The Caddo Parish School District has announced Bryant Sepulvado as the next principal of Captain Shreve High School.

Sepulvado has most recently held the position of assistant principal. During his 20 years in education, he served as Captain Shreve’s head football coach for seven years and a classroom teacher for 18 years.

As assistant principal, he has developed relationships and worked with recruitment, instructional coaching, and professional development, all of which will serve him well in leading Captain Shreve High into the future.

Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations/Bossier Field Office (LSP BFO) conducted a two-day joint criminal enforcement detail with the Bossier City Police Department (BCPD) in response to an increase in criminal activity in Bossier City. As a result of the proactive enforcement efforts, Agents and Investigators made 32 arrests, and seized various controlled dangerous substances such as Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Clonazepam, and Cocaine. Additionally, Agents assisted BCPD Detectives in executing a search warrant in connection to a homicide investigation. As a result, one male suspect was taken into custody and multiple firearms were seized.

These investigations remain ongoing. Anyone with information regarding criminal activity can contact the Louisiana State Police Investigators by calling 318-741-2739.

Louisiana State Police remains committed to working alongside our federal, state, and local public safety partners to ensure safe communities across the state.  To report suspicious or criminal activity in your community, the Louisiana State Police online reporting system is available to the public through a convenient and secure reporting form that is submitted to the appropriate investigators. Citizens can access the form by visiting https://dpsweb.dps.louisiana.gov/suspicious.nsf/WebForm?OpenForm.

By Doug De Graffenried

I was looking at my hands while driving to Shreveport. I noticed this spot on one of them. Now with all the worries about skin cancer and since I hung out on the beach and roasted myself as an adolescent, I was concerned about the spot on my hand. It looked funny through my sunglasses, and I made a note to check the spot when I finished driving. 

I arrived at the appointed hospital for the visit and remembered my hand. I made the visit, had prayer, was encouraged by the person’s faith and hope, and went to the lobby. There I examined my hand. I looked carefully at the spot on the top of my hand. I did what is in vogue in our world, I consulted Dr. Google.

So, I know you are curious about the spot. It is a symptom of a terminal condition. The hand is marking the first symptom of the incurable malady. I know you will pray for me through this malady, and I will receive good medical care.

Oh, the spot, it is an age spot! I think I grew the age spot for my last birthday. It is on the top of my right hand, and I have noticed that the left hand is growing matching spots.

I want you to live a good, long, and healthy life. I want you to do everything you need to do to avoid all the things that the latest study has revealed that shorten our lives. I want you to believe the media about living longer. Go ahead and buy all that stuff at Walmart that will bring your vitality and hide your age spots.

Did you know that a person who ate meat, drank dairy, ate vegetables, was exposed to sunlight, had minimal medical care, and was born in 1850 has a 100% chance of being dead today? Well, you caught my sarcasm!

Here is the deal, none of us get out of this life alive! You will not be the first. My words of advice, enjoy the journey!

Jesus promised us abundant life. Part of that abundant life is living this day fully trusting that God’s grace will see us through. Jesus also promised that after we are finished living that “He was the way, the truth, and the life” and that through Him we could come to the Father.

Whether you soul is spotted with the scars of sin, or your hands are showing the spots of age, we have hope.

Jesus, the carpenter promised that He has made a home for us in heaven, that promise is our only hope in the face of our spots.

Doug de Graffenried is Pastor of Trinity Methodist Church in Ruston.

You can contact Doug at dougsponderings@gmail.com

A group of Centenary College students, all aspiring medical professionals, recently formed the third cohort of the Summer Medical Scholars program, a collaboration between Centenary and Shreveport-Bossier City’s Willis Knighton Health launched in 2022. The program pairs Centenary pre-med students with Willis Knighton doctors for five weeks of job-shadowing and mentoring opportunities during the summer. Entrance into the program is competitive and is limited to students majoring in the sciences who have expressed a serious interest in medical school or allied health professions.

From May 24 through June 28, ten Centenary students completed shadowing rotations with Willis-Knighton doctors in fields such as internal medicine, pediatrics, cardiology, radiology, family medicine, and OT/PT. Students also had the opportunity to observe procedures and shadow doctors in the surgery/transplant clinic and both in-patient and out-patient rehab units.

“The Medical Scholars program is a real benefit to our students because it provides an invaluable experience, and it is an opportunity for students to have great exposure to enhance their knowledge and practical learning,” said Dr. Scott Chirhart, dean of health sciences at Centenary. “It can give one a realistic view of the healthcare system by experiencing the highs and lows of the daily life of physicians. As Willis Knighton is the largest healthcare provider in northwest Louisiana and been serving our area for 100 years, we could not ask for a better partner to teach and provide our students these experiences.”

“Willis Knighton is pleased to partner with Centenary to provide this experience in the practice of medicine for its students interested in a career in the medical field,” said Dr. Joseph Bocchini, director of Willis Knighton Children’s Health Services and chief academic officer for Willis Knighton’s Graduate Medical Education. “Many of the students have had no prior experience with medicine other than for their own care and that of their families. The students learn the key attributes required for physicians to diagnose and treat their patients successfully by following physicians in their offices and in the operating rooms as they care for their patients. They also learn how our physicians, nurses, physical therapists and laboratory personnel work together to provide the coordinated care necessary to improve patient outcomes.”

Bossier City native Jayden Nguyen, a graduate of Airline High School and a rising junior at Centenary, is a biology and neuroscience major who plans to attend medical school and become a radiologist.

“I participated in the Medical Scholars Program in order to gain a better understanding about other specialties within the healthcare system,” said Nguyen. “For a while now, I have had my mind set on becoming a radiologist, but I wanted to make sure that I was able to observe other specialties in order to gain a broader scope of the medical field and see how each play a role in patient care. I learned so much from the doctors at Willis Knighton, most importantly doctor-patient interaction. Many doctors at Willis Knighton have close relations with their patients and therefore gain a better understanding of the situation at hand, which I highly value.”

The Medical Scholars program experience has solidified Nguyen’s goal to pursue radiology, but it also provided a broader look at the medical field as a whole.

“Taking part of this program has helped me be able to view the medical world in a different perspective,” said Nguyen. “It allowed me to see different points of view between the doctors, surgeons, techs, physician’s assistants, and nurses, and to see how each person plays a large role in patient care every day. I believe that this program has leaned me into the right direction for my future in pursuing a career in radiology.”

Tarif Islam is a native of Shreveport and a graduate of Caddo Magnet High School majoring in biology and neuroscience with minors in chemistry and psychology. The Medical Scholars program helped solidify his goals to attend medical school as well as introduced him to a variety of different paths for making a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.

“Not only did participating in this program make me a more competitive applicant for medical school, it also reassured me that medicine was a career I wanted to pursue,” said Islam. “A physician’s specialty can affect the patients they meet, the diseases they treat, and their overall lifestyle. I applied to this program in hopes of exploring these differences between specialties through the program’s very organized rotations that allowed us to shadow different types of doctors in a variety of settings including the hospital, the emergency room, and community clinics.”

Centenary gymnast Olivia Strattman, a kinesiology major from Houston, Texas, has a packed schedule during the academic year as she balances her sport and coursework. Participating in the Summer Medical Scholars program gave her an opportunity to focus solely on her rotations and immerse herself in a learning experience tailored to her goal of becoming a physician’s assistant.

“Through these rotations, I realized I loved the operating room experience,” said Strattman. “Watching a robotic gallbladder removal, performed using the da Vinci surgical system, was an experience I would love to be part of day after day. The relationship between the surgeon, PA, and medical assistant was very team oriented and allowed me to further realize that all members in the OR play a pivotal role in the patient’s procedure.”

About Willis Knighton

Willis Knighton Health System is a not-for-profit community healthcare organization headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana. It includes four acute care hospitals, a rehabilitation institute, a senior living residential community, as well as medical clinics, outpatient services and wellness centers throughout the Shreveport/Bossier City metropolitan area. With more than 7,200 employees, it is the region’s largest nongovernmental employer. Through its unique tithe the bottom line philanthropy, the health organization donates a minimum of 10% of its profits annually to support community and humanitarian projects.

With the vast majority of LSUS students working a substantial number of hours, the need for a flexible tutoring schedule and delivery methods is diverse.

The Student Success Center is meeting that need by partnering with Knack, a leader in the peer tutoring industry.

LSUS students will continue to access free tutoring, but this online platform is more flexible in tutoring hours with tutors that more frequently will be their LSUS peers.

The partnership will begin this fall semester and will be live on the first day of classes (Aug. 19). Students can download the Knack app in the Apple app store or Google Play store. LSUS students interested in becoming tutors can visit joinknack.com when the program launches.

Faculty and staff wishing to learn more about the app via this link.

“We’re excited about Knack because it will help build our own peer tutoring programs in that Knack recruits, hires, and trains LSUS students to be peer tutors,” said Brandon Winningham, director of academic success at LSUS. “It reduces barriers to access that we have in-house because tutoring ends when our doors close.

“Now LSUS students can connect with a tutor on a Saturday night that has taken that LSUS class before, and that’s not something we could typically provide.”

LSUS students interested in becoming tutors can contact Winningham via email at brandon.winningham@lsus.edu.

The Knack tutoring app operates in a similar way to popular ridesharing apps. Students will signal that they need a tutor in a specific subject, and tutors who have their app notifications turned on will receive that message and can accept the session.

“Many of our students work full-time jobs while balancing their academic and familial obligations, limiting their opportunity to take advantage of support services,” said Angie Pellerin, assistant vice chancellor of student success at LSUS. “Knack will help us remove barriers for students to achieve their academic goals.”

A 2023 survey revealed that 80 percent of LSUS students work more than 30 hours per week, which necessitates a flexible tutoring schedule.

The app accesses a professional tutoring network if no LSUS tutors are available, providing necessary coverage for LSUS students.

LSUS students who wish to be tutors will receive professional training based on College Reading & Learning standards.

Tutors will be paid $15/hour by Knack, which means tutoring jobs will be more available to LSUS’s large student population that’s located out-of-state.

“The investment that the university is making with Knack goes right back into the pockets of our students in the form of tutoring wages,” Winningham said. “High-achieving students can earn wages on their own time at their own place without having to feel the crunch of having to fit their tutoring work hours physically in this building.

“This will also allow students and tutors to build rapport, and we know that building pillars of social engagement is also critical for students to remain in school. These are your peers.”

Transitioning to Knack will allow the Student Success Center to more efficiently deploy its in-person tutors as well.

“We can hire more graduate assistants to work in our revived supplemental instruction program, which is where tutors are physically in these classes and are organizing study groups,” Winningham said. “Knack takes the burden off our traditional peer tutoring model so that we can target our in-house resources more efficiently.

“Now our in-person tutors are doing the work alongside students and instructors.”

Bossier Schools will roll out the welcome mat for families that serve at the 3rd Annual Military Families Back-to-School Night on Tuesday, July 30 from 5-7 p.m. at the Bossier Civic Center. Every school in Bossier Parish will be represented and multiple school groups will be performing. This event enables us the chance to honor our military families and gives them the opportunity to meet and greet their children’s principals and learn more about the school they will be attending. Community partners and organizations with a military-focus will also be on-hand to provide information. Opening remarks will be made by 2nd Bomb Wing Commander Col. Maginness as well as Bossier Schools Superintendent Jason Rowland and City of Bossier City Mayor Tommy Chandler. 

Each week, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s Tony Taglavore takes to lunch a local person – someone who is well-known, successful, and/or influential, as asks, “What’s Your Story?”

 By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services

The abuse.

“My three-year-old brother ran up the stairs. My dad chased him. Then I heard beatings and beatings. It was like a drum. It just kept going. My brother was screaming and crying. Eventually, the screaming and crying stopped, but the beating didn’t. I got scared and ran upstairs. My dad had cornered my brother in a closet and was just whaling away. I started screaming, ‘Dad, stop. Stop!’ He comes up to me, grabs me by the neck, and pulls me up the stairs. He said, ‘You want me to do this to you?’ I did everything I could to say ‘No.’ He threw me down the stairs.”

The neglect.

“(My parents) weren’t really good at managing their money and making sure we had food, so a lot of our meals were cereal or noodles. Me and my older sister would cook it. We always had a good meal once a month when the food stamps came in. We had food for a couple of days. But the rest of the month, we had to fend for ourselves.”

The bullying.

“We were constantly pushed down. (Kids) would play stupid games where they would spit on their hands, and they would chase us to tag us. They would play another game where they would tag us and then quickly tag someone else and tell them, ‘You have a disease now.’ I hated school.”

For her first 10 years on earth, she never had a chance.

“Kids like me don’t turn out okay. Statistically, I should be homeless, a prostitute, or incarcerated.”

But she is none of those. She has a degree in Instrumental Music Education K-12. She was named Teacher of the Year at her first school. She’s been nominated four straight years for the Grammy Music Educator of the Year award.

“When I was in kindergarten or first grade, I had one friend who stood up for me. She said, ‘There are a lot of storms in life, but my momma says you gotta look for the rainbows and it’s going to be okay.’ That stuck with me.”

Cory Craig, who just finished four years as the band director at Benton Intermediate School, told me her story during lunch at a place she chose, Copeland’s of New Orleans. Cory enjoyed Chicken Alfredo with Bowtie Pasta, while I took care of a bowl of Cajun Gumbo and an Italian Crab salad. A couple of weeks after our visit, Cory was hired as the band director at North DeSoto Middle School.

But even Cory admitted that over a good meal, details of her younger life are hard to swallow.

The 34-year-old grew up in California with 15 – that’s right – 15 biological and adoptive siblings. The abuse at the hands of her biological parents finally ended November 30^th, 2000. That’s when Child Protective Services showed up unannounced.

“They saw that my two younger siblings and I were malnourished. I was 80 pounds.” Not to mention the floor littered with dirty diapers, clothes, and roaches.

Cory spent the next five days in a group home, where she enjoyed the comforts we take for granted.

“I had my own room. I had a clean shower for the first time in a long time. I had clean clothes. I had clean bedding. I got to brush my teeth. My teeth had cavities all in them. I hadn’t brushed my teeth in a long time.”

Three years, one group home, and two foster homes later, Cory, a sister, and three brothers were adopted.

“In my biological home, I was a failing student, and had all kinds of issues. When I finally got to be in a loving, caring environment, and got a lot of help – I skipped a lot of school – I finally became a “C” student. I had to learn so many things I didn’t know before.”

That was a good start to a new life. But in seventh grade, the sound of music changed Cory forever.

“I was placed in the band class. I picked art, but there wasn’t any room. My (adopted) mom said, ‘You’re going to play the saxophone like Kenny G.’ I brought home a baritone saxophone. It’s like the Big Bertha of saxophones. It was as big as I was, because I was super skinny and tiny, but tall and lanky. I took it home every day and practiced.”

Finally, after years of being silenced, Cory could express herself.

“It was the first time I felt like I had a voice, and that I could be good at something.

That’s not all music did for Cory.

“It was the first time I really had friends. Being in band class gave me hope I didn’t have before. I knew in seventh grade that I had to be a band director because of how much joy it brought to my life in such a weird, crazy time.”

Cory eventually found her way south, following a “boy” she would marry — though the marriage ended in divorce. Cory graduated from Louisiana Tech, and soon realized her dream come true. Not only was she band director for four years at Shreveport’s Herndon Magnet School, but she taught just about every other musical instrument. In the process, Cory showed she was different from the rest.

“What a lot of teachers do when they’re overwhelmed and overloaded is they just focus on one thing they love. Everything else is, ‘We will do what we can.’ I didn’t feel comfortable with that. What if I had the next Elton John on piano, or what if I had the next Jimi Hendrix on guitar? So, I taught all of them to the core. Everybody was going to perform. Everybody was going to learn how to read music and be the best they possibly can be, because that’s what they deserved.”

Cory had a daughter, and after teaching at Ruston Junior High School for two years, Cory settled in at Benton Intermediate. Through the years, her students have come and gone, but Cory’s devotion to their well-being – based in large part on what she went through growing up – has remained.

“Throughout my teaching career, I’ve always tried to find those students who are struggling, but I know are in poverty, so I can help in any way. Whether it’s providing gas money so their parents can come to concerts, or if they’re having a hard time keeping things clean, I will go over and help clean. Or, if their power goes out, they’re coming to my house.”

Assuming Cory had to hurry off and teach the next Taylor Swift or Luke Combs, I asked my final question. As always, what is it about her life story that can be helpful to others?

“We’re the culmination of the kindness shown to us. For some of us, very little kindness has been shown, and for some of us, a lot of kindness has been shown. I want to encourage people to be that kindness. Whether it’s a stranger, an orphan, a neighbor, or a co-worker, find ways to impact each other’s lives in their own sphere. That’s going to change a lot, like it did in my life. Even though I was shown very little kindness in the beginning, oh my goodness. (Later), we had a lot of kindness shown to us, and a lot of work done in our hearts and lives that change the whole trajectory for all of us.”

Kindness, and the sweet sound of music.

Do you know someone with a story? Email SBJTonyT@gmail.com.

The Shreveport Police Department had a busy weekend, continuing to serve and protect the community. Over the course of the weekend, officers arrested 60 individuals for various offenses ranging in severity from attempted homicide to dogs running at large.

Among the arrests, Shreveport Police made five arrests for DWI-related offenses and seized multiple firearms, ensuring safety on the streets.

A Tri-Chamber meeting was recently held with partnering organizations, the Shreveport-Bossier African American Chamber of Commerce, the Bossier Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce. There are major economic development projects on the way and these chambers want to ensure their local business communities have opportunities to grow and thrive. Advocacy is a top priority for the chambers and ensuring the areas’ workforces are reaching their full potentials.

By Brad Dison