Columns

Rams silenced by the NFL’s version of Hannibal Lector

Gris-Gris. Voodoo. Black Magic. Most New Orleans Saints fans will say this is the reason why the Los Angeles Rams choked in the biggest game of their lives when they fell 13-3 to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII.

The Marks Post: Bourbon, beads, and football

For the first time in 12 years, the New Orleans Saints host the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs. I was there the last time both teams matched up against each other in the postseason in 2007, but the story of how I got there begins about a year or so before then.

Public Notices Threatened

Print newspapers are still the primary way that tens of millions of Americans receive information about their communities and the world. They are also the way that many people find out about job opportunities.

West’s World: Support Democracy, subscribe

Former Ville Platte Gazette editor, Paul Kedinger, once described a community’s newspaper as “history-in-the-making.” He said it was “a recorder of the present, a critical examiner of the past, and a trained eye on the future.

The Marks Post: Swish responsibly

Americans went to the polls Tuesday, and I had a first hand view of this part of the democratic process as I was once again working as an election commissioner at the Lincoln Road Fire Station. Since it was a federal election, the polls here in Louisiana opened at 6:00 a.m.

The Marks Post: Finding God in live television

It probably is no secret from reading several of my past columns that I have been going to silent Jesuit retreats in Grand Coteau for the past several years. One of the main components of Ignatian Spirituality that is stressed at these retreats, like it was stressed by St.

The Marks Post: Just around the corner

If there is anything that I have learned over my 15 months here at The Ville Platte Gazette, it is that the best columns allow the readers to get a glimpse into the lives of the writer to get to know the person better.

Interesting changes abound for SEC football programs

With the start of the 2018 football season just around the corner, the Southeastern Conference is facing a dramatic change in its landscape. Six SEC teams will have new blood at the helm this year and changes in several coordiantor positions will provide some very interesting story lines to follow.

Small business column: Teet’s Food Store

In nearly every small town, there’s a local business everyone knows and loves. Those “mom and pop” establishments that your parents went to and their parents before them. For the people of Ville Platte, that small business is Teet’s Food Store.

The Marks Post: Holy Ghost writer

I’m truly humbled for taking home the awards for Best Feature Story and Best Single Editorial at this weekend’s Louisiana Press Association awards presentation. If I would have given an acceptance speech, this is what I was going to say.