Louisiana
Louisiana is a state in the Deep South region of the South Central United States. It is the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. Louisiana is bordered by the state of Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south. A large part of its eastern boundary is demarcated by the Mississippi River. Louisiana is the only U. S. state with political subdivisions termed parishes. The state's capital is Baton Rouge, its largest city is New Orleans. Much of the state's lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp; these contain a rich southern biota. There are many species of tree frogs, fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a natural process in the landscape, has produced extensive areas of longleaf pine forest and wet savannas; these support an exceptionally large number of plant species, including many species of terrestrial orchids and carnivorous plants.
Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other southern state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized, four that have not received recognition. Some Louisiana urban environments have a multicultural, multilingual heritage, being so influenced by a mixture of 18th-century French, Spanish, Native American, African cultures that they are considered to be exceptional in the US. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, present-day Louisiana State had been both a French colony and for a brief period a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century. Many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa. In the post-Civil War environment, Anglo-Americans increased the pressure for Anglicization, in 1921, English was for a time made the sole language of instruction in Louisiana schools before a policy of multilingualism was revived in 1974. There has never been an official language in Louisiana, the state constitution enumerates "the right of the people to preserve and promote their respective historic and cultural origins."
Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715. When René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane; the suffix -ana is a Latin suffix that can refer to "information relating to a particular individual, subject, or place." Thus Louis + ana carries the idea of "related to Louis." Once part of the French Colonial Empire, the Louisiana Territory stretched from present-day Mobile Bay to just north of the present-day Canada–United States border, including a small part of what is now the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Gulf of Mexico did not exist 250 million years ago when there was but one supercontinent, Pangea; as Pangea split apart, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened. Louisiana developed, over millions of years, from water into land, from north to south; the oldest rocks are exposed in areas such as the Kisatchie National Forest. The oldest rocks date back to the early Cenozoic Era, some 60 million years ago.
The history of the formation of these rocks can be found in D. Spearing's Roadside Geology of Louisiana; the youngest parts of the state were formed during the last 12,000 years as successive deltas of the Mississippi River: the Maringouin, Teche, St. Bernard, the modern Mississippi, now the Atchafalaya; the sediments were carried from north to south by the Mississippi River. In between the Tertiary rocks of the north, the new sediments along the coast, is a vast belt known as the Pleistocene Terraces, their age and distribution can be related to the rise and fall of sea levels during past ice ages. In general, the northern terraces have had sufficient time for rivers to cut deep channels, while the newer terraces tend to be much flatter. Salt domes are found in Louisiana, their origin can be traced back to the early Gulf of Mexico, when the shallow ocean had high rates of evaporation. There are several hundred salt domes in the state. Salt domes are important not only as a source of salt. Louisiana is bordered to the west by Texas.
The state may properly be divided into two parts, the uplands of the north, the alluvial along the coast. The alluvial region includes low swamp lands, coastal marshlands and beaches, barrier islands that cover about 20,000 square miles; this area lies principally along the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River, which traverses the state from north to south for a distance of about 600 mi ) and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The breadth of the alluvial region along the Mississippi is from 10 to 60 miles, along the other rivers, the alluvial region averages about 10 miles across; the Mississippi River flows along a ridge formed by its own natural deposits, from which the lands decline toward a river beyond at an average fall of six feet per mile. The alluvial lands along other streams present similar features; the higher and contiguous hill lands of the north and northwestern part of the state have an area of more than 25,000 square miles. They consist of prairie and woodl
Greenwood, Louisiana
Greenwood is a town in southern Caddo Parish, located in the northwest corner of Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,219 at the 2010 census, up from 2,458 in 2000. Greenwood ranks as 3rd in population in Caddo Parish after Vivian. Part of the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area, it is located 15 miles west of downtown Shreveport. Greenwood is 165 miles east of Dallas and about 290 miles northwest of New Orleans. In 2006 Earnest Lampkins was elected as the first black mayor of Greenwood. Greenwood was established by European Americans in 1839 after the forced Indian Removal of the Caddo people to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. During the Civil War Battle of Mansfield in April 1864, Confederate wounded were treated at the historic Dunn House built in the 1840s, it is now located next to the Town Hall on Highway 80. Several other historic houses located in Greenwood, including the Trosper House, have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
As in the rest of Louisiana, most blacks were disenfranchised from the turn of the 20th century into the 1960s, the state was dominated by white Democrats. Caddo Parish Sheriff J. Howell Flournoy, who served a record 26 years in office from 1940–1966, was born in Greenwood in 1891 and was part of the political Flournoy dynasty. On March 3, 1964, Owen Dickson Adams of Greenwood and B. F. O'Neal, Jr. of Shreveport a state representative, were elected as Republicans to the Democratic-dominated Caddo Parish Commission. This was in a period of considerable cultural change. Blacks had been disenfranchised in Louisiana since the turn of the century, when passage of a new constitution included barriers to voter registration. White Democrats began to join the Republican Party. Adams served on the police jury until 1976, he was the only Republican in Caddo Parish that year to win an election. An engineer with Spectra Energy known as Texas Eastern, Adams relocated to Houston, Texas. On retirement, he returned to Greenwood and subsequently served twelve years as mayor and three terms on the city council.
He is interred at Forest Park West Cemetery in Shreveport. Earnest Lampkins, a native of Shreveport, had a career as a music educator, he taught music at all levels. He founded the Louisiana School of Professions. In 2004, Lampkins was elected as the first Black mayor of Greenwood, where he had long been active in the community. On December 30, 2006, Gerald Washington, elected as the first Black mayor of the small southwest town of Westlake, was found dead of a gunshot; the death was ruled a suicide, but his family and others believed it was a racially motivated murder. Less than two weeks Lampkins reported that shots were fired into his house. During his term, he continued to receive threats. Someone installed a “for sale” sign outside his house. Jordan Flaherty, Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six, Haymarket Books, 2010, p. 232</ref> Greenwood is located in western Caddo Parish at 32°26′10″N 93°57′50″W. Greenwood Road is the main route through the center of town. Interstate 20 passes through the northern part of the town, with access from exits 3 and 5.
Downtown Shreveport is 15 miles to the east, Waskom, Texas, is 6 miles to the west. Carthage, Texas, is 31 miles to the southwest down US 79. According to the United States Census Bureau, Greenwood has a total area of 9.0 square miles, of which 0.02 square miles, or 0.19%, is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 2,458 people, 964 households, 701 families residing in the town; the population density was 315.5 people per square mile. There were 1,036 housing units at an average density of 133.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 77.01% White, 20.63% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.79% of the population. There were 964 households out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.2% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older.
The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $40,408, the median income for a family was $52,955. Males had a median income of $38,750 versus $26,622 for females; the per capita income for the town was $19,374. About 9.3% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 20.9% of those age 65 or over. Town of Greenwood official website
Shreveport Regional Airport
Shreveport Regional Airport is a public use airport in Shreveport, United States. It is owned by the City of Shreveport and located four nautical miles southwest of its central business district; the airport's runways and terminal are visible to traffic along Interstate 20, a main east–west corridor of the Southern United States. Shreveport Regional was designed to replace the Shreveport Downtown Airport, which limited growth due to close proximity of the Red River; the airport had 281,447 passenger boardings in calendar year 2017. According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2007-2011, it is a primary commercial service airport; the FAA classifies Shreveport Regional Airport as a "Small Hub" airport. For the 2011-2012 calendar years, Shreveport Regional Airport ranked just under Mobile Regional Airport and Fort Wayne International Airport and just above Jackson Hole Airport and Yeager Airport in total enplanements. Shreveport was served by a number of airlines operating mainline jet service.
Delta Air Lines was a major player at the airport for many years as Shreveport was a "focus city" and mini-hub for this air carrier. According to the February 1, 1976, edition of the Official Airline Guide, Delta was operating thirty-three flights a day with Boeing 727-200 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jetliners from Shreveport; the December 15, 1979, Delta timetable lists ten daily direct, no change of plane and nonstop jet services to Atlanta as well as daily nonstop jet flights to Dallas/Fort Worth, Little Rock, Birmingham, AL, Jackson, MS, New Orleans, Baton Rouge. This Delta timetable lists one-stop, no change of plane direct jet service from Shreveport to New York–La Guardia Airport, Los Angeles, San Francisco, national Airport in Washington, D. C. Phoenix, Chicago, St. Louis. Delta operated Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jetliners from the airport as well. Northwest Airlines flew. Trans World Airlines served the airport as well with Douglas DC-9 jet service to St. Louis. Other airlines that served Shreveport included the original Braniff International flying British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets followed by Boeing 727-200 jetliners nonstop to New Orleans and Fort Smith, AR, direct to Kansas City, Tulsa and Minneapolis/St Paul.
The original Frontier Airlines served Shreveport and operated Boeing 737-200 jetliners nonstop to Dallas/Fort Worth with direct, one-stop service to Denver. In the late 1970s Texas International Airlines serviced Shreveport with daily flights between Dallas and Texarkana using Convair 600 aircraft. In years, American Airlines flew Boeing 727-200 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jet service nonstop to Dallas/Fort Worth while Continental Airlines operated Douglas DC-9 jets on nonstop flights to Houston. Now defunct Royale Airlines, a commuter airline, was based at the Shreveport Regional Airport from 1962 until 1989, it served 23 cities in Louisiana, Texas and Florida using Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante, Beechcraft Model 99, Short 330, Grumman Gulfstream I and de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops as well as Douglas DC-9-10 jetliners. Shreveport Regional Airport covers an area of 1,625 acres at an elevation of 258 feet above mean sea level, it has two asphalt paved runways: 14/32 is 8,351 by 200 feet and 6/24 is 6,202 by 150 feet.
The airport is located off Hollywood Avenue with easy access to Interstate 20. Much of the work on the location of the facility was conducted by Shreveport Public Works Commissioner H. Lane Mitchell, an engineer under whose jurisdiction the airport fell prior to implementation in 1978 of the mayor-council city charter. In 2009, the airport opened a $30 million cargo terminal, which serves as an anchor for the Aero Park Industrial Park. Cargo tenants include United Parcel Service, FedEx, Integrated Airline Solutions, USA Jet, Empire Airlines; the renovated terminal now features wireless access and a restaurant between the two security checkpoints. The airport is an alternate destination for American Airlines flights that cannot land at Dallas-Fort Worth Int'l and United Airlines that cannot land at Houston Intercontinental Airport due to bad weather. In June 2017, regional feeder ExpressJet Airlines closed their Shreveport based Embraer regional jet aircraft maintenance hangar. In 2018, Western Global Airlines created a consolidated maintenance center at Shreveport Regional to serve its growing fleet of 16 Boeing 747 and McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 aircraft.
The airline moved into the former Expressjet facilities. The airline cited Shreveport's central location as the reason for the airport being selected; the facility took in its first Boeing 747 on August 17, 2018. Shreveport Regional Airport was awarded the "2009 Louisiana Airport of the Year." It is Shreveport's third time winning the award. Most airline services from Shreveport are flown with regional jet aircraft with the exception of flights operated by Allegiant Air which are operated with Airbus A320 Family jetliners and Delta Air Lines with Boeing 717-200 jets; this Delta mainline nonstop jet service to Atlanta became effective on July 2, 2014 and marked the return of such mainline flights from the Shreveport Regional Airport operated by the airline. Delta Connection flies nonstop to Atlanta as well with Canadair CRJ-200 and CRJ-900 regional jets on behalf of Delta. On Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, American Eagle operating on behalf of American Airlines began flying two daily nonstop flig
Ark-La-Tex
The Ark-La-Tex region is a U. S. socio-economic region where the 4 states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma abut. The region contains portions of Northwest Louisiana, Northeast Texas, South Arkansas, the Little Dixie area of Oklahoma; the largest city and center of the region is Shreveport, Louisiana. Other major cities in the Ark-La-Tex include Tyler, Longview, Marshall and Texarkana. Most of the Ark-La-Tex is located in the Piney Woods, an ecoregion of dense forests of mixed deciduous and conifer flora; the forests are periodically punctuated by sloughs and bayous that are linked to larger bodies of water such as Caddo Lake or the Red River. The Ark-La-Tex covers 46,500 square miles with an estimated 2010 population of 1,043,570. According to one source, the name "Ark-La-Tex" was first promoted for the region by a Shreveport Chamber of Commerce campaign in 1932-33. List of cities over 2,500 people: The culture of the Ark-La-Tex region, its music, shows a mixture of influences from the related, but distinct, cultures of its surrounding states.
The music of the area is marked by country and blues sounds typical of the music of the Southern United States, the Western music of Texas, the well-documented music of New Orleans and Acadiana in Louisiana. The area had a significant role in the development of country and rock and roll music beginning in the 1940s. On March 1, 1948, Shreveport radio station KWKH launched a country music variety show called the Ark-La-Tex Jubilee, followed a month by the long-running and influential Louisiana Hayride program. Hayride director Horace Logan and regular performer Webb Pierce started a music publishing company called Ark-La-Tex Music. Drummer Brian Blade, a Shreveport native, included a song entitled "Ark. La. Tex." On his 2014 album Landmarks, exploring the mixture of musical influences in his home region. KLTV - Tyler KYTX - Nacogdoches KFXK - Longview KCEB - Longview KETK - Jacksonville KTRE - Lufkin KTAL - Texarkana/Shreveport KMSS - Shreveport KSHV - Shreveport KPXJ - Shreveport KSLA - Shreveport KTBS - Shreveport KLTS-Shreveport AETN - Arkadelphia/El Dorado KTVE - El Dorado 99.7 KMJJ-FM-The BIG Station 93.7 KXKS-FM—KISS Country 95.7 KLKL-FM—The Greatest Hits of All Time 97.3 KQHN-FM—Q97.3 98.1 KTAL-FM—98Rocks
Caddo Magnet High School
Caddo Parish Magnet High School is located in Shreveport, Louisiana at 1601 Viking Drive. Caddo Magnet was founded by its first principal, Ascension Smith; the school colors are gold and red, the mascot is a Mustang. The current principal is Mr. Michael Ilgenfritz; the assistant principals include Dr. Cedric Ellis, Schannon Lanclos, Sheryl Thomas. Caddo Magnet won the Academic Decathlon contest for Louisiana each year since 1983; this is the longest streak of any school in the nation, the longest in the history of the competition. Caddo Magnet students have traveled to Los Angeles, CA, their Debate team has won numerous state and national awards, competed in over 12,000 debates, received over 1250 trophies and more than 200 sweepstakes awards at tournaments all over the United States. In 1997, seniors Andy Ryan and Kamal Ghali won the Tournament of Champions, the national championship of high school policy debate. In 2000, juniors Sameer Asher and Nermin Ghali placed 3rd. Students participating in varsity and lifetime sports have won district competitions and advanced to the state levels.
During the 2007-2008 season of High School Varsity soccer, the Caddo Magnet boys won the State Championship and were ranked as high as #2 in the nation by NSCAA. This is the first time, since 1996, that a North Louisiana boys soccer team has won state. Over 2300 people showed up for the game, played in Shreveport, they beat Woodlawn 2-1. Their coach, Radi Baltov was named the Louisiana Boys Soccer Coach of the Year in 2008, he continues to coach at Magnet today. To be admitted to Caddo Magnet, students must: Have a 2.5 grade point average at the time of application. Have a score on the most recent school-administered nationally standardized test showing the reading level at the 50th percentile or better. Have 95% or better school attendance. Have maintained a good discipline record. Express high motivation and interest toward excellence in the academics or the arts. Have parental/guardian consent and support. Have taken and passed the English/Language Arts and Math components of LEAP 21. In order to remain in good standing at Caddo Magnet, students must: Maintain a cumulative 2.5 grade point average.
Conform to behavior standards set by the Caddo Parish School Board and Caddo Magnet High School. Archery Cross Country/Track Fencing Golf Gymnastics Lacrosse—Ladies' Lacrosse—Men's Soccer—Ladies' Soccer—Men's Softball Swimming Tennis Caddo Parish Schools District 1-5A Caddo Magnet High School
Louisiana State University Shreveport
Louisiana State University Shreveport is a public university in Shreveport, United States. It is part of the Louisiana State University System; the school's athletic programs, nicknamed the Pilots, are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Red River Athletic Conference. A two-year college, LSUS has expanded into a university with 21 undergraduate degree programs, a dozen master's degree programs, more a Doctorate of Education in Leadership Studies. LSUS offers more than 70 extra-curricular organizations and operates Red River Radio, a public radio network based in Shreveport. In September 1967, Louisiana State University Shreveport opened its doors as a two-year commuter college with an enrollment of 807 students under the direction of Dean Donald Shipp; the campaign to establish a branch of Louisiana State University in Shreveport began in 1936 when the Caddo Parish Police Jury passed a resolution for the school with the support of Frank Fulco and several civic organizations including the Queensborough Civic Club.
However, when Louisiana State Senator Roscoe Cranor presented the formal request to Governor Richard Leche in 1937, he rejected the proposal. Another nineteen years would past before State Representative Frank Fulco introduce a bill to the Louisiana House in 1956 to, yet again, establish a branch of LSU in Shreveport, it failed in committee, forcing Representative Fulco to introduce a resolution calling for a feasibility study by the State Department of Education to determine the need for a state college in Shreveport. This time, the resolution passes, it revealed that not only was a public college needed in Shreveport but that the citizens of the area desired it, invigorating debate among various Louisiana state legislators, universities, civic clubs, and, of course, private citizens over its necessity and fiscality. The debate concluded in 1964 with the introduction of House Bill 87. Co-authored by Representative Algie Brown, it passed in both the House and Senate and signed into law by Governor John J. McKeithen on June 27, 1967, under Act No 41.
By 1965, the LSU Board of Supervisors formally had established LSUS as an integral division of Louisiana State University and appoints Dr. Donald Shipp as the first Dean of LSUS. Dr. Shipp establishes a base of operations at the old Line Avenue School with Dr. A. J. Howell as the business manager and Mrs. Fabia Thomas as the Registrar and hires the original core faculty; the Line Avenue School remained the center location for the students and staff until the completed construction of the three-story Science Building and a two-story Library on the new campus grounds located off Hwy 1 in Southeast Shreveport in 1967. Soon after classes began that September in 1967, a push for a four-year status for LSUS ensues by the Student Government Association and Circle K Club of LSUS along with other prominent members of Shreveport. Louisiana State Senator Don Williamson of Caddo Parish heard their calls and became the lead author of Senate Bill No. 16 for a four-year degree granting status for LSUS supported by State Senators Jackson B. Davis and C.
Kay Carter and an onslaught of State Representatives. William "Bill" Bronson, publisher of the Shreveport Times and Vice Chairman of the Coordinating Council for Higher Education, uses his powers of persuasion and both The Times and The Monroe Morning World to endorse the four-year bill for LSUS. However, surrounding colleges, fearing the loss of student enrollment to a state four-year degree-granting university, staunchly opposed LSUS becoming a four-year school. In fact, the opposition sought to kill the bill by securing the opinion of the Attorney General, stating approval of the proposal would require a two-thirds vote rather than a simple majority. Additionally, an amendment attached to the bill prohibited the construction of dormitories on the Shreveport campus. However, the supporters of the bill agreed to the change, Governor Edwin Edwards signed the bill into law June 22, 1972, under Act No. 66. Shortly afterward, the Louisiana Council for Higher Education authorized four major academic divisions and 39 degree programs for LSUS.
By the fall of 1973, Dean Shipp is promoted to Chancellor, LSUS institutes its third academic year and its senior year in the fall of 1974. On May 15, 1975, LSUS held its first commencement at the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport conferring degrees on 223 students 40 years after the initial effort of Frank Fulco to establish a branch of LSU in Shreveport. On May 5, 1978, the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Regents for the State of Louisiana unanimously adopted the motion for LSUS to offer graduate studies for the Master of Education in Secondary Education catapulting LSUS and the Shreveport area into the graduate consortium. Just a year the same committee approved the graduate studies for the Master of Business Administration at LSUS, by 2016, LSUS would have an additional ten graduate programs. After 13 years of attempting to bring a doctoral program to LSUS, the approval by the Board of Regents for the State of Louisiana on May 22, 2013, the Doctor of Education in Leadership Studies became a reality.
"This degree will give area educators and other organizational leaders an opportunity to obtain an advanced practice degree that can equip them to develop and sustain best practices while building the capacity of others," said Dr. Ruth Ray Jackson, Chair of the Department of Education. However, one more step remained in
LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport is an academic center for medicine and medical research, located in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System, it was established as the Louisiana State University School of Medicine at Shreveport in 1966. G. E. Ghali was named Chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport in October of 2016. Since 2016, the LSU medical school in Shreveport has grappled with financial troubles. LSU President F. King Alexander said that the troubles date to 2013, when the private Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana assumed control of the teaching hospital as part of then-Governor Bobby Jindal's plan to privatize the state charity hospital system. Alexander said that the foundation has not paid hospital bills in full and provides insufficient funding to sustain the medical school. In October 2018, a 50/50 partnership between Ochsner and LSU Health Shreveport took over managing the operations, replacing the previous management.
Official website
