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As we talked about last week, LSU cleaned house by firing then-defensive coordinator Matt House and three assistants. Now, LSU feels as if they have found their man in former Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker. For Baker, he will be returning to the Tigers, as he was a coach on staff in 2021, but this time around, he will be in charge of the room.

Any other week and that headline would be at the top of this article. That’s kind of how I felt with this matchup. Every other year I would have been keener to watch this game. This year, things were different. It was hard to connect with the West Coast (14-1) Washington Huskies. It was tough to root for the Jim Harbaugh-led (15-0) Michigan Wolverines. Both teams are good teams, both champions of their respective divisions.

NFL is king, and even with the National Champion being crowned, the NFL Playoffs take the headline spot this week. After 18 weeks of fighting to secure one of the 14 spots in the playoffs, we finally have a full field of teams all playing for a chance to make, and ultimately capture, the Super Bowl and hoist the famed Lombardi Trophy.

The mayor and city council established a Capital Improvements Committee in August 2023 to receive public comment on and evaluate projects for possible inclusion in a General Obligation Bond Issue election in 2024. After numerous public comments and presentations from city department heads and officials, the committee recommends that the city council include approximately $256.4 million in projects for the voters’ consideration.

What measurable differences exist between competent high school and college student-athletes?

Gregory Young formerly served as a soldier in the United States Army and held many missioncontrolling positions during his long tenure with the United States Postal Service. His service as a postal employee included tenures as postmaster and officer-in-charge in Blanchard, Benton, Keithville, Homer, Abbeville, Lake Charles and West Monroe. 'My proudest accomplishment was not that I was the first African American male to ever serve as a postmaster within the Ark-La-Tex, but rather that I was simply placed in the unique position to positively impact every person in the Blanchard community whom I served without regard to racial identity. I let my light shine.' After his Postal Service retirement, Mr. Young embarked upon a journey to explore more fully his curiosity about history. He sought and acquired a bachelor's degree in general studies at Louisiana Tech-Barksdale and a master's degree in history at Louisiana Tech at Ruston. 'I ran for office several times before and lost. I may have given up on my interest in public service if not for what and how history has informed me about how people in the past confronted and overcame adversity. My studies and my extensive research were enlightened in such an extraordinary way. I learned about the cyclical nature of conflicts and how more often, even during the darkest of times, leaders emerge to offer hope and real solutions.

December 2023 brought sadness to our community, the legal community and the families of Judges Lane Pittard and Harmon Drew. Judge Pittard was the longtime First Assistant District Attorney in Bossier Parish before ascending to the bench as a Bossier- Webster Parish District Court Judge. Judge Drew was a longtime Webster Parish District Court Judge who ascended to the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal. I had the pleasure of serving with him on the Court of Appeal for many years. Both served this community very well. Outside the court, both were dynamic personalities and musicians, who enjoyed playing with their respective bands with the same zeal that they loved serving the public. Both were my personal friends and colleagues and I send condolences to their families.

The first Friday of 2024 marks the beginning of the POST academy for a new class of recruits at the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Training Academy.