Happy Festival yall.
The 95th version of a Natchitoches Christmas will be on full display this weekend. One of the highlights to JT is the parade at 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday are jam packed with fun and activities for the entire family. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because there may be some walking involved and a lot of time on you feet. Check out the list and times of events on page 4B in today’s paper.
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Depending upon which group JT is visiting with …the main topic of discussion is one of two things. It’s either about the new Head Coach down a LSU or it’s about all the new Christmas movies. (He knows more about the first than the second.) LSU has hired the head coach from Notre Dame, Brian Kelly, who by the way wasn’t on any of the “in the know” sportswriters list of potential candidates the past six weeks. He got a 10-year $95 million deal with incentives. Not sure when he starts. Notre Dame and LSU could be in bowl games.
After the Tigers upset Texas A&M last Saturday, former Tiger Coach Ed Orgeron said he was headed to Destin and would not be coaching LSU in any bowl game. The other hot topic is the large selection of holiday movies Hallmark and other movie channels have unleashed. JT’s heard almost 150 new Christmas movies, 41 on Hallmark alone, would air before Santa gets here. It’s going to pose a really big problem for some Christmas movie fanatics. They know their recorder won’t hold that many hours of movies. One such holiday movie addict, Sherry Recer, is in a real pickle. A first time grandma to Charlotte Daigle, she has to quit Hallmark cold turkey because all of her free time is now dedicated to spoiling five-week-old granddaughter, Charlotte Daigle.
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Without much fanfare….just a sign of relief for Gulf Coast residents…hurricane season has come to a close. We won’t be forgetting Ida any time soon. She went from the Gulf of Mexico all the way to the Big Apple leaving in her wake $60 million in damages and over 75 deaths, 26 in Louisiana alone. Once again there were so many storms we ran out of names. We should be ok…weather wise…until after the New Year. That’s when we brace for our next weather event…ice storms. They can wallop just as heavy a punch as the hurricanes and come out of nowhere. If you don’t have an emergency bag stashed at your house, JT suggests you start putting one together cause you never know when you’ll need it
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For you history buffs, Tuesday (Dec. 7) is a special day. It’s the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. If you’re not a history buff, please look it up. It’s a day we honor and remember the 2,403 service members and civilians who were killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941. A further 1,178 people were injured in the attack, which permanently sank two U.S. Navy battleships (the USS Arizona and the USS Utah) and destroyed 188 aircraft. Historians say it was the start of the end of the war.
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Absentee voting ends Saturday for some voters in the parish. The only items on the election ballot are not parish wide but deal with two consolidated school districts. Voters in south and west Natchitoches Parish are being asked to renew taxes for school improvements, equipment and supplies in their area. Consolidated School District 8 has a seven-mill renewal before them while District 9 has a 20-mill renewal. If you don’t have an opportunity to take advantage of early voting please make sure you vote Saturday, Dec. 11. Early voting numbers coming from the Registrar’s office are dismal…only three people voted on the first day, Saturday.
A list of the polling places that will be open Dec. 11 is on Page 2A. Only residents registered in those locations in Marthaville, Natchitoches, Robeline, Spanish Lake, Provencal, Bellwood, Cypress and Flora will cast ballots.