By JIM BUTLER

Pineville proposes to amend its city code to allow an additional class of alcohol permit.

Class E would allow businesses that provide service, or a retailer, that do not meet Class A, B or R Permit definitions to sell for consumption on or off premises.

Mayor Rich Dupree told the November City Council meeting that the suggested change is at request of some small businesses.

Some, such as salons, spas and jewelry stores, the mayor said, want to serve their customers alcohol, as is done in some other jurisdictions.

Doing so requires a permit not currently in the ordinance book.

Dupree told the Council that the same requirements would have to be met as in other permit categories, whether the holder wants to sell the alcohol or give it away as a token of appreciation.

The proposal will be subject of a public hearing in December.

A hearing will also be held on a proposed code amendment requiring all residents to place household garbage in plastic bags and then into containers for pickup and disposal.

By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports

BATON ROUGE – No. 14 LSU hasn’t had a true freshman crack the starting lineup this football season other than sporadic one-game starts.

It’s a vast contrast from a year ago when then-true freshmen Will Campbell (left offensive tackle) and Mason Taylor (tight end) were starters from day one. They were eventually joined in the starting lineup by true freshmen Emery Jones Jr. (right offensive tackle) and Harold Perkins Jr. (linebacker) LSU head coach Brian Kelly played 15 true freshmen last season.

Heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale vs. Texas A&M, Kelly has played 22 true freshmen but most of those have been on special teams.

Here’s a look at the Tigers’ most significant true freshmen of 2023 who will push for significant playing next season:

• LB Whit Weeks, 6-3, 222, Watkinsville (Ga.) Oconee County:Weeks, the younger brother of Virginia junior transfer West Weeks, made 31 of his 38 tackles (seventh on the team) this season in a four-game stretch after transfer starter Omar Speights suffered a hip flexor injury in game 2 vs. Grambling.

He had 8 tackles at Mississippi State in his first college start, 9 each the next two weeks vs. Arkansas and at Ole Miss and 5 at Missouri.

“Coming into fall camp, I was running with the twos and not really with ones,” said Weeks, who’s expected to play against Texas A&M after missing the last two games with a gash on his foot. “I knew if my time would come, I’d make the most of it.”

• DB Javien Toviano, 6-1, 201, Arlington (Texas) Martin:A 5-star recruit as a safety and No. 3 nationally at his position, Toviano has 25 tackles and a pass breakup in 11 games with the Tigers switching back and forth between safety, nickel and now a starting corner.

“It has been a bit of a transition, but I pride myself on being versatile,” Toviano said. “Whether it’s safety or corner or whatever the team needs to play that position.

“I’ve been bouncing around since springtime. I started at corner, worked into nickel and two or three weeks ago went back (to corner).

“At the end of the day, it’s football. You backpedal, you open up and you’re defending the ball. That’s my mindset.”

• RB Kaleb Jackson, 6-0, 225, Baton Rouge’s Liberty Magnet: His powerful, explosive running, either from the backfield or as a kickoff returner, is eye-catching.

Jackson has rushed for 149 yards and three TDs in 11 games and has returned 10 kickoffs for an average of 24.9 yards.

Against Mississippi State, he trucked MSU freshman safety Issac Smith in the same fashion that former LSU all-American back Leonard Fournette leveled an Ole Miss defender in 2016. Fournette saw Jackson’s run and jokingly tweeted, “That man (Smith) has a family in the stands.”

“I had a really good view,” said LSU junior starting running back Logan Diggs of Jackson’s steamroller run. “Once he bounced outside, I knew he’d either run over someone, jump over someone or just run past them. Kaleb is a really special running back. I’m taking him under my wing, teaching him everything that I know so he can be the best that he can be.”

• RB Trey Holly, 5-7, 192 Farmerville’s Union Parish High: The state of Louisiana high school all-time leading rusher leader (all divisions) with 10,523 yards has made the most of his limited plays in LSU’s crowded veteran running back room.

Yet having played in just two games, he rushed for 110 yards on 10 attempts including a memorable 67 yard run vs. Army for his first college touchdown. For his effort, he was named SEC Freshman of the Week.

“Man, that was amazing,” Holly said of his almost straight-line TD sprint. “I always dreamed about playing in Death Valley (Tiger Stadium), so that was like a dream come true.”

Holly said he’s waiting his turn for more playing time next season while absorbing as much as he can from LSU’s upperclassmen backs like Diggs and senior Josh Williams.

“I’ve still got a lot to learn,” Holly said. “Josh, Logan and all the upperclassmen are showing me the way. Each and every practice, I’m asking them questions. It’s a joy because they are my and Kaleb’s older brothers.”

Holly said he and Jackson – “my brother from another mother,” Holly said – had a plan to attend LSU together.

“We always talk about being the one-two punch you guys are going to see in the upcoming years,” Holly said.

• TE Mac Markway, 6-4, 250, St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet Jesuit: Ranked as the nation’s No. 3 tight end by ESPN.com and No. 8 by Rivals.com, Markway started vs. Mississippi State in place of injured starter Mason Taylor who Markway gives credit for mentoring him this season.

“I’ve learned so much just mentally from him,” Markway said of Taylor “like just learn how to process everything a little bit quicker.”

Markway has 3 catches for 16 yards in 10 games this season, including his first college TD last Saturday against Georgia State when he broke wide open to grab a 3-yard scoring strike from QB Jayden Daniels.

“I was really talking to my dad the night before (then game) how it would be awesome to score a touchdown as a freshman,“ Markway said. “Just to get that one was like a dream come true.”

• CB Ashton Stamps, 6-0, 188, New Orleans’ Archbishop Rummel:Just a 3-star recruit, Stamps was the buzz of pre-season training camp with interceptions and pass breakups galore.

His impact this season hasn’t been as dramatic. He has 17 tackles including 8 last week vs. Georgia State, but he has steadily learned on the job playing in all 11 games and starting vs. Ole Miss.

“You might not get into the game until the third quarter, and you might be cold when you get in there,” Stamps said. “It might be a little disadvantage because you’re not warm, but you just got to make the most of the opportunity. You’ve got to be ready.”

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

JOURNAL SPORTS

NATCHITOCHES – The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024, including New Orleans Saints superstar Drew Brees, LSU and WNBA women’s basketball great Seimone Augustus, and mixed martial arts icon Daniel Cormier, will be enshrined next June.

The 2024 Induction Celebration has been set for June 20-22 in Natchitoches, said LSHOF Foundation CEO/President Ronnie Rantz and LSHOF chairman Doug Ireland. Nine different events will be staged during the Thursday-Saturday festivities.

More information and the opportunity to purchase tickets for five events is available at http://www.LaSportsHall.com. The other items on the itinerary, including a Thursday night kickoff reception, a Friday night riverbank concert and fireworks show, and a Saturday morning kids clinic, are free, although the kids clinic requires advance registration on the website.

Brees, the New Orleans Saints’ NFL record-setting passer and Super Bowl XLIV MVP, brings incredible credentials. He’s not alone at the top of his game: joining him in the Class of 2024 are two homegrown greats — Augustus, a Baton Rouge native, and Lafayette’s Cormier, an Olympic wrestler who became and remains one of the top figures in MMA history.

They headline a star-studded nine-member group of 2024 competitors ballot inductees selected by a 40-member LSWA panel. Three contributors, two journalists and an administrator, will be added to the class next month.

The Class of 2024 also includes 1992 Olympic wrestling gold medalist Kevin Jackson, a former LSU All-American, along with Perry Clark, who guided Tulane basketball to unprecedented success in the 1990s, and McNeese football great Kerry Joseph, who had a 19-year pro career.

Also elected for induction in June are high school football coach Frank Monica, who won state titles at three different south Louisiana schools, and Ray Sibille, a Breeders’ Cup-winning thoroughbred jockey from Sunset who ranks among the nation’s elite riders.

The class also includes Grambling’s Wilbert Ellis, who becomes the second-ever recipient of the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award. During his 43-year baseball coaching career and since, Ellis has made local, statewide and national impact not only in his sports field but also in other endeavors.

Appropriately, they will be enshrined in an Olympic year. Augustus helped Team USA win three Olympic gold medals, coupled with Jackson becoming the first Black man in the world to capture gold in wrestling. Jackson was Cormier’s coach when the future MMA star made the USA wrestling team for the 2004 and 2008 Games.

The Ambassador Award was created by the Hall’s parent organization, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, and was first presented to network broadcaster Tim Brando of Shreveport as part of the LSHOF Class of 2020. The award honors long-term exemplary contributions to the perception of Louisiana by an individual who has ties to the state’s sports landscape. The Ambassador Award carries membership in the Hall of Fame. The award is not presented annually.

Brees was a 13-time Pro Bowl pick in a 20-year career. He was a two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, the 2006 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year, a Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year and an Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. Brees led the Saints to three NFC championship games (2006, 2009, 2018) after the franchise had none in its first 39 years of existence. They claimed their only Vince Lombardi trophy with a 31-17 win over the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV as he earned MVP honors.

Brees once held NFL passing records for yards (80,358), TDs (571), completions (7,142) and attempts (10,551) – all marks that have been surpassed by Tom Brady, who played in 48 more games than Brees.

Augustus played point guard/forward while starring at high school, college and professional levels. The Baton Rouge native was part of three gold medal-winning USA Olympic teams and four WNBA title teams.

Foreshadowing her incredible career, Augustus was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for Women as a high school freshman. At LSU, Augustus was the USBWA National Freshman of the Year in 2003 and swept National Player of the Year awards (Wade, Naismith, Wooden and Honda) in 2005 and 2006.

She was the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick in 2006 by the Minnesota Lynx and was its Rookie of the Year in 2006. She won WNBA titles with the Lynx in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. The 2011 finals MVP, she made the WNBA’s 20th anniversary and 25th anniversary teams.

Cormier is revered as one of the most heralded wrestlers and mixed martial artists ever. He first made a name for himself as a wrestler at Lafayette’s Northside High, winning three consecutive LHSAA Division I state titles (1995-97). Following collegiate and international success, he transitioned to mixed martial arts and after a transcendent career, is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame (2022) and currently is a combat sports analyst with ESPN and is a commentator for UFC events.

I have this quirky friend up in north Arkansas that you really have to keep your eye on. Here’s what I’m talking about: I was invited once several years ago to fish the Little Red River in Arkansas for trout.

Jim Spencer, Keith Sutton and I shared a boat and although the two of them, both Arkansans, have caught a ton of trout in their lives, I had never caught one. I cast out, felt a tug on my line and hooked into my very first rainbow trout. Thrilled wasn’t an adequate word but I was so happy to finally catch a species of fish I had never caught and I was expressing my glee at finally hooking my first.

Unbeknownst to me, Spencer had slipped up behind me while I was fighting my fish. When I first noticed him, I assumed he was there to help me land the fish if need be. Glancing back, I noticed he had his knife in his hand and a certain gleam in his eye when he reached out, not to help me land my trout but to cut my line.

Somehow, I managed to get the fish in the boat, which was not easy to do while  maneuvering around to keep him from slicing my line. That’s one side of the Jim Spencer I know and I have learned to always keep my eyes open when I’m around him.

The other side I know and appreciate about Jim Spencer is that anything he writes, I get as absorbed in it as I did the day I kept him away from my line. Spencer is to me one of the very best outdoor writers anywhere in the country, especially when it comes to writing about his obsession, wild turkeys. 

Several years ago, Spencer started thinking about all the gobblers he has taken but the equal number that had whipped him. He came up with the idea of producing a book about times where the gobbler had won. He produced a book that would take the turkey hunting world by storm. He named it Bad Birds 1.

Realizing there were more stories to tell, he later put together his second version of the book, naturally naming it Bad Birds 2.

Believing he had covered all the bases in talking about those gobblers that had handed him his rear end, he assumed he was done. However, there were a number of stories he knew he could tell that had yet to be told so he did it again. His latest version of his self-flagellation regarding gobblers has led him to, once again, bare his soul in Bad Birds 3.

I have read all three books and while the first two were classics, I think this last one is the best; he leaves no stone unturned in sharing his disappointment, disgust and downright frustration of the times that gobblers have beat him.

Spencer’s wife, Jill, shares his addiction of hunting turkeys and they travel the country together every spring to play games with gobblers. Jim had Jill, who is also an award-winning outdoor writer herself, to produce the foreword for his latest book. 

“If you run into us somewhere along the trail in some future spring,” Jill writes, “say howdy and tell us some turkey stories. Jim is always willing to talk about these birds he can’t leave alone.”        

Bad Birds 3 sells for $25 plus $6 shipping. Best bet is the package deal featuring all three Bad Birds for $55 delivered. He’ll also add his Turkey Hunting Digest for an extra $12, for a total of $67. Order to Treble Hooks Unlimited, P.O. Box758, Calico Rock, AR 72519.

You talk about a fine Christmas gift for the turkey hunter, this is it. Adding a word of caution, if you are ever privileged to share a fishing boat with Spencer, be sure and keep an eye on him; he could be opening his knife.

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports

“Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

American author Napoleon Hill wrote that in his classic self-help book Think and Grow Rich nearly 90 years ago, but it wouldn’t be hard to convince someone that it was coined by Alexandria Senior High football coach Thomas Bachman. 

Bachman, who was a state MVP and won three state titles as a wide receiver at Evangel Christian Academy and later won a state title as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, brought a championship pedigree to Rapides Parish when he came to ASH nine years ago. 

More than just an understanding of what it takes to win at the highest level of Louisiana prep football, Bachman also brought a belief that it could be done here, too – something that hasn’t happened in more than six decades, when Pineville High won a championship in 1960. 

Bachman’s belief was almost proven correct in 2020, when the Trojans finished as the Class 5A runner-up. Now they’re taking another shot at winning the school’s first football championship, and that belief has permeated throughout the Trojans’ roster. 

The 13th seed in the Division I Select playoffs, the Trojans (8-4) went on the road last week and knocked off three-time defending state runner-up Brother Martin. They will travel back to New Orleans tonight for a quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 Edna Karr (9-1), ranked by many as the top team in Louisiana prior to a Week 10 loss to John Curtis.

Bachman said he’s not the only one who believes in the Trojans’ potential. His coaching staff and players are also audacious enough to think they can beat anyone.  

“I think it’s a collective thing that you feel when you’re around this group of men and this coaching staff,” Bachman said, “that there’s a belief in the job they can do. And I do believe that bleeds down into the locker room. … I think that there’s a good feel to what we’ve got going on, and we’re certainly going to play to win.”

“To be a great team you have to believe you can be a great team,” senior right tackle Hunter Rivet said. “I think it’s necessary to have that type of confidence. His confidence in us gives us confidence in what we can do so we know we can beat all these teams.”

The confidence inside the Trojans’ locker room hasn’t always matched others’ expectations after ASH started the season 0-2 and then dropped District 2-5A contests against Ruston and West Monroe. 

But the team that suited up at the end of the regular season and playoffs is much improved from the squad that lost to Carencro and St. Thomas More to start the season. 

Seniors Amyrion Mingo and Jaylin Johnson moved from receiver to cornerback to shore up the team’s biggest weakness in the defensive secondary so the Trojans feel they have playmakers at every level on defense, led by senior linemen Aayden Walker and Jeremiah Jeffers-Wright along with senior linebacker Omarion Ford.   

“Moving those guys (Mingo and Johnson) over there has made us a better football team,” Bachman said. “That’s the only thing we’re ever searching for is what gives our football team its highest ceiling.” 

Senior Ty Feaster has shown continued growth in his first year as the Trojans’ starting quarterback. He was critical in last week’s 23-0 victory over Brother Martin, rushing for more than 100 yards and turning in an efficient, turnover-free performance in the passing game. 

Feaster has completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,086 yards and 28 touchdowns. Senior E.J. Scott (48-670, 9 TDs) and junior Darius Washington (35-525, 4 TDs) have stepped into the top two receiver positions vacated by Mingo and Johnson, and junior tight end Tanner Townsend (11-238, 6 TDs) has proven a valuable weapon in the red zone.  

Junior JT Lindsey, who rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns last week, has firmly grasped the Trojans’ No. 1 running back role and shown the Trojans can rely on him every single week, compiling 1,410 rushing yards and 21 TDs on the season. 

Known for its speed and athletic playmakers, Karr is led by sophomore quarterback John Johnson, who has thrown for 1,930 yards and 23 TDs, and a stable of receivers that includes senior Ole Miss commit Rahji Dennis and junior LSU commit TaRon Francis. 

Bachman said the Cougars are very good at generating explosive plays using a variety of screens, off jump balls in the passing game and on special teams with their return teams. Limiting those explosive plays will be a major key if the Trojans are to win tonight. 

“You can’t just give up a whole bunch of big plays, so tackling in space will be a huge part of it,” Bachman said.

Ford said running to the football and gang tackling were two of the reasons the Trojans were able to shut out Brother Martin, and that is a major point of emphasis again this week. 

“The confidence is really high because we all knew we had the potential to be really great,” Ford said. “Now we’re just showing it.” 

“We’ve just gotta play with energy, play with an edge and play like we’re the better team,” Rivet said.

No. 13 ASH (8-4) vs. No. 5 Edna Karr (9-1) 

Where:  Behrman Stadium, Algiers (New Orleans) 

LHSAA playoff bracket: Select Division I 

Series: first meeting 

Last week: ASH beat Brother Martin 23-0; Karr beat Woodlawn-BR 50-0 

Rankings: Karr #4 in LSWA 5A poll 

Radio: none 

Notables: ASH is playing in the playoffs for the 32^nd time … the Trojans have an all-time playoff record of 14-31 … their only trip to the semifinals and finals came in 2020 when they won and then fell to Acadiana 35-34 in the 5A title game … ASH averages 37.1 points per game and allows 18.8 while Karr averages 35 and gives up 13 points a game… The Trojans shut out No. 4 Brother Martin in last week’s playoff as Jaylin Johnson and Amyrion Mingo had key interceptions … QB Ty Feaster came up with some key plays on offense, through the air for the first touchdown of the game a 32-yard strike to Darius Washington and with a 63-yard run that set up a second touchdown by  J.T. Lindsey who also scored the last on a 21-yard gallop. … Karr has been to the playoffs 29 times, the first in 1993 which resulted in its first of six state titles … The Cougars have reached the quarterfinal round for 15 consecutive years, the longest streak in the state, and have an all-time playoff record of 73-22 … they were unbeaten and No. 1 in Class 5A until losing their season finale 41-7 to John Curtis … Karr lost in the quarterfinal round last season.

By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine/YouTubeTV

First of all, let me say this: Alexandria Senior High School beating Brother Martin last week was not a surprise. What really surprised me was ASH shutting out Brother Martin 23-0.

It was a big statement win that opened eyes all around the state, especially in the Catholic League circles of New Orleans. Safe to say the biggest win of the season came at the right time for Trojans’ coach Thomas Bachman, his staff and his players. I have watched Brother Martin for over 30 years and I don’t ever remember them being shut out in the playoffs – or for that matter, in any game.

But that was then, and this is now. Game day, again down in the Crescent City, for ASH.

Tonight the Trojans take on another gold-standard state high school football program, Edna Karr. I see the Cougars play at least twice a year. Every season they lose 30 to 35 players to graduation and bring another 30 to 35 players up like they lost no one. It never fails to impress.

Neither does the way they take the field. Combine all the flair of the Grambling and Southern bands with a unique dose of fierce intensity, and it is one of the most memorable runouts you’ll ever see. If you’re not in the stadium tonight, go to YouTube and see some of their trademark entrances through the years.

Let me say this for ASH fans: don’t get caught up in focusing on certain Karr players to stop, because this team has 13 kids in its starting 24 (counting kicker and punter), who can run the forty in legit times of 4.5 or better. This will be the most talented team ASH plays in 2023.

Edna Karr is 9-1, losing only its regular-season finale to John Curtis – no disgrace. But the Cougars did get drilled, 41-7. So there’s a blueprint for ASH. The best way to beat Edna Karr is create or harvest turnovers, slow down the Cougars’ offense and get some stops, and sustain some long drives, milk clock and play keep away while putting points up when you can.

Remember I said the Cougars have 13 players who run 4.5 or better in the forty? They are RB Dezemen Favorite (5-9, 180), RB Daejawn Smith (5-10, 175), RB Tyron Francis (6-1, 200, commited to LSU), WR Rahji Dennis (6-0, 175, committed to Ole Miss), FS Aidan Hall (6-1, 165), CB Levi Darensbourg (5-10, 175), CB Cody Morris (5-10, 165), CB Maurice Williams (5-9, 160), CB/SS Chavez Morris (5-11, 180), RB/WR Bryant Sanchez (5-9, 165), WR Tyrone Wilson (5-10, 170), WR Oliver Mitchell (6-1, 170), and RB Kentez Lewis (5-10, 185). A 14^th player runs a 4.6 forty — QB John Johnson , who has a cannon arm.

But this is not a race. It’s a football game, and the reason I like ASH is because the Trojans are very good in the trenches.

ASH has the offensive and defensive linemen to slow down this Karr offense, control the ball and score with it. The Trojans have plenty of very good athletes who can score points and their two cornerbacks are lockdown guys.

I am taking ASH in an upset, in a close game. If you can beat a talented Brother Martin team in a shutout, then you can beat Edna Karr on any given night.

Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com

OWI/DWI charges are accusations, not convictions.

November 16

Travis Maddox, 36, Marksville — OWI 3rd, careless operation, driving under suspension/revocation, contempt 5 counts, 3:15 a.m., $19,200 bail.

November 17

Thomas Sherman, 59, Alexandria — DWI 1st, driving under suspension/revocation, speeding, improper lane usage, 7:10 p.m., $985 bail;

Kevin White, 50, Alexandria — OWI 3rd, driving under suspension/revocation, brake lamp required, 8:30 p.m., $15,300 bail;

Ariel Bennett, 26, Ball — OWI 1st, failure to change driver license address, improper lane usage, 3:00 a.m., $1,200 bail;

Brandon Brewster, 24, Pollock — OWI 1st, driving under suspension/revocation, improper window tint, stop-park-standing on shoulder, 6:19 a.m., $1,300 bail.

Rapides felony arrests are accusations, not convictions.

November 21

Chane Brown, 25, Alexandria — handling machine gun unlawfully, contempt 4 counts, $4,000 bail;

Brianna Russaw, 21, Alexandria — criminal conspiracy, theft 2 counts,$160,000 bail;

Kimberly Ryder, 46, Boyce — malfeasance in office, theft > $25,000, bail $2,000;

Donald Williams Jr., 34, Alexandria — felony flight, felony domestic abuse battery with child present 2 counts, aggravated strangle domestic abuse battery strangulation, contempt 7 counts, $105,000 bail.

November 22

Jacob Knox, 26, Deville — violation protective orders 4 counts, $40,000 bail;

Ronald Rhone, 55, Pineville — criminal conspiracy, theft, $15,000 bail;

Sunny Stanford, 43, Pineville — criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass, theft of motor vehicle, $6,000 bail. 

Rapides felony drug arrests are accusations, not convictions.

November 21

Bonnie Armstrong, 53, Boyce — possession, paraphernalia, $3,000 bail;

Juliann Rashall, 27, Boyce — possession, paraphernalia, probation violation, $10,500 bail.

November 22

William Fontenot, 52, Pineville — possession, fugitive, no bail set;

Randy Perry, 41, Alexandria — possession, theft 2 counts, resisting officer with force or violence, $1,500 bail.

By JIM BUTLER

A 28-year employee of the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office has been charged with theft of more than $25,000 and malfeasance in office.

Kimberly Beebe Ryder, 46, who joined the department shortly after graduation from Northwood High in 1995, is accused of taking non-public funds from an account she managed.

She faces, if convicted, up to 5 years imprisonment with or without hard labor, a fine of up to $5,000 or both. Restitution can also be ordered.

Ryder, of Boyce, has been fired by Sheriff Mark Wood, a news release states.

Among her duties was oversight of an account to which employees can make voluntary payroll deductions of $1 per pay period to pay for such things as funeral sprays, emergency assistance, etc.

The department has about 300 employees. The release does not note how many are contributors to the Family Club fund.

Nor does it refer to the accused’s apparent family connections in the department, an obviously uncomfortable aspect of the investigation and subsequent charges.

According to community sources, Ryder’s husband is a line deputy, her father a department supervisor and an uncle a task force commander.

The department statement did not indicate how long Ryder has handled the account. It said the arrest came after investigation of information brought to the department’s attention at an unspecified time.

Ryder was booked at 9:09 a.m. Tuesday and released on $2,000 bail at 9:50 a.m.

JOURNAL STAFF

“It’s Thanksgiving. Let’s don’t ever forget that. It’s a special time of the year.”

Kim Mulkey said that this week, and it’s always hard to disagree with LSU’s national champion women’s basketball coach.

The team that produces your Rapides Parish Journal is taking a holiday break. There will not be a Thanksgiving morning edition.

With Friday comes shopping and plenty of football to watch, and your RPJ will be there for you to devour before you start on the leftovers.

So pardon us as we pause with no edition Thursday. We’ll be back in your e-mail Friday morning at 6:55, online at RapidesParishJournal.com and on our Facebook page with the coverage you can’t get anywhere else.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

BATON ROUGE – No doubt that the little girls with the tierras sprinkled through the Monday night Pete Maravich Center crowd were disappointed that their “queen” was missing in action against a non-conference humpty for the second consecutive game. 

LSU first-team all-America forward/diva Angel Reese is supposedly serving a suspension handed out by LSU head coach Kim Mulkey.

Mulkey won’t say why she suspended the 21-year-old Reese. Or how long Reese is suspended. Or if Reese will be in uniform when the No. 7 Lady Tigers play a pair of games this Thanksgiving weekend in the Cayman Island Classic.

“Sometimes you want to know more than you’re entitled to know,” ’ol Stonewall Mulkey told inquiring media after LSU leveled Texas Southern, 106-47. “I’m going to protect my players always. It’s like a family.

“If you do some discipline of your own children, do you think we’re entitled to know that?”

Well, Kim, maybe not.

But my kid doesn’t have an NIL evaluation of $1.7 million, including endorsement deals with Mercedes-Benz (which she drives) and Reebok just to name a few. My kid didn’t decide to brand herself as an outspoken “I’m just being real” African American female role model, capitalizing on her Final Four “authenticity” last April when LSU won its first NCAA national championship.

My kid didn’t do Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue photoshoots or star in commercials or seem to be everywhere at once this past summer, mentally and physically exhausting herself trying to be too many things to too many people.

My kid didn’t trademark the nickname “Bayou Barbie” or suddenly have a family-appointed team of business advisers. My kid didn’t know how to handle the one-year avalanche of sudden fame and fortune. My kid didn’t have all the passion and enjoyment of playing the game she loved sucked out of her.

My kid didn’t appear to be dead on arrival for a stunning 15-point season-opening loss, despite playing on a team with the most talent in women’s college basketball. My kid never looked as if she had an on-court persona transplant, going from a relentless hustler, who fought to the death for offensive rebounds last season, to someone who gets brushed aside as if she were lint.

In her almost 40 years as a college coach, including 24 as a head coach, the one non-negotiable thing that will get a player in Mulkey’s doghouse is simple.

When it comes time to lace up the sneakers for practices and games, you play hard, you play defense, and you don’t put yourself above the team.

And if you’re a player and want to be coached with relentless intensity to take your game to new levels, you seek to play for Mulkey.

That’s why Reese, a fourth-year junior, transferred to LSU last season from Maryland. She wanted a coach who would constantly push her and rarely be satisfied. At the same time, she also would love and protect her and have Reese’s back.

Mulkey learned her coaching chops from Louisiana Tech’s Leon Barmore, her college coach and one-time boss, as well as the late Pat Summitt, the legendary Tennessee head coach who was Mulkey’s coach in the 1984 Olympics.

Both coaches demanded much from their players and could burn a hole through them with a simple glare when things went awry. Both coaches were also probably more appreciated by the ones they guided later in life, 10 to 20 years down the road,  rather than in the moment.

Exactly when Reese started testing Mulkey’s patience heading into this season isn’t clear. It’s probably something that could have been building during preseason practices, and Mulkey didn’t hide her disappointment in the lack of hustle by her returning starters Reese and Flau’jae Johnson in the opening loss to Colorado.

Since then, despite missing a game with the flu and then coming off the bench the next two games, Johnson has played as if her hair was on fire.

Reese? Not so much.

In last Tuesday’s home matchup vs. Kent State, Reese played just 13 minutes, notching 11 points and 5 rebounds. She was benched for launching (and badly missing) a 3-pointer with the game just 45 seconds old.

And now since Mulkey has an abundance of talent landing the best recruiting class in the nation heading into this season, she can sit Reese for the entire second half vs. Kent to send a not-so-subtle message.

That’s the last time the general public has seen Reese in over a week. Her only communications to the outside world have been through her social media accounts.

She told her 2.6 million Instagram followers “Please don’t believe everything you read.”

On her TikTok account with 2.6 million followers, she thanked her boyfriend and Florida State men’s player Cam’ron Fletcher for sending her flowers. “Knowing I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders & every day isn’t easy for me, you always ALWAYS make sure I’m good,” Reese wrote in the caption.

If Reese thinks LSU can’t win without her, she’s wrong. It just can’t win a second straight national championship without her.

Mulkey abhors losing. But she would hate it even more if she sacrificed her unyielding principles to allow a player to return who wants to be the hub rather than one of many talented spokes in the wheel of fortune and fame.

“You always have to deal with locker room issues,” Mulkey said. “I can never think of a time where I didn’t deal with issues. There’s not a coach in America that doesn’t deal with issues. You just deal with it, you make the best decisions and you love on ’em (her players).”

Who else would kick a player off her Baylor team as Mulkey did with Alexis Morris after her freshman season in 2017-18 and then re-sign her in 2021-22 when Mulkey became LSU’s coach?

Not only did Morris average 16.8 points in last season’s NCAA tourney, including 24 per game in the Final Four, but she earned her college degree.

Just as Mulkey pieced together last year’s 34-2 team that played its best ball of the year in its six-game NCAA tourney run, she’s doing the same with this season’s squad with or without Reese.

Now 5-1 after that opening loss to Colorado, you’re beginning to see LSU’s new transfers and freshmen find their way into their roles as Mulkey experiments with different lineups.

Hailey Van Lith, the No. 1 rated player in the transfer portal from Louisville, is starting to mesh her scoring (11.8 points) and her playmaking skills (a 28/12 assists to turnover ratio) alternating between point guard and shooting guard.

Annesah Morrow, the No. 2 rated player in the transfer portal from DePaul, is quickly blossoming as a tough, undersized 6-foot forward who’s third in the nation in steals with 23.

True freshman guard Mikaylah Williams of Bossier City’s Parkway High is averaging a team-leading 19.2 points and is shooting a ridiculous 56.7 percent behind the 3-point arc.

Sophomore center Sa’Myah Smith has become an inside force as a scorer (13.7 ppg), rebounder (8.5 rpg) and shot blocker (1.5 bspg).

Since Reese is surrounded by more talent, she should realize she can play even harder than last year in shorter bursts because she no longer has to carry the load.

Here’s hoping Reese finds her “why?” again, rediscovering the sheer fun of being a part in the sum of the whole.

“We’re a funny team,” Van Lith said. “We always have a joke going. We like to laugh. That’s our biggest bonding moment.”

Angel, there’s nothing like being just one of the girls. Leave your tierra at the locker room door, stow away your “brand” and whatever image you think you should be and just enjoy what you do so well.

Ball out.

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com