By Greg Burke

Rapides Parish residents no doubt take immense pride in home grown athletes and others who made their mark in Central Louisiana like Billy Allgood, Sheila Thompson Johnson, Charles Smith, Marie Gagnard, Bobby Lowther, Philip Timothy, and Bob Tompkins, who have been recognized for their accomplishments through induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

For years, the only point of recognition for those honorees was in trophy cases at Northwestern State University’s Prather Coliseum. In 2013, recognition of Louisiana’s greatest athletes took a monumental step forward with construction of the state-funded 27,000 square foot Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum in Natchitoches’ downtown historic district.

In addition to being open to visitors and for group tours, the museum has hosted events such as the recent 50^th anniversary commemoration of singer Jim Croce’s untimely death after performing at NSU, wedding receptions and rehearsal dinners, meetings, and other functions.

The first-ever Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame “Join the Team” membership drive – which research shows is standard for most hall of fame museums – has been initiated to secure resources which can be used to update and upgrade the museum. State funding underwrites basic operating costs for the museum but there are often inadequate funds to enhance the museum, especially in this age of “bells and whistles” (aka “technology”). Log on to LaSportsHall.com and click the “Join the Team” button or text LSHOFTEAM to 41444 to “Join the Team.” Checks can be mailed to 500 Front Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457.

While today’s technology comes at a cost, the “asking price” for Hall of Fame membership can be as little as $10 per month. Member benefits include official Hall of Fame team member gear, the opportunity to win monthly drawings, discounts on merchandise and other amenities. 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductees Alana Beard – Shreveport (Southwood High School), Duke University, and 15-year WNBA standout – along with two-time LSU national champion and 14-year Major League Baseball pitcher Paul Byrd, are Honorary Co-Chairs of the inaugural membership campaign.

And if that isn’t attractive enough, members who sign up by December 31 of this year will be entered in a January 1 drawing for the “Ultimate 2024 Hall of Fame Weekend Experience,” which includes two tickets to all induction weekend events, a photo with your favorite 2024 Hall of Famer (Drew Brees…Seimone Agustus…Daniel Cormier…or another inductee…your choice!) and exclusive access to some events. The value of that package is close to $1,000!

The initial goal is a very conservative and surely attainable 100 members. This museum is our state’s pride and joy, a legacy locker room for its greatest athletes that celebrates excellence from all 64 parishes, from Ida to Grand Isle, from Lake Providence to Lake Charles. Statewide ownership will ensure that just as Louisiana athletes are among the best from coast to coast, the same can always be said about its Sports Hall of Fame Museum.

Greg Burke is Director of Business Development and Public Relations for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. He was formerly Director of Athletics at Northwestern State University for 26 years. Burke can be contacted at gregburke@lasportshall.com

Beginning this week, the DOTD will begin work on a sidewalk enhancement program as part of the Safe Routes to School program. Per the attached map, the areas in red will be receiving the upgrades. This measures 1.73 miles of sidewalks at a cost of $1.6 million in program dollars. Through traffic will be maintained during this project, but expect delays during peak daylight traffic times. This project is expected to be completed in March 2024.

By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports

BATON ROUGE – When it concerns the current open date roll call of available LSU cornerbacks for the 15th-ranked Tigers as they prepare for a Nov. 4 season-shifting showdown at No. 9 Alabama, LSU head coach Brian Kelly remained a man of mystery during his Tuesday afternoon press conference.

What about starting corner Zy Alexander, the Southeastern Louisiana transfer who was helped off the field last Saturday against Army after sustaining an injury on his first half-ending interception?

“He’s going to miss some time, he’s got a lower-body injury,” Kelly said. “(Starting defensive tackle) Mehki Wingo has a got a lower-body injury as well. Both those guys are missing, both are not practicing. We’ll see what happens next week.”

What’s going on with transfer cornerbacks Denver Harris of Texas A&M and Duce Chestnut of Syracuse? Harris wasn’t seen on the sideline against Army and Chestnut has been invisible for almost a month.

“I know a lot of people have questions about their status,” Kelly said. “All I can say is that they’re on scholarship. They’re enrolled in school. Right now, they’re not participating.

“They’re still in the program. They’re still in good standing. But they’re not able to play right now. So, let’s leave it at that. Let’s be patient and we’ll see what happens.”

For now, LSU’s cornerback mix (besides using sophomore safety Sage Ryan as a starting corner), according to Kelly are true freshmen Ashton Stamps, Javien Toviano and Jeremiah Hughes and sophomore Laterrance Welsh.

The combined number of starts this season for the latter four names is one – Stamps’ start vs. Ole Miss – before he injured a groin and missed the last three games.

“We feel like all of them are capable of playing championship football,” Kelly said. “It’s our job to get them ready. And they’re excited. We’re excited about working with them and we expect them to play well for us.

“They’ve been here (on campus) for a while. They know what our expectations and standards are. It’s not like we’re breaking the glass here and rolling them out.

“They’ve been observing, they’ve been part of it. They’ve been traveling, they know what it’s like, and we feel like they’re ready to play.

“I think that these guys, given the opportunity now, are prepared and ready to play. Now, it’s getting them ready to step on the field in front of 80 or 90,000 people against, a top-10 football team. It’s a little bit different there, but I’ve got great confidence in their ability.”

Even though the Tigers’ last two opponents Auburn and Army rank Nos. 121 and No. 127 respectively in passing offense among 130 FBS (Division 1-A) teams, Kelly said LSU’s defense (especially the secondary) has improved the last 2½ games dating back to the Tigers’ Oct. 7 win at Missouri.

“We got three interceptions in the back end of our secondary and two or three PBU’s (vs. Army, primarily a running team),” Kelly said. “We played good pass defense against Auburn (allowed 154 yards and a TD) and we had a couple of interceptions at Missouri (while also giving up 411 passing yards, 2 TDs).

“I think our defensive structure needed to be clearly defined (sticking to a 4-3 base defense), putting the pieces together in a manner that allowed our guys to trust each other, and do their jobs as 1/11th of the group. It allowed us to build confidence as a group.

“And then you got to make some plays, right? We made some plays. Structure, trust and making plays – those three components coming together – have allowed this defense to play better now.

“Again, we have a long way to go. We’re going to play some really good football teams. We have four games left and we put ourselves in a position. Now, we’ve got to see where we are over the last month.”

Here’s Kelly on other subjects:

On Alabama’s first-year offensive coordinator and QB coach Tommy Rees, who played QB for Kelly at Notre Dame from 2010-13 and was on his coaching staff including the last two seasons under Kelly as offensive coordinator:

“He’s just a very insightful, smart, intuitive football person. He knows the game. He brings much more than just being a guy that knows football. We’ve seen what he’s done with the (Alabama) quarterback, and he’s gotten better and better each week.

“I played (Rees) him as a true freshman and he was ready to play as a true freshman at Notre Dame. That says a lot about who he is as a person. He’s always been ahead of the curve when it comes to things like that.”

On the progress of the offensive line, even without starting right tackle Emery Jones Jr., who missed the Army game with an injured ankle:

“It’s probably much more about consistency and performance than it is any one individual. They’re really confident in what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. They communicate really well and pass off stunts, they work combinations really well. They just work as five really well.

“And even when you take an Emery Jones out of it, you know (Lance) Heard steps in there and it almost seems he’s been there, though he’s just a true freshman.”

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

The Louisiana Christian University football program has put together a high enough quality body of work to withstand a difficult 27-24 road setback and remain on the cusp of the NAIA Top 25, falling down to 27th in the country Tuesday but still firmly on the national radar with a dozen points in the poll. 

LCU is the top-ranked team statistically in all of NAIA for sacks (33), first downs (221), and total yards (3,904), and slots inside the top five in terms of touchdowns scored (46), yards allowed per game (225.0), and yards per carry (6.0). The Wildcats are a top 10 team in scoring offense (43.0), punt average (40.8), and time of possession average (33:16).

The Wildcats still control their own destiny in the Sooner Athletic Conference as winning out on homecoming this Saturday against Southwestern Assemblies of God and in Fort Worth at Texas Wesleyan would guarantee the Orange and Blue at least a share of their first conference title in program history.

Kickoff is 2 Saturday afternoon at Wildcat Field.

On the strength of its dramatic homefield win Saturday night over LCU, Ottawa (Arizona) made a sizable leap in the poll from No. 24 to No. 20, showing that the voters value the victory over the Cats as a high-quality result. The current SAC leaders, the undefeated Rams of TWU,  struggled with Wayland Baptist but found a way to pull it out and moved to 16th. 

Who is messier? Who’s the better driver? More responsible? Which one is which? Twins Anna Claire and Karrigan Rowse are fraternal, but their resemblance in looks, voices, interests and friendly personalities — and tendency to speak in unison — is so striking, they could be taken as identical.  The two Northwestern State University seniors grew up in Lake Charles, graduated from Barbe High School in 2020 and began their college journey during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are the oldest of five children with two sisters who are 18 months apart in 12^th and 10^th grade, and a younger brother in fifth grade.

NSU was not initially on their radar, but a nudge from their grandfather, Jackie Self of Leesville, a 1979 graduate of NSU, pointed them in the right direction. They are now completing clinicals at Rapides Regional Medical Center and will collect their undergraduate degrees in nursing during commencement exercises on Dec. 13.

Anna Claire and Karrigan sat down with NSU staff to talk about growing up twins, their plans for the future and their experiences at NSU.  They conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Do you often get mistaken for one another? 

In Unison:  Every single day.

Who is older?

Anna Claire:  I’m older by a minute and I make sure she doesn’t forget it.

What attracted you to NSU?

Karrigan:  When we came here, our recruiter was nice and we met [Director of Recruiting and Enrollment Management] Van Erikson and he was super nice and we met Dr. [Chris] Maggio, who was president at the time, and all of them made us feel like we weren’t just a number. They wanted us here because of who we were and what we can contribute to Northwestern. The nursing program is also really good. They were really personable to us when we came.

Anna Claire:  I could say the same thing.  We came together.  We didn’t want to stay too close to home. We stayed at NSU, which was the best decision that we made.

You started college during COVID. Can you talk about some of the challenges and how going to college during COVID met with your expectations? 

Anna Claire:  We graduated during COVID, which was very weird.  We didn’t expect to ever have to do anything like that but I think we made the most of it. We got to do Freshman Connection, even though it was different.  We joined a sorority, so we got that experience. We joined the BCM [Baptist Collegiate Ministry], we joined other clubs. We still made the most out of it, even though it was a very different experience than we were expecting.

Karrigan:  I think we didn’t know what to expect coming in.  It was everyone’s first time doing things like that, so it was comforting to know we weren’t the only ones that had to deal with that.  Everyone else around us was also dealing with that, too.

What are some of the other things you are involved in?

Karrigan: Alpha Lambda Delta and I’m a presidential ambassador for the Recruiting office.

Anna Claire:  I work at the WRAC as a personal trainer.

When did you realize you wanted to become a nurse?

Anna Claire: I always had the feeling that I wanted to help people that couldn’t help themselves and I also knew that I wanted to go into something with kids, too, but also wanted to go into healthcare.  We did babysit a lot throughout our high school experience, and we still do that now.  Getting the opportunity to work with kids and also work in the healthcare field was something that I always wanted to do.

Karrigan:  When our little brother was little, he was always in and out of Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, so I think that made me want to be a nurse, seeing how the doctors and nurses treated us as a family and the comfort that they brought us made me want to do that for somebody else.

Can you talk about your experiences in clinicals?

Anna Claire: I’m in pediatric ICU. I’m leaning more towards pediatrics right now, not really the critical care side. I feel like when I do become a nurse, I’ll get more critical care experience and I will be comfortable in that aspect but as of right now I just want to do pediatrics.

Karrigan: I’m in the nursery. I didn’t think that I wanted to be a nursery nurse. I really always leaned towards pediatric but now that I’m doing my preceptorship in clinicals in nursery, that may be something that I’m going to consider whenever I graduate.

Do you have employment lined up?

Anna Claire:  We’ve talked to nurses at Rapides and management, so we did apply and we’re just waiting to hear back. That’s where we want to end up when we graduate to get more experience.  Our goal is to go to Texas Children’s in the future to work.

Do you think you will always work in the same hospital?

Karrigan:  Right now, just because we’ve done everything together and there’s not anyone else in the picture, I think it’s good.  For cheaper rent, if we ever were to move to Texas, which has always been a goal.  It’s cool that we get to do things together and I think we should stay together as long as possible because when we’re older and we do get married and have kids we’re not going to see each other as much we’re trying to enjoy the time that we have together.

In addition to your majors, what are some other ways that you are very much alike?

Anna Claire:  We like to go to concerts.  We have the same music taste. We like to work out.

Karrigan:  We always have a workout buddy. We like to travel, so we go on spontaneous trips sometimes.

Do you have disagreements or arguments?

Both:  Yes.

Anna Claire:  I think it’s evident, we literally do everything together. But we’re trying to get better at not arguing. It’s just we’re together 24/7.

Karrigan:  We do separate a little bit two days out of the week but we’re just together a lot and we’re just tired, so we just get argumentative.

Do you have the same friend group?

Both:  Yes.

Anna Claire: We did a summer camp two summer ago with WinShape and we got to be apart, which was great. We’ve always been known as The Twins, but we were actually known as Anna Claire and Karrigan which we really liked, and we got to meet new friends and have new memories apart and it made us value our time together a lot better.

What are some other things you’ve done to forge your own identities?

Silence. Staring at each other.

Are there some things that one of you really likes that the other doesn’t? 

Staring at each other. Silence.

Karrigan: A lot of people think twins are completely different but we’re more like the twins that are way more alike than we are different.

Anna Claire:  But we’re not inseparable. We can do our own things.  We don’t need each other 24/7 but we are more alike than we are different.

What are some things that each of you does that the other doesn’t do or an interest you have?

Staring at each other.  Quiet discussion, then speaking simultaneously.

Anna Claire: We always have a buddy with us.  We don’t go places alone.   

Karrigan:  We just have a built-in buddy everywhere we go and everything we do.

So, you are basically best friends.

Both:  Right. Exactly.

What’s the best thing about being a twin?

Both:  You always have someone with you.

Anna Claire: We study together.  I wish our brains could just go together when we take tests because one of us knows something the other doesn’t, but it’s good that we bounce off each other’s ideas.

Karrigan:  I don’t think we could get through nursing school without each other. I think nursing school is hard as it is and since we do have each other it makes things so much easier, knowing you’re not the only person going through the struggles that you’re going through.

Is one of your more assertive than the other?

Anna Claire:  One of us is more outgoing than the other, people have said.  

Karrigan: I think more I’m assertive.  I like to be right.

Anna Claire:  Yeah, she is.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences at NSU?

Karrigan:  For me, since I work in the Recruiting Office, I get to work N Side View Day.  When I did go to N Side View I got to see all the people who influenced me to come to Northwestern and I think it’s cool that when I work N Side View Day, I get to meet future students. When they come to NSU I’ve already made that connection with them, so it’s cool to build a relationship before they even come to Northwestern.

Anna Claire:  I’d say my best memory is I joined Tri Sigma, so getting my Big and my Little and knowing that I can go to them for anything and they can come to me for anything.

What would you say to someone deciding to come to NSU for Nursing school?

Karrigan:  I would say I felt home at Northwestern, and I have other friends that go to other schools and I feel that I’ve gained a lot more knowledge and the experiences, since we do get to travel to other hospitals and we do simulations and things and it’s given me a lot more confidence in myself that I didn’t have prior to coming to Northwestern. Nursing school and Northwestern have taught me that I don’t know everything and I’m very prepared for what’s to come in the work force. 

Anna Claire:  I’d say the same. They prepare you for the real world. You’re not going to know everything, but it does get you prepared and you feel more comfortable when you have instructors that challenge you and you also need to go into nursing with an open mind because you have to go every field. You have to go through your med/surge, pediatrics, so be open to what specialty you want to do because that may not be what you want to do.

Rapides felony bookings are accusations, not convictions.

October 23

Derrick Charles, 26, Alexandria — possession firearm by convicted felon, resisting officer, unauthorized entry inhabited dwelling, $100,500 bail;

Shawn Smith, 21, Pineville — criminal conspiracy, aggravated burglary, possession firearm by convicted felon, probation violation, battery on officer, resisting officer with force or violence, $26,000 bail.

Rapides felony drug bookings are accusations, not convictions.

October 23

Susan Gaspard, 39, Glenmora — possession CDS II < 2 grams, contempt two counts, theft, criminal damage, $10,500 bail;

Logan Jenkins, 32, Otis — possession CDS II < 2 grams, possession manufacture distribution dispense CDS I < 28 grams, expired driver’s license, no insurance, improper license plate display, possession paraphernalia, $8,300 bail;

Jane’ Watson, 26, Alexandria — probation violation, possession CDS II < 2 grams, possession paraphernalia, $3,000 bail.

Join the City of Pineville this Thursday, Oct. 26, from 6-8 pm at Kees Park for the 2023 Family Fall Fest. There will be candy, popcorn, drinks, music and fun for everyone.

By JIM BUTLER

Parker Vernon is back where he was months ago, jailed because he allegedly refuses to accept court instruction.

Vernon, 26, of Boyce was jailed Sunday morning on a variety of domestic-related charges. His bail is set at almost $100,000.

He has not been seen on the jail log for 15 months. A charge from Sunday is probation violation, perhaps indicating he has been on forced absence.

When last heard of, Vernon was arrested July 6, 2022 and held until November 30 pending $400,000 bail.

The charges included five counts of violating protective orders, stalking person with protective order/restraining order and unauthorized entry of inhabited dwelling.

A month earlier, June 9, he was charged with false imprisonment, stalking, domestic abuse battery with child present, five counts protective order violation, unauthorized entry and tracking device prohibited. He posted $187,500 bond three weeks later, 10 days before the July arrest.

Vernon was arrested twice in May 2022 on such charges as violating court orders, aggravated domestic abuse battery, home invasion, stalking and unauthorized entry. He posted a total of about $75,000 bond to get released.

The Alexandria Police Department responded to the 1200 block of Enterprise Road on Oct. 21 around 7:33 pm in reference to several individuals in a parking lot, waiving guns around, and appeared to be making a video.  Responding officers were able to quickly locate and arrest two individuals in connection with this incident.

A 15-year-old juvenile from Alexandria was arrested and charged with a Juvenile in Possession of a Handgun, Resisting, Illegal Handling of a Machine Gun, and Illegal Possession of a Stolen Firearm.

Also, 20-year-old Robert Drakes III of Alexandria was arrested and charged with Terrorizing, Contributing to the Delinquency of a Juvenile, Illegal Possession of a Stolen Firearm, and Illegal Handling of a Machine Gun.

The Alexandria Police Department remains committed to removing illegal guns from our streets and wants to remind the public that they play an important role in deterrence and solving of crimes.  Please remember to secure your firearms and do not leave them in an unlocked vehicle.  Please remain vigilant and report any questionable activity.

This is currently an ongoing investigation.

 If anyone has any information about this incident or any other type of crime in the Alexandria area, please contact the Alexandria Police Detective Division at the phone number (318) 441-6416, or APD Dispatch (318) 441-6559. You may also email information to detectives at: APDDetectives@cityofalex.com.

For a cash reward, call Crime Stoppers of CenLa at (318) 443-7867. The Crime Stoppers P3 Tipster App can also be downloaded to leave tips and get a claim number for a cash reward at www.p3tips.com/community/mobile.

When she was teaching at the elementary school level, Janice Moreau of Alexandria owned a weapon that could, at moment’s notice, discipline a mischievous student. It likely transformed some into quivering sheep.

It was “the look.”

She didn’t need to use a paddle or belt or ruler. If you got “the look,” you had to stay in the classroom with her while your classmates were at play. If that doesn’t sound so bad, listen to this.

“Roy Boone, who was the principal at Nachman for many years,” Janice said, “told me of a time when some boys were causing trouble and he told them he’d give them two options: he could either call their parents or notify their teacher. And they said, ‘You can tell our parents, but please don’t tell Mrs. Moreau.’”

A 1976 graduate of Northwestern State, Janice Barrios Moreau technically retired in 2009 after 33 years as a teacher, but she’s still at it, except now she works part-time as a teacher of teachers, doing that the last 12 years at Grace Christian Academy.

She was hired at Grace as a mentor for inexperienced teachers, from pre-K through 12^th grade, and she’s about as good as they come in showing inexperienced teachers the way.

One fine credential she can now claim to validate that opinion: she will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 4 into Northwestern State’s Hall of Distinguished Educators. The 11:30 a.m. ceremony that day at the Middle School Auditorium will be part of a day-long series of NSU homecoming festivities.

Janice, who was raised in Tioga, started teaching at Boyce Elementary in 1976 right after graduation from NSU, teaching everything from spelling to physical education at the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th grade levels. Some five years later she went to Nachman Elementary, where she taught 5^th grade for 18 years and got certified to teach gifted children. From 1999 through 2004, she taught gifted students at Cherokee Elementary.

Former Cherokee principal Bonnie Lord, one of the people who nominated Janice for the Hall of Educators award, was effusive in her praise of Janice. She noted her work as sponsor for the yearbook and the 4-H Club and as a mentor to other teachers. She also praised her work ethic, professionalism, dedication and loyalty. Lord stressed Moreau’s most important virtue as “a genuine love and passion for working closely with children.”

The Rapides Parish School Board summoned her in 2005 to be the coordinator of gifted students for the parish, working under then special education director Debbie Morrison at J.B. Lafargue. She did that through ’09 when she retired.

As recognition of her pioneering work in that area, she was asked in April of 2008 to make a presentation at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Convention and Expo at the Haynes Convention Center in Boston. As lagniappe, she was invited that same year to make another such presentation at Louisiana’s super conference on special education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Morrison said at the time Rapides Parish had an issue of “disproportionality,” meaning the parish didn’t have enough minority students in the gifted program. Janice helped in developing a five-year plan to identify more minority children and, since this was a national problem at the time, she was invited to speak about how Rapides handled the situation.

“We established an after-school program and summer program where we hired teachers to work with the students lifting their level of thinking up to qualify for the gifted program” she said.

Janice was also instrumental in getting gifted programs started at Alexandria Senior High, Pineville and Tioga. Before she was the parish gifted coordinator, there was only one gifted program in the parish at Bolton.

“I’m very proud to tell people I’m a teacher because it’s kind of the basis for all other professions,” she continued. “It’s a hard job always and even harder today since we live in a different world.”

In this different world, Janice says she can usually tell after one interview if a prospective teacher is cut out to be a good one and possibly even a career teacher, which is becoming a rare breed.

One indicator – not definitive but often a strong clue — is the way a person dresses, she said.

“If you want to be treated like a professional,” she said, “you need to dress like a professional.”

What does it ultimately take to be a good teacher? It comes down to one word, a word that is the most beautiful in any language: love.

When Janice talks of teaching, she says, “It’s always been what I wanted to do.”

By JIM BUTLER

The Police Jury this month changed 50 years of wetlands protection procedure in subdivision development.

Prompted by concern that development could be hindered by a vacuum in regulation created by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, jurors changed requirements for subdivision plat submission.

The change was heard first in Rusty Wilder’s tourism/economic development committee, added by unanimous consent after not making the posted agenda.

Blank agendas are not uncommon. A public body meets letter of law by posting notice of meeting, then adds items by consent at the meeting.

It’s a routine way to get items as committee-ready as possible before adding to the agenda.

Of course, it is also a way to avoid public attention if officials are so inclined.

Depends on what glasses through which you view the world – rose-colored or otherwise.

Back to the wetlands, the court limited the EPA authority to regulate waters of the US, saying that only wetlands and permanent bodies of water with “a continuous surface connection” to “traditional interstate navigable waters” are covered by the Clean Waters Act.

Consequently the Corps of Engineers has paused issuing wetlands determinations, leaving the parish requirement of Corps-credible wetlands delineations on proposed developments in limbo.

On motion of Wilder, who knows a thing or two about property development needs, the jury dropped the certification necessity, entrusting the Planning Commission staff and board members to “reasonably apply” the court’s standard.

The jury action to “balance environmental protection with economic development” waives the Corps-stamped wetlands evaluation, until the Corps resumes determinations.

That resumption will be some time off, if ever.

In August, EPA and the Corps punted, proposing that the final rule on wetlands reflect the court opinion, reducing the amount of wetlands covered by federal law, and leaving to states the degree of protection wetlands not covered should have.

 That “not covered” amounts to about 59 million acres not directly linked to “streams, oceans, rivers and lakes” to quote the justices.

Some states have credible records in such things, some don’t. Grade this one as you will.

Next agenda item after the change was adopted was, right, acceptance and approval of Downs Farm Subdivision at La 28 West & Downs Lane.

By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports

As postseason approaches, the ASH Trojans are peaking. Just ask the Pineville Rebels.

In a Week 8 rivalry game Friday night, JT Lindsey rushed for three touchdowns while Ty Feaster passed for two and ran for one of his own as Alexandria Senior High scored 50 unanswered points in the first half and cruised to a 50-14 win over Pineville.

The Trojans scored on all six of their offensive possessions in the first half and even added a defensive touchdown on a pick-6 by free safety Jason Blackwell.

ASH coach Thomas Bachman said his team wasn’t perfect in the first half, but overall the Trojans played pretty well.

“We played efficient, converted third downs and were able to hit some explosive plays,” said Bachman, who improved to 8-0 in Red River Rivalry games since taking over as ASH’s head coach. “That’s usually a formula for success.” 

Feaster, who finished 9-of-11 passing for 178 yards, got the Trojan scoring barrage started when he found a wide-open Darius Washington streaking down the left sideline for a 44-yard touchdown. 

Lindsey put the Trojans ahead 15-0 with a 1-yard TD on their second drive, which included a 28-yard run by Lindsey and a 28-yard pass from Feaster to EJ Scott down to the 1-yard line. 

Feaster kept on a read-option for a 3-yard score on ASH’s third drive, which also featured a 45-yard pass from Feaster to Scott, as the Trojans opened a 22-point lead after the first quarter. 

Bachman said he’s been pleased with the progress Feaster has made since joining the program in the offseason. He has become more efficient in the passing game and has grown as a threat with his legs on the read-option.

“He’s put in a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of throwing and catching,” Bachman said. “He’s about that. He’s about the behind the scenes – come early, stay late. Work ethic and a desire to be his very best are traits that he’s always had.” 

Amyrion Mingo recovered a Pineville fumble in Rebel territory to set up the Trojans’ fourth score, a 3-yard run by Lindsey, which was followed immediately by Blackwell’s leaping interception and 36-yard return to give the Trojans a 36-0 lead. 

Lindsey followed with his third touchdown of the game, a 1-yarder, for a 43-0 lead, and the Trojans capped the first-half scoring with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Feaster to Scott for the 50-0 lead. 

As the Trojans emptied their bench in the second half, Pineville added two touchdowns. Ayden Tate took the first play of the third quarter for a 73-yard touchdown, and Hy’keem Mix added a 2-yard TD with just over a minute remaining in the game. 

The Rebels managed just 35 yards of offense in the first half but finished with 199 yards in the game. Tate led the way with 119 yards on 12 carries. 

Lindsey led the Trojans with 106 rushing yards on 17 carries, his fourth 100-yard game of the season. Scott finished with six receptions for a career-high 127 yards. 

NEVILLE 44, TIOGA 13

The Tigers (7-1, 3-0) remained the kings of District 2-4A with another dominant defensive performance, holding Tioga to just 59 yards of offense. 

J’chione White scored rushing touchdowns of 63 and 65 yards, and John Michael Sampognaro threw two touchdown passes to Kaleb Vaughn to highlight the Tigers’ offensive attack, which also included touchdown runs by Jaylon Nichols and Darrell Hubbard. 

Tioga senior Ja’Corian Norris returned his third kickoff for a touchdown of the season, taking one 99 yards in the second quarter after Neville had opened the game with 24 consecutive points. 

The Indians (6-2, 1-1) also scored on a 9-yard reception by Ryan Reeves from Cace Malone, who finished 11-for-22 passing for 72 yards. 

MARKSVILLE 56, BOLTON 0

Elidrick Murray passed for two touchdowns, ran for two more and had a pick-6 to lead the Tigers to a 42-point halftime lead Thursday night.

Murray had a 41-yard TD pass to Noah Bryant and a 4-yard TD pass to Jaden Price, a 28-yard run for a score and returned an interception 66 yards to the end zone – all in the first quarter – before adding a 5-yard run in the second quarter to invoke the mercy-rule running clock. 

Kyreon “Monk” Prier, who had a team-high 82 rushing yards, adding scoring runs of 50 and 10 yards, while Price added a 36-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. The Tigers (4-4, 1-2 District 2-3A) needed just 16 plays to compile 231 yards of offense. 

Bolton (0-8, 0-3) was held to minus-32 yards of offense in the game and didn’t pick up a first down.

RAYVILLE 52, NORTHWOOD-LENA 0

The Gators were shut out for a second straight game as they fell to 1-7 on the season, falling on the road in a non-district matchup. 

They will look to end their scoreless streak when they return to action at LaSalle on Thursday night. 

BATON ROUGE – From my home office in an undisclosed location somewhere in the Red Stick, here are this week’s top five it-would-be-funny-if-it-wasn’t true LSU open date observations.

No. 1: Zy Alexander, LSU’s best cover cornerback because he finally learned to turn his head and locate airborne passes, got hurt last Saturday vs. Army returning an interception of a Hail Mary pass so underthrown that Alexander should have called for a fair catch and taken a knee.

No. 2: The number of the current LSU scholarship cornerbacks who have started more than one or two college games can fit on a unicycle.

No. 3: LSU’s best slot receiver defender is linebacker Harold Perkins Jr.. . .a linebacker.

No. 4: Tigers’ head coach Brian Kelly made history this past weekend when he created the first-ever college football inactive list when he announced absent transfer cornerback Denver Harris was inactive.

No. 5: Kelly also had no update on the longitude and latitude of Syracuse transfer cornerback Duce Chestnut, who evaporated into thin air almost a month ago.

After eight straight weeks of games, No. 15 ranked Tigers (6-2 overall, 4-1 SEC West) return to the practice field Tuesday in preparation for their Nov. 4 date at No. 9 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC West), set for a 6:45 p.m. primetime CBS telecast.

Kelly has about six or seven practices to find someone to plug into LSU’s dire cornerback situation, which has been on life-support since the season-opening 45-24 loss to Florida State. The Seminoles tossed the first 4 of 16 TD passes against the Tigers this season, the most allowed in the SEC, along with Missouri and Vanderbilt.

While the LSU defense has shored up since Perkins flipped momentum in the Oct. 7 win at Missouri with a second-quarter interception – LSU has allowed just 4 TDs and 2 field goals in its last 32 opposing offensive possessions – Kelly is just trying to find some qualified warm bodies to play corner.

LSU’s top remaining cornerback is true freshman Ashton Stamps, who supposedly is returning to action this week after missing the last three games with a groin injury.

As far as the status of Texas A&M transfer Harris (who has started three games this season) and Syracuse transfer Chestnut (who has played in four games), Kelly may or may not give an update after Tuesday’s practice in his only media opportunity this week.

At this point of the season last year, LSU had the identical record it has now.

Prior to last year, Nick Saban-coached Alabama had won 10 of the previous 11 games (including 8 straight) over the Tigers. LSU Heisman Trophy-winning QB Joe Burrow boosted the eventual 2019 national champions to a 46-41 win in Tuscaloosa despite the Tigers being a 6-point underdog.

Finally, LSU managed to overcome almost a decade of angst created each season on the open date week before Alabama. The bigger the game between the nationally ranked teams, the more the Tigers folded under pressure.

Last year in Kelly’s first season as LSU’s coach, he created a “what the hell, let’s just go play like we have nothing to lose” attitude” during the open date. He had an aggressive game plan on both sides of the ball. The final proof was the fact he gambled and successfully converted a two-point conversion for a 32-31 overtime victory over the Tide in Tiger Stadium.

The win as a 13-point underdog propelled the Tigers to the SEC West championship and a date in the league title game where they were completely overmatched in a 50-30 loss to eventual national champion Georgia.

The fact Alabama is a 4½-point favorite in the upcoming game can be viewed in two ways.

It’s a sign of respect for LSU since the Tigers have been double-digit underdogs in five of the last six games vs. Alabama.

Or it’s a sign of disrespect for an LSU team averaging 16.7 more points and 186 yards more total offense than Alabama. The Tigers have scored 22 more TDs than the Tide, who has allowed the most sacks in the SEC (35).

In his 17th season as Alabama’s head coach, seven-time national champ Saban (six at Alabama, one in 2003 as LSU’s coach) has rarely had a team so inconsistent and underwhelming as the 2023 Crimson Tide.

They have muddled through games against vast underdogs like South Florida and Arkansas and won with one-possession victory margins. They have gritted their teeth in comeback wins at Texas A&M (26-20) and at home last Saturday vs. Tennessee (34-20) in which they outscored the Aggies and the Vols 16-3 and 27-0 respectively in the second halves.

Yet, Alabama, as the West Division leader, is still unbeaten in league play.

“I enjoy coaching this team,” Saban said after his team’s second-half blitz of Tennessee. “That’s not to say they’re taking years off my life, but that’s OK with that. It’s fun because they’ve got a good spirit about them . . . the players legitimately care about each other. They respond well to their coaches. So, it’s really fun to coach them. I can’t say enough about their competitive spirit when they need to have it.”

Such stick-to-itiveness was a trademark of last year’s LSU team. For this season’s squad, it has slowly become an acquired taste, but the Tigers seem to be peaking heading into their final four regular season games.

Meanwhile, does anyone have a cornerback they can spare?

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

Rapides Regional Medical Center is participating in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 28. Rapides Regional is partnering with Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office in offering the community an opportunity to safely and anonymously dispose of medications left over from previous procedures or other medical visits.

Community members are invited to safely and anonymously dispose of unused or expired prescription or over-the-counter medications between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Medical Terrace driveway at Rapides Regional.

In 2022, there were more than 109,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an increase from 2021.

“Rapides Regional and hospitals everywhere have seen the devastating consequences of drug misuse and abuse from the nationwide drug overdose epidemic,” says Rapides Regional Director of Pharmacy, Danielle Bryant, PharmD. “As the leading healthcare provider in Central Louisiana, and as part of our commitment to caring for our community, we are proud to support and help educate our friends, family and neighbors on the proper disposal of medications.”

Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office personnel will collect any unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications on location. Ointments, lotions, drops, liquid medication in leak-proof containers, vape cartridges without batteries and pet medication will also be accepted. Needles, syringes, lancets and illegal drugs will not be accepted.

“Our deputies work extremely hard every day in keeping illegal narcotics out of our community,” said Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood. “However, we sometimes forget about the legal drugs that are in citizens’ homes that someone can gain access to and become addicted or even die from an overdose.  We are proud to partner with the Rapides Regional Medical Center’s Drug Take Back Day on October 28, 2023. This is one more way, working together, we can keep drugs out of our community.”

The DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day as part of its year-round “Crush the Crisis” drug take back program.

To further help combat the nation’s opioid crisis, Rapides Regional’s parent company, HCA Healthcare, has worked with the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic. HCA Healthcare has given $750,000 to the Collaborative to support the development of safer pain management protocols and the reversal of the opioid crisis.

Rapides felony bookings are accusations, not convictions.

October 22

Travious Samson, 20, Alexandria — probation violation, possession firearm by convicted felon, illegal possession stolen firearm, $30,000 bail;

Robbie Setliff, 57, Boyce — possession firearm by convicted felon, $5,000 bail;

Parker Vernon, 26, Boyce — aggravated assault with child present, domestic abuse battery with child present, probation violation, resisting officer, violation protective order with violence, aggravated strangle domestic abuse battery strangulation, home invasion aggravated assault, $97,500 bail. 

By Lexi Rachal, Wildcats Media

Louisiana Christian University presented four CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital employees with graduate certificates in healthcare administration Wednesday afternoon at the hospital.

Before the ceremony began, LCU President Dr. Rick Brewer spoke to the awardees about their time in the program and about what sets LCU’s programs apart—faith and values.

“We are pleased to partner with the CHRISTUS Health System to offer a Certificate in Healthcare Management at the graduate level,” Brewer said. “Our shared mission for faith integration underscores the strength of this key academic offering under the umbrella of the Jonathan Martin MBA program at LCU. We are confident the Healthcare Management Certificate will produce transformational leaders for Christus Cabrini now and in the future.” 

Monte Wilson, CEO of CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital, attended the ceremony and said the faith aspect of the program is what will bring more Cabrini employees to it.

“Faith and values are what matters,” Wilson said. “There’s so many crazy things going on around here, and I think that will help to get more people engaged.”

Brewer presented each student with a certificate and invited them to complete one of LCU’s master’s programs and see him again to receive a diploma at graduation in full regalia.  

Spencer Gauthreaux is the director of pharmacy at Cabrini and took part in the healthcare administration program. She said the program reinvigorated her learning spirit.

“I’ve been capable of doing things I never thought I’d be able to do,” she said. “It’s really been a great opportunity, so hopefully a lot more of our colleagues will get on board because I really think the two organizations have a lot in common that can be beneficial for everyone.”

Gauthreaux also said the program helped her in her faith journey and taught her how to include her faith in her leadership role.

“I loved just seeing how faith can be interwoven with everything,” she said. “We talked a lot about different styles of leadership, including servant leadership. So, I’m just looking at how you can include faith in that. It’s kind of a different perspective because a lot of times in business, that’s not the focus.” 

Certificates were also awarded to Jeremiah Juneau, Sandra Lemoine and Charles Wise. 

The ceremony concluded with LCU Executive Vice President Dr. David Jeffreys praying a blessing over the certificate recipients.

LCU graduate certificates are designed for working professionals to propel their careers to new levels. Courses are 100% online for full flexibility.

“CHRISTUS Health recognizes the importance of investing in its associates, and we are honored that CHRISTUS Health trusted us as an educational partner,” said Dr. Kenny Holt, dean of the Young School of Business.  “The Martin MBA program was designed to help build a strong, knowledgeable labor force for all our employers.  The beauty of the graduate certificate programs is that we can work with each organization to target needs whether it be data analytics, human resource management, healthcare administration, or preparing early career managers.”

Students who earn graduate certificates can apply all of the credits earned toward the Martin Master of Business Administration. 

For more information visit lcuniversity.edu/grad-certificates/