The City of Natchitoches joined communities across the nation in honoring the lives lost on September 11, 2001.

City utility trucks displayed a large American flag on Thursday as a tribute to the victims, first responders, and all who showed extraordinary courage in the face of tragedy. The display served as a visible reminder of the resilience and unity that continue to define the American spirit.

City officials encouraged residents to take time to reflect on the sacrifices made on that day and to honor the legacy of those who stood in service to others.

The regular scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 16 for the Cane River Waterway Commission has been cancelled. The next meeting will be Monday Oct. 20 at 6pm.

By Reba Phelps

Anyone who has ever met me or knows me well knows that I truly love social media. I sincerely love capturing a moment, finding a way to tie it to the goodness of God and sharing it with whoever will stop long enough to read it. I believe in the positive powers of social media when it comes to getting a message out to the masses. I believe in the power of social media to help connect family and friends worldwide. I also love the news outlets on social media. Social media news outlets always share snippets that summarize a story, it fits perfectly into my schedule. No one has time to sit and watch a whole episode of the news. Personally, I’ve always tried to share a balance of content that includes positive things as well as not so positive things that happen to me and my family. I’m known for sharing personal calamities that will hopefully make others feel normal about what they’re going through or offer a small nugget of wisdom gained through years of mistakes.

It is truly my personal brand. I fail. I then share the results and find the silver lining in hopes to never do it again.

Being on social media as much as I am, I have also learned the skill of scrolling past things that offend me or scare me. I scroll so quickly that the content doesn’t have time set up camp in my soul. I have motley crew of social media friends on both sides of the aisles, all ages and all races and nationalities. I have many social media friends with very religious beliefs or some with no religious beliefs at all. I have friends who hate the little town that we live in and I have friends who love the little town that we live in and want to see it thrive. But typically, whatever the case, I have no problem scrolling past anything that will darken my day, dampen my spirit or steal my joy.

Admittingly, sometimes I have to take breaks from social media because I spend too much time presence of scrolling mindlessly while looking for my next laugh or recipe. Too much a good thing can be a bad thing for me.

One of my favorite social media posts are the posts with a positive outcome. This past week our entire small community smiled on social media because a stolen bike was returned to a sweet elderly man who never bothered a soul. On this day we saw the absolute best that social media had to offer.

As the events of this past week began to unfold, that would be the last happy moment I would witness on social media as I know it. This week has truly left me with no words and a heart that is heavily yearning for the Lord to hurry and rescue us from this sad world that we live in.

Some things our eyes are just not meant to see on a replay reel. Our souls were not created by God to watch someone lose their life, watch people cheer over it and scroll on to the next trendy dance on Tik Tik without feeling anything. Both of my daughters shared with me that they watched the video of the Ukrainian refugee girl lose her life on a bus in North Carolina while no one tried to help her. I tried to explain to both of them that it was not normal and how up until a few years ago the media outlets would “blur out” the inappropriate images while warning you. They rarely do that any more. There is such a deep and disturbing craving to see all of the gruesome details on demand.

Lord, may I never become so desensitized and cold hearted where I think it’s okay that a young father of two get gunned down while he is sharing his beliefs at an event where his wife and children are. May my heart never get so hard that I feel nothing when a young refugee girl is murdered on a bus before her life truly even starts. May never be so cruel to wonder if she is here illegally or completed the proper paperwork. May I never get used to seeing defenseless school students run for their lives and talk to news correspondents about how scared they were during a school shooting. May I never turn a blind eye or ear to colleges being locked down because of horrendous threats to the student body. Our souls were not created to continuously handle this much darkness.

The events of this week have sent me running to seek shelter with our Savior and clinging to the eternal hope we have in him. This week has made me seek refuge within the pages of the Word of God more than ever before. This week has reminded me that our home is not here on this earth but in heaven. This week has reminded me that our country needs prayer, unity, revival, forgiveness and spiritual help. We are living in days where crisis after crisis is available at our finger tips to relive as many times as we want to. Even with all of this being said, there is hope in a relationship with the Lord. I invite you to seek refuge in him. Get a Bible, or open your Bible again. Pray for our country. Find a church this Sunday. Lay your cares at the feet of a savior who is waiting on you. We need him more than ever.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honest, whatever is just, whatever is honorable, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about those things.”
Philippians 4:8

The Northwestern State University community observed the 24th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks in a moving ceremony Thursday, September 11 at the flagpole by the student services building.

The commemoration was a true community effort as the SGA, Purple Jackets, CAPA and Army ROTC joined with NSU President Genovese, faculty, staff, and community members in remembering the attacks on our nation that left almost 3,000 of our fellow Americans dead in the space of a few hours.

The ceremony began at 7:47 a.m., the time the first plane hit the World Trade Center, 8:47 Eastern Standard Time. After remarks by SGA and university officials, cadets from NSU’s Army ROTC lowered the flag to half mast, after which singers from the university’s CAPA sang a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem.

This Saturday, Sept. 13 Trinity Episcopal Church will begin offering a contemporary service on Saturdays at 5:30 pm. All are welcome to this service that will be immediately followed by a community supper. The church is located at 533 2nd Street in Natchitoches. For more information, contact the Reverend Kris Paul at 443-734-4243.

Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home of Natchitoches provided lunches for all Natchitoches First Responders in remembrance of 9/11 and in appreciation of their dedicated service to protecting and serving the citizens of Natchitoches Parish.

First Responders were treated to brisket, potato salad, and barbeque beans.

Sheriff Stuart Wright stated, “We are grateful to Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home for their generosity and continued support of our first responders. Gestures like this remind our deputies, firefighters, and emergency personnel that their service and sacrifices are deeply appreciated by the community they serve.”

The Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office thanks Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home for their thoughtfulness and commitment to honoring the men and women who respond in times of need.

The City of Natchitoches cooked and served breakfast for the Natchitoches Parish Council on Aging on Sept. 11.

The gathering provided an opportunity for city representatives to share a meal and fellowship with an organization that plays a vital role in supporting the parish’s senior community.

City officials expressed gratitude for the Council on Aging and the contributions of local seniors, noting the importance of recognizing the love, wisdom, and experience they bring to Natchitoches.

By MATT VINES, Journal Sports

SHREVEPORT – Anybody that’s consumed any high school football content in Louisiana has come across the name Peyton “Pop” Houston, the four-star junior quarterback for Evangel Christian that’s picking between the likes of Clemson, LSU, USC and Oklahoma for his college destination.

Houston will lead the Eagles against visiting Natchitoches Central tonight at 7 at Rodney Duron Field, but he won’t be the only stud quarterback on the field, just the most highly-recruited one.

Chiefs signal caller Owen Smith is also among the best in the state in his third year as the NCHS starter.

Smith leaned on his staunch supporting cast in a season-opening 41-0 win last Friday against Breaux Bridge as offensive weapons have matured around him over the past 12 months.

“The experience comes with the years,” Smith said in an interview at the Battle on the Bricks Jamboree. “Knowing what to look for pre-snap and knowing what to look for post-snap, it slows the game down a lot.”

Houston and the Eagles nearly knocked off state power Neville on the road, falling 33-32 in their opener, but his 275 passing yards and 73 rushing yards weren’t quite enough to overcome the Tigers.

Both quarterbacks were in the Top 10 in the state passing in 2024 – two of four quarterbacks from District 1-5A that were on that maxpreps.com list.

And both are mobile, able to extend plays with their feet to find a receiver or take off themselves to pick up first downs or make big plays.

Houston had a hand in six touchdowns in a 45-7 win in Turpin Stadium last season, but the NCHS defense is much improved as evidenced by its shutout of Breaux Bridge in the opener.

“(Houston) is a great quarterback who can do a lot of throwing and running, and he has threats at receiver,” said NCHS head coach Brad Laird. “That’s certainly going to be a challenge for our defense, and it’s something that’s not new to us playing in this district.

“There are threats in the backfield and at receiver, and we have to do our best to limit big plays and get off the field.”

Laird credited consistency in the offensive line to the explosive Week 1 offensive performance, and if the Chiefs can move the chains on the ground and in the air, Houston and Co. can’t do damage from their sideline.

Running back Kelton Howard is dangerous as a runner and receiver, and Smith can wheel and deal with a cadre of weapons that’s more experienced across the board than in years past.

“Consistency is a big factor from Year 1 to Year 2,” Laird said as he started his second season in command of the Chiefs. “You see a lot of carry over in all three phases – offensively, defensively, and in special teams.”

It’s a formula that Laird intends to guide NCHS to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

The Chiefs went 1-7 in district play this past season, but three of those losses in the back half of the schedule came down to the final minutes.

A road win against an Evangel team many have favored to win the district and make a deep playoff run does more than just put NCHS in the playoff picture, it signals a program ready to compete for a title in arguably the deepest district in the state.

Contact Matt at sports@journalservices.com

CINCINNATI  – With a very young roster still finding its footing, the Northwestern State football team visited Minnesota last week getting more than simply a chance to face off against a Big Ten program for the first time in program history.

Last Saturday’s game doubled as a classroom.

“Those games are what they are, but with that there is a lot that we can learn from it,” head coach Blaine McCorkle said. “How to play a game. How to play clean. How to go on the attack and not sit back and feel the game. With our extremely young team, there’s a lot to be learned from that game.

“I told them after the game you either lose, or you learn. We’re going to take the lessons from this one and do just that –- learn.”

The Demons (1-1) get their second straight test against a power-conference team when they visit Cincinnati (1-1) of the Big XII on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.  The game telecast will stream on ESPN+ with a Demon Sports Network radio broadcast available through 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches  and through www.nsudemons.com.

Saturday’s outing against the Bearcats is an immediate chance to put the Demons’ newly-gained knowledge and experience to work.

“You can change the uniform and the location but we’re playing the exact same team this week,” McCorkle said. “In terms of talent and atmosphere and things like that it’s essentially the same as last week. 

“So, what did you learn from Minnesota? What are you going to change? We talk about constant, continual improvement, how do you do that. We challenged them to make honest assessments of what they need to do as individuals to be more prepared to play in that type of environment and game. If they do that, they will get better and that will help us the rest of the season.”

The growth mindset that has been instilled within the Demons since day one of McCorkle’s time in Natchitoches has become second nature for second-year players in the system like safety Kaden Mackey.

“Win or lose every week is a new opportunity,” said Mackey, who led the Demons with a career-high 11 tackles, a week ago. “If you go out and win, you celebrate but know you still have work to do. We just have to get better every day and improve. Coach talks about constant, continual improvement and that’s where we focus.”

The Demons displayed the first snapshot of that against the Golden Gophers, before Mother Nature intervened to conclude the game with just over six minutes remaining.

Across the final 12-plus minutes of competition, Troy Santa Marina recorded his first career interception, the Demons’ third in two games this year, and the defense stood tall with a goal line stand, getting a 4th-and-1 stop on what became the final play of the game.

“One of the things I was really proud of our team for was they played until the end of the game,” McCorkle said. “They never backed off. We were in a game a year ago against an FBS opponent where that didn’t happen. So, I think it showed some of the maturity of our program to stay positive and stay together. Find ways to stay in the fight and try to find a way to make a play. They did that and I give them a lot of credit for that.”

The Demons made three straight defensive stops and saw similar progress on the offensive side of the ball, even with the game well in hand. That effort was testament to the toughness that McCorkle has instilled in his team via the standard that has been set from the start of offseason work.

“We work extremely hard every day,” senior running back Kolbe Burrell said. “I think this is one of the hardest working teams I’ve been a part of. It’s a new identity and new mentality. We want to embody working hard and striving for the things we want. You’re not going to get anywhere staying where you’ve been. If you want to do something different you have to be different.”

Many cross country fans in the Southland Conference are going to be paying attention to Natchitoches today, as Northwestern State hosts the NSU Pre-SLC Meet this afternoon on campus.

The women’s race starts at 6:15 p.m. and the men’s race starts at 6:45 p.m. Both start behind the soccer field and finish between the soccer field and Walter P. Ledet Track Complex.

It is the only collegiate meet taking place in Natchitoches prior to the SLC Championship meet next month.

This is the first meet at NSU since 2014, when it also hosted the SLC Championships.

“We’re feeling good,” head coach Payten Vidourek said. “This is the first time we’ve ever had a home meet since I’ve been here as a coach or athlete. It is nice to have it at our own course. Obviously, we have hosted state cross country, but it will be very special to host this meet, and of course, conference.”

Among the schools participating are fellow league members Lamar, Stephen F. Austin and McNeese, as well as Louisiana Tech of Conference USA.

“It will be a really good measuring stick,” Vidourek said. “SFA is always really good, and Lamar has always been really solid and McNeese, we just ran against a few weeks ago. So, it will be nice to have them as a measuring stick, seeing people we’ll compete with at conference.”

The two runners who have led the way for the NSU teams are Lalaina Wood on the women’s side and John Klein on the men’s.

Klein, one of the two upperclassmen, has had a fantastic start to his final cross country season, posting two top three finishes in the first two races this season at McNeese and UT-Tyler.

He is coming off a second-place finish at the UT-Tyler Cross Country Opener in the 8K, clocking a 25:58.8. He only was behind a runner from the host school.

Klein also finished third at the McNeese State Opener and second among runners who scored, as the top competitor ran unattached.

“John has been overall a great leader,” Vidourek said. “This year, he has really brought the team up. Being the oldest guy on the team, he has set a good example for the freshmen and sophomores.”

After missing the first meet of the season in Lake Charles due to illness, Wood came back to lead the Lady Demons, clocking a personal-best 20:52.9 at Tyler, shaving more than three seconds off her previous best from two years ago.

“Lalaina has been great so far,” Vidourek said. “She ran a PR in the 5K in the last race, on a course that was very muddy. It proved she is in very good shape, and I am looking forward to seeing what she runs at our home course.”

ABILENE, Texas —Northwestern State saw its five-match unbeaten streak come to an end, as a second half goal was the difference in a 1-0 women’s soccer loss at Abilene Christian on Thursday evening.

NSU (4-2-2) only suffered its second loss of the season. The Demons had a few chances to score, but could not capitalize. The Wildcats (4-4) remained perfect at home.

“I thought we were poor tonight and deserved that result,” head coach Ian Brophy said. “I didn’t think we played up to the result we’ve been playing up to and had a really poor night.”

In the 73rd minute, Raelin Miller blasted a perfectly-placed shot from outside the box into the top left corner for the game’s lone goal.

The Demons had their chances to put one in the back of the net but could not capitalize on their opportunities.

In the opening two minutes of the contest, a pass in the middle to Ravina Sandu, who had a clear look, but the defense came over at the last minute to cause Sandhu’s shot to bounce wide right.

Sandhu also recorded a shot attempt in the 20th minute, but it drilled the crossbar.

NSU started strong in the second half with three shots 17 minutes into the half, compared to zero for ACU. The rest of the way, NSU was held to one shot.

“I thought we played well in the first 10 minutes of each half,” Brophy said. “I thought we created some good moments, and I thought we were poor on capitalizing on some really good soccer where we’d get into a good situation and then give the ball away when we shouldn’t have. At the end of the day, we created a couple good moments, but we didn’t create enough of them.”

NSU had one final golden chance, but Kendall Hemperley’s shot was saved in the 88th minute by Bella Medrano, which cemented the Wildcats victory.

Demons goalkeeper Kennedy Rist came back after a two-game absence and made one save.

“I don’t think she had a ton to do,” Brophy said. “But she was brave off her line and made a couple big saves and I thought she did well coming back into the lineup after being out for a bit.”

The Demons set their sights on Southland Conference play, which begins with a trip to UTRGV om Sept. 18 before coming home for the league home opener against reigning SLC champion Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 21.

Northwestern State University student Elizabeth Vitter was introduced at the Sept. 9 Natchitoches Rotary Club luncheon as the organizer of a new Rotaract Club on campus.

The Rotaract Club will give NSU students opportunities to participate in service projects, develop leadership skills, and work alongside local Rotarians. Vitter expressed enthusiasm for bringing Rotary’s values of service and community engagement to the student body.

Pictured: Calhoun, Rotaract NSU student Vitter, Bernard, and Laurie Morrow. Photo by Dr. Ron McBride.

Natchitoches Rotary President Louie Bernard welcomed Rotary District 6190 Governor Lawrence Calhoun as the guest speaker at the Sept. 9 luncheon.

Governor Calhoun spoke about Louisiana Rotary goals and presented Bernard with the “Unite for Good” Rotary flag during his visit. The meeting also included the induction of new member Rodney Harrington, who was sponsored by Rotarian Kirk Soileau.

Pictured: Calhoun presents Bernard with the “Unite for Good” Rotary flag. From left are Bernard and Calhoun. Additional photo includes Calhoun, Bernard, Harrington, and Soileau. Photos by Dr. Ron McBride.

Here is a look at the week of Sept. 14-20 at Northwestern State University.

Sept. 15 – Oct. 7 — NSU/Natchitoches Art Guild Summer Show, Orville Hanchey Gallery

Sept. 15 – NSU/Natchitoches Art Guild Summer Show reception, Orville Hanchey Gallery, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 16 — CoD Musica Variada, Magale Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m. #

Sept. 16 — Modern In Motion XIII Gala Performance, Trinity Episcopal Church, 533 2nd St., Natchitoches, 6 p.m.

Sept. 18 – Guest artist Dr. Marcos Machado and Dr. Ellen Price Elder, Magale Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m. #

Sept. 18-20 — Modern In Motion XIII, Trinity Episcopal Church, 533 2nd St., Natchitoches, 6 p.m.

# Livestream available at nsu.la/capa-live

Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Deputies and Natchitoches Regional Medical Center EMS responded to reports of an injured man trapped beneath a zero-turn lawn mower on Sept. 9 around 2:16 pm in the 100 block of Jim Bell Road, north of Campti.

According to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office, a neighbor was able to pull the man to safety before first responders arrived. Deputies and EMS assessed the situation and requested air medical support.

Air Evac Lifeteam #160 responded, landing at a designated landing zone established by deputies in the Jim Bell RV Park off La. Hwy 9. The 60-year-old Campti man, who sustained moderate but non-life-threatening injuries, was airlifted to a regional trauma center.

Witness statements indicated the man was changing the mower’s battery when it suddenly engaged after both cables were connected. The mower spun, lifted from the front, and pinned him to the ground.

Deputies have since cleared the scene. Sgt. C. Crow, Deputy J. Creel, and Deputy G. Taylor responded.

Alpha Omicron Pi, Kappa Chi Chapter at Northwestern State University, stopped by the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office and donated stuffed panda bears to patrol deputies.

The bears will be kept in patrol units and handed out to children who are victims of crimes or involved in emergency situations.

Sheriff Stuart Wright expressed his appreciation, saying, “We are grateful for the generosity of Alpha Omicron Pi. These stuffed animals may seem small, but they can bring comfort and reassurance to a child during what is often the most frightening and stressful time of their life.”

Thank you Alpha Omicron Pi, Kappa Chi for your generous donation.