Congressman John Fleming has pledged to work toward finding funding for the construction of a new Leesville High School.
Fleming met with Vernon Parish Superintendent Jackie Self, Brig. Gen. James Yarbrough and members of the Vernon Parish School Board Monday afternoon to discuss the construction of a new Leesville High School facility.

 Friends and fellow soldiers of Sgt. Ricky D. Jones honored his life and service during a memorial ceremony here June 26.
Jones, 26, a native of Plantersville, Ala., served as Range Control and Reenlistment NCO for the 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. He was killed June 21 in an early morning indirect fire attack on Bagram Air Field.

United States Congressman John Fleming believes our country is in peril, he told members of the Greater Vernon Parish Chamber of Commerce at a lunchtime question and answer session Monday.

The draw down of Vernon Lake has enticed some out onto the spillway and levee, despite signs that warn against the trespass, said Arno Arpke, chairman of the Vernon Parish Game and Fish Commission.

LifeShare Blood Centers of Alexandria will be hosting two blood drives later this week in preparation for the July Fourth holiday.
The drives will be held from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Thursday, July 2 at Byrd Regional Hospital and from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Friday at Wal-Mart.
Healthy people who are 17 or older and weigh at least 110 pounds are being asked to donate blood.

In Vernon Parish a Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party will be held on the lawn of the Historic Courthouse in downtown historic Leesville Saturday, July 4, Independence Day, at noon.
The event is being hosted by Angelle Lord of Leesville and will include activities for all ages.

 An Independence Day celebration is set for July 4 at 5 p.m. on Headquarters Field here.
Headlining the show is country artist Clint Black, whose performance will begin at 8 p.m.

Staying cool during the heat of summer takes hard work, or a drive to Anacoco Lake. These kids spent part of Thursday taking a break from the heat by swimming in the cool waters.

The Northwestern State University Leesville-Fort Polk Freshman Connection will be on Wednesday, July 15, from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.  The fee is $35, payable by check at the Leesville campus by Tuesday, July 14.

Saturday morning, two Pitkin residents were killed in a two-vehicle crash.
Lucinda Williamson, 27 and Joseph Musselwhite, 31, both of Pitkin, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident on La. Hwy. 463 in the Pitkin area.

Drivers who refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test may be facing stricter penalties upon the approval of Governor Bobby Jindal.
Louisiana lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and Senate have agreed to stiffen the penalties for drivers who refuse the breath test after they have been stopped on a suspicion of drunken driving, but Representative James Armes says that even this new bill has diminished from what was first passed by the House.

Leesville Police officers arrested three women and two men on June 19 after responding to a call from a patron at the Days Inn in Leesville who said he'd been robbed at gunpoint.
The victim told officers that all five suspects had entered his room with a gun and took items belonging to him before going back to their own room at the same hotel.

The highly anticipated opening of the Leesville City Pool is projected for around the first of July, said City Administrator DeLain Prewitt. The pool will be open noon until 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and from 1-5 p.m. Sundays. For $3 swimmers will receive a wrist band and will be able to swim all day. Two lifeguards will be on duty along with the City Pool Manager daily, and a concession stand will open daily. The complex can be reserved, after hours, for private events. Charges for private rental will depend on the number of swimmers.

As temperatures continue to rise, reaching near-record levels, many residents may have begun to worry, unnecessarily, about high electric bills.
A state rule, instituted in 2007, prohibits utility companies from cutting off the utilities of customers when the heat index is 105 degrees or hotter, but customers will still have to pay their bills.