News

On Sunday, August 1, Louisiana finally joined the ranks of U.S. states that have reformed their marijuana laws when Act 247 (House Bill 652) goes into effect.

On that date, possession of 14 grams or less of marijuana will be punishable by a fine of up to $100 or a court summons, without the possibility for jail or prison time, no matter how many times someone is arrested for possessing that amount.

Nearly 20 states have legalized marijuana, and another dozen have decriminalized its possession to some extent. But few of those states are in the South, especially the Deep South. By passing House Bill 652, which was sponsored by State Representative Cedric Glover, the Louisiana legislature acknowledged that the time has come to rethink how (or, indeed, whether) we punish people for using marijuana.

As many of you are aware, our Advertising Manager Martha Rivers has been off from work for a few weeks due to health and surgery issues. While I’ve tried to take up the slack and do both her job and mine, I have fallen short with the sale of ads to sponsor our Back to School issue.

Also, the 2021 return of the Football Digest has returned after skipping 2020 due to Covdid-19. The prices remain the same in the beautiful magazine that highlights all area high school football schedules, colleges, and the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys. The prices for 2021 are $250 for a strip, $350 for a full page, $300 for a halfpage, and $175 for a quarter page. The back cover and premium pages are currently sold out. The magazine is distributed throughout DeSoto, Natchitoches, Sabine, Red River, Grant, and Winn Parishes, also highlighting their high school schedules.

On August 2, reinstated Louisiana’s statewide mask mandate indoors for all people age five and older as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise across Louisiana, threatening the ability of Louisiana’s hospitals to deliver care during this fourth surge of COVID. Louisiana is currently in the worst surge of the COVID-19 pandemic so far in terms of case growth rate, percent positivity and hospitalizations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday released data that shows that while vaccination reduces one’s chance of becoming infected with COVID-19, those who do become infected with the Delta variant despite being fully vaccinated are likely at risk of transmitting it to others.

Louisiana’s temporary indoor statewide mask mandate will stay in place until at least September 1, but may be extended if necessary.

Sheriff Jayson Richardson would like to inform the public that the DeSoto Parish Sheriff ’s Office will be hosting a Hunter’s Safety Class at the DeSoto Parish Training Center, located at 120 Sprocket Land in Grand Cane. The classes will begin on Thursday, August 12th and will continue through Saturday, August 14th, 2021.

Drinks and a light snack will be provided on Thursday and Saturday, and a meal will be provided Friday night. This course will be instructed by the DeSoto Parish Sheriff ’s Department and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Instructors will be Deputy Michael Dunn and Captain Phillip Daniels.

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The National Association of Social Workers - Louisiana (NASW) has elected Worlita Jackson, ACSW, C-SSWS, LCSW-BACS as its president. NASW is the largest professional organization of social workers in the world. Worlita brings more than 25 years of social work experience to the NASW-LA presidency.

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On July 1, The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) announced that North DeSoto High School student Alissa C. Smith of Stonewall had been selected to become a member of the esteemed organization. The Society recognizes top scholars who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, scholarship and community commitment. The announcement was made by NSHSS co-founder and President James W. Lewis.

“On behalf of NSHSS and our cofounder Claes Nobel, a member of the family that established the Nobel Prizes, I am honored to recognize the hard work, passion and commitment that Alissa has demonstrated to achieve this exceptional level of academic excellence,” said Lewis. “Alissa has demonstrated to achieve this exceptional level of academic excellence,” said Lewis. “Alissa is now a member of a unique community of scholars…a community that represents our very best hope for the future.”

On Thursday, July 22, a vehicle drove through the front of the Mansfield office of Gordon & Gordon Law Firm, located at the intersection of Hwy 84 and Hwy 509. Mansfield Police and Fire Departments arrived at the scene to find the pickup had gone completely through the front of the front window and into the business.

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The State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFM) is calling on all Louisiana citizens to increase fire safety awareness and fire escape planning in and around their homes as the number of fire deaths across the state remain higher than in previous years.

“At the start of the year, we were seeing a concerning trend with fire fatalities, though just one loss of life is always one too many,” said State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning, “After a call to action to the public, those tragedies, thankfully, became less frequent. But now that we’ve hit the midway point of the year, I want to renew that call to action in hopes of preventing a continued elevated count of fire deaths in the latter part of the year.”

Brandon Shoalmire was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) on May 17, 2021. A husband to his lifelong best friend, Chelsey, and father to his favorite little girls, Vivy (5) and Isla (1), he is fighting with his utmost strength to shut this disorder down. The prognosis is good, but the road is long. He is in complete remission, but is waiting to undergo a bone marrow transplant. This will be done at MD Anderson in Houston and he will have to be there for around 100 days.

Brandon is strong, healthy, and young; he is ready to face any of the physical treatments coming his way. Being away from his girls, however, is the greatest challenge he is facing.

On July 27, 2021 5 Star Tire & Diesel is sponsoring a blood drive at 117 Lakeview Drive in Gloster. Fish plates will be sold for $10, or a donation of your chosen amount. Plates include fish, French fries, and hush puppies.

On Friday, July 23, from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Sheriff Jayson Richardson, his deputies and staff will host a fish fry at the Mansfield location f the DeSoto Parish Sheriff ’s Office for Auxiliary Deputies Mary and Herb Dal-Santo. For $10.00, you will receive fried fish, fries, hushpuppies, and a dessert.

The Dal-Santos have spent many years of their lives working as Auxiliary Deputies for the DeSoto Parish Sheriff ’s Office. This includes, but not limited to visiting with, delivering food, and hot meals to the elderly citizens of our community. Some time back, Mary received the frightening news that she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer.

Sheriff Richardson is seeking to help Mary and Herb with the same compassion that they have bestowed on our community all these years.