Northwestern State University has been awarded a Title III “Elevate U” grant in the amount of $2,072,425 to support initiatives aimed at increasing retention and graduation rates for low-income students. 

“Essentially, the grant will help students make purposeful choices in selecting a field of study, determine the most appropriate academic path and ensure they are career-ready upon graduation,” said NSU President Dr. Marcus Jones.   

Title III grants are awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to help eligible institutions expand their capacity to serve low-income students. The grant will enable NSU to improve academic advising and address postsecondary education access, affordability and post-enrollment success at NSU, where many first-time freshmen are classified as low-income.

According to data, average academic performance for low-income students is lower than those of students who are not low-income and lower gateway course success rates and lower GPAs may contribute to students needing more time to graduate. Low-income students have significantly lower four-year graduation rates compared to rates for students who are not low-income.

According to Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Greg. Handel, NSU will implement a two-pronged five-year plan to meet the needs of low-income students, which includes first-generation students who are the first in their families to attend college.

“Our first priority is to improve academic advising and support,” Handel said. “Strategies will include academic advising, guided pathways to degree completion and a more integrated advising, tutoring and career planning experience. First generation students will be a major component of this grant’s impact.”

Handel said NSU has a user-friendly hands-on approach with academic advising already in place and the grant will provide extra layers of support. 

“Students have academic advisors in their majors who guide them through course selection and registration each semester and assist them in networking with future internship placements,” he said. “This grant will assist first generation and low-income students with tutoring and career-placement and strategies for success that are specifically driven by what these students need to succeed.  The grant will enable students will grow academically, be involved socially and professionally across campus organizations and activities and learn strategies that lead to employment after graduation.”

The second component is to expand the first-year and second-year experience at NSU by implementing residential living learning communities to engage low-income students, build community and promote a sense of belonging.

“Living Learning Communities incorporate academic, leadership and career programs that include tutoring, peer mentor support, financial guidance, health and wellness, community building and proactive academic advising,” said Vice President for the Student Experience and Dean of Students Reatha Cox.  “Resident mentors work within the residential communities to promote personal development, citizenship, campus involvement and familiarity with resources that available to help students.”

Administrators will track data, assess outcomes and provide state and federal reports to inform decision making and guide adjustments over the five-year program and beyond.

“Data shows that when students get involved, whether through academic organizations, service organizations or social organizations, the likelihood that they will graduate increases.  We plan to implement programs where low-income students have opportunities to understand that they belong here, help them stay focused on their goals and develop not only academically, but as leaders on campus and in their communities,” Jones said.

In the first decade of the twentieth century, young John displayed a passion for reading and writing which his mother, a former schoolteacher, also shared.  John and his family lived in Salinas, California, a small valley town with rich, fertile soil.  As a teenager in the late 1910s, John spent his summers working on local ranches harvesting grapes, sugar beets, and a variety of root vegetables alongside migrant farmers.  One day, John worked alongside a certain migrant farmer just as he had for the previous several weeks.  The migrant farmer was angry at the ranch foreman because the foreman had fired his friend.  When the foreman came near John and the migrant farmer, The farmer “stuck a pitchfork right through his stomach.  I hate to tell you how many times.  I saw him do it.  We couldn’t stop him until it was too late.”   The migrant farmer ended up in an insane asylum. 

Fifteen years later, John used his experiences working with migrant farmers as the basis for a novella in which two displaced migrant ranch workers search for new opportunities in California during the Great Depression.  John carefully crafted his novella.  Rather than using a typewriter, John hand-wrote every word of the novella.  Finally, in the last week of May 1936, after months of laboring over each word, John finished his novella of which he gave the somewhat lackluster title, “Something That Happened.” 

Then, on May 27, 1936, John wrote a letter to his editor.  “Minor tragedy stalked,” he said.  “My setter pup [Toby], left alone one night, made confetti of about half of my book.  Two months work to do over again.  It sets me back.  There was no other draft.”

“I was pretty mad, but the poor little fellow may have been acting critically.  I didn’t want to ruin a good dog for a ms [manuscript].  I’m not sure it is good at all.  He only got an ordinary spanking with his punishment flyswatter.  But there’s the work to do over from the start.  I’m not sure Toby didn’t know what he was doing when he ate the first draft.”  John jokingly wrote, “I have promoted Toby-dog to be lieutenant colonel in charge of literature.” 

When John finished rewriting his manuscript, he sent it to his editor.  In late 1936, his editor sent him a telegram which explained that his novella would be the featured book for March 1937’s Book-of-the-Month Club.  Most authors would have been overjoyed with the achievement, but not John.  He wanted to succeed with his writing, of course, but he hated publicity.  His editor anxiously awaited his reply which he expected to receive within minutes.  Minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into days.  Finally, two weeks later, the editor received a postcard from John on which he had scribbled, “What does it mean?” 

When John began to write the novella, he could not have imagined how successful the book would become.  It received the greatest positive response in his writing career to that point.  Fanny Butcher, a Chicago Tribune book critic, wrote that John’s novella was “so movingly, so factually that only when its last page is finished does the reader realize what a remarkable literary feat the author has performed.  Brutality and tenderness mingle in these strangely moving pages” which included “language that gentle ears would never hear.”  The critic explained, “The reader is fascinated by a certainty of approaching doom.”  Fred T. March wrote in the New York Times, “In sure, raucous, vulgar Americanism, [the author] has touched the quick in his little story.” 

John’s novella became required reading in many schools in the English speaking world because it exemplified what life was like for migrant workers during the Great Depression.  In the novella, John “described brutal times in brutal terms.”  In the decades after the novella was first published, John’s book frequently began to appear on lists of banned books because of the “brutal terms,” – blasphemous and vulgar language.  Other popular titles which appeared on lists of banned books included Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye,” and, more recently, J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series.  John’s novella is included in the American Library Association’s list of the Most Challenged Books of the 21^stcentury and John is listed among the most frequently challenged authors of the 21^st century.     

Despite attempts to have John’s book banned, it is considered a literary classic.  In 1962, John won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his “realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception.”  On October 25, 2023, Bonhams auction house sold a small fragment of John’s original draft which was destroyed by his dog, Toby, for $12,800.  That chewed fragment was part of the classic novella originally called “Something That Happened,” which, just before publishing, the author, John Steinbeck, renamed “Of Mice and Men.”

Sources:

1.     The Des Moines Register, March 14, 1937, p.35.

2.     Argus-Leader, October 26, 1983, p.9.

3.     Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 20, 2001, p.65.

4.     Mount Desert Islander, September 28, 2006, p.23.

5.     Creamer, Ella. 2023. “Of Mice and Men First-Draft Fragment Torn up by Steinbeck’s Dog Goes to Auction.” The Guardian, September 29, 2023, sec. Books. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/29/john-steinbeck-of-mice-and-men-draft-eaten-by-dog-up-for-auction.

6.     “John Steinbeck’s Sword and First Draft Fragment of ‘of Mice and Men’ Eaten by His Dog to Auction.” n.d.Www.finebooksmagazine.com. Accessed November 12, 2023. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-news/john-steinbecks-sword-and-first-draft-fragment-mice-and-men-eaten-his-dog-auction#:~:text=The%20sale%20features%20a%20fragment.

7.     ‌ “Bonhams: John Steinbeck the Mary Steinbeck Dekker Family Collection.” n.d. www.bonhams.com. Accessed November 12, 2023. https://www.bonhams.com/auction/29062/john-steinbeck-the-mary-steinbeck-dekker-family-collection/.

8.     American Library Association. 2013. “Banned & Challenged Classics.” Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. March 26, 2013.https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics.

9.     ‌ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1962. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Sun. 12 Nov 2023.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1962/summary/

The magical Coca‑Cola Holiday Caravan is bringing a taste of the holidays to Logansport this year. It arrives in Logansport Park on Saturday, November 25 and is open to the public from 4-6pm. Loaded with holiday gifts, delicious Coca‑Cola products and even Santa himself, you’re invited to come join the fun. Holiday magic and joy awaits.

Since lighting up the small screen in a TV ad that first aired in the mid-1990s, the Coca‑Cola Caravan has signaled the start of the festive season for nearly three decades. The red and twinkling truck makes stops across the country.

The caravan is a massive, Christmas-themed Coca-Cola semi-truck that is lit with thousands of sparkling lights spreading Christmas cheer. There is also a Santa chair and tree display where families can have their picture taken for free with the jolly ol’ man himself. Admission is FREE. 

The Stonewall Library will hold a special Thanksgiving Storytime Wednesday, November 22 at 10am. There will be a special guest. (There will be no Storytime on Monday, November 20.)

Tickets for the Grand Cane Tour of Homes are now available at Grand Cane Village Hall, Progressive National Bank, DeSoto Chamber/Tourist Office or any HGCA Board member. The tour is December 2 from 1-4pm. Cost is $20. 

Ida Hensley
July 23, 1945 – November 12, 2023
Service: Saturday, November 18 at 12pm at Shady Grove U.M.C.

Judy Kay Remedes
July 26, 1944 – November 14, 2023
Service: Tuesday, November 21 at 11am at Belmont Cemetery

DeSoto Parish Schools

NOV 13, 2023

Today, the Louisiana Department of Education publicly released the 2022-2023 School and District Performance Scores. DeSoto ranks 3rd in the state of Louisiana, and is one of only 10 school systems with an overall rating of “A.”

DeSoto received a District Performance Score of 93.7. The District Performance Score is calculated by combining performance in LEAP 2025 state assessments for grades 3-8 and high school courses, ACT scores, graduation rates, strength of diploma, and interests and opportunities. DeSoto Parish Schools ranks 4th overall in Progress Index with a letter grade of “A” and an index of 96.8. This index is a measure of individual student growth when compared to their peers.

“Our continued rise in the state rankings reflects the commitment to excellence and strong culture we are developing across the district; we’re a close-knit family—our board, leaders, teachers, support staff, and families—all working together to ensure our students achieve and succeed not only in school but in life,” said DeSoto Parish School Board President, Coday Johnston.

Logansport High School, Mansfield High School, North DeSoto Middle School, and North DeSoto High School earned an “A” letter grade for overall SPS. Five of nine schools earned an A in student growth. Those schools are Logansport High School, North DeSoto Lower Elementary, North DeSoto Upper Elementary, North DeSoto Middle School, and North DeSoto High School. Seven of nine schools have exceeded 2019 pre-pandemic SPS scores. Those schools are Logansport High School, Mansfield High School, North DeSoto Lower Elementary, North DeSoto Upper Elementary, North DeSoto Middle School, North DeSoto High School, and Stanley High School. Mansfield Middle School improved Interest and Opportunities by 27.4 points.

The Louisiana Department of Education also awards designations to individual schools. The “Top Gains” designation is awarded to schools that demonstrate excellence in student progress from one year to the next. Logansport High School, North DeSoto Lower Elementary, North DeSoto Upper Elementary, North DeSoto Middle School, and North DeSoto High School were all awarded this honor. The distinction of “Opportunity Honoree” is awarded to schools that demonstrate excellence in educating students with disabilities, English learners, and economically disadvantaged students, which were awarded to Mansfield High School, North DeSoto Middle School, and North DeSoto High School. Mansfield Elementary School showed the most significant growth in overall SPS with an 8.7 point gain, followed by Logansport High with a 7-9 point increase in overall SPS.

“I am excited about our growth and what that means for DeSoto students and families, but the work to ensure their brightest possible future is a continuous journey. I am thankful for students, teachers, support staff, and administrators who are committed to the daily practices that will continue to move us forward in that mission,” said Bridget Flanders, Director of Student Learning.

“In DeSoto, our success is deeply rooted in our shared values of “High Performance” and “Making a Difference.” These are not just words but a strong culture that begins with the unwavering commitment of our school board, the remarkable leadership at the district and school levels, and the dedication of our teachers, support staff, and families, all united in our pursuit of giving our students a world-class education,” remarked, Superintendent Clay Corley.

By Matt Vines, DeSoto Parish Journal

STERLINGTON – Mansfield has just about seen it all this season. Road trips to pass-happy Evangel Christian and Ouachita Christian. Near upsets of a super athletic Huntington squad and a brutally physical Logansport bunch. And a date with a reigning state champion in Many. So when the No. 18 Wolverines (6-5) load up the bus to head to No. 2 Sterlington for Thursday’s second-round playoff matchup in Division III Select, Mansfield will be prepared. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

“We have played teams this year that prepare us for a team like Sterlington,” said Mansfield coach Darrell Barbay. “Sterlington is really good, but our kids have seen some really good teams this year.” But what faces the Wolverines is a Sterlington (9-1) crew that’s won nine straight games and might be the toughest opponent to date.

After a season-opening loss to West Monroe, Sterlington can count blowout wins against Mangham and Wossman as well as tighter wins against Oak Grove and Union Parish on its till. Those latter four teams either won their first-round playoff game or received a bye. The Panthers also won the Class 3A championship in 2021.

But Mansfield is riding high after recording its first playoff win since 2018 when the Wolverines knocked off No. 15 Marksville, 34-28, in the first round of the playoffs. Meaty running back TJ Pegues plowed into the end zone with just 22 seconds left to lift the Wolverines to a 34-28 victory. Pegues rushed for three touchdowns and 121 yards while Rykeelin Vanzant paced the powerful Mansfield rushing attack with 152 yards and a score.

“Our kids never gave up,” Barbay said. “We had to overcome a lot, and it shows what type of character these kids have.”

Character is what powered Mansfield through an 0-4 start against those state powerhouses, and the Wolverines rallied to win six of their last seven games including the playoff victory. Mansfield won its last four regular-season games by at least 20 points in one of the deeper districts in Class 2A, which included a 42-20 drubbing of a solid Red River team.

The first-round playoff win is a crown jewel of what Barbay has accomplished at Mansfield in his second season. The Wolverines learned tough lessons in an 0-6 start to the 2022 season before winning three of their last four regular-season games to keep its playoff appearance streak intact. Now that Mansfield has a playoff win under its belt, it’ll attempt to knock off a Class 3A giant on the road.

“A lot of building a program is getting kids to trust us as a coaching staff and buying into the program,” Barbay said. “Our kids work hard and do what we ask of them at practice every day. That’s really all you can ask of them – to keep working and get stronger. Our administration has backed us and helped us get the things we need to get better. Our principals, school board and superintendent have been outstanding in this process as well.”

This winner of the Marketplace Chevrolet College Football Pickers Contest is Wayne Williams of Mansfield. He won $100 from the Journal for doing the best job of selecting the winning team of ten college football contests.

There were a couple of unexpected turns and twists on the gridiron this week, and at least one upset figured in the final outcome of the ten games on last week’s list. There is a new list, and the possibility of a couple of upsets again this weekend.

CLICK HERE to enter the contest. All DeSoto Parish readers of the Journal are invited to enter and possibly win the $100 prize. It takes a little skill, but lady luck certainly comes into play in the College Football Pickers Contest.

Good luck. And may the best picker prevail.

DeSoto Hoops registration closes TODAY, Wednesday, November 15. DeSoto Parish students in grades PK-6th can participate. Registration fees can be paid in cash, money order, personal check or PayPal (desotohoops17@yahoo.com). No late registration will be taken.

Practices will be held at Logansport, Stanley, North DeSoto and Central. However, games will be played in Logansport and North Desoto. The season will begin Saturday, January 20 and run for six weeks.

Volunteers are needed for concessions, door, clock, scorebook, clean up and coaching. If you are willing to coach, please indicate that on the registration form. A mandatory coaches’ meeting will held before season begins.

Schedules will be released once teams are finalized. Admission for games is $3 for adults and $2 for students.

The sense of irony was sick, but Monday was World Kindness Day, and on that autumn morning, four people were stabbed outside Lambright Sports and Wellness Center on the Louisiana Tech campus, a random act of violence by a young man quickly taken into custody.

Outside of a big gym and workout center. A place where people swim and play.

And the night before in Shreveport, there was a shooting in the parking lot of the YMCA that left one victim dead and another in the hospital. 

Not exactly our kind of Kindness Day.

Kindness Day was established in 1998 with the obvious intent of highlighting the good and the positive, of bridging the gap between all our sorts of differences, and to recognize how much we are alike, to encourage unity.

Some of us aren’t getting the picture.

For lots of reasons, the Lambright Center is a special place to me. I remember it being built. I lived in one of the little houses where its parking lot is now. No telling how many hours we were having fun in there, 40 years ago.

The Shreveport YMCA on the parkway is 100 yards from the Little League fields, holy ground to me for about a decade 25 years ago. Sweaty boys and girls running around, eye black smeared, learning the game, making friends. Unbridled joy. Who pulls a gun 100 yards from a bag of baseballs and a concession stand filled with Frito Pies?

I know the people who run the Lambright. The gang who runs the YMCA are friends of mine, and for a long time. Good-hearted people. None of us are naïve enough to think that violence happens only in back alleys, but goodness gracious…  Instead of shooting or stabbing someone, why don’t these people just go work out?

Few if any habitual offenders will read this. So I’m preaching to the choir. But the rest of us are going to have to double-up on the kindness beat, it looks like, and cover for the ones who get their kicks by ruining the lives of people minding their own business. Have these people never held a baby? Played catch with a child? Petted a dog or provided a lap for a cat’s nap? Have they never laughed? Never lived?

We don’t get a pass from trying to make things better just because a fraction of the population is intent on making things worse.  Mark Twain is credited with saying that kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Maybe some hate-filled soul will see your kindness and it will make a difference. 

He passed away several years ago, but Leo Buscaglia was a professor at USC who in the 1980s was called “Dr. Love” because of his popular books and talks on how and why we should connect. This was after a student’s suicide moved him to start a noncredit class he called “Love 1A.” Not a perfect class or a perfect man, I’m sure, but it started a conversation worth contemplating.

“Too often,” he said, “we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

An anonymous quote that has stuck with me is that “what you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”

So welcome to Kindness WEEK. Maybe we can pull some of the slack and get this turned around a bit. Keep plugging and not growing weary in doing good, that kind of thing, even though lately, the lunatic fringe seems to be winning more than their fair share of games.

Meanwhile at Tech, the University’s Counseling Services are available to students individually and in a group setting at no charge. Appointments can be made by visiting Keeny Hall 310, calling 318.257.2488, or visiting the website at latech.edu/counseling-services/

A campus blood drive is scheduled for Thursday outside Tolliver Hall from 9 until 3.

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu

About the LSU AgCenter

The LSU AgCenter is dedicated to providing innovative research, information, and education to improve people’s lives. Working in a statewide network of parish extension offices, research stations and academic departments, the LSU AgCenter helps Louisiana citizens make the best use of natural resources, protect the environment, enhance agricultural enterprises, and develop human and community resources.

Program Highlights

Family and Consumer Sciences

Flavors of Health (FoH) is the Family and Consumer Science Program offered in DeSoto Parish. FoH is a nutrition education and health program with a community focus. Our program serves Louisiana’s adults, promoting healthful diets and positive lifestyles to prevent or manage chronic disease and to improve quality of life. We also conduct programs for our youth, emphasizing cooking skills and preparation of healthful meals and snacks. FoH uses the latest science and best-practices to help you and your family manage your nutrition-related health challenges. We focus on healthy eating and physical activity. We provide virtual and on-site classes, presentations, workshops, and educational materials to encourage healthier food and fitness behaviors. This includes cooking skills, grocery shopping strategies, small goal setting, exercise and physical activity guidance, healthy habit development, weight management and diet-disease links.

4-H Youth Development

4-H is a community of more than 6.5 million young people across America learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. 4-H’ers participate in fun, hands-on learning activities which encourage a sense of belonging among the youth. The 4-H Club is the largest youth organization in the United States! Louisiana has more than 85,000 4-H members in more than 1,700 clubs. Louisiana 4-H reaches a diverse group of youth, grades K-12. Through non-formal, research-based, experiential learning activities, 4-H participants gain knowledge and life skills to become productive, capable, and compassionate members of their communities. The 4-H program combines the cooperative efforts of youth, volunteer leaders, land-grant universities, federal, state, local governments, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistic Services, DeSoto Parish had approximately 32,000 head of beef cows and calves as of January 1, 2023. The 2020 LSU Agriculture Summary reported a gross farm value of $10,704,242 for beef production in DeSoto Parish. To sustain the cattle industry in DeSoto Parish we conducted a series of meetings in which beef producers gained awareness of feeding cattle through the winter, cool season forage variety recommendations, marketing beef cattle, weed control in pastures and hay fields. We average 40 producers that attend our beef meetings. With the utilization of a beef cattle email distribution list, in which I have 242 members, monthly newsletters are sent to cattlemen in my area.

Whom We Reach:

908 youth (includes 235 4-H members, 57 adult volunteers, 11 school 4-H Clubs, and 7 after- school clubs) 24,901 adults (3,548 agriculture and natural resources and 21,353 family consumer sciences)

How We Reach Them:

4-H Clubs, school enrichment, field days, publications, newsletters, class series, website, social media, and workshops.

Expanding Our Efforts:

Over 100 volunteers from 4-H, ANR and family and community.

Parish Facts:

LSU AgCenter county agents provide research-based information on plant, aquaculture, wildlife and animal enterprises to DeSoto Parish residents. The total dollar amount from these commodities were: Animal enterprises, $2,981,060; aquaculture and wildlife, $5,458,526; plant enterprises, $39,822,294. Land area — 896 square miles; Population —26,853; Population under 18 years old — 24%; Population 65 years old and over — 18.4%; Median household income — $45,364; Persons below poverty — 19.6%

Local Issues and Plans for This Year:

Increase productivity and profitability of Louisiana agriculture

• Conduct quarterly beef cattle producer meetings
• Conduct annual pesticide recertification meetings
• Assist homeowners with lawn and garden questions
• Conduct farm and home educational visits

Build leaders and good citizens through 4-H Youth Development

• Develop young leaders through Character Development programing in school club meetings
• Conduct life skill lessons in partnerships with local business and stakeholders for Jr. Leaders Clubs
• Partner with the D.O.V.E. program to teach life skills through a school enrichment program that will help with aiding them in adulthood through their community garden

Strengthen families and communities

• Promote healthy diets and positive lifestyles to prevent or manage chronic diseases and to improve the quality of life
• Educate youth on cooking skills and preparation of healthy meal plans
• Conduct programs such as Spice of the Month, Playstreets, and StoryWalks throughout the communities of DeSoto Parish

Extension Funding
FY 2022-2023

How we are funded:

You are the local supporters and beneficiaries of the LSU AgCenter extension programs. Your support keeps these programs in your communities.

Your parish extension office offers programs in:

• Sustaining Louisiana agriculture, forestry, and fisheries
• Building leaders and good citizens through 4-H Youth Development
• Family, nutrition and health to enhance the quality of life for Louisiana’s citizens

LSU AgCenter State Appropriated Funds for FY 2022-2023:

• State General Direct: 78.01%
• Federal Funds: 12.06%
• Self-Generated: 6.31%
• Statutory Dedications: 3.62%

For the latest research-based information on just about anything, visit our website: LSUAgCenter.com

Extension Office Address: 10117 Hwy 171, Grand Cane, LA 71032
Phone: 318-872-0533 Fax: 318-872-2367
Office Hours: 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Website: LSUAgCenter.com/DeSoto       Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/desotoparishextension

Parish Chair: jsalley@agcenter.lsu.edu
Administrative Coordinator: msaenz@agcenter.lsu.edu

Office Staff:
Joshua Salley Parish Chair/ANR  jsalley@agcenter.lsu.edu
SarahJayne Driskill 4-H Youth Agent  sjdriskill@agcenter.lsu.edu
Erin Stockton Nutrition Agent  estockton@agcenter.lsu.edu
Melissa Saenz Administrative Coordinator  msaenz@agcenter.lsu.edu

By Doug De Graffenried

We are entering the season of anticipatory waiting. There is lots of movement in this season. We travel. We welcome out-of-town guests. We hurry to the door when Amazon arrives. We overdose on the saccharine sweet stories on the Hallmark Channel. Soon, we in liturgical churches will talk about the “waiting of Advent.” Before the madness begins, I wanted you to ponder a writing from Sue Monk Kidd’s When the Heart Waits. She wrote:

“One afternoon as the children watched television and I folded laundry; we heard a terrible thud against the patio door. I turned in time to see blue wings falling to the ground. A bird had flown into the glass.

None of us said a word. We looked at one another and crept to the door. The children followed me outside. I half-expected the bird to be dead, but she wasn’t. She was stunned and her right wing was a little lopsided, but it didn’t look broken—bruised, maybe.

The bird sat perfectly still, her eyes tiny and afraid. She looked so fragile and alone that I sat down beside her. I reached out my little finger and brushed her wing.

A voice came from behind me, “Why doesn’t it fly off, Mama?”

“She’s hurt,” I said. “She just needs to be still.”

We watched her. We watched her stillness. Finally, the children wandered back to the television, satisfied that nothing was going to “happen” for a while. But I couldn’t leave her.

I sat beside her, unable to resist the feeling that we shared something, the two of us. The wounds and the brokenness of life. Crumpled wings. A collision with something harsh and real. I felt like crying for her. For myself. For every broken thing in the world.

That moment taught me that while the postures of stillness within the cocoon are frequently an individual experience, we also need to share our stillness. The bird taught me anew that we’re all in this together, what we need to sit in one another’s stillness and take up corporate postures of prayer. How wonderful it is when we can be honest and free enough to say to one another, “I need you to wait with me,” or “Would you like to me to wait with you?”

I studied the bird, deeply impressed that she seemed to know instinctively that stillness is healing. I had been learning that too, learning that stillness can be the prayer that transforms us. How much more concentrated our stillness becomes, though, when it’s shared.

The door opened again, “Is she finished being still?”

“No, not yet,” I said, knowing that I was talking as much about myself as the bird. We went on waiting together. Twenty minutes. Thirty. Fifty.

Finally, she was finished being still. She cocked her head to one side, lifted her wings and flew. The sight of her flying made me catch my breath. From the corner of my eye, I saw her shadow move along the ground and cross over me. Grace is everywhere I thought. Then I picked myself up and went back to folding the laundry.”

By: Kaylee Nelson

The community of Logansport celebrated Halloween Night at Dennis Freeman Memorial River Park. Logansport Library set up a booth and handed out Halloween goodie bags stuffed with candy and baubles for the kids.

The weather was chilly, though most seemed unbothered, especially the children, who were eyeing their treats with delight. The citizens of Logansport (and surrounding towns) greeted the Logansport Library Staff with warm smiles and sweet hellos, and the children giggled as they stuffed their buckets full of candy, eventually making their way to the Krewe of Aquarius booth, where bags of popcorn were distributed. It was a joyous night for the community at the festival and a resounding
success for the town of Logansport.

A big thank you to Melissa Rodgers, who graciously volunteered to help set up the booth and hand out goodie bags.

The Logansport Chamber of Commerce had their monthly meeting at the Logansport Library on Tuesday evening, November 5, 2023. The members and guests dined on J&B BBQ’s Jambalaya.

Bubba Clark spoke to the Chamber about his intentions to be involved with the community as a Police Juror should he be elected. He explained that a juror is more than just road concerns. He wants to be available to the community’s concerns. A basketball court for the community was an example of something he’s like to have for the Logansport area.

Lisa Lobrano Burson spoke to the Chamber regarding her bid for Clerk of Court. She says she did not feel right to complain about community problems without offering a solution, so she decided to run for office. A question she answered from a chamber member was about her law practice. There are no practicing lawyers seated as a Clerk of Court presently to serve as a guide for her decision, but she explained that she will suspend her practice to be fully committed to serving the parish.

In other chamber business, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving there will be a concert on the riverfront. Bryan Martin & Friends HomeTown Thanksgiving Show will have a stellar lineup of talents. Tickets are be available for prepurchase. Also on the riverfront, there will be a Veterans program on Saturday, November 11th at 10:30 am.

There will be no regular meeting in December. The next meeting will be 6:00pm Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at the Logansport library.

Funeral services celebrating the life of Ruby “Ever” Goodman Burr were held Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at Kilpatrick’s Rose-Neath Chapel, Mansfield, Louisiana. Officiating the service was Bro. Dexter Goynes and assisting, Arick Lassiter. Interment followed at Converse Cemetery, Converse, Louisiana. Ever was born on August 24, 1952, to Norris and Ruby Goodman in Mansfield, Louisiana and she passed away surrounded by loved ones on Friday, November 10, 2023.

She is preceded in death by her husband, George Burr; father, Norris Goodman; mother, Ruby Procell Deason; brothers, Winfred Goodman, and Bo Goodman; and sister, Shirley Johnson.

Left to cherish her memory are her sons, Chris Burr and wife, Jennifer, and Brad Burr and wife, Jamie; sisters, Dolly Welborn and Eurma Meshell; brother, Walter Bell (Francis); stepfather, Bill Deason; grandchildren, Shelby Fullerton and husband, Shane, Emily Burr, Andri Burr, Cameron Burr, and Leyton Burr; great-grandchildren, Thaddeus Fullerton, and Adeline Fullerton; and fur-grand, Murphy.

Honoring Ever as pallbearers will be Wayne Burr, JR Burr, Shane Fullerton, Lynn Youngblood, Curtis Bryan, and Mike Tuck. Honorary pallbearer will be W.C. Ramie.

The family would like to express a special thanks to Sheila Burr.

The Mansfield Branch of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN will hold its ANNUAL LITERACY FESTIVAL on Monday, November 20, 2023, at the DeSoto Parish Library in Mansfield, at 3:00 P.M. Dr. Gretchen Petterway, pediatrician and children’s book author, will be the featured speaker and author.

Ms. Diane Scott Davis, choreographer/dancer and writer, will perform an interpretive dance. There will be free books, storytelling, snacks, treats, cake walk, bounce house, and fun activities for everyone. This is an annual event that is sponsored by NAUW to promote literacy and to inspire children to develop a passion for reading.

My initial close-up-and-personal encounter with a bobcat was a hair-raising experience. (If I had such an experience today, I’d have to describe it differently; I don’t have enough hair to raise.)

I was probably around the age of twelve when one dry summer day, I tagged along with my dad as he headed out to run his trap-line; he worked in Predator Control for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at the time. Dad parked the Jeep on a dry hard-packed red clay road between Creston and Ashland in Natchitoches Parish to check one of his steel traps. Only a depression in the red clay remained; the trap was gone. Something had jerked it, chain and drag hook attached, out of the ground and vamoosed.

This was by design; he never staked a trap but allowed a critter to take off, chain and hook in tow, rather than risk the chance of finding only a foot in the trap. It was usually a simple matter of following the trail left by the drag hook until the animal was encountered, usually tangled in a thicket not far away.

It hadn’t rained in weeks and the red clay was like concrete; the trap was gone but there was no track to indicate what had gotten in the trap. It could have been a coon, skunk, possum, fox or bobcat but without a track, it was speculation at best. Dad suggested that we spread out; him going one way and me another to see if we could find any sign indicating which way the animal had gone.

It was exciting for me; it was like I was on safari sneaking through the Serengeti in Tanzania after a wounded leopard. As I moved cautiously along, I noticed a log up ahead that had been freshly disturbed; something had recently knocked off a chunk of bark. I approached to within six feet or so to check it further when something caught my eye. There was a brushy sapling growing next to the log and when I happened to look up, I saw something that stunted my growth for a few years; I was staring into the menacing yellow eyes of a big bobcat with lip curled to reveal fangs I could have sworn were four inches long. Two more steps and I wouldn’t be sitting here telling you this story; I’d have died of fright. Back pedaling quickly, I yelled – more likely squealed like a little girl – to my dad, he came and dispatched the cat.

Last week, I learned of another close encounter with a bobcat. Sixteen year old Reagan Dupree, my nephew’s son, was walking to his deer stand along a pipeline in the dark. The stars and sky were bright enough that he didn’t need to use his flashlight to find his way to his stand.

As he walked along, he was aware of footsteps that were matching his. He’d walk; he would hear steps. He would stop and the steps would cease. Realizing that something was following him, he flipped on his light and there a few yards behind him matching him step for step was a big bobcat.

It is highly unlikely that the bobcat would attack; he may have been attracted to the snacks Reagan had in his pocket or it may have just been curious. Whatever the reason, Reagan did what any teen with a gun being stalked by a bobcat would have done. Since bobcats are considered predators of game species, the state has approved the taking of one bobcat a year by Louisiana residents who are big game license holders. The big cat had stalked its last quarry.

I talked with a wildlife biologist for his take on the prevalence of bobcats in the area today.

“Timber thinning and clear cutting have created prime habitat for rabbits and wood rats, primary food sources for bobcats. Bobcats can also have an impact on wild turkeys but if you think about it, there are lots of predators, such as ‘coons, hawks and coyotes, that will prey on turkeys; their eggs, poults or sometimes mature birds. Bobcats are just one of a host of critters that will eat a turkey,” the biologist explained.

I was on a deer stand once and I let a bobcat that I called up sneak away after he looked up and saw me; it was a neat experience. However, if I saw one stalking me or chowing down on one of my beloved wild turkeys, he wouldn’t be so lucky.

November 14, 2023
For Immediate Release
Contact: Corinne Day

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, Speaker Johnson released the following statement after House passage of the two-step continuing resolution:

“The passage of today’s continuing resolution puts House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative policy victories. The innovative two-step approach takes Washington’s preferred Christmas omnibus monstrosity off the table, shifts the government funding paradigm moving forward, and enhances our ability to rein in the Biden administration’s failed policies and government spending. We also are better positioned in the upcoming supplemental debate to demand Border Security, ensure oversight of Ukraine aid, and support our cherished ally, Israel.”

Join the adult painting class at Mansfield Library on Monday, November 20 at 10am. Have fun and explore your creativity, learn new skills and socialize. All supplies will be provided. Sign up by November 13. Call 318.872.6100 for more information.

Grand Cane will celebrate Christmas on Da Bayou with a Christmas parade and market on Saturday, December 2 from 8am to 2pm. The parade will start at 11am. Vendors are needed. Email grandcanemerchants@gmail.com for more information.

John Franklin Woods
April 15, 1955 — November 11, 2023
Service: Wednesday, November 15 at 11am at Rose Neath Funeral Homes – Mansfield

Donnie F. Sistrunk
April 8, 1936 — November 12, 2023
Service: Thursday, November 16 at 10am at First Baptist Church – Converse

Gloria Ann Brewer Cranford
April 6, 1946 — November 12, 2023

The DeSoto Parish Journal publishes “Remembrances of Loved Ones” with unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $70. The Remembrance will be included in the emails sent to subscribers.  Contact your funeral provider or DeSotoParishJournal@gmail.com. Must be paid in advance of publication.

The Journal is starting a new contest today.  The entry blank for the Marketplace Chevrolet College Football Pickers Contest is now available.  CLICK HERE to enter.  The DeSoto Parish reader who does the best job of guessing the outcomes could win $100. 

North DeSoto Middle School took the opportunity to show their appreciation for the parish provided officers. NDMS appreciates that DeSoto Parish Schools and the Desoto Parish Sheriff’s Office have placed a School Resource Officer in each DeSoto Parish school.

They are highly regarded and appreciated by all faculty and staff members of DPSB. NDSM thanks each for their consistent commitment and hard work keeping DeSoto Parish students, faculty, staff, and schools safe! You are #TheDeSoto Difference!

The following SROS were recognized: Logansport High School Corporal Larry McCloskey, Stanley High School – La Deputy Lane Burns, Mansfield Elementary School Deputy Antoinette Turner, Mansfield Middle School Deputy Annette Blue, Mansfield High School Deputy Nathaniel Anderson, North DeSoto Lower Elementary Deputy Brett Randolph, North Desoto Upper Elementary Deputy Brooklyn Smith, North DeSoto Middle School Deputy Coleman Caston, and North DeSoto High School Deputy Dustin Cope. 

I voted today! I normally don’t publicly talk about politics. However, the Logansport High School proposition is very important to people. The most important people are the ones that can’t vote!

Safety is of the utmost importance in this tax. When that school was built (at least 25 years ago because I’ve been here 25) safety of students and staff was not in the plans. The school is WIDE OPEN! Yes, doors can be locked in and out but the campus itself is open. Unless you want to see razor wire (that is probably an embellishment ) we need to vote FOR this!

The 2 grands that I have in school do not go there, they are blessed to attend where their mother teaches, but I have nieces and friends that teach and great nieces and nephews that attend or will attend that will be affected by this. Yes! I am a landowner in this parish. Yes we pay a lot of taxes. Can we put a price tag on our family and friends?

Permission to post by Lisa Sullivan Register from her Facebook page