On Saturday, March 23, voters across Louisiana will be going to the polls to take part in the Presidential Primary.  Will they be registering their preference between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump?  No, it’s not that simple.

In fact, explains Winn Parish Registrar of Voters Bryan Kelley, “The Presidential Preference is the only closed election in Louisiana at this time.  That is to say in an open election, registered voters can cast their ballots for anyone they like, no matter the party.  In this closed election, anyone registered Democrat may vote only on the Democratic slate.  Those registered Republican may vote for a Republican candidate only.”

Further, there is no preference primary for any other party including “Independent” so unless a voter is registered in either of the two major parties, they will not be able to participate in the March 23 election.  All voters, regardless their registration, will be able to participate in the Presidential Election itself which will be held Tuesday, November 5.

Alphabetically, the name of Joseph R. Biden Jr. will appear at the top of the Democratic Party list of choices.  The names of seven other hopefuls, not that well-known in most Winn households, are also on the ballot.  

Alphabetically as well, the name of Donald J. Trump appears at the bottom of the Republican Party list of choices.  Eight other candidates are listed including some more familiar like Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Niki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.  Note that while a number of the candidates in both parties have dropped from the race, they had already qualified in Louisiana so their names remain on the ballot.

Also on the Republican Party ballot in a portion of the parish, District 31C, will be the race for member of the Republican State Central Committee.  Candidates are Rhett Edwards and Lisa Tarpley Price.

Kelley went on to explain a few of the nuances of the Presidential Primary.  The March 23 election shows only a preference by each party’s voters but isn’t necessarily binding on the delegates to the national convention where their presidential candidate will be selected.  The Republican National Convention is July 15-18 in Milwaukee.  The Democratic National Convention meets August 19-22 in Chicago.

One further complexity comes with the fall election when the balloting of the Electoral College rather than the outcome of the popular election ultimately decides who the next President will be.

Winn residents who wish to change their registration status in order to take part March 23 have until March 2 only, four days from today, and can do that online only, says Kelley.  “The deadline to do that in person in this office has passed.  But the change can still be made through the Secretary of State’s ‘Geaux Vote’ app.”

Early voting at the Winn Registrar of Voters office will be held March 9-16 from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily.  The office will be closed Sunday, March 10.  Election Day hours are 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. at the usual polling places.

---

Photos Courtesy Amanda Franks

Winnfield Senior High School athlete Madison Nelson will begin her studies in Alexandria this fall where she will attend LSUA and play softball with the Generals.  Her commitment was celebrated February 21 when classmates and family gathered in the WSHS Activity Room for the signing.

Coach Ronnie Abels calls Madison a “solid student athlete.  The girls play 34 games in seven and a half weeks and she still manages to keep up her grades.  They even do homework on the bus as we travel to games.  You’ve got to be more than a good athlete.  You must be a good student.  College coaches come to watch them perform.”

Abels notes, “Not only is she a very skilled player at middle infield (second base and shortstop), she’s a leader.  She knows how to talk to people.  Madison is hard on herself, always wanting everything to be perfect.  Yet she’s humble, putting others first.   She’s dependable, responsible and willing to work with you.”

Madison hits leadoff for the Lady Tigers.  “I want my best players hitting at the top of the order.  I trust her to get on base so the kids behind her can get her in to score.”  The coach points out that “it’s not about me…it’s about our team.  The girls work hard.  With the players, we want to build a good team but through their efforts, we want to make good people of these girls.”

Her parents are Danny and Crystal Green, her father Logan Nelson.  The family is proud of her accomplishments.  “She works day in and day out.  It took a lot of hard work for her to reach this point.”  They said Madison was introduced to the game of softball at age 3 but it was at age 7 that she fell in love with the game.  She’s played travel ball for years and through USA Softball she’s traveled all across the South.

Honors include First Team All-State as a freshman, sophomore and junior; varsity starter for WSHS all four years; Athletic Academic Award each 2021, 2022 and 2023; USSSA All-Stars 2018-2021; 2021 USSSA Class A National Championships and more.

---

Photos courtesy Amanda Franks

The Activity Room at Winnfield Senior High School was once again filled as two senior athletes signed letters to attend two different colleges.  One is Canyon Compton who will be headed to South Arkansas Community College for his studies and to play baseball with the Stars.

Coach Damion Herron describes the senior as “the best pure hitter I’ve coached in my 19 years in this business.  He’s an extremely hard worker who has put in many hours in the batting cage.  He’s a very coachable player.”  The “pure hitter” comment is borne out by his junior year batting average of .406.

His parents are Josh and Toni Browning, his father Cody Compton.  The Tigers’ MVP in his junior year, Canyon won the Clay Ferrand Award in his sophomore year and was invited to play in the Dominican Republic with professional coaches and players.

He was a starter for the WSHS varsity team in his freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years and the first three years was named All-District.  (The senior year is still in progress).  For his junior year, he led the team with his .406 batting average as well as leading in doubles, home runs and RBIs.  He was LSWA All State as a junior.  He has been with his travel ball team D5 for 10 years under Coach Eddie Parkman.

---

Northwestern State University hosted over 2,600 high school students, faculty sponsors and families from 38 schools from throughout the region for the Northwest Louisiana Literary Rally, Saturday, February 24. 

The Louisiana High School Rally, an academic competition held throughout the state since 1909, with the regional competition being held at NSU since the 1960’s, is an academic competition in which high school students compete by taking exams in a variety of subjects taught in high school. The Northwest Louisiana Rally held at NSU featured 51 different tests ranging from Agriscience to Calculus. 

Among the students who represented Winn parish at the Rally was Anna Worthington of Dodson High School. In addition to her academic skills, Anna was a prizewinner in the NSU Science Department’s drone flying contest. Anna is a senior who will attend LA Tech after graduation and major in Agricultural Education.  Students who earn qualifying scores on their test or performance will advance to compete at the state literary rally at LSU in Baton Rouge in March. NSU’s Art and Science departments also held demonstrations.

Rally officials note that “Hard working teachers raising our young people’s sights and encouraging academic excellence are part and parcel of our schools’ mission.” They thank those ladies and gentlemen for the hours of hard work, dedication and belief in your students’ abilities. 

The Winn Parish Journal wishes all the best to the students who will go on to represent our parish at the state rally in Baton Rouge. Well done!

---

Thomas Little, Rotarian of the Day on February 21, introduced guest of honor, Ronnie Abels. Mr. Abels, a native of Calvin and graduate of Calvin High School, is the head softball coach at Winnfield Senior High School, training and leading a team of 14 girls.

His team is young, with nine freshmen. In fact, all three of the team’s pitchers are freshmen. Coach Abel challenges his players to set the bar high, and their goal this season is to win the state championship. He also encouraged them to set the goal of becoming a team their community will be proud to support.

Coach Abels’ staff this season includes Coaches Lynn Bankston, Harvey Bartlett, Ryon Chandler, and Stacy James. James, the only female among the coaching staff, is the latest addition.

Abels praised local businesses and civic organizations for their support of the team. Various businesses in town put together the money to erect a new scoreboard for the field, a new infield tarp was donated and delivered by a local businessman, and the team has almost 70 local sponsors with signs at the field.

Ag teacher and FFA sponsor, Ryan Riley, is heading up the school’s sports media and will stream a play by play of the game with Emily Nevils as announcer.

The season began the week of February 12, and the team won their first two games. The softball season is intense, with 34 games played over seven and a half weeks, not counting the playoffs. The team has a game every weekday except Wednesday and two games on Saturdays.

Coach Abels emphasized that the guiding principle he teaches his teams is to put all others first, and themselves last.

Abels comes to us from Natchitoches Central High School, where his teams enjoyed great success. He taught and coached in Winn Parish in his early years in education, left to lead teams at Natchitoches Central, and he hopes to bring that same level of success to WSHS.

---

Information courtesy of Game Changer 

Winnfield Lady Tigers Surge Past Florien Thanks To Big Seventh Inning 

Kylee Higg’s Clutch Hitting Propels Winfield Lady Tigers To Victory Over Avoyelles Charter 

Winnfield Lady Tigers Go Down On Final Play Against Ash 

Big Second Inning Leads Winnfield Varsity Tigers To Past Saline Bobcats

---

It is certainly true that a talented and efficient staff is an important key to the success of any business, and that is certainly true at the Harrington Law Firm in Natchitoches.  According to partner, Eddie Harrington, it is experience, talent, and dedication that make the staff at his firm stand out.  

Eddie says that the specialized nature of the practice of law these days makes it imperative that certain members of the firm be designated to handle highly specified tasks and be efficient at doing so.

“My Dad (and law partner) Rodney and I could not properly handle our cases and efficiently represent our clients without our team of Administrators, Administrative Assistants, and Paraprofessionals.  They work together to make us look good and make our jobs a lot easier.”

Partner Rodney Harrington, says that one of the keys to the staff’s success and efficiency is their long longevity.  “We are a family law firm, father and son, and we always say that not only is our staff part of our family, but our clients become part of it as well.  Many times, our clients have more face-to-face dealings with our staff than they do us and Eddie and I stress that we want our staff to treat our clients the same as they would as members of their own family.  We believe they do that, and do it well.

It is illustrative of the experience of the Harrington Law Firm’s team when one realizes that they have nearly 100 years of combined experience working at the firm!  Office Manager, Melanie Hicks, began working at the firm at 15 years old as a student worker and after being a Stay-at-Home Mom and a substitute teacher for a few years, has now continuously been with the firm for 15 years.   

The longest, continuously serving member of the team is Geneva Burton who has worked for the Harrington Law Firm for 25+ years. 

Jamie Allbritton, an Assistant and actual member of the family (Rodney’s niece and Eddie’s cousin) has been with the firm for 13 years while Assistant/Bookkeeper, Judy Hardee, is just behind her at 10 years, and Secretary/Receptionist, Kanesha Gallien, has been the “face of the firm” for 6+ years.  

The “new kid on the block” as they call her, is Personal Injury Assistant, Kylie Nix.  Although Kylie has just been with the firm for a few months, she has extensive experience working with a Personal Injury firm before coming on board at the HLF.   Kylie replaces Melanie Colson who recently retired after being with the firm for over 20 years.  

“We would put our staff up against any in the state,” said Eddie.  “They are our team.  They have our backs.  They all take their jobs very seriously and do them very well.  Yes, they are our family… The Harrington Law Firm family.”

Both Harringtons say that the talent and efficiency of their staff is one of the main reasons their firm has been given an “AV Preeminent” rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the nation’s leading attorney rating service.  This rating places the firm among the top 10% of all law firms in America.

The Harrington Law Firm is located at 459 Jefferson Street, Natchitoches, Louisiana and handles a variety of cases including Car Wrecks and Personal Injury of all types, Medical Malpractice, Social Security Disability, Wills and Successions, Bankruptcy and Debt Consolidation.  For more information, go to http://www.theharringtonlawfirm.com

Pictured: Judy Hardee, Geneva Burton, Kanesha Gallien, Rodney Harrington, Eddie Harrington, Melanie Hicks, Jamie Allbritton, Kylie Nix

---

Courtesy of Brian Montgomery 

The information below is a generated summary of the aid and service the Winn Parish Fire Department has lended its community over the course of the year. We thank our local firefighters and EMTs for their vigilance and protection of Winn Parish and all who call it home. 

---

Youngsters ages 0 through 12 (and their parents providing transportation) are being advised that the annual Community Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, March 30, beginning at 11 a.m.

This year, the celebration will be held on the grounds of First United Methodist Church on Main Street in Winnfield.

Hotdogs, chips and drinks will be served following the Egg Hunt. There will also be a cakewalk and a photo area where children can get their picture taken with the Easter Bunny on the day of the event.

As a special attraction, a Scavenger Hunt will be held the week prior to the Community Egg Hunt and the award for the winner of the Scavenger Hunt will be presented after the Easter egg hunt. That will be about noon on April 30. Be sure to watch the Winn Parish Journal for more information to come about the Scavenger Hunt.

Many churches and organizations around the community are working together to make this Easter Celebration possible. Involved at this time are First United Methodist Church; First Baptist Church; First Assembly of God; The Family Church; New Zion Church; South Winnfield Baptist Church; Autumn Leaves Nursing & Rehab Center; City of Winnfield and Sheriff-Elect Josh McAllister & Toni McAllister

Organizers say that any other civic organization wishing to assist in the Celebration’s success is invited to contact the Louisiana Political Museum.

 

---

An opportunity for area residents to enjoy good Gospel singing will open up this Sunday night when a group of singers from Sardis Baptist Church and Bethlehem Baptist Church will perform at Laurel Heights Baptist Church, 1001 San Pedro Street in Winnfield.

Time of the March 3 performance will be 5:00 p.m.  Pastor Jimmy Yocum says that “All are invited for the music and fellowship of the evening.”

---

As an outdoor writer/broadcaster, there are several things on my work schedule. For instance, every week I write an outdoor column appearing in seven newspapers around north Louisiana. In addition, I produce and record four weekly radio programs. When opportunities are presented, I write an occasional article for magazines. 

One thing that as been a regular assignment for the past 10 years or so is to contact, interview and write articles for Louisiana Sportsman magazine and web site about trophy bucks taken in Louisiana. I enjoy everything I do for outdoors media but especially rewarding is getting to do articles on these big bucks that come to my attention either by my being contacted by successful hunters or by browsing social media to find photos hunters post when they are successful in downing a trophy.

Granted, I don’t get them all as some hunters prefer to keep their success under wraps as they have no interest in sharing details preferring to keep details and locations secret. I totally accept that. If I had a secret honey hole where I find my trophies, I might be reluctant to share too many details. Even so, I average getting to write articles on at least twenty-five big bucks each season. The ones I do write about give me an idea of what type of bucks on average are taken each season. 

From my contacts for the season just ended, my conclusion is that the number and quality of bucks this year was average or maybe slightly below average. Drought conditions this past summer affecting browse plants no doubt contributed to this season’s somewhat lower results.  

In past years, my articles have covered an occasional buck weighing in excess of 300 pounds and a few have resulted in impressive scores of 270 inches or better. I did articles on 30 trophy bucks this past season with buck with the heaviest body weighing just over 230 pounds. The highest scoring buck I located measured 190 inches of antler mass.

Looking over the statistics of bucks taken last season covered in articles I wrote were impressive, but not quite as eye-catching as some in seasons past. 

The highest number of bucks I found were taken in Union Parish with five while Beauregard Parish produced four, indicating that you are likely to find a trophy really from one end of the state to the other. Bucks were taken in twenty-two parishes from north to central to the delta region to southwest Louisiana.

How about antler measurements? The thirty bucks in my articles averaged just over 156 inches of mass while the average number of antler points were 10.26. How about body weights? This came out to 192.6 pounds per buck.

During the month of October, nine bucks were reported, November had the highest number with 15 while December produces six.  

Four bucks were taken by traditional archery equipment, two with crossbows and the majority, 24, fell to high powered rifles. 

A number of trophies were taken by happenstance. They just showed up. Many of the more successful hunters, however, work all year to prepare food plots, keep minerals available, especially during spring and summer when new antlers and muscle mass are growing.     

I’m already looking forward to deer season 2024-25 when we get to do it all over again. Maybe this will be the season with weather conditions improved and I’ll get a call from you or find your photo of your buck on social media. Be assured, if this happens, I’ll be in touch.

---

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.

---

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.

---

Joy Bell Mercer
February 14, 1938-February 22, 2024 
Service: Held Sunday, February 25, 2024 in the Southern Funeral Home Chapel with interment to follow in Jones Cemetery of Joyce, Louisiana under the direction of Southern Funeral Homes of Winnfield.

Ruth Nolan Ingles
June 23, 1942-February 22, 2024
Service: Held Monday, February 26, 2024. 

Mr. Thurman Taylor
August 25, 1961 – February 18, 2024
Service: Funeral will be celebrated at the RAMS Church,175 Fairgrounds Road, Natchitoches, LA 71457 Saturday, March 2, 2024, 11:00 am. Public viewing from 9:00 am.Burial will follow in the St. Mark Methodist Church Cemetery on Eight Mile Loop (New Town Community).

Frank Mitchell, Sr.
April 6, 1937 – February 20, 2024
Service: Held Sunday, February 25, 2024, 2:00 p. m. at the Greenville Baptist Church in Clarence, LA. 

Doris Robinson
Passed-February 25, 2024
Service: Service will be held at the Winnfield Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, 318 North Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457 Saturday, March 2, 2024, 2:00 pm. Burial following in the Garden of Memories Cemetery in the Vowells Mill Community.