The Town of Cheneyville announced the opening of it splash pad last week.

The splash pad is open every day, Monday through Sunday, 12-8pm. The Town has requested that residents adhere to the rules of the splash pad and be courteous to others. 

Rules are as follows.

• Patrons are requested to shower/bathe prior to entering the splash pad.
• Children must be supervised by an adult at all times.
• Proper swim attire must be worn at all times.
• Do not swing, climb, hang, or pull on any splash pad equipment.
• No running or rough play.
• Alcohol is prohibited at the splash pad and Town of Cheneyville Park.

The Town of Cheneyville has the authority to enforce all park rules and reserves the right to remove any person(s) from the splash pad that are not in compliance with these rules and regulations. 

Call the Town of Cheneyville at 318-279-2155 if there are any questions regarding rules and regulations above.

In case of emergency, call 911. 

On June 22, 2025, Patrol Deputies responded to the Tioga Substation for a walk-in complaint of a criminal sexual conduct where the alleged victim was a juvenile. Deputies took the initial report and Sheriff’s Detectives responded to begin their investigation.

Through their investigation, Detectives were able to identify Travante Latrez Williams, 21 of Alexandria, as the suspect.

From their investigation, which consisted of interviews and witness statements, Detectives were able to establish sufficient probable cause that supported the original allegations. On June 30, Detectives obtained warrants for Williams arrest for 2 counts carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

On June 30, 2025, Sheriff’s Detectives made contact with Williams at his residence on Lisa Street in Alexandria and he was taken into custody without incident and arrested on the outstanding warrants. Williams was transported and booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center where he remains at the time of this release, being held on a $350,000 bond.

Sheriff’s Detectives say this is still an active, ongoing investigation and more arrests are possible. If anyone has any information relating to this crime, they are asked to contact Detective Joseph Spence, Criminal Investigations Division-Main Office, at 318-473-6727, RPSO Main Office at 318-473-6700 or Crime Stoppers at 318-443-7867.

“ALL PERSONS ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.”

Arrestee: Travante Latrez Williams, 21, 5102 Lisa Street, Alexandria LA

Charges: 2 counts carnal knowledge of a juvenile (Felony), indecent behavior with a juvenile (Felony) contributing to the delinquency of juveniles

On May 19, 2025, Sheriff’s Detectives responded to a local hospital in reference to allegations of criminal sexual conduct that occurred in the Pineville area.

According to their initial investigation, the victim alleged they were sexually assaulted while staying at the residence of the suspect. During their investigation, Detectives determined the suspect, identified as Dakota L. Duncan, 29 of Pineville, had allegedly committed this criminal sexual conduct on the victim who was a guest at his residence. From their investigation, Detectives established sufficient probable cause that supported the victims original allegations and Detectives obtained an arrest warrant on Duncan for Third Degree Rape.

On June 11, 2025, Duncan was taken into custody without incident, placed under arrest and booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center. Duncan was released the following day on a $75,000.00 bond.

Sheriff’s Detectives say this is still an active investigation. If anyone has any further information relating to this crime, they are asked to contact Detective Tim Stanley, Criminal Investigation Division- Kolin Substation, at 318-484-7350.

“ALL PERSONS ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.”

Arrestee: Dakota L Duncan, 29, 874 Starlight Trail Road, Pineville LA

Charges: Third Degree Rape

Allowing corporal punishment is only half the loaf.

The School Board decided Tuesday to ask principals for opinions on putting paddling back in the system. It hasn’t been allowed since 2022.

Board member Linda Burgess raised the issue, saying she has been asked by some parents to do so.

The other half of the loaf is the mandatory parental permission to apply it when determined necessary.

State law requires such to be signed, sealed and filed away before the fact and also requires detailed reporting to the Department of Education for any corporal punishment administered.

Based on initial social media comments parents seem as divided as the board on the question.

In 2022 the vote was 5-4 to bar such punishment; last year, though membership had changed, it was 5-4 to retain the ban.

Practicality is that such a discipline alternative is aimed at elementary and perhaps some middle school infractions. High schools are a different matter.

There will not be a Friday edition of the Rapides Parish Journal this week, in deference to the Independence Day holiday.

We will be spending the long holiday weekend with family and friends, enjoying the freedoms that the Declaration of Independence birthed in 1776. Whether your holiday fireworks are in the back yard, down the street or in a larger public celebration, we hope you have a safe and happy July 4.

You can count on the Journal to resume publishing Monday morning, free of charge to all, with locally-based content that is relevant to you and your neighbors.

Rapides Regional Medical Center will close its three local Rapides Urgent Care Clinic locations in late August, according to an announcement Wednesday.

The Rapides Urgent Care Clinic locations closing Aug. 23 are on Jackson Street and Coliseum Blvd. in Alexandria and Hwy 28 East in Pineville.

The announcement cited an “saturated urgent care market, evolving healthcare needs, and changes in reimbursement models.”

It stated: “We are grateful to our patients for allowing us to be part of their care and to our urgent care staff for their dedicated service over the years. Rapides Regional Medical Center remains committed to providing high-quality care through our hospital services and emergency care for Central Louisiana.”

When the Louisiana heat index reaches triple digits, many of us long for an island oasis—ice-cold drinks and palm trees. Louisiana Christian University student Morgan Tradewell and her family decided to bring a little bit of that dream to Pineville.

Palmettos Shave Ice opened in the summer of 2024, bringing a little bit of Hawaii to Central Louisiana.
Morgan, a senior Smith Scholar majoring in biology, and her family took a trip to Oahu, Hawaii, in 2022, and the idea for Palmettos was born.

“I’ve always loved Icees,” she said. “Someone told us to try shaved ice, and I fell in love. Shave ice started in the Hawaiian sugar cane fields. Sitting in Waikiki, I wished I could bring it back home with me because it’s just so good. I joked about opening our own shop.”

Morgan drew her idea out on a napkin—and her family turned the joke into a reality.

Parents Tony and Darla Tradewell, along with her younger brother Marshall, a student at Pineville High School, all bought into the idea and now all help run Palmettos.

“We wanted a place to sit and enjoy and slow down,” Darla said. “We had no idea of the response of the community. We just pinch ourselves.”

Tony is a landscape architect and designed the space.

“The palmetto is similar to a Hawaiian palm tree, but is a tropical native plant to Louisiana. And it is very hospitable to Louisiana’s climate,” Tony said. Hence the name and the beautiful landscaping of the establishment.

Darla runs the business side and handles the graphics, and Marshall is the numbers guy.

Morgan handles the marketing and social media side of the business.

“We all have our little parts to play,” Morgan said. “I’m not a coffee shop girl; this is my vibe.”

Palmetto’s just celebrated its first anniversary, and Morgan said it’s been a huge but fun learning experience.

“We’re helping to build community over here,” she said.

Several high school and college students work at the shop, and even more patronize the establishment, hang out with friends, and share part of their lives with each other.

LCU students have come over and played music, and Palmettos hosted the February March for Life. In addition, this summer Palmettos is hosting a flavor surfer competition and a cornhole tournament, which will raise funds for St. Jude’s Children’ Research Hospital.

Palmettos currently offers 64 flavors, including a line of Hawaiian flavors. But there is literally no end to the flavor and ice cream combinations that customers come up with.

“It’s just a place to relax,” Darla said. “Shoes off, lying on the lawn, it gives that illusion you are somewhere else.”

People have just welcomed the Tradewells and Palmettos into their families, Darla said.

“You come here and people aren’t on their phones, they are visiting, talking and praying together,” she said.

“People come by on their best and worst days,” Darla said. “And we take the time to visit with them and share Jesus.”

Regular customer Gayle Murrell, who is a librarian at LCU, said grape is her favorite flavor.

“I love Palmettos because it has the perfect shaved ice that melts in your mouth,” she said. “I’ve known Darla and Tony Tradewell for over 20 years, as we are members of Philadelphia Baptist Church together. When I bring my granddaughters, Ellie and Hannah, to dance on Mondays, we stop at Palmettos.”

Ellie prefers Darla’s special mix of clear tiger’s blood with cream, while Hannah loves wedding cake with cream.

Morgan, who graduates in December, plans to head off to pursue her Occupational Therapy doctorate.

“I feel like I’ve earned a business degree, I’ve learned so much,” she jokes.

She said she will still be running the social media for Palmettos and won’t ever be too far to drive back and fill her shave ice fix.

The 2025 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration last Saturday night at the Natchitoches Events Center was a spectacular showcase of state sports greatness.

You can see this first-hand Sunday afternoon from 1:30-4 on Louisiana Public Broadcasting. LPB will replay its live coverage of the induction ceremony which has plenty of content showcasing the three-day celebration.

The telecast is also available on the LaSportsHall.com website, the LPB.org website or their YouTube channel.

The Class of 2025 was headlined by two men pivotal in LSU’s 2003 football national championship – coach Nick Saban and Andrew Whitworth, a champion at West Monroe High School, LSU and in the NFL during a 16-year pro career. More sparkle was provided by pro basketball All-Stars Danny Granger and Vickie Johnson, the state’s winningest all-time college baseball coach Joe Scheuermann and Danny Broussard, one of the nation’s most successful high school basketball coaches, in this year’s induction class.

It also includes LSU gymnastics great and NCAA individual champion April Burkholder, transformational Catholic-Baton Rouge high school football coach Dale Weiner and George “Bobby” Soileau, a four-time high school and 1956 NCAA boxing champion at LSU who also won a state crown as a football coach at his alma mater, Sacred Heart High School in Ville Platte.

LSU graduate Herb Vincent, now a longstanding associate commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, received the Hall’s Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award with his enshrinement.

Also honored: Ed Daniels, a generational television sports broadcaster in New Orleans, and Glenn Guilbeau, one of the nation’s more decorated sportswriters in a career that has seen him cover LSU, state college, high school and pro sports along with stories across the South and around the SEC. They were inducted as recipients of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism.

Additionally, more than two dozen previously inducted Hall of Fame members returned to the 2025 ceremony to participate in the opening Walk of Legends.

Oak Hill Fire Department has released its data relating to calls made between June 24 and June 29.

Arrests are accusations, not convictions

July 2

Yolanda Renee Brooks, 41, Pineville – issuing worthless checks, $2,500 bail;

Jyrus Malik Butler, 28, Pineville – possession of CDS, paraphernalia, obstructing public passages, contempt of court, $5,500 bail;

Robert Edward Dauzart, 51, Alexandria – theft, illegal possession of stolen things, exploitation of the infirmed, forgery, aggravated second degree battery, simple escape, three counts contempt of court, $126,500 bail;

Demarkis Dundre Guidry, 33, Alexandria – four counts theft, $16,000 bail;

Paul Devoy Harper, 57, Alexandria – possession of CDS, paraphernalia, driving under suspension, purchase of commercial sexual activity, switched license plate, $3,450 bail;

Christopher Germaine Trowel, 23, Austin, Texas – attempted second-degree murder, no bail data.

July 1

Henry Charles Bartlett, 25, Alexandria – possession of CDS, $1,500 bail;

Logan Matthew Carter, 29, Pollock – seven counts contempt of court, failure to appear, $170,200 bail;

Patrick Steven Davis, 44, Ball – Louisiana fugitive, probation violation, no bail data;

Sam V. Deal, 22, Alexandria – producing manufacturing distributing CDS, paraphernalia, modified exhaust, no driver’s license, two counts illegal carry firearm with drugs, failure to appear, contempt of court, $37,200 bail;

Emily Ann Gagnard, 23, Pineville – criminal conspiracy, three counts aggravated assault, resisting an officer, criminal trespass, reckless operation of vehicle, possession of marijuana, $9,000 bail;

Jessica Eve Stelly, 39, Church Point – possession of CDS, $2,500 bail;

Tristan Jacob Travis, 26, Ball – OWI fourth offense, operating vehicle while under suspension for certain prior offenses, open container, improper window tint, no MVI sticker, speeding, $5,900 bail;

Tyler Jermone Weatherspoon, 28, Alexandria – possession of firearm by convicted felon, armed robbery with use of firearm, probation violation, $165,000 bail;

Glendell Wesley, 48, Alexandria – second-degree murder, two counts aggravated assault with a firearm, resisting an officer, possession of CDS, paraphernalia, possession of firearm by convicted felon, illegal carry firearm with drugs, concealed negligent carry handgun, $198,500 bail.

June 30

Cedirc Bankston, 26, Alexandria – domestic abuse battery, $1,500 bail;

Ishmael Elijah Bankston, 24, Alexandria —  aggravated assault with a firearm, $2,500 bail;

James Travis Bloomfield, 55, Grapevine, Texas – two counts aggravated resisting with force or violence, two counts aggravated battery of police officer, OWI first offense, improper lane usage, $101,100 bail;

Derwin Buard, 28, Alexandria – simple arson, $10,000 bail;

Tervell S. Coleman, 30, Alexandria – battery of dating partner, $1,500 bail;

Ruben Gonzalez-Cano, 24, Alexandria – OWI first offense, open container, $1,100 bail;

Marvin Louis Welch Jr, 26, Alexandria – home invasion, $1,500 bail;

Karell Evon Williams Jr, 46, Alexandria – two counts threatening a public official, parole violations, $50,000 bail;

Travonte Latrez Williams, 21, Alexandria – two counts carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with juveniles, contributing to delinquency of minors, $350,000 bail;

Carrie Cloud Willis, 48, Plainview – two counts contempt of court, $100,000 bail.         

June 29

Trae Joshua Barron, 33, Pineville – criminal damage to property, two counts criminal trespass, three counts resisting an officer, theft, reckless operation, driver’s license required, contempt on non-support, $4,500 bail;

Alberto Ducote, 22, Pineville – five counts contempt of court, $77,500 bail;

Tymichael Terrell Robinson, 34, Alexandria – theft, contempt of court, $2,500 bail.

A boil advisory issued June 30, for the Brooks Blvd. area has been lifted. Repair of a main made by COA personnel resulted in the need for a boil water advisory. The State of Louisiana has tested the water, and the results of the tests are clear, according to Superintendent of Water Operations, Barrett Dezendorf.

The Alexandria Water Department has lifted the boil advisory for businesses and residents located in the area described in a previous RPJ article. 

With the lifting of the boil advisory, the City of Alexandria now recommends that businesses and residences in the affected areas:

• Run cold-water faucets for one minute;
• Run drinking water fountains for one minute;
• Flush automatic icemakers (make three batches of ice and discard);
• Run water softeners through a regeneration cycle; and
• Run water coolers with direct water connections for five minutes.

The guy in charge of transporting Nick Saban wherever he needed to go at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday in Natchitoches is no rookie at this type of assignment.

Steve Pezant, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound chief deputy for the Natchitoches Ward 1 City Marshal, has worked presidential details and transported LeBron James from the hotel to the New Orleans Smoothie King Center for the NBA All-Star Game in 2008 when he was the game’s MVP. He has also handled the Manning brothers, Phil Robertson and other celebrities at some previous LSHOF events.

The 57-year-old Pezant, a graduate of Northwestern State University, has been working in law enforcement for 35 years, with 26 years as a Louisiana state trooper.  Since March of 2020 he has worked in the City Marshal’s Office.

He has overseen transportation for the LSHOF on a full-time basis since 2019, and his highest priority assignment Saturday was to escort Saban, the marquee inductee in the 2025 LSHOF class, wherever and whenever he wanted to go. He met him Saturday afternoon at the Natchitoches airport, where he and his wife, Terry, arrived in a Cessna CJ3 jet, and he took them back to the same jet to return to Alabama later Saturday night.

Pezant said Saban was a little cool toward him when he met him in plain clothes rather than in a deputy’s uniform at the airport. Being a veteran of dealing with some big shots, Pezant said he knew it helps if you can make a connection with a celebrity, which he did.

He told him of his friendship with Mike Edmondson, the trooper and Alexandria native who was assigned to Saban when he was at LSU. Saban warmed up to him, soon confiding in him and another man with him a story that Saban claimed maybe only five people knew about. It was the story he told everyone on LPB’slive telecast a few hours later about how he sent Terry – true story he insisted — to Baton Rouge to handle scouting out the LSU program, facilities and such before he accepted LSU’s job offer. She spent two days on campus, touring the campus with then chancellor Mark Emmert’s wife. Saban said he couldn’t afford the risk of being discovered doing such a thing while still coaching at Michigan State.

Terry reported to him that “this place needs a lot of work.” The stadium was in bad shape; there was no academic support nor academic facilities. The players were not doing well academically. The players had to ride a bus to practice from the campus each day because the facilities were separate, and on and on. However, she told him when she went into the weight room, she saw some “damn good-looking players.” That was the clincher for his taking the job, he said.

Pezant said when he later checked with Terry to vouch for that story, she did, and asked him, “Did he tell you when he wondered how he could handle the job, I told him, ‘Get your big boy pants on and get in there and get to coaching.’”

One personality trait Pezant picked up about Saban is that he doesn’t like to be anywhere, except a football field, for more than 15 minutes. Initially, that was about as long as he wanted to stay in the Hall of Fame Museum before heading to the Events Center for the induction ceremony, which started at 7 p.m., and it wasn’t even 6 o’clock.

“I told him, ‘Coach, if you go on to the top of that hill, you’re gonna be there way longer than you want,’” Pezant related. “He stayed around longer and enjoyed it. He told me the best jambalaya he’d ever eaten was at the reception at the museum. He didn’t like signing autographs publicly, but if you caught him in a side room, he would and ask, ‘What you want – Go Tigers or Roll Tide?’

“But when Nick Saban wants to leave, he wants to leave — now,” Pezant said. “That’s the way he was not long after the induction ceremony. I’d already arranged for Mrs. Terry to be brought to the van (that would take them to the airport), so all I had to deal with was one person. When he said he wanted to go, I told him, ‘It’s my job to get you out of here and it’s my job to tell them he’s got to go.’”

Pezant got them to the airport, and he said Saban said, ‘This has been incredible!’ “He had enjoyed it and was glad to be able to come to Natchitoches. He said, ‘Be sure to tell Doug (Ireland, chairman of the Hall of Fame Foundation) and Ronnie (Rantz, LSHOF Foundation CEO/president) they did a great job.”

Steve Pezant is another who did a great job, and for a guy who has worked a security detail on Paul McCartney’s yacht, shaken hands with presidents of at least three countries and the huge hands of Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris, he can “walk with kings” without losing the common touch. 

“I don’t let the stardom (of those to whom he’s assigned) bother me,” he said. “I’m just doing my job. But it is pretty neat.”  

Local author Berchman Richard will be signing and selling his new book Death on the Atchafalaya at the Westside Regional Library on Thursday, July 10, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

This story weaves together three plotlines: the quest for an ancient treasure chest filled with stolen gold, hidden in the Louisiana swamps, and the men who search and die for it; two older men embarking on a final adventure aboard a small cabin cruiser, traveling through Texas and Louisiana’s waterways, heading toward the Atchafalaya swamp; and the convergence of these two stories as men in the swamp fiercely guard the secret of the buried gold from those who seek to steal it.

When it comes to local sports coverage, the experts say you can’t do better than what you get for free in your favorite Online Journal publication.

The experts are out-of-state sports media who judged entries in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s annual Writing Contest. Results from this summer’s contest, which included content produced in the calendar 2024 year, were announced Sunday during the LSWA’s Awards Brunch in Natchitoches.

As coaches say, statistics don’t lie. The numbers point out the tremendous value Journal readers get with top-caliber content on their local teams as well as compelling state and national topics.

The Shreveport-Bossier Journal sports team – editor/writer Doug Ireland, and writers John James Marshall, Ron Higgins, Teddy Allen and Tony Taglavore – produced more award-winning entries than any other single-market news media outlet In Louisiana, and it wasn’t close.

The SBJ team was rewarded with 18 LSWA recognitions, including some of the top honors in the contest. No other single-market media entity had more than 10.

Adding in awards won by the staff (Malcolm Butler, Kyle Roberts and Reggie McLeroy) at the Lincoln Parish Journal and columnist Bob Tompkins in the Rapides Parish Journal, the Online Journals’ LSWA contest haul was 24 honors. That was on pace with the collective total of the closest competition, which had four outlets that received a combined 24 recognitions.

Journal writers received some of the contest’s top honors, headed by Ireland earning the LSWA’s Sports Writer of the Year award after he earned recognition in eight different categories. He previously won the honor in 1987 for the Alexandria Town Talk before shifting into the athletic media relations profession and not returning to sports writing until 2021.

Marshall was named the LSWA’s Prep Writer of the Year for his high school sports coverage in the SBJ.

Journal writers took home first and second in the state Columnist of the Year in Class II (circulation below 10,000 daily) with Tompkins winning the award while Butler was the runner-up in that category. Butler was also named runner-up for the Class II Prep Writer of the Year for the second straight year.