We have an amazing community. We see time and time again that when tragedy strikes, Bossier Parish comes together. The people of Bossier Parish care about one another. This is a proud parish.
Almost two weeks ago, we had yet another round of severe weather that hit Bossier in the early morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 11. The tornadoes and high winds produced by the storm caused severe damage both in the northern and southern parts of the parish. The storm tragically took three lives just in Bossier Parish alone. We had several days to prepare as a result of warnings and advisories from our local news sources, law enforcement and emergency preparedness officials. Even so, the powerful storm, the resulting damage and the loss of life still hit all of us by surprise.
The National Weather Service rated the tornado that struck the Davis Road area south of Haughton as an EF-2 with estimated winds of 135 mph. Tornadoes are somewhat rare this time of year, though we do sometimes experience them in December and January, such as the Dec. 3, 1978 tornado that stuck Bossier City in the early hours of the morning and killed one.
To me, this most recent storm brought back memories of the tornado that struck Bossier City and Haughton on Saturday, April 14, 2018. An EF-1 tornado traveled east out of Shreveport and damaged several homes and businesses in Bossier Parish, taking the life of a young girl between Bossier City and Haughton.
Mere words are ever enough to adequately express the magnitude of these types of tragedies. All we can do as a community is to come together, pray, comfort the families, and comfort one another.
And come together, Bossier does. When this community is afflicted by a tragedy, it rises to the challenge. That Bossier Parish pride shines through and folks come together for the cause,.
We have seen some bad things happen over the years. That’s when God wants us to join together, reach out to others, and remain faithful. This is a great place to live, work and raise a family. Look at what examples were set by our Sheriff’s Office, the Bossier City Police Department, Bossier Parish Police Jury, and countless other agencies and municipal officials during the days following the storms. These dedicated professionals are always there to protect us and to meet our needs, Our community is so very blessed to have such dedicated, compassionate, caring and knowledgable law enforcement and emergency response professionals.
Events such as these have a way of making a community stronger. And folks, that’s what I love so much about Bossier Parish. The people of Bossier Parish are always ready to answer the call, do whatever needs to be done, and come out the other side more resilient than before.
Randy Brown is publisher of the Bossier Press-Tribune. He can be reached at rbrown@bossierpress.com
