Author: Will Phillips

  • Cat People

    Cat People

    Contributed by Columnist Dirk Ellingson When I visit my vet, I’m usually the only customer bringing in a cat. In Missouri, I’d guess an equal number of acquaintances lived with cats as those who lived with dogs. In my corner of Louisiana, dog owners seem to prevail by numbers. I don’t know if that’s a…

  • Webster Parish Libraries now offering WiFi Hotspots for checkout

    Webster Parish Libraries now offering WiFi Hotspots for checkout

    The Webster Library System is offering a new service to its patrons who are in need of internet access but may not live near a provider. This new service is Verizon WiFi Hotspots that patrons can check-out and take home with them. Check out period for one week, can renew if there isn’t a waiting…

  • S&P 500 briefly rises above record close as stocks drift

    S&P 500 briefly rises above record close as stocks drift

    NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting on Thursday, and the S&P 500 is again on the verge of erasing the very last of its pandemic losses. The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in afternoon trading at 3,383.64. Earlier in the afternoon, it briefly rose above 3,386.15, which was the record closing level it…

  • US jobless claims fall below 1 million but remain high

    US jobless claims fall below 1 million but remain high

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment dropped below 1 million last week for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak took hold in the U.S. five months ago, but layoffs are still running extraordinarily high. The figures show that the crisis continues to throw people out of work just as the…

  • The questions that come with the end of Summer

    The questions that come with the end of Summer

    Contributed by Columnist Tina Specht As summer is coming to an end and things are trying to get back to normal I am having a weird vibe about it all.   Well, for one, it has been extremely hot and I don’t see an end to summer anytime soon and the normal life we are all…

  • Sarah “Sally” McRae Fox

    Sarah “Sally” McRae Fox

    The Reverend Sarah McRae Fox was born on November 25, 1939, in Ferriday, Louisiana. She died in Shreveport, Louisiana, on August 9, 2020, following a brief illness. She was surrounded by the love of her children, Patrick, Sarah, Emily, and her daughter-in-law, Cherie. She is rejoicing at the reunion with her son, Jim, who met…

  • Troy W. Ballard

    Troy W. Ballard

    Funeral services for Troy W. Ballard will be held Thursday, August 13, 2020 at 2 p.m. at West Lake Baptist Church in Doyline, Louisiana with Rev. Mike Sanders officiating. Interment will follow at Point Chapel Cemetery in Doyline under the direction of Rose-Neath Funeral Home in Minden, Louisiana. The family will receive friends at West…

  • In-person registration being offered for many Webster Parish Schools Friday

    In-person registration being offered for many Webster Parish Schools Friday

    Many schools in the Webster Parish School System will soon be offering times for parents/guardians to register their child for the 20/21 school year in person. While schools are still encouraging everyone who can to register online, these times are being made available for those who are having difficulties/concerns doing so.  To maximize social distancing…

  • Kennedy urges FDIC to stop companies from taking advantage of legal loophole during pandemic

    Kennedy urges FDIC to stop companies from taking advantage of legal loophole during pandemic

    Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today wrote to the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Jelena McWilliams, urging her not to allow industrial loan companies (ILCs) to take advantage of a loophole in the Bank Holding Company Act during the coronavirus pandemic. The loophole allows ILCs to circumvent supervision by the Federal Reserve and…

  • Louisiana uncertain about Trump’s unemployment aid order

    Louisiana uncertain about Trump’s unemployment aid order

    BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards said Tuesday he hasn’t determined how Louisiana will be able to tap into President Donald Trump’s partial extension of federal unemployment aid, and the governor called on Congress to enact a longer-term fix for those forced out of jobs by the coronavirus pandemic. Congress approved $600…