By JIM BUTLER

Mark Wood hit an ace when starting what has become his annual fund-raising golf tournament.

Held at Oak Wing during or near Masters week in April it has become a cornerstone campaign funds event for the Sheriff. 

His recently filed report for campaign finances in 2025 consists of contributions of $83,500, including in-kind, almost all dated April 11. 

A great many expenditures among the $65,400 for the year were in connection with the golf event. 

According to the report Wood’s fund started the year with $45,900 on hand and had a $60,700 balance at year’s end. 

Several hundred contributions are recorded by the Wood campaign fund as being received on the same date, ranging from $20 up. 

DJ’s Bail Bonds contributed $3,500. At $2,500 were Valex Federal Credit Union, National Waste Management Louisiana, Neblett Beard & Arsenault, Phillip Terrell Campaign Account, Spurgeon Law Firm and Tarver Companies. 

Wood is in his second four-year term. The next election is in October 2027.

Mayor Joe Bishop and Councilman Dorn joined regional leaders in Baton Rouge for Cenla Day at the Legislature, an annual advocacy event focused on priorities impacting Central Louisiana.

According to the City of Pineville, the visit included meetings with state legislators and agency officials to discuss infrastructure improvements, economic development initiatives, and local funding needs.

Key topics included efforts to improve roads and bridges, attract new jobs and investment to the region, and secure funding for city services and quality-of-life projects.

City officials emphasized the importance of having Pineville represented in statewide discussions and credited the Central Louisiana Regional Chamber of Commerce and local legislative delegation for hosting the event.

Leaders say continued advocacy efforts are aimed at strengthening growth and improving long-term opportunities for residents across the city and region.

A mix of clouds, warming temperatures and periodic rain chances is expected across Rapides Parish throughout the week, with highs climbing into the upper 80s by the weekend.

Wednesday will bring partly sunny skies with a 50 percent chance of showers and highs in the lower 80s. Conditions will turn partly cloudy Wednesday night with lows in the lower 60s.

On Thursday, mostly sunny skies are expected early, followed by a 50 percent chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Highs will remain in the lower 80s. Thursday night will turn mostly cloudy with lows in the mid-60s.

By Friday, clouds will give way to some sunshine, with a 40 percent chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms and highs in the mid-80s. A chance of storms will linger into Friday night with partly cloudy skies and lows in the upper 60s.

The weekend will continue the warm and unsettled pattern. Saturday will start mostly cloudy before becoming mostly sunny, with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms and highs in the upper 80s. Sunday will follow a similar trend, beginning cloudy and turning partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of afternoon storms.

Looking ahead to Monday, skies will be cloudy in the morning, becoming partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms and highs remaining in the upper 80s.

Residents should expect warm conditions with occasional showers and thunderstorms, particularly during the afternoon hours.

State faces record 6,465 orphaned wells, a cleanup bill that could top $1 billion, and a broken oversight system

Louisiana’s oil patch is leaving behind a growing legacy of abandoned wells that leak, contaminate groundwater and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars — and on a per capita basis, the state’s problem is more than four times worse than Texas, which has drawn national attention for the same issue.

As of March 2025, Louisiana has 6,465 orphaned oil and gas wells — unplugged, abandoned sites with no responsible operator — according to the state Department of Conservation and Energy. Texas has approximately 10,029 orphaned wells, according to its Railroad Commission. But Texas has nearly seven times Louisiana’s population. Louisiana has roughly one orphaned well for every 711 residents. Texas has one for every 3,130. Louisiana’s per capita burden is more than four times heavier.

The Numbers Are Accelerating

Between 2014 and 2023, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor found that an average of about 445 wells were added to the orphaned list each year. In 2025, more than 1,600 wells were added — more than three times the historical annual average. In just the first months of 2026, another 517 wells have already been added.

Behind those orphaned wells sits an even larger problem: inactive wells not yet orphaned but at risk. The Legislative Auditor found the inactive well count climbed 21.7 percent from 2019 to 2024, reaching 21,629 statewide.

What It Will Cost — and Why the Numbers Differ

The cleanup bill has been reported in different ways, and understanding why requires a distinction between two categories of problem wells.

The first is the orphaned well count itself — the 6,500 wells with no responsible operator. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor places the average plugging cost at $113,000 per well. Multiplied across the current orphaned well list, that produces the widely cited $730 million figure.

But that number covers only orphaned wells. A July 2025 white paper from the LSU Center for Energy Studies, commissioned by the state, calculated that plugging and abandoning both orphaned and idle wells in just the Monroe and Shreveport regulatory districts — two of Louisiana’s three oil and gas districts — would cost approximately $860 million. The Lafayette district, which holds roughly 41 percent of the state’s total orphaned and idle well inventory, was not included in that estimate. When all three districts and all idle wells are accounted for, the total cost to Louisiana taxpayers could well exceed $1 billion.

Since 2023, the state has plugged just 490 orphaned wells at a combined cost of nearly $90 million in state and federal funds — far behind the pace needed to make meaningful progress.

The Oversight System Failed

Louisiana’s attempt to manage the problem through a private industry-led entity collapsed. The Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association, created in 2019 to collect operator fees and fund plugging activity, was dissolved after a state audit found it falling far behind — and after allegations of self-dealing that included a $780,000 loan to a state official. An audit also found the association’s administrative partner was charging a 36 percent fee on revenues, nearly double the agreed cap. During fiscal years 2020 through 2023, the state plugged 976 orphaned wells through the program. During that same period, nearly 1,700 new orphaned wells were reported — meaning the system was losing ground even while operating.

The Louisiana Legislature responded in 2024 by creating the Natural Resources Trust Authority under the Department of Conservation and Energy, tasked with rebuilding oversight and funding. Financial security requirements — the bonds operators must post to cover future plugging costs — remain a structural weakness. Though coverage rose from 25 percent of wells in 2014 to 74 percent by 2024, the Legislative Auditor found the amounts collected still fall well short of actual plugging costs.

The Bottom Line

Louisiana is producing new orphaned wells faster than it can plug old ones, carrying a per capita orphaned well burden more than four times that of Texas, and facing a total cleanup bill that state and university researchers suggest could exceed $1 billion when all idle and orphaned wells statewide are fully accounted for. The consequences — contaminated groundwater, leaking methane, degraded land — fall most heavily on the rural communities where these wells are concentrated.

Sources: Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy; Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office; LSU Center for Energy Studies, “Orphan and Idle Wells in Louisiana,” July 2025; Texas Railroad Commission; Louisiana Illuminator.

The Rapides Parish School Board celebrated a ribbon cutting ceremony at Horseshoe Drive Elementary School, marking the completion of major construction and facility upgrades on campus.

The improvements were funded through the District 62 Bond approved by voters in spring 2022 and include a new secure vestibule for safer entry, updated administrative offices and conference room, fresh interior paint, upgraded lighting, and renovated restrooms.

School officials say the upgrades create a safer and more welcoming environment for students and staff while enhancing daily learning conditions.

The school board expressed appreciation to the District 62 community for supporting the bond issue that made the improvements possible.

Local quantum physicists are reportedly baffled by a recurring temporal anomaly centered around departing vehicles and friendly neighborhood grandmothers. A recent incident at an undisclosed Natchitoches residence has once again demonstrated that a simple, “Well, I best be getting along” functions not as an exit strategy, but as a binding verbal contract for at least ninety additional minutes of conversation, standard (weather, health) and bonus (garden pests, Junior’s third divorce) topics mandatory. Experts warn that the standard “Southern Goodbye” is not a process, but a geological event, with exit times now measured in fiscal quarters rather than minutes. We’ll have more on this story, assuming our reporter can ever leave.

H.B. Smith, joined by special guest Lisa Spann, will take the stage tomorrow, Thursday, April 23, at 6PM as part of the “Be Kind Garden District Concert Series” at First United Methodist Church of Alexandria. The free outdoor concert will be held in the church courtyard in the heart of the historic Garden District.

Known in the music world simply as H.B., Henry Benson Smith, Jr. has been performing since high school, getting his start in gospel and country alongside his parents before moving into jazz in dinner clubs. He spent much of the 1970s on the road in the R&B nightclub circuit and has continued his musical journey through session work both locally and in Nashville with his son, Alex. His music, including Unfinished Business, is available on major streaming platforms.

Sharing the stage is Lisa Spann, a dynamic and versatile vocalist whose career spans church choirs, rock bands, and performances across Louisiana. She has performed with numerous groups, including Kamikaze—winner of the 1994 Battle of the Bands at the Monroe Civic Center—and has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including H.B. Smith. Among her most memorable experiences is singing “Happy Birthday” nose-to-nose with Morgan Freeman while holding his hand at Squire Creek. Known for her strong stage presence and connection with audiences, Spann brings both energy and depth to every performance.

The “Be Kind Concert Series” is a three-part outdoor music series designed to bring the community together in a relaxed, family-friendly setting. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and snacks to enjoy an evening of live music.

The series reflects First United Methodist Church’s ongoing commitment to creating welcoming spaces where connection, kindness, and community can grow.

Admission is free, and a love offering will be collected to support the musicians. The series is sponsored in part by the Nell Shehee Foundation’s Operation Kindness initiative.

“It’s ok to be kind.”

Upcoming Save the Date:

NOW: Night of Worship
Save the date for NOW: Night of Worship, a special evening of praise music featuring guest musicians from across Louisiana. This powerful night of worship will take place on May 8, 2026 at 7:00 PM.

Come experience a meaningful night of music, worship, and community. General admission ($15) seating is limited, so be sure to secure your spot in advance. Your ticket purchase directly benefits the FUMCA Worship Mission. Tickets may be purchased online at https://bit.ly/FUMCANOW or by calling the church office at (318) 443-5696.

 See what Ida says 

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is reminding residents that Boating Education Lagniappe Day will be held Saturday, April 25, offering free boating safety training at multiple locations across the state, including Rapides Parish.

The statewide initiative includes a session in Pineville at the Region 3 LDWF Enforcement Office, where participants can complete a NASBLA-approved boating safety course at no cost and receive official certification upon completion.

The program is designed to help both new and experienced boaters sharpen their skills ahead of the upcoming recreational boating season. Lunch will be provided at participating locations, and door prizes will be offered at select sites.

According to LDWF, anyone born after January 1, 1984 is required to complete an approved boating safety course to legally operate a motorboat over 10 horsepower. Officials note the training is beneficial for all boaters, regardless of experience level.

Participants are also encouraged to bring serviceable, unused life jackets to support a statewide life jacket drive.

Registration is first come, first served, and officials warn that space is limited as several locations have already filled.

For full details or to register, visit the LDWF website and search for “Find a Boating Education Course Near You.”

Six Rapides Parish softball teams have advanced to the LHSAA softball quarterfinals later this week, five posting regional round playoff wins Tuesday.

Among the quarterfinal matchups ahead:  Tioga will visit rival Pineville.

Monday’s score 

Select Division I

Pineville 13, Captain Shreve 3 (5 innings)

Tuesday’s scores

Select Division I

ASH 11, Teurlings Catholic 5

Tioga 7, Acadiana 5

Select Division II 

Buckeye 16, Loranger 1 (4 innings)

Select Division IV 

Menard 8, Ouachita Christian 6

Class B 

Stanley 8, Grace Christian 6

Hicks 17, Oak Hill 3 (5 innings)

Class C

Plainview 5, Evans 2

Upcoming quarterfinal games

Tioga at Pineville, TBA

ASH at Mt. Carmel, Thursday, 5:00

Buckeye at Archbishop Hannan, Friday, 6:00

Menard at Glenbrook, TBA

Plainview at Claiborne Christian, Thursday, 5:30

The final round of the Coke Dr Pepper Open women’s pro golf tournament concluded Saturday at Links on the Bayou in Alexandria, crowning a new champion for the 2026 season.

Katie Lu of Aiken, South Carolina, captured her first ANNIKA Women’s All Pro Tour title, finishing two strokes ahead of Kate Villegas. Lu closed the week at 20-under par, highlighted by a bogey-free 6-under-par final round.

The Michigan State graduate held off a strong charge from Villegas, with both players sitting at 2-under through the turn before Lu pulled ahead down the stretch.

“Kate was playing so well the entire day. It was kind of fun because we were bouncing off each other with birdies,” said Lu. “I knew exactly where I was throughout the round, and that’s what makes it so exciting when scores are close like that.”

An ambassador for the ANNIKA Development Program, Lu boasts an impressive amateur résumé. She was a recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award during her senior year at Michigan State, earned a sponsor exemption into the 2024 Meijer LPGA Open, and was one of three Spartans to compete in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“To see my hard work pay off is such a great feeling,” Lu said. “I’ve really been working on handling pressure, and I just embraced the nerves. It turned out great.”

With the victory, Lu adds to a strong start to the season, recording her second top-10 finish on the ANNIKA WAPT in 2026.

I don’t care what sport you play, there comes a day when the Gods of that sport will humble you. So many times, as an athlete, we think we have everything figured out. We think we know more than anyone else and that we are invincible. We have the attitude “you can’t beat me!”

 That’s when we get a little too comfortable in our own skin and things start to unravel and go south. For bass tournament anglers, you never know when that day will be coming. But rest assured, it will happen!

My humbling moments have occurred more than once in my 30-year fishing career but there is one that stands out more than any other. It took place about five years ago on Lake Texoma on the Oklahoma/Texas border during one of those late February events with temperatures in the upper 20s and lower 30s.

Over the years, I’ve had several tournaments on Lake Texoma and have done well there in the past. It’s a lake that I feel very comfortable with. I have a lot of confidence each time I drop my boat in the water at this famed Oklahoma/ Texas fishery.

If you’re angler who likes to power fish with buzz baits, crankbaits and spinnerbaits, Texoma is the place for you. But there are times when you will question if there’s any bass in this lake as the fishing can get really tough.

On one of my recent trips to this impoundment, I found out firsthand just how tough Texoma can be. I was preparing for a three-day event while pre-fishing in some very frigid temperatures. To say that the bite was tough would be a huge understatement.

As Day 1 of practice began, I knew that the only way I was going to get a bite was by slowing down my presentation. Bass in cold water conditions are very lethargic and slow to react to a bait.

Well at the end of practice on Day 1, I had absolutely nothing figured out as I put my boat back on the trailer after a long 9-hour day with zero bites. That’s right, I had zero bites the entire day!

Day 2 brought the same cold temperatures but sunny skies as daytime temperatures rose into the upper 40s. I thought with temperatures warming as the day went on, that maybe there would be a good afternoon bite. My thinking was wrong as I once again as I loaded my boat after Day 2 of practice with zero bites.

That’s right, I had fished for a total of 18 hours and had yet to set the hook on a single fish! So, as I laid in bed that night, I thought that maybe I need to speed up my presentation and throw some type of reaction bait like a rattle-trap, which is very popular during cold weather tournaments.

As the final day of practice rolled around, I was actually a little excited and was looking forward to trying something different. So I tied on a ¼ oz SPRO Aruku Shad in the popular chrome with a blue back. When I say I threw the paint off that bait, I mean I stayed committed to my plan and never put it down pretty much all day long.

But as only the bass fishing Gods can explain, I once again came off the lake nine hours later with zero bites! At this point, now I’m as frustrated as I’ve ever been going into Day 1 of a tournament.

To cut this article short, I’ll just go ahead and tell you that over the next two days of tournament competition, I had one bite and never caught a single fish I could weigh-in.

For the first time in my tournament career, I fished on a body of water I’m very familiar with and caught only one bass over five consecutive days!

So, for all those up-and-coming anglers, listen up — if you fish tournaments, there will come a day when you question if you really know anything about how to catch a bass.

With this frustration, you might even want to sell everything you own that’s related to bass fishing! But hang in there — sooner or later, grey skies will fade, and sunshine will return as you catch bass like never before.

April 22 is best known as Earth Day, a global event dedicated to environmental protection, but the date also holds a broader place in history with events that have shaped science, culture, and international awareness.

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, marking the beginning of a modern environmental movement. Millions of Americans participated in rallies, teach-ins, and demonstrations focused on pollution, conservation, and sustainability. The momentum from that first observance led to the creation of key environmental protections, including the Environmental Protection Agency and landmark legislation addressing clean air and water.

Beyond environmental milestones, April 22 also marks the birth of Vladimir Lenin in 1870. As a revolutionary leader, Lenin played a central role in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the formation of the Soviet Union. His influence reshaped global politics and contributed to the ideological conflicts that defined much of the 20th century.

In scientific history, April 22, 1994, saw the discovery of a new comet that would later be named Comet Hale-Bopp. The comet became one of the most widely observed celestial events of the late 20th century, visible to the naked eye for months and sparking widespread public interest in astronomy.

April 22 continues to be a day associated with awareness and reflection. Whether through environmental advocacy or recognition of historical figures and discoveries, the date underscores humanity’s ongoing relationship with both the planet and the forces that shape global change.

With profound sorrow and heartfelt reverence, we announce the passing of Mary Denise Fisher, who transitioned from this life on April 17, 2026, just shy of her 67th birthday. Born on May 10, 1959, in Alexandria, Louisiana, Mary was a woman of quiet strength, grace, and enduring resilience-a radiant soul whose presence brought comfort, warmth, and light to all who knew her.

Mary devoted her professional life to public service as a respected supervisor in the public utilities sector in Pineville, Louisiana. Known for her fairness, leadership, and unwavering commitment, she served with integrity and compassion. Her work was more than a career-it was a calling rooted in her belief in community, cooperation, and service to others. She led not only with authority, but with heart.

Beyond her professional life, Mary embraced the simple joys that made life meaningful. She found peace in the comfort of home, often enjoying her favorite television shows-especially reality TV-while relaxing in bed. She had a deep love for gardening, nurturing plants with care and pride, and found quiet joy in bird watching and spending time outdoors. Her favorite color, green, reflected her love for life, growth, and nature. She also enjoyed shopping and cherished the moments spent with her family, who were always at the center of her world.

Though life presented its share of changes, Mary remained steadfast in her love for her family. She was preceded in death by her mother, Delores Washington. Mary’s love was genuine and unwavering, and her presence will be deeply missed by all who were blessed to know her.

A woman of gentle strength and authentic spirit, Mary lived life in her own way-unapologetically herself, grounded in love, and guided by quiet determination. Her life stands as a testament to the beauty of simplicity, the power of kindness, and the lasting impact of a loving heart.

A Catholic Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at St. Juliana Catholic Church, 900 Daspit Street, Alexandria, Louisiana 71302. Public viewing and visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m. and continue until the start of the service at 11:00 a.m.

Mary will be laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Ball, Louisiana, immediately following the service.

As we celebrate the life of Mary Denise Fisher, we invite all who knew and loved her to honor her memory by sharing stories, reflections, and cherished moments. Though she has departed from our sight, her spirit will forever live on in the hearts she touched and the love she so freely gave.

May her soul rest in eternal peace.

Phonetic: /on·​o·​mato·​poe·​ia/

Part of Speech: Noun

Definition

• the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it : the creation of words that imitate natural sounds (such as buzz, hiss)
  … some of our most beloved onomatopoeias: crackle, sizzle, pop, slurp.
• the use of words whose sound suggests the sense
  a study of the poet’s onomatopoeia

By JIM BUTLER

Wilton Barrios wants to discuss at today’s School Board Finance Committee meeting options of using cash at events and for fees.  

The board in January rescinded its no-cash rule for events but kept it in place for fees and other school expenses.

That came following last November’s move to no cash for any school-related payments.

Board members agreed the populace wasn’t ready for a cash-free approach.

That was implemented as part of a response to continuing cash accounting problems at individual schools.

The board’s most recent audit noted the problems remained. Various steps have been taken since November to bolster cash care at the school level.

Barrios has several items on the agenda of a special board meeting following committee meetings.

A $320,000 change order would increase the Tioga Field House contract to $8.52 million.

The change, an alternate included in the bid package, would add a parking lot and associated components as well as keyless locks at laundry lockers to the Pat Williams Construction contract with a new completion date of next March 28.

A $92,000 change order to Cenla Contracting’s construction of a gym addition at Tioga Elementary would add two restrooms bringing the total to $680,000.

Increases in budgets for two projects are proposed – $1.1 million to total of $1.3 million for a track at Tioga High and $110,000 to total of $285,000 for the school driveway and drainage.

Also preceding the board meeting, District 62 (Wards 1 & 8) will discuss how to divvy up about $6.5 million still available for use from a $100 million bond issue. 

When the issue was approved there were three high school feeder systems in the district — ASH, Bolton and Peabody — and funding was apportioned 40-30-30 reflecting student counts. 

With Bolton’s conversion to a competitive academy ASH and Peabody are the feeder systems, the former with about 3,400 total students, the latter about 100 fewer. 

Two proposed options use a per pupil formula, another a 50-50 split between the feeder networks and the fourth proposes allocating some amount to Bolton and to the three Montessori schools (Brasher, Peabody, Rosenthal) that got none under the initial bonding and splitting the rest evenly among the other District 62 schools. 

The Education Committee will discuss and possibly take action to direct the administration to engage with the City of Alexandria and the Police Jury about potential youth programming in the Monroe street area. 

Committee meetings begin at 4 p.m.

By JIM BUTLER 

The proposed budget and a change of direction vis-à-vis GAEDA are back on the Alexandria City Council agenda today. 

Action on both was delayed two weeks ago to allow opportunity for the administration and council members to get on the same page with either or both. 

Mayor Jacques Roy urged the council to retain a cooperative endeavor agreement with GAEDA and explore projects other than the old Weiss & Goldring building to work together on. 

Councilman Malcolm Larvadain agreed to a delay in a vote on rescinding the CDA to allow further talk. 

Jules Green had the most budget questions and adoption was delayed to allow his and any others to be answered. 

That budget includes no provision for updated electricity, gas, water and sanitation rates, essentially unchanged since 1986. 

Consultants last August recommended changes. No such action has come before the council and as fall elections grow closer are less and less likely to. 

On the subject of elections, Roy, Larvadain, Green and at-large councilman Jim Villard have filed campaign finance reports. 

Roy reports $12,000 in 2025 contributions as he prepares to run later this year – $6,000 each from William Fontenot and Sam Mahfouz. 

The mayor spent $1,400 during the year and, including $3,500 balance from previous years, had $14,000 on hand Dec 31. 

Larvadain, filing for future election, contributed $3,500 to his campaign fund on December 31.  During the year the fund repaid him for an earlier loan. At year’s end the fund balance was $2,100. 

Green filed six reports this period, five related to previous campaigns. He reported no 2025 contributions and $800 expenditures, with a year-end balance of $1,800. 

Expenditures included a $200 assessment in June for hus campaign filing a supplemental report to his 2024 election 18 days late. 

According to Ethics Commission minutes, the fine was initially $600 but reduced when Green appealed. 

The relatively minor levy is one of hundreds assessed by the Commission. Records show many of them languish in unpaid status. 

Records also show Green more fortunate than Council President Cynthia Green Perry, whose appeal of a $2,500 fee for being 33 days late in filing an amended disclosure from 2023 was denied in April 2025. 

Villard, whose term expires this year, reported no campaign contributions in 2025. Expenditures were $4,800, leaving a fund balance $1,600.

Bolton Academy will not field a varsity football team this fall. Mercifully.

Bolton, which became a pre-K–12 Academic & Performing Arts Magnet School before the 2024-25 academic year, has had three straight winless seasons and six winless seasons in the last 11 years. This last season was especially tough – Bolton’s 10 opponents outscored the Bears 450-26, including a 69-0 defeat against Avoyelles. 

The last time the Bears won a district title was 20 years ago, when they had an 0-5 start but won all five of their District 3-3A games before losing to top-seeded Notre Dame of Crowley in the first round of the playoffs, 49-12. Running back Jarvis Jackson rushed for 208 yards and four touchdowns in a 40-14 win over Grant to highlight the win for Bolton’s last district championship in 2006. John Ware was then in his first year as head coach.

That was only the fifth time since 1998 that Bolton had a non-losing regular season. Yet, there was a time, back in its prime ….

Bolton has a strong football history if you go back far enough. And I’m not talking about the 1990 team of Coach Brian Parmley, led by quarterback Darrel White, that finished 10-2 with a No. 7 ranking and the District 4-3A championship. White earned All-Cenla Offensive Player of the Year honors rushing for 1,990 yards in the regular season, averaging 11 yards a carry.

Bolton played for the Class AAA state championship in 1974 when Aubrey Sanders was the head coach. The Bears clinched their second straight perfect regular season that year with a 32-14 win over arch-rival Pineville before a standing-room-only crowd at Bolton. Bernard Reed had three touchdown runs in that contest. The Bears beat Eunice, Jesuit-Shreveport and Franklinton in the playoffs before bowing to Richwood of Monroe, 28-8 in the state championship game in Monroe.

Financial advisor Bart Schmolke and Alexandria City Judge Richard Starling Jr. were quarterbacks during that heyday in the early 1970s. All-staters from the state runner-up team were tight end Andrew Fatheree, running back Mike Stewart and linebacker John Fisher.

That was Bolton’s first attempt to win a state championship since 1915, when Tom Dutton’s Bears went 6-0 and “claimed” the state championship in an era when informal state championships were common. In 1914 and 1917, for example, there were three or even four games that had been designated as state championships.  

Bolton’s first year as a school, then located on Sixth and Beauregard Streets in downtown Alexandria, was 1915. The Louisiana High School Sports Association didn’t come into existence until that year. Dutton, when his Bolton team was 5-0 – including a 9-0 victory over Louisiana College – made quite the boast in a press release.

At a time when some other teams in the state were claiming to be the best, Dutton wrote that Bolton was “the one team that ranks above all others when it comes to handing out titles,” according to the Alexandria Daily Town Talk. He wrote that he had a team that “fights like the dickens,” and he believed it could whip any team in the state, except maybe for Warren Easton (then Boys High) in New Orleans.

With a 9-0 season-ending victory over Baton Rouge before “maybe the largest crowd ever for an athletic event at that time” in Alexandria, Dutton claimed a state championship. The first names of players didn’t make the papers in those days but the last names of some players from that team look familiar: Scott, Nachman, Staples, Bradford, Holloman, etc.

Dutton also accused Monroe of trying to “put over a raw deal” by trying to play an ineligible player, Sim Nettles, who was over 21 years old and had played on the Winnfield team seven years earlier. “Consequently,” he wrote, “he could not have been a bona fide (high school) student … unless he had been a very poor student during the preceding seven years.”

In the same year Bolton claimed the state title, the New Orleans Times-Picayune sponsored a game it labeled for the state championship in 1915 between Jesuit and Waren Easton, the first Catholic and public high school, respectively, in New Orleans. Warren Easton won, 13-12.

Bolton football conjures memories of many bright former stars. Here are just some:

David Guidry was a four-sport star at Bolton in 1976-77, who later played eight games at quarterback as a sophomore at USL.

Mickey Slaughter, who played quarterback for head coach Maxie Lambright at Bolton in the 1950s, later did so well at Louisiana Tech he was a seventh-round draft choice by the Denver Broncos, then of the old American Football League. He was the first quarterback picked in the draft. His four-year pro-career was spoiled by a series of injuries. He was later the offensive coordinator at Tech, when Lambright was the Bulldogs’ head coach.

Lambright is on Tech’s Mt. Rushmore of football coaches, compiling a 95-36-2 record over 12 years, with seven Southland Conference titles and five assorted national championships. At Bolton he compiled a 22-7-1 record (.750 percentage) in three seasons (1956-58). Although he didn’t lead Bolton to a state title, in 1958 he coached the Bears to a victory over Lake Charles, the eventual Class AAA state champion.

Bolton football may not be gone for good. The tentative plan reportedly is to play middle school football only with hopes that the numbers and interest in a varsity program will eventually return.