Kenneth Wayne Barton, 65, of Homerville, died on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at his residence surrounded by his family. He was born on May 1, 1960, in Winnfield, LA, to the late Samuel Clayton and Billie Nell Calhoun Barton. Kenneth grew up working with his daddy, grandpa and uncles in the woods and was driving log trucks by the age of 14. He became a truck driver for Walmart in 1998, earning the distinction of 2.7 million safe miles during his 28 year career. He was known by many names, such as Cajun, Cajun Baby, Pretty Baby, Papa Cajun, Rueben and Cajun Bacon. He was also known as the Golden Nephew among his cousins and aunts in LA. Kenneth loved the Lord, LSU sports, enjoyed hunting, and loved spending time with his family, friends and fur babies. In the early 1970s, he, along with several of his friends, founded the now famous Atlanta Fish Fry in Winn Parish, LA. He also took great pride in designing commemorative coffee cups for the annual event. Kenneth was a member of Homerville Freewill Baptist Church.

Kenneth is survived by his wife, Becky Feazell Barton of Homerville; his daughter, Kristen Till of Jacksonville, North Carolina; two sons and daughters-in-law, Michael Hammond and Eunyoung Seo of Pyeongtaek, South Korea, and Christopher and Mayumi Hammond of Valdosta; his grandchildren, Mackenzie Turner, Madison Catlin (Will), Nealon White, Elliot White, Jayson Wynn, Anika Hammond, Maiyah Hammond, Ewan Hammond, Masa Hammond, Shin Hammond, Sachi Hammond and Mana Hammond; his great-granddaughter, Eleanor Catlin; a sister and brother-in-law, Karen and Glynn Webster of Atlanta, LA and aunts, Frances Rogers of Atlanta, LA and Lenora Feazell Johnston of Houston, TX; nieces and nephews, Jeremy Webster (Jessica), Rachel Dobbs (Skylor), Amanda Webster, Bridget Skinner (Chance); a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, John and Suzanne Feazell of Guyton, Georgia; his fur babies, Allie and Buster; and his best friend, Al Denmark of Waycross. In addition to his parents, Kenneth was preceded in death by his parents-in-law, John Nealon and Joyce Hodges Feazell.

Services for Kenneth Barton were held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at Homerville Freewill Baptist Church with visitation one hour prior to the service. The family also received friends from 5-7 pm on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at Carson McLane Funeral Home in Valdosta. The burial took place on Thursday following the services at Friendship Cemetery in Hahira, Georgia at 3 p.m.

Condolences to the family may be conveyed online at www.mclanecares.com. 

A Winn Parish student is headed to national competition after securing a top finish in the 4-H state shooting sports contest.

Hallie Musgrove placed first in the state in the .22 pistol division. The victory qualifies Musgrove to represent Louisiana at the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships, which will be held in June.

The National Weather Service is forecasting an active weather pattern across Winn Parish this week, with repeated chances for showers and thunderstorms beginning Wednesday afternoon and continuing through early next week.

Wednesday will start with partly sunny skies and a slight chance of showers before 1 p.m., followed by an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. High temperatures are expected to reach near 80 degrees, with calm winds becoming southeast around 5 mph in the morning. Rain chances stand at about 30 percent. By Wednesday night, a few thunderstorms may linger before 7 p.m., with skies turning partly cloudy and a low near 60 degrees.

On Thursday, residents can expect mostly sunny conditions with a high near 83, though a 30 percent chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms remains possible after 1 p.m. Thursday night will turn mostly cloudy, with lows around 64 degrees.

The unsettled pattern continues into the weekend. Friday brings a 40 percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms under mostly cloudy skies and a high near 85. Friday night maintains similar conditions, with continued thunderstorm chances and a low near 65.

Saturday offers a brief mix of sun and clouds with a high near 86 and a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Saturday night again carries a 40 percent chance of storms and a low around 65.

By Sunday, storm chances increase slightly, with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms and a high near 86 under mostly cloudy skies. Sunday night remains unsettled with a 30 percent chance of storms and a low near 66.

Looking ahead to Monday, the pattern continues with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, partly sunny skies, and a high near 88 degrees.

Officials encourage residents to stay weather-aware throughout the week, as repeated rounds of thunderstorms could lead to brief heavy rainfall and changing conditions.

By Richard Searles, Journal Contributor

State faces record 6,465 orphaned wells, a cleanup bill that could top $1 billion, and a broken oversight system

Louisiana’s oil patch is leaving behind a growing legacy of abandoned wells that leak, contaminate groundwater and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars — and on a per capita basis, the state’s problem is more than four times worse than Texas, which has drawn national attention for the same issue.

As of March 2025, Louisiana has 6,465 orphaned oil and gas wells — unplugged, abandoned sites with no responsible operator — according to the state Department of Conservation and Energy. Texas has approximately 10,029 orphaned wells, according to its Railroad Commission. But Texas has nearly seven times Louisiana’s population. Louisiana has roughly one orphaned well for every 711 residents. Texas has one for every 3,130. Louisiana’s per capita burden is more than four times heavier.

The Numbers Are Accelerating

Between 2014 and 2023, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor found that an average of about 445 wells were added to the orphaned list each year. In 2025, more than 1,600 wells were added — more than three times the historical annual average. In just the first months of 2026, another 517 wells have already been added.

Behind those orphaned wells sits an even larger problem: inactive wells not yet orphaned but at risk. The Legislative Auditor found the inactive well count climbed 21.7 percent from 2019 to 2024, reaching 21,629 statewide.

What It Will Cost — and Why the Numbers Differ

The cleanup bill has been reported in different ways, and understanding why requires a distinction between two categories of problem wells.

The first is the orphaned well count itself — the 6,500 wells with no responsible operator. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor places the average plugging cost at $113,000 per well. Multiplied across the current orphaned well list, that produces the widely cited $730 million figure.

But that number covers only orphaned wells. A July 2025 white paper from the LSU Center for Energy Studies, commissioned by the state, calculated that plugging and abandoning both orphaned and idle wells in just the Monroe and Shreveport regulatory districts — two of Louisiana’s three oil and gas districts — would cost approximately $860 million. The Lafayette district, which holds roughly 41 percent of the state’s total orphaned and idle well inventory, was not included in that estimate. When all three districts and all idle wells are accounted for, the total cost to Louisiana taxpayers could well exceed $1 billion.

Since 2023, the state has plugged just 490 orphaned wells at a combined cost of nearly $90 million in state and federal funds — far behind the pace needed to make meaningful progress.

The Oversight System Failed

Louisiana’s attempt to manage the problem through a private industry-led entity collapsed. The Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association, created in 2019 to collect operator fees and fund plugging activity, was dissolved after a state audit found it falling far behind — and after allegations of self-dealing that included a $780,000 loan to a state official. An audit also found the association’s administrative partner was charging a 36 percent fee on revenues, nearly double the agreed cap. During fiscal years 2020 through 2023, the state plugged 976 orphaned wells through the program. During that same period, nearly 1,700 new orphaned wells were reported — meaning the system was losing ground even while operating.

The Louisiana Legislature responded in 2024 by creating the Natural Resources Trust Authority under the Department of Conservation and Energy, tasked with rebuilding oversight and funding. Financial security requirements — the bonds operators must post to cover future plugging costs — remain a structural weakness. Though coverage rose from 25 percent of wells in 2014 to 74 percent by 2024, the Legislative Auditor found the amounts collected still fall well short of actual plugging costs.

The Bottom Line

Louisiana is producing new orphaned wells faster than it can plug old ones, carrying a per capita orphaned well burden more than four times that of Texas, and facing a total cleanup bill that state and university researchers suggest could exceed $1 billion when all idle and orphaned wells statewide are fully accounted for. The consequences — contaminated groundwater, leaking methane, degraded land — fall most heavily on the rural communities where these wells are concentrated.

Sources: Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy; Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office; LSU Center for Energy Studies, “Orphan and Idle Wells in Louisiana,” July 2025; Texas Railroad Commission; Louisiana Illuminator.

Local quantum physicists are reportedly baffled by a recurring temporal anomaly centered around departing vehicles and friendly neighborhood grandmothers. A recent incident at an undisclosed Natchitoches residence has once again demonstrated that a simple, “Well, I best be getting along” functions not as an exit strategy, but as a binding verbal contract for at least ninety additional minutes of conversation, standard (weather, health) and bonus (garden pests, Junior’s third divorce) topics mandatory. Experts warn that the standard “Southern Goodbye” is not a process, but a geological event, with exit times now measured in fiscal quarters rather than minutes. We’ll have more on this story, assuming our reporter can ever leave.

I don’t care what sport you play, there comes a day when the Gods of that sport will humble you. So many times, as an athlete, we think we have everything figured out. We think we know more than anyone else and that we are invincible. We have the attitude “you can’t beat me!”

That’s when we get a little too comfortable in our own skin and things start to unravel and go south. For bass tournament anglers, you never know when that day will be coming. But rest assured, it will happen!

My humbling moments have occurred more than once in my 30-year fishing career but there is one that stands out more than any other. It took place about five years ago on Lake Texoma on the Oklahoma/Texas border during one of those late February events with temperatures in the upper 20s and lower 30s.

Over the years, I’ve had several tournaments on Lake Texoma and have done well there in the past. It’s a lake that I feel very comfortable with. I have a lot of confidence each time I drop my boat in the water at this famed Oklahoma/ Texas fishery.

If you’re angler who likes to power fish with buzz baits, crankbaits and spinnerbaits, Texoma is the place for you. But there are times when you will question if there’s any bass in this lake as the fishing can get really tough.

On one of my recent trips to this impoundment, I found out firsthand just how tough Texoma can be. I was preparing for a three-day event while pre-fishing in some very frigid temperatures. To say that the bite was tough would be a huge understatement.

As Day 1 of practice began, I knew that the only way I was going to get a bite was by slowing down my presentation. Bass in cold water conditions are very lethargic and slow to react to a bait.

Well at the end of practice on Day 1, I had absolutely nothing figured out as I put my boat back on the trailer after a long 9-hour day with zero bites. That’s right, I had zero bites the entire day!

Day 2 brought the same cold temperatures but sunny skies as daytime temperatures rose into the upper 40s. I thought with temperatures warming as the day went on, that maybe there would be a good afternoon bite. My thinking was wrong as I once again as I loaded my boat after Day 2 of practice with zero bites.

That’s right, I had fished for a total of 18 hours and had yet to set the hook on a single fish! So, as I laid in bed that night, I thought that maybe I need to speed up my presentation and throw some type of reaction bait like a rattle-trap, which is very popular during cold weather tournaments.

As the final day of practice rolled around, I was actually a little excited and was looking forward to trying something different. So I tied on a ¼ oz SPRO Aruku Shad in the popular chrome with a blue back. When I say I threw the paint off that bait, I mean I stayed committed to my plan and never put it down pretty much all day long.

But as only the bass fishing Gods can explain, I once again came off the lake nine hours later with zero bites! At this point, now I’m as frustrated as I’ve ever been going into Day 1 of a tournament.

To cut this article short, I’ll just go ahead and tell you that over the next two days of tournament competition, I had one bite and never caught a single fish I could weigh-in.

For the first time in my tournament career, I fished on a body of water I’m very familiar with and caught only one bass over five consecutive days!

So, for all those up-and-coming anglers, listen up — if you fish tournaments, there will come a day when you question if you really know anything about how to catch a bass.

With this frustration, you might even want to sell everything you own that’s related to bass fishing! But hang in there — sooner or later, grey skies will fade, and sunshine will return as you catch bass like never before.

“At what point does daycare cost more than your job is worth?”

 See what Ida says 

This is story from a book entitled “Moments for Mothers.” The Rogers family was a strong Christian unit. Mr. Rogers took seriously his role as spiritual leader. Often at supper the family would have a Bible quiz or discuss some spiritual truth. One evening the family was discussing what heaven will be like. 7-year-old Jimmy grabbed this subject and ran with it; he had a very creative imagination.

Jimmy said, “When we get to heaven, the big angel will call the roll. He will come to the Rogers family and say, ‘Daddy Rogers’ and Daddy will say ‘Here! ‘. Then the angel will call out, ‘Mommy Rogers,’ and Mommy will say, ‘Here! ” Then the same thing will happen for Susie and Mavis. Then the angel will call my name, “Jimmy Rogers,” and because I’m little and don’t want to be missed, I will jump up and shout real loud, ‘Here!’”

Just a few days later, there was a tragic accident. A car struck down Jimmy as he made his way to the school bus. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The family gathered round his bed and kept a prayerful vigil through the night. The doctors told them that he had suffered severe brain damage and could not recover.

Just before dawn, Jimmy seemed to be stirring a bit. The family saw his lips move; just one word was all he uttered before he passed from this life. But oh what comfort and hope that word gave for this grieving family. In a voice clear enough for everybody in the room to hear, Jimmy said, “Here!!” and then he was gone, to another world, to a better world, where a big angel was calling the roll.

We Christians believe this is true. It is why we can live with hope in the midst of such a crazy world. We know that we are all pilgrims, simply passing through this life. Our home is in heaven.

Easter people believe that one day we will all answer, “Here!”

April 22 is best known as Earth Day, a global event dedicated to environmental protection, but the date also holds a broader place in history with events that have shaped science, culture, and international awareness.

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, marking the beginning of a modern environmental movement. Millions of Americans participated in rallies, teach-ins, and demonstrations focused on pollution, conservation, and sustainability. The momentum from that first observance led to the creation of key environmental protections, including the Environmental Protection Agency and landmark legislation addressing clean air and water.

Beyond environmental milestones, April 22 also marks the birth of Vladimir Lenin in 1870. As a revolutionary leader, Lenin played a central role in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the formation of the Soviet Union. His influence reshaped global politics and contributed to the ideological conflicts that defined much of the 20th century.

In scientific history, April 22, 1994, saw the discovery of a new comet that would later be named Comet Hale-Bopp. The comet became one of the most widely observed celestial events of the late 20th century, visible to the naked eye for months and sparking widespread public interest in astronomy.

April 22 continues to be a day associated with awareness and reflection. Whether through environmental advocacy or recognition of historical figures and discoveries, the date underscores humanity’s ongoing relationship with both the planet and the forces that shape global change.

Troyal wanted to be a professional athlete. “The only thing that stopped me,” Troyal said, “was my professional athletic ability.” At Yukon High School, Troyal played football, baseball, and ran track and field. He was especially talented at the javelin throw. When he graduated in 1980, he attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater on a track and field scholarship. Troyal knew he wanted to play sports in college, but he was unsure what to study. Troyal finally decided to study advertising. As a child, his parents and siblings held casual weekly talent nights. Everyone had to participate. Because of this, Troyal learned to play banjo and guitar. Troyal used his talent to write jingles and commercials for his advertising classes.

In 1984, Troyal walked across the stage at Oklahoma State University and received his diploma. Shortly after he graduated with his degree in advertising, he learned that he had not completed the requirements for his degree. He was one college hour short. The clerical error was discovered after he walked. Troyal had no choice but to take another class, but his student loan and scholarship money ended the moment he walked across that stage. Troyal was from a large family who could not afford to pay his tuition for the single class, so he had to work to pay for the class.

All through college, Troyal worked odd jobs including roofing houses and working as a bouncer at a nightclub. One night while working to pay for the remaining class, Troyal asked Dolly, an employee at Willie’s Saloon in Stillwater, Oklahoma, to allow him to play his guitar and sing for the audience. Dolly agreed. The first night went so well that she asked him to play the following night. The crowds grew and drink sales increased, so Dolly kept Troyal on stage. What could have been just a one-off thing turned into a five-night a week job. One day, Troyal said to himself, “Hey, maybe this is what you’re supposed to be doing.”

Troyal had hoped to become a professional athlete, but he sang instead. One of the songs he sang had the line “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers.” If his prayers to become an athlete had been answered, you might know Troyal in a whole different way. You know Troyal. His full name is Troyal Garth Brooks.

Source:

1. “Garth Brooks appears on ‘Late Show’ with Stephen Colbert, discusses time at OSU,” 2 News Oklahoma, November 30, 2018, accessed April 12, 2026, https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/garth-brooks-appears-on-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-discusses-time-at-osu.

ANNIE’S OBITUARY

Annie Bell Ray Taylor, age 94, of Winnfield, LA, peacefully passed into the arms of Jesus Sunday, April 19, 2026 at the Winn Parish Medical Center. Born on October 5, 1931, “Maw Maw T” lived a long and blessed life and was surrounded by her beloved family to the very end. Anyone who knew her was well aware of how much her family meant to her. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Annie Bell’s days were filled with her home, gardening, gorgeous flowers, cooking, and
more. Anyone who came by was welcomed by her kind, giving spirit. Upon leaving, guests frequently left with fresh vegetables, a flower cutting, or other treat. Her most treasured gifts, however, were the MANY quilts she made through the years for every member of the family and many others, including her great-great grandchildren to come.

In earlier years, Annie Bell worked as a cook at Atlanta High School for one year before going to the Winn Parish Medical Center. For 28 years she was a cook, serving for several years as the Dietary Manager.
A faithful member of the Atlanta Baptist Church, Annie Bell loved everyone, but treasured her Sunday School class, the guys that doted on her with hugs and kisses, and obviously, her grands and great-grandchildren who all stopped to give her a kiss on
their way in.

Mrs. Taylor is preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Dennis Willard Taylor, her parents, James Walter and Francis Katherine Ray, 2 sisters – Jewel Ray Luther and Bessie Ray Langley, 1 brother, Reese Ray, and grandsons Jason and Jesse Taylor.

Family gatherings were always special to Annie Bell. From the single table the family started with, growing to fill up the kitchen and finally spilling over throughout the house and onto the porch were her survivors: 3 Children – Jimmie Taylor (wife Lorraine), Wanda Kay Taylor, and Terry Taylor (wife Beverly); 6 grandchildren – Nikki Hanson (Lavon), Amanda Rouse (John), Melanie McAllister (Brian), Lacey Hylton (Chris), Melinda Lummus (Gerry), and Seth Taylor; 12 great-grandchildren – Alexis and Will Hanson; Lauren, Harleigh, & John Michael Rouse; Madelyn, Andrew, Kaitlyn, & Grace McAllister; Christian & Carter Hylton; and Emma Lummus.

Friends were invited to visit the family Tuesday April 21, at Southern Funeral Home from 5-8 p.m. and again on Wednesday, April 22, from 9 – 11 a.m. at Atlanta Baptist Church. The service will begin at 11 with Rev. Chad James and Rev. Brian McAllister officiating, with burial following at Iatt Cemetery.
Pallbearers: Lavon Hanson, Chris Hylton, John Rouse, Gerry Lummus, Seth Taylor, Will Hanson. and Andrew McAllister; Honorary pallbearers: Christian Hylton, John Michael Rouse, Carter Hylton, and Justin Hines.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Atlanta Baptist Church Building Fund.