teams.

“All of those teams still have to play each other as well as Liberty so I believe there will be a team playing in the C-USA championship game with multiple conference losses. I think parity has taken over in this league.”

The Bulldogs need to win three of their final five games in order to get to six wins and become bowl eligible.

“It’s important as far as bowl eligibility,” said Cumbie. “We need to find a way to get t his one on the road. It will be a physical football game in terms of their style of play on both offense and defense. I think our kids have handled this week well. We have really challenged them.”

After starting last year 0-8, Sam Houston State has won nine of its last 12 games, including a 42-27 victory over Tech last season in Ruston. This year marks just the second in CUSA for the Bearkats.

The game will pit each team’s strength going head to head. Tech ranks among the league leaders in defense, including a stingy run defense that gives up only 113 yards per game on the ground. Sam Houston State is run-heavy, averaging 208.6 yards on the ground.

And the Bearkats offensive success starts with dual threat QB Hunter Watson, who is expected to return to the field after missing last week’s game against FIU. Watson has passed for 987 yards and nine scores while rushing for 500 yards and four more TDs.

“This week we will be challenged with their quarterback who can really run the football,” said Cumbie. “Their two running backs are also really good players. Their offensive line is big and physical. The line of scrimmage will be critical to us getting this fourth victory.”

The Bulldogs counter with an offense that has been pass heavy led by red-shirt freshman Evan Bullock. The Anna, Texas, native has thrown for 1038 yards and nine TDs in just four starts and has yet to throw an interception in 138 attempts.

Bullock was 10-of-12 for 123 yards and one TD on third downs in last week’s win over UTEP.

“I just tell him everything is third down,” laughed Cumbie. “Just play first and second down like its third down. The message to him this week has been consistency. There have been a lot of clutch throws that he has made since he has taken over. He just has to be consistent through the course of the game.”

This will mark the fifth meeting between the two programs with Tech leading the series 2-1-1.

For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

A Grambling State University student was arrested earlier this month after state police found marijuana in his bag.

Kyzun S. Clay, 19, of Baldwin, Louisiana, was arrested October 18 when Louisiana State Police smelled marijuana on him and found two large bags of marijuana in a bag he was carrying.

The trooper said he was walking through a crowd in front of the GSU bookstore when he smelled marijuana coming from Clay. The trooper said Clay then leaned against the building and he walked upwind of Clay and no longer smelled the marijuana. When he walked downwind of Clay, he began to smell the marijuana again.

Clay was approached and asked what was in the bag and he responded, “I’ll show you.” At that point, the black bag was taken and searched and approximately 80 grams of marijuana were found.

Clay had $503 cash in his pocket. After he was handcuffed, Clay was found to have two more bags of marijuana totaling about 21 grams. When asked why he had so much marijuana on him, Clay said he and his boys smoke a lot.

Clay was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center by GSU Police for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a controlled substance in a drug free zone. Bail was set at $40,000.

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. 

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by Malcolm Butler

A head coaching change always comes with a learning curve.

That was the case last year for the Cedar Creek varsity girls basketball program when Katie Hall took the reins from longtime Lady Cougars coach Gene Vandenlangenberg who retired.

Despite the challenges of the transition, the Lady Cougars posted an 18-13 record, tied for the regular season District 2-1A title, and recorded two playoff wins, including a lopsided road victory in the second round against No. 8 seed St. Martin’s Episcopal. Creek lost to eventual state champion Southern Lab in the quarterfinals.

So with one full year under their belt, Hall feels like this season will be even smoother.

“I like to thing this year will be smoother, although we aren’t where I want to be yet,” said Hall. “Last year I had to adjust to the team. I went in with one way of thinking and then realized I needed to adjust to make this work that first year. It morphed into (a multi-year) plan.”

Even her players agree.

“We are all on the same page this year, and it’s easier to see her goals for us,” said senior forward Zoey Venters. “It’s been easier for us to all be on the same page and to understand her terminology. Last year it was harder because of the different coaching styles between Coach Van and Coach Katie. They are both phenomenal coaches, but their coaching styles were so different.”

Venters will be one of the key cogs for the Lady Cougars. After tearing her ACL in March and having surgery in April, the senior is close to being released for full activity. Hall said she expects her to be a full go by the season opener on November 19.

“She is almost fully released,” said Hall. “Last week she came in and told me she was released to do (certain things). She is supposed to go back in two weeks and expects to be fully released. And let me tell you, her motor is still full go.”

The Lady Cougars return the nucleus of last year’s experience, including Venters, fellow senior Mallory Smith, junior Caroline James and sophomores Mary Grace Hawkins and Alivia Lee. They will have to replace their second leading scorer and leading rebounder Leah Sutherland who graduated.

However, Hall feels as though this year’s group will be stronger in a number of areas.

“I think we have a lot of speed and perimeter shooting that will be better,” said Hall. “I expect our basketball IQ to be better. I feel like we are a year further along at each position.”

Creek will also benefit from the addition of juniors Taylor Martinez and Avery Ryan, two transfers from Benton High School.

Martinez is a point guard who will join fellow point guards in James and Hawkins. Hall hopes that having the extra ball handler will help improve on the number of turnovers last season, something that was an Achilles heel for the Lady Cougars.

“My hopes is that we will improve in that area,” said Hall. “I think we will have more mature and better decision makers on the court. Taylor Martinez is part of that. Her court vision is so good. She just has such a good feel for the point guard role.”

Hall said she hopes to be able to push full-court defensive pressure on the opponents this year, offsetting some size challenges.

“We would like to,” said Hall. “We have to get in shape to do it. I think it could be an advantage for us because of our quickness and speed.”

Martinez, whose mother Toni is an assistant coach for the Lady Cougars, said she loves the culture at Cedar Creek within the program.

“This team is such a family environment,” said Martinez. “We are all so close. That’s not something I am used to coming from AAU teams and even my other school. Everyone had their own click. When we are here, we are all here. We are just all a family.

“Coach Katie is always positive and she is always encouraging us. She is our biggest motivator and she always wants us to do good.”

While one of Creek’s strengths should be its ability to put multiple ball handlers on the court at one time, they will have to overcome what could be a lack of size.

“It’s going to come down to who wants it more,” said Venters about the challenges of being undersized. “I think we will come out on top more times than not. We have played so well together this fall so far. This year has been so different. We are playing so together. Our team chemistry has been phenomenal. I know my role. I am just so ready to be back, and I know how I can help our team.”

The Lady Cougars defeated Menard and West Ouachita in scrimmages this past Saturday.

The annual Brickhouse Bash will be held on November 5 and then the Lady Cougars will open the regular season Nov. 19 at Saline. Creek’s home opener is Nov. 21 vs. Calvin.

For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

A Texas man was arrested on the Grambling State University campus earlier this month after an officer found nearly 70 grams of marijuana under the front seat of his vehicle.

A GSU officer saw Jalani A. Patterson, 24, of Mesquite, Texas, seated in his vehicle rolling a suspected marijuana cigarette on October 18. The officers also saw marijuana on the floorboard in front of the driver seat.

At the time the officer was conducting surveillance of a parking lot during homecoming activities.

Patterson was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and violating the control substance law against possession in a drug free zone.

Bail was set at $25,000.

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. 

Follow the Lincoln Parish Journal each morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. It’s FREE! Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

By Kyle Roberts

RUSTON, La. — It was an understandably heavy night for head coach Mandy Cauley on Monday.

First, it was Senior Night for five Lady Bearcats, who were suited up for their last regular season home match.

Second, her daughter, senior Harper Cauley, was advised by a doctor to not play while she recovers from an illness.

And third, longtime official Chris Stevens told Cauley pre-match that he would be retiring at the end of the 2024 season.

It was then, Cauley said, the dam broke.

“That ripped the bandaid off,” Cauley said after the match through tears. “I’m grateful for Chris, and I’m grateful for these seniors. I’ve known these girls a really long time through other sports, like softball and Upward Basketball. So watching them grow up has been one thing, but then, watching them come together as a team has been just another thing completely.

“I really think that all five of them have been so wonderful in their own ways. The way that they each lead is very different, and they each add something so valuable to this program. I’m just grateful that I got to be there coach.”

The positive, for sure, was a clean sweep of Loyola Prep from Shreveport, La., as Ruston won 25-14, 25-14 and 25-8.

Sophomore Ava Crowe led the team with eight kills, while sophomore Baylor Cauley finished with 28 assists and six aces on the night.

With Harper on the bench recovering, seniors Ellie Koonce and Rilee Atwood both saw increased time and made it count, combining for 12 kills between them (Atwood had eight, Koonce had four).

Junior Courtney Harris added three kills off the bench for the Lady Bearcats, as well.

“I really love the way Ellie and Courtney stepped up,” Cauley said. “I think the team did what they needed to do.”

The match was also the final one of the regular season for Ruston, as the No. 15 Lady Bearcats will await official seeding to be released on Sunday, Nov. 3. As long as they stay No. 16 or better, they’ll host a round one match in their home gym — where they did not lose one set the entire regular season.

“We’re going to focus now on getting ready for the playoffs,” Cauley said. “It’s going to be faster tempo and more powerful. We had to take care of business tonight, but we’ll really focus on playing a tougher, faster offense and tougher defense.”

For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

This is an advertorial

GET READY TO SHOP!

Buy Tickets by CLICKING HERE.

Join us from November 7^th-9^th for the 34th annual Holidays in CedarTown! The Ruston Civic Center will be transformed into a holiday shopping haven for all our local residents. Organized by the Cedar Creek School Parent Club, this event will bring a vibrant marketplace to North Louisiana, perfect for jump starting your holiday shopping.

Explore over thirty booths filled with holiday treasures that are sure to delight everyone on your list. We’re excited to offer a unique shopping experience featuring vendors from across the South, including Sugarplums & The Vintage Marketplace, North Forty Woodworks, Goldie Boutique, The Fashion of Ruston, Garden Baby, Salt & Light Designs, The Tigers Den, The Dance Wearhouse, Birch Family, Mid-South Pecans, Crossroads Boutique, Patton’s Western Wear, Red River Leather, Urban Collective, Patton’s Downtown, The Collective, Bandette Bands, Simply Chic Boutique, Give Me 3, Peach Lemonade, Frames-A-Plenty, Bayou Bowties, National Jewelry, Breck & Vale Clothing Co., MeMe’s Boutique, LOA Clothing, The Golden Era Vintage & Antique Jewelry, Cane River Soap Company, Sandy + Rizzo, Different Strokes, Jewelry by Laura Glen, Art by Sarah-Katherine Semon, The Neighboring Co., and more!

Our three-day market kicks off with the Holidays After Hours Preview Party on Thursday, November 7th, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sponsored by Origin Bank, Southern States Equipment, and Hood Companies, this exclusive event includes complimentary appetizers and drinks from local favorites like Crumbs Catering, Iron Cactus, Uptown Downtown, Ponchatoulas, Beau Vines, Newk’s Eatery, and Devine Wine. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased in advance at Cedar Creek School or online via by CLICKING HERE. Limited tickets will be available at the door, and last year’s event sold out, so we recommend buying your tickets early!

On Friday, November 8th, enjoy shopping from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Support your local teams—fans wearing team spirit gear can get a free general admission ticket from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. General admission tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door or online.

Don’t miss Saturday’s Santa’s Cookie Crew event from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., sponsored by Origin Bank and Legacy Pediatrics. Kids will love this fun-filled morning of cookies, writing letters to Santa, and taking photos with the big man himself. Admission is $10 per child and can be purchased online; limited tickets will be available at the door. Shopping will continue until 2:00 p.m. with general admission tickets available for $5.

As you enter the marketplace, be sure to visit the raffle table for your chance to win a $1,000 gift certificate to a locally owned business of your choice! Sponsored by Durrett Law and Title, raffle tickets are $10 each or three for $20, available online or at the event. The winner will be drawn at the end of the market on Saturday, and you do not need to be present to win.

We look forward to welcoming you to North Louisiana’s premier holiday shopping event from November 7th to 9th at the Ruston Civic Center. Holidays in CedarTown is made possible by our amazing vendors, shoppers, and sponsors: Origin Bank, Southern States Equipment, Hood Companies, Dr. & Mrs. John Maxwell, Edward Jones Investments – Andy Halbrook, Century Next Bank, Smurfit WestRock, S & E Fabrication, Marbury Building Corp., Wendy & Kenny Merchant, Legacy Pediatrics, Mrs. Lynda Steed, Durrett Law & Title, Louisiana Orchard Realty, Caples & Robinson Orthodontics, Walpole Tire, Connie & Ayres Bradford, Trey’s Landscape Services, Bash Booth & Enviro Rentals. Merry Christmas and happy shopping!

Holidays in CedarTown is a project of the Cedar Creek School Parent Club. For sponsorship, merchant, or ticket information, contact Cedar Creek School or advancement@cedarcreekschool.org. 

2400 Cedar Creek Drive, Ruston, Louisiana 71270 

318.255.7707 – www.cedarcreekschool.org 

Cedar Creek School practices a nondiscriminatory policy whereby it does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

The Lincoln Parish Journal wants to thank Karl Malone Toyota, Northern Louisiana Medical Center and Johnson Physical Therapy for their title and presenting sponsorships of this year’s College Football Pick’em contest.

We also want to thank Dubach Air and Heat, Ginn’s Autobody, Hart Designs, Dawghouse Sports Grill, Pattons Western Wear, Tanyard Creek, Stows Moving Co., Ruston Athletic Supply, Hot Rod’s BBQ, and Charlie’s Carpet Cleaning for their Pick’em Partnerships within the contest.

We encourage all of our readers to utilize the services and products provided by our advertisers!

CLICK HERE TO PLAY

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Are you ready for some football?!?

Bigger question. Are you ready to win $200 in cash … with the potential to make it $400 if you are perfect on the week (including predicting the No. 1 tiebreaker exactly right).

The Lincoln Parish Journal is proud to host the Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by Northern Louisiana Medical Center and Johnson Physical Therapy.

If you live in the deep south, you know College Football is King!

Readers are eligible to participate and each week one lucky winner will go home with a $200 cash prize (maybe $400).  Each week the winner will be the participant with the best record out of the predetermined 15 college football games (ties will be broken by two separate tiebreakers consisting of guessing the total points scored in two of our weekly contests).

Only one entry per participant will be accepted each week.

The Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by Northern Louisiana Medical Center and Johnson Physical Therapy will be conducted for 14 regular season weeks of the college season starting with this week’s games.

There is no entry fee, just like there is no cost to SUBSCRIBE to the Lincoln Parish Journal where it will come to your inbox every weekday morning at 6:55 a.m.  It takes 20-30 seconds to sign up and not much longer than that to make your picks.

All contest decisions by LPJ management are final. Weekly winners will be notified Monday and will be requested to take a photo that will run in the following week’s LPJ.

Every participant will receive a FREE subscription to the Journal, if you’re not already signed up for the easily-navigated, convenient 6:55 a.m. daily e-mail. Enjoy it all, for FREE, and enter each week’s contest. You could collect $200 each week!

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I went to see Mama and Daddy last week. And my grandmothers, Sallie Hollis and Rose Gunter. Plus a host of other relatives.

Now, if you know much about me, you know that these dear family members have already departed this earthly realm and are waiting for me on the other side. But the place where I can be closest to them until Gabriel blows his horn are the cemeteries around Spearsville. Both Mama and Daddy were born and raised in that area, as well as their parents and grandparents.

Last week, for the first time since Covid, my sister, Dianne Hollis Lundy, and I made the trek to put flowers on our ancestors’ graves. Until 2020 it had become an annual affair after Sister retired.

It was good to have the opportunity to finally return.

First, we always go to Beech Grove Cemetery, practically a stone’s throw from the old Gunter homeplace, where Mama’s family lived. Whole rows of kinfolks’ graves are lined up near the entrance gate, and others are scattered throughout.

I always tell folks that getting there is kind of like being in a horror movie (with tongue in cheek, of course). That’s because every time you turn off of one road to the next – and there are plenty of turns like that – each road becomes smaller. Eventually, branches from the trees on either side almost meet in the middle.

But a clearing soon emerges, and the Beech Grove Methodist Church appears with its adjacent cemetery. That’s where most of Mama’s closest family members are buried.

The word “peaceful” is an understatement. Signs about loose gravel provide a warning as you take the final turn. The road isn’t even paved.

Truth be told, Sister and I may be getting a bit too old for this. While attempting to pull out the stakes that were holding the flower containers in place from previous visits, I almost got faint. Had to sit down on a headstone to rest. Dry ground makes for tough dislodging.

But we persevered, and Rose and Albert, Uncle Joe and others now offer a bright spot amid the tombstones. It’s a small thing to do, but I always think Ma especially would be happy to know that her final resting place boasts a bouquet. She loved her flowers.

Our next stop was the Antioch Cemetery, right behind the Antioch Church of Christ. Mama and Daddy are resting there, right at the feet of Claud and Sallie Hollis. Sallie was Daddy’s mother, and she provided half of my given name, along with Mama’s mother, Rose.

Thankfully, there’s an empty spot at Mama and Daddy’s feet, and hubby and I will someday increase the family line in that area to four generations. Daddy’s grandmother – also a Sallie – is buried there as well, exactly in line with her descendants.

Far from feeling gloomy as I plan for this, I’m comforted to know that I’ll be close to relatives and that the environment here, too, is serene. Pastures abut the land on multiple sides. Cows and horses are visible. That day, blue skies, a gentle breeze, and clouds so white that they almost glowed gave an air of tranquil reverence.

When we left, I patted headstones all around me and got tears in my eyes. My family. My family whom I know I will see again someday. My family who are waiting for me. My family that the Lord blessed me with.

Two other cemeteries remained on our list for that day – Bethel Baptist Church, so far out into the country you think you’ll never get there, where our Webb great-grandparents are buried, and Spearsville Cemetery, where we visited Great-grandpa George Washington Hollis.

At the Spearsville Cemetery, a large oak tree stands guard near the entrance, and that day the sun brightly peeked through its upper branches. I couldn’t help taking a photo and posting it on Facebook with this caption: “I’m sure there’s some kind of significance about this image in regard to this day.”

Now, I know what it was.

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14.

Standing there, under that steadfast oak, I realized: My family members are not just resting in peace; they’re resting in hope. And that helps me to deepen my own.

———————————————————

Sallie Rose Hollis lives in Ruston and retired from Louisiana Tech as an associate professor of journalism and the assistant director of the News Bureau. She can be contacted at sallierose@mail.com.

For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.

Despite recording their second consecutive loss, Ruston High (6-2; 1-2 2-5A) remains in the Top 10 in 5A, according to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

See the complete rankings below.

Class 5A

School 1^st rec pts prev

1. Karr (9)                               7-0   141   1

2. Neville (3)                          8-0   132   2

3. Acadiana                             7-1   111   4

4. Alexandria                          8-0   110   6

5. Catholic-Baton Rouge        6-1     96   5

6. Ruston                                 6-2     79   3

7. Zachary                               6-1     77  7

8. Archbishop Rummel           7-1     59    8

9. Airline                                 8-0     41   T10

10. Mandeville                        8-0     32  T10

Others receiving votes: Central 17, Jesuit 14, Hahnville 8, John Curtis 5, St. Paul’s 4, West Monroe 4, Byrd 2, Covington 1, Parkway 1.
 

Class 4A

School 1^st rec pts prev

1. Teurlings Catholic (12)       8-0   144    1

2. North DeSoto                     6-2    123   T2

3. Lutcher                               7-0    121   T2

4. St. Thomas More                5-3    104   4

5. E.D. White                          6-2     94    5

6. Archbishop Shaw                6-2     91    6

7. Opelousas                           4-3     77     8

8. Franklin Parish                    7-1     50    9

9. Cecilia                                 5-3     40    7

10. Franklinton                        7-1     31    10

Others receiving votes: Westgate 25, Plaquemine 13, Iowa 8, Vanderbilt Catholic 5, West Ouachita 4, Minden 3, Istrouma 1, Lakeshore 1, Leesville 1, Northwood-Shreveport 1.

Class 3A

School 1^st rec pts prev

1. University (12)                    7-1   144  1

2. Bunkie                                 8-0   131  2

3. Jennings                              7-1   114   3

4. St. James                             5-2   107  4

5. Northwest                           6-2     89  5

6. John F. Kennedy                 4-4     79  6

7. Amite                                 6-2      62  7

8. Jewel Sumner                      7-1     57  8

9. Sterlington                           5-3     49  9

10. Madison Prep                    5-3     43   10

Others receiving votes: De La Salle 23, Erath 12, Bastrop 5, Iota 5, Kaplan 5, Lake Charles Prep 4, Carroll 3, Haynes Academy 3, Jena 1.

Class 2A

School 1^st rec pts prev

1. Newman (7)                        6-0   132  1

2. Calvary Baptist (1)             6-2   129  2

3. Dunham (3)                         8-0   126   3

4. Oak Grove (1)                     6-1    108  4

5. Ouachita Christian              8-0     96    5

6. Catholic-New Iberia           7-1     86    6

7. Episcopal-Baton Rouge      7-1     63    7

8. Union Parish                       4-4     49    NR

9. Notre Dame                         4-4     46    8

10. Lafayette Chrisitan            3-5     42   10

Others receiving votes: Mangham 19, Pope John Paul 13, DeQuincy 6, Lafayette Renaissance 4, Northlake Christian 4, Ferriday 3, Kinder 1, Lakeside 1, South Plaquemines 1.

Class 1A

School 1^st rec pts prev

1. Vermilion Catholic (12)       8-0  144    1

2. Haynesville                          8-0  128     2

3. Ascension Catholic              6-1  114     3

4. Riverside                              5-2  108    4

5. Catholic-Pointe Coupee       8-0    92     5

6. Covenant Christian              8-0    89    6

7. Southern Lab                       4-3   79     7

8. St. Martin’s                          5-2    44     9

9. Kentwood                            5-3    40     8

10. Ascension Episcopal         6-1    38   NR

Others receiving votes: St. Edmund 19, Logansport 9, Jeanerette 8, St. Frederick 7, Central Catholic 4, Westminster-Opelousas 4, General Trass 3, Hamilton Christian 3, Delhi Charter 1, Glenbrook Academy 1, Elton 1.

Funeral services for Mr. Jimmy Norris, age 78 of Ruston, LA, are scheduled for 2:00 PM, Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at Temple Baptist Church with Dr. Reggie Bridges and Mr. Gene Moore officiating.  Burial will follow in Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Ruston under the direction of Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home of Ruston.  Visitation will be held from 1:00 PM until time of service at the church.

James “Jimmy” Norris, born on March 3, 1946, passed away peacefully on October 25, 2024, surrounded by family and loved ones. A devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and friend, Jimmy leaves behind a legacy of warmth, kindness, and adventure that touched everyone who knew him.

Jimmy was preceded in death by his parents, Jay and Joy Norris; his brothers Mark, Paul, and Philip; his father- and mother-in-law Maynard and Louella Upshaw; and brothers-in-law Thomas, Clint, and Troy Upshaw. His memory will live on through his beloved wife of 58 years, Eloise “Pat” Upshaw Norris, and his sons, Jimmy Norris (Molly) and Chris Norris (Candace). He was a proud grandfather to Collin Norris (Anna), Erin Senn (Webster), and JC Norris (Kaylee), and a cherished great-grandfather to Ivy, William, Rylee, Sebastian, and Imber.

A man of deep faith, Jimmy was an active member of Temple Baptist Church, where he shared his warmth and generosity with all who knew him. He was a 32nd degree Mason and private pilot. An avid outdoorsman, he found joy in fishing, hunting, and sharing stories over meals — especially if fresh-caught fish was on the table. Those close to him joked that he could “eat his weight in fish,” a feat he embraced wholeheartedly.

Jimmy is also survived by his brother David Norris; his cherished sister- and brother-in-law, Ruth and Craig Kent; sisters-in-law Francis Hammons and Dora Hall; and numerous nieces and nephews who were all touched by his generous spirit and joyful heart.

Serving as pallbearers will be Steve Hammons, Barry Hammons, Clint Upshaw, Wayne Upshaw, Bryan Kent, and Matt Watson. Honorary pallbearers are the men of his Adult 8 Sunday School Class, a group Jimmy held dear.

Known for his sharp wit and easy smile, Jimmy leaves behind a legacy of love, reminding us to savor each moment and appreciate life’s blessings. Though he may no longer walk beside us, his spirit lives on in the hearts of those who loved him.

Jimmy will be deeply missed but forever remembered. His family takes comfort knowing he is at peace.

Ann M. Whittington 
December 12, 1939 – October 23, 2024 
Service: Greenwood Cemetery, Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 10:00 am 

James “Jim” H. Norris 
March 3, 1946 – October 25, 2024 
Visitation: Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM, Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1515 S Service Rd W, Ruston 
Funeral Service: Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 2:00 PM, Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1515 S Service Rd W, Ruston 
Cemetery Committal: Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 3:30 PM, Pleasant Hill Cemetery, 601 LA-34, West Monroe 

Ragan Edmiston 
January 11, 1939 – October 24, 2024 
Visitation: Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 1:00 PM, Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home 
Funeral Service: Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 2:00 PM, Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home 
Cemetery Committal: Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 3:30 PM, Simsboro City Cemetery, Braswell Ln, Simsboro