by Malcolm Butler

Football has a little different meaning for Blake Robinson this year.

For that matter, life does too.

The Cedar Creek junior has always enjoyed competing on the gridiron for the Cougars, ever since he suited up in the green and gold in third grade. And he was already eager to represent the interlocked C’s.

But after a life-altering tragedy this past summer, Blake – and the entire Robinson family – has a different perspective, on a lot of things.

Two months ago, Blake’s older brother, Owen, was killed in a single vehicle wreck in the early morning hours of July 7 while traveling north on Louisiana 33. He was driving north from Ruston to Farmerville heading to his grandmother’s house.

It is something no parent, and in Blake’s case no sibling, should ever have to experience. The accident has left a void in little brother’s everyday life.

A void that he tries the impossible task of numbing these days with football, family, and friends.

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“In tough times we always turned to each other.”

Owen Robinson had just turned 20 years old in April.

The oldest son of Jeff Robinson and Brooke Preaus St. John, Owen had spent his elementary and high school days at Cedar Creek.

He played football for the Cougars and was an integral part in the boys powerlifting team winning the state title in 2021. Owen still holds the school record in the deadlift in the 165-pound weight class at 530 pounds.

Pretty strong.

But, according to those who knew hm, one of Owen’s biggest strengths was being a big brother to Blake. And according to little bro, he excelled at it.

“We were tight,” said Blake. “If I ever needed anything, I would text him. If he ever needed anything, he would text me. We would call just about every night and talk. I would text him every night to check on him.

“In tough times we always turned to each other. We have always been there for each other no matter what happened. We never judged. We would lock arms and go. That’s just how we would go.”

They were almost inseparable despite the four-year age difference.

“Typical brother relationship,” said Brody Soto, one of Owen’s best friends. “Love and hate. They would get into fights every now and then like brothers do, but I’ve never seen two brothers that were closer. They always had each other’s back. Blake was Owen’s best friend.”

“They were by far each other’s biggest fan, even bigger than probably us as parents,” said Jeff. “They fought hard and loved harder. They went through a lot together. They had a really neat brother relationship.”

The two brothers were on opposite ends of the spectrum in physical build. Owen stood 5-foot-7, 165 pounds and Blake measures 6-foot-3, 245 pounds.

However, they both possessed a competitive spirit and a love for athletics.

In 2022, they shared that love on the football field. It was Owen’s senior season while Blake was just a wet-behind-the-ears freshman for the Cougars.

Blake has wonderful memories from that time together.

“Around half of the ball game, we would be on the field at the same time,” said Blake. “It was surreal. Me always looking up to Owen, I never thought I would get that chance to be on the field with him. That just drove me to work harder to make sure I was on the field with him that year.”

It is a season and a memory that will be forever embedded in the minds and hearts of the Robinson clan.

“I will never forget 2022,” said Jeff. “Down in the north endzone someone blocked a punt and Blake jumped on it in the endzone for a touchdown. Owen came (sprinting) across the field, and he was the first one to Blake.

“He wasn’t nearly the closest one to him when (the play) happened, but he was the first one to him and they jumped up into the air (and collided). They did whatever the guys call it where they bump hips and cross their arms.

“In that moment Owen was happier for Blake to score that touchdown than Blake was about scoring it. He was excited for him.”

Par for the course for Owen. That one moment was just a microcosm of his personality when it came to his family and friends.

“Owen was everybody’s best cheerleader,” said Brooke. “He would come home and say, ‘Mom, so and so did this. Can you believe it?’ Somebody being better than him at something didn’t matter to him. They were doing their best, and he was happy for them.”

Although the two boys were similar in many ways, they also had their unique differences that maybe only a mother truly understands.

“When they were babies, I would sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Owen and You are My Sunshine to Blake,” said a teary-eyed Brooke. “And it’s still the same thing. That’s how they were. Owen was the star of the show and the high maintenance child, and Blake was just the sunshine all the time.”

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“He was really my best friend. No one really gets losing a big brother until you do.”

Blake was sound asleep at his father’s house the morning of Sunday, July 7.

Like many teenage boys do, he was taking the opportunity to play catch up on the Z’s before getting up for church.

Little did he know the life he knew was about to change.

According to Blake, he reached out to his brother that night before the morning of the wreck.

“I texted him the night before, and he didn’t text me back,” said Blake, who recently turned 16 years old. “It was weird. About 4 a.m. he finally texted me back and said, ‘It’s okay’ or something like that. It was weird.”

It would be the last time the two would communicate.

The state troopers came to Jeff’s house around 8 a.m. to relay the news. Brooke was driving in from Warren, Arkansas, with her husband John after visiting family over the weekend.

“It was the longest drive ever,” said Brooke.

Blake’s parents decided to let him sleep until Brooke could arrive at the residence to help deliver the news.

“It was a long two hours,” said Jeff.

Once Brooke arrived, Jeff summoned Blake downstairs.

“I saw my dad and my stepdad there,” said Blake. “My mom is crying. I am only thinking the worst. And it was the worst.

“They said, ‘Owen passed away in a car wreck last night.’ I just went right back upstairs. I didn’t want it to be real. I still don’t. He was really my best friend. No one really gets losing a big brother until you do.”

“He was devastated,” said Jeff. “I remember Blake just saying, ‘He was my everything.’”

It did not take long for the news to spread throughout the Ruston community that morning. And as it did, the support for the Robinson family came rolling in.

“When we got home (the morning of Owen’s death), I had a garage full of Owen’s classmates and my friends and Blake’s friends,” said Brooke. “It was really amazing.”

According to Blake, one of the first people to come to see him that day was Cedar Creek head coach William Parkerson.

“What William Parkerson did for us …,” said Jeff. “When we lost Owen, he did the best coaching job that he will ever do without any preparation. He stepped in and was a true coach to Blake through this tough time. He wrapped his arms around him.

“He did things he didn’t have to do. He did things you can’t be trained to do. What he did was he showed us his heart.”

According to Jeff, Parkerson and Jacob Angevine and many of the Cougars coaches have helped Blake through the past two months, especially when he is at school.

“(Coach Parkerson) stamped his way into our hearts,” said Jeff. “Blake has two years left at Cedar Creek and if they don’t win one more game, you won’t hear a word from me because that guy showed up when it mattered.”

These gestures were not lost on Blake.

“Coach Angevine and Coach Parkerson have been close to me,” said Blake. “They were the first two to text me when they found out. Coach Parkerson even came to my house.”

Anyone who knows Parkerson, knows he is a man of few words. But at that moment, he was there for his star player.

“I implored our coaches to wrap their arms around Blake,” said Parkerson. “We probably won’t see the same version of Blake that we saw before that day. We just want to wrap our arms around him through all of this.”

Mama Robinson said she also has her own village watching out for Blake.

“Cedar Creek is family,” said Brooke. “We have friends there. His stepmother is there. Most of the teachers are my friends. Most of the teachers are Owen’s classmates’ mothers. And they are watching. And I have told them to watch.

“If they see something going wrong with my baby, they will let me know. I think you realize what your school means when something like this happens.”

Almost two full months have gone by since his brother’s passing, and Blake said he is still trying to adjust to life without Owen.

“I still text him,” said Blake. “Just because. I’m hoping he may answer but knowing he won’t. If I can tell him something that I want to share with him, it still gives me a little bit of comfort.”

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“I had one big brother. Now I have 10 or 12.”

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Jeff Robinson has dealt with a close family loss.

Fifteen years ago, Jeff lost his little brother, Andy, to a rare autoimmune disease called Goodpasture’s Syndrome.

That was in 2009. Andy was 29. Jeff was 31.

Jeff said the loss of his brother sent him into a tailspin.

“It took me to a deep, dark place,” said Jeff very candidly. “For the next four years I struggled with my life. I held everything in and didn’t talk about it. I just internalized everything and tried to suppress it. I didn’t lean on family or friends. I didn’t ask for help, and it liked to kill me. I self-destructed during that time.”

Fortunately for Jeff, he was able to overcome this tough time in his life. And now he is using his own experiences to help with his son.

“Blake is my No.1 priority,” said Jeff. “He is what my eyes are focused on, making sure he is okay. I am literally doing the opposite with Blake (of what I did with Andy). If I can remember how I handled something with the loss of Andy, I just do the opposite with Blake. What I did simply didn’t work. What I did was terrible. I didn’t do anything right.

“I guess that was God’s little way of teaching me … almost killing me … but teaching me 15 years ago what not to do.”

Blake will readily admit that his tendency is to also internalize things.

“When I found out, I just shut down,” said Blake. “I’m really not an emotional person. I just don’t like showing emotions. Once I heard the story, it just really sucked.”

The good news is Blake has an army on his side from family to friends to coaches to even strangers.

He said some of Owen’s best friends have stepped in since the accident, and he admits it has been a tremendous help.

“Owen had so many good friends,” said Blake. “You could see that at the visitation and funeral. I have relied on his friends, and they have stepped up as big brothers.

“No one really got Owen (like) his friends and me. I had one big brother. Now I have 10 or 12.”

Austin Webb was part of the same graduating class at Cedar Creek as Owen. They played football together and competed on the school’s powerlifting team together.

“It’s made us all realize how important everyone is to each other and how we can’t take things for granted,” said Webb. “Blake has a lot of Owen in him. It’s one reason we really like to hang out with him.”

Webb said spending more time with Blake has been therapeutic for him and so many of Owen’s friends.

“None of us are the same since this happened, but we like to hang out with Blake because we know he is hurting more than anybody else,” said Webb. “It helps us, and I know it helps him. We still get to see a part of Owen every day.”

“That’s what a number of his buddies have said,” said Blake. “They say ‘We love hanging out with you because it shows us, he is still with us.’ There’s always going to be part of him in me. That’s what they are seeing.”

Soto is one of those buddies.

“I see a lot of Owen in Blake,” said Soto. “They are so much alike in so many ways.

“We have been trying to keep Blake busy and keep him around us in case something does happen. If all these emotions catch up to him, he knows he has someone to talk to about it. We let him know he has people to fall back on when he needs it.”

Brooke said she will be forever grateful for the caring actions of these young men during this time in her baby boy’s life.

“I had two kids who were always going to have each other, and now he is by himself,” said Brooke. “Those boys stepping up means everything because now he knows if he needs to talk about something, he can go to those boys.

“I want Blake to realize that friendship is reciprocal. You get out of it what you put into it. Friends are sometimes more important than (even family) depending on what is going on with you.”

Brooke said Blake has shown interest in joining some of Owen’s friends in a group counseling session as they all try to navigate through unchartered waters.

It is a game plan that should benefit all of them.

“We men are made out in a way that we act tough and don’t like to show our true emotions,” said Webb. “We are trying to help Blake understand that he must be able to let it out. We know he is hurting. We are all hurting.”

Brooke recently purchased 25 Yappy bracelets for Blake and many of Owen’s friends to remind them to rely on their faith in this tough time.

“You scan (the bracelet) every day with your phone, and it shows a different bible verse,” said Brooke. “I want him to see it every day because God is on time. I want him to see the verses because I don’t want his faith to change. I want him to know there is a plan. There is a reason. We may not understand it on this Earthly side, but we will. If we can keep going, we can grieve with faith.

“We can be sad, and we can still miss him, but because we know where he is, we are going to be okay. I don’t want Blake’s faith to be hindered by this.”

Jeff and Blake are both wearing chains with crosses that contain Owen’s name. They also plan to get tattoos together in memory of Owen.

“He and Owen had been begging for tattoos,” said Jeff. “Blake asked the other day, ‘You going to let me get a tattoo now?’ I said, “Sure. A tattoo ain’t never hurt nobody.’”

_______________________________

“I want to make him proud and football gives me that opportunity.”

Blake was already going to be one of the keys for the Cougars football team this year.

After earning multiple awards on the gridiron as a sophomore last season, the impressively built linebacker is a year older and stronger.

And he should be a force to be reckoned with on Friday nights.

“He is big, and he is pretty physical, and he has good instincts,” said Parkerson. “He has definitely matured and is much more consistent in his practice habits and what he does in his everyday life.”

However, after the tragedy of this past summer, not only is Blake bigger and stronger and faster … but he is also much more motivated.

“I’m playing with a whole different mindset this year,” said Blake. “I know (Owen) would want to be out there and see me go crazy. I know he would want to see me make every play. Make every tackle. I’m going to be a whole different player.”

If his jamboree performance against Ouachita Christian last Friday was any indication, Blake is a young man of his word.

In just two 12-minute quarters against the Eagles, Blake recorded five tackles, one sack, and two pass breakups.

Expect to see No. 8 all over the field.

“I think we are going to get the best possible version of Blake moving forward,” said Parkerson.

The football field will serve as a sanctuary for Blake this year, a place where he can get away from everything for a few hours.

“There is no other way to describe it,” said Blake. “Honestly, since the passing of Owen, I have turned to football. That’s my first instinct. All of this is really hard to accept. So, football is an escape for me.”

The Cougars are honoring the memory of Owen by wearing a sticker on their helmets that contain the initials OR.

“The sticker on our helmet with Owen’s initials means a lot to me, to our family,” said Blake.

Jeff will have a sideline view to all of Blake’s ball games as he serves as the team’s official in-game statistician. He stands alongside the Cougar sideline, just like he did when Owen suited up.

Brooke will watch from the stands, but she said she will not be hard to find.

“I just plan to be his biggest cheerleader all season long and all life long,” said Brooke. “I told him, I am going to be pretty obnoxious because he is all I have now. I will be an even more obscene cheerleader than I have ever been.”

Mama will be the one wearing the ‘Be Great Number 8’ glitter T-shirt and making plenty of noise.

And while she wants Blake to have a great season on the football field, her desire for her son goes beyond just one sport.

“This year more than anything I want him to be driven by what has happened, not be defined by it,” said Brooke. “I want him to do better in school. I want him to study harder. I want him to play harder. I want him to lift heavier. I want him to be a better friend. I want him to emulate the best parts of Owen …”

Jeff agrees.

“I can see Blake trying to emulate his brother in heart and as a good teammate,” said Jeff.

This season as No. 8 runs out to the field on Friday nights, he will not only be playing for his school but also for the memory of his big brother.

“I am just excited for us to come together as a (football) family and go to war every day, and just show what we can do on Friday nights,” said Blake. “It sucks that (Owen) is gone … I want to make him proud and football gives me that opportunity.”

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By Kyle Roberts

Tears of joy filled the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Louisiana Wednesday as worker and Americorps volunteer AunDra Lacey was surprised with a full scholarship to Grambling State University to study to become an educator, given by GSU’s chapter of the “Call Me Mister” program.

“This means so much,” Lacey said, noting his desire to teach started with his work at the Boy & Girls Club. “I did not see this coming. It meant so much walking in and seeing all the kids in our midst; they have my back like I have theirs.

“I’ve wanted to teach and be a mentor for kids, and I just appreciate this so much.”

The gymnasium at the Boys & Girls building was full of family, friends, and kids in the program as they cheered Lacey on as he signed his official scholarship and ceremoniously put on a Grambling State University in a fashion of an athletics signing.

“Most black males when they sign up for scholarships, it’s for athletics,” said Jaderic Talbert, president of “Call Me Mister” at GSU, who is also a senior education major. “This is for academics, so we’re changing the narrative. (Call Me Mister) works hand in hand with the regular teaching education programs, and it gives additional support.”

That support includes funding such as tuition assistance and scholarships, along with mentoring and coaching.

Dr. George Noflin is the director and oversees the “Call Me Mister” chapter at Grambling State and spoke to the process that Lacey followed to secure his scholarship.

“There is an application process,” Noflin said. “There are several essays that (Lacey) had to complete. Then he went through two interviews. After his second interview, he was overwhelmingly selected.” 

“Call Me Mister” starting in 2000 at Clemson University to address the lack of black male educators in the United States. Currently, only 1.3 percent of teachers in America are black males.

And for Lacey, it’s the perfect way to be sent off to college to fulfill his dream with the opportunity to go to school on a full scholarship ride.

“It hasn’t truly hit me yet,” Lacey said. “I’m just lost for words.”

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The staff at the LPJ would like to wish our readers and supporters a very happy and prosperous new year. We will resume publishing on Thursday, Jan. 2, at 6:55 a.m.

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.

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by Malcolm Butler

Wes Gregory couldn’t breathe.

It was late on a hot summer’s night in August. Wes and his family had just returned home from vacation to the beach.

But as he sat on his bed, he knew something was wrong. Really wrong.

Wes dialed his wife, Lanie, who was on the other side of the house with their youngest daughter, Lesley. It was the night before the first day of a new school year for Lesley, and Lanie was trying to get her settled.

“She is my child that won’t sleep,” said Lanie. “So, I was laying down with her trying to get her to sleep. When he called my cellphone, I knew something was wrong. He said, ‘I can’t breathe.’”

So, Lanie came running.

“It was late,” said Lanie. “I was panicking. He was panicking.

“I ran in there and said let’s get in the car and go to the emergency room. He was like, ‘I can’t make it to the car.’ So, I called the ambulance.”

Although Lanie said the events from that night are seared in her memory, Wes said he doesn’t remember a whole lot.

“The last thing I remember was the paramedic getting here and him asking me, ‘What is wrong,’ said Wes.

The paramedic was Captain Chris Butler from the Ruston Fire Department. Captain Butler had rushed from Station 3 on the north side of town off North Trenton Street along with ambulance driver Artur Christian and firefighter Lake Horton.

“Three minutes felt like three hours,” said Lanie, admitting that the ambulance arrived very quickly. “They did get here fast, but when you are panicking, it felt like forever.”

“When we arrived on the scene, (Lanie) met us outside and said (Wes) was having trouble breathing,” said Captain Butler. “You could tell she was in a lot of distress herself. (Wes) was sitting on the side of the bed in a position where you could tell he was having trouble breathing. He was tripod breathing; he was leaning over and couldn’t catch his breath.”

Wes was fighting for his life.

“I reached over and grabbed his shirt and said, ‘I need you to keep me from dying,’” said Wes. “That is the last thing I remember.”

“He did grab my shirt, and said, ‘You got to help me,’” said Captain Butler. “I told him that’s what we were there for.”

_______________________________

Wes Gregory moved to Ruston in 2012. He laughs in telling the story, admitting he didn’t really have a choice if he wanted to stay married to Lanie.

Having grown up in Magee, Mississippi, his only connection to Ruston was Lanie, who grew up here until her family moved to Magee when she was a junior in high school.

However, according to Wes, in 2012 she told him she was moving back home.

“I guess I really didn’t have much of a choice,” said Wes, grin on his face.

Prior to move to Louisiana, Wes had served as both a volunteer firefighter in Magee and a full-time firefighter in Brandon from 2002 until 2012. It was something he loved.

“I never thought about being a fireman,” admitted Wes. “I am that guy. I could pass a wreck on the road, and it would freak me out.”

According to Wes, living in a small town like Magee, he knew the chief of the volunteer fire department who was also the owner of the local NAPA store. That’s the connection that started his path into a decade in the profession.

“I started working with the Magee Volunteer Fire Department, and I really liked it,” remembered Wes. “I liked helping people.”

_______________________________

As Wes was transported from his bedroom to the ambulance in his driveway laying on the gurney, Lanie was right by his side.

“They got him out to the ambulance, and I was looking out the windows, and they were doing the bag,” said Lanie. “(Captain Butler) came out, and I was like, ‘Is he okay?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah he is breathing and talking some.'”

According to Captain Butler, he was still trying to determine exactly what the issue was while trying to stabilize Wes’ breathing.

“His pulse ox was in the 50s or 60s … very low,” said Captain Butler. “As soon as we got him into the ambulance, we put him on a CPAP that forces air to expand your lungs. His O2 stat only improved to about the 70s so we could tell he had something else going on that the oxygen wasn’t fixing.”

Lanie and her mother followed the ambulance in her car to Northern Louisiana Medical Center. And as they arrived at the emergency room, things took a turn for the worse.

“When we got close, we saw through the little back window of the ambulance … we could see them doing CPR,” said Lanie. “They got him out of the ambulance, and there was a guy on top of him on the stretcher. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Captain Butler did.

“As we were transporting him through downtown Ruston, we could tell something was changing and he wasn’t breathing,” said Captain Butler. “The CPAP requires (the patient) to breathe in to get the air, and we could tell he wasn’t responding well to that. He started to decline.”

So off went the CPAP mask.

“We started chest compressions,” said Captain Butler. “We were a couple of minutes away from the hospital and this decline happening pretty quickly.”

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Wes Gregory knows what it’s like to save a life.

In 2010 when he was still working for the Magee Volunteer Fire Department, he and his colleague John Rankin were part of such a heroic task.

The date was January 21, 2010. Wes remembers it well.

“When you are working at a professional fire station, you sleep there,” said Wes. “But not when you are working for a volunteer fire department. I was at home in my bed when we got the call.”

Wes and John and their team arrived on the scene within minutes, beating the full-time firefighters to the location.

“That’s almost unheard of because of response time,” said Wes.

On that night, a mobile home had caught on fire. The owner, James Stephens, had taken his children to another house, called 911 and then re-entered his burning home to try to put the fire out.

However, the smoke had overcome him.

“When we got there, John and I were the primary attack team,” said Wes. “We were going down the hall, and we found him. He had been overcome by smoke. We found him lying in the hall, and the back of the trailer was on fire.

“We did what we do. We dropped the hose, and we grabbed him.”

After carrying Stephens out of the trailer which soon became engulfed in flames, Wes and John and their team performed CPR. Stephens lived.

Wes said he will never forget that night.

“You don’t get that often,” said Wes. “It’s a lot of finding people for closure. Getting people out of car wrecks. It’s just something special when you do get to save someone’s life.

“It takes a special kind of idiot to run into a burning house. But once you do it and have the training, it’s an adrenaline rush like nothing ever.”

_______________________________

After being intubated at Northern Louisiana Medical Center, an ambulance transported Wes to Christus Highland Medical Center in Shreveport the next morning. The doctors still weren’t 100 percent sure what was causing his breathing issues.

On Friday morning, Lanie was told they were going to take the tubes out to see if Wes could breathe on his own.

Lanie and much of Wes’ family were in the waiting room, anxiously awaiting news from the medical staff.

“Fifteen minutes goes by,” said Lanie. “Thirty minutes goes by. And I was like, ‘Did they forget about us?’ We didn’t dream anything bad would happen. So, we were like, ‘Let’s sneak back in there.’

“So, we snuck back in there and turned the corner and every nurse and doctor were in his room. We knew something wasn’t right.”

The assumptions were correct.

“The doctor came out and said, ‘Well, it didn’t go so well. We had to put it back in,'” said Lanie.

Wes had taken a few breaths on his own after the tube was removed and then almost immediately started turning blue.

According to Wes and Lanie, this is when doctors went from thinking it was a lung issue to believing instead it was a heart issue.

Wes was suffering from a pulmonary edema caused by a prolapsed mitral valve.

The mitral valve controls the flow of blood from the heart’s left atrium to the left ventricle. A prolapsed mitral valve means that the valve’s flaps do not always fit and close properly between each beat of the heart, which may cause the valve to leak blood backward through the valve back to the left atrium.

Wes’ was simply not working.

“They said it looked like at some point mine had all fused together,” said Wes. “And then it just popped. That’s what allowed my lungs to fill up with blood. And that’s why I couldn’t breathe.”

“His lungs just filled up with fluid,” said Lanie.

According to Wes, doctors had discovered years earlier that his mitral valve wasn’t working perfectly. However, he had also had it checked a few weeks earlier and there weren’t any major concerns at that time.

“They thought it was a lung condition because I couldn’t breathe,” said Wes. “The mitral valve they knew about, and I was being treated for it, but it wasn’t severe so that’s why they were focused on it at the beginning. I had just been to the doctor two weeks before and had an echocardiogram, and everything was okay.”

Once doctors discovered the real culprit, Wes started to slowly improve.

“They want you to breathe for an hour on your own before they will take the tube out,” said Wes. “Well, I was lying flat on my back. I would lay there for 45 minutes or an hour and breathe and breathe and breathe, but by the end of the time, I just couldn’t do it anymore.

“The pulmonologist came in and said, ‘He has mitral valve issues, why do we have him lying on his back?’ It wasn’t letting the valve open like it needed to. So, they sat me up at 60 degrees and over the next two hours, I was breathing good.”

Tubes came out on Tuesday.

“I think that’s really when I turned the corner,” said Wes. “Once they got it out and figured out that I needed to be sitting up, it was like someone flipped a switch.”

But surgery was still needed to fix the problem completely. So, Wes underwent heart surgery on August 27 where doctors completely replaced – not repaired — his mitral valve.

“After the surgery, the surgeon came in and told us he had never seen a mitral valve that bad where someone survived it,” said Lanie. “The chords on his were fused together and it popped like a rubber band.”

Wes began rehab and was discharged to go home on September 1.

“I now have a carbon fiber mitral valve,” said Wes. “If you listen closely, you can actually hear it (clicking).”

_______________________________

Wes Gregory and John Rankin were honored by the state of Mississippi as the Mississippi Firefighters of the Year in 2011.

“The state knows how special it is,” said Wes. “They made a big deal out of it. I got an Act of Valor Award from the state.”

It’s not an honor he took lightly.

Wes now has the unique view of being on both sides of the equation. The life saver and the one whose life was saved.

“I know what it’s like,” said Wes. “The police. The firefighters. They don’t get enough credit. They don’t make the money they should. It’s those rare things that you get as a win that truly makes it worth it. If you can just save one person … You see people on the worse day of their life. They are looking at you to make a difference.”

On October 1, Wes and Lanie and daughters, Lily and Lesley, and his in-laws David and Kathy Williams, all went to the Ruston Central Fire Station to personally thank Captain Butler, Artur Christian, and Lakin Horton for their part in saving his life.

“It was really special to go up (to the Ruston fire station) and see those guys,” said Wes. “It brought back a lot of emotion and memories from when I was in the fire service.”

According to Wes, James Stephens came up to the fire station in Mississippi to personally thank he and John more than a decade ago.

“Just saving one person makes your whole career worth it,” said Wes. “There are guys who go through their entire careers of 25 or 30 years and never get that opportunity. Those stories, my story, usually turns out to not be good news.”

The gesture meant as much to the Gregory’s as it did to the men who were a part of that August day.

“It’s very rewarding to see the difference that we can make,” said Captain Butler. “It may happen more than we want, but when we get to meet him a months later, it’s very rewarding.

“Knowing that (Wes) has a firefighter background, and he can relate to it. He knows what we have been through, and we know what he has been through.”

Butler, Christian and Horton were all presented with a sticker in the presence of the Gregory’s that day by Ruston EMS Director David Wells. The sticker is an image of the Grim Reaper behind the red “no” sign, or prohibition sign (see photo below) for their individual firefighter helmets.

“In college football helmet stickers are given for individual and team achievements,” said Wells. “It has decades of tradition.

“That day death came for Mr. Gregory and this sticker will serve as a reminder that their efforts made a difference in his life and our community’s lives.”

It’s something Wes won’t soon forget.

“Everybody cared,” said Wes. “It wasn’t just a job. They were personally invested in me. They were all just amazing. They saved my life. The folks at the Ruston Fire Department and Northern Louisiana Medical Center … they saved my life. The folks at Christus Highland Medical Center. All of them.

“It was God’s hand all over it.”

_______________________________

It’s been a slow recovery process for Wes.

However, he hasn’t complained. He knows how lucky he is.

“We had so many people call and text and pray for him,” said Lanie. “I believe that is what did it.”

And according to Wes, the support has been overwhelming.

“You talk about the Ruston community … it’s a good place,” Wes said with tears welling up in his eyes. “When something like this happens, it makes you think about everything and evaluate what you are doing to see what is really important. Everything else is trivial. Ruston is such a good place to be.”

Wes recently went back to work at Courtesy Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Ruston where he has been employed since moving to town in 2012. He may not be 100 percent yet, but he is well on the path to a full recovery.

And as Thanksgiving rolls around, thankfulness has a new meaning to him.

“Everything, every part of my life right now, has a different meaning,” said Wes. “Thanksgiving, especially. Any time I’m with family, it’s different. It just feels different. In the past you get so caught up in everything. And you are like, ‘Oh yeah, we are thankful for family and ….’ And everyone says the same thing, but this year I am especially thankful for family and community.”

Wes and his family attend The Bridge Community Church. And according to him, it’s a Thanksgiving tradition for members to go on camera and say one thing they are thankful for each year.

This year, it was impossible to keep it to just one.

“This year mine was two lines,” said Wes. “My family was thankful for our family, but I was also thankful for health and for faith and God’s grace. Without that, I’m not here today.”

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By Kyle Roberts

If Merriam-Webster is ever looking for the perfect picture of a student-athlete, it would be hard pressed to choose anyone other than Ruston High School’s Thomas Rogers.

Ruston High principal Dan Gressett would sure agree with that.

“Thomas is such a dedicated student-athlete,” Gressett said. He is training early in the morning before most students wake up, then showing up to a full class load when most seniors only take five classes –and it’s a very challenging class load at that. He has accomplished so much at Ruston High School and we are very proud of him. He is a great ambassador for Ruston High.”

Now in his senior year in the classroom and the track, Rogers has left a lasting legacy for his diligence in both arenas as he prepares to head to Louisiana State University in the fall to study chemical engineering.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Rogers said of being a senior. “Especially on the track and cross country, because of all the work I’ve put in over the last four years is finally paying off with fast times.”

These fast times include a legendary performance to win the 2024 LHSAA indoor state championship in the 3200-meter at 9 minutes, 33.81 seconds and a school record performance in the 3200 for outdoor at the LA 2-mile Festival on Friday, March 16, at 9:21.79. And back in the fall of 2023, Rogers finished seventh overall in the state championship after leading Ruston to another district title.

But even with his successes, Rogers will admit that it’s not always easy between running, school work, eco-car, student council and being a National Merit finalist.

“It’s hard balancing those things,” Rogers said. “I don’t have a lot of time for much outside of the things I’m involved with; I think I need to be better with my time management. I really try to do it all.”

His coaches, Trey Smith for track and Dustin Cochran for cross country, will both rave about the effort they see from Rogers and how hard he’s willing to push himself, regardless of whatever challenge he faces.

“He’s everything you want in a competitor,” Cochran said. “He’s willing to do the work. When you look at the big picture, it speaks to a really focused person who has priorities and he has a very supportive family, as well, and that’s a big deal. But what I’ve also liked about him is when he wants to know something or try something different, he’s not afraid to speak up. He’ll constantly ask me how we can make something better or push it forward.

“I always say that your team goes as your seniors go, and the enthusiasm that he’s brought to the team, (the rest) have copied. They’ve set a really good tone for us, and it’s led to some really good performances.

Both Smith and Cochran have watched Rogers run since he was in elementary school, knowing that one day Rogers would be an outstanding addition to a program that has seen its share of success through the years. For Smith, it all culminated with the aforementioned individual indoor championship run.

“I was super excited,” Smith said. “Once we saw him start coming around the bend at the last lap, we knew he was in his stride pattern and was definitely more aggressive than the two guys who were in front. (Cochran and I) got right there at the finish line, and we knew he had it. It was a big rah-rah moment for us. That’s four years of work in just a few seconds.

“It’s cool to see how all of that has played out. He has a love for the sport and has been pushing himself for a long time. From the track perspective side, it’s nice to have someone you can depend on. I’m always excited to see Thomas out there.”

Now, with only a few races remaining over the next few weeks as a Bearcat, Rogers will look to cap off a stellar career for the Firmly Founded, while making good memories along the way, even if it requires running nearly ten miles everyday just to stay race-ready.

“I’m going to keep having fun,” Rogers said. “Waking up every single day and to go run doesn’t sound like fun, but when you’re with the right people, it is fun and enjoyable.”

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Bastrop – On Friday, December 27, 2024, shortly before 2:00 p.m., Troopers with Louisiana State Police Troop F began investigating a single-vehicle fatal crash on Louisiana Highway 2 east of U.S. Highway 165. The crash claimed the life of 61-year-old James Boudreaux of Mer Rouge.

The preliminary investigation revealed that a 1995 Dodge Ram, driven by Boudreaux, was traveling east on Louisiana Highway 2. For reasons still under investigation, the Dodge traveled off the left side of the road and overturned.

Boudreaux, who was properly restrained, suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene. Routine toxicology samples were collected and will be submitted for analysis. This crash remains under investigation.

Troopers wish to remind motorists to always make good decisions while in a motor vehicle. Never drive impaired, fatigued, or distracted. Follow all traffic laws and ensure every occupant is properly restrained. While not all crashes are survivable, taking simple precautions such as these can often mean the difference between life and death.

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Wanted man found with marijuana

The Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested a Ruston man Sunday after he was stopped for a traffic violation and was found to be the subject of an arrest warrant and in possession of marijuana.

Justin D. Thomas, 32. was arrested early Sunday morning after he was stopped for failure to maintain his travel lane on U.S. 167 in south Ruston. A record check showed Thomas was wanted on a bench warrant for possession of a controlled substance from Third Judicial District Court.

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The deputy speaking with Thomas detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Thomas said he had some in the vehicle but that he had a prescription for medical marijuana. However, he could not provide any evidence of a prescription.

Thomas was arrested and a search of the vehicle located a jar containing suspected marijuana, a rolled marijuana cigarette, and several clear plastic baggies throughout the vehicle containing small amounts of marijuana residue.

Thomas was booked for possession of marijuana, failure to maintain lane, and the bench warrant. Bail was set at $9,000.

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.

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.

Wanted man arrested after domestic incident

A Ruston man was arrested for domestic violence after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend.

Dwayne Luther Spivey, 40, was arrested Christmas Day after Lincoln Parish deputies were called to the Peachland Mobile Home Park on U.S. 80 near Ruston.

Deputies were told Spivey had battered his girlfriend and fled the scene out the back door prior to their arrival.

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Soon after, the sheriff’s office received a report Sprivey had returned to the area

A deputy located Spivey standing in the middle of the road in the mobile home park and placed him under arrest for a bench warrant for failure to appear in Third Judicial District Court on a charge of disturbing the peace.

Spivey was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for domestic abuse battery with strangulation and the bench warrant.

Spivey’s bail amount was not available at publication time.

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

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

Make that five wins over Class 4A or Class 5A teams for Cedar Creek’s girls hoops team.

Avery Ryan scored 15 points and the Lady Cougars overcame some fatigue in posting a 48-35 road victory over West Ouachita Monday night.

The win earned Cedar Creek 57.0 power points as the Lady Cougars (14-3) remain No. 2 in the unofficial geauxpreps.com rankings in Select School Division IV, trailing only Southern Lab.

Creek is now 5-3 against Class 4A and 5A teams with wins over West Ouachita, West Monroe, Bastrop, Benton and Northwood.

“I think this group realizes it can play with anybody, and it has developed a grit and a determination when its tested,” said head coach Katie Hall. “We will be able to look back (later in the season) and say remember when. It will give them a boost of confidence later in the season when we need it.”

Senior Mallory Smith got Cedar Creek off to a hot start with back-to-back layups in the opening two minutes and then a three-pointer with 4:30 to play in the first quarter as the Lady Cougars led 13-10 at the end of the first period.

West Ouachita (13-4) tied the score at 13-13 with a three-pointer early in the second quarter but Ryan scored six straight points inside off of assists by her Lady Cougar teammates.

After Zoey Venters hit a pair of free throws to make it 21-15 with 4:00 to play, Ryan scored on a turnaround jumper in the lane to make it 23-17. Caroline James ended the first half scoring with a baseline jumper with 20 seconds to play in the second quarter as the Lady Cougars led 25-20 at the half.

Creek struggled for the entire game with its three-point shooting, making only 3-of-18 despite getting great looks time after time.

“I was fearful of us coming off a tough physical and mental weekend (in Shreveport),” said Hall. “These girls were a step slow and just a little bit off, but they still were able to find a way to move the ball and get the ball inside (to Ryan) and figure out what was working for us.

“Going on the road to a 4A school that I knew had been preparing for us … I knew it would be a tough (game) and I am glad to come away with a win.”

James opened the scoring in the second half with a layup off the fast break. Following a free throw by Ryan, Taylor Martinez connected on a three-pointer with 4:40 to play to make the score 31-20 in favor of Cedar Creek.

Smith hit a layup and Ryan followed with another before Martinez connected on a short jumper with 1:20 to play to make it 37-26 Lady Cougars.

In addition to Ryan’s big night, Smith added nine points and Martinez and Mary Grace Hawkins each scored seven points.

“We have talked a lot about playing inside out,” said Hall. “We try to get the ball inside (to Ryan) and if she is double or triple team, she has learned to trust her teammates and kick it back out because they are great shooters. She also trusts them to know if she kicks it out, she can repost and they will look back in there to her. They are figuring out how to play together and trust each other.”

Leading 37-29 at the end of the third quarter, Cedar Creek got seven fourth quarter points from Hawkins, including only the team’s third three-pointer of the game, as the Lady Cougars held West Ouachita to just six points over the final eight minutes of the game.

_________________________________

Cedar Creek Scoring: FG(3)-FT=Total Points

Alivia Lee 0-2=2; Mary Grace Hawkins 2(1)-2=7; Caroline James 2-0=4; Mallory Smith 4(1)-0=9; Taylor Martinez 3(1)-0=7; Zoey Venters 1-2=4; Avery Ryan 6-3=15. Totals: 18(3)-9=48.

Score by Quarters

Cedar Creek 13-12-12-11=48

West Ouachita 10-10-9-6=35

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by Malcolm Butler

Cannon Robbins scored 29 points, Jake Terry added 19 and Jack Bell chipped in with 12 to lead Cedar Creek to a 76-70 win over Class 4A West Ouachita Monday night.

The Cougars (7-3), who are currently No. 4 in the Select School Division IV power ratings, defeated the Chiefs (12-6) for the second time in the last two weeks behind a balanced offensive attack that also included eight-point efforts by Cameron Temple and Luke Waldron.

One week after watching his team struggle with a team concept in a home loss to Quitman, head coach Lance Waldron felt his players showed progress.

“As the game went on (we shared it better),” said Waldron. “To start the game we still had some things that were lingering from the (Quitman) game, but as the game went on and it got down to crunch time, what we had been working on in practice the last three days showed.”

With the Cougars clinging to a 68-67 lead with under two minutes to play, Cedar Creek ran its delay offense to perfection. While using the clock, the Cougars ran time before ending up with uncontested layups by Luke Waldron with 1:25 to play and by Jack Bell with 1:01 to play to push the advantage to 72-67.

“That was our focus throughout the last three days because of the way we operated against Quitman,” said Waldron. “It was not pretty. It was nothing like that. This is what we worked on. We worked on sharing the ball.

“We have some really good players on the team, but they can’t do it alone. We have to have everyone involved and I thought we responded tonight.”

Cedar Creek, which defeated West Ouachita 64-50 on December 14 at the Brickhouse, got off to a slow start Monday night as the Cougars fell behind 17-8 midway through the first quarter. However, the Cougars began to claw their way back as Robbins and Temple combined to net eight of the final 10 points of the quarter as Creek trailed 23-18 after one quarter.

Temple’s on-ball defense was a big part of the Cougars success, including a steal and a break away layup at the buzzer to end the first quarter.

“Cameron is such a good story, a basketball story,” said Waldron. “A life story is Cameron Temple. No one is going to write that story but they should. Cam went through some struggles last year. I challenged him with his defense. Cam is a competitor and he wants to be on the floor, but defensively he was not there.

“It’s a testament to him. He put in the work. He worked his butt off, and now he is one of our best defenders. You saw it tonight.”

Terry opened the second quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to give Cedar Creek its first lead of the game at 24-23. Temple added a layup to push the lead to three as the two teams traded leads over the majority of the second quarter.

A Robbins layup in the final 30 seconds of the stanza gave the Cougars a 35-33 halftime lead.

The Cougars came out of the halftime locker room strong, extending its lead to 44-37 with just over 5 minutes to play in the frame. West Ouachita closed the deficit to 51-50 before Luke Waldron converted a conventional three-point play with 1:54 to play to make it 54-50.

West Ouachita tied the game early in the fourth quarter at 60-60 on a three-pointer but it was short-lived as Robbins answered with a three-pointer less than 10 seconds later. The Chiefs would tie it once again at 67-67 on a conventional three-point play with 3:07 to play before the Cougars used a 9-0 run over the the next three minutes to pull away for the win.

___________________________________

Cedar Creek Scoring: FG(3)-FT=Total Points

Cameron Temple 4-0=8; Cannon Robbins 12(3)-2=29; Luke Waldron 3-2=8; Jack Bell 4-4=12; Jake Terry 7(2)-3=19. Totals: 30(5)-11=76.

Score by Quarters

Cedar Creek 18-17-21-20=76

West Ouachita 23-10-19-18=70.

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Courtesy of LA Tech Athletics

RUSTON, La. — Ten Lady Techsters scored for Louisiana Tech during the Lady Techsters’ 86-41 win over LSU Alexandria on Monday afternoon in the Thomas Assembly Center.

Robyn Lee grabbed the game’s final rebound right before time expired to secure her second double-double of the season and finished with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds with three assists.

“It was good to get back in a game situation today after the break,” Lady Techster Head Coach Brooke Stoehr said. “I was pleased with our conditioning and the way we moved the ball. I felt like we started the game with a solid focus and intensity. There were some good teaching moments, and we’ll use those to continue to prepare for conference play.

“The emphasis for this group will be continued growth on the defensive end and being able to use our experiences from the non-conference games to help us as we start with a blank slate on Thursday.”

Louisiana Tech (7-4) got on the board quickly when Lee grabbed the first of 20 Lady Techsters’ offensive rebounds and made a jumper in the paint just 16 seconds into the contest. A 3-pointer by Lee made the lead double-digits for the first time at 13-3 to force LSU Alexandria (11-4, 8-3 RRAC) to use a timeout.

Tech started 4-9 from the field but quickly went cold out of the timeout. The Lady Techsters would finish just 2-12 the remainder of the quarter. However, eight turnovers by the Generals and three LA Tech blocks helped the lead grow to 21-7 at the end of the first.

Sydney Thomas and Autumn Smith came off the bench in the second quarter to spark the Techsters’ 3-point shooting in the second. Each finished with two of the five made threes in the second; Lee had the other. LA Tech would take a 43-18 lead into the locker room.

Louisiana Tech’s offense continued to improve through the third quarter, shooting 58.8 percent (10-17) from the field to increase the lead to 66-29 heading into the final stanza. From there, the Techsters continued to shake off the rust of an 11-day break with a 46.67 clip in the fourth.

For the game, Tech shot 41.7 percent (30-72), 9-29 from long range, and 70.8 percent from the free throw line. Smith, Isla Aiery, and Jordan Marshall finished in double figures. Smith hit four 3s for 12 points, and Airey had 11 with six boards and two blocks. Marshall almost finished with her fourth double-double of the year with 10 points and nine boards.

Paris Bradley and Jianna Morris had five assists apiece. Bradley added eight points and five steals, while Morris had seven points.

LSUA shot 27.3 percent from the field, 28.6 from deep, and 70 from the charity stripe. Jewel Jones led the Generals with eight points and seven boards, and Bria Raymond had seven.

Louisiana Tech opens Conference USA action at home on Thursday against UTEP. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.

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.

 

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Courtesy of GSU Athletic Communications

Grambling State delivered a dominant performance on Monday afternoon, defeating Biblical Studies of Texas 100-55 at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center. The Tigers (3-10) showcased their offensive efficiency and defensive prowess, while Biblical Studies (0-8) continued their search for their first win of the season.

P.J. Edwards led the Tigers with 21 points, shooting an impressive 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Mikale Stevenson contributed a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Ernest Ross added 16 points, including three three-pointers. P.J. Eason controlled the glass, collecting 13 rebounds to go along with his 10 points. Grambling’s bench also made a strong contribution with 22 points.

Corey Nickerson carried Biblical Studies, recording a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Frank Madubuku added 16 points, but the team struggled with efficiency, shooting just 33.3% from the field and 13.3% from three-point range.

Grambling took control early, outscoring Biblical Studies 42-26 in the first half behind 47.2% shooting and aggressive rebounding. The Tigers turned up the intensity in the second half, shooting 58.3% from the field and hitting 11 of their 17 three-point attempts to pull away decisively.

Defensively, the Tigers held Biblical Studies to just six points off turnovers and capitalized on their own opportunities, scoring 15 points off turnovers. Grambling also controlled the paint with 42 points inside and dominated the boards with a 49-31 rebounding advantage, including 11 offensive rebounds.

Grambling State will open SWAC play on Saturday, January 4, as they travel to Prairie View, Texas, to take on Prairie View A&M University. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.

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Charvez V Crawford 
Wednesday 11/14/2001 — Thursday 12/26/2024  
Visitation: Friday 01/03/2025 3:00pm to 5:00pm at King’s Funeral Home 
Family Hour: Friday 01/03/2025 5:00pm to 6:00pm at King’s Funeral Home 
Funeral Service: Saturday 01/04/2025 3:00pm at King’s Funeral Home

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By Wesley Harris

 

A tornado damaged homes and uprooted trees near the Lincoln-Jackson Parish line south of Ruston as storms moved through the area Thursday.

No injuries were reported. 

The National Weather Service said one of its survey teams visited the area off La. Highway 818 west of Clay Friday. NWS rated the tornado an EF-1 with peak winds of 90 miles per hour.

The twister struck about 8:00 p.m. Thursday night, traveling 1.29 miles and damaging a number of mobile homes. The Weather Service said the tornado cut a swath about 100 yards wide. 

Estes Farms on U. S. 167 in Clay reported some property damage and has established a GoFundMe account to raise funds for other community members to repair their mobile homes.

Brooke Estes said, “Our property endured damage, but this outreach effort is not for us. It is more specifically for repair costs on the mobile homes located near us whose occupants can’t afford to make the repairs needed.”

Estes said at least three homes had roof damage as well as other damage and neither the landlord nor the occupants have funds for repairs.

The “Help Clay Neighbors Rebuild After Tornado” account at gofundme.com had raised nearly $2,000 as of Sunday afternoon.

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By T. Scott Boatrigjht

Mike McGee, Chief Lending Officer for Louisiana National Bank, runs for life.

That’s not running for his life, but instead running to honor the life of a lost loved one.

And McGee got to make the most exciting run he’s ever made earlier this week as he competed in Monday’s Boston Marathon — all to honor his late son Will, who passed away at the age of 17 in 2002 at St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, after a seven-month battle against liver cancer.

“He was diagnosed early in 2002 and passed away that September,” McGee said. “It was just one of those things where I couldn’t let his story end there. St. Jude does so much for so many people, and selfishly, his mother (McGee’s ex-wife Ora Lea McGee), his sister (Rachel Madden) and I just wanted to carry his name on. We didn’t want to just become kind of fading in the background, so we decided to start a foundation in his honor.”

And that’s how the Willpower Foundation came to be.

“It started out as just raising money to meet the fundraiser commitment for people who wanted to go into the cooperative to meet the fundraising commitment for the St. Jude Marathon,” McGee said. “It started out with four or five runners, and now we have 30 to 40 runners and another 40 to 50 who don’t run a lick but just want to help raise money for St. Jude. 

“All of it culminates in a fundraiser held each year in (the University of Louisiana-Monroe’s) Bayou Pointe. It’s all about raising money for St. Jude in honor of Will, and that’s why we’re called the Willpower Foundation.”

McGee has run what he termed “countless” marathons and multiple half-marathons before, but on Monday he took on the dream of every long distance runner — the Boston Marathon.

“From the spectator standpoint, there’s nothing that compares to it,” McGee said of running the Boston Marathon. “I’ve run the New York Marathon, and that’s considered one of the world’s majors. But Boston is probably the penultimate marathon because you have to qualify for it. And from a spectator standpoint, there’s nothing that really compares to it.

“My wife (Donna Donald McGee) is a strong runner and probably a better athlete than me. She didn’t run the marathon but probably nearly ran that distance cheering me on.” 

While McGee was just amazed seeing all that was happening around him as he ran, he was just as thrilled he was competing in what is considered the king of worldwide marathons.

“You have to run a qualifying marathon, which means that it has to be a Boston-approved course, and you have to run it in a certain time based on your age,” McGee said. “For someone my age — 61 — I would have to run a qualifying marathon in three hours and 50 minutes just to be able to submit an application to run the Boston Marathon. The older you are the more time you get, but it’s still a very difficult thing to qualify for.”

But McGee didn’t need to make a qualifying time, all because he was “running for life.”

“I’ve come really close, but in all transparency I didn’t this year because I was a St. Jude’s Hero Charity Runner,” he said. “I did get really close in 2009 when I ran the Las Vegas Marathon in 3:35, and my qualifying time that year had to be 3:30 based on my age. 

“That’s as close as I’ve ever gotten to truly qualifying.”

While McGee feels a need to run now, it wasn’t always that way.

“I started running after Will passed away,” McGee said. “I was not a runner in high school (McGee grew up in Greenville, Mississippi before moving to Louisiana before his senior year and graduating from West Monroe High School). In fact, I played a little college football (at Vanderbilt) and said I was never going to run again. And for many years I held true to that until Will passed away. 

“But after that, running just became a form of grief therapy. I don’t know how. It’s a God thing. It was a spiritual matter where I could still connect with Will and talk to him.”

And so, McGee’s run for life began.

“It started with asking myself if I could run a 5K, then it became a 10K. Once I got that, it became can you run a half marathon?,” McGee said. “Obviously it worked up to a marathon, and the first marathon I ever completed was the St. Jude Marathon in 2007. And it all became where I don’t feel complete without running. I ran a Marathon Monday but I got back home and ran some (Thursday) just because it becomes addictive.”

Just as addictive as a parent’s love for a child.

“After all these years, it’s still simply about talking to Will,” McGee said. “As I was running 26 miles on Monday, he and I carried on a lot of conversations.”

 McGee said anyone wishing to donate to the Willpower Foundation can do so online at willpoweronline.com or by searching social media for Willpower Foundation, Inc. 

“What we want to do is one day shut St. Jude Hospital down, meaning that all childhood cancers can be cured,” McGee said. 

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By Malcolm Butler

Ruston mayor Ronny Walker said the old federal building in downtown Ruston across from Utility Brewing Company on North Vienna Street is being sold to Oliver Road Investments, LLC.

“There is a company that is going to come in and totally restore the building, hopefully to its original grandeur,” said Walker, who said the City of Ruston bought it from the federal government seven years ago. “That’s the plan. Things could change but that is the plan.”

The structure was built in the early 1900s and served as a post office for the vast majority of its existence. However, it has been unoccupied for a number of years according to Walker.

He said the building was renovated in 1984 and most recently was used by LSU Extension, the Lincoln Parish Police Jury, and the City of Ruston.

“All of that ended about seven or eight years ago,” said Walker.

According to Walker once the renovations are complete the building will house a new restaurant.

“I can’t tell you what the name of the restaurant is, but it is something that everyone in Ruston will like,” said Walker.

Walker said the building currently appraises for around $230,000.

“It’s really in bad shape,” said Walker. “But this will take one of the iconic buildings in downtown Ruston and restore it by to its grandeur. It takes an empty building and opens it back up for commerce. This will be an incredible new venture in downtown Ruston. It is going to be a landmark.”

Walker said the sale of the building will be introduced at tonight’s City Council meeting and will be voted on at next month’s City Council meeting.

“They want to start as soon as possible, but I’m sure it will take a year and a half, maybe two years,” said Walker.

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By Kyle Roberts

“Every awesome thing in creation is designed to point you to the One who alone is worthy of capturing and controlling the awe of your searching and hungry heart.” — Paul David Tripp, “Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do”

By now, you’ve heard plenty about our family’s travels and mostly tamed wanderlust. We’ve lost family members on the subway, taken drinks from a literal glacier, and we’ve even showcased our prowess for all things equine.

But yesterday — yesterday was something entirely different, and I’m finding the words difficult to write.

Monday, April 8, 2024, had been circled by many an amateur astronomer: a total eclipse would be coming over a huge swath of the United States, starting from Southwest Texas and moving all the way into Maine throughout the afternoon. Of course, not everyone in the USA would have the chance to be in what’s called the “path of totality;” that is reserved for anyone under the moon’s direct path to the sun.

Well, this one was close enough to us in North Louisiana, and we’d have a shot to get into that path in Arkadelphia, Ark., right after lunch if we timed everything perfectly and get to location with minimal cloud cover. Loading the kids up after a few hours of school, we headed northward, canceling the original plan to go west to Texarkana due to inclement weather.

Zooming (within reason, of course) through the backwoods of Arkansas, we arrived around 30 minutes before NASA.gov’s scheduled time for that region, 1:49 p.m. for “totality.” Surrounded by about 20 other people, including Pops, my brother, and a nice couple from Monroe who gave the girls Moon Pies, we all patiently awaited a half hour that felt like eternity. We shared stories about traveling to see this incredibly phenomenon, and I joyously reminded my kids that they would (hopefully) see something that they would not have the chance to see again for over two decades, at best.

As the moon began its coverage, not much changed at first since we’d arrived. Sure, we had the cute glasses so we didn’t go immediately blind, and we could see the eclipse beginning. But as long as there was even a sliver of sunlight, it still looked like a normal day.

Minutes continued to go by, and soon the sun was a Cheshire-smile behind the moon, enough to still illuminate most of the park we found as our solar eclipse base. Readying myself for disappointment, it was still fairly light outside right as I checked my watch at 1:48 p.m., though I’ll admit it felt like dusk.

Now, I’ve seen a couple of eclipses before in Lincoln Parish, with as much as 95 percent of the sun covered up. But any eclipse chaser will tell you: 95 percent is not 100.

And they are absolutely right.

At 1:49 p.m., the moon completely covered the sun. Total darkness. For four minutes, the Ouachita River didn’t just feel like night — it felt alien. As close to space travel as I will ever experience. I hear the “ooo’s” and “ah’s” from fellow eclipse chasers. This was a timestamp of experience that I will never forget.

For those few moments, the corona of the sun’s rays haloed the moon, and I was awestruck by the glory of God’s creation, yet again and this time with glasses off. I still get chills just thinking about what I saw with my own eyes.

Our God has given us beautiful mountains, cascading rivers, sunny beaches and vast oceans: those are there to for us to explore, from close to home to all over the world, if you have the means.

But a total solar eclipse? You can’t just take a random weekend and make a visit. You have an even greater barrier: the timing of the eternal cosmos, which will prove to be in no hurry to recreate the conditions for yesterday.

The U.S. will not have another chance to see this type of eclipse totality for over two decades. My children, God-willing, will be grown and have careers of their own. Hopefully, Pops will still be around. But who among us could possibly know?

That’s why yesterday has filled me with an awe that will be difficult to replicate.

And I’m so glad we made the call to go.

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Driver flees traffic stop

Ruston Police arrested a local man last week after he fled officers on foot after his vehicle was stopped for traffic violations.

Jireh E. Mayfield, 23, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and resisting an officer after he was stopped at an apartment complex on McDonald Avenue at about 7:30 p.m. on December 21.

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A RPD officer saw Mayfield’s car observed several equipment violations on McDonald’s vehicle on. McDonald Ave. Mayfield pulled into an apartment complex and did not stop until he reached the rear of the complex. Mayfield ran from the car with the officer giving chase. When Mayfield ignored commands to stop the officer deployed his Taser electronic control device and Mayfield was taken into custody.

A Glock 27 .40 caliber pistol was found along the route Mayfield had taken on foot. He was booked for possession of firearm by a convicted felon, resisting an officer, and several traffic charges. Bail was set at $42,500.

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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 Kyle Roberts

BOSSIER, La. — Back-to-back 30-plus point performances by sophomore Bearcat Ahmad Hudson helped lead Ruston (6-3) to winning the Doc Edwards Tournament Championship, with Hudson and others earning post-tournament accolades.

Following a 54-36 Thursday win over Minden, the Bearcats would win 53-20 over Benton and then 63-55 over Bossier, both on Friday, setting Ruston up for a championship match with Huntington, where the Bearcats took the tournament prize home by a final score of 75-60.

For their overall efforts, Hudson was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, while both senior Aidan Anding and sophomore Keshun Malcolm were named to the all-tournament team.

“I’m very pleased with how we played,” Ruston High assistant coach Corey Deans said. “Of course we got the wins, but what I was really played with was that instead of a shootaround, we had more of practice time because most of our guys are still new to the system. The football players (seniors Anding, Joran Parker, Fabian Stringfellow, and Zheric Hill along with Hudson) are getting comfortable understanding the offense. Our defense has always been rock solid, and the guys are just having fun. You could see the difference in their confidence and speed of play.

“I’m probably going to be biased, but I think Ahmad, Aidan and Keshun were the best three players in the tournament. If any of them were on a different team, they could all be an MVP. Ahmad dominated in every aspect of the game. Defensive-wise, they put him in a lot of screen and rolls, and he switched out and guarded guards. He defended the rim, and they couldn’t get any points inside the paint.

“Aidan did what he wanted to do. He broke the team’s press by himself and guarded each team’s best player. And with all the attention going to Aidan and Ahmad, Keshun was in a lot of one-on-one situations. I don’t think he can be guarded like that, and he showed that he is who he is.”

On Friday’s first game, Ruston’s defense held Benton to just 10 points per half, with sophomore guard Jasen Morgan leading the way in scoring with 14 points — nine of which he scored in the fourth quarter alone. Hudson added 10 while Anding chipped in eight.

In the Bossier match-up that evening, Ruston stormed out to a 35-26 lead at the half before the Bearkats began creeping back in. Ruston held Bossier off, getting the 63-55 win. Hudson would finish the night with 31 points and 16 rebounds, while Malcolm added 10.

For the final game of the tournament on Saturday, Ruston dominated Huntington by getting out to a 29-15 lead. The game turned into an offensive shootout in the fourth quarter with Ruston scoring 28 points to Huntington’s 27. Hudson would add 31 points again and finished with 17 rebounds.

“Huntington is one of the top programs in the state,” Deans said. “They have a lot of athletic guys – they were probably taller than us in every position except for center. And we dominated them in every aspect of the game. We were fast to the ball, and we looked fresher. We got every shot we wanted. We just looked like a complete team on the last game.”

Dean credited Ruston’s freshness to the Saturday late start, giving his team time to rest during the day.

Ruston returns to action Friday, Jan. 3, at home against Richwood. Tip off is set for 6 p.m.

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By Kyle Roberts

ALEXANDRIA, La. — Ruston High’s Lady Bearcats (5-7) won both games played over the weekend at the Alexandria Senior High Holiday Classic, beating Montgomery first on Friday 59-26 and then Pitkin on Saturday 59-38.

Ruston High head coach LaShanda Cooper credited her team’s ability to get out to a good start in the opening day win over Montgomery. The Lady Bearcats started red hot, scoring 43 of their 59 points through the first two quarters. Both senior Kiersynce McNeal and sophomore Gioia Tatum scored 13 points apiece, while senior Samiya Lewis added 12 points.

“The main thing we try to stress to them is that we don’t want them to get off to a slow start,” Cooper said. “We need them to be aggressive and play hard at the tip. A lot of games we’ve played this year, we kind of got off to a slow start, and then we’re trying to pick it back up. We’re reinforcing into them that they need to start playing hard as soon as the game starts.

“For that game, the chemisty was there, and everybody played hard from the beginning. We made a couple of defensive adjustments and just came out ready to play.”

Ruston’s game against Pitkin was a more physical affair. After scoring only 21 points in the first half and trailing by as many as 13 points early, the Lady Bearcats used a 26-point third quarter to help seal the win. Tatum led the team with 16 points, while McNeal added 15.

“We stressed to them that when you play smaller schools, they’re going to play really, really fast and really, really hard,” Cooper said. “Some of these B and C classification schools play with an edge and want to show up a 5A school. I didn’t want us going into the game taking them lightly. We got punched in the mouth early — we missed some defensive assignments. Once we found the defense that made them uncomfortable, we became a little bit more aggressive.

“Gioia (Tatum) hit some big shots for us, and she’s playing with a lot of confidence right now. We’re trying to get them to believe in themselves. Sometimes they’ll look at me and ask if it was a good shot or a bad shot — and I just tell them if they don’t hear us say anything, then keep shooting. Once the confidence and chemistry kicks in, they’ll be in a really good place.”

The Lady Bearcats have now won three of their last four games heading into the New Year.

Ruston will return to action at the Benton Tournament this weekend to take on Captain Shreve Thursday and then Plain Dealing on Friday.

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by Malcolm Butler

Cedar Creek continued its early season run as giant killers as the Lady Cougars defeated Class 5A Benton 53-51 in the consolation game of the 2024 Doc Edwards Tournament.

The Lady Cougars (13-3) recorded their fourth win of the season over either a 4A or 5A team and finished the three-day event with a 3-1 mark, including wins over Homer (65-24), Hornbeck (54-38) and Benton and a hard-fought loss to eventual tournament champion and Class 5A Airline (61-50).

“We took big strides as a team on both ends of the floor,” said head coach Katie Hall. “We had to be strategic playing four games in three days coming off a break. I knew we wouldn’t be crisp.

“But there were some great moments and then there were some moments where we needed to be better. We saw some kids really step up for us. Alivia Lee really shined all weekend. Avery (Ryan) got into her groove and didn’t rush. Mary Grace (Hawkins) was big. Everyone contributed in their own way. It was a great experience for our team.”

Ryan earned all-tournament team honors for the event, averaging 14.3 points per game over the Lady Cougars four contests.

Lee (13.3 ppg) and Hawkins (10.0 ppg) both averaged in double figures for the four games, as Lee recorded four double digit scoring performances and Hawkins added three 10-plus point games.

In the consolation game win over Benton Saturday afternoon, the used a stellar defensive effort in the final quarter to hold the Tigers to only four points in order to record the come-from-behind victory. 

In a tie game with less than 20 seconds to play, the Lady Cougars got the go-head bucket on a layup from Taylor Martinez. Creek then got the final stops in the waning seconds thanks to a pair of blocked shots by Avery Ryan.

The Lady Cougars have now won eight of its last nine games.

The three losses have come against three teams who are a combined 37-7 this year (Haughton 17-1, Airline 12-1, Sterlington 8-5).

Creek will play at West Ouachita tonight at 6 p.m. followed by the varsity boys following.

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Cedar Creek 53, Benton 51

Cedar Creek Scoring: FG(3)-FT=Total Points

Alivia Lee 4(2)-2=12; Mary Grace Hawkins 4(3)-1=12; Mallory Smith 1(1)-0=3; Taylor Martinez 1-3=5; Zoey Venters 1-0=2; Avery Ryan 8(1)-2=19. Totals: 19(7)-8=53.

Score by Quarters

Cedar Creek (Record 13-3):  8-19-16-10=53

Benton (Record 13-7):  7-23-17-4=51

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Airline 61, Cedar Creek 50

Cedar Creek Scoring

Alivia Lee 6(1)-0=13; Mary Grace Hawkins 2(2)-4=10; Caroline James 3(1)-0=7; Mallory Smith 1-2=4; Taylor Martinez 1-0=2; Avery Ryan 5-4=14. Totals: 18(4)-10=50.

Score by Quarters

Cedar Creek (Record 12-3):  11-16-17-6=50

Airline (Record 12-1): 18-16-12-15=61

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Cedar Creek 54, Hornbeck 38

Cedar Creek Scoring

Alivia Lee 7(3)-0=17; Mary Grace Hawkins 1-3=5; Britton Bennett 1-0=2; Caroline James 1-2=4; Mallory Smith 2-0=4; Taylor Martinez 1-2=4; Zoey Venters 1-0=2; Avery Ryan 7-2=16. Totals: 21(3)-9=54.

Score by Quarters

Cedar Creek (Record 12-2): 16-13-12-13=54

Hornbeck (Record 6-9):  4-12-16-6=36

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Each Monday and Friday, the Lincoln Parish Journal will post a list of non-for-profit upcoming events happening in the parish. If you would like to add your event to this list or advertise your for-profit events, please email us at lpjnewsla@gmail.com. 

Monday, Dec. 30
11:30 a.m.: Lunch on Us (Presbyterian Church, 212 North Bonner Street., Ruston) — everyone welcome
Noon: GSU men’s basketball game
2 p.m.: Lady Techsters basketball game
6 p.m.: Toastmasters International meeting (Louisiana Center for the Blind, 101 South Trenton Street)
6-9 p.m.: Creative Meetups (Creatives at Work, 301 N. Trenton)

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Tuesday, Dec. 31
New Year’s Eve

Wednesday, Jan. 1
Happy New Year

Thursday, Jan. 2
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Kiwanis Club lunch and program (Trinity Methodist Church fellowship hall)
6:30 p.m.: Lady Techsters basketball 

Saturday, Jan. 4
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Farmers Market
3 p.m.: Lady Techsters basketball

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.