The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration’s Round Table Luncheon is the most exclusive, yet casual, opportunity for the public to enjoy hearing from the Class of 2025 inductees.

It’s next Saturday, June 28, at noon at Riverside Reserve, 104 Mill Street, in Natchitoches. There are still a few seats available among the 300 guests for the seventh annual Round Table Luncheon presented by the Tiger Athletic Foundation.

Registration is available for the luncheon and can be made by visiting LaSportsHall.com, or by calling 318-238-4255. It is a ticketed event and only a few dozen seats are still open to see and hear from 2025 inductees including Nick Saban, Andrew Whitworth, Vickie Johnson, Danny Granger, Danny Broussard and Joe Scheuermann.

Festivities begin next Thursday evening, June 26, at 5 with the free of charge Welcome Reception open to all, no registration necessary, at the Hall of Fame museum facing the traffic circle at 800 Front Street in Natchitoches.

The Friday, June 27 slate begins with the BOM Celebrity Bowling Bash at Four Seasons Bowling Center in Alexandria. Friday evening is the free Rockin’ River Fest concert on Cane River Lake in downtown Natchitoches, from 6-10:30, with the Class of 2025 introduced at 9:15 right before a sports-themed fireworks show over the water.

Events Saturday include the free for kids Saints and Pelicans Junior Training Camp, the Round Table Luncheon, and the Induction Reception and Ceremony, which is sold out. A waiting list is being compiled.

The Round Table Luncheon starts with tremendous Louisiana cuisine and quickly kicks into gear with Fox Sports announcer (and 2020 LSHOF inductee) Tim Brando interviewing small groups of inductees on stage in a very informal and fast-moving setting.

A poignant scene at the 2019 luncheon unfolded before the program when Peyton Manning, being inducted later that day, stopped by to greet LSU legend Johnny Robinson, who was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame two months later.

Scenes like that, up-close access and the fun-filled dialog between Brando and the Hall of Fame inductees combine to provide a memorable 90-minute event.

The Hall of Fame Round Table Luncheon shapes up as a highly entertaining opportunity for guests to have a up-close-and-personal experience and be entertained and well fed in a casual setting, with a touch of elegance at Riverside Reserve on the banks of Cane River Lake just a mile from downtown Natchitoches.

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.

Ellis Green, Sr.
Passed-June 8, 2025
Service: Final services for Mr. Green will take place at the Asbury United Methodist Church, 704 5th Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457 Friday, June 20, 2025, at 11:00 AM.

John James Moore
January 9, 1942 – June 11, 2025
Service: Funeral services for Mr. Moore began at 2:00 PM.on Sunday, June 15, 2025, at Yankee Springs Cemetery.

Debra J. Hanson
December 20, 1956 – June 12, 2025
Service: Services for Mrs. Hanson took place within the chapel of Southern Funeral Home of Winnfield on Monday, June 16, 2025. Interment followed in the Garden of Memories Cemetery.

Brodie Danielle Alford
April 21, 1992 – June 11, 2025
Service: Funeral services for Ms. Alford took place Tuesday, June 17th, 2:00 PM that afternoon in the chapel of Southern Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Zion Hill Cemetery (Tannehill, Louisiana).

With guidance from board attorney Jon Guice of Caldwell, the School Board Monday night embarked on its quest for a superintendent to replace Al Simmons who announced his retirement effective December 31 of this year.

Guice who works with other school districts on such transitions congratulated Simmons for his service.

The primary question he put to the board was when they’d want to hire the new superintendent.  That could be pushed to the closing hours of Simmons’ term.  But his recommendation would allow some overlapping time so that Simmons would have time to show the new individual around.

“ASAP,” suggested Joe Llaine Long.

There are naturally state guidelines, Guice noted.  Notice must be run (showing how and where to apply) in the official journal (Winn Parish Enterprise), then a week later in the nearest metro newspaper (Alexandria, likely), followed another week later back in the Enterprise.  No hiring action could be made until 30 days following that third advertisement.

Based on that, the board agreed to run ads June 18, June 25 and July 2, setting a deadline date for July 25 for any hopefuls to have their applications in a designated Pose Office box here.  Members set a special meeting for July 28.  Guice suggested allowing another school system to screen the applications so that the local board could consider only qualified candidates.

The board also heard suggestions on screening, the questions and interview process, fairness and confidentiality, public involvement and spreading the word through various resources and more.

Autumn Leaves Nursing & Rehabilitation Center would like to congratulate Calvin High School Lady Cougars on winning the Class C State Softball Championship with a donation to assist with the purchasing of their championship rings. Pictured here are Thomas Little, Lady Cougars softball player Kyleigh Blundell, and Kasey Bevill.

The Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call on June 5 reporting an unresponsive woman lying in the roadway in Joyce. Deputies and emergency medical services were immediately dispatched to the scene.

Deputy Caleb Reed was the first to arrive and found a woman lying on the side of Louisiana Avenue. Upon assessing her condition, he determined that she was not breathing and had no pulse.

Within minutes, Deputies Jordan Chandler and David Jones arrived to assist. Together, the deputies administered a dose of Narcan and began performing CPR. After several minutes of combined life-saving efforts, the woman regained a pulse and began breathing.

EMS personnel arrived shortly thereafter and assumed medical care. The woman was then transported by ambulance to Winn Parish Medical Center for further treatment.

Deputies determined that the woman had been in a vehicle with a male identified as Dustin Desadier. After she consumed fentanyl and became unresponsive, Desadier allegedly removed her from the vehicle and drove away without calling for medical assistance. Desadier was arrested and booked into the Winn Parish Detention Center on charges of Failure to Seek Assistance.

Sheriff Josh McAllister commended the deputies for their swift and effective response. “Each deputy relied on their training to help save a life,” said Sheriff McAllister, noting that all deputies receive annual training in CPR and the use of Narcan.

Sheriff McAllister also encourages the public to become familiar with CPR, emphasizing, “You never know when a loved one may need this life-saving technique.”

The Winn Parish School Board heard that the most recent bid efforts to sell its surplus properties of Winnfield Kindergarten School and Atlanta High School fell short so another round of bids will be in order.

Members were told that no bids were received for the old WKS property.  They also learned that just one bid from Chris Hilton was received on the AHS property but it was “well below the required 80% appraised value” so a third bid round would be necessary.

Supt. Al Simmons had previously advised that state law requires that first round bids must meet or exceed appraised value while second round bids must reach the 80% level but third round bids could be the best of any offered bids.

Costs of running a school district continue to grow but the board got a little good news in its June meeting when Wendell Luneau gave a proposal from Brown & Brown on insurance coverage on property, EDP, Boiler & Machinery and Workers Compensation.  The summer was “better rates and better coverage” than this ending year and the board accepted.

Members had received a report that there would be no traditional “summer school,” as such this year but there would be “Summer Literacy Camp” instead.  The goal is to put a spin on fun rather than requirement to attract children to participate.  Simmons said camp “kicked off in great fashion” with tents set up in classrooms based on book reading.

The initial signup had been light but he reported that response was good.  “I appreciate the work done to create this fun nature.  You got the word out.  We’re reaching kids to respond better to situations.”

The superintendent also advised of a Jobs Fair held as the district looks ahead to fall needs for support personnel including drivers, substitutes and paraprofessionals.

Members of Christ Wesleyan Fellowship held Sunday services for the first time in their new church home at 185 Highway 156 in Winnfield.  The congregation which had disaffiliation from First United Methodist Church has been meeting in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church since April 2023.

On July 1, 2024, Rev. Russell Jones became the first pastor of the Fellowship and on December 8 that same year, the congregation met for its first Charge Conference as part of the Global Methodist Church.  (The church had voted in September 2023 to become a member congregation of the Global Methodist Church and their application was approved in October).

This past Sunday, June 8, the new place of worship for Christ Wesleyan Fellowship of Winn was dedicated and consecrated.  The ceremony was led by Kiah Beville, chairman of the Administrative Council and lay leader; Kevin Koeppen, chairman of the Board of Trustees; Larry and Donna Bates who donated the building; and Rev. Russell Jones, pastor.

Members of Christ Wesleyan Fellowship extend an invitation to the public to join with them Sunday mornings in their new location for Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. and worship service at 11 a.m.

Summer Reading fun continues throughout the Winn Parish library system with upcoming programs announced to attract the attention of children.

Pedro will be at the Dodson branch today at 10 a.m. for a program on “Hurricanes” them travel to Sikes for a 2 p.m. program on “Extreme Heat.”

On Monday, June 16, Nathan Roberts will be at the Atlanta branch.  Also at Atlanta that afternoon will be a program for adults called the “Summer Hat Centerpiece.”

One of summer’s popular programs is brought by the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo in Monroe and they will be here at the Calvin branch at 10 a.m. and at the main branch in Winnfield at 1 p.m.  

Door prize drawings will be given out after each program.  Readers are reminded to bring their completed reading log to any library branch for a prize.  Names will also be entered for a grand prize drawing.

The Harrington Law Firm in Natchitoches, while providing their clients with a small-town family feel, at the same time provides top notch legal representation as recognized by the nation’s leader in attorneys’ ratings.

“Some might call our business model a little ‘hokey’ or old-fashioned, but it is something that we truly believe in,” said partner Eddie Harrington when referring to the family approach to their business.

“My Dad (Rodney) and I are obviously family and the members of our staff have each been with us many years, and some cases, decades.” He continued, “We consider them to be part of our family as well and when someone becomes our client, we tell them that they have become a part of the Harrington Law Firm family.”

Harrington said that the attorneys and staff at the firm endeavor to treat every client the same as if they were an actual blood relative.

“Every client who comes to see us is involved in one type of stressful situation or another,” Harrington concluded. “They’ve either been in an automobile accident, are having financial problems, have been denied Social Security Disability, or are dealing with some other serious issue. We find that they are comforted by the fact that not only are we going to take care of their business, but we truly treat them like our own family members.”

When it comes to taking care of their clients’ business, one highly respected attorneys’ rating service says that the Harrington Law Firm does that as well as any firm in the country.

Martindale-Hubbell, the leading world-wide legal information service, which has been providing background information on lawyers and law firms in the United States and other countries for over 150 years, has given the Harrington Law Firm and partners C. Rodney Harrington and “AV Preeminent Rating,” the company’s highest rating. According to Martindale-Hubbell, the “AV Preeminent Rating,” which is established by the company obtaining peer reviews from other attorneys in the same geographical area, recognizes law firms and attorneys for their strong legal ability and high ethical standards.

An elite group of approximately 10% of all firms and attorneys in America hold an “AV Preeminent Rating,” a designation recognized as the “Gold Standard” of legal ratings. If that wasn’t enough, the firm has also been awarded the “Special Edition Judicial Award” which is especially noteworthy because it is based upon the confidential opinions and recommendations of members of the Judiciary familiar with the attorneys in the Harrington Law Firm. The “Judicial Edition Award” indicates perfect ratings from the Judiciary on the Harrington’s legal ability and ethical standards. 


Harrington Law Firm clients have the comfort and confidence knowing that not only are they going to be treated like family but that they represented by a firm that is recognized as the “Gold Standard” for legal firms across the country. The Harrington Law Firm is composed of partners C. Rodney Harrington and C. Edward “Eddie” Harrington and is located at 459 Jefferson Street, Natchitoches, LA. Their areas of practice are Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Bankruptcy, Social Security Disability and Wills & Successions.

Their website is www.theharringtonlawfirm.com.

For more information about Martindale-Hubbell and their rating system, go to http://www.lawyers.com .

After her introduction by Dr. Gaddis, Winn Parish Library Director Priscilla Massey said she has in common with the Kiwanis club that she believes in serving the community. She had prepared a folder for each person with information about the library and the services it offers. There was also a calendar of events for June and July and a puzzle book. She had just come from seeing Harvey Rabbit at the main branch. This is a program that happens every year during the Summer Reading Program.

Ms. Massey gave highlights of a flyer that gave 2024 By The Numbers at the Winn Parish Library. 80% of Winn Parish residents have library cards. That is because you can get a library card at a very young age. We have the main library as well as branches at Atlanta, Calvin, Dodson and Sikes. The branch libraries were built in conjunction with the schools. With the closure of the Atlanta school the property that the library building sits on was donated to the library and it now has its own water and electricity.

These branches are open 3 days per week except Dodson which is open 4 days per week. They each have a branch manager in charge. These branches also have a computer area and access to WiFi. The Winn Parish Library offers much more than just books. They have magazines, newspapers and movies. There are meeting room spaces available at no charge. In 2024, 5422 people took advantage of book clubs, craft days, children’s story times, class field trips, outreach & partnership programs and much more. There were about 500 programs offered in 2024. The services of the library are the same but the way the library is used is different. There are digital resources including Homework LA (a tutoring program with certified tutors), Mango Languages which is a resource for learning foreign languages.

Many people check out e-books or audiobooks from Libby using their library card. The library is an important part of the community because literacy is important, access to information is important and service to the community is important. Hours at the Winn Parish Library are 9 AM – 5:30 PM Monday through Friday and 9 AM – 1 PM on Saturday. There were over 25,000 visits to the Winn Parish Library system in 2024.