Central City News

Before young Daniel Wesley risked his wife to try to save April Beck this past Sunday, four Central men had become well known in their community for remarkable acts of courage that lives. Here are their stories: HOMER WISE Homer Wise grew up off Joor Road in Central during the Depression.  His family was poor […]

When William Dearman opened Dearman’s Drug Store in 1960 in what was then the Twin Cedars Shopping Center, he specialized in the personal touch. For 40 years, customers, their children, and their grandchildren came to know Mr. Dearman and his staff for their service and friendly advice. In 1960, a lot of drugstores still had […]

Former Central Police Chief Doug Browning, 73, died Tuesday after a bout with leukemia.  After 34 years in the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, where he rose to the rank of captain, Browning was appointed in 2005 as the first police chief of the new City of Central.  He won election to the post shortly […]

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News Do smells bring back memories to you? Every spring when we cut the grass for the first time, the memories lood back to me. Sometimes I pick up a handful of freshly-cut grass and hold it to my nose. I’ve even been known to lay face down in […]

Was the 1955 Istrouma High football team the greatest in Louisiana history?  As long as football is played in this state, that will be debated. Louisiana has only had one Heisman Trophy winner — Billy Cannon — and he starred on the 1955 team, which went undefeated and won the State Championship. 2015 is the […]

More than 150 local residents gathered at Historic Magnolia Cemetery Saturday, Aug. 1 for the 32nd Annual Commemorative Ceremony of the Battle of Baton Rouge on Aug. 5, 1862.  Much of the fighting occurred around the cemetery. The event, which is sponsored by the Foundation for Historical Louisiana and BREC, featured Union and Confederate re-enactors […]

Istrouma High School graduates are breathing a sigh of relief as they learn that their beloved mascot, Chief Nawaganti, has been saved from destruction, restored to his former glory, and installed in a safe public place — the Baton Rouge Room of the new Main Library on Goodwood Boulevard. Istrouma was the largest high school […]

*Interpretive Ranger at Port Hudson State Historic Site The story of the 9th Battalion Louisiana Infantry begins at the capitol building on January 26, 1861, the day that fateful, irrevocable decision was made when Louisiana severed it’s connections with the United States. By a vote of 113 to 17 the convention declared Louisiana to be […]

Louisiana’s top quarterback of 2008 and 2009 was Central’s Will Briscoe, whose extraordinary performance gained national attention.  Briscoe was 1st team All-State as a junior in 2008 and the Advocate’s All-Metro MVP. But in 2009, Briscoe had an even more impressive year.  He guided Central to the State 5A Regional Championship and was responsible for […]

In an interview with the Central City News, Central High head football coach Sid Edwards reminisced about the decade since the City of Central incorporated on July 11, 2005. It has been a great decade for Central High football, he said, as he recalled some of the most memorable games.  When asked to rank the […]