News

The Winn Parish School District had a reason to celebrate as they left for the Thanksgiving holidays on Nov. 17. The Louisiana Department of Education released school and district performance scores and Winn saw growth across the board.

Winn Parish Schools earned a “B” ranking on their 2022-2023 district performance scores, a growth of almost two points from 2021-2022.

Winnfield Primary School was top of the list of growth in the district. WPS grew 6.5 points and earned a “B” ranking for their school performance score. That’s not only impressive for Winn, but also for the state as a whole. The Louisiana Department of Education named WPS a top gains honoree, a distinction given to schools that demonstrate excellence in student progress from one year to the next. WPS’ growth also attracted the interest of Dr. Cade Brumley, the Louisiana State Superintendent of Schools, to visit last month.

DARE Officer Stephanie Lawson Young and Sheriff Cranford Jordan made a special visit to see the little ones at First Baptist Church in Winnfield on November 16. The children got to hug the DARE bear and hear the siren on the DARE patrol vehicle. Officer Young read them a story as the sheriff passed out stickers to the children. DARE is a substance abuse prevention program designed to equip school children with skills for resisting peer pressure to experiment with drugs.

The Winnfield Senior High School Student of the Year Honor has been awarded to Alyssa Van Blaricum. Congratulations to Alyssa and to all of the contestants. Alyssa will now go on to the District Student of the Year competition.

Dodson High School Student of the Year winners. Anna Worthington (12th), Hayden Stoner (5th), and Judson Jordan (8th). Congratulations to these great students.

Joel Carter, pastor of the First United Methodist Church, was introduced to the Kiwanis club by Shonna Moss. Carter said he was new to the community but old to the community. His mother grew up on Highway 84 East in the Couch community. He was born in Shreveport and grew up in Plain Dealing but spent holidays and summers in Winnfield. He is looking into his ancestry and has discovered that his great-great-grandfather was a circuit preacher in 1908 in Jena. He has always been of the Methodist faith although he went away from God for a while when he thought he knew everything but he returned. God called him to preach but he ran from the call for 16 years. He was married for 19 years until his wife passed away unexpectedly. In that time he knew that he could be angry with God or he could draw close to God and he chose to draw close to God. When he did that he finally surrendered to preach. He was in his mid-forties.

How do we measure ‘enough’? Is it when our savi ngs account is stuffed to overflowing? Is it when we need to buy a bigger house, just to have more closet space for shoes and clothes? Is it when our paychecks double and the cost of living is cut in half ?

Everyone has their own idea of what is enough. But if you look around, your ‘enough’ is much different than the person next to you. A homeless person considers a meal in their stomach enough. It is sheer luxury to them to have a real roof over their heads, instead of a tree limb or a cardboard box.

A young couple with a new child feels it is enough if they can just pay the electric bill this month. Last month they weren’t so fortunate. If there ever is any extra, the thought of buying something for themselves is unheard of. Instead, all extras go towards the care of their child.

Veterans Honored With Luncheon Hosted by WPSO

Each year the Christmas Open House in Winnfield just seems to out do the year before. The streets were filled with patrons who got into the Christmas spirit by participating in great sales, visiting, eating amazing food and just enjoying the festive atmosphere. The Louisiana Political Museum hosted different vendors and many shops were open after normal business hours to allow shoppers to enjoy fantastic refreshments as they did a little Christmas shopping. Those that participated included: Images Salon, Envy Salon, Pretty Baked, Precious Moments Children’s Shop, Vintage Belles Boutique, Simply Perfect Boutique, Family Jewel Box, Up Town Studios, Factory Connection, Nichols, Scentsational Scents by Jennifer & Jennifer’s Gaudy Gals, and of course Pea Patch Gallery and Café.

The Louisiana Wildlife Agents Association chose to honor previous service members on Veterans day this year. Sgt Derek Ware and Sgt Josh DiBenedetto visited each veteran and presented them with a wooden flag that displayed their branch of service along with an LWAA hat and an LWAA challenge coin. Sgt. Ware and Sgt. DiBenedetto stated that is was an honor to shake their hand and hear their story just to let them know they are appreciated and not forgotten. Included in those honored was Mr. Tommy Harrel of Winnfield. Congratulations to you all and thank you for your service.

Effective Friday, November 10 at 6PM, the Burn Ban for Winn Parish has been lifted. Winn Parish Fire District 3 provided a statement updating the status of the burn ban. They continue to ask that individuals please burn responsibly and never leave a fire unattended. Also, please make sure that if you do burn, make sure it is completely extinguished before walking away.