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This past Saturday, seventyfive children went on a very special shopping trip. Area schools submitted the names of the children after being identified as children who might go without Christmas. The Winnfield Police Department, the Winnfield Fire Department and the City of Winnfield came together, and with generous donations from local residents and businesses, held their annual Shop With a Cop event. The excited children met at the police department and participated in a boisterous parade to the Wal-Mart store in Winnfield, where police officers, firefighters and councilmen took them shopping for Christmas gifts.

The Winn Parish Enterprise is saddened to inform our readers that a member of the Natchitoches Times family has passed away. Early on the morning of December 12, Mrs. Dianne Litton was driving to work and was involved in a motor vehicle accident, in which she received fatal injuries.

Mrs. Litton graduated from Montgomery High in 1973, and upon graduation went to work at the Natchitoches Times. She was a fixture there for 43 years and made many friends, who became more like family. Members of the Winnfield community may recognize Mrs. Dianne, as she was an active participant in the Chamber of Commerce Christmas Open House for many years, and frequently did her shopping at local businesses. Our deepest condolences go out to the Litton family and friends. We ask that you keep them, and our newspaper family in your thoughts, as she will be greatly missed by many.

The spirit of Christmas is in the air and lots of residents and guests showed their spirit Friday night. The afternoon began with a Grand Marshal’s Reception at the Winn Parish Library. The Grand Marshals for the Kiwanis Club’s It’s A Blue Christmas Parade were local law enforcement officers and they were honored at the reception and well represented. Winnfield Mayor Kiah Bevill and Dugdemona Fest Board representatives welcomed the crowd and thanked them for their service to our parish and cities. Deputies from the Winn Parish Sheriffs Office were present, as were officers from the Winnfield City Police, the Dodson Police Department, and the Montgomery and Atlanta Police Departments. Norris Curry from the Sheriffs Department gave the invocation and attendees were treated to Christmas cookies and snacks. It was an opportunity for the men and women who serve our community, to be recognized for their many sacrifices.

Autumn Leaves Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, LLC was recently awarded the American Health Care Association’s Bronze Award for Quality Care. Administrator Jimmy Dale Zimmerman accepted the award late last month at the AHCA/NCAL national convention in Nashville, TN. Autumn Leaves has already begun the application process for the Association’s Sliver Award, and would like to thank the community for helping us to achieve this honor. Pictured are Zimmerman and staff members with the award plaque.

Elections were almost a month ago, and 534 of the 535total members of Congress are ready to take office and begin their new session in January.

One seat, however, has not yet been decided: Louisiana’s Senate race.

Voters in Louisiana will head to the polls a second time on Dec. 10 for a runoff election to choose their new senator, either Democratic Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell or Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy.

Thanksgiving has now passed us and we all look forward to Christmas as another opportunity to gather and to celebrate with family. There are some exciting and new things happening in Winnfield this year during the Christmas season. The Kiwanis Club will be presenting the always crowd-pleasing Christmas Parade on Friday, December 2nd, with a theme of “It’s A Blue Christmas”. The theme was chosen to show our community support for all of our local law enforcement agencies.

Late afternoon on November 18th, a crash involving two vehicles killed a man from Dodson. He was wearing his seat belt, but the other driver and her passenger were not. Louisiana State Troopers responded to the crash around 5:40 p.m., which occurred on LA Hwy 34 west of Holly Swamp. The crash involved a 2002 Chevrolet pickup, driven by Tina R. Cagle (W/F 39 yrs) of Dodson and a 1981 GMC pickup, driven by William C. King (W/M 60 yrs). The Chevrolet was westbound on LA Hwy 34 when Cagle lost control and crossed the centerline. This action resulted in the Chevrolet colliding headon with the eastbound GMC. 

If you’ve ever watched an episode of American Pickers on the History Channel, then you know that pickers, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, are on a mission to recycle America. They have spent the past 6 years hitting the back roads from coast to coast, searching for rare artifacts and national treasures that they can buy from collectors then sell in their antique shops, or add to their personal collections. They dig through boxes or piles filled with items that people have accumulated over

As we stop to take a break from our everyday activities to give thanks for our many blessings, it’s also a time many families begin making plans for the Christmas season and it’s many celebrations. This year, Winnfield has more opportunities than ever to celebrate the Christmas season, right here at home. The Kiwanis Club, City of Winnfield and Dugdemona Fest Board have joined together to make a great night of fun for the entire family.

In 2000 a coalition of partners started National Adoption Day. The day is celebrated each year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and is a collective national effort to raise awareness of the more than 100,000 children in the United Sates waiting to find permanent, loving homes. The annual event has made the dreams of thousands of children come true by working with policymakers, practitioners and advocates to finalize adoptions and create and celebrate adopting families. A record number of Louisiana children and families will have something very special for which to be thankful this Thanksgiving. Governor John Bel Edwards declared November Adoption Awareness Month, noting that 735 children in Louisiana’s foster care system found loving, permanent homes with adoptive families between October 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016.