Phonetic: /sed·u·lous/
Part of Speech: Adjective
Definition
A 47-year-old Pineville man was airlifted to a regional trauma center on Feb. 25 around 11 am following a reported fall from a roof in the Cedar Bend area near Natchez.
Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies and emergency personnel with Natchitoches Regional Medical Center EMS were dispatched by the NATCOM 911 Center to the 300 block of Riverview Drive in reference to a medical emergency involving a person who had fallen from a roof.
Upon arrival, deputies and EMS requested air medical support. Deputies established a landing zone on property just off Riverview Drive to assist responding aircraft.
Pafford Air One responded to the scene and transported the injured man to a regional trauma center for treatment.
Sgt. C. Crow and Cpl. J. Dranguet responded on behalf of the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Honor, History & the Rotunda
The honor of lying in state at the United States Capitol is traditionally reserved for presidents, members of Congress, military leaders, and other public officials whose service had a significant national impact. It is one of the highest ceremonial tributes the federal government can bestow.
Jesse Jackson is a prominent civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate whose activism shaped national conversations on voting rights and economic justice. Though he never held federal office, supporters argue his decades of public influence merit consideration for such an honor.
Charlie Kirk is a conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA. While influential among younger conservative voters, he has not held national office. Historically, lying in state has recognized formal government service, though Congress ultimately decides.
The debate ultimately extends beyond any one individual. This is not simply about who lies in state, but about what kind of country we want to be—how we define service, whose contributions we elevate, and what values we choose to honor at the highest level of national recognition.
Brought to you by Lance Lopez with Farm Bureau, Harrington Law Firm and the Sharpco Hotel Group.
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The St. Mary’s Catholic School Lady Tigers are headed to Ruston for the quarterfinal round of the LHSAA Division IV Select Playoffs, where they will face the Cedar Creek Lady Cougars on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.
The team will depart between 2:15 and 2:30 p.m. from SMS. Community members are encouraged to line the send-off route to cheer on the Lady Tigers as they leave town.
Send-off route:
• East Fifth Street
• Church Street Bridge
• Right turn onto Front Street off the bridge
Fans are invited to pack the streets and show their support as the Lady Tigers compete for a spot in the semifinals.
Former and current members of the Cheer Team are speaking out in support of their coaches, Amy and Tre, following the conclusion of a weeks-long investigation conducted by the University Police and Northwestern State University regarding allegations of hazing.
According to the official findings, investigators determined that no hazing occurred. Despite these findings, the university made the decision to terminate Amy and Tre from their positions — a decision that has sparked significant outrage among team members, alumni, families, and supporters throughout the community. The current team has yet to be informed by the university that their coaches were fired.
“As athletes who have personally experienced this program, we stand together in stating that no hazing has ever occurred during our time on the team,” said a current cheerleader. “Amy and Tre have always prioritized athlete safety, respect, discipline, and personal growth. They have been mentors, role models, and advocates for every member of this program.”
In addition to defending their coaches, cheerleaders expressed serious concern about the future of the Cheer Program.
“This decision places the entire program at risk,” the group stated. “Recruitment, retention, team morale, competitive success as well as our safety will all be affected. We fear for what lies ahead for current and future athletes who deserve stability, leadership, and support.”
The statement also highlights long-standing frustrations regarding institutional support for the cheer program. According to team members, athletes have historically been responsible for raising their own funds to participate in essential team activities.
“For years, the cheer team has operated with little to no financial support from the university,” the group said. “Athletes have fundraised to cover camps, clinics, travel to games, nationals, food, fuel, practice wear, signs, banners, megaphones, and other basic necessities required to represent the university. Despite these challenges, the team has continued to promote school spirit and represent with pride.”
Former and current members say the dismissal of Amy and Tre feels especially unjust given their dedication to sustaining the program under these conditions.
“They fought tirelessly for us when no one else did,” the statement reads. “They created opportunities, built a family environment, and helped athletes succeed both on and off the mat. We stand behind them.”
“Our voices matter because this program is built on the athletes who dedicate their time, energy, and heart to it,” the statement concludes. “We stand with our coaches. We stand for truth. And we stand for the future of this program.”
A grass fire was reported on Feb. 25 around 4:20 pm in the 2500 block of La. Hwy 117 near Provencal. Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies and firefighters with Natchitoches Parish Fire Protection District No. 4 responded to the scene. Deputies said the fire appears to have originated from a downed utility line.
Deputy S. Lodrigue is on scene for the sheriff’s office. Southwestern Electric Power Company is also responding.
John Salter, Natchitoches Parish President, has declared a parish-wide burn ban for the unincorporated areas of Natchitoches Parish amid extreme heat, drought conditions and dangerously dry vegetation.
The declaration, ordered Feb. 25 under the authority of Louisiana Revised Statute 29:727, follows a formal request from parish fire districts citing an increased risk of uncontrolled wildfires that threaten life, property and public safety.
The burn ban takes effect immediately and prohibits all outdoor open burning in unincorporated areas of the parish. Prohibited activities include burning yard waste such as leaves, branches and grass clippings, as well as construction debris, trash and the use of open fire pits or campfires.
Outdoor cooking is still permitted if conducted in a contained, commercial-grade appliance, such as a charcoal or gas grill, provided it is attended at all times and placed away from dry vegetation.
The order does not apply to prescribed burns conducted by certified professionals under the oversight of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
Violations of the burn ban may result in civil or criminal penalties under La. R.S. 40:1602 and applicable parish ordinances.
The declaration will remain in effect until weather conditions improve and the order is formally rescinded.
By Courtney Freeman
Revival Continues at Apostolic Truth Tabernacle, services have been extended to this weekend. Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28 the service will be held at 7 p.m. On Sunday, March 1 there will be services held at 10 am and 6 pm. We’ve had amazing services and invited everyone to come join us. We’d love to see you.
The end is in sight for the Robeline clinic. I popped my head in the front door and it looked really nice. And also close to completion. The Sabine director said that there is about a month and a half of construction, then of course the actual running of computer and equipment cables and connections. You have to set up the house after it gets built. But we’re very happy to see the end of our wait on the horizon.
On another positive note, preliminary work has begun on the sewer project. The ponds have been inspected and assessed. Now a crew is currently working on cleaning, assessing and inspecting the sewer lines. Looking for any previously undetected issues or problems. Even small steps move us forward and I’m happy to see progress for the benefit of our community.
A town-wide burn ban has been declared for the Town of Campti as officials cite extreme heat and dangerously dry conditions that have increased the risk of wildfires.
In an executive order issued under the authority of Louisiana Revised Statute 29:727, Mayor Katrina Evans established the burn ban effective immediately.
The proclamation states that Campti is experiencing a period of extreme heat, significant lack of rainfall and resulting dry vegetation. Local fire officials formally requested the implementation of the ban, noting that drought conditions have substantially increased the threat of uncontrolled outdoor fires.
The order prohibits all outdoor open burning within the corporate limits of Campti. This includes, but is not limited to, the burning of yard waste such as leaves, branches and grass clippings, as well as construction debris, trash and the use of open fire pits or campfires.
Outdoor cooking is permitted only when conducted in a contained, commercial-grade appliance such as a charcoal or gas grill. Grills must be attended at all times and positioned away from dry vegetation.
The ban does not apply to prescribed burns conducted by certified professionals under the oversight of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
Any person found in violation of the order may be subject to civil or criminal penalties under La. R.S. 40:1602 and applicable municipal ordinances.
The burn ban will remain in effect until weather conditions improve and the order is formally rescinded.
By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Everybody knew the Natchitoches Central girls basketball team could make it this far In the state playoffs, and on script, the Lady Chiefs have recovered from a midseason swoon to reach the state quarterfinals on a roll.
Nobody thought the St. Mary’s Lady Tigers would be still playing basketball, one step away from Marsh Madness next week in Hammond.
But here they are.
Both local teams face tough hurdles tonight on the road in the LHSAA postseason.
Ninth-seeded NCHS (21-8), coming off a 50-33 demolition of No. 8 Destrehan on the road Monday night in Non-Select Division I second-round game, heads to the Baton Rouge metro area to meet top-seeded Zachary (28-3), the defending state champions.
NCHS won 12 of its first 13 games but hit the skids, going 3-6 for a month-long stretch. The Lady Chiefs have won six of their last seven, beating Airline at home 52-49 in a late comeback before using a 16-0 run after halftime to take command at Destrehan.
They are aiming for the fifth state semifinal appearance in 12 seasons under coach Nikki Jones.
St. Mary’s, the lowest seed remaining in any of the 10 girls playoff brackets, hopes to defy the odds once again. Seeded 21st in Select Division IV, the Lady Tigers have won six straight, their last four in district and two road playoff games, to earn a quarterfinal trip to Ruston, where they will encounter the fourth-seeded Cedar Creek Lady Cougars.
St. Mary’s is the lowest seeded girls team to reach the state quarters in any classification in five years. Ironically, that was the year the Lady Tigers won the state championship by beating Cedar Creek’s district rival, Ouachita Christian, for all the marbles.
SMHS opened the playoffs going to Morgan City and scoring a 48-35 first-round surprise over 12th-seeded Central Catholic.
Monday night in Eunice, the Lady Tigers pulled a shocker, toppling fifth-seeded St. Edmund in overtime 65-60.
“They have really stepped up. They have a lot of fight, a lot of grit, and they’re paying attention to every game plan, every detail,” said first-year St. Mary’s coach Layne Huckabay.
“They have bought into each other more in the last six, seven or eight games and this is the result. They are ready to go in and fight Cedar Creek,” he said.
The Lady Tigers fell behind 10-0 Monday night in Eunice to a team with four senior starters.
St. Mary’s seniors Ava Hebert and Amelia Hanes provided steady leadership. Hebert, the team’s leading scorer, poured in 25 while Ava Holland added 18 points and 18 rebounds. Freshman Corbin Gandy made some crucial plays while contributing 9 points and 9 rebounds, as every player made impact during the back-and forth battle.
“I’m not speechless very often, but what they’ve done these last two games has left me speechless,” said Huckaby. “I’m so proud of them. They are playing confident, fearless, smart and tough basketball. Now we’re in the elite eight, where nobody expected us to be. We’re still dancing.”
Cedar Creek is 21-8 and has won 10 of its last 11 while reaching the state quarterfinals for the 10th consecutive year.
Cedar Creek head coach Katie Hall is a former All-State MVP for championship teams at Byrd High School, and starred at Louisiana Tech for Leon Barmore.
St. Mary’s assistant coach Ronnie Howell coached Hall in eighth grade in Shreveport, and coached Cedar Creek associate coach Tony Martinez at LSUS, and later had Martinez on his staff.
“We all know each other really well,” said Huckabay, who was a graduate assistant for coach James Smith at Northwestern more than 20 years ago.
“This is going to be full circle for the coaches. Katie called me Tuesday morning and said, ‘what’s going on, heartbreak kid?’ We talked for 25 minutes,” he said. “We’ve known each other since she played at Tech. She’s an excellent coach with a very very good team.”
Both games tip off at 6. The Lady Chiefs will be broadcast on 100.7 FM KZBL. The Lady Tigers’ broadcast will be at 97.5 KDBH FM.
Northwestern State University powerlifters Ja’Leigha Gray of Plaquemine and Keith Wade of Belle Rose were standouts in their first collegiate competition at the USA Powerlifting Capital City Classic in Baton Rouge.
Gray placed first in the Women’s Equipped Open Division, 56kg Weight Class with a personal record of 85 kg (185 pounds. Wade also had a personal record of 145 kg (315 pounds).
“I am very proud of both lifters for their hard work and dedication,” said Powerlifting Club Head Coach Maya Lucas. “Not only were they able to place in their first meet, but they achieved new personal records, which is a major win in itself. I am very proud of them and can’t wait to see what the rest of the semester holds for the team.”
The next meet for the powerlifting team will be USA Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals on April 9-12 in Kenner.
For more information or to join the NSU Powerlifting Team, contact Lucas at lucasma@nsula.edu.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Going into the Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, Roy Morris and Samari Finney led the Southland Conference in the men’s and women’s long jump. The pair once again proved it on the conference’s biggest stage.
They each took home the gold in their events at the first day of the SLC Indoors on Wednesday at the Birmingham Crossplex.
“We had a pretty good day today,” head coach Mike Heimerman said. “We were not perfect but really good. We have put ourselves in a good position to try and bring home some team titles. It won’t be easy but this group wouldn’t want it any other way.”
The Lady Demons are bidding to win their fourth straight SLC Indoor crown.
In his young career with the Demons, Morris had done just about everything. Last outdoor season, he was an All-American and he received a bronze medal in last year’s indoor meet. One accomplishment missing was that elusive SLC Championship gold medal.
That wait is over. The Evangel Christian Academy product led the entire way, punctuating it with a 24-9.75 on his final jump. Stephen F. Austin’s Bryson Williams came close with a 24-7.75, barely behind Morris’ leading jump at the time of 24-8.75.
“First of all, I want to thank my family and coaching staff for always believing in me and giving me that push I needed,” Morris said. “It feels amazing to walk away with the gold. After last season, I went back to the drawing board and physically and mentally prepared myself for this day.”
On the women’s side, Finney just did what she always does. As consistent as anyone in the league, she went 19-8.75 on her second jump to smoke the competition. No one else even broke the 19-foot mark—and Finney did that four times.
After a disappointing 12th place finish at last year’s indoor meet, she left no doubt in this one, winning her second straight long jump title after claiming gold at last year’s outdoor championships.
While the long jumpers took home the golds, they were not the only ones who reached the podium, as Randy Kelly (men’s high jump) took the silver with a 6-11 clearance and Thea Ring (women’s pentathlon) collected the bronze.
It is Kelly’s fifth time on the podium at a conference meet, including three silvers.
In her first SLC Championships, Ring posted a terrific performance that broke the school record with a score of 3726.
On the track, many Demons and Lady Demons qualified for Thursday’s finals.
Kalen Beavers won the prelims in the 200-meter dash, clocking a 21.06 to qualify for the finals. Teammates Elijah Rowe (21.72) placed fourth, Keontae Gaines (21.34) finished sixth and Will Achee (21.40) came in seventh to all join Beavers in today’s eight-man final.
Margaret Conteh (24.27) and Juvonna Cornette (24.28) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, to advance to the women’s 200 finals. Cornette’s time was a season best.
In the women’s 400-meter dash, Rushana Dwyer won the prelims with a run of 53.17, leading three NSU runners among the top five. Conteh (53.70) took third and Kahliyah Anderson (55.73) came in fifth.
Three of the top five in the men’s 400 were Demons, led by Achee, who ran a 47.49 to finish second. Desmond Duncan (47.91) and Kason Jones (48.06) came in fourth and fifth, respectively, to also qualify for finals.
Four Lady Demons are in the 60-meter dash finals, led by Sileena Farrell, who ran a 7.51. Cornette also ran a 7.51 to finish fourth and Dynia Lewis finished fifth. Maria Umoibang finished seventh with a run of 7.54.
Gaines finished second in the men’s 60-meter dash, while Beavers finished fourth and Eddy Vu came in fifth.
Dynia Lewis (8.64) and Brian Fisher (8.19) each reached the 60-meter hurdle finals for NSU.
The teams are back in action today on the second and final day which starts with the men’s heptathlon 60-meter hurdles at 9:40 a.m.
EDINBURG, Texas—After clinching a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament last time out, it is all about postseason seeding for the Northwestern State women’s basketball team as the regular season reaches its conclusion.
NSU (14-13, 11-8) came from 10 points down in the second half to defeat Houston Christian last game to maintain a share of fifth place in the conference standings.
Today at noon, they visit UT-Rio Grande Valley (17-11, 14-5), which is tied for second place in the Southland standings.
“It’s still about inching closer and closer to 40 minutes of focused and intentional game play,” head coach Anna Nimz said. “We had a very resilient win Saturday against HCU, showing a lot of resolve and toughness, especially coming out of halftime after a big challenge by our staff.”
Today’s game can be viewed on ESPN+ or fans can listen to it on KZBL 100.7 FM or Demon Sports Network stations in Many and Leesville.
With three games remaining, Northwestern is tied with UIW and three games up on East Texas A&M and Nicholls in the conference standings. One win for the Demons clinches at least the No. 6 seed. NSU is also three games behind a cluster of UTRGV, Stephen F. Austin and Lamar for the No. 4 seed and a first round bye.
Vernell Atamah is chasing history in both the 3-point department and the points department. She nailed one triple in the win over HCU, which was a big one in the fourth quarter, which brings her total to 77 this season, 11 shy of the single season school record of 88 set by Beatrice Attura in 2016-17.
At 946 career points, she is also aiming to become one of the fastest players in school history to score 1,000 points and just the 28th player overall in school history.
The sophomore from Mesquite, Texas, has been able to work her way to the free throw line, as Atamah is 21-of-28 from the charity stripe the last two games, including going 10-of-11 in the win over HCU.
The game matches the two top scorers in the Southland: Atamah and UTRGV’s Jalayah Ingram. Atamah averages 18.6 points in overall games, while Ingram is second at 16.4.
These are the two best rebounding teams in the Southland. UTRGV leads the Southland in rebounding margin during conference games at plus-9.7, while NSU is second at plus-7.5.
Northwestern has won the rebounding battle by an average of 17 in the last four games, including being a whopping plus-28 in the win over Southeastern Louisiana. The Demons are 3-1 during that stretch.
UTRGV has one of the best rebounders in the country in Charlotte O’Keefe, whose 13.9 boards per game are the second-most in the country and the reigning SLC Player of the Week recorded an average of 20.5 points and 18.5 rebounds per game against McNeese and Southeastern Louisiana.
O’Keefe had nine rebounds in the first matchup, a 61-55 Vaqueros win in Natchitoches. The Demons are just one of three teams in the Southland that has kept her in single digits in rebounds in a game.
Nimz is prepared for a crazy atmosphere for the game.
“It’s a kids game, so they absolutely will rally the valley something fierce,” Nimz said. “It’s going to be a sold out crowd, without a doubt. Embrace it. Embrace the noise, embrace the challenge, embrace the challenge of trying to go knock off one of the top tier teams in our conference.”
Saturday, Northwestern plays its final road contest of the regular season against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before a home game against New Orleans on Tuesday.
The School of Creative and Performing Arts at Northwestern State University will present “Oliverosfest! A Tribute to Pauline Oliveros” on Wednesday, March 4 at 5:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. NSU faculty member Collier Hyams will do a pre-concert lecture at 5 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. A livestream of the concert will be available at nsu.la/CAPA-LIVE.
Featured musicians will be Carlos Diaz Del Valle on violin, Paul Christopher on cello and Karla Gonzalez Bueno on piano.
Pauline Oliveros was an American composer and accordionist. Considered a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music, she was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the early 1960s and served as its director. She taught music at Mills College, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Oliveros authored books, formulated new music theories and investigated new ways to focus attention on music including her concepts of “deep listening” and “sonic awareness,” drawing on metaphors from cybernetics.
