Union Black Heritage Festival coming up The 31st Annual Union Black Heritage festivities kick off Friday with the annual Black Heritage banquet, 6:30 p.m. at the Willie Davis, Jr. Recreation Center, 116 Cox Ferry Rd. in Farmerville.The annual Black Heritage Festival will occur the following weekend, Feb. 16-17 at the courthouse parking lot in Farmerville.Banquet tickets are $35 per person …

From news serivces reportsState officials are continuing discussions of a possible $2.5 billion sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, a non-profit health insurer used by nearly half of the state’s residents, to a much larger for-profit insurer based in Indiana.A legislative committee held a nearly eight-hour meeting Monday to consider the proposed sale of Blue Cross and …

Tombstones in Farmerville’s historic cemetery that were damaged last year when high winds felled a large oak tree are being restored thanks to the efforts of Kilpatrick Funeral Homes. Mayor John Crow said he reached out to Kilpatrick’s for advice on how to restore the damaged markers, some of which are 150 years old, and the funeral home’s Jerry Roark …

By Luke BrittEditorThe Union Parish Police Jury fired Public Works Director Tommy Durrett during its regular monthly meeting Tuesday.The vote to remove Durret came after a meeting of the jury’s personnel committee earlier in the day produced a recommendation that the director be terminated for “poor performance.” The jury did not disclose a specific reason for Durret’s firing during the …

Elmer Fernon “Bo” Craighead passed away on Friday, February 2nd, 2024, surrounded by his loving family. He was born on May 6th, 1935, in Start, LA, but became an icon of his Union Parish home. The first of 4 children born of William Joel “Buster” and Doshie Lee Kyle Craighead. Bo worked and played in many ventures during his long …

Mrs. Clinton was born on April 14, 1927, and passed away on January 31, 2024.  She is preceded in death by her husband, William David Clinton, Jr.; her parents, William Broadus and Mildred Smith Taylor; and her sister, Doris Lane Taylor Dupuy.  Mrs. Clinton was an active member of the Farmerville Methodist Church, where she was a regular attendee at …

Glynn HarrisGlynn Harris is a long-time outdoor writer from North Louisiana and has won more than 50 writing and broadcasting awards during his 47 year career. BLACK BAYOU – The water is rising and a few crappie are showing up around the trees on shiners and jigs. No report on bass. Contact Honey Hole Tackle Shop 323-8707 for latest information.BUSSEY …

Growing up in the country, there were sights and sounds I became accustomed to never thinking these would ever fade from the landscape. There were birds we took for granted, birds that have seemed to fade away over the years. Glynn HarrisGlynn Harris is a long-time outdoor writer from North Louisiana and has won more than 50 writing and broadcasting …

When I first took over as insurance commissioner in 1991, things were really in a mess. Regulation by the Louisiana insurance department was nonexistent. I shut down 40 insurance companies that were broke and never should have been licensed in the first place. I couldn’t imagine things being any worse. Well, I was wrong. Jim BrownJim Brown is a former …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. The world is in a perilous place. Not since the end of Desert Storm has the world been in such a state of war; a state that threatens to expand and grow to a world wide conflict. Already we …