If you are a local or passing through Texarkana looking to embark on a new journey full of rich, spicy flavors, tasty food, and culture, then you must stop at the Blue Water Bayou restaurant. I had the opportunity to visit the restaurant and I must say this is the best New Orleans/creole-style restaurant in Texarkana. They offer your classic southern style greens and macaroni & cheese, much like Madea used to make. They also offer infusions; Infusions are done by taking a menu item and adding various meats, vegetables, or sauces to liven up the dish. My personal favorite infusion is lobster macaroni. His creole roots can be tasted throughout his signature dishes such as stuffed creole turkey legs, stuffed potatoes, and of course their classic gumbo. They also offer a wide variety of food including salads and vegetable plates for those who are trying to watch the waistline.  

After a long deliberation, I decided to order creole spaghetti, panee chicken, crawfish etouffee, creole pasta, and fried gizzards. Of course, I had to pair them with my favorite sides, yams and macaroni & cheese. While waiting for our food, the waiter was fast, friendly, and polite. Our appetizer came out in less than 7 minutes and the rest of the food arrived within 20 minutes. The portions were hardy, and the dishes had a delicate presentation. 

For starters, we had fried gizzards, a classic southern cuisine. These deep-fried golden nuggets had the perfect crunch. They were fresh, hot, and seasoned to perfection. Every bite was juicy and tender. These were paired with a spicy remoulade cream sauce. This dish was simple and delicious. 

Up next, for our entrée we had the panee chicken, creole spaghetti, creole pasta, and crawfish étouffée. The panee chicken was unbelievably moist, juicy, tender, and well-seasoned. The fried chicken breast was smothered in a smooth, rich, creamy gumbo-based gravy. This is called their secrete gravy. This dish takes the classic smothered chicken to the next level. Up next, we had the creole spaghetti. This dish was bursting with flavors and was full of tender juicy beef, sausage links, meatballs, and fresh peppers. It also had a creole tomato base sauce with plenty of spice that had a wonderful savory kick. I would recommend this dish to anyone. Next, we had the creole pasta. It had a delicious, creole, creamy pepper sauce paired with tender shrimp, blackened chicken, and crawfish. This dish was seasoned with in-house seasoning. This dish is a must try. Finally, the famous crawfish étouffée arrived. This is a classical elegant dish that starts off as a roux, the holy trinity (bell pepper, celery, and onions) is added along with the crawfish, and is served on a bed of rice. This dish was nothing short of amazing. The spices and flavors were extremely impressive. All the flavors in these dishes were true to their local roots, and you could taste it in all the food. I highly recommend this food. It is heavy on the classic New Orleans flavors that complement the true authentic creole culture and experience. 

James Trent, the head chef, has been spicing things up in the kitchen for over 7 years. He has been serving southern creole cuisine in Texarkana for almost 2 years, one plate at a time. He said, “My passion for cooking stems from my culture and heritage. I learned from my grandma and other family cooks. My food is made with love, and I go in-depth with my flavors.” James and his son Kevin are the ultimate duo dedicated to providing high-quality, fresh New Orleans low-country cuisine with a twist. Low-country cuisine is popular in New Orleans. This cuisine combines southern soul food, seafood boils, and, of course, classic Creole cuisine.     

The restaurant is insanely delicious and is conveniently located near the heart of Texarkana, just minutes from downtown. I met up with a Texarkana local, Davon Fulton, and he referred to this place as a foodie’s paradise saying, “Everything here is delicious, when I have a taste for Creole food or something good, I come here to my Food Paradise.” When we arrived at the restaurant, we were greeted with a warm eclectic mural with a New Orleans Ambiance, and you can smell the amazing food before you enter the building. This restaurant offers a clean, comfortable, and welcoming atmosphere with a serenade of jazz music playing in the background. From the workers sparking a conversation, to the locals picking your brain to see what you have tried, you will feel at home. This hidden gem is a hole in the wall full of great conversations and great food! Chef James’ theme was simple saying, “My theme is cooking just like in grandma’s kitchen.” If you are in the mood for some excellent food, stop by and tell them Zuleika sent you. This is good eating, and you do not want to miss out! 

Blue Water Bayou is located at 720 Texas Blvd Texarkana Texas   

Hours of operation   Mon – Friday 11 am –7 pm   

With the recent shooing that was tied to the local Texas High School, many parents in the community began to worry about the safety of their children in high school and college. Although some of the concerns are gun safety in school andcrime on campus, what happens if something like this happened on our campus? How do we notify students of an emergency? Texas A&M University Texarkana hasn’t had an active shooting because of the rules set in place and the university police on campus.

Gun safety in school is becoming a big issue in America. A parent’s worst nightmare is to hear that there’s been a shooting at their child’s school. Gun violence has been affecting our schools in America for the past decade. A few examples of gut-wrenching school shootings are Sandy Hooks Elementary, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and Columbine the worst mass school shooting in history. The recent shooting tied to Texas High School makes many of the locals uncomfortable. Thankfully, Texas A&M University of Texarkana has notencountered this problem because of the strict rules set in place and the on-duty police officers on campus for our protection atall times.

After reviewing the crime on campus, the presence of UPD at Texas A&M University Texarkana has kept crime very low. This campus does a daily crime log not just the Clery Report,but an actual crime log that identifies the nature of the crime,location, date, and time. It also includes the time and date the crime was reported to TAMUT University Police Department. The daily crime log is located in the Central Plant in the University Police Department main office and it’s available for review by request.

If something like that happened on our campus. Texas A&M University Texarkana has an emergency management strategy in place to protect the lives and well-being of its students and staff. They deploy qualified university personnel in a timely and effective manner in the event of an emergency. The emergency management plan is designed to protect the lives of students, staff, and faculty by deploying trained university personnel who are trained in light search and rescue, First Aid, CPR, A.D., (automated external defibrillator) and fire extinguisher training in the event of an emergency

Texas A&M University provides University Police Departments on campus for the protection of the student’s staff and faculty. They also provide a private crime report online so anyone can report a crime or suspicion of a crime anonymously.  If you know someone who has a weapon on campus, pleasespeak up because you could save lives.

If a shooter is on the loose on campus, call 911 immediately. Texas A&M University Texarkana has severalmethods for quickly delivering information to the university. The institution employs rave mobile safety, which is an emergency notification system that allows it to instantly convey health and safety emergency information via phone, email, and text message. The community will be notified via webpages by the director of communications or a web design professional in the IT department. If there is an immediate threat to a student’s health or safety, Texas A&M will immediately alert the university’s community. This will ensure that the message reaches the whole student body in a matter of seconds. These are also the very things that prevent shootings from taking place on our campus. . This is a great system to implement so everyone can know what’s going on, they should have an escape plan or an active shooter drill for students. I asked some students what they are supposed to do if we had an active shooter on campus and many of them said they didn’t know or they run one student said they would fight them off. Although this is a safe school Many students need to be aware and trained on what to do if this ever happens on campus for the safety of our students.

Dionna is the state coordinator for the Black Votes Matter organization here in Texas. She is passionate about this movement and is currently here at Texas A&M University Texarkana to spread awareness and knowledge to the black community. She feels that this is very important and wants to bring this information to East Texas as a whole. Dionna sat down for a one-on-one interview where she shared how she found herself on this journey, how she got her role as a State Coordinator, and the goal/purpose of the Black Votes Matter movement. Dionna appears to be on the right track!

She starts off by sharing how she found herself on this journey saying, “There were several things that pulled me along the way.” She gives credit to a program called Upward Bound saying, “It’s a phenomenal program I had the privilege to join in the 10th grade. In this program, I was selected to join a service-learning trip in Jamaica where I was selected to build an elementary school. This is where I found my sense of purpose and developed a spirit of service. I also realized how grateful I should be for the things I have.” Another issue that impacted her was the killing of Travon Martin. Due to this tragic event, she was triggered to attend her first protest. She stated, “I went from rage to revolution.” Her plan started to form once she realized how to engage with the system, what was wrong with the system, and what instruments she had to offer to the movement. She put her plan into action so well that she became known as the Voter Registration Queen. This is what propelled her to start her service work in the black community. She started as a volunteer with nonprofit organizations, campaigns, and then she transitioned to field manager for Voter Registration Civic Education. These positions led her to where she is now, the State Coordinator of Texas.

Dionna has an important role as the State Coordinator of Texas. In addition to advocating for voting rights, she also helps with voter registration and getting out the vote. Black Votes Matter also builds power in the community by investing in community gardens, afterschool programs, grassroots organizations, and small business organizations. She helps these organizations by helping them develop strategies while funneling resources directly to them to help them do their work. Dionna explains her role as the State Coordinator saying, “The first thing I do is connect with the target areas in the community. We want to make sure that the folks that are most often forgotten know that they are heard and that we see them.” Connecting with community partners and engaging with people in the community that already do the work helps out those who are in need. This organization is focusing on giving people real power in the community. She strives on having conversations that are important to them. Dionna is the only one working for BVM in Texas so she is actively looking for young people who are passionate to join the organization so she can show her appreciation by giving them a position and paying them. She stated, “Folks are passionate but they need opportunities that can supply their basic needs and help them pay their bills.” As the State Coordinator of Texas, she said, “It’s important to really listen and to educate people on the current elections. We also need to make sure they understand the importance of engaging during every single election making sure they see themselves as leaders in the community, have resources, education, and networks to build what they envisioned for themselves.”

When asked what the purpose is of Black Votes Matter, she simply said, “Building within the community and building a narrative that reflects the community by engaging to understand what they are dealing with so we can understand their basic needs.” In addition to bringing awareness to voters, the organization is dedicated to making sure your votes count so they have partnered with the NAACP who gives out free Lyft and Uber codes to make sure you get to the voting polls. They have other partners that will help you register to get an identification card, birth certificate, and a social security card. Not only will they pay for it, but they will also pick you up for the appointment, make sure you get there on time, and walk you through the process. In addition, they also help you understand what’s on the ballots and voting guides so that you can start the process of becoming your own leader.

Dionna talks about her strategy to bring voters out. Saying, “When I first come to an area, I survey them. I ask them simple questions like, “How they have been? What are some of the things that are affecting them good and bad?” By having the conversation about their basic needs, they can be connected to direct relief.” The organizations’ goal is to help the community understand how to vote and the power of their vote. She said, “The goal isn’t to tell them who to vote for but to promote reasonable representation. You can’t elect a Democrat everywhere and you can’t elect a Republican everywhere but you can find people who are for the people that they are representing.” She mentions often times elected officials don’t live in the community so they may not be able to recognize the gaps. It’s important to find solutions and weigh that against those who have the authority to make the change. We have to empower them to become the leaders that we are giving our power up to!

Kevin Ells is a seasoned professor here at Texas A&M University of Texarkana. He has worked in many distinct fields of Mass Communication over the last decade. Professor Ells is passionate about his craft but focuses more so on helping others. During the interview, Professor Ells discusses how he found himself on this career path, the many diverse jobs you can get in Mass Communication, and some positive reinforcements on why you should pursue a Mass Communication major. 

Kevin Ells is an immigrant from Canada who made his way over to the United Stated in the 90’s to pursue his relationship saying, “I fell in love with an American.” When he finished graduate school, he got a job at the Toronto School Board.  His girlfriend, on the other hand, graduated and received a job at a university. Shortly after, he married his college sweetheart. Ells had a business degree but was always interested in writing. 

He talked about working in a small business management in university before taking a teaching training course for teaching English as a second language. This has turned into his line of work. By the time he moved to the United States, he was an experienced teacher teaching many schools and colleges in the United States. Later he chose to go back to a university to get his PHD where he transferred to Texas A&M University of Texarkana. 

Ells believes Mass Communication offers a wide range of potential with regard to career choices for majors. “If you have the basic skill set then one can adapt to any number of fields such a PR, advertising, graphic designs, broadcasting, journalism and event management,” he says.   He assures the readers that the median income chances are good in Mass Communication. “Some jobs have low job security and low pay. Other jobs have high pay, or a blend of both where you have an excellent job with great pay that could be meaningful.” Professor Ells gave positive reinforcement saying, “PR, strategic communication, event management, and corporate communications can be quite lucrative. Broadcasting and graphic communication also fit under the Mass Communication umbrella which is more creative and meaningful.” His biggest tip is to get your feet wet in a range of skills like audio, video, writing, and graphic design so you can get a taste of everything and get as many skills sets as you can because there are so many different forms of communication you can join. His final tip he shares is to focus more on what you love doing and not money. 

RaHeem Dixon is a student at Texas A&M University of Texarkana. Who is working towards a degree here at TAMUT with a passion for helping people and changing lives. He strongly believes a counselors position fits him best for his career path. Starting off strong in his second semester here, he says, “I am overcoming past experiences of procrastination and this change in my life will open the doors for better opportunities in the future and provide a stable job during COVID or any future hurdles.”

RaHeem has felt the hardships of COVID and has been affected in many ways while attending school here. Losing revenue and the unexpected halt on his small business has been the biggest hurdle he has faced so far. Showing resilience, he pressed forward and did not quit. He attributes his strong successful school year to the online classes, and grace from his professors. He is certain that TAMUT is the very best school to attend during these hard times. saying, “If it weren’t for the help of my teachers and online learning, I wouldn’t be as far as I am now.”

He spoke on the importance of wearing a mask on campus. “Protecting yourself and others is the right thing to do”, he says. He also talks about the issues of the vaccine as it should be your choice to get the shot or not. It’s your own personal health. He mentioned the early onsets of COVID and its effects. He also mentioned how stores had no tissue, limited water, and sometimes no meat. He hopes it never gets that bad again.