Bossier City planning 2025 citywide street improvements
Plus: Bossier City man arrested for possession of thousands of child pornography images. Another Arctic blast on the way.
Bossier City weather — Today: Areas of frost this morning. Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. Tonight: Mostly clear. Areas of frost after midnight. Cold with lows in the lower 30s. Thursday: Areas of frost in the morning. Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 60s.
Beyond Bossier
Bossier City planning 2025 citywide street improvements
An annual project dedicated to street improvements in Bossier City is underway. Bids were opened at Tuesday's City Council meeting for a portion of the road upgrades.
"The street program has been a yearly effort closely coordinated with collaborative efforts between the Administration and Council," city engineer Ben Rauschenbach tells BossierNow. "A few years back, we saw a need for additional focus and resources on the street program to help expedite completion of the program annually."
Rauschenbach said that planning for the 2025 program is underway.
"I am pulling numbers together. Annually, the City invests approximately $3 to $4 million in street rehabilitation," he added. "The bids opened today were just one component of this program. Public Works, for example, coordinates approximately $1 million in miscellaneous capital street and drainage improvements throughout the city."
How are streets and sidewalks identified for repairs? Council members nominate locations.
"I keep a running list of repairs as I constantly ride my district and send them to the city engineer," District 3's Don Williams tells BossierNow. "Between '24 and '25 the city has spent approximately $7 million. This amount also includes Airline Drive and Brownlee Road that needed a lot of of work."
In other business Tuesday, the council:
Adopted an ordinance to enlarge the city limits of Bossier City by annexing approximately 6.5 acres adjacent to the current city limits west of Barksdale Boulevard and south of Curtis Elementary School for a South Bossier location of the North Caddo Medical Center.
And approved an additional raise for the City Marshal. Following the citywide employee $500 per month raises instituted in November, the new salary of the Chief Deputy Marshal exceeded the salary of the City Marshal. Louisiana law mandates that no employee of the City Marshal shall have a salary exceeding the pay of the Marshal. The council approved $7,300.00 to adjust the Marshal's salary and benefits.
Bossier City man arrested for possession of thousands of child pornography images
On January 7, 2025, an Internet Crimes Against Children investigation led Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office detectives to execute a search warrant at a home in the 4000 block of Glen Street in Bossier City.
A forensic download of electronic devices on scene resulted in the recovery of 2,364 images and videos of child sexual assault. The suspected contraband was sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, where a total of 822 known victims were identified.
A warrant was obtained for Johnny E. Gilstrap Jr., and he was arrested on January 13, 2025, on 2,364 counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. Gilstrap was booked into the Bossier Parish Maximum Facility with a $500,000.00 bond.
Detectives with the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office continue to investigate cases of child sexual abuse in conjunction with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office and teams from ICAC and NCMEC.
This case is still under investigation.
All persons named or shown are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Another Arctic blast on the way
The National Weather Service is wrangling another difficult forecast for next Monday through Wednesday. The complication: another Arctic air mass is on the way.
A massive upper-level trough will start moving south into northwest Louisiana Friday into Saturday, and this will drive a strong Arctic cold front into and through the area late Friday night into early Saturday. We will likely see some isolated showers Friday afternoon with coverage and intensities growing as activity shifts gradually east of the area Friday night.
Behind the front and showers, an Arctic air mass will gradually build in behind gusty north winds. Friday's high temperatures under partly cloudy skies could still be in the mild 60s.
Winds should continue to blow Saturday night, with temperatures dropping into the lower
20s by daybreak Sunday. Wind chills will be 5 to 10 degrees colder than absolute temps Saturday night into early Sunday, owing to the brisk north winds.
The chilly air mass will continue to build in, with north winds continuing Sunday through Monday morning. Lows likely ranging in the teens to lower 20s may require Cold Weather Advisories starting Sunday night. As clouds increase, temperatures will struggle to climb above freezing areawide on Monday.
This finally leads into the wintry precipitation window from around Monday night through Wednesday. Snowy precipitation could develop along I-20 by Monday night and/or Tuesday. The air mass, as it looks right now, should be cold enough to support snow as the primary precipitation type, and the cold ground should generally support accumulation.
"This wintry weather potential is still in the range of six to eight days away and it is generally foolhardy to try to pinpoint details at this range," the NWS says.
Bossier City free time calendar
Live music in Bossier City and other notable events in the area for your free time consideration. If you would like to add an event to the Bossier City free time calendar, send the details to email@bossiernow.com.
January 17: Trace Adkins in the Paradise Theater at the Margaritaville Hotel and Casino
January 17: 18: Kicker Monster Truck Show at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.
January 25: Jeff Dunham at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.
January 31: Brooks & Dunn's Kix Brooks returns to his hometown of Shreveport with many of his talented friends for a concert night unlike any other at the Louisiana Grandstand. The concert benefits the non-profit "Hope On The Inside". The early 6:30 pm show is sold out but a late 9:30 pm show has been added.
February 6: Harlem Globetrotters at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.
February 8: Bulls, Bands & Barrels at the Brookshire Grocery Arena
February 15: Priscilla Block in the Paradise Theater at the Margaritaville Hotel and Casino
March 1: Winter Jam 2025 featuring Skillet, Anne Wilson, KB, Colton Dixon, NewSong, Micah Tyler, speaker Zane Black and more at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.
March 1: Muscadine Bloodline in the Paradise Theater at the Margaritaville Hotel and Casino
March 8: Justin Moore and special guest Austin Michael in the Riverdome at the Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City.
March 28: Frank Foster in the Paradise Theater at the Margaritaville Hotel and Casino
April 4: Martin Lawrence at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.
April 4: Larry Fleet in the Paradise Theater at the Margaritaville Hotel and Casino
April 25: The 17th Annual Shreveport Blues Festival with performances by: Tucka, King George, Pokey Bear, Marcellus The Singer, J-Wonn, West Love, and TK Soul at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.
May 6: Bonnie Raitt at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium.
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