Barbara Jean Barron
Passed-May 23, 2024
Services: Funeral for Miss Barron were held Saturday, May 25th in the Southern Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow in the Zion Hill Cemetery in Tannehill under the direction of Southern Funeral Home.

Jimmy Glean Taylor
September 12, 1956-Sunday, May 26, 2024
Services: Funeral services for Mr. Taylor will begin with visitation Wednesday, May 29, 2024, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and again on Thursday, May 30, 2024, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM.  Funeral services will follow at 11:00 AM on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at Southern Funeral Home. Interment will take place at Sanders Chapel Cemetery. 

Jonathan Jackson Strahan Jr.
June 29, 1934-May 27, 2024
Services: Funeral services for Mr. Strahan will begin Wednesday, May, 29, 2024 at Sardis Baptist Church of Atlanta, Louisiana from 11:30AM until 12:30PM. Graveside services and Interment will be held in the church cemetery at 12:30PM. 

The Winnfield City Council at its May 14 session agreed to table an agenda item entitled “Adopt Ordinance 6 of 2024 – Meta Solutions Speed Control.”

Council member Chiquita Caldwell made the proposal and when asked why she wanted to table the item, she responded that she’d received some complaints.

In other action that night, City Prosecutor Clay Carroll sat at the end of the table where City Attorney Herman Castete had sat through many years of service.  Castete had most recently been at his place, prepared to advise the city leaders if needed, during their April 9 session.  He passed away April 20.

Mayor Gerald Hamms recognized Carroll and thanked him for filling in as the city seeks the next to fill that position.

The mayor also recognized City Clerk Katina Smith who has completed certification training with the state and is now a certified municipal clerk.  He gave her a presentation to mark the occasion.  Smith is now working towards her Master’s, the council heard.

Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter spoke to the council, seeking approval to change the classification of Pedro Reynosa from jailer to patrolman.  Council member Teresa Phillips said the committee agrees and made the recommendation which was approved.

Cassidy Martin appeared on behalf of the Winnfield Fire Department, seeking approval to take on two additional volunteer firefighters.  He spoke well of the two applicants, Roy Zimmerman and Robert Jones.  Phillips said the committee also concurred with the request and made the recommendation which the council approved.

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The Winn Parish Police Jury congratulated members of the Hudson Gaars Mill Water System at its May 20 meeting.  Their water just tastes better, a fact proven at both the state and national levels.

The local system competed in the 25th annual “Great American Water Taste Test” (having earlier won top honors in the Louisiana rural competition).  The national event was held in Washington, D.C., on February 7. Throughout the year, utilities from across the country vie for a spot to represent their state during the National Rural Water Rural Water Rally. This is the nation’s most prestigious competition for the best-tasting water.

From a field of 41 rural water systems, Hudson Gaars Mill came home with the Bronze Medal.  The other states in the top five were Wisconsin, Kentucky, Wyoming and Massachusetts. This event gives Rural Water advocates from across the country an opportunity to gather in the nation’s capitol and progress our grassroots agenda in the halls of Congress.  

Speaking for the group was operator Eric Hammons who called the winning results a “team effort” built over the past 10 years by several boards.  He also thanked the jury which helped them put in their new well.  The first was drilled in 1978 to a depth of 820 feet into the Sparta Sands aquifer.  The new well was drilled in 2020 to a depth of 530 feet, also into Sparta.  “We will try to keep winning awards.”

Almost as an added benefit to appearing before the parish lawmakers, the water system received a reimbursement check in the amount of $20,368 from the jury, presented by president Frank McLaren for general expenses incurred, such as valves and flushing lines.

In other action, road superintendent Perry Holmes reported that recent heavy rains have caused road washouts around the parish that have kept crews busy with repairs “but we’ve still be able to get a good bit of grading done.”  He reported that one bushhog is running and he anticipates the second will soon be operational.  Perhaps with a hire, both will be out “and we’ll be able to knock down some of the high grass.”

He also gave an update on the capital outlay project on the Frank White Road where six culverts are being replaced, four of them completed and the others planned this week.  After that sets up for a week or two, overlay work can begin.  Juror Stanley Garrett suggested that riprap be placed at the project’s end to prevent erosion.  Holmes agreed but pointed out that this would come at the jury’s expense.  In response to a question, Holmes said that instead of grinding up a stockpiling the old asphalt as done previously, that material is now cut back into the base.  “That keeps it right there on that road.  It’s better than it used to be.”

The jury officially canvassed the returns of the special election April 27.  Voters approved renewal of a half-cent sales tax for road maintenance.  “We thank the people of Winn for their confidence and support,” said McLaren.  “We wouldn’t have been able to operate without this funding.”

The lawmakers also adopted the 2024 Ad Valorem millage rates totaling 22.38 mills.  Those will be 3.95 for General Alimony; 5.16 for Road #2; 1.94 for Road #1; 3.03 for Library; 5.06 for Library and 3.24 for Health Unit.

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The Winnfield Police Department is starting a program to clear outstanding bench warrants from their files.  A bench warrant is issued by the City Judge in open court when a person who has been charged with a traffic violation fails to pay a Cash Bond Forfeiture prior to the court date and does not appear in court that was assigned on the ticket.  

This not only results in the arrest warrant but adds the charge of Contempt of Court and could result in a suspension of your driving privileges.  Failure to Appear for criminal charges does not affect your driver’s license.

Beginning today, the department will begin a weekly post of outstanding bench warrants for people whose last known address was in Winnfield and Winn Parish. Publication will be through the winnparishjournal.com and the Winnfield Police Department Facebook page.

Department officials say, “There are 3 ways to take care of a bench warrant:

• “(Least favorable) We can come arrest you.

• “(More favorable) Turn yourself into the Winnfield Police Department where you will be arrested, but we will work with you to avoid actually going to jail.  

• “(Most Favorable) Go by the City Court Clerk’s office at 113 E Main Street, meet with Cash Melville, City Court Clerk, and get a recall on the warrant.  A recall fee of $100 is required and you will be given a summons for a new court date.”

 

A-F is posted for this week of May 19:

Name:  Last Known address:  Date of Warrant/Court Date:

Charea R Allen   305 22nd St Apt 23 Winnfield   8/23/2023

Michael S Ayala   2960 Coldwater Rd Winnfield   4/25/2024

Jule J Brew   800 Lennox Ave Winnfield   8/5 & 9/16/2021(X2)

Billy Booker   607 22nd St Winnfield   10/24/2022

David Bonner   305 22nd St Apt 46 Winnfield   10/26/2023

Rachel M Bishop   1072 Horseshoe Rd Winnfield   3/7/2024

DeMario Brown   1611 E Lafayette St Winnfield   4/25/2024

Stacy L Buchan   Homeless/Winnfield   4/25/2024

Tymon B Campbell   504 S Pineville St Winnfield   12/12/2023 (X2)

Martavion L Chatman   300 N King St Apt A Winnfield   10/6/2022

Ira Campbell   111 First St Dodson   8/12/2021

Cynthia D Cocker   435 Fourth St Dodson   6/2/2022

John D Cox   971 Crossroads Church Rd Tullos    7/7/2022

Amanda Christesen   2969 Hwy 499 Sikes   11/3/2022

Owen Cabazos   105 N 4th St Dodson   7/6/2023

Kiarra D Davis   1100 S Jones St Winnfield   5/23/2022

Kaunce L Davis   907 Robinson St Winnfield   2/11/& 9/2/2021 (X2)

Dustin Desadier  104 Dunn Ave Winnfield   8/5/2021

Keonta M Davis   305 22nd St Apt 26 Winnfield   10/6/2022

Tiliah K Davis   207 E Boundary Ave Winnfield   6/1/2023

Deonadra A Demery   630 Hwy 1232 Winnfield   8/3/2023

Matthew S DiBenedetto   333 Cedar Dr Winnfield   8/28/2023

Jamar R Dudley   1311 Henderson Dr Winnfield   2/1/2024

Nekesha S Ellison   500 Center St Winnfield   8/12/2021

Whitney L Ford   3797 Hwy 122 Atlanta   3/17/2022

Bobby L Flowers   1100 S Jones St Winnfield   6/2/2022

Justin Fountain   408 Portland Ave Winnfield   8/22/2022

Jessica Fluitt   139 Love Rd Winnfield   3/2/2023

Joanie M Foster   111 Manuel Long Rd Winnfield   2/1/2024

Please note that an earlier listing inadvertently included five other Winnfield individuals who the City Clerk’s Office has confirmed that bench warrants had been recalled and are not active.  They are Jason R. Barton (Center St.); Kole Clark (Welder Rd.); Hailey Dauzat (Louisiana St.); Lilian K. Davis (Robinson St.); and Tamara Dudley (Henderson Dr.)

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Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church will be hosting a Blood Drive for our parishioner, Mrs. Nikki Sluss on Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.at the church located at 772 Country Club Road.

There will also be “Dollar Dogs” available that day for $1, so plan on having lunch with the church family.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church members plan further efforts that include a sale of containers of Pulled Pork, also to benefit Nikki, with pickup at the church on June 14 from 10 a.m. until noon 

The public is invited to contact Laure Derr by phone or text at 318-663-6701 to reserve the pulled pork lunch or to offer further help with the church mission to help Nikki.

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Sabine State Bank & Trust Company, a commercial bank headquartered in Many, LA, with more than $1.2 billion in assets. The combined entity is expected to provide access to a broad variety of lending products to all communities served by TDECU and will expand TDECU’s presence in lending to small business owners in oil and gas, agriculture, and energy.

At closing, the combined institution will be expected to have approximately $6 billion in assets and 471,000 Members. The acquisition will expand the field of membership for TDECU, which has a significant presence in Greater Houston, and a growing presence in the Dallas, Fort Worth and Victoria areas.

“TDECU is on a growth journey to expand across the state of Texas and beyond,” said President & CEO Isaac Johnson. “Our mission is helping people navigate their financial journeys, and be financial solvers for our Members’ everyday needs. This acquisition extends our reach to more communities, diversifies our commercial portfolio, and makes our balance sheet even stronger. If our balance sheet is stronger that will enable TDECU to continue to deliver and do more for our existing Members. Together, we will strengthen ties with our membership, partners, and local communities”

Founded more than 120 years ago, Sabine has a footprint of 51 branches across Louisiana and east Texas. It specializes in commercial loans with industry concentration in oil and gas, forestry, timber and agriculture, and has many long-standing depository relationships.

“We are excited to become a part of the TDECU family and we share their commitment to strengthening our communities and empowering our customers to build better financial futures,” said Lee H. McCann, President and CEO of Sabine. “Our customers can rest assured that they will continue to experience the best-in-class service they count on from us. Best of all, that service will be enhanced with an even wider array of financial products to help them better secure their futures.”

TDECU has a healthy balance sheet that is focused on consumer deposits and lower-risk investment strategies. Sabine’s strong commercial operations will further diversify the credit union’s loan concentration and support TDECU’s overall growth strategy, bolstering stability and resiliency to provide compelling service offerings to its Members during economic and market fluctuations. 

The transaction is anticipated to be completed early 2025, subject to receiving all required regulatory and shareholder approvals and satisfying all other closing conditions. TDECU members and Sabine customers should continue to conduct their business as usual until the closing.

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Folks with stuff they’d like to Trade, Swap or Sell may find some success if they come set up on the hill or yard in front of Wattsville Center on Saturday, June 1.  Setup at 7 a.m.  Go home “when you’re tired.”

“Bring your junk or treasures, produce or handicrafts, chickens or goats, guns or ammo, jelly or jam,” invites owner Ken Bates.  “There is no cost…bring your own table, chairs, tent or canopy and you can go home with a jingle in your pocket.  Let’s have a fun community market day.”

Wattsville Center is located at 4805 Hwy 501, about 2 miles north of Calvin.  For more information, contact Ken Bates at 332-8906.

The center will also feature the Old Ward 8 Veterans Memorial and there will be three events also taking place that day to raise money for the memorial.  There will be a hamburger fundraiser, a “Dead Eye Joe” Shootout and a gun raffle.

The Hamburger Fundraiser will feature burgers cooked on site (can be a cheeseburger, if you like), with a small chips, 12-ounce soda and a cookie.  All for only $7.  Proceeds go to the Old Ward 8 Veterans Memorial.

The “Dead Eye Joe” Shootout will be a .22 rifle competition.  Competitors will shoot their own rifle and ammunition.  Rifles are open sights, no scopes.  No modified or competition rifles.  Targets will be at 25 and 30 yards.  Entry fee is $25 and trophies will be given for first, second and third places.  Proceeds go to the Old Ward 8 Veterans Memorial.

The Old Ward 8 Veterans Memorial will also sponsor a Gun Raffle, with proceeds to purchase the stones required to finish the memorial.  Three .22 caliber rifles will be raffled.  (1) Ruger-American.  (2)  Ruger-10/22 (3) Rossi semi-automatic rim fire.  Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20.  The drawing will be held that day of the Trade, Swap & Sell event, June 1.  (You do not have to be present to win).

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The Winnfield City Police Department is cooperating with a national “Click It or Ticket” high-visibility seat belt enforcement effort. The campaign coincides with this weekend’s Memorial Day holiday and runs through Sunday, June 2. But its safety aspect applies at all times, the department says.

“We want seat belt use to be an automatic habit for drivers and passengers alike,” said Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter. “It’s not just a safe thing to do — it’s the law. During the Click It or Ticket campaign, we’ll be working with our fellow law enforcement officers across local and state lines to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers. Buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash. We see the results of not wearing a seat belt all the time. We see the loss of life. So often, it could have been prevented.”

The national seat belt use rate in 2023 was 91.9%, which is good but it can be better, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The other 8.1% still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night. 

One of the focuses of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement. NHTSA data shows a higher number of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities happen at night. Also, seat belt use differs among females and males. Of the males killed in crashes in 2021, more than half (54%) were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 42% were not buckled up. 

“If the enforcement effort alerts people to the dangers of unrestrained driving, we’ll consider our mission to be a success,” said Chief Carpenter. “If you know a friend or a family member who does not buckle up when they drive, please ask them to consider changing their habits. Help us spread this lifesaving message before one more friend or family member is killed as a result of this senseless inaction. Seat belts save lives, and everyone — front seat and back, child and adult — needs to remember to buckle up.” 

He adds that one of the safest choices drivers and passengers can make is to buckle up all the time, whether long trips or short.  “This campaign isn’t about citations.  It’s to help keep community members safe and to save lives.”

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Tuesday, May 21, the Kiwanis Club of Winnfield recognized its 2024 scholarship recipients. 

They are Halle Roton from Calvin High School and MacKenzie Green and Lauren Rouse from Winnfield Senior High School.  Scholarship Committee Chairman Lamar Tarver presented each girl with a certificate and a $750 check. 

Halle Roton will attend Northwestern State for a Bachelor of Science in Radiological sciences with a concentration in ultrasound. She is planning to work this summer and commute to Northwestern in the fall. 

Mackenzie Green plans to attend La Tech in Kinesiology working toward being a Physical Therapist. She would like to eventually earn a doctorate and own her own clinics.

Lauren Rouse also plans to attend La Tech working toward a degree in Animal Science planning to be a veterinarian. She is moving to Ruston in 2 weeks planning to get a job hopefully in a veterinarian’s office and start school in the fall. 

The Kiwanis club is very pleased to provide scholarships for these young ladies and wish them well in their future endeavors.

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At their meeting on May 8, Winnfield’s Rotarians learned from Stratton Etheridge and Lacey Hylton, PhD, who appeared at the request of Rotarian of the day Melissa Trammel, that Winn Parish is blessed with local services for children in need of behavioral analysis and training. 

The service, Behavioral Specialists, is located here because its founder, Jay Bamburg, son of beloved football coach Jerry Bamburg and his wife Jeanette, grew up in Winnfield and wants to serve children in Winn Parish and the surrounding rural communities. Behavioral Specialists also has locations in Shreveport and Natchitoches.

According to Hylton and Etheridge, applied behavioral analysis [ABA] involves assessing behavioral disorders associated with developmental disabilities, intellectual delays, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder [ADHD] and other behavioral health disorders in children and adults, and developing an individualized treatment and training program for each patient. 

Then the staff uses behavioral concepts and techniques to teach functional behavior and coping skills. In addition to training the child, Behavioral Specialists help parents and teachers understand behavioral presentations and teach them tools to help the child use the functional behaviors and skills taught by Behavioral Specialists.

The goal of BS staff is to achieve school readiness with each child, so he or she can take on tasks intentionally and complete them successfully, as well as socialize with children, teachers, and other adults in functional ways. The training method is one-on-one training with each child using repetitive actions and positive reinforcement, combined with social group interactions to implement the individual training in group settings. 

The services of Behavioral Specialists are covered by health insurance including Medicaid.

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The biggest fundraiser of the year for the local 4-H program will be held Saturday, June 8, when the Winn Parish 4-H/Outdoor Skills Banquet.

Set in the Winn Parish Civic Center, a social time will begin at 5 p.m. with the dinner to get underway at 6:30 p.m.  Featured with be the dinner, a silent auction, live auction, cake auction, door prizes, games and more.

Ticket prices are $35 individual or $60 per couple.  Sponsor tables for 8 are available for $350.  For information, contact Donny Moon at 318-628-4528.

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A community Gospel Singing will return Saturday night, June 8, set to take place in Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, 4784 Hwy 124.  The music will get underway at 6 p.m.

An open invitation has been issued for those who wish to sit back and heard good Gospel music as well as those who wish to participate, whether individual, duo, trio or group.  “Bring your music and your willingness for praise.”

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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.

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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.

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