the jambalaya news - 02/21/13, vol. 4, no. 23

VOL. 4, NO. 23 / FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Stev

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Sam Harmison: Younger than his Years • Hospital Round-Up • Lake City Beat

FEBRUARY 21, 2013 Volume 4 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 21, 2013 PAGE 3Volume 4 • Issue 23

GENERAL715 Kirby St., Lake Charles, LA 70601Phone: 337-436-7800Fax: 337-990-0262www.thejambalayanews.com

PUBLISHERPhil de [email protected]

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CONTRIBUTORSKing AlexanderLeslie BermanGeorge ClineAngie Kay DilmoreBraylin JenkinsMike LouviereMike McHughMary Louise RuehrBrandon ShoumakerKarla Tullos

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SALES ASSOCIATESMichele ClackFaye DrakeAllen Garber

GRAPHICSART/PRODUCTION DIRECTORBurn RourkCONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERDanley Romero

BUSINESSOFFICE MANAGERKay Andrews

Legal DisclaimerThe views expressed by The Jambalaya News columnistsare their own and do not necessarily reflect the position ofThe Jambalaya News, its editors or staff.

The Jambalaya News is solely owned, published by TheJambalaya News, LLC, 715 Kirby Street, Lake CharlesLouisiana 70601. Phone (337) 436-7800. Whilst everyeffort was made to ensure the information in this maga-zine was correct at the time of going to press, the publish-ers cannot accept legal responsibility for any errors oromissions, nor can they accept responsibility of the stand-ing of advertisers nor by the editorial contributions. TheJambalaya News cannot be held responsible for the returnof unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations,even if they are sent to us accompanied by a self-addressed envelope. The views expressed do not necessar-ily reflect those of the publisher.

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February 21, 2013 • Volume 4 • Issue 23

COVER STORY20 Our Lady Queen of Heaven

School: A Celebration of Family and Friends

REGULARS13 Adoption Corner7 The Boiling Pot10 The Dang Yankee11 Tips from Tip24 Sports Report

FEATURES5 Sam Harmison:

Younger than his Years9 Hospital Roundup28 Opening Night at Dharma

ENTERTAINMENT26 Red Hot Books30 Funbolaya31 Family Night at the Movies!29 Lake City Beat!33 Society Spice36 Jambalaya Jam40 Local Jam42 Eclectic Company43 Killin’ Time Crossword

contents

We accept credit cards!

5

On Cover: Our Lady Queen of Heaven School: From left to right: Eric A. Sanders, DDS,Owen Thompson, Monsignor James Gaddy, Bryan Vincent, Mark Lundy

Photo: Steve Schindler Photography

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33 31

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It was Rhiannon’s WorldI was always a big dog kind of

guy. So when I met my future wifeand she told me she had a little dog,I wasn’t too happy. “Oh, no,” Ithought. “This could be bad.” Inever cared for yappy little dogs.She told me it was a black ScottishTerrier. I wasn’t excited to meet thisdog, but I faked it, hoping it wouldturn out okay.

I met Rhiannon about two weeksafter I met Lauren. She was so cute!We hit it off right from the start. Notonly did she not yap—she rarelybarked! She was ready for anything.Lauren told me how she liked to bechased around the couch, so I start-ed running after her and off shewent. Then she would stop and gotoward me so it was my turn to run.She was so funny!

I wondered what my dog Bearwould think of her. He was a big dogI got from the local rescue inProvidence. So one day, as we droveto Boston, I told him aboutRhiannon. I think his initial reactionwas the same as mine, but he also hidit well. He sat up straight in the pas-senger seat as if to say, “Let’s go, dad!”

Bear and Rhiannon becameinstant friends. Well, at least Bear lether think that. I’ll never forget thefirst night they spent together.Rhiannon stayed up all night staringat Bear, thinking he was there justfor her. She was thrilled.

The next morning, we went play-ing in the park. I would throw theball and Rhiannon and Bear wouldtake off running. Since Bear wasthree times as big as Rhiannon, healways got to the ball first, but after afew throws, he would stop and letRhiannon get it. She would comerunning and I would grab her andlift her high in the air saying “Goodgirl, Rhiannon! You beat Bear to theball! You are so fast!”

Rhiannon would always sleepnext to Bear. One night. I rememberwaking up and seeing Rhiannonpulling on Bear’s bandana, trying toplay. He looked up at me with thoseeyes as if to say “Dad. I’m trying tosleep. Tell her to stop.” But he alwayslet her play.

When Bear passed on about ayear later it broke all of our hearts.Rhiannon looked around for him fordays. I explained to her that he had

to leave us, but she would see himagain someday.

Rhiannon was always up foraction. I enjoyed buying and sellingcars, and I would often take her withme when I wanted to check out avehicle. She helped me buy and sellmany cars!

She also liked to help me finddeals at Lowe’s and Home Depot,both in New England and downhere. First, I would put her in thecart and we’d go flying around in theparking lot. It was a challenge forher to stay standing up and hangingon the front. But the more she fell,the faster she wanted me to go! Thenwe would go into the store pantingand looking for deals. All the Lowe’semployees loved her.

She made the move from Bostonto Louisiana with no problem, lovingthe two-and-a-half day journey, look-ing out the car window, runningdown the halls of the hotels we stayedin. It was another big adventure.

She was on the front page of theAmerican Press with us when wewere the subject of an article in the“Our Neighbors” section. She was inour commercials for our kitchen

design business, our clothing store,and our furniture store. She wouldalways encourage me to keep goingwhenever I got tired. I just think shewanted to be on more adventures!

A couple weeks ago, she sleptthrough most of the day. She wasover 100 years old in dog years. Shehad been through all the adven-tures she could handle, includingvisiting 16 states. She lived her lifeto the fullest!

On February 13, I picked her upfrom outside, brought her in, andwiped her down with a towel. Sheshook herself off, took a few stepsunder the kitchen table and laydown. An hour later she was gone.

God gives us these wonderfulcreatures to be loved and to love us.I only wish they could stay with usforever.

I miss you so much, Rhiannon.Thank you for all the fun, games,and your odd little personality.

Give Bear a big kiss for me anda little tug on his bandana. I willsee you again...when it’s time.

A Note From Phil

TJN– Phil de Albuquerque

Phil can be found all over town, and right now, he’s getting ready to go to the Lake Charles Civic Ballet’s Assemblé 2013!On his way, he’s hiding somewhere in The Jam. When you findthe Cartoon Phil, call 436-7800 ext. 110 and leave your fullname, phone number and tell us where Phil is for a chance to winA FAMILY PACK OF FOUR TICKETS to the matinee performance on MARCH 17 at the Rosa Hart Theater.

WINNER WILL BE DRAWN FEBRUARY 28.

Volume 4 • Issue 23 FEBRUARY 21, 2013 PAGE 5

Meeting Sam Harmison for thefirst time, it’s hard to believe that hewill celebrate his 97th birthday inMay. Sam looks to be 20 or so yearsyounger and acts like a man half hisage. He also could be a candidate forThe Reader’s Digest’s “MostUnforgettable Character.”

Harmison is a native of BerkleySprings, West Virginia. An early fami-ly picture shows Harmison in his dad’sband. He is easy to find. He is stand-ing in the front, the only band mem-ber wearing knickers. The youngtrumpet player looks to be about tenyears old.

When he was 17, he joined a 15-piece band and traveled on the EastCoast with them for five years, playingtrumpet. They played many venues,including some of the biggest hotels inthe largest cities. In 1931, they wereplaying in New York City and took anight off. The entire band went to thelegendary Cotton Club in Harlem.

“The Cotton Club was a uniqueplace, very popular at the time,” heremembered. “All of the entertainerswere black and the customers werewhite. The night we were there, CabCalloway was the headliner. When itcame time for him to go on, there wasa series of drum rolls, then things gotquiet. A spotlight came on andCalloway walked into the light. Hehad on a purple tuxedo! No one hadever seen anything like that; it was sounusual that it blew everyone away.The place went wild! It was one of thebest nights I’ve ever spent.”

INTO THE REAL WORLDAfter his tenure with the band,

Harmison’s first “real job” was withthe Firestone Corporation in Akron,Ohio in their accounting department.A woman who came in and out of hisoffice to do business thought that hehad some ability in an area other than

finance and offered to send him to aninterior decorating school in RhodeIsland. He went. “I freelanced withthe lady for a while and did two prettygood jobs,” he said. “We decorated ahome for Admiral Richard Byrd andanother for Senator Robert Byrd. Theywere interesting people to meet.”

But ultimately, he decided thatthe field was not for him.

So he went back to Firestone andbecame a store manager, marrying hiswife Jane in 1944. They would be mar-ried 64 years until her death in 2008.

“We lived in three states the firstfive years we were married,” he said.“They kept us on the move.” Hedecided to leave Firestone and becamea store manager at Western Auto. Butthat store caught fire and completelyburned.

“I was moved to Amarillo andthen to El Paso,” he continued. “Istayed there for 30 years. I wanted tostay in one place because we had twoboys and I did not to want to constant-ly move while they were growing up.”

Eventually, he became a furnitureand toy buyer for American FurnitureCompany, working his way up tonational sales manager for a companyheadquartered in Juarez, Mexico thatmade fiberglass furniture.

“I was over 42 sales reps in threestates and 17 counties in Texas alone,”Harmison said.

But there would be yet anotherchange in store for him. “One time,Jane and I had been on a vacation andwere driving home and she said, ‘whydon’t we open a store?’” he said. “Shehad been dealing with people thatwere dealers in home furnishings,paintings, collectables, and stuff likethat. We ended up opening two storesin El Paso.”

When their son Mike ended hisservice with the US Navy, he enteredthe banking business and becameestablished in Lake Charles. He sug-

gested that Sam and Jane sell out in ElPaso and move to Lake Charles. Theythought about his idea and decided tomake the move.

LAKE CHARLES AND THE PLUM TREEBut retirement was out of the

question. When they settled in LakeCharles, they opened The Plum Tree,which was one of the Cottage Stores.

“We sold a lot of different thingsin the Plum Tree,” Harmison remem-bered. “We had the fiberglass furni-

ture. It was the best outdoor furnitureavailable. It took very little mainte-nance; all you had to do was wash itoff with a hose. We sold the EdnaHibel plates and got to know her. Wewere able to import Guiseppe Armanifigurines. You can see a lot of what wesold in here today,” he added, gestur-ing around his living room. “We solda lot of fine collectable items.”

In their years of successfullyoperating the Plum Tree, theHarmisons received several awards for

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their business endeavors. Thingswere going well until Jane was diag-nosed with colon cancer. When herhealth declined, they sold the store.

“I decided we needed to sell thestore so that I could take care of her,”Harmison said. His wife lived twomore years with Sam by her side. Butbefore Jane’s death, Sam had takenanother hard blow when his sonSteve died unexpectedly.

STILL GOING STRONGHarmison shows very few signs

of his age. He may be as agile as he

was a few decades ago, but his mindis as active as it ever was. The abilityto converse on almost any subjectaccurately is still with him and thetwinkle is still in his eyes.

“Once you learn to be a sales-man, it never leaves you,” he saidwith a smile. “I thought a while back,I ought to look around and see whatI could find, but I decided that Idon’t have the stamina I had a fewdecades ago.”

He is content in his interestinghome, which houses an eclectic col-lection that ranges from the afore-

mentioned Hibel and Armani fig-urines to Civil War miniature fig-ures to an original poster from his1931 Cotton Club visit. He has twoOlympic posters, one from the

1894 and another from the1898 Olympics. “I

like theseOlympic

posters. Iwish I knew

someone whocould hook meup with some

more,” he said.On the wall

of his living areais a beautifulcharcoal draw-

ing of a tree with spread limbs andleaves, done in an oriental style. It’sthe most impressive thing in hishome.

“We wanted to cover the wallwith silk, but it was too expensive,”he said. “Jane said, ‘Get me a 69-centcharcoal stick and I’ll draw you atree.’ You know I got her that char-coal and she drew that tree in just alittle over an hour.” There is a “JH” inthe lower right corner.

A strong interest in history hasled Harmison to scrapbook. He has alarge collection of family memorabil-ia and pictures, along with two booksof archived newspaper clippings thatdate from 1916 to recent times. Theyinclude such events as the crash ofthe airship Akron in 1933 and anarticle about Gertrude Ederle swim-ming the English Channel in 1926,along with numerous articles aboutCharles Lindbergh’s 1927 solo flightacross the Atlantic Ocean and theMarch, 1932 kidnapping of his infantson. The subsequent trial and execu-tion of accused kidnapper BrunoHauptmann is also documented.

He has autographs fromFranklin Delano Roosevelt, DwightEisenhower, Zane Grey, and WillRogers. Among the signed letters andautographed pictures is a small letter

on blue paper. It was written byGeneral Thomas “Stonewall” Jacksonto General Robert E. Lee. To say thathis home is a museum is not an over-statement.

He still keeps busy. In his neigh-borhood, he is noted as the mailboxpainter, since he paints it the first ofevery month. Last month it was dec-orated for Mardi Gras; it is currentlyred for Valentine’s Day.

And thanks to two of his neigh-bors, he has discovered a sport helikes that has made an appearance inLake Charles: roller derby.

“My wife and I used to buy sea-son tickets to the derby when welived where there was a derby,” hesaid. “I’m glad to see it come to LakeCharles. It is a fun thing to go to.The thing about the derby here isthat they do it on flat concrete. Thegirls really take some hard falls. Thetwo girls that live next door are onthe team here and they took me tosome of the derbies. I really had agood time.”

Harmison still enjoys life to thefullest. He remembers the past, yetlives in the present, and most of hismemories are good ones. “I reallyhad a good time” accurately sumsup the interesting life of SamHarmison.TJN

Sam enjoys a recentbirthday

card.


The

BoilingP l

PROGRESSIVE WASTE SOLUTIONS EXPANDS LOCALSALES TEAM

Progressive Waste Solutions has expanded its localsales team with the addition of Jake Philmon as districtsales manager and sales representative Kevin “Davis”LaFleur. Philmon comes to Progressive Waste Solutionswith over 30 years of experience in the waste industry. Hisstrong sales background and knowledge of the waste dis-posal industry make him fundamental in reachingProgressive’s local goals of volume growth and superiorcustomer service in Lake Charles and the surrounding area.Formerly with JimBill Disposal, LaFleur joins theProgressive sales team with a strong sales record in wastedisposal sales. His experience also includes the many con-nections he has made from his 25 years as a radio personal-ity at local country station KYKZ 96. For more informa-tion, contact Progressive Waste Solutions Lake Charlesoffice at (337) 436-2161.

LSBDC HIRES BUSINESS CONSULTANTJames T. Jones has been named a business consultant with the Louisiana

Small Business Development Center at McNeese. Jones has 21 years of expe-rience in the banking industry, including work as a credit analyst, branch man-ager and business and commercial banker. He received his MBA from LSU inShreveport and his bachelor’s degree in business management from McNeese.Among his responsibilities are providing small business counseling, trainingand information services to owners or potential owners.

CVB HONOREDThe Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau

recently accepted the award for Outstanding CVB of the Year at the Lt.Governor’s Tourism Summit, held Jan. 22-24, as well as an award for havingthe best Tourism Campaign/Promotion of the Year. The bureau also won anaward for its National Tourism Week promotions for the TourismCampaign/Promotion of the Year category. For more information about theLake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau, visitwww.visitlakecharles.org.

WALLACE NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SEED CENTER Adrian L. Wallace has been named the executive director of the Southwest

Louisiana Entrepreneurial and Economic Development (SEED) Center'sBusiness Incubator. Formerly with the City of Lake Charles, Wallace hasworked on this project since its inception and has recently earned hisIncubator Management Certification. He also has a B.S. degree in Chemistry(Texas Southern University) and an MBA (McNeese State University). TheSEED Center Business Incubator, which will be located at The SEED Center,will include over 30 office spaces for Business Incubator clients. The SEEDCenter will also be home to the Alliance, Chamber, and other economic devel-opment organizations such as IMCAL, McNeese University Small BusinessDevelopment Center, PTAC and SCORE.

SYMPHONY NAMES NEW DIRECTORShelly Appleby has been named exec-

utive director for the Lake CharlesSymphony. She comes with more than 20years of professional experience in grantwriting, fundraising, coordinating specialevents and volunteer management. In herposition as executive director for the LakeCharles Symphony, she has a strong driveto collaborate with public/private sector,education, government, and other non-profit art organizations to further theartistic synergy of the Symphony thatbegan over 55 years ago.

Please submit press releases to [email protected]

Jake Philmon

Kevin LaFleur

Shelly Appleby

Pictured presenting a $2,850 sponsorship check are (L to R):Michael Ned, Board Member; Freda Gauthier, Event Organizer, Keith

W. Henson, L’Auberge Senior VP & General Manager; and StateRepresentative A.B. Franklin, founder.

L’AUBERGE SUPPORTS ABF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUNDL’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles supported the ABF Community

Development Fund’s annual Basketball Fundraiser with a cash donation andluxury auction item.


CITY SAVINGS BANK MARKS 85TH ANNIVERSARYCity Savings Bank recently celebrated 85 years of community banking

service. Customers as well as the public were invited to visit any City SavingsBank location on Valentine’s Day to enjoy refreshments and help celebrate thebank’s milestone birthday. City Savings Banks was recently ranked fourth inoverall performance among banks in Louisiana by the nationally recognized

Pictured are Dexter Fountain, league player agent; Doug Gehrig,McDonald’s of SWLA; Ron Turner, league president; Ryan Navarre,

and David Haegele, league VP.

Avon Knowlton (SWLA Economic Development Alliance) Chad Schulz(Merryville Elementary), Dennis Parrott (Rosepine Police Chief), John Stelly,Tim Cooley (Superintendent of Beauregard Parish Schools), Troy Auzenne

(owner/GM of 171 Nissan), George Swift (Alliance President/CEO), AnnBarilleaux (Alliance Foundation Development Director)

STELLY PROVIDES LEADERSHIP TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLSJohn Stelly of Nissan of Lake Charles, Paramount Automotive and 171

Nissan of DeRidder will be funding The Leader In Me initiative in threeschools in Southwest Louisiana. In Beauregard Parish, a portion of these funds($47,715) will bring The Leader In Me to Merryville Elementary School.John Stelly and Paramount Automotive Companies’ investment in The Leaderin Me is a total of $150,000.

McDONALDS OF SWLA AND BILLY NAVARRE SUPPORT SOUTH LAKE CHARLES LITTLE LEAGUE

McDonald’s of Southwest Louisiana and Billy Navarre ChevroletCadillac recently donated $14,000 to the South Lake Charles Little League.This past year, the league's 12-year old boys won the state championship andwent on to compete in the Southwest Regional Tournament in Waco, Texas.

Business isBusiness isBooming!

Business isBooming!

And we needto increaseour sales staff!

E-mail resume [email protected]

mi

Do you have prior sales experience?Are you looking for full-time work with people who love what they do?

financial firm, Financial Management Consulting (FMC) Group. City SavingsBank is the only Southwest Louisiana bank to be listed in the top five. Formore information, visit www.citysavingsbank.com.

SWLA STUDENTSCOMPETE AT REGIONALPOETRY OUTLOUDCOMPETITION

Nine high school stu-dents representing SulphurHigh School, DeRidderHigh School, WestlakeHigh School, A.M. BarbeHigh School, and homeschool groups competed forthe top three honors at the SWLA Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition atCentral School. Elizabeth Salvador, a home school student, won third placein the competitions with her performances of “Sea Fever” by John Masefieldand “A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky” by Lewis Carroll. Bree Lee, a junior atSulphur High School, was awarded second place for her recitations of “Alone”by Edgar Allan Poe, and “Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight” by VachelLindsay. Brooke Bose, a junior at A.M. Barbe High School, was honored withfirst place for her moving renditions of “The Lamb” by Linda Gregg and “TheMaids Lament” by Walter Savage Landor. Poetry Out Loud is coordinated inthe SWLA region by the Arts & Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana,and was initiated by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment forthe Arts in 2005. For more information, contact the Arts Council office at(337) 439-2787.

HEALTHY IMAGE NAMED US CHAMBER BLUE RIBBON AWARD WINNERThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce named Healthy Image, a full-service mar-

keting and communication agency in Lake Charles, a 2013 Blue Ribbon SmallBusiness Award winner. Healthy Image was one of 100 businesses throughoutthe country to be named. The company’s three partners, Kristy Armand,Christine Fisher, and Barbara VanGossen, will be recognized in April atAmerica’s Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C. The award programhonors companies that demonstrate excellent business practices in severalareas including strategy, employee development, community involvement andcustomer service. Blue Ribbon businesses are also eligible for the CommunityExcellence award, which will be decided through online public voting untilFebruary 22. To vote, visit www.usachambersummit.com/ceaaward and votefor Healthy Image. To learn more, visit www.ehealthyimage.com.

(from left to right) Brooke Bose, Bree Lee,Elizabeth Salvador


MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AWARDED JOINT COMMISSION ACCREDITATIONLake Charles Memorial Hospital has once again earned The Joint

Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for accreditation by demonstratingcompliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health carequality and safety in hospitals, home care and behavioral health. The accredi-tation award recognizes Memorial’s dedication to continuous compliancewith The Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards.

Lake Charles Memorial underwent a rigorous unannounced on-site sur-vey in August 2012. A team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluatedthe hospital for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs ofpatients, including infection prevention and control, leadership and medica-tion management.

"With Joint Commission accreditation, we are making a significant invest-ment in quality on a day-to-day basis from the top down. Joint Commissionaccreditation provides us a framework to take our organization to the nextlevel and helps create a culture of excellence,” says Larry Graham, CEO ofLake Charles Memorial Health System. “Achieving Joint Commission accred-itation, for our organization, is a major step toward maintaining excellenceand continually improving the care we provide.”

The Joint Commission’s hospital standards address important functionsrelating to the care of patients and the management of hospitals. The standardsare developed in consultation with healthcare experts, providers, measurementexperts and patients. Lake Charles Memorial is surveyed every three years.

WCCH ANNOUNCES SAFETYAWARD RECIPIENTS

West Calcasieu CameronHospital recently namedCharlotte Ardoin, RN, andLonnie Puryear, networktelecommunications supervisor,as recent recipients of its SafetyAward. The award, which honorsemployees for their promotion ofsafety and safety awareness inand around the hospital, is distributed to those employees that demonstrateextraordinary awareness and action in minimizing potential safety risks.

According to JW Peloquin, WCCH safety officer, “Providing exceptionalhealthcare to those visiting our facility is at the forefront of everything we do.Our success with meeting this vision statement can be attributed to the greatattention we place on sustaining this culture of safety.”

WCCH ADOPTS NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR TREATING PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE

West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital is pleased to announce that it’s thefirst in Southwest Louisiana to offer a new treatment option to people suffer-ing from the debilitating effects of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) – theDiamondback 360°TM Orbital Atherectomy System.

Peter Angelopoulos, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FSVM, interventional cardiol-ogist with the Heart and Vascular Center and medical staff member ofWCCH, is currently the only cardiologist in the area practicing with the newequipment and has played a pivotal role in demonstrating the potential safetyand effectiveness of this new technology, and its ability to provide new hopefor treating the disease.

Peripheral Arterial Disease is a life-threatening condition where plaquebuilds up on the inside walls of the blood vessels that carry blood from theheart to legs and arms. The build-up of plaque causes the arteries to hardenand narrow – a condition called atherosclerosis – reducing blood flow to the

legs and feet.By striving to answer the need for a safer, more effective procedure to

treat a wider range of disease states including tough, calcified plaque, theDiamondback 360°TM System optimizes the ability to remove plaque andrestore flow for treating the disease – ultimately improving the patient’s quali-ty of life and saving limbs.

GARY NAMED WCCH EMPLOYEE OF THE QUARTERWest Calcasieu Cameron Hospital recently named

Chase Gary, exercise specialist at DynamicDimensions Fitness Center in Sulphur, as its firstquarter Employee of the Quarter. Gary is responsiblefor assisting in the coordination, promotion, andimplementation of all wellness programs at DynamicDimensions and in the daily operations of the center.He also provides appropriate, systematic, individual-ized, and safe exercise prescriptions for clients, identi-fying goals and considering the health status, risk fac-tors, limitations, abilities and preferences of thesemembers. Gary is a resident of Lake Charles and hasworked at WCCH for six years.

LAKE AREA PHYSICIANS OPENS NEW CLINIC IN GRAND LAKELake Area Physicians, a multi-specialty group affiliated with Women &

Children’s Hospital is pleased to announce the opening of a satellite primarycare clinic located at 10071 Gulf Highway, right next to Brown’sNeighborhood Market and Subway. Grand Lake area residents will haveaccess to experienced primary care providers including family medicinephysicians, internists, a pediatrician and a wound care specialist, right intheir community. Services available include annual physicals for adults andchildren, x-rays, lab tests, management of chronic illnesses, treatment forcolds, flu, minor injuries and more. New patients are being accepted andwalk-ins are welcome. The clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.to 5 p.m. Appointment requests can be made online at www.lakeareaphysi-cans.com or by calling the clinic at (337) 905-2151.

WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S PRESENTS ‘GIRL’S NIGHT OUT’Women & Children's Hospital is proud to present “Girl's Night Out” on

Sat., March 2, from 4:30 - 8:30 p.m. Girls ages 9-16 are invited to come hearphysicians, nurses and other professionals engage in direct and honest dia-logue concerning a wide array of topics including anatomy, puberty andhygiene, fitness and nutrition, self-esteem, sexual health and more. Pre-regis-tration and a signed parental consent is required. Cost is $20 per person,which includes dinner. For more information or to register, call 475-4075 orvisit www.Women-Childrens.com/GirlsNightOut.

RIBBON CUTTING AT CALCASIEU URGENT CARECalcasieu Urgent Care of Lake Charles, an efficient, affordable alterna-

tive to visiting the emergency room, recently celebrated their ribbon-cutting.Whether you have an urgent need or you've had trouble getting an appoint-ment with your primary doctor, the clinic is there for you. The walk-in clinicwas founded in 2012 by Lake Charles resident Dr. Robert M. Anderson and islocated at 2640 Country Club Road (Suite 400) in Lake Charles. Go towww.calcasieucare.com for more information.

Charlotte Ardoin Lonnie Puryear

Chase Gary

YankeeDangThe

By Mike McHugh

Lights! Camera! Gangnam Style!Mardi Gras was special for me

this year, as it featured my actingdebut here in Southwest Louisiana.It was in a big production, too—thepresentation for the Krewe de laFamille ball. If you didn’t catch it,I’m sure it’s out there on YouTubesomewhere. Just do a search usingthe keywords “dancing clowns,” orbetter still, “spasmodic musk oxen.”

My wife and I are new krewemembers, or what our ball captain,J.J., likes to refer to us as “freshmeat.” He greeted us warmly whenwe met him the first time. I should

have taken more notice at thatmeeting of the way he was wringinghis hands, as a redneck might if he’djust gotten his hands on JimmyJohnson’s car keys.

“So, you’re going to be in theskits for this year’s ball presentation,right?” he asked us.

“Yeah, sure!” we answered, mywife with excitement, me with a bitmore apprehension. She’s hadnumerous roles in amateur theater,whereas the extent of my actingrésumé was the time I played thepart of a tree during a grade school

performance of Robin Hood.They must have seen potential

talent, though, as they tapped me tobe in two skits. The first one—thecouples’ skit—wasn’t so bad, as theygave me the part of a lion. I’dalways fancied myself as a lion-kindof guy, and so it would not be toodifficult to assume the character.My wife agreed, noting certain ele-ments of my behavior, particularlyin the area of table manners.

As a lion, my big momentinvolved jumping through a ring offire. And it wasn’t actually whatyou would call “on fire.” It was just ahoop decorated with fire-coloredfeathers. And it was big; I couldhave flown a blimp through thething. Still, compared to the RobinHood gig, I was moving up in theworld of theater.

It was the second skit—the onefor just the men—that threatened tomake my acting career shorter thanthe life expectancy of an armadillocrossing Interstate 10. In this one,we were all supposed to be clowns.My wife would tell you that I’mmore suited for that role than play-ing a lion. And she’d be right,except in this skit, we weren’t goingto be doing any clown-type stuff,like riding around on Barbie doll-sized tricycles. I could have donethat a lot more easily than what ourdirector, Karen, wanted us to do,which was to dance.

The dance that she had in mindfor us was one that had gone viralon YouTube a while back, althoughI’d never seen it. It was called“Gangnam Style,” done by a Koreanentrepreneur named Psy, thusadding dance moves to the growinglist of exports from that country. Itwas an ambitious project on Karen’spart, getting a group of 50-some-thing guys, whose idea of strenuous

physical activity is shuffling a pokerdeck, to move like they were in aJane Fonda exercise video.

But the dance wasn’t the worstpart of it; rather, it was our cos-tumes. Mine looked like a sleepingbag for the Easter Bunny, somethingI wouldn’t otherwise be caught deadin, or even at Wal-Mart. And wehad to wear these foam clown nosesthat cut off the air supply to ourlungs, so that the dancing felt as ifwe were doing aerobics while chok-ing on a chicken bone.

The best way I can describe theGangnam Style dance is to say thatit’s like riding a wild stallion througha field of banana peels. Karen madeus practice it over and over until wegot it right, or faked ankle injuries,as was more often the case. Butslowly, things came together.

But when the big night came, thebutterflies in my stomach felt morelike pterodactyls. From backstage, Ipeered through the curtains to seean ever-growing crowd of guests intuxedoes and evening gowns fillingthe stands of the Civic CenterColiseum. They looked like theywere being seated for a performanceof Madame Butterfly, unaware thatthey were about to get somethingmore along the lines of a DancingWith the Stars episode featuring theThree Stooges. I hadn’t wished somuch for a bomb threat since thatday in high school when I hadn’tstudied for my physics final.

In the end, I had nothing to fear.The crowd went wild as we demon-strated the newest Korean import,making me wonder what kind ofbeverages they were serving upthere in the stands.

So would I do it again next year?Maybe, but I’m going to be payingmuch closer attention to what’s hoton YouTube.TJN

Dang Yankee GumboCongrats to Mike McHugh, our Dang Yankee! He got a Jambalaya

team together to enter the annual Mardi Gras Gumbo Cook-off. Wedidn't place, but Mike got our scoreyesterday. The Jam ranked SIXout of 29!!! Thanks to Mikeand his wife Susan andDr. Bruce andMonika Maerhoferfor their hardwork! Next year,we hope to bringhome a trophy!

TJN

PAGE 10 FEBRUARY 21, 2013 Volume 4 • Issue 23


IT’S CRAWFISH TIME!In a way, it’s nice to get past the

holiday season. Life gets so hecticbetween Halloween and Mardi Gras.Since our past Mardi Gras season wason the short side, it was a jammed-packed whirlwind, winding up withsome of the best parades that LakeCharles has ever offered. The hustle

and bustle is so much fun, but a slowertime is welcome and good for the soul.A time of reflection allows the mind toclear and sort through the memoriesand be able to appreciate the goodtimes we’ve shared with those thatmean so much to us.

Now, it’s crawfish season and thatwill make for some good get-togethers.Nothing says family and good friendslike that Good Friday crawfish boil asthe weather begins to warm up and theflowers come back to life. As I hadmentioned in an earlier column, theprospects for a great crawfish seasonare now coming to fruition. The prices

By George “Tip” Cline have been coming down and the quali-ty is superb. For boiled crawfish to bein the $3.50 range at the early part ofthe season bodes well for us fans of thetasty crustacean.

We have been able to enjoy mud-bugs many more times this late winterthan we have been able to in quite a fewyears as they are quite plentiful and cer-tainly more affordable. The drive-through take-out boil houses arespringing up around town and thatmakes a crawfish dinner an easyaccomplishment. Some of them areoffering boiled crab and shrimp as well.

GOOD NEWS FOR DINERSA recent survey shows the trend to

eat out more is good news for dinersand quite the opposite for the restau-rant industry. The pressure is on forproviders to give more for less, puttingtheir profit margins in jeopardy. Theforecast shows that diners are costshopping more and demanding dis-counts while seeking coupons and spe-cial deals. All this while the cost ofbeef and other food items are rising.The restaurant business is extremelycompetitive; everyone is watchingwhat others do to attract the fickleconsumer dollar. This trend is reflec-tive of the lackluster economy we arecurrently experiencing, which will

continue for some time to come. In themeantime, going out to eat may be amore economical experience.

SUPERMARKET ROUNDUPSince Lent has begun, many of us

replace red meat with fish. Our shop-ping survey checks out some of theingredients used in a good old tunasandwich. We surveyed the followinglocations on Feb. 13: Albertsons,Country Club Road; Market Basket,Lake Street; Kroger, McNeese Streetand Walmart, Nelson Road. The pricesreported here reflect the posted pricewhere the product was placed for saleon the shelf.

Chicken of the Sea Chunk LightTuna, packed in water, 5-ouncecan: Albertsons $.88, Market Basket$1.25, Kroger $.97, Walmart $1.18.Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, 30-ouncejar: Albertsons $4.59, MarketBasket $4.79, Kroger $3.49,Walmart $3.98.Heinz Sweet Pickle Relish, 12-ounce squeeze bottle: MarketBasket $1.89, Walmart $1.28.Albertsons and Kroger did not haveHeinz Pickle Relish on their shelves.Whitewheat Bread, 20-ounceloaf: Albertsons $3.29, MarketBasket $3.49, Kroger $3.49,Walmart $2.68.TJN


Are you looking for a runningbuddy? Or, maybe a guy to just hangout with? Sam is a terrier mix weigh-ing about 40 pounds who loves to beoutside. He would be happy to have abig, fenced yard with a doghouse tocall his own (a large acreage would beeven better!). He is one of our fewdogs who prefers to live outside, aslong as his person spends time withhim. His only vice is stalking cats, so,his must be a no cat zone. He hasalso been known to chase chickens,so no livestock in this boy's future. Hehas not had the opportunity to bearound children, so is not kid-tested.Sam is about 3 years old, is incrediblysmart, and would love to attend obe-dience training. He already "sits" on

command. He is one boy who lovesthe attention of his person and is veryaffectionate and protective. HeLOVES to play outside with otherdogs. He would also love a runningbuddy. For more info, email us!LAPAW brings animals looking forforever homes to PetSmart onSaturdays from noon to 3 p.m. If youwould like to meet a specific pet,please let us know in advance byemailing us at [email protected] visit required. Hurry, Sam iswaiting! TJN

Meet Sam!

Save the date! The Jambalaya Newswill honor Sylvia Chaves Stelly at a din-ner to be held in her honor on April 4,2013 at the Chateau du Calcasieu at 932Enterprise Boulevard in Lake Charles.Tickets will be will be sold to this galaevent, with the proceeds going to thecharity of Mrs. Stelly’s choice. Look forticket information in the next issue!TJN

The Jambalaya News Person of theYear Award Dinner April 4


Walter O. Moss RegionalMedical Center has gainedrenewed strength and will nowlive on as a part of the LakeCharles Memorial Health System.

“As Lake Charles' only commu-nity-owned, not-for-profit hospi-tal and as the region's health careleader, we have a legacy of step-ping up to provide critical healthcare access based on the needs ofthe patients we serve,” said LarryGraham, CEO and President ofthe Memorial Health System.

This agreement is similar tothe historic public-private part-nerships happening at severalother state run hospitals through-out Louisiana.

Memorial will lease Moss fromthe LSU system. West CameronCalcasieu Hospital will partnerwith Lake Charles MemorialHospital in this endeavor througha separate agreement. This allowsLSU to avoid previously plannedstaff layoffs at Moss and maintainpatient services at the existinglocation while a final agreement isreached. This agreement is part ofLake Charles Memorial Hospital’sinvestment to strengthen the local

health system. Lake Charles Memorial will

continue clinical care, medicalresearch and education programsprovided through Moss. Thisagreement will also help preservegraduate medical education inthe area, sustaining Memorial’slong-standing Family MedicineResidency Program, which isaffiliated with LSU and referredto as Memorial/LSUHSC FamilyMedicine Center ResidencyProgram.

“Memorial has always been ateam player when it comes to thehealth care needs of our commu-nity, and all of our decisionsbegin with the question: What isthe right thing to do for our com-munity?” Graham asked.“Memorial believes that preserv-ing the health care safety net forthe working poor and uninsuredserved by Moss Regional is theright thing to do.”

Memorial has hired a consult-ing firm to help with the public toprivate transition of MossRegional. The transition will startin March with the merger becom-ing official by late June. TJN

Memorial Provides Safety Net for Moss Regional

Since 2009, Landmark of Lake Charles has provided so much more than a“Preferred Retirement Address!” The facility’s skilled team of therapists workin close collaboration with five assessment nurses to make sure that residentswho are admitted for rehab have an excellent chance to meet or exceed theirgoals – whether that means going home to resume their lives independentlyor continuing to reside at Landmark.

Rehab patients often choose Landmark based on its reputation for helpingresidents successfully transition back into the lives they enjoyed before amedical event, such as a stroke, fracture, or joint replacement surgery.Patients admitted with orders for therapy (whether it be physical, occupa-tional, speech, or a combination) are set up for success from the beginningwith an interdisciplinary team approach that puts together a plan designedfor the individual and built around his or her personal goals.

Landmark’s physical therapists work with residents to improve strength,balance, and endurance, so that transferring or walking becomes safer andmobility is enhanced. Arm and leg exercises get fluid moving through joints,decreasing pain and stiffness and enabling residents to tolerate more andmore activity.

Landmark’s occupational therapists coordinate with physical therapy totrain residents to safely transfer to and from wheelchairs, beds, recliners, orcommodes. They can even educate families on how to help residents get inand out of a car. Occupational therapy focuses on sitting and standing bal-ance so that daily activities such as eating, dressing and grooming can be exe-cuted independently and safely. By concentrating on enhancing gross andfine motor skills and working on reaching for things, residents are again ableto accomplish basic tasks.

While physical and occupational therapies work to steadily rebuild the res-ident’s physical endurance and balance, speech therapists work on strength-ening memory and processing tasks, such as remembering to lock the wheelson the wheelchair before standing, or turning off the stove after preparingdinner. Speech therapy also addresses swallowing and eating issues, strength-ening mouth and throat muscles and fostering those all-important process-ing skills to ensure that favorite foods can once again be eaten safely. Mostimportantly, speech therapy can address language deficits, enabling residentsto resume communicating and relating to their loved ones.

At Landmark of Lake Charles, the end product of a well-planned therapystay is a resident on the path to declaring independence and getting back tothe business of living life safely and independently.


Calcasieu Parish’s exciting newwellness initiative, “Dare to beHealthy,” was officially introduced ata launch at CHRISTUS St. PatrickHospital Garber Auditorium.Almost 100 health leaders and com-munity organizers came together tocelebrate new health-oriented serv-ices being rolled out for the resi-dents of Calcasieu Parish, including:

•New community gardens andincreased availability of affordablefresh fruits and vegetables inSouthwest Louisiana, especially inunderserved neighborhoods.

•Bringing four major hospitalstogether to conduct an annualhealth fair each year. Three thou-sand free health screenings will beconducted to detect and educateparticipants about key health issuessuch as heart disease, diabetes andothers.

•Fitness and nutrition classes,benefitting over 500 area children

and adults.•Working with local restaurants

to develop healthier menu itemsand highlighting these options tothe community through an educa-tional campaign.

The “Dare to be Healthy” initia-tive, made possible by Blue Crossand Blue Shield of LouisianaFoundation’s $760,000 ChallengeGrant, is matched by approximately$832,000 in matching funds fromcollaborating organizations in theSouthwest Louisiana area. The pro-gram is a three-year grant, 2013 –2015, administered by SouthwestLouisiana Area Health EducationCenter in cooperation with thePartnership for a HealthierSouthwest Louisiana and its com-munity partners.

‘Dare to be Healthy’ OfficiallyLaunched in Calcasieu Parish

TJN

Age-related changes in your bones, muscles and joints are afact of life, but they’re also preventable. As we age, our muscleand joint tissue change, becoming thinner and more brittle.Certain conditions affect the structure of bones and musclesincluding osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.That can mean joint pain, inflammation, stiffness, and deformity– and a risk of falls and fractures.

Help minimize bone and joint problems by following somesimple nutrition and lifestyle guidelines. Eat a diet rich in calci-um (i.e., 1,000 mg/day for adults up to age 50, and 1,200-1,500for those over age 65) and vitamin D, and avoid smoking andexcessive alcohol consumption.

Weight-bearing exercises like walking, climbing stairs ordancing can also help lower your risk for osteoporosis. Yourjoints and soft tissues provide the support and cushioning youneed to stay active. Exercises that are kind on joints includeswimming, yoga and bicycling. Avoid high-impact sports such asstep aerobics, soccer and skiing. These types of exercise are oftenhard on joints and often result in injury.

Joint pain and inflammation happens as the cartilage andother soft tissues become less elastic. Arthritis can develop at anyage, but is most common among adults age 65 or older.Osteoarthritis affects weight-bearing joints; and rheumatoidarthritis impacts other joints.

It is important to follow your doctor’s recommendations fornecessary screenings, such as a bone density test, which deter-mines your bone mass. All women 65 years and older shouldhave this test, as well as women or men age 50 or older who havea broken bone or one or more risk factors.

Finally, over-the-counter medications may relieve symptomsof joint pain and decrease degeneration of cartilage. Jointreplacement surgery is an option, although it is generally dis-cussed when other methods have failed.

Caring for your bones and joints is a lifelong journey, and it’simperative to be proactive: eating right, getting plenty of exercise,and safeguarding against injury. By doing the right things now, youmay reap the benefits of staying pain-free and active, later in life.

Bone andJoint Health

By Thomas Ford, MD, Board-Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon

TJN


For nearly 30 years, Women &Children’s Hospital (WCH) hasbeen providing quality healthcareservices to the residents of south-west Louisiana and southeastTexas.

Conveniently located offInterstate 210 and Nelson Road

in Lake Charles, WCH is an 88-bed full-service acute care hospi-tal. Since the hospital opened in1984, services have expanded tooffer healthcare for the entirefamily including: inpatient, out-patient, medical and surgicalservices for adults and children; a24-hour emergency department;cardiology services, with a new

catheterization lab slated toopen in March 2013;

intensive care services; labor anddelivery services; diagnosticimaging; laboratory services;physical, occupational and speechtherapies, orthopedic surgery andurology, to name a few.

Known as the area’s preferredleader for women’s services,Women & Children’s offers anexperienced team of physiciansand nurses who are truly com-mitted to patient care. By offeringprivate labor and delivery suites,a newborn nursery, birthingclasses and a Level 3 NeonatalIntensive Care Unit for the mostdelicate of patients, it’s no won-der why families continue tochoose Women & Children’s asthe birthplace for their children.

Women & Children’s is also arecognized Bariatric (WeightLoss) Surgery Center ofExcellence by the American

Society for Bariatric Surgery andis also accredited by The JointCommission, one of the health-care industry’s most recognizedquality and performance stan-dards organizations.

With nearly 500 employees anda medical staff consisting of over200 physicians, Women &Children’s is an important health-care resource for the community.Not only does the hospital providepatient care, Women & Children’salso hosts numerous supportgroups, a seniors group calledSenior Circle for adults age 50 andover, Healthy Woman for womenof all ages, in addition to a varietyof free educational classes andseminars to better educate thecommunity. Visit www.Women-Childrens.com for more informa-tion about their hospital servicesand programs.TJN

Women & Children’s HospitalProviding Quality Care for the Entire Family


Surgicare of Lake Charles is a multi-specialty outpatientsurgery center that has served the Lake Charles communityfor 38 years. The center offers a safe, convenient and cost-effective option to hospital-based surgery for both physiciansand their patients, and accommodates a full range ofadvanced surgical outpatient care.

According to Debbie Boudreaux, RN, BSN, who has servedas Surgicare’s administrator since 1992, the 12,600 sq. ft. facil-ity offers:

• five operating rooms• two procedure rooms• post-operative waiting area• surgical recovery area• a step-down area where patients are

monitored before they are dischargedSurgicare’s surgical specialties include ENT (ear, nose and

throat), General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics,Plastic Surgery and Cosmetics, Gynecology, Podiatry,Urology, Pain Management and Dental.

Surgicare employs a staff of 27 medical and administrativeprofessionals and partners with 160 credentialed physicians,surgeons, podiatrists and dentists located throughoutSouthwest Louisiana. Most of the physicians are on the med-ical staff at Women & Children’s Hospital, as well as otherarea facilities. With such a large group of affiliated physicians,area residents can easily find a physician that utilizes thefacility, which offers a convenient central location, coveredpatient drop-off and pick-up areas, free parking and manyother amenities.

Surgicare of Lake Charles is an important healthcareresource for the residents of Southwest Louisiana. They areable to work with most insurance plans to provide patientswith the surgical care they need. For a physician directory orfor more information, call (337) 436-6941 or stop by the cen-ter located at 2100 Lake Street in Lake Charles.

You have a choice where you have your surgery

TJN

OB Care Continues Service OB Care continues to serve the families of Southwest

Louisiana and has expanded its staff to include two nurse prac-titioners and six doctors trained in obstetrics and gynecology.

The clinic’s comprehensive services and team of skilled,highly qualified physicians and nurse practitioners will guidewomen through their pregnancy, delivery and postpartumjourney.

OB Care, a full-service obstetrics clinic, fosters a positive,healthy pregnancy and childbirth experience regardless of yourfinancial situation. Serving the residents of Calcasieu,Cameron, Allen, Beauregard and Jefferson Davis Parishes, OBCare accepts private insurance, Medicaid or self-pay, workingwith expectant moms to develop an affordable payment plan.

Nurse Practitioners• Tammy Gillett, APRN, NP • Anna Marchantel, APRN, NP

Physicians• David Darbonne, MD • Bradley Forsyth, MD • Armand Grimshaw, MD • William Groves, MD • Gisele McKinney, MD • Matthew Scroggs, MD

OB Care is located at 1420 18th Street in Lake Charles. Call(337) 562-0510 or (888) 814-6880 for more information. TJN


What if we told you that yourbody was created with the ability toheal itself in miraculous ways? It’s fas-cinating to watch the tail of a lizardregenerate. We do similar thingsevery single day. Have you thought ofwhat goes into replacing old skin andbone? You were born to be healthyand self-healing, and this is what chi-ropractors utilize in their practices.

Chiropractic is a field of the heal-ing arts structured on the under-standing that one’s brain and spinalcord control every mechanism of thebody. For every effect; there must be acause. For every effect seen in thebody--the way we feel, think, or func-tion--there is a cause that can betraced back to the central nervoussystem, which includes the brainand spinal cord.

Stress can come in threeforms: mental, chemical, andstructural. Chiropractors are

trained to identify and correct anystress placed on the central andperipheral nerves. We address chemi-cal, poor nutrition, and physical,spinal misalignments.

Along with many other roles, thehuman spine functions as a protectivehousing for the nerves that exit thespinal cord. Misalignments in the ver-tebrae can decrease the amount of

information going to and from yourbrain to the rest of your body, damp-ening your brain’s ability to optimal-ly control your muscles and organs.Likewise, if we are robbing our bodyof the essential vitamins, minerals,and enzymes, we can’t function atour best.

Chronic spinal misalignmentsand nutritional deficiencies canmanifest themselves as symptoms

such as pain, fatigue, muscleweakness, gut dysfunctions,etc. In order for our body tofunction at its best and heal

itself, our brain needs theproper nutrition and signal-

ing, both inward and outward. At one time or another, we’ve all

had to deal with being in a trafficjam. We will eventually get to ourdestination, but it slowed us down,required more gas, and made usangry. No one likes being delayed,and your central nervous systemfeels the same way. Once youremove the stress and give yourselfthe proper fuel, miracles start hap-pening. People who utilize chiro-practic experience decreased pain,increased function, and an all-oversense of well-being. When you giveyour body what it needs, you canexpect miracles!

For more infor-mation, call theUltimate Performanceoffice at 421-0010. Itis located at 646 W.McNeese Street inLake Charles. TJN

The Chiropractic ExperienceUltimate Performance Sports and Rehab

Dr. JeremyWard

Dr. Kyle Daigle


How many numbers do you keeptrack of in your daily life? If you’re likemost people, probably at least a dozen:phone numbers, birth dates, socialsecurity number, bank accounts, passcodes, deadline dates, weight, employeeI.D. and more.

But there are some important num-bers you may not be all that familiarwith – your blood pressure. RichardGilmore, MD, interventional cardiologistwith CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital,says everyone should know their bloodpressure and understand what the num-bers mean. “This is a very importantpart of preventing heart disease andstroke. High blood pressure is a risk fac-tor for both of these serious conditions,”he said.

Research shows that as a person’sblood pressure rises above the optimallevel of 120/80 mmHg, the risk of suf-fering a stroke, heart attack, or heartfailure increases. Even study participantswith a high-normal blood pressure of130/85 had a 1.5 to 2.5 times greaterrisk within 10 years of having a cardio-vascular-related health problem thanthose with optimal blood pressure. “Thebottom line is the higher the pressure,the greater the risk,” Dr. Gilmoreexplained.

Many people get confused about thetwo numbers included in the bloodpressure reading. As the heart pumpsblood through the arteries to the body,the force of pressure in the arteries ismeasured with the blood pressure cuff.Blood pressure is typically recorded astwo numbers, with systolic over dias-tolic. The systolic pressure is recordedwhen the heartbeats, and the bottomnumber, the diastolic pressure, isrecorded when the heart relaxes.

“When your pressure begins to rise,it means the heart is working harder,”explains Dr. Gilmore. “Often in olderadults, the systolic number begins torise while the diastolic number remainslow or normal. This condition is calledisolated systolic hypertension, or ISH.Studies have clearly shown that treatingISH prevents death from heart attacks,strokes, and heart failure; and improvesthe quality of life.”

The good news is that everyone cantake steps to prevent and control highblood pressure. Here’s how:

Aim for a healthy weight. Your riskof high blood pressure increases if youare overweight or obese. One way todetermine if you need to lose weight isto measure your waist. If it is greaterthan 35 inches (women) or 40 inches(men), you probably have excess abdom-inal weight and may benefit from weightloss. Talk to your doctor to see if you are

at increased risk for high blood pressureand need to lose weight.

Be physically active each day. Getinvolved in at least 30 minutes of moder-ate activity, such as walking, most days ofthe week. You can even do this in three10-minute segments during the day.

Eat more fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, and low-fat dairy products. Arecent clinical study, “DietaryApproaches to Stop Hypertension(DASH)-Sodium,” provided strong evi-dence on the ability to lower bloodpressure by eating a diet low in salt andrich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains,and low-fat dairy products. The DASHeating plan provides plenty of foodchoices that can be prepared in a vari-ety of menus.

Choose foods low in salt and sodi-um. Most Americans consume moresalt than they need. The current recom-mendation is to consume less than 2.4grams (2,400 milligrams) of sodium aday. That equals about 1 teaspoon (6grams) of table salt a day. The 6 gramsinclude ALL salt and sodium con-sumed, including that used in cookingand at the table. It is easy to substitute

herbsandspices forsalt. Read thefood labels tomake low-sodiumchoices. The DASH diet canhelp with guidelines for this.

If you drink alcoholic beverages, doso in moderation. For men, this is nomore than two 12-ounce servings ofbeer, or two 5-ounce glasses of wine, ortwo 11/2-ounce servings of “hard” alco-hol a day. Women or lighter weightpeople should have no more than a sin-gle serving of any one of these bever-ages per day.

Take high blood pressure medicineas directed. If lifestyle changes, such asthose described above, are not keepingyour pressure under control, your doc-tor will likely prescribe blood pressuremedications. There are many excellentones to choose. They work and will helpyou. Some people think that when their

blood pressure comes down, they nolonger need treatment. This is wrong.Stay on treatment. If you have questions,talk to your doctor.

Dr. Gilmore says it's important tomonitor your blood pressure on a regu-lar basis, especially if you have heartdisease. “If you have high blood pres-sure, take the appropriate steps to con-trol this dangerous risk factor,” he said.“If it's not high, take steps to preventthe condition from developing. Thereare some cardiovascular risks we can’tcontrol, but blood pressure is one riskfactor we can manage effectively.”

For more information or to find acardiologist, visit www.christusst-patrick.org/hearthealth or call (337)491-7577.TJN

Know Your

Numbers


Tender buds have emerged ontrees, the grass is greener, and azal-eas will soon burst into bloom.Spring has definitely arrived inSouthwest Louisiana! Are youready to get back into the greatoutdoors? If so, dig your golf bagout of the garage and dust off thoseclubs! Our Lady Queen of HeavenSchool will host its 11th AnnualGolf Classic on March 15, 2013 atthe Lake Charles Country Club.

The annual OLQH School GolfClassic began 11 years ago in memory of area businessman MikeHalay and his commitment to quality Catholic education. It will be afour-person shamble with a shotgun start at noon and registrationbeginning at 11 a.m. The cost is $500 per four-person team.Register your team early to reserve a spot. The tournament is opento the public and everyone is invited. You won’t want to miss thisfun, worthwhile event.

Susan and Bryan Vincent will offer culinary delights at theFourth Hole, and Billy and Cassie Gage and Brandon and

Brandi Guillory will provide tasty treats togolfers waiting to tee off on the Ninth

Hole. Players will celebrate with an awards ceremony at theClubhouse after the Eighteenth Hole, with $3,000 in prize moneyawarded.

Contests include four par-3 closest-to-hole events and twolongest drive contests. Several levels of hole sponsorship are avail-able (see sidebar for details). Tournament co-chairs are MarkLundy; Eric A. Sanders, DDS; Bryan Vincent and Billy Gage.Proceeds from the tournament benefit OLQH’s CornerstoneCapital Campaign Fund.

The 2013 Golf Classic will be held in conjunction with thethird annual “Celebration of Family and Friends Weekend.” Otherevents during that weekend include an OLQH School FamilyJambalaya Bingo Night on Thursday, March 14, 2013 and“Spring Fling” Celebration of Family and Friends Party onSaturday evening, March 16.

CORNERSTONE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FUNDOn September 7, 2012, OLQH School began an ambitious capital

gains project in order to raise funds to build a new 26,500-square-footmiddle school building and renovate their present campus, which hasbeen evolving since the 1960s.

This plan will modernize the facility and allow all the students inpre-kindergarten through 8th grade to stay on the west side of CreoleSt., rather than having to cross the street for various classes. The newEarly Childhood Center will be built on the east side of Creole St.Four and a half million dollars are needed to make these changes.

“Eighty-six percent of this money was raised in the first fivemonths of the capital campaign,” said Lisa Jakel, Director of PublicRelations and Advancement. This remarkable feat represents the dedi-cation of the community to high-quality Catholic education. Agroundbreaking ceremony for the new middle school will take placeMay 2, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. with the Most Reverend Bishop Glen JohnProvost and distinguished guests.

Jakel is excited about this event. “Our whole student body will cele-brate and participate in this amazing event,” she said.

Our Lady Queen of Heaven School is offering a myriad of oppor-tunities and events to support their capital campaign and otherexpenses at the school. If you don’t know a pitching wedge from a put-ter and golf isn’t your thing, no problem. If you’re a runner, a fisher-

man, a gardener, a culinary con-noisseur, or someone who simplyloves having a good time, the schoolhas many upcoming events to inter-est and entertain the whole family.

SPRING CARNIVAL WEEKEND APRIL 27-28, 2013

The school will host their annu-al Spring Carnival on April 28. TheCarnival features their famousBBQ dinners, fun amusementrides, entertainment by local dancetroupes and musical performers,great prizes, carnival food andgames, all for a good cause – thesupport of Catholic education.

Alana Lefort and LukeLeBeouf at the launching of

“Layers of Legacy Courtyard.”

Colin Roan, Mackey Derouen, Warren Henning,and Cameron Witherwax

Ashlyn Theriot, Olivia Hebert, Kennedy Hebert,Madeline Stine and Grace Helms with

Father Keith Pellerin and Chef John Folse

Our Lady Queen of Heaven SchoolA Celebration of Family and Friends

By Angie Kay Dilmore

Bruks Reed, Brandi and Michael Coxand Jay Fusilier


Other events during Carnival weekend include:

RUN FOR OTHERS, APRIL 27On April 27, OLQH School will sponsor their 16th annual Run for

Others, a 5K run and a 1K Fun Run to benefit their Special EducationDepartment. Their program for special needs children receives no federalfunding, so they rely on the support of generous donors. Please considerparticipating in the run or sponsoring the event.

‘UN PETIT TASTE-N-TELL’This unique event combines food and fun. In the past, both students

and amateur chefs have participated in this popular event. This year,because there are so many events scheduled at OLQH School, they havedownsized the Taste and Tell and incorporated it into the Spring Carnival.Entrants are limited to middle school students in the OLQH SchoolCulinary Club. This Club boasts a whopping 223 students. The OLQHSchool Culinary Club was inspired by their mentor, Chef John Folse, whois a great friend to all of those at OLQH School.

Twenty or more culinary teams will create appetizers, desserts, andentrees. With the purchase of a carnival entry wristband, patrons have theopportunity to sample each dish and choose their favorites by droppingtheir “Baron Bucks” in the tip jars. The dishes with the most Baron Buckscollected will be the winners in each food category, as well as a GrandChampion.

Winners will receive auto-graphed copies of Folse’s cookbookand gift certificates to hisRestaurant R’evolution at the RoyalSonesta Hotel in New Orleans.

GREEN ROOMGardeners can get a jump on the

spring planting season by visitingthe “Green Room” and purchasingflower and vegetable plants, beddingplants, and house plants, all donatedby school parent Buddy Hebert.

HEAVENLY GATORYou’ve seen the “Gators on the

Geaux” here and there all over LakeCharles. OLQH School has hadtheir “Heavenly Gator” for manyyears. But those years of exposure toSouthwest Louisiana weather hastaken its toll. The school’s Partner inEducation, PPG (now Axiall), hasgenerously offered to refurbish thisGator. Well-known local artistCandace Alexander will re-paint“Heavenly” as part of the SpringCarnival activities. Students willdraw and color pictures of theirfavorite school activities, whichAlexander will incorporate into herown work to make “HeavenlyGator” a uniquely special part of the

OLQH School campus.

LAYERS OF LEGACY COURTYARDSchool supporters can leave their legacy at

OLQH School by purchasing an engraved brick forthe “Layers of Legacy Courtyard,” to be found in itsnew middle school facility. Students, parents, alumni,faculty, staff, parishioners and friends may buy a per-sonalized brick in honor or memory of themselves, aloved one, or a business. Leave a lasting tribute and pavethe way for generations of OLQH School students to come.Bricks come in four different sizes and range in price from$100 - $1,000. The deadline for ordering bricks is December31, 2013.

Kids warming up for “Run For Others” race.

FRONT ROW: Jennifer Benoit (15 years), Rebecca LeBleu (4 years), Carmel Fazzio (4 years), Jo Ann McDaniel Niles, Administrator (16 years), Jessica Wilson (4 years), Yvonne Mullen (9 years),Sandra Lapoint (4 years), Aimee Smith (1 year), Nadine Rayon (6 years), Bridget LeBleu (1 year),

Annie Rowley (16 years), Martha Trahan (2 years), Mr. Jackie Trahan (3 years), and Andrea Celestine (1 year).

NON-DENOMINATIONAL • PET-FRIENDLY • FIRST FLOOR AVAILABILITY • NO DEPOSITS • CENTRALLY LOCATED


OLQH Golf ClassicRegister to be a Hole Sponsor!To sponsor a hole at the Golf Classic, choose your desired

HEAVENLY FISH FEST, MAY 4Calling all anglers! Another big event is coming up in May. Load up

your poles, bait, and tackle boxes and head to Calcasieu Point for the 5thAnnual Heavenly Fish Fest, the school’s annual fishing tournament, onMay 4. Whether fishing from a bank, boat, or pier, the event begins at 6a.m. Weigh-In starts at 11. Participants must be in line for Weigh-In nolater than 1 p.m. Each entrant may weigh only one fish.

Prizes awarded in the Youth Division (8th grade and under) are 1stthrough 10th place for trout, 1st through 10th place for redfish and floun-der, and 1st through 10th place for largest fish in the “Other” category.Every youth who weighs a fish wins a prize.

In the Adult Division, there will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place each fortrout, redfish and flounder. Additional prizes will be awarded for the heavi-est fish caught from a pier and for the redfish with the most spots.

Monsignor James Gaddy, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish,will preside as “Official Weighmeister.” Entry fees are $25 for individualsor $60 for a family. Lunch and drinks will be provided. Sponsorships simi-lar to those offered for the Golf Classic are also available for the Fish Fest.

This year, OLQHS is offering a spectacular raffle. A 15' X 48" Alweld V-Hull boat and 25 horsepower Tahatsu Trolling Motor with seats and trailerhas been donated by Charlie Terrio. The boat will be displayed on the pondat the Lake Charles Country Club during the OLQH School Golf Classic. Aspecial prize will be awarded to whoever hits their golf ball into the boat.Raffle tickets are $10 and may be purchased anytime between the GolfClassic and the Fish Fest. Monsignor Gaddy will draw the lucky ticket andannounce the winner at the Fish Fest.

A LEGACY OF LEARNINGOur Lady Queen of Heaven School first opened on October 13, 1958,

under the direction of Rev. Adrian Van Hal, the pastor of OLQH Parish atthat time. The school began with only 24 students in kindergarten. OLQHSchool has since grown to an enrollment of 700 students. There are threeclasses of each grade level, Pre-K through 8th grade. The faculty includes31 teachers plus two dozen ancillary staff. JoAnn Wallwork has been theschool principal since 2009.

The Early Childhood Center, for children 6 weeks to four years old,accommodates approximately 55 children cared for by a staff of 18 employ-ees. Lisa Jakel has been the director of development for eight years. “It’s agreatest job in the world,” she said. “Not only am I able to be around theseprecious children and parents, but the entire OLQH community is amaz-ing. Here at 3908 Creole Street, we have the ‘complete package,’ and we areblessed with all that that entails!” New family registration begins on

February 21, 2013. Call the school with questions aboutgrade level openings.

Our Lady Queen of Heaven School is located at 3908 CreoleSt. in Lake Charles. For more information on any of theseupcoming events, call Lisa Jakel or Diane Jackson at (337) 477-7349, or email [email protected] or [email protected].

To sponsor a hole at the Golf Classic, choose yourdesired level of sponsorship. Deadline for sponsorship

registration is March 1.

“The Masters” $1,500Individual Recognition Banner, Premier spot on Sponsor

Banner, Hole Sponsor signs throughout course.

“19th Hole” $1,000Premier spot on Sponsor Banner, Hole Sponsor signs

throughout course.

“Hole in One” $500Included on Sponsor Banner, Hole Sponsor signs on

course.

“Eagle” $250Included on Sponsor Banner, Hole Sponsor signs on

course.

“Birdie” $100Included on Sponsor Banner and a Hole Sponsor sign.

OLQH Golf ClassicRegister to be a Hole Sponsor!


Downtown Lake Charles CrawfishFestival Poster Contest

Associated LouisianaArtists with the National

Parkinson Foundationof SWLA/SETXinvite area artists ofall ages enter the

poster contest for theDowntown Lake Charles

Crawfish Festival. The win-ning entry will receive prizemoney, with the artworkreproduced on the annualfestival poster and T-shirt.It will also be featured dur-ing Spring ArtWalk 2013 atthe Gallery by the Lake.Call (337) 478-9405 or(337) 310-0083 for details,or email [email protected] for entry form.TJN

Entries Accepted Tues.,March 5 – Fri., March 8


Sports Report

By Brandon Shoumaker

Dear Houston Astros fans,I apologize in advance for the his-

torically terrible season your team isabout to have in its first year in theAmerican League.

As a guy who grew up watchingthe Killer Bs of Bagwell, Biggio, and<insert B-name here>, I understandyour disbelief at how a once-proud

franchise could sink lower than thePittsburgh Pirates. Seriously, theAstros finished 24 games behindPittsburgh last season.

But, make no mistake; this seasonwill be much, much worse.

This season is going veer precari-ously close to 1962 New York Metsterritory. That year, the expansionMets lost a modern-day record 120games. It is entirely conceivable the2013 Astros could lose 14 moregames than last season. Heck, ifyou’re really feeling pessimistic, youmight ask yourself if this year’s Astrosmight not compete with the 1899Cleveland Spiders (20-134 record) for

worst team in major league history.

No one would blame you if youdid.

In one of the epic rebuilding jobsin major sports history, the Astrossold off practically every player ofworth not named Jason Castro,Carlos Lee’s refrigerator and a cartonof orange juice as they lowered their2013 payroll to near $25 million. Inaddition, Houston will be movingfrom the comforts of the relativelysmall-market National LeagueCentral division to the AmericanLeague West, where the Los AngelesAngels have already spent almost six

times more than the Astros.For perspective, New York

Yankees “third baseman” and perpet-ual embarrassment Alex Rodriguezwill make $28 million this season,provided he doesn’t spend it all onsteroids or drown looking at his ownreflection in a locker room toilet.

What will $25 million buy you intoday’s big leagues? Not much. Infact, the Astros’ highest-paid player,pitcher Wandy Rodriguez, will get $5million of that $25 million chunk toplay for another team, the very samePirates mentioned above.

Other than the expenditure onRodriguez, who may pitch against theAstros in Interleague play, Houston’s

Sports Report

A Season to Struggle— and Fail


15% Senior DiscountAll Doctors’ Prescriptions Accepted

Experienced Professional Staff • Most Insurance Accepted

BrandonShoumaker isa graduate ofMcNeese StateUniversityand has cov-ered sports formore than adecade forvarious publi-cations.Coaches orparents with story tips or commentsmay contact Brandon at [email protected] or send him a messageon Twitter (@bshoumaker).

big signings were that guy (CarlosPena) whom Billy Beane traded fromOakland in the book Moneyball andthe brittle skeleton that is startingpitcher Erik Bedard.

Pena, your franchise’s first regulardesignated hitter, is going to turn 35this season and he drove in a whop-ping 61 runs last year. Granted, thatwas six more runs than any Astrodrove in last season. Then again, Penahas established a permanent settle-ment near the Mendoza line in recentyears and he has had almost double asmany strikeouts to hits each of thepast three seasons.

And he’s supposed to be the desig-nated “hitter.”

Bedard, on the other hand, pur-chased either because he provides aveteran arm in the rotation orbecause the team doctor needs morework, limped to a 7-14 record lastseason. However, his biggest accom-plishment may have been not shatter-ing into a bajillion pieces like thefrozen T-1000 from Terminator 2.

Meanwhile, to reiterate what I saidin a column before last season’s deba-cle, the Astros feature a collection ofguys who wouldn’t look out of placein the cast of Major League 3 (I’m notcounting Major League: Back to theMinors as a sequel).

Sadly for everyone, Bob Ueckerwon’t be calling the games on Houstonradio. That would at least make thecarnage a little easier to take.

The good news, Astros fans, isthat Tinkerbell’s more athletic cousin,Jose Altuve, isn’t going anywhere andwill provide a solid, top-of-the-lineupbat and sure hands at second base.Additionally, Houston’s pitching rota-tion doesn’t look that bad, even ifthey’re holding Bedard together withBondo and bailing wire. Bud Norris isokay and might fare well in the frontof the rotation while Jordan Lyles andDallas Keuchel are young and shouldhave improved after some seasoninglast year.

As I close out this letter, I want toshare with you what I think is thebest news of all for Astros fans. For asmuch as Houston will struggle andfail this upcoming season, at leastthey are trying. Houston is not theMiami Marlins, cynically dismantlingtheir team in order to cash in onMLB’s profit-sharing plan whilesimultaneously fleecing Miami’s tax-payers and engendering bad feelingsall around.

The Astros have completelyrebuilt what was one of the worstfarm systems in the big leagues andstocked it with fresh talent. The own-

ers and front-office administrationhave a plan in place to get the Astrosback in competition, though theyaren’t sure how long that will take.The team has, in a move designed toappeal to the team’s fans, done awaywith the hideous deep red uniformsof the past few years and gone back tothe classic navy and orange look ofthe Nolan Ryan/Astrodome-era.

So, Astros fans, while there won’tbe much to look forward to this sea-son, you can know that something isbeing done about all of it and you canat least hold out hope for the future.

Sincerely, your brother in sports.

Brandon Shoumaker

TJN

Sports Report

Sports Report


Many of us eschew booksabout science, probably assumingthat the material will be dry orhard to understand. Too bad --we’re missing out on some fasci-nating and even fun reading.

The Universe Within:Discovering the Common Historyof Rocks, Planets, and People byNeil Shubin provides an overviewof the interrelationship of plants,animals and the planet. Shubinpoints out that “Within each of us

lie some of the most profound sto-ries of all,” including the history ofthe universe.

He talks about the big bangand basic physics -- no, don’t beafraid; this is great stuff. In fact,here’s the thing: Some of the ele-ments that make up our bodiescome from supernovae, the explo-sions of stars: We are in fact madeof star stuff.

Shubin discusses how ourneighboring planets were formed,

By Mary Louise Ruehr

Blinded by Science?sunlight and time, water-- “the ideal medium inwhich to dissolve a largevariety of substances ...on which life depends” --continental drift, globalcatastrophes and eventhe principle of “multi-ples,” the fact that “manygreat ideas seem to cometo different people atabout the same time.”

Very reader-friendly,Shubin’s overview of sci-ence is sprinkled withexamples and remindsme of TV’s Mr. Wizard.

The Kingdom ofRarities by EricDinerstein moves intothe realm of biology, sheddinglight on the rarest species of plantsand animals on Earth. The authordefines rarities mostly as “thosespecies whose entire global rangeis limited to one population at asingle site.” Thus, rarity can be theprecursor to extinction, should acatastropheoccur at thatsite to wipethem out.(Conversely, ifwe can preservethe site, maybewe can save thespecies.)

The authorgoes on expedi-tions to remoteareas of theworld, lookingfor rare faunaand flora injungles, rainforests, islandsand rivers,

sometimes traveling by elephant,sometimes to where no humanhad ever been before. He searchesfor the causes of rarity such aspoaching, overhunting, habitatloss, inbreeding and invasivespecies by studying birds, largecats, fish, monkeys, rhinos, giantanteaters, langurs and many more

animals.Dinerstein dis-

cusses conservationbiology and the par-adox of accessibility:“If upland forestswere more open tobiologists, we mightknow more aboutrarity and abun-dance for all thevertebrates, yet ifthey were morereachable, the verte-brates would likelybe gone.”

With maps andillustrations, thebook partly reads


or outright rejects scientific princi-ples” such as evolution, childhoodvaccinations and global warming.

Science, they write, is margin-alized in thepolitical arena.Politicians fearlooking like an“egghead” bytalking about sci-ence, and “fewelected officialsreally understandor appreciate itscentrality to deci-sion making andgovernance. Toomany politicians,Democrats andRepublicans alike,fail to see theunderlying role ofscience in most ofthe issues they address, eventhough it is nearly always present.”

It isn’t that people hate science;they’re just “too uninvolved” withit, too busy with other things --and the news media doesn’t coverit nearly as much as crime, sports,entertainment, etc. Some scientists

even appear to be arrogant, unableor unwilling to explain their workor even deal with politicians orthe voters. And Hollywood hasn’t

helped, since its ver-sion of science bearslittle resemblance toreality.

After World WarII, write the authors,physicists were“superstars” who hadsaved the free world.The space race andmissions to themoon were popularin the 1950s and’60s. But in the ’70scame the rise of theReligious Right,questioning the roleof science in publicpolicy and choosing

to insert faith-based principles inits place.

Agree or disagree, the authorspresent some interesting ideas toponder.

Copyright © 2013 by Mary LouiseRuehr.

like a textbook, partly as a mem-oir of an enthusiast, and partly asa travelogue: “By nine o’clock, thelid of fog covering the ChitwanValley would have burned off andthe sun would peek through thesilk cotton trees. Then the huntwould begin.” The book would beof interest to botanists, zoologists,biologists and also geographers, aswell as anyone interested in keep-ing our favorite species fromextinction.

If you haven’t yet read TheImmortal Life of Henrietta Lacksby Rebecca Skloot, please add it toyour to-read list. Skloot, a sciencejournalist, has created an impor-tant book, not only for science,but also for American history.

Henrietta Lacks was anAfrican-Americanwho grew up inthe 1920s inVirginia, whereshe lived in a logcabin that wasonce a slave quar-ters. In 1951,when she wastreated for cancer,the doctor took abiopsy of her cells.Most cells diequickly outsidethe body, butHenrietta’s cancercells “were differ-ent: they repro-duced an entiregeneration everytwenty-four hours, and they neverstopped. They became the firstimmortal cells ever grown in alaboratory.”

Growing and distributing the“HeLa” cells became a multibil-lion-dollar industry. Her cells were

used in gene research and wereused to develop drugs to treat ahost of diseases and conditions,including polio. Her “cells havebecome the standard laboratoryworkhorse,” writes Skloot. But theywere also used in outrageous ways,injected into people and fusedwith the cells of animals.

The Lacks family was angry.Her children did not know hercells were being used untildecades after her death, and theyfelt “that science and the press hadtaken advantage of them.”

The book is so wonderfullywritten, it’s simply a joy to read. Ithas something for everyone -- sci-ence and medicine, American his-tory, social and cultural history,biography, family drama, scientific

detective work,and even a mys-tery surroundingthe fate of one ofher daughters.Henrietta’s caseraises questionsof science, ethics,law, race, classand even religion.

Finally, howabout a little con-troversy? InUnscientificAmerica: HowScientificIlliteracyThreatens OurFuture, authorsChris Mooney

and Sheril Kirshenbaum look athow politics and our culture havemade science not just unpopular,but even anathema. They writethat the United States is “home toa populace that, to an alarmingextent, ignores scientific advances

TJN


There’s a new venue in downtown Lake Charles, and I made it a point to bethere for opening night.

Dharma is now open at 329 Broad. The old building is a two-story brick centenari-an put up shortly after the Great Fire of 1910 that leveled every wooden structure indowntown Lake Charles. It has been a bar as long as I can remember, possibly sinceprostitution was legal in these parts. Its first gentrification was Rikenjak’s Brew Pub,whose now-unused mash vessels are still over by the rear parking lot. Then it wasSylvia's, then Happy Hippy Pizza. All had live music.

What immediately struck me was the spirited social gathering on the sidewalk outfront. It reminded me of New Orleans' Faubourg Marigny club-goer scene onFrenchmen Street where I lived in the late 1970s, except that you can’t congregate inthe middle of Broad Street.

The beautiful, hip people were there in winter style. The scene transported meback exactly 40 years: long-haired, bearded young guys wearing Army jackets and cutehippy chicks. The only thing missing was incense. It looked like a possibly college-agecrowd, though not the athletics-centered society of, for instance, O.B.'s on RyanStreet. If so, it is more evidence that McNeese State University has broken throughfrom the area commuter school of my youth to a truly national and internationaldraw.

The notorious "Louisiana loophole" means that persons aged 18 to 20 may enter aplace where alcoholic beverages are sold if the proprietor wishes. These presumptivenon-drinkers were charged a slightly higher cover charge ($7 versus $5 for 21 andover). The busy bar charged me only $5 for a Maker's Mark.

There were some changes to the familiar old brick-walled interior with the samesquare bar, including Danish-style scalloped plastic light shades that look like dan-gling copepods. There is a roomy, raised sound tech area across from the stage, but itwas only occasionally manned. During some acts, it was difficult to discern guitarover the pervasive wall of electro-drone, but I later learned that this goes with the ter-ritory of the featured genre.

There’s bright galvanized corrugated steel roofing material on the wall surfaces, thefront of the sound booth, and the dividing half-wall between the bar and music area,reminiscent of the Louisiana offshore oilfield chic introduced by such places asZydeco Jeaux's on Convention Center Blvd. in New Orleans.

The Word Was (((Sound))) took the stage, consisting of effects-pedalist/key-boardist/guitarist Brandon W. Pittman and drummer Amanda Sonnier. She was, forme, the highlight of a splendid evening. Their sound was centered on a room-fillingelectronic drone begun, supervised, and tweaked by Pittman, and accompanied by

Sonnier's contemplative and athletic drumming. She kept her mouth set hard and hereyes closed as she coaxed and punished the cymbals and skins. It was an interestingYamaha trap set that featured a 16 x 16 tom in the kick drum position, hardwared,tuned, and muffled for bass. It worked. Her cymbals hissed and roared dynamicallyand constantly to match and blend with Pittman's unrelenting tone generators.

For his part, he divided his time between a large keyboard topped by a tiny one, aFender Custom Telecaster guitar, an effects board with at least ten pedal gizmos on it,plus half a dozen other major and minor wired things on the floor, which he frequent-ly crouched down to nurse and hammer on with his hands like percussion instru-ments. He spent more time under the big and little keyboards than playing them.This, I learned, is a feature of the genre. There were no vocals.

Pittman returned to the stage for the debut performance of My Lover the Ghost, afive-piece affair with a different drummer (male), and a front woman singing andusing a small keypad on a stand to modify her tone from time to time. Again, it wasother-worldly.

Curious as to what I was seeing and hearing, I confessed to a young man takingphotographs that an old guy like me doesn't know how to classify or describe thismusic. He turned out to be guitarist Jacob Danitzer, and this was his scene.

Over the good noise, I thought he explained it as "shu-gay jazz." I failed to under-stand, so, he cited My Bloody Valentine as an example of a "shu-gay" band. Afterdoing the homework, I realize he was saying "shoegaze jazz," meaning an improvisa-tional form of the alt-rock genre dubbed "shoegazing" by the British music presswhere it arose prior to the American grunge scene mostly sweeping it off the stage. Inthe early 2010s, it is seeing a revival.

The Lochness Mobsters, a fun college-rock band, were up next. High-T youngmales got a mini-mosh going. Lacking a designated driver, I decided to call it a night.On the way out, I reflected how not so long ago, anyone returning from the massivethrobbing madness of a Lafayette Saturday night Downtown Alive would havereturned to a Lake Charles business district of sodium-lit streets naked but for theoccasional tumbling tumbleweed. Late Mayor Jim Sudduth's vision of a "downtownmall" to compete with suburban shopping flight had bottlenecked and killed the placedeader than a doornail for decades. But now, nearby Luna Live had a neon nightlifegoing too, plus there are enough other places for it to feel like an incipient entertain-ment district. I was pleased.

Dharma, 329 Broad St., (337) 433-3144. Open Wed.-Sat. 6 p.m. – 2 a.m.TJN

The Arts Council of SWLA and the City of LakeCharles are proud to announce sponsorships from IBERI-ABANK, Tobacco Free Living, and Isle of Capri CasinoHotel for the upcoming second annual Live @ theLakefront Music Festival, which is set to take place at theLakefront Promenade on three consecutive Fridays, March8, 15 and 22.

After an enormously successful first season, Live @ theLakefront is back to showcase the best of local and region-al live music as well as local artists, vendors, and arearestaurants. The music festival is free to the public and willbe held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the seawall directlybehind the Civic Center. Bands will be announced in thecoming weeks. For details, call (337) 439-2787 or visitwww.facebook.com/ArtsCouncilSWLA.

Denise Fasske (left), cultural affairs director for the City, Erica McCreedy, Arts Council; Barry Brown, IBERIABANK; John Arceneaux, Isle of Capri;

Mayor Randy Roach; and Cassondra Guilbeau, Tobacco Free Living.

Live@ the Lakefront Music Festival

Announces 2013 Sponsors

TJN

By King Alexander


This month marks a time of fun,celebration, love and sacrifice.

February in Southwest Louisianameans Mardi Gras, and it was one ofthe hot ticket items on my calendarthis month. I don’t believe there havebeen so many fun stories to cover onmy day job!

I was given the special assignmentof visiting the Mardi Gras Museum ofSouthwest Louisiana. The museum islocated at the Central School, 809Kirby Street on the outskirts of down-town Lake Charles.

This visit marked the second timethat I toured this unique museum fullof costumes, old photos and lots andlots of mannequins. The beautiful col-ors, designs and themes of the cos-tumes are unlike anything else. Themuseum truly is one of the most orig-inal places I have ever visited. Have Imentioned that this exhibit is said tohave the largest display of Mardi Grascostumes in the world?

If you like history, then you will geta wealth of information from yourtour. Not only do the mannequinsserve as a great base to hear why,when and how particular krewesbegan, but also when the first MardiGras balls, parades and other festivi-ties officially made landfall inSouthwest Louisiana.

Moving along, I was then assignedwhat I know will be one of my mostmemorable moments in TV news:making the famous cream cheese-filled king cakes. I’m very particularabout which king cake I eat, especially

since, if I had my choice, I would preferplain cinnamon. But when I visitedDelicious Donuts and Bakery at 8 a.m.for filming, my preference surprisinglychanged. I had eaten a praline pecanking cake from Delicious Donuts andBakery once before at one of the LakeCharles/Southwest LouisianaConvention and Visitor’s Bureauevents and fell in love, but didn’t real-ize at the time that any of their flavor-ful fillings would suit my palate.

The process of baking in generalisn’t for everyone, so I didn’t deceivemyself by thinking it was simple. Butafter a little trial and error, I learned athing or two in the kitchen. Theowner, Paula and one of her extraor-dinary king cake professionals, Paul,showed me everything from mixingthe dough to laying it out, along withthe technical steps of baking thosescrumptious cakes. I was able to stepin and helped create my own to bringback to my co-workers.

Next on my list was the Merchant’sParade. It was the first Mardi Grasparade I have ever been in and it wasa blast. While most people mighthave a standard method to throwbeads or candy from a float, I have myown. I rode in the back of our floatand threw to people after we bothmade eye contact. I know it mightsound somewhat ridiculous, but Iwanted to make sure my throwcounted--and can you blame me? Isaw so many beads lying randomly inthe street by the feet of hundreds ofpeople, who probably had no inten-

tion of picking them up. I would watchthe crowd and see who was payingattention. It was at that moment Iwould nod or make sure they knew Iwas about to throw the beads. Thecomical part was when I would throwbeads to a girl and her brother wouldcatch it right in front of her. The broth-ers always looked at me to get myreaction and I would shake my head indisappointment--all part of the fun ofriding in a parade.

The Children’s Parade, which tookplace on a Sunday, was really enjoy-able and much larger than theMerchant’s Parade--nearly double insize. Despite the rain, a large num-ber of spectators turned out. Ibelieve that says a lot about ourcommunity--to have so many peopleshow up for something even if itmeant standing in the rain. The peo-ple of Southwest Louisiana don’t letanything rain on their parade--andthat includes the rain!

I have to be honest and say that rid-ing in a parade and watching one arecompletely different. It’s so different, infact, that even though the Krewe ofKrewes’ parade had larger floats, alongwith more people, beads, candy andmoon pies, I didn’t have as much fun.Waiting for the parade to begin is diffi-cult in and of itself, not to mention thefact that there were no coffee shops

anywhere near where we stood. Butthe grand parade did finally roll on andseeing Mayor Randy Roach on a four-wheeler, Dale Mann serving as thegrand marshal and the numerouskrewes making their way down RyanStreet made for an exciting experience.

The season of Lent is now in fullswing, and I decided to give up some-thing for the 40 days. Let’s just say itmakes it a bit difficult when visitingNew Orleans. I decided to do it afterspeaking to Father Edward Richardand numerous members of Our Ladyof Prompt Succor in Sulphur.

Just a friendly reminder to look forme in March for Live @ The Lakefront.It’s one of my favorite events of theyear. Remember, even if for only anhour, get out and take a breather,because you never know when thatchance might just pass you by forever.

By Braylin Jenkins

Braylin Jenkins

February: What a Month in SWLA!

TJN


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. .

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The Dot GamePlayers take turns connecting two dots. When you make a square, put your initials in the

box and take another turn. When all dots are connected, the player with the most boxes wins.

Clinic

Doctor

Emergency

Health Care

Hospital

Injection

Intensive Care

Medical

Nurse

Patient

Prescription

Radiology

Recovery

Research

Surgery


Warm Bodies (Lionsgate, 2013)

Every movie, even an ultra-lightteenage comedy, can be a learningexperience. In this case, Warm Bodieswill teach you all about Zombies,from A to Z. Now, at last, I under-stand what everyone’s attachment tothese flesh-eating people is: Irony.And Identification.

“R” is a teenage boy in a post-apocalyptic city who happens to beone of the walking dead. (He can’tremember the rest of the letters thatmake up his name.) The plague hasturned almost everyone into brain-hungry zombies. We begin the movielearning about R’s background, as toldby his own voiceover. Wait a minute.A Zombie voiceover?

Of course, R can’t talk. He mostlygrunts as he shambles from one deso-lated place to another. But we areconstantly in his ironic teenagedhead, while R hangs out at thebombed-out airport with otherZombies and spends nights alone onan abandoned 747 on the runway.

A small enclave of humansdefends an area in the city, blocked byhigh walls. General Grigio (JohnMalkovich) keeps order and organizesraids into the city to get food andsupplies. This being a teen movie, theteens get to do the raiding. One of theraiders is Grigio’s daughter, Julie(Theresa Palmer). Through a series ofZombie/human events, R meets upwith Julie and they begin to have asort of relationship.

This is definitely no ordinaryZombie movie. Yes, they all eat flesh,brains being the best, but all we see isa ring of blood around the Zombies’mouths. Not much gore here, unless

By Dan Ellender

Director of the Children's Museum

you count the tid-bits of brain that Rpulls out of a bagnow and then, for asnack.

What takes cen-ter stage in WarmBodies is the ironichumor. I mean,here is a boy, whojust happens to be aflesh-eatingZombie, attractedto a girl his ownage. The comedy isnot played as slap-stick or lowbrow,it’s very dry.Frankly, the con-stant background of wreckage andlonely scenes are pretty depressing.This isn’t saying they’re done badly,but there’s not much warmth here.Slowly (very slowly) R and Julie’s rela-tionship develops from one of fear, toawkwardness.

Because deep down, R is just yourtypical hung-up teenager who wantsto meet a girl. Even if he does act likeFrankenstein, we’re in on R’sthoughts as he narrates the story. Isthere a statement here? Don’t we allfeel less than human once in awhile?In fact, the whole Zombie persona isone of a depressed, lonely, alienatedperson. Wow, this is right out of 20thcentury literature.

But don’t go thinking WarmBodies is a com-plete blast from thepast. With all thespecial cameraeffects, the wholething seems like along, overly pro-duced Super Bowlcommercial. It alsomade me think ofthe “Thriller”video, except with-out MichaelJackson.

Even with it’s bleak tone, WarmBodies seems to hit a nerve, in thesame way that both The SocialNetwork and Napoleon Dynamitedid. Humor, and even storytelling, haschanged. It has to be cool, not stupid.But once the cool factor is established,it seems almost anything else can beforgiven. The storyline of the movie issimple, even predictable. The themesare classic, from Romeo and Juliet (Rand Julie) and Pinocchio, with a littleTwilight thrown in. As I said, it’s veryeducational. For a Zombie movie.Even in the coldest, most hopelessperson, there is a warm body, tryingto get out.

Rated PG-13 for bloody mouths, afew bad words, and John Malkovich.

TJN


Pam Stokes and Jim Sepulveda Bobbie and Cliff Corcoran Shandel Hambrik, Amber Becnel, Jayne Yellott, Katie and Jessie Wendt and Abby Roussell

Brandi Nicole Martin with Dawn Grimes Kinsley Killian, Nita Juneau and Jenny Schidla

Mona O’Brien, Angelle Boyette,Martha Polk, Simone Boyette and

Summer Richard

KREWE OF ILLUSIONS GOES TO THE OSCARSA festive crowd came out to attend the Krewe of Illusion’s

24th Annual Mardi Gras Extravaganza, held at the RosaHart Theater. Folks came from as far as Washington stateand kicked back for an evening of enjoyment. The theme

was “On the Red Carpet in Hollywood,” with entertainmentfrom Chicago, The Godfather, Purple Rain, Out of Africa

and more---followed by the Royal Court Promenade.Another grand performance from the Illusionists!

Marilyn and Anna Sullivan

Monlezun Family Savannah Guillory and Whitney Moss Annalyn Hoffpauir and Kacie Morvant

CHILDREN’S MARDI GRASPARADE

The rain did not prevent thediehard Mardi Gras kiddos andparents from lining Ryan St. to

catch some “Throw me Somethin’Mista” beads, candy, cups andanything else the partiers in

these 40-something floats werethrowing! The Children’s Paradebrought out the kid in all of us!


Morgan Heard, Tala Roddy, Victoria Nunez, Heather Evans and Melissa Burleigh Jason LeMaire, Gina Mueller, Stacey Miller and DJ Myers

Velma and Griff Foreman

Caeden LaRocca, Rain Sutherland, Madison George, Blake Dupont and Andrew LaRocca

Shanese, Latilda and Ashunti Gray

Lucas and Emma Puckett with Josie Smith and Ana Chesson

MARDI GRAS ZYDECO DANCEA high-stepping, booty-shakingcrowd came out to pass a goodtime at the Mardi Gras Zydecodance at the Lake Charles CivicCenter! Lil Wayne Singleton andhis band kept this high-spirited

crowd on their feet with oldand new style Mambo and

Zydeco! It was all good familyfun. Laissez les bon temps

rouler!

Barbara, Angel and Theresa Gray

Amanda and Aspen Stafford with Joseph Gentes

Brandon Delafosse and Lil Wayne Singleton

Deanna and Stuart Carpenter

Telisha Rene, Kelly Jee, Alexis Saner, Shaconna Gordon and Kim Zasmine


Emily Price, Julia Fruge and Lexxie Berlanga

MARDI GRAS CHILDREN’S DAY Kids, kids, and more kids had a

great time at the old time celebra-tion of Louisiana culture, arts,crafts, music and magic at the

Lake Charles Civic Center. Childrenenjoyed the education station, sillyballoons, a petting zoo and a vari-ety of games. And there was king

cake, popcorn, hot dogs, and ham-burgers for the whole family. All inall, it was a wonderful Mardi Gras

season! TJN

Samantha, Tina, Caitlyn and Daniel Thibodeaux Erin and Izzy Courville and Andee Reinsch Zoey Nunez, Charla Nelson and Emma Nun

Hailee, Cassie and Jaida Henry

925 Enterprise Blvd., Lake Charles, LA • (337) 377-6616


’SECOND LIFE OF PLANTS’THROUGH APRIL 6

A new exhibition, “Second Lifeof Plants,” will hang at Historic City

Hall Arts and Cultural Center from Feb. 15through April 6. The ancient technique ofpressing dried botanical materials, known asoshibana, began hundreds of years ago bythe Japanese. Rita Ford is a garden designerand artist of botanical materials who createsfloral collages. Rita’s creations are intended tosave and extend the charm of floral beauty.Historic City Hall is open Mon. – Fri., 10 a.m.-5p.m. and Sat., 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Admission is free,but donations are gladly accepted. For moreinformation, call 491-9147 or visit www.city-oflakecharles.com.

BAYOU PLAYERS PRESENT ALMOST, MAINEFEB. 20-24

The McNeese State University Theatre BayouPlayers will present Almost, Maine at 7:30 p.m. Feb.20-23, with a 2 p.m. matinee Feb. 24 in RalphSquires Recital Hall. On a cold, clear, moonless nightin the middle of winter, all is not quite what it seems

in the remote, mythical town of Almost. Maine. Thistouching play explores the human heart. Ticket

prices are $15 for adults, $10 for McNeese facul-ty/staff, senior citizens and youth, and free for

McNeese students with a current ID. For tickets or more information,call 475-5040 or visit www.mcneese.edu/theatre.

CALCASIEU CINEMA INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS HOSPITALITEFEB. 22

Hospitalite a 2010 award-winning film, will be presentedfree at 7 p.m. Fri., Feb. 22, in Stokes Auditorium of

Hardtner Hall at McNeese State University by CalcasieuCinema International. It tells the story of a Japanese

couple in Tokyo whose quiet lives are made chaoticby the invasion of a young man and his foreign-

born wife. Beautifully filmed, this presentation ismarked by strong acting and is social commen-

tary at its most fun. Parents are advised that sexu-al themes and situations are part of its story. Formore information, email [email protected] [email protected].

CTC’S SLEEPING BEAUTY FEB. 22-24Disney’s Sleeping Beauty launches The

Children’s Theatre Company’s 2013 sea-son. Directed by Kerry A. Onxley, per-formances will be held at the CentralSchool of the Arts & Humanities Center(809 Kirby Street) located in downtown LakeCharles. The show will run Fri., Feb. 22 and Sat.,Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Sun., Feb. 24 at 3 p.m.Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for studentsand may be purchased at www.childrensthe-atre.cc or by contacting the theatre at (337)433-7323.

GRAND BAYOU SHORT FILM SHOWCASEFEB. 23

The Grand Bayou Short Film Showcase will be held atthe Historic Strand Theater in downtown Jennings on Saturday,Feb. 23. The family-friendly films are from local, regional, national andinternational independent filmmakers. Experience this unique art that isusually reserved for large cities. The program will be hosted by master ofceremonies August Fontenot, who will provide descriptions and detailsbefore each showing. In addition to the films, musician James Guilbeaux,Jr. will be giving an acoustic performance until the initial film begins.Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.; program begins at 7 and ends at 9:45 p.m.Tickets are $5 at the door. For more information, go to www.grandbay-oushortfilmshowcase.com.

WILD GAME COOK-OFF FEB. 23The Southwest Chapter of the Louisiana Dutch Oven Society announces

their monthly cook out. This month, they’re inviting all sportsmen to bringthe best of their winter harvest and join them in a Wild Game Cook-off.There will be prizes for first, second and third place dishes. Rules are sim-ple; cook whatever you want by outdoor camp style methods. The LeChien Cookers monthly Dutch Oven Gathering will be held at SamHouston Jones State Park on Sat., Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The groupwas started by folks who love cooking outdoors in black iron pots over hotcoals. They meet the fourth Saturday each month at Sam Houston JonesState Park. For more information, contact Dwayne or Randy at 302-5025 or912-9394. For online information visit: www.ladutch.com or find them onFacebook at www.LeChienCookers.com.

BANNERS SERIES PRESENTSMACEO PARKER MARCH 1

Maceo Parker simultaneouslyrepresents and connects the

history of soul and funk musicin one golden thread. For

nearly half a century,the soft-spoken saxo-phonist from NorthCarolina has been a

major component offunk as the key soloist heard in

the live bands and recordings of James Brown, George Clinton and BootsyCollins. With his own band, Parker continues the funk legacy. See him Fri.,March 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Rosa Hart Theatre, Lake Charles Civic Center.Tickets are available at the door at $20 for adults, $5 for students and free toMcNeese and Sowela students with IDs. For more information, call theBanners office at 475-5123 or visit www.banners.org.

‘BILOXI BLUES’ AT LUTCHER THEATER MARCH 1Delight in Neil Simon’s hit comedy that follows the adventures of Eugene

Morris Jerome, an aspiring writer who sees himself as an outsider observingthe craziness around him, and his fellow Army inductees as they strugglethrough basic training near Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1943. See Biloxi Blues on Fri.,March 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lutcher Theater in Orange, Texas. For more infor-mation, contact the Lutcher Theater box office at (409) 886-5535.

COUSHATTA FARMERS’ MARKET RUN/WALK MARCH 2The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana will host the first Coushatta Farmers’

Market 10K Run & 5K Run/Walk on Sat., March 2. For the past two years, theTribe has hosted a 5K Run/Walk, but the event is being expanded to include a10K race for serious runners, and the event will be held in conjunction withthe popular Coushatta Farmers’ Market in Elton. The 5K will begin at 9 a.m. atKoasati Plaza in downtown Elton, and the 10K will begin at 10 a.m. For bothraces, there will be cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place overall male andfemale finishers. For more information, call (337) 584-1545.

BEATS & EATS MARCH 8Volunteers of America will hold its

Beats & Eats fundraiser on Fri., March 8from 6 to 9 p.m. at Treasures ofMarilyn’s in Lake Charles. The casualevent will feature a dinner buffet anddancing to music by Tommy Shreve,Danny Kimball & Friends. Productsand services donated by area busi-nesses will be auctioned.Additionally, there will be a raffle fora Gift Card Bundle valued at over$500 to top retail establishments.Raffle tickets are being sold inadvance for only $5, and you do nothave to be present to win. The pro-ceeds from Beats & Eats will be usedto support the life-changing programs provided byVolunteers of America in southwest Louisiana. Tickets for Beats & Eats are only$30 per person or $250 for a reserved table of 10 before Feb. 25. Tickets are$35 per person after that upon availability. For more information, call (337)497-0034.

BANNERS PRESENTS KORESH DANCE COMPANY MARCH 9Renowned for its powerful stage presence and high-energy style,

Philadelphia’s Koresh Dance Company has been hailed as a vital force on bothnational and international stages. Founded in 1991 by Israeli-born choreogra-pher and artistic director Ronen Koresh, this troupe presents its audienceswith an exciting and emotional blend of ballet, modern dance and jazz mold-ed into a style of choreography that is both eloquent and explosive. See themat the Rosa Hart Theatre, Lake Charles Civic Center, Sat., March 9. Tickets areavailable at the door at $20 for adults, $5 for students and free to McNeese

and Sowelastudents with IDs. Formore information, call theBanners office at 475-5123 or visitwww.banners.org.

JITTERBUG AND GRUB MARCH 9Get set for Jitterbug and Grub!

Dinner, dancing and fun festivities.Dance to the unique Cajun Zydecosounds from Barry Badon and the Bayou BoysBand. Enjoy a delicious jambalaya dinner and anexciting silent Auction. This event will be held at the Knights ofColumbus Hall at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Carlyss beginningat 6 p.m. Cost is $20 per person. Advance tickets are available at StTheresa’s Church office or by calling Janet Gautreaux at 583-4837 orAngie Clark at 583-4010. Benefits the Missionaries of LaSallette.

RUN FOR THE SON MARCH 9Take part in the Missionaries of La Sallette’s 5k Challenge or 1 Mile Fun

Run. Registration will be accepted on the day of the event beginning at6:30 a.m., but pre-registration is encouraged to guarantee T-shirts. Registeronline at www.active.com or by obtaininga registration form available now at thechurch office and fitness locations aroundtown. All ages are welcome. Pre-registra-tion cost for adults $25. For children under12, pre-registration is $15 and $20 the dayof the race. The race will begin and end atOur Lady of Prompt Succor in Sulphur.



TJN

EMPTY BOWLFUNDRAISER MARCH 14

The Salvation Army will holdits fifth Empty Bowl dinner atL'Auberge Casino Resort on Thurs.,March 14. Guests will enjoy a beauti-ful meal, which will include a varietyof soups provided by twelve of LakeCharles' premier chefs. Each person will alsoreceive a handmade, one-of-a-kind ceramic soupbowl prepared by local potters as a gift for helpingthose in need. Entertainment will be provided by theVictory Belles from the National World War II Museum.Proceeds will be used to enable the Salvation Army tocontinue to meet the needs of the less fortunate.Sponsorships and single admission tickets are still avail-

able and may be obtained by calling (337) 433-4155.

QUILT SHOW MARCH 15-16"Beyond Grandma's Quilt" Quilt Show sponsoredby Calcasieu Cut-Ups Quilt Guild will be held at the

Lake Charles Civic Center, March 15-16 from 10a.m.-5 p.m. Nearly 300 quilts will be on display.

Ribbons will be awarded to First, Second, ThirdPlaces and Honorable Mention in over 25 cate-

gories. Area mayors have been invited to view theshow and participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony

at 10 a.m. on Fri., March 15. The show will alsoinclude a Merchant Mall, various vendors, bou-

tiques and many wonderful door prizes.Admission is $5, under 6 free. For more infor-

mation, call 309-9731.

CHAMPAGNE BINGO LUNCHEON MARCH 16Pop the champagne cork and grab a bingo

card for a Saturday filled with games, prizes, andfabulous food – all for a great cause. The Lake Charles

Symphony invites you to its first Champagne BingoLuncheon on Sat., March 16, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Lake

Charles Country Club. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. A buffetlunch of assorted finger sandwiches, seafood and chicken crepes,

mini quiches, fruit and cheese, and an array of tantalizing desserts willbe served. Champagne punch is included in the price and a cashbar will be available. The fun continues with bingo games anddoor prizes. Tickets are $50 a person or reserved tables ofeight for $400, and may be purchased online www.lcsym-phony.org or by calling the symphony office at 433-1611.All proceeds benefit the Lake Charles SymphonyOrchestra.

LCB’S ASSEMBLÉ 2013 MARCH 16-17Tickets go on sale Jan. 28 for the Lake Charles Civic

Ballet’s Assemblé 2013--a complete theatre experience thatfuses classical dance with our region’s rich art, music andchoreography through a unique and exciting artistic collabo-ration. Held at the Rosa Hart Theatre, performances are Sat.,March 16 at 7 p.m. and Sun., March 17 at 3 p.m. Tickets forboth shows are available starting Jan. 28 by contacting TheCivic Center Box Office/Ticketmaster at (337) 491-1432 orwww.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are priced at $26.50 forPreferred Seating (Sections A-D) and $16.50 for GeneralSeating, including balcony seats. For more information or tobecome a sponsor, visit www.lakecharlescivicballet.com.


The

Sponsored by

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21• Kris Harper/Matthew Moss @ Otis & Henry’s,

Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 6 p.m.• Pete Bergeron @ DI’s Cajun Restaurant, Basile,

6:30 p.m.• Phillip Glynn & Daze @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of

Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• Geno Delafosse & French Rockin Boogie @

Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 9 p.m.• DJ San-D @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge

Casino, 11 p.m.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22• Second Nature @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 6 p.m.• Briggs Brown & Bayou Cajuns @ DI’s Cajun

Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.• Street Side Jazz Band @ Luna Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.• Static @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri Casino,

Westlake, 8 p.m.• Brian Moore @ Cigar Club, 9 p.m.• TBA @ Yesterday’s, 9 p.m.• BB & Company @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs,

Vinton, 9 p.m.• Karma @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder,

9 p.m.

• DJ San-D @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge Casino, 11 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23• Lynyrd Skynyrd @ The Pavilion, Coushatta

Casino, Kinder, 6:30 p.m.• TBA @ DI’s Cajun Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.• Lochness Mobsters/Natural Child @ Luna Live,

8 p.m.• The Kadillacs @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• Paul Gonsoulin @ Cigar Club, 9 p.m.• TBA @ Yesterday’s, 9 p.m.• BB & Company @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs,

Vinton, 9 p.m.• Karma @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder,

9 p.m.• DJ San-D @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge

Casino, 11 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24• Asian Concert @ L’Auberge Event Center,

L’Auberge Casino, 2 p.m.• Warren Storm/Willie Tee & Cypress @ Yesterday’s, 5 p.m.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26• Consider the Source @ Luna Live, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27• Neal Smith @ Cigar Club, 7 p.m.• T-Broussard & Zydeco Steppers @ Caribbean

Cove, Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28• Street Side Jazz Band @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of

Capri Casino, Westlake, 6 p.m.• Bri Bagwell & The Banned @ Mikko, Coushatta

Casino, Kinder, 7 p.m.• The Posse @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• DJ Cage @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge

Casino, 11 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 1• TBA @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of Capri Casino,

Westlake, 6 p.m.• Street Side Jazz Band @ Luna Bar &

Grill, 7 p.m.• Dirty Play @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino,

Kinder, 7 p.m.

To list your event e-mail: [email protected]


• Maceo Parker @ Lake Charles Civic Center, 7:30 p.m.

• PGA @ Linda’s Lounge, 8 p.m.• TBA @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of

Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• LA Express @ Gator Lounge, Delta• Downs, Vinton, 9 p.m.• TBA @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill,

L’Auberge Casino, 11 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 2• Dirty Play @ Mikko, Coushatta

Casino, Kinder, 7 p.m.• TBA @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of

Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• LA Express @ Gator Lounge, Delta

Downs, Vinton, 9 p.m.• C-Loc/Lil Buck @ The Keg, 10 p.m.• TBA @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill,

L’Auberge Casino, 11 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 7• TBA @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 6 p.m.• Leroy Thomas & Zydeco

Roadrunners @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 7 p.m.

• TBA @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.

• TBA @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge Casino, 11 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 8• TBA @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 6 p.m.• Street Side Jazz Band @ Luna Bar

& Grill, 7 p.m.• Stellar @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino,

Kinder, 7 p.m.• Mark Reeves Band @ Linda’s

Lounge, 8 p.m.• Twangsters Union @ Caribbean

Cove, Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.

• Upper Level Disturbance @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 9 p.m.

• TBA @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge Casino, 11 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 9• Stellar @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino,

Kinder, 7 p.m.• Dax Riggs/The Rayo Brothers @

Luna Live, 8 p.m.• Satellite Sky @ My Place Bar, 8 p.m.• Albert Simpson @ Cigar Club,

8 p.m.

• Vince Gill @ The Pavilion, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 8 p.m.

• TBA @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.

• Upper Level Disturbance @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 9 p.m.

• TBA @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge Casino, 11 p.m. TJN


A few years ago, I was very happy to

report in these pages [The Jam, May 20,

2010] on Steve Earle’s GRAMMY Award-

winning tribute album Townes (released

on the New West label) that gathered

together some of the best of the late,

great songwriter Townes Van Zandt’s

words and music. He's held a special

place in my heart since I worked briefly

for his record label in the late 1970s.

At that time, Townes was worse than

broke and schussing down a wormhole

of drugs and alcohol (which would

eventually lead to his death, by heart

attack, on January 1, 1997, age 52). I

was the office manager/publicity assis-

tant at Tomato Records, charged with

(among many other dodges) fending off

artists’ requests for royalty statements

and payments (as Townes did, regularly

calling collect, with increasing despera-

tion and frantic anger, from the first to

the last day of my tenure at the label).

It was hard listening to his alternating

requests and demands, but I could do

little to alleviate Townes’ suffering,

because Tomato was going under, in

debt to everyone from the landlord to

the stationery store. Owner Kevin

Eggers spent much of his time ducking

phone calls from artists and vendors,

and trying, in his boy-wonder way (after

all, he was reportedly still in his teens

when he helped legendary impresario

Sid Bernstein bring The Beatles to

America) with unimpaired optimism to

raise capital to meet payroll, and possi-

bly, pay off some of the creditors. That

didn’t work, unfortunately, and I’m sorry

to say that Townes’ financial troubles

continued beyond the grave, as his

ex-wife/executrix sued Eggers and his ex-

wife, and various Tomato-related entities

on behalf of Townes’ estate for copyright

infringement and back royalties, alleging

many more years of non-payments.

But it’s possible (and I surely hope so)

that the Van Zandt estate is reaping

some financial rewards these days from

the Steve Earle tribute record and from a

new double album anthology of Townes’

own performances – Sunshine Boy: The

Unheard Studio Sessions & Demos 1971

– 1972 – that’s just been released by

Omnivore Recordings, whose delicious

motto “create, devour, repeat” respects

no musical genre boundaries but the

owners’ own tastes.

Which is absolutely the right home

for this new Townes Van Zandt record

that pulls spare and clean renderings of

some of his most important material

from the demos and session outtakes of

two of his best records, The Late, Great

Townes Van Zandt and High, Low and

In Between (and, full disclosure, for

which 1996 Acoustic Highway/EMI reis-

sues of the original releases I wrote liner

notes), alternating his deceptively simple

original songs with effortless playful

twists on covers of songs written by oth-

ers.I loved the Willie Nelson/Merle

Haggard version of “Pancho and Lefty”

that topped the Billboard country chart

in 1983 (and the music video that you

can find on YouTube, or late at night on

one of the country music video stations),

but I rediscovered Townes’ own phrasing

in the Sunshine Boy alternate take, and

now believe I love his recordings best.

British author, playwright and jour-

nalist Colin Escott’s liner notes for

Sunshine Boy reviews Townes’ bleak his-

tory and analyzes the heard-for-the-

first-time recordings of many of these

songs, so I won’t repeat him here. By

now, you’ve probably heard Emmylou

Harris’ cover of “If

I Needed You,” and

maybe some of Townes’ other

best works covered by dozens of

lesser-known singers, but if you haven’t,

there are loads of ways to hear them, not

least of which is to get your hands on

Sunshine Boy, and I urge you to give

yourself a treat and do so.

When I read that Sunshine Boy was

about to be released, I tracked down the

Omnivore Recordings’ story, and then

spoke with Cheryl Pawelski, one of its

founders, to find out why the label had

decided to release Townes’ music.

Pawelski told me that she’d been

thinking about doing something with

the archived sessions for years, from way

back when she was a producer of catalog

projects at EMI/Capitol (which is also

where she became a fan and supporter of

the music of another of my faves,

Richard Thompson, who was then a

Capitol recording artist, and some of

whose records have been reissued on

Omnivore).

So, it was an organic progression from

being downsized by the dying major

labels to the formation of Omnivore with

several friends who were also downsized

industry veterans, in order to produce

and sell records the company’s owners

would want for their personal collec-

tions, and, without sacrificing quality,

to release those projects in leaner,

smarter ways.

They planned to do so with lower

overhead than the major labels had

had, and with multiple income

stream opportunities in place

(placement of songs in film and

television, niche marketing, etc.),

so that they could finance wildly

divergent records and find the

audiences that share their musi-

cal tastes. Townes Van Zandt’s

previously unheard demos

and recording sessions fit the

Leslie Berman’s career in music spansfour decades, and includes stints as afolksinger, music teacher, coffeehousebooker, concert promoter, publicist, fes-tival director, music journalist, albumnotes writer, artist manager, tradeorganization president, entertainmentattorney, and president of the MusicMuseum of Southwest Louisiana.She prefers all things musicallyeclectic, and votes on the

GRAMMYs as a member of theRecording Academy. She can be

reached at [email protected].

Townes Van Zandt:

The Audio Files, Part 1


young label’s mission perfectly.When we spoke, Pawelski

was nursing the weird cold/fluthat’s been making the rounds,exacerbated by the non-stopweek of events leading up tothe GRAMMY awards, but shegave me nearly two hours ofher time. Our conversationranged widely over musicaltastes we share, the Omnivorestart up and her philosophy

about analog, digital and otherrecording formats (she believesthat we are in for a re-emer-gence of vinyl records as a pri-mary purchase choice amongyounger music fans) and somany other topics of mutualinterest that I’m going give her(and me) a little time to recov-er, and I will visit those issuesupon you in the next issue ofThe Jam.TJN

Killin’ Time CrosswordACROSS

1. Like a bug in a rug5. Grammy category8. Reverberate

12. Actress Russo13. "Exodus" hero14. Appearance15. Military supplies17. Hauls18. Meeting place?20. German "I"21. Cost of living?22. Galway Bay's ___

Islands25. Craggy peak26. Debtor's note29. Paparazzi equipment33. Floor rug34. Circuit35. Zone36. Distinctive flair38. Brooch40. Colorado River gorge44. So-so45. Lincoln's first home47. Crooner Crosby48. Clean air org.49. Gambling mecca50. "Splendor in

the Grass" writer51. Study52. Artificially colored

DOWN1. Sold-out sign2. Toy ball material3. Word processing

command4. Bona fide5. Salad dressing6. With the bow, in music7. French pantomime

character8. Ms Pompeo9. Palace attendant

10. Swine11. Authorizes16. Pendulum's path19. Detective Wolfe22. Money dispenser23. Stephen of "V

for Vendetta"24. Changing25. Spinning toy27. United28. Cable network30. Blueprint31. Managed32. Whistleblower's cord37. Substantial38. Heathen39. "Monsters, __"

40. Acquire41. Make do42. Follow orders43. Number in nonet44. J. Edgar Hoover's org.46. Go-ahead

© Lovatts Publications Pty Ltd

Lake Charles League of Women Voters 45th Annual BanquetMarch 14, 6:00 PM • Reeves Uptown Catering • 1639 Ryan St.

Learn about the core belief of these Political PartiesMike McHale, Democratic Party

Gary McLendon, Libertarian PartyTore Carlberg, Republican Party

$30 for LWV/Chamber • Non-Members $35RSVP to [email protected] or leave a message at 337.474.1864.

the jambalaya news - 02/21/13, vol. 4, no. 23

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