News

EAST CARROLL 4-H.

The John H. Scott Memorial Fund announced that 2026 scholarship applications are officially open.

Arrests as of February 23, 2026: East Carroll Parish Sheriff: 2/8/26 - Decavion McCullum, 17, possession of stolen goods. 2/18/26 - Willie Jackson, 26, sexual battery.

Why don’t we plant trees? I’m 29 years old, and cannot point you towards a single tree or plant that is still standing that I can take credit for. Not for lack of trying, I might add. I’ve attempted a handful of times with obviously no success. I did dig a hole for a tree that was planted at the Byerley House. Unfortunately, I was told I dug it in the wrong spot, and the tree was planted elsewhere. Then during our recent ice storm, that tree was snapped in half! Moral of the story, do not ask me for help when planting a tree. But back to my question, why don’t we plant them? If I had planted a tree every year of my life, I’d be on my way to quite the orchard. Live oaks planted when I was in grade school would be well on their way at this point. I can remember wanting a tree like Mrs. Carrole Terral has in her yard, but being told it takes a hundred years to get one that size. Well I would be a quarter of the way there if I had planted that tree. You could plant a tree in the ground today that would provide you with food, not to mention offer you shade and something pretty to look at. In a world where starvation exists, why are fruit and nut trees not more prevalent?

The local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office has seen an uptick in visitors this week after U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) opened the enrollment period for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program. The program, announced by President Trump last December, provides $11 billion in onetime bridge payments to row crop producers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs. The FBA enrollment period opened Monday and closes April 17, 2026.

The February meeting of the East Carroll Parish Police Jury focused heavily on post-Winter Storm Fern recovery, community services, and future preparedness, along with a discussion about animal control.

President Donald Trump’s surprise endorsement of U.S. Rep.

The One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law by Congress last July brought a lot of changes in tax laws for 2025 taxes. According to the Internal Revenue Service, some of the changes are as follows: The major deduction for all taxpayers is a higher standard deduction. The standard deduction for single filers was raised from $15,000 to $15,750 and increased from $30,000 to $31,500 for married couples filing jointly. Head of household filers will also see a $1,125 increase in their standard deduction, from $22,500 to $23,625.

Do you get sticker shock when you check out at the grocery store? I know I sure did when stocking up before the recent ice storm! Even with the cost of groceries, it is still usually cheaper to prepare meals at home rather than eating out. Once you know how to shop and cook smarter, you can stretch your food budget.

Arrests as of February 16, 2026: East Carroll Parish Sheriff: Arrests unavailable at press time..