News

As soccer in Sabineland gains traction, First Baptist Church of Many is planning a free soccer clinic on Saturday, February 23 in association with the Northwestern State University Lady Demons and coach Jess Jobe.

The clinic will teach age appropriate skills and feature games and drills suitable for kids aged 3-16. The clinic will be held from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. with special attention bethe Shreveport Elite and BOCA Academy teams in the off season. The team played Vernon, Natchitoches, and Shreveport teams last season, and a new DeSoto club is forming for the fall.

Over the holiday break, Coach Chris Dodson has been quite busy and has arranged for the team to coordinate with the Elite Soccer Academy, which is led by former LSU-Shreveport and FC Dallas coach William Awagu for more local games. Elite soccer has been working with Shreveport Indoor Soccer and has training leagues coming soon.

Fireworks. That’s what anglers competing in the 2019 Basspro.com Central Open at Toledo Bend can expect next week.

Less than 75 days into the year, the lake has already given up 22 largemouth over 10 pounds, with the biggest weighing 11.49 pounds. Plus, a 29.83-pound limit was weighed in during a recent couples tournament. And according to local anglers, it’s only going to get better.

“Fishing is so good right now, trucks are lined up a quarter-mile down the street from every launch ramp,” said Linda Curtis-Sparks, director of Sabine Parish Tourist Commission. “So, the timing really couldn’t be better for the event.”

The tournament is scheduled for Feb. 20-22, with daily takeoffs at 6:45 a.m. CT from Cypress Bend Park Boat Ramp, where daily weigh-ins will begin at 2:45 p.m. A bulging field of 215 boats will compete the first two days, with only the Top 12 pros and co-anglers advancing to Saturday’s final round.

The 2019 inductee into the Sabine Hall of Fame Linda Curtis-Sparks of Many, is a well-respected leader throughout the area.

The announcement of her election into the prestigious Sabine Hall of Fame was recently made by Chairman Pete Abington.

Linda Curtis-Sparks has been an inspiration to young women since her days in the Many Business and Professional Women’s Club back in the 1970s. She was named the club’s first Young Careerist in 1975 and was the club’s first Woman of the Year in 1979. She was active in the organization until 1981, when the group ceased to exist.

Throughout her lifetime, she has been a business owner, administrator, advisor, civic leader, governmental officials, executive director and steward of many worthwhile projects. She is also a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She is known as a strong woman of grace and dignity.

A new, Facebook-based sports show titled “Talking Trash” is taking hold amongst local fans for its quick-fire blend of content featuring both local and national teams.

Waylon Laroux and Jeremy “J-Dawg” Leone, the two hosts, developed their banter over a friendship that developed when they were children. It continued through their adult years and was sharpened and readied while both were employed at Weyerhaeuser in Zwolle.

They’ve been sports fans for even longer.

“I’m a Cowboys fan,” Jeremy says. “Waylon is a Saints fan, so we’ve had a lot of fun with that recently. In other ways, we match up. We’re both (Los Angeles) Lakers fans so that talk is usually a tad different.”

However, talk about the NFL and NBA is commonplace. It’s the local sports coverage that sets them apart.

“I say on the show that nobody knows more about local sports than Jeremy,” Waylon says. “I mean that.”

Berniece Nichols had one heck of a birthday party to celebrate her 100 years at Sabine Retirement and Rehabilitation Center on February 1.

The facility’s cafeteria was packed to the rafters with family, friends, and a large number of well-wishers. Also on the agenda, other than a number of tasty treats, was live Gospel music, with the birthday girl even offering a little singing herself.

When asked how to live to 100, she simply replied, “Take care of yourself and love the Lord.”

Berniece Elizabeth Barrett Nichols was born on February 1, 1919, to Elmer and Ethel Barrett in Mitchell. She married her husband, William Samuel Nichols of Fisher in 1940. Sadly, he passed away from a heart attack in 1960.

He had come to Oak Grove to help build the new gym at the school when they met.

Berniece had five children and one stepson. Three of her children were stillborn.