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Do you enjoy performing or have a special talent? Have you ever watched those talent show competitions and thought, I could do better than that? Could you possibly use a little extra cash? Then look no further; if you think you have what it takes to win then put your money where your talent is and sign up to audition for NORTH DESOTO’S GOT TALENT.

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 Unanimously.

Also, Mayor’s appointment of Captain Michael A. Gonzales to the position of Assistant Fire Chief with the Mansfield Fire Department.

Early voting for the positions of Mayor of Mansfield, Longstreet and Stonewall, Aldermen, and a multi-parish election to replace Second Circuit Court of Appeals Jeannette Garrett, who has announced her intention to retire in January 2023, begins on March 12 and runs through March 19, with the exception of Sunday. Hours to vote at the Registrar of Voters Office in Mansfield and the Stonewall satellite office are 8:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Jeannette Garrett’s judicial district encompasses all of Red River and Desoto Parishes and most of Caddo Parish. The two candidates that have qualified to run, Craig Marcotte-R and Erin Leigh Waddell-Garrett-R, are both Caddo District judges.

In Mansfield, incumbent Mayor John Mayweather, Sr. is being challenged by Thomas Jones and Joseph Hall, Jr. Jones currently serves District 4D as a Police Juror, where he has served for 12 years. Hall has been a Mansfield alderman for District D since 2006. All three candidates are Democrats.

Cheerleaders for 2022-23 at Joaquin High School have been announced. Top Row (Left to Right): Julia Lister, Haley Cash- Mascot, Ellie Anglin, Jaylee Webb, Brooklyn Bagley, Keaton Hughes, and Jaylee Cater. Third Row (Left to Right): Haleigh Lynch, Hailee Fruge, Halle Bonner, Emma Raybon, Mariya Wilson, Emma Barton, and Dixie Baker. Second Row (Left to Right): MaeLeigh Cummings, Kaitleigh Avery, Luke Hernandez, Madison Fenley, and Paloma Salvador. Bottom Row (Left to Right): KeMaria Wilson- Co Captain, Addi Boyter-Sr., Juli King-Sr., Stormy Runnels Sr. Co-Captain, and Brylea Scott Co-Captain.

U-Haul Company of Louisiana is pleased to announce that Triple J Motors, Inc. signed on as a U-Haul® neighborhood dealer to serve the Mansfield community.

Triple J Motors, located at 810 Washington Avenue (Hwy 84), will offer essential services like U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, moving supplies and in-store pickup for boxes.

U-Haul has teamed with independent dealers to offer moving equipment since 1945. With the COVID-19 outbreak creating challenging times for small businesses, more than 20,000 dealers across the U.S. and Canada are creating supplemental income through their U-Haul partnership. When a customer rents from a U-Haul dealer, they are directly supporting an independent small business in their community.

Rep. Larry Bagley, Rep. Kenny Cox, Judge Amy Burford McCartney, and Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters, and the LDCF Asst. Secretary Dr. Rhenda Hodnett were honored to be present to cut the ribbon at the open house celebration of Mansfield’s new LDCF Office located at 104 Crosby Street. Sen. Barry Milligan was still in session in Baton Rouge and was unable to attend the official opening.

DCFS occupies the back portion of the building currently housing the DeSoto Parish Registrar of Voters. Some visitors may know this as the building where the DeSoto Parish Health Unit was formerly located. The DCFS office entrance is on the south side of the building.

Bagley said, “In 2010, the Mansfield office was one of twenty that were closed due to cost saving measures. I’ve been working since my first year in office as a Representative to get DeSoto Parish’s office reopened.”

If you live or have ever lived in the Logansport-Haslam-Joaquin area, you might have missed something in February. Where were the Old Spanish Trail riders that usually pass through Logansport around the second Saturday of the month? Last year, we missed them with the Houston Fat Stock Show and celebration cancelled due to COVID, but what happened in 2022?

Michael “Mike” Cammarosano came to Logansport in the 1960’s and lived here for a short span of time, but made lasting memories and impressions to last Logansport residents of that generation a lifetime. He, along with many other volunteers, help mold the Logansport Volunteer Fire Department into what is now known as DeSoto Fire District 1.

Originally from New York, Mike adapted well to small-town Louisiana and our way of living. He faithfully attended and was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Logansport and participated in civic groups that our now only a memory such as the Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, Logansport Business and Civic Organization (before their was a Chamber of Commerce), Frontier Days Association, and many others.

The DeSoto Fire District 9 Ladies Auxiliary will host a community forum for the political candidates running for the 2nd Court of Appeals, replacing retired Judge Janette Garrett. The forum is set for Saturday, March 12, with a meet and greet beginning at 5:30 p.m. and speakers taking the podium at 6:00 p.m., at the Frierson Baptist Church, located at 288 East Street, Frierson, LA.

Judge Craig Marcotte was raised in Shreveport and received his Bachelor of Science in Business, Administration from Louisiana Tech University in 1984 and He graduated from the Louisiana State University Law School in 1988.

He practiced law with the firm of Hicks, Hubley and Marcotte, and later with the firm of Hubley, Marcotte, Rhodes and Hussey handling thousands of cases.

Judge Marcotte was elected to the Bench in 2008, presiding over numerous drug, criminal and civil cases as well as a swing Judge for the criminal sections handling murder, rape and other violent crimes.

A full gamut of legislative activity, including deliberations of Joint Rule redistricting; multiple map submissions; population shifts; geographic considerations; traditional district alignments; maintenance of communities of interest; the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; and the Voting Rights Act, drove decisions that developed the final redistricting plans that were considered during the three-weeklong 2022 First Extraordinary Legislation Session. Members decided the final map proposals based on the totality of those redistricting principles.