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2 months 1 week ago
Scott Jordan: Out of jail
Following his indictment last week by a Washington Parish Grand Jury, the man charged with the murder of Donna Arceneaux in 2017 is now out of jail.
Scott Jordan bonded out of the Washington Parish Jail Tuesday (January 20) at 8:58 p.m.
Earlier Tuesday he pleaded “not guilty” to second-degree murder charges.
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2 months 1 week ago
Photo by Steve Kuperstock, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
The Franklinton Metal Recycling facility, located at the former Thigpen Concrete site just off of Lee Street, south of downtown Franklinton.
Franklinton Council members were told at their last meeting that a tall fence will be installed at a metal recycling business now located at the former site of Thigpen Concrete, south of downtown Franklinton.
Franklinton Metal Recycling is just off of Lee Street. At present, there is plenty of scrap metal piled on the site. However, Council members were assured that an 8-foot tall metal fence is to be erected, shielding the public from viewing the scrap metal at the facility.
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2 months 2 weeks ago
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2 months 2 weeks ago
Photo by Steve Kuperstock, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Franklinton Mayor Darwin Sharp looks at a temporary patch installed where the Hancock Street repair occurred. He said permanent pavement will soon be laid down to make the road smooth once again.
A lengthy downtown Franklinton detour is now over.
Following repairs to a leaking gas pipe, barricades at the corner of Hancock and Washington Street were removed on Thursday.
Town workers were forced to wait for a replacement pipe because the original leaking pipe was manufactured back in the 1950’s. A replacement pipe had to be found that would fit perfectly into the ancient pipeline.
Franklinton Mayor Darwin Sharp was at the scene of the repair. He said he was extremely glad that an appropriate replacement was found for the leaking pipe.
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2 months 2 weeks ago
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2 months 2 weeks ago
Cecily Bateman
"For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity." --- William Penn
By Cecily Bateman on
2 months 2 weeks ago
The Washington Parish School System invites all 3rd-8th grade homeschool students to participate in Louisiana State Testing (LEAP) which will be administered in all Washington Parish schools beginning April 1, 2026.
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2 months 2 weeks ago
The Winterset Club met at Gayle Rester's home for their December meeting. The members were welcomed with a cup of hot spiced tea before enjoying a potluck meal.
Kim Kirby presented an interesting program. She and the hostesses, Mary Jo Poole and Gayle Rester, are pictured above.
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2 months 2 weeks ago
Jim Brown
By Jim Borwn on
2 months 2 weeks ago
LSU AgCenter researchers have confirmed the presence of a new invasive insect in Louisiana sugarcane fields. The pasture mealybug was detected in Vermilion and Iberia parishes late last year, raising concerns among growers, ranchers and researchers.
Blake Wilson, AgCenter entomologist, said the insect was observed by crop consultants Nick Daigle and Ryan Viator, who noticed a yellowing canopy in commercial sugarcane fields. AgCenter researchers collected specimens from the Vermilion Parish fields.
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2 months 2 weeks ago
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2 months 3 weeks ago
Photo by Steve Kuperstock, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Winn-Dixie of Franklinton on Washington Street.
With its impending closure coming soon, Winn-Dixie of Franklinton is reducing its hours effective as of Tuesday of this week.
The store will close for good on January 25, and will re-open on February 2 as a Rouses Market.
Winn-Dixie is closing all of its Louisiana stores and will concentrate on a core market of Florida and far southern Georgia from now on.
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2 months 3 weeks ago
Photo by Steve Kuperstock, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Road closure at the corner of Washington and Hancock in Downtown Franklinton.
Town of Franklinton officials are hopeful that a a lengthy downtown detour will soon be history.
Hancock Street is closed off just south of Washington Street. A leaking gas pipe was dug up and then Franklinton town workers discovered that the 1950-era pipe cannot be replaced with a comparable product. But town officials are hopeful that a replacement pipe will soon be in place and the street will be re-opened.
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2 months 3 weeks ago
Carley Donald Provost Sr.
, Carley Donald Provost Jr,
A body found late last Thursday night is believed to be that of a missing 78-year-old man.
Carley Donald Provost Sr., age 78, has not been seen for months. Officials have not yet definitely confirmed that the body discovered late Thursday night is him, but they seem relatively sure that it is. The body was discovered in a trash can at a home on North Jones Road, which is located southwest of Bogalusa toward Plainview in rural Washington Parish.
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2 months 3 weeks ago
Carley Donald Provost Sr.
, Carley Donald Provost Jr.
A body found near Bogalusa late Thursday night is believed to be that of a missing 78-year-old man.
Carley Donald Provost Sr., age 78, has not been seen for months. Officials have not yet definitely confirmed that the body discovered late Thursday night is him, but they seem relatively sure that it is.
Some of Provost’s family members have been concerned for months about him. A welfare check conducted by law enforcement last year went nowhere when he could not be located, yet there was no hard evidence showing that anything had happened to him.
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2 months 3 weeks ago
Sara Graham, a Construction Management major from Franklinton, was named to the University of Louisiana Monroe's Fall 2025 Dean's List.
Eligibility for the Dean's List requires full-time enrollment (minimum of 12 semester hours completed) and the list is calculated based on the following G.P.A. hours and term G.P.A.: an undergraduate student is required to earn at least a 3.5 grade point average.
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2 months 3 weeks ago
Cecily Bateman
•Part 1
"I have sampled this life." ----Mark Twain
By Cecily Bateman on
2 months 3 weeks ago
Callie Foreman
Sitting in church, they announced the upcoming Sunday would be Promotion Sunday. First Baptist Church of Covington is a very large campus. The kindergarteners would be moving into a different building. The junior high students would be moving upstairs, and the high school students would be moving downstairs. To some, these announcements may have gone unnoticed, but I remembered this as a child as if it were yesterday. This is perhaps because my mother was often the head of the Sunday school department. Nevertheless, Promotion Sunday was a great step in our spiritual walk.
By Callie Foreman on
2 months 3 weeks ago
Photo by Tracey Ladner, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
The Enon bridge over the Bogue Chitto River was completely coated with ice and snow in January of 2025.
Parish school students received a one-week vacation from classes in late January 2025 due to snow and ice.
Snow fell in the third week of January, leaving approximately 3-to-4 inches on the ground depending on where in the parish you were. Areas to the south of Washington Parish received much more snow, with Mandeville and Madisonville reporting between 5 and 7 inches, and some neighborhoods of New Orleans reporting as much as 10.5 inches.
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2 months 3 weeks ago
The Magnolia Belles celebrated their December meeting at the home of Karen Spears. Hosting along with Karen were Konnie Crain, Anita Reviere, and Jolene Spears.
Christmas pajamas were the required attire and members enjoyed a game of "Dirty Santa" as gifts were opened. Everyone enjoyed a meal of white chicken chili, broccoli/cauliflower salad, and brownies.
In photo above from left to right are Karen Spears, Konnie Crain, Anita Reviere, and Jolene Spears.
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