LDWF’s Fishing Course Series program (FCS) announces several upcoming courses over the next few months, including the new Beginner Bass Fishing course. These free courses will provide new and experienced anglers with useful information and skills to help improve their fishing trips. Since space is limited, you can register to secure your spot.
Each 2-hour class will be open to all ages and limited to ten participants. The course curriculum will be fast-paced and geared towards educating adults in order for them to guide children during the fishing portion of the program. Equipment is provided, but participants are also encouraged to bring their own gear. All in attendance will take home a package of informative material, starter tackle, and gear courtesy of Cabela’s, Magic Bait, and Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana. Anglers 18 & older must possess a valid recreational fishing license to participate, and anglers under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Seven different courses will be offered at sites across the state:
To register for one of the FCS courses, visit www.louisianaoutdoors.
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit them at www.wlf.la.gov, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb or follow them on Twitter @LDWF.
The Fishing Course Series is hosted in conjunction with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation (LAWFF). The LAWFF was formed to help expand and support LDWF education and research programs with additional resources developed through its own facilities. Encouraging support for LDWF programs is the major focus of the Foundation, accomplished by connecting people and businesses with Louisiana’s natural resources. For more information, visit www.lawff.org.
The Fishing Course Series is funded by the Sport Fish Restoration Fund, a USFWS grant program that provides grant funds to the states, the District of Columbia and insular areas fish and wildlife agencies for fishery projects, boating access and aquatic education.
The Food Bank of Central Louisiana is holding a food drive where all donations will be distributed to Sabine Parish residents. Donations can be dropped off at the Sabine Parish Library in Many. Food pantry distribution times and locations are as followed:
During the early Fall I felt the need to add a couple of pieces of clothing to my very tired wardrobe. Having to wear clothes to work everyday, as most humans do, truly gets tricky after a while. You feel like you wear the same thing every day. Sometimes I will find a favorite piece of clothing and wear it so much that it fades, loses its original color or even goes out of style. Sometimes I feel like my clothes have no personality or life left in them so I have to pep it up.
On a particular trip to the store I found a pair of hot pink pants. I immediately felt a soul connection with these pants. They were bright, soft, affordable and came in my size. It was a win on all fronts. As I approached the cash register I silently wondered if the pants were in season. I could tell that they were new to the shelves, they were well stocked, it was early fall…so surely this pants were in season and meant to be purchased.
Just as I was checking out I noticed the tag on the pants read “Season-Less”. The clothing tag read my mind, it knew that I had trepidations. Then I considered the color. What would I wear with it? I quickly scanned my closet mentally and found a black turtle neck, long sleeve navy t-shirt and possibly a denim jacket…if I didn’t sell it or donate it. Dress it up with some bobbles and I would be in business.
Even though I had made all of this peace with my purchase, as soon as I walked in the house my youngest daughter scolded me.
“Who wears hot pink pants in the winter?” Why would you think you can wear summer pants when winter season is coming?”
I immediately began defending my decision by showing her the tag that clearly stated that they were season-less pants. I sarcastically explained what that meant but she wasn’t picking up what I was putting down. Soon after the drama over my pants faded away I began to wear them. Everywhere I went I received compliments over my pink pants. As soon as I would receive a compliment I felt compelled to share the fact that… “they were season less pants”…..
Many people have moved past the age old fashion standards of only wearing certain colors at certain times of the year. Season less or not, they were strict rules about color choices.
I used to say that fall and winter were my favorites seasons but the older I get I realize that I truly love every change of season that comes our way. As the winter barren branches begin to take on their light shade of green and the flower buds start to form, it is a reminder that a new season is coming.
Our lives are full of seasons. These seasons have nothing to do with the weather outside or the clothes on our backs. It encompasses all that God has done for us over time. He allows us to be parents and those children quickly grow up, move away and start lives of their own. He blesses us with friends who may outgrow you in one season of life so God moves them aside and sends different people your way . God blesses us with a season where we have both parents alive and healthy, sometimes those seasons are not long enough. God blesses us with a village or community that can change at the drop of a hat. We have seasons of life where we are very comfortable and content, then another season may be full of movement and constant changes.
Just as seasons change, so do our lives. If we stay close to our Savior we will always be prepared for the next stages of life. There is unfailing peace that surpasses all understanding to be found when we are grateful, and keep Christ as our center in every season, and every circumstance, we never know where the next season will find us.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens….” Ecclesiastes 3:1
The state of Louisiana has launched a new digital platform to connect entrepreneurs and small business owners with resources to help them start and grow their businesses.
Louisiana Business Hub brings order to the often chaotic search for information, networking and resources that are the lifeblood of every small business. Visitors to the site gain access to a searchable database of resource providers around the state offering a wide range of services from business planning, entrepreneurial training and business counseling to sales and marketing, human resources and more.
Louisiana Economic Development will manage the website, which also feature a statewide events calendar containing information about conferences, webinars and other events of interest to entrepreneurs at every stage of small business ownership.
“LED is proud to champion this statewide network that will help Louisiana entrepreneurs access the resources that they need to build and grow their small businesses,” LED Secretary Don Pierson said. “Louisiana is home to thousands of small businesses that are the heart and soul of our state’s economy. LED, with the support and collaboration of our local and regional partners, strives to provide founders with the tools and resources their businesses need to reach their full potential. This new platform can empower them to take the next step, whether it’s applying for a loan or preparing to expand into new markets.”
Louisiana Business Hub is organized regionally, with separate landing pages for each of the eight economic regions in the state, with a lead organization for each region. The Northeast, Northwest, and Capital regions will be the first regions fully populated with resources.
Launch Network, led by the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program in Shreveport, is supporting efforts in the Northeast and Northwest regions. OneSource, led by Nexus LA in Baton Rouge, will drive efforts in the Capital region. Lafayette Economic Development Authority and One Acadiana are working with LED to fully launch the Acadiana region later in the year. LED will collaborate with other lead organizations for future launches in the Bayou, Central, Southeast and Southwest regions.
“The Louisiana Business Hub will be the support network our business community has been waiting for, and this is just the beginning,” Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program Executive Director Dave Smith said. “If you are a non-profit organization that provides a service to a business at any stage in their journey, you should join our movement.”
Louisiana Business Hub is built on the SourceLink platform, a nationally recognized program specializing in online community tools. Since inception, SourceLink has assisted almost 200 entrepreneurship and community development initiatives define and reach their unique goals for success.
“This collaboration signifies a new era of entrepreneurship in Greater Baton Rouge and we are excited to be one of the first regional hubs to offer this service,” said Na’Tisha Natt, Nexus LA director of marketing and engagement. “OneSource will make it much easier for entrepreneurs to identify and take advantage of the tools, information and resources they need to start and scale their businesses.”
About LED
Louisiana Economic Development is responsible for strengthening the state’s business environment and creating a more vibrant economy. It is the only state agency in the U.S. accredited by the International Economic Development Council, boasting award-winning programs like LED FastStart, rated the No. 1 customized workforce training program in the U.S. 13 years in a row. In 2022, LED attracted 53 new economic development projects representing 18,137 new direct, indirect and retained jobs and $20.7 billion in new capital investment. Explore how LED cultivates jobs and economic opportunity for the people of Louisiana and employers of all sizes at OpportunityLouisiana.com.
Because people ask ….
Sixteen years ago, a young man had an idea for an outdoors program. At the time, he was doing Natchitoches Central football as color analyst with Chris Boyd, who did the play-by-play. Chris was an outstanding sports broadcaster and a great mentor to this young man, who learned a lot under his tutelage.
During this time, NCHS football was not successful and, on this night, they were at West Monroe (Louisiana’s top high school football program those days). It was 42-0 at the half, and during a commercial break the young man pitched his outdoors show idea to Chris, who thought it was a great idea and encouraged him to pursue it.
After getting a full endorsement from Chris, the enthusiastic young man decided to move forward. Several people tried to discourage him and said it would never work. Their point was, no one wants to listen to hunting and fishing. But he disagreed and asked himself, ‘What do people in our region like to do?’ The answer: they hunt and fish!
Bound and determined to make this work, he immediately started reaching out to businesses that he felt would benefit from such a program. Any business related to the hunting or fishing world was on his radar, and in most cases, there was a personal connection.
One reason the young man believed he could make such a program work was due to the great list of contacts he had related to the bass fishing world, both from a business standpoint and personal relationships he had with professional anglers. He made these connections due to the level of tournament fishing he was competing on in the FLW Tour and B.A.S.S. Opens.
Formatting a show would be the easy part. Gaining sponsors would be more difficult since only a handful of people had tried producing this type of program. A few had tried, but all had failed.
Two weeks later the Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show was born in February 2007. With sponsors on board and an broadcast agreement reached, the HUTD Show was now a go. That’s right, the young outdoorsman with dreams of a good outdoors show was yours truly.
Over the course of sixteen years, the show as gained a national following. We’ve interviewed the greatest names in the bass fishing world — Kevin Van Dam, Skeet Reese, Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, Ray Scott, Mark Zona, and Rick Clunn, to name a few. By having the top professional anglers in the country appear, the HUTD Show obtained instant credibility.
Today, the Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show continues to set the bar for great outdoors entertainment as we talk hunting and fishing on a weekly basis. But the success of the program would not have been possible without two other guys — my co-hosts, radio legend Gary McCoy and H&W Team Trail Tournament Director and duck hunting guide Mike Echols.
They say successful people surround themselves with people better than themselves. This is definitely true in my case, as these two guys brought not only a wealth of knowledge of the outdoors but offered great personalities as well.
I hope you’ve enjoyed going down the path of the HUTD Show and how the program got started. You can catch the program on our web site: www.hutdshow.com. It’s proof that if you believe in something strong enough, you can make it happen.
Until next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget your sunscreen!
Contact Steve at sgraf26@gmail.com
An anonymous donor contributed $100,000 to the Northwestern State University Foundation to create a scholarship honoring a former business professor and his wife.
The H.N. and Inez C. Towry Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a female undergraduate in the amount of $5,000 per year for four years through graduation. The student must maintain a grade point average of 3.5 or higher and seek a degree in business or education.
Towry was a much-loved professor in NSU’s School of Business. A native of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corp right after Pearl Harbor and served in the Pacific Theatre. Soon after returning from the war, he moved his young family to Louisiana, where they remained for 50 years as he served on NSU’s faculty. The Towrys were very active in the First Presbyterian Church in Natchitoches. Mr. Towry spent the last years of his life in Atlanta, Georgia, and passed away on Nov. 24, 2022, days before a 100th birthday celebration was planned in his honor. He was predeceased by his wife Inez and nine siblings.
Drake Owens, executive director of the NSU Foundation, said he was contacted by the anonymous donor who wished to honor the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Towry and asked him to develop the scholarship for an undergraduate in business or education, with preference for a female student. The donor requested that the family to be involved in developing criteria for the scholarship,
“I can’t tell you how much this means to Northwestern State University, having a scholarship of this size, especially in business and education, two areas that we are very proud of,” Owens said.
Several members of the Towry family visited NSU for the scholarship announcement March 16.
“We have a lot of really special memories of growing up in Natchitoches,” said daughter Debra Towry, a 1972 NSU graduate. “All of us have memories of being together at home with Mom and Dad.”
Debra said her mother, who was also an educator, was a character and a powerful personality.
“We have a very strong connection to Northwestern,” she said. “We graduated from Natchitoches Elementary on the Northwestern campus, with our daddy teaching here. There are a lot of strong positive memories.”
Daughter Kristy Towry Lee, a 1981 NSU graduate, said NSU feels like home.
“We all went to Warren Easton. Daddy’s office was in Caldwell Hall, which burned down. This was our playground. We would go at Christmastime to the Student Union where they would paint all the windows. I lived in Varnado when it was coed in the 80s. Our daddy is so connected to this place,” Lee said. “This scholarship couldn’t be more meaningful to us as a way for us to reconnect to our childhood, our family and Northwestern as our home.”
“It’s nice to know that Mama and Daddy will be remembered forever,” said daughter Carolyn Towry Mayeaux, a 1972 graduate of NSU.
“Listening to these stories drives home the impact that Northwestern has had on so many lives,” said NSU President Dr. Marcus Jones. “We are grateful to the donor who generously provided this scholarship and that the Towry family was able to share their memories of Northwestern.”
Pictured: The family of H.N. and Inez Towry visited Northwestern State for the announcement of a scholarship in their parents’ names, funded by an anonymous donor. From left are Stacy Fontenot, Jerry Mayeaux, Carolyn Mayeaux, Antonio Carletti, Debra Towry holding a picture of her parents, Kristy Towry Lee and Cameron Lee.
Marielise Sampite Brosset
Barbara Lee McCrory
Edward Brown Jr.
Spring is in the air!, and so is love and so is pollen — in the air, in your hair, your eyes, your nose, on your car.
You take the bad with the good when the payoff is spring.
Before we meet again it’ll be Officially Spring, so says The 2023 Old Farmer’s Almanac. Monday at 4:24 p.m. (Saw that on Facebook too, so it must be true, right?)
That moment in time marks the spring equinox, which I have never had the patience to study enough to see what it really means in terms of the Earth’s tilt and what not and this and that and to and fro.
I do know “equinox” comes from two Latin words that mean “equal” and “night.” The day and night are basically the same length. And after that, our hemisphere starts tilting toward the sun which means the days are longer and it’s about to get hot up in here.
But you don’t need an almanac to tell you spring is coming. You hear a ball pop into a mitt or you start filling out your NCAA March Madness bracket, and you know what’s up.
Or, you just look outside, through the yellow pollen mist, and there’s springtime, waving back.
A month ago, a warmish February morning, six robins and two cardinals were in the backyard, scouting. They’ve been there since.
The willows are greening, bulbs shooting and blooming. Little pictures of springtime.
Like me, you’ve probably already mowed once, which is mainly mowing clover, and leaving a little of that for the bees since they don’t have much else to enjoy right now. My yard looks like a drunk person mowed it. With thinning shears.
Speaking of lame brain, it was three years ago this week that the world shut down, semi-thwarting the man-made things that complement spring. It was 2020 and Friday the 13th (which was Monday of this week) when college basketball tournaments and then baseball games were cancelled, and then Monday the 16th (tomorrow, Thursday, is the 16th) is when schools quit and all sports quit and Weird Spring started.
(Somebody messed up!)
Thank goodness THAT’s over. At least I think it is …
And, speaking of loopy, those birds in the back yard might have had one too many, and I’ll tell you why.
There is a window-sized mirror along the fence, placed there before we moved in, I suppose for decoration. It’s confused at least one of the robins. She keeps flying into its reflection of grass and water and leaves, landing at its bottom, and trying again. Dozens of times. Flying into the mirror.
It happens almost every day, and maybe it’s the same robin and maybe they are all giving it a whirl, trying to figure it out, trying to fly right into springtime.
Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu or Twitter @MamaLuvsManning
Sabine Medical Center has entered a collaborative partnership with Vantage Health Plan. For more information contact Cortney Vinson at 318-439-0277 or email cortney.vinson@ahmgt.com OR Lacey Malmay at 318-947-0021 or email laceym@sabinemedicalcenter.net. If you are currently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you will be allowed to make this one time change by the enrollment date deadline March 31, 2023.
Applicants must register in person beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 25, 2023.
Registration will close promptly after the third race.
ENTRANTS MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN
COMPLIMENTS OF ROSE-NEATH FUNERAL HOME – MANY, LOUISIANA
SABINE PARISH SOFTBALL SCORES
Monday, March 6, 2023
Converse – 15 (6-2)
Hicks – 4 (5-2)
Florien – 3 (6-3)
Minden – 1 (5-5)
Negreet – 18 (7-2)
Lakeview – 1 (0-1)
Negreet – 19 (8-2)
Lakeview – 2 (0-2)
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Converse – 8 (7-2)
Hornbeck – 3 (1-4)
Evans – 15 (3-4) (1-0)
Ebarb – 0 (0-2) (0-1)
Simpson – 22 (1-5) (1-0)
Pleasant Hill – 2 (0-5) (0-1)
Logansport – 6 (11-2)
Zwolle – 3 (6-2)
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Converse – 11 (8-2)
Loyola Prep – 2 (4-6)
Simpson – 19 (2-5) (2-0)
Ebarb – 12 (0-3) (0-2)
Florien – 3 (7-3)
Pitkin – 0 (9-3)
Logansport – 8 (13-2)
Negreet – 5 (8-3)
Hornbeck – 16 (2-4) (1-0)
Pleasant Hill – 2 (0-6) (0-2)
CONVERSE HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Converse – 20 (9-2)
C E Bryd – 10 (0-12)
Converse – 7 (10-2)
Captain Shreve – 2 (7-3)
Negreet – 23 (9-3)
Ebarb – 3 (0-4)
Negreet – 16 (10-3)
C E Bryd – 1 (0-13)
Zwolle – 6 (7-2)
Hornbeck – 0 (2-5)
Haughton – 8 (5-6)
Zwolle – 6 (7-3)
OUACHITA PARISH HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT
Friday, March 10, 2023
Many – 13 (7-6)
Mangham – 0 (5-7)
Florien – 8 (8-3)
Ouachita Christian – 0 (8-6)
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Sterlington – 12 (15-2)
Many – 4 (7-7)
Many – 4 (8-7)
Neville – 1 (7-6)
Florien – 7 (9-3)
Ouachita Parish – 1 (5-11)
Claiborne Christian – 14 (11-3)
Florien – 6 (9-4)
SOFTALL DISTRICT STANDINGS
DISTRICT 3 – 2A
District – Overall
Mansfield 1-0 4-3
Red River 1-0 3-5
Many 0-0 8-7
Winnfield 0-0 6-6
Jonesboro-Hodge 0-1 2-6
Lakeview 0-1 0-6
DISTRICT 3 – B
District – Overall
Converse 0-0 10-2
Negreet 0-0 10-3
Florien 0-0 9-4
Zwolle 0-0 7-3
Stanley 0-0 5-9
DISTRICT 3 – C
District – Overall
Evans 1-0 3-4
Simpson 2-0 2-5
Hornbeck 1-0 2-6
Ebarb 0-2 0-5
Pleasant Hill 0-2 0-6
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL POWER RATINGS – 3-13-2023
DIVISION III
Overall
District
# School Power Wins Losses Wins Losses Ranking
12 MANY 20 8 7 0 0
DIVISION V
3 CONVERSE 25.25 10 2 0 0
4 FLORIEN 25.25 9 4 0 0
10 ZWOLLE 22.2 7 3 0 0
14 NEGREET 21.07 10 3 0 0
37 EBARB 11 0 5 0 2
39 PLEASANT HILL 7.66 0 6 0 2
COMPLIMENTS OF ROSE-NEATH FUNERAL HOME – MANY, LOUISIANA
SABINE PARISH BASEBALL SCORES
Monday, March 6, 2023
Northwood-Lena – 16 (3-0)
Ebarb – 0 (2-5)
Simpson – 20 (4-7)
Florien – 0 (1-5)
Hornbeck – 9 (1-2)
Negreet – 2 (1-2)
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Converse – 4 (8-1) (1-0)
Zwolle – 3 (3-7) (0-1)
Stanley – 20 (4-7) (1-0)
Florien – 0 (1-5) (0-1)
Oak Hill – 8 (5-4)
Negreet – 6 (1-3)
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Ebarb – 10 (3-5)
Huntington – 9 (1-7)
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Many – 3 (7-5)
Southwood – 2 (2-7)
Many – 10 (8-5)
Southwood 0 5 (2-8)
CONVERSE HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Converse – 3 (8-1)
Many – 2 (6-5)
Many – 10 (6-4)
Stanley – 0 (4-8)
Oak Hill – 11 (6-4)
Negreet – 2 (3-8)
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Converse – 3 (9-1)
Logansport – 2 (5-5)
Stanley – 9 (6-8)
Zwolle – 0 (3-9)
PICKERING HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Pickering – 10 (6-3)
Ebarb – 0 (3-6)
Ebarb – 10 (4-6)
Evans – 5 (2-6)
EAST BEAUREGARD HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT
Thursday, March 9, 2023
East Beauregard – 18 (4-2)
Florien – 3 (1-6)
Friday, March 10, 2023
Lake Charles College Prep – 24 (2-5)
Florien – 0 (1-7)
HICKS HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Negreet – 9 (2-3)
Simpson – 5 (3-6)
BASEBALL DISTRICT STANDINGS
DISTRICT 3 – 2A
District – Overall
Many 0-0 8-5
Mansfield 0-0 2-2
Winnfield 0-0 5-6
Red River 0-0 4-5
Jonesboro-Hodge 0-0 2-5
Lakeview 0-0 0-7-1
DISTRICT 3 – B
District – Overall
Converse 1-0 10-1
Stanley 1-0 6-8
Negreet 0-0 2-3
Zwolle 0-1 3-9
Florien 0-1 1-7
DISTRICT 3 – C
District – Overall
Hornbeck 0-0 3-2
Ebarb 0-0 4-6
Simpson 0-0 3-6
Evans 0-0 2-6
Pleasant Hill 0-0 0-0
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL POWER RATINGS – 2/27/2023
DIVISION III
Overall District
# School Power Wins Losses Wins Losses
Ranking
9 MANY 18.92 8 5 0 0
DIVISION V – DISTRICT 3-B
3 CONVERSE 26.36 10 1 1 0
18 EBARB 16.35 4 6 0 0
31 NEGREET 12.8 2 3 0 0
32 ZWOLLE 12.45 3 9 0 1
40 FLORIEN 7.62 1 7 0 1
42 PLEASANT HILL 0 0 0 0 0
In January 1973, after 11 years in operation, the AMC was getting a new and more modern national headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama. To boost morale, the AMC held a contest to name the new headquarters. People came up with all sorts of names for the new headquarters. When the deadline for suggestions was reached, the AMC had received more than 500 entries. The official contest committee to name the new building carefully studied each one. Some of the suggestions were comical. Some were too colorful or risqué to list here. Some were just downright strange.
Finally, on January 14, 1973, Major General Charles T. Horner, the AMC chief of staff announced that the lucky winner was Francis Sikorski. Along with the pride of winning the contest, Francis received a monetary award of $100. After announcing the winner, the major general proudly announced the winning entry. “The name of the new AMC building,” the major general said, “is…the AMC building.” The choice was met with disappointment.
More than 40 years later, officials in Britain had a similar situation in which the public was disappointed in a naming contest. In 2016, Britain’s Natural Environment Research Council held an online poll to name its new £287 million polar scientific research ship. The Natural Environment Research Council suggested dignified names such as Shackleton, Endeavour, and Falcon. Members of the public also made their own suggestions. Someone suggested naming the ship after the late David Bowie. BBC radio host James Hand put forth his suggestion, but he eventually cast his ballot for another suggestion to name the boat in honor of English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author Sir David Attenborough. Eventually, officials selected, not the entry which had the most votes, not the one with the second most votes, but the one which came in fourth place in the poll. Officials named the boat the RRS Sir David Attenborough.
People who had voted in the online poll were upset that National Environmental Research Council disregarded their choice in favor of one that came in fourth place. They asked why they held a poll at all. Science Minister Jo Johnson responded that there were “more suitable” names. The online pollsters rallied behind BBC radio host James Hand’s suggestion because it came in first place with more than 124,000 votes. Finally, to quell the row, the Council agreed to name a miniature yellow submarine onboard the ship as James Hand had suggested. If the council had adopted the name based on the “name our ship” poll, the RRS Sir David Attenborough would have been named Boaty McBoatface.
Sources:
1. The Atchison Daily Globe, January 15, 1973, p.2.
2. Whitehorse Daily Star, March 21, 2016, p.13.
3. “‘Boaty McBoatface’ polar ship named after Attenborough,” BBC News, May 6, 2016, accessed March 10, 2023. www.bbc.com/news/uk-
4. Tampa Bay Times, October 18, 2016, p.T11.
For the 7th year in a row, it has been our honor and privilege to be a supporter of the Dylan Kyle Poche Memorial Bass Tournament to be held at Cypress Bend on Toledo Bend on March 25, 2023. Pictured with Burt and Shelly Poche are BOMFS’ Gina Banks, Reba Phelps and Jennifer Campbell.
At the Harrington Law Firm, we spend a great deal of our time fighting with insurance companies in order to compensate our clients for legitimate damages resulting from car, big truck, and motorcycle wrecks.
Because of that, it may seem a bit odd that we are recommending to our clients and other drivers to buy more insurance. On its face, it may look as if we are trying to help out the very same companies that we are fighting. What we are actually doing is urging all drivers to protect themselves and their families by purchasing Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage as part of their automobile policy.
It probably won’t come as a surprise to many reading this to learn that statistics show that over 1 in 10 drivers on our Louisiana highways are driving with absolutely no insurance coverage. Of the drivers who do have insurance in non-commercial vehicles, more than half have “minimum limits” liability coverage. (Under Louisiana Law, non-commercial drivers are required to carry a minimum of $15,000/$30,000 in liability coverage.)
What this means is that when someone has minimum limits coverage and the driver negligently causes an accident resulting in injuries and damages to another person, the most that the insurance company will have to pay is $15,000 for a single injured party and a cumulative total of $30,000 for all injuries and damages to all parties, no matter how many there are and no matter how much the injuries and damages are.
These limits include damages for pain and suffering, medical bills, lost income, disability, etc., etc.
In other words, if a person sustains serious injuries in an automobile accident as a result of another person’s negligence with huge medical bills, loss of income, etc., and if that person only had minimal limits insurance the most that claimant will be able to collect is $15,000.
Of course, even worse, if the driver negligently causing the accident has no insurance, then there is no one to collect from and party or parties are, simply put, out of luck!
One might think you could simply sue the person who caused the accident individually and make them pay. While that is true that person would be individually liable for the damages he or she caused, our experience at the Harrington Law Office is that in situations where the driver causing the accident is uninsured or has minimum limits, it would be extremely rare that they would have the personal financial assets or income to compensate the injured party. Even if you sued them personally and got a judgment, in most cases they could simply file bankruptcy and get out of it.
So as Louisiana drivers, how can we protect ourselves and our families against these potentially devastating results? The answer is simple. Make Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage a part of your automobile policy.
Louisiana Law requires that when a person purchases a policy of automobile insurance, Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage will be a part of the policy unless the purchaser rejects that coverage. In other words, when you buy car insurance, you must sign or initial your application rejecting that type of coverage, or you will automatically have it.
Unfortunately, because of high insurance costs, many people simply tell their agents they want the cheapest coverage possible and end up rejecting Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage. Thereby, they are leaving themselves vulnerable to those Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists who are traveling our highways.
PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOU FAMILY AGAINST THOSE DRIVERS! Make certain that your automobile policy includes Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage! It is relatively inexpensive and could help you avoid a catastrophic financial loss should you or someone you love be injured or damaged by an Uninsured/Underinsured driver. Also, do not try to save a few dollars by purchasing “Economic Only” Uninsured/Underinsured coverage. This would only compensate the injured party for medical bills and lost income but not for pain and suffering, which often can be substantial.
Again, the difference in cost between regular Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist and “Economic Only – UM,” is fairly insignificant.
In conclusion, while it may seem strange for us, Personal Injury Attorneys, to recommend that you help the insurance companies by buying more insurance, what we are really doing is recommending that you protect yourselves, and the only way to do so is making sure that you have Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage.
The main office of the Harrington Law Firm is located at 459 Jefferson Street in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and partners, Rodney and Eddie Harrington represent clients all over Louisiana in all types of injury cases including automobile accidents, slip and fall, and medical malpractice. They also handle bankruptcy and debt negotiation, Social Security claims, and successions. For a free appointment, call 318-352-5900.
In a neighborhood rivalry, Title Town won.
Zwolle High School now houses a state-record 16 LHSAA boys’ basketball championship trophies after the Hawks shackled the Indians of Anacoco Friday evening in the Division V Non-Select state final of Marsh Madness at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles.
Zwolle won 40-25, going on top early and taking control in the third quarter, stretching a 16-11 halftime lead to 29-15 entering the final quarter. Anacoco pulled within 31-21 early in the fourth but got no closer.
It is the Hawks’ first state championship since 2017 and the seventh in 19 seasons under coach Bradley McLaren, who has led Zwolle to 12 state finals. The 16 boys’ basketball state championships tie Southern Lab for the most in LHSAA history.
After some intense, down-to-the-last-minute meetings in the regular season, another dramatic battle was expected between the teams, just 40 miles apart. It was a defensive struggle and did not lack for intensity. But Zwolle’s defense combined with an off-night for Anacoco to produce a convincing margin of victory for the happy Hawks and their big crowd of great fans.
Zwolle (33-2) didn’t shoot well, just 34 percent overall, but tried only six 3-pointers (making one). The Hawks had a huge 38-22 rebounding advantage and sank 15 of 22 free throws to just 3 of 6 for Anacoco (36-6), who sent Zwolle to the line repeatedly trying to rally in the latter part of the game. The Indians were a miserable 0-for-19 on 3-pointers.
Senior Kenneth Montgomery was voted the Most Outstanding Player after he led Zwolle with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Preston Sanders was close behind at 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Montgomery pushed the Hawks into their first significant lead to start the third quarter, sinking two free throws and then nailing the game’s only 3-pointer for a 21-11 Zwolle lead with 4:50 left before halftime. Zwolle ran off six more points in a row to open the margin to 27-11, and ultimately outscored Anacoco 13-4 in the eight-minute period to take command with the 14-point spread.
When second-seeded Anacoco rallied to draw within 10 in the fourth quarter, the Hawks got a couple of free throws before Sanders hit a sensational driving layup in transition and completed the three-point play with a free throw that reestablished a solid lead, 36-21.
The Hawks outscored the Indians 24-14 overall after plowing to the 16-11 halftime lead.
Zwolle was the No. 1 seed in the tournament bracket and got a first-round bye. The Hawks blasted Quitman 86-61 in Round Two, then topped Choudrant 58-46 in the quarterfinals. They got not one, but two clutch 3-pointers to force, and extend, overtime in Monday night’s double-OT 81-72 win over Gibsland-Coleman.
Friday night in the finals, they left no doubt.
NATCHITOCHES – After engineering a 13-win turnaround for the Northwestern State men’s basketball team, head coach Corey Gipson has resigned from his position to accept the head coaching position at Austin Peay.
Gipson will be introduced as the Governors’ new coach Tuesday.
In his lone season at Northwestern State, Gipson led the Demons to their most wins in a single season in a decade and their most Southland Conference wins in a season since 2014-15. Gipson took Northwestern State to its first Southland Conference Tournament championship game since 2013 and the Demons’ second-place finish in the SLC regular season was its best since the 2012-13 season.
“Corey Gipson did a tremendous job during his time here at Northwestern State,” NSU Director of Athletics Kevin Bostian said. “From the hours of off-the-court community service to the on-court product, his program was deeply tied to the university and the city of Natchitoches. Together, they brought national recognition to Northwestern State while succeeding in the game of basketball and outside of it. While it is difficult to lose good coaches, Austin Peay’s interest speaks highly of the work Corey and his staff did during their time here.”
Under Gipson, Northwestern State collected its first regular-season victory against an Associated Press Top 25 team, defeating then-No. 15 TCU, 64-63, in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 14. Northwestern State’s 8-2 start to the season was the best 10-game mark for the program since moving to the Division I level in the 1976-77 season and its best since the 1952-53 season.
In the past week, Gipson has been named a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award, honoring the nation’s top Division I minority coach, the Hugh Durham Award for the nation’s top mid-major coach and the Joe B. Hall Award, which honors the top first-time head coach in Division I.
An Austin Peay alumnus, Gipson helped tutor the Southland Conference Player and Newcomer of the Year DeMarcus Sharp, who is a finalist for the Lou Henson Player of the Year that is given to the nation’s top mid-major player.
“The year-to-year improvement shown by coach Gipson and his program elevated the perception of our program,” Bostian said. “I wish he, April, and their family all the best in the immediate and more distant future and thank them for what they did for Northwestern State and the Natchitoches community.”
A national search for Gipson’s replacement has begun.
PHOTO: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services