The City of Alexandria Division of Community Services is sponsoring five day camps this summer for youth of different ages.
Space in each is limited, with registration fees of $25. Registration is through the city’s website.
The initial camp – Journalism – is for ages 13-17. It runs from 9 a.m.-noon June 17-21 at the Youth & Teen Center.
It is designed to help teens develop storytelling and editorial skills in creating news stories across multiple media platforms.
The Public Safety Academy, June 24-28, will allow youth ages 12-17 to explore careers in the police, fire and EMS fields, as well as address life safety lessons. It will be 9-noon at the Public Safety Complex, Bolton Avenue.
The third camp – Healthy Living plant, cook, eat, display – will include basic gardening, cooking, and healthy nutritional choices. For ages 8-18, it will be 9-noon at the Johnnie Varnado Business Center, July 8-12.
The first City of Alexandria Invention Convention, for ages 8-16, will be hosted by Region 6 STEM Center Cenla STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) July 15-19.
Campers will learn about the design process as they create a prototype for invention that can address a need in home or community.
Hours are 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Youth & Teen Center.
The concluding camp, July 22-26, for ages 13-17 is Youth Financial Literacy, concentrating on how money mindset plays a role in future financial success and on building good money habits.
The camp will be at Bolton Avenue Community Center 9-noon.
Again – space for each camp is limited. Contact Community Services at 318-449-5225 for additional information.
Looking for fun, creative indoor summer opportunities for your child this summer? Central Louisiana has a few options to power down the devices and ignite your child’s imagination instead.
These open-play venues in Alexandria are designed to let your child’s imagination soar. The best part is, you can join the fun! Play therapy is great for adults as well and a great tool in the arsenal for mental health positivity.
TREE HOUSE MUSEUM
One of Cenla’s oldest and best indoor play places is the T.R.E.E. House Museum. Opportunities are endless for creativity with shopping, cooking, building, and exploring. A recently designed sensory room is great for those with autism.
Many have heard of their birthday party options and some may be familiar with their FREE 4th Friday 5-8 PM admission. But they do so much more. Providing a place for foster care children to visit with biological parents was born after hearing that such reunification meetings were taking place in cramped social worker offices. Afterschool tutoring is provided to RPSB students in need. The TREE House non-profit works tirelessly behind the scenes to give back to the community which makes your day of fun an investment into the lives of other children as well.
A Parents Night Out is offered once a month and they are offering several summer camps for 2024. Art camp, space camp, dinosaur camp, messy science camp, Wild West camp, summer fun camp, and the one I’m most intrigued about, Swift Popstar camp!
Children’s Exploration Oasis, down the street at 1016 3rd St, opened in 2023. Designed and created by owner Savannah Lovecchio, it offers an engaging & Interactive play experience for parents to enjoy with their young children. The museum is set up for children from crawlers to age 10 and parents and caregivers who remain ten at heart! With several different career and daily life play experiences, as well as interactive sensory exhibit, the opportunities for both boys and girls to expand their minds are limitless.
A summer punch card pass is available. Special summer hours are available on their website, childrensexplorationoasis.com, along with details about the following summer camps held for ages 3-7.
Barbie Camp (June 17-21), Frozen Camp (July 8-12), Fun on the Farm Camp (July 15-19), and Bluey Camp (July 22-26) all sound like so much fun that I lamented not being in the target demographic!
Another 2023 opening in Cenla took place at Light of Mine Playhouse Cafe, 6501 Coliseum Blvd, Suite 300. This open play setup was designed by owners Christelle Carley and Eden Etienne with parents in mind. Think home but with giant toy rooms, a chef in your kitchen, a closet with all the stuff you forgot to pack, tables for when your child needs a few minutes to redirect or you need to have a conversation with another human that comes up past your knees, a private nursing room, a special play nursery area for your infant babies, and fast reliable WIFI so you can work while your kids play in plain view.
Such a design could only have been created by moms!
There are puzzles, musical instruments, a wooden sit and spin, slides, a train, and a tea party set. There is a pretend cafe that mirrors the real one inside the building. There is a pretend vet’s office as well but leave your pets at home as this one doesn’t have a live counterpart!
Story Hour is every Tuesday at 10 AM & 3 PM, complete with craft. Music and Movement is every Thursday at 10 AM and 3 PM. Monthly memberships are available.
Light of Mine Playhouse Cafe is located at 6501 Coliseum Blvd, Suite 300. For more information, call 318-704-1110 or email hello@lightofmineplayhousecafe.com.
PLAY CENLA
For more physically exerting indoor play that also fosters creativity, Play Cenla has over 3000 sq ft of indoor rope courses, zip lines, and rock walls.
“Just lean back and relax. You won’t get hurt,” I was told when I rappelled from the easiest ninja rock wall designed for preschoolers. The attendant seriously miscalculated my lack of athletic ability as my tense body bumped back into the wall!
I also had to apologize to over a dozen kids as my fear of heights left me paralyzed and holding up the line to the zip line. Being encouraged by a handful of kids still in the single digit age was simultaneously comforting and humiliating. But I made it and loved the reward of being able to zip line.
I was in awe of the fearless kids around me who effortlessly maneuvered challenging courses with safety harnesses and creativity.
Open Wednesday-Sunday, Play Cenla has a special summer pass that allows unlimited admission every day except Saturdays. Future plans for expansion are in the works.
Owners Eddie and Adrienne Ponce saw a need for such a place when they created Play Cenla. With four kids at home needing to expend energy, they were familiar with open play areas in larger cities like Dallas but wanted to bring something to the community they belonged to. Used by families, daycares, youth groups, and even adult team building groups, Play Cenla utilizes physical and mental strength in kids of all ages.
Play Cenla is located at 1008 Bayou Place, Alexandria. Playtime starts on the hour; walk-ins welcome. Call 318-613-5474 for more info.
ADVENTURE FUN PARK
Adventure Fun Park, located at 1978 Monroe Hwy, Pineville, is wall-to-wall fun. The facility features wall to wall trampolines, ninja course activities, air bag pits, dodgeball courts, and more!
Open 7 days a week, you can reserve your jump time by calling 318-704-6779 or emailing cenla@adventurefunpark.com.
FUN ON THE GEAUX
Fun on the Geaux is another indoor play park for children to release energy.
Such physical activity is good for children, helping them develop the fundamental movement skills that will help them stay active in later life. As children get older, physical play will also help them to stay healthy and active. It also strengthens their bones and muscles.
Open every day except Mondays, this venue’s mission is to provide a full-service family entertainment center with attractions for kids of all ages. Located in the Alexandria Mall at 3437 Masonic Dr, it features four inflatable jumpers, an obstacle course, 9-hole putt putt golf course, and more!
With a softball state championship and a strong baseball season, it is no surprise several Grace Christian players were included on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Class B All-State teams.
Earning first-team softball honors were junior pitcher Rylee Guillot and sophomore outfielder Wynlee Vincent.
Guillot posted a 21-5 record, 1.27 ERA and piled up 221 strikeouts in 143 ⅓ innings pitched. She also batted .429 with five home runs, 10 doubles and 38 RBIs.
The Most Outstanding Player of the Division V Select state title game, Vincent batted .467 with five doubles, five triples, one home run, 27 RBIs and led the Lady Warriors with 46 runs scored and 19 stolen bases.
Receiving honorable mention recognition was Bella Acree, who batted .436 on the season and led the Lady Warriors with eight home runs and 50 RBIs.
On the All-State baseball team, the Warriors were represented by first-team selections Maddox Attales and Kanyon Wright, both juniors.
Attales batted .442. Wright hit a team-high .452 with 11 home runs, five doubles, 50 RBIs and 44 runs scored.
Seth Cook of Grace Christian and Noah Hoyt from Rapides were honorable mention All-State selections.
A panel of LSWA members from around the state chose the teams.
Marlene Byars December 19, 1940 – May 24, 2024 Service: Wednesday, May 29, 2024, Pine Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Pineville.
Carol Dian Vermillion December 3, 1933 – May 24, 2024 Service: Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 11am in the Chapel of Rush Funeral Home, Pineville.
Lorena Vaughn October 11, 1934 – May 26, 2024 Service: Friday, May 31, 2024, Noon at Chapel of Rush Funeral Home, Pineville.
Robert “Bob” Leckie June 20, 1940 – May 25, 2024 Service: Friday, May 31, 2024, 11am at Frazier Cemetery, Dry Prong.
Edward Bives III September 22, 1959 – May 19, 2024 Service: Friday, May 31, 2024, 11:30am at Garden of Memories Funeral Home, Metairie.
Sandra Yvette Williams August 19, 1967 – May 20, 2024 Service: Saturday, June 1, 2024, 1pm at Main Street Baptist Church, Pineville.
Christina ”Charmaine” Gaspard May 1, 1959 – May 10, 2024 Service: Saturday, June 8, 2024, Noon at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, Alexandria.
The Rapides Parish Journal publishes paid obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $95. Contact your funeral provider or RPJNewsla@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Notice of Death shown above are FREE of charge. You may email them to RPJNewsla@gmail.com)
It’s not Ebbets Field, or the Polo Grounds, or Forbes Field, or Crosley Field or even the Astrodome, but its demise means just as much to many.
The Alexandria City Council will likely adopt an ordinance at its meeting today authorizing Mayor Jacques Roy to accept the low bid, whatever that is, for selective demolition and clearance of Bringhurst Field.
Vestiges of the grand dame of area baseball will endure but most of her remains will be taken down, before they fall down.
Roy, attuned to the field’s place in hearts and history, says its iconic facade will be 100 percent left intact, but most of the rest has to go.
He said the stadium was the subject of robust discussion in preparation of this fiscal year’s budget (still to be posted online).
The ultimate decision: preserve the bones and structure, remove the eyesore, the blight and the unsafe.
The stadium has stood since 1933, and was renovated in the early 1970s and extensively touched up in the early 1990s, both times in hopes of keeping minor league baseball playing there.
It closed in 2013.
The outfield wall’s removal created a green space for public use in 2017 and a youth park was constructed at the former right field corner.
Discussions continue, the mayor said, about how to best take advantage of space the former ball field provides in the Masonic Drive corridor.
Twenty-four years since he was hired, on a temporary basis, to be the head baseball coach at Louisiana College, 69-year-old Mike Byrnes is still on the job and, like a fine wine, is mellowing and improving with age.
He’s a bit of an oddity – a Catholic who has coached for two-plus decades at a Baptist college. He is an old-school coach who shows up to work as often as seven days a week, but he looks at times like an old hippie with a gray ponytail. That ponytail is his way of paying homage to the late Tommy Boggs, a former major leaguer and coach for Concordia University, who died in 2022 of throat cancer. Boggs and all of his players shaved their heads before a home game against LC several years ago when Mike’s wife, Colynda, was fighting breast cancer.
Byrnes is fresh off guiding the Wildcats to a 34-21 season for the ages. They won the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament championship for the first time. They advanced to the NAIA Regional, and they twice received votes in the NAIA Top 25 rankings. Byrnes’ team ranked No. 1 in the NAIA in sacrifice bunts (60) and they ranked No. 1 in the RRAC in doubles (112).
Byrnes was voted by his peers as the Coach of the Year in the conference – the first time he has ever won outright such an honor. Three other times he had to share the honor when the school was in the NCAA Division 3 American Southwest Conference.
At a campus where Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Billy Allgood became a legend as a basketball and baseball coach and athletics director, Byrnes is the winningest baseball coach in the school’s history with 514 victories. Although Allgood built the campus baseball facility that bears his name, it bears little resemblance to the one that Byrnes has renovated and expanded, all with some $1 million generated over the years through fundraising.
“I knew in 10th grade I wanted to coach,” said Byrnes, who has coached at the high school, college and professional levels. “I had some great mentors when I played at Menard in Billy Horn, Don Boniol and Charlie McArthur.”
A 1973 graduate of Menard Central High School, Byrnes spent time at LSUA and LSU before finishing college at LC in 1979.
An Air Force brat whose father was a medic during the Vietnam War, Byrnes has been a Rapides Parish School Board member, and he doubles now as a justice of the peace in Ward 10. His first coaching stints out of college were at Bolton and Marksville High before he went to Tioga in 1983 to become the head coach for football and baseball and powerlifting. He guided the Indians to back-to-back state baseball titles in 1986 and ’87, and his powerlifting teams won state in 1989, ’90 and ’91.
He then entered the business world for several years, albeit the sports medicine business, and Sheila Johnson, then the athletics director at LC, offered him the job in May of 2000 as head baseball coach. The program was in tatters with bad morale and a 23-73 record for the two previous seasons.
Byrnes agreed to take the job on a part-time basis. “I told her, ‘I’ll give you two years and try to straighten things out.’ I’m still here (no more as a part-timer) so I guess we still haven’t straightened things out.”
“From Day 1, he had a plan,” said Russ Springer, a longtime friend of Byrnes and former LSU and 18-year big league pitcher from Pollock who is a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. “He was not going to use this job as a stepping- stone to go somewhere else. He wanted to stay and build a program, and that’s what he’s done.”
All the while, the rock in his life, he said, has been his wife of 41 years, the former Colynda Hayes, who is cancer-free for 10 years.
“She is my head coach,” he said. “She’s as tough a human being as I’ve ever been around. She makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for my guys. She’s at every game.” They live in Tioga, and they have two sons and six grandchildren.
“I’m a baseball coach,” he said, “but I am a husband and grandfather first.”
JUMPING FOR JOY: Airline product Hayden Travinski dances home ahead of Steven Milam’s game-winning home run in the 10th inning Saturday, lifting LSU to a 12-11 SEC Tournament semifinal triumph over South Carolina. (Photo by SIERRA BEAULIEU, LSU Athletics)
By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – Jay Johnson already has a treasure chest full of great memories in just three seasons as LSU’s head baseball coach.
But in creating more moments he’ll think about when he’s retired many years from now, he has little time to dwell on accomplishments.
For instance, just a few days after LSU’s national championship celebration in Alex Box Stadium last June, he was on a plane to visit and successfully sign Alabama transfer pitcher Luke Holman who has become the ace of the 2024 staff.
On Monday, after the 40-21 Tigers learned they earned an NCAA Tournament invite as the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional playing No. 3 seed Wofford (41-18) on Friday at 11 a.m. CT, Johnson quickly reflected on his team winning four straight SEC Tournament games before losing 4-3 to No. 1 ranked Tennessee in Sunday’s championship game.
“I wish we would have won yesterday,” Johnson said, “but I’ll remember that week for a long time and the evolution of how things happened.”
It started with two dominant starting pitching performances by Gage Jump and Holman respectively in a 9-1 win over Georgia and a stunning 11-0 run-rule beatdown of Kentucky.
It continued with two of the Tigers’ biggest comebacks of the season in 11-10 and 12-11 (in 10 innings) wins over South Carolina when LSU hitters and relievers delivered in the clutch in the closing innings.
The Tigers won seven consecutive games starting with a sweep of Ole Miss in the final SEC series of the regular season to rally for an NCAA tourney bid that seemed an unattainable goal after a 3-12 start in league play.
“The pitching dynamic is good, the bats have certainly gotten better and we’ve played very good defense,” Johnson said. “I feel like we have an identity (with the lethal starting pitching duo of Jump and Holman), we have confidence and that’s probably what makes us tough to play.”
Suddenly, the team that lost its first five SEC series to opponents that all got NCAA tourney invites including three of the top five national seeds (No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 5 Arkansas) is being referred to by national media as one of the hottest teams in college baseball.
“We believe every time we go out there, we’re gonna win the game,” said LSU junior shortstop Michael Braswell III, a South Carolina transfer who batted .352 with 8 RBI to earn SEC All-Tournament team honors. “I can honestly say we didn’t feel that way earlier in the season. Now, we have the mindset that we’re the LSU Tigers and we can beat anybody at any time.”
Nothing gave LSU more confidence than beating South Carolina in Saturday’s SEC tourney semifinals on freshman second baseman Steven Milam’s two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th inning.
It came moments after home plate umpire Derek Mollica ejected Johnson for arguing an obscure interpretation of a catcher’s interference call against LSU catcher Brady Neal that awarded South Carolina the go-ahead run for an 11-10 lead. Umpires originally ruled the play as an inning-ending third out when Neal tagged out South Carolina’s Blake Jackson who was trying to steal home.
“I literally went out there (to Mollica) not to get kicked out,” Johnson said. “My whole point of contention was how he reversed the call. I was like `So, wait a minute. I can come out here (as did South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston) and say you missed it and then you’re going to change it?’ “
It turned out to be a galvanizing moment when Johnson was banished to the bowels of Hoover Met stadium (“I was in the batting cage, ready to fight everyone,” he said.)
“We all were like `Let’s go out and do this’,” said Tigers’ third baseman Tommy White, another of LSU’s five honorees on the all-tournament team after hitting .416 with 13 RBI, 3 homers, 2 doubles and a triple. “There were no ifs, ands or buts. We gotta go out there and win this thing.”
After playing five games in six days, Johnson said his team won’t have a full-fledged practice until Wednesday just before they board a charter flight to Chapel Hill.
Awaiting the Tigers there is possibly a second-round matchup with site host and No. 4 national seed North Carolina (42-13), the Atlantic Coast Conference champions. In Friday’s first round at 5 p.m,. CT, the Tar Heels play No. 4 seed Long Island (33-23), the Northeast Conference, tournament champions.
“I’m juiced up for it,” Braswell said of LSU’s 36th NCAA tourney appearance. “And I’m not the only one on the team juiced up.”
Bertie is a historical figure who is often overlooked or discounted as a failure, but was he? Bertie was born in Iowa in 1874. His father, Jesse, owned a farm implement store. His mother’s name was Hulda. He had an older brother and eventually, a younger sister. In 1880, Bertie’s father died from a sudden heart attack at the young age of 34. Four years later, his mother died from Typhoid fever. Ten-year-old Bertie and his two siblings were orphans. In 1885, Bertie and his siblings went to Newberg, Oregon, to live with their uncle, a businessman named John Minthorn. Uncle John managed a real estate office called the Oregon Land Company. Bertie dropped out of school at the age of 13 to work in Uncle John’s land company.
In 1891, Bertie enrolled in the first class of the brand new Stanford University. He initially studied mechanical engineering but changed his major to geology after working with Dr. John Casper Branner, the chairman of Stanford’s geology department. In 1894, a strong-minded 20-year-old woman named Lou Henry attended a geology lecture by Dr. Branner and was hooked. Shortly thereafter, she enrolled at Stanford. There, she met Bertie and the two became inseparable. A year after her graduation, Bertie and Lou married. Soon thereafter, Bertie accepted a position as leading engineer in a private Chinese engineering and mining company. The newlyweds packed their meager belongings and moved to Tientsin, China.
At the time, tensions were rising in China. In June 1900, the Boxer Rebellion erupted in Tientsin. The Boxer Rebellion was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901 by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists, known as the “Boxers” in English due to many of its members having practiced Chinese martial arts, which at the time were referred to as “Chinese boxing.” For almost a month, Tientsin was under heavy fire. While Lou worked in the hospitals, Bertie directed the building of barricades. On July 14, 1901, a multi-national military force defeated the “boxers” in the Battle of Tientsin.
After the rebellion, Bertie and Lou moved to London where Bertie specialized in fixing failing mining companies. Rather than being paid a salary, Bertie took a percentage of the profits if he was able to rejuvenate the companies. Within a short time, Bertie had investments in mines on every continent and had offices in several countries. His talents as a geologist quickly made him wealthy. By 1914, Bertie’s wealth reached approximately $4 million. That would be over $125 million in today’s money.
Bertie wrote the book on mining. Seriously. In 1909, he published a book called “Principles of Mining” which became a standard textbook for geologists. Bertie and Lou were huge fans of Georgius Agricola’s 16th century work on mining and metallurgy called “De re Metallica.” In 1912, they published the first English translation of “De re Metallica.” At about the same time, Bertie joined the board of trustees at his alma mater, Stanford. Bertie was happy with the trajectory of his life. He had a loving wife and two wonderful children. Then something happened which forever changed his life’s trajectory.
In 1914, Germany declared war on France. The American Consul General asked for Bertie’s help in getting stranded American tourists back home. With the backing of Congress and President Woodrow Wilson, Bertie was selected as the committee’s chairman. He acted immediately. Within two weeks, his committee helped more 100,000 Americans return to the United States. Bertie said later, “I did not realize it at the moment, but on August 3, 1914, my career was over forever. I was on the slippery road of public life.”
In August 1914, Germany invaded Belgium, which created a food crisis. Germany refused to take responsibility to feed citizens in captured territory. At this point, the United States declared neutrality in what was the early part of World War I. Something had to be done. With the cooperation of President Wilson’s administration, Bertie led a Belgian relief organization called the Commission for Relief in Belgium. Bertie made 40 trips to meet with German authorities in the North Sea and persuaded them to allow food shipments. Under Bertie’s leadership, the commission delivered millions of tons of foodstuffs to Belgium. In 1915, the commission expanded and delivered supplies to people in the German-occupied Northern France. American diplomat Walter Page said Bertie was “probably the only man living who has privately negotiated understandings with the British, French, German, Dutch, and Belgian governments.” Remember, Bertie held no political office.
When the United States entered World War I, President Wilson remembered how well Bertie had handled the Commission for Relief in Belgium and France and appointed him to head the U.S. Food Administration. Bertie’s herculean task was to manage the country’s food supplies during the war. To avoid rationing, which other wartime countries were forced to undertake, Bertie established set days for people to avoid eating certain foods including the cleverly named meatless Mondays and wheatless Wednesdays. The plan worked and allowed the Food Administration to send foodstuffs to allies of the United States. Bertie was referred to as an expert administrator for his work.
After the war, Europe still faced food shortages. The Food Administration, whose name changed to the American Relief Administration, provided food to central and eastern Europe. Bertie also founded the European Children’s Fund to provide food and aid to some fifteen million children from 14 countries. Despite his request that he not be named in publicity for the food program, Bertie’s selfless work during the war made him a public hero. His abilities were also praised when he worked as Secretary of Commerce under presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge. Despite going from being an orphan to a multimillionaire, personally negotiating with leaders of warring nations to provide aid which potentially saved the lives of millions of people in multiple countries, Bertie is often considered a failure. How is this possible? When the stock market crashed in the fall of 1929 followed shortly thereafter by the Great Depression, Bertie was the president of the United States. Bertie was the family nickname for Herbert Hoover.
Louisiana State Police has been made aware of a defect in Motor Vehicle Inspection (MVI) stickers issued for the year 2026. Upon initial adhesion to a vehicle windshield, the “26” sticker has a yellow background. Due to sun exposure, the sticker may potentially fade from yellow to clear or white.
Individuals who have received 2026 MVI stickers from January 1, 2024, until the present date may experience fading. It is important to note that despite the fading, these MVI stickers will remain valid. No action is required by the vehicle owner. The Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) is aware of this issue, and is working to replace the current unissued inventory.
Douglas Brasher Byrd, Sr. May 17, 1937 – May 21, 2024 Service: Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 10:30am at Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Pineville.
James Miller Scott December 6, 1930 – May 20, 2024 Service: Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 2pm at Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Pineville
Jack Gary Cooper September 23, 1947 – May 22, 2024 Service: Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 2pm at the Chapel of Rush Funeral Home, Pineville.
Marlene Byars December 19, 1940 – May 24, 2024 Service: Wednesday, May 29, 2024, Pine Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Pineville.
Carol Dian Vermillion December 3, 1933 – May 24, 2024 Service: Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 11am in the Chapel of Rush Funeral Home, Pineville.
Edward Bives III September 22, 1959 – May 19, 2024 Service: Friday, May 31, 2024, 11:30am at Garden of Memories Funeral Home, Metairie.
Christina ”Charmaine” Gaspard May 1, 1959 – May 10, 2024 Service: Saturday, June 8, 2024, Noon at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, Alexandria.
The Rapides Parish Journal publishes paid obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $95. Contact your funeral provider or RPJNewsla@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Notice of Death shown above are FREE of charge. You may email them to RPJNewsla@gmail.com)
With apologies to Gary U.S. Bonds, the words are out of order but the message clear — kids are out of school beginning today and motorists are urged by agencies to increase their vigilance.
From now until classes resume on August 8 there will be more youngsters out and about in neighborhoods ordinarily relatively quiet from 7 till 4.
Youngsters will be on bikes, skateboards, or running about in driveways and on sidewalks, and often in streets.
Police urge extra caution going to and fro, particularly in residential areas.
Keep summer streets as safe as possible, they urge.
As the United States commemorates Memorial Day, paying tribute to those who have given their lives in military service to our nation, Americans will take a long holiday weekend with most businesses and institutions closed on Monday.
The Rapides Parish Journal team is taking a break as well, pausing our normal Monday publication.
The Journal will resume our free news and sports coverage with our Tuesday morning edition.
We hope you and yours enjoy the holiday, and keep in your thoughts those brave men and women throughout our nation’s history who through their military service and valor made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our American way of life.
Students were honored for their achievements across Rapides Parish this week, that end-of-the-year ceremony where success is honored with certificate, trophies, and much applause.
I attended the Awards Ceremony at Oak Hill Elementary, unsure of what to expect. I’d taught in schools where principals had given a limited number of awards to hand out, rewarding only a select few. I’d also taught in schools where every child received an award, creativity coming into play for the faculty.
Like many young educators, I once rode the fence between the two. Pragmatically understanding the mindset of trophies designed to reward excellence, I also saw accomplishment in all student growth.
I’d once driven home from an awards ceremony where my oldest child was laden with ribbons and trophies while her siblings clutched their participation certificates.
I’m sure I committed the age-old parental faux pas of encouraging them to be more like their sister the following year as they looked at her awards with envy.
As I got older, I began to see success differently, both in my students and my own children. I saw potential; I praised growth. I started to understand the value of building children up and the harm in comparing them to each other. I wished I’d had that foresight when I was younger.
Fortunately the teachers at Oak Hill did.
Not only was each child recognized, but the parents and grandparents were acknowledged as well. It takes a village to raise a child and the entire village was celebrated at Oak Hill’s Award Ceremony.
Spread throughout the day as grade level award ceremonies and kindergarten graduation, each child was called to the podium as their teacher presented the highlights of their academic success for the year. Students were honored with their personal achievements of growth rather than how they measured against other students.
It’s a concept every school across America should follow.
This central focus of whole-child development at Oak Hill’s K-12 school is widely supported by the community as evidenced by packed auditoriums for each grade level ceremony. Great job, Oak Hill!
Jeanni Ritchie is a mother, grandmother, and former educator who delights in all things kindergarten. She can be found at www.jeanniritchie.com.
IN COMMAND: Menard senior Coen Laroux throws a pitch during a complete-game win over Rosepine on March 26. Laroux is one of two Menard pitchers and four Eagles to be named to the Journal’s 2024 All-Parish Baseball Team. (Journal photo by BRET H. MCCORMICK)
By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
Featuring a squad that returned eight starters and 14 seniors off last year’s state runner-up team, the Menard Eagles had high expectations for a state championship in 2024.
While they fell short of the goal, losing to St. Charles 1-0 in the semifinals, the Eagles boasted the claim of being top dogs among Rapides Parish baseball teams this past season.
They defeated Alexandria Senior High, Buckeye and Pineville at the Terry Mathews Memorial Tournament in late February and early March before knocking off Tioga in early April and sweeping Glenmora in District 4-2A action, finishing the season 6-0 against parish teams and 23-9 on the year.
So it’s no surprise Menard leads the way with four selections, including the top two pitchers in seniors Coen Laroux and Cooper Scott, on the Rapides Parish Journal’s 2024 All-Parish Baseball Team.
ASH placed three players on the 15-man squad that features four pitchers, eight position players, a designated hitter and two utility players.
Buckeye, Grace Christian and Pineville each had two selections on the team, while Glenmora and Tioga had one selection apiece.
Below is the list of All-Parish selections along with their season accolades as well as an alphabetical listing of the next 15 players chosen as “Best of the Rest.”
Pitcher: Adam Brodnax, Jr., Buckeye – Despite not pitching in February due to basketball season, Brodnax finished with a 6-1 record and a 0.40 ERA in 10 starts, throwing four complete games and two shutouts. He only gave up 28 total hits while striking out 52 batters in 52 ⅔ innings. At the plate, Brodnax batted .274 with three doubles, two triples, 11 runs and 19 RBIs.
Pitcher: Ben Eskew, Sr., ASH – The Trojans’ ace and senior right-hander finished the season with an 8-3 record and a 3.77 ERA, earning first-team all-district in District 2-5A and Academic All-State. During the playoffs, Eskew went 2-0, giving up just one earned run in 13 ⅔ innings as the Trojans finished one win shy of Sulphur.
Pitcher: Coen Laroux, Sr., Menard – The Eagles’ No. 1 starter and Centenary signee led them in appearances, starts and innings pitched, getting the ball in most of the team’s biggest games, including the 1-0 semifinal loss to St. Charles, when he pitched a two-hitter. Laroux finished the season with a 6-5 record, 1.91 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched while batting .291 with four doubles, a triple, 21 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
Pitcher: Cooper Scott, Sr., Menard – The All-Parish Most Outstanding Player, the LSUE signee was lights-out on the mound, finishing with a 9-0 record, 1.02 ERA and one save in 12 appearances. He gave up just 13 total runs, including nine earned, and struck out 59 batters in 62 innings. When he wasn’t pitching, Scott found a home in right field and shook off an early-season slump to finish with a .292 batting average, eight doubles, five triples, three home runs and 20 RBIs while leading the team with 24 walks, 33 runs and 23 stolen bases.
Catcher: Ben Wade, Sr., Menard – The College of the Desert (California) signee returns for a second straight season on the All-Parish team after batting .300 with three doubles, one triple and 15 RBIs while making just three errors and throwing out nine runners trying to steal. Wade was batting just .204 through March but was the team’s second-leading hitter with a .444 average in April and May.
First Base: Drake Aldredge, Sr., Menard – The Eagles’ most consistent hitter throughout the season, the Louisiana Christian signee returns for a second straight season as the All-Parish first baseman after leading the Eagles with a .402 batting average, 39 hits, 11 doubles and 26 RBIs while also adding a home run, scoring 13 runs, striking out just six times and making just three errors in 218 chances.
Second Base: Seth Cook, Sr., Grace Christian – An All-Parish selection last season as a pitcher, Cook only threw 16 innings as a senior, striking out 33 batters and giving up just seven hits in compiling a 4-0 record and 0.00 ERA. He spent the majority of the season at second base, batting .365 with nine home runs, two doubles, one triple, 44 RBIs and 32 runs.
Third Base: Caden Extine, So., ASH – Last year’s All-Parish second baseman, Extine found a consistent home at third base as a sophomore, raising his batting average to .341 with eight doubles, two triples and a team-high 31 RBIs.
Shortstop: Cameren Parks, Sr., Glenmora – The LSUA signee and Wildcats’ leadoff hitter batted .440 on the season with 11 doubles, one triple, one home run, 23 stolen bases, 24 RBIs and 45 runs scored while also going 5-0 on the mound with a 1.52 ERA. Coach Aaron West called Parks “the best player I’ve ever coached here in 10 years.”
Outfield: Miguel Magallon, Jr., ASH – The Trojans’ left fielder was their leading hitter on the season, finishing with a .357 batting average, seven doubles, one triple and 19 RBIs while helping the Trojans to the Division I Select quarterfinals.
Outfield: Alex Morrison, Sr., Tioga – The LSUE signee and two-time first-team all-district selection led the Indians with a .395 batting average, two home runs, five doubles, one triple, 22 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.
Outfield: Matt Warden, Sr., Pineville – The LSUA signee switched positions this season, moving from behind the plate to primarily right field while also adding pitching duties. Warden batted a team-leading .357 with eight doubles, five triples, two homers and 16 RBIs despite playing through a broken thumb on his left hand. He also went 3-1 on the mound with a 3.80 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 29 ⅓ innings pitched.
Designated Hitter: Wes Oates, Jr., Pineville – The parish’s top power hitter took over the role of full-time catcher and built upon his strong sophomore season to become the Rebels’ most potent weapon, finishing the season with a .305 batting average, four doubles, one triple and team-highs of seven homers and 29 RBIs.
Utility: Drew Tyson, Jr., Buckeye – The junior was a true utility guy for the Panthers, spending time on the mound, behind the plate and at shortstop. Tyson finished the season with a 7-3 record and 0.58 ERA while striking out 70 batters and giving up just 43 hits in 60 innings pitched while also batting .333 with six doubles and three triples.
Utility: Kanyon Wright, Jr., Grace Christian – The Warriors’ top pitcher went 8-3 with a 1.51 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched while batting a team-high .452 with 11 home runs, five doubles, 50 RBIs and 44 runs scored. He also walked 34 times and had a .636 on-base percentage.
BRASWELL CALLS GAME: LSU shortstop Michael Braswell rejoices after his go-ahead RBI single down the third base line in the top of the ninth inning completed a comeback to keep the Tigers perfect through three games in the SEC Tournament. (Photo courtesy LSU Athletics)
JOURNAL SPORTS
HOOVER, Ala. – LSU shortstop Michael Braswell III lined a two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth inning Thursday night to break a tie and lift the Tigers to a comeback 11-10 SEC Tournament win over South Carolina at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
LSU rallied to erase deficits of 5-1 and 10-7.
LSU, which has won six straight games, advances to the tournament semifinal round at noon Saturday versus either South Carolina or Kentucky. The Tigers improved to 39-20, while South Carolina dropped to 35-22.
South Carolina and Kentucky will play at 3 p.m. CT Friday in an elimination game, and the winner will face LSU in Saturday’s semifinal.
The Tigers are 17-5 in their last 22 games overall and 13-5 in their last 18 games against SEC teams.
“Great baseball game tonight, so proud of our team,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “Really for the last month, every win we’ve had has been the most important win. Tonight was the best win of the season.”
Trailing 10-9 entering the top of the ninth, LSU opened the inning with back-to-back singles by second baseman Steven Milam and by centerfielder Jake Brown. A flyout by rightfielder Ashton Larson advanced pinch runner Paxton Kling – who was running for Milam – to third base, and the Tigers tied the game when catcher Alex Milazzo delivered a sacrifice fly to score Kling.
Braswell, who played South Carolina for two seasons before transferring to LSU last summer, then delivered the game-winning hit against his former team as he slapped a single down the left-field line to score Brown.
“Michael, what a special player and performance tonight,” Johnson said. “Couldn’t be prouder of him. He’s been one of the best shortstops in the country, especially over the last three or four weeks he’s taken us to a new level since moving him into a lead-off spot. He’s playing his best baseball right now this season.”
LSU reliever Fidel Ulloa (2-1) earned the win, as he worked the final 1.2 innings and limited South Carolina to no runs on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts. Ulloa pitched around a one-single in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory.
LSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when second baseman Steven Milam produced an RBI single.
The Gamecocks erupted for five runs in the third as first baseman Ethan Petry provided a run-scoring double and catcher Cole Messina blasted a grand slam, his 20th home run of the season.
LSU responded in the top of the fourth with four runs, as designated hitter Hayden Travinski lined an RBI double, Milam smacked another run-scoring single and centerfielder Jake Brown launched a two-run homer, his third dinger of the season.
The Tigers reclaimed the lead in the fifth when first baseman Jared Jones unloaded a solo homer, his 23rd dinger of the year.
South Carolina tied the contest at 6-6 in the bottom of the fifth as second baseman Parker Noland lifted a sacrifice fly.
An RBI groundout in the sixth inning by third baseman Tommy White gave LSU a 7-6 advantage, but the Gamecocks struck for four runs in the bottom of the frame. Messina and second baseman Parker Nolan each lined two-out, two-run singles to give South Carolina a 10-7 lead.
A South Carolina infield error on a sharp ground ball hit by LSU leftfielder Josh Pearson with the bases loaded in the eighth inning scored two runs and allowed the Tigers to narrow the deficit to 10-9.
