Northwestern State’s online bachelor’s program in Unified Public Safety Administration has been ranked as the best online program in the nation by the website guidetoonlineschools.com.

The ranking was one eight top 10 national rankings recently achieved by one of Northwestern State online programs.

Six NSU programs were ranked in the top 10 by affordablecolleges.com. The bachelor’s in accounting was ranked third, the bachelor’s in liberal arts was ranked third and the bachelor’s of general studies was seventh. The master’s in secondary education and master of art in teaching was eight while the bachelor’s in business administration was 10th. The UPSA was ranked seventh for affordability by online.org.

“Northwestern State has gained an excellent national reputation for developing outstanding online degree programs that are affordable and meet the needs of students,” said Dr. Darlene Williams, vice president for technology, innovation and economic development. “The validation by experts in the field of distance learning shows the work done by our faculty and staff to develop academic programs that are innovative and responsive to the needs of business and industry.”

The UPSA rankings are available at
· guidetoonlineschools.com/degrees/fire-science#best-value and

· onlineu.org/most-affordable-colleges/fire-science-degrees.
The rankings for affordablecolleges.com are online at
· affordablecolleges.com/rankings/affordable-online-masters-secondary-education-degrees/,

· affordablecolleges.com/rankings/affordable-online-masters-secondary-education-degrees/,

· affordablecolleges.com/rankings/affordable-online-bachelors-general-studies-degrees/,

· affordablecolleges.com/rankings/affordable-online-bachelors-liberal-arts-degrees,

· affordablecolleges.com/rankings/affordable-online-bachelors-degrees-business-administration/ and

· affordablecolleges.com/rankings/affordable-online-accounting-bachelors-degrees/.
Affordablecolleges.com assigns each ranked institution a value score based on loan default rates, graduation rates and financial aid data based upon the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

Onlineu.org and guidetoonlineschools.com gathers information from individual school’s websites and the National Center for Education Statistics, the primary governmental entity for gathering and presenting data related to education.

For more information on online programs at Northwestern State, go to nsula.edu/ensu.

 

Fulton “F.V.” Clark
August 03, 1932 – October 1, 2017
Visitation: Tuesday, Oct. 3 from 12-1 pm at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches
Service: Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 2 pm at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Natchitoches

Joseph Garrett, Sr.
October 1, 2017
Arrangements TBA

William Lloyd Johnston
September 16, 1929 – October 1, 2017
Visitation: Tuesday, Oct. 3 from 5-8 pm at Southern Funeral Home in Winnfield and Wednesday, Oct. 4 from 10-11 am at Friendship Baptist Church in Sikes
Service: Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 11 am at Friendship Baptist Church
Interment: Friendship Cemetery in Sikes

Rocky Lynn White
January 15, 1955 – September 30, 2017
In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 in Rocky’s name.

Trenton Cole “Trent” Pray
May 21, 1972 – September 30, 2017
Visitation: Tuesday, Oct. 3 from 8-10 am
Service: Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 10 am in the Chapel of Southern Funeral Home
Interment: Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Winnfield

William Timothy Casper
March 5, 1977 – September 28, 2017
Arrangements TBA

Renita Sonia Henry Sikes
June 18, 1958 – September 29, 2017
Service: Saturday, Oct. 7 at 1 pm at the Morning Star Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Drive in Winnfield

Barbara Tousant
September 24, 2017
Arrangements TBA

By Kevin Shannahan

Kevin’s Gallery

Thousands of car enthusiats came to the annual Natchitoches Car Show in Downtown Natchitoches Saturday September 30th. The iconic local event, now in its 11th year, has grown from its modest beginning of 88 classic cars to this year’s over 460 vintage vehicles. In addition to the cars, the day featured 9 bands playing on 3 stages throughout the show.

By Ida B. Torn

Technology has had me on a tear as of late. Everywhere I look, computers and robots are competing with and taking jobs from humans. I do not consider myself to be an alarmist, but I am beginning to fear that the human race will be on the endangered species list in my lifetime, a sentiment that is shared by Stephen Hawking, who indicated in an interview with BBC that it may be time to put the brakes on the development of artificial intelligence.

GE seems to be on the forefront of cloud-based and robotic technology. It has a commercial out right now that follows a young girl who develops technology throughout her life to do all of her work for her. The first time I saw the commercial, the thought came to my mind that GE is glorifying laziness. Now, when I see the commercial, a future-earth version plays in my mind where a robot develops a human being and brags about how it trained the human to do all of its work.

Thanks to technology, there are so many mundane tasks that we don’t have to worry about anymore. We no longer need to worry about forgetting things on our to-do list or, better yet, we don’t have to worry about to-do lists at all. Your refrigerator can do your shopping for you and drones can deliver your groceries right to your door. Whirlpool has developed a washing machine that can connect to your Amazon account and order its own laundry supplies. And if you own a nest thermostat, it can tell the washing machine not to operate during peak energy times. As a bonus, the washing machine can donate all of the change that falls out of your pockets during the wash cycle to Habitat for Humanity.

I recently read an article about a brick-laying robot designed by engineers in Perth, Australia. The robot can accurately lay bricks at a rate of 1,000 bricks per hour. The engineers tout the robot’s superiority over manual laborers in that it doesn’t need to sleep, eat or take breaks. In May of this year, the Pentagon showed off its self-driving ship, which can travel up to 10,000 nautical miles on its own. According to the website trucks.com, it is anticipated that self-driving freight trucks will be on highways in 3 to 4 years.

KPMG has a commercial that features an eatery called Eatsa.  The restaurant chain prides itself on service with the lack of human interaction. You place your order on an electronic device and your food magically appears in your own personalized cubby hole. Out of curiosity, I looked up the restaurant and was pleased  to see that there was a “Now Hiring” link on its website. Sadly, there wasn’t one single posting for kitchen staff, but if you are an engineer or have marketing experience, Eatsa has a job for you!

According to a recent article on Forbes.com, even white collar jobs in fields such as healthcare, insurance, architecture, journalism, finance, education, legal and law enforcement aren’t safe from computer and robot take-overs. The exponential growth in technological advancements has prompted some business leaders, such as Richard Branson, to foresee a time when governments will have to establish a universal basic income (paying human beings simply for existing) due to the loss of jobs to technology.

I don’t know how this all sits with you, but each time I see one of these commercials or read about technological advances, I am reminiscent of the famous Dylan Thomas poem and urge you to rage, rage against the dying of the light!

Watch the commercials:

A partial human skull was discovered in a wooded area near Saline Creek in Natchitoches Parish on Saturday afternoon according to Natchitoches Parish Sheriff Victor Jones.

Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Deputies and members of the Natchitoches Parish Coroner’s Office responded to a reported possible human skull discovered by hunters in a wooded area off of Savoy Road near Goldonna on Sept. 30 at 1:40 pm.

Deputies responded to the area with all terrain vehicle equipment. NPSO Criminal Investigations Division detectives were notified and responded.

Deputies say upon their arrival, hunters showed them the location of the discovery.
According to Natchitoches Parish Asst. Coroner Steven Clanton, a partial human skull in a decomposition state of approximately three to five years was found.

Chief Doug Rachal, NPSO Search and Rescue Leader stated deputies searched the area for approximately 4 hours looking for evidence and clues, however, no additional evidence was found in the area.”

This is an area where Saline Creek water levels have been elevated in the last year and we believe the water current may have brought the remains from another area to this point said Chief Rachal.

The partial skull will be transported by the Coroner’s Office to the LSU Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Lab for further analysis and investigation.

Sheriff Jones said we have also notified Winn Parish Sheriff Cranford Jordan of the discovery since Saline Creek also runs through Winn Parish and this is very close in proximity.”

If you have any questions concerning this investigation contact Detective Darrel Winder of the NPSO Criminal Investigations Division at 357-7830.

The Natchitoches Arts Council will unveil the Natchitoches Christmas Festival poster on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 5:30 pm at Dickens & Co. located at 524 Front Street. This year’s Natchitoches Christmas Festival poster was created by artist Rakeya Walker.

Numbered prints of the 38th Annual Limited Edition Natchitoches Christmas Poster will be available for sale to the public after the unveiling. Earnings from poster sales are used to fund an Art Scholarship at NSU and to sponsor art camps and projects in the community. “It is our goal to sell as many posters as possible so that we can expand our donations to additional art endeavors. We believe that art is a vital part of our culture here in Natchitoches as well as a creative outlet for all to enjoy!” stated Karen Terrell.

The price for all available posters is $35 each. This includes one mini poster. Extra mini posters can be purchased for $3 each. Posters may be purchased at the Natchitoches Arts Council office located at the Community Development Office (City Hall Annex), 420 Fourth Street, Natchitoches, Louisiana. All of the original artwork can also be viewed at the Natchitoches Arts Council office.

For more information, please call Alicia Rachal at (318) 357-3838.

Several neighborhoods in the city of Natchitoches will host a National Night Out event Oct. 3.

National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. It enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Furthermore, it provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

Millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide. Neighborhoods host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and various other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits and much, much more.

Schedule:

Council on Aging 2-4 pm

Braxton Mobile Park 4-5 pm

Town South/Pan Am 5:30-7:30 pm

1221 Amulet 5:30-9 pm

1505 Amulet 6-9 pm

1302 N 5th 6-9 pm

804 Melrose 6-8 pm

Airport Rd 6:30-8 pm

Ross Williams Park 6-9 pm

John Below Park 6-8 pm

MLK Rec 7-8:30 pm

NMJDTF 6-9 pm

Loren/Byrd Ave 6-8 pm

 

The Northwestern State softball program is hosting its Fall Elite Camp on Oct. 8 at Lady Demon Diamond.

All high schoolers are invited to attend the camp, which runs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Campers will be instructed on hitting, pitching and defense by the NSU softball staff and student-athletes.

Cost is $100, and campers can register by contacting assistant coach Kaylee Guidry at guidryk@nsula.edu or by calling 31-8-357-6009.

The Natchitoches Art Guild held its Annual Art Auction Sept. 28. Foster Campbell, Louisiana Public Service Commissioner, auctioned off 33 pieces including paintings, 3d artworks, and photographs that were donated by Guild members. Guests sampled wine and enjoyed a bit of competition as the bids went up on several crowd favorites.

Paperwork was signed Sept. 28 to transfer ownership of the Robeline-Marthaville Water System to the Sabine Parish Water District #1. The R-MV Water Office in Robeline will continue to collect money for the Sabine System over the next two weeks (Money order or checks only: No cash or cards will be accepted until the new system is established).

There is still more work to be done to close the R-MV Water System business, and work will be done to tie the R-MV system to the Sabine system. More details will be released at a later date.

BOM presented a check for $500 to Rick Hudson, Natchitoches Northwestern Symphony President, to support the 52nd season of the Symphony Society.

Pictured from left are Dustin Dauzat, Rick Hudson, Mary Hopper, and Brittany Barton. Persons interested in joining can contact Gayle Howard at 318-352-8055.

William Timothy Casper
March 5, 1977 – September 28, 2017
Arrangements TBA

Renita Sonia Henry Sikes
June 18, 1958 – September 29, 2017
Arrangements TBA

Millard Joseph Bienvenu
September 10, 1928 – September 27, 2017
Visitation: Sunday, Oct. 1 from 5-8 pm at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home of Natchitoches
Service: Monday, Oct. 2 at 11 am at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
Interment: American Cemetery in Natchitoches