A Slow Start to the 2021 Season

My 2021 bass fishing season got off to a slow start this year with a 41st place finish at Sam Rayburn. I fished the ABA South Texas Division and let’s just say, things did not go as planned. Now as a true angler, I know in my mind what went wrong, or should I say where I went wrong. Like any great angler, I have plenty of excuses that I will attempt to explain and then we’ll break it all down and see exactly what really went wrong.

First, there was another major event taking place on Sam Rayburn at the same time as my event called the MLF Toyota Series which included some of the greatest names in bass fishing with Rick Clunn (who is arguably the greatest angler of all time) Paul Elias (one of the legends of the sport) and many other top names that fish the MLF Pro Tour. With over 200 plus anglers in this event alone, the lake was very crowded making it difficult to have fish to yourself. Second excuse, too much fishing pressure on the lake with Toyota, ABA Open Series and guys practicing for a Sunday event called the Sweet 16. Unstable weather was another reason I had trouble (while others did not) as a front came through with high wind and rain. Oh, and did I mention we were in the middle of a full moon cycle.

As you can see, anglers are full of reasons why they did not catch fish for a particular event. I did have 3 days of good pre-fishing in which I was able to put together a Rat-L-Trap (a flat sided crankbait) pattern along with everyone else on the lake. But this time of year, that’s a normal pattern that a lot of anglers will make a part of their game plan. This is a great technique especially when you have a lake like Sam Rayburn with plenty of hydrilla (aquatic vegetation). I was also able to catch a few fish on a Yamamoto Swimming Senko slow rolling it through the hydrilla in 5 to 6 feet of water.

After picking up my co-angler (Lat Nichols of Paris, Texas) for the day, I decided to start our fishing in the same area I found and caught 4 bass in practice on a 100-yard stretch. There were 70 boats (pros) in this 
tournament and we were boat 47 at takeoff on Saturday morning with our scheduled weigh-in time of 3:30. We spent the first two hours on this so-called hot stretch that did not pay off with an early morning bite. So, we made a few moves here and there but still had nothing to show for our hard work and commitment. But with little to no success, I still maintained my focus and felt there would be a late bite in the afternoon just before weigh-in time. Turns out, I was right as I proceeded to catch 3 of my four keepers in the last hour of the tournament. Just like touring MLF Pro Mike Iaconelli says, “Never give up!” Always keep this in mind the next time your tournament day does not go according to plan.  

Tune in to Tackle Live every Monday at 12:30 CST. on our Facebook or You Tube channel as we discuss the latest news and tournament results from Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn and other great bodies of water found right here in the Ark-La-Tex region. Until next time, don’t forget to set the hook!!!

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Jerry Salley reported a good turnout at Red River Cowboy Church last Sunday to practice sorting in their arena.

We had over 20 at sorting practice and had a blast. We got to see Teagan Hill make his first bull ride. He didn’t break anything when he bucked off, so it was a success.  I can’t get over the improved riding. We had several 10 head under 60 seconds and one 10 head in an amazing 48 seconds. 

We had several new people who came to church and stayed for the sorting. Some rode with us.
We also had a chance to share Jesus Christ and his love. The love of God is felt in the arena just like the church house.
We have to be willing to let God use us to his glory.

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The Red River Registrar of Voters provided this information on voting early for the March 20^th election.

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The basketball season just concluded Wednesday at Riverdale Academy.  Now the school is looking forward to next year.

As things begin to slow down for the cheerleaders this year, they are already beginning to prepare for next year with a cheer clinic! It will be open to any current 7th-11th grade students! We cannot wait to see you there!

Please contact Miss Sidney if you have any questions regarding the 2021-2022 cheer season!

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Saint Mark Hospice is looking to hire a part-time Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist. All interested applicants, please call, fax, or email our office.  SAINT MARK HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE LLC 298 Army Road, Coushatta, LA 71019.  Phone 318-932-1111 or Fax 318-626-7064. Email: office@stmarkhospice.com

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Mrs. Ola Brock of Coushatta

Graveside service were held at 1 p.m., Monday, March 1, 2021 at Starlight B.C. Cemetery.  Open visitation was from 11 to 4 p.m., Sunday at Heavenly Gates.  

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Boil Advisory Update:  Social Springs Water System notified The Journal that the Boil Advisory has been Rescinded for the entire system.

Fairview-Union Water System has lifted its boil advisory. The LA Dept of Health has sampled and approved our water for safe use.

Red River Athletics said, “Congrats to Baseball Team for winning the Championship in the Red River Tournament.  Defeated Haynesville 5-1 and then beat Castor 10-0 in championship.   They move to 4-0 on the year.

Northwestern State University is planning for a more normal fall semester with increased face-to-face classes, expanded student activities and other events but will continue to embrace the health and safety of the campus and community as its highest priority.  NSU president Dr. Chris Maggio said, “We are looking forward to welcoming students back to campus in the fall and are modeling class schedules and other activities after our Fall 2019 academic and campus event programming.”

Abundant Life Worship Center is holding a Men’s Fish Fry on Saturday March 13^th.  It will begin at 6:00 pm.

March 6,2021 NBHA LA 01 Double show at Red River Cowboy Church at 1:00 and 2nd show to follow and hope to see everyone.

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Shane Hubbard, Director of the Red River Parish Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness said there will be a COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic held at Rivertown Market on Thursday.  The clinic will be 9:00 am until 1:00 pm on March 4^th.

People 65 and older or 55 with an underlying medical condition (below is a list), and qualified healthcare professional(listed below) will be allowed a vaccine.  Hubbard said appointments must be made in advance.

Lsuhs.edu  is where you will find the public registration link.  Please share this link with the public and encourage people to register before the day of the event.  Registering ahead of time is how we gage how much vaccine to bring.  We will bring enough for folks to register on site.

Below is a list of folks eligible to get the vaccine:

 Limited amounts of COVID vaccines are available only for:

• Persons 65 and older
• Dialysis providers and patients
• Ambulatory and outpatient providers and staff

o  Behavioral health providers and staff

o  Urgent care clinic providers and staff

o  Community care providers and staff

o  Dental providers and staff

o  Non-emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) providers and staff

• Professional home care providers (including hospice workers) and home care recipients (including older and younger people with disabilities over the age of 16 who receive community or home-based care, as well as clients of home health agencies)
• American Sign Language (ASL) and foreign language interpreters and Support Service Providers (SSPs) working in community and clinic-based settings, and clients who are both deaf and blind
• Health-related support personnel (lab staff, mortuary staff who have contact with corpses, pharmacy staff)
• Schools of allied health students, residents and staff
• Law enforcement and other first responders
• Louisiana Unified Command Group
• State and local essential COVID emergency response personnel
• Some elections staff ahead of March and April elections
• Teachers and any other support staff working on site in K-12 or daycare
• All pregnant persons
• Individuals ages 55-64 with at least one of the conditions listed by the CDCas placing them at an “increased risk of severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19.” Persons with the following qualifying underlying medical conditions are advised to complete the Louisiana COVID-19 Vaccine Attestation Form, before their appointment, to receive the vaccine:

o  Cancer

o  Chronic kidney disease

o  COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

o  Down syndrome

o  Heart conditions including but not limited to heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies

o  Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant

o  Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30kg/m2 or higher but less than 40kg/m2)

o  Severe obesity (BMI greater than 40kg/m2)

o  Sickle cell disease

o  Smoking

o  Type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Alison N. Hughes, Superintendent, Red River Parish School Board sent out information to students, teachers and parents on making up classroom time lost due to the recent winter storm.  Note the dates in this statement on your family calendar.

Red River Bulldog Family:
The last two weeks have been a trying time for us all. We know that you have been struggling with snow, ice, lack of electricity, and lack of water.  Our school system family has experienced the same issues. With these and other interruptions in our educational environment, we have lost important instructional time. Red River Parish School District has formulated a plan to address the lost instructional opportunities for all students. 

We need to make up four full days of instruction before the end of our school year.  We also will need to make up lost intersession days to address individual needs for students.  To make up the four full days of instruction we will use the days of April 26, 27, 28, and 29, 2021.  These days are listed on the present school calendar as Intersession days and will now become required instructional days for ALL students.  Our Spring break will only be the week of May 3-7, 2021.  The District calendar will reflect this change in the coming days. 

Our option for intersession (remediation) days has now changed to address this loss of individualized help. We have designated some of our virtual Fridays as intersession (remediation) days.  These Fridays will be open to ALL students who want to attend and will be required for students who are in danger of failing classes or subjects.  The Fridays that will become intersession days are:
March 12
March 26
April 16
April 30
May 14
June 11

Administrators at RRES, RRJH, and RRHS will identify students who are required to attend and will inform parents in a timely manner.  All students will be invited to attend any of the days listed. All Red River School Buses will run regular bus routes on the Fridays listed.

Students at Red River Academic Academy are required to attend school all of the Fridays listed in addition to the four make up days in April. All Red River School Buses will run regular bus routes on the Fridays listed.

Students at Ware Youth Center are required to attend school all of the Fridays listed in addition to the four make up days in April.

Our hope is that we will not have any more interruptions to our school year. We are realistic enough to know that it could happen.  This plan covers us for the days we have been out to this date. Your understanding and continued support is appreciated.  If you have questions or need more information, you may call your child’s school. 

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Town of Coushatta:

Service has been restored to all customers.  Town workers are still repairing leaks that appeared after the snow and ice melted.  The boil advisory was lifted last Friday.

Hickory Grove Water System:

The system is no longer under boil advisory.  All samples sent to be tested came back clear.  The Boil Advisory was lifted on Tuesday. 

Fairview-Union Water System:

Kylie Shaw said they have sent samples for testing.  On Tuesday, Shaw said she expected to get results back and lift the boil advisory late Tuesday or Wednesday.

Social Springs Water System:

The boil advisory for our North (Bienville Parish) well has been lifted. Thank all of y’all for your cooperation and patience.

Martin Water System:

No Update

Hall Summit Water System:

No Update

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By Molly Seales

The past week and weekend did not play out the way the Riverdale Rebels and Lady Rebels had hoped for, but both teams had outstanding seasons and made the Riverdale fans proud.  The Lady Rebels finished 4^th in Class A, while the Rebels are Class A Runner-Up.  Both teams played semi-final games on Friday, February 26.  The Lady Rebels fell to Desoto School by a score of 55-37.  Junior Kenley Loftin and 7^th grader Mary Claire Jones led the Lady Rebels in scoring with 9 points each.  Loftin also pulled down an impressive 18 rebounds and had 2 blocked shots.  Jones pulled down 2 rebounds and had a steal.  Jessie Kate Cobb had 6 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals.  Pacey Lindsey also had 6 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.  Ronda Black had 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Rylee Kate Woodard had 2 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. This loss put them into the consolation bracket for Saturday.

The Rebels played an exciting semi-final game against Delta Academy, coming out on top with a final score of 66-65.  With 16 seconds left and the Rebels down by 1, the ball was inbounded to junior guard Ty Jones.  He drove the length of the floor as the Rebels spread the offense to clear out the lane.  With the clock winding down, Jones drove into the lane and shot a barely contested lay-up that put the Rebels up 66-65 with 2.4 seconds left in the game.  Delta managed to get the ball down the floor, but a wild 3 point shot failed to go in, and the Rebels came out on top. Jones led all scorers with 29 points. He also had 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 1 blocked shot. Parker Almond added 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Denver Williams added 8 points and had 6 rebounds. Garrett Wilhite had 6 points and 4 rebounds, while Paul Messenger had 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist. Caden Long had 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Reagan Huddleston led his team in rebounds, pulling down an impressive 9 boards. Reagan also had 2 steals.

On Saturday in the girls’ consolation bracket, the Lady Rebels fell to the Briarfield Rebels 58-38.  Junior Kenley Loftin again led her team in scoring with 13 points. She also pulled down 5 rebounds. Sophomore Jessie Kate Cobb had 8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Senior Ronda Black added 7 points and had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals. Rylee Kate Woodard added 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. Pacey Lindsey had 2 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Renee Prosperie had 2 points and 5 rebounds, while Mary Claire Jones added 2 points.

Saturday night the Rebels took on the Delta Streets Lions, who have been ranked #1 in the MAIS Coach’s Poll all year.  The Rebels held their own with them during the first half, but in the second half the Lions got hot and never looked back.  The Rebels suffered a heartbreaking 74-47 loss, which made them Class A State Runner Up.  In the finals, Ty Jones put up 25 points.  He also had 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Reagan Huddleston again led his team in rebounds with 9 boards, and he also deflected 6 passes.  Parker Almond scored 8 points, had 6 rebounds, had 4 assists, and had 4 steals. Paul Messenger added 5 points and 3 rebounds, while Denver Williams had 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Caden Long had 3 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal, while Garrett Wilhite had 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Junior Kenley Loftin was named to the Class A All Tournament team for the second year in a row.  Last year she made it as a sophomore who came off the bench to spark her team in the state championship tournament. I asked Kenley how she felt about being named to the all- tournament team and she said, “I am super blessed for the opportunity to play basketball this season with my teammates. It’s such an honor to receive an award for my hard work.” Seniors Parker Almond and Paul Messenger, and junior Ty Jones were named to the Class A All Tournament team for the boys. 

The Rebels will host the first overall tournament game against Christian Collegiate at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 3^rd.  Come out and support the Rebels or follow them live on Journal Sports!

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A blessing from the recent ice and snow storm may be control of acquatic weeds that are found in local bodies of water.  Grand Bayou Reservoir had a recent draw-down to help combat the nuisance of invasive species.

District 22 State Representative Gabe Firment is hopeful that the cold helped.  Firment said, “Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries is hopeful that the recent Arctic blast killed much of the Giant Salvinia plaguing our lakes. This would be great news for those who live and play on Iatt, Nantachie, Hardwater, Saline, Clear, and Black Lakes.”

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries called it, “Ready for some good news? Louisiana’s recent extreme weather will result in a reduction of harmful aquatic weeds across the state.”

LDWF is currently evaluating impacts of the freeze on aquatic vegetation coverage; it will take several weeks for all the dead plants to decompose and drop from the water surface. 

Aquatic weeds can become incredibly dense, inhibiting access to waterways and shading out native vegetation. To help control the impacts of these kinds of “invasive species,” we encourage boaters to be diligent with cleaning boat trailers after a day on the water.

When springtime weather returns, you can request LDWF assistance for areas with actively growing aquatic vegetation here: www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/controlling-aquatic-plants-and-enhancing-freshwater-habitat (Click on “Request Assistance with Invasive Aquatic Vegetation”).

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By Hayley Loe

Saturday’s murky morning filled with fog and rain showers were not enough to stop the Red River Cowboy Church from performing its 7th annual Faith of a Cowgirl, Women’s Conference. Even before the service started the church was filled with laughter and music by Becky Kniffin greeting all who entered.  Though the churches numbers had fallen for this event due to COVID-19, it was still buzzing with excitement to give the news of the gospel to those in attendance. 

The church focused on giving the message that God is making everything new, which Kristie Moore said is a message that everyone could use in these trying times. Everyone has been struggling and we wanted to focus on making things new, because the sun has come out, and it’s a new day. 

LeAnn Hart, the speaker of the service hopes that the message reaches the women to the core and hopes that women come and don’t leave without receiving the lord. Her message mainly focused on what grace has erased and hopes to further help women receive the Lord in their lives. 

The Red River Cowboy Church plans to continue this service in hopes of reaching more women in the many years to come.

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Congratulations to Ethan Sarpy and his new partner “Marco” with Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office on completing USK9 Handler Program.  Welcome to the USK9 Family.  We look forward to your continued success.  Stay safe out there.

Sheriff Edwards would like to congratulate Deputy Ethan Sarpy on successfully completing the USK9 Handler Program! His partner “Marco” is a two year old Belgian Malinois patrol K9 trained in narcotics detection and apprehension/controlled aggression. 

Deputy Sarpy and “Marco” will be a great addition to the department’s K-9 team, joining Sergeant Petersen and “Aron” as well as Deputy Thomas and “Cephira”.

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It was a chilly, dreary, damp night a long way from home Tuesday night when the Red River Bulldogs’ basketball season came to an end.  The Dawgs fell to a fast, skilled team from St. Helena College and Career Academy.  Final score 80 to 65.

Brandon Harris was a killer under the basket.  Someone would pass the ball to him and he would float it in the net.  He did this 15 times during the game, plus Harris put in two free throws to lead with 32 points.  D’Evan McDonald contributed three 3-point shots in a total of 15 he scored.  Other players did not have as good a night as they were used to.

The Hawks had two players score 20+ and two others 10+.  They were too much for the Bulldogs to overcome on Tuesday night.

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Following almost six weeks of improvements in Louisiana’s COVID case counts and a sustained decrease in COVID-related hospitalizations, Louisiana will move forward to Phase 3.  That from Governor John Bel Edwards on Tuesday.

This will bring most COVID restrictions back to where they were last September. Louisiana’s statewide mask mandate, which has been in place since last July, will remain in place. The new order will last for 28 days and will expire March 31, 2021.

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Last week the boys and girls basketball teams from Riverdale Academy spent most of the week in Mississippi attending the Stated 1A basketball tournament.  The games were held at Rebul Academy at Learned, Mississippi.  And the teams stayed in Clinton.

The school reassured parents and fans that they did more than just go to play the games.  Riverdale said, “Our basketball teams are putting in the hard work! Not only do they have practice, game films to study  and game day preparations, they continue to work hard in the classroom as well! They are doing what it takes to get the job done!”

The Lady Rebels finished fourth in state and the Rebels finished second.  That lined up a birth in the Overall Tournament today at home.

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By Royal Alexander

The First Amendment prohibits government censorship but Leftist politicians and groups are attempting to accomplish the same thing with threats and bullying

It is now undeniable. We continue to see it daily.  While the 1^st Amendment won’t allow Congress and/or government to censor conservative speech, Leftwing activists and politicians are accomplishing the same thing by use of intimidation and bullying.  We have witnessed in the last few months several such actions. 

As we know, many large social media entities have banned well known and highly popular conservatives from their platforms.  We’ve seen President Trump, himself, and numerous other conservative figures either temporarily or permanently censored and banned from Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and virtually every other major social media platform.  Many that haven’t been banned outright have had large numbers of their social media followers deleted.  Apple, Google, and others have also now purged conservative speech and speakers from their platforms as well.  This is the beginning of a punitive “de-platforming” push.

[I understand that companies like these are private companies but while they enjoy the enormous benefit of Section 230 legal liability protection from 3d party content under federal law (Communications Decency Act), they shouldn’t be allowed to selectively censor].   

As Federal Communications Commissioner, Brendan Carr, noted “right now the greatest threat to free speech in this country is not any law passed by the government—the First Amendment stands as a bulwark.”  Rather, he continued, “the threat comes in the form of legislating by letterhead.  Politicians have realized that they can silence the speech of those with different political viewpoints by public bullying.”

What we know is that Big Tech censored and diminished the visibility of Breitbart News, for example, by some 99% in 2020.  Big Tech accomplishes these purges by arbitrarily deeming conservative speech to be “disinformation,” “hate speech” or “authoritative” speech.  Do you see how broad those categories are? Anything and everything could potentially be banned!  This is accomplished by the tweaking of complex algorithms to either filter out or prominently display certain content as the software directs. 

How does this not qualify as consumer fraud and a deceptive business practice? Large numbers of people signed up with these social media platforms, established accounts, posted pictures, bought ads, and cultivated followers but suddenly these companies pull the rug out from under certain customers.  It’s a bait and switch.  And, for that matter, what about the public accommodation laws?  42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000a (a) states that “all persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, … and accommodations of any place of public accommodation … without discrimination…”  These social media giants certainly “affect commerce.”  For these reasons and others, I feel a solid legal argument can be made that the public accommodation laws should apply online as well as in person.

Big Tech has demonstrated a clear ideological bias, and Congress and regulators should take steps soon to ensure that the great legal and economic benefits these social media platforms were given in 1996—when these fledgling companies promised to be fair and impartial clearinghouses of all speech and content—are curtailed until a marketplace of ideas truly returns.

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Louisiana Tech will offer six high school students the opportunity to achieve hands-on experience to develop their process of research and spark their curiosity in STEM curriculum. 

Tech was chosen by the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Army Educational Outreach Program as a host site for the AEOP High School Apprenticeships. Students who participate can earn up to $3,000 for 300 hours of the apprenticeship.

“2021 will be our third year to participate in REAP, as we started in 2019 with four students, and had three students participate last summer,” said Chris Campbell, UTeachTech Master Teacher and site director for REAP. “Each student will spend 250 to 300 hours online and in-person with their mentors throughout the summer to learn about their research and work within the lab. Each student has to log weekly hours, attend meetings and create their own presentation about the experience at the end of the summer.”

Tech’s mentors to these high school students include Dr. Joan Lynam in chemical engineering and Dr. Mark DeCoster in biomedical engineering.

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From Red River Parish 4-H:

This month’s Kits were brought to the schools recently to all of our 4-h members. Post a picture of your child with their completed activity for a prize.

Now through June 4-H will deliver to your child at school a bag with everything they need to complete an agriculture related lesson.  The lessons will be fun and engaging.  Another plus is that they are absolutely free.

If you child is virtual or home schooled, you may pick. Up the bags from the 4-H office each month.  They will be available the last week of each month.

And 4-H will award prizes for those that complete each lesson.

If they didn’t get their kit yet they should get it this week. If your child would still like to join 4-h please contact the parish 4-H office and we will get you enrolled!!

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Spring time means soccer at Open Door Fellowship.  Registration is now underway for boys and girls in our community.  The deadline to sign-up is March 8^th.

Games will be played on the fields adjacent to Open Door Fellowship on Esperanza Road.  Practices are in March.  Games begin in April.

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