In my long and unproductive life, I’ve encountered several disgusting things…and I’ve stepped in a few of them.But few gave me more displeasure than dissecting a frog. This was a school requirement, and I dreaded it for weeks.My biology teacher, however, seemed to enjoy watching us approach a big va...

Like most from LaSalle Parish, I have many vivid and wonderful memories of fishing and camping at Kitterlin Creek Bay during my childhood. From cooling off at the spillway to bream fishing in the bay and avoiding the millions of stumps, from bass fishing Walker Lake to camping with family where we’d...

If you have never hand shelled peas or butterbeans amidst family conversations and laughter, you are missing out on one of life’s great adventures.One of the many grandeur family get-togethers from my childhood took place on Grandma’s or my childhood homes’ front porches and consisted of large pans ...

Shortly after my dad, Sammy Franklin, purchased The Jena Times in 1968, he established this newspaper’s motto of “Dedicated to the PROGRESS and GROWTH...

I have watched with interest the negative attacks in response to the American Eagle ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney modeling, in an attractive and...

One of the most expressive phrases of all communicative efforts is, “You’re getting on my last nerve.” This simple utterance of five words has conveye...