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Ebarb High School’s 2021 Homecoming Court cordially invites all interested parties to Homecoming activities on January 14 at 5 p.m. at the Ebarb school gymnasium. Alumni are especially encouraged to attend, especially the classes of ‘52, ‘62, ‘72, ‘82, ‘92, ‘02, and ‘12. Pictured on the front row, from left are Trinity Smith, Madison Boggs, and Kendra Meshell. On the second row are Camryn Cartinez, Bailey Durr, Keeley Garice,-Claylee Rutan, and Paisleigh Rivers. On the third row are Kaleb Ebarb, Jermaine Hudson, and Tucker River. Members of the court on the back row are Max Martinez, Kaleb Gatti, Kaden Ezernack, Jerlando Shepherd, and Kadyn Collins.

Pictured are the Junior members of the Homecoming Court. Pictured are Madison Boggs,Trinity Smith, and Max Martinez. Jayden Wilson is a member of the court but not pictured.

Sophomore Homecoming Court consists of Paisleigh Rivers, Kadyn Collins, and Jermaine Hudson. Not pictured is Preslee Sepulvado.

At the end of December, Sabine Parish Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sara Ebarb retired after serving in that post for 10 years. “It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve as superintendent in my home (and beloved) Sabine Parish,” she recently shared. “It has been a privilege to live and work in Sabine Parish.”

The following is an in-depth look at Dr. Ebarb’s career and accomplishments:

EDUCATION AND CAREER

Dr. Ebarb earned her initial Bachelor of Arts Education at Northwestern State University in 1983. From ’83 until 1986, she taught in the classroom at Mrs. Eddie Jones West Shreveport Elementary School.

There’s nothing quite like a Christmas love story. The season lends itself so well to that type of tale that entire industries have been built around it. However, one doesn’t have to look far to find that same type of magic happening locally.

Our story begins several years ago when when Eric Cato first met Teri Williams. They were both on an outing looking at Christmas lights with other residents at Sabine Retirement and Rehabilitation Center and met during that outing.

“I kept hearing this silly little giggle and fell in love with it,” Eric told the Index during a recent interview.

The two became quick friends, and spent every day together.

“When they wake up in the morning they have to find each other first thing,” said Sharon Chance, who heads up activities at the facility.

Things progressed when Eric got to go home with Teri for this year’s Thanksgiving celebration, and Eric and Sharon put a plan in motion for a Christmas Eve proposal.

(The Center Square) – Louisiana is experiencing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Department officials said 2,619 new cases have been reported out of 12,831 tests conducted since Sunday, marking a 20% positivity rate.

Over the four-day holiday weekend, officials said 12,164 cases were reported to the state.

“Omicron is surging,” the agency said on social media about the latest COVID-19 variant. “Please take precautions as you gather and celebrate with loved ones this holiday season. Wear your mask, get boosted if eligible, work remotely if possible, [and] limit your exposure to those outside your household.”

Studies have shown the omicron variant is highly transmissible and less severe than previous COVID-19 strains, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said more data is needed.

In what has quickly become an annual holiday tradition, Weyerhaeuser in Zwolle has seen fit to present over $50,000 in grants to a number of local schools and organizations.

Zwolle Mill Operations Manager Anthony Ebarb took time to hand out the much-needed awards and was joined by a number of mill employees, who are made up by the fantastic people that call Sabine Parish home.

“Weyerhaeuser operates in small communities and believes in helping the local communities,” Ebarb said. “This is just one way that we can support the communities that support us.”

Over the years these small gatherings have become a family, much like the way that family runs throughout these communities. During the gathering, everyone was happy to sit and visit.

Weyerhaeuser already has plans to do this again next year and will take applications.

Awards were recently given to these Sabine Parish 4-H youth exhibitors who had great success at the 2021 NW District Horse Show. Sabine Parish was well represented with winners and State Qualifiers in showmanship, halter, western, and english classes. The show was held at the Red River Cowboy Church arena and drew competitors from 12 parishes in Northwest Louisiana.

The 4-H horse project, which is open to all 4-H and F.F.A. members, is popular because it promotes and teaches animal husbandry, work ethic, responsibility, planning, and dedication. There are classes offered and prizes awarded to all breeds of horses which compete in Showmanship, Halter, English, Western, Ranch, or Speed disciplines.

The Sabine Parish Extension Office congratulates all the local competitors for a job well done.

BOM’s Many location donated personal items to their local nursing home for the residents. Pictured from left to right: Sharon Chance, BOM’s Linda Guay, Ashley Parrie, and Savannah Garcie.

BOM is proud to sponsor the Many High School Baseball Team. Pictured left to right: Dagen Knippers, Keaton Oxley, and BOM’s Kayla Sepulvado.

A lot of people in Sabine Parish are pet lovers but what happens when you let your dogs and cats run loose? They get hit by cars, have litters of unwanted kittens and puppies, and sometimes end up in the animal shelter where they are euthanized if they are not adopted or transferred out to another rescue agency.

The Town of Many now has two state-licensed Animal Control officers who have picked up 16 dogs and 14 cats since August this year, but they can only work within the Town’s limits. “I hate this part of my job”, said Cecil Jordan, Town of Many Street employee who helps with animal control. “Why do people have animals then let them run loose to get killed on the road or waste away tied up in the yard without food and shelter? It just does not make any sense,” he said sadly.

Representative Rodney Schamerhorn will host be holding a series of Town Hall Meetings to be held in January at locations in Hornbeck, Florien, Robeline and Many. Enthusiastic to provide information on topics of interest, Representative Schamerhorn will explain to constituents how they can have their voices heard on issues relating to them and their communities.

Main topic of discussion will be the DODT highway construction priority program for the upcoming fiscal year and its impact on the District 24 region. In addition, a discussion of services provided to the communities by the District 24 office throughout the pandemic and on a regular basis. Representative Schamerhorn will also focus on the upcoming Legislative session by identifying specific issues he will be addressing; to include Grandparent’s Rights, Restitution for financial costs related to crime, and Hunting Regulations in regard to methods of taking game.

In 2012, the Louisiana Legislative Session enacted The Early Childhood Education Act that began a uniform accountability system for publically funded early childhood programs. With this system, Louisiana early childhood programs are rated on a scale from 1-7. The rating categories are 7.00-6.00 Excellent, 5.99-5.25 High Proficient, 5.24-4.50 Proficient, 4.49-3.00 Approaching Proficient, and 2.99-1.00 Unsatisfactory. These ratings are based on rigorous observations conducted by trained early childhood educators using the nationally renowned Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) tool. Research has found that Pre-K classrooms with higher CLASS ratings result in better prepared kindergartners.