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Workshop teaches proper prescribed burning methods

Rodney McKay knows a lot about starting fires.

Between 15 and 25 times a year, McKay heads into the woods with a drip torch, rakes and an array of other tools used to light fires, monitor their spread and manage the smoke they produce. As the land manager of the Louisiana Ecological Forestry Center in Sabine Parish, McKay employs a practice called prescribed burning to ensure the health of the thousands of acres of longleaf pines he oversees.

Burning fallen trees and excess brush helps limit fuel for wildfires — a problem that is fresh on the minds of many in western and central Louisiana, where drought and extreme heat led to blazes in numerous forests this past summer. Prescribed burns also benefit wildlife, letting in sunlight that encourages the growth of forages. And they can improve the aesthetics of the forest.

“There in the ground His body lay, light of the world by darkness slain.

Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again.

As He stands in victory sin’s curse has lost its grip on me. For I am His and He is mine bought with the precious blood of Christ.” – In Christ Alone, Geoff Moore It would be hard to articulate the Easter story any better than the lyrics above. I have been asked many times “What makes what you believe any better or any different than every other religion?” and the fact of the matter is that the Easter story is what makes all the difference in the world. In almost every religion you can find morality, good will, love, ethics, fellowship, and almost any other emotional support you might ever need. However, what you will not find in any other religion is a risen Savior. That is the essence of the Easter story.

Pizza Epiphany!

Or should it be Serendipity? I’m not sure but Epiphany almost rhymes with all those “P’s” and sounds catchier. But what I’m referring to is the happy and surprising results I had while warming up a couple of pieces of leftover pizza.

I’d ordered a large pan pizza with pepperoni, sausage and mushrooms from Pizza Hut last week and ended up with about half of the pieces left over. I had zipped them up in a baggie and was thinking about warming some for supper a couple of days later. I remembered that I had some extra pepperoni slices from an Italian dish I’d cooked awhile back and I still had some grated Mozzarella in the fridge, too. The Italian recipe had suggested that broiled pepperoni slices were tastier but I didn’t want to dry out the pizza slices while broiling in the oven. Similarly, just microwaving the slices leaves them soggy – what a quandary.

Few DeSoto Parish residents realize the rich culture and heritage of our area. For seven years it has been my pleasure, at the suggestion of Enterprise owner and Editor John Blanchard, to write this weekly article on history – primarily DeSoto Parish History. None of the topics are more iconic than the Rock Chapel. Research on the Rock Chapel constantly renders new and interesting facts.

In the year 1850, the Bayou Pierre Community, located in the piney woods of DeSoto Parish in Northwest Louisiana, was a small congregation of Catholics and they decided to establish a Catholic Church there. A church was built in 1856 by Father Pierre, the first pastor. Father Pierre, whose name was coincidently the same as the community, came once a month from Natchitoches on horseback or boat. Legend has it that while Father Pierre was reading a prayer book accidentally drowned when the riverbank where he was standing suddenly crumbled into the Red River.

What Size Garden do you Need?

Garden sizes are one of those things that fully depend on the space you have available, how much work you want to put into it, and what you want to grow. It varies for each person but growing at least something is a great way to give you a needed boost of satisfaction when you enjoy the fruits of your labor!

For someone who lives in an apartment or small townhome, the smallest space you need is a window that gets plenty of sunlight. This is a great place to grow fresh herbs. If you have a patio or balcony that gets sun, then you need at least 3 square feet to place some type of container.

The size of your container will depend on how much you can grow. But even 3 square feet will allow you to use a half whiskey barrel. With one of these, you can grow a theme garden, which consists of one larger plant, such as a tomato, and herbs planted around the edges (oregano and basil) to grow a spaghetti sauce garden.

Jane Japanese Magnolia Named Louisiana Super Plant For Spring 2024

Japanese magnolias are completing their bloom and flushing out new, light green foliage. These beautiful trees are some of the first plants to signify that spring is just around the corner. With their pink-to-purple blooms, they’re one of the most strikingly beautiful trees.

As luck would have it, this is the perfect time of year to plant them! Local nurseries usually carry more than one variety, and there are many to choose from. One you might want to consider is the Jane Japanese magnolia, which is LSU AgCenter’s spring 2024 Louisiana Super Plant.

Breaking Habits, Building Health: LSU Agcenter Nutrition Program Inspires Man’s Transformation

Walking through the woods on his weekend hunts was no walk in the park for Jason Wheat. After steadily gaining weight during his 40s, Wheat found the trek up the hills of his hunting area hard to manage. Even putting on his hunting boots felt burdensome.

“That was when I knew I’ve got to make changes,” Wheat said.

Wheat, who has diabetes, knew he would have to break his fried food habit but didn’t know how best to go about it. He met with his doctor and enrolled in the LSU Ag-Center’s Dining with Diabetes five-part series in Clinton.

“I was all in,” Wheat said. “I went and committed myself to it.”

March is National Nutrition Month, and during this month, Wheat is sharing his story to show how implementing the nutrition lessons he learned in the class has drastically improved his health and well-being.

The other day I had a conversation about the food for the winter of this area about 150 years ago that stirred my “Historical Senses”. During and shortly after the Civil War hard times for everyone, especially the rural and small towns of North Louisiana. The population was largely Anglo-Celtic or African in origin with some Spanish-French along the eastern edge of DeSoto Parish and to Natchitoches southward. Corn and pork were the main crops but there were three times more hogs than beef cattle. There were Irish and sweet potatoes and some sugar cane for making syrup. Cotton was by far the major money crop.

Every six weeks I return to Longview, Texas to see Dr. Hannah. No, I don’t have some sort of rare ailment that only she can treat. Dr. Hannah is my hairdresser. But let’s start at the beginning.

My employer in Longview was…how should I put this? He thought personal errands and appointments should be handled during personal time. The man was single and couldn’t understand the importance of a good hairdresser.

Hannah, my hairdresser, and I had been friends for several years before I’d taken a job with Mr. Business. During tax season we worked ten hours a day Monday through Friday, and six hours on Saturdays. This impossible schedule left no time for hair appointments. What was a girl to do?

Since my arrival in Mansfield on Jan. 1, 1948 it has been my pleasure to meet many interesting people, and good people, who need to be remembered. The history of our parish and town has been made by many of these people and their relatives and acquaintances. The person in this article is Hall Peyton – a person I admired and respected.

He was born in Keachi in the 1800’s and as a young man came here to work in the First National Bank. In one of our early religious revivals here he felt the call to the Baptist Ministry. He served for many years and after retiring from the Pastor ship at Lake Arthur Baptist Church in southwest Louisiana he and Mrs. Peyton returned to Mansfield in the early 1960’s. His wife soon thereafter died and several years later he married Mrs. Lightfoot who was a wonderful Christian lady.