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A swearing in ceremony was held on June 29 for Sheriff Joshua McAllister. McAllister was elected sheriff during a run off this past March against former sheriff, Cranford Jordan.

The ceremony was held at CLTCC Huey P Long Campus with a packed house and some very special guests. One of those guests was Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungessor who officiated the swearing in.

Many other distinguished guests were present including Judge Jay McCallum and several members of the Louisiana State Police. The Family Church praise team shared a time of worship with music.

A video was played during the event that included U.S Representative Julia Letlow sending best wishes to the sheriff and the parish.

Toni, wife of Sheriff McAllister, spoke to the crowd offering thanks to all who played a hand in the festivities as well as their support during the campaign.

In conclusion of the ceremony, Police Juror Author Robinson led the benediction.

What industry was productive near Winnfield from 1931 through 1965 but ceased abruptly in 1965 to the detriment of about 100 employees and the entire community? Local amateur historian, John Holland, reminded Rotarians that Winnfield’s economy was once bolstered by the Carey Salt Mine just a few miles out on Highway 84 at their meeting on June 12, 2024. Rotarian of the Day Kiah Beville, arranged Holland’s talk, which he presented at the Louisiana Political Museum which preserves memorabilia from the salt mine.

Winnfield native and life-long resident John Holland has delved into the history of our local salt mine. Holland’s grandfather was employed at the mine for many years and John went to the mining site frequently with him over the years.

The Goldonna School reunion will be July 13, 2024 at Goldonna Baptist Church in Goldonna, Louisiana. You can arrive as early as 10:30 am, so you can have time to visit. Feel free to bring any old pictures, newspaper clippings or yearbooks you may have that you can share with everyone. Contact everyone you know that attended or graduated from Goldonna School. The menu will be fish with all the trimmings. The cost will be $20.00 per plate. Please let Linda Dupree or Eva Gates know ASAP if you plan to join us for the meal. If you have any questions you may contact Roy or Linda Dupree at

318-875-2716 or 318-471-0602 or Eva Gates at 318-727-9315 or 318-471-9312.

LSUA, LA-HOSA Future Health Professionals and CLTCC have partnered to offer a Future Nurse Camp July 15th through July 19th at the CLTCC Winnfield Campus. The five-day camp is for high school students considering a career in nursing. Participants will explore various nursing careers and participate in hands-on nursing skills including wound care, vital signs, head-to-toe assessments and medication administration. The camp is free of charge and is funded by a Future of HealthC.A.R.E. Program Grant from The Rapides Foundation. Participants will be provided a set of scrubs, a stethoscope, and lunch. Interested students should contact Kristina Sloan via text or call at 571-- 417-8417.

UNIVERSITY, MS (06/26/2024)— Katherine Nevils, of Winnfield, LA, is among the more than 3,100 students who earned their degrees from the University of Mississippi in May 2024.

Nevils, who majored in Biomedical Engineering, received a B.S.B.E. in Biomedical Engineering from the School of Engineering.

“Our May 2024 graduates are distinguished by incredible achievements, character and resilience,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce said. “They accomplished so much during their years at Ole Miss, and we can’t wait to see all the ways they will pursue their passions and reach their full potential on their paths to a bright future.”

May 2024 graduates were invited to walk across the stage at the University of Mississippi’s 171st Commencement exercises, which were held by individual colleges and schools May 8-12. The universitywide morning Convocation took place Saturday, May 11 in the Grove, with Wright Thompson, senior writer for ESPN, giving the keynote address.

The American Enterprise Institute has ranked Louisiana’s broadband office, known as ConnectLA, first in the U.S. for implementation of broadband best practices and initiatives. AEI’s Broadband Barometer Project released its annual report cards to document each state’s efforts related to broadband access and programming.

Ranked first along with Idaho, Louisiana secured perfect scores on its report card by meeting all criteria in areas such as transparency, efficiency and accountability.

According to AEI’s report card, transparent access to Louisiana’s broadband plans and emphasis on market-based competition were significant factors that contributed to the state’s ranking.

In 1924, a group of local businessmen and professional leaders joined together to establish the Winn Parish Enterprise. That was 100 years ago. Today, even though technology has advanced and we now have the Internet, the Enterprise is still going strong. Before the Enterprise there were several different newspapers in Winn Parish. The most complete history of earlier Winn papers comes from an item in the January 17, 1930 issue of the Winnfield News-American, most of it supplied by a W.L. Smylie.

The Southern Sentinel, he wrote, was started in 1859, before the Civil War, and was the first newspaper in Winn Parish. It was suspended during the war but revived afterward for a short period of time and was passed into the hands of O.M. Grisham in 1904.

Within a year Major Will A. Strong of Monroe bought the office and managed the publication of the paper. He published it until his death in 1910.

When the inaugural Sales Along 84 occurred last fall, any skepticism on the new event’s success was quickly dissolved during the first few hours of the very first day. Hundreds of people poured into LaSalle and surrounding areas visiting yard sales and vendor locations to scoop up as much as possible on that first day.

By Saturday, many had sold completely out of merchandise and were already planning for the next year including having much more items to sell and getting more people involved.

According to event founder Lavelle Evans of Whitehall, stories of people and vendors raking in thousands of dollars during last year’s Sales Along 84 were common to hear.

“We had one family, located a mile off the main road in Jena, initially wonder if anyone would even come by their house and shop,” Evans said. “By the time the weekend was over, they made over $5,000.”

Kiwanian Joe Evans spoke to the Kiwanis club, June 18, 2024. He pointed out our motto on the wall, which says we “serve the children of the world”. He talked about the ways our local Kiwanis club serves the children of the world. The first way is through the Toys for Kids program every year at Christmas, which is coordinated by Rita James. Not to toot his own horn but for 2 years now the Evans family has been helping to supply a children’s book for each bag given to a child at Christmas. Another program for older children would be our scholarships that we give to graduating seniors in our parish. This year we presented 3 scholarships. Evans is part of the cooking crew for our scholarship lunch that raises money for the scholarships. The last program he spoke about was Terrific Kids. He was awarded Terrific Kid in the 6th grade, the first month he was at a new school.

The Goldonna School reunion will be July 13, 2024 at Goldonna Baptist Church in Goldonna, Louisiana. You can arrive as early as 10:30 am, so you can have time to visit. Feel free to bring any old pictures, newspaper clippings or yearbooks you may have that you can share with everyone. Contact everyone you know that attended or graduated from Goldonna School. The menu will be fish with all the trimmings. The cost will be $20.00 per plate. Please let Linda Dupree or Eva Gates know ASAP if you plan to join us for the meal. If you have any questions you may contact Roy or Linda Dupree at 318-875-2716 or 318-471-0602 or Eva Gates at 318-727-9315 or 318-471-9312.