By JIM BUTLER

A deputy making a traffic stop Thursday afternoon smelled weed. His K-9 partner smelled weed. Likely anyone else close by also did.

RPSO said John Michael Grezik, 37, of Orlando, was pulled over for a minor traffic violation.

Subsequently, 150 pounds of high-grade marijuana were discovered in his truck. Its value was determined by responding drug team officers to be approximately $679,000.

Grezik was placed under arrest without incident and booked for following too close, open container and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He was released Saturday on a $150,200 bond.

Information regarding where the stop occurred or Grezik’s destination was not available. 

By JIM BUTLER

Lindas Nail Spa in Pineville is seeking a sales permit from the Alcohol Beverage Control Board.

The permit would allow sale of low-alcohol content beverages at the spa, 2963 Cottingham Expressway, adjacent to Super 1 Foods.

The applicant is listed as LeLe LLC, represented by Le Thi Nguyenle.

A permit, if granted, must be annually renewed. The permit did not include an apostrophe in the business name.

Ray Sibille of Lafayette will add his name at induction ceremonies this weekend to a distinguished list of jockeys who are in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, but there’s a man who was once “the most celebrated jockey in North America” who should be in the state’s sports shrine.

Eddie Delahoussaye, Calvin Borel, Randy Romero, Mark Guidry and Ronald Ardoin are among jockeys who have been elected to the Hall. Perhaps Brian Hernandez Jr., who won this year’s Kentucky Derby aboard Mystik Dan, will enter the Hall someday.

Unlike those folks, Abe Hawkins isn’t yet a household name in Louisiana, and that’s despite some wonderful accomplishments.

In 1997, more than a century after his death in 1867, he was inducted into the Louisiana Racing Museum Hall of Fame.

And this year, just a few months ago — at long last — he was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame – along with Lecomte, the famous steed he rode to victory over mighty Lexington. Lecomte, by the way, was bred by Thomas Jefferson Wells from Wellswood Plantation, just south of Alexandria.

Hawkins, Lecomte and Aristides, the horse that won the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, were elected by the museum’s pre-1900 historic review committee. The enshrinement ceremony will be Aug. 2 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Hawkins was one of two men known across the country as “Old Abe” in the mid-19^th century. One of them was Lincoln, who spent some precious time in the White House. The other was Hawkins, who was quartered in another white house down in the bayou country of Ascension Parish. A Greek Revival plantation not far from Geismar that faces the Mississippi River and is backed by huge oaks, it was then known as Ashland Plantation and is now called Belle Helene.

Many books and movies have been produced about Abe Lincoln, but less is known about Abe Hawkins, other than his fame as a jockey. Records weren’t kept for slaves. Historians don’t know who his parents were, nor are they sure where he was born. We do know that Duncan Kenner, the owner of Ashland Plantation, bought him for $2,300 in 1854. It was reported in the papers of the time along with sales and purchases of livestock.

A story published in April of 2013 in “The Equine Report – the Voice of the Horse Industry” described Hawkins as “the most celebrated jockey in America prior to Isaac Murphy,” a three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby who won multiple times at two other major derbies of the late 1800s. It also said Hawkins was the “first African-American professional athlete to gain national and international prominence.”

In one of the most celebrated match races in turf history, Hawkins rode Lecomte (for whom the town Lecompte is named) to victory over the most legendary horse of the era, Lexington, at the Metairie Race Course in 1854. After the Civil War, which made him a free man, Abe won, among other races, the Travers Stakes aboard Merrill in 1866. Merrill, incidentally, was trained by another ex-slave, Ansel Williamson, who less than a decade later would ride Arisitides to victory in the inaugural Kentucky Derby.

Hawkins was touted for his skill as a jockey and his riding style, which later came to be known as “American Seat” or “Riding Forward,” popularized two decades later by Tod Sloan and Willie Simms.

Trainers and owners called upon his services to ride many of the best thoroughbreds of the era, including Arrow, Whale, Panic, Minnehaha, Louis d’Or, Rhynodine and Asteroid.

Patrick Lawrence Gilligan wrote a March 16, 2020 thoroughbred racing commentary about Hawkins for Global Appeal. He wrote that Abe was a small man, “only the size of a child,” and had a speech impediment “which may have contributed to his silent manner.”

He could talk with the horses, though. And he was reportedly a man of compassion. His former owner, Kenner, temporarily lost most of his wealth in the Civil War, according to Gilligan, but “it is said that Abe sent word to Kenner that he would help him” if he needed financial assistance.

Returning in his later years to Ashland because that was the only home he ever knew, Old Abe died there of tuberculosis and was buried “not in a slave cemetery but in a brick tomb under a mighty oak overlooking the training track of Ashland.”

This is the kind of Louisiana legend we need to know about – and to honor.

The “youngest” event during this weekend’s Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration is the most exclusive, yet casual, opportunity for the public to enjoy hearing from the Class of 2024 inductees.

It’s the Round Table Luncheon this Saturday, June 22, at noon at Riverside Reserve, 104 Mill Street, in Natchitoches. There are still a few seats available among the 300 guests for the sixth annual Round Table Luncheon presented by the Tiger Athletic Foundation.

Registration is available for the luncheon can be made by visiting LaSportsHall.com, or by calling 318-238-4255. It is a ticketed event.

Festivities begin Thursday evening at 5 with the free of charge Welcome Reception open to all, no registration necessary, at the Hall of Fame museum facing the traffic circle at 800 Front Street in Natchitoches.

Friday’s slate begins with the BOM Celebrity Bowling Bash at Four Seasons Bowling Center in Alexandria. Friday evening is the free Rockin’ River Fest concert on Cane River Lake in downtown Natchitoches, from 6-10:30, with the Class of 2024 introduced at 9:15 right before a sports-themed fireworks show over the water.

Events Saturday include the filled-to-capacity Saints and Pelicans Junior Training Camp, the Round Table Luncheon, and the Induction Reception and Ceremony, which is sold out to 780 patrons. It will be live streamed on LPB.org online.

The Round Table Luncheon starts with tremendous Louisiana cuisine and quickly kicks into gear with Fox Sports announcer (and 2020 LSHOF inductee) Tim Brando interviewing small groups of inductees on stage in a very informal and fast-moving setting.

A poignant scene at the 2019 luncheon unfolded before the program when Peyton Manning, being inducted later that day, stopped by to greet LSU legend Johnny Robinson, who was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame two months later.

Scenes like that, up-close access and the fun-filled dialog between Brando and the 2024 inductees combine to provide a memorable 90 minutes.

The Hall of Fame Round Table Luncheon shapes up as a highly entertaining opportunity for guests to have a up-close-and-personal experience and be entertained and well fed in a casual setting, with a touch of elegance at the brand-new Riverside Reserve on the banks of Cane River Lake just a mile from downtown Natchitoches.

By Brad Dison

By JIM BUTLER

Alfred Rue IV, who pleaded not guilty Monday to allegedly killing De’Asia Mullins, 19, last October, has a pre-trial hearing date a year later.

Rue, 25, turned himself in three months after the West Sycamore street shooting that allegedly came in the wake of a late-night domestic dispute.

He is charged with second-degree murder and was indicted in May, a few days after being arrested on narcotics and conspiracy charges not related to the homicide.

Rue was charged in 2021 and twice in 2022 on domestic-related charges: stalking, violating restraining/protective orders, home invasion and domestic abuse battery, as well as illegally carrying a dangerous weapon.

Arrests are accusations, not convictions. 

June 16

Weapons 

Caleb Crenshaw, 21, Pineville — illegal use dangerous weapon, $2,500 bail;

Other

Tony Carter II, 34, Montgomery — aggravated strangle domestic abuse battery strangulation, aggravated assault home invasion, domestic abuse battery, parole violation, probation violation, contempt, $25,000 bail;

Cara Smith, 29, Pineville — aggravated battery, possession/purchase alcohol by minor, $5,500 bail;

Cecelia Westley, 29, Alexandria — domestic abuse battery/aggravated assault/child endangerment, $5,000 bail;

Damar Westley, 28, Alexandria — aggravated domestic abuse battery child present, cruelty, $10,000 bail. 

This date: 14 arrests, 3 including one or more contempt counts. 

Arrests are accusations, not convictions. 

June 16

Deshonique Keys, 22, Alexandria — possession, CDS in presence of person under 17, $1,500 bail. 

Each week, the Rapides Parish Journal’s always-hungry reporter visits a different restaurant and tells you about the experience.

By ANON E. MUSS

I fall into the category of people who love pizza so much that I could eat it every day and not tire of it so I was excited when my husband suggested we give Jim Deggys Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery a try. The restaurant is located in a small shopping center at 3497 LA 28 East in Pineville and the interior has a bit of an industrial feel to it. The music was just loud enough to be noticeable and there was also a TV on the wall playing CHIVE TV.

Jim Deggys has a selection of appetizers, salads, soups and, of course, pizza. The pizzas are hand tossed and wood fired and only come in an 11″ personal size. Crust options are traditional or cauliflower. There are five options for an appetizer. We decided to go with the Asiago Spinach & Artichoke Dip and it was delicious. The dip was served in a ramekin with a side of pita chips. In most restaurants, the dip runs out long before the pita chips but that was not the case here. Both the dip and the pita chips were delicious and I found myself feeling full before we even got to the pizza.

My husband and I opted to split the Chicken, Bacon, Ranch pizza and it was just as good as the appetizer. There was just the right amount of white sauce and the crust was cooked to perfection. Even though the pizza was only 11″, we each had 3 slices. Some of the more adventurous toppings available include boudin, candied bacon, goat cheese, and Mike’s Hot Honey.

We decided to splurge on a dessert and enjoyed a delicious Apple Pie Calzone, which is a pizza crust filled with apple pie filling, folded over and baked then covered with graham cracker and caramel drizzle. The Calzone was big enough that we had some left over for a midnight snack.

The total for our meal, which included a drink, was $36.61. There was a 3% credit card surcharge added to the bill. I didn’t notice anything posted at the register advising of the fee.

I give Jim Deggys Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery three forks. The staff were very friendly, the atmosphere was pleasant, the food was delicious and the prices are reasonable.

Location: 3497 LA-28 E, Pineville, Louisiana
Price: $15-$35 – Brick Oven Pizza

Is there a restaurant you would like the Journal to visit? Email: Anon E. Muss

1 Fork: Would rather eat a box of dirt
2 Forks: Will return, but only if someone else is buying
3 Forks: Will return and look forward to it
4 Forks: Will return and go out of my way to do so

By JIM BUTLER

A first-year, nine-months teacher with no advanced degree will be paid $44,522 in the Rapides system in 2024-25.

That is presuming the School Board at a special meeting Tuesday adopts the salary schedule presented by CFO Liz Dolmite.

Over the 30 steps of the teacher plan that pay grows to $58,063. Thirty steps is not necessarily 30 years.

And pay changes with advanced degrees, and stipends for such as teaching in a high-demand field or being judged highly effective.

Additionally, all employees share annually in any excess sales tax income distribution. In May all degree-holding employees got $7,200, non-degree half that. The total distributed was about $5 million.

Teachers moving from classroom to administrative posts enter a different salary category.

Assistant principals (10-month) at base Step 1 are paid $55,168, with 30 steps that lead to $73,856.

Principals’ pay is predicated on size of student enrollment, ranging from $78,363 for 300 or fewer elementary students to $83,262 floor for junior high to $91,633 start point for largest-school principals.

These are 12-month, 20 steps posts and levels noted are without advanced degree additions, etc.

As the pay pyramid shrinks closer to the top base salaries grow, no different than any other enterprise.

At the peak is the superintendent’s base, $201,533.10, a 10-step plan that starts about $75,000 above the next highest level on the pyramid.

The pay schedule encompasses every position within the system.

By JIM BUTLER

James Vanderhoeven wants to expand parking at a shopping center and is asking the Alexandria Zoning Board of Adjustment to allow it.

The board will hear his request at 4 p.m. June 24 and send its recommendation to the City Council, which has the deciding vote.

The shopping center fronts on Jackson Street. The zoning issue is on Dawkins Street, a block over from Jackson.

Vanderhoeven is asking to rezone 3105 and 3031 Dawkins from residential (SF2) to business (B-3), which would allow expansion of parking for existing businesses.

A similar petition, involving the lots and two others, was not recommended by the Board in 2021 after some residents objected.

They expressed concerns about noise, traffic and potential adverse drainage impact.

Vanderhoeven attempted unsuccessfully to allay those concerns.

On June 14, 2024, at 5:30pm Louisiana State Police responded to a three-vehicle crash on Louisiana Highway 28 West at Hwy 121.

If you are traveling in that area, please be careful.  If you can avoid the area, please do so.

Editor’s Note: Please see the DOTD project underway at Hwy 28 West and St. Clair Road under way now.

Month left on construction to address dangerous Hwy. 28 intersection

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video might be worth 10,000.

Case in point – click on the video above to get a look at the food, fun and frolic that everyone involved will enjoy at lunchtime this Friday, June 21, in Alexandria, in the only out-of-town activity during the three-day 2024 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration based in Natchitoches.

The LSHOF’s big party starts Thursday evening with the Welcome Reception, free to all from 5-7 at the LSHOF Museum on the Front Street traffic circle in downtown Natchitoches.

Then the scene shifts to Alexandria and Four Seasons Bowling Center for the Celebrity Rock N Roll Bowling Bash presented by BOM. Everyone is encouraged to come ready for tons of fun, along with plenty of food and an open bar.

To enter or get more information visit LaSportsHall.com and click on the Induction Week button, or call 318-238-4255. Advance registration is necessary.

The bowling party will begin at 11:30 a.m. with lunch catered by Walk On’s Sports Bistreaux for everyone in the house – bowlers and spectators. That’s right – you don’t have to bowl to enjoy the party. Admission is $50 for adults and $25 for youth to mingle, eat, and watch the action.

Bowlers can enter as individuals ($100) or as a team ($400). Teams can be four people paired with a celebrity, or five friends playing without a celebrity.

The headliners on the lanes Friday will be the Class of 2024 LSHOF inductees, including pending Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and LSU hero Seimone Augustus, MMA legend Daniel Cormier, 19-year pro football veteran and McNeese great Kerry Joseph, and like Augustus, another Olympic gold medalist, LSU wrestler Kevin Jackson.

Among the other celebrities will be previously inducted Hall of Famers and Louisiana sports stars, including many who may ultimately be inducted in future years.

The five-person teams warm up extensively (have fun!) and ultimately play a 10-frame game, with the top team winning prizes. The top five individual bowlers and top five celebrities will have playoffs. The bowling party will wrap up about 2 o’clock, in plenty of time for everyone to make it back to Natchitoches for that evening’s free Rockin’ River Fest starting at 6 on the downtown riverbank stage, and the VIP Taste of Tailgating inside Mama’s Oyster House and the Blues Room beginning at 7.

One of the most festive events of the Induction Celebration, the Celebrity Bowling Bash presented by BOM is fit for avid bowlers — or those who just like to have fun.

By JEANNI RITCHIE

Girls aged 3-12 were bejeweled as they danced and cheered their way through a medley of Taylor Swift tunes at Midstate Strong summer camp last week.

From Shake It Off to Style, the girls learned choreographed moves to some of Taylor Nation’s favorite tunes for a final performance on Friday.

In addition to the dances, they learned cheers, stunts, and gymnastics. They also created Taylor-themed art projects.

“Can’t stop, won’t stop moving”  was the perfect description of 60 little girls in the full-day dance and cheer camp.

Addison Suydan, 7, perfected the Taylor hair flip as she performed the Midstate chant.

Bouncing up and down on the tumble track was Harper Keiss, 5, whose bouncing continued long after she exited the track.

“I learned how to do a back walkover this week!” Cassidy Bass, 8, announced.

She wasn’t the only one who learned a new skill this week.

“I did a double backflip on the bar,” Sophia Jameson, 9, shared.

“I learned how to do a front flip on the bar!” Addy Salgado, 8, told me.

I decided not to try my hand on the bar but I was definitely down for some freestyle Shake It Off moves!

Summer camps at Midstate Strong continue this week with a half-day ninja camp for boys!

2024 Schedule:
June 17-21 Hija Ninja Camp (morning)
June 24-28 Let’s Get Messy Camp (full day)
July 8-11 Tumbling Camp (afternoon)
July 8-12 Hija Ninja Camp (morning)
July 15-19 Louisiana Camp (full day)
July 22-26 Trolls Camp (full day)
*all camps except Hija Ninja Camp are co-ed

Midstate Strong is located at 1634 Military Hwy in Pineville. 

Jeanni Ritchie continues her mission of attending all Swiftie summer camps in 2024 and shakes off any notion that she is too old. She can be reached at jeanniritchie54@gmail.com.

Arrests are accusations, not convictions.

June 13

Weapons

Ladarius Hicks, 26, Alexandria — firearm possession convicted felon, possession with intent 8 counts, firearm with drugs, $275,000 bail;

Krystal Key, 37, Alexandria — armed robbery, false imprisonment with dangerous weapon, aggravated battery 2nd degree, $35,000 bail;

Other

Christin Angel, 22, Ball — felony fugitive, contempt, $10,000 bail;

Landon Fulcher, 25, Alexandria — aggravated assault, $500 bail;

Billy Gaston Jr., 23, Alexandria — felony flight, resisting 2 counts, no driver’s license, no registration, no insurance, tail lamps must be red, $3,000 bail;

Tyree Taylor, 22, Ball — carnal knowledge, $20,000 bail;

Parker Vernon, 27, Ball — aggravated domestic abuse battery with child present, violent violation protective order, aggravated strangle domestic abuse battery strangulation, aggravated assault home invasion, false imprisonment, probation violation, $98,500 bail.

This date: 25 arrests, 6 with one more contempt count.

June 14

Weapons

Alfred Rue IV, 25, Alexandria — murder 2nd degree 2 counts, contraband penal facility, possession with intent, criminal conspiracy, $1,045,000 bail;

Eric Williams, 37, Chatham — firearm possession convicted felon, illegal possession stolen firearm, motor vehicle theft, $30,000 bail;

Other

Joseph Alletag, 44, Alexandria — parole violation, no bail set;

Kiajuana Bush, 32, Alexandria — aggravated assault, battery, $1,000 bail;

Tonya Buxton, 32, Lecompte — intimidation public/aggravated assault, resisting, criminal damage, $2,500 bail;

David Chew, 18, Alexandria — battery of dating partner, $1,500 bail;

Jaylon Rye, 30, Alexandria — felony fugitive, battery dating partner, cruelty to infirm, contempt, $8,000 bail;

Lawanda White, 46, Alexandria — aggravated assault, $500 bail.

This date: 20 arrests, 7 including one or more contempt counts.

June 15

Daquantavious Allen, 25, Pineville— battery 2nd degree, assault, battery on infirm, $1,000 bail;

Lawanda White, 46, Alexandria — aggravated assault, $$500 bail. 

This date: 15 arrests, 4 including one or more contempt counts.