News

UPDATE — REOPENED: LA 765 over Garrison Creek, DeSoto Parish Monday, June 17, 2024 9:12 AM (UPDATE): DOTD advises motorists that the repairs to the LA 765 bridge over Garrison Creek in DeSoto Parish are complete, and the bridge has been REOPENED. We appreciate your patience while this work was underway.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development advises motorists that beginning on Monday, June 10, 2024, the LA 765 bridge over Garrison Creek near the Texas state line in southwest DeSoto Parish will be closed.

This closure is scheduled to be in place until Thursday, June 20, 2024, and is necessary to allow for bridge pile repair.

This bridge is located approximately five miles north of the intersection with US 84 in the Town of Logansport. (see included map)

Restrictions/Permits: Total road closure at the specified location. All vehicles will need to utilize an alternate route.

Alternate Route: Detour signage will be in place.

A week of celebration has been planned to celebrate 125 years since incorporating. . On Tuesday, June 25 at 6:PM the “Rocking Chair Group” filmed in 1990 by the DeSoto Parish Library will be shown at the Cenral School auditorium. This group consists of the elderly citizens of Grand Cane and each shared their early memories of the Village. Murphy Rogers, born in 1898 a year before incorporation of the Village, shared his memories of traveling to the business district by horseback on one of the two trails intersecting the settlement. The business district had been established in 1884 with the coming of the railroad. Lottie Courtney Tinnen shared her memories of the three Churches and their importance in the life of the Village. Banker Allison Smith described the robberies he experienced including being locked up in the safe with one of his customers.

On June 6, 2024, DeSoto Parish Narcotics Agents along with members of the DeSoto S.W.A.T. executed a search warrant in the Carmel Square Apartments that resulted in the arrest of one subject, Willie Ashton (B/M DOB: 03/29/1971). Ashton had an arrest warrant for (2) counts of Distribution of Schedule II (Meth). During the search, Narcotics Agents were also able to locate more illegal narcotics inside the residence of Willie Ashton. Ashton was promptly arrested and booked into the DeSoto Detention Center, and charged with the following:

— Manufacture/ Distribution of Schedule II (Meth)

— Possession of Schedule II (Meth)

— Possession of Schedule II (Cocaine)

— Possession of Synthetic Marijuana

— Second or Subsequent Offenses

— Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

During the month of May 2024, Narcotics Agents, S.W.A.T., and S.L.I.U. with the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office were able to make multiple arrests involving the illegal possession and distribution of dangerous substances within DeSoto Parish, among other charges. These arrests are the result of ongoing investigations of which more may follow. *All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Angelina Governale was arrested on 05/29/24 and charged with: Possession of Schedule II (Meth), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Driving Under Suspicion.

Gov. Jeff Landry took office with a conservative agenda and a Republican super- majority in the Legislature after eight years of a Democratic governor, promising sweeping changes in this year’s legislative session.

A major focus of Landry’s agenda was to reorganize the Louisiana Constitution by moving amendments into statutes. He and conservative lawmakers made a big push for the Legislature to authorize a limited constitutional convention.

But their efforts were stymied in the Senate. It also strippeddown proposals by Landry and his supporters to provide parents with state funds to send their children to private schools and to seal many state government records from public inspection.

Community Bank of Louisiana is pleased to announce that President & CEO James F. Simpson, III has been selected by Independent Banker to be part of their annual 40 under 40 community bank leader awards.

This recognition acknowledges “an insightful group of professionals who have continuously stepped up to lend a hand, offer a new perspective, or make a difference in their communities.”

While this year’s 40 under 40 list features banking professionals from 30 states across the country, Simpson represents the only honoree from a Louisiana bank. A native of Macon, Ga., Simpson has been with Community Bank of Louisiana since 2015, holding the position of President & CEO since 2021. He is married to Catherine (Dorroh) Simpson and has two daughters.

The dates for DeSoto Regional Health Fairs for 2024 have been set for May 3 in Mansfield attheFirstUnitedMethodist Church, June 21 in Zwolle at St. Joseph Catholic Church and July 12 in Logansport at the Logansport High School Gymnasium. All three will be held from 6:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.

The fees remain the same as last year with the female panel costing $30.00, which will include CBC (complete blood count), CMP (comprehensive metabolic panel), Lipid Panel (for cholesterol levels), Thyroid Profile, Vitamin D panel, and HGB A1C (Hemoglobin The male panel fee is $35.00 and will include the entire previously mentioned test, along with a PSA (prostate specific antigen).

What a week! DeSoto Parish 4-H loaded up a school bus and took thirty-six, 4th-6th graders, and four Jr. Counselors to Camp Grant Walker in Pollock, Louisiana. These campers enjoyed a full week of educational tracks and recreation time. 4-H’ers gained valuable knowledge through instructional tracks which included Outdoor Adventures, STEM, Food and Fitness, Gardening, Wetlands, Water safety, and Art. Our campers appreciated the considerable number of recreational activities provided by Camp Grant Walker, especially swimming, line dancing, canoeing, sports, archery, and art as seen by their smiles and heard by their giggles. Five confident DeSoto Parish campers participated in the talent show earning them a golden ticket to compete in the State Fair of Louisiana Talent Show. DeSoto was the proud recipient of two distinguished character awards during camp week, Ace Wheless and Cylas Hamon both won the coveted Respect Award for their outstanding character and behavior towards others.

This morning, May 28, 2024, our office was made aware of yet another SCAM making its rounds within DeSoto Parish. A resident living in a Senior Complex received a Phone Sim Card in the mail (USPS First Class) with a note encouraging them to go to a website to active their new Sim Card. This particular note made it appear that the Sim was provided by the Affordable Connectivity Program, though the victim did not request or know about the government program. The website that the note encouraged the victim to click was also non-functional in many ways. If you receive a Sim Card in the mail that you did not personally request, cut it up and throw it away. DO NOT put the Sim into your phone! By doing so you may be giving a scammer full access to your phone number and other device information. This is a commonly known Scam, but the first of it’s kind we have seen in our area in a long time.

Sheriff Richardson took a ride in the helicopter Friday morning to survey the parish for affected areas. At this time DPSO can confirm one Tornado touched down on Gravel Point Road, and after the helicopter survey we believe there may be another confirmed tornado that touched down on Blunt Mill Road. Dispatchers received over 100 calls last night as work crews from various agencies worked to cleanup most roadways by 4am. We can confirm over 30 roadways, both major highways and lesser travelled were affected by downed trees blocking all lanes. Some of these have power lines mixed in and have taken longer to clear. Those roadways left to be cleared (around 7 in total) are listed in the Roadway Alerts section of the DeSoto Sheriff App.