By JIM BUTLER

Three young men accused of attempted murder on England Drive last Thursday remain in jail, while two of four suspects in a separate shooting on the other side of town remain at large.

Arrest of Ronnie Clovis, 23, of Alexandria put all suspects in the England Drive incident in custody.

Clovis, held under $800,000 bond, is a convicted felon whose record of drug dealing, possession and firearms charges dates to at least 2020.

Also charged with attempted murder 2nd degree, armed robbery and criminal conspiracy in the case are Freddie Davis, 20, and Ke Juan Davis, 19, both of Alexandria. Meanwhile, two of four suspects in the Lower Third shooting, Christopher Trowell, 22, and Tyrese Tucker, 24, both of Alexandria, remain at large. Neither has a previous arrest in the parish.

Already booked in the case are Marvion Price, 22, and Quinton Spain, 22. Both of Alexandria, bail for each is set at $500,000.

• 7th St & 9th Ave.
• 12th St & 9th Ave.
• 12th St & Turkey Creek
• 7th St & Turkey Creek

Over 150 future teachers from seven area parishes attended the Educators Rising Regional Conference held at NSU’s Teacher Education Center Wednesday, Feb 12. The conference was sponsored by NSU’s College of Education and its collegiate chapter of Educators Rising and was a fun filled day of competition and learning. 

The future teachers attended presentations given by accomplished educators from NSU’s faculty as well as guest presenters. Jason Mercer, Louisiana Christian University’s Coordinator of Distance Education, gave a presentation titles “Strategies for Accessible Education” with LCU graduate student Anna Albury.  The attendees also engaged in competitions in areas such as Job Interviews, Children’s Literature, Lesson Planning, Impromptu Speaking and other topics. The Educators Rising program is a solid preparation for anyone’s future.

Rapides parish was well represented by sharp young people from Plainview High who turned in a solid performance in the competitions. The Rapides parish winners were as follows.

Lesson Planning:

2nd place Kaydence Maples. 3rd place Waylon Dukes

Educators Rising is a nationwide network dedicated to promoting teaching as a career to young people. Chapters at middle school through high school and college work to raise awareness of Education as a worthwhile career path. NSU’s collegiate chapter is part and parcel of the university’s 140 year tradition of excellence in teacher training.

Tioga High School shared congratulations to their THS Archery team for winning the State Championship in 3D Archery.

The school issued a special shoutout to Hayden Constance for being the top male archer of the tournament, stating that his hard work and dedication paid off. The school expressed pride in Hayden and the whole team. 

The Town of Ball also shared congratulations to the team. 

By CALEB DUNLOP, LSU Alexandria Athletics

They’re really, finally, Number 1.

The LSUA men’s basketball team has been named the No. 1 team in the country in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.

The Generals have just three games remaining in the regular season. Two are at home in the Fort  — tonight against Our Lady of the Lake (7:30 tipoff, following a 5:30 women’s game) and Saturday afternoon when Texas A&M-San Antonio visits. Prior to Saturday’s 3 p.m. men’s game, the Generals will honor their senior class.

LSU Alexandria received 15 of the 20 first-place votes by coaches Wednesday and displaced Freed-Hardeman atop the poll. The Generals captured a 69-63 victory over the Lions on November 9 in their final non-conference game.

The climb to the No. 1 spot started with a No. 12 ranking on October 23 in the preseason poll. Non-conference wins over Wiley, Loyola, and Freed-Hardeman vaulted the Generals to No. 6 in the first in-season coaches’ rankings on November 13.

In the second top 25 vote of the season on November 27, LSUA again moved up –- this time to No. 3 -– following wins over Jarvis Christian, Texas A&M-Texarkana, and Texas College. A brief dip, following their only loss of the season at Xavier, put the Purple and Gold at No. 5 in the final poll of the calendar year 2024.

A jump to No. 4 greeted the Generals in the first top 25 vote on January 15. LSUA had closed the 2024 calendar with an 85-71 win over then-No. 20 Our Lady of the Lake in San Antonio. The Purple and Gold then opened 2025 with a 109-75 victory at home against LSU Shreveport.

The fifth poll of the year, released on January 29, placed the Generals at No. 2. LSUA received three first-place votes – the first time the Generals had received first-place votes this season – and put them behind only Freed-Hardeman.

That changed Wednesday after LSUA stretched its winning streak to 17 by smacking Xavier 81-62 Tuesday night at The Fort, using a 34-5 run sandwiched around halftime to blow it open. The Generals had a 34-point lead with five minutes to go over a 17-win opponent.

“We are grateful to be in this position,” LSUA coach Dimario Jackson said. “It’s a testament to the work by the players and coaches; however, we need to work harder. We must stay focused and win every day.”

The Generals (23-1, 20-1 RRAC) clinched a second consecutive Red River Athletic Conference regular-season title with Tuesday’s impressive performance. LSU Alexandria is the first team to clinch an automatic bid to the NAIA postseason.

Tuesday night’s game against Xavier not only marked the clinching of the regular-season title but was a revenge matchup for the Generals. The Gold Rush are the only team to defeat LSUA in the 2024-25 season, inflicting the blow with a convincing 89-72 decision in New Orleans on November 26.

In Tuesday’s rematch, Kashie Natt poured in a career-high 32 points) and notched his 12th double-double of the season with 10 rebounds.

Natt has been a stalwart for the Generals after earning NAIA first team All-American honors and being named the RRAC Player of the Year in 2023-24. The senior from Rayville is averaging 19 points and shooting 48 percent from the floor. At the free throw line, Natt is converting 82 percent. He has recorded 64 assists, 46 steals, and 21 blocks. Natt is just shy of averaging a double-double per game, hauling in 9.9 rebounds a night.

Another standout for the Generals is sophomore guard E.J. McQuillan. The Port Allen product averages 12.7 points per game and is shooting 41 percent from the floor. From beyond the arc, McQuillan is knocking down shots at a 40 percent clip as the Generals’ most prolific 3-point shooter.

(This week’s column is a chapter from the new book, “Fathers, Sons and Old Guns” by Glynn Harris. The book is now available from Amazon.com online)

It’s been a long time since I last visited the home place where I grew up. I remember what it was like soon after my mom passed away; it was like the cord that had bound our family together had snapped after she was no longer there.

My sister, Linda, lived next door to our house and I remember one Christmas when I visited Linda soon after Mother had died, I was not prepared for the feeling of loneliness that swept over me when I looked across her yard to the simple frame house where we grew up. On other Christmases, this would have been the scene of laughter, of sweet and tangy aromas wafting from Mother’s kitchen. This day however, it seemed cold and dark.

The years have soothed the pain of that first Christmas without my mother but my memories of the old home place linger like the spicy aroma of her applesauce cake. The old house is gone now, somebody bought it and moved it and there was nothing there but the cedar tree in the front yard, the crepe myrtles that formed a ring around the yard and the pecan tree growing just out of the yard.

Until the house was purchased and moved, a young family rented it for a while and I remember feeling sad and resentful that somebody else was living in what had been our family’s home where we all grew up.

As I paused to reflect on the spot where our house had been, I remembered things like drawing water from the well in the back yard. The water bucket, a slender cylinder that went “gulp…gulp” when it filled and when you pulled the bucket from the well, hand over fist by the rope to which it was attached, you pulled a trigger at the top to release water into the water bucket.

I remembered things like calling our old milk cow from the pasture late in the afternoon, dumping cans of Acorn cow feed into the trough and pulling up the stool to sit and milk the cow, hoping she hadn’t gotten into bitter weeds that day.

I remembered things like watching dogs with names like Boots, Rusty and Tippy waiting outside the back door for scraps from the kitchen.

I remembered how the cool green grass felt to tender feet the first time shoes were shucked in spring.

I remembered hoping it was my turn to lick the bowl after Mother made a cake, and sitting on the front porch on a summer afternoon making the churn dasher slap up and down in the sour milk as it separated from the globs of butter and watching Mother work the golden mound until all the buttermilk was gone and pure, sweet butter remained.

I remembered things like listening to my uncle Sam cuss his mule over on the hill across the way as he plowed his field.

I remembered making sling shots out of slices of inner tubes and old shoe tongues attached to just the right fork of a branch you had cut for the handle.

I remembered things like digging earthworms from beneath the cow patties at the cow barn and my brother Tom and me heading for Molido Creek with bamboo poles, hook, line and sinker to fish for goggle-eyes and sun perch. 

I remembered fingering the etched wooden stock on my old double barrel shotgun as I sat with my back against a beech down on Molido, listening for the scritch-scratch of a squirrel’s claws on oak bark, getting out of a warm bed early fall mornings, grabbing my shotgun and heading for the Sand Flats along Saline Creek hoping for a shot at a squealer duck that flew from their roost to wing their way up the creek to feed.

Somebody else now owned our house and I knew I could never go back home again. That’s how it should be, I suppose, and that’s okay. I have my memories and I can take them down from time to time, dust them off and for a moment, become the little barefoot boy again.

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@aol.com

Arrests are accusations, not convictions. 

Feb. 12

William Patrick Bynog Jr., 40, Boyce – four counts criminal trespass (third/subsequent offense), paraphernalia, $2,500 bail;

Heath Morris Cintron, 50, Alexandria – three counts violation of protective orders (non-violent), two counts contempt of court

Clifton Dean Cotton, 53, Pineville – improper bicycle operation, resisting an officer, lamps/reflectors required, probation violation, $5,700 bail;

Sametre Renea Hampton, 33, Alexandria – producing manufacturing distributing marijuana, producing manufacturing distributing schedule one drug, paraphernalia, two counts criminal conspiracy, probation violation, $300,500 bail;

Robert Anthony Means, 40, Pineville – two counts contempt of court, $7,500 bail;

Rachel Vercher, 61, Pineville – OWI, careless operation of vehicle, $900 bail.

Feb. 11

Renea Alice Burns, 27, Deville – felony possession of controlled dangerous substance, evidence tampering, $2,000 bail;

Ronnie Joseph Clovis, 23, Alexandria – attempted second degree murder, criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, parole violations, $800,000 bail;

Jamane County, 35, Alexandria – simple burglary, resisting an officer, contempt of court, failure to appear/pay fine, $13,000 bail;

Mya Michelle Hayes, 24, Pineville – Louisiana fugitive, accessory after the fact, $10,000 bail;

Caleb MacKenzie Hill, 39, Boyce – two counts possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, illegal possession of stolen things, Louisiana fugitive, no bail data;

Vance Paul Manuel Jr, 50, Ball – theft, simple burglary, criminal conspiracy, theft of motro vehicle, possession of stolen vehicle, resisting an officer, flight from an officer, five counts failure to appear/pay fine, parole violations, $41,000 bail;

Aaron Vaughn Paysinger, 36, Ball – possession of controlled dangerous substance schedule 1 schedule 2 schedule 3, contempt of court, $9,000 bail;

Henry Lee Rachal, 17, Alexandria – aggravated battery, $50,000 bail;

Terry Reeves Jr., 46, Ragley – producing manufacturing, distributing marijuana, criminal conspiracy, taking contraband to and from penal institutions, $30,000 bail;

Virginia Elaine Saucier, 49, Pineville – criminal neglect of family, two counts contempt of court, $6,500 bail;

Scott Weisler, 54, Alexandria – bank fraud, criminal mischief (false report of crime), $1,500 bail.

Feb. 10

Joshua Paul Ulhman, 36, Pine Prairie – Louisiana fugitive, no bail data;

Harold Beckley, 45, Ragley – no head light, driving under revocation, possession of marijuana, open container, $970 bail;

Miracle Roshell Bush, 30, Alexandria – simple arson, six counts contempt of court, $17,000 bail;

James Darrell Dearborne Jr., 32, Alexandria – theft, four counts contempt of court, $3,750 bail;

Kenneth Mead Moran III, 37, Ball – possession of controlled dangerous substance, drug paraphernalia, battery second degree, $11,500 bail;

Luke Alexandra Reed, 23, Pitkin – armed robbery, criminal conspiracy, $85,000 bail;

Alana Renee Wiggins, 39, Alexandria – monetary instrument abuse – use/possession of counterfeit or forged monetary instruments, contempt of court, $1,500 bail

Feb. 9

Alvin Ray Brown Jr., 34, Alexandria – criminal damage to property, three counts contempt of court, $6,650 bail;

Kelvin Greg Franklin, 54, Alexandria – simple strangulation domestic abuse battery, domestic abuse with child present, $26,000 bail;

Qunisha Hazel, 33, Alexandria – simple battery, contempt of court, $2,000 bail;

Bruce O. Price, 34, Alexandria – theft, resisting an officer, criminal trespass, three counts contempt of court, $12,500 bail.

The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Alumnae Chapter, in partnership with the Rapides Regional Medical Center, will be hosting a free CPR training event on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Westside Regional Library from 9am to 1pm.

February is Heart Health Month, and the sorority is looking to get the community involved to learn how to take care of their hearts and promote awareness of heart health.

“So it is a full CPR class so they will be doing manual compressions on mannequins,” said Theresa Hood, Director of Education at Rapides Regional. “Giving breaths. Breathing into the mannequins on the adult, the child and the infant mannequins. They will also learn choking for the adult, child and infant.”

The training is intended to be hands-on so that participants can learn life-saving techniques. 

“We want to make sure you know how to do the compressions, you’re comfortable doing the compressions,” explained Tamera Tullos, Community Education Nurse. “So you will be on the floor working on mannequins. Dress comfortable, dress appropriately and be ready to get down on the floor.”

This class is free to attended, but there is a cap for the first 50 people to register. Click here to register.

Pineville High School presents “Beetlejuice Jr.” from today, Feb. 13, through Sunday, Feb. 16. The show begins every night at 7pm except for Sunday, which begins at 2pm. 

The ghost-with-the-most comes to the stage in “Beetlejuice Jr.,” the frightfully funny musical based on the beloved motion picture turned Broadway phenomenon. Lydia Deetz is a strange and unusual teenager, still grieving the loss of her mother and obsessed with the whole “being dead thing.” Lucky for Lydia, she and her father move to a new house haunted by a recently deceased couple and Beetlejuice, a delightful demon with a real zest for life. When Lydia calls on Beetlejuice to scare away anyone with a pulse, this double-crossing specter shows his true stripes, unleashing a (Nether)world of pandemonium.

With music and lyrics by Tony Award-nominee Eddie Perfect and a book by Tony Award-nominated pair Anthony King and Scott Brown, Beetlejuice was nominated for eight 2019 Tony Awards including Best New Musical. A viral “sucks-yes” on social media, this musical struck a chord with young theatre lovers who adored its unabashed humor and emotional honesty. 

Created for the generation that made it a hit, “Beetlejuice Jr.” is a wacky theatrical party for all. Tickets can be purchased through pinevillehigh.tix.com -or- pinevillehightheatre.com.

By JIM BUTLER

Glenmora officials have taken steps to honor commitments made when issuing $1.9 million in utility revenue bonds in 2021.

Auditors have twice noted the town had failed to adjust utility rates to meet covenants included in the bond issue.

“Adjust” in such cases almost always mean increase to a level necessary to meet pledges made when selling such bonds.

Auditors noted in their 2023 report the system was not producing income to recover costs of operating and servicing the debt.

In a December 18 response to 2024 audit findings of the same situation the town said it had received results of a rate study and was working with engineers to determine proper charges.

Subsequently, council minutes reflect, an ordinance encompassing the adjustments was introduced at a special meeting on December 27. The introduction had been tabled in November.

Specifics of the changes are not included in the minutes, which normally do not go into such detail.

Minutes of January-October contain no reference to utility rates discussion. Executive sessions were held in March and September.

Though the reason for such was not stated in minutes (it may have been specified in the posted agenda for each meeting) rate discussion is not among those allowable.

The latest audit report shows utility revenue of $677,000 and system expense of $751,000, including transfers to the General Fund and177,000 for consultants.

General Fund revenue was $1.14 million and expenses totaled $1.18 million; $110,000 received in transfers brought the margin to about $72,000.

That raised the fiscal year-end balance to $317,000.

She calls it an “amazing program that keeps students in school while their parents can stay at work,” even though the child may not be feeling well.

Jessica Barton is talking about the Rapides Community Health Center’s School-Based program that offers health centers in 35 schools across Rapides Parish, available to both students and teachers. In a seamless interface between education and healthcare, the centers provide down-the-hall service for sick visits, wellness visits and sports physicals.

Barton, who serves as Family Nurse Practitioner for this School-Based program, observes that children often deflect wellness questions from parents as they hurry to get to school in the morning, only to tell teachers of an earache or other illnesses. This could have meant a phone call to the parent who would have lost work time to pick up the child for a doctor’s visit.

But with Trinity’s trained staff in-house, professional diagnosis is available as well as dispensing of over-the-counter medication if needed (with prior parental approval) and even prescription of medications which the parents would pick up. “If they feel ill, it’s a quick trip to the clinic then back to the classroom and the parent doesn’t need to miss work. And yes, if a teacher needs help, we can provide that reducing the need for substitutes when there is already a shortage.”

Providing these services are nearly 100 employees, including 18 nurse practitioners, 35 nurses, 35 front desk associates as well as counselors and behavioral health specialists.

“We provide a safe and welcoming environment for students and staff. When we have children in our clinic, we get to know them. We share a unique relationship through their feedback.” Barton explains that the clinics provide medical education on two fronts. When prescriptions are written, the professionals verify and explain that medication with the parent before they pick it up. With students, they work to establish “health literacy” to improve the child’s understanding of the common medications to help put them in charge of their own health care at an early age.

This caring nurse practitioner hails from central Kansas and has been in Louisiana since 2006, making her home in Alexandria. She received her Master of Science degree in Nursing from ULL in 2016 and worked with a long term acute care hospital in Alexandria for 15 years. But her focus shifted from the elderly to the young when she and husband Bruce, an internal medical physician, began their family.

The elder, Carson (now 5), arrived just three weeks before COVID hit. Their second, Teddy, is 3.

Louisiana Christian University has been named the safest college campus and the best value in the state of Louisiana by Niche.com.

Niche.com released its 2025 list of Best Colleges last week. Niche.com is a rating and review website for facets of the college experience.

In the last several years, LCU has committed to providing an increasingly safe campus for students, faculty, staff and visitors. Three Homeland Security grants awarded to LCU have allowed for additional campus lighting and surveillance.

“Over the last five years, LCU has invested over $450,000 in safety and security upgrades thanks to grants from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness through our FEMA partners,” said Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Henry O. Robertson. “Additional funding through the Union Pacific Railroad Foundation has provided key components for enhancing our abilities to deter, detect and defend the campus community. We are honored that the investments, training and care LCU has placed as a strategic priority are recognized by a national organization. Our students are always number one with all our safety and security enhancements.”

LCU also has a K9 officer certified in the detection of illegal narcotics and tracking.

According to Chief of Safety and Security John Dauzat, the purpose of adding a K9 officer to the security team was all about being proactive to keep the campus safer and drug-free.

“Not only have the students become more aware about the deterrent of narcotics, but also the increased safety presence,” Dauzat said.

“Providing the safest campus possible is our primary focus,” Dauzat said. “We have made great strides in the last several years to prevent some of the issues that other campuses have faced, and we will continue to be proactive.”

According to niche.com, its safety rating is based on campus crime rate, local crime rate, as well as student surveys regarding health and safety services on campus.

The Best Values College ranking is based on net price, alumni earnings, graduation rates, and student debt using data from the U.S. Department of Education along with millions of reviews from students and alumni.

The nationally-ranked teams prevailed Tuesday night at The Fort in a high-level Red River Athletic Conference basketball doubleheader that was highlighted by the LSUA men locking down their second straight regular-season conference championship.

The No. 2-ranked Generals overpowered Xavier with a massive 34-5 run sandwiched around halftime. The 18^th-ranked Xavier women scored 12 straight points in the fourth quarter to push away from the LSUA women in the opening contest.

LSUA is back in action on Thursday at home as Our Lady of the Lake visits for a 5:30 women’s game, followed by the men at 7:30, in The Fort.

LSUA MEN 81, XAVIER 62: The Generals (23-1, 20-1 RRAC) are the first team in the NAIA to earn an automatic bid to the postseason. The victory is LSUA’s 17^th consecutive win.

“To do what we’ve done the last two years, I give credit to God, to coach Dwayne (Harmason), to coach Alyssa (Harmason), everyone that’s been a part of this program,” LSUA coach Dimario Jackson said. “It’s work. One of the hardest things to do is win the regular season because it’s such a long season. So many things change, a lot happens. Kudos to our guys for answering the challenge.”

Kashie Natt posted a career-high 32 points and added 10 rebounds for his 12^th double-double of the season.  Jordan Decuir tallied 14 points, while EJ McQuillan recorded 13.

The first half was tightly contested as neither team could wrest control. Xavier (17-7, 16-6 RRAC) built a 25-17 lead before LSUA closed the half on a 23-5 run to go up 40-30.

The Generals took over by scoring the first 11 points after the break as Natt scored six and McQuillan had the other five. Another burst of 11 unanswered points built a 34-point spread with under five minutes remaining.

XAVIER WOMEN 61, LSUA 50: The Generals lost for the first time in nine games as the offense went cold, making just 2 of 11 shots in the fourth quarter, and the visitors took control in the closing minutes.

“When you play a good team like that you have to play four quarters,” LSUA coach Billy Perkins said. “We played about three quarters and four minutes. We’ll hopefully rebound be better the next game.”

Dannah Martin-Hartwick topped the Generals (19-6, 16-5 RRAC) with 12 points but LSUA faltered in the fourth quarter against the Gold Nuggets (24-1, 21-1 RRAC) after a back-and-forth battle. The Generals had an early nine-point lead and the visitors’ final margin was their largest as there were four lead changes and a narrow margin most of the game.

LSUA led 47-45 early in the final period before a 12-0 run for the Gold Nuggets vaulted XULA to a 10-point lead, 57-47, with just three minutes left in regulation.

Progress on construction of the new wing being added to Caroline Dormon Junior High continues. Both the Town of Woodworth and the school itself shared several pictures of the construction as it proceeds, expressing excitement at the addition to the campus.