Tomorrow, April 30, Arcadia High School’s Javion Abney will play in the Beast of the Week Basketball All-Star game for seniors.  Teams have been split and chosen by the coaches of the All-Star game. There will be 2 girls games and 2 boys game and a live DJ.  The Beast of the Week All-Star Game will be held at Wossman High School.  

More than 30 college recruits from all over are coming to see area players play one last time. All-Star games consist of the girls and boys 3 point contest, boys dunk contest, and the games itself.  Javion will be participating in the 3 point contest and the game.

Doors will open at 1pm and the game will start at 3pm. Tickets can be purchased the day of the All-Star game starting at 1pm at the ticket booth with CASH ONLY. Come support these seniors as they hit the High School court one last time.

In 2008, Ringgold High School began a tradition of graduating seniors placing a memory in a “memory box”.

When the time comes for a class reunion, the alumni will request for the memory box for their class reunion.

The Class of 2022 will continue that tradition today when they add their own “memories” to the Class of 2022 Memory Box.     

Class of 2022 would like to thank Mrs. Jasmine Howard for decorating the tree and the stage.

Louisiana Public Broadcast – PBS Kids and CenterPoint Energy recently provided Crawford Elementary’s 1st grad class with STEM boxes. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. STEM boxes contain toys geared towards learning, curiosity, and education.

Principal Edwin Mason said, “We are so thankful for the Stem boxes from Louisiana Public Broadcasting and CenterPoint Entergy for our 1st graders!! We appreciate this partnership and their commitment to assisting our students!”

On April 23, Saline marathon runner Don Brown participated in the 9th annual RussVegas 13.1 mile Half Marathon in Russellville, Arkansas.  The RussVegas Half Marathon supports local charities throughout the Arkansas River Valley.  The marathon led runners through the streets of Historic Downtown in an atmosphere with “Spirit Stations” throughout the course cheering and playing music.  More than 300 volunteers and local business’s pulled out the red carpet for participants and family.

Mr. Brown finished the half marathon with a time of 2.17.23 and won first place in his age group.  

Congratulations, Mr. Brown, on another win!!!

If you or someone you know (who has a connection to Bienville parish) has done or is going to do something extraordinary, please email the Bienville Parish Journal at BPJNewsLA@gmail.com. 

The Gibsland Branch of the Bienville Parish Library will host a job fair between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. today.  This is an opportunity to get your resume out there if you’re looking for a job for the summer or a more permanent position with the companies listed below. You can come into the Gibsland Branch and get more information on a job opening or submit your application, ask questions, find out more about the companies and benefits.

1429 – Joan of Arc arrived to relieve the Siege of Orléans.

1624 – French king Louis XIII named Cardinal Richelieu chief minister of France.

1760 – French forces commenced the siege of Quebec which was held by the British.

1770 – James Cook arrived in Australia at Botany Bay, which he named.

1781 – American Revolutionary War: British and French ships clashed in the Battle of Fort Royal off the coast of Martinique.

1826 – The galaxy Centaurus A or NGC 5128 was discovered by James Dunlop.

1852 – Roget’s Thesaurus, created by Peter Roget, was released to the public.

1861 – Maryland in the American Civil War: Maryland’s House of Delegates voted not to secede from the Union.

1862 – American Civil War: The Capture of New Orleans by Union forces under David Farragut.

1864 – Theta Xi fraternity was founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the only fraternity to be founded during the American Civil War.

1927 – Construction of Spirit of St Louis (the monoplane which Charles Lindburgh used to fly across the Atlantic) was completed.

1942 – Jews were forced to wear a Jewish Star in Netherlands & Vichy-France.

1944 – World War II: New Zealand-born SOE agent Nancy Wake, a leading figure in the French Resistance and the Gestapo’s most wanted person, parachuted back into France to be a liaison between London and the local maquis group.

1945 – World War II: Airdrops of food began over German-occupied regions of the Netherlands.

1945 – World War II: HMS Goodall (K479) was torpedoed by U-286 outside the Kola Inlet, becoming the last Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the European theatre of World War II.

1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler married his longtime partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker and designated Admiral Karl Dönitz as his successor; Hitler and Braun both committed suicide the following day.

1945 – Dachau concentration camp was liberated by United States troops.

1945 – The Italian commune of Fornovo di Taro was liberated from German forces by Brazilian forces.

1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convened and indicted former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders for war crimes.

1953 – The first U.S. experimental 3D television broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV.

1961 – ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” debuted.

1967 – After refusing induction into the United States Army the previous day, Muhammad Ali was stripped of his boxing title.

1967 – Aretha Franklin released her single “Respect” (written by Otis Redding); Billboard Song of the Year, 1967.

1968 – The controversial musical Hair, a product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, opened at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, with some of its songs becoming anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement.

1970 – Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia to hunt Viet Cong.

1974 – Watergate scandal: United States President Richard Nixon announced the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings relating to the scandal.

1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind: The U.S. began to evacuate U.S. citizens from Saigon before an expected North Vietnamese takeover. U.S. involvement in the war came to an end.

1975 – Vietnam War: The North Vietnamese army completed its capture of all parts of South Vietnamese-held Trường Sa Islands.

1982 – American mafia hitman Richard Kuklinski murdered pharmacist Paul Hoffman by beating him with a tire iron.

1986 – A fire at the Central library of the City of Los Angeles Public Library damaged or destroyed 400,000 books and other items.

1986 – The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise became the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal, navigating from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea to relieve the USS Coral Sea.

1986 – Chernobyl disaster: American and European spy satellites captured the ruins of the 4th Reactor at the Chernobyl Power Plant.

1990 – Wrecking cranes began tearing down the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate.

1991 – “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” single was released by Alan Jackson (ASCAP Award Country Song of the Year, 1992; Billboard Song of the Year, 1991).

1992 – Riots in Los Angeles, following the acquittal of police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days 63 people were killed and hundreds of buildings were destroyed.

1992 – Country singer Doug Stone, 35, underwent quadruple bypass surgery.

1997 – The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 entered into force which outlawed the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons by its signatories.

2004 – The final Oldsmobile was built in Lansing, Michigan, ending 107 years of vehicle production.

2011 – The Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place at Westminster Abbey in London.

2015 – A baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox set the all-time low attendance mark for Major League Baseball. Zero fans were in attendance for the game, as the stadium was officially closed to the public due to the 2015 Baltimore protests.

2018 – Animated series “The Simpsons” surpassed 635-episode count of “Gunsmoke”‘; highest number of episodes of any series on TV.

2020 – World record for the longest single lightning flash of 477miles across US states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, according to World Meteorological Organization.

2021 – Brazil’s official COVID-19 death toll passed 400,000, with daily fatalities at 3,000, down from 4,000.

Mr. David Hugh Choate passed away on Monday, April 25, 2022 near his home in Readhimer, Louisiana. David was known for his infectious smile and sense of humor. He was always cracking jokes around his family and friends. It has been said that he never met a stranger and he went out of his way to talk to people. He loved Rock-N- Roll music and was especially fond of his dog, Miss Kitty.

Mr. Choate is survived by his children, Austyn Choate, Alayna Choate, and Katy Choate; parents, Tony Kenneth and Peggy Sue (McCormick) Choate; brother, Paul Choate; and niece, Lilith Choate.

Friends may visit with the family on Saturday, April 30, 2022 from 11 AM until 1 PM in the front parlor at Southern/Edmonds Funeral Home in Jonesboro. A graveside service will follow at 1:30 PM at Strange Methodist Cemetery in Readhimer with Father Gus Voltz officiating.

Serving the family as pallbearers will be Randy Mason, Austyn Choate, Paul Choate, Alan Garlington, Daniel Dunn and Devon Dunn. Honorary pallbearer will be Cassandra Daniels.

Visitation:  Saturday, April 30, 2022, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM at Edmonds Funeral Home, 228 Allen Ave. in Jonesboro.

Graveside Service:  Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 1:30 PM at Strange Cemetery, Strange Cemetery Rd. in Readhimer.

In the age of computers, penmanship has largely been rendered obsolete.  Where we once wrote letters and sent postcards to our family and friends, now we send emails and text messages.  When was the last time you mailed a handwritten letter or postcard?  100 years ago, people practiced their handwriting skills to perfection.    

On Friday, April 21, 1922, schools in the parish participated in a handwriting contest.  When the points were tallied, Arcadia High School had won the prized fountain pen.  Lee School won the fountain pen in the competition between the “graded schools.”  Below is a list of points earned by each school.

Do you recognize the names of all of the schools?  

High School Scores

Rural “Graded” Schools

Source: Bienville Democrat, May 4, 1922, p.1.

The Bienville Parish Chamber of Commerce would like to invite everyone to the VF Outlet Mall in Arcadia at 10am this morning, April 29, for the Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening of Lady T’s with owner, Tinecha Tate.  

By Steve Graf

I have been bass fishing since I was 10 years old. I basically taught myself how to fish while growing up on our ranch in East Texas. I watched fishing shows on TV like “John Fox Outdoors,” “Fishing with Virgil Ward” and my favorite show of all time, “The Bassmasters.” I also learned a lot through a subscription to Bassmaster Magazine that I received on my 10th birthday. This just might have been the best birthday gift I ever received. The magazine had great detailed descriptions and drawings on techniques and information that could make anyone a better angler.

I started my bass tournament career in 1990 with a buddy of mine who introduced me to team tournaments. Now I had no idea how “hooked” I would be to competitive bass fishing. It’s literally an addiction that requires many hours of practice and preparation in order to compete at a high level. It’s similar to gambling in that you’re putting money up to enter the event, and betting on yourself. But as one of my former coaches once told me, “Success is a learning process that comes from failure. How you handle failure will determine how successful you’ll be.”

Now back to the question at hand…Why has bass fishing gotten so hard? This can probably be summed up with two words…. overcrowded waterways. Gone are the days of catching a hundred bass a day. There was a time that an angler could go out on his favorite lake and catch bass on a regular basis. But as bass fishing has evolved and become so popular, our waterways have become congested. This has led to bass becoming over “educated” to the many ways anglers are trying to catch them. It’s been proven through research that bass have the ability to learn despite their tiny brain. But the good news is that they have a short memory and don’t retain much over time. The more they see a bait or get caught, the more they learn what lures not to bite, which can even be passed on to their offspring. All our lakes and rivers are over-crowded now with a combination of high school fishing, College Series, Pro-Am circuits and team trails like American Bass, Bass Champs, Texas Team Trail, and the Bob Sealy Big Bass Splash Series. Each of these tournament trails caters to a wide array of anglers all across America.

What I’ve learned over the last few years is that today’s angler must think outside the box of old conventional ways of catching fish. You can’t be afraid to experiment with new baits and techniques. Don’t get me wrong, you can still catch fish on spinnerbaits, jigs and crankbaits, but you may have to tweak a bait and show the bass something a little different than they’ve seen before. But one bait that continues to pass the test of time is the plastic worm. I don’t care what body of water you like to fish; they will bite a plastic worm anywhere in the country. A lot of anglers like to dip the tail of their worms in what’s called a chartreuse (bright green) dye. But there are many colors of dipping dyes on the market, so try a different color like maybe orange, blue or red. I’ve even used a black dye and had great results. Again, it’s just something different that the fish are not seeing as much.

Bass fishing has gotten more difficult, but if you’re willing to think outside the box, you can still catch fish. As humans, our biggest fault is that we are creatures of habit. But if you’re willing to change things up a little, you just might figure out the secret code to catching bass. If you want to learn what the bass are biting, tune into Tackle Talk Live every Tuesday at 11:30 on Facebook live, podcast or our YouTube Channel. Till next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to set the hook!

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

The Masters of Soul Return to Bienville Parish!

The Bienville Parish Library hosts the Masters of Soul today, April 29th, at the Arcadia Events Center. The show begins at 6:00 p.m. and FREE tickets are available at all Bienville Parish Libraries!

WHO ARE THE MASTERS OF SOUL?

The Masters of Soul is a celebration of the legendary songs and performers that defined Motown and soul music. This 90-minute show features stylishly costumed, fully choreographed performances of both male and female groups. For many, Masters of Soul is the ultimate stroll down memory lane. For younger generations, the show offers an opportunity to experience an era in our country’s history that produced many of the greatest music acts ever recorded.

Based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the cast consists of three lead male vocalists and three lead female vocalists backed by a four-piece band of seasoned musicians who’ve been touring together for decades. Masters of Soul has performed to numerous sold-out audiences and garnered rave reviews across the country at venues ranging from community theaters and universities to performing arts venues and concert halls.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

The Masters of Soul performance is a walk back to the beginnings of the iconic music of Motown. You can expect to hear the musical stylings of Gladys Knight & The Pips – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles – The Temptations – The Four Tops – Diana Ross & The Supremes – Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – Barry White – Sam and Dave – James Brown – and many more! To paraphrase the master of ceremonies host, Don Cornelius from the popular music and dance program, Soul Train™, “You can bet, it’s gonna be an absolute gas!”

For more information, visit your neighborhood Bienville Parish Library or visit www.bienvillelibrary.org! See you at the Library!

Print this page to work the puzzle.  If you are unable to print this page you can download it by clicking “Download” below.

Instructions:
ZCIRPZCI is EINSTEIN
In Cryptoquotes, one letter stands for another. In the example above, Z is used for two E’s, I for the two N’s, etc. Single letters, double letters, apostrophes, the length and formation of the words are all hints. The code letters change with each puzzle.

TODAY’S CRYPTOQUOTE:

“”X EWXYRG TF LWF UK IBOORII.” ~ UPKTWI RGXIKV

Previous Cryptoquote solution: “The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.” ~ Colin R. Davis

By Gary Dison

On a breezy spring day in the early 1930s, the author’s father, Neal Dison, then in his late teens or early twenties, saddled his horse and headed from his home in the Pine Grove community toward Castor. The horse trail they took that day was considered a shortcut.  Horse-drawn wagons took another, longer route. At walking pace, the shorter route took about 2 ½ hours.  Somewhere along the trail, the normally calm horse became nervous or “spooked” as they called it. The horse did not want to continue walking. Neal assumed the horse was spooked by some sort of wild animal. He looked around for large animals, maybe a large cat, but he saw none. He looked closer at the path in front of them for a rattlesnake or some other creature, but saw none. It was when he focused on his hearing rather than his sight that he realized there was no sound. The piney woods would normally have been filled with all sorts of bird songs, the chittering of squirrels, and a variety of other sounds of nature. Then he realized that the leaves were no longer rustling in the breeze as they had been only minutes earlier. He later recalled that the total lack of sound or movement as being, “an eerie quiet.”

All of a sudden, he heard what he thought was the train on the Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad in Castor. With no sounds from nature, the sound of a locomotive carried for miles. However, the sound was coming from the wrong direction and the train was not due in the area for quite some time. Then he realized what had spooked the horse. They were in the path of an oncoming tornado. (In those days, there were no tornado warning systems of any kind.)

Neal dismounted the horse and led him to a large tree, all the while speaking calmly to the horse to lessen the horse’s anxiety. The wind began to blow. He took his lariat rope from the horn of the saddle and wrapped it a couple of times around the horse and the tree. The wind howled and rumbled. With the remainder of the rope, he wrapped it around himself, the horse, and the tree. He could hear limbs breaking as the rumbling and churning sound grew louder. He gently rubbed the horse and spoke to him ever so calmly.

The sound was deafening. The wind blew harder and harder. It became hard for Neal and the horse to breath. Neal placed his face alongside the horse’s head, his mouth next to one of the horse’s ears. He calmly spoke directly into the horse’s ear and covered the other ear with one of his hands. He gently stroked the horse’s head. After what seemed like an eternity when, in reality, the time could have been measured in seconds, the turbulent wind and rumbling sound died down. The eerie stillness returned. Neal looked around and saw that several large trees had been twisted, some were snapped, and some uprooted. The tree they were tied to was undamaged.  He continued to calm the horse as if by habit. Neal and his horse were not in the direct path of the tornado, but they had been close.

Neal loosened the lariat rope, remounted the horse, and continued toward Castor. The trail was littered with downed trees as the tornado had cut a swath directly toward Castor. Neal had no way to warn the town. He and his horse slowly continued on their journey. When Neal arrived at Castor, he saw that one of the churches, the schoolhouse, and some homes had been destroyed. He helped as much as he could and returned home safely to the Pine Grove community.

Do you have a story your parents or grandparents told you, a story that has been passed down through the generations, or any other type of story connected to Bienville parish?  If so, email it to BPJNewsLA@gmail.com.

None reported

Malajah K. Golatt, daughter of Rokeitta Taylor, Taylor Miller, and Kendrick Golatt, has an impressive academic resume as a graduating senior. For the past two years, Ms. Golatt has been dual-enrolled (taking high school as well as college courses) at Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) and Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College (NWLTCC).

As a Senior, she has been inducted into the Sigma Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Debutantes as well as serving as the BETA Club Treasurer. Ms. Golatt is ranked 4th in her class with a 3.8 GPA at Ringgold High School. This high-ranking GPA has afforded her the ability to apply to multiple colleges across the United States and to receive over half-a-million dollars in proposed Scholarships.

On Friday, May 13th, she will graduate from BPCC with a Certificate of General Studies; later that evening she will graduate from Ringgold High School. Ms. Golatt will then graduate from NWLTCC with a Certificate of Technical Studies in Patient Care Technician on Monday, May 16th.

Her future plans include attending Xavier University of Louisiana this fall as a part of the Contingent Admit Program where she will major in Chemistry and Pre-Pharmacy.

Alexis Ammons, a senior at Castor High School who will graduate next month, was selected to be a member of the Northwestern State University Cheer Squad when she enters college at NSU in the fall.

Way to go Alexis!  FORK ‘EM, DEMONS!!!

The Castor Library continues to be a favorite field trip spot for our elementary. On Friday, April 22, our PreK Tigers visited the Castor Branch and celebrated Earth Day. Mrs. Cheryl Hough read books and dressed up as Earth. Branch Manager Robin Word helped students plant flowers to take home and then hosted a movie screening with popcorn. Then, when they got back on campus, they enjoyed the beauty outside by having a picnic.

1521 – Battle of Mactan: Explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines led by chief Lapulapu.

1667 – Blind and impoverished, John Milton sold Paradise Lost to a printer for £10, so that it could be entered into the Stationers’ Register.

1810 – Ludwig van Beethoven composed his famous piano piece “Für Elise”.

1813 – War of 1812: American troops captured York, the capital of Upper Canada, in the Battle of York.

1861 – American President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus.

1865 – Steamboat “SS Sultana” exploded in the Mississippi River, killing up to 1,800 of the 2,427 passengers in the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. Most were paroled Union POWs on their way home.

1877 – Rutherford B. Hayes removed Federal troops from Louisiana, Reconstruction ended.

1911 – Following the resignation and death of William P. Frye, a compromise was reached to rotate the office of President pro tempore of the United States Senate.

1933 – Adolf Hitler authorized the creation of the Ministry of Aviation, in part to revive the German Luftwaffe, under Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering.

1933 – Karl Jansky reported reception of cosmic radio signals in Washington, D.C.

1936 – The United Auto Workers (UAW) gained autonomy from the American Federation of Labor.

1940 – Himmler ordered the establishment of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

1941 – World War II: German troops entered Athens, Greece.

1943 – Witold Pilecki escaped from Auschwitz after having voluntarily been imprisoned there to gain information about the Holocaust.

1945 – World War II: The Völkischer Beobachter, the newspaper of the Nazi Party, ceased publication.

1945 – World War II: The last German formations withdrew from Finland to Norway. The Lapland War and thus, World War II in Finland, came to an end and the Raising the Flag on the Three-Country Cairn photograph was taken.

1945 – World War II: Benito Mussolini was arrested by Italian partisans in Dongo while attempting escape disguised as a German soldier.

1947 – Babe Ruth Day was celebrated at Yankee Stadium and throughout the US.

1953 – US Operation Moolah offered $50,000 to any pilot who defected with a fully mission-capable Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 to South Korea. The first pilot was to receive $100,000.

1961 – NASA launched Explorer 11 into Earth orbit to study gamma rays.

1964 – John Lennon’s book of poetry and sketches “In His Own Write” was published in US.

1978 – John Ehrlichman, a former aide to U.S. President Richard Nixon, was released from the Federal Correctional Institution, Safford, Arizona, after serving 18 months for Watergate-related crimes.

1978 – Willow Island disaster: In the deadliest construction accident in United States history, 51 construction workers were killed when a cooling tower under construction collapsed at the Pleasants Power Station in Willow Island, West Virginia.

1981 – Xerox PARC introduced the computer mouse.

1981 – Paul McCartney’s solo rock band Wings broke up.

1982 – Trial of John Hinckley began for the attempted assassination of US President Ronald Reagan.

1986 – The city of Pripyat and surrounding areas were evacuated due to Chernobyl disaster.

1987 – The U.S. Department of Justice barred Austrian President Kurt Waldheim (and his wife, Elisabeth, who had also been a Nazi) from entering the US, charging that he had aided in the deportations and executions of thousands of Jews and others as a German Army officer during World War II.

1993 – Most of the Zambia national football team lost their lives in a plane crash off Libreville, Gabon en route to Dakar, Senegal to play a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Senegal.

1994 – Former US President Richard Nixon was buried at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California.

1998 – Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at Carnegie Hall, NYC; performers included: Sting, Elton John, James Taylor, Madonna, Billy Joel, Joe Cocker, Emmylou Harris, Roberta Flack, Wynonna Judd, and Tsidii Leloka.

2005 – Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial aircraft, had its maiden test flight.

2006 – Construction began on the Freedom Tower (later renamed One World Trade Center) in New York City.

2007 – Israeli archaeologists discovered the tomb of Herod the Great south of Jerusalem.

2011 – The 2011 Super Outbreak devastated parts of the Southeastern United States, especially the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. 205 tornadoes touched down on April 27 alone, killing more than 300 and injuring hundreds more.

2018 – Swedish band ABBA announced that they had recorded new songs for the first time since 1982.

2020 – Global confirmed cases of COVID-19 passed 3 million with the death toll at 205,000. US had 1/3 of all new cases.

Mt. Lebanon Historical Society’s annual Stagecoach Trail Day fundraiser will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2022 from 10:00 – 3:00 at the Stagecoach Trail Museum south of Gibsland. The Country Store will serve gourmet hot dogs, snacks, desserts, and soft drinks. Events include cakewalks with music by DJ John Cole, a large silent auction, and a quilt raffle. A beautiful queen-size Nine Patch Quilt, made by Nona Sale, has been donated by Beth and Steve Fontenot. Raffle tickets are $1.00 each, and the drawing will be held at 3:00. You do not need to be present to win. Make plans to attend! This is an important fundraiser for our local museum.

Castor Tigers Varsity put up four runs in the seventh inning. Justice Rasbury, Caleb Shirley, and Drake Freeman all drove in runs in the frame.

#20 was on the hill for Calvin Cougars Varsity. The bulldog went four and two-thirds innings, allowing zero runs on two hits and striking out six.

Logan Youngblood led things off on the mound for Castor Tigers Varsity. The righty surrendered five runs on five hits over three and two-thirds innings, striking out one. Brenden Cox, Austin Cooper, and Shirley each contributed in relief for Castor Tigers Varsity.

Castor Tigers Varsity launched one home run on the day. Freeman went deep in the sixth inning.

Freeman led Castor Tigers Varsity with three hits in four at bats.

Calvin Cougars Varsity scattered ten hits in the game. #17, #5, and #8 all managed multiple hits for Calvin Cougars Varsity.

According to KSLA Meteorologist Jeff Castle, the ArkLaTex has had 25 tornadoes this year so far.  “We’ve already seen as many tornadoes this year as we saw in all of last year around and on the edges of the ArkLaTex! We still have several more weeks of our spring severe weather season to go, plus the fall months ahead too so this number will likely go up by the end of the year.”

Of the 25 mentioned above, two tornadoes have struck Bienville parish so far this year.  

• On Friday, the Redskins played Negreet and lost, 2-24.
• On Saturday, the Redskins played Mansfield again and lost, 9-15.

Take a look at the schedule below.

Game Schedule

BOM is a sponsor of the Castor Dixie League 5/6 year old coach pitch team. BOM’s Jessica Ammons is pictured with coach Anna Jill Smith. Also pictured is coach Anna and her team!

Shortly after 8:00 p.m. on October 14, 1912, the Colonel walked through a crowd of well-wishers at the Gilpatrick Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and stepped into the back seat of an open-topped car. He was expected to arrive within minutes at the Milwaukee Auditorium, four blocks away, to deliver a speech. Still standing, he waved to the crowd. One of his two secretaries, Albert H. Martin, stood with him. A man later identified as John Flammang Schrank pushed his way through the crowd, pulled a .38 caliber pistol, and fired from a distance of about 7 feet. The Colonel barely moved. He showed no sign of panic or pain. At almost the same instant that Schrank fired the shot, Albert jumped from the back seat and Captain A.O. Girard, another member of the Colonel’s party, jumped from the front seat onto the man with the pistol. They quickly overpowered Schrank and disarmed him. The Colonel told the men to bring the shooter closer so he could get a good look at him. The colonel gazed into the shooters face and said, “the poor creature.”

The crowd turned hostile toward the would-be assassin. “Lynch him!” they cried, “Kill him!” “Stop, stop!” the Colonel yelled. “Stand back; don’t hurt him!” Only at the insistence of the Colonel did the crowd refrain from tearing the man apart and allow escorts to take Schrank inside the hotel to await the arrival of police. Multiple people asked, “Are you hurt, Colonel?” The Colonel responded with a smile, “Oh, no. Missed me that time. I’m not hurt a bit.” He turned to the remaining members of his party and said, “I think we’d better be going or we will be late.”

They had hardly driven one block when John McGrath, the Colonel’s other secretary, exclaimed, “Look, Colonel. There is a hole in your overcoat.” The Colonel looked at the hole, unbuttoned the coat and felt of his chest. When he removed his hand, his fingers were stained with blood. Speaking to no one in particular, the Colonel said, “It looks as though I had been hit, but I don’t think it is anything serious.”

When they reached the auditorium, the Colonel went into a dressing room. Several physicians made a superficial examination of the wound and suggested that the Colonel leave for the hospital immediately. The Colonel calmly responded “I will deliver this speech or die, one or the other.” The physicians’ protested, but the Colonel walked out of the dressing room and onto the stage. The crowd cheered loudly as the Colonel took his seat and waited for the program to begin.

Henry F. Cochems, a Wisconsin political leader, stepped to the front of the platform and held up his hand. The crowd sensed something was wrong and immediately fell silent. “I have something to tell you,” he said with a trembling voice, “and I hope you will received the news with calmness.” The crowd was deathly silent. “Colonel Roosevelt has been shot. He is wounded.” At this, Mr. Cochems turned and looked at the Colonel.

The crowd’s reaction was anything but calm. People yelled and screamed out of shock. Some of the patrons rushed toward the platform to get a better look at the Colonel. The Colonel stood and calmly walked to the edge of the platform. “It’s true,” the Colonel told the crowd as he unbuttoned his coat and showed them the blood-stained shirt. “I’m going to ask you to be very quiet,” he said, “and please excuse me for making you a very long speech. I’ll do the best I can, but you see there’s a bullet in my body. But it’s nothing. I’m not hurt badly.” The Colonel’s words were met with an outburst of cheering.

The Colonel pulled out his 50-page speech and began his oration. The crowd listened intently to every word the Colonel said. His speech was somewhat quieter than normal and his gestures were more subdued. He spoke for a while and suddenly his voice sank. He seemed to stagger. One of the doctors and another in the Colonel’s party approached him and quietly insisted that he leave immediately for a hospital. The Colonel seemed to regain all of his strength and told them, “I’m going to finish this speech. I’m all right; let me alone.” The Colonel struggled at times as he spoke for well over an hour. At the conclusion of the Colonel’s speech, he looked briefly at the cheering crowd and calmly walked off the platform and into a waiting car.

The Colonel’s driver sped through the streets of Milwaukee to the hospital where a team of doctors were waiting. They whisked him to an operating room and quickly removed his clothing. He insisted that he was not hurt badly and told the doctors that they were taking it too seriously. The doctors continued their work. The entrance wound was easy enough to find, but they were unable to determine the location of the bullet. While they waited for a staff member to retrieve an x-ray machine, the Colonel sat up on the operating table and entertained the doctors with political stories and jokes.

By using x-rays and probes, the doctors learned that the bullet had lodged in the Colonel’s chest muscle. It struck no major arteries or organs. The doctors concluded that it would be riskier to remove the bullet than to leave it in place. They were curious to learn, however, what had kept the .38 caliber bullet from penetrating deeper into the Colonel’s chest. As they examined his clothing the answer became clear. The bullet had passed through the Colonel’s thick overcoat, through his 50-page speech which he had folded in half so that it would fit into his pocket which made it 100 pages thick, through both sides of his metal eyeglasses case, through his waistcoat, shirt and undershirt, and finally, into his chest. Had the Colonel written a shorter speech, had he not doubled the speech over and placed in his chest pocket, had he placed his eyeglasses case in another pocket, the Colonel could have been the first former president of the United States to be assassinated. The Colonel’s speech was part of his campaign for a third non-consecutive term as president, which he ultimately lost. The Colonel was… Theodore Roosevelt.

Source:
The Baltimore Sun, October 15, 1912, p.1.