News

Flags at the DeSoto Parish Courthouse were flown at half-staff on Monday, October 31 to honor the memory of DeSoto Parish Police Juror for District 1-C, Keith Parker.

He was in his third term as District 1-C’s representative, which does not end until December 28. Due to this fact, the Police Jury will have to declare the seat vacant and appoint an interim member within twenty days, then set a special election date.

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as they fulfill Mr. Parker’s wishes for private mourning with no public service.

On Wednesday, October 16, Chamber officers and members hosted a Ribbon Cutting ceremony for Shield Storage Centers, located at 1793 Hwy 171 in Stonewall. For more information call 318-268-3130. You can visit them for more information on Facebook or on their website. Welcome to Stonewall!

In DeSoto Parish, safety is more than just a priority; it is the foundation of every decision made by both the DeSoto Parish School System and the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office. These public services have formed a steadfast partnership dedicated to ensuring that every school is a safe, secure, and supportive environment for students, staff, and the community.

Superintendent Clay Corley emphasizes the importance of community partnerships in education, highlighting the unique collaboration with local law enforcement as a cornerstone of the district’s commitment to excellence.

If we are ever going to bring unity to our community we must learn how to work together. Learn how to treat others like you want to be treated. It does not matter how much money you have, good looking you believe you are, or where you live…how you treat others is the key problem we face today is learning how to accept others opinions, personalities, character, positions, and statuses without being threatened. But it’s very important at this time for all of us to get out and vote. Let no one tell you that voting is not important. The devil has many tools but a lie is the handle that fits them all.

The 15th amendment gave all of us the right to vote. This amendment helps us choose those who will run the government. It’s time to change the status quo and improve the lives of everyone we are about through voting because our voice matters.

Each year on October 31st, people from all over celebrate Halloween. A favorite of children and those who like to tap into their “inner child”, Halloween is a day to dress up in costume, hand out candy (usually to children), and try to frighten each other and ourselves with spooky stories.

Like many holidays that are celebrated today, Halloween did not start off being celebrated in this manner — its origins have a history that started many centuries ago. The actual word Halloween is correctly known as Hallowe’en or All Hallows’ Eve, the day before All Saints Day on November 1 and All Souls Day on November 2. “All Saints Day” is when we recognize the Saints that were canonized by the Catholic Church, or traditional saints, and “All Souls Day” is when we remember our ancestors, friends and loved ones that have passed.

Northwestern State University’s Office of Electronic and Continuing Education will offer a Notary Public Exam Prep Course starting Tuesday, Oct. 29. The early bird fee is $430 until Oct. 23 and $450 after that date.

In partnership with Louisiana State University-Shreveport, this 52-hour course is an introduction to notary public fundamentals. The instructor, attorney and notary Jennifer Brown distributes significant course study guides and materials to assist in preparation for the exam. This course will be delivered via online video conferencing. The instructor will provide participants with a conferencing link to join the class once enrolled.

As previously stated on September 27th, further arrests have been made in relation to ongoing investigations by DeSoto Narcotics Agents, SWAT, SLIU, and ProActive Patrol teams. Together these task forces have managed to secure nine (9) additional arrests since our last update, seizing various amounts of illegally possessed Pills, Meth, and Marijuana, along with (3) stolen or illegally possessed firearms.

The list below are the results over the past 7 days, and any further arrests made from these investigations will be shared at an appropriate time. The following suspects have been taken into custody and booked into the DeSoto Parish Detention Center. All suspects are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

DeSoto Crime Stoppers is willing to pay up to $1,000 for any information that leads to the arrest of the below suspect: Malcolm Jamal Flowers (B/M DOB: 01/15/1989) of Mansfield is currently a wanted suspect with the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office on charges of Obstruction of Justice, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Domestic Abuse Battery. Any information you may have can be submitted, even anonymously, to DeSoto Crime Stoppers by: — Visiting www. P3Tips.com — Call 1-800-505-7867 — Submit a Tip in the DeSoto Sheriff App.

Over the next few days we will be introducing our Agents at the DeSoto Parish Extension Office and explain a little bit about what they do for our office and Parish. Let’s begin with introducing our 4-H Agent, Mrs. Ami Altom.

Mrs. Ami is the newest member of the DeSoto Parish Extension Office with about 6 months under her belt. She hit the ground running with 4-H Summer Camp within the first month and a half of her start date and then 4-H University! Mrs. Ami is responsible for all 4-H programming in DeSoto Parish. She recruits and manages all of our wonderful 4-H volunteers that make our program the success that it is. A fun fact about Mrs. Ami is that she is a Reserve World Champion — Non Pro Maturity in ranch sorting at the Ranch Sorting National Championship (RSNC) World Finals!

A former Louisiana sheriff’s office deputy was sentenced last week to 37 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for assaulting a pretrial detainee.

Javarrea Pouncy, 31, a former sergeant with the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office (DPSO), previously pleaded guilty to one count of using excessive force against the detainee. During his plea, Pouncy admitted that in September 2019, he and another DPSO deputy conducted a strip search of a detainee in the DeSoto Parish jail, as part of the detainee’s booking. Pouncy admitted further that during the search, the deputies repeatedly punched the detainee in his head, face and body, even though the detainee did not pose a threat to either officer. As a result of the assault, the detainee was hospitalized and sustained a broken eye socket and broken nose, among other injuries.