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Month: September 2026
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Local events
Each Monday through 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.
Thursday, Sept. 17
10:30 a.m.: Ribbon cutting celebrating Tank Burger (300 E. Mississippi Ave.)
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Kiwanis Club lunch and program (Trinity Methodist Church fellowship hall; Anyone is welcome to come to our meeting,please notify Richard Hamilton of your attendance. 318-518-2121)
1 p.m.: Ruston Duplicate Bridge Club meeting (Presbyterian Church, 212 N. Bonner St.)
4 p.m.: Tween Time : Egg Carton Animal Portraits (Lincoln Parish Library)
4-6 p.m.: Library Board Ice Cream Social and Meet & Greet (Lincoln Parish Library)
4:30-5:30 p.m.: Free meal sponsored by 5 Loaves 2 Fish Ministry with funding from United Way to be served at Simsboro Grace Community Church on Hwy 80. All are welcome!
6 p.m.: Teen Time : Volunteer Hour (Lincoln Parish Library)
6 p.m.: Southern A’Chord Chorus rehearsal (Presbyterian Church fellowship hall, 212 N. Bonner St.; open to all women singers)
6:30 p.m: Books & Bites Book Club; registration required 318-513-5510 (Lincoln Parish Library at Rotolo’s Craft & Crust)
Friday, Sept. 18
10:30 a.m.: Ribbon cutting celebrating HOTWORX (310 E. Mississippi Ave.)
7 p.m.: Cedar Creek football
Saturday, Sept. 19
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Farmers Market
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Teach the World to Sew Day (The Fabric Shop, 100 W. Park Ave., Ruston)
2-4 p.m.: Fall into a Book Festival : Charlotte’s Web (Fall Carnival) with local children’s authors and a music performance by Rickey Pittman (Lincoln Parish Library Events Center)
Monday, Sept. 21
11:30 a.m.: Lunch on Us (Presbyterian Church, 212 North Bonner Street., Ruston) — everyone welcome
5:30 p.m.: Ruston planning and zoning meeting (Ruston City Hall)
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)
Tuesday, Sept. 22
6:30 a.m.: Veterans free breakfast (VFW Post 3615, 206 Memorial Dr.)
10 a.m.: Storytime : Music (Lincoln Parish Library)
4 p.m.: Crafternoon : Apple Jars (Lincoln Parish Library)
6 p.m.: Video-Led Exercise class (Lincoln Parish Library Events Center)
Wednesday, Sept. 23
7-8 a.m.: Veterans Coffee Club (PJ’s Coffee)
11:30 a.m.: Lunch on Us (Presbyterian Church, 212 North Bonner Street., Ruston) — everyone welcome
12-1 p.m.: Rotary Club meeting (Historic Fire Station)
Thursday, Sept. 24
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Kiwanis Club lunch and program (Trinity Methodist Church fellowship hall; Anyone is welcome to come to our meeting,please notify Richard Hamilton of your attendance. 318-518-2121)
4 p.m.: Tween Time : Mosaic Tiles (Lincoln Parish Library)
4:30-5:30 p.m.: Free meal sponsored by 5 Loaves 2 Fish Ministry to be served at St. Benedict Church , 471 Main Street in Grambling. All are welcome!
5 p.m.: Library Board of Control Meeting (Lincoln Parish Library)
6 p.m.: Teen Time : Bad Art (Lincoln Parish Library)
6 p.m.: Contemporary Compositions Concert and Composer Talk presented by Wade Dillingham of LA Tech (Lincoln Parish Library Events Center)
6 p.m.: Southern A’Chord Chorus rehearsal (Presbyterian Church fellowship hall, 212 N. Bonner St.; open to all women singers)
Friday, Sept. 25
Dubach Chicken Festival
6:30 p.m.: LA Tech volleyball (TAC)
7 p.m.: RHS football
7 p.m.: Cedar Creek football
Saturday, Sept. 26
Dubach Chicken Festival
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Farmers Market
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Park Fest 2026 (Lincoln Parish Park)
11 a.m.: Dubach Legends Fundraiser/Elvis Impersonator (Scott Hamilton Warehouse, East Hico Street; doors open at 10 a.m., hamburger lunch at 11 a.m., show at 11:30 a.m.)
6:30 p.m.: LA Tech volleyball (TAC)
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.
Notice of death — Sept. 16, 2026
Dwight Cruse Anderson
August 31, 1943 – September 11, 2026
Visitation: Thursday, September 17, 2026, 5:00PM – 7:00PM, Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1515 S. Service Road West, Ruston
Service: Friday, September 18, 2026, 10:00AM, Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1515 S. Service Road West, Ruston
Final Resting Place: Greenwood Cemetery, West Alabama Avenue, Ruston
Gerald “Jerry” Robert Dufresne
July 27, 1948 – Sept. 10, 2026
Graveside service: Sept. 17, 2026, 10 a.m., Prospect Cemetery, 3415 Keppler Creek Rd., Ruston
Cleo Frank
Wednesday 10/20/1948 — Monday 09/07/2026
Visitation: Saturday 09/19/2026 8:00am to 10:00am, St. Paul Baptist Church, 2766 LA 1192, Marksville
Funeral Service: Saturday 09/19/2026 10:00am, St. Paul Baptist Church, 2766 LA 1192, Marksville
Interment: Saturday 09/19/2026 Following Service, St Paul Baptist Church Cemetery, 2766 LA 1192, Marksville
Ruston approves more than $7.1 million in infrastructure work
by Malcolm Butler
More than $7.1 million in infrastructure contracts and professional services agreements were approved by the Ruston City Council during Monday night’s meeting, including nearly $5 million for the next phase of improvements around the Tarbutton Road/I-20 interchange in preparation for Buc-ee’s and subsequent businesses that follow.
The council unanimously approved a $4,923,320.58 contract with Amethyst Construction of West Monroe for Phase 1A of the Tarbutton Road at I-20 project.
City Public Works Director John Freeman said the project will connect the existing I-20 westbound on-ramp at Tarbutton Road to the new I-20 frontage road extending west, along with a roundabout connection to Nugget Road.
Two bids were received for the project, with the winning bid coming in well below the engineer’s estimate of $6.2 million, according to Freeman. The project has a 260-calendar-day construction schedule.
During discussion, Mayor Ronny Walker said the work is not required to be completed before Buc-ee’s opens but is designed to provide motorists with additional access between the interstate and frontage road.
“This is the piece that, like everywhere in our city, if you get off the interstate, you can cross,” Walker said. “You can either take a slight left and get back on the interstate, or you can take a slight right and go to the stores or down the frontage road.”
The council also approved a $893,563 contract with David Lawler Construction Inc. of Shreveport for sewer rehabilitation work along selected portions of streets scheduled for future improvements.
Freeman said the project involves rehabilitation of gravity sewer mains and sewer services and is designed to complete underground infrastructure work before future street reconstruction or overlays. The project has a 150-calendar-day construction schedule and also came in below the engineer’s estimate.
Freeman said that approach is part of the city’s ongoing effort to avoid resurfacing streets only to cut into them later for utility work.
“We like to get about at least a year in advance of that and do the infrastructure work just underneath them so that we’re not overlaying a street this year, tearing it up next year trying to fix the water, sewer, whatever it might be,” Freeman said.
He said the city also coordinates with other utility providers to identify planned work that can be completed before a street is resurfaced.
The council then approved an $880,689 contract with Amethyst Construction for the 2026 Road Project Phase II. The project includes overlays of East Maryland Avenue, Center Street and Sunset Boulevard, where sewer improvements are nearing completion. Four bids were received for the project, which has a 100-calendar-day construction schedule.
Councilwoman Angela Mayfield, whose district includes the streets, said residents have dealt with inconveniences during the sewer work but are pleased with the improvements.
“We’ve had some ups and downs with the fact that they have to tear up the streets and things like that, but then the end result is, with them working on the sewer and everything, they’re ecstatic about that, especially with their water flow,” Mayfield said.
During discussion of the infrastructure work, William Faulkner, who is challenging Walker in this fall’s mayoral election, asked how the projects fit into the city’s larger capital plan and whether that plan was publicly available.
Walker said the projects are part of a long-term infrastructure plan approved by Ruston voters.
“Ten years ago, the people of Ruston voted on a 20-year plan,” Walker said. “This is part of that 20-year plan.”
Faulkner said he was not questioning whether the projects were needed but wanted to better understand how individual projects fit into the city’s overall plan.
The council also approved a $390,000 professional services agreement with Hunt, Guillot & Associates LLC for engineering services related to the Hilton Pasture Sewer Rehabilitation and System Improvements Project. The agreement includes engineering, surveying, design, the bid process, utility coordination and construction-phase services.
Walker said the sewer infrastructure is necessary to support development occurring in the Tarbutton Road area, including Buc-ee’s and other future development.
“If you don’t have sewer, you can’t have businesses there,” Walker said. “You’ve got to have the infrastructure in place.”
Council members also approved a $43,400 contract with Amethyst Construction for drainage improvements adjacent to the newly constructed animal shelter driveway off South Farmerville Street.
The project, which includes new catch basins and storm drains, came in below the engineer’s estimate of $60,000 and has a 45-calendar-day construction schedule.
The council also approved a vegetation maintenance contract for the city’s electrical distribution system with Southern Sweeps LLC. The contract, which does not have a fixed total because work is based on hourly and storm-related rates, begins Oct. 1 and runs for 24 months with the possibility of three additional one-year extensions.
“The big picture is overwhelmingly positive:” DIBELS clearly showing literacy progress in Lincoln Parish
By Kyle Roberts
Lincoln Parish students who could not read at grade level when school started last fall were the exception by the time it ended, according to a Louisiana Tech University analysis presented to the Lincoln Parish School Board on Tuesday during the September session.
The report, the second annual review of the district’s foundational skills literacy curriculum, tracked 1,823 kindergarten through third grade students across three rounds of DIBELS testing: the beginning of the year in fall 2025, the middle of the year in winter 2026 and the end of the year in spring 2026. DIBELS, short for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, sorts students into four bands — well below benchmark, below benchmark, at benchmark and above benchmark.
At the start of the year, 906 students, roughly half the group, were reading below or well below benchmark. By spring, 1,302 students were at or above it. In percentage terms, the share of students reading at or above benchmark climbed from 50% to 72% over the course of the year.
“The big picture is overwhelmingly positive,” said Dr. Dustin Whitlock, interim department chair of curriculum, instruction and leadership at Louisiana Tech. “We continue to see literacy growth across the district in students that are kindergarten through third grade.”
The number of students reading above benchmark nearly doubled, rising from 394 in the fall to 718 in the spring. Students in the lowest band fell from 590 to 326.
Measured against the prior year, the district’s position improved even as the study grew. In 2024-25, the review covered kindergarten through second grade and 1,343 students, and 31% of them finished the year short of benchmark. This year the study added third grade and roughly 480 more students, and that figure fell to 28% — 516 students who ended the year not yet reading at grade level.
The district measures itself against the rest of Louisiana as well, and by that yardstick Lincoln Parish has moved about 20 places in two years.
“Since our partnership with Louisiana Tech, implementing the UFLI Foundations curriculum, we’ve seen our DIBELS data just increase dramatically,” said Michelle Thrower, K-2 facilitator for Lincoln Parish Schools. “We always look at our state rankings. We want to know, where are we stacking up with everybody else? When we started, the baseline data, I believe we were like 32nd in the state. We were middle of the pack. And then after one year of implementation, we moved up to 22nd. So we moved up 10 places. And then this past school year, we moved up to like number 11 or 12. So another 10 spaces.”
“We feel like that is very strong evidence that what we’re doing is working for our students,” Thrower said.
“UFLI has given our teachers a consistent, research-based approach to early literacy instruction, and we are seeing the impact of that consistency in our classrooms and DIBELS performance,” Superintendent John Young said.
Researchers also reported effect sizes for each grade, a measure of how much of the change can be attributed to the instruction rather than to ordinary development. On the scale used in the presentation, which draws on education researcher John Hattie’s work, anything at or above 0.4 falls in the range Hattie labels desired effects. Every grade in Lincoln Parish cleared it: kindergarten at 0.58, first grade at 0.41, second grade at 0.76 and third grade at 0.63.
Kindergarten produced the sharpest turnaround. Of the 506 kindergartners tested in the fall, 383 — 76% — were below or well below benchmark, with 274 of them in the lowest band. By spring, that combined figure had dropped to 26%, and the share reading at or above benchmark rose from 24% to 74%. Nearly half the class, 241 students, finished above benchmark.
First grade followed a similar shape on a smaller scale, moving from 61% at or above benchmark in the fall to 76% in the spring, the highest end-of-year rate of any grade. Second grade climbed from 60% to 70%. Third grade, in its first year in the study, went from 61% to 66%, the smallest gain in the district, and finished with 153 students — one in three — still short of benchmark.
The presentation flagged third grade as an area of emphasis going forward, along with pre-K on the other end. Researchers listed phonological awareness as a foundational skill that could be strengthened before students arrive in kindergarten, while also noting that third graders only took the DIBELS while the UFLI foundational literacy curriculum was only used in certain circumstances this past school year. In 2026-27, UFLI will be used across the board for district third graders.
That distinction is what researchers found most encouraging in the third grade numbers.
“One of the biggest takeaways for us this year is that we did see students that were in third grade that did not receive the full intervention of the UFLI foundational literacy curriculum still continue to grow based on their experiences in the curriculum last year,” Whitlock said. “What we think we are seeing is that students getting these foundational skills and setting them on a positive trajectory at an early age is going to continue their growth across their time in the different grades as they move forward.”
On the district side, Thrower said third grade rose to the top of the list for a second reason: the state’s third grade retention requirements.
“Third grade kind of stood out as an area, and especially with the law that they passed about third grade retentions,” Thrower said. “And also we started looking into, could we improve student outcomes if we focused on our pre-K students as well. Could we improve kindergarten readiness of some of our students that start with us in pre-K?”
That thinking shapes what the district plans to do this year.
“Going forward, we’re continuing the work in grades K, one and two. We’re continuing to train new teachers, new hires, in UFLI, and make sure that that curriculum is being implemented with fidelity,” Thrower said. “But we’re expanding it into third grade and pre-K. And our goal there is to improve our student achievement data in both of those areas.”
One pattern in the data repeated itself with unusual consistency. At each grade transition, the share of students below or well below benchmark rose eight percentage points between the spring test and the following fall’s. Kindergartners who finished 2024-25 at 31% below benchmark returned as first graders at 39%. First graders who ended at 32% came back as second graders at 40%. Second graders who ended at 31% returned as third graders at 39%.
Whitlock said the flattening in the growth curve was expected, and that the district’s rising floor is part of the explanation.
“As you do in all circumstances like this, we start to see the growth slow down a little bit, but it is still moving in a really positive direction and with higher starting scores,” Whitlock said. “It’s going to be an important opportunity for us to strategically look at specific targeted areas to make sure that we continue that growth as we move forward.”
The review also broke results out by student group. Special education students showed the widest gap: 46% were well below benchmark at the end of the year and another 13% were below it, though the combined figure improved from 63% a year earlier to 59%. Researchers recommended continued teacher training and more implementation support, including assistive technology.
Economically disadvantaged students, the largest group in the study at 1,196 students, ended the year with 64% at or above benchmark, up from 60% the year before. That group grew by 322 students year over year, and the share reading below benchmark still fell.
English learners posted the strongest results of any subgroup, with 81% at or above benchmark at year’s end and half the group above it. Among African American students, 61% finished at or above benchmark, up from 59% the previous year. Hispanic and Latino students finished at 72%, and students categorized as other race at 70%.
Whitlock framed the project as three years of separate questions, each building on the last.
“In year one, we really wanted to answer the question, does implementation of this curriculum correspond with improved student performance?” Whitlock said. “From the data we collected in ’24-’25, we can answer that question a resounding yes. In year two, we wanted to understand, is that improvement sustained? And again, the data tell us yes, that improvement is sustained and is growing. But also in year two, we wanted to understand where the challenges are.”
The answer to that last question, he said, was pre-K on one end and third grade on the other.
“As we go into year three, we start to ask the question of where is this not working across the district and what’s next as a part of this work,” Whitlock said. “The question isn’t “Do we see growth?” Now the question for us in partnership with Lincoln Parish is to answer the question, do the patterns of growth really indicate that our current approach is sufficient for the next stage of improvement?”
The work is a partnership between the district and Louisiana Tech’s College of Education and Human Sciences, built around the University of Florida Literacy Institute’s UFLI Foundations curriculum. The project pairs the curriculum with tools developed through the university’s early literacy research work and places Tech preservice teachers in parish classrooms. The team that presented the findings included Dr. Libby Manning, Whitlock, Dr. Kimberly Kimbell-Lopez, Dr. Julie Cappo, Dr. Miranda Allen and Ms. Megan Hunt, who directs Tech’s Center for Literacy and Learning, launched in June.
The end-of-year figure in the report matches the number Young cited when the board set its targets for the current school year in August. Young told the board then that district DIBELS proficiency had risen from 50.4% to 71.6% over the course of 2025-26, and the board adopted a goal of reaching 75% this year.
“We are grateful to Louisiana Tech for investing in our teachers and students,” Young said. “This partnership demonstrates what is possible when a school system and university work together with a shared commitment of improving literacy and changing the trajectory for the students of Lincoln Parish Schools.”
Researchers told the board the next phase of the work moves from district-level numbers to individual classrooms. Planned areas of study include how faithfully the curriculum is being implemented at each school, progress monitoring at shorter intervals, and a classroom-level analysis set to begin in fall 2026. The team also listed pre-K, third grade and adolescent literacy as grade levels the project could expand into.
“One of the things that we are excited about being a part of is the new vision that Superintendent Young has put into place to continue to move literacy scores in a positive direction,” Whitlock said. “We know that literacy problems become more complex as a student gets older, and so we want to continue to support the district and to see what the next phase of this project looks like.”
Thrower said the district wants that circle drawn wider than the school system and the university.
“Teaching students how to read is definitely a partnership. It’s a partnership, a community effort,” Thrower said. “It’s a partnership between the school system, we’ve got Louisiana Tech involved, but we also want other community members involved. Parents, business leaders that want to come in and read to our children. We just want our students exposed to literacy at all different levels in different ways.”
“We do value partnerships across the board,” Thrower said. “With anyone that wants to be involved, they can reach out. And if they’re wondering, how could we help support? Give us a call. We’d love to chat with you about that.”
Argument at fuel pumps ends with arrest
A 48-year-old Simsboro man was arrested on a simple battery count after a fight outside a Ruston convenience store that began with another customer’s complaint about how he had parked his truck at the fuel pumps.
Benjamin Morris was arrested at 6:25 p.m. Sept. 11 on one count of simple battery and an outstanding warrant charging simple criminal damage to property, according to an affidavit. Bond was set at $1,000 on the battery count and $5,000 on the warrant.
A Ruston police officer dispatched to the store in reference to a fight in progress found Morris standing outside.
Morris said that while he was inside the store, another man confronted him about the way he had parked his large truck at the fuel pumps. A verbal altercation followed, and Morris said he punched the man during the argument, which led to a physical fight between the two.
Morris had what appeared to be a bite mark on his right arm and bruising around his eye and nose.
Surveillance footage from the store showed the two men arguing before the other man turned and began walking away. Morris followed behind him and struck him with a punch, and the fight followed.
Morris was advised of his Miranda rights. He was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
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.
Harris on History: When Cool Air Came to Ruston
by Wesley Harris
For days, North Louisiana has been under heat advisories as temperatures have climbed into the upper 90s, pushing heat indices well above 100 degrees. The advisories have often extended well into the evening.
In weather like this, air conditioning seems less a luxury than a necessity. But less than a century ago, most Ruston residents had never experienced it.
So where could you first go in Ruston to escape the summer heat?
The answer appears to be the movies.
The Rialto gets cool
In August 1935, the Rialto Theatre — the downtown movie house better known to later generations as the Dixie Theater — announced patrons could enjoy the comfort of its “new air conditioning system.”
Another Rialto advertisement made the attraction even more obvious:
“COOL! — WASHED AIR — COOL!”
Below that was the day’s movie, Will Rogers in A Connecticut Yankee.
The timing could hardly have been better. This was August in North Louisiana, and few Ruston residents could go home to an air-conditioned house.
That a movie theater appears to have introduced Ruston to air conditioning fits a larger pattern. Theaters were often among the first air-conditioned public places in American communities, particularly in the South. Owners discovered that during the hottest months, cool air could be an attraction in itself.
Mechanical air conditioning had initially been developed for industrial purposes. Willis Carrier designed an early modern electrical system in 1902 to control temperature and humidity in a Brooklyn printing plant. During the 1920s and 1930s, mechanically cooled theaters began appearing around the country, giving many Americans their first experience with air conditioning.
Ruston followed the trend.
June 1936: Jack Ritchie becomes popular
Less than a year later, in June 1936, a newspaper reported businessman Jack Ritchie had installed an air-conditioning system in his office.
Ritchie made his fortune in the wholesale grocery business, supplying stores with produce and other goods transported in refrigerated rail cars and trucks.
The columnist couldn’t resist noting the consequences: “Jack Ritchie has gotten to be almost the most popular man in town since he put an air conditioning system in his office.”
It was a joke, but it tells us how unusual air conditioning remained. People apparently knew where to find it.
On a hot June afternoon, Jack Ritchie suddenly had plenty of company.
May 1937: T.L. James goes big
Then came a considerably larger project.
In May 1937, T.L. James and Company announced plans to air-condition the entire first floor of its home office in Ruston.
The newspaper reported the installation would make the building “one of the few such equipped buildings in the South.”
Workmen installed a “huge motor” to power the system, with tubing through the ceilings carrying conditioned air throughout the first floor. The price was approximately $8,000 — a major investment in 1937.
The company did not extend the system to the upper floors, much of which was rented. The newspaper explained doing so would have increased costs enough to require higher rents.
That detail shows how far air conditioning remained from becoming an everyday amenity. It was desirable, but it was expensive.
So who was first?
Based on the newspaper evidence found so far, the Rialto in August 1935 has the best claim as Ruston’s earliest documented air-conditioned location, although its “washed air” system was closer to what is called a “swamp cooler” today than a modern refrigerated air-conditioning system.
The technology would take much longer to reach everyone else.
Homes — and schools — had to wait
Smaller and less expensive room units after World War II helped make air conditioning practical for middle-class families, and residential cooling expanded rapidly during the 1950s and 1960s.
Schools were another matter.
I experienced that transition firsthand.
I entered first grade in the Lincoln Parish school system in 1963, but I did not attend an air-conditioned school until 1970.
At Ruston Elementary, the classroom doors opened directly to the outside. We left the doors open and relied on the large windows to help pull whatever breeze we could get through the classroom.
Sympathetic teachers brought fans from home.
There was no thermostat to turn down when a September afternoon became miserable. The fans ran, the doors stayed open, and everyone hoped the air would move.
When I entered Ruston High School in 1971, the transition still wasn’t complete. Only the newer additions to the building had air conditioning.
You could almost walk from one era into another. One part of the school offered mechanically cooled air. Elsewhere, students and teachers still depended upon fans, open doors, windows and whatever breeze North Louisiana decided to provide that day.
Consider the contrast: Rustonites could sit in a cooled movie theater in 1935, yet 35 years later I was only then attending an air-conditioned Ruston school for the first time.
Air conditioning changed the South
Air conditioning did more than make August bearable.
Traditional Southern buildings had been designed around the climate. High ceilings allowed hot air to rise, large windows encouraged cross-ventilation, and porches provided shade and additional living space.
Mechanical cooling changed that. Buildings could become larger and more enclosed, and houses no longer depended as heavily on high ceilings, large windows and broad porches.
It changed social habits as well. Generations that had spent summer evenings on porches because the house was unbearably hot could close the windows, shut the door and remain inside.
The South adapted to air conditioning, and air conditioning helped reshape the South.
From luxury to necessity
The current heat wave makes those old newspaper clippings seem a little less quaint.
After day after day of heat advisories, with dangerous heat indices lingering into the evening, air conditioning is no longer an interesting luxury. It can be a matter of safety.
More than 90 years ago, however, Ruston residents were just discovering what mechanically cooled air felt like.
Imagine walking along a hot Ruston sidewalk in August 1935, opening the Rialto’s door and feeling cool air. Suddenly, the old advertisement makes perfect sense:
“COOL! — WASHED AIR — COOL!”
Nearly a century later, after another September afternoon with a heat index above 100, it’s still a pretty effective sales pitch.
Honor Walk held for local organ donor
by Hanna Singh
Family members, friends and hospital staff lined the halls of Northern Louisiana Medical Center Sept. 6 to honor the life of Helen Alphelia Davis Payton as she prepared to give one final gift through organ donation.
Payton suffered an unexpected stroke before her death, prompting an honor walk at the hospital as she was taken for the organ donation process.
Honor walks are ceremonies held at hospitals to recognize organ donors and their families. Hospital staff, family members and friends typically line the hallways as a donor is transported from a hospital room to an operating room, providing a final tribute while recognizing the lives that can be impacted through organ and tissue donation.
Payton was both an organ and tissue donor. She donated both kidneys, her pancreas for pancreatic islet research, and skin and tissue that may be used to help burn victims.
The skin donation represented a full-circle moment because Payton was a burn survivor herself.
At age 15, she suffered two serious burn accidents within a matter of weeks. In the first, boiling water was spilled on her from the waist down. Three weeks later, a stove exploded, leaving her with facial burns. Despite the severity of her injuries, she recovered with little visible scarring later in life, leaving her eligible for tissue donation.
Her pancreas was donated for pancreatic islet research related to diabetes, a contribution particularly meaningful to her family because her granddaughter, Kalea Trull, has lived with Type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
For Payton’s family, the donations and honor walk reflected the way she lived her life — caring for and helping others.
A wife, mother, grandmother and longtime friend, Payton devoted much of her life to her family, her faith and serving others. She volunteered at her church, worked in children’s ministry and was remembered during Sunday’s ceremony for consistently encouraging and helping those around her.
“My mom always taught me that no matter how bad life gets, you can focus on the goodness of God and see the good in people through it,” said Rachel Nelson, Payton’s daughter. “When she suffered the loss of her son, she said she could never repay everyone who was there for her, but she could be that for others.
“I believe she’s still meeting the needs of others through organ donation, and as unexpected and hurtful as all of this is, we are trusting that God has a plan and holding onto Him. He has always been faithful and will carry us through.”
That desire to turn difficult experiences into opportunities to help others was something Payton also instilled in her son.
“My mom was the constant encourager and question asker,” Marty Payton said. “She taught me that trials make you stronger, and she taught me to forgive people. She always made others a priority and encouraged me to use trials as an opportunity to help others going through something similar.”
Faith was another constant in Payton’s life and in the advice she offered her family.
“When I would go through hard times, she would say, ‘Hold your head high and keep praying,'” said her granddaughter, LeAnna Taylor.
Her daughter-in-law, Tracy Peyton, recalled a similar message.
“She always encouraged me and taught me to trust God no matter what,” Peyton said. “When going through grief, she told me that there were lots of things worse than death and that God knows best.”
Payton’s influence extended well beyond her immediate family.
Karen Nelson, her best friend for more than 50 years, shared decades of life’s milestones with her.
“The one who shared many heartaches and hard times with me, along with weddings, the births of seven grandkids and 15 great-grandkids, lots of fun trips and family times,” Nelson said. “She was also my right hand at church. She will be greatly missed. Love you, Helen. Goodbye here, but not forever.”
Following the ceremony and honor walk, a donor hero flag was raised at the hospital in Payton’s memory.
For Trull, Payton’s final act of giving carries an especially personal meaning.
“Losing my grandma has been incredibly hard, but knowing that she is helping others even after her passing is such a beautiful gift,” Trull said. “Her donation to pancreatic islet research is especially meaningful to me after living with Type 1 diabetes for 20 years. I feel like God was in every detail of this.”
Family members said one word perhaps described Payton’s life better than any other: giver.
Her favorite Scripture, Psalm 121, reflected the faith that family members said guided her throughout her life: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and Earth.”
Payton gave her time to her church, her love to her family and encouragement to those who needed it.
And through organ and tissue donation, her family said she continued that lifetime of giving by helping people she never had the opportunity to meet.
Ruston man booked after threat report at restaurant
A 31-year-old Ruston man was arrested on a disturbing the peace count after officers responding to a report that a man had threatened to “shoot up” a North Vienna Street restaurant found him walking down the middle of South Vienna Street.
Jeremy Hardyway was arrested at 11:12 p.m. Sept. 11 on one count of disturbing the peace by appearing intoxicated, according to an affidavit. He was released on his own recognizance.
Officers were dispatched to North Vienna Street in reference to a man who had threatened to return to the establishment and “shoot up the place” after being asked to leave. Dispatch described the man as wearing a colorful button-down shirt.
While en route, officers saw a man later identified as Hardyway walking south in the middle of the right lane of travel, though a sidewalk was available. He matched the description dispatch had provided.
Hardyway told an officer he had not done anything and was walking home. He said he had been asked to leave the establishment and had complied.
Hardyway appeared to be intoxicated, with bloodshot, glassy eyes and slurred speech, and he could not retain information. He was not charged in connection with the reported threat.
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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Taylor claims prize for Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pickem Contest
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Congratulations to Patrick Taylor, the winner of the Week 2 pickem contest sponsored by Karl Malone Toyota! Patrick went 14-1!
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Lincoln Parish Journal readers have an opportunity each week to win FREE money in the Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em presented by Johnson Physical Therapy, Ruston Athletic Supply, and The Rental Association.
And the best part is it’s FREE … just like your subscription to the LPJ.
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The Lincoln Parish Journal wants to thank Karl Malone Toyota, Johnson Physical Therapy, Ruston Athletic Supply, and The Rental Association 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, Charlie’s Carpet Cleaning, Tommy’s Tees, Mike Smith Law Office, Smoothie King of Ruston, CoreTechs, and Jeremy Hebert at Edward Jones for their Pick’em Partnerships within the contest.
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Are you ready for some football?!?
Bigger question. Are you ready to win $150 in cash … with the potential to make it $300 if you are perfect on the week (including predicting the No. 1 tiebreaker exactly right).
The Lincoln Parish Journal is holding the 5th Annual Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by The Rental Association, Ruston Athletic Supply, and Johnson Physical Therapy.
If you live in the deep south, you know College Football is King!
Anyone is eligible to participate and each week one lucky winner will go home with a $150 cash prize. Each week the winner will be the participant with the best record out of 15 selected college football games (ties will be broken by two separate tiebreakers consisting of guessing the total points scored in two of our weekly contests).
The Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by Ruston Athletic Supply, Johnson Physical Therapy, and The Rental Association will be conducted for 14 regular season weeks of the college season starting with Week 1 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. 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 $150 each week!
Week 1: Michael Davis
Week 2: Patrick Taylor
Follow the Lincoln Parish Journal each morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. It’s FREE! Just CLICK HERE to sign up.
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COLUMN: The greatest Tiger’s greatest return of all
(LPB’s documentary on the life of Billy Cannon is now available. I watched the first 10 minutes Monday night and they showed a picture of him as a little boy and I started crying and went to bed. Just wasn’t ready for it. Dr. Cannon was bona fide, a true legend, and I’m sure the documentary is awesome. Make time to watch it, as I will. This time of year every year around here, everyone remembers Billy Cannon running his way into the Instant Legend Stratosphere on Halloween Night, 1959 in Tiger Stadium. Second-best run of his memorable life. This is about his best one. First ran May 27, 2018, a week after his passing at age 80.)
He had on scruffy pointy-toed cowboy boots, his western shirt was tucked into his jeans, and he smiled when he got up and came around his desk and opened up a calloused, catcher’s mitt-sized hand:
“Billy Cannon.”
I wasn’t intimidated because he wouldn’t allow that, but it was easy to see how people could be. Now nearing 50 years old on this late-summer day in 1988, his build was still athletic. You could still see plenty of football player. Powerful, his legs and chest and arms thick and solid.
Plus there was the Being a Legend and all. Time was about the only thing that could run him down, and it finally did when Dr. Cannon passed away last Sunday morning in his sleep. But the Legend part is both deserved and well preserved.
We were in his stark dentist’s office that mid-morning, alone. He was trying to reboot his dentistry practice and I’d been a sportswriter at The Times-Picayune in New Orleans for only a few months, covering mostly LSU. He knew who I was only because he loved LSU and read all things LSU and so when I called to see if I could meet him, he said sure. He wasn’t very busy: less than two years before, the 1959 Heisman Trophy winner had gotten out of federal prison in Texas after serving almost three years for making counterfeit $100 bills.
The building didn’t really look like a dentist’s office either inside or out. No receptionist. No aide. No waiting room TV set. Just Dr. Cannon. Turns out his private practice wouldn’t make it but something better came along, something we couldn’t have guessed that morning while we drank coffee from his dark green Thermos with a silver coned cup on top.
We talked LSU football and people we both knew. A little girl came by to have her braces checked; he called her beautiful as she sat in the dentist chair and the dad and Dr. Cannon lined up the next appointment; moms usually bring little girls to the dentist in the middle of the day, but this was Billy Cannon so…
Yet those were the only patients who ever came by during what were probably a dozen visits by me to his office.
After maybe 40 minutes he said, “I’m just an old washed-up counterfeiter with not much to say about all that.” He paused, then smiled and looked me right in the eyes. “But come on back next week.”
And I did, for lots of weeks. And brought coffee. He’d teach me some football, talk about that week’s game, tell stories. I lined up an ESPN crew to visit him when the movie Everybody’s All-American came out that year, but I never wrote about him or attributed in the paper anything he’d say about LSU or anyone or anything. I was just a young sportswriter guy he was taking time to talk to and to help. How many Heisman winners let a guy just hang around?
I knew one day he’d talk about it, about the Heisman and prison and what happened next, and he did. Billy Cannon: A Long, Long Run was published in 2015 and written by Cannon and his friend Charles N. deGravelles, who spent more than a quarter-century ministering to inmates at Angola’s state pen where Cannon, who’d been on both sides of the razor wire and who’d answer phone calls there with, ‘Who is this? I don’t have time to mess with you!,” ran the dentistry department and counseled inmate after inmate. Considering his multi-dimensional athletic skill set, it should not be surprising that, at Angola, he was like a pastor who could fill a cavity or a counselor who could either clean your teeth or help you clear your conscience.
But he wasn’t ready to talk about It in 1988. At that point, a lot had happened — a lifetime for most of us — but not much had happened Next. But plenty would, and what a remarkable and glorious closing act it would be.
The 30th anniversary of the 1958 LSU national champions was that fall in 1988, so it was a perfect timing sort of deal when his dear friend Boots Garland, who’d been the proctor of the athletic dorm during their college days, talked him into coming to a luncheon reunion of the team and a few friends. They let me ride with them in a solid Buick the size of a Humvee. The luncheon was in a Holiday Inn meeting room or something like that, very cozy, and no one asked about the counterfeiting or prison, they just acted as if they’d played Clemson the week before, and laughed and told stories, and honestly beamed just looking at each other, and remembering.
And finally Dr. Cannon agreed to stand up and talk about that season and the next, mostly The Punt Return on Halloween night of 1959, and he pointed to guys and thanked them for this block or that one, and for the first time in a long time he was re-living that wonderful moment with his friends, his football family, that October new moon night when he ran to colors and away from colors, and right into LSU and college football legendhood…
And as he talked, there in the open again, surrounded by his football brothers, I think he might have been comfortable once more, or even if he wasn’t he was going to run until he was, run with honesty and a poke-fun-at-himself laughter, run right back into the arms of the LSU faithful and into the hearts of anyone who’d ever fumbled. It’s where fans wanted him, where they needed him, where the program needed him, and where he’s served in a humble and compassionate and graceful way for the past 30 years.
The Punt Return against Ole Miss is legendary. But Cannon’s willingness to return in 1988, to put All That behind, to move along as a very human hero, wasn’t that just as big? I love that he stopped running and started being.
Here he was, world, a Tiger flawed but a Tiger who could laugh at himself, a Tiger who stopped running and started sharing, a Tiger who they all wanted to be like after all, still the greatest Tiger of them all.
Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu
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Ruston Farmers Market to host Annual Farm-to-Table Dinner
The Ruston Farmers Market will host its annual Farm-to-Table Dinner on October 8, 2026, from 6–9 p.m., bringing together farmers, vendors, supporters, and community members for an evening celebrating local food, fellowship, and the spirit of Ruston.
Set inside the market’s string-lit warehouse, the evening will feature a catered dinner by Desi Bourgeois, an open bar, live music, and valet parking. Guests will also have the opportunity to participate in a silent auction featuring an array of art, experiences, and
other unique items donated by local supporters, including an in-home catered dinner by
Desi Bourgeois, private kitchen class, a Louisiana Tech fire pit, and more.
The annual dinner plays an important role in supporting the farmers, vendors, and artisans who make the Ruston Farmers Market a vibrant and essential part of the community. More than a night out, the event provides an opportunity for the community to invest in the continued growth and success of a local institution that has served Ruston for nearly 20 years. Every ticket purchased and every silent auction bid helps ensure the market can continue creating opportunities for local producers and bringing the community together for years to come.
The Ruston Farmers Market extends its sincere appreciation to the community-minded businesses and individuals who helped make this year’s event possible through corporate table sponsorships: Mike Smith, Gibsland Bank & Trust, Bromell Agency, Nancy and Trotter Hunt, Louisiana National Bank, and Century Next Bank. Their generous support helps strengthen the market and allows this annual celebration to continue growing.
Tickets are available now at rustonfarmersmarket.org.
Don’t miss the opportunity to gather around a table, celebrate the people who grow and create locally, and support a Ruston tradition that continues to bring the community together.
About Ruston Farmers Market
Since 2008, the Ruston Farmers Market has been a vital part of the community, offering exclusively Louisiana-grown and produced goods. Operated since 2014 by North Louisiana Farm Fresh (NLFF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the market has grown into a year-round destination for fresh food and community programming. NLFF’s mission is to provide direct producer-to-consumer sales opportunities, support the development of a local food network, and conduct educational outreach of sustainable agriculture, health, and nutrition throughout North Louisiana.
Who is speaking this week at Ruston civic clubs?
KIWANIS CLUB
The Kiwanis Club of Ruston meets every Thursday at noon at Trinity Methodist Church. The first Thursday of the month is a business meeting, while the remainder of the weeks are devoted to our speakers.
Anyone is welcome to come to our meeting, but please notify Richard Hamilton of your attendance at 318-518-2121.
This week’s speaker is: Eldonta Osborne, Boys and Girls Club of North Louisiana
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one Child and one Community at a time.
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LINCOLN ROTARY CLUB
Lincoln Rotary Club is a service organization dedicated to making a positive impact in Ruston, Lincoln Parish, and communities around the world. As part of Rotary International, whose mission is to provide service, promote integrity, and advance goodwill and peace, Lincoln Rotary members are committed to addressing local needs through hands-on projects, partnerships, and community engagement.
Lincoln Rotary meets on Friday mornings at 7:00 a.m. This week they will meet at the Rolling Hills Ministries Book Store, located at 1103 Farmerville Hwy, Ruston, LA 71270. Visitors and prospective members are always welcome to attend and learn more about Rotary’s motto, “Service Above Self.”
Each weekly meeting features a guest speaker who shares insights on topics impacting our community, region, and beyond.
This week’s speaker is: Caleb Seney, Executive Director of MedCamps of Louisiana, Inc
For more information about the Lincoln Rotary Club, membership opportunities, or upcoming service projects, contact via the club’s social media pages.
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RUSTON ROTARY
Ruston Rotary is the oldest Rotary Club in Lincoln Parish, with over 80 years of service to the Ruston community since its charter on February 13, 1943. It meets weekly for fellowship, food and insight, as well as to implement community projects. Their projects include scholarships for graduating high school seniors, dictionaries for third-graders, Christmas gifts for local nursing homes, and fans for the elderly.
It hosts monthly recognition for Lincoln Parish Students of the Month, and it presents the Bill Best Humanitarian Award annually to a deserving Lincoln Parish resident. It also provides camp opportunities for local students to RYLA, the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.
The Rotary motto is Service above Self. Come be part of Ruston Rotary and help create a lasting impact by giving back to the community with a sense of accomplishment and camaraderie.
Together we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves.
Ruston Rotary meets every Wednesday at noon at the Historic Fire Station at 200 East Mississippi in Ruston, and lunch is provided at each meeting. Stop in for a meeting one week to find out more about membership with our organization.
This week’s speaker is: Students of the Month from Ruston High, Cedar Creek, Choudrant High, Lincoln Prep and Simsboro High
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.
Daily puzzles
Today’s weather forecast
Daily stock ticker
Local events
Each Monday through 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.
Wednesday, Sept. 16
7-8 a.m.: Veterans Coffee Club (PJ’s Coffee)
11:30 a.m.: Lunch on Us (Presbyterian Church, 212 North Bonner Street., Ruston) — everyone welcome
12-1 p.m.: Rotary Club meeting (Historic Fire Station)
3-7 p.m.: Meals of Remembrance (1507 Goodwin Rd — https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meals-of-remembrance-tickets-1998454230400)
Thursday, Sept. 17
10:30 a.m.: Ribbon cutting celebrating Tank Burger (300 E. Mississippi Ave.)
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Kiwanis Club lunch and program (Trinity Methodist Church fellowship hall; Anyone is welcome to come to our meeting,please notify Richard Hamilton of your attendance. 318-518-2121)
1 p.m.: Ruston Duplicate Bridge Club meeting (Presbyterian Church, 212 N. Bonner St.)
4 p.m.: Tween Time : Egg Carton Animal Portraits (Lincoln Parish Library)
4-6 p.m.: Library Board Ice Cream Social and Meet & Greet (Lincoln Parish Library)
4:30-5:30 p.m.: Free meal sponsored by 5 Loaves 2 Fish Ministry with funding from United Way to be served at Simsboro Grace Community Church on Hwy 80. All are welcome!
6 p.m.: Teen Time : Volunteer Hour (Lincoln Parish Library)
6 p.m.: Southern A’Chord Chorus rehearsal (Presbyterian Church fellowship hall, 212 N. Bonner St.; open to all women singers)
6:30 p.m: Books & Bites Book Club; registration required 318-513-5510 (Lincoln Parish Library at Rotolo’s Craft & Crust)
Friday, Sept. 18
10:30 a.m.: Ribbon cutting celebrating HOTWORX (310 E. Mississippi Ave.)
7 p.m.: Cedar Creek football
Saturday, Sept. 19
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Farmers Market
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Teach the World to Sew Day (The Fabric Shop, 100 W. Park Ave., Ruston)
2-4 p.m.: Fall into a Book Festival : Charlotte’s Web (Fall Carnival) with local children’s authors and a music performance by Rickey Pittman (Lincoln Parish Library Events Center)
Monday, Sept. 21
11:30 a.m.: Lunch on Us (Presbyterian Church, 212 North Bonner Street., Ruston) — everyone welcome
5:30 p.m.: Ruston planning and zoning meeting (Ruston City Hall)
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)
Tuesday, Sept. 22
6:30 a.m.: Veterans free breakfast (VFW Post 3615, 206 Memorial Dr.)
10 a.m.: Storytime : Music (Lincoln Parish Library)
4 p.m.: Crafternoon : Apple Jars (Lincoln Parish Library)
6 p.m.: Video-Led Exercise class (Lincoln Parish Library Events Center)
Wednesday, Sept. 23
7-8 a.m.: Veterans Coffee Club (PJ’s Coffee)
11:30 a.m.: Lunch on Us (Presbyterian Church, 212 North Bonner Street., Ruston) — everyone welcome
12-1 p.m.: Rotary Club meeting (Historic Fire Station)
Thursday, Sept. 24
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Kiwanis Club lunch and program (Trinity Methodist Church fellowship hall; Anyone is welcome to come to our meeting,please notify Richard Hamilton of your attendance. 318-518-2121)
4 p.m.: Tween Time : Mosaic Tiles (Lincoln Parish Library)
4:30-5:30 p.m.: Free meal sponsored by 5 Loaves 2 Fish Ministry to be served at St. Benedict Church , 471 Main Street in Grambling. All are welcome!
5 p.m.: Library Board of Control Meeting (Lincoln Parish Library)
6 p.m.: Teen Time : Bad Art (Lincoln Parish Library)
6 p.m.: Contemporary Compositions Concert and Composer Talk presented by Wade Dillingham of LA Tech (Lincoln Parish Library Events Center)
6 p.m.: Southern A’Chord Chorus rehearsal (Presbyterian Church fellowship hall, 212 N. Bonner St.; open to all women singers)
Friday, Sept. 25
Dubach Chicken Festival
6:30 p.m.: LA Tech volleyball (TAC)
7 p.m.: RHS football
7 p.m.: Cedar Creek football
Saturday, Sept. 26
Dubach Chicken Festival
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Farmers Market
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Park Fest 2026 (Lincoln Parish Park)
11 a.m.: Dubach Legends Fundraiser/Elvis Impersonator (Scott Hamilton Warehouse, East Hico Street; doors open at 10 a.m., hamburger lunch at 11 a.m., show at 11:30 a.m.)
6:30 p.m.: LA Tech volleyball (TAC)
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.
Notice of death — Sept. 15, 2026
Dwight Cruse Anderson
August 31, 1943 – September 11, 2026
Visitation: Thursday, September 17, 2026, 5:00PM – 7:00PM, Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1515 S. Service Road West, Ruston
Service: Friday, September 18, 2026, 10:00AM, Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1515 S. Service Road West, Ruston
Final Resting Place: Greenwood Cemetery, West Alabama Avenue, Ruston
Gerald “Jerry” Robert Dufresne
July 27, 1948 – Sept. 10, 2026
Graveside service: Sept. 17, 2026, 10 a.m., Prospect Cemetery, 3415 Keppler Creek Rd., Ruston
Cleo Frank
Wednesday 10/20/1948 — Monday 09/07/2026
Visitation: Saturday 09/19/2026 8:00am to 10:00am, St. Paul Baptist Church, 2766 LA 1192, Marksville
Funeral Service: Saturday 09/19/2026 10:00am, St. Paul Baptist Church, 2766 LA 1192, Marksville
Interment: Saturday 09/19/2026 Following Service, St Paul Baptist Church Cemetery, 2766 LA 1192, Marksville
Ruston council adopts 2026-27 budget; capital spending draws questions for mayoral candidate
by Malcolm Butler
The Ruston City Council unanimously adopted the city’s 2026-27 budget Monday night, approving a financial plan that includes $121 million in projected revenue and nearly $59 million in capital spending.
The budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 includes $85 million in operating expenses and $58.9 million in capital projects, approximately half of which are tied to grants or other federal and state funding.
It also includes a 4% cost-of-living increase for all full-time city employees, excluding elected officials.
But before the council approved the budget, mayoral candidate William Faulkner used the public hearing to question the city about its long-term capital planning and the amount of information available to residents about those expenditures.
Faulkner, who is challenging incumbent Mayor Ronny Walker in this fall’s election, said he counted approximately 50 capital projects totaling almost $60 million in the proposed budget.
He questioned how much had already been spent on the projects, what additional spending could be required in future years and what the projects could cost to operate and maintain over the next five, 10 or 20 years.
“If the city provided a capital improvement plan, all these questions would be answered,” Faulkner said, adding that he was unable to locate such a document on the city’s website.
Walker said the city’s infrastructure spending is part of a long-term plan approved by Ruston voters a decade ago.
“Ten years ago, the people of Ruston voted on a 20-year plan,” Walker said while discussing infrastructure projects. “This is part of that 20-year plan.”
City Public Works Director John Freeman said the city works annually within budgeted amounts on infrastructure improvements, coordinating projects so underground water, sewer and other utility work can be completed before streets are reconstructed or overlaid.
Faulkner also questioned transfers between various city funds, saying the budget did not provide enough context for residents to understand where the money originated, where it was transferred and its ultimate purpose.
“I think transparency isn’t simply telling us how much money is being spent,” Faulkner said. “It’s helping us to understand what we’re buying, why we’re buying it, where the money comes from, where it’s going and, after this year’s spending is done, what’s next.”
City Finance Director Julie Keen said the document before the council was an annual budget and therefore does not show multiyear expenditures associated with projects.
“You’re not going to see multiyear expenses in what’s presented tonight as the fiscal year ’27,” Keen said. “So this is one year and one year only.”
Keen also said transfers between funds are common in municipal government, including the use of enterprise funds to help fund other city departments.
“If you see a transfer out in one fund, you will see a transfer in to the fund that it went to,” Keen said.
Walker defended the city’s financial transparency, saying Ruston follows state requirements and often takes matters before the City Council even when council approval is not legally required.
“We’re following everything to the letter that we’re supposed to, according to the state guidelines, but we go even a step further,” Walker said. “Our city attorney tells me all the time, ‘Ronny, you take stuff to the City Council that you don’t have to take to the City Council.’ We do that because we are totally transparent.”
Walker said council members also met individually with city officials during the previous week to review the proposed budget in detail, with approximately five hours collectively spent on those meetings.
Following the public hearing, all five council members voted in favor of adopting the budget.
Keen said projected citywide revenue represents a 7% increase from the previous year’s budget and includes $26 million in sales tax revenue.
Revenue from enterprise funds is projected at $69.9 million, an increase of $22 million from the previous year, primarily because of federal grants and appropriations anticipated for improvements to the city’s electrical system.
Operating expenses are projected to increase by $2.9 million.
“As you know, and we continue to see in all areas, the cost of operations continues to increase,” Keen said.
The $58.9 million capital budget includes $20.6 million in general fund projects, including various street projects already underway or scheduled to begin during the upcoming fiscal year.
Another $38 million is budgeted for enterprise fund projects, including electrical system substation and subfeeder improvements, water system improvements, construction of a 10-unit T-hangar and other infrastructure improvements.
Keen said the budget projects an ending fund balance of $157 million.
Walker also praised Keen, city department heads and the city’s financial staff for their management of city finances, saying Ruston has received clean audits with no findings for 11 consecutive years despite administering more than $72 million in federal and state grants during that period.
EDITORIAL — Rock Bottom: It’s time for a change in ownership of NLMC and Green Clinic
Two steps forward. One step back.
Or maybe it’s one step forward and two steps back.
We used those words in Friday’s story to describe the healthcare roller coaster that has become Northern Louisiana Medical Center. But after everything this community has witnessed over the past year, the problems facing local healthcare have become about something much bigger than deficiencies, supplies, administrators or even the hospital itself.
They’re about trust. Or lack thereof.
And the Lincoln Parish Journal no longer believes Lincoln Parish can begin to regain confidence in Northern Louisiana Medical Center or Green Clinic as long as Rock Bordelon owns them.
We don’t reach that conclusion lightly.
We want NLMC to succeed. We want Green Clinic to succeed. We have written it many times before: Lincoln Parish needs them to succeed.
And let’s make something perfectly clear, again. This editorial isn’t directed at the doctors, nurses, technicians and other healthcare professionals working at those facilities.
There are good people inside those buildings — people who live here, raise their families here and care deeply about their patients and this community. They deserve our respect and support, as well as the resources necessary to do their jobs.
But they can’t fix what we believe is the biggest problem facing the two institutions.
Trust.
The proverbial water has been poisoned.
And this isn’t simply the opinion of an online media outlet.
The numbers provide additional evidence. Nearly half of Lincoln Parish patients seeking inpatient care in 2024 traveled outside the parish, primarily to Monroe and Shreveport. NLMC’s share of the Lincoln Parish inpatient market declined from 52% in 2021 to 44% in 2024.
Those numbers should concern anyone who cares about the future of healthcare in Lincoln Parish.
And that study was completed before many of the problems we’ve reported during 2026.
We’ve since seen serious deficiencies identified by state and federal regulators, plans of correction and repeat surveys. We’ve seen services placed on diversion and another change in the CEO’s office, with Monica Adams resigning for personal and family reasons after less than three months on the job.
Then came this past week.
On Thursday, NLMC informed local physicians and healthcare providers that it was curtailing some services because of a shortage of medical supplies. Interim CEO Arnie Young said the hospital was experiencing a “significant decline in available supplies” and was limiting certain services to ensure enough supplies were available to safely care for urgent and emergent patients.
Friday morning, Young told the Lincoln Parish Journal that supplies were arriving daily and NLMC was working with vendors to address the shortage. By 2 p.m. Friday, NLMC announced all diversions had been lifted and the hospital was “fully supplied and fully operational.”
That’s good news.
But the episode was another reminder of the uncertainty that has surrounded NLMC during a year when confidence was already in short supply.
This has become a regional healthcare issue as more and more residents from Lincoln Parish head north, south, east and west looking for their healthcare services, especially when it comes to ER and in-patient care.
And that brings us right back to trust.
Public trust can’t be restored with a press release, a new CEO or even by correcting deficiencies on a government survey. Those things matter greatly, but improvement and public confidence in that improvement are two different things.
This summer, the Lincoln Parish Journal published an editorial calling on Bordelon to make himself available to the people of Lincoln Parish and answer their questions.
We believed residents deserved to hear directly from the owner about what had gone wrong, what was being done to fix it and, perhaps most importantly, what his game plan was for the future of NLMC and Green Clinic.
Crickets.
No public forum. No town hall. No Rock Bordelon.
That was an opportunity for Bordelon to stand before this community, answer difficult questions and begin the process of rebuilding some of the confidence that had already been lost.
He didn’t take it. And now, in our opinion, it’s simply too late.
Trust can’t be rebuilt from a distance. A community can’t be asked to believe in its healthcare institutions while their owner remains largely invisible in a time of turmoil to the people whose confidence he needs.
A lot has changed at NLMC. The owner hasn’t.
Ownership comes with responsibility.
We aren’t suggesting Bordelon personally caused every problem that has occurred at NLMC or Green Clinic. That’s neither our argument nor our point.
Our point is that his continued ownership has become an obstacle to restoring public confidence in two healthcare institutions that are vitally important to Lincoln Parish.
The employees can’t fix that. Another administrator can’t fix it. Another press release can’t fix it.
Lincoln Parish is already working toward its healthcare future. Hospital Service District No. 1 has been created. Community leaders are studying what services this parish needs, what it can support and what will be required to keep more patients from leaving Lincoln Parish for care.
We believe it’s time for ownership of NLMC and Green Clinic to become part of that change.
Rock Bordelon should sell Northern Louisiana Medical Center and Green Clinic and allow others to try to rebuild healthcare in Lincoln Parish.
The proverbial water has been poisoned.
It’s time for a new source.
This is an editorial from the publishers of the Lincoln Parish Journal (Malcolm Butler, Kyle & Judith Roberts).