Report from the Red River Sheriff’s Office for the week ending June 5, 2022.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
A message from J.C. Dickey Principal of Red River Junior and Senior High School:
This Saturday is graduation for our class of 2022. We invite you all to come out to the Pat Strother Football Stadium at 10:00 am as we celebrate the class of 2022 one more time.
Everyone is welcome at graduation and seating in the stadium is first come first serve. The gates will open at 9:00 am. Everyone will enter the main gates just as we do for football games during the year.
Everyone will go through the metal detectors and must adhere to the Red River Parish Schools bag policy that is posted online on our Red River Parish Athletic Facebook page as well as our high school social media page. Our bag policy states that all bags must be clear and only small clutch bags, no larger than 6.5 inches may be brought into the stadium, the only exceptions are for medical bags or diaper bags that will be searched upon entry.
Please allow yourself time to get through metal detectors and bag search areas, as we will start graduation on time at 10:00 am. Another item not allowed in the stadium is balloons. So please leave balloons and purses in your vehicle. After graduation no one is allowed on the field except faculty, staff, special speakers, and the Class of 2022.
We want this to be a fun and safe time for our parish and our student graduates. We hope to see everyone out Saturday, June 4th at 10:00 am.
The Red River Fire Department reports Firefighters have been busy these past few weeks with annual hose testing. These tests will continue into June.
Hose testing is used to inspect and to ensure that all in service Fire hose in the Fire District can remain in service through a series of test on the hose itself. Firefighters also take this time to make sure that the proper amount of fire hose is on each apparatus for PIAL requirements.
The Fire Department said, “We would like to give thanks to all Firefighters for their continued hard work they provide for our Fire District and the citizens of Red River Parish.”
Earlier in the month the April Monthly training was hosted by FETA instructed by Gray Young. Monthly training topic was Portable fire extinguishers.
Here are some tips for using a portable fire extinguisher.
Have I alerted others in the building that there’s a fire?
Has someone called the fire department?
Am I physically able to use a fire extinguisher?
Is the fire small and contained in a single object (like a pan or a wastebasket)?
Am I safe from the fire’s toxic smoke?
Do I have a clear escape route?
Use a fire extinguisher when all of these questions are answered “yes.” If you’re unsure about whether or not it’s safe to use a fire extinguisher, and for all other situations, alert others, leave the building, and call 911 from a mobile or neighbor’s phone.
When operating a fire extinguisher, tell remember the word PASS.
Pull the pin. Hold the extinguisher with the nozzle pointing away from you and release the locking mechanism.
Aim low. Point the extinguisher at the base of the fire.
Squeeze the lever slowly and evenly.
Sweep the nozzle from side-to-side.
Kallie Robyn Bethard and Christopher Tyler Rash were united in marriage at half past six o’clock in the evening on Saturday, May twenty-eighth, two thousand and twenty-two at the First United Methodist Church of Coushatta, LA. The elegant double ring ceremony was officiated by Reverend Curtis Carroll and Reverend Stuart Sherman. Music for the ceremony was provided by the Four Seasons String Quartet of Shreveport, LA.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Edgerton Bethard of Coushatta, LA. She is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Milton Ray Forrest of Coushatta, LA and the late Mr. and Mrs. Henry William Bethard III of Coushatta, LA. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Rash of Shreveport, LA. He is the grandson of Marlene Hughes, the late Mr. Bill Hughes, Mr. Phillip Bledsoe, Linda McAdoo, and Mr. George and Mrs. Pearl Rash.
Given in marriage by her parents and escorted by her father, the bride wore a full A-line dress with floral details, a one of a kind design by Essence of Australia. The gown’s sheer bodice features a slim V-neckline with romantic, floral sequin detailing. From the bodice, the delicate beading continued down the skirt past the waistline. The gown’s V-neck was highlighted with sequin details that cascade down the tulle skirt and train. The back of this full A-line wedding dress zips up beneath fabric-covered buttons.
Kallie’s maid of honor was her sister, Kambrie Rachel Bethard of Coushatta, LA. Bridesmaids included Kassie Bethard Williams of Coushatta, LA and Kara Bethard Alexander of New Orleans, LA, both sisters of the bride.
Logan Rash, brother of the groom, served as the grooms’ best man. Groomsmen were Andy Sample of Dallas, TX, Jay Meyers of Shreveport, LA, and Conner Cheek of Erath, LA. Ushers were Dallas McCullough of Camden, AR, Garret Dinicola of Mandeville, LA, Andrew Alexander from New Orleans, LA, and Joseph Hays of Ringgold LA.
Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Edgerton Bethard with catering provided by Chef John Folse Cuisine of Baton Rouge, LA and entertainment by Az IzZ Band of Atlanta, Georgia. Floral design and arrangements were created by Gregory Hudgins, In Great Detail, of West Monroe, LA. A beautiful venue layout was provided by Pelican Tents and Events of Shreveport, LA. The event was coordinated by Leslie Campbell Weddings and Events of Baton Rouge, LA.
Kallie is a 2012 graduate of Riverdale Academy in Coushatta, LA. She graduated from the University of Louisiana Lafayette with her Bachelor of Science in 2016 and with her Master of Science from Louisiana State University in Occupational Therapy in 2018. She currently works as an Occupational Therapist. Tyler graduated from Caddo Magnet High School, Shreveport LA in 2011. He graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science and with his Master of Science from Louisiana State University in Occupational Therapy in 2018. Tyler currently works as an Occupational Therapist. Following a honeymoon to St. Lucia, the couple will reside in Shreveport, LA.
The Red River Parish Police Jury is feeling the pinch of the national economic fluctuations. Income is down. The cost of everything purchased is on the increase, some items are seeing huge price increases.
Each month the jury is required to review the budget. Adjustments must be made when budget items are more than, or less than the budgeted amount by a certain percentage. Parish Superintendent Jessie Davis pointed out a number of price increases that are causing budget turmoil.
During discussion of the status of parish road repairs it was stated that there had been a $30,000 increase on the cost of one mile of hot mix (asphalt). Davis said, “It’s killing us with all the increases on prices from cleaning supplies to everything we buy. And there is nothing we can do about it.”
It was stated that so far this year the police jury has had a decrease of $1,400,000 in tax revenues compared to last year.
No action was taken at the June meeting, however there will have to be adjustments in the future. Davis said, “Money ain’t coming like the expense is going. Will have to do some major adjustments to the budget later.”
By Steve Graf
As humans, we tend to repeat things over and over. We like routine and we hate change. Bass fishermen are no different in this respect. As tournaments go, we usually pre-fish for three days, which seems to be the norm. For me, when it comes to scouting, I’ll always start in shallow water (less than 5 feet) and see if I can catch a few fish early as bass go through a feeding frenzy as the sun is on the rise. Then after the sun gets higher in the sky, I’ll move out into deeper water searching brush tops or deep structures. This is the routine I have followed for years, but I’ve always been known as a shallow water angler.
This time of year, I have another routine of always starting out throwing a topwater bait like a Zara Spook or a Yellow Magic. Some days the bass want a walking style bait like the Spook, but on other days they want a popper style bait like the Yellow Magic or a Pop R. The fish will tell you what and how they want the bait. There are times when you must slow down, and other days you can’t turn the reel handle fast enough. Once the sun has risen and I have determined whether the topwater bite is on or off, I will pick up my flipping rod and see if I can put a pattern together using soft plastic.
As for boat launching, anglers are very picky and follow their own specific routine in order to get the boat ready to drop in the water. For me, first I unhook both trailer straps, then I turn on the power supply for the boat and remove the trailer tow bar that the motor rests on. Then I make sure the plug is in and my life jacket is out and connected to my kill switch. The last thing I do is unhook the front strap from the boat (if I have someone backing me down the ramp), so I can slide the boat off the trailer. So many times, I’ve had co-anglers or partners try and help with these chores, but that’s when something gets forgotten and can get a little embarrassing when you can’t get the boat off the trailer because someone forgot to unhook the trailer tie downs. Advice…let the boater do everything himself! He’ll ask for help if he needs it. This way, no steps get missed on the boat launching procedure.
Another thing tournament anglers are very conscious of….making sure they have fresh lines on their reels. Nothing will make an angler madder than to lose a big fish due to his neglect of having fresh line on his reels. After three days of practice, I will always take the reels that I plan on using for the tournament and put a fresh line on each of them. It’s attention to detail like this that can be the difference between finishing in the top 10 or 35th.
One more thing, that may be the most important…where will we eat each night? The group I travel with has a routine that we will not waiver from. Example: At Lake Sam Rayburn, we will always drive into Jasper on Thursday night and eat Mexican food at Martin’s. Then on Friday night, we’ll eat at Rayburn Country Clubhouse (which has a great chef). Even the snacks I carry during practice and tournament days will be the same for each event…a handful of turkey, string cheese stick and jerky. This is probably why I lose weight every time I go fishing! Oh, and I will always have three bottles of water and two small screw top bottles of Coke. (No canned drinks are allowed in my boat due to the potential of spilling them.)
As you can see, anglers really are creatures of habit, and we prove it each and every tournament we fish. If you want to mess with a bass tournament fisherman, take him out of his routine. It’s almost the same as a pitcher in baseball, if you can break his rhythm or routine, it can take him completely out of his game. Tournament anglers are no different! Till next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to set the hook!
Tryouts for the 2022-23 Basketball season at Red River Junior High are being held this afternoon from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. This is for boys who will be in the 6th through 8th grades next year.
Wear proper basketball attire and bring medical equipment (inhalers) as needed. And all physical forms and other paperwork must be completed prior to tryouts.
Questions about Junior High Boys Basketball should be directed to Coach McDuffy at 318-4674-2264.
Basketball and Baseball tryouts have also been announced by Red River High. Baseball tryouts for the 2023 season will be held next Tuesday, June 7 from 3:30 to 4:30. Players will need cleats or athletic shoes, shorts or baseball pants and a glove. And all physical exam and other paperwork must be completed prior to tryouts.
And varsity basketball camp for both the boys and girls at Red River High will be June 27 through 29. Boys and girls ages 8 to 13 are invited to the camp. The registration fee is $60 for the three-day camp, and registration begins June 10 in the high school gym. Call Boys Coach Dadrian Harris at 318-464-4999 or Girls Coach Kimberly Burton at 318-207-5115 for information.
Northwestern State University has released the lists of honor students for the Spring 2022 term. Red River Parish is well represented among top students at NSU.
Honor List
Six hundred sixteen undergraduate students at Northwestern State University were listed on the Spring 2022 Honor List. Students on the Honor List must be enrolled full-time at Northwestern and have a grade point average of between 3.0 and 3.49.
Coushatta – Madison Castello, Johnny Cox, James Lowring, Chloe Pickett, Holly Raley, and Waylon Washington.
Dean’s List
Eight hundred two undergraduate students were named to the Spring 2022 Dean’s List at Northwestern State university. Students on the Dean’s List must be enrolled full time and earn a grade point average of between 3.5 and 3.99.
Coushatta – Alexia Adams, William Almond, Donteria Jenkins, Kaylee Merry, and Abby Williams.
President’s List
Five hundred and forty-two students were named to the Spring 2022 President’s List at Northwestern State University. Students on the list earned a grade point average of 4.0.
Coushatta – Kaylee Antilley, Ethan Cole-Morgan, Claire Endris, Heidi Murray, and Charli Williams.
Students who have not decided to attend NSU this fall are encouraged to apply for scholarships offered by the Red River Parish Journal. Here is the link to the details and an online application. CLICK HERE
For questions about the honor lists, contact the University Registrar at (318) 357-6171, toll-free at (800) 807-8849 or registrar@nsula.edu.
By Molly Seales
Each year, it is end-of-year-tradition for Dr. Hunter Brown’s physics class to compete in a cardboard boat race. Since I will be taking physics next year, I asked Dr. Brown to tell me what the objective of the project is and what he hopes students will accomplish by doing this project. Dr. Brown said, “Building and launching cardboard boats is a STEM project that is the culmination of everything students have learned in physics and past years in science. Some of these things are Newton’s Laws of Motion, momentum, center of gravity, buoyancy, density, fluid friction, pressure, and water displacement. Students also learn group dynamics and how to communicate their ideas and produce them. It’s packaged in the guise of ‘fun.’” Each year, Dr. Brown changes the materials up a little. This year they included cardboard, duct tape, plastic liners, sealants, and PVC for framework, not flotation.
This year the students did their boat launch the last week of school at the home of Mrs. Mary Almond, grandmother of senior Jake Messenger. “Mae Mae” as she is affectionately known to her grandchildren and many RA students also served the class lunch. There were a few casualties with boats this year, and one didn’t make it off the dock. When the friendly competition was over, Tyler Hodgin, Kaden Nettles, and Levi Shaver were crowned as the champions and got their names on Dr. Brown’s Boat Race Hall of Fame plaque.
The senior class would like to thank Dr. Brown for all of his hard work and dedication for them over the past four years. He is truly a teacher who has a passion for teaching and his students.
By Royal Alexander
President Biden, traveling in Japan, made the stunning remark this week that high gas prices are the “incredible transition” Americans must go through to be free of fossil fuels. His comments have been widely interpreted as both justifying and praising sky-high gas prices.
Biden stated: “And when it comes to the gas prices, we’re going through an incredible transition that is taking place that, God willing, when it’s over, we’ll be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels when this is over,” said Biden.
This is a cruel callousness toward millions of Americans who suffer from the pain at the pump.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.56 last Monday. The average price of diesel was $5.53. And with the summer driving season upon us, many economists expect the price of both may soon exceed the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
But this is all part of the madness of Biden’s devotion to the Religion of the Green New Deal. Higher energy prices aren’t the unexpected by-product of Biden energy policy, they are the goal.
Biden makes the feeble argument that his Administration has taken steps to prevent gas prices from going even higher by releasing 1 million barrels of oil a day from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. However, this policy has had no appreciable impact on prices at the pump, but it depletes and weakens the Reserve in the event a real and urgent non-manufactured foreign policy and national security threat arises.
“Laughably, President Biden is set to announce the release of up to 180 million barrels of oil from our strategic reserves to counter surging energy costs,” said Joel Griffith, a policy expert at the Heritage Foundation. “But this is under 10 days’ worth of daily U.S. oil use. Meanwhile, this administration’s ‘war on energy’ continues – by including shuttering pipelines, closing off swathes of the nation to drilling, and even threatening oil executives with prison for providing the gasoline American business and families depend on.”
Second, Biden also deceitfully continues to blame Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine on high gas prices completely ignoring the fact that gas prices were surging long before the war began on Feb 24, and that the principal reason for high gas prices in America is the fact that the Biden Administration and federal law have suffocated and strangled the oil and gas industry in this country—prominently including our beloved Louisiana.
How so? Among many other examples, these price hikes follow the Department of the Interior’s cancellation of a recent oil and gas lease sale for over 1 million acres in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. DOI also canceled two Gulf of Mexico leases and has generally made the permitting process very difficult.
As the Wall Street Journal previously observed, “in the year since the Biden Administration froze new drilling leases on 26% of federal land and more than a third of the nation’s resources in productivity, the U.S. has been falling further from energy independence, putting national security at risk. (WSJ, Harold Hamm, 3-13-22).
The fundamental question remains—knowing as we do that energy security is national security—why would our government ever choose to be dependent on foreign nations (who often hate us) for our energy needs?
In Pres. Trump’s last month in office, Jan. 2021, America was producing more oil than it was consuming for the first time in 50 years and was exporting energy to the EU. The Trump Administration had made America energy independent, meaning we not only were providing for our own national energy needs but, in fact, had become a net exporter of energy to other nations who are also vulnerable to Putin through the consumption of Russian oil.
However, under the Biden Administration we’ve gone from energy independence back to dependence and are now reduced to begging Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, OPEC and perhaps even our archenemy, Iran, for oil. Why? Mostly to satisfy the green energy delusions of the Climate Change religionists. That’s an embarrassing and untenable position for the world’s only superpower to be in.
Again, the easiest and fastest way to provide hope to millions of struggling Americans and drive the domestic energy market up is for President Biden to announce tomorrow that we are going to reopen and re-invigorate the U.S. oil and gas industry. This includes repealing all so-called “green” regulations prohibiting the production and development of American energy.
We are not going to be able to be free of fossil fuels for decades if not generations. Renewable energy sources can’t come anywhere near meeting America’s energy needs right now. In the meantime, the self-inflicted harm the Green leftists are doing to our country is increasing the leverage over us of Russia, China, and Iran, making us vulnerable and compromised.
To paraphrase our addled president, I, too, am prayerfully hopeful that, “God willing,” an “incredible transition” away from this policy insanity and national security vulnerability will begin on Tuesday Nov. 8 at the midterm elections.
The speaker for the June Man Church will be Justin Wiley, youth pastor of First Baptist Church in Marthaville. Man Church meets the second Thursday of the month, or June 9th at 6:00 pm.
They meet at The Shop (formerly Beard’s Transmission) on Hwy 507. All men, ages 12 to 120 are invited. The evening begins with a free fried fish dinner, so come early and hungry. Shawn Beard, founder of Men of Courage, Red River said that the fish dinners are by far the most popular meal that Man Church offers.
Man Church delivers a Manly Meal, Manly Music, and a Manly Message.
Barbara Ann Crow
February 16, 1957 to May 28, 2022
View full obituary here:
https://redriverparishjournal.com/2022/06/01/barbara-ann-crow/
Margaret Bierden Downs
July 24, 1928 to May 28, 2022
Graveside services at 12:00 Noon on June 4, 2022 at Beulah Cemetery in Marthaville.
Sandra Sharlene Bochkstanz
June 8, 1956 to May 29, 2022
Funeral service at 10:00 am on Friday June 3, 2022 at Rockett-Nettles Chapel
Charlie McClendon
June 10, 1947 to May 28, 2022
Service: Saturday, June 11.2022 @ 11:00 a.m. St. Savior B.C. Interment: Springville Cemetery Coushatta, La.
This Sunday is the Summer blood drive at Social Springs Baptist Church. Hours are 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. It would be great to see lots of you donate. Set an appointment at this link: forms.gle/SYrh1NzrnSTX6ETE7
Saturday at 4:00 pm the awards for the recent Playday Series in the Arena at Red River Cowboy Church will be presented.
The 42nd annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival will be held on Saturday July 23 in air-conditioned Prather Coliseum. The family-oriented Festival will take place from 9:00 am until 10:00 pm. The 2022 Festival theme is “Stronger Together: The Power of Traditional Culture.”
Beginning this Sunday Hickory Grove Baptist Church will observe new Worship time. Worship service will begin at 10:30 am.
Barbara Ann Crow was born February 16, 1957, to Burton and Dorothy Crow. She was preceded in death by her parents, Burton and “Dot”, brother, William “Buddy” Crow, and nephew, Blake Crow.
Barbara graduated from Hall Summit High School with the class of 1975. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from Northwestern University in 1979. She began her career at Coushatta Elementary (Red River Parish) and continued employment with the Bienville Parish School Board. She served as an educator for a total of 34 years. She was loved by many former students and colleagues.
Barbara was an active member of Pilot International for 38 years. She made lifelong friends and never turned down a shopping trip. Those special to her knew that she loved creating pillows. Many would describe her as fun-loving and kind. Barbara was also known to “occasionally” speak her mind. Barbara accepted Christ at an early age, then rededicated her life to Christ through baptism on March 4, 2022.
She leaves to cherish her memory: sister, Linda Feazell of Greenwood, LA; brother, Robert Crow of Coushatta, LA; Daughter-in-Love, Tay Hill; nephews, Chad Feazell and Chase Crow; niece, Kelli Crow; great nieces (affectionately referred to her as “GAB”), Chaya, June, Julianna, and Juliette, and one great nephew, Hudson; and a host of relatives and friends.
She departed this life on May 28, 2022. She will be greatly missed.
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