The Natchitoches Police Department has arrested Jerry Johnson (B/M, 39 y.o.a. of Natchitoches) for a shooting that took place Saturday night at 1424 Texas Street (All-N-1 Food Store).
On June 27, 2020 around 10:40 p.m., officers with the Natchitoches Police Department responded to All-N-1 Food Store in reference to gun shots being fired in the area. While officers were responding to All-N-1 Food Store they were notified that the victim was at the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center with several gunshot wounds. Officers at the hospital were able to learn that the victim was at All-N-1 Food Store when they were shot.
The victim was transported to a hospital in Rapides Parish where they are listed in stable condition.
On June 28, 2020, Jerry Johnson, surrendered himself to the Natchitoches Police Department where he was placed under arrest and charged with Attempted Second Degree Murder.
If you have any additional information in regards to this investigation please contact the Natchitoches Police Department at (318) 352-8101 or Detective William Connell at (318) 238-3911. Remember all information given shall remain confidential.
Defend Against COVID-19. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Recognize the symptoms. Cover your cough. Wash your hands. Stay home especially if you are sick.
Maintain a Social Distance of 6ft. Social distancing means keeping 6ft. of physical space between yourself and others. This helps to prevent the spread of illness.
Parish Government offices will be closed on Friday, July 3rd, 2020 in observance of Independence Day. The Parish Landfill, along with all bin sites, will remain open on Friday, July 3rd, but will be closed on Saturday, July 4th for the holiday. For any questions about Parish closures, contact the Parish Government offices at 318.352.2714.
After years of anticipation and several days of heightened expectation, Mr. Stinky, Northwestern State University’s resident corpse flower, bloomed in odiferous glory Friday night, fuming the Creative and Performing Arts Complex with the stench of a rank dumpster.
Mr. Stinky is an amorphophallus titanium or titan arum, a giant tropical plant native to Sumatra, Indonesia, that only flowers every seven or eight years. Believed to be the largest flower in the world, Mr. Stinky unfurled its deep purple bloom Friday night, drawing a crowd of plant enthusiasts and curiosity-seekers along with insect pollinators naturally attracted to the smell of rotting flesh.
Abetted by the moist, humid Louisiana night air, Mr. Stinky did not disappoint.
“This is just the coolest thing ever,” said Martha Dowden of Natchitoches who came to photograph the strange and beautiful plant.
The bloom began about 3:30 p.m. Friday when Stinky’s ruffled spathe began to loosen and flies began to buzz through the sculpture yard where the plant has been in residence since developing the spike that indicated a bloom was near. Mr. Stinky’s primary caregivers, Professors Millard Mangrum, Corbin Covher and John Byrd, awaited like expectant parents. Mangrum answered questions and offered background information on the plant to visitors and said his phone had been ringing off the hook.
An impromptu bloom party gathered Friday evening as the plant gradually opened and its potency became stronger. Colleague Michael Scanlan, who produces videos for NSU’s School of Biological and Physical Sciences, shared a live stream on social media platforms that picked up a combined 30,000 views.
Covher stayed through the night with the bloom, which reached maturity about 1:30 a.m.
“I was doing a few drawings of him. It stunk well outside the sculpture lab,” Covher said.
Mangrum acquired Mr. Stinky as a golf ball-sized corm in 2012 and nurtured it in the Bienvenu Hall greenhouse until it outgrew the space. Titan arum generally requires seven to 10 years of vegetative growth before blooming for the first time. After its initial blooming, some plants may not bloom again for another seven to 10 years while others may bloom every two or three years.
Since 2018, Mr. Stinky has lived outside Covher’s office in the NSU sculpture lab, a high-ceilinged climate-controlled workshop that could accommodate its leafy 10-foot tall canopy while the plant stored up food reserves for the corm. Corpse plants thrive in moist humid climates and can’t tolerate temperatures below about 55 degrees. The plant died down to the corm last fall and several days ago, a large spike emerged from the corm, growing 6-10 inches per day. The professors knew a bloom was imminent and wheeled Stinky outdoors into a damp, shaded corner of the sculpture yard, inviting other plant enthusiasts to view its pre-bloom state.
The bloom of a corpse flower is an exciting event for plant enthusiasts, and over the last week, Mr. Stinky has become something of a celebrity in the Natchitoches community as curious plant-lovers stopped by for a glimpse of the towering spike. Covher’s wife Natalie designed and distributed “I Smelled Mr. Stinky” stickers for those who viewed plant in bloom.
By mid-morning Saturday, Stinky’s bloom and fragrance were already fading. Mangrum said the bloom will fall away and a seed stalk will appear before that, too, dies away and the plant begins a new leaf cycle.
Scanlan began filming the plant several days ago and plans to share a time-lapse video of the bloom on the School’s Facebook page and youtube channel.
Mangrum estimated that over 400 visitors had been in and out of the sculpture lab to view the rare bloom and were still streaming in.
“It’s been amazing. There have been people who stopped by that said this was on their bucket list,” he said.
In addition to the large bloom spike, Stinky also produced a smaller spike that Mangrum speculated may or may not produce another bloom.
“We’re in high hopes that the second sprout makes a bloom,” Mangrum said. “There may be another bloom on the way.”
Cindy Scallion Rachal won $780.00 by knowing the Mystery Sound – “Cracking Ice”. Cindy shared the cash with her grandkids. Tyler in the red shirt was the one who suggested “cracking ice” to Cindy.
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While this is a difficult and chaotic time in our nation’s history, we should not lose hope because a storm is coming, and it will be brought about by millions of humble, faithful Americans.
We are not allowed to feel sickened and repulsed at the death of George Floyd—if we don’t also declare that America is hopelessly racist and broken with no redeeming value. While we are expected to, and do, acknowledge America’s racial flaws and racial history—we’re not allowed to also acknowledge that America has made enormous gains in racial equality over the last decades. While we are strongly opposed to excessive use of force by police—we are not allowed to also point out that the large majority of law enforcement officers are good, hard-working people who simply want to live through the end of their shift; The same officers without whom we would truly live in lawlessness—with minority and less affluent neighborhoods suffering most from this lawlessness. We are not allowed to say on the one hand that we fully grasp that police use of force needs to be addressed—but that we find it deeply offensive and disrespectful that the manner of expressing that belief occurs during our National Anthem: an act that dishonors the sacred flag under which over one million brave American men and women of all races, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds have fought and died for our country.
We are shouted down as racist simply for pointing out that the appropriate, legal manner by which to make lasting social change in this country is by voting, organizing, marching, striking and boycotting, and not by a brick through the car window or a torch through the front door of a small business. We aren’t allowed to point out that while most of the protestors are, as am I, sincerely aggrieved by the death of George Floyd—many are not and simply hate America and are using his death as a pretext to justify the violence, harm and damage they seek to do regardless. We are expected to swallow that we are “white supremacists” in a nation of “systemic racism” but we are never allowed to point out our great personal and national virtues—and the fact that America twice gave overwhelming electoral college victories to President Obama.
According to unelected federal judges, we are no longer allowed to believe that God created only two human genders, male and female. However, we don’t believe that transgenderism and “gender fluidity” should be deemed a special legal status. We are not allowed to suggest there is something transparently inconsistent about shutting down churches and small businesses during the virus—while liquor stores, abortion clinics and big box stores continue commerce uninterrupted. We are expected to believe that the virus doesn’t spread as easily during massive protests, rioting and looting—all of which violate CDC’s 6 feet social-distancing requirements—but most certainly will at a Trump rally. We are expected to overlook that while liberal elites (including athletes and celebrities) despise gun ownership and secure borders, they themselves live under armed protection and in exclusive, gated communities. Or, that we are expected to follow our laws while across the country law enforcement is broadly condemned, pulled back and defunded while criminals run free. That while Pres. Trump was harshly criticized for standing in front of the historic Church of the Presidents in Lafayette Square holding a Bible, no real attention was given to the fact that “peaceful” protestors had set it on fire the night before, destroying a nursery that had recently been renovated in its basement. That the phony Russia “collusion” story and impeachment achieved nothing but wasting huge amounts of time and money; That our own federal government—DOJ and the FBI—grossly abused its own regulations and core due process guarantees in an attempt to overturn the election of a duly-elected president. (Not to mention the injustice inflicted on Gen. Michael Flynn); or, criticizing the President for designating a violent, far-left domestic terror organization a “domestic terror organization.”
There is a storm coming but it’s not the one the often-dishonest national media and radical Left envision. It’s the silent majority of millions of Americans who quietly but proudly hold on to their love of country, constitutional freedoms and faith in God— for which we are mocked when we kneel in prayer—while kneeling during the National Anthem is celebrated. As Americans, the large majority of us are kind, generous and peace-loving. However, we are not going to be silenced; neither are our values and freedoms going to be sacrificed on the altar of Political Correctness. Through the strength of our prayers and our vote we will be heard from soon.
The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Natchitoches Parish Journal. If you have an article or story of interest for publishing consideration by the NPJ, please send it to NPJNatLa@gmail.com.
Students working toward a diploma in Practical Nursing will have a new option this fall as Central Louisiana Technical Community College (CLTCC) is adding a new Associate of Applied Science degree in Practical Nursing.
“This new program provides increased educational opportunities for students,” noted William Tulak, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. “This gets them one step closer to their next degree, for example if they want to go on and work toward a Registered Nursing degree.”
Mignonne Ater, Dean of Nursing and Allied Health, added, “this will make the students more employable because they will have already taken that next step. Practical nursing is a ladder approach to RN.”
Practical nursing students who wish to earn the new Associate of Applied Science in Practical Nursing degree will typically spend an additional semester beyond the coursework for the current 5-semester, 18-month Practical Nursing credential. In addition to the standard Practical Nursing courses, students will also take general education coursework like that required for a Bachelor’s degree.
“It is a very flexible program,” Tulak said. “Students can do the general coursework before they do their Practical Nursing classes or after.” Ater noted students can even complete the current Practical Nursing curriculum and go to work and still take the remaining classes on a part-time basis to earn the Associate degree. Ater also noted the additional classes will transfer to RN coursework should students decide to pursue that option.
CLTCC offers Practical Nursing classes at 7 campuses – Alexandria, Ferriday, Huey P. Long in Winnfield, Rod Brady in Jena, Natchitoches, Lamar Salter in Leesville and Ward H. Nash- Avoyelles in Cottonport – and the new program will be offered at each of those campuses as well.
Tulak stressed the new program is an option, not a requirement for current students. “This is not a barrier for Practical Nursing students. This is something new there for those who want it. We are continuing to offer the current Practical Nursing program as well.”
Ater said there are typically more than 400 students in the Practical Nursing program and she expects the number to increase with the addition of the Associate degree program. “I expect a great response to it, I really do,” she said.
Enrollment for the Summer and Fall sessions is ongoing. For more information, contact the school at 800-278-9855.
The West Central LA Operation Christmas Child team, a division of Samaritan’s Purse, is excited to share their 2020 team goal of 15,500 shoe boxes. Last year the team, made of Red River, Sabine, Winn, and Natchitoches Parishes collected 15,252 shoe boxes. The shoe boxes are being delivered this year to over 105 countries including the United States.
Each parish was represented at our first meeting of 2020 led by the new Area Coordinator, Pansy Morgan. The team met to discuss logistics of packing shoe boxes for the upcoming year and that there are no new requirements or changes. Each person in attendance is motivated and dedicated to create a strong network while being sensitive to the leadership in our local churches, schools, and groups that may be managing hard situations in this unusual season.
Shoe boxes should be packed for children between ages 2-14 and you are encouraged to include hygiene items, clothing/shoes, school supplies, toys and a WOW item. Each child receives a booklet with the gospel and is invited to attend the Greatest Journey, a 12-week class on God’s amazing love.
We trust God with the outcomes of our service and believe that the millions of Gospel Opportunities could be collected during National Collection Week, November 16-23, 2020 because of your service. If you would like more information please contact Pansy Morgan at 318-352-6233 or Brenda Ingram at 318-471-9415.
“God declares the end from the beginning. and from long ago what is not yet done, saying my plan WILL take place, and I will do all my will.” Isaiah 46:10
Pictured above are Pansy Morgan, Cherry Wells, Glenna Ott, Brenda Ingram, Sharon Ebarb, Cienna Thompson, Jeanine Ford, Susan Longino. Not pictured Richard Carey, Alyvester Barfield, Frieda Berry, and Helen Antilley.
Nine hundred thirty-three undergraduates were named to Northwestern State University’s Honor List for the Spring 2019 semester. Students on the Honor List must be enrolled full-time and have a grade point average of between 3.0 and 3.49. For questions about the honor lists, contact the University Registrar at (318) 357-6171, toll-free at (800) 807-8849 or registrar@nsula.edu.
Students listed by hometown (in Natchitoches and surrounding areas) are as follows.
The Natchitoches Parish Library (NPL) is calling on parish residents to help develop its next five-year strategic plan. This plan will help the Library Board of Directors and NPL administration steer the future of the library system to the public’s interest. The survey is simple and short, takes only a few minutes, and is accessible online or at any library circulation desk.
The NPL wants to know what community members think is essential for their library system and any barriers people might have in utilizing the library. The survey is also a place to request a service that the NPL could make available. Survey responses will also influence the materials that the NPL circulates, giving insight into the future development of the library’s catalog.
To give your input to your local library’s future, visit natlib.org and click on the Community Survey banner or visit either branch location.
