Olympics News hot of the press:

There was a danger that our world-class American athletes competing in the 2024 Summer Games from Paris might not have air-conditioning.

No one loves the “good ol’ days” more than me. AM radio and Tammy Wynette. Screen doors. Front porches. Movies with dialogue. The only travel ball was in the major leagues.

Old days were the best — EXCEPT for automatic banking, streaming channels, and air-conditioning. And the leadoff hitter of those three is AC.

Has to be. Game-changer.

So why no AC in Paris at the Olympics?

If you are an American who enjoys, even celebrates, seeing our country win at anything, and if you are an American who is spoiled rotten when it comes to air-conditioning, this less-than-thrilling and less-than-chilling news that our athletes might have to sleep in a France toaster is enough to make you break out in a cold sweat.

Or a hot sweat. (Sometimes I get my sweats confused.)

The Games open today with football (we call it soccer), rugby sevens (no idea), handball (some idea but not really), archery (some idea: cowboy movies when I was little), shooting (pretty good idea, unfortunately, since I can read a newspaper), and Friday, FINALLY, the Opening Ceremony and badminton (some idea: church camp) and rowing (some idea: fishing).

If you miss the start, not an issue. We still have two wonderful weeks of swimming, diving, fencing, gymnasticsing, boxing, taekwondoing, cycling, weightlifting, pentathloning, “modern” pentathloning, basketballing, canoe sprinting (what the …?), sport climbing, running, jumping, and watching Coca-Cola and Visa commercials.

And, if the Americans are lucky, sleeping between winning golds.

Sleeping during a period of competition is no side chick or fling. Sleeping is part of who brought you to the party. Sleeping is your Main Thang. Gotta sleep.

This notion escaped the French.

They’d decided years ago that these Games would be the most eco-friendly and “greenest” ever, which his fine. Their plan to cut in half the carbon footprint of a “normal” Olympics was admirable — right up until the architects insisted that their non-AC, “energy-efficient geothermal cooling system” of water and pipes and wishes would keep the athletes’ rooms no warmer than 26 Celsius — which is a sultry 79 Fahrenheit in Indoor America.

To which the American coaches and athletes said, “NEG!”

The high temp in Paris during July and August averages 78. Child’s play for the American southerner, for sure. BUT …

We are a habit-driven people. I grew up in a two-story that had a window unit downstairs and a window that opened upstairs. Slept great. But once the world introduced us to central air, nighttime became a different ballgame.

In rural America, we got used to AC. Really fast.

Expand that rationale for the world-class athlete who has slept at a certain temperature nearly their whole lives in preparation for the Olympics, the most important “athletic days” of their lives. The “optimal bedroom sleep micro-environment” for the Team USA competitor, one of our team physiologists told yahoo!/sports, is 61-65 degrees.

So when the Paris mayor insisted Olympic Village athletes would be “very comfortable” at “no warmer than 79,” athletes from the USA, Canada, Italy, Brazil, Greece, Japan, Australia and the like said, “Comfortable compared to WHAT?”

So those countries have either brought their own portable air-conditioners or are renting ones the French organizers have made available. No one wanted to come off as a spoiled or ungrateful visitor: they just didn’t want to be sweating in their PJs on the eve of running the 100.

Many countries — Germany, Tonga, Samoa, plus the Swiss and French come to mind — don’t need or aren’t used to AC. They’re chill without it.

To each his own.

And that’s the point. We really are creatures of habit. Hey, the French gave us chocolate and perfume and the beret and fries. They meant no harm with the AC thing. But if the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre were in Kansas or Richmond or Shreveport, you can bet your last shred of Brie or Roquefort that they’d be air-conditioned. Set around 68, at the highest.

Have a great (and cool) Olympics!

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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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There are no current Deaths to report thus far for the 7/24 edition. If we have missed a loved one or fellow Winn citizen please feel free to message our emails or Facebook page. Otherwise please check back next week for an updated Death Notice. Thank you.

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Courtesy of the Winnfield Police Department 

Winnfield, LA—-What started out as a community event of Rhythm and Blues and barbeque event ended in the shooting of a local man. On Sunday night, July 7, the event was held at the Luckey Street baseball park. At approximately 10:00 pm a call was received by police dispatch of a fight in the park. While responding, Sgt Triplett of the Winnfield Police Department heard shots being fired from that direction. He then observed several people scattering from the intersection of Luckey and Thompson Streets, about 2 blocks from the event. As he arrived at that location, a b/m subject was being loaded into a private car and was taken to the Winn Parish Hospital with gunshot wounds. Sgt Triplett called for a mobilization of off-duty officers and back up from the Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office as the crowd of over 200 people were causing chaos trying to leave all at the same time, contaminating any time of crime scene which had not been determined at the time.

The injured subject was identified as Devante Snow, age 23 of Winnfield. He had suffered gunshot wounds to both legs, none of which were life-threatening. He was sent to Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria for further treatment. The shooter has not been identified as of yet and the investigation is continuing.

If anyone has information concerning this incident, please call the Winnfield Police Department at (318)628-3513. Your personal information can remain anonymous.

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Winnfield City Police remind residents there are 3 ways to take care of a bench warrant:

Traffic Charges have resulted in your license being suspended.

Some dates are Arraignment, Trial, or Sentence Review

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:

The following bench warrants for Failure to Appear were issued in the Winnfield City Court 7/11/2024:

Name:   (City of Residence)   Reason/Charges:   Case No.

Tyler B Bargas   (Baton Rouge)   DUS; Expired Registration   221208
Justin Clifton   (Montgomery)   Expired Registration   240318
Justin Clifton   (Montgomery)   Illegal Tint, Improper Exhaust, DUS   240317
Billie J Etheridge   (Winnfield)   Illegal Tint, Improper Exhaust   240272
Spencer M D Foster   (Little Rock AR)   Speeding (20 mph over)   240273
Destinee Knowles   (Winnfield)   Dogs at Large   240283
Assemian Kouame (Alexandria) Speeding (21 mph over), No DL, No S/B 240284
Tammy LaCaze  (DeRidder)   Speeding (17 mph over)   240325
Jared Kyle Martin   (Winnfield)   DUS    230834
Ashlan McAllister   (Winnfield)   No Insurance, Expired Plates   240287
Jessica Perez   (Cabot AR)   Improper Exhaust, No DL   240326
Destinee Wise   (Winnfield)   Dogs at Large   240301
Shauna Yelling   (Charenton)   Speeding (15 mph over)   240302

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. This consists of the fine payment plus a recall fee.

Questions can be directed to Mr. Melville at (318)628-4844.

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Courtesy of Winnfield Police Department 

Winnfield, LA—-The Winnfield Police Department was contacted by a Detective from the Bozeman, Montana Police Department that they had information that a wanted person from their jurisdiction was in the Winnfield area. The department received faxed copies of felony warrants issued by the 18th Judicial District Court of the State of Montana, for the County of Gallatin for several charges.
After a brief search, Officers Ashley Carpenter, Edward Starks III and Cassidy Martin located the person living and working in the Winnfield area. Contact was made on July 10th and the offender was taken into custody without incident.

Sidney Sanquan Jones, age 33, currently of Winnfield, LA, was arrested on 4 counts of Incest, 1 count of Sexual Abuse of Children, and Unlawful Transactions with Minors in the state of Montana. He is currently being held at the Winn Parish Detention Center awaiting extradition to Montana. He has a right to an extradition hearing, or he may choose to waive that right and have Montana officials arrange for his transport back to their jurisdiction.

A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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By Annie Goods

DART Advocate, Winn Parish

A common cycle of abuse begins to take hold once domestic violence starts in a relationship.  Your partner apologizes, you lower you guard, and over time the violence rears its ugly head once again.  Understanding the signs of domestic violence and causes of domestic abuse are critical in breaking this cycle.

Early signs of impending domestic violence center around your abuser spouting out insults, preventing you from talking to family or friend, and controlling every aspect of your life, from how you spend your money to what food you can eat.  Watch for major red flags like your partner showing an angry side when drunk, regularly acting jealous and possessive of you and even threatening to hurt you.

Stay vigilant so you’ll notice these signs and ready yourself to end the relationship when violence enters the picture.

At its core, domestic violence is a power play.  The violent act is followed by guilt, not for hurting you but merely for the chance of being caught and punished for the action.  This guilt leads to the domestic abuser making rational excuses for what has been done.  They’ll come up with any excuse to avoid taking responsibility.

Getting the relationship back on track is key. The abuser will normally shower the victim with gifts, attention and anything else to make the victim forget and believe the abusers has changed.  Unfortunately the victim generally accepts this as being most sincere and lowers their guard.  The final step in the domestic violence cycle occurs when the abuser sets up the victim to create a scenario to be completely justified in hurting the victim.

Breaking the cycle of abuse is most difficult.  Constant apologies and remorse make it difficult to severe the relationship.  Roses, romantic dinner, poems all make you believe the violence won’t happen again.  But the cycle will come full circle.  The longer you stay in a dangerous relationship, the more violent it’s likely to become.  You will quickly find yourself accepting the lies and actually believing you deserve the violence you suffer.

Be strong and get your story told.  Whether or not you decide to end your relationship, you can get help to move on, breaking the cycle of abuse.  Whether you’ve been hit once or you’ve been carrying the physical and mental scars of abuse for years, your first step is finding someone to talk to.  That someone could be a friend, neighbor, relative or anyone who will listen.

DART is here to help.  If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, please call the local DART office are 318-648-0559 or the DART 24-hour Help Line at 318-251-2255.  Help is available.

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Kiwanian Brendan Thomas who is Student Pastor at First Baptist Church, Winnfield spoke to the Kiwanis Club, Tuesday, July 16. He is a local in that he grew up in Dodson and graduated from Dodson High School.

His mother’s family has been in Dodson since the Civil War according to his grandfather. He grew up in Old Union Baptist Church under Bro. Rayford Higgs who had a great influence on his life. Studying God’s Word was instilled in him from a young age by his grandfather. In middle school and high school he still went to church but was not growing in his faith. His whole family
joined First Baptist Church in 2017 and he became a part of the youth group along with his cousin Landon.

In 2018 he committed his life to the ministry but he got a Bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education because his father said he needed a fallback career. He began an internship program under Bro. Steven Smithson and Student Pastor Tyson McIntyre. He discovered ministry is not just sitting in an office but actually working. The first day he worked in the flower beds and another day they removed carpet in the upstairs of the church.

In 2020 he began leading the youth as Interim Student Pastor with only 7 youth as Covid was still affecting everything. When he was 22 years old he began as full time Student Pastor and they now have 40 in the youth ministry. He is also going to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary getting a Masters in Divinity. His Bible verse is Proverbs 16:9 which says “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps”. He can look back on his life and see where
God has been leading him.

In his job as Student Pastor he organizes and plans events, does paperwork necessary for youth trips, and oversees finances for youth ministry. He also helps with whatever needs doing around the church. He likes to be hands on. He loves preaching and preparing the sermon. His messages are prepared for sixth grade up to death as he put it. He wants everyone to be able to understand his message. Last year the youth group went through the book of Matthew. It took a little longer than he expected. He preaches expositional style breaking down the books. He also does pastoral care dealing with the students problems, providing a listening ear. His wife helps to counsel the girls.

He tries to be a pastor to everyone from the students to the elderly. This summer the students made 2 summer trips. Mission Arlington is a mission trip working in apartment complexes with mainly Spanish speaking people. The students share Christ and do service work, hopefully inspiring them to do the same at home in Winnfield. The second trip was to the Falls Creek Baptist Youth Camp, the largest in the nation. There were between 6000 and 7000 youth present. There are speakers and breakout sessions. There were 34 students who went this year with 5 rededications and 2 salvations.

The exciting news in Brendan and his wife’s life is that they are expecting a son on
December 12.

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Following a family line of musical genius ranging from Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter to grandmother and gospel recording artist, Sister Alberta Gullage, and bassist father, Tony Gullage, who has performed with many well-known musical greats, such as Henry Butler, emerges Sonny Gullage. Sonny is taking the industry by storm, reviving the passion and excitement of the Blues with his smooth voice and charismatic performances. Natchitoches welcomes Sonny to the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival stage July 20th in air-conditioned Prather Coliseum.

Many may remember Gullage from American Idol season 20 where he made quite the impression upon viewing audiences and the Idol judges. While his departure was shocking, the silence surrounding it was confusing. Gullage states that he remembers very well what they said to him that day. “They said Kevin, you’re a head scratcher. You’re one of the few people who did everything right, nothing wrong, but we just don’t have a spot for you on this show,” he relays with no anger or animosity. Instead, he looks upon his time on the hit show as a growing experience. Gullage is an artist who already knows who he is, where he is from, and who he wants to be.

Sonny feels that being born and raised in Luling, Louisiana has prepared him for his career. He states, “It’s a place that I can’t describe better than it’s the perfect center. Forty-five minutes to the east you have all the New Orleans stuff – Jazz, R&B, Hip Hop, certain types of Blues. While on the other hand, forty-five minutes to the west you have Swamp Pop, the Cajun guys, and the Zydeco. It demands you to know both.” This merging of musical genres and fandoms has helped Gullage to cultivate his performances to grab the attention of all audiences and helps him to bring listeners back to the heart of the Blues.

Gullage states, “Being young and in Blues is not an easy path to choose. You can choose the Pop route, the R&B route, because people already naturally want to listen to something that sounds new. But, trying to convince people that something they don’t listen to anymore is still just as relevant, that’s not an easy job to do.” He is certainly up for the challenge and his new album, “Go Be Free!” will be available August 23rd, and his single by the same name is out now. Gullage states this original song, “really is my story.” With the album promising many originals, Gullage is giving listeners an up-close and intimate look at his own life, his story, his hopes, and even his worries for the future. He states, “It’s a new step for me, to allow that much of myself into anything, to be vulnerable in that way. When you write songs, you write from a very raw place a lot of the time, so, with this new album, I’m giving that part of me that I don’t normally just give out. I’m putting a lot of myself out there.” This album is being produced under Blind Pig Records and marks a monumental step in Gullage’s musical career. The label has produced records for Muddy Waters, Otis Clay, and many other talented musicians.

With Gullage’s desire to remind listeners of the relevancy of the Blues, his musical styling is the perfect fit for the Festival’s theme, “The Old Songs Live Forever.” The festival is held in the air-conditioned Prather Coliseum, located at 220 South Jefferson St on the beautiful campus of Northwestern State University. In addition to three stages of live entertainment, the festival will include a jambalaya cook-off, the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship, over 75 crafts people, Louisiana cuisine food vendors, dance lessons, informances, narrative sessions, on-site demonstrations, and much more. Admission to this family friendly event is $10 for an all-day all event pass, after 5pm passes are only $6, and children 12 and under are admitted free at any time. The Festival celebrates and presents the unique and traditional folk culture of Louisiana.

Support for the Festival is provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the City of Natchitoches, the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, and the State of Louisiana. The festival is sponsored by C&H Precision Machining, City Bank, Cleco, Evans Family, LLC, the Harrington Law Firm, International Paper, Natchitoches Wood Preserving Company, and Young Estate, LLC.

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Goldonna High School Trojans, the mighty mighty Trojans, held their Annual School Reunion this past weekend. Lots of hard work and passion was poured into making the weekend a complete success.

Goldonna resident, Julie Evans, shares her thoughts:

“We wore our colors of black and gold proudly and displayed a school spirit that overshadowed our rivals.When asked to give a short thought about this year’s reunion, I have to start by thanking my Lord and Savior for all His blessings upon my life, His protection, and safe travel for all who attended. A heartfelt thank you to the “food crew”, awesome job. I admit last year I was too busy “selfish”, for I thought I had more important things to do other than attend my school reunion. But oh, how blessed I was to be a part of this year’s celebration. I felt an overwhelming sense of joy from all the hugs received, laughter, and memories that were shared among old classmates. And yes, lots and lots of pictures were taken to cherish. I couldn’t help but wonder where had all the years had gone. The walls were adorned with memorabilia, the tables were decorated with school colors and covered with old annuals revealing generations of students, faculty, and staff. From the oldest group in attendance of 1950 graduates to my era, the 1970s each person had been a part of my past in some way, and many still are today. As we shared stories and reconnected after many years, I did not notice the signs of aging or the physical wear and tear of life, what stood out was so many cared enough to set aside time out of their busy schedules for this reunion. Their time at GHS had been an important part of their past, and it was important to show their continued support. For a short while, once again I was a student, conversing with classmates, old friends, teachers, and coaches. At some point in your life, memories, and pictures, will be all that is left of you, or your loved ones and old friends. One highlight of the day I will cherish forever, was being able to ask an old friend I had spent a lot of time with and shared many adventures with if he knew the Lord as his savior, to this he admitted: “Yes for years and years”. Had I not attended this year, or continued to be self-centered, I would have missed this opportunity. Take the time to put your selfishness aside, I am so thankful I did, and consider that someone may want to have your picture as a memory in their book.”

Sweet summertime can only mean one thing. Vacation Bible School is on the agenda of every child and parent. Goldonna Baptist Church is in the middle of hosting their exciting Journey through the Jungle July 14-17 from 5:30pm until 8:00pm. This year’s Vacation Bible School promises to be chock-full of music, delicious snacks, crafts, games, and Bible lessons. There will be an offering competition between the boys and girls with all proceeds benefiting the Operation Christmas Child efforts within the church. Children ages toddler through 6th grade will have special classes as well as their parents. They will be taught by Dr. Wiley Cole.

You do not want to miss this exciting Jungle Journey.

On June 26th GBC will also host a Corn Hole Tournament at the fellowship hall with a fun potluck following. There will also be fireworks and homemade ice-cream on July 3, the show will start after dark.

The Goldonna Wildcat’s Spirit Store is open until June 30th. Please visit the school’s Facebook page for the Posey’s link. The school will also be hosting an Open House night on August 6th from 4:30 until 5:30 to help parents get ready for a successful school year.

River of Life Church will be hosting a Bible Trivia Night and Pizza Social on Wednesday, July 21st, at 7:00pm. Bring your Bible knowledge and your sense of humor for an enjoyable night.

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Winnfield FFA is excited to announce the second annual Open Car Show!

All cars are welcome! The event will take place, August 17th, beginning at 8AM at Winnfield Senior High School!

Come join us as we raise money to help cover our travel costs through the year! Cars, Awards, Food, Games, and so much more! You can register by going to the QR code located on the flyer or the day of the show as you arrive! Thank you!

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Thursday, July 25th, Friends of the NRA will gather within the Winnfield Civic Center (located at 2000 S Jones St) beginning at 5:30 PM.

Friends of NRA is a 100-percent volunteer-driven fundraising organization benefiting The NRA Foundation, whose funding supports programs and activities that promote safe and responsible firearms ownership. Event activities will include auctions, games, raffles and more! 

Tickets must be purchased to attended. Please contact Edward Harrel at 318-413-1533 if you’re interested or have any questions or concerns regarding the day. Thank you!

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