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Cyber Storm strikes

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Above, Louisiana Tech students John Chung (front left), Zach Rogers (front right), Martin Brock (back left) and Will Francis, part of the Babylonians team, focus on a challenge during the university’s annual day-long hack-a-thon, Cyber Storm. Pictured below, from left to right, Brady Anderson, Dan Munger and Sam Dominguez got into the spirit of their Cyber Storm team, the Romans, by donning ancient attire while competing in modern challenges. Watch for more information and the results of Cyber Storm during a Ruston Leader edition next week.

Boniol Bulldog Beginnings scholarships presented

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Tom and Cathi Cox Boniol proudly announce the winners of the second annual Boniol Bulldog Beginnings Scholarship.

Designed to award two $1,000 scholarship to graduates of the Lincoln Parish School District, one pursuing studies in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) field and another entering education, categories evaluated for the scholarship included GPA, ACT score, academic coursework, extracurricular participation, leadership positions, and service experiences.

Cougars’ Cuthbert earns P.E.O. scholarship

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The prestigious P.E.O. Scholarship, for the 2019-20 academic year, was presented to Olivia Cuthbert, a senior at Cedar Creek School.

The scholarship was presented at the Cedar Creek School Super Omnia Banquet at the Ruston Civic Center on May 14, 2019, by Chapter Representatives Mary-Belle Tuten and Julie Shrubb.

Olivia Cuthbert is the daughter of Christy and Shane Mabou and Jay Cuthbert and was recommended for this scholarship by Chapter AO of Ruston, Louisiana.

How does Social Security determine retirement benefit?

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Question: I have worked in the corporate world all my career. I’ve paid the maximum possible into Social Security most of that time. My wife, on the other hand, has been a teacher in a private school for her career. We both got our Social Security estimates online the other day and I could not believe how close they were. My income was multiples of hers, but she’s getting nearly half of what I’m getting. How does that work?

Answer: The deck is not exactly stacked in your favor.

Three tips for pursuing an active retirement

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Retirement today is active — a time to reinvent yourself, pursue your passions, or do the work that you find especially rewarding.

The freedom to do that requires careful planning, says Will Larson, Retirement Planning Strategist for Wells Fargo Advisors. Here, he provides his top three ideas to consider when it comes to preparing for active, fulfilling retirement years.

Time to ‘cycle’ through some investment ideas

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If you’ve noticed an increase in bicycle-related events lately, it may be because May is recognized as “Bike Month” — and some cities even observe a specific Bike Week. Of course, bicycling is good exercise and an environmentally friendly method of transportation, but it can also teach us some lessons about investing.

Here are a few to consider:

Memorial Day: Remember and celebrate

To many Americans, Memorial Day — the day we observe Monday —symbolizes the unofficial start of summer.

While it’s easy to think of Memorial Day as a weekend to fill with as much fun time as possible, it’s important to remember the holiday’s history is about honoring those who died in all of America’s wars.

Memorial Day grew out of the Civil War. By the late 1860s, cities and towns across the country had begun holding springtime tributes to fallen soldiers, often decorating their graves with flowers.

Ammunition gained in 'War of Food Label Dates'

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It’s a battle that has been waged between my wife and me many a time.

Let’s call it the “War of Food Label Dates.”

You see, my wife is more than willing to throw out food if the food label date is coming within weeks of its so-called expiration date.

And let’s stress “socalled.”

More than once I’ve walked into our kitchen to find our pantry emptied and all kinds of cans and boxes dumped into the trash before that “so-called” expiration date.

Parent-child relations have turned upside down

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Concerning major behavior problems, parents often tell me they’ve “tried everything.” In more than 40 years of doing this “parenting expert” gig, I’ve never run across a parent who was telling the truth about that. Since the 1960s, we’ve drifted so far away from a commonsense understanding of the fundamentals of child discipline that most parents have no concept of what “everything” can and in many cases should involve.

Pope urges foreign media to use power of press to seek truth

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis urged foreign correspondents last weekend to humbly use the power of the press to search for the truth and give voice to the voiceless, saying journalism is an important tool to counter the hatred, prejudice and fake news.

In an audience with the Foreign Press Association in Rome, Francis also urged journalists to not fall prey to sending click-bait headlines and half-reported stories, saying errors can not only misrepresent the truth but damage entire communities.