News

The Lake Providence Board of Aldermen agreed to offer $25,000 to settle its portion of a personal injury civil lawsuit against the town and two town police officers, which was filed in 2019 by attorneys for Charles Lyons.

The Louisiana Delta Community College (LDCC) Chancellor's and Honor's Lists celebrate the fall semester 2024 students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement. The Honor's List recognizes students with a grade point average between 3.50 and 3.74, while the Chancellor's List honors those with a GPA of 3.75 or higher.

SNAP benefit signup every Tuesday @ 9:30am-3pm East Carroll Parish Community Action Agency EAST CARROLL PARISH SCHOOL BOARD 1st Tuesday of month @ 6:30 pm • in the Media R oom, Administration building DEPT OF PUBLIC SAFETY DRIVER’S LICENSE OFFICE 1st Thursday of month from 9am-3 pm (lunch 12-1) East Carroll Parish Police Jury office building (old health unit) EAST CARROLL PARISH POLICE JURY 2nd Tuesday of month @ 12 noon • in the Police Jury Meeting Room EAST CARROLL HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD 2nd Wednesday of month @ 10am • at Housing Authority, Mike Ave. LAKE PROVIDENCE HOUSING AUTHORITY 3rd Thursday of month @ 12 noon • LPHA office, Foster St.

Our year began here at the East Carroll Banner with a new look, a new name, an online presence. We showed you a bit more of who we are and why we care and what providing you with hometown news really means. We have loved answering the phone with “The Banner” over the past year, receiving mail to that title, and the feeling of being reconnected to a paper that has kept our parish in touch with each other and the outside world for 137 years now.

There were plenty of things to celebrate in East Carroll Parish this year, and we marked a few communitywide celebrations in our pages. The much-loved Mardi Gras Pancake Supper returned to Grace Episcopal Church after a hiatus due to the pandemic. This year, the First Methodist Church teamed up with Grace Episcopal to bring this event back. Downtown saw an abundance of food, color, good tunes, and people, both local and visitors at May’s Lake Providence Levee Festival, in its third year. Soul Food Festival had another great year at the start of August with a great local music lineup and exceptional food, including a barbecue contest. The Louisiana State Cotton Museum had a wonderful Easter Egg hunt for the kids, and the First Annual Trail Ride was held in the parking lot of the community center and was a huge success, with hundreds attending and plenty of fun activities for kids and adults alike. Doorway to Louisiana held its second annual Light Up Lake Providence event with a community choir and a ceremonial lighting of the trees on the lake, a Christmas Parade was held downtown, and our streets again were adorned with lights and Christmas decorations to help us all find the spirit this season.

In our first issue of the new year, we catalogued the ending of the snake rodeo, a long tradition in East Carroll Parish that was challenged and eventually outlawed through the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). East Carroll saw several huge storms near the beginning of the year that left downed power lines, roofs blown off homes, and periods of ice and freezing rain. April brought strong storms also that left the lake extremely high and caused flash flooding in parts of the parish and across newly planted agricultural land. Drought and record high temperature in the summer of 2023 created a bleak outlook for 2024’s crawfish season. The mudbugs arrived late and cost more per pound than is typical, but there were still plenty of people who got their hands on them. LDWF also made news when they established a black bear hunting season for December in bear management areas in East Carroll Parish, among others. Applicants received hunting licenses through a lottery and were required to attend a bear hunting training course. We covered the dwindling turkey population in East Carroll Parish and LDWF’s projection that a ban will likely continue for hunting the birds in our borders. We also published photographs of alligators in the lake and reports of an increased number of alligator sightings.

Debra Hopkins’ 'Local Living' column highlighted plenty of our parish’s faces and lives. We did a deeper dive on many of the accomplishments of locals and those with roots to Lake Providence, while also highlighting milestones for local people, institutions and more. Among awards and honors we reported on, artist Lee Toney received Best of Show in the Louisiana Marketplace at New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Deputy Port Director Bryant Killen was named “40 under 40” at the Island Marine Expo, and also was appointed to the Louisiana Ports and Waterways Investment Commission, Judge Laurie Brister received the prestigious President’s Award for her service to the Louisiana District Judges Association. In the LP Roots department, we spotlighted Aurora Threats, Eric Gregory, Freda Allen, Andreanna Thompson, and did a feature on Cadence Gray, valedictorian at General Trass High School and a working young mother.WefollowedWydett Williams, Jr., on his journey in Division 1 college football at University of Louisiana at Monroe, reported on the first bale of cotton by the Vinings, and the reopening of the Louisiana State Cotton Museum. Lynn and Jim Thom’s daylily haven made front page, as did a touching and brave story of Peggy Boyte’s family who chose to donate her organs when she passed away after a stroke. Young farmers Matthew Brown and Nolan Parker were featured in national magazine Farm Journal, the school board approved historical markers to be placed at the former site of the East Carroll Parish Training School and on the former site of the G.W. Griffin High School. The executive board of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries met for the first time in Lake Providence; a group of local artists began an exciting new program called Art for All LP which aims to provide art experiences to all of East Carroll Parish, and began with two great projects for children; Progressive Chapel Missionary Baptist Church welcomed their new pastor Gerald Scott to Lake Providence, the ninth pastor since the church’s founding. We reported on the completion of the rural fiber network, the new telehealth hub at the East Carroll Parish library, and an incredible summer program led by the LSU Ag Center which provided local kids with swimming lessons.

Chino Express opened in the old Jehovah Java restaurant space after a thorough renovation. Its Chinese and seafood offerings brought something new to Lake Providence. The same restaurant group behind it opened Maria’s in the old Dock restaurant space on the lake after another thorough and beautiful renovation and redesign. (We’ll be covering the opening of Maria’s in the new year.) We hope both restaurants will be around for many years.

Memorialized in our pages in 2024 were the following departed souls who we remember as this year comes to a close: Bubba Minsky, Coach Earl Webb, Axel Foley, Marvin Ragland, Doris Sullivan, Betty King, Connie Gayle, Jimmy Matthews, Gerald Dean King, Louise Fortenberry, and Maxie Brown.

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