Bart Waggoner of Chatham has been named Grand Marshall of the 2022 Christmas Wonderland in the Pines Parade. As one of the biggest advocates of the prospering of Jackson Parish, Bart has been a member of the Jackson Parish School Board for 32 years and has been a dedicated volunteer for community efforts of which he still actively supports.
Waggoner is a United States Armed Services Veteran where he served in the Air Force and is a member of Caney Lake Baptist Church, which recently awarded him with a certificate of appreciation. Bart has also given of his time coaching little league baseball and women’s softball.
While smiles were abound on the ten beautiful young ladies that represented the 2022 JHHS Homecoming Court none were bigger than on the faces of the Tiger coaching staff and players after the 28-7 victory over Lakeview that gave the Tigers their first district 3-2A victory of the season. With the victory JHHS improved to 3-6 on the year and 1-3 in district play while Lakeview dropped to 4-5 overall and to the bottom of 3-2A with an 0-4 record.
More importantly the win puts JHHS back in the postseason discussion and in control of their own destiny. According to the current Division IV “Non – Select” schools power rankings, the Tigers are sitting at #29, an improvement of two spots from the week before and just one spot out of the 28 team playoff bracket.
According to JHHS head coach Terrance Blankenship, with the way the season has unfolded this is all that can be asked for at this point.
“I told the guys before the game that even though the season hasn’t gone like we would have wanted up to this point, we are still in control of whether or not we make the playoffs,” said Blankenship. “|I am proud of the way the guys responded. We had to win this one if we were going to have a shot.”
Dominating Performance! While Zoie Anderson and Cartavious Waters were honored as the 2022 Homecoming Queen and King during the assembly held earlier in the day it was Xavier Atkins who ruled the field on Friday night. The LSU commit had by far his best game of the season reminding the large throng of Tiger fans in attendance why he is one of the more coveted athletes in north Louisiana despite being only a junior. Atkins led the dominant Tiger defense with 11 tackles and one assist, including three tackles for a loss. More impressively was his blocking three punts, which sets a nee JHHS single game record and returning an interception 55 yards for a touchdown that broke what had been a close game open. For good measure Atkins also scored on a 12 yard reception while playing offense.
Future is now! To be where they are now has to be almost surreal for Freshman Dakota Knox and Jason Blackburn. Last year the pair were the quarterback and running back for J-H Middle School lending credence that they would one day be strong contributors for the varsity. That day is now! Both turned in sterling performances to lead the offense to their second best scoring total of the season. Knox completed 8 of 13 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown while Blackburn, playing for the first time in three weeks after injuring his ankle, rushed for 34 yards and scored twice.
In recognition of one of the iconic coaches in Jonesboro-Hodge history, Lonnie Calahan was honored before the game by a coalition of former players that he mentored during the years of 1973 – 82. Calahan was presented with a beautiful plaque that commemorated what he meant to his players while also hearing from several of his players. The beloved coach started at JHHS as an assistant in 1973 before becoming head coach in 1979 a position he held until 1982 compiling a 25-19-1 overall record and leading JHHS to the Class AA state championship game in 1980 and the quarterfinals in 1982.
Booker Family recognized as “First Family of JHHS Football”
In conjuntion with the Jonesboro-Hodge football program and sponsored by the Jackson Parish Journal, the Booker family, one of the most iconic families of JHHS football was recognized at halftime of the JHHS vs Lakeview Homecoming contest. The group[ represented three quarterbacks, one of which was the first African-American to man the position at JHHS, two all state running backs, one NFL All Pro and a professional basketball player still competing today. Being honored for their acheivements were: Calvin Booker , Donald Booker, Randy Booker, Marty Booker, Cortez Booker, Kameron Booker and Asanti Belton.
In what has become an annual tradition that allows children of all ages to enjoy getting the goodies offered at Halloween in a safe and fun environment, “Trunk or Treat” will be held on Jimmie Davis Boulevard aka Main Street in Jonesboro from 6:00 – 7:30pm on Monday, October 31st. Set up for those who will be presenting the candies and such to those attending will be at 5:00pm. In addition, hot dogs will be served in the Pocket Park by Grace Church and on Polk Avenue by Barksdale Federal Credit Union. As added entertainment the Jonesboro Branch of the Jackson Parish Library will be presenting the Alice in Wonderland “Spooktacular” from 4:00 – 8:00pm.
In conjunction with the Jackson Parish Libray, the Town of Chatham will hold the 5th annual Glow On The Block Party on Halloween, October 31st. The free event will begin at 5:00pm with a Food Court at the Chatham Fire Department. From there revelers will get to enjoy “Trunk or Treat” that will be held on Maple Street in front of the Chatham Community Church. “Glow Fun” will then take place on the Walking Track at the Chatham Branch Library, located at 1500 Pine Street followed by the “Glow Down and Clean Up” at 7:30 pm.
Sponsors are: Chatham Community Church, Chatham Fire Department, Chatham Grocery, First Baptist Church, J&H Cookin’, Jackson Parish Hospital, Chatham Medical Clinic, Jackson Parish Library, Peoples Bank and the Town of Chatham.
One of the oldest rivalries in north Louisiana added another editon to the long history of competition in high school basketball this past Thursday when Quitman High School made the short trip to Weston to tip off the 2022-23 LHSAA prep roundball campaign in the season opening Jamboree.
Supporters of both schools, many who are friends and neighbors, packed the WHS gymnasium as the two Jackson Parish Schools seperated by only ten miles as the crow flies battled through junior varsity and varsity girls and boys contests that were played with a pair of ten minute halves instead of the normal four quarters. In the end Quitman swept all four games with the QHS junior varisty teams winning by 14-2 and 16-10 margins in girls and boys play respectively and the varsity squads winning by similar 41-33 and 42-32 scores.
Junior Varsity Girls:
QHS 14 WHS 2: Six players tallied for the Lady Wolverines including several who were just coming off an undefeated junior high season, as the defense held Weston to only a pair of Anslee Aldy free throws in the first half. Taylor Borland led the way with four points followed by two points each from Emma Walker, Anna Leach, Ali Claire Palmer and Jaliegh Burns. Taylor Harvey added a free throw to round out the scoring.
Junior Varsity Boys:
Quitman 16 Weston 10: Four players scored four points apiece for Quitman as the Wolverines won each half by 8-5 scores. Gratn Williams and Noah Leach did the honors in the first half with Abel Leach and Marvin Delaney doing the honors in the second half. Daniel Watlington scored six to lead the Wolves with Avery Evans and Nathan Wages adding two each.
Varsity Girls:
Quitman 41 Weston 32: The Lady Wolves exploded out of the locker room to take an eleven point lead and allowed only four players from Quitman to score all game but the Lady Wolverines came storming back with a 28 points in the second half to take the victory. Weston controlled the play early with Emma Kate McBride and Lainee Trosclair hitting three pointers and Briley Peterson adding three the old fashioned way as the Lady Wolves stormed out to a 12-1 advantage. Bethany Leach and Brayli Stewart scored four of their 12 points in the game and Anna Leach hit a three pointer later in the half to help Quitman close the gap at to 17-13 at intermission. Cali Deal scored 12 of her game high 14 points in the second half to fuel the second half rally. Peterson scored seven to lead a balanced attack by the Lady Wolves followed by six from Trosclair and five each from McBride and Jessica Newton. Lexi Millien added four, Anslee Aldy scored three and Nadia Siadek hit a basket for Weston.
Varsity Boys::
Quitman 42 Weston 32: Logan Ponder and Brayden Smith drained three treys each as Quitman nailed eight shots from behind the three point line. Riley Duck and Eli Walker also hit three pointers in the first half as the Wolverines took a 26-13 advantage into the break and never looked back. Tait Henderson and Bryce Zehr, who also hit three from “downtown”, led Weston with ten points each follwed by six from Jude Otwell, five from Braden Theriot and a basket by Juan Gonzales. Normal starter Mitchel Mathews was forced to miss the contest due to injuring his ankle earlier in the day. Ponder led all scorers with 13, Smith added nine and Blake Carter eight to pace the Wolverines. Duck and Walker finished with five eachand Nick Kliebert chipped in with two for Quitman.
Photos courtesy of Kristi Tolar, Mandy Roberson, JPJ staff
It has been a long time tradition that on Halloween young people of all ages go to residences and places of business and receive “goodies.” Over the past several years another tradition that is growing ever more popular locally and has become a “must see” event celebrated locally s the annual “Halloween Spooktacular” that is held at the Jonesboro Branch of the Jackson Parish Library (JPL).
Each year, the incredibly talented and creative staff of the JPL works diligently for weeks to transform the Library into a wonderous, panaramic walk-through setting, that is created to bring to life a favorite book. This year Alice in Wonderland. will be theme with each room of the Library featuring a main scene of the story. Make sure and allow your child to be amazed by coming from 4:00 – 8:00pm. There is no charge to enter. Added to the entertaiment is the ability for patrons aged 17 and under to participate in a costume contest for a chance to win a prize. The winner will be announced the following day.
The LHSAA prep basketball season begins this Tuesday with Quitnan and Weston High Schools playing this Tuesday. Jonesboro – Hodge will play their season opener on November 17th. The season opening contest for Quitman will also represent the final game of the year played at their home gymnasium that is being updated and expanded. Following the contest against Dodson on Tuesday, Quitman will play their remaining home schedule at Jonesboro-Hodge High School. Weston will also be at home as they host Summerfield. Opening tip for the Quitman game will be at 5:00pm while the contest at Weston will start at 6:00pm.
If she desires, the young lady with a golden smile now has a chance to play in the Golden Dome. That is because on Saturday, Emma Kate McBride of Weston High School received an official offer to continue her basketball career at Centenary College in Shreveport.
The offer is the second for the daughter of Jeff and Rebecca (Tilley) McBride. This past August the vivacious point guard was offered by South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado, AR after exploding onto the college recruiting scene this summer while playing for the LA Elite AAU team.
Interested in learning if Jackson Parish is in line to receive federal funding so that the entire parish will have access to reliable high speed internet capabilities? Then you need to attend the meeting of the Jackson Parish Police Jury (JPPJ) that will be held at 9:30am on Monday, November 7th at the Charles H. Garrett Community Center, located at 182 Industrial Avenue in Jonesboro.
Mr. Veneeth Lyengar, Executive Director of the Louisiana State Broadband Development and Connectivity Intiative will be speaking to the JPPJ on this topic and how Jackson Parish can be part of the program and support the process for the betterment of the community.
To learn more about the “Investing in Broadband” intiative see below the statement issued by US Senator Bill Cassiday.
The Jackson Parish Ambulance Service District (JPASD) announces that time is running out to register for the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course that will be held in January. The Registration deposit for the course that will be held on January 2nd 2023 at the JPASD training center is $300.00. Students need a laptop computer or tablet for course work. Chrome books and cell phones are not sufficient for course needs. To register go to JPASD.com and select the education tab from the menu. For more information call the JPASD at (318) 259-2877.
Jackson Parish Ambulance Service District has served the people of Jackson Parish for over 20 years. Our state-of-the-art Education Center offers a relaxed classroom setting for instruction and areas dedicated to developing practical skills. The instructors have combined experience in EMS of over 50 years. Additionally, many JPASD EMS professionals offer advice and guidance to students as the class progresses and share their experiences to add real world examples to the lecture material.
You are at home entertaining a group of people. During the conversation your wife asks you to find something that is in her purse. What do you do? The question is for guys only.
There is an unwritten guy rule concerning the purse. “Thou shalt not go into the purse of thine wife under any circumstance, lest thou be tossed outside the man-cave.” I am not sure who first stated this rule. It is a standing guy rule. It is more a male instinct than a rule that is taught. There are many reasons for not digging in a purse.
First reason, some other guy may witness you digging in a purse. This purse watcher might not know you are married to the owner of the purse. He might see you pull make-up out of the purse and wonder if the purse and the make-up are yours. In some circles purse and make-up possession will cut down on the number of invitations for you to share another guy’s deer stand, duck blind, bass boat or man-cave.
Second reason, you might reach in the purse and pull out something you don’t understand. There are things in the purse of which a male has no knowledge. We don’t know what they are or what they are for. You don’t want to pull something out of the purse and not understand what you are holding. The consequences are like those stated above.
Third reason, there are dangerous items in a purse. She might have been to the hardware store and purchased a mousetrap. Rather than carry the mousetrap around, she stuffed it into her purse. You don’t want to set off a mouse trap or stab yourself with the many sharp implements hiding in the purse. There are trimming and cutting devices in a purse. Males know this only because we have witnessed a purse being dumped out on the kitchen table when something is “lost” in the purse
Fourth reason, as stated above, there is much stuff in the purse. If in front of witnesses she asks you to find a widget and you can’t and must confess that before the same witnesses; that will do great damage to the male ego. It is especially injurious when she reaches in the purse and finds the widget immediately.
Last reason, it is not your purse. It is not your business, is it? Even when given permission, the male should never peruse the purse. There is a corollary to this rule. “Thou shalt not wander through the cell phone of thine wife, lest thou be expelled from the man-cave.” If the purse is off limits, so is the cell phone.
Now talk among yourselves about this. If you are thinking, “She is my wife and everything she has is mine” then we need to talk about boundaries. If you are curious about what you might find, we really need to talk about something very important for healthy happy relationships.
The central issue is trust. When we refuse to look in or place our hands inside the purse, we are displaying trust. We are not being lazy, cute or even a curmudgeon. We are showing respect for and trust in the spousal owner of the purse. Haven’t thought about it like that have you?
Who do you trust?
Trust is the soil in which love grows. When trust is broken it is almost impossible for the relationship to be restored, right? How many times have you said, “I don’t trust ________.” The blank can be filled with the name of a person, a vocation, or an institution. Maybe rather than conversation we need to confess where we have broken the trust of another.
Are you a trusting and trustworthy person? If not, you can be transformed.
Nicholas McConnell, who graduated from Weston High School in 2003 has been named principal of Union Parish High School, located in Farmerville. Following his graduation from WHS, McConnell furthered his education at Grambling State University where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Following his graduation from college, he came back to Weston to begin his career as an educator where in addition to his teaching duties, he also assisted with coaching the boys’ basketball program.
“Nick” has always shown dedication to the education system and most importantly the young people at each of the schools and communities he has served throughout his career. With a large dose of Wolf Pride, the Weston High School Alumni Association sends heartfelt congratulations.
The Jackson Parish h Library Board of Control met on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at the Jonesboro Branch of the Jackson Parish Library where they accepted the bid of $531,500.00 from Triad Builders in Ruston for the construction of the Interactive Playground and Park.
In additional business, board members adopted the amended 2022 budget and 2023 budget as presented.and confirmed Lyndsey Matherne for the position of Youth Services Coordinator contingent upon pre-employment screening and successful completion of probationary period. Director Floyd Knox also presented the board with the 2022-2023 Employee Salary Schedule which was approved and gave an update on current projects.
Despite the fact that the final game didn’t end exactly the way they would have preferred it was still a succesful fall campaign for the Quitman and Weston Junior High Softball teams. Both lost their season ender with Quitman falling to Benton 6-3 and Weston dropping a home game to Castor by a 6-0 score. The loss by Quitman was their first of the year after reeling off 13 straight victories including a 9-2 win over Lakeside Junior High in the first game of the Benton Round Robin played on Friday. Weston ended the year with a 6-5 record.
Quitman 9 Lakeside 2: The junior girls scored three runs in each of the first three innings to win their 13th straight. Hallie Kate Pullig continued her impressive power display this season by stroking a pair of doubles and accounting for a pair of runs scored and RBI’s as well as stealing a base to lead the Lady Wolverine’s attack. Anna Leach also hit a double, stole two bases and scored two runs while Lainee Cheatwood chipped in with a triple as four of the five hits garnered by Quitman were for extra bases. Zoee Williams got the other hit while B Bowers, Morgan Cheatwood, Avery Watson and Emma Toms scored. Brenna Lamkin got the complete game win.
Benton 6 Quitman 3: Quitman came within one inning of completing a perfect season but home standing Benton scored four runs in the top of the fourth inning to reverse a 3-2 deficit and send QJH to their only loss of the year. Anna Leach got two hits, stole three bases, scored arun and knocked one in to lead the offensive attack. Hallie Kate Pullig got a hit and RBI while Morgan Cheatwood singled and scored a run. Kinsley Ponder also got a hit
Castor 6 Weston 0: Facing the best pitcher they had seen all season according to WJH head coach Cecilia Chambliss, Weston managed just three hits in the season ender. Gracie Gray, Braniah Malone and Shyanne Chatham all hit singles for the Lady Wolves while Carlynn Waters struck out five on the mound.
