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Elected and appointed officials from eight parishes gathered on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, for a meeting at the LaSalle Parish Community Center in Jena, LA. LaSalle Parish hosted the meeting for members of the Police Jury Association. In addition to LaSalle Parish, Region VIII includes Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, Rapides, Vernon, and Winn.

During the Business Session led by PJAL Executive Director Guy Cormier, the 2025 Region VIII Host Parish was announced as Vernon Parish. The Region VIII President and Secretary/Treasurer will come from Vernon Parish, as well. The Region VIII Vice President will come from Grant Parish. Rapides Parish’s Sean McGlothlin was reelected to serve as Region VIII Executive Board Member. Jim Tuck and Curtis Clay of Vernon Parish and Joe Bishop of Rapides Parish were re-elected to serve on the Resolutions Committee. LaSalle Parish’s Jack Zeagler presided over the meeting and gave the welcome address.

Dr. Bill Gaddis and Kim Futrell represented the Winnfield Kiwanis club at the 106th Annual LaMissTenn District Convention held in Tupelo, Ms. July 26-28, 2024. The service project was a book drive for the Tupelo School District. The Kiwanis mission is that one day all children will wake up in a community where they are cared for.

Kim attended breakout sessions on how to get new members and how to retain members. One of their suggestions was to take a prospective member out to lunch or dinner after they have attended a meeting and tell them what Kiwanis does. Another suggestion is to give new members a job so they feel welcome and involved. A child from a K-Kids club spoke at another seminar. This is a primary school Kiwanis club. To start a club in a school you need the involvement of a teacher, the principal and permission from the school board. The cost to the sponsoring club is $400.

The Strengthening Families Program was introduced to Winn Parish in 2020 through a grant received by Winn Community Health Center, funded by The Rapides Foundation. While the grant will soon be completed, the program will continue to support families in our community, and we are now seeking compassionate volunteers to serve as coaches.

This evidence-based initiative focuses on improving family dynamics, fostering better communication, and building resilience in both parents and children. As a coach, you will guide families through structured sessions designed to promote positive relationships and effective parenting techniques.

Training is provided over the course of three days, giving you the skills and resources needed to make a lasting impact. After training, coaches are asked to commit just a few hours per week during 11-week sessions. Your involvement helps ensure that more families can access the support they need to thrive.

Rotarians of Winnfield learned about the Winn Parish Industrial Board at their meeting on September 4, 2024, from Board member Larry Bates and Winn Parish District Attorney Chris Nevils.

Nevils explained that the Board was formed out of the agreement between the Police Jury and Jeld-Wen when Jeld-Wen located its plant in the parish. The Industrial Board acquired the property on which the plant is located, and Jeld-Wen leases the property from the board, paying annual rent of $50,000 to the board.

The Industrial Board uses the funds to investigate industrial development opportunities for the area to attract businesses which will provide jobs for Winn Parish. Bates reported the Board has sought out manufacturing companies which might make their products locally, although none of those discussions has resulted in success.

(StatePoint) When a new school year begins, most teachers don’t wait long before they begin scheduling tests, and assigning loads of homework and reading assignments. Here are three tips for helping kids stay on top of all their coursework: 1. Focus on organization: One of the most valuable life skills a student can develop while in school is time management. Teach kids how to prioritize assignments with upcoming deadlines and those which are easy to knock off their to-do list. Encourage them to find an organizational tool, such as an academic planner or calendar, that works for them. Depending on their preferences and learning style, they may prefer to use app-based tools. The important thing is that they always know what is on their to-do list and when it must be completed by. If they are struggling, help them chunk their afternoon into segments so that they budget enough time for each of their tasks.

The 2024 Fall Festival has been slated for October 31 in downtown Winnfield from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. when Main Street is traditionally lined with booths, tables and pickup trucks from the Methodist Church down to the Political Museum where youngsters can find plenty of Trick or Treat goodies.

A good starting point for activities is always the Costume Contest for all ages, set to begin at 5:30 p.m. (registration at 5 p.m.) at the Louisiana Political Museum. Six age groups are 0-3 years, 4-7 years, 8-10 years, 1113 years, 14-17 years and 18 years and up. There will also be Theme Groups and Pets divisions.

Along the route, downtown Treaters will also find Bounce Houses beside First Baptist Church, free food (hot dogs, chips and drinks) and the Pumpkin Patch located at the First United Methodist Church.

WPFD 3 Holds District Meeting

New Kiwanis member Sheriff Josh McAllister spoke to the Kiwanis club, Tuesday, September 17th. He is blessed with a great team and the office is the people of Winn Parish’s office. There are good people in the office and on the team. One of the first accomplishments of his office was starting the litter abatement team and they have picked up a lot of garbage. They have also received a grant that will allow them to have another litter abatement team. In the past week a robbery was caught in progress at Saline Lake.

Increased patrols have been put into place to deter crime. There are zones in the parish and each zone has officer on patrol. This means there is quicker response times in emergencies. This is called community policing. The sheriff ’s office is not to make money but to use that money to service the community. $150,000 was used for repairs and maintenance on the Winn Detention Center. The chase team is 8 for 8 being used in Winn Parish and to help other parishes.

State makes most significant jump in the country on scorecard evaluating education choice, teacher freedom, academic transparency, and the return on investment for education spending (BATON ROUGE, LA) - Louisiana ranks fourth in the nation for its support of education freedom. The state saw the most significant jump in the country on the Education Freedom Report Card, produced annually by the Heritage Foundation. The report card evaluates states based on numerous education criteria, ranking them on their support for education freedom. Categories include education choice, teacher freedom, academic transparency, and the return on investment for education spending. “Expanding education freedom is a priority in Louisiana, and I’m glad to see our progress recognized nationally” said Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley.

Sheriff McAllister, his deputies and investigators worked many hours over the last couple weeks. The hard work resulted in deputies making several arrests. On September 9, 2024, Winn Sheriff ’s office received a report concerning a gunshot victim. Investigators learned the shooting occurred at a residence on Old Gainsville Road resulting in Eric Doughty receiving a gunshot wound to his left arm. Deputies arrested Jason Royce Holland of Dodson for the shooting and charged Holland with Attempted Second Degree Murder, other charges are pending against Holland in this case. Also charged in this case is Tonie Netherland Bladel of Dodson for Accessory to Attempted Second Degree Murder and a warrant in Grant Parish. Both individuals were booked into the Winn Parish Detention Center.