Troopers Urge families to plan ahead when traveling during the holidays. When you fail to plan, you are more prone to poor decision-making when driving.

Baton Rouge – The Thanksgiving holiday is traditionally one of the busiest travel times of the year. During the 2021 Thanksgiving holiday week, Louisiana highways saw 505 fatal and injury crashes that resulted in 18 deaths and 810 injuries. In an effort to reduce the number of traffic fatalities during America’s most popular travel holiday, Louisiana State Police will be working alongside our local law enforcement partners in the Click it or Ticket campaign.

The Click it or Ticket campaign, coordinated by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, puts additional law enforcement personnel on the roads November 19 – 27, to enforce Louisiana’s mandatory seat belt law. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that proper seat belt use reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers by 45 percent, and the risk of moderate to serious injury by 50 percent. This holiday season, Troopers will be focusing on seatbelt use for adults and especially for those child passengers who should be restrained in an NHTSA-approved carseat. Louisiana law requires that all occupants be properly restrained regardless of their age or seating position. While not all crashes are survivable, seatbelts can greatly increase the occupant’s chance of surviving a serious crash and may greatly reduce the extent of injury. Troopers urge all drivers and passengers in motor vehicles to heed the warning and remember that failure to buckle up can turn the happiest of holidays into a nightmare.

Troopers utilizing both fully marked and unmarked patrol vehicles will also be targeting aggressive and impaired drivers this holiday season. Of the 505 Thanksgiving holiday fatal and injury crashes in Louisiana last year, 38 were alcohol related. If you are found driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you will be arrested. There is a direct correlation between driving while intoxicated, lack of proper restraint use, and reckless operation, to traffic fatalities. Motorists are reminded that alcohol has many effects on the body. Alcohol can impair vision, alter your sense of time and space, and impair the fine motor skills needed to safely operate a motor vehicle. As little as one drink can cause these effects.

This holiday season, Louisiana citizens and visitors to our state are encouraged to take advantage of the Louisiana Traveler Information System available via the 511 phone system, http://www.511la.org, and the LA DOTD Twitter account. The traveler information system allows access to valuable resources such as current road reports on crashes and construction, ferry status updates, and even real time traffic camera views, depending on which modality you choose.

Motorists that witness hazardous road conditions and/or reckless drivers are urged to call *LSP (*577) and report that activity to the nearest Louisiana State Police Troop location.

The Louisiana State Police wishes everyone a SAFE and HAPPY Thanksgiving holiday.

Contact Information:
TPR. Christian Reed
Louisiana State Police
Public Affairs Section
Office: (225) 754-8524
Christian.Reed2@la.gov

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of James Thornton, please contact D. Michael Hayes at 318-357-8400 or P.O. Box 953, Natchitoches, LA  71457.

On Friday, the Castor Boys played Claiborne Christian School and won, 61-53.

On Friday, the Lady Tigers played Claiborne Christian School and won, 53-49.

Please see schedules below.

Castor Boys Basketball

Castor Girls Basketball

With the Pilgrims held up as our example, we learned early to “be grateful.” 

As they dragged us to various in-laws’ in assorted neighborhoods for turkey and pumpkin pie and secondhand smoke, our parents reminded us that at the first Thanksgiving in 1621 (give or take), the settlers of the New World had it much tougher than we do. They had to eat outside. They didn’t have potatoes over here yet. The yeast rolls didn’t rise. William Bradford forgot to pick up a Marie Callender’s Apple Crumb Cobbler at the store, and the cable went out halfway through the Detroit Lions-Chicago Cardinals football game. 

“And they didn’t even complain,” our parents said. 

“Bet they got drunk then,” I said. 

“No, they most certainly did not!” 

The Pilgrims really WERE tough; I would have complained if there’d been no potatoes. Loud and clear. They could have heard me back over in England.  

But to hear our parents testify, no one 40 years ago ever complained about anything, especially on Thanksgiving. When you are spoiled like I am, that is setting the bar sort of high. But hey, I’m old school too and really not much of a complainer – as long as everything goes right. That’s just me. 

This week, complaining is a given. This week is about the pre-Thanksgiving misgivings about “where we’re going for Thanksgiving.” Do you know where you’re going yet? Or what you’re bringing? Or the order in which you’re going to whomever’s house when? Are we all on the same page? 

It can be dicey. 

“Are we going to grandmama’s?” 

“Not this year. But we’re not sure. We might.” 

“When will we know?” 

“I don’t know. Who are you, Dan Rather? We’ll know when we hear from everybody and decide.” 

“It’s Tuesday.” 

“Then good! Since Thanksgiving is on Thursday, as it usually is, that means we don’t have to know yet.” 

“We’re cutting it close.” 

“I’ll show you what cutting it close is, mister!” 

“I was just asking…” 

“Well just quit just asking, mister man. Your grandmother might meet us at Big Aunty’s. We might go there.” 

“Not to Big Aunty’s! Big Aunty can’t cook, momma. Big Aunty won’t have nothing even done until supper. We’ll starve.” 

“She most certainly will have and you most certainly will not starve. I’ll make you a pimento cheese to hold you over. We might just all bring different things.” 

“What do you mean, ‘we all?’ Who all is coming?” 

“Aunt Jean will bring the macaroni and cheese and we’ll bring the bean casserole and…” 

“Momma that means Uncle Lester is coming. He’s a professional smoker. We’ll all smell like something burnt. They’ll be ashes in the macaroni.” 

“No there will not!” 

“There was last year.” 

“You’ll think last year if you don’t shut up! Now I mean it!” 

“Can we just stay home and make hamburgers?” 

“NO! We can be thankful and not complain about gummy rice and ashes in the food and Jello with nuts in it and getting your picture taken. And if I hear one word, ONE MORE WORD….” 

Precious memories. And Happy Thanksgiving; I hope you get where you’re going. 

(Originally ran Nov. 20, 2009) 

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu 

534 BC – Thespis of Icaria became the first recorded actor to portray a character on stage.

1499 – Pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck was hanged for reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London. He had invaded England in 1497, claiming to be the lost son of King Edward IV of England.

1644 – John Milton published Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship.

1733 – The start of the 1733 slave insurrection on St. John in what was then the Danish West Indies.

1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Chattanooga began: Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant reinforced troops at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and counter-attacked Confederate troops.

1867 – The Manchester Martyrs were hanged in Manchester, England, for killing a police officer while freeing two Irish Republican Brotherhood members from custody.

1876 – Corrupt Tammany Hall leader William Magear Tweed (better known as Boss Tweed) was delivered to authorities in New York City after being captured in Spain.

1889 – The first jukebox made its debut in San Francisco, at the Palais Royale Saloon.

1890 – King William III of the Netherlands died without a male heir and a special law was passed to allow his daughter Princess Wilhelmina to succeed him.

1910 – Johan Alfred Ander became the last person to be executed in Sweden.

1914 – Mexican Revolution: The last of U.S. forces withdrew from Veracruz, occupied seven months earlier in response to the Tampico Affair.

1924 – Edwin Hubble’s discovery, that the Andromeda “nebula” was actually another island galaxy far outside our own Milky Way, was first published in The New York Times.

1943 – World War II: Tarawa and Makin atolls fell to American forces.

1959 – French President Charles de Gaulle declared in a speech in Strasbourg his vision for “Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals”.

1963 – The BBC broadcast An Unearthly Child (starring William Hartnell), the first episode of the first story from the first series of Doctor Who, which is now the world’s longest running science fiction drama.

1964 – The Rolling Stones show up late for the BBC radio shows, “Top Gear” and “Saturday Club” and are banned by the BBC.

1970 – George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” was released in the U.S.

1971 – Representatives of the People’s Republic of China attended the United Nations, including the United Nations Security Council, for the first time.

1972 – The Soviet Union made its final attempt at launching the N1 rocket.

1976 – Jacques Mayol was the first man to reach a depth of 100 m undersea without breathing equipment.

1976 – Police arrested Jerry Lee Lewis outside the gates of Graceland after he showed up for the second time that night and made a scene by shouting, waving a pistol and demanding to see Elvis Presley.

1981 – Iran–Contra affair: Ronald Reagan signed the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), which gave the Central Intelligence Agency the authority to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

1985 – Gunmen hijacked EgyptAir Flight 648 en route from Athens to Cairo. When the plane landed in Malta, Egyptian commandos stormed the aircraft, but 60 people died in the raid.

1990 – MTV banned Madonna’s “Justify My Love” video.

1991 – Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury announced in a statement that he was HIV-positive. He died the following day.

1992 – The first smartphone, the IBM Simon, was introduced at COMDEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1998 – Donald Bohana, 61, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the drowning death of Delores “DeeDee” Jackson, the ex-wife of Tito Jackson (Jackson 5).

2007 – MS Explorer, a cruise liner which carried 154 people, sank in the Antarctic Ocean south of Argentina after hitting an iceberg near the South Shetland Islands. There were no fatalities.

2015 – Blue Origin’s New Shepard space vehicle became the first rocket to successfully fly to space and then return to Earth for a controlled, vertical landing.

2019 – The last Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia, Imam, died, making the species officially extinct in the country.

Last night, the Gibsland-Coleman Bulldogs played Minden and won, 56-51.  

Please see the schedules below.

Gibsland-Coleman Boys Basketball Schedule

Gibsland-Coleman Girls Basketball

(Ada Taylor, La) – Six puppies that had taken up refuge in a drainage pipe in the town of Ada Taylor were rescued yesterday. A deputy from the Bienville Sheriff’s Department contacted the Humane Society of Louisiana (HSLA) several weeks ago, seeking help for a mother dog and her nursing puppies. A former tenant in the 300 block of Pete Lyon Road apparently vacated their rental property and left the mother dog and her puppies behind. Since neither the town of Ada Taylor nor Bienville operate a public shelter, the sheriff’s office contacted the Humane Society. Without a representative in the area, the Humane Society arranged with a dispatcher from the sheriff’s office to feed and water the dogs until they could be rescued.

To form a local rescue team, the Humane Society issued a press release that was carried in the local media. After reading or hearing about the puppies’ plight, several residents visited the site and attempted to capture the puppies, but they remained elusive.

Tiffany Duke, founder of Animal Advocates of Louisiana, also heard about the puppies’ dilemma on social media and offered to help. Tiffany left at 4 am on Sunday, November 20th, and drove five hours to the puppies’ hideout. She located the puppies and designed a way to catch them. Tiffany put food in a kennel she brought with her and tied a string to the door. As the puppy entered the kennel, she pulled the door shut. She trapped two puppies using this method, but the remaining four puppies refused to go near the kennel. Devising a new plan, Tiffany left food in front of the culvert and dangled a slip lead over the top of it. As a puppy appeared to go near the food, Tiffany lowered the lead and caught the remaining puppies. The entire rescue operation took five hours; Tiffany spent an additional five hours driving home.

“We couldn’t be more grateful to Lindsay, who fed the puppies for the past three weeks, and to Tiffany who devoted an entire day to trapping these puppies. This rescue operation points to the critical need to establish a public shelter in Taylor or Bienville parish. It’s an essential program, much like having a fire and police department,” says Jeff Dorson, HSLA Director.

Photos courtesy of HSLA and may be reproduced.

Established in 1988, the Humane Society of Louisiana is one of the largest animal welfare groups in the state. 

On Friday, the Redskins played Lakeside in the Lakeside Tournament and won, 66-48.  On Saturday, the Redskins played Minden in the Lakeside Tournament and won, 66-54.  Yesterday, the Redskins played Magnolia School of Excellence in the Woodlawn Tournament and won, 76-66.

On Friday, the Ladyskins played Minden in the Lakeside Tournament and lost, 19-55.  

Ringgold Boys Basketball

Ringgold Girls Basketball

November 13, 2022

• Oscar Rodriguez – Saline
  • Operating Vehicle with Suspended License; No License Issued

November 14, 2022

• Shane Culver – Bryceland
  • Simple Criminal Damage to Property – Felony
  • Possession of Firearm/Carry Concealed Weapon by Convicted Felon – Felony
  • Criminal Trespass – Movable Structure – Misdemeanor
• William Sanders – Arcadia
  • Expired Drivers License
  • Domestic Abuse Battery – Felony

November 15, 2022

• Paul Dozier – Jackson, Mississippi
  • Driver Must Be Licensed

November 16, 2022

• Joe Wallace – Heflin
  • Violation of Probation/Parole

November 18, 2022

• Martha Jackson – Athens
  • Disturbing the Peace – Offensive, Derisive, Annoying Words to Another – misdemeanor

November 19, 2022

• Christopher Bell – Bienville
  • Distribution of Schedule IV

The morning of September 16, 1976, was chilly in Yerevan, Armenia. The streets were busy with commuters heading to work and other various destinations. The city used trolleybuses powered by electric lines above the highway to transport the masses of people to their destinations. Windows wrapped around the entirety of the upper half of the trolleybuses to allow for better visibility. As it was a chilly morning, all the windows were closed to keep the cold air out. One such trolleybus was loaded with 91 people and its driver. As the trolleybus neared Yerevan Lake, something happened. Some people claimed the passengers and the driver got into a physical altercation, while others argued that the driver had a medical emergency, probably a heart attack. Regardless of the cause, the trolleybus veered off the roadway. The arms connecting the trolleybus to the electric wires snapped. Although the trolleybus had lost its power source, it rolled on its wheels down an embankment and straight into the frigid waters of Yerevan Lake. One witness said the sound was “so loud, as if a bomb went off.” Within seconds, the trolleybus was completely submerged.

Sometimes it seems like the right people are in the right place at the right time. 23-year-old Shavarash Karapetyan and his brother Kamo were nearby, heard the crash, and rushed to the water’s edge. Both Shavarash and Kamo were finswimming champions, a sport in which the swimmers wear fins to increase their speed in the water. At the time, Shavarash had won 37 gold medals and held nine world records for finswimming. He had earned nicknames such as “Goldfish” and “Amphibian.” On this day, however, neither Shavarash nor Kamo had their fins. Without hesitation, Shavarash sprang into action. As they ran, Shavarash told Kamo to help him from the shore.

Shavarash dove into the frigid water and swam to the spot where the trolleybus sank. He swam down 33 feet where the trolleybus rested on the lake floor. Shavarash tried to look into the windows of the trolleybus but, at that depth, all he saw was darkness. Shavarash knocked out one of the trolleybus’s windows. Air rushed out of the trolleybus. The change in air pressure by the broken glass forced shards of glass into Shavarash’s skin. Nine of the passengers exited through the window and swam to the surface.

Shavarash swam in through the trolleybus’s broken window and used his hands to feel around for passengers in the darkness. When his hands felt something, he clutched it, swam to the surface, and handed the person off to Kamo. Then, he dove down again and repeated the process. Each dive took Shavarash about 25 seconds. Although he was a champion swimmer, Shavarash was quickly losing strength. He would not give up. He could not give up. Shavarash dove down 38 times before his body could go no further. He almost drowned several times but somehow barely made it to the surface in time, gasping for air. On his last dive, Shavarash felt around inside the trolleybus for a passenger, clutched something, and swam up. On the surface, Shavarash was horrified to learn that, rather than a victim, he was grasping one of the trolleybus’s seat cushions.

Shavarash could swim no more. His body was exhausted. His lungs were injured and he could hardly breath. Shavarash wanted to go back down but Kamo pulled him from the water. He could do no more. In all, Shavarash helped get 46 people to the surface—nine escaped when Shavarash broke the trolleybus’s window, and he pulled 37 people to the surface.

Within minutes of the crash, doctors from a nearby hospital rushed to the scene to render what aid they could right there on the shore. Once Shavarash’s strength gave out and Kamo pulled him from the water, the doctors struggled to save his life as well. Ambulances loaded with survivors raced to the hospital and returned to the shore to transport more survivors, one of them being Shavarash. Of the passengers Shavarash pulled to the surface, 20 survived. Shavarash spent over a month in the hospital. He was diagnosed with septic fever, double-sided pneumonia, and nervous prostration.

Shavarash survived the trolleybus accident, but it haunts him to this day. Shavarash nearly drowned several times. He said later, “I could imagine the agony of those 92 people and I knew how they would die. I had nightmares about that cushion for a long time. I could have saved someone else’s life. In difficult moments like this, your love for fellow humans grows even stronger.”
Shavarash returned to swimming upon his release from the hospital, but he would never be the same. Swimming underwater was physically and mentally painful. True to form, however, Shavarash would not give up. Just a few months after the trolleybus accident, Shavarash competed in a finswimming championship. Knowing how he was struggling, Kamo ran alongside the pool just in case Shavarash lost consciousness. But Shavarash did not lose consciousness. He came in first place and set another world record. Following this win, Shavarash retired from the sport he so dearly loved. He could no longer bear to be underwater.

Shavarash was awarded the Medal “For the Salvation of the Drowning” and the Order of the Badge of Honor. What was Shavarash doing just before the trolleybus accident you wonder? What was he doing just before he dove down to a depth of 33 feet 38 times and helped 47 people from the sunken trolleybus? You see, Shavarash was already exhausted when he entered the water. Shavarash had just completed the final portion of that morning’s rigorous training event, a 12-mile run.

Source: AuroraPrize.com. “Twenty-Five Seconds per Life.” Accessed November 21, 2022. https://auroraprize.com/en/twenty-five-seconds-life.

On Saturday, the Saline Bobcats played Quitman in the Saline Tournament and lost, 43-47.  

On Friday, the Lady Bobcats played Ouachita Christian School and lost, 43-58.  

See Schedules Below.

Saline Bobcats Basketball

Saline Lady Bobcats

On Sunday, November 20, 2022, 74-year-old marathon runner Don Brown ran in the Sportspectrum’s Log Jammer Half Marathon. 

Mr. Brown completed the 13.1-mile race in 2:00:35.01 and took second place in his age group.  

Congratulations, Mr. Brown!!!

• Joyce Council
  August 18, 1941 – November 20, 2022
  Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 at Rockett-Nettles Funeral Home Chapel.  Interment will follow in Clear Springs Cemetery, Martin, Louisiana. Visitation will be held from 10:00 am until 11:00 am before the funeral service at the funeral home.
• Dolores Toms
  November 2, 1929 — November 22, 2022
  Graveside services will be held on Friday, November 25, 2022, at Liberty Hill Cemetery in Bienville, Louisiana.

The Hornets will take on White Castle in the Regional Playoffs in an away game this evening at 7 p.m. 

This game will be broadcast at 7:00 p.m. on KWXM 102.3 FM.

In order to allow students, faculty, and staff to attend the LHSAA Round 2 Playoff game in White Castle, Arcadia High School and Crawford Elementary will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. Please make arrangements if you normally pick up your students. We encourage everyone who can make the game to travel safely and show your support as our Hornets face the White Castle Bulldogs! 

Take a look at th schedule below.

Yesterday, Crawford Elementary School conducted a scheduled required fire drill. During the drill, reports were mistaken as Active Fire and Active Shooter events.

AT NO TIME were any of the Arcadia School Complex students, faculty, or staff in any danger.

We apologize for any anxiety these false reports may have caused. We would also like to thank all the First Responder Network (Bienville Sheriff’s Office, Arcadia Police Department, Arcadia Fire Department and North Bienville Fire District) for their extremely quick response.

On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, the Louisiana Department of Education released the 2021-2022 school performances for the state’s public K-12 schools and systems. The Bienville Parish School system scored a “B” letter grade for 2022 with a District Performance Score of 80.7. See the table below for Bienville Parish School performance.

On Tuesday, the Castor Boys played Calvin and lost, 58-66.  They will take on Claiborne Christian today in a home game.

On Tuesday, the Lady Tigers played Calvin and won, 72-54.  They will take on Claiborne Christian today in a home game.

Please see schedules below.

Castor Boys Basketball

Castor Girls Basketball

Early voting for the December 10th election will begin Saturday, November 26th and run through Saturday, December 3rd (excluding Sunday) from 8:30 am – 6:00 pm at the Bienville Parish Registrar of Voters Office, 100 Courthouse Dr., Suite 1400, (200 Gap Farm Rd for GPS guidance) Arcadia, LA.

It is important to view your sample ballot prior to arriving at the polls. To do so you can visit http://www.geauxvote.com or come by my office to view a posted copy. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us by phone at 318-263-7407 or email at bienvillerov@sos.la.gov.

Thank you
Nickie Warren
Bienville Parish Registrar of Voters

Yesterday afternoon, a 6 inch water main break left the town of Arcadia with little to no water pressure.    Mayor O’Landis Millican said crews were working to repair the break.  “As always,” the mayor said, “thank you for your patience and understanding as we rectify this issue.”  

At about 9:40 p.m., Mayor Millican reported that the issue had been fixed and that water pressure should be building back up.   He issued a boil advisory due to the length of time customers went without water.  “Once lab samples comes back clear,” he said, “the boil advisory will be lifted. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

Teaching can be an odd thing.

You spend more time with a child, or young adult than you do with your own family. Whether it be in class, sponsoring a club, coaching, going to sporting events, etc., sometimes those boys and girls, men and women, are with you more your own blood, your own kin, those you call family.

You form connections and can make an impact, both fair and foul, on their lives. And they too on yours.

And then they move on, and we all forget.

Oh sure, there are those students you remember, maybe a handful over the course of a career. And oh sure, there are some teachers we remember even as marriages and births and life’s ups and downs come our way. But by and large, we forget, the teacher and the student alike.

I remember a few teachers. Mrs. Sumrall from second grade. Mrs. Waits from seventh. Mr. Waits from math class. Mrs. Kirk from English class. Dr. Horton from college. Mr. Whitehead from college.

But others are hazy. A few faces are remembered. Maybe a few comments. But actual classes are gone. I took 12 hours of Spanish in college and remember almost nothing. Deadlines and commitments took up that space in my brain.

But there is one I remember. One lesson. One teacher.

I took an elective class my senior year of college taught by a guy named Jerry Pierce. It was literally me and one other student. Her name was Mary. I don’t remember her last name and have no idea where life took her after graduation. She came into my life for that class and left to go to her own world. Just one of those people who we meet and never see again.

But Mr. Pierce, I remember, and the reason why is because he taught me how to write. I mean really write. How to connect with a reader and how to evoke an emotional response.

He taught me the two main rules of writing. 1 – Communicate effectively and efficiently and 2 – make the reader care. We read and we wrote, and I got better. I learned the purpose of writing. The art of it. I learned how you can change things with a few well-crafted phrases and shine a light on the good and bad around us without ever saying a word.

Jerry Pierce set me down a path that I never would have gone down without him. He taught me so much, and I still use those two rules of writing today. I base everything I write around those two rules. I teach my students those rules and base all my writing instruction upon that foundation. Commas and structure are secondary. They come later. They come after the two main rules. 1 – say what you need to say and don’t beat around the bush and 2 – grab that reader and make them say “this is worth reading.”

He changed my life.

I haven’t thought of him for a long time. Not until I learned last week of his passing.

His obituary began, “Incomparable impact over 57 years at his beloved alma mater, Northwestern State University, and in his adopted hometown of Natchitoches, along with significant statewide influence in higher education and sports were hallmarks of Jerry Pierce, who died Tuesday in Natchitoches after a brief illness.” He was 83.

Mr. Pierce taught thousands of students over the years, and I highly doubt he remembered me. I was one of those students that he likely forgot with the passage of time. That doesn’t bother me at all.

He may have forgotten me like I have forgotten students like they have forgotten me. It’s part of life. We forget. We forget friends. We forget co-workers. We forget old loves.

But on occasion, there are people who make an impact on us.

Jerry Pierce was one of those people for me.

He was a good one. And he changed my life.

And I will remember him.

Josh Beavers is a teacher and a writer.

1095 – The Council of Clermont began.  It was called by Pope Urban II and led to the First Crusade to the Holy Land.

1421 – A dike in the Grote Hollandse Waard in the Netherlands broke and flooded 72 villages.  It killed about 10,000 people. This event is known as St Elizabeth’s flood.

1493 – Christopher Columbus first sighted the island now known as Puerto Rico.

1809 – In a naval action during the Napoleonic Wars, French frigates defeated British East Indiamen in the Bay of Bengal.

1812 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Krasnoi ended in French defeat, but Marshal of France Michel Ney’s leadership led to him becoming known as “the bravest of the brave”.

1872 – Susan B. Anthony and 14 other women were arrested for voting illegally in the United States presidential election of 1872.

1883 – American and Canadian railroads instituted five standard continental time zones thus ending the confusion of thousands of local times.

1901 – Britain and the United States signed the Hay–Pauncefote Treaty, which nullified the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty and withdrew British objections to an American-controlled canal in Panama.

1903 – The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed by the United States and Panama.  It gave the United States exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.

1909 – Two United States warships were sent to Nicaragua after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) were executed by order of José Santos Zelaya.

1910 – In their campaign for women’s voting rights, hundreds of suffragettes marched to the British Parliament in London. Several were beaten by police, newspaper attention embarrassed the authorities, and the march was dubbed Black Friday.

1928 – Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, featuring the third appearances of cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. This is considered by the Disney corporation to be Mickey’s birthday.

1943 – World War II: Battle of Berlin: Four hundred and forty Royal Air Force planes bombed Berlin which caused only light damage and killed 131. The RAF lost nine aircraft and 53 air crew.

1956 – Fats Domino appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and performed his hit “Blueberry Hill.”

1961 – United States President John F. Kennedy sent 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam.

1963 – The first push-button telephone went into service.

1964 – The Supremes and The Righteous Brothers appeared on the show Shindig!

1970 – U.S. President Richard Nixon asked the U.S. Congress for $155 million in supplemental aid for the Cambodian government.

1978 – The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet made its first flight, at the Naval Air Test Center in Maryland, United States.

1978 – In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones led his Peoples Temple to a mass murder–suicide that claimed 918 lives in all, 909 of them in Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. Congressman Leo Ryan was murdered by members of the Peoples Temple hours earlier.

1987 – King’s Cross fire: In London, 31 people died in a fire at the city’s busiest underground station, King’s Cross St Pancras.

1987 – U2 opened for itself by pretending to be a country-rock group called The Dalton Brothers during a concert in Los Angeles, CA.

1988 – War on Drugs: U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law which allowed the death penalty for drug traffickers.

1990 – Paul McCartney’s birth certificate sold for $18,000 in an auction.

1993 – In the United States, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was approved by the House of Representatives.

1995 – The Rolling Stones become the first act to broadcast a major concert on the Internet.

1996 – A fire occurred on a train traveling through the Channel Tunnel from France to England which caused several injuries and damaged approximately 500 metres (1,600 ft) of tunnel.

1999 – At Texas A&M University, the Aggie Bonfire collapsed and killed 12 students and injured 27 others.

2003 – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4–3 in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional and gave the state legislature 180 days to change the law making Massachusetts the first state in the United States to grant marriage rights to same-sex couples.

2013 – NASA launched the MAVEN probe to Mars.

2020 – The Utah monolith, built sometime in 2016, was discovered by state biologists of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Today I’m writing this article based on my personal experience as a tournament angler. Over the years, I’ve come across a lot of anglers who have always talked about how they should be fishing tournaments because they “ALWAYS” catch fish every time they go fishing. All I have to say to these anglers….”You’re a liar!” These same people will try and tell me how good they are as a bass fishermen and that if they fished in tournaments, they would probably be standing in the winner’s circle at the end of the day. To these same anglers, I say, “Put your money where your mouth is!”

I came across one such angler one day on Toledo Bend, who in his mind, was the best angler on the lake or maybe even the greatest angler of all time! During one of my practice sessions on the Bend, this guy came up to me at the boat ramp. While loading my boat he eased over to me and proceeded to talk about how many fish he caught that day and that he quit counting at 100. I’m not sure why, but for some reason, some anglers feel the need to exaggerate how they caught 100 fish in a day. In reality, they probably really caught about 30 to 35….not 100. If you think about how many casts you make in a day, to catch 100 basses in a day is about 1 bass every 4 casts. That would be an awesome day by anyone’s standards and a day all anglers dream about.

Now during my conversation with this angler at the ramp, he asked me if I was getting ready for a tournament. My answer was yes, and he said that he would probably win it if he decided to fish it. My response to him, with a sense of sarcasm of course, was that if he was on that many fish, he’d be crazy not to fish the tournament. And, that I might as well just give him my entry fee! This is what we call baiting someone!

Well, low and behold he showed up Saturday morning and put up his money (donated). I was a little surprised he showed up because most of these “great” anglers never show up. He actually pulled up beside my boat before takeoff that morning and began to tell me how many fish he had caught the last two days and put in the freezer. It was at this point; I knew he was in trouble. After a tough day of fishing, as the fish did not bite very well at all, I pulled up beside him at the dock and asked how he did. Let me go ahead and state the obvious; he was not a happy camper (angler) due to the expression on his face. I was the last guy he wanted to talk to since he had talked so much trash about how he “always” catches fish every time he goes fishing. He finally answered me by saying how he just couldn’t understand what had just happened. He’s never gone fishing in his life and not caught fish! He was very confused and had that bewildered look (so many anglers have had before) as to what just happened.

It was at this time with a smirk on my face and a wink, I said, “Welcome to tournament fishing!” It just proves that no matter how good an angler you are or think you are, there will be days that you just don’t figure them out. Oh, and with a slight chuckle, I reminded him that the fish he caught the last two days and put in the freezer won’t bite on tournament day after they’re frozen. That’s why tournament anglers practice catch and release. I never saw this guy at a tournament ever again! Guess you could say he got humbled; tournament fishing will do that to an angler. Till next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget your sunscreen. Take it from me, Melanoma does not discriminate!

Steve Graf
Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show &
Tackle Talk Live

On Tuesday, the Arcadia Hornets played Summerfield and won, 55-51.

On Tuesday, the Lady Hornets played Summerfield and won, 49-35.  On the same day, the Lady Hornets played North DeSoto in the Lakeside Tournament and won, 36-29.

Arcadia Boys Basketball

Arcadia Girls Basketball

On Tuesday, the Saline Bobcats played Lakeview and lost, 25-69.  Yesterday, the Bobcats played Haughton in the Saline tournament and lost 48-66.

On Tuesday, the Lady Bobcats played Lakeview and lost, 29-55.  Yesterday, the Lady Bobcats played Haughton in the Saline Tournament and lost, 34-57.  

See Schedules Below.

Saline Bobcats Basketball

Saline Lady Bobcats