It’s a lot easier planning to mix team meetings and a pep rally in Turpin Stadium the night before a game, than following an itinerary from a hotel hours away from home.

That makes a short work week a lot better for Northwestern State football coach Jay Thomas, his staff and team. The Demons kick off their home and Southland Conference schedule Thursday evening at 6 in Turpin Stadium hosting Incarnate Word.

While the Cardinals will travel from San Antonio Wednesday, the Demons will be attending class, going through a light walk-through, then into position meetings in the evening before heading outside at 8 to soak up the energy of The Inferno, the NSU student section, at a high-energy pep rally in Turpin Stadium.

Thomas and his squad are counting on The Inferno and other Demon fans to provide a boost for the White Out Game Thursday, while the team dons white helmets and white uniforms at home. In his first three seasons as the NSU coach, Thomas’s teams are 11-4 at Turpin Stadium.

“Our student section, our band, they’re just awesome, and that’s a big part of it,” he said. “Our guys take a lot of pride playing in front of their peers, their professors, their friends in town, and the tradition we have here. It makes a difference doing the Demon Walk through the tailgaters, touching the Link monument walking out on the field to warm up, running out of the locker room through the purple smoke right before kickoff.”

No Demon enjoys playing in Turpin more than senior running back De’Mard Llorens, who has done it for the last eight years, four with NSU after four with Natchitoches Central High School.

“I never wanted to play anywhere else,” he said. “Being a Demon like my brother (Kendrick) was my goal. Now that this is the start of my last season, it’s bittersweet, but right now mostly it’s very exciting.

“I can’t even count how many people from the town come fill the stands, watch me play, watch the Demons play,” said Llorens. “It’s amazing, a really good feeling.”

Llorens savors the novelty of the White Out Game.

“It’s fun. Watching my brother play here (1999-2001, before a year in the NFL at cornerback with the New York Giants), I never saw him wearing white jerseys at home. This is something our generation has started,” he said, starting to grin. “The girls come to the games wearing white, everybody is looking sharp, and it gets us hyped up.”

Senior safety Ralph Green, who wore an all-white tuxedo to one of his high school proms, is completely on board with the special wardrobe.

“It does hype up everybody, a lot. It brings a great vibe to the game for us,” he said.

Llorens has a very simple key to success for the Demons Thursday night.

“Score. Our defense will do its job, and offensively, we just need to put points on the board.”

Family and friends will honor the memory of a Cane River cowboy at the Todd Roque Memorial Team Roping event Saturday, Sept. 10 at the Horseshoe Arena, located at 199 Old Marco Road in Chopin. Proceeds from this event will be deposited into a college scholarship fund for Todd’s two children, Rockelle and Ramsey Roque. Todd passed away April 7 while moving cattle with friends.
Team Roping Competition includes:

#9 capped at 5E Books open at 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Rope at 7 p.m.

#12 slide Books close at 8:30 p.m.

Rope at 9 p.m.

$120 enter 1 and draw 2 or draw 3-4 head
Saddles will be presented to highpoint in each roping competition and buckles will be presented to average winners in each roping.

Concessions and merchandise will be available at the event. For more information call Scottie Johnson at 318-652-0429.
This family friendly event is open to the public. The entry fee is $5 and will go toward the scholarship fund. Concessions will be sold and a DJ will liven up the event. Lawn chairs can be brought for seating around the area.
The event is hosted by Blane and Micah Foshee Jones, Brian Jones, Nicholas Severin, the Roque family, Jared Walker, Sheriff Victor Jones, Scottie Johnson and Kristy Jones.

Abby Toro participated in the USA Powerlifting 2016 New Orleans Invitational. She won a First Place Medal and was the star of the powerlifting meet. Lifters ranged from age 8-62. Abby’s dad Derek Toro was her coach and did an excellent job preparing Abby for the meet.

Abby totals were:
Squat 38.6
Bench 28
Dead lift 71.6

She lifted 93 at the end she got it up but got two red lights because she hesitated. Her total for the day was 138.2. Abby set the record for squat, bench, deadlift and total record for the 40kg Y-1 Division for Louisiana. Abby is in 3rd Grade at Provencal Elementary.

By Edwin Crayton

Childhood is supposed to be a time of joy and promise. But statistics show it is becoming much less so. Every day in America, 2,857 high school students drop out of school. An alarming 75% of our young people between the ages of 18 and 25 cannot get into the military because of inadequate literacy, poor health of some sort of criminal history. The percentage of children living in single parent homes more than doubled. Those bleak statistics, gathered from Children’s Defense Fund and personal experience, were shared by Liza Behrendsen, Executive Director of the local El Camino Real chapter of the Boys and Girls Club. Behrendsen spoke at a noon day Rotary Club Luncheon at the Recreation facility at Northwestern, Tuesday, September 6.

But Behrendsen had good news too: the right mix of attention, love, and parental and community involvement can turn things around and is doing so nationally and here in town. She shared how the Natchitoches chapter of the Boys And Girls Club is doing its part to help. Behrendsen added, “The door to our children’s futures is often crowded with temptation and misdirection, making it difficult for them to reach their own potential. Opportunity is not always given a door to knock on so we built one.” That door she referred to is the door to the Boys and Girl Club where kids are given “hope and opportunity” as she put it.

Locally some kind of door of opportunity is certainly needed when you consider that as much as 30% of children in Natchitoches Parish live below the poverty level. More than 25% of our children have either been suspended or been assigned after school suspension. 60% of club members are from single parents homes—16% higher than all other regions. And 77% of our children are unable to read at grade level. A majority of the local children affected are African American. Yet Behrendsen made it clear that every child regardless of race or family income is really “at risk” because of trends in society.

The club responds with practical help and compassion. Kids get help from a range of services and character building programs. Among those are mentors, guidance from caring adult volunteers, a computer lab, meals and snacks. There is also a vegetable gardening project. The club provided 15, 812 meals in 2015. Kids went on 38 field trips and the club served over 861 children. But despite the impressive numbers, when she thinks of local children, Behrendsen obviously sees faces instead of numbers. She envisions the children those stats represent. She recalled through personal testimonies, the pleasure of seeing how people benefited years after being members in the club. Behrendsen said, “The statistics make it clear that our work is of the greatest importance and purpose. But she acknowledged that the statistics also show that the “we still have much work to do.” She thanked the Rotary Club for its support.

Rotary International was established in 1922 as an association of civic -minded professional people who use their resources support community organizations like Boys and Girls Club. The name “rotary” is said to have come out of the practice of rotating meeting locations. Past Rotary Club members have included prominent people such as Thomas Edison, Sir Winston Churchill, former presidents George W Bush and Jimmy Carter and James Cash Penny, founder of J.C. Penney Stores.

Leading Americans who benefited from being in the Boys and Girls Club include: Denzell Washington, Jennifer Lopez, Usher and Shaquille O’ Neal.

Reprinted with permission of Real Views

BOM is a $500 sponsor of the 2016-2017 Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society. This year the organization celebrates 51 years and its mission is to provide Natchitoches with symphonic music and to help young people to realize their dreams in music by providing financial assistance through scholarships.

From left are Misty Milstead, Marty Sanders-President, Linnye Daily (Membership Chairman), Pat Thomas (Corporate Membership Committee) and Gretchen Dauzat.

Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s deputies, Natchitoches Parish Fire District #6 and members of Natchitoches Parish Fire District #9 responded to a structure fire in the 200 block of Cherie Loop near Natchitoches Monday morning, Sept. 5 at 1:43 a.m. The residence, owned by Kristian Moore, was a total loss. There were no reported injuries. NFD#6 remained on scene until the fire was extinguished.

Northwestern State University’s Office of Electronic and Continuing Education will present two basic photography classes Saturday, Sept. 10 in Room 225 of Kyser Hall.

Basic photography will be held from 1 – 3 p.m. and will teach the skills and techniques of taking great photographs with your DSLR camera. The class will cover lighting and shooting techniques including photo composition and camera functions. This course is designed with DSLR cameras in mind, but could help those wanting to break into the field of more dynamic cameras and images. Participants will need a camera. A Nikon DSLR is preferred.

Basic photography II is from 4 – 6 p.m. This course will cover what to do once the photo has been taken. The instructor will demonstrate basic editing techniques using Photoshop that will enhance your photos. Participants can bring specific images with them for some in-class editing. Those in the class will need a camera with computer cable supplied with camera or SD card reader.

The fee is $30 per class or $50 for both. For more information, e-mail bedgoodm@nsula.edu, visit ece.nsula.edu/non-credit/ or call (800) 376-2422 or (318) 357-6355.

Trinity Episcopal Church is one of the locations on the 62nd Annual Natchitoches Fall Pilgrimage of Homes, which isscheduled for Oct. 14-16.

The Church was built in 1857. The Gothic-Norman church is the oldest religious structure in Natchitoches with two-foot thick walls. APHN will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a reception in the church courtyard which will feature a “tasting of Old Natchitoches Recipes.”

The largest exhibit of the paintings of Clementine Hunter in history, including many rare pieces from several families’ private collections, will be the focus of the Pilgrimage of Homes. Hunter is the world-renowned Folk Artist who lived and painted at Melrose Plantation.

The Pilgrimage is sponsored annually by the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches (APHN). This year’s event will provide the only opportunity for most people to ever see the myriad paintings, which are held in private collections and rarely displayed.

Art Shiver, well-known author and former television broadcast news and station manager, will be the featured speaker, hosting the world premier of his new documentary video, “Clementine Hunter’s World.” Shiver will present his program in the David Treen Auditorium of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15. Refreshments will follow.

The pilgrimage tour will include a dozen homes, churches, and plantations throughout the City of Natchitoches and Natchitoches Parish. Rare paintings by Hunter will be featured throughout the tour sites as a part of “The Clementine Hunter Biennial,” organized by Tommy Whitehead. Shiver and Whitehead collaborated several years ago in the writing of the book, “Clementine Hunter, Her Life and Art.”

The pilgrimage tour will begin Friday evening, Oct. 14, with visits to three sites in the City: Fair Woods Cottage, Cunningham Law Office and Trinity Episcopal Church.

The event continues Saturday with tours of the Lemee House, Jeanne’s Country Garden, Soldini House, Jefferson Street Townhouse and Shiver’s presentation of “Clementine Hunter’s World” at LSMSA.

Sunday’s tour features four plantation homes and a unique chapel.

The tour also offers free admission Saturday to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum. Each ticket serves as admission to the museum.

For information call the Natchitoches Convention and Visitors Bureau at (800) 259-1714 or go online at melroseplantation.org.

“Can we come and volunteer tomorrow?” is not what you expect to hear from young people who had just spent the past two weeks of their summer holidays in a youth Agripreneurship class, noted Executive Director of Campti Field of Dreams (DREAMS), a local nonprofit organization. The theme of the class was Grow Green, a concept carried over from the NRCS Strikeforce outreach events organized by DREAMS. The idea of using your backyard to grow food and earn money was not lost on the children. “Their excitement was contagious and so we are doing it again, but this time it is for adults,” said Isaacs. The class will be held Monday and Tuesday mornings (9/19-20, and 9/26-27) from 8:30 – 11:30 am at the Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Farm, 681 Campti Bayou Road, Campti. For more information, contact Donna Isaacs at 318-573-7552 or via email: donnalaisaacs@gmail.com.

Both executive director, Donna Isaacs and co-instructor Waylon Breaux are recent graduates of the Louisiana Master Gardener program by LSUAg Center and quickly put their knowledge to work in the community.Students learned about the importance of soil health, built a hugelkultur bed, started a compost pile, mulched raised beds, harvested produce and planted seeds for their very own fall garden. They toured Ed Lester and Anderson farm stands and discussed marketing their products.

Jim Kilcoyne of the Small Business Development Center shared the basics of writing a business plan with the young participants at the Campti Historic Museum. During the Lunch n Learn at the museum students read Who Owns the Ice House and discussed the traits required to be a successful entrepreneur.Dr. Chrissy Mogren, from LSUAg discussed pollinators and their importance to regenerative agriculture in the Natchitoches Parish Library (Campti). The class also included daily computer time at the library.Class size was limited to eight of which seven graduated.

By Kevin Shannahan

I have held several jobs over the course of my life. Two of them shaped me as a man and influenced my view of the world, and continue to do so today. In both of them, I was entrusted with a critical resource of the United States in which failure would have dire consequences.

At 23, I was an Air Force officer assigned to a missile wing in North Dakota. At 32, I was a seventh grade teacher in rural north Louisiana in the Troops to Teachers Program. On the surface, the two jobs could not have been more different. Fundamentally, they were not. The next generation of our country is at least as important to our nation as the missiles under the Midwestern prairies.

The differences in the experiences of Lieutenant Shannahan and Mr. Shannahan in training, preparation, expectation, accountability and a host of other factors are telling. Oceans of ink have been spilled bemoaning our nation’s educational woes and their causes. As a 32-year-old ex-officer starting out as a teacher, I was to get an up close and personal view of much of what is wrong in what our society allows to happen in its classrooms.

The stark differences are shameful. The students in my first classroom and their fellow students across the nation are at least as important to our country’s existence as the warheads in my old ICBM wing. As an Air Force Officer, I was carefully vetted, trained and held to a harsh and unforgiving standard before I was allowed anywhere near a launch control center. As a schoolteacher, I was handed a battered seventh grade social studies text book at the end of a pro forma interview and told classes started in a few days.

I have never been convicted of a crime, nor have I ever been arrested. The Air Force knew that rather rudimentary fact as I held a Top Secret clearance which included a thorough background check – that had to be repeated every few years. By contrast, my new employer knew I had never been arrested in the state of Louisiana, not surprising as I had lived in the state less than a week at the time. A check confined to the state was free, while a nationwide check was not. For all my school district knew, I could have walked out the door of the Washington State Penitentiary and driven down to my new job. The incomplete checks came to light when one of my more hot tempered colleagues was arrested at a basketball game and found to have two similar convictions in Texas.

The Strategic Air Command of my young adulthood was not always a pleasant place to work. It suffered the usual inefficiencies of a large bureaucracy. My three North Dakota winters are not something I’d care to experience again. There was constant testing and training. The pressure was unrelenting, but there was a reason for the pressure. We had important jobs and the American people had a right to expect us to know what we were doing. The mission was worthy of our best efforts.

Teaching is no less worthy. It is an important job that deserves our best efforts. The American people likewise have a right to expect competence from their children’s schools. Many things in my new life as a teacher were to tell me, and sadly the children, otherwise.

My rather casual hiring and less than comprehensive background check sent an unmistakable message as did the crooked and error ridden employment application I filled out (spelling and grammatical errors were to prove ubiquitous in almost every piece of written correspondence I was to come across).

The school building itself sent another message to the students. The library was a tattered collection of hand me downs. I’ll never forget the 1959 encyclopedia or the globe that was so old Africa still had colonies. Everything was old and indifferently maintained. Open flame gas heaters warmed the room. The window unit air conditioners continually iced over and stopped. The rusty flagpole with the broken chain had not held a flag in years.

My school was over 85 percent African-American and virtually 100 percent poor. A former district superintendent once told me that he thought the parish’s residents were, on average, a standard deviation below average in IQ and that there was not too much to be done about that. Everything in that school, from the ramshackle buildings to the quality of too many of their teachers, gave the students a consistent message. You are a begrudged after thought, deserving of no more than the least we can get away with in providing you. Leadership and a sense of mission matters!

Natchitoches Jr. High-Frankie Ray Jackson held a College Day for its students, encouraging and informing them about furthering their educations.

Carrie Mardorf woke up to her first day on the job as Superintendent of Cane River Creole National Historical Park Sunday, Sept. 4, according to the Cane River National Heritage Area.

As of Saturday, she was savoring her last moments at Kalaupapa National Historical Park, on the north shore of the Hawaiian island of Molokai, where she oversees the preservation of over 300 historic buildings, 1,200 grave markers, two cultural landscapes, hundreds of archeological sites, museum collections, and an ongoing collection of oral histories from the still-active Hansen’s disease (leprosy) patient community. Needless to say, it’s a complex job.

After completing training as a historical landscape architect, Carrie started with the National Park Service as an intern at Antietam National Battlefield. She’s learned that one of the best things about historic preservation is the wide array of resources and the complex histories of unique places. Looking forward to the next generation of resource managers, she reminds us that “Sometimes it’s not only about preserving physical material, but also about how to preserve aspects of culture and traditional skills and methods.”

Motorcycles revved and boots hit the dance floor at the Cane River Zydeco festival this weekend on the downtown riverbank.

Over 30 motorcycles participated in the poker run that covered 100 miles of the parish.
Friday night folks enjoyed listening to DJ Doc Couty.

Things started to heat up Saturday when Ruben Moreno and the Zydeco Re-Evolution took the stage. Their sound is smooth and urban, while not losing touch to rich traditional sounds.

The weather stared to cool down but the crowd was fired up when Marcus Ardoin and Da Zydeco Legendz started playing. Known for incorporating jazz, rock, r&b and hip hop into their zydeco blend, this band knew how to get people moving.

None of this would have been possible without the members of the Cane River Branch of the Magnolia State Peace Officers Association, who organized the festival and support the community though various service projects. Proceeds from this event assist in funding various community programs around the parish.

In partnership with Bike Natchitoches, Cane River National Heritage Area’s inaugural Grand Ecore Bike Cruise is set for Saturday, Sept. 24. It will begin at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Grand Ecore Visitor Center and continue 3.7 miles to downtown Natchitoches.
The Grand Ecore Bike Cruise will combine organized bike rides with heritage tourism and encourage participants to learn more about the cultural attractions located on the Cane River National Heritage Trail. Participants will enjoy children’s crafts, free healthy food and free warm-ups and cool downs by Spark Studio of Natchitoches. Guest Lecturer Jim Kilcoyne will round out the event with a talk about the Red River Campaign at Grand Ecore.

The ride is free and open to cyclists of all ages and levels. The event will kick off at the Grand Ecore Visitor Center at 7:30 a.m, and continue until 2 p.m. Schedules and details regarding the Bike Cruise event are listed within the Cane River National Heritage Area website, as well as the event’s Facebook page. For more information contact Steven Fullen at 318356.5555 or sfullen@canerivernha.org.

Event sponsors include, Bike Natchitoches, the National Environmental Education Foundation, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Spark Studio and the National Park Service.

The Natchitoches Art Guild/Gallery will hold its “Aloha Art” Auction Thursday, Sept. 15.

Doors will open at 5 p.m. for the reception, and the auction will begin at 6 p.m.

The luau themed exhibit will feature artworks donated by Guild members and friends, including 3D pieces and traditional 2D paintings. The auction items are on display in the Gallery for patrons to preview.

Those who come to the event are sure to be entertained by two special guests. Art Guild Friend Foster Campbell will once again serve as Auctioneer. Past attendees can attest to his skill in conducting an auction that is both lively and entertaining. C. Rodney Harrington, also known as “Johnny Earthquake,” will be the Celebrity Guest Artist. He will paint during the reception and auction, and his artwork will be the final piece up for bid.

In addition to the auction itself, there will be a luau themed reception for bidders to enjoy. The event is open to the public.

Bryan Paul Wimberly

Paul Wimberly, 67 of Natchitoches, died while snorkeling in the Dry Tortugas in Florida Saturday, Sept. 3, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Funeral arrangements are pending.

Here’s the full report from the MCSO:

Dive death Dry Tortugas

A Louisiana man died while diving in the Dry Tortugas Saturday.
67 year old Paul Wimberly of Natchitoches, Louisiana was in the Dry Tortugas snorkeling from the commercial vessel Playmate, operated by Sea-Clusive Charters. Wimberly’s dive partner said it appeared Wimberly panicked while underwater. She said he grabbed her and pulled her to the bottom with him. She was able to shed her dive equipment and do an emergency ascension to the surface.

Once on the surface, she yelled for help. She was taken on board the boat and a rescue diver from the vessel then retrieved Wimberly from the water as well. There was a physician and a physician’s assistant on board the vessel. They performed CPR on Wimberly, but were unable to revive him.

The vessel returned to the Key West Harbor Yacht Club at 10:30 p.m. Major Crimes Detective Dawn Agusto was assigned to investigate the case. An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of his death.

Trinity Episcopal Church provided dinner for NSU band members Aug. 16. The event was held at the NSU band room and Peggy’s Pizza provided pizza and salads. Church members provided dessert and drinks. Some of the participants included Joe Sers, Frances Conine, Marian Keator and Mother Suzanne Wolfenbarger. The purpose of the dinner was for the church congregation to get together with NSU students to know them better.

The weather was beautiful and the atmosphere was festive for the Village of Goldonna’s 27th Annual Saline Creek Festival held Saturday, September 3. Activities included a parade, food and craft booths, live music and water slides for the kids.

Verna and Rodney Bedgood and the Village Council wish to thank the following Sponsors:

David Stamey – Clerk of Court
C3 Cody and Kellie Martin
Sheriff Victor Jones
P.K. Smith Motors, Inc.
Terry Brown – Representitive
Eugean Garner – School Board Member
Dollie Mahoney – Assessor
Charles and Gayle Cloud
Garner Trucking Company

Senior Camila Ardila scored the first of NSU’s three second-half goals in a 3-0 win against Jackson State in Alexandria. CREDIT: Gary Hardamon/NSU Photographic Services

Northwestern State may not have felt exactly at home for Friday’s home opener after wet field conditions pushed their game to Alexandria’s Johnny Downs Sports Complex.

But the Lady Demons looked at home in the second half, scoring all three goals in the latter period of 3-0 win against Jackson State.

Senior midfielder Camila Ardila put NSU (2-2) on the board with a free kick before sophomore forward April Trowbridge scored twice in the last 10 minutes of the match.

A stout Lady Demon defense held Jackson State (0-4) to four shots and few real chances as junior goalkeeper Alex Latham recorded her second shutout of the season.

“We were really happy with how our team responded tonight, and I’ve got to give it to Jackson State because that’s not the team we’ve played in the past,” said NSU coach George Van Linder. “At halftime, we told our team that once we get that first, things will open up for us.

“Camila had a great goal, and April stepped up for us again tonight. JSU is a fast team and aren’t afraid to fight for the ball. We capitalized on a few mistakes they made.”

Ardila’s free kick came from just outside of the penalty box as she found the top–right corner in the 56^th minute for her fourth goal of the season.

“Whenever I got to the ball, I knew where I wanted to put it,” Ardila said. “It was from close-range, and I felt we needed that goal.

“After I scored, we were able to calm down and play our game.”

Trowbridge popped a shot over the Jackson State keeper for NSU’s second goal after junior Esdeina Gonzalez delivered an assist across the field. She stole the ball from JSU minutes later and beat the keeper low for her second goal and third of the season.

“(Gonzalez) gave me a great pass, and I wanted to make sure I finished it after getting a little unlucky in the first half on a similar pass,” Trowbridge said. “This is a good win for us, and I think we’re looking better as a team right now.”

Gonzalez has a team-high two assists after leading the team in scoring this past season.

NSU outshot JSU 19-4, including 6-2 on goal.

The Lady Demons will play their second “home game” Sunday at 1 p.m. against Texas Wesleyan. That contest will take place at Shreveport’s Cargill Park.