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Feliciana Explorer • Tuesday, July 15, 2014 • Vol. 4, No. 28 • Published Weekly • Circulation 17,000 • felicianaexplorer.com • © 2014

EXPLOREREXPLORERFeliciana

Proud to be the Felicianas' only locally owned, managed, and staffed newspaper.

See FREEDOM on page 8

See BAILEY on page 3

Freedom is Worth the Price You are Willing to Pay for ItPart 4: Rafael Nowicki Arrives In AmericaBy James Ronald skains

Author’s Note: The following is part four of a four-part article as told in the words of Rafael Nowicki, who vividly describes his journey to freedom in the US. What a vivid reminder of what we as Americans have to be thankful for as we cel-ebrate our country’s independence.

“As our plane, packed with Pol-ish immigrants passed over the Stat-ue of Liberty in New York heading for a landing at JFK, I took out a cigar and lit it up to celebrate finally

making it to America,’’ Rafael No-wicki told the Feliciana Explorer.

“The stewardess immediately told me to put out the cigar, which I did, but I was ecstatic about finally making it to America. It was a dream comes true for my dad and me. He was able to join me in America ten years later. My mother died at age 52 before I left Poland, so she never saw the wonders of America. How-ever, two of my sisters were able to come to America a few years after I made it.”

“The next day after landing in New York, I was also able to fulfill

another dream of mine, and that was to walk from one end of Broadway in New York City to the other end of Broadway, seeing all the sights along the way. I started downtown at the river walking all the way through Manhattan to the end of Broadway, which didn’t look to be the best part of New York City. In fact, I saw a few groups of people who made me think they were gang members and I was their candidate.”

I was in New York for only a short period of time before I made it over to New Jersey where I worked

as a front desk clerk in a motel,” Rafael recalled. “After a couple of months of that kind of work and other odds and ends jobs, I decided to call my friend, Daniel Myers in California whom I had met in the Youth Hostel in Vienna.”

“As soon as I called my friend Daniel Myers in California, he in-vited me out to Los Angles to meet his family,” Rafael related. “He has an awesome family. We had a great time in Southern California seeing all the sights, including Disneyland

Rep. Havard Gets Bailey’s Law EnactedBy James Ronald skains

Bailey Durham was born on May 5, 1993. For the first four months of her life, Bailey was the normal in-fant. However, something went ter-ribly wrong with an immunization that threw the infant Bailey into a very rare neurological syndrome known as Ponto Cerebellar Hypo Plasia (PCHP).

“We began to see a few signs of problems at the five month mark,” Jason Durham, Bailey’s father, told the Feliciana EXPLORER. “She was not showing normal signs of child development.

At the eight-month mark, which was in early December of 1993, we began regular doctor visits. After ex-hausting all avenues of tests by pe-diatricians, we began seeing medical specialists just before she marked her first birthday.”

“When the verdict of the test veri-fied her medical condition was Ponto Cerebellar Hypo Plasia, Bailey wasn’t given much chance to live past the age of two or three years, maximum. There are only about 30 known cas- Representative Kenny Havard and Jason Durham

standing behind Bailey Durham in the wheelchair.

es of PCHP. That prognosis was 20 years ago. During those 20 years, I’ve been her primary care giver. Bailey is non-verbal and non-ambula-tory meaning she has to have 24/7 care. Her development as a child stopped at age 4 months.”

Last December, a LA Law went into effect that prohibit Bailey’s dad from administering medication to his daughter. The Law that went into effect in December 2013 required a Registered Nurse to administer medi-cation to patients similar to Bailey who is cared for by parents or family members.

“I didn’t think it was a fair law,” Durham explained. “Why enforce the require-ment that an RN has to do something I could do, or any caregiver could do with a little training? I’m Bailey’s dad so I felt like I not only knew how to care for her, but also knew how Bailey liked

to be taken care of.”“I began to talk with other people

who had similar situations and to people who were advocates for peo-ple with Developmental Disabilities. Most of the people I talked with felt as I did. Why should the State pay an RN to administer medication that a trained family member or caregiver could do. I talked with Kathy Kli-ebert who is the Secretary of Depart-ment of Health and Hospitals. She was both sympathetic and support-ive of my position.”

“We talked about different ways to remedy the situation for families facing similar medical situations as the one I had with Bailey,” Durham related. “It was the consensus with everyone that was supportive of the solution that I was proposing, that we had to get legislative action to remedy the situation.”

“When Jason first came to me, I could understand his dilemma,” State Representative Kenny Havard of Jackson told the Explorer. “As I did my research and came into con-

2 Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Business

West Feliciana Parish Hospital Urges Residents to Come Home to HealMany residents of the Felici-

ana’s and surrounding areas are unaware that our community hospital, West Feliciana Parish Hospital, offers services beyond the ER. This local facility has a team of healthcare providers that are here to serve your health and wellness goals through in-patient physical rehabilitation and in-pa-tient skilled care. At West Feli-ciana Parish Hospital the highly skilled St. Francis rehabilitation therapists work with all patients

to help them return to their previ-ous level of functioning prior to their illness or injury.

If you or a family member has recently had a hospitalization or is currently in the hospital for: orthopedic surgery (hip fractures, joint replacements, recent trauma) or a neurological disorder (stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsonism) then you may qualify for in-patient rehabilitation therapy.

WFPH in-patient skilled care

services offer a variety of support features including:

• Patient-centered care in a small hospital setting

• Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy

• Spacious, private-rooms • One-on-one patient and

family education sessions• Complete discharge plan-

ning by Licensed Master Social Worker

WFPH services provided at the skilled level include:

• Therapy by St. Francis Re-hab group: physical, occupational and speech therapy

• Wound Care• IV Antibiotics, central line

care• 24 hour skilled nursing ser-

vices For an evaluation and more in-

formation please contact our nurse: Christie Stone, RN at 504-415-5552 or stonec@wfph.org

Rotary Club of St. Francisville Installs New Officers

The Rotary Club of St Francisville gathered on June 24th at the The Bluffs to celebrate the 20th Anniversary and Installation of Officers. The Event included the Installation of the 2014-2015 Officers, Recognition of Charter Members and Past Presidents. Dorcas Brown, Charter Member and Past President gave a presentation of the history of the Club and the impact it has had to the St Francisville community. There were 8 of the 34 charter members and 11 past presidents in attendance. Also attending the installation was Jay Brown of the Baker Club who served as District Governor in 1996, Francis Nezianya of the Zachary Club, who has been selected as the Governor of Rotary District 6200 for 2016, and Ginger Vann, who currently serves as the As-sistant Governor for our region. Rotary District 6200 includes 49 Rotary Clubs. The Rotary Club of St Francisville currently has 65 members. The Rotary Club Motto is “Service above Self”, which provides the motivation from the 19 service projects that the Club is currently involved in. The Projects include involvement in raising donations for the St. Francisville Food Bank, Junior Achievement, Scholarships for graduating Seniors, Recognition of Teachers of the Year, Supporting fundraising for Veterans, providing Dictionary to 3rd Graders, Keep St. Francisville Beautiful, and 2 international Projects. Pictured left: 2014-2015 Rotary Club of St Francisville Officers From Left David Norwood, Sgt at Arms, Dorcas Brown, Administration, Program, Chris Johnson, Past President, Cole Thornton, Community Service, Kevin Dreher, President Elect, David Treppendahl, President, C.B. Owen, Treasurer, Olton Scott, At Large Director, Wanda Davis, Vice President, Bill Pitre, Foundation Chair, Dare Didier, Public Relations Chair, Bryan McClendon, Membership Chair, Not Pictured: Glenna Fallen, Secretary. Pictured right: Distinguished guest Jay Brown of the Baker Club who served as District Governor in 1996, Ginger Vann, who currently serves as the Assistant Governor of the Region, David Treppen-dahl, 2014-2015 President of Rotary Club of St Francisville, Not Pictured: Francis Nezianya of the Zachary Club, who has been selected as the Governor of Rotary District 6200 for 2016.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014 3

BAILEY continued from page 1

Email stories and photos to info@felicianaexplorer.com

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tact with more and more people who were caregivers to people with De-velopmental Disabilities, the harder I worked to find a legislative remedy in favor of the families.”

The result of Havard and Dur-ham’s efforts was House Bill 186 Act # 507 in the 2014 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature. Act #507 amended the law that went into ef-fect in 2013 that required medication to people meeting long-term disabil-ities be administered only by an RN.

In essence, House Bill 185 Act # 507 exempts certain gratuitous care provided by friends or members of the individual’s family from the RN medication provision of the previ-ous law. Persons such as Jason Dur-ham are referred to in law as “direct service workers.” The Havard Bill, which has been officially named the “Bailey Law”, deletes the require-ment that individuals being serviced by “direct services workers” be able to self-direct” the services they re-ceive such as shots and medication.

Direct Services workers are re-quired by law to receive specific training as to the services they are providing to someone with Develop-ment Disabilities. The Havard law also has provisions for family mem-bers who care for elderly to fully take care of the elderly in matters of administering medications.

“This bill, without focusing on the condition of Bailey and other people with similar medical condi-tions, was a piece of legislation that really made me feel good being a State Representative and really help-

ing someone,” Ha-vard emphasized. “I feel like this bill has truly helped a num-ber of people trying to cope with medical conditions of family members similar to what Jason has faced for 20 plus years.”

“I’ve become very involved in Advocacy Groups for people with de-velopment issues and handicapped,” Durham pointed out. “I’ve been be-fore the LA Legis-lature so much they have started calling me “The DADVO-CATE”. I am very thankful for Repre-sentative Havard’s work on behalf of Bailey and other people who suffer from developmental disabilities.”

“I think Bailey’s case shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that just one person, even if they are not in posi-tion to understand what is going on around them, can make a positive difference in other people’s lives. It is the love for my daughter and my faith in God that has kept me going all these years. Bailey has been a true blessing for me. It was a no-brainer for me being inspired by Bailey to become a “DADVOCATE.”

Writer’s note: After 20 years of

even living in a condition thought impossible by medical experts, the non-verbal and non-ambulatory Bailey is slipping fast according to current medical prognosis. Durham is a 10-year employee of PACTEC. PACTEC has allowed Durham to move his office to his home in order to better care for Bailey.

Bailey Durham’s dad, and Dadvocate Jason Durham Standing behind Bailey Durham in her wheelchair as Governor Bobby Jindal kneels to talk with Bailey.

4 Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Before

After

Independence Day Fun in the FelicianasBy PatRica stallman

Photos By maRilyn Goff and BuBBy Jackson

Lewis Savoie, volunteer orga-nizer of the Clinton Lions Club Red, White, and Blue Festival, reports a “safe, fun, and successful” event. The patriotic Fourth of July program, which honored veterans of the armed services, brought together Stephanie Lesley and Major Doug Thomas, who met for the first time on the Fourth in Clinton. Lesley, Savoie notes, “was born shortly after her father, a he-licopter pilot in the Gulf War, died while on a mission protecting a U.S. warship in the Persian Gulf. She grew up not knowing the details of his he-roic death.” Thomas filled in those details, and “there wasn’t a dry eye” in the audience, Savoie says. The or-ganizing committee then followed that emotional meeting with the fire-works presentation.

Savoie says that the Lions Club program, which took place from 8 a.m. to midnight on both July 4 and 5, was “all about the Felicianas.” Twen-ty-one people and groups, he says, made up the planning committees and subcommittees, including repre-sentatives of East Feliciana Tourism, the Town of St. Francisville, and the Bluff Creek Fire Department. Beth Dawson and the Daughters of the American Revolution also contribut-ed: the group performed a retirement of colors ceremony, Linda Dupui sang “God Bless America, and Mi-chela Wells sang the national anthem.

The Lions Club group, now made up of 80 volunteers, will remain to-gether, and will in fact meet this

Tuesday, July 15, to choose a new chairman and begin working on next year’s celebration.

Covering this year’s event were five major news media, Savoie says, including Channel 9, Channel 2, The Advocate (three times), and WYNK Radio.

The celebration, which charged an entry fee of two dollars, counted 5,000 visitors over the two days and far exceeded any revenue-generating goals the group had set. That money, Savoie says, will go to support local veterans groups.

Savoie chaired this year’s event in the spirit of his father, he says, who spearheaded similar celebrations in Assumption Parish “and taught us to volunteer for our communities.”

Present for the Red, White, and Blue Festival’s opening ceremony are, front row, from left: Louisiana 6th Congressional District Candidate Garrett Graves; East and West Feliciana Parish District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla; event organizer Lewis Savoie; designer of the winning Red, White, and Blue poster Dr. Michelle Loupe; East Felici-ana Parish Assistant District Attorney and 20th Judicial District Judgeship Candidate Betsy Jones; 20th Judicial District Judgeship Candidate Sydney Picou Walker; and East Feliciana Parish Sheriff Talmadge Bunch. In back are: Terrence Lockett, representing U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu; Louisiana 6th Congressional District Candidate Craig McCullough; East Feliciana Parish Clerk of Court David Dart; East Feliciana Parish Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr.; Louisiana State Representative Kenny Havard; U.S. Senator David Vitter; Louisiana State Senator Rick Ward; and East Feliciana Parish Police Jury President Louis Kent, Juror Dennis Aucoin, and Vice President Larry Beauchamp.

Dr. Michelle Loupe designed the winning Red, White, and Blue poster.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014 5

Community Celebrates Our Nations Birth

Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Stirling chapter and local Boy Scouts prepare to conduct a retirement of the colors ceremony during the Fourth of July Lions Club celebration in Clinton.

DAR representatives prepare the damaged and worn flags for retirement.

DAR Representative Beth Dawson, standing, left, and East Feliciana Parish Clerk of Court David Dart, right, listen to the story of Stephanie Lesley, seated, right, and Major Doug Thomas, who met for the first time at the Clinton Lions Club celebration. Thomas filled in details about the death of Lesley’s father, a helicopter pilot who died in an heroic mission during the Gulf War.

Dennis and Rachel Aucoin greet Chrissie O’Quinn and Gary.

6 Tuesday, July 15, 2014

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Feeding Those in Need: East Feliciana Parish Police Jury Meets July 7 in ClintonBy PatRicia stallman

On the East Feliciana Parish Police Jury agenda Monday night, July 7, was Vrenda Reading, who was present with her husband John and fellow volunteer Jimmy Rog-ers. All three serve the Woodland Community Center north of Clin-ton, which feeds 1,200 souls each month. Some, Vrenda Reading says, are homeless, a few live in barns, and several families have lost their homes through fires. They’re “burned out,” Reading says, a phrase that does not describe these volunteers who have worked to provide food from the Baton Rouge Food Bank for at least the last ten years, continuing a decades-long tradition.

“We exist solely for the purpose of feeding the poor,” Reading told the jury, though she noted that her volunteers also provide clothing, in partnership with the West Feliciana Parish Clothes Closet.

In the past, the Police Jury pro-vided its van and East Feliciana Parish prisoners on work detail with the parish to pick up the food in Baton Rouge. Parish Manager J. R. Rouchon, however, says that the Reverend James Mack “and the four prisoners are not on the payroll for that.” Several jurors explained that while Woodland Community Center is a not-for-profit 501c en-deavor, it is a private organization.

Rogers pleaded with the jurors, “If they (the prisoners) can pick up the food, we can bag it. We’re serving a lot of people who’ve got nothing.”

At that point, Reading asked the jury to hire her for $1 a year so that

she could drive the van to Baton Rouge.

District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla told the jurors that one option is to “change the policy so that it’s okay to help them. You’ve been doing it 30 years.”

Parish officials explain that the change in policy came soon after the parish informed Rouchon--who is at times unable to drive due to a physical problem--that his wife, who is not a parish employee, could no longer drive him in a parish ve-

hicle. Rouchon, the official said, had added his wife to the parish insurance policy without the ju-rors’ knowledge. The morning after the parish instructed Rouchon that his wife could not drive the par-ish vehicle, Rouchon determined that Woodland Community Center could no longer partner with the parish to transport food from the Baton Rouge Food Pantry.

Juror Edward Brooks advised, “Sell the van to them for $1.”

Juror Chris Hall advised refer-

ring the matter to the personnel committee, and Juror Jason Mc-Cray seconded the motion.

In the past, parish officials say, East Feliciana rented Ryder trucks and sent four men to pick up not only the food in Baton Rouge but State commodities as well. Further, employees report that at the parish health unit next door to the East Fe-liciana police jury offices, a person who is not a parish employee has been driving a parish truck that the parish bought for him to conduct building permit sewer inspections.

Rouchon, who was attending the Police Jurors Association meeting in New Orleans, emailed The Ex-plorer in response to a request for clarification of his position. The decision regarding Woodland’s use of the parish van, he wrote, “had nothing to do with whether my wife is allowed to drive or not. The Jury passed a policy that no non-employee will drive Jury vehicles. Until it changes the policy, I plan to enforce it across the board. I resent the statement about my wife.” He continued that neither his wife nor his “personal feelings” play any part “in how I enforce the policies the Jury passes. They will be fairly and evenly enforced.”

On a brighter note, Jim Park-er volunteered to drive to Baton Rouge for the Woodland center one of the four pickup days each month. Parker, representing the Demo-cratic Parish Executive Commit-tee, was present to announce that former Governor Edwin Edwards will be the guest speaker at its July 29 meeting, Jackson Civic Center, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Jackson.

Always taking a positive stance, Woodland Community Center Volunteer Director Vrenda Reading discusses, with D.A. Sam D’Aquilla, the recent food collection setback. Reading says she is confident that the center and the parish police jury will find a way to continue their decades-long collaboration. Photograph by Patricia Stallman.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014 7

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It was in Eureka, California where I met my wife to be, Glenda Jackson, originally from Liberty, Mississippi,” Rafael fondly re-called. “Glenda was working as a respiratory therapist.”

“Glenda and I have one child, a girl, whom we named after my mother, Sophie,” Rafael noted. “Glenda and I lived in northern California for several years before we moved to Louisiana so Glenda could be closer to her mother. My dad, Wiktor, had successfully im-migrated to America and joined us in northern California. That was in 1989, he was 65 years old.”

“When we decided to move to Louisiana and ultimately Zachary, my dad made the trip with me in a U-Haul truck. He was first amazed that in the United States, you could just pick up and decided to move thousands of miles without getting permission from the “authorities.” Secondly, it was beyond my dad’s comprehension of how large the United States really was as we trav-eled for days getting to Louisiana.”

“My dad is now 90 years old. We have been in the USA for 25 years together, which in itself is hard for us to comprehend. He was born in 1924 in Wroclaw, Poland near Bressler, which was a staging area for the German military in WWII. How my dad was able to evade the draft during WWII or conscription by the Germans for the duration of

the war, I’ll never understand.”“My dad is a crafty individual

who had some education even back in the WWII era and could speak a few different languages,” Ra-fael pointed out. “He was able to survive those years in my opinion because of his language skills. He translated important documents and articles that were in English and German into the native language.”

After arriving in Zachary, Ra-fael spent nine years as Director of Facilities at Lane Regional Hospi-tal. After his tenure at Lane, Ra-fael formed Bio-Medical Support, Inc. Bio-Medical Support Services, Inc. (BMSS) provides technical and other support services for over 200 smaller rural hospitals in the USA. BMSS has 14 vehicles on the road at the present time.

“When I look back at my months on the run, a criminal in the eyes of the Polish authorities, a man on the run with no country, and the jobs I worked to survive, I know in my heart it was a small price to pay to live in America,” Rafael ac-knowledged. “For so many years, I only had my dream of coming to America and my faith in God to hold onto.”

“America and Americans have been very good to me. America is the greatest country ever. To sur-vive the financial crisis of 2008 and at the same time help prop up the world economy says to me how great America truly is. The months on the run, especially in England and then the trip to Vienna behind the Iron Curtain and the first few days in Vienna, were really scary. But looking back after having expe-rienced living in America, those ex-periences were just a small price to pay to live in the land of the free.”

Writer’s comment: I don’t think there is anything to add to Rafael’s story but to say, “Thanks to the Great God and amen!”