Dr Granger gives his thoughts on the War with Iran and what options may be available to the United States to end the conflict as well as his opinions of a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz

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The Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts seeks applications for Full-Time Director of Finance, Operations, and Information Technology

The Director of Finance, Operations, and IT (DFO) administers all aspects of the financial, operational, physical plant, and construction operations of LSMSA. The DFO is also responsible for information technology and human resources. Financial operations include developing the annual budget request and making day-to-day decisions on that budget. Physical plant operations encompass the development of the annual capital outlays request and oversight and management of all construction, repair, and maintenance projects and daily operations. Information technology includes decisions and oversight of the school’s computer resources, both software and hardware as well as communications and connectivity. Human resources involves the policy-making decisions regarding salaries and benefits, position control, etc. The DFO directly supervises three assistant directors.

The DFO indirectly supervises all purchasing, personnel, maintenance, and other business systems and operations at LSMSA and serves as liaison between LSMSA and various state and federal offices, agencies, institutions, and departments.

Applicants should be dedicated to an environment that is highly focused on student development and support. Further, applicants should have a commitment to their own personal and professional development and have a desire to be a member of a team.

The job description, duties, responsibilities, and required/preferred qualifications can be found here. The salary range for this 12-month position is $100,000 – $120,000. Starting date to be determined.

Application Process

Application review begins immediately and remains open until the position is filled. Please complete our standard application form and send with a cover letter, resume, contact information for three references, and an official transcript from your final degree-granting institution, to: employment@lsmsa.edu. Please submit your application as one PDF file that includes all the above.

LSMSA is a selective admission, public residential high school located in Natchitoches, LA. LSMSA has a 40-year legacy as a preeminent college-level living/learning experience for high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. LSMSA, located adjacent to the Northwestern State University campus, is a National Blue Ribbon School which, in 2023 and 2024, was rated No 1 for Best Public High School Teachers in Louisiana according to Niche.com and was named a World’s Leading Boarding School by Fortune Magazine in 2023.

LSMSA does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or age and prohibits such discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions online at www.lsmsa.edu/nondiscrimination

Phonetic: /bra·zen/

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition

• bold and without shame.
  “he went about his illegal business with a brazen assurance”
  
  Similar: bold, shameless, as bold as brass

Join Marvin as he talks about Being Homeless in Louisiana and House Bill 211

Brought to you by Lance Lopez with Farm Bureau, the Harrington Law Firm, the Sharpco Hotel Group, the Mariner’s Restaurant and Local Businessman Pat Johnson;

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Dr. Anderson provides insight into the unique educational opportunity provided by the faculty and staff at LSMSA and is thankful to legislators and the State of Louisiana for providing the funding for this nationally renowned residential High School experience.

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All our lives we’ve heard people say, “I was there when …” Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. I was there when Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in a World Series game. I was there when Dale Earnhardt crashed in turn four and died at the Daytona 500. 

Well, there was one event that I can say “I was there when” one particular fishing bait was introduced to the bass fishing world. 

It was on Lake Okeechobee in 2006 when the concept of a new bait took bass fishing by storm … the ChatterBait! This was a bait that has become a staple for all bass tournament anglers. It’s a combination of two of the best baits ever made, a jig and a spinnerbait. 

It’s a skirted jig with a small blade attached to the head of the bait. It has an unbelievable vibrating action that bass cannot refuse. Over the last 20 years, there have probably been more bass caught on this bait than any other. 

I remember the day that I first heard about this new bait. I was fishing an FLW Tour event on Lake Okeechobee in South Florida and the word was out about this new bait that was catching bass like crazy. 

Anglers were scrambling to get their hands on just one of these baits! Some guys would pay as much as $100 to get one. At this event, Roland Martin Marina was the only tackle store where you could get one. Every day for three straight days I walked into this store and every time all the pegs were empty.

Finally, with only one day left in the tournament, I asked Mrs. Mary Ann Martin (Roland’s wife) to please put one back for me and I would pick it up after I weighed my fish on the final day. 

Turns out pro angler Bryan Thrift, in his first professional bass tournament, won this event and the ChatterBait craze began. For a couple of years, he tried to keep his secret bait under wraps but the folks that make the ChatterBait asked that he please let the cat out of the bag. 

It was on stage during that FLW Tournament weigh-in on Lake Okeechobee that Bryan introduced the world to this revolutionary bait. From this event in 2006 through today, there’s probably not a single bass angler on a body of water that does not have some form of the ChatterBait tied on. 

The company behind this bait is known as Z-Man and they have not only perfected this bait over the years but have come out with more versions. One thing about the fishing business; it’s a copycat industry, as other companies have tried to emulate this bait, but none have had the impact of the original ChatterBait. 

While Z-Man has a patent on this bait protecting their blade design, there are other brands on the market that have had a little success, but no one has been able to capture that same magic that a ChatterBait produces. 

While it’s not often that many of us can say “I was there when” a special moment took place, I was actually there when one of the greatest bass fishing lures hit market … the ChatterBait!       

“What’s the best way to raise kids who understand the value of money? One parent discovered a simple allowance strategy that turned everyday spending into lifelong lessons in financial independence.”

 See what Ida says 

Join Marvin as he extends another invitation to Mayor Ronnie Williams and Nicole Gray to answer the questions!

Brought to you by Lance Lopez with Farm Bureau, the Harrington Law Firm, the Sharpco Hotel Group, the Mariner’s Restaurant and Local Businessman Pat Johnson;

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The LA Lightning 12U team out of Natchitoches captured the championship at the USSSA MLB Opening Day Classic held in Bossier.

The team secured the tournament title and received commemorative No. 22 Juan Soto-themed championship rings as part of the event.

Team members include Jax Errington, Murphy Linebaugh, Liam Mahloch, Hendrix Johnson, Adam Todtenbier, RJ Braden, Luke Fair, Archer Johnson, Gavin Key, and Carter Hough. The team is coached by Luke Mahloch and Evan Gandy.

The tournament brought together youth teams from across the region to compete in an opening season event celebrating Major League Baseball.

Sometimes one inning can make all the difference in a game, and that was the case for the Northwestern State softball team in Saturday’s Southland Conference series finale against Incarnate Word.

Trailing 2-0 after three innings of weak contact and just one hit, the Demons (21-21, 10-8) strung together five hits and had six straight batters reach, all with two outs, to push across three runs in a 3-2 win.

The victory avoided a series sweep by UIW, second in the SLC standings. The Cardinals posted wins of 11-1 and 3-1 in Friday’s doubleheader, and started Saturday’s game with a quick lead and silencing NSU’s bats.

“It is frustrating to stay patient, but they did a good job of not letting it get to them, staying the course and trusting the process, the game plan and ultimately getting the job done,” head coach Jenny Fuller said.

Making her second start of the series, UIW (27-15, 12-6) pitcher Bella Mitchell was dominant the first time through the Demon order. She retired the first eight batters she faced before Britt Bourgoyne reached on an infield single with two outs in the third. Through the first 3 2/3 innings, NSU put just one ball into the outfield and trailed 2-0.

UIW scored first for the third time during the weekend, using a one-out double down the left field line and a ground ball to short in the top of the third to take a two-run lead, the only blemishes on Demon ace Mattison Buster’s line.

After a bounce-back shutout inning in the top of the fourth, the Demon bats received the jolt they were looking for in the bottom half.

“We came in from defense after the top of the inning and Coach Brad (Fuller) challenged us to compete at the plate and tried to light a fire under us,” Aly Delafield said. “I took that as needing to do something different but not to stress, stay calm and do what you know how to do. After Brynn (Daniel) got that hit, I said this is it, it’s go time.”

Following two quick groundouts to the right side, Daniel lined NSU’s hardest-hit ball to that point into left field for a base hit, just the team’s second hit of the day, and sparked the rally.

Delafield doubled to the left-centerfield wall three pitches later, bringing Daniel all the way around to score. Delafield came home on a Sister Arnold single up the middle to tie the game and chase Mitchell.

Riley Schwisow followed with a sharp single to left and Sara Kate Booker worked a walk to load the bases. On an 0-2 count, Bourgoyne delivered her second hit of the game, driving in Arnold to give NSU a 3-2 lead.

The Demons sent all nine batters to the plate in the inning, and although they left the bases loaded, the three-run rally was all Buster needed over the final three innings.

The ace worked quickly in the fifth, needing just five pitches to get through the top of the Cardinal order and engaging her patented shutdown status when the Demons have the lead.

Buster allowed just one hit and a walk to Victoria Altamirano, the Southland Conference’s top hitter over the past three seasons, across the final three innings, retiring every other batter she faced to earn her 18th win of the season.

“Her confidence is through the roof and it kind of spreads through the whole team,” Delafield said. “I have all the confidence in the world in her. I know she’s going to go out there, compete and do her absolute best to get us out of any situation. She’s such a competitor, and it’s really fun playing with her.”

Buster held UIW, the conference’s top offensive team, to five hits, its fewest in a Southland game this season, and two runs, matching its lowest output in league play.

She is now tied for the eighth-most wins in a single season by a Demon pitcher and has the most since Amanda Glenn in 2007.

Good pitching performances often have marked the Northwestern State baseball team’s most successful portions of the 2026 season. Saturday, Dylan Marionneaux threw a complete-game six-hitter for the Demons in a 2-1 win over Houston Christian.

The Demons were unable to find that type of success Sunday as HCU jumped to an early seven-run lead and had enough responses to hand Northwestern an 11-5 Southland Conference defeat at Brown-Stroud Field. The loss narrowed NSU’s lead in the conference standings with three weekend series remaining.

HCU opened the series Friday with a 5-2 victory when NSU could not deliver key hits to cut into the deficit.

“It’s a day where we are to be accountable for not playing well in any of the three phases of the game,” third-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. “When you give up 11 runs – and some of those runs in the manner we did – when you make three errors and more mistakes on top of that, we were not good enough today in any of the three phases to expect a different result.”

The Demons (23-13, 14-7) delivered constant pressure on six HCU pitchers but could not deliver a big hit that led to a crooked number.

On the other side, HCU (16-19, 8-10) created a pair of three-run innings to build a 7-0 lead through three and a half innings. The first big swing for the Huskies came from Levi Castelleja, whose three-run home run opened the scoring against Trent Hillen (2-2).

The Huskies chased Hillen after 3 1-3 innings, doing so with another three-run inning in the fourth.

Down 7-0, the Demons began to solve HCU right-hander Ben Smith (4-4), who worked four innings in relief of opener Trent Barnes.

JT Simonelli tripled and scored on Noah McNeil’s fourth-inning sacrifice fly before a two-out, fifth-inning rally produced an RBI triple by Joe Siervo and an RBI single from Thomas Marsala III.

The Huskies had an answer, however, in the sixth.

After a couple of Demon errors helped load the bases with no outs, Carter White nearly wiggled out of the jam, getting a pair of strikeouts before Katcher Halligan grounded a two-run single through the left side of the infield.

The same scenario played out across the eighth and ninth innings.

Northwestern took advantage of HCU’s lone error of the game to pull back within four runs in the eighth before Kyler Mentzel got a strikeout to strand the bases loaded before a two-run wild pitch in the top of the ninth allowed HCU to re-establish its six-run lead.

“They continue to fight, and they continue to battle,” Bertrand said. “It’s obvious we’re going through some things that we need find solutions for, and we need to find ways to overcome. No matter what, you have to be good in all three phases of the game, and today, the Demons were 0-for-3.”

The Demons return to action Tuesday when they open a four-game road trip at LSU. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium.