Police at Grambling State University arrested a Monroe man Monday night for attempted murder and numerous weapons charges.
Elijah T. Powell, 18, was arrested about 9:40 p.m. on September 22 he was booked at the Lincoln Parish detention center on warrants charging him with attempted second degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, possession of a firearm by convicted felon, possession of a firearm in a firearm free zone (school property), possession of a stolen firearm, probation violation, and resisting an officer.
Powell is being held at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center with bail set at $672,500.
Details of the incident that led to the arrest were not immediately available. The Lincoln Parish Journal is awaiting a response from Grambling officials for more information.
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.
We had the privilege of keeping our two grandchildren for three days recently in our home. The young lady will be three in October, and the young man will be two in December. Those two ages should set the stage!
I was reminded of a few things while they were with us. One of those is just how much energy they have and just how much it takes to keep up with them. Another thing is just how much I have learned and been reminded by observing them.
I’ll share several of those observations with you in the form of a question to help you engage with the “lessons and reminders”.
1. When did we get a fear of failure? Being around our grandson and watching him learn to walk several months ago was awesome. He would hold on to objects in the room and maneuver around testing his ability with every next step. Sometimes he would fall and just pop up trying again. Other times he would fall, cry, and then get back up trying again. He always got up. He never gave up. He’s now running! When did we start allowing fear to overtake desire?
2. When did we stop asking questions? They have so many “why” questions. It seems so basic, but they are learning and wanting to learn so much so fast. They aren’t afraid to ask “why”. They aren’t afraid of appearing uninformed or being laughed at by others. They just ask if they don’t understand. When did we stop asking “why” if we didn’t understand?
3. How often do you find yourself thinking…” I want that”? I heard that countless times over the three days. They didn’t “think it”, but rather just voiced it. They put it right out there in the open. As adults, we battle the same thing, but we are sometimes hesitant to say it out loud! How many of us continue to deal with this issue?
4. When did we stop listening? As I told our granddaughter stories, I was amazed at how intently she focused and listened to the details. She loves to listen to me tell her things. Now, she loves to talk as well, but she is such a good listener. It seems like there are plenty of people telling us what we should do and not do, but very few are willing to listen. When did we stop listening to each other?
5. Why do some of us never quit saying, “I’ll do it myself”? If I heard that once, I heard that a hundred times over the last few days. Whether it was eating, walking up a set of stairs, or any other basic task in the day of a toddler, they both want to “do it myself”. Do we ever learn to ask for help? Do we ever get comfortable accepting help from others?
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” He made this statement to the disciples to emphasize the importance of sincere faith with complete trust. That faith was simple, humble, and eager to connect.
We can all learn a great deal from these little ones. In a world with so many seeking to divide, antagonize, and blame, we can learn so much from the simple, unfiltered honesty of a small child.
Doug provides professional speaking and coaching services to organizations and individuals. Whether you are looking for a speaker for your next event or a leadership coach to develop people and build a team culture, feel free to reach out to Doug at doug.strickel@gmail.com and learn more about PLUS.
For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox.Just CLICK HERE to sign up.
A man was arrested early Saturday morning after he allegedly appeared at a downtown Ruston bar while highly intoxicated and refused to leave.
Gregory Davis, 21, of Ruston, walked into the Park Avenue establishment about 2:30 a.m. as staff and a special detail officer were attempting to clear the building after it closed. Davis was told to leave because the business was closed.
After told to leave numerous times by the manager, the officer told Davis to leave or he would face arrest. Davis replied, “I wish you would,” according to the officer’s report.
Davis was escorted outside where he began yelling profane language to still did not leave the area. The officer told him repeatedly to leave but he refused.
A records check revealed Davis was wanted for failure to appear in Ruston City Court on a traffic charge. He was arrested for disturbing the peace by appearing intoxicated in public and the warrant and 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.
ALVAREDO, Texas — Ruston High (3-0) takes its unblemished 2025 record a few hours west on I-20 tonight to take on Midland Legacy (1-3) for the first of two neutral site contests over the next eight days to round out the non-district schedule slate.
And for Ruston High Head Coach Jerrod Baugh, these young Bearcats are already impressing with their early season progress, despite more work to do.
“I think we’re further along than where I thought we’d be at this point,” Baugh said. “I was initially unsure how we would handle some inexperience, and they’ve done well up to this point. I think we’ve got a lot of room for improvement, but I do think our coaches and players are doing a good job. We’re all trying to continuously improve.”
“I think I was probably most pleased that we were able tin all three phases of the game (and twice in the kicking game) to be able to execute what we needed to do in order to win the game,” Baugh said. “You looked, and there’s half of the fourth quarter left. We had the ball, and we weren’t able to get a first down. We had a 51-yard punt to pin them deep in their territory, and the defense gets a three-and-out stop on their end of the field. And then our offense gets the ball in a four-minute situation where you want to be the last one to possess it, and we’re in chrage of whether we in or go to overtime.
“The coaches did a good job managing the clock and make sure we didn’t have to use any unnecessary time outs. There was just a wide variety of of things that happened at the end of the game that you need to be able to execute to win.”
Baugh praised Ramos’ poise and experience as reasons he, and everyone else in the stadium, had faith the kick was going to go through for the win, even though this is his first season taking the charge with all kicking duties, including extra points and field goals (Jack Elliott had these duties last season).
“He’s been under some pressure situations in the kicking and punting game,” Ramos said. “He’s been to the state championship game for the last two season, so he was comfortable (Friday). I felt goot about it. To be honest, he’s done better with that part of his game than he has the stuff he had been doing (the past two years). I’m sure a lot of times guys like that who are experienced, they take that kind of for granted the things they’ve been doing, and they seem to focus more when you add something else to their plate. So I’ve been really comfortable putting him out there for field goals and extra points, for sure.”
Midland Legacy is coming off its first win of the season, beating Abilene 42-28 this past week after losing its first three games of the season. Last season, Ruston blew out the Rebels 38-6 in Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“I think they’re an underrated football team,” Baugh said. “I felt like last year, we jumped on them early and had an interception for a touchdown, got another interception and got up 17-0. I don’t think we played particularly well last year, and they year, they seem to be more experienced. Their quarterback is back, and he’s operating their offense really well, and they’ve played some tough competition. I think their record is probably a misnomer as far as how good a football team they are.
“I do feel like if we get out and execute and play like we can, we should have an opportunity to win the ball game. We don’t need to underestimate anybody just by looking at the record that somebody has.”
Kickoff in Charles Head Stadium is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Q94.1FM and BearcatNationNetwork.com. For Bearcat fans with season tickets, this game is included in the season ticket package.
Sophomore running back Jabari Levingston (7) and the Lincoln Prep Panthers play host to the Jonesboro-Hodge Tigers tonight. Photo by T. Scott Boatright
By T. Scott Boatright
Coming off a 34-0 home loss to Beekman-Charter last week, Lincoln Preparatory School football coach Chaunce Davison knows his team took a big hit in their confidence.
And that’s something he and his staff have been working on in practice this week preparing for a 7 p.m. home kickoff tonight against Jonesboro-Hodge.
Both teams stand at 1-3, but Jonesboro-Hodge does have the advantage of coming off a 42-27 win last week over Delhi Charter.
So, this week Davison and Co. have been working on their “mind game” as much as the physical part of the game.
And he admits the results have been a bit of a mixed bag.
“It’s been up and down,” Davison said of practice this week. “We’re just trying to get the guys to compete and trying to get them to challenge themselves daily. Win the day. Every day we come out here we’ve got to win the day. I need them to give me good reps every time they come out here.”
What Davison doesn’t want to see is a team that seemingly gives up on themselves before the final minutes tick off the clock as happened to the Panthers last week.
“We need to find the effort, give the effort to win,” Davison said. “I don’t want to be 1-3. I don’t want them to be 1-3. I just want them to play hard and give their best. Even if they lose, I want us to play hard. I want us to compete. I want us to get good reps and learn from them and keep going.”
And in an attempt to make that happen, Davison has admittedly been working to try and get into his players’ heads, starting with their mindsets.
“I’ve tried to fire them up, I’ve tried downplaying things — anything to just press a button to get them to buy in to that fact it takes work if they want to accomplish what they say they want to,” Davison said. “Make them understand that’s what it takes in life. In whatever they want to accomplish in life. It takes effort. It takes work. We’re talking to them and trying to get them to change their mindset. That was one of the main things we talked about early on.
“If your mindset doesn’t line up with your dreams, you need to change your mindset. If you have dreams of a state championship, or your dreams are to get a scholarship, then any negative thought that doesn’t match up with that, you’ve got to throw it out. Throw it to the side. If working hard lines up with me being a champion, then I’ve got to keep that thought. And I’ve got to embrace that thought. Talking back to a coach, does that line up with all of it? No. So I’ve got to throw that away.”
Davison said it starts with getting into the heads of his seniors.
“Don’t get me wrong, we have some kids, a majority of them seniors, who have the kind of mindset we need on this whole team,” Davison said. “But it has to be everybody buying in. I asked the seniors. ‘What do you need to do to make this team work?” And when they say what they said, then they’re kind of trapped with their own words where we can tell them, ‘OK, you said that, so let’s do it.’ Hopefully all the seniors buy in, because that will help get the younger players to follow and buy in, too.”
Davison said that if his Panthers don’t buy in, they could likely find a tough challenge facing Jonesboro-Hodge.
“They’ve got some kids that can run,” Davison said about what he’s seen in the Tigers. “(JHHS QB/SS Dakota Knox) is a pretty good athlete. He’s decent and has been competing. They have a talented slot receiver. They beat Delhi Charter pretty good last week, so we’re going to have to stay focused and execute from start to finish.”
Davison hopes his Panthers’ familiarity with the Tigers will make that happen.
“It was the same thing when I was coming up (as a student at Grambling Lab High School), you’re playing your cousins,” Davison said. “You’re playing your friends’ cousin. You’re playing your girlfriend’s cousin. These kids at these schools, a lot of them know each other. And I mean really know.
“So, you should come with an edge, a chip on your shoulder, when you play opponents like that. It makes it a game that’s important to win because of bragging rights. So hopefully that will be another part of our mindset this week.”
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, FanBase of Ruston, and Martin Presence.
And the best part is it’s FREE … just like your subscription to the LPJ.
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 4th Annual Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by FanBase of Ruston, Martin Presence, 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 (maybe $300). 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 FanBase of Ruston, Martin Presence, and Johnson Physical Therapy will be conducted for 14 regular season weeks of the college season starting with Week 1 games (August 30).
There is no entry fee, just like there is no cost to SUBSCRIBE to the Lincoln Parish Journal where it will come to your inbox every weekday morning at 6:55 a.m. It takes 20-30 seconds to sign up and not much longer than that to make your picks.
All contest decisions by LPJ management are final. Weekly winners will be notified Monday and will be requested to take a photo that will run in the following week’s LPJ.
Every participant will receive a FREE subscription to the Journal, if you’re not already signed up for the easily-navigated, convenient 6:55 a.m. daily e-mail. Enjoy it all, for FREE, and enter each week’s contest. You could collect $150 each week!
Follow the Lincoln Parish Journal each morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. It’s FREE! Just CLICK HERE to sign up.
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. 25 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Kiwanis Club lunch and program (Trinity Methodist Church fellowship hall) 2 p.m.: Ribbon cutting celebrating University Crossing (1201 W. California St.) 6 p.m.: Southern A’Chord Chorus rehearsal (Presbyterian Church fellowship hall, 212 N. Bonner St.; open to all women singers)
Friday, Sept. 26 36th annual Louisiana Chicken Festival 7 p.m.: Lincoln Prep football 7 p.m.: Cedar Creek football
Saturday, Sept. 27 36th annual Louisiana Chicken Festival 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Farmers Market 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Park Fest (Lincoln Parish Park) 4-7 p.m.: ’70s Dubach High School Class Reunion (Dubach School Gym)
Monday, Sept. 29 11:30 a.m.: Lunch on Us (Presbyterian Church, 212 North Bonner Street., Ruston) — everyone welcome 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)
Wednesday, Oct. 1 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, Oct. 2 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Kiwanis Club lunch and program (Trinity Methodist Church fellowship hall) 4 p.m.: Ribbon cutting celebrating Courtesy Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Ruston (1371 N. Service Rd., Ruston) 5-6 p.m.: All welcome to free meal hosted by 5 Loaves 2 Fish Ministry (Ruston Housing Authority, Maryland Plaza Community Room, 615 N. Farmerville St.) 6 p.m.: Southern A’Chord Chorus rehearsal (Presbyterian Church fellowship hall, 212 N. Bonner St.; open to all women singers)
Friday, Oct. 3 6:30 p.m.: LA Tech volleyball 7 p.m.: Lincoln Prep football 7 p.m.: Cedar Creek football
Saturday, Oct. 4 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Farmers Market 1 p.m.: LA Tech volleyball
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.
Funeral services for Patsy Kay Bond, age 90 of Ruston, LA will be held at 2:00 PM, Friday, September 26, 2025 at Rock Corner Baptist Church in Dubach, LA with Rev. Larry Bullock and Rev. Kelly Coleman officiating. Burial will follow in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Ruston under the direction of Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home of Ruston.
Patsy was born December 12, 1934 in Harrisonburg, LA and passed away on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 in Ruston, LA. Patsy graduated from LSU with her Master’s Degree and was a Home Economist. In 1970 she met and later married the love of her life, Larry Mack Bond, Sr. Patsy and Larry built their house in 1971 and made Ruston their home. They spent life together, until his passing in 2017, doing what they loved, traveling the country in their truck and RV. For many years, Larry and Patsy were members of the Caney Lake Sam’s Camping Club. Patsy had a passion for dancing, which was shown by teaching square dancing to others.
Patsy was preceded in death by her husband, Larry Mack Bond, Sr. She is survived by her son, Larry Bond and wife Alicia; daughter, Kay Bond and fiancé James White; grandsons, Wyatt Gates and Colin Bond; great-granddaughter, Paisley Gates; sisters, Emilee Green and Dorothy Doughty. Patsy is also survived by step-grandsons, Paul White and Phillip White; and step-great-grandchildren: Kaden White, Kearstie White, Joshua White, Kaleb White, Laynie White, Sadie White, Braxton White, and Avery White; numerous nieces and nephews; and a host of other family and friends.
Serving as pallbearers will be Wyatt Gates, Matthew Gates, Phillip White, Craig Kent, Brandon Norris, and James White. Honorary pallbearers are Keith Elliott, Waggoner Russell, and Gary Beasley.
Visitation will be held from 1:00 PM until 2:00 PM, Friday, at Rock Corner Baptist Church. To leave an online memorial message for the family, please visit: http://www.owensmemorialfuneralhome.com
Patsy Kay Bond December 12, 1934 – September 23, 2025 Visitation: Friday, September 26, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM, Rock Corner Baptist Church, 824 Rock Corner Rd, Dubach Funeral service: Friday, September 26, 2025, 2:00 PM, Rock Corner Baptist Church, 824 Rock Corner Rd, Dubach Cemetery Committal: Friday, September 26, 2025, 3:30 PM, Forest Lawn Cemetery, 2500 West California Ave, Ruston
Students from Grambling State University (GSU) stepped beyond the classroom on September 16 to experience the energy industry firsthand during an immersive visit to Cleco, a leading energy company headquartered in Pineville, Louisiana.
The visit, coordinated by GSU’s Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD), gave students a front-row seat to see how their academic training connects to real-world applications in one of Louisiana’s most critical industries. Participants represented a wide range of disciplines—including Accounting, Civil/Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, Design Engineering, and IT/Cybersecurity—and explored how their skills intersect with the production, delivery, and monetization of energy.
Throughout the day, students engaged directly with Cleco professionals, toured facilities, and gained practical insight into the diverse career paths available in the energy sector. For many, the experience revealed new ways their talents could be applied to high-demand industries.
“I came here thinking my design skills were separate from the energy industry,” said James Woody, a Drafting and Design Engineering major. “But seeing how all the disciplines—from engineering to accounting to IT—work together to produce and manage energy was a real eye-opener. It showed me that my skills are highly valuable and applicable in this industry.”
“The power plant tour offers college students a rare opportunity to step inside the heart of our operations and see firsthand how energy is generated and delivered across Louisiana,” said Courtney Barron, Talent Acquisition Partner at Cleco. “It’s more than just a tour—it’s a chance to connect classroom learning with real-world application, ask questions, and envision a future in the utility industry. Cleco is proud to welcome Grambling students and hope the experience inspires their next steps.”
For the CCPD team, creating pathways to opportunity is the driving force. “This visit to Cleco was an incredible opportunity for our students to see their classroom learning in action,” said Daphne Tolliver, Assistant Director of CCPD. “When students understand the full scope of an industry, they begin to see how their unique strengths can add value. That’s what makes experiences like this so transformative.”
The industry visit is part of CCPD’s ongoing mission to connect GSU students with top-tier employers, ensuring they graduate not only with degrees but also with the professional readiness, exposure, and confidence needed to thrive in competitive global markets.
Approving a proposed holiday and closures schedule for 2026 was the primary order of business as the Lincoln Parish Library Board of Control held its September meeting on Thursday.
The library will close at 5 p.m. New Year’s Eve and will be closed on New Year’s Day, a Friday, and will also be closed Jan. 19 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and on Feb. 16 for President’s Day.
On Easter weekend (April 3-5), the library will be closed all three of those days with staff being paid for either Friday or Saturday but not both.
The library will also be closed on May 25 for Memorial Day, June 19 for Juneteenth, and with Independence Day coming on a Saturday, the library will be closed on both June 4-5 with staff being paid for one but not both of those days.
On Sept, 7 the library will be closed for Labor Day and on Oct. 12 the LPL will not be open to the public for a professional development day.
The library will be closed on Nov. 11, a Wednesday, for Veteran’s Day, and will close at 5 p.m. on Nov. 25, the evening before Thanksgiving and will remain closed on Nov. 26-27.
After an early 6 p.m. closure on Dec. 10 to allow employees to attend the Lincoln Parish Police Jury, which oversees the LPL, Christmas party for parish employees, the library will be closed from Thursday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve) until the following Monday Dec. 28.
And to end the year, the library closes early, at 5 p.m., on Dec. 31 and will remain closed on Friday, Jan. 1, 2027, for New Year’s Day.
Board Trustee Bill Jones made the motion to approve the schedule with Richard Pyles seconding with all board members present voting in favor.
LPL Director Jeremy Bolom and Assistant Director Jessica Barrilleaux were not at the meeting as he was in Alburquerque, New Mexico, for an Association for Rural and Small Libraries Conference, but Business Manager Maria Goree served in Bolom’s usual role and announced to the board two new hires, Children’s Director Mary Aldredge and parttime worker Anna Clark.
The number of library visitors dropped in August but that was not a surprise as it happens yearly with the start of a new school year. But the August patronage total of 10,771 was still higher than January, February, and April of this year.
Ok, so someone’s in the rental business. To anyone out there, even tenants themselves, a rental company seems like a laid-back, office job with some paperwork and a few properties. No big deal, right?
At least, that’s what I thought my whole life.
Being the daughter of the one and only Corey Martin, founder of Martin Presence Group, you would think that I knew the ropes. But the truth? I didn’t really know what my Dad and his team did. I guess I had an idea– the laid-back, office job, right? All those times my peers would ask me what my Dad did, I’d just shrug and respond with the vanilla answer, “He owns a rental company.”
That all changed a couple of summers after I took a part-time job for Martin Presence Group. It has been through this experience that I finally realized the scale of what this team accomplishes. It is an entire network of businesses, each working to fuel the others. I began to see the bigger picture — the scale, the innovation, the empire of independent companies all coming together under the canopy of Martin Presence Group to give clients and tenants the best experience possible.
And I finally realized, “wait, this is a big deal.”
I’ll start with The Rental Association. With over 800 properties across North Louisiana – owned, managed, or both – this rental company is top tier. It is not just about management; it’s people’s homes, businesses, and lives being cared for every day. My dad and his team aim to collect as many clients and properties as possible, and intend to provide unmatched services to everyone they represent. That takes way more than a desk and a phone.
That brings us to Fairy YardFathers and Swept & Cleaned. Creative names like that can’t be ignored! The upkeep of properties is more than just keys and contracts, and having over 800 means nonstop, hands-on work. Swept & Cleaned provides professional cleaning services to businesses, churches, and of course, property management companies. Fairy YardFathers provides lawncare and even landscaping services for any commercial property, rental, and residential home! These ventures make sure that every client’s property feels like it’s in the best hands.
But that’s not all. Transaction Possibilities is the branch that comes into play when it’s time to grow. Watching that team work opened my eyes to the reality of business growth, and it’s not luck – it’s strategy. When it is time to expand, you need more than ambition. You need good systems. Transaction Possibilities exists to provide consulting, marketing, and bookkeeping guidance, giving your company or idea the tools to scale, just like Martin Presence Group has done.
Can I ask you what your ACT score is? Yeah, it actually has something to do with this. I mentioned my Dad is the Corey Martin. But did I mention that my mom, Courtney Martin, is an ACT certified teacher? It’s only natural to throw in an ACT Prep business into our Martin Presence Group hub! If you want to bump up that score, we’ve got the ACT Prep Queen in all her royalty. This part always makes me smile! Now a senior in high school and knowing first hand the importance of a really good ACT score, The ACT Prep Queen (aka – my mom) has helped me unlock endless opportunities for the future, so I can chase bigger dreams than even my dad might conjure up. The best part is you don’t have to be her daughter to get the same hope for your future.
If you ask me today what my Dad does, I’m likely still going to say: “He owns a rental company.” But this time, it’s different. I don’t say it as a downplay to a job I don’t understand. I say it as an abbreviation of the world he has created. It’s not vanilla anymore – it’s every flavor in the Baskin Robbins lineup.
To contact Martin Presence Group is to have almost anything you need at your fingertips. At the click of a button, the send of an email, the dial of a phone, you are tapping into a network of services that touch nearly every part of life.
Corey Martin is constantly innovating. Martin Presence Group may offer more than you could imagine. With each new day, a new idea blooms and the hub that connects people to what they need continues to broaden.
Because yes – we’re in business, and it’s a big deal!
The 5th annual Lincoln Parish Park Fest will be held this Saturday (September 27) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lincoln Parish Park (211 Parish Park Road in Ruston). It is the festival’s fifth anniversary; therefore, admission is FREE for all festival goers.
It will be a day and an event full of arts, food, family and fun and is presented by Friends of Lincoln Parish Park.
All other proceeds from The Park Fest will go to Lincoln Parish Park for upkeep, renovations, and new adventures.
Lincoln Parish Police Juror Annette Straughter said that after funding was cut from the park almost five years ago, she put thought into how additional funds could be raised. And the fifth annual Park Fest is one of those avenues.
“Lincoln Parish Park is an amazing jewel,” said Straughter. “There is something new and exciting to explore every day. We thank all the volunteers that are helping to make this festival successful!”
The event will include arts and crafts booths, a concrete canoe demonstration performed by the Louisiana Tech, Concrete Canoe Association, a Kids Zone with bounce houses, a rock climbing wall, a huge obstacle course that the National Guard will set up, antique car show, food trucks with a variety of items and desserts, live entertainment with a variety of music, and much more.
The Louisiana Blood Bus will also be on site.
Rick Godley will also serve as the emcee and DJ for the event.
The Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office will be on hand along with the K9 units to entertain the crowd with canine demonstrations, while a Bearcat rescue truck will be on display. The Ruston Ambulance and Fire Department will be on hand to provide coverage for the event.
Thank you to Rapid Signs (t-shirt donations), all Lincoln Parish Police Jurors, and Twin City Transportation (sponsor).
We also appreciate the local Boy Scouts as well as the Louisiana Tech Concrete Canoe Team.
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, FanBase of Ruston, and Martin Presence.
And the best part is it’s FREE … just like your subscription to the LPJ.
Lisa Wright was this week’s winner of the Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by FanBase of Ruston, Martin Presence, and Johnson Physical Therapy, and she walked away with $150.
Congratulations, Lisa!!
Now, 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 4th Annual Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by FanBase of Ruston, Martin Presence, 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 (maybe $300). 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 FanBase of Ruston, Martin Presence, and Johnson Physical Therapy will be conducted for 14 regular season weeks of the college season starting with Week 1 games (August 30).
There is no entry fee, just like there is no cost to SUBSCRIBE to the Lincoln Parish Journal where it will come to your inbox every weekday morning at 6:55 a.m. It takes 20-30 seconds to sign up and not much longer than that to make your picks.
All contest decisions by LPJ management are final. Weekly winners will be notified Monday and will be requested to take a photo that will run in the following week’s LPJ.
Every participant will receive a FREE subscription to the Journal, if you’re not already signed up for the easily-navigated, convenient 6:55 a.m. daily e-mail. Enjoy it all, for FREE, and enter each week’s contest. You could collect $150 each week!
Week 1: Faith Moss
Week 2: Don Sutton
Week 3: Kim Shackelford
Week 4: Lisa Wright
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RUSTON, La. — The Ruston High Lady Bearcats (9-7) needed four sets to best the West Monroe Rebels Tuesday night at home in a thrilling contest that secured the 2025 district championship for the Lady ‘Cats on the court.
“I’m very proud of the girls and the way we finished,” Ruston High head coach Mandy Cauley said. “They stay composed, and again, with the youth of this group, the confidence of doing the same right thing over and over is still something we’re learning to do. I was very proud of them. I saw some big leadership tonight, and I’m proud of the whole team. Knowing that we’re district champions again is huge. Losing (a set) and then coming back and winning and showing our composure — that’s just building blocks for us that help us get better.”
Ruston wasted no time early getting a 25-16 win in the first set, thanks in large part to junior Baylor Cauley clocking four of her 15 kills on the night in the first stanza. Junior Jane Ramsey added three more kills in the first set and totated nine for the night.
“Baylor was lights out for us tonight,” Cauley said. “She really stepped up. She played from the outside hitter position, and she scored a lot of points. She did a great job of making her hitters look good with her set, and we’re so very proud of her.”
It was set two where West Monroe dug in and ended up getting the set win after finishing with a 10-3 run over Ruston to win 25-21 despite five Cauley kills.
Ruston bounced back quickly, however, in set three to win 25-11. As the Lady Bearcats were building a mid-set lead, junior Leigh Johnson gave the play of the night with a pancake dig to keep the Rebels from getting a kill point, leading to to Lady Bearcat score.
“I was pleased with all of my defensive specialists tonight,” Cauley said of Johnson, senior Camille Smith and sophomore Linzie Williams. “Leigh got that pancake dig and turned it into a point for us and it pumped everybody up. That was a fun play for her and a confidence booster, as well.”
In set four, Ruston held off another West Monroe rally to get a 25-22 win and clinch the 2025 district championship with a young roster.
Sophomore Bridget Crittenden finished the night with six kills, a block and an ace, while sophomore Naomi Smith added the match-winning kill for her ninth kill of the night.
“I thought Naomi came in with some really cluth swings and tips — she did a really good job,” Cauley said. “And Bridget also made some big plays. She’s a great athlete and a tremendous impact player for us. We’re working daily on her arm swing and the way she contacts the ball. She does a good job.”
Ruston returns to action Thursday, Sept. 25, at home against Airline. Freshmen start at 4 p.m., with junior varsity and then varsity scheduled afterward.
Besides God and my old friend and Louisiana Tech associate athletics director and former all-league defensive end and terror Ed Jackson, I am the only person to have seen every snap of Louisiana Tech football since 2011.
There have been good times — seven straight bowl games — and there have been bad times, like in 2013 when I was the third-fastest person associated with the program, and I was just writing and helping do radio stuff.
Also the past four seasons come to mind: three wins, three wins, three wins, and five wins.
So since I’ve lived it and am just a writer and a broadcaster, I can say the part that players and coaches can’t say:
Louisiana Tech, 3-1 after beating old rival Southern Miss, 30-20, Saturday, has a fightin’-man’s chance to finish the regular season 11-1. That’s up from Zero Chance in the past few hand-wringing, trying seasons, when hopes fell faster than autumn leaves.
Naturally, it would take some help from the football gods. Tech would need to stay healthy — a problem since 2019, especially at quarterback — and get a break or two. One school of thought is that you make your own breaks, so that’s another coin flip.
And there’s the Bummer Game that even good teams suffer now and then. (See Green Bay, a 13-10 loser to Cleveland Sunday.)
Plus, three of the Bulldogs’ final four games are on the road, including a transcontinental Delaware/Washington State sandwich.
Those are all acceptable reasons why they can’t go 11-1, or 10-2, or a more reasonable 9-3 or 8-4.
But here are some reasons why they can:
First, Conference USA has some good players but I’m not sure how many really good teams. In ESPN’s power rankings, only Tech (81) and Jacksonville State (85), who Tech doesn’t play in the regular season, are in the NCAA’s Top 100.
Second, their defense has been dynamite in the red zone — two touchdowns allowed in 10 red zone appearances — and hasn’t given up a fourth down conversion in opponents’ four tries. The highlight has been a goal line stand that saw Southern Miss turn the ball over on downs after a first-and-goal from the 1.
Tech’s punter, John Hoyet Chance of Captain Shreve High, a redshirt freshman, was the league’s special teams player of the week after two of Tech’s first three games and should have won the recognition again this week after punting 8 times for a 49.8 average and placing four inside the 20. Right now, he’s doing for Tech what All-America Ryan Allen did for the WAC champion 2011 team and the high-scoring 2012 team.
Offensively, this is the deal: Ashanti Cole, Jonathan Denis, Roy Brackins III, Landon Nelson, Hayden Christman, and Kenneth Bannister. Those six team to play nearly every snap of the five positions in the offensive line. It is nasty, big-boy work, and they’ve gotten better each week. Because the young quarterback, Blake Baker, can run a bit, and because they have three or four tailbacks, and because the offensive line has been able to stay together since spring, Tech was able to throw the ball downfield early in the second quarter against Southern Miss on third-and-one — gained 25 yards, Baker to Devin Gandy, which led to another score and a 30-10 halftime lead. This is a team with the confidence it could convert on fourth down if the pass were incomplete; Tech was never confident or successful on short yardage in the red zone last season.
Which brings us to intangibles. Like, for instance, the team’s best player, a 220-pound linebacker who cries when he talks about his momma and has this to say about why he feels this team might exceed expectations.
“We all love each other,” Kolbe Fields said, “a lot.”
Love helps. That, and blocking and tackling, the latter a thing that Fields excels in.
Something for sure feels different this season compared to the past several autumns, when it seemed Tech football teams invented miraculous, heart-breaking ways to lose. But Saturday in Joe Aillet Stadium, there was the long completion on a third-and-one, the goal-line stand, Field’s interception return for a touchdown, the defense’s third score of the season.
And still, during a second half when Tech played to the score and didn’t extend the lead, no Dog fan with a memory felt the three-score advantage was safe. No way, no how. Not until the fourth quarter.
But this team is getting easier to trust and impossible not to love. They play hard. Lots of energy on the sideline. Root for each other. All that kind of love stuff.
To keep the good vibes going, they’ll have to overcome a long day in a hotel before Saturday night’s 8 p.m. CST kick in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, a place where Tech has consistently won but not without difficulty. Ten years ago, a 9-4 Tech team that won the New Orleans Bowl survived a 17-15 game out there after the Miners, who’d finish 5-7, missed a chip shot field goal in the final two minutes.
Tech’s a four-point favorite this time around against a 1-3 UTEP team better than its record suggests.
If I were a coach, here’s where I’d say that nobody who’s 3-1 can go 11-1 without going 1-0 this week.
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Choosing a college can feel overwhelming for students and families. With so many questions about programs, admissions, campus life, and cost, the search often begins online. But if a university website feels dated or confusing, that first impression can create more stress than clarity.
Northwestern State University in Natchitoches has recognized this challenge and responded with a bold solution: a redesigned website that puts students and families first.
Unveiled this month, the new nsula.edu is built to guide prospective students, parents, and the community through a clear, engaging digital experience.
“Our enhanced site is dynamic, mobile-friendly, and designed with users in mind,” said Cole Gentry, Chief Marketing Officer. “Whether you’re a high school student exploring majors, a parent reviewing financial aid, or a faculty member sharing research, the website is your first step into NSU.”
The redesign highlights admissions, academic programs, and campus life while showing the long-term value of an NSU degree.
“The website is more than just a facelift,” Gentry explained. “It’s a living, adaptable platform that will continue to grow alongside our students, faculty, alumni, and the broader Natchitoches community.”
Features include:
Simple admissions navigation
Interactive views of academic offerings
Mobile-first design for families on the go
Accessibility to ensure every visitor has a seamless experience
For President James T. Genovese, the project signals NSU’s forward momentum.
“This new digital front door reflects who we are today and the bright future we’re building,” Genovese said. “It shows students across Louisiana and beyond that NSU is a place where they can belong, grow, and succeed.”
While prospective students are the primary audience, the refreshed website also serves alumni, current students, faculty, staff, and the local community. From campus events to academic updates, nsula.edu is designed to be a central hub for all who are part of the NSU family.
“Our goal is for everyone who visits the site to feel connected,” said Gentry. “For prospective students especially, we want them to see themselves at NSU from the very first click.”
As students and families look ahead to the next chapter of education, a strong first step can make all the difference. Northwestern State University’s new website is designed to open doors, answer questions, and showcase the opportunities waiting in Natchitoches.
Discover the redesigned experience today at www.nsula.edu.
A local man was arrested last week after he allegedly whipped his non-verbal autistic 4-year-old son to compel the child to go to bed.
Shunterrious Deondra Dubose, 29, of Ruston, was arrested Sept. 19 by Grambling Police following an investigation.
The Grambling Police Department was notified Sept. 18 by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services of a possible child abuse case involving a 4-year-old boy with “significant injuries on his upper torso,” according to a report.
Officers accompanied a DCFS investigator to Dubose’s home to follow up on the case last Friday. During questioning about the marks and bruising visible on the child, Dubose admitted to whipping the child several times across his hands with a belt in an attempt to get him to go to bed.
A Grambling PD report noted Dubose was arrested based on the “significant injuries observed” on the child.
DCFS took the child and his mother to the Northern Louisiana Medical Center for treatment.
Dubose was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for second degree cruelty to a juvenile.
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.
