With high school (and college) graduations around the corner, the Winn Parish Journal is offering readers the ability to recognize and publicize this special milestone of their loved ones.
Please submit a senior photo (or any photo of the graduate, you may send as many photos as you like) along with the information below and the WPJ will begin running these in May. The cost of the graduation ad is $25 and will include a PDF of the ad emailed to the person submitting it.
Information needed includes:
Name
High School
Parents Names
High School Activities
College of Choice (or plans following high school)
Message from parents/family to graduate
To submit the graduation ad, please email wpj@winnparishjournal.com with the photo and information requested.
Friday, April 29, 2022, was a rough day for Wall Street. All markets suffering major losses which has been a trend for the last several months. Many stocks taking back all of the gains from 2021 and early 2022. The market is responding to worldwide and political issues. However, what you should know is that the markets are not the ONLY place you can grow your retirement dollars.
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If you have never heard of singer Eva Cassidy, you are not alone. However, if you listen to her version of “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” you will ask yourself why you have not heard her before. Eva started playing the guitar at the age of 9. She was by all accounts introverted and painfully shy, and not at all comfortable in front of crowds. She also had a firm belief that a song had to move or speak to her for her to be interested, much less perform it; and her musical tastes crossed many genres of music. These two characteristics resulted in a collision between her artistic side and the business side of record producers.
She was more interested in maintaining her artistic freedom and love of music than being forced to compromise her music for record sales. She was approached by several record companies, but instead of being elated and becoming fast friends with the label, remained cautious and aloof. She was approached by Blue Note Records, a top jazz label, and given $3,500 to cut six songs. With this, she cut songs from six different genres from jazz standards to gospel. Furthermore, these were not original, but rather covers of songs written by others. None of this made it easy for a jazz label to produce a jazz album, and she did not want to release an album of jazz standards. She did receive a contract from Apollo records, connected to the Apollo theater, which would give her a yearly salary and was a dream come true, but the company folded before she could sign.
What kept the labels interested, and people coming back to see her was her silky soprano voice, effortless range, perfect pitch, and a gift for phrasing that would make you hear an old favorite song with new ears and wondering why it wasn’t sung that way in the first place.
She had recorded a solo work and worked with Chuck Brown in the past but struggled to get recognized beyond the Washington D.C. area. In 1996, she opted to record a live album on her own, and performed at the Washington D.C. club, Blues Alley. This was essentially what she played at various nightclubs. She funded this herself and sold CDs out of the trunk of her car.
By now you are asking yourself, what this has to do with the medical minute?
In 1996, Eva Cassidy was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, about the same time she finished recording her live album. She had noticed a mysterious mole on her back but did not go to the doctor. She delayed for about six months. When she finally went and had surgery to remove this, they thought they got it all, but it came back with a vengeance, spreading to her lungs, brain, and back. She had to walk with a cane due to pain in her hip. In her final, emotional farewell benefit concert, organized by her friends, she took to the stage with difficulty. Having significant pain, and requiring heavy pain medication, she sang one song, “What a Wonderful World.” That speaks volumes about her character. She died in November 1996, in relative obscurity.
After her death, her bassist and friend released an LP of the work they had been doing before her death, but it was an area producer who took an interest after hearing Eva for the first time near the end of her life. He was able to take about 127 recordings she had made and put together the album “Songbird”, released in 1998. This had moderate interest locally, but it was through a series of events that it was played to an audience across the ocean. In 2000, it was played by star BBC radio host Terry Wogan, at the insistence of a friend, on-air one morning. After which the switchboard lit up. Even Mr. Wogan, who was hearing it for the first time, was stunned, saying “isn’t that the most amazing thing you’ve ever heard.” Since then, it has gained widespread popularity in the US, UK, and around the world. Her version of Somewhere over the Rainbow remains the most requested song in BBC history.
Mr. Wogan is not alone. Many songwriters whose music Eva Cassidy sang, were amazed at how she made their songs her own. Singers like Elton John, Sting, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Mick Fleetwood, Michael Bolton, Amy Grant, Charlotte Church, Katie Melua, and many others have all been moved, if not influenced by Eva Cassidy.
Since her death, there have been 10 albums released of Eva Cassidy’s recordings, selling tens of millions of copies. For the 25th Anniversary of her death last November, there has been a resurgence of interest, stories, and broadcasts, many of which are available on YouTube, and I have included the links below.
For me, the Eva Cassidy story is a poignant, bittersweet reminder. I am so grateful for her music and have been a fan for over 20 years, yet I cannot help but wonder what could have been if she did not wait to have that mysterious mole checked when she first noticed it change. Next week, I will return with more specifics about Melanoma, as May is Melanoma Awareness month. But for now, I invite you to discover or listen to your favorite Eva Cassidy song.
Dr. James Lee serves as the Coroner of Winn Parish. He is a General Surgeon and Surgical Oncologist who has been practicing in Winnfield for over ten years. Dr. Lee attended the University of Colorado for his medical degree. He completed his residency in Surgery at the University of Oklahoma before completing a fellowship in Surgical Oncology and Endoscopy at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. Dr. Lee and his wife Scarlett live in Winnfield with their son and are active in the community.
Without a single hesitation, every Mother’s Day that springs upon me, I wonder what my conversations with my mom would be like today. Just a quality control type check-up. Would she be proud of how her children turned out or would she be an armchair quarterback trying to rewrite plays? I can clearly see her doing both. As the years continue to roll by, I feel like she has missed so many milestones. The good and the bad milestones, all missed.
I wonder how excited she would have been for Kathryn when she made the volleyball team at the high school or if she would have delighted in watching her fine tune her jump serve. I truly think she would have enjoyed the indoor sport better than sitting in the elements at the soccer field watching Meredith perform her goalie duties. I have no doubt she would have been beaming with excitement watching Meredith graduate from college. She would have been entertained and tickled at watching both of my daughters bicker and fuss.
Being the fierce defender of her loved ones, her maternal instincts would have completely taken over when I was going through my divorce. For everyone’s safety, that is a milestone I am glad she was not here to witness.
This is the one time of year that I give myself permission to wonder what she would think of us.
This past week I had the honor of being sworn in as a Presidential Appointee Board of Director for the Louisiana School Board Association in Baton Rouge. It was a really neat milestone in which I do not feel worthy of, but someone thought I was. Or, everyone else declined prior to me. Either way, it was something my mother would have been proud of.
Shortly before we were all sworn in I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow School Board Member from Bossier Parish. We made small talk about the events of the day but soon discovered that we both had Sabine Parish roots. He joyfully let me know that he was a Zwolle High School Class of 1967 graduate. My heart skipped two beats when I realized that he graduated with my mom. When I mentioned her name, he knew her well and went on to tell me that they were classmates for a very long time. I told him that she passed away ten years ago this year.
He already knew, he kept up with every single one of his classmates. His love for his hometown and his school made my heart grow two more sizes that day.
When I came home from my travels I could not wait to share the account of all the day’s events with my daughters. As I began the story of how I randomly met one of Granny Gail’s classmates, my oldest daughter stopped me mid-story. She grabbed both of my hands and stared me straight in the eyes.
I wondered if she was going to tell me she had another place to be or had bigger news. Almost getting annoyed at the long silence she quickly told me, “This was Granny Gail’s way of being there for you today, God let her memory show up in the small details of your day!”
I am not sure how I missed this as it was occurring to me. My writing is based on the “God winks”, I look for the “God winks”, and I never miss them for everyone else. But, I sure missed it for myself until my daughter reminded me. Telling this story was a double blessing for me. For one, it happened and the second blessing was seeing my daughter noticing the kindness and goodness of our savior.
Our savior is so generous and kind to let the sweet memories of those we have lost to be peppered throughout our lives.
This Mother’s Day, please say a sweet prayer for your friends and family who do not have a mother. Whether they are absent in the body or absent due to complicated life’s circumstances, it is never easy being without a mother. If you still have your mother and you are missing a relationship with her, I pray that you both find a way to rekindle what has been lost. Please pray for your friends who want to be a mother but may be having difficulties conceiving.
Having a mother or being a mother is the most precious thing that one could ever experience in their lifetime….but, being a child of a King far more surpasses that.
“As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
Every sport has legends, men or women who set a high standard for the level of play in their respective sports. In baseball you have Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Pete Rose, Hank Aaron and Derek Jeter. In football you have Jim Brown, Dick Butkus, Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith and Joe Montana. In bass fishing you have Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Rick Clunn and Kevin Van Dam. These are people who were champions and Hall of Famers that gave 100% in everything they did. Now most of us do not have the ability to sit down with most of these legendary athletes. But if you look around, you’ll find someone in your “backyard” who would be a great mentor and it’s probably someone you already look up to.
I’ve been blessed to know a few of these people who had an impact on my life. First was Mr. Rayford Jones who lived across the road from where I grew up in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. So many evenings after supper, I would walk over to his house, sit on his front porch and we would talk about baseball, his garden, and how many catfish I had caught out of his ponds or as they say in Texas…. tanks. He would pay me a penny for every fly I would kill with one of his trusty flyswatters. I would also get an update how many of his cows had calves. A few times we talked about his time in the service and WWII. He was so proud to be an American and to have fought for this country. But he was also one of my biggest fans during my playing days in Mt. Pleasant. He kept up with every stat I had in football and baseball. He knew my battling average better than me most of the time. He knew how many yards I gained for every football game. He always said the same thing every time I would leave his porch, I would tell him… “good talking to you” and he would always respond “the pleasure was all mine.” It’s a shame people don’t take the time to sit on the front porch and talk anymore.
From a fishing perspective, a man by the name of David Parker had a huge impact on me as an angler. David was one of those anglers who could have competed at the highest level if he would have had the money to do so. To give you an idea of how talented he was, David won seven boats in one season. He dominated events from this region including Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend. He was a jig fishing guru who taught me a lot about catching fish on a jig. He told me stories of what bass fishing was like in the early 1960’s and how he used to make his own jigs. As a kid, David would take a black bicycle innertube and use his dad’s straight razor and cut the tube into narrow strips. He would then take his mom’s sewing thread and tie the strands around a lead weight and catch fish after fish. Then one day they started making red bicycle innertubes! Now he was really excited and how he could mix black and red strands together creating the first ever multi-colored jig skirt. All this was before major fishing companies started making jigs.
But the one thing David gave me, was confidence in myself. He always said “Steve you’re just as good as any angler on the water…you just have to believe it yourself.” He would also say “If the fishing is tough for you, it’s probably tough on a lot of people.” He always made me feel good about my skills and abilities as an angler even though I was nowhere near as good as he was. David oozed in confidence and had what every angler wished they had…a sixth sense. He knew he had a bite even before the fish actually bit his lure…I’m not kidding! He had a gift that very few anglers have.
Always take the time to recognize and appreciate those that came before in whatever sport you’re participating in. These are the people who helped to set the standards that we all strive to achieve. These are our hero’s, these are the people who earned the right to be called a legend. Till next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to set the hook.
Steve Graf – Owner/Co-host Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show & Tackle Talk Live
The most satisfying thing I have accomplished in my lifetime of hunting has to be the completion of my wild turkey Grand Slam in 2003.
There is another grand slam I have to my credit that I’ve thought little about. In fact, I’ve completed this feat several times, as far as I can recall. This “grand slam”, while not gaining me but a snippet of the acclaim I got from my wild turkey slam, was legitimate and what is significant about that is that I got the series of slams all right here in my home state.
What am I talking about? Catfish. I’ve been successful in landing the four species of catfish that live in Louisiana’s freshwaters – the flathead, blue, channel, and bullhead, and I’ve done it several times over.
If you fish at all within the waters of Louisiana, you have no doubt duplicated my feat; you’ve caught all four species at one time or other and you probably never even thought of the possibility that you gained a measure of notoriety by landing a Louisiana Grand Slam of catfish.
Let’s examine more closely the four species that make up the Bayou State Catfish Grand Slam.
FLATHEAD CATFISH There is no way to pin down the absolute best spot to catch a flathead catfish in Louisiana because they inhabit practically all of our lakes, rivers and larger streams. These are the fish most sought after by anglers bent on a night of “setting out hooks”. A trotline or several limb lines are baited with live bait, such as bream, small bullheads or goldfish, with a return trip the following morning to see what’s there. Finding a 40 pounder on your hook is not at all uncommon.
BLUE CATFISH If you are looking for genuine heavyweights, blue catfish, especially those that inhabit our larger lakes and rivers, can grow to extreme sizes. Ancient records boast of blue catfish weighing in the 250-300 pound range although the Louisiana record, caught in the Mississippi River in 1997, tipped the scales at 105 pounds. Again, no doubt larger specimens have been taken on trotlines and set hooks. Blue catfish can be caught on a variety of baits, from live or cut shad to big crawfish to stink baits containing tainted chicken blood or rancid cheese. Blue cats are the primary target of commercial fishermen but are also sought by recreational anglers.
CHANNEL CATFISH When it comes to popularity, no catfish approaches the channel cat in popularity. These are the filets and small fiddlers you find on the platter at catfish restaurants all across the state. While these fish are generally pond raised, which controls their diet, wild caught channel catfish are also delicious on the table.
Around Louisiana, they are everywhere. Blindfold yourself, take a Louisiana map and jab a finger anywhere on the map and chances are, your digit is resting near a good spot to catch channel cats.
BULLHEAD CATFISH While Louisiana keeps no records on bullheads, the largest ever caught and entered in the records weighed about 9 pounds and was caught in Michigan.
Those we caught as boys on Molido Creek down home weren’t called bullheads; they were “mudcats” to us. Perhaps it was that name that caused us to shy away from them when they ended up on the table.
Bullheads live in practically every lake, pond, creek or slow-moving bayou all over the state. They are easy to catch and when cleaned properly and soon after being caught, they can be rather tasty when fried up golden brown.
Completing a wild turkey Grand Slam is quite a feat. A Louisiana Catfish Grand Slam is not so bad itself.
Starting Friday the WPJ will feature a student currently available for sponsorship at Louisiana Adult & Teen Challenge.
Louisiana Adult & Teen Challenge exists to provide men and women with an effective residential, biblically based solution to life-controlling problems. Our purpose is to produce graduates who function responsibly and productively in society, and who have healthy relationships in the workplace, family, church and community.
Adult & Teen Challenge is one of the largest and most successful accredited programs of its kind with over 1000 residential locations worldwide. Louisiana Adult & Teen Challenge was founded by Greg and Abigail Dill in 1987. Over the last 35 years, we have grown to 8 campuses statewide, with the ability to accommodate men, women, and women with their children.
WHAT IS STUDENT SPONSORSHIP?
Students often come into Louisiana Adult & Teen Challenge with little or no hope in life. They have burned every bridge and lost almost everything due to drug abuse and other crimes. Most times, they have little outside help supporting them during this time; therefore, we do not charge a monthly tuition. If you would like to help offset these costs, you can sponsor a student for as little as $35 a month. You can also sponsor a child that is enrolled here with their mother for an additional $15 per child. Your sponsorship means that they have someone who cares and is invested in their success!
As a monthly sponsor, you can expect:
A packet with information about your student
Monthly updates
The opportunity to write letters to your student
The opportunity to send care packages to your student
You can pray for them
You will receive a personal invitation to attend their Graduation Ceremony
This is what will be included in your New Sponsor Packet.
WC, I closed my eyes for what seemed like a second and suddenly a man stood where a little boy used to stand! We are so proud of you and all you have accomplished. Always remember, you are braver than you believe, smarter than you think, stronger than you seem and loved more than you will ever know!! We love you and are so proud of you! Mom, Jamie, John David and Beaux!
Dylan Kyle came to the ballpark and meant business on Tuesday, tallying four hits and leading Calvin Cougars Varsity to a 19-1 win over Plainview. Kyle singled in the first, homered in the second, doubled in the third, and tripled in the fourth.
Calvin Cougars Varsity got things started in the first inning. Kyle singled on a 3-1 count, scoring one run.
Calvin Cougars Varsity notched eight runs in the fourth inning. Calvin Cougars Varsity’s big bats in the inning were led by doubles by Joseph Adams, John Bradley Griffin, and Payton Mercer, home runs by Mercer and Cooper Spangler, and a triple by Kyle.
Griffin led things off on the hill for Calvin Cougars Varsity. The bulldog surrendered one run on two hits over three innings, striking out six and walking one.
Caleb Calhoun was on the hill for Plainview. The pitcher went three innings, allowing 11 runs on 11 hits and striking out one. Brennon Johnson threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen.
Calvin Cougars Varsity smacked three home runs on the day. Kyle had a dinger in the second inning. Spangler went deep in the fourth inning. Mercer had a homer in the fourth inning.
Calvin Cougars Varsity had 18 hits in the game. Kyle, John Landon Poisso, Spangler, Adams, Sidney Anderson, and Mercer all had multiple hits for Calvin Cougars Varsity. Kyle went 4-for-4 at the plate to lead Calvin Cougars Varsity in hits. Calvin Cougars Varsity stole ten bases during the game as three players stole more than one. Wayne C Huckaby led the way with five.
“Powered by Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2022. All rights reserved.”
I believe in the 4 R’s, which are Rules, Rights, Respect and Responsibility and that everyone should follow this. That is why at 73 years of age I decided to stand up and do my part to make a change in our city government.
People tend to look the other way when things happen and it doesn’t concern them. It is our civic duty to take part in the dealings of our town. A lot can be accomplished if we work together.
I am most grateful to the supporters and my family for helping me get elected to this office. I could not have won without a strong support system.
I can promise you that I will try my best to get some stuff done, but please know there are procedures that must be followed. Change doesn’t occur overnight. My ears will be open and I welcome your thoughts and questions about what we can do to make good things happen in Winnfield. May God bless you all.
Recently, FBI Little Rock and FBI New Orleans have noted an increase in sextortion schemes targeting children in southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana. The FBI has received numerous reports of predators posing as children on social media to coerce minors into sending sexual videos of themselves and then extorting money from these underage victims. FBI Little Rock has noted an alarming uptick in these schemes targeting children in areas around El Dorado, Magnolia, and Monticello, AR. FBI New Orleans has also seen similar schemes targeting children in the Monroe, Alexandria, and Shreveport, LA areas.
Here’s how this disturbing scheme works:
A predator (posing as a child on social media) uses deception and manipulation to convince a minor victim, usually 13 to 17 years old, to engage in explicit sexual activity over video chat.
The videos or images are secretly recorded and saved by the predator.
The predator then reveals they have saved the recordings and attempts to extort money from the juvenile victim by threatening to post the videos on various social media pages.
To receive money, the predator may ask for bank account login information or request gift cards.
Sextortion is a crime. The coercion of a child by an adult to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM) carries heavy penalties, including life sentences for offenders. To make the victimization stop, children typically notify someone—normally a parent, teacher, caregiver, or law enforcement. The embarrassment children feel from the activity they were coerced to engage in is what usually prevents them from coming forward. Sextortion offenders frequently have dozens of victims around the world, so coming forward to help law enforcement identify a predator may prevent countless future incidents of sexual exploitation.
Here are some tips to protect children online:
Everyone should be wary of anyone they encounter online. Block or ignore messages from strangers.
People can pretend to be anyone online. Videos and photos are not proof that a person is who they claim to be.
Be highly suspicious if someone you meet on a game or app asks you to start communicating with them on a different platform.
Encourage children to report suspicious behavior to a trusted adult.
If you know someone who may be a victim of sextortion in Arkansas or Louisiana:
Contact FBI Little Rock at 501-221-9100 or FBI New Orleans at 504-816-3000.
Do not delete anything before law enforcement is able to review it.
Tell police investigators everything about the online encounters. It may be embarrassing, but it is necessary to find and stop the predator.
Date: 4-26-22 Name: Daniel T Crenshaw Address: Homeless Race: White Sex: Male Age: 35 Charge: Remaining after forbidden (2x), Resisting an officer with violence, Assault of an officer, Felon in possession of a dangerous weapon
Date: 4-26-22 Name: Shavnte S Ingram Address: Winnfield, LA Race: Black Sex: Male Age: 26 Charge: Warrant, Aggravated assault with a firearm, Discharging firearm in public
Date: 4-26-22 Name: Cartaveen Turner Address: Winnfield, LA Race: Black Sex: Male Age: 23 Charge: Warrant, Aggravated assault with a firearm
Date: 5-3-22 Name: Corey M Butcher Address: Olla, LA Race: White Sex: Male Age: 31 Charge: Obstructing public passage, Possession of schedule 1 (marijuana), Possession of schedule 2 (meth) with intent to distribute, failure to appear (2x), Giving false information to an officer
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.
