Steve Carrier is coming to Social Springs Baptist Church later this month.  Carrier ministers to folks using strength.  He has scheduled a return visit to the parish on September 22^nd.

Social Springs said Carrier will be the guest at both the 11:00 am and 6:00 pm services on Sunday, September 22^nd at the church.

Carrier is known for ripping thick books such as telephone directories in two.  He bends steel bars and crushes concrete blocks, in addition to other feats of strength.  And Carrier uses his strength to get his message across.

Also at Social Springs is Team Kid.  This program of kids in discipleship takes place every Wednesday evening at 5:30 pm at the church.

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The seniors who attend Catfish Bend Academy received their rings at a Ring Ceremony last Thursday. The ceremony was held at Cowboy Church at Lake End.

Headmaster Crystal Cummins served as Master of Ceremonies for the ceremony.  Cummins said the homeschool cooperative now has nineteen students in grades 9 through 12.  Rings were presented to three of them who are graduating seniors.

Cummins introduced the three with several brief factoids of each, after saying that there were quite a few characters among the students however these three are not the usual seniors.

First up was Josie Griffin. Cummins said, “She is the quiet type, always the voice of reason.  When she talks to the clowns in the class they either shut up or burst out laughing.” And Cummins added, “Josie drives a different vehicle to school each day.”  Griffin described the history of class rings.  She said, “It dates back to 1835 at West Point when seniors were awarded class rings.”

Next up was Taylor Berry. Cummins said, “Taylor likes to stress. And she likes to text message about various things.  Berry explained how to wear a class ring.  She said, “Wear it facing students.  Upon graduation, turn it around to face you.  That will show everyone you have graduated.”

The third senior presented was Kaylee Dobson.  Cummings said, “We were reading Beowulf.  She read it thoroughly, so she knew what was going to happen almost before we discussed it.” Dobson said, “Get people to turn your ring away from your heart.  Do that with 19 people and the 20^thperson will turn it toward your heart. So that person should be a person of significance to you.

Cummins explained that the ceremony normally would have been in the spring.  She said very quickly it will be April and the seniors will be graduating.  Then she offered her three-part  advice, “Enjoy all the time at home and appreciate it.  Hold no regrets.  And trust the Lord with all your heart.”

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Local veterans service organizations have been busy this summer with various projects to serve area veterans, reserve units and children in the community.  And on Labor Day they took time off from the cook-out to conduct a fundraiser at Rivertown Market.

Members of VFW Post 7287 gathered Monday morning for a fundraiser and membership recruiting drive. They presented Buddy Poppies to shoppers and received donations if people wanted to contribute. 

In addition, there were several large stacks of Bibles that were distributed free of charge.  The Bibles are provided by the VFW to anyone who wanted one. The vets also spoke with veterans and family members who approached about any services they might need.

Auxiliary 7287 spent much of the weekend baking delicious treats.  Those were on sale on Monday.  Available were several varieties of cupcakes, pound cakes, layer cakes, and a large assortment of cookies.  People purchased homemade desserts to go with their Labor Day meal.

The VFW Post and Auxiliary is now working on the Second Annual Vets Breakfast.  It will be held on the Veterans Day weekend in November. Pancakes and bacon or sausage and all that goes with a big breakfast will be served free to all veterans and those men and women now on active duty or in the guard and reserve.  Mark your calendar for Saturday, November 9^th. Breakfast will be served from 7:00 until 9:00 am at First Methodist Church on Front Street.

If you desire more information on the VFW and Auxiliary, please call the Post at 318-932-6557.

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Mums capture the beautiful colors of the fall season.  So, it is time for the fall Mum Sale.  It is being conducted by the 4-H clubs in the parish. 

This year the mums are available in large 10 inch pots for $20 each.  Several colors are available including red, purple, yellow, orange and white.

To order, contact any 4-H member in the parish.  Or order from the 4-H office.  The number is 318-932-4342.  Order your mums now, during September.

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Just about a month of the school year has been completed.  It is time to celebrate students who do outstanding things at their schools.  Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7287 and Auxiliary 7287 are again partnering with local schools to honor their outstanding students each month.

The first presentations will be made Monday night at the meeting of the Red River Parish School Board. Students from public schools in the parish will be recognized before the board by Superintendent Alison Hughes.

To mark their selection, each student will be given a certificate and Dairy Queen gift card furnished by Post and Auxiliary 7287.  And each will get their picture and story in a future edition of The Journal.

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The Journal would like to thank our readers who share their stories, events, and accomplishments of their children and grandchildren with us.  And a big thank you to all who send us news tips and story ideas.

Unfortunately we miss the communications from a few people.  At this time your comments that are posted to our articles and your replies or questions posted through those articles do not reach the news desk in a timely manner.  Some do not reach us at all.

Please add our email to your address book.  That is the way to quickly send The Journal a comment or question.  The email address is RedRiverParishJournal@gmail.com.  You get instant delivery that way.

Someone asked the other day about photos.  We love them! Here is a hint for better pictures. Turn the phone sideways. Technically take the photos in “landscape mode.”  Digital pictures are wider than they are tall, just like the eye sees.  So photos and movies made in “landscape mode” fit in the digital world.  Unfortunately tall, skinny photos have to be cropped so they are wider than tall.

Thanks for sending in your comments, questions, and other remarks.  We love to hear from our readers.  Pass along our email address to your friends so they can get in touch with us also.

And “Thank You” for making The Journal the prime source for Red River Parish news, sports, and events.

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This is the first full night of high school football.  Red River High travels to Haughton to open their regular season.  Riverdale has their first home game of the year against WCCA. Red River kickoff is at 7:00 pm and Riverdale kicks off at 7:30 pm.

Here is the schedule of 4-H meetings for the month of September.  Today the Red River Junior High and Red River 6^th Grade Academy clubs will meet at school.  On Sunday, September 8^th the Shooting Sports group will have an introduction meeting at 2:00 pm.  Monday is Junior Leader meeting at 5:30 pm at the 4-H office.  Tuesday, September 10^th the Academy of Accelerated Studies Club will meet.  And on Thursday, September 12^th the Red River High School club will meet at 11:36 am.

For those interested in taking the Louisiana Hunter Education Course, the Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office will offer the training on September 11-12 and 14, 2019. The course is required for anyone born on or after September 1, 1969 in order to hunt in the state of Louisiana (unless he/she is under the direct supervision of a qualified person as defined by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries).

Monday is a busy day for public meetings.  The Coushatta Red River Chamber of Commerce Board meets at noon on the third floor of the Courthouse.  The Red River Parish Police Jury will meet at 5:30 Monday night on the third floor of the Courthouse.  And the Red River Parish School Board meets Monday night at 6:30 pm at the Administration Building on Alonzo Street.  Coushatta Town Council meets Tuesday night at 5:30 pm at Town Hall.

Have you entered the Shotgun Raffle at Red River Industries?  Get your tickets at their office on US 71 south of town.

Northwestern State University’s Gallaspy College of Education and Human Development, through funding from The Orchard Foundation, will present Praxis preparation seminars for all areas of Praxis Core exam and selected content area exams.  Free sessions are open to anyone interested in preparing for Praxis exams starting Sept. 10.  Sessions will be held from 4-6 p.m. at the Teacher Education Center on the Natchitoches campus with some sessions offered at the Cenla campus in Alexandria.

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Thursday night there was a fire on Army Road at about 7:40 pm. A few concerned neighbors Joey long, Michael Shogun and Tray Murray all stopped to help.  Murray contacted the Fire Chief, Shane felts and he immediately sent several firemen  to extinguish the fire. They were there in just a few minutes. No one seemed to be at home at the time. It looked like someone was trying to burn the pine straw around their trees and it got out.

Thanks to Tray Murray for the details.

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That blown-out natural gas well north of Coushatta continues to burn.  It has been more than a week and a solution has not been found.

The blow-out was first reported to the Sheriff’s Office at 3:21 am Friday August 30^th.  Deputies responded to the scene.  So did other first responders including the State Police Hazmat Team.

There were no injuries.  No evacuation of nearby residences was necessary.  There is a warning sign going both south and north on US 71 for motorists to expect heavy truck traffic and slow down.

The site is just north of US 71 and LA 515.  The smoke and flame can be seen over a wide area.

The photos with this article were taken at various locations around the parish.  Flames are clearly visible in the daytime from Westdale on LA 1 and the cloud plume can be observed from the Grand Ecore Bridge over LA 6 at Natchitoches.  It can be clearly seen day and night from Coushatta.

The rumor mill and social media are working overtime.  There are lots of explanations of what happened, how it will be controlled, etc.  So far, The Journal has been unable to validate any of those reports.

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Repair work at the Coushatta Post Office is being wrapped up this week.  A vehicle smashed into two brick columns at the front entrance several weeks ago.

Last Saturday, The Journal spotted Ricky Allen at work.  He works for Blacky’s Vinyl, the contractor for the repair work.  Allen told us the work was just about done at that time.

One of the front entrances to the Post Office was blocked after the crash and  until repair work could be done.  The functions of the office were not affected.

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One of the most widespread of the Depression Era economic recovery programs was the Works Progress Administration.  It was also one of the highly criticized programs.  Here in Red River Parish there is evidence of many projects that were constructed during the WPA era.

Recently Joe Taylor of Coushatta did some research on the WPA and turned up some very interesting local information.  The Journal surfed the net to add some background on WPA.

Here is information from Encyclopedia Britannica:

Works Progress Administration (WPA), also called (1939–43) Work Projects Administration, work program for the unemployed that was created in 1935 under U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Although critics called the WPA an extension of the dole or a device for creating a huge patronage army loyal to the Democratic Party, the stated purpose of the program was to provide useful work for millions of victims of the Great Depression and thus to preserve their skills and self-respect. The economy would in turn be stimulated by the increased purchasing power of the newly employed.

From Wikipedia comes this additional information:

Almost every community in the United States had a new park, bridge, or school that was constructed by the agency. The WPA’s initial appropriation in 1935 was for $4.9 billion (about 6.7 percent of the 1935 GDP). Headed by Harry Hopkins, the WPA provided jobs and income to the unemployed during the Great Depression in the United States, while developing infrastructure to support the current and future society. 

Above all, the WPA hired workers and craftsmen who were mainly employed in building streets. Thus, under the leadership of the WPA, more than 1 million km of streets and over 10,000 bridges were built, in addition to many airports and much housing.

The largest single project of the WPA was the Tennessee Valley Authority, which provided the impoverished Tennessee Valley with dams and waterworks to create an infrastructure for electrical power. Many famous structures were constructed with the help of WPA labor and funds, including Camp David, the presidential estate in Maryland often used for international meetings, and the on-ramp to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.

It seems not everyone thought WPA was all roses.  Examine these examples:

Entry from The Apple of April 22, 2013 

We Piddle Around (Works Progress Administration or WPA nickname)

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) gave jobs to the unemployed during the Depression. The WPA was nicknamed “We Piddle Around” by at least May 1936. 

From a book by Gid Graham of Collinsville, OK in 1938, Pg. 121: 
“Millions of office-holders and WPA (We Piddle Around) are costing the taxpayers one million dollars per hour and fostering hordes of “gimmes” who have lost the rugged spirit of independence of pioneer Americans and now depend upon the Government.”

The Journal’s unofficial Historian, Joe Taylor was digging through the archives at LSU Shreveport recently.  Taylor reported that the description of Red River parish communities was written in 1936 for a travel guide for the state of Louisiana, a WPA project. Taylor said it was headed by Lyle Saxon. Below are the scans of the report.

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We’re making good progress, but we still have more to do is the overall assessment of the consultant working with Red River schools to assure they are in compliance with state and federal regulations regarding the Title 1 program.  That program is the large source of funding for local schools.

Consultant Betty Laird said the plan is required because the state has to meet all the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.  She said, “The emphasis is on title one kids to upgrade and advance their education.  Red River Elementary School gets almost one million dollars in extra funding to help all the kids.”

Laird met separately with groups of administrators, teachers, parents and other interested persons at each school over several days.  The group for each school will meet periodically during the school year to adjust the plan as needed and to discuss implementation.  Laird said, “The plan last year did not get the elementary school where it needed to be.  The question is ‘why’ did you not make enough progress to move above the level of last year?”

Following the meeting of the high school group, the school posted, “School Wide Plan Meeting with students, staff, teachers, administrators, parents, community members, and district personnel sitting in one room reviewing last year’s School Performance Growth and starting to make a plan for next year.  Each year celebrate the growth but don’t be satisfied work for more.”

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Both local high school football teams will play Friday night.  Riverdale Academy is at home and Red River High is on the road.

Riverdale welcomes Wilkinson County Christian Academy to town.  It will be the Rebels third game of this season.  They come in with a record of 0-2.  Riverdale has adjusted their schedule this fall.  Home games will begin at 7:30 pm.

Red River has competed against Bossier High and Loyola in scrimmages this fall.  They begin the regular season on the road at 5-A Haughton. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

Journal Sports will provide live play-by-play of both contests.  There are several ways to get the game.  You may go to RedRiverParishJournal.com and click on the “Listen-Bulldogs” or “Listen-Rebels” buttons.  Links will be posted on social media before each game also.

Many fans signed up for text message alerts that will come about fifteen minutes before kickoff. The text will contain a link to get the game you signed up for.  Click on the link to get the game.

CLICK HERE – > Sports Signup

If you have not signed up to get text message alerts for Red River and Riverdale sports, you may do so by going to this link:

You will get a text just before the game begins. 

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One Coushatta student was among 255 graduates at Louisiana Tech University’s summer commencement.  The ceremony was held in the Thomas Assembly Center on August 22^nd.

Two graduates earned dual degrees in the ceremony. Of the newly minted alumni, 84 earned their graduate degrees during the ceremony.  David Edwin Young, Jr. of Coushatta graduated with a Master of Arts in Teaching.

Commencement speaker Dr. Norman Pumphrey, Associate Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Technology, advised graduates to be respectful and listen to those they encounter on life’s adventures. 

“You will affect the lives of many people who live into the 22nd century,” Pumphrey said. “Think about the former and present Tech faculty and staff who made an impact on you. They love Louisiana tech, they have helped Tech feel like a family. Be respectful of, considerate of, and genuinely interested in others you come into contact with in your life, and you’ll have an impact, too.”

A 1976 graduate of Tech with a with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, Pumphrey served his undergraduate alma mater with distinction from 1990 until his retirement in June 2019.  “Most of you are about to start your career,” Pumphrey said. “Sometimes work can be enjoyable; sometimes it can be a chore. Find time to play so that you can recharge.”

Pumphrey has served in many roles, including both Assistant and Associate Professor, and for two years as Program Chair of Civil Engineering (2002-2004). In 2004 he moved to Enrollment Management where he was Director of Advising and Retention, the inaugural Director of the Bulldog Achievement Resource Center (BARC), and the Director of Basic and Career Studies before returning to his academic home in the College of Engineering and Science in 2014. In May of that year, Pumphrey was named Program Chair for Construction Engineering Technology, a position he held until his retirement.

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Youth Fun Night of Roller Skating is planned by Abundant Life Worship Center in Coushatta.  The date is Friday, September 6^th.

The church posted, “If you have a 12-18 year old we would love for them to go! Any questions or need more information ask Marcus or Hannah Long.”

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Love free stuff?  Riverdale Academy invites you to earn free books. 

We are so excited to share a unique campaign with you! From now until the end of September, when you purchase a participating Kellogg’s® product, you can submit your receipt for a free book from Penguin Random House Publishing, like The Magic Treehouse Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne! Visit feedingreading.com for more information!  Don’t forget, this ends at the end of this month. 

The State Fire Marshall reminds you It’s a new month, therefore, we have a new fire safety message for everyone!  This month we’re focusing on the dangers of smoking, especially indoors.

We’ve unfortunately seen several instances of this occurring this year, most resulting in burn injuries, and some even claiming lives.  Please help yourself and your family by following these safety tips and help us spread the word about these tips by sharing this important message!

This Friday, September 6th, the senior yearbook staff will be out visiting local businesses to sell yearbook ad space. If you would like for them to stop by, please drop a business name and contact down below and they will be sure to stop in. Thank you to our local business for all the support you have shown RRHS!

Man Camp is Friday and Saturday at Clara Springs Baptist Camp.  Registrations are still available.  Call the camp at 318-796-3875.

Registration for the fall football and volleyball leagues has been extended through Friday at Open Door Fellowship.  Check out details at ODFSports.com.

Rebel Fest is all day Saturday at Riverdale Academy. There will be entertainment, games, and lots of food.

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Here is the arrest report from the Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office for the week ending September 1, 2019.

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