The Jena Times Olla-Tullos-Urania Signal newspaper office will be closed this Thursday afternoon, May 1, and all-day Friday, May 2, as the staff attends the Louisiana Press Association’s (LPA) annual convention in Baton Rouge.

“This year’s convention is being held on a Thursday afternoon/evening and most of the day Friday, with various training opportunities for our staff to better serve our readers,” stated Editor Craig Franklin, who is also a member of the LPA Board of Directors. “For this reason, we will be closing our office in Jena at 1 p.m. to allow our staff time to get to Baton Rouge for the start of the convention.”

On Thursday evening, the annual LPA 2024 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Ceremony will take place at the Baton Rouge City Club. On Friday, the convention will continue on the campus of LSU at the university’s journalism department, the Manship School of Mass Communication. Various sessions will be held focusing on journalism and advertising to aid Louisiana newspapers.

Franklin noted that although the office will be closed, all deadlines will remain the same. All legals and public notices must still be submitted by 4 p.m. Thursday and all other deadlines will be at 12 p.m. on Monday.

“Although we won’t be in the office, we will be monitoring all email accounts and we will respond,” Franklin said. “We will also be checking our voice mail box as well. Simply leave a message and someone will return your call.”

The newspaper’s phone number is (318) 992-4121.

Email accounts are: News items and press releases: editor@thejenatimes. net.

Photo items: photos@thejenatimes.net.

Public notices/legals: legals@thejenatimes. net.

Classified advertisements: classifieds@thejenatimes. net.

Regular/display advertisements: ads@thejenatimes. net.

Subscriptions or subscription information: subscriptions@thejenatimes.net.

Billing or invoice questions: billing@thejenatimes. net.

“We certainly thank all of our readers and advertisers for your understanding as we take this time off for our annual convention,” the Editor said. “As always, we strive to learn as much as we can to better serve the residents of LaSalle Parish and beyond.”