The Blue Essence Dance Team and Red River High School Cheer announced the 2026-2027 teams.

Red River 4-H, with the help of NCH Agent Elizabeth Martin, held an Italian Cooking Camp at the LSU AgCenter Red River Parish office during Spring break.

Students practiced food prep skills while making Italian cheesecake, caprese on a stick, homemade pasta, marinara sauce, and fettuccine Alfredo.

Shared by Red River 4-H

By Darren Svan | April 20, 2026

(The Center Square) – Caddo Parish Judge Ramon Lafitte ruled in favor of a special use permit for Amazon’s multi-billion dollar data center in west Shreveport.

The massive industrial and economic development project was in limbo for 90 days. At stake for Shreveport was the promise of sales tax revenue, more jobs and substantial investment dollars.

Late Monday, Lafitte dismissed litigation brought by three plaintiffs asking for a judicial review of the City Council’s decision to approve the development after the city’s Planning Commission initially blocked it.

The permit is needed for a data center to operate at Resilient Technology Park.

The ruling gives Amazon the green light to move forward with its third massive data center campus in north Louisiana. Development is already underway in north Bossier and rural Caddo Parish, west of Blanchard.

“I do not think that the council, or the legislation that they approved, was arbitrarily or capriciously done,” Lafitte said. “You keep indicating … that the plaintiffs need to see an actual document and title ‘operating plan.’ I am not aware of anything in jurisprudence that indicates that you have to have a specific document entitled ‘operating plan.’”

The plaintiffs are considering an appeal, the Sierra Club told The Center Square after the ruling. The New Orleans-based Sierra Club Delta Chapter helped fund the litigation.

“The lack of information is the point,” said Clay Garside, attorney for the plaintiffs. “A promise is not a document.”

Resilient Technology Park is the location that originally attracted Amazon to the region, leading to its initial $12 billion commitment. It’s unclear how much the company plans to invest at Resilient Park but it’s expected to approach the cost of their other local projects, each estimated at $6 billion.

Amazon Web Services is considered one of the largest hyperscalers. A hyperscaler is a company that provides cloud computing services at an extremely large scale, according to company documents.

As America approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I think it is timely and important to address this topic.

In a compellingly written declaration for the ages, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas highlighted the dangers of Progressivism to our American constitutional form of government. The premise of his statement is that the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence are no longer popular among many Americans who are foolishly open to progressivism taking their place. ‘Progressivism’ is a dishonest term which masks the brutal atheistic socialism of Nazism and Soviet Communism.

The dangers of Progressivism include an unlimited expansion of government power that stifles liberty and creates highly inefficient bureaucracies, coupled with the scornful dismissal of traditional American values.

Progressivism holds as its central premise the belief that our rights flow from an “enlightened” and “benevolent” government which serves as a replacement for God who, in the secular view of Progressivism, does not exist.

The Declaration directly contradicts that premise declaring that our natural, unalienable rights flow not from man or government but from God. That is why the values enshrined in the Declaration cannot ultimately coexist with Progressivism. They are directly antithetical and reflect a diametrically opposed world view and concept of ‘Nature and Nature’s God,’ to employ Thomas Jefferson’s eternal phrase.

There has simply never been a founding document like our Declaration of Independence, enshrining as it does one of the most profound principles in history:

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…”

Jefferson was a brilliant man and there can be no doubt that, as he sat there in the candlelight, dipped his quill pen in ink, and began his beautiful cursive, he fully understood that this principle of God-given equality he was laying down certainly did not exist in the colonies at the time he authored the document, or likely would during the period of his lifetime. We know that this principle of equality would, in fact, not be fully realized for another 150 years in this country.

But, to me, that is what makes so astounding his inclusion of such a principle in the Declaration, the founding document of our fledgling nation, a principle that was later imbedded in our Constitution, our Supreme Court jurisprudence and in the DNA of our historical and cultural patrimony handed down to us from our brave and farsighted Founders.

That Jefferson would have the wisdom, foresight, courage, and moral foundation to boldly include the principle that—no matter when it may be fully achieved—equality was the fundamental and surpassing ideal. No nation in world history had ever included as part of the very blueprint of its government the belief that all its citizens were created by God and all of them were created equal.

Something else I have considered: Jefferson wrote that “we hold these truths to be self evident…”

Jefferson had a masterful command of the language and for him to invoke the words “self-evident” in this context means he intended to place the truths forming the foundation of this principle of equality beyond debate. They were settled; Were so clear that anyone could understand and recognize them.

Returning to Justice Thomas.

He makes the point that the century of world Progressivism “did not go well. The European system that President Woodrow Wilson and the progressives scolded Americans for not adopting, which he called nearly perfect, led to the governments that caused the most awful century the world has ever seen. Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Mao all were intertwined with the rise of progressivism, and all were opposed to the natural rights on which our Declaration is based. Many progressives expressed admiration for each of them (these leaders) shortly before their governments killed tens of millions of people.”

Far from the progressive delusion that our Declaration has kept us from achieving “higher” forms of government, it has done the opposite. Grounding our Declaration in the sacred and transcendent belief in unalienable, God-given natural rights directly blocks a government’s ability to crush its people.

If our individual liberty and self-autonomy don’t flow from government, neither can they legitimately be taken by it. By addressing this, Justice Thomas reminds us of why America is such a unique country and why we should be vigilant to see we maintain it.

By Alton Wallace | Apr 17, 2026

(The Center Square) – After months of uncertainty, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed Wednesday that the Project Cypress Direct Air Capture project in Louisiana has survived a “critical” department-wide audit – conducted as part of a broader administration review of federal spending – with funding of up to $600 million possible.

In testimony Wednesday at a fiscal 2027 budget hearing, Wright announced the completion of a monthslong review of about 2,200 projects approved during the Biden presidency, which includes Project Cypress, an initiative with sites at the Port of Caddo-Bossier and in Calcasieu Parish.

Testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Wright said roughly 80%—or approximately 1,950 awards—passed the administration’s test of business viability and would either be “retained or modified” rather than canceled. Wright said the administration prioritized projects with “meat on the bones” and clear business plans, rejecting those deemed impractical or wasteful.

“I am happy to say that effort has finally come to a completion,” Wright said. “We have finished that effort and we are keen to move forward with the majority of projects, which did pass [the review] either straight up or through restructuring.”

Project Cypress is eligible for up to $600 million in federal grants tied to a pay-for-performance structure that requires matching private sector investment. To date, the Department of Energy has disbursed $50 million to the developers.

Heirloom, a San Francisco-based direct air capture company, will proceed with its plans at the Port of Caddo-Bossier after what company Head of Policy Vikrum Aiyer called a “rigorous review.” The carbon captured at the site will be sent by pipeline approximately 100 miles for permanent burial at the Central Louisiana Regional Carbon Storage Hub (CENLA Hub) operated by CapturePoint.

While Heirloom focuses its operations in northwest and central Louisiana, Climeworks serves as the second anchor technology provider. The Zurich-based company plans to construct its own facility in Calcasieu Parish near Vinton. Through a partnership with Gulf Coast Sequestration, developers plan to pump captured carbon about 10,000 feet underground for permanent storage at a privately owned cattle ranch situated between Lake Charles and the Sabine River.

To qualify for the full $600 million in federal support, the DOE requires a “Community Benefits Plan,” a legally binding framework designed to ensure taxpayer investment translates into measurable local gains. Project developers say the hub will create at least 1,000 construction jobs and over 80 permanent positions, with many workers in Calcasieu Parish expected to earn average annual salaries of $123,000.

These opportunities are supported by partnerships with Bossier Parish Community College and SOWELA Technical Community College, where developers are helping design a specialized curriculum for the emerging industry.

“We appreciate the Trump Administration for supporting American Jobs and further empowering Louisiana’s role in the American Energy Dominance Agenda,” said Tommy Faucheux, president of the Louisiana Midcontinent Oil & Gas Association.

Louisiana is one of only six states with “primacy” over Class VI injection wells, giving state regulators rather than the federal government the authority to regulate underground carbon storage. Gulf Coast Sequestration is currently in the advanced stages of the permitting process, with final approvals expected within 12 to 18 months.

This is story from a book entitled “Moments for Mothers.” The Rogers family was a strong Christian unit. Mr. Rogers took seriously his role as spiritual leader. Often at supper the family would have a Bible quiz or discuss some spiritual truth. One evening the family was discussing what heaven will be like. 7-year-old Jimmy grabbed this subject and ran with it; he had a very creative imagination.

Jimmy said, “When we get to heaven, the big angel will call the roll. He will come to the Rogers family and say, ‘Daddy Rogers’ and Daddy will say ‘Here! ‘. Then the angel will call out, ‘Mommy Rogers,’ and Mommy will say, ‘Here! ” Then the same thing will happen for Susie and Mavis. Then the angel will call my name, “Jimmy Rogers,” and because I’m little and don’t want to be missed, I will jump up and shout real loud, ‘Here!’”

Just a few days later, there was a tragic accident. A car struck down Jimmy as he made his way to the school bus. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The family gathered round his bed and kept a prayerful vigil through the night. The doctors told them that he had suffered severe brain damage and could not recover.

Just before dawn, Jimmy seemed to be stirring a bit. The family saw his lips move; just one word was all he uttered before he passed from this life. But oh what comfort and hope that word gave for this grieving family. In a voice clear enough for everybody in the room to hear, Jimmy said, “Here!!” and then he was gone, to another world, to a better world, where a big angel was calling the roll.

We Christians believe this is true. It is why we can live with hope in the midst of such a crazy world. We know that we are all pilgrims, simply passing through this life. Our home is in heaven.

Easter people believe that one day we will all answer, “Here!”

Red River Public Schools will hold parent teacher conferences Thur Apr 23 from 4-6pm and Fri Apr 24 from 7:45am until 12pm.

Clara Springs Fourth Friday Fish Fry will be held Fri, Apr 24 from 5-7pm. Cost is $15 ($10 for kids 10-17). Dinner includes All you can eat fried fish, coleslaw, french fries, hushpuppies, pinto beans, lemon bread pudding, homemade ice cream and drink. Grand Cane Baptist will host.

Bro. Olan McLaren announced his retirement in church this past Sunday. His last sermon will take place this Sun Apr 26 at 11am at Davis Spring Southern Methodist Church. 

LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, leading the 2026 All-Louisiana team after a standout senior season.

Louisiana Tech celebrated its eighth annual Giving Day in March, receiving 897 gifts from students, faculty and staff, alumni, parents, corporate partners, and friends who together raised more than $1.25 million for the University.

Geraldine C Bumgardner
March 21, 1947 — April 18, 2026
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 2pm at New Ramah Baptist Church in Ashland.

Gloria A. Wood
March 16, 1942 — April 18, 2026
Funeral services will be held Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 11 am at Rose-Neath in Coushatta.

Edna Frances Worley
April 10, 1941 — April 16, 2026
Visitation will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2026 from 4 to 6pm at Rockett-Nettles Funeral Home Chapel in Coushatta.