Today is the unofficial First Day of Christmas since it’s 12 days until The Big Day, which means it’s fixing to be Christmas. 

That we say “fixing to” instead of “about to” is one of the joys of being a Southerner. Who said it first, I don’t know, but bless his heart, and merry First Day of Christmas to you. 

Some traditions hold that the First Day of Christmas is December 25, and the 12 days run into the New Year. Who wants to wait that long? Not me. We’re fixing to start celebrating now. 

Speaking of things southern, we’ve been working on some carols, Southern-themed: 

“I’m dreaming of a white cornbread,
In every skillet that’s in sight.
May the sides be crispy, to bite,
And may all your cornbreads be just right.” 

Or, how about . . . 

“Pork skins roasting on an open fire.
Chittlins’ nipping at your nose.
Waylon and Willy being sung by the fire,
While dad spends Christmas Eve at Lowe’s.” 

Give me some time to work on it …  

Thankfully, the most important songs were written at the dawn of time and wait as gifts for us to receive and to sing with sincerity, even as the angels sang, that long-ago Judean night, as Luke recorded: 

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
goodwill toward men.”  

Peace and goodwill came to earth, to men, in the flesh and as a baby. Only God could have thought of something like that. 

William Billings, regarded as America’s first choral composer, captured — at least as well as a human mind can — the mystery of the incarnation in his Shepherd’s Carol, composed in New England in the mid-1700s. 

“Seek not in courts or palaces,
nor royal curtains draw.
But search the stable, see your God
extended on the straw.”

God, extended on the straw. 

Extended, as a baby, a stretching newborn.  Extended, from a heavenly throne to an earthly manger.  Extended, to mankind and to man, to each of us, individually. 

God extends his hand.  Even to me.  Even to you.  

Christmas is always the opportunity to receive the best gift of all, a new birth in our old selves. And a new song the Psalmist told us about. 

“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God . . ..”   

Now some 2,000 years after Christ’s birth, the message is the same.  A 19th century minister named Phillips Brooks reminds us, each year at this time, that the Good News is everlasting.  If we choose to be quiet, we might even hear the song, the new song, born in a manger. 

“How silently, how silently
the wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him still,
the dear Christ enters in.” 

If no one’s wished you Merry Christmas yet, I’m “fixing to.” Let me be the first. Here’s hoping we can get in tune with the baby and ourselves and each other, and make this our best song yet.  

He promised he would.  For months before the actual consummation of the sale that gave him ownership, Elon Musk vowed to return free speech to the massive social media platform that is Twitter.

And there have been some discoveries that are as stunning as they are unnerving. 

The release by Musk of internal emails highlights Twitter’s 2020 censorship and suppression of the New York Post story a month before the 2020 presidential election.  These revelations make undeniable the blatant conflicts of interest, influence peddling and likely crimes of Hunter Biden and the incestuous complicity of his business partner, ‘The Big Guy’—then-presidential candidate Joe Biden. 

But Twitter suppressed the New York Post story and shut down several prominent Twitter accounts, including that of the New York Post itself, that would have circulated the story.

What persuaded the Twitter brass of 2020—not to mention the corrupt and highly partisan national media—to suppress the story?

Two former Democratic intelligence officials, James Clapper and John Brennan.  How did they manage this? By deceitfully issuing a press release that they believed the laptop may have been hacked and its content was “Russian disinformation.”  Later, 51 more former American spies released a letter stating that the presence of the emails at issue “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”  (Wall Street Journal, 12-5-22.)

All false.  All lies.

We later learn that the real “disinformation” was provided by Clapper and Brennan themselves.  However, their claims provided a lazy, biased and compliant national media with the justification it needed to ignore the Hunter Biden laptop story and discredit Hunter’s former business partner, Tony Bobulinski, who went on the record before the election to substantiate much of the information on the laptop through the use of huge numbers of text messages.

Why does this matter so much?

Because the revelation of influence-peddling by Hunter Biden just prior to the election was obviously newsworthy given that former VP Biden had repeatedly said he had “never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.” 

The emails effectively proved that Joe Biden was not only aware of his son’s business dealings but actually participated in meetings in support of this lucrative, international scheme to sell access to the U.S. Government.    Thus, it is demonstrable that Joe Biden lied directly to the American people throughout the 2020 campaign and in the Presidential Debates.

So, how should we view this joint effort by the national media and these current and former spies and other Administration officials who essentially colluded to suppress the Hunter Biden Laptop story?  

The Wall Street Journal offers a sobering admonition.  This “partisan foray by current and former U.S. intelligence officials in the last two elections should be deeply troubling to Americans on the left and right.  They have authority by dint of access to information that isn’t confirmable by the press, which takes their spin as gospel.  This is a form of political corruption that needs to be exposed, and perhaps the Twitter documents will help to unlock the story.” (WSJ, 12-5-22)

What effect would this damaging information have had on the 2020 election?

Following the election, a full 17% of Biden voters polled stated that they would not have voted for Joe Biden had they known prior to the election of the information contained on the laptop.

Remember, Pres. Trump only lost the Electoral College count by a mere 44,000 votes in three swing states out of approximately 154.6 million votes cast nationwide!  

As a result of this suppression of the truth, the voice of the people was silenced, and the trajectory of American history and world history was forever changed.

This is not right.  This is not what we do.  It doesn’t matter how we may feel about Pres. Trump or Pres. Biden or any other person.  America does not allow its powerful government agencies to form a Police State, to repeatedly lie with impunity and, thereby, control or influence its elections in this way.

Millions of Americans no longer trust our national “news” and no longer have the same faith in federal government agencies like the FBI and the Department of Justice that for so many decades have been revered and patriotic and effective guardians of the domestic and international security of America.  They have earned this distrust.  And America is less free and more vulnerable as a direct result. 

TRY OUTS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2022
(GROVE ST. RECREATION CENTER GYM)

9:00AM–4-6 YR OLD BOYS AND GIRLS (Co-Ed)
10:00AM–7-9 GIRLS
10:30AM-7-9 BOYS
11:00AM–10-11 GIRLS
ll:30PM–10-11 BOYS
12:00PM–12-UP GIRLS
12:30PM–12-UP BOYS

WHAT EVER AGE YOUR CHILD HAS ATTAINED ON FEB 20, 2023 IS THE AGE AT WHICH THEY WILL PLAY THIS SEASON.

**COACHES SHOULD MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO ATTEND TRYOUTS DUE TO THE FACT THAT YOU WILL BE GRADING AND PICKING YOUR TEAMS. EACH LEAGUE WILL BE PICKING TEAMS IMMEDIATELY AFTER TRYOUTS CONCLUDE.

TRYOUTS ARE MANDATORY!

Download the registration form here: 

NATCHITOCHES:

Please consider sharing the warmth this holiday season. There are 180 patients in nursing homes in Winn Parish. For $10 you can help provide a blanket for a nursing home patient. Please contact Kim Futrell at 318-413-0040 to arrange pick up of the blankets you’re donating or to make a monetary donation.

Jan and Kiah Beville spoke to the Kiwanis club about the Winn Food Pantry at the December 6th Kiwanis meeting. They shared their appreciation for being named Grand Marshall of the Winnfield Christmas Parade. It was a great honor and the Food Pantry is probably the longest continuous ministry in the parish. It began in 1983 after a Sunday school class studied the book “Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger”. Pastor Keith Hill and his wife Sarah ran the ministry out of the manse for a while. When they moved other church members kept the ministry going. It began with just 2 people and now there is an average of 20 volunteers every Thursday from 12:30PM to 2:30PM. Some days every one of them is needed. A member of the Presbyterian church, Will Radescich, met with a dietitian to determine what goes in the bag.

The Community Food Pantry still operates under the auspices of the First Presbyterian church. At the request of his mother, Kiah and Jan Beville began working with the Food Pantry. Kiah buys the groceries and Jan handles the money. It is all volunteer run and the money comes from donations. The volunteers come from different churches and are from all walks of life. School organizations and churches and other groups also provide donations of food. The food that is purchased is bought locally from Mac’s, Brookshire’s and Wal Mart. Jordan Eggs donates eggs each week.

A person can receive food every 4 weeks. There is an application to be filled out. They must live in Winn Parish. During the pandemic the Food Pantry never stopped operation. How people received food was altered. Money and volunteers multiplied during that time.

Each member received a list of what is in the bag and was told about lagniappe bags, protein bags and snack bags. The snack bags(bags of blessings) have been provided by all kinds of different groups including churches, clubs, families, etc. The average food cost per month is $5600 which includes donated food not just food that is purchased by the pantry.

During the pandemic the Food Pantry suffered a great loss with the death of Jay Hinckley who was an integral part of what happened at the Food Pantry much of it behind the scenes.

The Food Pantry is a vital part of our community and we need to support it however we can whether it be with money or our time.

SaveCenla, a nonprofit organization focused on providing the public with information and events that will promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention, is hosting a two-day Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) interactive workshop on Jan 18, 2023, 8:00 AM CST – Jan 19, 2023, 4:00 PM CST  at CLTCC in Winnfield located at 5960 US-167, Winnfield, LA 71483. There is no cost to register. 

ASIST is a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first aid. ASIST teaches participants to recognize when someone may have thoughts of suicide and work with them to create a plan to support their immediate safety. Although healthcare providers widely use ASIST, participants don’t need formal training to attend the workshop—anyone 16 or older can learn and use the ASIST model.

​Since its development in 1983, ASIST has received regular updates to reflect improvements in knowledge and practice. As a result, over 2,000,000 people have taken the workshop. In addition, studies show that the ASIST method helps reduce suicidal feelings in those at risk and is a cost-effective way to help address the problem of suicide. 

Saving Lives from Suicide

Thoughts of suicide are surprisingly common. At any given time, around 1 in 25 people is thinking about suicide to some degree.

For most people, thinking about suicide isn’t about wanting to die. Instead, it’s the tension between their reasons for staying alive and their desire to escape from the pain that feels unbearable.

Within this tension lies the risk of death and the possibility of intervention, hope, and life. This is where someone with the right skills can help tip the balance and change a life forever. This is where LivingWorks training comes in.

For more information on the ASIST two-day training, click here.

Register for the two-day workshop in Winnfield, La here.

Dear parents
We are now registering boys & girls for youth basketball through December 17th. You have this opportunity to sign your child up for an exciting season of basketball with the City of Winnfield Recreation Dept.

You can either drop this form by the recreation dept. office or mail to:
City of Winnfield Rec. Dept, PO Box 509, Winnfield, LA 71483*

Download the registration form here: 

Date: 12-1-22
Name: Cheyenne Halfond 
Address: 
Race: White
Sex: Female 
Age: N/A
Charge: Unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling 

Date: 12-3-22
Name: John D Gross 
Address: Winnfield, LA 
Race: White 
Sex: Male 
Age: 45
Charge: Failure to appear, DWI (3rd), Resisting an officer, Driving under suspension 

Date: 12-3-22
Name: Martez D Chatman
Address: Winnfield, LA
Race: Black
Sex: Male 
Age: 28
Charge: Failure to appear

Date: 12-3-22
Name: Keon Hudson 
Address: N/A
Race: Black
Sex: Male 
Age: 40
Charge: DWI (1st), Speeding 

Date: 12-7-22
Name: Martez D Chatman 
Address: Winnfield, LA
Race: Black 
Sex: Male 
Age: 28
Charge: Aggravated burglary (x3), Simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, Unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling (x3), Simple criminal damage 

Date: 12-7-22
Name: Carol O’Bryan 
Address: Winnfield, LA
Race: White 
Sex: Female 
Age: 60
Charge: Theft (felony, Theft (by fraud)

Date: 12-8-22
Name: Karyn R Raybon
Address: Winnfield, LA
Race: Black
Sex: Female 
Age: 38
Charge: Domestic abuse battery

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Just like everything else on the market today, from gas to groceries and anything else you can think of, the cost of trying to go bass fishing is getting ridiculous. What happened to the days of $1.50 spinnerbaits, $5.00 crankbaits, and buying soft plastic worms in bulk at 5 cents each? Today’s angler better have deep pockets or a very good job if he wants to be able to go bass fishing and possibly compete in a tournament. Let’s look at what anglers are facing today and how they’re having to manage their checkbooks.

Let’s start with terminal tackles like hooks and worm weights. Only a few years ago, you could buy good quality top-name brands of hooks (pack of 10) for about $2.50. Now an angler will be paying anywhere from $4.99 to $7.20. Of course, this all depends on the brand you purchase. But in tournament fishing, hooks are a very important component to catching bass, and you don’t want to cut corners with this purchase.

Next, worm weights are another component that has really changed in the last 15 years. For years, anglers had no choice other than lead weights because there wasn’t anything else. Then around 1999, the game changed when the late Mark Pack (Lake Fork Guide) decided to try using the hard metal weight (tungsten) for a technique we call drop shooting. This is what ignited the tungsten craze and as they say, the rest is history.

Almost 95% of all anglers today will purchase tungsten weights over the lead. Why? Well, tungsten has proven to be a better choice over lead weights for a couple of reasons, one being the fact that any size tungsten weight will be smaller and more compact in size than the same size weight in a lead version. Another way tungsten weights shine is the fact they are much harder in texture than lead and make a louder clicking sound when they hit a hard surface, which can attract bass to your lure.

But there is a heavy price to pay for these two bonus features. A pack of 4 tungsten weights in 1/8 oz up to 3/8 oz will set you back at least $8.00, while ½ and 1-ounce weights will cost you $9.00 or more just for one weight. This is a hefty price to pay for weight when you can get the same size lead weight in a pack of 10 or more for $3.50.

Now let’s look at the fishing line, as this might be the greatest area of advancement in the last 20 years with the introduction of both braid and fluorocarbon fishing lines. Every company on the market today has introduced its own version of both of these. Each has its own unique benefits and of course, there’s a price to pay for technological advancements.

The fluorocarbon line has some great advantages versus the old standard monofilament line anglers have used since the 1950s. For one, both fluorocarbon and braided lines have less stretch and much greater sensitivity when combined with a really good fishing rod. It can make a big difference in the number of bites you feel that you never felt before, resulting in more fish being caught. Price difference: you pay only $4.99 for a 200-yard spool of monofilament line today versus $26.99 for 200 yards of fluorocarbon. Braid falls into the same high price category, costing anywhere from $24.00 to $34.00 for a 165-yard spool of line.

It’s pretty obvious that the cost of going fishing has skyrocketed compared to what it was only a few years ago. Again, most of the increase is based on the advancements in certain areas of fishing technology. Tournament anglers today are very conscious of every penny they’re spending, especially with the cost of gas, lodging, and food going up nationwide. Next week, we’ll take a look at the insane prices of today’s bass boats. Till next time, good luck, good fishing, and don’t forget your sunscreen.

Steve Graf
Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show & Tackle Talk Live

A dozen or so years ago the seventh of December came and passed with little regard in my mind. I believe the day fell on a Tuesday this particular year, and like most Tuesdays, I was working on “the same old, same old.” There was the Bernice Banner to print; there were Christmas Greetings advertisements to sell; there was a Minden Medical Center special section to design.

I paid no attention to the historical significance of the date. Well, on December the eighth, my phone went to ringing early in the morning. It was the only call I received on the matter, but the gentleman on the other end of the receiver made an impression.

“Why hadn’t we had anything about Pearl Harbor in yesterday’s paper?”

There was no anger. Just a simple question. The man, I could tell he was elderly, surprised me, and I distinctly remember fumbling a bit with my words.

He told me not to fret; his ire wasn’t raised, only his disappointment. Then he told me (and this I remember clearly), “We just don’t ever need to forget it, son.”

December the seventh in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-one. The attack on Pearl Harbor, much like the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, came in the early hours of the morning.

Nine-eleven came on an overcast fall morning while commuters were making their way to work, but Pearl Harbor was struck on a Sunday, a time traditionally reserved for prayer, fellowship, and worship.

Instead of a morning of thoughtful reflection, of clasped hands and quiet words were spoken to the One above, the American soldiers and civilians in Hawaii were treated to slaughter. The Japanese attack lasted for two hours. The death toll was more than 2,000 American sailors and more than 300 Marines.

Shortly thereafter, America was at war against a fearsome and powerful enemy the likes of which this nation has yet to face again. The German and Japanese war machines cut a swath of bloody destruction in all directions from Berlin and Tokyo.

Their goal was singular – conquest. Yet America did not falter. America did not tremble in fear of the swastika or shield its eyes against the terror of the Rising Sun.

On the frozen fields of Europe – Americans fought.

In the mud of South Pacific jungles – Americans fought.

On the beaches of Normandy and Iwo Jima – Americans fought.

In the four years that followed Pearl Harbor, this nation was consumed with the war effort. It was our passion, our defense of everything that was good in the world, and the certainty it was worth fighting for.

Victory did come. Its achievement was not without monumental sacrifice and the eventual utilization of a weapon so frightening that it has never again been used in battle.

The attack on Pearl Harbor, America’s response, and the lengths to which we were forced to go to end continued conflict irreversibly changed the way wars are fought on this planet. The fear of weapons of mass destruction has kept humans from waging another World War for more than eight decades.

The heroes who lost their lives must be remembered because their deaths sparked a country’s call for retribution, for justice, for freedom’s long-lasting reign. And every day that passes to see the enduring of free people is a salute to those who died on December the seventh, 1941.

WINN:
Bobby Gene Desadier
December 5, 1946 – December 6, 2022
Service:Saturday, December 10 at 1 pm at Southern Funeral Home

John Edward Procell
December 3, 1960 – December 3, 2022
Service: Saturday, December 10 at 10 am at Warren Meadows Funeral Home Chapel

Ann Natalie Sepulvado
October 28, 1929 – December 2, 2022
Service: Friday, December 9 at 10 am at St. Joseph Catholic Church 

NATCHITOCHES:

Curtis Lawrence Johnson
November 28, 2022
Service: Saturday, December 17 at 10 am at Calvary Baptist Church, located at 312 LA-3191 in Natchitoches

On Friday, December 2nd, Winnfield’s Christmas parade kicked off in a flurry of light, Christmas music, and smiles shortly after 6 pm! As the parade inched its usual route down Main St, community members had another opportunity to rub elbows with the holiday spirit, stash projectile sweets, and grab a lil’ tub (or two) of the fresh gumbo that circulated the streets!

Thank you to our parade sponsors: Kiwanis of Winnfield, Winn Chamber of Commerce, and the Lousiana Political Museum. And thank you to The City of Winnfield for the beautiful firework display that closed our evening!

*Not all parade floats or participants are included in the photos presented.