Bobbie Frank Anderson December 2, 1931 – April 30, 2025 Service: Saturday, May 3, 2025, 12pm at Osborn Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Billy McKinnon May 2, 1942 – April 30, 2025 Service: Friday, May 9, 2025, 11am at Osborn Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Gerald Johnson July 7, 1935 – April 29, 2025 Service: Friday, May 2, 2025, 11am at Broadmoor Baptist Church, Shreveport.
Jean “Skip” Simonton June 16, 1930 – April 29, 2025 Service: Friday, May 2, 2025, 1 pm at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Shreveport.
Virginia Faye Cornwell April 27, 1943 – April 28, 2025 Service: Saturday, May 3, 2025, 11am at Rose-Neath Funeral Home-Southside, Shreveport.
Jackie Pearl Horn Brady December 11, 1933 – April 27, 2025 Service: Friday, May 2, 2025, 12pm at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, Bossier City.
Angela Renee Braley March 18, 1977 – April 19, 2025 Service: Saturday, May 10, 2025, 10:30am at The Healing Place Church, Shreveport.
Garland Grant III February 14, 1965 – April 12, 2025 Service: Friday, May 2, 2025, 3pm at Blanchard Church of the Nazarene, Shreveport.
Jerry Kircus August 19, 1941 – April 4, 2025 Service: Saturday, May 24, 2025, 12pm at Aulds Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Dustin Dean Cook May 25, 1970 – February 20, 2025 Service: Sunday, May 25, 2025, 2pm at Osborn Funeral Home, Shreveport.
The Shreveport-Bossier Journal publishes paid obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $95. Contact your funeral provider or SBJNewsLa@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Notice of Death shown above are FREE of charge. You may email them to SBJNewsLa@gmail.com)
Early this morning, April 30, at approximately 12:30 a.m., Detectives with the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations were requested by the Bossier City Police Department to investigate an officer-involved shooting that occurred on Venecia Drive in Bossier City. Investigators are working to process the scene and gather further information.
One subject was shot and has been transported to a local hospital for treatment. No officers were harmed during the incident. This is an active investigation; further information will be released when it becomes available.
Anyone with information and/or pictures and video is urged to share that information with LSP Detectives. You may anonymously report information through the Louisiana State Police online reporting system by visiting lsp.org and clicking on Report Suspicious or Criminal Activity, or calling the LSP Fusion Center Hotline at 1-800-434-8007.
Frequently, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s always-hungry reporter has lunch at a local restaurant and tells you about the experience.
By ANON E. MUSS, Journal Services
I’ve always had a fascination with airplanes and flying.
Back in the day – way back in the day – I loved going to Shreveport Regional Airport and watching planes take off and land. I wondered where they were going and from where they were coming. As a kid, I would spend nights in my room listening to air traffic conversations on a portable radio from Radio Shack.
A few years ago, I even reached out to a pilot instructor, expressing an interest in learning how to fly. He took me up for a ride. It was mid-summer, and the two-seater didn’t have air conditioning. I came back pale as a ghost and weak from losing my lunch, so my interest faded.
Those memories came back to life when I heard there was a restaurant at Shreveport Downtown Airport. So, on a recent Monday, I invited a friend to meet me at Sky Grill (1550 Airport Drive), hoping to enjoy a good lunch and see planes going to and coming from parts unknown.
There is a sign with an arrow pointing toward a corner entrance to the terminal, indicating the restaurant’s location. However, if you go, I encourage you to walk through the terminal’s main entrance.
The reason? You can see an enduring symbol of America’s past—a pay telephone. I would love to see the reaction of someone 25 or younger!
No matter how you get to Sky Grill, once there, you will find a shiny, clean, comfortable dining area. Even though we arrived at 11:45 (the restaurant is open from 8am-2pm Monday-Friday), most of the tables – and several of the counter stools – were taken. So, we grabbed one of the last open tables next to the window. In fact, most every table is adjacent to large windows, which make for good plane-watching. Sky Grill’s lunch menu consists mostly of sandwiches and wraps, along with a “Today’s Special”. On this day, the special was a Fried Green Tomato BLT with fries ($12.99).
My friend was sold.
“I’m an easy sell for a special,” he explained, after barely looking at the menu. “The chef/cook has gone to special effort to create something that’s not ordinarily on the menu. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be special, would it?”
The BLT normally comes with fries, but my friend was offered the opportunity to substitute for a bowl of Chicken-N-Rice soup ($1.00), which he did. My friend ordered a Coke Zero ($3) to drink.
I had a more difficult time deciding what to have. I was leaning toward the Muffuletta Croissant when my friend – who is much smarter an sophisticated than me — made a comment. He suggested that when visiting a restaurant for the first time, it’s a good idea to go with a staple—like a hamburger. If the eatery can’t deliver something simple, they probably can’t deliver something a little more complicated.
Made sense to me, so I ordered the Aviator Burger ($13), which came with fries.
It took a while for our food to arrive. In fact, my friend – who despite his impressive work title doesn’t not have an unlimited lunch hour – made mention of the fact it was taking a long time. But soon after, our server was carrying a tray to our table.
My friend’s BLT was cut in half and absolutely loaded with bacon (and lettuce and tomato), stuffed between two pieces of bread which looked fantastic in its own right. His sandwich was accompanied with a sizeable bowl of soup, and – in case he wasn’t already getting enough bread – a roll.
“This bread was perfectly toasted,” my friend said afterwards. “This white toast was the perfect vessel for the hand-held lunch: a compliment to the sandwich without overwhelming it.”
He, as I, took notice of the amount of bacon in the sandwich, which was much more than I have seen in BLT’s served at other restaurants. “The bacon came in layers. It wasn’t cooked crunchy, but crispy – just crispy enough to be easy to eat . . . . The fried green tomatoes were a welcome twist on the traditional BLT . . . . They gave the sandwich a modified flavor, but it was delightful. (The sandwich) couldn’t have been better.”
As for my friend’s soup, well, let’s just say the bowl in which it came really didn’t need to go through the dishwasher afterwards.
“The rice was well-cooked. The stock was flavorful without being salty. The chunks of chicken were in various sizes, deliciously flavorful, and in harmonious balance (my friend has a way with words) with the rice. A basic soup, but as they go, a really good one.”
My burger wasn’t the biggest I’ve ever had, but it was one of the best, for three reasons. First, it (as well as the fries) was hot. Second, the 6-ounce beef patty had that chargrilled taste, as if it was cooked on a charcoal grill behind the restaurant. Third, the bread – which our server explained was a Brioche Bun – was outstanding. It, like my friend’s bread, was cooked just right, and had a taste you don’t find in a regular hamburger bun.
I thought the restaurant was a little stingy on the amount of lettuce which came with the burger, but three pickles helped ease my disappointment.
The fries were thick and, more importantly, hot! Oh, my goodness! An entire meal that was supposed to be hot, was actually served hot! What a concept! (If you are a frequent reader of these reviews, you understand my joyful surprise and sarcasm.)
One small complaint. I was given a packet of (real) mayonnaise and a packet of mustard. My friend asked for, and received, butter (He was thrilled to get butter and not margarine). What we didn’t get was a knife. So, I had to use the packet to spread the mayonnaise. Same for my friend and his butter. Yes, we could have asked for a knife, but it would have been nice to have been given one with our meal.
Sky Grill’s menu indicated the restaurant offers one dessert – Chef’s Choice Cobbler. However, when I asked for a serving, I was told there wasn’t any cobbler available. However, there was Caramel Banana Bread Pudding ($3.99). Hmmm. I don’t like bananas, but I love caramel, and bread pudding. So, I went for it, and convinced my friend to do the same. We were offered the opportunity to add ice cream to the pudding, but both of us showed extraordinary willpower.
My friend took his first bite of bread pudding, immediately lowered his head, and buried it in his hand. Wow, was it that bad? No, just the opposite. He was overcome with the feeling you get when you taste something so good, it renders you useless.
“Hoo-Boy!” he exclaimed afterwards. “It’s not often a food causes my eyes to roll back in my head, but this one did.”
Removing the banana slices, I dove into the surprisingly large portion of bread pudding, and immediately understood my friend’s reaction. If that wasn’t the best bread pudding I’ve ever had, It was certainly in the top five.
The cost of our meal before tax and tip was $37.97. I paid by using one of those hand-held things our server brought to our table. The device offered tip suggestions, but those suggestions were based on the after-tax amount, and not the pre-tax amount. (I thought my friend’s head was going to explode when he saw me calculating what would be the correct 20% tip amount.)
Without hesitation, I give Sky Grill a solid Three Forks. Because of its sandwich and wrap offerings, I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to return, as I can get those in most any part of town. But if I’m in or near North Shreveport, I would definitely “fly” on over to the downtown airport. Sky Grill proved that just because you’re not going on a trip, doesn’t mean you don’t have a reason to go to an airport.
1 Fork: Would rather eat a box of dirt 2 Forks: Will return, but only if someone else is buying 3 Forks: Will return and look forward to it 4 Forks: Will return and go out of my way to do so
Is there a restaurant you would like the Journal to visit for lunch?
Detectives with the Shreveport Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit have made an arrest in connection with the April 24 shooting that occurred just after 4pm in the 3800 block of Greenway Place.
Officers responded to the scene following reports of a shooting and discovered a male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a local hospital in life-threatening condition. Detectives launched an investigation and learned that the shooting stemmed from a confrontation between an armed man and the current boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend. The two exchanged gunfire, resulting in the ex-boyfriend being struck.
Following additional information obtained from witnesses, investigators arrested Darryl Williams for one count of Attempted Second Degree Murder. He was booked into the Shreveport City Jail.
The victim remains hospitalized in serious condition but is expected to recover.
The Shreveport Police Department continues to investigate this incident. Further updates will be provided as the case progresses.
Shreveport Police have arrested multiple individuals on narcotics and firearms-related charges in an effort to reduce violent crime and drug activity across the city.
On April 25, shortly after 1 pm, Corlandis Johnson was taken into custody after attempting to flee from officers. Johnson was found to be in possession of illegal narcotics and a firearm. He now faces charges including Distribution of Narcotics; Resisting an Officer; and Illegal Carrying of a Weapon.
On April 24, just after 2:50 pm, officers arrested Ferris Ali on multiple counts related to illegal drug distribution. He now faces three counts of Possession of Schedule II Narcotics and one count of Illegal Use of a Controlled Dangerous Substance.
On April 23, just after noon, officers arrested Frank Youngblood after discovering he was in possession of illegal narcotics and a firearm. Youngblood has been charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute; Illegal Possession of a Firearm; and Possession of Marijuana (Felony).
All of these arrests were made possible through Operation Curveball, an initiative focused on targeting individuals contributing to the spread of illegal drugs and firearms in the community. For more information, contact the Shreveport Police Department’s Public Information Office at 318-673-7300.
Southwest Power Pool CEO/President Lanny Nickell (left) and SWEPCO CEO/President Brett Mattison (right) listen to local Public Service Commission member Foster Campbell during a press conference Tuesday morning at Campbell’s Bossier City office.
Leaders of the two power entities responsible for Saturday’s unanticipated, unannounced six-hour outage leaving 32,000 local SWEPCO customers in the dark had apologies and explanations Tuesday morning, but gave no indications of willingness to offset financial losses by local businesses or compensate for hassles created for other customers.
Local Public Service Commission member Foster Campbell convened a press conference at his Bossier City office attended by both CEOs and made it clear he wants to see some form of rebate to those “people who lost money” because they were impacted in Caddo, Bossier and Webster parishes.
That perspective was not embraced by SWEPCO CEO/President Brett Mattison, who said he didn’t see how SWEPCO could make good for electricity that wasn’t consumed – regardless of it being unavailable to customers counting on reliable service.
“We believe in people paying for damage in our state,” Campbell said. “You have a problem.”
He pledged to raise the topic again when the full five-member PSC convenes May 19.
“We will discuss the outage further at our monthly PSC meeting in Lafayette,” said Campbell, a former state legislator who has served on the commission since 2003.
Lanny Nickell, CEO/President of the Southwest Power Pool, acknowledged mistakes by his 14-state entity that manages energy distribution.
“We own the part that we played in the outages,” he said. “We take full accountability for the actions we took and understand your frustration.”
SPP relied on weather forecasts that didn’t account for warmer-than-expected temperatures, leading to higher electricity needs exacerbated by repair work scheduled and underway that reduced capacity to serve the local area. Nickell and Mattison explained SPP determined potential for a massive system crash and directed SWEPCO to stop service to portions of some higher-population areas to avert the risk of widespread “catastrophic” problems.
“This is a last resort that we ever do,” said Mattison. “But had we not done this, those 32,000 customers could have been 300,000. The transmission system can start cascading, shutting itself and generators down. It could’ve taken a long time to get the system back up.”
While expressing confidence that the immediate risk has been resolved by the managed outage, and stating they expect SWEPCO to be able to meet the area’s power needs this summer, neither CEO would rule out the potential that similar measures might be necessary later.
“Y’all got an F, we got an F, y’all got an F,” said Campbell, flanked by the two CEOs, “People were without electricity for whatever reason.”
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development announces an upcoming operation to apply a supplemental surface abrasion treatment to the pavement on I-220 in both directions near the I-49 interchange in Shreveport, Caddo Parish.
Recently, crashes involving 18-wheelers and other vehicles have been noted, particularly during periods of heavy rain along the I-220 corridor at the I-49 interchange.
This surface abrasion treatment will increase the level of friction that helps motorists maintain better control in both wet and dry conditions. This operation is considered to be a supplemental safety measure to enhance the current pavement condition.
This work will involve a slow-moving operation on I-220 in both directions from US 71 (N. Market St.) to LA 173 (Hilry Huckaby) beginning on the night of Sunday, May 11, and continuing through Thursday, May 15, from approximately 8pm to 6am each night.
Work will then resume on the night of Sunday, May 18, continuing through Thursday, May 22, from approximately 8pm to 6am each night.
This operation is being conducted at night to minimize the inconvenience to motorists, and is weather dependent. Dates may have to be rescheduled in the event of rainy weather.
ArtBreak 2025 kicks off this week, celebrating its 39th year as the South’s largest student arts festival.
Hosted by the Shreveport Regional Arts Council at the Shreveport Convention Center, this free, hands-on event showcases the incredible creativity of our students across elementary, middle and high school grades.
While at ArtBreak visitors can explore more than 2,500 original visual and literary artworks, enjoy over 100 student performances across multiple stages, and participate in more than STEAM activities led by professional artists.
Don’t miss exciting events like ArtBreak’s Got Talent, the Film Prize Jr. screenings, the Fashion Forward showcase, and the Sizzle Culinary Competition.
ArtBreak 2025 will be open to the public during the following dates and times.
Friday, May 2: 4pm – 9pm Saturday, May 3: 10am – 9pm Sunday, May 4: 11am – 5pm
On Monday April 28, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. the Shreveport Fire Department received a report of an apartment fire at the Oak Meadows Apartments located at 1901 Centenary Blvd.
Engine 5 arrived on scene within 4 minutes and reported smoke coming from an upstairs unit within the apartment complex. Overall 11 units, comprised of 30 firefighters, responded to the incident before it was placed under control at 7:42pm.
This apartment complex remains vacant with no utilities connected. The public is urged to report any suspicious activity to the proper authorities. This marks the 6th fire incident at the Oak Meadows apartments for this year alone.
The origin and cause of the blaze as well as the extent of the damage remain under investigation by Shreveport Fire Arson Investigators.
Later that same day, at 11:18pm, Shreveport Fire Department received a report of an apartment fire at the Oak Meadows Apartment Complex located at 1901 Centenary Blvd.
Engine 7 arrived first on scene at 11:24pm and reported heavy smoke and flames coming from an upstairs corner unit in one of the apartment buildings. Crews were able to extinguish the blaze as it spread into other units and the attic space.
It took the efforts of 12 fire units, 34 firefighters, to ultimately bring the incident under control at 11:57 p.m. This fire occurred in a separate unit from the fire earlier this evening. No injuries to any firefighters or citizens have been reported at this time.
The complex remains vacant with no utilities connected. This marks the 7th fire at this location for the year. The public is urged to report any suspicious activity at this complex, as well as other uninhabited locations, to the proper authorities.
SMOOTH SOUTHPAW: Jarrett Belanger has been one of the anchors of Loyola’s baseball team, which hosts a state quarterfinal best-of-three series beginning Thursday afternoon. (Photo by LAWSON ADAMS, Loyola Student Media)
JOURNAL SPORTS
Benton and Loyola begin LHSAA quarterfinal baseball series at home Thursday afternoon, while the Calvary baseball and softball teams are in playoff action in south Louisiana on Friday.
The baseball matchups are best-of-three.
The Calvary softball program aims for its fifth straight state championship this weekend in Sulphur with a semifinal contest Friday as the gateway to Saturday’s state final.
This week’s LHSAA playoff schedule involving local teams in baseball and softball:
By PATRICK MEEHAN, Centenary Sports Information Director
For the ninth straight year, Centenary’s softball program has earned a spot in the postseason, reaching the Southern Collegiate Athletic Association Championship tournament.
The Ladies are Centenary’s lone remaining active spring sports team. The Diamond Gents baseball club didn’t reach the SCAC Tournament for the first time since Centenary joined the conference in 2013. Track and field competed at last week’s SCAC Outdoors.
Centenary hits the road this weekend for the conference tournament in Georgetown, Texas. The Ladies tied with McMurry for fifth place in the standings but due to losing two of three to the War Hawks in the regular-season series, the Maroon and White got the No. 6 seed. Centenary will open the double-elimination event against No. 3 seed Trinity on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
The Ladies finished their regular season on a high note as they blanked the Schreiner Mountaineers by a score of 5-0 on Sunday afternoon in a conference contest at Kerrville, Texas.
Centenary improved to 19-20 overall and 14-15 in SCAC play. The teams split a doubleheader on Saturday with the Ladies rallying to win 7-5 before being edged 4-3.
Junior Alexis Roach tossed a complete-game shutout on Sunday as she allowed just one hit with three strikeouts on just 49 pitches (29 strikes) to finish off the Mountaineers. Roach now has seven complete games in her career and three shutouts.
Junior left fielder Laine Sullivan was red-hot for the Ladies over the weekend as she hit .500 (4-8). Sullivan had seven RBI, a double, two runs scored, three walks, a stolen base, and did not strike out all weekend in her eight at bats. She finished with a .636 on base percentage and slugged .625. She had a career-high four RBI in Friday’s win and had two hits in her sixth multi-hit game of the season.
BASEBALL: The Diamond Gents finished their 2025 season last weekend as they were swept by the McMurry War Hawks in a three-game conference weekend series in Abilene, Texas.
Centenary ended 16-24 overall and 12-18 in SCAC play, sixth in the SCAC standings. The Diamond Gents were picked to finish third in the league this season in the preseason coaches’ poll.
The All-SCAC teams will be announced this weekend at the conference championship held at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas.
Junior left fielder Lenny Forth was named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week last Wednesday after his impressive performance April 18-19 at home against the University of Dallas.
The Team of the Week is D3baseball.com’s weekly honor roll, in its 14th season of recognizing the top performers at each of nine positions from the previous week. Players are selected from nominations from their school’s sports information directors.
Forth, who earned a spot on the prestigious team for the first time in his career, was named the SCAC Baseball Hitter of the Week on April 21 after he was red-hot against the Crusaders, finishing a sizzling 8-for-11 (.727) with a .750 OBP and slugged a whopping 1.273 with eight RBI, a home run, three doubles, and seven runs scored.
Forth also stole two bases and did not strike out in his 11 at-bats all weekend. Forth was 4-for-4 with a career-high five RBI, four runs scored, and a pair of doubles in a 14-1 win in the nightcap of a doubleheader, and finished 4-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, a home run, and a double in the series finale.
TRACK & FIELD: Some Centenary competitors had an impressive weekend at the SCAC Championships in Seguin, Texas.
Freshman Gabrielle Malagarie highlighted the championships as she recorded a runner-up finish in the high jump with a mark of 1.52m to earn All-SCAC honors. The rookie earned the Ladies’ best finish in program history in the conference championships as she ended her impressive debut season on a high note.
Freshman Grayson Shugart earned eighth in the triple jump on Saturday (10.24m) as her top-10 finish and Malagarie’s runner-up helped the Ladies finish eighth for the weekend. The Gents finished 12th.
Freshman Jay Scott had an impressive meet as he finished ninth in the triple jump with a season-best mark of 12.25m.
Sophomore Christian Cormier had the Gents’ top finish in the prelims of the 100 meters (10th) with a career-best and school-record time of 10.69 as he just missed qualifying for the finals.
WASHINGTON, DC — Speaker Johnson honored winners of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition and Congressional Commendation recipients at the 2025 Community Awards Ceremony for Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District on April 23.
“We just had an extraordinary event – we love to do this annually. We give out awards for people who really represent our communities well and do a lot of extraordinary work in all of our 20 parishes around the 4th Congressional District, which is the greatest district in America. There is of honor to give, and it is due,” Speaker Johnson said. “It was a great day, and we love to do this event.”
The Congressional Art Competition is a nationwide, visual art contest for high school students, in which one piece of artwork from each congressional district is chosen by a panel of judges to be displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building for one year. The second, third, and fourth place selections will be proudly displayed in Speaker Johnson’s congressional offices.
Congressional Commendation recipients were submitted for consideration by constituents of Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District and chosen for their efforts to better their communities.
2025 Congressional Art Competition Winners
1st Place: “Craw-Fever” by Grace Rougeau, Faith Training Christian Academy
2nd Place: “Glow of the Magnolia” by Ava Agee, Airline High School
3rd Place: “Serene” by Samirah Etienna, South Beauregard High School
4th Place: “Bayou’s Serenity” by EMantyi Mosby, Airline High School
Staff Pick: “Beauty of the Swamp” by Jarei’Yuana Adams, Homer High School
Staff Pick: “In Loving Memory” by Angela Smith, Simsboro High School
2025 Congressional Commendation Recipient for Bossier Parish
Natalie Davis, Haughton High School student, worked to get girls’ wrestling sanctioned in Louisiana
Brad Zagone, Bossier City Fire Chief (30 years of service)
James “Trey” Morriss, Mission Operation Secret Squirrel, Director of Staff, Eighth Air Force & Joint-Global Strike Operations Center
Warren Ward, Mission Operation Secret Squirrel, Executive Director, Louisiana Tech Research Institute
Lane Calloway, Barksdale Air Force Base Historian
2025 Congressional Commendation Recipient for Caddo Parish
Laurie Boswell, CEO of Holy Angels
Jacob Schneider, Caddo Magnet High School student, Eagle Scout, led a team from Shreveport to Tumutumu, Kenya to train 72 students in livestock management, farming skills needed to increase the yield of their family farms by 60%, and financial skills to market their produce and manage their money.
April 30 is a day rich with diverse observances. National Raisin Day celebrates the dried grape, a staple in many cuisines and a significant agricultural product, particularly in California’s Central Valley. Raisins are not only a healthy snack but also a key ingredient in numerous recipes, from baked goods to savory dishes.
The day also marks National Bugs Bunny Day, commemorating the debut of the iconic cartoon character in 1938. Bugs Bunny, with his witty catchphrase “What’s up, Doc?” has become a cultural icon, entertaining generations through his clever antics and resilience.
Additionally, April 30 is observed as Honesty Day in the United States. Established in the 1990s, this day encourages honesty in communication, relationships, and politics. It serves as a counterbalance to April Fools’ Day, promoting truthfulness and integrity in daily interactions.
(With vacation season looming, here’s a case study for young families to consider. Keep a diary. And a sense of wonder. And some paper towels handy. Written 30 years ago, but seems like just the other day …)
It had all the elements of the classic child-ice cream blunder: beach, summertime, hot father, innocent 5-year-old boy, orange sherbert Push-Up, and a car.
Fortunately, the car was a rental.
And we were wearing the same clothes for the third straight day and we were 15 minutes away from being in the second-largest body of water on Earth. How big a threat could melting ice cream be?
None. Laugh and encourage a sweaty child to eat ice cream faster, and they likely will. Helps to have an old rag around.
Summertime crisis avoided.
This was just one of the many exciting things that happened on vacation in Myrtle Beach, S.C., a place 43 miles from my hometown down SC-9 South, where you can get anything from a tan to a gift-shop seashell dressed to look a lot like Elvis Presley.
Nothing spectacular happened. We ate more ice cream and went swimming and ate out a lot. We did the sandcastle thing and the rides-at-the-pavilion thing. We rode an airplane. We stayed in a hotel.
Tourists.
But as has happened since my vacations have included a child, the things I’ll remember are the things that happened around vacation. These times have reminded me that Thornton Wilder was right when he warned us in Our Town: Don’t miss the magic in the mundane, the tiny pieces in which the whole of your life is delivered.
That might be a fancy way of saying this: I wonder if my dad remembers ice cream dripping on my hand on that same stretch of beach in the mid-1960s?
I do.
My son had anticipated this trip. When a child is 5 and hits Vacation Countdown, time in Kid World moves with the speed of a jury trial.
Seven days. An eternity passed.
Six days. Glaciers were formed, moved, and melted.
Five days. The City Council decided something.
We’re talking slow movement. Imagine two weeks of watching Coke fizz settle.
Then suddenly, It Was Time.
He was told the trip would be 10 days long. I was packing only a few things when he walked in with nine pairs of pants, nine T-shirts, and one cloth bag, all piled in his arms like a ball. He would sleep in the outfit he had on, he said, minus the Power Ranger flip-flops.
He was ready. Overpacked, but ready.
You had to like his effort.
Early the next morning, he looked at the clouds out of the airplane and wondered why we were flying upside down. It took me a while to figure that one out: he’s used to seeing clouds above him through a car window.
Later in a rented beach house when his 10-year-old cousin said it was raining “cats and dogs,” he made him explain that, exactly.
He rode a play horse outside an A&P four times straight and nearly fell asleep on a dog on the merry-go-round at the same pavilion I used to go to with my cousins when I was little.
He played putt-putt one night until he nearly fell asleep standing, but the lemonade we bought woke him up.
“We need to remember to come back to this place,” he said in the car. “They’ve got good lemonade here.
Tournament bass fishing is sometimes about as predictable as the weather. Every single day is different, even when the weather doesn’t want to cooperate. This is why anglers must be flexible and willing to adjust.
The anglers who can pivot at the right time are usually the guys who win. Just because you caught bass one way on Thursday, does not mean you’ll be able to catch them the same way on Friday. So many factors come in to play when it comes to bass biting.
The weather is probably the biggest factor in how bass react daily. Of course, they bite best during low or falling barometric pressure days and if there’s one thing I’ve learned over my many years of tournament fishing, it’s that timing is everything. No matter what body of water it is, bass are biting somewhere! You just have to be in the right place at the right time.
This is where practice pays off, but you as an angler must pay attention. If you caught fish in a certain area on Friday at 10 a.m., there’s a good chance those same fish will bite about an hour later the next day.
But almost every tournament day, anglers must adjust on the fly. Conditions can change hourly, especially during the spring, as cold fronts come through more often than any other time of the year. During the summer months, bass are more predictable as weather patterns tend to be more consistent and stable for days at a time.
There are days, however, when anglers are left scratching their heads and questioning the bait and technique they are using. It’s a running joke with anglers that memos are sent out to all bass on the morning the tournament starts.
It’s like they’ve been notified to be aware that there are bass fishermen on the water today looking to jerk them into a bass boat. Therefore, bass should avoid all artificial lures and be alert for anything that resembles live bait and approach all food sources with caution!
While we all know bass can’t read, there are times when it seems someone has made them aware that anglers are on the water.
Sometimes, I think we as anglers give bass way too much intellectual credit, but with so much fishing pressure on our lakes today, bass are becoming more educated and can be difficult to catch. Day after day, hour after hour, bass are seeing so many lures that they have become warry of anything that doesn’t look like natural forage.
This is the challenge that I absolutely love about bass fishing! How can I put together a recipe to catch these little green creatures we call bass. Because the ultimate goal is to put a heavy five- fish limit in the boat that will allow me to either win or cash a check.
But so many times, the tournament never goes the way you planned. There comes a point during the day that you must rethink your strategy and approach. This is when the word “adjustment” comes into play.
Like so many professional anglers will tell you, bass fishing is all about decision making. Anglers that make the right adjustments at the right time are usually the ones holding up the trophy at the end of the day.
Bass fishing is becoming more and more difficult even with all the great lures and equipment we have as anglers. The days of going out and catching a hundred bass in a day are pretty much gone. Why? I feel it’s all because of one word, “pressure.”
Boat ramps that used to be empty Monday through Thursday, are now full seven days a week. The bass never get a break from the pressure with so many anglers on the water every single day. Also, we now have Livescope, a tool that allows anglers to go after every bass.
Today, there’s no longer a safe haven for bass to retreat to and get a break from all the fishing pressure. Daily, bass are chased and pursued all over the lake with no time to recover.
This is why so many tournaments today are won by anglers who make the right decisions and adjustments in order to put themselves in position for the win or cash a check.
‘Til next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to wear your life jacket every time your big engine is running.
Frances Irene Pugh Warren November 23, 1933 – April 27, 2025 Service: Wednesday, April 30, 2025, 10am at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Shreveport.
Karen Marie Lyons May 23, 1976 – April 20, 2025 Service: Wednesday, April 30, 2025, 11:30am at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, Bossier City.
Angela Renee Braley March 18, 1977 – April 19, 2025 Service: Saturday, May 10, 2025, 10:30am at The Healing Place Church, Shreveport.
George Belchic, Jr., M.D. December 1, 1925 – April 18, 2025 Service: Wednesday, April 30, 2025, 2pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Shreveport.
Garland Grant III February 14, 1965 – April 12, 2025 Service: Friday, May 2, 2025, 3pm at Blanchard Church of the Nazarene, Shreveport.
Jerry Kircus August 19, 1941 – April 4, 2025 Service: Saturday, May 24, 2025, 12pm at Aulds Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Dustin Dean Cook May 25, 1970 – February 20, 2025 Service: Sunday, May 25, 2025, 2pm at Osborn Funeral Home, Shreveport.
The Shreveport-Bossier Journal publishes paid obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $95. Contact your funeral provider or SBJNewsLa@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Notice of Death shown above are FREE of charge. You may email them to SBJNewsLa@gmail.com)
Shreveport Police Youth Services detectives have arrested a local woman following an investigation into the physical abuse of two juveniles.
On Friday, April 25, officers were called to Linwood Charter school after staff reported visible injuries on two students, ages 14 and 11. Upon arrival, officers observed multiple scars and lacerations on the children’s bodies, some of which appeared to be weeks old.
An investigation by Youth Services detectives determined that Brittany West was responsible for the injuries. Detectives learned that West had used an extension cord to physically discipline both children on multiple occasions. The nature and extent of the injuries were described as extensive and concerning.
Brittany West was taken into custody and has been charged with two counts of Cruelty to a Juvenile.
The Shreveport Police Department wants to remind the public that while parents and guardians have the responsibility to discipline their children, this must never be done in a way that causes physical harm or suffering. Discipline should never involve instruments intended to inflict pain, and it should never be administered out of anger. Striking a child in a manner that results in injury is not discipline—it is abuse.
As April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, SPD continues its mission to raise awareness and educate the community in hopes of preventing these tragic situations. If anyone suspects a child is being abused, contact authorities immediately. Every child deserves to feel safe and protected.
Over the course of the weekend, the Shreveport Police Department’s DWI Unit continued its record-setting pace, arresting 11 individuals for DWI and DWI-related offenses.
The following individuals were charged with DWI:
1. Tanzanika Edwards 2. Juvenal Guillen 3. Jimmie Jenkins (also charged with Schedule 3 and 4 Narcotics) 4. Carlos Jones (third DWI arrest) 5. Rayven Joyce 6. Havana Madden 7. Alvin Odom 8. Glenn Ross 9. Todd Spillers (second DWI arrest) 10. John Graham 11. Charles Brown (fourth DWI arrest)
Of note, this marks the Fourth DWI arrest of Charles Brown, the third DWI arrest for Carlos Jones, and the second for Todd Spillers.
The Shreveport Police Department remains committed to aggressively identifying and removing impaired drivers from the roadways. Officers will continue their efforts to ensure the safety of all motorists by maintaining a strong and proactive DWI enforcement presence throughout the city.
The Shreveport Police Department was dispatched to a major traffic accident on Interstate 49 North at Kings Highway at approximately 8:46pm on Friday, April 25.
Upon arrival, officers found the Shreveport Fire Department already on scene, providing emergency medical assistance. The driver of a silver Chevrolet Traverse was transported to Ochsner Health LSU Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Unfortunately, the driver later succumbed to those injuries.
Due to the severity of the incident, the Shreveport Police Department Crash Unit was notified and responded to conduct a full investigation.
Preliminary findings indicate that the Chevrolet Traverse had stalled in the middle lane of I-49 North. The driver had exited the vehicle to inspect the problem. A northbound Dodge truck approached the stalled SUV and, upon seeing it at the last moment, attempted to swerve left and apply the brakes. Despite the driver’s efforts, the Dodge struck both the disabled vehicle and its driver, resulting in major damage to the Chevrolet and fatal injuries to the driver.
The driver of the Dodge truck voluntarily submitted to testing. No citations have been issued at this time, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Is Foster Campbell going to go full Mel Kiper Jr. on SWEPCO this morning?
He’s probably not going to be irate like the iconic NFL Draft analyst was on ESPN’s draft coverage as Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders tumbled round-by-round into Saturday’s selection pool.
But our local veteran Public Service Commissioner has a long track record of railing against bad policies and procedures, which about 30,000 local residents suffered through during the six-hour hastily-arranged, unannounced outage darkening SWEPCO customers in Caddo, Bossier and Webster parishes Saturday.
Campbell has called a 10 a.m. press conference today at his Bossier City office, and unlike Kiper’s non-existent leverage with NFL owners and front office brass, he has the clout to summon representatives of the Southwest Power Pool and SWEPCO to explain themselves.
They’re not compelled to show. But they will, out of respect for Campbell, the PSC, and out of sense of responsibility to those impacted by the sudden shutdown.
“I’m not interested in finger-pointing,” said Campbell. “I want to know why it happened and what is being done to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
The explanation SWEPCO has provided is that SPP, which oversees electricity generation and transmission for utility providers like SWEPCO in a 14-state region, suddenly realized a need to “shed load” across several more densely populated areas. Failing to act quickly could have resulted in widespread outages and significant long-term damage to the power grid.
What escapes logic is that this happened with no advance notification. In this age of social media and apps and mass e-mails, even a few minutes of warning could have been extremely beneficial – starting with collaboration with local authorities who like everybody else affected, knew nothing until the lights went out.
Campbell will doubtless make that point today. The power people will make apologies, if not amends. Surely a much better game plan is already being developed for the next time. Right now, some who suffered want a pound of flesh, or at least, some reduction on their upcoming bills, an idea likely to gain traction at this morning’s confab.
At least one local businessman, Blake Jackson of Heron Restaurant, hinted at that while appearing on KTBS and KSLA newscasts Monday to express the distress created by Saturday’s shutdown. Hundreds of businesses took financial hits while retaining employees, blindly hoping the outage would be brief and customers would stick around.
Sanders knows all about taking a financial hit, not that it’s nearly as dire for him. He’s no one-trick pony. The difference in being a high draft pick and going 144th? About $40 million. Sanders will sign for about $4.6 million, and has to make the Cleveland Browns’ roster and stay there to collect all of it.
But his accountants will still be busy regardless of his football future. He is already a product along with being a passer. Deion’s son has charted rap songs and has endorsements with Nike, Beats by Dre and more, and his own 2Legendary brand, which have earned him the No. 2 NIL valuation among college football players, a cool $6.5 million. That will only soar now that his draft drama has galvanized a much larger fan base than he had this time a week ago.
Evidence? In just three days, Sanders is already third among rookies in sales of his new NFL jersey. Only the top two players in the draft, Cam Ward and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, have better jer$ey number$.
His dad popped on social media Monday to correct a report about Shedeur’s big post-draft party where Dov Kleiman reported he “flexed over $100k in cash.” True. But said Deion: “Let’s tell the correct story now …. It was actually a gift that he received … and it was a million.”
Can son sparkle behind center without Daddy Deion setting the depth chart? If NFL talent evaluators are right, he has an uphill climb. One former player turned ESPN analyst, former Pittsburgh running back Merril Hoge, laid out the prevailing wisdom in front offices.
“The best way to sum him up is he’s a really good college quarterback,” Hoge said. “His accuracy is good. His processing is good. And when I say good, I use a scale from one to 10. So good is around five. …Those are the two most important aspects of transitioning to the National Football League, and then you build from there. Anticipation, pocket awareness and then we start building. But those two things, if you’re a five, you’re not a first-rounder. You’re not a franchise guy.”
But Shedeur is already his own franchise, whether or not he ever starts an NFL game. While his dad already has a spot in Canton, Shedeur is probably better suited for Rodeo Drive or even Wall Street.
Unless Mel Kiper Jr. is on the money — in a very different way.
“IT’S MY PURPOSE”: Bossier City’s Sarah Ardis sees miracles every day as she helps change people’s lives. (Submitted photo)
Each week, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s Tony Taglavore takes to lunch a local person – someone who is well-known, successful, and/or influential, and asks, “What’s Your Story?”
By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services
Suddenly, the woman in her early 50’s was homeless.
Her husband – the father of her two children – had kicked her out of the house.
Suddenly, the woman in her early 50’s was desperate.
She had never worked, being totally dependent on the man who now didn’t want her. She didn’t even have a bank account.
“I really think her confidence had tanked. At that point, she was like, ‘I don’t know what else to do.’” So, the homeless, desperate woman sought help at the Shreveport-Bossier Rescue Mission. There, she was given a place to sleep and food to eat. But that’s not all. The woman was given an education. She enrolled in the mission’s financial literacy curriculum. Remember the woman didn’t have a bank account, much less know how to manage money.
“She went through our class. Our team started working with her. She gained more confidence. She was able to get a job, her own apartment, and opened her own bank account. I will never forget, she sent me a picture of her holding up her debit card. She was so proud to finally have her own account.”
And that is why Sarah Ardis does what she does.
The 41-year-old, who was born in Shreveport but now lives in Bossier City, has been with the mission for 13 years. She told me that story, and her story, during lunch at a place Sarah chose, BeauxJax Crafthouse. She enjoyed a cup of gumbo “I’m a sucker for good gumbo” and a side salad. I had a cup of gumbo, and the Bourbon Chicken Bowl. Our beverage of choice was water with lemon.
“If we look through the Bible, God uses people to do miraculous things . . . . I think God uses us to be a part of these miracles – changing people’s lives.”
In college, Sarah thought she could change lives by being an attorney. Sarah planned on going to law school, and went so far as to earn a double major in Criminal Justice and Political Science from LSUS.
“I think I’ve always had a desire to make a difference, so I looked at that as an opportunity to do just that.”
But a funny thing happened on Sarah’s way to the courtroom.
“I met a boy, got married, had a kid (Sophie), and we really wanted to establish roots here in Shreveport.” Something else happened, which would lead Sarah down the path she now walks.
Growing up, Sarah and her family (she has a younger brother) were “church nomads.” They went from one house of worship to another, hearing the Gospel, but not necessarily listening to the Gospel.
“When my husband and I had our daughter, we went to church to get her baptized, because that’s what you do. You have a kid, and you get them baptized.”
But during the service, the preacher had the audacity to ask the new parents a couple of questions.
“Are you going to raise this child in church? Are you going to teach her about God?”
Of course, the answer was, ‘Yes.” But . . . .
“I could feel the weight. My husband had never gone to church before.”
On the way home, the recent newlyweds had a heart-to-heart talk.
“I don’t know how you feel about this,” Sarah told her husband, “but I really want to start going to church more consistently with Sophie.”
They did, and the young family “started diving into our faith and finding out what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus.”
It wasn’t until after working a few odd jobs, and staying home with her newborn, that Sarah got serious about her career.
“I really thought the skills I had would translate well to the non-profit (sector).”
Sarah applied for, and got, a job with the mission.
“When I first started, it was definitely a learning process. I had to learn how to not take everything so personal, and how to not wear my heart on my sleeve.”
You see, Sarah pours everything she has into helping people – people who need help in the worse way, and when they are at their worse. Some are accepting. Some aren’t.
“The majority of people we help are almost like couch surfers. Something traumatic has happened in their life, and they’ve bounced from home to home, friend to friend, family to family. They basically have burned all their bridges. We are the last stop before they hit rock bottom.”
For example, there was this guy named Paul.
“We always joke that when he came in, his name was Saul, because he was an atheist with the filthiest mouth. To say he cussed like a sailor might be an insult to sailors. It got to a point where his attitude was terrible. We said, ‘This isn’t working for you. Here are some other resources.’”
Paul went down the road. Two weeks later, he returned.
“He was like, ‘I’m done with the world. I need change.’ He is now on fire for God.”
Paul is also a full-time employee at the mission, in charge of its kitchen.
“He is pouring into other men and does a great job.”
Sarah became emotional when talking about those turn-your-life-around stories, and thinking about so many other stories of which she has been a part.
“God is performing miracles every day. I’ve seen people at their worst, and I’ve seen people at their best. It’s amazing, and I am humbled to get to be a part of it – a part of truly helping change our community. I want my kids to grow up in a place where they don’t look at Shreveport like it’s Ratchet City. I want them to say, ‘My mom was part of something good in our community. She didn’t sit on the sidelines. She actually helped change people’s lives.’”
Sarah, now a mother of two and a wife of 15 years, is the mission’s Director of Development and Community Relations. So, when she is not working hands-on with mission “guests”, Sarah is asking people and corporations for money. All of the mission’s nearly two-million-dollar budget is dependent on donations, which means the mission is dependent on Sarah’s success.
But she isn’t one to make a “hard sell”.
“I just like to tell people what God is doing at the mission. God will do the rest. The Holy Spirit will stir their heart. If they want to give. If they want to get plugged in. That’s God’s job. I just love to tell people what God is doing at the mission, and God takes care of the rest.’”
Having a newfound appreciation for the mission’s work, and Sarah’s work in particular, I decided to ask my final question. As always, what is it about Sara’s life that she would like to pass along to others?
“It’s really easy in the world we live in, especially with social media, to sit back and complain. I want people in our community to be agents for change. Don’t just sit on the sidelines and complain. There is a place for everybody to get plugged into whatever you’re passionate about . . . . We’re all called to make a difference. God did not give us gifts and talents to keep them to ourselves and use them for our own benefits. We all have things we can do to make our community a better place. That’s what I hope people will take away from my story. Don’t sit on the sidelines. Be a part of change in our cities.”
Shreveport Fire Department received calls for a report of a house fire in the 2500 block of Dupont St. on Friday, April 25, at 1:06 a.m. The fire was called in by a neighbor of the home.
Engine 8 arrived first on scene at 1:10am and reported a single-residential home to be fully engulfed in smoke and flames. Overall 8 fire units and 26 firefighters responded to the incident before it was brought under control within 15 minutes.
The origin and cause of the fire remains under investigation by Shreveport Fire Arson Investigators at this time.
April 2 marks World Autism Day, and Shreveport planned to “Light It Up Blue” to raise awareness and celebrate people with autism on that day. However, inclement weather resulted in the event being canceled.
The event has been rescheduled to tomorrow, Wednesday, April 30, at 7:30pm.
Join Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor at the Riverfront Amphitheater as the Bakowski Bridge of Lights turns BLUE for autism awareness. Let’s unite in support of the neurodiverse community. All families are welcome to join the city for this meaningful event in downtown Shreveport.
In Louisiana, approximately 1 in 54 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Together, the community can raise awareness and foster acceptance for individuals on the autism spectrum.
Remember to wear blue! Let’s show support and make this day unforgettable.
