News

On Thursday, September 7, the 2023 Zwolle Tamale Fiesta Poster was unveiled to a capacity crowd in the activity building at the festival grounds in Zwolle. Following the greetings by Board of Directors’ President, Chris Loupe, a prayer was offered, and the Pledge of Allegiance was said He reflected on the years of service by Mrs. Phyllis Murdock to the fiesta and community. He pointed out the memorial table set up in the building with pictures to visit in her memory.

Mistress of ceremonies Mia Curtis was introduced to begin the events of the night. She began by introducing the 2023 Fiesta Royalty for this coming year. Those introduced were King-Sylvester Martinez, Queen-Landri Leach, First Lady-Linnie Sepulvado, Teen Queen-Kaylee Chreene, Junior Miss-Reba Springer, Deb Miss-Carmen Pearce, Little Miss-Chesa Bell, Petite Miss-Savvy Tyson, Toddler Miss- Brynlea Kelly, Tiny Miss-Kalani Willias, Baby Miss-Everlynn Rivers and Royal Pages Gabe Killingsworth and Bryce Rivers.

The Senior Fall Festival of the Sabine Council on Aging will be held Thursday, September 28th from 10:00-1:00 at the Zwolle Fiesta Building located at the Zwolle Festival Grounds. Jamie Vincent and Tanya Peterson of City Bank are shown presenting chips for the event to Jessica Procell and Kayla Hataway of the Sabine Council on Aging.

The 2023 season isn’t Cade Dillard’s first full-time season with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series. But it’s been his busiest.

While many full-time drivers focus solely on racing, that isn’t true for the Robeline, LA Driver. He’s also balancing his time at the track with his business—CDR Race Cars. It’s one of his many challenges as the Series swings into fall at Atomic Speedway Sept. 29-30.

“It’s tough,” Dillard said. “It’s probably why you don’t see me run 100-plus races a year. I love racing and love what I do, but I’m lucky to be able to drive for someone like [Shane Sprinkle] who’s respectful of my time with my family and my business.

Daniel “Pat” Procell has thrown his hat in the ring for the position of Dist. 8 Police Juror.

“I want to stand alone and represent the people of Dist. 8,” he said.

Of course, roads are an important part of the police jury’s job, and he recognizes it.

“I’d like to carry on the progress made by Kenneth Ebarb,” Procell said.

He says timing is everything when it comes to the roads, which are shared with trucks used for logging and natural gas production. There is a due process.

Procell also points to property taxes being out of control.

“I pledge to work with the other jurors,” Procell said. “I’m one vote and we all have similar concerns. However, I will vote no if I need to.”

He also possesses a plethora of relevant experience he has gained over the years. He is a licensed insurance agent and has gone to school to learn building codes and septic systems. As a business owner he knows how taxes work.

As we ride out this last stretch of summer, it’s time to start looking forward to fall gardening weather. There are some tasks to be handled this month. Here is a list of what to do in the garden and landscape this month and into September.

Watering: Help struggling plants survive drought stress by watering them early in the morning or late in the evening when temperatures are cooler. This reduces water loss due to evaporation and allows the plants to absorb water more effectively. Be sure to water deeply at the base of the plant. This encourages plants to develop deep root systems, making them more resilient to drought.

The Sabine High School campus located at 850 Highland Ave. in Many served Sabine Parish Public Schools as the location for Many Junior High School from 19702001. Before serving as MJHS, the school educated African American students from 1958-1970.

In 1970, the schools in Sabine Parish Public Schools were desegregated based on a 1954 Supreme Court case ruling of Brown vs Board of Education stating that schools throughout the United States could no longer be segregated, but the school population including teachers had to be combined to teach all children.

The designs for this year’s Tamale Fiesta shirts have been released and shows tribute to the important role the railroad has taken in the development of both Zwolle and Sabine Parish.

This shirt design idea took months to finish with two artists working on it that live in two completely different states and over 400 miles apart.

Since 1976, artists Larry Chagnon of Clyde, Ohio, and Ken Bailey of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, have been collaborating on “Joint Rails” train drawings. Ken draws the trains, and Larry draws the landscapes/backgrounds.

Artist Ken Bailey produces a superhero comic book series entitled The Mighty Energy Girl, which to date has more than 40 titles.

In west-central Louisiana, where wildfires have ravaged thousands of acres of drought-stricken forests in recent weeks, more has been lost than just trees.

For many people, the towering pines that define the landscape of this rural region represent family inheritances, years of investment and hopes for the future. Growing trees takes a long time, but the cash they bring in when cut is worth the wait.

This summer’s fires have dimmed those prospects for some — adding insult to injury in an area still dealing with storm damage from three years ago.

The Marthaville Good Ole Days Festival committee on Friday announced their 2023 Good Ole Days Parade Grand Marshal will be Laurie Gentry of Many. This year marks the event’s 31st anniversary, which begins Friday night, Sept. 29, at Fuzzy Hennigan Park downtown and continues Saturday, Sept. 30, with a 10 a.m. parade, all day music and activities, food and craft vendors.

For over a week now, multiple wildfires have devastated Vernon Parish. A large number of these fires are caused by natural or mechanical causes. However, wildfire investigators with the LDAF Forestry Enforcement Division have determined that the Lions Camp Fire – which threatened multiple residences and grew to 1,204 acres before it was contained – resulted from arson.

LDAF investigators and Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives are actively investigating this matter.

Investigators are urging you to call law enforcement if you or anyone you know has any information regarding this fire. To report an arsonist or information regarding this fire, call the LDAF 24-hour hotline at 1-855452-5323 or the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office at 337-238-1311.