News

We got meta in our pages with coverage of another newspaper writing about our newspaper. A story that ran in The Advocate brought plenty of attention to our little newspaper and we remain grateful to the photographer, Chris Granger, and writer, Faimon Roberts, for giving our mission here a second in the spotlight.

We learned a lot about our neighbors in East Carroll in 2023 through feature stories and profiles. Some interesting people we included in the pages of Providence Journal last year included Catie Travis, new employee of Doorway to Louisiana’s Byerley House; Lincoln Powell Jr., formerly of Lake Providence who runs his own fashion business; Cleophus Washington, who overcame adversity to have a law practice; Rosie McDaniel, retired after years of service from the East Carroll Parish Library; Gerald Wayne Bowers, who sold the long-time Lake Street business called Price Cutter; Christopher-Martin Daffin Williams, basketball coach for General Trass; Lee Toney, local woodworking artist featured at high-profile craft events; Sr. Bernie Barrett, who helped so many people locally through Catholic Charities and her religious order’s charity; Shellie Tomlinson, local author; and Sara Beth Howard, who shared her experiences with breast cancer.

The Town of Lake Providence Board of Aldermen held their last regular meeting of the year last Thursday, and covered a lot of territory before heading into 2024. Mayor Bobby Amacker told the board of aldermen that the town had mailed a certified check to the Internal Revenue Service to pay what it hopes will be the final past due payroll taxes from the administration of Former Mayor Jerry Bell, who served from 2019-2022.

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There was a fire at the location known as Uncle Pete’s Discount, previously known as the Grab Bag in the early morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 23. Lake Providence Fire Chief Keith Larry said the fire appears to have started in an area near the kitchen. According to Larry, a call came in around 1:30 am, reporting flames in the building. Larry said the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office was called in to investigate the fire.

by Billy Coleman Three people were shot over the Christmas holiday four-day weekend. One man was shot in the face on Saturday in one shooting, and, in a separate shooting, a woman was shot in the hip.

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The Sixth Judicial District Court was in session last week and among the items on the docket were several cases of probation revocations and arraignments. Several people who had been placed on misdemeanor probation came before the court on revocation recommendations by their probation officer for failure to fulfill the terms of their probation, ranging from failure to meet with the probation officer monthly, as well as not paying their fines and probation fees.

Sheriff Wydette Williams has announced two deputy promotions at the sheriff’s office recently. Tystin White has been named an investigator, and Gregory Campbell Jr. has been moved to the position of Lieutenant.

Lake Providence native Frededreia (DeDe) Willis Dunham has taken her expansive career into the literary world with a children’s book entitled “My First Hurricane.” The book is a guide to weathering a hurricane safely and contains useful information for what to do in a storm, all through the eyes of a child.