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Published June 3, 2009
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Call the News Booster Office at 318-339-7242 and
Find Out How!
Catahoula honor grads look to the future (published June 3, 2009)
Catahoula Parish schools recently held graduation ceremonies and said goodbye to
the Class of 2009.
Block High School tallied 52 graduates with Caitlin Elizabeth Jolly attaining
Valedictorian honors. Caitlin plans to attend the University of Louisiana at
Monroe where she will major in nursing. Jordan Ashley Trisler is Salutatorian
at Block and she plans to attend LSU-A where she will also major in nursing.
Harrisonburg High School had 25 seniors in its graduating class. Valedictorian
Heather McGuffee will be attending ULM in the fall and plans to become a
pediatric nurse.
Ashlen Boothe is the Salutatorian, and she will be attending the University of
Louisiana at Monroe where she plans to earn a bachelor degree in nursing.
Sandy Lake Christian Academy had six seniors in its graduating class with two
valedictorians whose GPAs were exactly the same: Naomi Grantham and Kacey Mott.
Naomi will be attending LSU-A majoring in Chemistry, and Kacey will be
attending Louisiana Technical College - Shelby Jackson Campus in Ferriday where
she will major in LPN training. The Salutatorian is Seth Terrell who will be
attending LSU-A.
Sicily Island High School had a graduating class of 13 seniors. Zerick Dunbar,
Valedictorian, plans to attend Tulane University to pursue a degree in
Biomedical Engineering with a Pre-Med concentration. Rex Lofton, Salutatorian,
plans to attend the University of Louisiana-Monroe to pursue a degree in
Pharmacy.
Congratulations to all of the honor students. Your hard work and dedication has
carried you to the top of your classes and will continue to stand as goals for
future students and sources of pride for your schools and communities.
The News Booster staff would like to wish all of you the best of luck with all
your endeavors.
Renda steps down as OEP Director (published June 3, 2009)
Catahoula Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness Director Debra Renda recently
stepped down from her position on May 28.
Renda said she felt she had to resign due to personal health reasons and due to
a new grandchild with medical issues.
"I feel that I cannot devote the time and effort required to the job nor to the
people of this parish at this time," said Renda.
"I've enjoyed working with the police departments, the Sheriff's Department, and
all of the fire departments, and I have made a lot of friends in the last nine
and one-half years."
JPD’s street interdiction continues to rack up arrests (published June 3, 2009)The
Jonesville Police Department continued its street interdiction last week with
several drug related arrests.
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Arrested were:
Derick McCaskill, 25, of 308 Second St., Jonesville, charged with possession of
crack cocaine, driving under suspension, and improper lighting. Bond was set at
$35,000.
Mark Jason McCraw, 30, of Pearl, MS, charged with possession of marijuana,
possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under suspension and speeding, 80/55.
David Andrew Winborne, 27, of 208 Main St., Jonesville, charged with possession of CDS, careless operation, and driving left of center.
Robbie Woods, 29, of 202 First St., Jonesville, charged with two counts of
distribution of crack cocaine. Bond was set at $100,000.
Other arrests tallied by JPD recently that were not drug related were as
follows:
Andray Jammala Wallace, 24, of Stewart Rd., Harrisonburg, stopped for expired motor vehicle inspection sticker, but further
investigation revealed an NCIC warrant from
Union Parish for simple burglary. Wallace was booked into the Catahoula Parish Jail and is awaiting transfer to Union Parish.
Ben W. Davis, 63, of 340 Davis Rd., Jonesville, charged with failure to use turn
signal and driving under suspension.
Renata F. Matthews, 27, of 803 Azalea St., Jonesville, charged with running a
stop sign and driving under suspension.
Cody Bryan Day, 18, of 602 Bennett St., Jonesville, charged with open container.
The Conservancy purchases mound site in Jonesville (published June 3, 2009)
The Louisiana Archaeological Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
preserving the state
’s archaeological heritage, recently purchased a site on Jonesville's Pond St.
from Mr. C.R. Craddock in order to preserve Mound Four, part of the larger
Native American site of ancient Troyville, on which the Town of Jonesville sits
today.
Troyville's large, elaborate, platform mounds were presumably used for public
rituals or ceremonies. The earliest descriptions of Troyville indicate it held
as few as six and as many as 12 mounds, but all accounts agree that the site
was dominated by what was called the Great Mound, which stood approximately 80
feet high and consisted of three levels - two rectangular mounds crowned by a
conical mound. The Great Mound was surrounded by smaller mounds ranging in
heights from 12 to 20 feet. Troyville also had an embankment on its southern
and western sides.
Troyville suffered as the region was settled. In 1871 Jonesville was established
on top of the site, and by 1896 one of the smaller mounds on the riverfront had
been graded to allow better access to the steamboat wharf. Several other mounds
served as foundations for buildings and houses. At that point, the Great Mound
had been reduced to about 45 feet.
By 1931, most of the mound was sold as fill dirt that was used in the Black
RIver Bridge construction project.
The Smithsonian Bureau of Ethnology's Walker Winslow visited the site a few times after the Great Mound
was nearly leveled and determined that Troyville still contained valuable
information, so he excavated the site in 1932.
"His discoveries included split-cane domes 25 feet in diameter, wooden planks up
to seven feet in length, palmetto covered floors, a palisade wall at the base
of the mound, log steps up the corner of the mound, and layers of cane matting
secured to the mound with wooden stakes," said Joe Saunders of the Louisiana
Division of Archaeology. "His 1936 re
port included 12 photographs of his phenomenal finds."
Winslow identified the smaller mounds, the remains of which were scattered among
neighborhood yards, churches, and other buildings. Years later, Saunders and
his colleague, archaeologist Reca Bamburg-Jones, identified a large part of
Troyville that was hidden beneath the modern Town of Jonesville, including the
remains of Mound Four.
In the backyard of an old house on Jonesville's Pond St., Saunders dug a test
unit in the mound and uncovered a pit with over 1,100 pottery sherds,
suggesting that, although it's been reduced to height of about five feet, it
still contains valuable information.
With the help of a memorial fund established for Louisiana's late State
Archaeologist, Tom Eubanks, the Conservancy purchased the site from Mr. C.R.
Craddock, whose wife's family owned the property for many years.
The old house was recently torn down, and the Conservancy will landscape and
fence the site.
Mound Four will now serve as a research preserve that suggests the glory of
ancient Troyville.
The Conservancy is comprised of concerned citizens who are willing to donate
their time and energy to protect Louisiana
’s past. It acquires important archaeological sites through purchase or donation,
awards research grants to investigate threatened sites, and acts as an advocate
for preserving sites.