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Clear evidence: God is faithful

When my wife and I bought our house in 2012, we knew it was perfect for our family of five.

Four bedrooms all on one floor, a twocar garage, and plenty of yard for our kids to run, play and explore. At the time, we didn’t realize that we were also gaining what we affectionately call the “Asher Nature Preserve.”

Over the years, our yard has provided a consistent joy of discovering different animals, birds and other creatures that share our land. We have enjoyed watching redtailed hawks, squirrels, raccoons, rabbits and deer as they have foraged for food on our property.

Yellow Brick Road cast performs

The Yellow Brick Road cast closed out Thursday’s final show of the Young Performers Edition of Ruston Community Theatres’ “The Wizard of Oz” at the Dixie Center for the Arts. Pictured from left to right above, The Cowardly Lion (Raulstin Cox), Dorothy (Chloe Alexander) and the Scarecrow (Cole Morganthall) perform a dance routine. Pictured below from left to right are Dorothy, Toto (Abigail Ligon), Glinda the Good Witch (Lisa Claire Milan) and the Wicked Witch of the East (Rosie Schultz) perform a scene.

Couple celebrates 50 years

Rolly and Johnnie Lou Walker, of Ruston, are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday, June 22, with a family dinner. The Walkers are the parents of Matt Walker, Scott Walker and Whitney Chandler and the grandparents of Alyssa Walker, Austin Walker, Gabriel Walker, Collins Walker, Caroline Chandler and Carter Chandler. Rolly and Johnnie Lou Walker were married June 21, 1969.

Johnson, Mitchell celebrate wedding

Tatum Alexandra Johnson and Matthew Christopher Mitchell, both of Ruston, were married in a double ring ceremony at 6:30 p.m., May 25, 2019, at Temple Baptist Church, officiated by the Rev. Dale Oden.

The bride is the daughter of Bernie and Terri Johnson of Ruston. She is the granddaughter of the late Ardis and Ernestine Tatum and the late Carsol and Lucille Johnson.

The groom is the son of John and Brenda Mc-Gee of Dubach and Glen and Sharla Mitchell of Ruston. He is the grandson of the late Barbary and Betty Dufour and the late Laska and Ruth Mitchell.

How to maintain your lifestyle in retirement

You may have heard the rule of thumb that you need to replace about 80% of your preretirement income if you want to maintain your current lifestyle when you retire. But like many rules of thumb, that advice is much too general for most people, said Herbert Poole CFP® CRC®, Retirement Development Consultant for Wells Fargo Advisors. To help ensure that you can actually live as comfortably in retirement as you do now, Poole said you need to identify what your desired lifestyle costs. Next, you’ll need a saving and investing strategy that matches your income needs.

Transform your emergency fund into an opportunity account

Question: I’ve got about three month’s living expenses in a bank account. It kills me to have all that money in a place that pays me exactly zero interest. Is there a problem with putting this money in a mutual fund?

Answer: Yes, that would be a problem in my view.

Any mutual fund that would earn more than a bank account is going to be invested in securities that can fluctuate significantly in the short term. If you need to use the funds in this account for an emergency, and the account is down 20% or 30%, you now have two emergencies.

Smart financial moves for ‘gig’ economy workers

Not that long ago, most people worked for some type of an organization, such as a business or the government or a school district. But today, more and more workers are going their own way and joining what’s known as the “gig” economy. If you will be one of them, you’ll want to make the right moves to advance your financial goals in what can be a challenging work environment.

Wood ducks could use a little help finding housing

When I was growing up and we grabbed shotguns and headed out in winter to the slough to duck hunt, our quarry was wood ducks. Why? They comprised about 99% of the ducks that lived in my part of the country; we seldom saw any other species.

Tech’s Archibald relishes experience in Greece

Amorie Archibald wasn’t too crazy about the Greek food, aside from the best salad he ever had, or the traffic in Greece with speedy taxis that wrote the book on improper lane usage.

However, everything else was amply described as amazing, beautiful and unforgettable as the Louisiana Tech guard recently returned from his fiveday trip to Athens while playing for the 2019 USA East Coast Basketball team.

Former RHS duo headed to NSU Hall

A pair of former standout Ruston High School defensive backs, Mike Green and Kenny Wright, will be honored in October when they’re inducted into Northwestern State University’s N-Club Hall of Fame in October.

Former Louisiana Tech University hoops starter and longtime Northwestern State head men’s basketball coach Mike McConathy, Louisiana’s all-time winningest college hoops coach, is also a member of NSU’s N-Club Hall of Fame induction class for 2019.