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Lady Griffins Punch Their Ticket to Sulphur with Walk Off 3 Run Homer from Laney Johnson; NDHS Wins 11 to 1. More photos on page 8 Photos by Madison Ruston

According to a report by LSU news service, three anti-vaccine bills ran into trouble with lawmakers Tuesday during lengthy debates.

Rep. Larry Bagley had proposed a bill that would make it a misdemeanor crime for government agencies and schools to discriminate against people based on their vaccine status.

The bill, House Bill 54, was aimed at blocking requirements for people to be vaccinated to access the premises. Bagley ended up returning the bill to the calendar, which means it will not be taken up again unless two-thirds of the House votes to reconsider it.

“I had hundreds of calls, as most of you did, too, in the past year…Friends…losing jobs,” Bagley said on the House floor. “I fully believe that you as an individual could have the right to choose.”

But other lawmakers pointed out problems with the bill concerning enforcement, charges and freedom of speech.

Mayor John Mayweather Sr.’s appointment of Captain Bryan L. Ross to the position of Fire Chief with the Mansfield Fire Department was brought before the City Council on February 28th.

Captain Ross has been employed with the city’s Fire Department since October 6, 2016. Since his employment, he has attained additional training and received certifications as a Firefighter II, a Fire Service Instructor and a licensed EMS practitioner in the State of Louisiana. He has expressed a desire to assume all the duties and responsibilities as Fire Chief of this Department. Motion Passed by the Mansfield City Aldermen unanimously.

Newspapers remain one of the cheapest ways to communicate and establish a reliable public record.

Since the days of Benjamin Franklin, who was one the nation’s earliest printers, to today, the printed word on a piece of paper is the tried and true standard for a historic record.

There are some in the Legislature and elsewhere who think allowing government and business to replace the historic newspaper standard with notices on the internet is a smart idea to save money. But almost all local governments spend much less than 0.09% of their budget on public notices.

Senate Bill 322 by Sen. Fred Mills, R-Parks, would allow local and state government to place their public notices on their websites only. That’s a recipe for disaster. We all know the potential for what’s posted on the Internet to be changed, hacked or deleted.

Last week, during the Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization (UPPO) Annual Conference, Louisiana’ s Unclaimed Property Program was awarded the prestigious UPPO Members’ Choice Unclaimed Property State of the Year Award.

“I am incredibly proud of our Louisiana Treasury Unclaimed Property Program and staff who work hard returning unclaimed property to its rightful owners,” says Louisiana State Treasurer John M. Schroder. “Over the last four years, our Unclaimed Property Program has gone from being ranked 38th in the nation to being among the top for outcomes. In addition, we have seen a 632% increase in the number of checks issued.” Louisiana’s Unclaimed Property Program went from issuing 77,000 checks to more than 564,000 checks over the last four years.

Please make plans to join members of the DeSoto Parish Chamber of Commerce, parish officials, friends and relatives, as they welcome Titan Property Network, located at 5258 C Hwy 3276 in Stonewall. Realtors Danny Lowery and Becki Bass invite you to stop by and tour their facilities as they answer your questions, mingle with friends, and enjoy refreshments at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 20. Be sure and register for their door prize!

Sheriff Jayson Richardson has gathered some bearded deputies together to present a donation to a local charity here in DeSoto Parish. Over the past four months, deputies who want to grow out their whiskers can donate money that will in turn be given to a local charity of the Sheriff’s choosing. This month, Sheriff Richardson was able to provide DeSoto Parish’s “Mansfield In Motion” with a $1,000 donation.

Keep DeSoto Beautiful will be joining groups from all over the state in celebrating Love the Boot, a statewide cleanup effort aimed at creating a clean and healthy state!! Keep DeSoto Beautiful will be coordinating a Parish wide cleanup on Saturday, April 23. Groups and individuals from all over the parish are invited to sign up; pickup supplies; clean your selected spot; and report your results to Keep DeSoto Beautiful!

April 11 kicked off National Telecommunicators Week. We appreciate and thank all of our dedicated dispatchers who are the ones behind the scenes, keeping the calm in the midst of a storm. Whether it is bad weather, domestic disputes, a cow in the roadway, or an even worse tragedy…they are the first ones responding. They are there 24/7, and will always be there when you need them the most. Show your appreciation this week by highlighting and appreciating someone you know that is a dispatcher!

In the March 31, 2022 edition of The Enterprise, we erroneously reported that Thomas Jones had been elected as the new Mayor of the city of Mansfield.

Mansfield Mayor John Mayweather (D) and candidate Thomas Jones (D), who currently serves on the DeSoto Parish Police Jury, will both be on the April 30, 2022 ballot, with early voting beginning April 16, running through April 23. Mansfield voters can vote either at the DeSoto Registrar of Voters office at 104 Crosby Street in Mansfield or at the Stonewall substation, located in the Stonewall Municipal Complex at 1746 Hwy 171. You can also call 318-872-1149 or find them on Facebook.

Jones received 626 (43%) to Mayweather’s 502 (34%). Former Mansfield Alderman Joseph Hall, Jr. (D) garnered 330 votes (23%). A total of 1,458, or 49.5%, turned out to cast their Mansfield mayoral votes. Since none of the three candidates received 51% of the vote, a runoff has been declared between Mayweather and Jones.