Rick Cabrera’s introductory news conference Thursday afternoon in the Student Union Ballroom on Northwestern State’s campus was just another part of a dream.

“My dream job is being here as your head coach,” Cabrera told assembled media, fans and university staff members. “When I decided to get into coaching, I laid down at night and said I want to be a Division I head basketball coach. This is my first opportunity, so this is my dream job. I’m so greatly appreciative of having this opportunity. Like I said earlier, 363 (Division-I head coaching jobs). I bet the applicants were times nine of 363 for this job. I had people believe in me that I was the next man to win an NCAA Tournament game.

“Just watching a Fairleigh Dickinson, Florida Atlantic. I say, ‘Why not us?’ That’s the attitude you’ve got to have.”
Cabrera, 47, said he wants to instill a “tough” team once the 2023-24 season rolls around in Natchitoches, but Thursday was a chance for the first-time Division I head coach to show the other side of his emotional spectrum.

He fought back tears when speaking about his wife, Danielle, and had to compose himself when his thoughts turned to his late father Hugo Sr., saying out loud through a raspy voice, “I’m not going to talk about dad,” to which his sister in attendance responded, “He’s here.”

A six-year head coach at Lackawanna College and Tallahassee Community College, Cabrera compiled a record of 152-45. He spent 13 years as a D-I assistant at Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay and Arkansas State where he recruited and tutored all-conference players and helped Austin Peay standout Terry Taylor become an NBA player.

“As we went through the search process, it was clear coach Cabrera possessed all the qualities we desired in a head coach,” Director of Athletics Kevin Bostian said. “We wanted somebody who was an elite recruiter and a developer of young men, not only on the court but off it as well. We wanted someone to fit the culture of Northwestern State. His enthusiasm, passion, energy and hands-in-the-dirt approach and grind-it out work ethic were a perfect match for Northwestern State.”

Cabrera’s biggest takeaways from his journey? Patience and the value of family.

“Sixteen or 17 years ago, we went on our first date,” said Cabrera, whose wife claimed it to have been 18 years ago. “We were dating for about a month, and I knew this is what I wanted to do. During a date, we were at an Italian restaurant called Fratelli’s. We’re sitting across from each other, and I said, ‘Listen, this is the profession I want to go into. It’s going to entail some traveling, some moving.’ She had just graduated from Penn State. She’s very close to her family in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I wanted to give her a head’s up to say, ‘Hey, do you want to come along on this ride? If not, you can get out early.’ She looked across with her big blue eyes and said, ‘I’m in.’ Seventeen years later, we’ve been all over the place.

“She gave up her career as an athletic trainer. She went to school and got a degree in kinesiology, and she hasn’t done anything with it in that realm. She’s a teacher, now. I appreciate you more than you ever know.”

Throughout his introduction to Northwestern State and to Natchitoches, Cabrera reference a handful of quotes. One of those belonged to an unidentified speaker, but it related to the Cabrera family as a whole.

“A quote that has always stuck in my head – and I wrote it down – is, ‘A good coach needs a patient wife or husband, a loyal dog and a great post player, but not necessarily in that order,’” NSU’s 11^th head men’s basketball coach said. “I definitely have two of the three in a patient wife and a loyal dog. I have a great post player coming, just wait and see.”

For Cabrera, Thursday’s moment was the culmination of a two-decade journey that began as a graduate assistant at Tennessee Tech where he played basketball and baseball. It wound through Miami Killian High School and Keystone College before taking him to Lackawanna College in his wife’s hometown of Scranton.

It was during his time at Keystone that Cabrera had a bit of an epiphany and discovered just how much he wanted to coach basketball.

“I was a dorm director and an assistant coach at Keystone College,” Cabrera said. “I told my wife this a couple of nights ago, but I wish I had kept my first pay stub from Keystone College. I remember it. With taxes taken out, it was $159.38 just for the coaching stipend. That was every two weeks. I’ll never forget it. I’m out of college, and I have a master’s degree. I’m thinking, ‘What am I doing?’ It’s all about patience. It has paid off. It has allowed me to take care of myself and my family.”

It also led Cabrera to a state that helped him develop as a New York City high school basketball player.

“Dale Brown is a great friend not a good friend,” Cabrera said of LSU’s Hall of Fame coach. “I talked to him this morning for 20 minutes. He’s 87 years old and kicking like he did when he was 45. When I was in New York City, Dale Brown was great friends with my dad, and my dad got him a player by the name of Jose Vargas from the Dominican Republic. He said, ‘Bring your son to our camp.’ I went my freshman year, sophomore year, junior year and senior year. One thing I noticed, the heat in Baton Rouge is unbelievable. The camp was the whole month of June. Dale is a mentor of mine. He’s always been good to me. He’s recommended me for a lot of jobs.”

Brown wasn’t the only Louisiana coach Cabrera referenced Thursday, paying his respects to longtime Demon head coach Mike McConathy.

“Mike McConathy is a guy I followed in my Division I career,” Cabrera said. “He was a heck of a coach. One of my assistant coaches, who was in this league last year, came up to me in my first year at Tallahassee in the middle of the season. We were struggling on getting some offense early in the shot clock. He came up to me and said, ‘Coach, listen, I was at Southeastern Louisiana. That coach at Northwestern State, I can’t remember his name, but he had an unbelievable secondary break, a roller replace secondary break. They scored really quickly. At some point, they led the country in scoring (2014-15). I don’t have an ego. I steal from everybody in the coaching community. I said, ‘OK, let’s try it. As a head coach, I’m going to allow you to put it in.’ He put it in and our offense was like, ‘Pop.’ It changed in a day.

“Thank you, coach McConathy. I appreciate that. Your legacy is still here. As an assistant coach, I watched you win a lot. I look forward to talking to you in the near future.”

Photo: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for our four state area of southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana, eastern Texas and southeast Oklahoma.

DAY ONE…This afternoon and tonight.

Showers and thunderstorms will develop across our I-30 corridor this afternoon, continuing into the evening and overnight hours. Small hail and gusty winds will be possible in extreme southeast Oklahoma and adjacent areas.

DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…Friday through Wednesday.

Thunderstorm chances will increase on Friday and Friday night. Scattered severe storms will be possible along and north of the I-20 corridor, with numerous severe storms possible across southern Arkansas. Tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail will be possible.

More thunderstorms will impact much of the ArkLaTex during the day Sunday, overnight into early Monday, and again Tuesday. Storms which develop on Tuesday will have the potential to become severe across areas along and north of I-20, especially southeast Oklahoma and southwest Arkansas.

EFFECTIVE
April 1, 2023 

IMPORTANT NOTICE —– IMPORTANT NOTICE

ADDITIONAL TAX RATE FOR ANNEXED PROPERTIES OF
DISTRICT #1 TO THE CITY OF NATCHITOCHES

FILING COLUMN: A2 (DISTRICT #1 & CITY OF NATCHITOCHES) SALES TAX

FILING COLUMN: A3 (DISTRICT #1 & CITY OF NATCHITOCHES/EDDC) SALES TAX

These will be the columns on the tax form where you will file your local Sales and Use Tax

Sales and Use Tax Rate Increase

District #1/City of Natchitoches

On May 30, 2000 the Natchitoches Parish Police Jury had enacted legislation to lock in District #1 boundaries, which consist of everything outside the city limits of Natchitoches.  This means that as the city annexed areas, District #1 still retained the same percent of sales and use tax.  All taxable transactions in the annexed area require an additional 1% percent sales/use tax to be collected.  This new tax will affect all businesses, deliveries, repairs and other taxable services that are performed in these areas. SEE THE BELOW TAX TABLE FOR THE NEW INCREASED TAX STRUCTURE.

The tax rate for all other City of Natchitoches businesses, not in an Economic Development District, remain at 5.5%

APRIL 1, 2023

New Local Sales and Use Tax Rates

IMPORTANT: If your business is located in the affected areas, you will receive a confirmation packet and instructions from the Tax Commission concerning the new filing protocol. You are hereby instructed to change all computers, cash registers, or collection procedures to insure the collection of the new rate increase. Please notify all vendors of this tax increase.

A copy of the new sales tax form will be available to all businesses at www.lataonline.org and the Tax Commission office.  All businesses should begin to use the new form May 1, 2023. Any questions concerning the implementation of this tax should be directed to:

NATCHITOCHES TAX COMMISSION
Laura D. Jeffcoat
Administrator
(318) 357-8871

Advertorial

It may sound a little unbelievable to admit this and it completely goes against human nature. Most people are not fond of this. But Monday is my absolute favorite day of the week. Monday’s hold so much promise and innocence. Typically nothing stressful has occurred yet and even though your calendar may be full its just always a wonderful day to start afresh.

I enter every Monday with wide-eyed optimism because that is the day that all of my Podcasts update. Sunday night, I am like a child waiting for Christmas morning.

One of the podcast that grabbed my attention lately was one hosted by Dr. Tony Evans. There isn’t much that leaves his lips that is not complete Biblical wisdom and sometimes humorous. On this particular episode he was talking about the power of prayer. He simply mentioned that our earthly problems have heavenly solutions. It literally stopped me in my tracks.

He went on to say that when we try to solve our earthly problems with earthly solutions it never works out. Again, I was just in awe of this simple statement. There have been countless times that I attempt to solve my own problems without even consulting our Heavenly father. This week I was faced with an earthly problem that I was going to remedy on my own. This is what strong, independent and prideful women do. Right?

The more I thought about my problem I decided that I would check with God on his promises of hearing our prayers. Sure, I have prayed numerous times before with amazing results but this time I was simply a little tired of running my own problem solving campaign. I really needed a heavenly solution. I needed a heavenly partnership. I started praying on Monday of this week.

I reminded God of the timeline. I mean, I hate to be pushy but we had a deadline of the weekend approaching. As I was sitting my desk fielding business emails and phone calls I received my answer in one of the emails. Just a casual, friendly email that answered all of my problems in fell swoop….problem solved. Immediately I shared the news with my coworkers and then shared it with my daughters when I got home. Everyone had the same reaction.

Teary-eyed optimism at my heavenly solution that actually came two days early. While I am used to God sliding in a the very last minute, this time he answered with a two day cushion.

God is so faithful. He is so loving. He is so kind. We are the ones who complicate his love and his heavenly answers for our earthly problems. I encourage to bring him all of your worries and all of your cares. He has not disappointment me yet. I am so thankful that he puts up with my self-induced drama and pity parties which are brought on by trying to solve my earthly problems without his assistance. Where would be without his patience and love?

“Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken.” – Psalms 62:5-6

“The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9

GET YOUR Natchitoches Jazz/R&B EARLY BIRD TICKETS NOW!!!

THIS WEEK IS YOUR LAST CHANGE to secure your 2023 tickets at the lowest price possible for the Natchitoches Jazz/R&B Festival on May 12th & 13th

The Early Bird sale ends March 31st at 11:59 pm!

Buy tickets and be entered in the Steel Magnolia’s Getaway Giveaway!

VIP ticket buyers will be entered into an exclusive VIP Giveaway to be announced! STAY TUNED!

Get your tickets here & enter the giveaway here:

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE

There are few things in life as special as the connection between a father and a daughter. As Northwestern State hosts its second conference series of the year, it will celebrate those bonds already established and those currently being built. 

The Lady Demons (16-14, 3-3) hosts HCU in a three-game series beginning with Friday’s doubleheader at 4 p.m. Saturday’s 12 p.m. game will serve as Daddy/Daughter Day at Demon Diamond with many of the NSU dads on hand to celebrate with their daughters on the field. 

Dads and daughters that come to the game on Saturday can purchase tickets for just $5 at the ticket booth, as the Demons celebrate those special bonds throughout the day. 

All games in the series will also be broadcast on ESPN+ with Patrick Netherton providing play-by-play, and are also sponsored by Green Acres Car Wash located on Keyser Avenue in Natchitoches. 

NSU enters the series with the Huskies (13-18, 3-3) swinging good bats, despite the midweek loss to Louisiana Tech where it only scored one run. It is averaging nearly 10 hits per game over the past seven games thanks to those good swings. 

Designated player Makenzie Chaffin continues to lead the team in most offensive categories with a .371 averaged, .494 slugging percentage and .912 OPS. Her prowess at the plate was something that she started working on from an early age with her dad Todd. 

“He introduced me to the sport at a really young age,” Chaffin said. “I remember being like two years old and going outside with my little Nerf bat and ball and he would toss it up and I would try and hit it on the roof, that was the goal, hit it on the roof.  

“Ever since then he’s been right there with me through my playing career. He’s a little busier now because he has two girls playing collegiately, but I know I have his support and support from all my family and I love that we get to share this sport together.” 

Chaffin’s younger sister Raelin is a pitcher at LSU in her second year with the Tigers. LSU is hosting its own tournament this weekend meaning the Chaffin patriarch will see plenty of I-49 this weekend as he travels from their home in Bossier City to Baton Rouge and back to Natchitoches on Saturday. 

But even if work or schedules keep them from making the trips to see their little girls play in person, it is the thread of support and love that runs through the minds and hearts of the Demons every time they take the field. 

“I think they always feel worse than I do about not being able to make it to the games,” redshirt sophomore Maggie Darr said with a chuckle about her dad Walter and mom Lara not being able to make a game. “I’m always like it’s ok, it’s one game. But they’re there for everything for me. They’re my biggest supporters no matter what and always bring me back to the basics when things get hard. It is always so nice to look out there and see them when they are there and know that how much they support me.” 

Darr stands to make her 21^st appearance on the season this weekend, most on the team, and likely her 11^thstart, as she continues to work her way through a second full season as a key member of the NSU pitching staff.  

The hard work she put in during her redshirt season, a trait she’s seen in her father since she was little, helped her to a 9-3 record a season ago with already seven wins this year and the team lead in strikeout with 75. She ranks third in the conference in Ks entering the weekend. 

“He is one of the hardest workers I know,” Darr said. “He’s built everything himself his entire life and is always doing something different, never had just one job and always digging into something new. He works so hard at everything that he does, and I definitely look up to him for that.” 

Todd Chaffin and Walter Darr are just two of the many NSU softball dads that make weekend trips to Natchitoches, or farther, throughout the three-month season. They are also just two examples of the unending support, pride and love each player feels from all of the softball dads at Northwestern State. 

But no matter where they or any of the other NSU softball dads may be on any given weekend, in the stands cheering on their daughters or watching on ESPN+, the support that Makenzie, Maggie and all the Demons know they have from their dads is echoed to every other member of the team. 

“I’m just so blessed,” Chaffin said. “My family has always supported me no matter what. If I wanted to quit tomorrow, they would support me or if I wanted to try and play professional softball, they would support me. They’re my number one fans and always have my back. It’s just so special to have that relationship with my dad and my family. I know he’s proud of me and knowing that means the world.” 

NEW ORLEANS – While the Northwestern State baseball team’s all-time series with New Orleans is not as long as some of its other Southland rivals, the Demons should be more than familiar with the Privateers once this weekend ends.

For the third time in their past nine Southland Conference series, the Demons (13-11) will square off with the Privateers (14-11, 1-2) when they open their three-game conference series at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Maestri Field. The series also includes a 2 p.m. Saturday matchup and a 1 p.m. Sunday series finale. Free streaming audio of the games will be available on www.NSUDemons.com and through the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free for Apple and Android devices.

“All three of their guys they’ve thrown on the weekends are guys who have been there,” seventh-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. “(Brandon) Mitchell has been there six years, I think. (Tyler) LeBlanc, who throws on Friday, we faced him quite a few times. We just have to go play well.”

Northwestern State started its season-long, seven-game road swing by dropping four straight at Oregon this past weekend as the only Southland team that did not play a conference series. One key for Barbier’s team is the ability to refocus quickly for its conference-opening series, which takes place in the same stadium where the Demons opened Southland play in 2022.

This weekend’s series marks the first time in more than 30 years since NSU has opened Southland play against the same opponent in the same venue in consecutive years.

“It’s the nature of our game, and it’s going to happen when you play really good teams,” Barbier said. “You’re going to have weekends like that. Hopefully, we learned something from that. We saw some things they do that maybe we need to incorporate or do better at. You can take it and sit in it, or you can use it as a learning opportunity. I think our team will do the latter.”

The Privateers dropped two of three games at Lamar in their conference-opening series a week ago but rebounded with a 16-4 thumping of Tulane on Wednesday.

The Demons will turn to their typical weekend rotation against the Privateers, sending senior left-hander Cal Carver (3-2, 2.34) and junior right-handers Alex Makarewich (2-1, 4.03) and Drayton Brown (1-4, 5.79) to the mound against a New Orleans team that is hitting .281 despite losing a pair of first-team all-conference performers in Amani Larry and Pearce Howard.

While the trio did not pitch as long as usual at Oregon – a decision made by design – it allowed Barbier to continue to develop the NSU bullpen.

“It takes everybody,” Barbier said. “Chase (Prestwich) has been our mid-week starter, and we’ve extended him. Now we’re going to need him in some of these conference weekends in some capacity. You’ll need some of those other guys to be good for you in those mid-week games. It was good to see other guys hit the mound. We kept the pitch counts low. Yeah, we got hit around a little bit, but we wanted to keep pitch counts down so our guys had two weeks of lower pitch counts as they head into conference.”

Series Probables

Friday: Northwestern State LHP Cal Carver (3-2, 2.34) at New Orleans LHP Tyler LeBlanc (2-2, 3.27)

Saturday: Northwestern State RHP Alex Makarewich (2-1, 4.03) at New Orleans LHP Brandon Mitchell (4-2, 4.41)

Sunday: Northwestern State RHP Drayton Brown (1-4, 5.79) at New Orleans TBA

SAN MARCOS, Texas—Diamante Gumbs’ personal best in the discus highlighted the opening day of competition at the Bobcat Invitational, as the teams participated in both the Bobcat Invitational and Texas Relays. 

Diamante Gumbs had an exceptional day at the discus at the Bobcat Invitational, tossing a personal best 183-0, which is the second-best mark in the Southland Conference this outdoor season, only behind his twin brother Djimon Gumbs’ national-best mark of 205-11. 

Nationally, the throw ranks 27^th. 

“The conditions were not great, but on his first throw, he hit a big one,” sprints coach Adam Pennington said. “He just missed a few more big throws, but definitely will keep his bother on his toes. He’s throwing well.” 

In the heptathlon, Carolin Bielert recorded a pair of personal bests in the heptathlon. She began the competition with a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles (15.71) and ended it with one, running a 26.20 in the 200-meters, finishing sixth. 

Bielert, a freshman Lubeck, Germany, is eighth after one day in the heptathlon, which will conclude Friday. 

“Carolin was battling some injuries but finished the day well,” Pennington said. “(Jumps coach) Coach (Rich) Fisher is doing a great job with her.” 

Madison Brown cleared 11-9.75 in the pole vault, finishing tied for eighth. 

At the Texas Relays, Sian Weller posted a strong performance in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, winning her heat and placing 15^th out of 76 finishers with a time of 1:01.54. 

“Sian had a great day,” Pennington said. “Opening as fast as she did was a huge surprise for us. If she ran that time last week we would have been just as excited. This is only her second hurdle race of her life. Big things are coming for her. She’s an extremely talented kid and hard worker.” 

The teams continue at the two meets Friday in San Marcos and Austin. 

Bass fishermen are always dreaming of participating in a national championship. The ultimate event and goal of all anglers from the day they’re born is to be in the Bassmaster Classic, the Super Bowl of bass fishing, the crown jewel, an event that draws anglers from all over the world.

There are so many tournament trails of all levels, and most have a path by which you can qualify for either a regional or a national championship event. Today you’ll get to hear how I, and so many other anglers, prepare for a championship event. 

Coming up next week on beautiful Red River out of Red River South Marina just south of Bossier City, one such event will be taking place — the ABA Ray Scott National Championship. This is a tournament that an angler must qualify for by finishing in the top five in the Angler of the Year standings in one of 16 divisions nationwide from New York down to Florida over to Texas and all points in between. It truly is a national circuit with some great anglers.                                                        

For the last month, anglers including myself have been on the unpredictable and ever-changing Red River despite the high, cold, and muddy water. Now why would anglers be looking for fish two months in advance when the tournament doesn’t start until April 1?

With most major national championships, there’s what’s called a dead water period. This rule states that no angler can be on the Red River nor receive any information starting at sunset on March 1 until sunrise on April 1. This rule is in place so that local anglers don’t have an unfair advantage over those coming from all parts of the country. So, before this dead water period begins, anglers are looking for good backwater areas that have some fairly clean water that might still be holding bass at the start of the tournament. 

After the dead water period is over (sunrise April 1), it’s tournament time. For this event we’ll have four official practice days followed by four competition days.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to practice. Some anglers go out and fish just like they would in a tournament by hooking all the fish they can and seeing how big they are. Then there are anglers like me who refuse to hook a bass and will put some form of plastic tubing over their hooks to make sure they do not hook fish that they might catch during the actual tournament.

There’s also a thing called “sore mouthing” fish which is when you hook fish a day or two before the tournament.  These fish probably will not bite for another three or four days unless it’s during the spawn when bass will bite multiple times in one day. It all depends on the time of year.                                                            

For this angler, I’ll be looking for areas holding several schools of bass while looking for quality. Having multiple schools in an area is great, but only if they are bass with good size that allows me to be competitive. Small bass, known as “dinks,” will not put you in the winner’s circle in any event.

My tournament history on the Red River has shown that you need several areas that you can rotate to, especially with this event being four days. With over 100 anglers participating, there’s a lot of pressure on the fish and a lot of anglers will find the same schools. That’s why it’s important to find as many schools of bass as possible, in multiple locations, so that you don’t burn all your fish on the first or second day of competition.                             

After four days of practice, it’s time to go to work. This is when all those long days on the water hopefully pay off. Bass fishing tends to reward those anglers who put in the long hours of practice and preparation; long days starting at 5 a.m., fishing hard until the sun goes down.

There’s a saying among all anglers, “There’s no substitute for time on the water.” Anglers that follow this golden rule tend to be the most successful.

The final challenge for any angler that has a major tournament on his home water is the mental side. The problem is that you have so much history and know too many places to go and catch fish. For example, if the spot you start on does not pay off, you start to second-guess your game plan. It’s hard to win on your home water. There’s more self-inflicted pressure to contend with for the win because you’re the local favorite.

My goal is to try and take it one day and one fish at a time and hopefully be in contention on the final day. Fish the moment!

If you get the chance, come out to the daily weigh-in April 5-8 starting at 3 p.m. at Red River South Marina located off U.S. 71 just south of Bossier City. I’m looking forward to seeing you there and hopefully you’ll see me standing in the winner’s circle. Good luck, good fishing, and wear your sunscreen! 

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

Two days after a thrilling win to earn the District 1-5A championship, the Natchitoches Central High School softball team collided with another of Louisiana’s better teams, North DeSoto.

Correction – North DeSoto is every bit as good as they come. The Lady Griffins have a collection of state championship trophies to prove it.

The scored five times in their first at-bat Thursday at NCHS and kept the Lady Chiefs under wraps in a 7-1 non-district win.

NCHS fell to 22-4. North DeSoto rose to 25-2.

North DeSoto scored on a three-run home run by Raegan Henderson, an error, and a groundout by Cameron Curtis in the first inning.

Laney Johnson was impressive against a strong NCHS lineup in the circle for North DeSoto. The pitcher allowed five hits and one run over seven innings, striking out six.

North DeSoto hit three home runs. Ciara Orgeron and Johnson each had a long ball in the fifth inning to finish the scoring for the visitors.

Desi Robinson led Natchitoches Central Lady Chiefs with two hits in four at bats. Skylar Braxton had an RBI double in the sixth inning to avoid the shutout.

There are many differences between the French and Americans. Over here, it’s common for conservatives to look down on European nations, reserving greater amounts of agitation for Parisians and their fellow countrymen and women. 

You know the jokes. The ones about the white flags. The ones about World War II. The ones about Freedom Fries. Etc. Tensions reached an all-time high about 20 years ago when they wouldn’t join in a war that turned out to be as false as they said it was. No WMDs. And Iraq, as well as the entire Middle East, is more unstable now than at any point in modern history. A lot of good men and women died. 

We have differences. And they extend beyond drinking hot brown water and eating snails. 

But there’s one area in which we could learn a lot from the nation across the Pond. 

They know how to stand up for themselves, and they know their government works for them and not the other way around. The French have always held their politicians accountable. These are the people that invented the guillotine and went on a bloody rampage against the king and queen and nobility a few hundred years ago because of the greed and apathy of the ruling class. 

Currently, the French are having nationwide protests because of workers’ rights and governmental lunacy. This is a standard operating procedure for French citizens when they don’t like what their government is doing. And as a result, the French enjoy a much better standard of living than us and have happier lives because they will take nothing less. I saw a video of a garbage truck full of trash being dumped on a politician’s yard because of the politician’s policy stances. The nation is at a standstill because its people will not budge. 

Meanwhile, over here in little Louisiana, a state with deep French roots, we’ve got a politician pushing a bill that would triple legislator pay. Being a politician shouldn’t be a career. Politicians shouldn’t be deified and made celebrities and asked for autographs and have rallies celebrating them. 

In a society long ago, politicians and actors were treated relatively poorly because they didn’t add much value to society. Somewhere along the way, Americans changed and actors and politicians went from being our servants to our overlords. 

We need to be more like the French in our view of elected officials. They shouldn’t talk down to us. They shouldn’t look down on us. They work for us. 

The old joke goes politicians are like diapers. They should both be changed often and for the same reasons. 

Josh Beavers is a teacher and a writer. He has been recognized five times for excellence in opinion writing by the Louisiana Press Association. 

Seventy-five educators from 41 area high schools attended a Dual Enrollment Summit Thursday, March 30 at the NSU student union. The guidance counselors and administrators were greeted by Vic the Demon and NSU cheerleaders as they arrived.  

NSU’s Dual Enrollment Program enables eligible high school students to take college classes while still in high school. It is entirely possible to graduate from high school with an Associate’s Degree from NSU in addition to your high school diploma. NSU has agreements to offer courses in 80 high schools in the area, with 2,000 students taking advantage of this superb opportunity. In our local area, each high school in Natchitoches, Red River, and Sabine parishes offers dual enrollment at NSU.

The conference featured presentations on the enrollment process for students, eligibility and demonstrations of courses and software. Current NSU students who were dual enrollees while in high school told the audience how the experience helped them advance in their collegiate lives.

NSU’s Dual Enrollment Program is an excellent way for the young people of our parish to take charge of their future.

Principal Cori Beth Manual of Goldonna Elementary Junior High School is pleased to announce their Honor Roll for the third nine weeks.

Breanna Nikole Bates
Alaynna Cheyenne Day
Saydee Alise Flack
Anthony Isaih Giannone-Flores
Brody Eli Guin
Daygen Glen Johnson
Piper Raylyn Killingsworth
Penelope Grace Mann
Carlie Elizabeth Spears
Lani Elizabeth Todd

A Honor Roll

Daylon Michael-Chris Ayres
Kayden Dewayne Bedgood
Haiden Justis Black
Bryson Lane Carter
Zaine Anthony Choate
Chaylie Delise Cox
Remy Keith Dillon
Jasiah Richard Grayson
Joseph Tucker Ivy
Alex James McCoy
Bronson Michael McLendon
Zalien Antowine Paul
Hunter Leigh Ann Quinn
Ozyria Virginia Reliford
Case Blaine Sampey
Kara Saphira Slaughter
Gavin Lane Spears
Johnny Way Stewart

B Honor Roll

Nathan Joseph Black
Brooklynn Eve Chandler
Silas Trevor Collinsowrth
Caylee Ann Cotton
Grace Elora Day
Ayden Lee Desadier
Jaclyn Faye Dillon
McKenzie Dodge
Brookelyn Ciara Garner
Janiah Renee Grayson
Maggie Lynn Johnson
Brett Ryan Keith
Amy Lynn Lee
Carlee Rose Martin
Addyson Taylor Matinez
Journey Jolie Nealy
Aubrey Colette Olivier
David Edward Quick
Posey Lane Riddle
Victoria Marie Stewart
Riley Adele Thompson
Genesis Faye Williams
Serenity Don Williams
Heidi Madison Winn
Autumn Rain Womack

Remember ragondin? I didn’t think so.

Several years ago, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, in an effort to find a market for an exotic wildlife species threatening our coastal marsh, introduced a wild game food source that was readily available and virtually free for the taking. Add to that the fact that ragondin is delicious and nutritious and Louisiana residents should’ve jumped all over it and added it to their list of favorite wild game to eat.

It didn’t work; Louisiana folks, well-known for being willing to eat just about anything, turned their noses up at eating ragondin, which is actually a nice name for nutria, or nutria-rats. I have eaten nutria and to tell the truth, it’s good.

I admit, however, it wasn’t easy getting the image of those ugly creatures with big yellow buck teeth out of my mind. Thus, nutria continue to munch away at our coastline largely because Louisiana residents weren’t willing to munch on ragondin.

Today there is another creature threatening to do harm to Louisiana’s fisheries and the LDWF is once again attempting to get residents to give this new delicacy, “silver fin,” a try.

Silver fin, like ragondin, is the bow on the big. It’s a nice way of saying “carp” — not just any carp but two species of Asian carp, exotic species that are competing with our native fish.

These two, the bighead carp and the silver carp, are already in plentiful supply in the Mississippi River and all tributaries and distributaries of the river. Both species are filter feeders, competing with such species as paddlefish and shad and the young of all species of recreational and commercial fish.

The more popular of the two, the silver carp, is the fish you’ve seen on outdoor fishing shows jumping out of the water at the approach of an outboard engine and slamming into boats and boaters, sometimes inflicting injuries and damage to boat windshields and electronic equipment. They can weigh up to 60 pounds and a flying carp smashing into a boater going 50 mph can deliver a blow like a Mike Tyson haymaker.

On a writers’ trip to south Louisiana several years ago, I had a 30-pounder smash into the windshield of the boat I was riding in, just inches from my face. After recovering from the shock of nearly having to replace my dentures, I thanked the Lord for strong plexiglass.

In an effort to slow the spread of these fish – they can’t be eradicated –  the LDWF called on renowned Chef Philippe Parola to find ways these fish can be prepared so our residents will fill their freezers and frying pans with “silver fin.” Hopefully this experiment will work better than trying to get nutria into our crock pots.

I haven’t had the opportunity to taste silver fin but from the video clip I saw, the flesh is white and tender and can be prepared into tasty looking dishes. The only problem is that both the bighead and silver carp have “floating” bones that are not easily separated from the flesh.

This calls to mind a fish I used to catch and try to eat, the chain pickerel or better known to north Louisiana anglers as the jackfish. Jacks are delicious but the flesh is filled with small bones which meant we usually released them rather than have to wrestle with all the bones.

I recall watching Ruston’s super-chef, the late Mrs. Ethel Stone, taking jackfish filets, bones intact, and using her pressure cooker to virtually dissolve the bones and making some croquettes or fish cakes, much like those made with salmon or crab meat. They were delicious.

Chef Parola uses two methods of dealing with silver fin bones. One method, steaming the filets, leaves the bones in the flesh but makes them easier to remove. The other method, deboning, is more complicated but can be done.          

So Louisiana, are you ready to do your part in creating a new market for a troublesome fish? If so, give silver fin, the ragondin of the river, a try.

You go first; I’ll wait.

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

It was a great day for area residents needing training and a path to a secure future as General Dynamics IT and BPCC/Natchitoches (the former CLTCC) held a ribbon cutting for their new public/private partnership, Wednesday, March 29 at the BPCC/Natchitoches campus.

BPCC Chancellor Rick Bateman was joined by General Dynamics IT Vice President Jay Johnson and Operations Director Casey Cockerham and Natchitoches Mayor Ronnie Williams in cutting the ribbon for the new undertaking. Also present were state representative Gabe Firman, Kathy Babers from Congressman Mike Johnson’s office, members of the Natchitoches Chamber of Commerce and BPCC Faculty members and officials.

The program is a Hubsite Public/Private Partnership between General Dynamics IT and BPCC/Natchitoches in which persons 18 or older are enrolled in BPCC while working for GDIT. In the words of GDIT Vice President Johnson, “it is a talent development pipeline in which the participants receive real world IT experience while building skillsets…” Participants start in the call center where they earn a certificate in call center operations from BPCC. From there, they may advance to working at the help desk, helping clients solve real world problems. From there, student workers may advance to any number of salaried IT jobs in General Dynamics, a Fortune 100 company. Wages start at $16.20/hr with an additional $4.80/hr Health & Welfare benefit. You can advance as far as your ambition and willingness to work will take you. Operations Director Cockerham stated there are students in the Bossier City program who have earned 5 promotions since starting the program. Vice President Johnson himself was a former call center operator when he began his career with General Dynamics.

The program will begin with 20 participants and eventually progress to 50 students.

Christopher Sanders, a production and quality engineer with Omni Specialty Packaging in Shreveport, spoke to students in Northwestern State University’s Department of Engineering Technology during the department’s Career Fair March 19.  Sanders is a 2021 graduate of NSU’s ET program and discussed career and internship opportunities at Omni, which manufactures lubricants and chemicals for automotive and industrial products.  Sanders was one of several speakers representing regional industries including International Paper, RoyOMartin and Weyerhaeuser who talked to students about the qualities, skills and mindset employers are looking for in their workforce. Student were also invited to submit resumes and interview personnel with each organization. Information on NSU’s Department of Engineering Technology is available at https://www.nsula.edu/engrtech/.

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The Early Bird sale ends March 31st at 11:59 pm!

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