2
PEOPLE THE ADVOCATE Editor’s note: This is the first in a se- ries of stories following 28-year-old Kelli Richmond’s fight against ovar- ian cancer. BY PAM BORDELON Advocate staff writer For her 28th birthday Jan. 8, Kelli Richmond’s friends threw her a wig party. They sported a variety of wigs — some more playful than others, in support of Richmond as she battles ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer isn’t something a 28-year-old is supposed to get; 69 per- cent of women diagnosed in the United States from 2002 to 2006 were 55 or older. But after experiencing three months of “stabbing pain” with her monthly cycles, preceded by sporadic problems for several months, Rich- mond called her gynecologist, Dr. Kay Solar. “I knew something wasn’t right,” said Richmond, adding that she wasn’t too concerned since all of her symptoms pointed to endometriosis, a female re- productive disorder in which the lin- ing of the uterus grows in other places, such as the fallopian tubes, ovaries or tissue lining the pelvis. That changed when Solar started measuring an image on the screen during Richmond’s CT scan. “I said, ‘That’s not supposed to be there is it?’ And she said, ‘There’s lots of things there that shouldn’t be there,’” Rich- mond recalled. Thinking they were dealing with an endometrial cyst, the next stop was an ultrasound. That led to a diagnosis of either an ectopic pregnancy or ovarian dermoid cyst, a bizarre, usually benign tumor that typically contains a diversi- ty of tissues including hair, teeth, bone, thyroid, etc. Solar scheduled Richmond for laparoscopic surgery Oct. 23. “When I woke up, my parents (Patsy and Ron Richmond) had this look of fear on their faces,” Richmond said. “When I asked them what happened, they just kept saying to wait for the doctor. I then checked my cell phone and I had a message from Dr. Solar’s office telling me they had made an ap- pointment for me with Dr. (Jacob) Es- tes. I looked at them and said, ‘I have cancer don’t I?’” Yes, she did. Cancer had literally taken over her uterus. One ovary was Ovarian cancer is a growth of ab- normal malignant cells that begins in the ovaries. Cancer that spreads to the ovaries but originates at an- other site is not considered ovar- ian cancer. Ovarian tumors can be benign (noncancerous) or malig- nant (cancerous). Although abnor- mal, cells of benign tumors do not metastasize (spread to other parts of the body). While the causes of ovarian cancer are unknown, some theories exist. Genetic errors may occur because of damage from the normal monthly release of an egg. Increased hormone levels before and during ovulation may stimulate the growth of abnormal cells. Currently there is no way of preventing ovarian cancer. Symptoms The most common symptoms include abdominal bloating or dis- comfort, increased abdominal size or clothes that fit tighter around your waist, increased or urgent need to urinate and pelvic pain. Additional signs and symptoms are persistent gas, indigestion or nausea, unexplained changes in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss or gain, loss of appetite, feel- ing full quickly during or after a meal, pain during sexual inter- course, a persistent lack of energy, low back pain and shortness of breath. Who’s at risk? All women are at risk of develop- ing ovarian cancer regardless of age; however, a woman’s risk is highest during her 60s and increases with age through her late 70s. Research suggests a relationship between the number of menstrual cycles in a woman’s lifetime and her risk of developing ovarian cancer. A woman is at an increased risk if she started men- struating at an early age (before 12), has not given birth to any chil- dren, had her first child after age 30, experienced menopause after age 50 and/or has never taken oral contraceptives. Stats Ovarian cancer accounts for ap- proximately 3 percent of cancers in women. While it’s the ninth most common cancer, it is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women, and is the deadliest of gynecologic cancers. Mortality rates are slightly higher for Caucasian women than for mi- nority women. Source: Ovarian Cancer National Alliance Advocate staff photos by RICHARD ALAN HANNON Laying with a stuffed pink elephant given to her by boyfriend Conway Herzog III, Kelli Richmond, 28, of Baton Rouge, goes through her third round of chemotherapy treatment at Woman’s Hospital. Ovarian cancer facts CONFRONTING CANCER Woman stays positive through treatment Patsy Richmond, left, watches as daughter Kelli Richmond adjusts her hat over a wig at the ‘Fight Like a Girl’ wig party her friends threw for her 28th birthday in January. See CANCER, page 2D

PEOPLE FRIDAYdocshare02.docshare.tips/files/20014/200141772.pdf · 2017. 1. 7. · PEOPLE SECTION D FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2010 Television. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3D Puzzles. .

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Page 1: PEOPLE FRIDAYdocshare02.docshare.tips/files/20014/200141772.pdf · 2017. 1. 7. · PEOPLE SECTION D FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2010 Television. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3D Puzzles. .

PEOPLESECTION DFRIDAY

FEBRUARY 26, 2010Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3DPuzzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4DComics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5D

★★

The phone call was frommy brother in Virginia, whohad just gotten this unlikelypiece of news from an officemate:

“Hell has frozen over fora second time. First, theSaints won the Super Bowl.Now, they say it’s snowingin Baton Rouge.”

By the time my brotherreached me to share thejoke, the light morningsnow of Feb. 12 was alreadystarting to melt. It was anice finale for a winter thatpromises to linger in Louisi-ana memories.

Although Louisianaresidents often seem to takepride in being differentfrom everyone else, fittingin has its rewards, too.

Winning the Super Bowlthis winter allowed Louisi-ana residents a special feel-ing of being part of the restof the country.

An occasional snow doesthat, too. Thanks to Christ-mas specials and holidaycards, snow reigns as win-ter’s most desirable fashionaccessory. Snow in Louisi-ana makes our winters feelas if we’re observing theseason in style.

The snow that arrived ear-lier this month also seemedlike an eventful closing ofthe curtain on winter thisyear. Despite this week’sfrigid temps, winter is wan-ing.

Of course, anyone whopublicly writes off winter atthe close of February standsthe risk of being wrong. Ihail from strawberry coun-try, where more than oneinexperienced farmer hasdismissed the prospect oflate-winter freezes and paidthe price.

I also remember, some 20years ago, planning a riv-erfront picnic with a friendone March day, only to bechilled to the core by a finalfront of arctic weather.

But with February aboutto drop from the calendar,what we’re more likelyto get isn’t snow, but thesloppy downpours of arriv-ing spring.

That came to mind lastSunday as a small rainstormprodded me awake in themiddle of the night. I’dclosed the bathroom shut-ters, but lightning seepedthrough the slats, flickeringwith portent.

The tumult reminded methat our nights are going toget noisier soon, as warmingweather brings a chorus ofcrickets and frogs, and per-haps the persistent trill ofa mockingbird in the dark-ness.

THEADVOCATE

DANNYHEITMANAt random

Winter closeswith victoryand snow

Your LSU days may be farbehind you, or just last year,but the memories linger,don’t they?

The Advocate invites youto share a memory — any-thing from a favorite pro-fessor to an exciting ath-letic event to a fabulous fratparty — for an upcomingspecial section celebratingLSU’s 150th anniversary— its sesquicentennial. Thesection will be publishedSunday, April 18. So type upyour memory (please limitto about 50 words) and sendit, along with a photo if youhave it, to: LSU Memories,P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge,LA 70821 or e-mail it to [email protected] for submissions isMarch 22.

LSU memories

➤See HEITMAN, page 6D

Longtime camellia growersand newcomers are invitedto the “Camellia Morning andTutorium atBurden” from9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Saturdayat theLSU AgCen-ter’s BurdenCenter, 4560Essen Lane,Essen Lane atI-10.

Learn camellia culture,pruning, grafting, propagating

by layering and cutting. Ad-mission is $5 with registrationstarting at 9 a.m. at the IoneBurden Conference Center.

Camellia expert Art Landrywill conduct the workshopwhich includes a tour of thecamellia gardens. Burden ishome of the largest camelliacollection in Louisiana.

About succulentsThe Iberville Parish Library

in Plaquemine, 24605 J. GeraldBerret Blvd., will host a Mas-

ter Gardener program on suc-culents from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.Saturday. Someone will gohome with a door prize.

The program is sponsored byFriends of the Iberville ParishPublic Libraries.

Ready to turn pro?The LSU AgCenter is con-

ducting a seminar in Shreve-port March 6 from 8:30 a.m.to 3 p.m. at the Caddo ParishExtension Office, 2408 E. 70thSt., for commercial fruit and

vegetable growers.The daylong workshop goes

from start-up to establishedoperations and includes veg-etable varieties, weed control,improving soil, planning sea-sonlong production and mar-keting. The event is free andopen to the public. To registeror for more information, callDenyse Cummins at (318) 698-0010 or e-mail [email protected].

Ed CullenAdvocate staff writer

BY JULIE WERNAUChicago Tribune

CHICAGO — Molly Suttonfinds it challenging to ignorea text message when she’sdriving. The 18-year-old highschool senior said it’s hard towait until the next stoplight.

“I know it’s not safe be-cause there’s proof with allthe crashes and everything,but it’s one of those thingsyou don’t think much of oryou think you still have somecontrol over,” she said.

Her friend Claire Quinn,18, finds it annoying whensomeone in front of herdrives slowly, but she doesn’tthink she’s a risky driver.

“Where do I start?” saidQuinn’s passenger, MattParilli, 17, cataloguing hisfriend’s driving shortcom-ings. “She’s crying in the carbecause there’s snow on theground, or she’s in a rush toget to school.”

Since the dawn of the au-tomobile, teenage boys havebeen pegged as the more ag-gressive and risky drivers,with inflated insurance billsto prove it. But the gap indriving risks appears to beclosing, according to insur-ance industry officials anda new report from a majorinsurer.

The Allstate Foundation,part of insurance giant All-state Corp., says in a newlyreleased “State of TeenDriving Report” that teen-age girls admit to speeding,texting and acting aggres-sively behind the wheelmore often than their malecounterparts.

The trend hasn’t trans-lated into females becom-ing as big a risk behind thewheel as males, accordingto insurers. But if the trendcontinues, that could resultin higher insurance ratesdown the road.

“Experience still shows fe-male drivers are safer thanboys at this age,” Allstatespokesman Raleigh Floydsaid. “Until those figureschange, our rating isn’t go-ing to change.”

Still, the overall risk fac-tor for girls is rising as evi-denced by insurance rates.Twenty years ago, it costtwice as much to insure amale teen driver as a fe-male, said Thomas DeFalco,an actuary at the New Jer-sey Manufacturers Insur-ance Co. Today, young menpay between 20 percent and30 percent more than youngwomen.

“We’ve seen the differencebetween young men andyoung women getting small-er,” DeFalco said. “There isstill a gap, but it’s gettingsmaller all the time.”

DeFalco said insurers don’tnecessarily look at the rea-sons teen boys get into morecrashes than teen girls, butthey do set rates based onthat difference. He said hedoubted crash statistics ofteen girls would surpass thatof teen boys, but he addedthat doesn’t mean it couldn’thappen.

According to the Allstatestudy, one in four teen girlsreported frequently readingand writing texts and e-mailswhile driving, comparedwith 15 percent of boys.

“They’re bored while driv-ing, so they try to find otherthings to do,” said KathyClausen, co-owner of A-Adams School of Driving.“Most of them will tell youtheir parents do it.”

Clausen said instructorspreach to their teen driversabout the dangers of using acell phone or texting while

Teen girldriversget morerisky

➤See DRIVERS, page 2D

Landry

IN THE YARD: ‘Camellia Morning and Tutorium’

Editor’s note: This is the first in a se-ries of stories following 28-year-oldKelli Richmond’s fight against ovar-ian cancer.

BY PAM BORDELONAdvocate staff writer

For her 28th birthday Jan. 8,

Kelli Richmond’s friends threw

her a wig party.

They sported a variety of wigs

— some more playful than others,

in support of Richmond as she

battles ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer isn’t something a28-year-old is supposed to get; 69 per-cent of women diagnosed in the UnitedStates from 2002 to 2006 were 55 orolder. But after experiencing threemonths of “stabbing pain” with hermonthly cycles, preceded by sporadicproblems for several months, Rich-mond called her gynecologist, Dr. KaySolar.

“I knew something wasn’t right,” saidRichmond, adding that she wasn’t tooconcerned since all of her symptomspointed to endometriosis, a female re-productive disorder in which the lin-

ing of the uterus grows in other places,such as the fallopian tubes, ovaries ortissue lining the pelvis.

That changed when Solar startedmeasuring an image on the screenduring Richmond’s CT scan. “I said,‘That’s not supposed to be there is it?’And she said, ‘There’s lots of thingsthere that shouldn’t be there,’” Rich-mond recalled.

Thinking they were dealing with anendometrial cyst, the next stop was anultrasound. That led to a diagnosis ofeither an ectopic pregnancy or ovariandermoid cyst, a bizarre, usually benigntumor that typically contains a diversi-ty of tissues including hair, teeth, bone,thyroid, etc. Solar scheduled Richmondfor laparoscopic surgery Oct. 23.

“When I woke up, my parents (Patsyand Ron Richmond) had this look offear on their faces,” Richmond said.“When I asked them what happened,they just kept saying to wait for thedoctor. I then checked my cell phoneand I had a message from Dr. Solar’soffice telling me they had made an ap-pointment for me with Dr. (Jacob) Es-tes. I looked at them and said, ‘I havecancer don’t I?’”

Yes, she did. Cancer had literallytaken over her uterus. One ovary was

Ovarian cancer is a growth of ab-normal malignant cells that beginsin the ovaries. Cancer that spreadsto the ovaries but originates at an-other site is not considered ovar-ian cancer. Ovarian tumors can bebenign (noncancerous) or malig-nant (cancerous). Although abnor-mal, cells of benign tumors do notmetastasize (spread to other partsof the body). While the causes ofovarian cancer are unknown, sometheories exist. Genetic errors mayoccur because of damage fromthe normal monthly release of anegg. Increased hormone levelsbefore and during ovulation maystimulate the growth of abnormalcells. Currently there is no way ofpreventing ovarian cancer.

SymptomsThe most common symptomsinclude abdominal bloating or dis-comfort, increased abdominal sizeor clothes that fit tighter aroundyour waist, increased or urgentneed to urinate and pelvic pain.Additional signs and symptomsare persistent gas, indigestion ornausea, unexplained changes inbowel habits, unexplained weightloss or gain, loss of appetite, feel-ing full quickly during or after ameal, pain during sexual inter-course, a persistent lack of energy,low back pain and shortness ofbreath.

Who’s at risk?All women are at risk of develop-ing ovarian cancer regardlessof age; however, a woman’s riskis highest during her 60s andincreases with age through herlate 70s. Research suggests arelationship between the numberof menstrual cycles in a woman’slifetime and her risk of developingovarian cancer. A woman is at anincreased risk if she started men-struating at an early age (before12), has not given birth to any chil-dren, had her first child after age30, experienced menopause afterage 50 and/or has never takenoral contraceptives.

StatsOvarian cancer accounts for ap-proximately 3 percent of cancersin women. While it’s the ninthmost common cancer, it is the fifthleading cause of cancer-relateddeath among women, and is thedeadliest of gynecologic cancers.Mortality rates are slightly higherfor Caucasian women than for mi-nority women.

Source: Ovarian CancerNational Alliance

Advocate staff photos by RICHARD ALAN HANNON

Laying with a stuffed pink elephant given to her by boyfriend Conway Herzog III, Kelli Richmond, 28, of BatonRouge, goes through her third round of chemotherapy treatment at Woman’s Hospital.

Ovarian cancer facts

CONFRONTING

CANCERWoman stays positive through treatment

Patsy Richmond, left, watches as daughter Kelli Richmond adjusts her hatover a wig at the ‘Fight Like a Girl’ wig party her friends threw for her 28thbirthday in January.

➤See CANCER, page 2D

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Page 2: PEOPLE FRIDAYdocshare02.docshare.tips/files/20014/200141772.pdf · 2017. 1. 7. · PEOPLE SECTION D FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2010 Television. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3D Puzzles. .

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday, Feb. 26, the57th day of 2010. There are 308days left in the year.

Today’s highlight in history:On Feb. 26, 1940, the U.S. Air

Defense Command was creat-ed.

On this date:In 1802, French literary giant

Victor Hugo was born in Be-sancon.

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparteescaped from exile on the Is-land of Elba.

In 1870, an experimental air-driven subway, the Beach Pneu-matic Transit, opened in NewYork City for public demon-strations.

In 1919, President WoodrowWilson signed ameasure estab-lishing GrandCanyon Nation-al Park in Ari-zona.

In 1929, Pres-ident CalvinCoolidge signeda measure es-tablishing Grand Teton Nation-al Park in Wyoming.

In 1945, a midnight curfew onnightclubs, bars and otherplaces of entertainment was setto go into effect across the na-tion.

In 1952, Prime Minister Win-ston Churchill announced thatBritain had developed its ownatomic bomb.

In 1979, a total solar eclipsecast a moving shadow 175 mileswide from Oregon to NorthDakota before moving intoCanada.

In 1987, theTower Com-mission, whichprobed theIran-Contra af-fair, issued itsreport, whichrebuked Presi-dent RonaldReagan for fail-ing to control his national secu-rity staff.

In 1993, a bomb built by Is-lamic extremists exploded inthe parking garage of NewYork’s World Trade Center,killing six people and injuringmore than 1,000 others.

Ten years ago:Pope John Paul II, concluding

a three-day trip to Egypt, visit-ed Mount Sinai, where heprayed for religious tolerancein a garden under the peakrevered as the place whereMoses received the Ten Com-mandments.

Five years ago:Fifteen months after Japan’s

last liftoff ended in a spectacu-lar fireball, an orange and white

H-2A rocket blasted off from aremote southern island, carry-ing a weather and navigationsatellite. Egyptian PresidentHosni Mubarak ordered hiscountry’s constitution changedto allow presidential chal-lengers in an upcoming fallelection. A fragment of granitebearing the name “John” — allthat remained of a memorial tothe six people killed in the 1993terror attack on the WorldTrade Center — was installedas the central piece of a newpost-9/11 memorial. FormerTime magazine editor and U.S.ambassador to Austria HenryA. Grunwald died in New Yorkat age 82.

One year ago:President Barack Obama laid

out his first budget plan, pre-dicting a federal deficit of $1.75trillion. General Motors Corp.posted a $9.6 billion loss for thefourth quarter of 2008. The Pen-tagon, reversing an 18-year-oldpolicy, said it would allow somemedia coverage of returningwar dead, with family approval.Former Chicago Bulls playerNorm Van Lier died at age 61.

Today’s birthdays:Singer Fats Domino is 82.

Country-rockmusician PaulCotton (Poco) is67. Actor-direc-tor Bill Duke is67. SingerMitch Ryder is65. Rock musi-cian JonathanCain (Journey) is 60. SingerMichael Bolton is 57. ActorGreg Germann is 52. Democra-tic National Chairman TimKaine is 52. Bandleader JohnMcDaniel is 49. Actress Jen-nifer Grant is 44. Rock musi-cian Tim Commerford (Au-dioslave) is 42. Singer ErykahBadu is 39. Rhythm-and-bluessinger Rico Wade (Society ofSoul) is 38.Olympic goldmedal swim-mer JennyThompson is37. Rhythm-and-bluessinger KyleNorman(Jagged Edge)is 35. Rock musician Chris Cu-los (O.A.R.) is 31. Rhythm-and-blues singer Corinne BaileyRae is 31. Country singer Rod-ney Hayden is 30. Actress Tay-lor Dooley is 17.

Thought for today:“There is one thing more

powerful than the armies ofthe world, and that is an ideawhose time has come.” —French author Victor Hugo(1802-1885).

22DD ■ Friday, February 26, 2010 ■ The Advocate

tucked behind and adjacent tothe other one. Solar and Estestold Richmond she would haveto undergo a complete hys-terectomy.

When she was rolled intosurgery at Woman’s HospitalOct.28,20orsofamilymemberswaited anxiously in the waitingroom. Aside from the hysterec-tomy,Estesremovedherappen-dix and resectioned her colon aswell as two other sections ofRichmond’s intestines. As he ex-plained to Richmond after thesurgery,heruterusliterally“fellapart” in his hands as he was re-moving it. The final diagnosis —Stage III ovarian cancer.

“I kept myself together betterthan the rest of the family,” saidastill-togetherRichmond,asshewas undergoing round three ofher chemotherapy treatment atWoman’s. “It hit my dad thehardest. My mother just keptsaying, ‘I wish it was me.’ Con-way(HerzogIII,herfiancé)wasmy rock! He kept it togetherwhich allowed me to keep it to-gether.

“You kind of take yourself bysurprise,” she continued. “Youdon’t know how you’re going toreact.”

Richmond admitted that thesurgery and its recovery was 10times harder to deal with thanchemotherapy, so far. “It’s beenbetter than I expected. They

give me steroids before mytreatment, but then the fatiguehits and I spend three days inbed after I leave here (the hos-pital).”

She’s sometimes hit with nau-sea, “but that’s usually associ-ated with stress.” Her otherside effects are dry skin andweight loss. While most womenwould welcome dropping sev-eral pounds, the already petiteRichmond confessed herweight loss is “the largest painin the butt.”

Even with all she is goingthrough, Richmond keeps an in-fectious smile on her face and apositive outlook. She is inspiredby the fact that three of herfriends are cancer survivors.“People our age get cancer, butwe don’t die from cancer,” shesaid. “I immediately knew Iwas going to be OK.”

She’s getting on with her life— going to work every day, do-ing things that make her happyand hanging out with friends.Sometimes those friends startto vent about their daily prob-lems then stop short when theyremember what all Richmondis dealing with. “I quickly tell

them, ‘No, let me think aboutyour problems!’ I don’t wantthem to treat me any different-ly. Cancer is a part of who I am,but it’s not who I am … It putsa whole new perspective on lifethat people my age don’t have.”

Keeping things in perspectiveisn’t really something new forRichmond. As developmentmanager for the ALS Associa-tion Louisiana Chapter, she con-tinually interacts with peopledealing with a 100 percent fataldisease. “It gives me hope; I feellucky,” she said. “They re-moved 95 percent of my cancersurgically and the rest will begone after six rounds ofchemo.”

Her job also gave Richmondsome insight as to how patientservices work with different or-ganizations. “I knew where tolook for stuff,” she added, smil-ing. “I also know what questionsto ask. I was well prepared, be-cause of my job, to handle allthe logistics of this.”

One of her board membersalso offered some words of en-couragement. “Dr. Brent Allaintold me there are four things —the mind, spirit, support and

your doctor, and that if all fourare good, you are going to havethe best experience possible …”

And Richmond appears tohave all four in abundance. Her-zog cut her hair when it startedto fall out; his brother Chrisshaved it. “He first cut it into aMohawk,” said Richmond,adding that she fortunately kepther eyelashes and eyebrows,and has a normal appetite. “Con-way said, ‘You can either cry orlaugh about this, which one is itgoing to be?’ So we had a goodtime.”

And then there are the friendswho threw her the “Fight Like aGirl” wig birthday party. Theall-girl get-together was thebrainchild of Sara Godley. “Ihave one black, one blonde, onered and two brown wigs,” saidRichmond, laughing at thememory. “It was great to givethem to me so now I have a col-lection.”

She does have her moments,though. “I’ll feel weak and Iwant to scream at the world andsay ‘Why me?,’ but everythinghappens for a reason and hope-fully I can help others who mayface this one day.”

CANCERContinued from page 1D

Advocate staff photo by RICHARD ALAN HANNON

Kelli Richmond, second from left, talks with, from left, co-hostess Melissa Parmalee, sister Kristen Steward, mom Patsy Rich-mond and childhood friend Brooke Stikeleather during a ‘wig party’ celebrating her 28th birthday.

TODAY IN HISTORY

Wilson

Domino

driving. “Texting is so insane,”she said. “I can’t believe peoplewould think for a second theycould handle that.”

According to the National As-sociation of Insurance Com-missioners, gender-based in-surance rates are a tradition inthe insurance world.

Higher insurance rates foryoung male drivers related to

the fact that they drove morefrequently and, therefore, hada greater risk of getting into acrash than young female dri-vers, a spokesman said.

Differences still remain foryoung drivers, but most insur-ance companies no longer setdifferent rates for men andwomen by age 25, according tothe association.

Sam Belden, vice president atInsurance.com, said data com-piled through the online agencyshow premiums for 16-year-old

girl drivers have risen about$500 over the last two years,while those for boys in thesame age group have beenroughly flat.

“I think probably the biggestculprit is driver distraction,”said Belden, adding texting is astandout factor.

“It’s a trend with everybody,but teens tend to text more. Be-tween DVD players and videogame systems and things thatpeople are putting into vehi-cles, there are lots of distrac-

tions, for teens in particularwho are less experienced in dri-ving.”

Kristen Marzano, 17, has hadher license for about fivemonths and acknowledgedsometimes she puts on hermakeup or fixes her hair in thecar — or tries to fiddle with theadaptor for her MP3 player.

“It’s mostly I wait until thelast minute to do everything,”she said. “If I’m going to drive,I’m running out the door, drop-ping things. I guess it’s just be-

ing disorganized,” Marzanosaid.

In the Allstate study, 16 per-cent of teen girls admitted toaggressive behavior behind thewheel compared with 13 per-cent of teen boys, but Marzanodisagreed.

“I have an older brother; hejust turned 20. Driving withhim before I got my license, heseemed to be more angrywhenever someone cut him offor took his parking spot,” shesaid. “He got pretty flustered.”

Wailin Wongand Becky Yerak

contributed to this report

DRIVERSContinued from page 1D

Mrs.CleanBest prices,

highest qualityFor over 25 years

664-9053www.batonrougemaidservice.com

664-9053

Summer program lets youths observe health-care professionalsEast Baton Rouge Parish stu-

dents with an interest in a ca-reer in health care will havethe opportunity to participatein “A-HEC of a Summer.”

The students chosen to par-ticipate will spend five weeks

observing health-care profession-als in action.

The program isavailable to stu-dents who have

completed ninth through 11thgrade and have a 2.0 gradepoint average.

Upon completion of the pro-gram, they will receive one-half of a high-school electivecredit.

The application deadline isWednesday.

The program is offered atOur Lady of the Lake Region-al Medical Center and is a col-laboration with CentralLouisiana Area Health Educa-tion Center.

Another upcoming programfor juniors and seniors is theNurse Camp program atLouisiana College inPineville.

The program runs June 7-9,

and the application deadline isMarch 22.

For details, call the BatonRouge CLAHEC office at (225)757-9845.

➤ ON THE INTERNET:http://www.clahec.org

Senior wins scholarshipThe Runnels School senior

Kathryn Williams won a sum-mer scholar-ship to Franceduring the an-nual LouisianaAssociation ofHigh SchoolFrench ClubsConferenceheld in New Or-

leans late last month.For the scholarship, Williams

will travel to the seaside city ofLa Rochelle in western Francethis July.

She will join 25 other scholar-ship winners from around theworld to pursue language andcultural studies.

The three-week scholarship isoffered through the Education-al Services division of theFrench Embassy.

Piano student is finalistFor the second consecutive

year, Christopher Aubert, ofLafayette, isone of seven na-tional finalistsin the MusicTeachers Na-tional Associa-tion Elemen-tary Composi-tion Competi-

tion.Christopher, 10, is in the fifth

grade at St. John BerchmansSchool in Grand Coteau. He isthe son of Allen and MarthaAubert.

He has been studying compo-sition for five summers and pi-ano for seven years with SueSteck-Turner in Lafayette.

The three-tiered MTNA com-petitions begin at the state lev-el. Winners of each state com-petition advance to the divisioncompetition.

Division winners then pro-ceed to the national competitionfinals.

Submit youth news [email protected] or fax(225) 388-0351.

Photo provided by Central Louisiana Area Health Education Center

Diane Osorio, rear, 18, of Brusly High School, and Catherine Wen, front, 16, of Episcopal HighSchool, learn about surgery equipment during the 2008 ‘A-HEC of a Summer’ program at OurLady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.

YOUTHNEWS

Williams

Aubert

Reagan

Thompson

Even with all she is going through, Kelli Richmond keeps an infectious smileon her face and a positive outlook. She is inspired by the fact

that three of her friends are cancer survivors.“People our age get cancer, but we don’t die from cancer,” she said.

“I immediately knew I was going to be OK.”

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