News

The Louisiana Sheriffs’ Scholarship Program will award scholarships providing assistance to worthy Louisiana students in furthering their education and training with resources made available through the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Honorary Membership Program. Sheriff Jayson Richardson has long participated in this program, and happily offers scholarships to students each year!

Scholarships of a maximum of $1,000 each will be awarded to graduating high school students from each parish where the Sheriff is an affiliate of the Honorary Membership Program.

The Louisiana Travel Association (LTA) celebrated the graduation of Charlotte Knotek, Executive Director of the DeSoto Parish Tourism Commission from the 2024 class of Louisiana’s “Certified Travel Specialists” (CTS) program at the association’s 2025 Annual Meeting in Monroe.

Throughout 2024, the 25 dedicated members of the CTS class embarked on a transformative journey, honing their skills through three educational sessions. They delved into the art of exceptional customer service, gained invaluable insights from esteemed leaders in Louisiana’s travel industry, and embarked on a path of personal growth. Along the way, they mastered the intricacies of navigating Louisiana’s rich tourism resources and forged meaningful connections between their roles and their communities.

DeSoto Parish Schools is proud to announce the appointment of Josh Dahlem as the new Director of Operations. A dedicated educator and district leader, Dahlem has served the district for 17 years and will step into this leadership role following the passing of the late Heith Parker.

Throughout his career, Dahlem has demonstrated a strong commitment to student success and operational excellence. He spent a decade as a classroom teacher at Mansfield High School and Stanley High School where he primarily taught Agricultural Sciences in various curriculums. He has served for seven years at the DeSoto Parish Schools Central Office as a College and Career Coordinator and later as Supervisor of Strategic Initiatives and Student Opportunities.

Boy Scout Troop #160 held a formal Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony on February 23, 2025. Numerous fellow scouts, friends and family met at the Stonewall Community Center to honor Drake Blankenship.

He was awarded the prestigious Eagle Scout Rank. Eagle is the highest rank that can be attained in scouting. Only 6% of youths who start scouting reach this level. The Eagle rank signifies a high standard of dedication, leadership, community service and character development.

Drake started as a cub scout in first grade. He advanced through all the different ranks, earning all the required merit badges and many voluntary ones. Drake worked for the last few summers as a youth counselor at Kinsey Scout Ranch.

Drake is also a brotherhood member of Order Of The Arrow, scouting’s honor society.

Sheriff Jayson Richardson announces the retirement of K9 Rex on Thursday, February 20, 2025. Rex, an 8 year old Dutch Shepherd, has served with the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office faithfully since 2020, alongside his handler Cpl. Kelby Pearah. In Rex’s career he has participated in more than 60 criminal arrests and over 100 narcotics seizures and arrests. Rex has also been deployed to multiple Parishes and Counties surrounding DeSoto Parish in an effort to support our neighbors in their own narcotics and search related endeavors.

DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office SWAT, SROs, Investigators, Dispatchers, and Training Unit (among others) have been doing a complete walkthrough of the North DeSoto campuses today. This exercise is aimed at ensuring all first responders are familiar with the entire campus layout front to back, top to bottom. Examples of potential scenarios can be discussed, questioned, and answered. Just one more step in ensuring safety, and an effective response if that need should ever arise. Walkthroughs and training exercises such as this are done at all area schools in rotation, and will continue through the week. We are grateful to these men and women who take part in this training to better equip themselves to best serve students and staff.

Christopher Sepulvado, 81, is scheduled for execution on Monday, March 17, 2025 after a DeSoto Parish judge signed his death warrant. His case has remained one of Louisiana’s most notorious child abuse homicides, sparking decades of legal battles and delays in his execution.

The renewed push to enforce the death penalty comes after Governor Jeff Landry’s recent announcement that the state will resume executions. The decision follows the Louisiana Legislature’s approval of nitrogen gas as a method of execution, a controversial and rarely used technique.

Under the new protocol, Sepulvado will be executed using nitrogen hypoxia, a process that replaces breathable oxygen with nitrogen, causing suffocation. Alabama remains the only state to have previously used this method, carrying its first nitrogen execution in January 2024.

The office of Counseling and Career Services at Northwestern State University will host its annual Spring Career Fair on Tuesday, Feb. 25 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Friedman Student Union Ballroom.

The event is open to both undergraduate and graduate students at NSU who would like to meet and connect with prospective employers. Professional attire is required to attend. Assistant Director of Counseling and Career Services Rachel Cunningham said networking with different employers from multiple industries can increase the chances of finding an internship or job after graduation.

I have seen breathless assertions lately in the national “media” that President Trump’s recent actions have sparked a constitutional “crisis.” I couldn’t disagree more. What we are witnessing is a new President exercising his constitutional powers in a decisive manner.

How so? Most notably, President Trump has paused the discretionary spending of enormous sums of federal dollars. In my view, it is not only perfectly legal and well within the authority of the Chief Executive to take this step, but I believe it’s also an obligation of a new presidential administration to review discretionary funding to see that it complies with both federal law and Trump policies.

During National School Board Recognition Month, we’re proud to celebrate District 10 Board Member Bobby Boyd!

Your dedication to serving our students, families, and community sees that our mission impacts student success. Thank you for your support and leadership in shaping brighter futures! #TheDeSotoDifference #SchoolBoard-RecognitionMonth #DeSotoServes