Columns & Opinions

Dads on Duty is a grassroots effort by fathers in Shreveport who have decided that enough is enough. Their effort, spearheaded by NAACP President Michael Lafitte, Community Activist Craig Lee and others, has made an immediate difference in stopping the fighting and violence that was happening at Southwood High School several weeks ago. So far, so good, but it is just the beginning in an ongoing fight to save our children and to save our schools. It is not just a one-off for these fathers, but it is an idea whose time has come.

In the free state of Bossier, wonders never cease. And legalities are usually an afterthought.

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness time. Color this column pink. When my mom was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995, her health was already precarious. In the hospital with a broken hip caused by cancer in her bones, she suddenly developed a digestive tract issue that required emergency surgery. I was contacted to go to the hospital to sign the paperwork; the surgeon was waiting.

Wayne Smith is serving as Shreveport's substitute police chief. He was appointed by Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins to that position on Aug. 27 of this year.

Parenting has always been a difficult proposition. It was a hard job when my parents were trying to raise my siblings and me in the ’50s, ’60s and early ’70s. It was a hard job for my wife and me when we were trying to raise our four children at the end of the last century and the beginning of this new century. Make no mistake about it, raising children is a job, and there is no substitute for good parenting.

As I stated in last week’s issue, the Ed Orgeron era at LSU is coming to an end. Little did we know we would have an answer as to his expiration date as the head coach of the Fighting Tigers this soon. LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward announced last Sunday that this indeed would be the last season for Orgeron after the two reached a “settlement agreement” that will pay out a $17 million buyout of his contract. While this news shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, the timing and decision to let O continue the rest of the way is interesting. Any time you let a coach go mid-season, you run the risk of losing recruits along the way. There has already been one four-star receiver who has decommitted, as well as WR Koy Moore entering the transfer portal.

Consider the language from the 2021-2022 Pupil Progression Plan on “Consent,” compliments of the members of the Caddo Parish School Board -- interesting language: “The law goes on to require the state Department of Education to establish, subject to the approval of BESE, the level of achievement on the fourth and eighth grade LEAP test – in mathematics, English language arts, science and social studies -- needed for students to advance to grades five and nine.”

At its next meeting on Oct. 28, the Shreveport City Council will consider a resolution encouraging the Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) to “place a moratorium on the issuance of any occupational licenses and certificates of occupancy for liquor stores/retail sales of alcohol-liquor, other than renewals, for a period of six (6) months.”