Will your children sit around all summer?  Or would they rather get involved in a fun and learning experience.  Red River High is encouraging their students to take advantage of the offerings from LOSFA.

Summer is the perfect time to discover what you love! LOSFA Summer Programs registration is now open! Check out some of these awesome camps!  The registration link is below.

Register at lgusummercamps.osfa.la.gov 
Registration Assistance:  LGUSummerCamps@la.gov or (225) 627-3814.

Red River High said, “These FREE summer programs are available to all our current 10th and 11th grade students. You may attended any of your choosing!”

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Tuesday May 4th First game of the Red River Little League. Red River played Marthaville in a double header and played hard on both games, we came up short in first game with Marthaville for the win 5-4. Red River made a comeback and in the 2nd game against Marthaville score with Jacob Kellogg hitting a three run homerun winning the second game 8-3. 

Thursday May 6 Red River Junior high battled Natchitoches Lab and played a great game coming out with a win 5-4. Next game is May 10th. Great job Bulldogs keep it up! 

Following the games, Coach Chris Cunningham said, “I’m really proud of our boys effort tonight. We showed a lot of courage and grit. We never flinched during adversity. When it starts to really matter to the players as much as it does to the coaches, it’s the start of something special. That all it takes to jumpstart a program into a winning culture. When you are surrounded by good people, the sky is the limit.  I know we got a long way to go but we are on the right track if we remain unselfish and continue to work.”

Cunningham added, “When I interviewed at Red River last July, the question was asked, “Why Red River? Why do you want to come here?”  My answer was this, ‘I want to build something and be a part of something that is special.’  That is what we have if we remain humble and keep working. Good job Dawgs!!”

Thanks to Nana Massey for help with this article.

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Registration is now open for children in the Red River Elementary Preschool Program.

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By Molly Seales

Ten years. That’s how long it had been since the Riverdale Academy Rebels had won a golf state championship. On Monday, May 3, the 2021 golf team broke the ten year drought by winning the 2021 Class A Golf Championship to bring the blue trophy home to East Point.

The previous week, on April 28, the team traveled to Canton, Mississippi, and returned home as South A Champions.  At that tournament, four low medalist trophies were given, and the Rebels brought home three of them.  1^st place low medalist was junior Reagan Huddleston, 3^rd place low medalist was freshman Ryder Huddleston, and 4^th place low medalist was sophomore Mason Murray. The Rebels were excited to win South A, but they still had some business to tend to.

On May 3, the team traveled to the Home Golf Course in Homer, LA, and they worked hard as a team to win the Class A State Championship. Coach Ty Hester, a former golf standout at Riverdale who was on the championship team ten years ago, knew his team had the talent and desire to bring home the blue trophy, and he was right. At the state tournament, all six of the Rebels that played in the tournament brought home a low medal. Reagan Huddleston once again had an outstanding performance, winning the 1^st place low medalist award for the second week in a row. Austin Giddens, who was playing in his final tournament as a Rebel, was the 3^rd place low medalist. Ryder Huddleston was the 4^th place low medalist, and Caden Long was the 5^th place low medalist. Mason Murray and Ty Jones tied for the 6^thplace low medalist.

This year’s golf team consisted of the following members: 7^th graders Hanna Catherine Huddleston and Mary Claire Jones; freshman Ryder Huddleston; sophomore Mason Murray; juniors Reagan Huddleston, Ty Jones, and Caden Long, and senior Austin Giddens. When I asked some of the team members their feelings about their title, I got these responses. Ryder Huddleston said, “It feels so good, and I’m glad we could bring it home.”  His brother Reagan said, “It feels great to accomplish something you have dreamed of your whole life. I have loved this sport since I was a young kid, and it feels great to be able to bring a title home to our school.”  Senior Austin Giddens, who has played golf alongside his Pap, Gary Giddens, for many years couldn’t think of a better way finish his years at Riverdale.  “It feels really good,” Austin said, “I’ve played the game and worked hard for many years, and my hard work paid off.  It’s a great way to go out.” With Giddens being the only senior, Riverdale has a strong chance to be a contender for a repeat performance for next year.  Congratulations to our Rebel golf team!  We are very proud of you!

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Taylor Madison Weaver

April 2, 2002 to May 9, 2021

View the complete obituary at https://redriverparishjournal.com/2021/05/11/taylor-madison-weaver/

Harry Franklin Morgan

March 18, 1948 to May 2, 2021.

View the complete obituary at https://redriverparishjournal.com/2021/05/07/mr-harry-franklin-morgan/

Florence Moore

February 5, 1934 to May 6, 2021

https://redriverparishjournal.com/2021/05/08/florence-moore/

Savannah Dawn Fuller

May 12, 1998 to May 2, 2001

https://redriverparishjournal.com/2021/05/08/savannah-dawn-fuller/

Publication of the complete obituary with photo is available by contacting The Journal at 318-564-3609.

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The Journal heard from Bro. Richard Kaufman at Martin Baptist Church.  He said, “I’m gonna go ahead and tell you that you want to be at Martin Baptist Church Sunday( 5-16) at 11 AM. My good friends Made By Mercy will be with us. You don’t want to miss! Come and you’ll be blessed!”

Louisiana Tech University’s College of Engineering and Science inducted 81 new members into the Order of the Engineer, a national, honorary organization, during a ceremony at the University’s Integrated Engineering and Science Building (IESB) on Friday evening.  During the ceremony, graduating engineers received rings and signed the Obligation of an Engineer, a pledge to maintain high ethical and professional standards that promote integrity, honesty, and service throughout their careers.

Clara Springs Camp is going on a mission trip.  Bro. Bubba Mills said, “We are so excited to be bringing a small team of workers to Puerto Rico at the end of this month to help Send Relief rebuild homes. To help offset the cost of our trip, we are selling t-shirts. Adult sizes (S-XXL) will be $20/each. Kids sizes (YXS-YL) will be $15/each. All orders must be submitted by Friday, May 14th at NOON. These can be shipped or picked up (for FREE) at the May Fourth Friday Fish Fry (May 28th)

Tickets for the Red River High Prom are now on sale.  The cost is $10.00 each.  Purchase Prom tickets before school and at lunch in the main office.  The Prom is May 21st 7:00pm.

Northwestern State University will hold seven sessions of its freshman orientation program, Freshman Connection, beginning May 20.  Four sessions will be on the Natchitoches campus on May 20-21, May 27-28, June 3 and July 8-9. The program will be held on the Shreveport campus June 17, the Alexandria campus June 22, the Leesville/Fort Polk campus June 24.There is also a session for parents called Parent Connection and a session for younger siblings, Kid Connection.  The fee is $100 for the sessions on the Natchitoches campus and $60 for the sessions on the Alexandria, Shreveport and Leesville/Fort Polk campuses.

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Taylor Madison Weaver, 19 of Castor, La, received the first hug of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on May 9, 2021. 

A celebration of her life and her home-going will be Friday, May 14, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Rockett Funeral Home in Ringgold, La. Taylor’s earthly vessel will be laid to rest at Hathorn Cemetery in Ashland, LA. Visitation will be from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Thursday at Rockett Funeral Home, Ringgold, LA.

After entering this earthly world on April 2, 2002, her spirit and her smile became her trademarks. The love she poured into others were the purest example of the love of Christ. Her love was unfiltered and all encompassing.

Her outer beauty was magnified all the more by her inner beauty. She would light up any room she entered and had the undeniable gift of leaving an impression on each life with which hers intersected.

Taylor loved life and loved living life. Whether it was riding her new ski boat on the lake or trekking Alaskan glaciers, she would never shy away from the next adventure. From board games around the family table or simply spending time with her friends, Taylor was sure to find her fun wherever she would be.  And recently, her fun was only magnified by her love and care for her dog, Pyper.

Taylor’s memory will forever be held by her parents Karie and Chris Bradford and Chris and Casey Weaver; her siblings Jake, Will and Chase Bradford and Caylee and Crystin Weaver. Her boyfriend Dalton Parker will always have her heart.

Taylor’s infectious zeal has forever changed her grandparents, Tami (MawMaw) and Dooley (PawPaw) Litton, Ricky (Pop) and Sandy (Mimi) Hay, Penny (Nana) Weaver, and Chris (Poppy) Weaver, Sr; great-grandparents Linda (Grandama) and Charles (Poppa) Weaver; aunts and uncles, Kade and DeAnnHay, Brittany and Jason E. Ebey, Bridget Litton, and Landon and Mary Ann Weaver; cousins, Lauren and Dylan McCarthy, Taylor and Chris Williams, Rylie, Katherine, Abigail and Barrett Ebey, Bexley Litton, Layla and Landon Weaver, Jr. 

She was preceded in death by her great-grandparents Donnie and Patsy Coffey, Richard (Bo) and Agnes Hay, and James and Ann Davis.

In Taylor’s memory and in lieu of flowers, consider a donation to a charity focused on spreading the love of Jesus.

Baby girl, we’ll always love you more.

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About 4:30 Monday afternoon heavy rain and high winds descended on the Village of Hall Summit.  It left a path of destruction, downed power lines, and damaged homes and buildings.

Neighbors came out with tractors and chain saws to clear roads of fallen trees.  Others helped clear damage to homes.  As the work continued another storm approached Red River parish.

Highway 514 through Hall Summit was blocked in at least two locations by big trees that were uprooted or toppled by high winds.  Sheriff’s deputies blocked roadways to divert travelers around blockage.  Fire units were standing by and so were units from Cleco.

Power was out in the town and surrounding area.  Former Hall Summit Police Chief Charles Loftin was out on his tractor helping to move debris off roads.  He described the storm as high winds that had the tops of trees twisting one way and then the other.  He confirmed the time of the storm at about 4:30.

The Journal talked with local residents.  No one reported any injuries from the storm.  Loftin said the power outage could affect the water supply because the pumps would not operate until it is restored.

Residents said they did not get any warning that a storm was coming.  Some said it came up all of a sudden.  The National Weather Service in Shreveport had issued a Thunderstorm Warning for a wide area, one of several issued Monday afternoon in the Northwest Louisiana area.

The radar image was taken at 7:08 pm Monday.  It shows the parish covered by intense rain.  A half hour later that storm had mostly moved on.

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Gas shortages and long lines at the pump returned to Coushatta on Monday afternoon.  The Lott Oil Chevron convenience store was out of fuel.  Employees said another supply truck would come Tuesday morning.

The diesel pumps at Conoco were bagged.  There was fuel but a line at Country Market, Subway and Coushatta Express.

The Journal had been following the news all day that a major pipeline had been hacked over the weekend and forced to shut down.  Social media had postings of impending shortages.  Monday afternoon the stations here were running low on fuel.

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Report from the Red River Sheriff’s Office for the week ending Sunday, May 9, 2021

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La 1 south of Armistead is expected to be blocked most of the day Sunday.  A train wreck at a crossing several miles south caused the stopped train cars to block the highway crossing just south of Armistead.  There were no injuries in the incident.

A State Police spokesman estimated that La 1 would be re-opened about sundown Sunday.  Sheriff Glen Edwards confirmed that there were no injuries and the train did not derail.  Edwards said a tractor-trailer was attempting to cross the tracks when it became hung on the crossing.  The driver saw the train coming and exited his vehicle.

Motorists on La 1 were detoured from Armstead on US 371 to I-49. Then they turn on La 174 and travel back to La 1 at Lake End.  Riverfront Road from the US 84 bridge to La 1 is also blocked by the accident.

The picture of the accident scene was furnished to The Journal by Virginia Webb.  Visible is considerable damage to the crossing light equipment at that intersection.  The accident Sunday is the second similar accident in recent years at that intersection.  Three other incidents in recent years have disrupted Union Pacific rail traffic and vehicle traffic on La 1. 

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Funeral service for Savannah Dawn Fuller of Sibley, La. was held Thursday May 6, 2021 in Minden. Fuller was born May 12, 1998 and passed away May 2, 2021. She was the daughter of Dawn Odom.

Publication of the complete obituary with photo is available by contacting The Journal at 318-564-3609.

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Members of the Red River Church of God in Christ distributed food to families on Thursday.  The church is located on Abney Street; however the food distribution was held under the Red River bridge near the boat launch.

The Journal spoke with La’NaTasha Jackson, the coordinator of the event.  She pointed out the many pallets of food boxes and the pallets of gallons of fresh milk that were being distributed.

The boxes were labeled “USDA Farmers to Families Food Box” and the milk was from Borden.  Volunteers from the church carried the boxes and crates of milk and placed it in people’s vehicles.

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The Red River Parish Police Jury has relaxed somewhat the mask-up requirements for employees and visitors to the Courthouse.  The changes were approved at the jury’s meeting on Wednesday.

The requirement that everyone wear a mask while going through the security screening at the front door is still in place.  The jury eliminated the temperature checks.  The jury also left it up to each agency in the Courthouse to set the requirements for their respective spaces.

Discussion centered on what was and was not required.  Jury President Tray Murray said, “The Governor left it up to local government.”  He added, “State agencies can opt out of the mask mandate.”

Another point made during the discussion concerned employees wearing masks.  The complaint was lodged that agencies requiring visitors doing business with them to wear masks, yet their own employees did not wear them.

Jury Vice President Ben Taylor said, “In a world where everyone is guessing, even the people way up there are guessing, there is no cut and dry solution.  I feel to enter the Courthouse wear a mask.  If the agency you are going to see does not require it, then take it off.”

Jury Supervisor Jessie Davis said not every agency has the same set of rules.  He mentioned the parish Health Unit which is under the state department of health as well as other federal and state agencies with offices here. 

The final motion left it up to the heads of the offices in the Courthouse to require a mask in their offices.  And everyone would wear a mask when going through security.

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Attention all current 10th and 11th grade students and parents.

Are you interested in reskilling, upskilling, or learning new skills – at your own pace – to increase your job opportunities?

This month, Red River High has 125 FREE spots available for Louisiana GEAR UP students,

their parents and their teachers to enroll in and complete courses and credentialing from organizations like Google, Salesforce, IBM, the University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Louisiana Tech University and many more. Spots will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

These opportunities are sponsored through a partnership with Louisiana GEAR

UP in the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) division of the Louisiana Board of Regents, The Science and Technology Education Center (SciTEC) at Louisiana Tech University, and Coursera.

If you would like to take advantage of this FREE online opportunity to elevate your learning at your leisure, copy the link below to your browser:

urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url…

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The 2021 Women’s Conference has been set for May 29^th and 30^th at Elizabeth Full Gospel Baptist Church.  First Lady Carma D. Logan will host the gathering.  There will be special guest speakers at each session.

Saturday May 29^th, First Lady Christy Burton will be the guest speaker.  There will be a Panel Discussion and Brunch beginning at 10:00 am.

Pastor Jacqueline Mason will be the guest for both the panel discussion on Saturday and the Sunday Morning Explosion at 11:00 am.

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The 4-H clubs of Red River are celebrating great performances in shooting sports.

4-H Agent Jacque Fontenot said, “With all of this crazy weather, our Red River shooters finally finished with state yesterday (Fri Apr 30^th) and did an excellent job! Nathan Tristan finished in 3rd in NRA Rifle, Brayden Chicola-Pearah finished in the top 10 in no scope CMP Rifle, and Brett Danzy finished in the top 10 in Advanced Shotgun.  All of these boys are very talented just to make it to State and we’re so proud of them!”

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It’s time for spring football.  Practices begin Monday at Red River High School.  All football players, including players in eighth grade this year are told to report.

But first, the paperwork.  The school said all paperwork for new players must be turned in prior to participating in practice.  Players may turn in paperwork and get their equipment on Sunday.  The Fieldhouse will be open from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.

First spring football practice is Monday, May 10^th beginning at 3:30 pm.

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By Steve Graf

Wow…where to start? This is a very broad subject and there are a lot of variables. The first thing is “Where’s the tournament?” Let’s start here and work our way through the process. Once I know where I’m headed for my next event, then I start to search for recent tournament results that have taken place and other results that occurred during the same time of the year that I’ll be there. I’ll search the top professional fishing organizations like Major League Fishing (MLF) which has the BFL and Toyota Series results, B.A.S.S. Elite Series and Opens, American Bass Angler or ABA Opens and Top 150 Series results along with anything else I can find from local club tournaments to open events.

Next, I need to try and determine what bait I need and how I’m going to attack the lake, which is mainly determined by the time of year. Is it late winter, early or late spring, early or late summer or is this a fall event?  Each of these so-called “times of year” will help you decide what baits you probably need to pack. This is where YouTube videos come in handy as I try to watch and compare how they caught them during the same time of year that I’ll be there. But you can’t always go by this as more often than not, Mother Nature will throw you a curveball with bad weather which changes everything. There are other variables as well, such as is the lake water level on the rise, stable or falling. This has a big influence on where the fish will be set up and will help give you an idea as to how you might catch them.

Next, it’s time to pack and load everything, and I mean everything but the kitchen sink….only because the cabins we stay in already have one of those.  Now some guys take the bare minimum while others like me pack heavily. After all, I was a Boy Scout and our motto was, “Always be prepared.” Now depending on, once again “time of year” will determine if you bring clothes for both mild temperature days or the possibility of a major cold front passing through. Also never forget your rain suit as this can be a true lifesaver. It just might be the most important thing you can bring. After this, time to load the truck. Clothes, cooler for cold stuff, computer, snack bag (essential), water, bait tubs (I have three), extra spools of new fishing line in various sizes, dip net, towels and boat cover. I also bring a utility box that has pliers, line conditioner, extra hooks, extra tungsten weights, scissors, extra dipping dye or dye pins which I prefer over bottled dye. And I always have a bottle of one of the greatest inventions of our time….neutralizer that comes in handy when you spill a bottle of dipping dye in your boat. This stuff is amazing at how it will completely breakdown and take out any dye color you spill on your carpet or boat hull.

There’s an old saying when it comes to fishing, “You should have been here yesterday, the fish bit really well!” It never fails that every time I go to a tournament, someone always makes this comment in some form or fashion. That’s why tournament fishing is such a mental game. Just like any other sport, it requires a lot of mental preparation. Some days it seems every decision you make is always the right one and then there are times when you never make the right decision. Which is what tournament bass fishing is all about! Bad decisions allow for doubt to creep into your mental psyche and this can cause an angler to what we call “spin out.” When this happens, you’re pretty much done, and your fishing day is over. Anglers who conquer the “spin out” syndrome, usually do very well on tournament day.

As you can see, there’s a lot to this tournament preparation thing. Sometimes you can over prepare and at other times, you’re never prepared enough and just when you think you have it all figured out; something happens that throws you off your game. Then there are those rare days when it all comes together and believe me, there’s not a better feeling in the world when you know exactly where to go and how you’re going to catch them. So, if you ever get into tournament bass fishing, make sure you’re prepared and do your homework if you want to step into the winner’s circle. Till next time, don’t forget to set the hook!

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Several members of the Red River Bulldogs track team are at LSU, Baton Rouge. They will be competing today in the state track meet.

Here are the competitors and the events in which they are competing:

4×800- Ellis Grant, Elliot Grant, Stanley Sibley, Douglas Roberson

Long jump- Zintayvious Smith

Triple jump- Zintayvious Smith

High jump- Brian Palmer

Javelin- Cameron Keith

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This past week students and staff at Riverdale honored their Principal.  Happy “Principal’s Day” to our principal, Mr. Danny Rester!

Mr. Rester has been a blessing to Riverdale Academy. We have had a great first year with him and look forward to many more! We hope you have the best day ever.

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