News

Judge Anastasia Wiley and Aleta Hoffman were guest speakers for the July 22, 2025 Kiwanis club meeting. Judge Wiley spoke first telling the members that when she was first running for office Etoy Ashley told her to help the children. She is trying to do that. She introduced Aleta Hoffman who is the FINS officer. The FINS office is in the Health Unit building. FINS is families in need of services. There are 3 types of children’s cases-juvenile delinquents, children who need help before they become juvenile delinquents and children in need of care (bad parents).

BATON ROUGE, LA (July 23, 2025) – The Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating three separate deadly residential fires that occurred across the state over a four-day period, from July 18–21, 2025. Tragically, each fire resulted in a fatality, and none of the homes involved had smoke alarms installed. Incident Summaries: IBERIA PARISH - On Friday, July 18, 2025, around 11:30 a.m., the New Iberia Fire Department responded to a fire in the 1300 block of Marshfield Road in New Iberia. A 71-yearold man lost his life in the blaze. Investigators say the cause of the fire is undetermined, but confirmed there were no smoke alarms in the home.

The Winn WMU/Women on Mission Quarterly Associational meeting will be held Thursday, July 24, at 6 p.m. at Laurel Heights Baptist Church on San Pedro St. in Winnfield. The meeting will begin with a meal and a business session.

“We will have backpacks available for the Christmas Backpack ministry and will discuss participation in the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women hygiene packs,” said Winn WMU co-director Margaret Coon.

“Our guest speaker will be Laura Holeman Trahan, 1998 graduate of WSHS and daughter of Bob and Diane Holeman of Winnfield. She will be speaking about her family’s journey to become missionaries to Panama.”

All women’s mission groups are invited to attend.

In the early morning hours of 07/15/2025, the Winn Parish Sheriff ’s Office Chase Team played a vital role in locating a missing man in neighboring Grant Parish after a seven-hour search across challenging terrain.

At approximately 10:45 PM, the Grant Parish Sheriff ’s Office contacted the Winn Parish Sheriff ’s Office requesting assistance in the search for a missing man, later identified as Steve Miller, who had been last seen around 3:00 PM earlier that day. Mr. Miller’s disappearance triggered immediate concern due to the time elapsed and the thick wooded environment in which he was believed to be traveling.

In 2018, McAllister began advocating for Louisiana loggers amid a commercial insurance crisis. Over seven years, this work led to key industry wins such as weight limit increases and logger relief policies. However, little progress has been made on insurance reform. McAllister points to a cultural climate in the state that promotes “jackpot justice” and excessive big truck claims, harming the working class. She now collaborates with an insurance workforce group pushing for legislative policies that would curb frivolous lawsuits and reduce abuse of the system.

The City of Winnfield continues their long-standing tradition of supporting youth through their Summer Feeding and Recreation Program. The program is now in full swing at both the Tommy G. Hamms Center and the Moss Street Gym. For many years free summer meals have been offered ensuring that children and teens within the community stay nourished and active during the summer months. Also, the recreation activities offer a safe and fun environment for kids to play, learn, and grow. Also, the City of Winnfield proudly offers summer job opportunities for recent high school graduates and firstyear college students, giving them valuable work experience while serving their community.

East Winnfield Baptist Church will hold a “Lava Lava Luau” Vacation Bible School for area youngsters nightly from July 21 through 25. The event is open to all children ages Pre-K through Grade 12.

Pastor Jeff Shows explains that this VBS could as well be named, “Keeping Cool when Things Get Hot!” Promotional materials say, “Emotions are like a force of nature, but with God’s help, we can learn to take control of our emotions before a storm hits! In Lava Lava Luau 5-day VBS curriculum, kids will learn Biblical ways to express and deal with their emotions.”

This 5-day program puts a unique spin on the Hawaiian Vacation Bible School theme. During a fun week at the Lava Lava Luau, children participating in this EWBC Vacation Bible School will see what God’s Word says about anger, sadness, jealousy, developing a kind attitude, and frustration. They’ll also learn how to respond to others who may be feeling these emotions as well.