

The Winn Parish Library has Valentine’s Grab & Go Crafts available for parents to pick up at the main branch. This craft will allow children to make their own Valentine’s cards. Supplies are limited.
The Winnfield FFA Alumni Chapter is happy to present its fourth annual strawberry fundraiser! Whole flats are $26 and half flats are $15.
Orders are due Feb. 14 and delivery will be in mid March. Feel free to comment or message orders. Or ask any spring semester WSHS Ag students!
Thank you for helping support our alumni as they help support us!
Five hundred sixty-six students were named to the Fall 2022 President’s List at Northwestern State University. Students on the list earned a grade point average of 4.0.
Winnfield — Richard Bishop, Haley Collins, Ashlyn Little, John Spikes, Kaitlyn Turner, Natalie Womack, Taylor Womack, Alecia Zimmerman;
Dodson — Heather Wehunt
Atlanta — Emily Thomisee;
Seven hundred and fifty-six undergraduate students were named to the Fall 2022 Dean’s List. Students on the Dean’s List must be enrolled full time and earn a grade point average of between 3.5 and 3.99.
Dodson – Gaje Womack;
Winnfield – Kimberly Bedgood, Emalee Dill, Brian Griffin, Anthony Knight, Kelli Leeper, Emily Shecton, Maggie Womack;
Six hundred and ninety-three students who were named on the Fall 2022 Honor List. Students on the Honor List must be enrolled full-time at Northwestern and have a grade point average of between 3.0 and 3.49.
Dodson – Faithe Williams, Logan Womack;
Winnfield – Mattie Beaubouef, Keaton Burnum, Haley Chandler, Matthew Harrell, Lucas Homan, Victoria Hubbard, Adrienne Jones, Kayla Jones, Jordan Patterson, Landen Womack;
For questions about the honor lists, contact the University Registrar at (318) 357-6171, toll-free at (800) 807-8849 or registrar@nsula.edu.
Save the Date for the Mardi Gras Festival, set for Saturday, Feb. 4 in the lot beside the Winnfield Post office. Food trucks and vendors will begin selling at 11 am and fun will begin immediately following the parade, which begins at 2 pm. There will also be kid’s activities. For more information contact Lacey McManus through Facebook or via text at (318) 302-2427.
After the New Year celebrations end at midnight, many revelers will be leaving bars and parties to make their way home. The increased number of travelers combined with an inevitable increase of impaired drivers makes for a highly dangerous time to be on the road. The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) offers these tips to help ensure you have a safe celebration and a happy year to come.
Staying Safe on the Road
When out and about for New Year’s Eve:
Auto Safety
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the number of vehicles stolen in the U.S. is expected to surpass 1 million by the end of the year. In addition, News Year’s Eve and Day are the holidays when car thieves are most active. The Louisiana Automobile Theft and Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority (LATIFPA) offers the following advice:
Fireworks Safety
If fireworks are legal where you live and you choose to use them, be sure to follow these safety tips:
If you have questions about what is covered in your insurance policy or have issues with an insurance claim, contact the LDI at 800-259-5300 or find more information online at www.ldi.la.gov.
The Winnfield First Baptist Church will be hosting a Christmas Eve Dinner on Dec. 24th from 11:00 am to 1:00pm. This will be a drive through pickup located on the east side of the church and is free to 450 people.
Winn Parish Fire District 3 participated in live fire training with the Rapides Fire District 7 and Effie Fire Department to help the agencies build trust in working with their neighbors and to be ready for any emergency that arises.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, there were 10 crashes that resulted in 10 fatalities. During the same time period last year, there were 19 crashes that resulted in 25 deaths. From January to November 2022, throughout the state there have been 768 crashes with 825 fatalities.
Several crashes were caused by speeding, impaired drivers, and distracted driving. Some of the deaths were related to individuals not using their seat belt. Seat belts are the number one safety feature in a vehicle and they can save a life when used properly.
“One death is one too many and as a community, we need to work on reducing this number until there are zero deaths on our roadways,” said Secretary Wilson. “We see entirely too many deaths due to preventable acts, such as driving impaired and not wearing a seatbelt. Safety is our number one priority and this agency, along with our safety partners, works diligently throughout the year to provide resources and educational material on safe driving.”
“The hardest part of a trooper’s job is to deliver the horrific news that a loved one was killed in a motor vehicle crash,” said Colonel Lamar Davis, Louisiana State Police superintendent. “Please make sound judgments when behind the wheel. Drive sober, wear your seat belt, buckle your children properly, and avoid distractions. Just a few simple decisions could mean the difference between life and death. If you witness hazardous drivers, please call *LSP (*577) and report the vehicle to the nearest troop.”
“Christmas is a special time—a time of joy and a time to celebrate all that is good in our families and communities,” said Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Executive Director Lisa Freeman. “Christmas has also been a time of sadness, as we have seen our friends, neighbors, and family members sustain almost 600 injuries in motor vehicle crashes during last year’s Christmas holiday. And tragically, we lost 14 people in traffic fatalities in that same holiday time frame. Louisiana is due for a Christmas miracle on its roadways—a time when good fortune prevails on our state’s highways. We have the power to make the miracle happen by designating sober drivers, keeping our attention on the roadway, and always wearing our seat belts. That can be the magic of Christmas 2022.”
“An average of 24 emergency responders, including tow operators, are struck and killed by vehicles while working at the roadside each year – meaning someone in this line of work is killed, on average, every other week in America,” said AAA Public Affairs Specialist Don Redman. “This senseless loss of life is completely avoidable if drivers remain attentive behind the wheel and look ahead for hazards or emergency situations. Just by choosing to move over or slow down, we can all play a part in protecting our emergency roadside workers, especially during the busy Christmas and New Year holidays.”
“We see many types of accidents across the state, as MAP is often the first to arrive at a scene,” said Motor Assistance Patrol Regional Supervisor Richard Ardis. “We encourage motorists to slow down and move over, especially during the holiday season. Help us keep you safe so we can all make it home to our families.”
With Christmas and New Year’s approaching, motorists should expect to see an increase in traffic and should drive using the following safety tips:
For more information, please visit www.dotd.la.gov, email dotdcs@la.gov, or call DOTD’s Customer Service Center at (225) 379-1232 or 1-877-4LADOTD (1-877-452-3683). Business hours are 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Please let us know how we may better serve you: Customer Service Survey.
The Fall 2022 Reading Report includes state, school system, and school data for public school students in grades K-3. School systems can choose among four research-based screening assessments to administer. Students who take a screener earn either “On or Above Benchmark” or “Below Benchmark.” In August, Louisiana adopted the state’s first K-2 accountability plan. This plan will include a uniform literacy screener for students in these early grades.
“Louisiana’s comprehensive literacy plan is building momentum across the state, and we are beginning to see the impact of this foundational shift in how we teach children to read,” said Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jenna Chiasson. “Our youngest learners were the most impacted by the disruptions of the past few years. We have the support in place to keep our students in grades 1-3 on the right track and to accelerate the progress for our new kindergarten children.”
While scores for students in grades 1-3 increased for the second consecutive year, scores declined for students entering kindergarten. These literacy screeners are given to students during the first 30 days of the school year and capture a snapshot of a child’s reading ability as they enter a new grade.
This is the latest data to show the continued progress of Louisiana students following unprecedented classroom disruptions caused by hurricanes and the pandemic. Earlier this month, Louisiana’s statewide performance score returned to its pre-pandemic level. In October, the Nation’s Report Card showed that Louisiana students avoided some of the most dramatic learning loss seen across the nation. In August, the Department released 2021-22 LEAP scores that showed Mastery rates improved in ELA and math for students in grades 3-8.
About the annual Louisiana Fall Reading Report:Louisiana law and Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) policy require that school systems administer a literacy screener not later than thirty days after the beginning of each school year to all students in kindergarten through grade 3. Annual screening is vital for ensuring that all students are on the right track to become proficient readers by the end of third grade. School systems can choose among four research-based screening assessments. The screening assessments measure a particular skill or skills that are typically predictive of later reading success. The skills build upon each other from one grade level to the next and are appropriately matched to children’s ages and developmental stages.