News

For the past six years, LaSalle Parish students in eighth grade have participated in the annual Youth Crime Awareness Prevention Program (YCAP) sponsored by the LaSalle Parish Sheriff’s Office and the LaSalle Correctional Center. This program was created as a way to bring awareness to teenager’s lives that the choices they make could land them in this very place.

The message that inmates who reside in the LaSalle Correctional Center try to get across to the students is that their decisions determine their destiny. So many kids and teens don’t realize that things they consider to be harmless such as sneaking out, lying, hanging with friends their parents don’t approve of, drinking alcohol and smoking or chewing tobacco could all lead them down a path of destructive decisions.

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Two Memorial Day programs are planned this weekend to honor the memory of fallen soldiers from this area and from throughout the nation. The first of these events will be held at the Centennial Cultural Center (CCC) in downtown Olla, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 27th. The Veterans Honor Guard from VFW Post 5002 of Jena will participate in the events, along with numerous local citizens. A program saluting a special veteran, WWII U.S. Army veteran Carnot Waggoner, will be presented.

The program will conclude with handing out small United States flags to be taken to area cemeteries and placed on graves of veterans. CCC Board President R. V. Couch will give the welcome, and Boy Scout Brayden Lee, Life Rank with Troop 1, will preside over the program. Prayer will be delivered by Rev. Scott Smith, pastor of First Baptist Church in Tullos.

LaSalle Sheriff Scott Franklin places a Torch Run medal around the neck of Brad Oswalt, an athlete from the LADD Center in Jena, prior to the start of the Louisiana Torch Run held in Jena last week. Athletes from the LADD Center and LaSalle Parish School system Special Education program, joined law enforcement officers from the sheriff’s office, Jena police department and others in the 1-mile leg of the Louisiana Torch Run in Jena. The Torch Run in Jena was one of the first of many taking place around Louisiana to bring awareness to Special Olympics Louisiana and the upcoming State Summer Games. (See story and related

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Performance standards and 2-year contracts for two supervisors, two principals and one assistant principal was approved by the LaSalle Parish School Board during its regular May meeting held Monday night of last week. Supervisor of Elementary Education Kathryn Tyler’s contract was renewed beginning June 1, 2018, and ending May 31, 2020, and Supervisor of Secondary Education Tania “Tish” Taylor’s contract was renewed beginning May 8, 2018, and ending May 7, 2020. LaSalle Junior High School Principal Stephanie Clark’s contract was renewed beginning June 6, 2018, and ending June 5, 2020, and Jena Elementary School Principal Deedra Zeagler’s contract was renewed beginning June 5, 2018, and ending June 4, 2020.

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Entergy Louisiana customers will see their power bills fall an average of $10 per month this year, according to Public Service Commissioner Mike Francis. The Louisiana Public Service Commission reached an agreement recently with Entergy on renewal of its Formula Rate Plan (RFP) through August 2021.

The RFP directs Entergy to immediately share with its customers, dollar for dollar, the money it saved from the federal “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” that lowered its tax rate from 35 to 21 percent. The federal “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” was passed by Congress in December and signed into law before the end of 2017 by President Donald Trump.

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Jena Junior High eighth grader Audrey Andrews twists a prosthetic leg off LaSalle High alum and speaker Bill Baldridge at his insistence at the start of Baldridge’s recent talk with students at the JJHS Gymnasium. Baldridge was in a horrible wreck in his early 20’s and two of his friends were killed due to driving while intoxicated.

He lost both his legs and nearly his life. He shared his story with the students along with a Powerpoint presentation and his message - YAWI (You Are Worth It). He said he does not share with students for them to feel sorry for him but to encourage them to make smart choices. He also spoke to LJHS students at an assembly later that day. (See photos and story inside this edition.)

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Honor graduates from both high schools in the parish will lead in commencement exercises this week at each of the schools. Graduation at LaSalle High School will be at 8 p.m., Thursday, May 10, at Tiger Stadium. Graduation at Jena High School will be at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 11, at Guy Campbell Memorial Athletic Complex.

Small Business Week is being celebrated throughout America during this week – April 29-May 5.

An annual event sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA), the week is an opportunity for national and community leaders to recognize the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners to the country’s economy.

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Voters in the Town of Tullos soundly defeated a proposal on last Saturday’s ballot which would have allowed the town to sell $525,000 in water revenue bonds to help finance improvements to the town’s water system.

Voters cast 79 no votes, or 81.44% of those voting, to 18 yes votes, or 18.56% of those voting, thus soundly defeating the proposition. About 43% of the registered voters in Tullos cast ballots in this election.

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A 28-year-old Tullos man was found guilty of two murder related charges following a three-day trial in 28th Judicial District Court last week, according to J. Reed Walters, LaSalle Parish District Attorney.

The 12-member jury found Joshua D. Sant, 28, of Tullos, guilty of the crimes of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, for the murder of Chelsea Copling.

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