On Wednesday, June 30, 2021, just before 3:00 a.m., Troopers assigned to Louisiana State Police Troop G began investigating a two-vehicle crash on I-20, just east of LA Hwy 154 (Gibsland). The crash claimed the life of 71-year-old Milton Mosby.

The initial investigation revealed a 2012 Kenworth 18-wheeler, driven by 32-year-old Francisco Calvillo of Waxahachie, TX, was traveling on I-20 eastbound. For reasons still under investigation, Calvillo struck an eastbound 2015 Nissan Altima, driven by 71-year-old Milton Mosby, in the rear. After impact, both vehicles exited the roadway and came to rest, in a ditch.

Mosby, who was restrained, suffered fatal injuries as a result of the crash. Calvillo was restrained and was not injured.

Routine toxicology samples were taken and will be submitted for analysis.

While not all crashes are survivable, seat belts can greatly decrease the occupant’s chance of death and will greatly reduce the extent of injury.

Although the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation, Troopers would like to remind the public of the following: inattentive and distracted driving is dangerous and is a leading cause of crashes in our state. It is important for motorists to pay attention to what is going on outside of the vehicle they are driving. More information on distracted driving may be found online at nhtsa.gov

In 2021, Troop G has investigated 14 fatal crashes, resulting in 15 deaths.

Contact Information:
Tpr. Jonathan Odom
Louisiana State Police
Public Affairs Section
Office: (318) 741-7409
Jonathan.Odom2@la.gov

The Treasure Hunt, just one of the exciting events in Castor’s First Annual Freedom Fest is over.  The treasure has been found.  Look for more details in Friday’s issue of the Bienville Parish Journal.

Be sure to join the festivities at Castor’s First Annual Freedom Fest this Saturday.  CLICK HERE for more information.

Clues will be posted daily until Friday, July 2nd at City Hall by 9:00 am, and on Bienville Parish Journal website and Facebook page. If no one finds the treasure, one last clue will be posted early Saturday morning. If the treasure is not found, it will be added to the 2021 Pine Beetle Festival Treasure Hunt amount.

Clue #1

It’s not gonna be easy,
Search high and low,
Stay on public land…
Your success depends on which way you go.

Your starting point is the 4 way in Castor,
Don’t go the wrong way or it will be a disaster.
North, South, East or West?
Be sure the way you chose is the best.

Clue #2

Hidden in the Castor School District,
Is this years treasure.
Being out in this heat is no pleasure.

Stay hydrated if you want to win.
If you get too hot you may have to jump in
In the heat of the day you’ll be longing for shade
But if it pays off you’ll be glad you played.

Clue #3

Bring a chair on Saturday
To sit and watch the show.

The sky will be bright and beautiful
But treasure hunters should look low

“Red and yellow kill a fellow”
is a good reptile reminder
but those two colors in this case
Will make a happy finder

Good Luck!!!

Be sure to join the festivities at Castor’s First Annual Freedom Fest this Saturday.  CLICK HERE for more information.

On Thursday, June 24, Governor John Bel Edwards vetoed Senate Bill 118 which would have made it legal for residents of Louisiana to carry concealed handguns without a concealed handgun license.  

On Friday, Governor Edwards released a statement which explained the veto.  The governor said:

“I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, and an enthusiastic outdoorsman and hunter. But I simply cannot support carrying a concealed carry firearm without proper education and safety training – and I believe the majority of Louisianans agree with me. Our current system strikes the right balance of ensuring that people can bear arms while also keeping reasonable permitting and training processes in place. It is a matter of basic public safety and numerous law enforcement leaders across the state opposed the bill for this reason, especially as it relates to the enhanced risk posed to their officers. Simply put, it is not too much to ask that a person who wishes to carry a concealed weapon in public be required to attend basic marksmanship and safety training so they understand the regulations associated with such an action. That’s reasonable and responsible, and for these reasons, I have vetoed the permitless carry bill.”

The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) rebuffed the veto and argued that “This important legislation ensures that citizens are able to exercise their right to self-defense without government red tape or delays.”  The NRA is calling for state lawmakers to override the Governor’s veto of the “permitless carry bill.”

Clues for the Treasure Hunt will be posted daily until Friday, July 2nd at City Hall by 9:00 am, and on Bienville Parish Journal website and Facebook page. If no one finds the treasure, one last clue will be posted early Saturday morning. If the treasure is not found, it will be added to the 2021 Pine Beetle Festival Treasure Hunt amount.

Here are the clues so far:

Clue #1

It’s not gonna be easy,
Search high and low,
Stay on public land…
Your success depends on which way you go.

Your starting point is the 4 way in Castor,
Don’t go the wrong way or it will be a disaster.
North, South, East or West?
Be sure the way you chose is the best.

Clue #2

Hidden in the Castor School District,
Is this years treasure.
Being out in this heat is no pleasure.

Stay hydrated if you want to win.
If you get too hot you may have to jump in
In the heat of the day you’ll be longing for shade
But if it pays off you’ll be glad you played.

Clue #3 will be released this morning at 9:00 a.m. 

Good Luck!!!

Be sure to join the festivities at Castor’s First Annual Freedom Fest this Saturday.  CLICK HERE for more information.

The Department of Transportation and Development advised motorists that repairs to the bridge on LA 155 north of Coushatta in neighboring Red River Parish are complete and the bridge has been REOPENED. 

This bridge is located approximately 2.5 miles north of the US 71 junction in Coushatta.

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021, the LA 155 bridge over Grand Bayou in Red River Parish was inspected and closed due to the bridge’s condition.

The DOTO said, “We appreciate your patience and encourage you to drive safely.”

In May of 1941, several months before the United States officially entered World War II, Nazi Germany’s battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen scoured the Atlantic Ocean on a raiding mission to thwart Allied shipping between the United States and Great Britain.  On May 24, the two ships entered into battle with two Royal Navy ships, the British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Hood, nicknamed “the Mighty Hood,” in what is now referred to as the Battle of Denmark Strait.

The battle has been memorialized in books, songs, films, and other media including Johnny Horton’s 1960 hit song “Sink the Bismarck.”  In the song, Johnny Horton sang that “The Bismarck was the fastest ship that ever sailed the sea, on her deck were guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees,” followed by the war cry “We gotta sink the Bismarck cause the world depends on us.”

Within the first ten minutes of the battle, one of the Bismarck’s “shells as big as trees” struck the Hood near one of its ammunition magazines.  Within seconds, the Hood exploded with a violent shudder and sank.  In less than thirteen minutes after the Hood fired its first shot, as Johnny Horton sang, “The Mighty Hood went down.”  Only three of the Hood’s 1,418 sailors survived the sinking.

News of the Hood’s fate was devastating to British morale, but they soon rallied.  The Royal Navy was determined to sink the Bismarck.  It became their prime target.  Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered all ships in the region to search for the Bismarck.

Within hours, the British fleet located the Bismarck.  Bi-planes from the Royal Navy’s Ark Royal dropped torpedoes on the Bismarck.  The first torpedo struck the Bismarck but only caused minimal damage.  The second torpedo struck nearby and jammed the Bismarck’s rudders.  The Bismarck was unable to steer but kept moving in a large circle.  The battle continued throughout the night and into the morning of May 27, 1941.  Continuous attacks by several British ships destroyed the Bismarck’s guns.  At 10:40 a.m., the Bismarck disappeared beneath waves.  Of the 2,200 aboard, only 114 survived.

Hours after the sinking of the Bismarck, sailors aboard the British Ship Cossack saw Oscar sitting on a piece of floating wooden wreckage.  Oscar was the only survivor of the Bismarck to be picked up by the British Ship.

At first, the sailors on the Cossack were unsure what to do with Oscar.  They put Oscar, not in the brig, but in a room where they could keep a close eye on him.  With each passing day, the crew gave Oscar more and more freedoms.  Before long, Oscar was performing the same task on the Cossack for the Royal Navy that he had performed on the German Bismarck.  He was working for his country’s enemy. 

On October 23, 1941, the Cossack was escorting a convoy of ships from Gibraltar to the United Kingdom.  Unbeknownst to the crew, a German submarine U-563 had spotted the ship.  Without warning, an explosion rocked the Cossack.  The German U-boat had fired a single torpedo and disappeared.  The Cossack was damaged and unable to steer, but stayed afloat.  Two days later, a tugboat from Gibraltar arrived and towed the Cossack toward land.  On the following day, October 26, a storm moved into the area.  The tugboat was unable to keep the tow line attached to the Cossack in the high sea.  On October 27, the Cossack floundered to the turbulent sea and sank into the Atlantic Ocean.  159 crew members died as a result of the ship’s sinking, but not Oscar.  He was among those rescued by the HMS Legion.  The Legion transported the survivors to Gibraltar.

The crew of the Cossack spoke so highly of Oscar that he was not jailed for being an enemy combatant, but was put to work on the HMS Ark Royal aircraft carrier.  Two weeks after Oscar joined the Ark Royal, on November 13, a German U-boat fired a torpedo at the aircraft carrier.  The explosion shook the ship.  Several of the crew were launched into the ocean by the blast but only a single crew member died.  It took nearly three hours for the Ark Royal to sink.  In that time, the HMS Legion was able to rescue all of the Ark Royal’s crewmen.  As had happened when the Bismarck sank, sailors found Oscar clinging to a floating board. 

Oscar’s days at sea were over.  For reasons which remain unclear, the Royal Navy transferred Oscar to the seamen’s home in Belfast, Ireland.  Oscar never returned to Germany, but stayed at the seamen’s home for the remainder of his life.  From May until November, 1941, Oscar had survived the sinking of three ships.  His job in the German Navy and then in the British Navy was an important one, pest control.  You see, Oscar was not a typical sailor.  Oscar was…a cat.    

Sources:

1. The Pittsburgh Press, May 27, 1941, p.18.
2. The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), May 27, 1941, p.1.
3. The Morning Post (Camden, New Jersey), May 28, 1941, p.2.
4. The Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario, Canada), November 14, 1941, p.1.
5. Royal Museums Greenwich. “Oscar, Cat from the German Battleship ‘Bismarck‘.” Accessed June 21, 2021. https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/203480.html.

In week five, we take a little break to celebrate Independence Day, but you don’t need to stop reading! We encourage you to keep reading, collect all ten of your brag tags and see just how many books/pages you can log in before the end of the summer and you head back to school. In fact, if you were on vacation or had other activities going on, it’s not too late to get in on the fun and register for the Summer Reading Program and start reading!

The 2021 “Tails & Tales” Summer Reading Program is going gangbusters at your neighborhood Bienville Parish Library with even more fun coming up in the last two weeks of performances. “Geebo the Clown” makes an appearance on July 8th and July 9th and the finale is “The Dinosaur Experience” on July 15th and July 16th — that is sure to be a “Paleo-riffic” program!

SNAG YOUR TAGS AND KEEP ON READING!

This is a new Summer Reading Program reward and there are ten brag tags to snag! Preventing the “summer slide” continues to be the main objective of summer reading programs. This new reading incentive gives your reader extra motivation to read and collect all ten tags. It will impress teachers with how many books/pages read during the summer vacation!

But it doesn’t end with the brag tags – Children are encouraged to keep reading as much as they can because there will be certificates and prizes for the top reader in multiple categories, including: top reader at each branch, top reader in their age group, and top reader in the Bienville Parish Library system.

COME ONE, COME ALL!

Everyone is welcome to attend the performances! If you’re visiting the library on the days of an SRP performance, come in and join us! Below are the program times for each library:

Thursdays

• Arcadia at 10:00 a.m.
• Ringgold at 2:00 p.m.

Fridays

• Castor at 10:00 a.m.
• Saline at 2:00 p.m.

You and your children are welcome to take part in the Summer Reading Program performances – it’s a fun way to spend an hour and visit the library too! There’s always something going on at your Bienville Parish Library – visit bienvillelibrary.org to see the schedule of events.

Gov. John Bel Edwards supports the Biden administration’s extension of the federal eviction moratorium until July 31, 2021. He encourages all renters, homeowners and landlords who are experiencing ongoing economic hardship due to COVID-19 to take immediate steps to apply for state assistance that will help them address their housing challenges.

“We are grateful to President Joe Biden and his administration for extending this additional lifeline to those who are still struggling due to the pandemic,” said Gov. Edwards. “It’s important that everyone who needs this additional time act as soon as possible to secure state assistance or explore mortgage payment options because this is intended to be the final federal extension. While this will prevent evictions and ensure housing stability for another month, there are steps renters and homeowners who are struggling financially due to COVID-19 can and should take now to protect themselves from possible eviction or foreclosure beyond this extension. Later this summer, Louisiana will receive $146.7 million funded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to assist homeowners economically impacted by the pandemic.”

Renters and Landlords

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a one-month extension of the eviction moratorium for renters impacted by COVID-19 until July 31.

About 50,000 renters and landlords have already applied for assistance through Louisiana’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program and similar programs administered by Caddo, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes. More than $10.7 million has been awarded to renters and landlords through the state-administered emergency rental assistance program. The program, which expanded in May to include utility assistance, provides funding support for past-due rent and utility fees dating back to April 2020, as well as future rent for eligible applicants. For more information about Louisiana’s Emergency Rental Assistance program and how to access locally administered programs, visit LAStateRent.com or call 877.459.6555 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Homeowners

Federal agencies that back mortgages—the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Agriculture—have extended their respective foreclosure moratoriums until July 31, 2021. The Federal Housing Finance Agency also extended the foreclosure moratorium for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac until July 31, 2021. While state programs for homeowner assistance are still in the planning stages, homeowners who are struggling financially can temporarily pause or reduce their mortgage payments by entering into a forbearance agreement with their lenders.

Forbearance allows homeowners to repay missed payments over time or when they refinance or sell their homes, and relief options depend on who owns or backs a mortgage, the programs they offer, and the eligibility criteria they set. To learn whether a mortgage is backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or the federal government, homeowners can contact their loan servicer or search online. Homeowners without federally backed mortgages who are behind on payments are urged to contact their mortgage servicers to determine any forbearance options. Visit the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau website for more information on the moratorium extension and preventing foreclosure.

Under the U.S. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, servicers of federally backed mortgages must provide forbearance for borrowers with COVID-related hardships for up to two consecutive 180-day periods. HUD, VA and USDA will continue allowing homeowners to enter into COVID-related forbearance through Sept. 30, 2021, while homeowners with Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac-backed mortgages also continue to be eligible for COVID-related forbearance. HUD, VA and USDA will announce additional steps in July to offer borrowers payment reduction options that enable more homeowners to stay in their homes.

Lastly, Louisiana is set to receive $146.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds later this summer as part of the Homeowner Assistance Fund, which is designed to prevent mortgage delinquencies and defaults, foreclosures, loss of utilities or home energy services and displacement of homeowners experiencing financial hardship after January 21, 2020. Louisiana is awaiting final guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department to launch the program.

1559 – King Henry II of France was mortally wounded in a jousting match against Gabriel, comte de Montgomery.

1859 – French acrobat Charles Blondin crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

1865 – Eight alleged conspirators in assassination of Lincoln were found guilty.

1882 – Charles J. Guiteau was hanged in Washington, D.C. for the assassination of U.S. President James Garfield.

1898 – Winton Motor Carriage Company published the first known automobile ad in Scientific American using the headline “dispense with a horse.”

1905 – Albert Einstein sent the article On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, in which he introduced special relativity, for publication in Annalen der Physik.

1908 – A giant fireball, most likely caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet, flattened 80 million trees near the Stony Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate, Russia, in the largest impact event in recorded history.

1921 – U.S. President Warren G. Harding appointed former President William Howard Taft as Chief Justice of the United States.

1925 – Charles Jenkins was granted the U.S. patent for Transmitting Pictures over Wireless (early television).

1934 – The Night of the Long Knives, Adolf Hitler’s violent purge of his political rivals in Germany, took place.

1936 – Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone with the Wind” was published.

1937 – The world’s first emergency telephone number, 999, was introduced in London.

1938 – Superman first appeared in DC Comics’ Action Comics Series issue #1.

1953 – The first Chevrolet Corvette rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan.

1954 – Largest check deposited: Internal US Treasury check at $4,176,969,623.57.

1956 – A TWA Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7 collided above the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crash, killing all 128 on board both airliners.

1959 – A United States Air Force F-100 Super Sabre from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, crashed into a nearby elementary school, killing 11 students plus six residents from the local neighborhood.

1971 – The crew of the Soviet Soyuz 11 spacecraft were killed when their air supply escaped through a faulty valve.

1975 – Serial killer Ted Bundy victim Shelley Robertson disappeared in Colorado.

1979 – “Good Times” single released by Chic (Billboard Song of the Year 1979).

1992 – “End of the Road” single was released by Boyz II Men (Grammy Award Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best R&B Song 1993, Billboard Song of the Year 1992)

Unless you have a lifetime license, your fishing license expires today, June 30.  

If you’re age 16 or older, you must have a Basic Fishing License to fish recreationally in Louisiana waters.  Please note that if you’re fishing with a cane pole, you just need a Hook and Line License; no other license is required.

Licenses are available at special rates for seniors, military, students, and people with disabilities. Lifetime licenses are also available.

You can purchase your fishing license from these Bienville Parish retailers:

Arcadia

• Fastpak #4 (1096 Hazel St.)

Castor

• The General Store of Castor (9075 Hwy 4)

Jamestown

• Jamestown Store (4189 East Front St.)

Ringgold

• Corner Store and Campground (3222 Pine Bluff Rd.)

Saline

• Saline General Store (1431 4th St.)

Delayed but not denied, the 2020 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction class finally took center stage Saturday night inside the Natchitoches Events Center.

And despite the two years between induction ceremonies, little changed during the 61st induction ceremony.

The 11-person induction class lived up to its billing of a diverse group from different sports and eras, but the themes that permeated their presentations and induction speeches were generally similar.

From family members or coaches or teammates or co-workers – and of course, their Louisiana roots — the feelings of gratitude remained as consistent as they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, which twice delayed the group’s official entry into the state’s sports shrine.

Whether it was the self-professed “city boy” from New Orleans like Kerry Kittles, the Duck Commander himself (Phil Robertson), or the sweet, smooth shooting small-town girl from Bienville Parish (Lady Techster basketball great Angela Turner Johnson), those Louisiana roots run deep.

“Growing up in Shady Grove, it was such a small community, but we had a sense of family,” Turner Johnson said “If someone did something wrong, our parents knew before we got home because everybody cared about everybody. Mr. Edward Mason, our principal, instilled in us to be the best we can be. He wanted us to not let our humble beginnings get in the way of us dreaming big.”

Humble beginnings indeed.

“Those days, we grew up playing basketball on a dirt court, with a homemade backboard. At school the boys had basketball and baseball, and for us girls, it was just basketball. I’m so proud to be here representing all the girls who I played with, and all the people who I grew up around back home,” she said.

A large and appreciative group of “A.T.” supporters, both from Bienville Parish and Louisiana Tech, cheered loudly for their heroine at every opportunity during the ceremony.

The members of the long-awaited Class of 2020 dreamed big and delivered even bigger for the Sportsman’s Paradise.

None has had the continuing impact of Minden native “Sweet Lou” Dunbar, an All-American at the University of Houston who became basketball’s Clown Prince with the Harlem Globetrotters.

“I’ve been to over 90 countries,” Dunbar said. “Coming out of Minden, Louisiana, who would have thought that? I met Pope John Paul II, the 75th pope. We gave him a jersey with the No. 75. I’ll touch y’all later. I’ve been anointed.”

Along with his connection to the very top of the Catholic church, Dunbar long had been putting smiles on people’s faces during his times on the court with the Globetrotters.

“He took a cowboy hat from this guy, and the guy ran him around the gym about 20 times,” said current Globetrotter Hi-Lite Bruton. “I was a rookie, and I was laughing so hard. Everyone in the crowd, we were on the floor dying.”

• Jo Ann Lawson Bess
  October 30, 1934 – June 26, 2021
  Visitation: Today, June 30 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at Ringgold Church of Christ.  She will be laid to rest in a private ceremony. 
• Nelda Lavern Carter
  December 01, 1925 – June 28, 2021
  Service:  Today, June 30 at 10:00 a.m. at the Southern-Edmonds Funeral Home Chapel.  

Clues will be posted daily until Friday, July 2nd at City Hall by 9:00 am, and on Bienville Parish Journal website and Facebook page. If no one finds the treasure, one last clue will be posted early Saturday morning. If the treasure is not found, it will be added to the 2021 Pine Beetle Festival Treasure Hunt amount.

Clue #1

It’s not gonna be easy,
Search high and low,
Stay on public land…
Your success depends on which way you go.

Your starting point is the 4 way in Castor,
Don’t go the wrong way or it will be a disaster.
North, South, East or West?
Be sure the way you chose is the best.

Clue #2

Hidden in the Castor School District,
Is this years treasure.
Being out in this heat is no pleasure.

Stay hydrated if you want to win.
If you get too hot you may have to jump in
In the heat of the day you’ll be longing for shade
But if it pays off you’ll be glad you played.

Good Luck!!!

Be sure to join the festivities at Castor’s First Annual Freedom Fest this Saturday.  CLICK HERE for more information.

In a press release this afternoon, June 28, the Department of Transportation and Development advised motorists that repairs to the bridge on LA 155 north of Coushatta in Red River Parish are complete and the bridge has been REOPENED. 

This bridge is located approximately 2.5 miles north of the US 71 junction in Coushatta.

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021, the LA 155 bridge over Grand Bayou in Red River Parish was inspected and closed due to the bridge’s condition.

The DOTO said, “We appreciate your patience and encourage you to drive safely.”

THE GAME IS AFOOT!  The Castor Freedom Fest Treasure Hunt begins RIGHT NOW!!!  The prize is in excess of $300.00.

Clues will be posted daily until Friday, July 2nd at City Hall by 9:00 am, and on Bienville Parish Journal website and Facebook page. If no one finds the treasure, one last clue will be posted early Saturday morning. If the treasure is not found, it will be added to the 2021 Pine Beetle Festival Treasure Hunt amount.

Clue #1

It’s not gonna be easy,
Search high and low,
Stay on public land…
Your success depends on which way you go.

Your starting point is the 4 way in Castor,
Don’t go the wrong way or it will be a disaster.
North, South, East or West?
Be sure the way you chose is the best.

Good Luck!!!

Be sure to join the festivities at Castor’s First Annual Freedom Fest this Saturday.  CLICK HERE for more information.

This past weekend, 4 Ringgold High School football players took part in the widely recognized “best lineman camp” in the nation at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA. Over 650 high school football lineman were there in attendance.

Andre Ivory, Nicholas Plunkett, Jyshawn Marshall and Austin Mingo had the opportunity on day 1 to hear NFL Hall of Famer Kevin Mawae speak to the young men about the importance of dedication and technique. The Ringgold football players were privileged to be taught by some of the best minds in the game of high school, college, and NFL football.

“The 4 horseman,” effectually called at the camp, were given multiple compliments on their hard work and attention to detail. Coach Shon Trent said, “I’m so proud of these young men and how they represented Ringgold High School.”

Lastly, as we were driving back from the camp we were told that 2 of the players, Jyshawn Marshall scored a 23 on his ACT while Nicholas Plunkett posted a 24. We try to instill to our kids that without good grades there is no sports!

Now southern Louisiana knows about the Ringgold “GOLDSTANDARD!”

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

On Saturday, July 3, 2021, Castor will host its first annual Freedom Fest.

The Pine Beetle Festival has partnered with the Town of Castor to bring you some SUMMER FUN!

There will be food, free Bingo, a cake walk, corn hole, sno cones, a Treasure Hunt, a spectacular fireworks display, a grand finale provided by Alvie Myers, and more.

FOOD

Local churches will have food booths to raise money to help their kids and youth with camp expenses. Only local churches are allowed to sell food. Each church will sell one thing. There will be no other vendors allowed to set up. We just want this to be a time of fun and fellowship.

BINGO

At 5:00 p.m., join us at the pavilion for FREE BINGO. Bingo will be free because we want everyone to support our churches and kids with food purchases. Bingo prizes have been donated by local businesses and individuals. If you would like to donate prizes for Bingo, please drop them off to Mayor Pickett at the Castor City Hall.

TREASURE HUNT

We will host a Treasure Hunt with a prize in excess of $300.00.

Clues will be posted beginning Monday, June 28th and be posted daily until Friday, July 2nd. They will be posted daily at City Hall by 9:00 am, and on Bienville Parish Journal website and Facebook page soon thereafter.  If no one finds the treasure one last clue will be posted early Saturday am.  If the treasure is not found it will be added to the 2021 Pine Beetle Festival Treasure Hunt amount.

FIREWORKS

The celebration will end with the best fireworks show around.  We will have a pyrotechnic firework show that can be seen all over the town.  It will begin when it gets dark enough to be seen really well, probably around 9:00 pm give or take a few minutes.  You will be allowed to sit on the tracks, downtown, at the community center, or wherever you think you can see best. Fireworks will be launched from the Castor Fire Station.

***Masks are NOT required to attend any of these activities but if you feel better wearing one please do so.

BRING YOUR CHAIRS AND LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!!

**NO ALCOHOL WILL BE ALLOWED**

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has received a large volume of calls regarding the future of their lifetime licenses in the wake of the recent legislative session.

Act 356-HB 691, recently signed by Governor John Bel Edwards, does not eliminate all lifetime licenses from the agency. Rather, it consolidates lifetime licenses into three:

1. Lifetime Sportsman’s Paradise License – Resident ($500 price is unchanged)
2. Senior Sportsman’s Paradise License (65 and older) – Resident ($100)
3. Lifetime Sportsman’s Paradise License – Non-Resident ($4,000)

These new licenses which include hunting and fishing privileges will go on sale June 1, 2022. The new lifetime licenses will streamline and consolidate the old lifetime license structure. The existing individual lifetime licenses (e.g. Resident Lifetime Fishing Only ($300) and Resident Lifetime Hunting Only ($300)) will be combined into the Lifetime Sportsman’s Paradise Hunting/Fishing licenses above.

All existing lifetime license holders will continue to have their existing privileges grandfathered into perpetuity.

The Mt. Lebanon Historical Society will have its annual Flag Raising Ceremony on Saturday, July 3, 2021 at the Stagecoach Trail Museum.

Our speaker will be Tommy Youngblood, a Mt. Lebanon Historical Society board member.

The program will begin at 8:00 a.m. and conclude with breakfast in the country store.

Please bring a covered breakfast dish.

The program will be patriotic, educational, and entertaining for all ages.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The 2020 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductees competed on the biggest stages under the brightest lights across the country and around the world, but a recurring theme underlined Thursday’s press conference and welcome reception at the LSHOF Museum in downtown Natchitoches.

Five of the seven competitive inductees cut their teeth in small towns, on dirt courts or in grass fields chiseled from the rural Louisiana landscape.

All four of the other honorees either grew up in small towns or were shaped by rural Louisiana on their way to wildly successful careers.

Thursday’s opening press conference kicked off a Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction weekend that will enshrine 11 inductees.

Tonight’s free Rockin’ River Fest concert starts at 6 on the downtown riverbank, with introductions of the inductees at 9 followed by fireworks.

Saturday night’s Hall of Fame ceremony at the Natchitoches Events Center caps a weekend full of festivities to honor Louisiana’s greatest athletes.

Visit LaSportsHall.com for participation opportunities at the five remaining events.

The seven competitive ballot inductees are basketball’s Kerry Kittles, Angela Turner Johnson and “Sweet Lou” Dunbar, legendary football coach Mackie Freeze, noted NFL cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman, world famous bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman and quarterback turned famed outdoorsman Phil Robertson (who will arrive today).

The hall will also honor its first Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award recipient, Fox Sports broadcaster Tim Brando, along with Joan Cronan (Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award) and Robin Fambrough and Kent Lowe, this year’s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism recipients.

“Sweet Lou” Dunbar perfected his game on a dirt basketball court in Minden.

Before he made his name at now-closed Webster High, starting his high school and college battle with future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer (and 2002 LSHOF inductee) Robert Parish, Dunbar had to outsmart his neighbor Mr. Odom’s bulldog if the basketball went over the fence from his dirt court.

“We had to trick the dog as one of us distracted him from the front so another guy could jump the fence and get our ball back,” Dunbar said with his wide grin that would eventually be seen across the world as a Harlem Globetrotter.

Minden seems small to most, unless you’re a native of Shady Grove like Angela Turner Johnson and graduated with a class of 17 from Shady Grove High. She became a cornerstone of dominating Louisiana Tech women’s basketball squads from 1979-82.

Tech made Final Fours in each of her four seasons, and the mid-range specialist was the Final Four MVP in 1981 as the Techsters won the first of two straight national crowns.

“We might have been a little town and a little school, but we had big hearts,” Turner said of Shady Grove, which helped her bond with her Louisiana Tech teammates. “I’m joining three players from those Louisiana Tech teams (Pam Kelly, Kim Mulkey and Janice Lawrence-Braxton) and both of my coaches (Hogg and Leon Barmore) in this hall of fame, and at that time, we just didn’t know the impact we would have on women’s basketball.

“But we did think we could win a title. Pam and I told our coaches and (President F. Jay Taylor) that we were going to win a national championship. We won two.”

Castor has released its School Supply lists for the upcoming school year.

1630 – The fork was introduced to American dining by Governor Winthrop.

1638 – A lunar eclipse was the first astronomical event recorded in the American Colonies.

1848 – A photograph of the June Days uprising became the first known instance of photojournalism.

1867 – Barbed wire was patented by Lucien B. Smith of Ohio.

1868 – Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were readmitted to the US.

1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.

1906 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania millionaire Harry Thaw shot and killed prominent architect Stanford White.

1910 – The United States Congress passed the Mann Act, which prohibited interstate transport of women or girls for “immoral purposes”; the ambiguous language was used to selectively prosecute people for years.

1913 – American Civil War veterans began arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.

1929 – US President Herbert Hoover authorized the building of Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam).

1938 – “A Tisket A Tasket” by Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb hit #1.

1942 – Major General Dwight Eisenhower was appointed commander of US forces in Europe.

1943 – The Holocaust: Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland staged an uprising against the Nazis.

1943 – The left-wing German Jewish exile Arthur Goldstein was murdered in Auschwitz.

1944 – The final page of the comic Krazy Kat was published, exactly two months after its author George Herriman died.

1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) was published.

1949 – Long-Haired Hare was released in theaters starring Bugs Bunny.

1950 – The Korean War began with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.

1951 – First color TV broadcast, CBS’ Arthur Godfrey from NYC to 4 cities.

1960 – Cold War: Two cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to the Soviet Union.

1966 – Beatles’ “Paperback Writer” single went to #1 and stayed there for 2 weeks.

1967 – First global satellite television programme “Our World” was broadcast featuring 19 acts representing 19 nations including The Beatles singing “All You Need is Love”.

1975 – Barry White’s “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Babe” was released.

1977 – Roy C. Sullivan of Virginia was struck by lightning for 7th time!

1982 – Science-fiction film “Blade Runner”, directed by Ridley Scott, starring Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, was released.

1984 – Prince released his “Purple Rain” album.

1988 – Roger Rabbit Cartoon Character debuted in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”

1996 – “Independence Day” directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Will Smith, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum premiered in Westwood, California.

1997 – An unmanned Progress spacecraft collided with the Russian space station Mir.

1997 – Christies auctioned off Princess Diana’s clothing for $5.5 million.

If you missed the Dallas Puppet Theater event in Arcadia and Ringgold yesterday, you can still join in the fun at Castor or Saline today.

We’re in for a special treat with the arrival of the Dallas Puppet Theater! The Dallas Puppet Theater is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting and preserving the ancient form of the performance art of puppetry. The organization maintains the art with an ongoing series of family performances, guest artists, school programs, workshops and outreach programs like the upcoming performance coming to the Bienville Parish Library June 24th and June 25th. Below are the program times for each library:

Thursday, June 24

• Arcadia at 10:00 a.m.
• Ringgold at 2:00 p.m.

Friday, June 25

• Castor at 10:00 a.m.
• Saline at 2:00 p.m.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Did you know historians can predate some form of puppetry as early as 2000 BC! Puppets or stringed puppets called “Marionettes” were found in Egyptian tombs and were made of clay and ivory. Some puppets were used to display rituals and ceremonies and later stringed and articulated puppets were used as a form of entertainment for the townspeople or villagers. Live performers, scenery, props, musicians and actors were far too expensive to bring to villages and remote towns, so brightly painted wagons with a miniature theatre was set up, bringing operas, morality plays, comedy acts and even religious reenactments during holidays and special religious feasts with Marionettes or hand puppets as the actors and actresses and even animal Marionettes had acting parts!

The Dallas Puppet Theater will have examples of the different kinds of puppets from different cultures around the world. We’ll probably even see shadow puppets used in many East Asian cultures. Be sure to come and experience the ancient and wondrous world of puppetry with the Dallas Puppet Theater!

DON’T FORGET TO SNAG YOUR BRAG TAGS!

This is a new Summer Reading Program reward and there are ten brag tags to snag! Preventing the “summer slide” continues to be the main objective of summer reading programs. This new reading incentive gives your reader extra motivation to read and collect all ten tags. It will impress teachers with how many books/pages they read during their summer vacation!

The 2021 Summer Reading Program is designed to help:

• Children be motivated to read.
• Children develop positive attitudes about reading, books, and the library.
• Children maintain their reading skills during summer vacation.
• Children have access to experiences that further their sense of discovery.
• Children have access to experiences through which they can learn to work cooperatively.
• Most of all – HAVE FUN!

Look for the Pull & Post Fridge Flyer in the Bienville Parish Library Event Guide for times and list of performers. You’ll also find all you need to know at bienvillelibrary.org.

Part 2  (If you missed Part 1, Click Here)

This week we continue our quest to determine who is the greatest bass angler of all time. In the previous article we revealed and made a case for three anglers in Denny Brauer, Aaron Martens and Edwin Evers. Again, our criteria are based off the recent list by B.A.S.S. of the ‘All-Time Money Winners.” But before we get to the top two on this list, we have to take a look at some of the old timers who made bass fishing what it is today. Guys who were around when it all began in the late 1960’s like Bill Dance, Roland Martin and Rick Clunn who all dominated the pro tour in the beginning and took full advantage of their early success.

No name or person in the history of bass fishing is more recognizable than Bill Dance with his University of Tennessee baseball cap. To give you an idea how popular that cap is, I ran into Bill at the International Fishing Show known as ICAST in Orlando a few years ago and his PR director had one of Bill caps in his hand while Bill toured the show. I ask him what the extra hat was for, and he said it’s in case someone comes by and snatches his hat off his head. I asked if that had ever happened, and he said yes quite often. When it comes to marketing, no other cap is as recognized as the one Bill Dance wears. His show “Bill Dance Outdoors” is the longest running fishing TV show in history broadcasting since January 5th,1968. Bill does an outstanding job of introducing new tackle and techniques to the public though his show. He’s not just another pretty face for TV, but in his hay day, he was one of the best anglers to ever wet a hook and dominated the tour early on. But he retired from tournament fishing at a very young age in order to focus more on his TV show and sponsor promotions. He pretty much put Strike King Lures on the map and has help make them the leading tackle company in the world.

Let’s look at Roland Martin…another of the all-time greats who many will say IS the greatest angler of all time based on the fact that he won 9 Angler of the Year Titles. No one even comes close to that and the fact he won 19 B.A.S.S. events and 19 runner-up finishes. He was in the money 63% of the time as he accumulated over $1 million in winnings during a time when the money was nothing like it is today. If he would have fished in this new era of today with that kind of dominance, his earnings would have exceeded over $4 million in tournament winnings alone not including endorsements and merchandise sales. The only thing that haunts Roland Martin today, is the fact that he never won the Bassmaster Classic. A tournament that just seemed to elude his grasp time and time again. Just a little info about Roland (who resides in Naples Florida) is he loves to turkey hunt and tarpon fish. His son Elite Series Pro Scott Martin has also been very successful in his own right with an FLW Championship under his belt and a very popular TV show called “The Scott Martin Challenge.”

Rick Clunn is another angler whose name always comes up as the greatest of all time and at one time had the title of the GOAT.. Just like NFL quarterbacks who are judged by the number of Super Bowls they’ve won, bass fishing professionals are judged by how many Bassmaster Classics they’ve won. Rick Clunn and Kevin Van Dam lead that list with four Classic wins to their credit. (More on KVD later) Now Rick is a different bird who has always flown a little different route than most other anglers. When other anglers would zig, Clunn would zag. In the beginning and during most of his career, Rick separated himself completely from other pros and I mean literally by staying at campgrounds outside in a tent. He avoided hotels where he felt anglers talked too much and got into each other’s head. He avoided what he called “dock talk.” Rick’s philosophy included a form of meditation known as zenning. It was his way of becoming one with nature. He always felt like the closer he was with nature, the better he could connect with the bass and as Rick would say “become one with the fish.” Over his career, Rick has accumulated over $2.6 million dollars in winnings.

Now let’s looks at the real GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)…Kevin Van Dam. This guy took bass fishing by storm in 1987 and made his presence felt his first year as a touring professional. Allegedly the story goes that he walked up to Rick Clunn (who was the GOAT at that time) and introduced himself as Kevin Van Dam and that he was the guy who was going to start kicking his a#$. Whether this is true or not, it illustrates Van Dam’s confidence in his abilities to catch fish and win tournaments. His mental toughness has far exceeded all other anglers of his generation. If you look at winnings alone, Van Dam has collected over $6.4 million dollars in winnings which is double his closest competitor. He has won 4 Bassmaster Classics (the Super Bowl of bass fishing) and has won more B.A.S.S. events than any other angler in history with 25 and has 16 runner-up finishes to his credit. Over his career, he has been in the money 80% of the time which is an amazing stat in itself. KVD has also capitalized on the business side of bass fishing as well as the lead spokesperson and bait designer for Strike King Lures. There’s not a bass angler in America that does not have at least one KVD endorsed lure in their tackle box. So, you can debate this all you want, but it’s pretty clear based off statistics alone and money earned that Kevin Van Dam truly is the greatest bass fisherman of all time. I hope you’ve enjoyed this breakdown of bass fishing all-time greats. Whether you choose to agree or disagree, it’s hard to argue against KVD. Till next time, don’t forget to set the hook!

Steve Graf
Owner/Co-host
Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show
And Tackle Talk Live