The Jambalaya News - 03/21/13, Vol. 4, No. 25

VOL. 4, NO. 25 / MARCH 21, 2013

PAGE 2 MARCH 21 , 2013 Volume 4 • Issue 25

MARCH 21, 2013 PAGE 3Volume 4 • Issue 25

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

PUBLISHERPhil de [email protected]

NEWSEXECUTIVE EDITORLauren de [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORSNicole Shuff Arabie Rhonda BabinLeslie BermanGeorge ClineAngie Kay DilmoreJulie FayMonica HebertMike LouviereMike McHughMary Louise RuehrBrandon ShoumakerKarla Tullos

[email protected]

SALES ASSOCIATESMichele ClackFaye DrakeAllen Garber

GRAPHICSART/PRODUCTION DIRECTORBurn Rourk

ART ASSISTANTSarah Bercier

CONTRIBUTING 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.

Copyright 2013 The Jambalaya News all rightsreserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without priorwritten permission is prohibited.

March 21, 2013 • Volume 4 • Issue 25

COVER STORY23 Junior League of

Lake Charles, Inc.

REGULARS6 Adoption Corner7 The Boiling Pot8 Hospital Round-Up9 Soul Matters10 The Dang Yankee11 Tips from Tip28 Sports Report

FEATURES5 Meet Stan Plues,

Master Butcher12 Niblett’s Bluff Park: A Place

for Fun--and History15 What You Need to Know

About Kidney Stones16 Belly Fat in Men20 It’s Time to Plant

Spring Vegetables21 Keeping Your Children

Safe in Your Garden

ENTERTAINMENT30 Red Hot Books32 HeART of SWLA34 Acting Up!36 Funbolaya37 Family Night at the Movies39 Society Spice42 Jambalaya Jam44 Local Jam46 Eclectic Company47 Killin’ Time Crossword

contents

We accept credit cards!

On Cover: Junior League of Lake Charles, Inc.Eighty Years of Community Impact

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PAGE 4 MARCH 21, 2013 Volume 4 • Issue 25

CourageI was a shy little boy growing

up. I never said much in schoolunless I was asked a question. Icried when I had to start school.In kindergarten, I cried when Iwas chosen to be in a fashionshow and I cried when it wastime to go on stage. An adulthad to walk with me and holdmy hand. When I got older, Ididn’t stick up for myself when Iwas teased for being “brown.” Ididn’t have much courage. But inthe 8th grade, everything wasabout to change.

When we heard our juniorhigh school was having auditionsfor The Wizard of Oz, I decidedto take a chance and try out,along with my brothers Frankand Chuck. We were all in thechoir, so we were good singers.And we knew how to take direc-tion, thanks to our parents.

I remember the audition well.They had me read lines for theScarecrow, the Tin Man, and theLion. I saw myself as the

Scarecrow and gave it all I had! Idanced around and fell. For theTin Man, I walked stiff-legged.For the Lion, I growled and putup my fists as I pretended to bebrave. I was exhausted after-wards, but I felt good, knowingthat I gave it my best shot.

The next afternoon, Mr.Johnston called in all the studentswho auditioned. My brothers andI held our breath. First, he told ushow intense the rehearsals wouldbe, starting with once, then twice,then three times a week, andeventually, every day as we camecloser to the performance dates.We looked at each other and gavethe nod. We were ready.

I don’t remember anything elsethat day except hearing, “Phil,you will be our Cowardly Lion!”Then, “Frank, you will be the TinMan!” Finally, “Chuck, you willbe one of the lead munchkins!” Idon’t think our feet hit theground as we all ran home to tellMom and Dad the news.

They were right. It was a lot of

work memorizing our lines andlearning our parts. I was also apaperboy for The Detroit News,so I had to juggle deliveringpapers, schoolwork and rushingto rehearsals. I made it work.

After hours of practice,rehearsals and costume-fittings,we were all set for our first per-formance. I felt like a mightylion, showing my muscles back-stage and practicing my roar.That’s when Glinda, the GoodWitch (whom I had a crush on)motioned for me to lean over toher from the stage. That’s when ithappened...my first kiss. I’ll neverforget it. I was mush. I think mylegs even gave out. And everyonewas counting on me to enter thestage as a mighty lion. I took adeep breath, stood tall, andjumped on stage with the mighti-est growl I ever heard myselfmake! I did it!

Every show was fantastic. Itwas a huge success. The directormade T-shirts and pins that allour friends and families wore. We

made the newspapers, radio andeven local television. Everyonewas talking about The Wizard ofOz! And we made it all happen.

Our last performance was bit-tersweet. That show had beensuch a big part of our lives; we’dmade new friends and encour-aged and supported one other.We learned about teamwork, andbeing the best we could possiblybe. And it ended up having suchan influence on all of our lives. Ithelped me realize that I could beanything that I wanted to be.

Decades later, at one of ourclass reunions, one of my teach-ers said, “You sure aren’t lackingcourage now, Phil!”

And she is right.What a life I’ve had. Thanks to

that show, and the wonderfulteachers who instructed and nur-tured us, I know I can be a lion ifI want to be. I can be anything.

A Note From Phil

TJN

– Phil de Albuquerque

Volume 4 • Issue 25 MARCH 21, 2013 PAGE 5

“This is my art. This is my world,” said Master Butcher Stan Plues ashe gestures to a buffet table at Jag’s, a local bistro. Filled with attractivelydisplayed foods, the garnishments and perfect spheres of stuffed fish arethe handiwork of Plues (rhymes with blues) and are just a sampling ofhis renowned skills that earned him the title of Master Butcher.

According to the World Association of Master Butchers, a personearns the title of master by being an expert or master of their trade.Becoming a master takes years of apprenticeship at the side of anotherMaster Butcher. In addition, he or she must be able to have the abilityto teach others the trade through hands-on application.

Master Butchers have knowledge of domestic and weathered (out inthe elements) beasts and birds. They learn about the animals from fieldto table. No small feat when you think about all that is involved frombreeding and conception to having a piece of meat or fowl that is thecenterpiece of the meal they are plating.

There are only a handful of MasterButchers left in the world. Plues

makes his home in our cornerof the globe and happilyshared stories of his journeyto mastering the trade thatbecame his way of life.

Plues is a third generationMaster Butcher. He learned

from his father, who inturn learned from

his father.Born in

Londonin 1940

to Gladys and Harold Plues (who met in a butcher shop!), Plues’earliest memories involve World War II. He remembers having agas mask strapped to his face as protection from mustard gas.

Skip forward a few years and Plues’ memories take a happierturn. As a 9-year-old, much of his time was spent in the familybutcher shop. At the age of 11, he was told he would be working atthe shop on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. “At thatpoint, I knew I would be a Master Butcher. That is when my train-ing began,” Plues explained. “I had wanted to be an architect, butyou take the lot you’re given and be the best you can be.”

Five years of his apprenticeship had him learning about bacte-riology and how you age beef properly without refrigeration.

“I didn’t touch the meat for those years while I learned thedetails about running the butcher shop,” Plues recalled. Heremembers going to a business that sold hind quarters. The busi-ness had been in operation since 1867 and was the place to go.

“Here in the States, you would go to a barn sale to purchaseyour animal and then bring it to someone for processing,” hesaid. “In England, you go to the butcher shop where the MasterButcher has raised it, butchered it, and used every part of thecarcass to have things in the shop including steaks, roasts,bacon, and sausages.”

Those early years also helped him learn the skills of bartering withthe fish monger, haberdasher and green market vendor. “There weren’tgrocery stores, so if you needed a vegetable, you talked to the greenmarketer. We all traded wares to provide for our tables and customers,”he said.

By his mid-twenties, Plues was running his own butcher shop andhad acquired an appreciation for fine dining and wines. His skill andpleasure for combining all elements of a meal led him into the restau-rant industry. For 16 years, he ran a restaurant called The Viking onChurch Street in London. During this time, Plues also fathered a son,Andrew, who lives in England.

The mastery of his craft, his love of cooking, and the responsibilityof having others learn some of what he knew turned him into a worldtraveler. In his journeys, he learned about the animals, birds, andseafood unique to an area. And he took that knowledge home with him.“If it has four legs, can fly, or can swim, I can take it and build a platearound the meat,” he said.

Plues fell in love with America on a vacation here in 1976. In 1987,he moved to the States and worked from New York to Miami. “I fell inlove with the people in the South and decided to make it my home,” hesaid.

One particular Southerner, Mamou native Freda Whelan, is lovedmore than any other. They married in 1997. With a twinkle in his eye,Plues urges his wife to repeat the first thing she said to him when theymet.

“I told him to take all his clothes off !” She laughed, explaining thatshe was working for a local physician as a deep tissue medical mas-sage technician. Plues was there for an appointment to treat his rota-tor cuff.

Years of working with a hand-saw and knives cutting heavy pieces of

by Rhonda Babin

Stan Plues, MasterButcher


beef had taken their toll on Plues’ body. “It comes with the trade,” heshrugged.

Plues has seen his beloved art of Master Butchering become a thing ofthe past in the last two decades. “It really bugs me that the finest breedingstock in the world is bred, fed, fattened, and then vacuum packed andfrozen.” He said. “That’s all that’s available. There are zero butcheringschools in the United States and only one in Canada. I am fortunate that Igot to share my craft with students at Sowela for six years.”

The classes Plues taught include Food & Beverage Service, MeatFabrication, Garde Manger (decoration), and Basic BakingFundamentals. There’s a distinct change in his voice when he gets toRegional & International Cuisine.

“Highlights from my teaching career include a project where eachstudent had one of 19 countries assigned to them,” he recalled. “Theyhad to learn about the customs, cuisine, and cooking techniques fortheir country and then present a meal that included every aspect of thefood and beverage industry. The end results were outstanding, andcountries as diverse as Madagascar, Argentina, and Iceland were repre-sented.”

Plues left the school when some administrative changes were madeand decided to focus on his health. “I had been diagnosed with cancerand it felt like the right time to go,” he said.

Now cancer free, Plues didn’t stay in retirement long. Former stu-dent Keith Jagneaux, chef/owner of Jag’s, enlists Master Butcher Plues’help from time to time. Together, they have put together unique menuchoices and a special night of fine dining that has local “foodies” beg-ging for more.

Plues loves imparting his knowledge and will graciously visit with any-one who would like to learn more. “I love wine and fine food,” he said.“And I love sharing my skills to make every plate something special.” TJN

“Cuddle Bunny” is what this dash-ing little man should have beennamed. He loves to visit in your lapand pass the time away. Gordyappears to be a full-bloodedSchnauzer. He was found as a strayand was in need of a trim. Now thathe has "cleaned up his act," he is look-ing for a better life and a new home!He is good on leash, but a fenced yardis a must. His foster is still getting toknow his likes and dislikes, but sayshe is a great cuddle buddy! He is cur-rent on shots, neutered, microchippedand doing well with house training.We have found out that Gordy hascataracts and this does effect his eye-sight, but not his ability to get

around. He has been fully vetted andis ready for his new forever home!Gordy is not cat or small child testedyet, but seems to be very easygoingand eager to please. Please give him achance at the life he deserves! If youwish to meet our pets looking for newfamilies, please visit LAPAW atPetSmart on Saturdays from noon to3 p.m. If you would like to meet acertain animal, please let us know inadvance by emailing us [email protected] or by calling(337) 478-7294. To learn more aboutLAPAW Rescue, please visit our web-site at www.lapaw.org. Hurry, Gordyis waiting!TJN

MeetGordy!


The

BoilingP l

L’AUBERGE DONATES TO CONNECTIONS COUNT!L’Auberge Casino Resort proudly supports the Connections Count!

Professional Development Conference with a $5,000 donation. Family &Youth’s 15th annual conference connects mental health professionals andpractitioners from throughout Louisiana as they expand, enhance, and shareknowledge, expertise, and “know how” related to services for children, youth,and families.

IBERIABANK ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONIBERIABANK is pleased to announce the promotion of

Elizabeth A. “Beth” Ardoin to senior executive vice presi-dent, as well as her recent appointment to the board ofdirectors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s NewOrleans Branch. Ardoin joined the company in 2002 as sen-ior vice president and director of communications. Ardoin’sresponsibilities encompass all aspects of corporate publicrelations and communications, while she also maintains

facility management and oversees the company’s human resources function.

FIRST NATIONAL BANK DeRIDDER OPENS MOSS BLUFF LOCATIONFirst National Bank DeRidder has opened a new

location in Moss Bluff. This full-service branch is at1838 N. Hwy 171 near Clyde Dulaney Road. TonyaGoss, a resident of Moss Bluff, has been named assis-tant branch manager and new accounts representativeat that location. Goss was previously with City SavingsBank and Cameron State Bank in Moss Bluff. Thebranch will have an official grand opening in May. FirstNational Bank DeRidder also has four locations inDeRidder and a mortgage loan office in Lake Charles.

ACADIANAMBULANCEDONATES TOUNITED WAY

Employees ofAcadianAmbulancepresentUnited Wayof SouthwestLouisiana witha check for$13,298.00.

FRIENDS OF SHANNON COX SUPPORT FAMILY & YOUTHFamily & Youth accepted $21,000 from the Friends of Shannon Cox to

benefit the Shannon Cox Counseling Center. The money was raised duringthe recent Shannon Cox Memorial Tennis Tournament.

SWLA CHARTER ACADEMY HIRES CO-PRINCIPALSThe Board of Trustees of the Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy and

Charter Schools USA are pleased to announce the hiring of Lorette MarieBass and Jacqueline A. Smith as co-principals of the Southwest LouisianaCharter Academy. Bass is currently the lead assistant principal at SWLCAand has an impressive educational work history dating back to 1996 in LakeCharles schools, including Lake Charles Boston High School, CalcasieuParish School Board, Combre-Fondel Elementary School and FairviewElementary School. Smith began her educational career with the CalcasieuParish School Board, working as a teacher from 1977-1998, a curriculumcoordinator from 98-99, and as assistant principal and then principal at A. A.

Please submit press releases to [email protected]

Beth Ardoin

Julio Galan, president/CEO Family & Youth, Kerry Andersen, L’Auberge CasinoResort, Leslie Harless, Family & Youth board chair; Keith W. Henson, Sr. VP/GM

L’Auberge and Dr. Candis Carr, conference director.

John DuBose, operations manager; Jay Woodley, operationscoordinator; all from Acadian Ambulance and Kimberly Fry,

United Way of SWLA.

Pam Tadlock, Jules Maust, Marti Lundy, Jane Baggett, Ginny Henning, Joy Parker and Tammy Andreas present check to Maria Alcantara Faul,

VP/Development Family & Youth.

Tanya Goss


MEMORIAL HOSPITAL CARDIOLOGIST MAKES HISTORYHistory was made at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital recently. Dr. J.

King White, a cardiologist with the Heart & Vascular Center, a part of theMemorial Medical Group became the first doctor in Louisiana to implant thefirst drug-coated peripheral artery stent. The Zilver PTX Drug-ElutingPeripheral Stent (Zilver PTX Stent) is the first drug-eluting stent approved bythe U.S. Food and Drug Administration to re-open the femoropoplitealartery in the thigh, when narrowed or blocked as a result of peripheral arterydisease. The stent is coated on its outer surface with the drug paclitaxel, adrug that helps prevent recurrent narrowing of arteries.

MEMORIAL WELCOMES DR. BILLIODEAUXMemorial Medical Group welcomes Seth T. Billiodeaux, MD, a pain man-

agement physician board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology.His office will be located in the Memorial Medical Group Aster Street Offices,2750 Aster Street in Lake Charles. For more information, or to inquire about anappointment, call Dr. Billiodeaux's office at (337) 480-8900.

BIENVENU TO SPEAK IN UPCOMING SEMINAROn Tues., March 26 at 6 p.m., the ENT & Aesthetic Center of West

Calcasieu Cameron Hospital will host a free seminar entitled “The Secret toAging Beautifully,” at Dynamic Dimensions in Sulphur. The evening’s fea-tured speaker is Harold Bienvenu, MD, board certified facial plastic and cos-metic surgeon. Dr. Bienvenu will speak about new surgical and non-surgicaltreatments and techniques for reversing the signs of aging. The seminar isfree; however, seating is limited. To reserve a seat, please call (337) 527-5459.Light refreshments will be served. Attendees will be entered in a drawing fora chance to win one of two free makeup consultations.

CHRISTUS ST. PATRICK REGIONAL HEART CENTER HOSTS FREE AAA SCREENING

CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital will host a free Abdominal AorticAneurism (AAA) Screening on Sat., April 6, from 8 a.m. to noon on the sec-ond floor of the hospital, at 524 Dr. Michael DeBakey Drive. Join cardiologistThomas Mulhearn IV, MD with the CHRISTUS St. Patrick HospitalRegional Heart Center, for this AAA screening. If you are a male over the ageof 60 with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a history of smoking,you are at risk. AAA is among the top 13 leading causes of all deaths in theU.S. and the third leading cause of sudden death in men. If an aneurysm canbe discovered before it ruptures, death can be prevented-this ultrasound cansave lives. The screening is by appointment only and appointments are limit-ed. To register, call 491-7577.

WCCH EMPLOYEES SUPPORT UNITED WAYEmployees of West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital presented United Way

of Southwest Louisiana with a check for $16,046.00.

Nelson Elementary. Both Lake Charles Charter Academy and SouthwestLouisiana Charter Academy are affiliated with Charter Schools USA, an Arated management organization with a network of 48 schools in five states,including schools in Lake Charles, Shreveport, and Baton Rouge.

‘HULA HOOP FOR HEART’SUPPORTS HEARTASSOCIATION

“Hula Hoop for theHeart,” a fundraiser for theAmerican Heart Association,was held recently atEpiscopal Day School. Itincluded a hula hoop obsta-cle course, a hula hoopdance-off and entertainmentby Young Band Nation. Theevent raised $2,000.

RACE PACE MULTISPORT DONATES TO SHS CROSS COUNTRYRace Pace Multisport, LLC recently donated $500 for the Sulphur High

School Cross Country team. Money was raised during the Park to Park HalfMarathon on February 2. Runners traveled from four states to participate inthis 13.1 mile run through the streets and parks in Sulphur. The SHS Cross

Countryteam assist-ed in theevent bycalling outtimes torunners atvariousmile mark-ers alongthe route.

JEFF DAVIS BANK HIRES MIKE DOLANDJeff Davis Bank & Trust Co. has hired Mike Doland

as commercial lender and branch manager of its KirbyStreet location, the bank’s largest branch in LakeCharles. Doland brings 34 years of banking experience.He previously worked for First Federal Bank. An activemember of his community, Doland is a board memberfor the McNeese State University Alumni Associationand previously served as president. He is a former boardmember and past president of Crime Stoppers of LakeCharles and Kiwanis Club of South Lake Charles.TJN

TJN

Ellie Kate Fontenot and Ella Mulhearn presentBrett Jackson of the American Heart Associationwith a check for $2,000 on behalf of “Hula Hoop

for the Heart.”

Mike Doland

Lori Pritchett,Schanon Turner,

Rochelle Odom, andAunJelle Burton

(owner of Race PaceMultisport, LLC)

along with the SHSCross Country team.

Paula Koonce, WCCH, United Way A&R committee member; Debby Nabours,WCCH, United Way committee member; Bill Hankins, WCCH CEO and Kimberly

Fry, United Way of SWLA.


When we try to protect our-selves from the change that weknow is happening in our life, wearen't listening to our soul. We arelistening to our fear, our lack offaith. To listen to your soul is tostop fighting when things fall apartor when they just don’t go yourway; when you are betrayed or mis-treated or misunderstood.

Slow down and listen to yoursoul. Feel deeply, see yourself clear-ly, and surrender to the discomfortand uncertainty. What is your soulcalling you to do? Have you been

feeling those little nudges? Haveyou even noticed the little signsshowing up in your life?

I'm going to give you a littleadvice: if you choose to ignore yoursoul's calling, you will suffer somuch more than you need to. Andit won't be easy. I wish I couldcandy-coat it for you. You will haveto step out of your comfort zone,over and over again.

Next up is the healing. Manythings must be healed so that youcan live a fully expressed life. Youknow you’re getting closer when the

“junk” rises to the surface. Youmust deal with it when it does. Ifyou don't, that's when the sufferingbegins.

Honor your calling. Follow thefootsteps that are bringing you clos-er to your purpose. Listen and beopen to what is within. You have tobe awake to hear it! Make the con-nection to your true self. Stop beingscared. Fear makes you lose yourjoy and happiness. Understand thatyou are enough.

Stop using your critical mind!You need to bypass it. If you don’twatch out, it will pop up with all ofthe reasons why not. So, go aheadand make it happy for a few min-utes with all of the reasons why.

Sometimes, you have to push theknown out of the way to discoverthe new. The conscious mindjudges, edits, and analyzes. Thesubconscious mind is our problemsolver, our imagination, and ourcreativity.

Most of the time, we put offwhat we know we should do. Waydown deep inside, we know whatwe should be pursuing, such asgoing back to school, starting abusiness, getting back in shape, etc.

But we come up with excuses thathold us back: "I'm too busy.” “I triedand it didn't work.” “I'm not capa-ble.” It's so easy to talk yourself outof it.

You can still become everythingGod created you to be. But youhave to do your part and stop beinglukewarm. Don't just settle forwhere you are. Remain passionateabout what God put in your heart.Don't you dare give up and settle.Get that fire back in your life.

“If what you see by the eye does-n't please you, then close your eyesand see from the heart. Because theheart can see beauty and love morethan the eyes can ever wonder.”

-Unknown

To book a session or other serv-ices with Nicole Shuff Arabie, call(337) 540-6573 and leave a mes-sage indicating several dates/timesthat work for you. You will hearback by phone with available datesand times. You can also go to herFacebook page atwww.facebook.com/#!/DeclutteringYourSoul. Both in-person readingsor phone/skype readings are avail-able.TJN

Are you listening to your SOUL?

by Nicole Shuff Arabie


YankeeDangThe

By Mike McHugh

Free Bird!While Yankee Land is still get-

ting pummeled by Winter StormHeathcliff (or whatever the self-appointed storm-namers at theWeather Channel are calling it),spring is in the air here in Louisiana.The signs are everywhere. Crawfishare running; daffodils are blooming;and sinuses are draining faster thanthe beer kegs at MacFarlane’s Pubon St. Patrick’s Day.

Hay fever is an unwelcome side-effect of the warming weather, andit’s especially hard on Yankees wholive in these climes. I believe it’s

Mother Nature’s way of getting backat them for what they did to NewJersey. As we know, hay fever is nei-ther a fever, nor is it caused by hay.The real cause is my wife’s flowergarden. Her annual pilgrimage tothe garden center, where she buysabout century’s worth of annuals, isyet another sure sign of spring. Notthat I’m against flowers, you under-stand. They’re fine in their place, solong as that place does not includecertain wallpaper patterns.

But I’m not here to discuss flow-ers or hay fever. My real topic today

is birds. For the first time, my wifedragged me along on this year’sflower-shopping trip. It may havebeen retribution for the time I tookher to that reptile show. At any rate,while she was going around select-ing impatiens, begonias, snapdrag-ons, crackletrolls, popsicles, andwhatnot, I took interest in the store’sattractive display of bird feeders.

I was amazed at the designs—made to represent everything fromsimple log cabins to the SydneyOpera House. I could imagine agiant nuthatch perched atop theSydney Opera House, peckingaway violently at the structure,shaking it so as to make a per-formance of Swan Lake look morelike a rugby match. There was agreat variety of seed, too, each onespecially mixed to attract certaintypes of songbirds, some which,according to the packaging, coulddo a mean Lynyrd Skynrd. Thatsold me right there, and so I wentfor one of the rustic-looking feed-ers, my wife not being too keen onthe whole birdzilla thing.

When we got home, I set up thefeeder in a tree in the backyard,while my wife tended to her annu-als with the backhoe. Then I satback and waited for “Free Bird.”

No birds visited the feeder onthat first day, or the next. My wifereasoned that it would take time forthe birds to discover the food. Ididn’t believe that. The way I fig-ured, seeing as how flies can detectfresh hamburger meat in a millisec-ond, how much longer should ittake for a bird to find a free meal?They can’t be that much more stu-pid than flies. In terms of intellect,birds would have to compare toflies to the same degree that JessicaSimpson does to super-physicist

Stephen Hawking. “Any customers yet?” I asked my

wife a few days later. She answeredthat there were none.

It eventually dawned on mewhy the birds weren’t taking us upon our offering. This is Louisiana,after all, home to about two mil-lion of the world’s one millionknown species of insect. We con-sider almost all of them to bepests, but to our feathered friends,they are a veritable smorgasbord.Setting out birdseed around here islike taking a three-bean salad toyour grandbaby’s birthday party atChuck-E-Cheese.

The feeder also had wire basketsdesigned to hold a substance called“suet.” Suet is supposed to be espe-cially attractive to songbirds, theway that Jack Daniels was to mem-bers of the Allman Brothers Band.Back in the day, you could set afifth of Jack Daniels out on theporch, and you’d be virtuallyassured a Dickey Betts sighting.But, alas, suet does not have seemto have that same allure vis-à-vissongbirds, and when you realizewhat’s in it, it’s easy to see why.Suet’s ingredients include rolledoats, cornmeal, and unsalted nuts,formed into a cake with solid fats,such as lard. While that might goover well in the galley of a pirateship, any self-respecting goldfinchwould surely turn his beak up at it.

My wife remains optimistic.Her current theory is that it maybe too early in the season for song-birds. Like they’re all still down inSouth America, on the final leg ofa 17-city winter tour. Me, I havemy doubts.

Maybe I should have passed onthe feeder and just waited for theCD. TJN

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WE MISS THE ARCADE AMPHITHEATER

The Arts and HumanitiesCouncil’s 2013 Live @ the LakefrontMusic Fest series will be coming toa close on March 22, the day beforethe reopening of the greatly revisedMillennium Park. The concerts areon the lakefront behind the CivicCenter on our newly completedboardwalk where pavilions, boothsand tables sell art, food and bever-ages.

We anxiously anticipate the com-pletion of the construction aroundthe south side of the Civic Center sowe can again make use of the ArcadeAmphitheater, a prime outdoormusic venue with its grassy slopesfacing the lake. The amphitheaterproved to be a very popular spot forthe series in the past and many of uswould prefer to be off the concreteand parking lot, which has servedwell in the interim.

I am not alone in advocating theuse of the amphitheater for theDowntown at Sundown free musicseries that usually follows shortlyafter the winding down of theContraband Days festivities. TheArcade Amphitheater is truly ajewel that hasn’t been utilized any-where close to its potential. Many ofus can remember the old ArcadeTheater on Ryan Street (built in1910), the site of many vaudevilleand other shows and movies fordecades. The theater mysteriouslyburned one night 75 years later.Bricks from that old theater wereused to build our ArcadeAmphitheater, thus being the sourceof the name.

WHERE’S THE BOTTLE?After the first Live @ the

Lakefront, we went to a local pubfor a bite. I ordered a bottle of

Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA, away-above average brew that I wasvery eager to try. I really like thehop flavor coming from India PaleAles. This beverage costs about $10a bottle ($7.75 plus tax and tip) soyou might want to savor it a bitmore than a frosty cold Bud fromthe ice chest.

My server comes across theroom with pilsner glass in hand(helps to warm the beer if you holdit in your hand) and asks if I hadordered the Belhaven.

Now, not to be a snob, but partof the enjoyment of a premium bev-erage is to see the bottle, peruse theunfamiliar label and watch the com-pensating drops of moisture rundown the sides of the chilled bottleand glass after being poured. Itshould not be served to you like arefill of tap water. I was, frankly,flabbergasted.

I had not ordered just a pintdraft of beer. To me, this is likeordering a fine champagne, andhaving it just handed to you in aglass with no sign of the bottle. Notthe way to enjoy a better diningexperience. We quickly asked forour check, paid it along with a nicetip and promptly left. I have pri-vately messaged the owner to lethim know about our experience,but to the date of this writing, Ihave not had a response.

A HOTEL ON CIVIC CENTERGROUNDS?

The powers that be are againpromoting the loss of more of ourCivic Center ground. The northparking lot is the target for amunicipally financed hotel. Notonly do we lose more open parking,but we will also be financing com-petition to the existing hotels,which are privately owned andoperated. City Hall feels that the

By George “Tip” Cline

facility would not compete with therest of the hotels and motels, so in afuture column, I can tell you allabout this wonderful bridge I willsell you in Brooklyn, should youbelieve in fairy tales.

The Mardi Gras Boardwalk proj-ect is in the works, with a 100-roomcondo/hotel just around the lake-front from the Civic Center. Whatabout a water taxi service to con-nect the casinos, Mardi GrasBoardwalk complex and the CivicCenter instead of erecting a parkinggarage (which many people refuseto use for their own personal safetyreasons) and eliminating what wenow have?

Part of the proposed planincludes making that area a TaxIncremental Financing district(TIF), making all sales tax paid inthe area separate from the generalfund in order to pay for a part ofthe construction costs and associ-ated expenses in that specific area.Fortunately, this is an issue that wewill be given the opportunity tovote up or down. Think about itreal hard and make your own deci-sion.

SUPERMARKET ROUNDUPNow that we are in the heart of

crawfish season, our shopping com-parison this issue looks into someof the items used in a crawfish boil.The survey was done on March 13at the following locations:Albertsons, Ryan Street; MarketBasket, Lake Street Kroger-McNeeseStreet and Walmart-Nelson Road.The prices listed here are the postedprices on the shelf where the prod-uct was made available for sale.

Zatarain’s Crab Boil, bagged 3-ounce package: Albertsons, $.99;Market Basket, $.79; Kroger, $1.49;Walmart (only carried package of6 3-ounce packages) $3.Lemons, fresh, per each:Albertsons, $.34, (3/$1); MarketBasket, $.34 (3/$1); Kroger, $.34,(3/$1), Walmart, $.27.Red potatoes, fresh, per pound:Albertsons, 1.49, Market Basket,$1.19, Kroger, $1.29, Walmart,$.88.Green Giant Nibblers Corn,frozen, 12-count mini ears:Albertsons, $5.19: Market Basket,$3.97; Kroger, $4.49: Walmart,$3.48.TJN


Now that the good weather isfinally here and we’re spendingmore time outdoors, it’s time tolook into the great parks we have inour area. The Calcasieu ParishPolice Jury operates 24 park facili-ties that range from simple boatramps to beaches, playgrounds andpicnic facilities. But none of theparks in Calcasieu Parish are asunique as Niblett’s Bluff Park.

The park at “the Bluff ” is fundedby the citizens of Ward 7 and operat-ed by a volunteer board made up ofprivate citizens. Residents of theward, they meet once a month to con-duct the business of running the park.

HISTORYAccording to the 1840 survey and

census records, the Bluff was firstknown as Millspaw’s or Millspaugh’sand the settlement was namedJericho. The site was the early cross-ing of the east channel of the SabineRiver. A ferry operated by RichardBallew, one of Lafitte’s ole pirates, ranthe five-mile journey from Orangearound the tip of Sabine Island andlanded at the Bluff. It became themajor crossing between Texas andLouisiana on the Opelousas Trail.

During the War Between theStates, the site became a Confederatefort called Camp Pleasant. It was animportant encampment in 1863-1864 when the Federals were plan-ning to invade Texas. Known by thattime as Niblett’s Bluff, it was a gath-ering point for both recruits andsupplies for the Confederacy’sTrans-Mississippi Department.There was even a military hospitalat the fort.

After the war, the settlement atthe Bluff thrived. A post officewas established in 1873 but waseventually discontinued in 1884.From 1877 to 1930, the Lutcherand Moore Lumber Company

used the Bluff as a log yard and railroadterminal for its sawmilling operations inOrange, Texas. Logs were delivered tothe yard from the Louisiana forests, thenrafted and towed to the Orange mills.

PARK DEVELOPMENTOn January 7, 1966, the Lutcher

Moore Lumber Company deeded atract of 31 acres to the State ofLouisiana to develop a historical park.The site was developed and operated asa state park for only a few years beforeit was passed to the Parish and eventu-ally taken over by Ward 7.

The goal has been to preserve thenatural beauty and history of the areain an environment that is fun for thewhole family. The park is open 365days a year with caretakers residing onpremises. There is a year-round mainte-nance program that keeps it neat, clean,and in very good operating condition.

Facilities include two large and twosmaller covered pavilions with installedcharcoal cookers that can be rented forday use, along with a large enclosedpavilion with kitchen facilities and acovered patio. Your children will enjoythe four fully-equipped playgrounds.The north and south ends of the parkhave boat launching ramps with board-walks. And there are two fish cleaningtables on the river’s edge.

There are 30- and 50-amp electricalhookups for campers with RV trailersthat include pads and firepots. Thereare no sewer hookups, but there is adump station by the wildlife pen. Thepen contains several exotic as well asnative Whitetail deer; there is even onerare all-white deer.

If you’re a tent camper, you canchose from sites with and without elec-tricity. Every effort has been made toprovide good sites in a well-plannedarea that preserves nature. Most ofthem give a good view of the river.

Five small cabins along the river-bank may be rented for overnight use.


Each cabin has bunks that sleep four, akitchen, air conditioner and limited furniture.The cabins are popular and stay rented. Ifyou’d like to rent one, plan ahead.

The restroom building in the middle ofthe park has showers and a laundry facility.The grey and red paint scheme pays homageto its Confederate history.

WHAT REMAINSPart of the breastworks of the old

Confederate fort remains on the north end ofthe park and extends behind the old (circa1910) community church. The old railroadtram line joins the breastworks and runsalong the bluff bank of the river. It is possibleto stand in the middle of the old tram line,look between the two rows of trees and imag-ine the narrow gauge train running down theline pulling a load of logs.

Stumps of the old pilings of the tram linerise out of the mud at the south end of thepark beneath the boardwalk when the river islow. On this long-gone trestle over the river,the engine would halt and the logs would bedumped off the cars and built into the largerafts that would be towed to the mills inOrange.

At the entrance to the park is a replica can-non under a covered pavilion and flying two

Confederate flags.The citizens of Ward 7 have done

an excellent job of providing a parkthat is unique in the full facilities forcampers and picnickers and giving aglimpse into the important history ofthe area.

COMING UPThis year, a Bluegrass Festival will be

held from March 18 through 23. Therewill be jam sessions all week long andstage shows on Friday and Saturdaynights. It’s going on now, so check it out.

Springfest is held annually. This year,it’s on April 20-21. Approximately 40 foodand craft vendors are expected, with sixbands booked over the two days. Mostyears, there is a Confederate reenactment ofthe fictional Battle of Fort Niblett.

The park is located at the end of Niblett’sBluff Road. From I-10, take the Exit #4 andgo north on LA 109. At the first crossroad,turn left on Niblett’s Bluff road for 2.5 milesto the park. From Starks, follow LA 109south until you reach the crossroad; turnright on Niblett’s Bluff Road. For more infor-mation about events, rental rates for camp-sites and pavilions, call (337) 589-7117 or(800) 589-7441.TJN



What You Need to KnowAbout Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are one of the most common disorders of theurinary tract, occurring more frequently in men than in women.A kidney stone is a hard mass made up of crystals that separatefrom the urine. There are four major types of stones:

• Calcium stones are the most common type of kidney stone and occur in two major forms: calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate. Calcium oxalate stones are more common. Calcium oxalate stone formation may be caused by high calcium and high oxalate excretion. Calcium phosphate stones are caused by the combination of high urine calcium

and alkaline urine, meaning the urine has a high pH.• Uric acid stones form when the urine is persistently acidic.

A diet rich in purines—substances found in animal protein such as meats, fish, and shellfish—may increase uric acid in urine. If uric acid becomes concentrated in the urine, it can settle and form a stone by itself or along with calcium.

• Struvite stones result from kidney infections. Eliminating infected stones from the urinary tract and staying infection-free can prevent more struvite stones.

• Cystine stones result from a genetic disorder that causes cystine to leak through the kidneys and into the urine, forming crystals that tend to accumulate into stones.

A stone may stay in the kidney or break loose and travel down the urinarytract. A small stone may pass all the way out of the body without causing toomuch pain, but a larger stone may get stuck in a ureter, the bladder, or the ure-thra. A problem stone can block the flow of urine and cause great pain.

Most kidney stones pass out of the body without help from a doctor. Butsometimes a stone will not pass—and it may even get larger.

Call a doctor if you have any of these symptoms:• Extreme pain in your back or side that will not go away• Blood in your urine which will make it look pink• Fever and chills• Vomiting• Urine that looks cloudy• A burning feeling when you urinate

These may be signs of a kidney stone that needs a doctor's care. There areseveral nonsurgical ways to remove problem stones.

If the stone passes on its own, try to catch it in a strainer. Your doctor cantest the stone to find out the type. After a stone has passed or been removed,your doctor may also ask for a urine sample or take blood to find out whatcaused your stone. You may need to collect your urine for a 24-hour period.These tests will help your doctor find ways to prevent stones in the future.

Eating, Diet and NutritionYou can help prevent kidney stones by making changes in your fluid intake.

Depending on the type of kidney stone you have, changes in the amounts ofsodium, animal protein, calcium, and oxalate consumed can also help.

Drinking enough fluids each day is the best way to help prevent mosttypes of kidney stones. Healthcare care providers recommend that a persondrink two to three liters of fluid a day. People with cystine stones may need todrink even more. Though water is best, other fluids may also help preventkidney stones, such as citrus drinks.

Recommendations based on thespecific type of kidney stone include:Calcium Oxalate Stones

• reducing sodium• reducing animal protein, such as

meat, eggs, and fish• getting enough calcium from food

or taking calcium supplements with food

• avoiding foods high in oxalate, such as spinach, rhubarb, nuts, and wheat bran

Calcium Phosphate Stones• reducing sodium• reducing animal protein• getting enough calcium from

food or taking calcium supplements with food

Uric Acid Stones• limiting animal protein

Cystine Stones• Cystine stones can be

difficult to treat. Your doctor may recommend that you drink more fluids so that you produce a lot more urine. If that alone doesn't help, you may be prescribed a medication that decreases the amount of cystine in your urine.

Assorted kidney stones

TJN


People who gain belly fat are at greater risk of serious health prob-lems, even death, than those who accumulate fat in other areas — andmen are more likely than women to gain weight around the waist.Specifically, it's the deepest layer of belly fat —the fat you can't see orgrab — that poses health risks. That's because these "visceral" fat cellsactually produce hormones and other substances that can affect yourhealth (e.g. increased insulin resistance).

Regardless of your overall weight, having a large amount of belly fatincreases your risk of:

• Heart disease• High blood pressure• Stroke

• Some types of cancer• Type 2 diabetes• Insulin resistance• High triglycerides• Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good,"

cholesterol• Metabolic syndrome• Sleep apnea

What is too much?Your waist size is a good indicator of whether you have too much

belly fat. Although measurements that compare your hip and waist cir-cumference (waist-to-hip ratio) orcompare your height and weight(body mass index) are more pre-cise, your waist size alone can giveyou a good estimate. For mostmen, the risk factors for heart dis-ease and other diseases increasewith a waist size greater than 40inches.

To measure your waist:• Place a tape measure around

your bare abdomen just above your hipbone.

• Pull the tape measure until it fits snugly around you but doesn't push into your skin.

• Make sure the tape measureis level all the way around.

• Relax, exhale and measure your waist—but don’t suck in your belly!

Is belly fat inherited?Your genes can affect your

chances of being overweight orobese, as well as where you carryextra fat on your body. For mostmen, however, the problem likelyhas more to do with lifestyle thaninherited traits.

Is age a factor?Muscle mass decreases with

age---particularly if you do notexercise. The less muscle youhave, the slower your metabolism


The Facts About DiabetesIf you have diabetes, your body's system of making energy from

food does not work right. Normally, your body breaks food down intoglucose, a form of sugar that is the body's main source of fuel. Thehormone insulin helps your body use the glucose. With type 1 dia-betes, the body's immune system attacks and destroys insulin-makingcells. There is no way to prevent type 1 diabetes, but it is much lesscommon than type 2.

With type 2, your body usually does not use insulin well. As a result,glucose builds up in your blood instead of being used for energy. Thatmeans your cells don't get the fuel they need to function. And, overtime, high blood sugar levels can hurt the organs in your body.

You can have type 2 diabetes for years and not know you have it.Many men don't know they have it until they develop problems such asvision loss, kidney disease, or erectile dysfunction. If you have symp-toms, they could include increased hunger and thirst, the need to uri-nate often, feeling tired and sores that don't heal well.

It is possible to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. Exercise, healthyeating habits and maintaining a healthy weight go a long way. It’s alsoimportant to know your family's diabetes history, and discuss it withyour doctor.

It's important to get screened for diabetes. Experts recommend get-ting screened every three years starting at age 45. Before that, ask yourdoctor if you need to be screened based on your risks for diabetes,such as being overweight and having a relative with diabetes.

Screening can detect diabetes early, when it is easier to lower yourchances of developing diabetes-related health problems.

It can also can reveal pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes means your bloodglucose level is higher than is considered normal and you are at risk ofdeveloping diabetes. Pre-diabetes can be reversed, so ask your doctorabout steps you can take, such as exercising and making healthy foodchoices.TJN

becomes. Men who mayhave been very active in

their youth inevitablybecome less active, but donot slow down their con-sumption of food. Thisleads to weight gain, andfor men, it usually accu-mulates in the middle.

How do you get ridof belly fat?

• Reduce calories.Trim down your portionsizes. Eating spicy, oily,processed food has

adverse effect on the fat burning mechanism in your body. Eat healthyfoods that contain fewer calories. When you’re eating out, eat half yourmeal and take the rest home for another day.

• Increase physical activity. For most healthy adults, the Departmentof Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes a week of mod-erate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, in addi-tion to strength training. Cardio exercises such as running, jogging,cycling, swimming etc., are ideal exercises to lose belly fat. Simple exercis-es such as climbing stairs can also show positive effects. You may need todo more to lose weight and keep it off. If you can't set aside time forlonger workouts, try shorter spurts of activity throughout the day.

After you shed excess pounds, maintain your weight loss with a healthydiet and regular physical activity. After you've incorporated some of thestrategies mentioned above into your lifestyle, continue to take your meas-urements. Write them all down in the same place so you can see yourprogress as the inches melt away. TJN



Quality design and quality oflife are both important conceptsindividually, but in my field ofwork, they go hand in hand.

One of the first things I alwaysask my client is, “How doyou want to live in yourspace?” Consider thisquestion. Walk throughthe paths of yourhome. Do you findobstacles? Do findyourself walking arounditems when you would feelmore comfortable walkingdirectly into the space?

If you have answered “yes” toany of these questions, let’s changeit! Create a blank slate and jumpin! Take down art on the wall.Move your furniture out of thespace completely to get a clearshot of “what could be” or group ittogether and place accordingly.

Don’t be afraid to break traditionand arrange everything in a wayit’s never been arranged.

This is your home, your haven;therefore, you should live most

passionately here! It’s so important to sur-

round yourself with itemsof inspiration or items of

intense significance.Anyone can stage ahouse to look nice,

but is it you? Can you walkthrough your home andtell your story just by plac-ing your hand on some-

thing and remembering where orwhy or how you found it?

Build your home on the build-ing blocks of your life and allowyourself the time, preference andcreative license to accomplishsomething beautiful!

Good luck! TJN


Louisiana gardeners begin to plant spring andearly summer vegetables this month. Watch the lastfreeze date in your area and be prepared to cover orprotect tender plants in case of an unusually late freeze.

Planting as early as possible does more than get youthe first ripe tomatoes on the block. It also helps ensureabundant production before the intense heat of midsum-mer and fewer insect and disease problems. Here are justa few of the choices.

Tomatoes are America's favorite homegrown vegetable.With our warm early summer weather, there is no denyingthat we can grow some of the tastiest tomatoes in the coun-try.

Now is the time to start planting transplants into yourgarden in south Louisiana. Wait until mid-April in northLouisiana. Recommended varieties include Better Boy,Fantastic, Monte Carlo and Sweet Million (cherry) – theseare vining types. Bingo, Celebrity, Mountain Delight SolarSet and Sunleaper are bush types.

Many other varieties of large-fruited, cherry and plumtomatoes can be grown successfully in Louisiana. If you’replanting a number of tomato plants, try several different vari-eties to ensure good production.

Peppers are another popular vegetable that is productiveand not difficult to grow. Peppers are less likely to be attackedby insects, and disease problems generally are less severe thanthose of tomatoes.

Many types of sweet and hot peppers can be grown here.Popular hot types include Tabasco, Jalapeno, Cayenne and

Habanera. Remember, one hot pepper plant is probably all thatyou need.

Large-fruited sweet or bell peppers are great for stuffing orseasoning. Varieties that perform well here include Big Bertha,King Arthur, Camelot, Merlin, Sentry and Jupiter. Production isusually less during the hottest part of summer – so early plant-ing is important. But production picks up again in fall.

Gypsy pepper is a cross between a bell pepper and abanana-type pepper. It produces a medium-size fruit and isextremely productive even in the heat of summer. The fruit isornamental – it begins yellow-green, then, as it matures, itchanges to yellow to orange to red. The fruit is sweet in flavorand is great in salads or cooking.

Okra and eggplant are best planted when the soil is verywarm. You should wait until late April or early May to plantthese two vegetables. If planted too early, they may becomestunted and are slow to recover.

Eggplants come in various colors, sizes and shapes. All pro-duce well during the summer and through fall, although pro-duction of large-fruited types may lag during the hottestmonths.

Choose standard varieties, such as Black Bell, Dusky orClassic; green types, which are less bitter in summer; orOriental types like Ichiban, Millionaire or Hansel. Orientaltypes produce very well in summer heat.

Okra seed may be soaked overnight to soften the hard seedcoat before planting. After emergence, plants should be thinnedto stand 12 inches apart. Production will start in June and con-tinue into fall.

By Dan Gill, LSU AgCenter Horticulturist

TJN


best to deal with insects theyencounter and precautions theyshould take. Take appropriate careof any bites or stings because somechildren are allergic. Control anyfire ant hills in the area where chil-

dren are likely to play or garden. Befamiliar with the stinging caterpil-lars that occur in our state – con-tact your local LSU AgCenterExtension office for a fact sheetwith pictures.

It is wonderful to get childreninterested in gardening. Give them apacket of seeds and a little spot oftheir own, show them what to doand watch the magic happen.

Spending time in the landscapewith children, especially youngones, requires adults to pay carefulattention, though. Just as you wouldchildproof an indoor room, it’simportant to take safety precautionsin the yard to keep children safe.Here are some outdoor safety tipsfrom the Louisiana State UniversityAg Center:

The first is the most obvious:Never leave a toddler or young childoutdoors unattended.

As they get old enough tounderstand, teach your childrennever to eat any plant unless anadult is supervising. While eatingfruits and vegetables you’ve grownyourself is part of the joy of garden-ing, many common ornamentalplants can make you sick if you eatthem and some are very poisonous.A free list of common poisonousplants is available from your localLSU AgCenter Extension office, oryou can check out the many excel-lent poisonous plants sites on theInternet.

Make sure that poison ivy is notallowed to grow in your landscape.Watch for this vine with three-partleaves and immediately eliminate itif you find any. If needed, herbicidessuch as glyphosate and trichlopyrcan be used to control it.

Do not allow children to eat soilfrom the garden. Some soils maycontain relatively high amounts oflead or other toxic substances andshould not be consumed.

Check for plants with spinyleaves or thorns – such as cactuses,roses, yucca, hollies or pyracantha.

Point out any potential hazards tochildren and fence off areas or plantsthat should be avoided. Removedangerous plants, if necessary; espe-cially if they are close to a play area.Do not plant spiny plants next toraised porches, decks or steps wherechildren might fall into them.

Be careful with sharp tools andlet your children know which toolsare safe for them to use and whichare not. When you lay down toolsbetween use, place forks, rakes andother pointed tools with the tinesdown. If children are around, keepyour eye on the tools– or put themaway promptly when they are nolonger needed.

If you want your children to dosome gardening, it’s a good idea topurchase tools specially made forchildren. This gives them a chanceto identify more closely with gar-dening, since they have their owntools. It’s safer, too.

Despite their sometimes colorfullabels, garden chemicals can be dan-gerous if mishandled. If you havegarden pesticides, be sure to storethem in locked cabinets in theiroriginal containers. This includesorganic pesticides, some of whichare quite toxic. Never use emptyfood or drink containers for storingpesticides, cleaning supplies or fer-tilizers! Do not leave pesticide con-tainers out while using them. Putthem up promptly in a safe locationafter you have mixed the material.Children should never be aroundwhile pesticides are being mixed orapplied.

Be especially watchful of youngchildren around ponds, pools, largepuddles, buckets and large contain-ers of any sort. Small children candrown in even small amounts ofwater. Fence off ponds or otheraquatic features if necessary.

Most insects in the garden areharmless. Even insects that cansting, such as bees and wasps, gen-

erally will not be a problem ifthey are left alone. Do, how-

ever, watch out for poten-tial problems and discusswith your children how

TJN



The Junior League of Lake Charles (JLLC) is celebrating 80years of community impact in 2013. In this organization, youdon’t find stereotypical ladies of leisure, but rather, volunteersdedicated to developing the potential of women and improvingthe community through the effective action and leadership oftrained volunteers.

The League began in 1933 when 11 young visionaries estab-lished the then Junior Welfare League of Lake Charles. Theirimmediate work focused on assisting children “in need” withproper nourishment and medical treatment, and providing themwith loving necessities such as dolls and toys.

In subsequent years, the League faced wartime woes and wasforced to shutter its doors for one year. It came back evenstronger, and further expanded its efforts to include new pro-grams focused on arts and humanities education. After a

lengthy application process, the Junior Welfare League was accepted into theAssociation of the Junior Leagues of America, Inc. in 1967, where its nameofficially changed to Junior League of Lake Charles, Inc.

Since then, the League has proudly established a long list of impactful localcommunity organizations, projects and fundraisers that have served or contin-ue to serve the Lake Charles community. They include the Arts & HumanitiesCouncil of Southwest Louisiana, Calcasieu Community Clinic, The Children’sMuseum, Family and Youth Counseling, Harbour House, Imperial CalcasieuHistorical Museum, Lake Charles Symphony, Marshes to Mansions cookbook,the annual Mistletoe & Moss holiday market and Leaguers & Links GolfTournament- --and the ladies show no sign of stopping!

Each year, the League spends over $100,000 directly in the commu-nity through its outreach programs, grants and collaborations, andaverages 20,000 hours of community service and training to civic lead-ers. When you consider that each hour has an estimated value of$21.79 (according to the Independent Sector, a coalition of charities,foundations, corporations and individuals) that's $435,800 of volun-teer time each year!

TRAINING AND DEVELOPING CIVIC LEADERSOne way the League trains members and develops civic leaders is

through the Birkman assessment. The Birkman Method® is a motiva-tional, behavioral and interest evaluation consisting of a 298-questionpersonality assessment and a series of related report sets. Over 70league members participated in the Birkman this year. The work-shops facilitate team building, executive coaching, leadership devel-opment, career counseling and interpersonal conflict resolution.

“The League is committed to promoting voluntarism, developingthe potential of women and improving the community through theeffective action and leadership of trained volunteers,” said AmandaMcElveen, president of the Junior League of Lake Charles. “Our pur-pose is exclusively educational and charitable. The league will be cel-ebrating our 80th anniversary in 2013. We look forward to manymore years of serving, strengthening, and sustaining the LakeCharles community.”


All photos by Romero & Romero Photography

ISSUE–BASED COMMUNITY IMPACT MODELIn 2010, the League decided to build upon its strong

foundation as a project driven entity and make the transi-tion to become more of an “issue-driven” organization. Thismeans that in addition to developing their own members’potential, the League is striving to develop comprehensiveprogramming in collaboration with other community lead-ers and non-profit organizations focused on oneor two particular community needs, rather thanvarious “projects,” so that the League can have agreater impact in Lake Charles.

A task force was created to ensure its activities make thegreatest impact and began meeting in the spring of 2012 tostrategize and provide recommendations on how to smooth-ly transition to an issue-driven organization. The groupdeveloped a visual representation of the mission-drivenimpact model, which has appeared at meetings and manyLeague-sponsored events, and in various publications.

The impact model pro-vides a way for the membersof the League, as well thecommunity, to easily see whatimpact the JLLC is trying tomake, and what it is doing tobe successful. The task forcealso provided ideas on how tocommunicate and explain theimpact model, how to incor-porate it into strategic plan-ning, and restructure/renamecommittees to best reflect it.

A key component in transitioning to theimpact model is the integration of theLeague’s community programming with itsplacement committee. (The placementcommittee annually slates League memberswith their voluntary operational roles.)

Because the League relies upon thetalents of members to achieve a

desired impact, the task forceprovided recommendations for a

revised placement interview, stress-ing the importance of placement advi-

sors better knowing their advisees. The newinterview process will lead to deeper rela-tionships, so members can develop theirpotential and discover leadership skillsboth in-League and in the community.

The League is excited about the transi-tion to the issue-based model and looks forward to its continuing roll-out across the organization this year and into 2014.

A LEGACY OF COMMUNITY OUTREACHMany of the League’s established local community initiatives and

organizations are still thriving today. In addition, the League continuesto serve Southwest Louisianathrough many of its currentprojects. They include, but arenot limited to, the projects list-ed below.

BRANCH OUT ANDGROW GRANTS

The League offers BranchOut and Grow Grants to edu-cators and other non-profitorganizations. The purpose ofthese educational grants is tosupport excellence in teachingby awarding grants for innova-tive projects that otherwise would not be provided for in school budg-ets. In 2012, the League awarded $14,000 to local educators.

Congratulations to this year’s winners:COMPELLING KIDS TO LEARN WITH TECHNOLOGY

Amanda Meche, Karen Frost: First Grade, Episcopal Day School, AllSubjects

The project will better equip children for the workforce of the futureby integrating a more hands-on, technologically based approach toteaching core subjects. It also aims to better engage and motivate chil-dren to be committed to long-term learning by providing a more fun,interactive, modern-day learning environment; utilizing various tech-nological tools, including a promethean board; hand-held tablets andan educational website, Brainpopjr.com.

FUTURISTIC FIRST GRADERS WORKING IN THE COMMUNITYMadison Queenan: First Grade, St. John Elementary, All SubjectsThe project hopes to implement seven iPads in the first grade class-

rooms, initially, to allow the students to use as a project-based learningtool, conducting community helper interviews. Utilizing the face-timeapplication, students can conduct their interviews on the iPad, interactwith one another, parents and peers within the community.

YOU CAN COUNT ON IT!Nina Jones, Rhona Williams: Third-Fifth Grades, Brentwood

Elementary School, Math

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Primarily, the grant project aims to improve math standardized testscores by utilizing more engaging, innovative tools such as assessmentbooklets and manipulative materials to improve basic math computa-tion and problem solving skills. Secondly, the project hopes to increaseparent involvement by sending home the Take Home Test Prep Ringsweekly, requiring parent/student interactions.

THIS IS NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER’S MATH CENTERTerri Miller: Fourth Grade, Math/Reading, Ralph Wilson

ElementaryThe project will implement two iPads in the classroom, enhancing

student performance and confidence levels as the iPad meets the needsof a variety of learning styles, and increasing communication betweenparents, teachers and students. Free apps including Math Tutor Life,Number Line and Basic Math will be used during math instruction, andeBooks and Renaissance Place will be used for reading centers.

MEETING SPECIAL NEEDS WITH NETBOOK INTEGRATIONEmma Hobbs: Fifth, Sixth & Seventh Grade, Self-Contained Special

Education, Lake Charles Charter AcademyThe project aims to implement Netbooks in the special needs class-

room to better accommodate various learning styles, making learningmore effective and easier for a child that can experience more frustra-tion due to learning disabilities, such as autism, sensory issues, visuallearning styles and difficulty with handwriting. It also plans to imple-ment a math tool named Conceptua Math and a reading tool, Achieve3000, both of which incorporate differentiated instruction to provide amore successful learning experience for children with learning disabili-ties.

EARTH DAY, HOORAY! IF YOU BUILD IT... THEY WILL COME!Kimberly Underwood, Julie Ortego: Pre-K through Fifth Grade,

Science and Math, Dolby Elementary SchoolThe project is designed to beautify the school grounds and to help

make them safer for the students. The teachers, students and parentswill build flower boxes around the trees at school for Earth Day, teach-ing the children about the life cycle of flowers, as well as, the insectsand animals that depend on the flowers for food. With the currentdesign, rain slowly pushes the mulch away and children try to throwthe bricks, creating a safety concern.

PHOTO HISTORIANSJoAnn Mayo: Fourth grade, Art and History, LeBleu Settlement

Elementary SchoolPhoto Historians aims to teach children a greater appreciation for

the Louisiana setting in their rural, farming community and to improvetheir LEAP writing scores by utilizing a Sony Cyber Shot digital camera

to complete their photo proj-ect. The photo project con-sists of learning how to useall of the camera’s features tocapture an image native toSouthwest Louisiana culture.

APPLYING iPADS INDATA ANALYSIS

Marva January: SixthGrade, Math, Lake CharlesCharter Academy

The grant project willimplement the use of theSurvey Analytics’ iPad app inthe sixth grade classroom to

conduct data analysis for a recycling project. Such a tool will allow thesixth graders to gather, monitor and compare data accurately in real-

time. In addition, the technology will enable the children to use visualtools to analyze the data, including an app called Easy Chart HD, allow-ing for the inexpensive creation of bar, line, pie and sidebar charts.

iTEACH INTERACTIVEJo Lynn Marcantel, Kim Ieyoub, Stephanie DuRoussea, Amanda

Brinkman, Suzy Solari, Blair Tadlock, Tenia Fuselie: Pre-K throughFifth Grade, Middle School, Immaculate Conception Cathedral School

The project will place an Apple TV and VGA Adaptor with audiosupport in seven classrooms that currently use iPad technology, allow-ing for a more interactive, engaging environment as classroom instruc-tion notes, media, lessons, etc. can be displayed on the screen. Childrencan share their ideas and participate in class at their desks.

GEOGRAPHY ON THE GO!Libby Richards: Third Grade Social Living, Episcopal Day SchoolThe project hopes to implement the use of handheld GPS receivers


in combination with iPads to complete the Lake Charles history unit.The fourth and seventh graders will also use the equipment during thefollowing spring for the annual wetland restoration planting trip. Theequipment will allow children to photograph assigned landmarks, iden-tify geographic addresses and conduct research, which will add a scien-tific component to history.

IMPACT SUPPORTThe League’s Done in a Day provides a dedicated group of League

volunteers to work on a number of unrelated, short-term communityprojects when non-profit agencies are limited in achieving their goalsbecause of a lack of manpower.

This past August, the League collaborated with the Family and YouthCounseling Center for their annual Family Fest to educate people onhealthy eating habits and the importance of having fruits and grains intheir diets.

In September,the League host-ed an event at theCentral Libraryto develop thepotential ofteenagers in thecommunity. Thescreening of“MissRepresentation”introduced stu-dents to the ways media shapes our culture. Discussions and activitieswere then conducted that complimented specific clips shown from themovie. Due to the positive feedback received as a result of the event, afuture screening is being planned for the spring/summer of 2013.

In December, the committee sponsored the League’s annual JoyDrive. Christmas cheer was spread by placing donation boxes through-out local businesses and schools. Generous donations were made by thecommunity and by students at Oak Park Elementary and NelsonElementary, who have learned the true joy in giving.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENTThe League is collaborating to develop strong leaders and create a

healthy and confident workforce by sponsoring trainings for familieswhose children are attending "Leader in Me" schools.

This results-oriented program teaches children about goal-setting,develops character, and provides tools for conflict resolution. The freetrainings are based on Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly SuccessfulPeople and encourage carry-over of the life lessons kids are learning atschool.

This past January, the League hosted parent workshops at Oak Parkand Dolby Elementary. Students, teachers and Franklin Covey consult-ant Gary McGuey helped parents understand the Leader in Me process,and how to apply the seven habits at home.

In November, League members joined together with DolbyElementary fifth graders to get a mission accomplished. The school feltthat since the fifth grade exterior wall looked bare, it needed a facelift,so they asked if the League would assist the students in painting a “7Habits Tree.”

Each student filled out a questionnaire about the 7 Habits andstamped their painted hand on the tree to show their support ofCovey’s mission. The League hopes that the 7 Habits tree will be a dailyreminder for all students to embrace the leader within.

In honor of the League’s 80th annniversary, the League haspartnered with Maplewood Elementary School and pledged

$80,000 dollars to help fund the "Leader in Me" program"

HEALTHY CHOICESThe League recently collaborated with the Partnership for a Healthier

SWLA to begin the FIT KIDS program. The partnership is made up ofskilled people such as dietitians, nutritionists, and fitness experts whoworked together on the FIT KIDS project, a five-week program designedto be implemented in area schools. Oak Park Elementary participated inthe program focused on nutrition and healthy choices, and the impor-tance of moving your body. The program was a fun and educational wayto teach kids about healthy lifestyle choices and reduce the growth ofchildhood obesity. The students gained valuable information that theywill benefit from their whole lives.

The Junior League Headquarters is located at 1019 LakeshoreDrive, Lake Charles, LA 70601. To become a volunteer member, learnmore about their issue-based community model, or to support theLeague’s programs through donations and sponsorships, please visitwww.jllc.net, follow on Facebook or call 436-4025.TJN



Sports Report

By Brandon Shoumaker

I think I ought to tell yousomething. When it comes tobaseball, I’m one of those guys.

You know those guys.They are the guys who, when

they talk about baseball, sound alot like Kevin Costner in Bull

Durham talking about constitu-tional amendments outlawingartificial turf and the designatedhitter. In my opinion, the bestthing about Interleague play isthat American League pitchershave to man up and bat in roadgames to National League parks.

They are the guys who get allmisty just thinking about thelast few scenes in Field ofDreams, ghostly father having acatch with the son with whomhe shared a fractious relation-

ship. Seriously, if I’m not in themood to cry, I turn the channelonce Ray Liotta invites JamesEarl Jones out into the corn.

They are the guys who get allfired up anytime Barry Bonds,Roger Clemens, or MarkMcGuire are mentioned in base-ball conversation. I don’t get(too) sanctimonious about awhole lot of things, but steroidsin baseball just chap my rearend. There’s something about aroided-up freak of chemistry

destroying home run recordslike they were nothing but papermache’ that I just find more vul-gar than if it were a fat, drunkenhedonist like Babe Ruth doingthe same.

I confess that one time, about15 years ago, I wrote an essayabout “warriors in wool” and“the cathedral of baseball.” Orsomething like that. It was anokay essay, at the time. In retro-spect, it sounds pretty trite.Pretty naïve, too, consideringhalf of the big leaguers out there

Sports ReportBox of Dreams


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).

won’t even run out a ground ballto the infield if they don’t thinkthey can beat out the throw.

Besides, all that was before Iwatched a game from the suitesat the new Alex Box Stadium.

My father-in-law got the tick-ets third-hand and invited me togo with him to the game, aSaturday night game that turnedout to be quite cold and blusteryfor early March in Louisiana. Itwas also the same night as theRichard Bausch reading atMcNeese and I was excitedabout that as well, consideringthe recent dearth of quality liter-ary readings in a town that gavethe world Tony Kushner andAndre Dubus.

It was a dilemma and LSUbaseball was no novelty to me,but, in the end, my sporting(and journalistic) side won outand I was off to Baton Rouge.It’s not too often you get to see agame from the luxury suites. Itwas a sacrifice, but I did it foryou, dear readers.

Did I say they were luxuryboxes? If you ever want toknow where all that TigerAthletic Foundation money youpay for the privilege of buyingLSU football tickets goes, I cantell you; it goes to stocking thesuites at Alex Box Stadium withfive kinds of whiskey and slicesof chocolate cheesecake.

Actually, because my father-in-law and I were trying to fig-ure it out, I looked up howmuch one of those suites costs.That would be roughly $40,000a season. The catering is extra.

What you get for $40,000 aseason plus catering costs is,basically, the living room to amoderately upscale one-bed-room apartment (comfy couchesand chairs, flat-screen television,mini fridge, etc.) with a bullet-proof (I think) glass wall look-ing out onto the playing fieldand 24 box-level seats outside.

The protective glass keepsfoul balls from breaking thingsbut it keeps most of the gamesounds out as well. Don’t getme wrong, I think an integralpart of the live sports-watching

experience is being able to hearand be a part of the crowd, to beable to high-five the completestranger in the seat next to youafter your team hits a grandslam.

But the outfield bleacherseats don’t come with cateredbeef and chicken fajitas (with allthe trimmings) waiting for youwhen you sit down.

Forty thousand smackers alsogets you a fully stocked barcomplete with five kinds ofwhiskey, Bloody Mary mixes,and ice chests of beer, all ofwhich our suitemates, fun-lov-ing folks from the legal commu-nity up in Marksville, enjoyedimmensely.

We all enjoyed the game, too,of course. LSU went down earlyto Ivy League-foe Brown, butthe Tigers put up a five-spot inthe second inning, giving thefrozen fans out in the bleachersa good excuse to head for theexits early. Not that they did;there was a pretty decent crowdfor a cold, non-Saturday nightconference game. LSU fans arehardcore and the folks from upRhode Island way probablyenjoyed the T-shirt weather.

Meanwhile, I was enjoyinganother beer and thinking thatbaseball is certainly full ofmagic, religion, and…otherstuff. I thought that baseball isdefinitely a constant throughtime, something you can markthe years by.

But, mostly, I thought that, atleast for this one night only, Icould get used to seeing thegame from the luxury boxes.

Brandon Shoumaker

TJN

Sports Report

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Let’s dive into the world of art.On March 18, 1990, two men

dressed as police officers robbedthe Isabella Stewart GardnerMuseum in Boston. Among thestolen works were pieces by Degas,Vermeer and Rembrandt that havenever been recovered. In her novelThe Art Forger, author B.A.Shapiro uses this true crime clever-ly to create an intriguing scenario.

The forger is artist Claire Roth,who makes a living in present-dayBoston by painting “perfect repli-

cas” of works by the masters.Because of this, she’s snubbed bythe art world. But in walks animportant gallery owner who willpay her to secretly create a repro-duction of a Degas, one of thepaintings stolen from the Gardner,which he intends to sell as an origi-nal. Selling a copy as a copy is fine;selling a copy as an original is acrime. But the extravagant offer istoo tempting for Claire to refuse.

To make her painting as perfecta copy as possible, Claire studies

By Mary Louise Ruehr

Art for Art's Sake …and for Greed

the work of the artist and investi-gates his technique and materials.She also searches for the truthbehind the great painting. Butmaybe she isn’t the only one cre-ating reproductions.

The possibilities offer aninteresting back-and-forth, is-it-real-or-isn’t-it, will-they-believe-or-won’t-they plot. What is “real”art? For that matter, what is art?

Claire says she’ll never know“whether I’m a great artist or justa great forger.” But then, she says,“There’s a long history of artexperts seeing what they want tosee. What they expect to see.”

Only the bad forgeries havebeen discovered, she says, becausethe good ones are hanging inmuseums. Oooh. Intrigue, tension,a bit of a thriller and even a lovestory -- it’s a good read.

Adult situations and language.An Old Master painting stolen

by the Nazis during World War IIis the McGuffin in John Pearce’snovel, Treasure of Saint-Lazare. Awoman brings a letter from herrecently murdered father to herformer lover’s father, because thetwo patriarchsworked togetherduring the war,tracking downlooted artwork.So the man andwoman travelfrom Florida toParis, lookingfor the painting.Oh, and there’sgold.

The book isa little slow ingetting to thepoint, but then,

it’s filled with thriller-type actionthat takes place in both the presentand the past.

Chasing Aphrodite: The Huntfor Looted Antiquities at theWorld’s Richest Museum by JasonFelch and Ralph Frammolinoreveals how museums became“multimillion-dollar showcases forstolen property.”

The authors write that“Trafficking in looted art ... isprobably the world’s second-oldestprofession.” In 1970, an interna-tional treaty for the protection ofcultural property was brokered to

stop “the illicit flow ofartifacts,” followingwhich artwork returnedfrom U.S. museums togovernments of Italy andGreece was estimated atmore than half a billiondollars’ worth.

“The returns followedan international scandalthat exposed an uglytruth, something artinsiders had long knownbut publicly denied. Fordecades, museums inAmerica, Europe, and


elsewhere had been buying recent-ly looted objects from a criminalunderworld of smugglers andfences, in violation of U.S. and for-eign law.”

But after the treaty, museumsstill bought illegally smuggled art-works, sometimesparticipating inobscuring theirownership histo-ries. One of theworst perpetratorswas the J. PaulGetty Museum inLos Angeles.

“The Gettybuilt an enviablecollection ofantiquities byturning a blindeye to their ori-gins.” The muse-um used sub-terfuge such as“Overpaying for art. Unauthorizedacquisitions. Inflated and forgedappraisals. None-too-subtle bribes.”They were even involved in taxfraud and the purchase of knownforgeries. “The Getty wasembroiled in a painful public scan-dal as its secrets spilled into publicview.”

The authors present charactersketches of Getty as well as theinvestigators and curators. Theygive a bit of ancient history and adab of Classical mythology alongwith this peek into “the notoriouslyshady world of collecting antiqui-ties.” It's anengrossing read.

In The Harewith Amber Eyes:A Family’sCentury of Artand Loss, authorEdmund de Waalrelates the historyof his own familyin regard to itscollection of net-suke. These tinyJapanese pieces ofart are usuallymade of ivory orwood, and somehave inlaid eyes of amber or horn.

He traces his ancestors fromRussia to France. Perhaps the mostflamboyant of his relatives wasCharles Ephrusssi, who, in Paris inthe 1870s, was a friend of Renoir,Degas, Manet and Whistler, as well

as author Marcel Proust. (Charleswas one of two men on whomProust based his character CharlesSwann.)

The “ridiculously affluent”Charles began buying art at a timewhen Japanese artwork was all the

rage. “Japanesethings -- lacquers,netsuke, prints --conjure a picture of aplace where sensa-tions are always new,where art pours outof daily life, whereeverything exists in adream of endlessbeautiful flow.”

In all, Charlesbought 264 netsukepieces. “There aremany different subtlevariations of coloursin netsuke, all thecolours of the ivory,

the horn and the boxwood: cream,wax, nut-brown, gold. They are notjust art; they’re playful. … They arefor touching. Above all, they makeyou laugh in many different ways.They are witty and ribald and slylycomic.”

Then Japanese art fell out offavor, as did anyone Jewish -- likeCharles. The netsuke moved onwith the family to Austria.

When the Nazis began lootingand destroying Jewish homes, theytook over the Ephrussi house. Thefamily was dispersed, and somewere killed. But the little Japanese

figurines were hid-den and saved by thefamily’s Gentilemaid, who laterrestored them to thefamily.

This storyreminds us that artis made by peopleand is only “stuff ”until it is admiredand valued.

There are someblack and white pho-tos, but, disappoint-ingly, no photos ofthe netsuke. It would

have been nice to have a close-upof the titular image. So I suggestyou get the new illustrated edition,which purports to have plenty ofimages of the tiny figures.

Copyright © 2013 by MaryLouise Ruehr.TJN

Volume 4 • Issue 25PAGE 32 MARCH 21, 2013

Taking time away from myoffice to visit DeRidder broughtabout an unexpected discovery ofartistic treasures. I had heardthere was a nice professionalgallery there, but really did notknow what to expect.

My guide for the day waspainter Jennifer Roberston, aDeRidder resident. She greeted mewith the offer of lunch before see-ing her hometown gallery.

I was glad to have the opportu-nity to know Robertson and herwork. Like many oil painters, she’sbeen honing her talents creatingbeautiful landscapes of SouthwestLouisiana. Lately, however, shehas discovered a deep connectionwith animals.

During our visit, she shared afew examples of her work with

me. Frankly, I think this is herniche. Her portraits of wild animalsfeel authentic and capture the spiritof the creature. She composes herpaintings in such a way that we area curious about what the animalcould possible be thinking or feel-ing. In other words, she uses herart to create an intimate experiencebetween her sense of an elephant,tiger or zebra and myself. A dis-tinct connection is made, complet-ing the circle between the artist andthe admirer. That is success.

Roberston has been paintingfor about 30 years. She grew upwatching her Italian father paint,but was never professionallyinstructed. She enjoys the explo-ration that oils on canvas afford.

“I paint because it’s calming--you kinda lose track of time and

By

Mon

ica

Heb

ert

UnexpectedDiscoveries in DeRidder

“Elephant” by Jennifer Robertson


place,” sheexplained. As anoil painter myself,I envy her abilityto construct apainting keepingher lines even andstraight. And sheuses that skill topresent her subjectwith striking elo-quence. Four ofher landscapes arepart of a groupexhibition in PujoStreet Cafe indowntown LakeCharles.

After enjoyinga nice lunch, wemade our way overto the Real ArtGallery.

Real ArtDeRidder, a com-mercial gallery rep-resenting local tal-ent, is an oasis forthe soul. This gem began as an ideafrom the town’s Mayor, RonRoberts. “The arts are the missingingredient in our society,”Robertson said. “Culture is impor-tant because it is the ingredientthat gives us the most pleasure.”

With the backing of the mayor,the visual artist community ofDeRidder came together to forman arts cooperative. They renovat-ed and opened the gallery on WestFirst Street in DeRidder’sDowntown Cultural District.Three years later, the gallery, inaddition to the regular art exhibit-ed there, features guest artists forsolo exhibits each month.

When I walked into the galleryspace, I was greeted with an exu-berance that made me eager to sitand visit with the folks there.Margo Roll appeared to be theleader as she stood with the oth-ers, watching, listening andobserving. Although she has manyyears of experience with fine art,both as an artist and as a framer, itwas the twinkle in her eye that gotmy attention.

Originally from Long Island,she has moved around frequentlyas a military wife. How did shehandle the cultural diversity of thevarious places where she wasrequired to live? "Bloom whereyou are planted," she said simply.

I could see that her twinkles

emanate from her deep love andrespect for the creative person andfor art in general. Roll exemplifiesthe intention set forth by MayorRoberts.

I was drawn to one of herpaintings, a large oil on canvas ofpansies. The colors are strong,vivid and alluring. Painting pan-sies is not a novel idea, nor is itunique to paint with bold colors.But it is novel to present the sub-ject with ease. Roll has a knack ofpresenting color that is intense, yetinviting at the same time. Ienjoyed it immensely.

Oil is not her only medium. “Ido it all,” she said. “Pen and ink,watercolors and oil. I've studiedwith about 60 teachers around thecountry!”

The RAD Gallery is home to allexpressions of fine art, includingpottery, sculpture, paintings andphotography. For the month ofMarch, the gallery will feature“Honor Youth Art Month,” anexhibit by the students ofBeauregard Parish schools. Plan adate with yourself and take a littleroad trip to DeRidder to soak inthe accomplishments of the area’sartists. If you want to see thegallery on Sunday, call ahead; theywill gladly make arrangements toopen the space. Find them atwww.realartderidder.com/index.html or call (337) 462-8900. TJN

“Pansies” by Margo Roll


“Life is like a box of chocolates.You never know what you’re gonnaget.” Mama Gump’s words are astrue today as they were in 1994when movie-goers first heard them.And that’s exactly why the movieForrest Gump went on to win six

Oscars including Best AdaptedScreenplay.

Now I can’t promise I’ll alwaysdeliver such timeless words of wis-dom, but in the weeks to come, Ihope to offer you tasty tidbits oflocal film and theatre happenings

as unpredictable as MamaGump’s box of chocolates.

First up, if you’re asinterested in making filmsas you are in watching themand don’t know about theLake Area Film Group(LAFG), keep reading.Whether you own a Redcamera and an entire Arrilight kit or don’t know an f-stop from a stop sign, theLAFG welcomes you. Thegroup is open to anyone inthe Lake Area interested inmaking movies. The groupmeets the fourth Thursdayof the month at 7 p.m.inside Stellar Beans coffeeshop.

This month, a handfulof members made a runto the Boomtown FilmFestival in Beaumont and

struck filmmaking oil. They stum-bled upon a gusher of an idea inthe movie The Exquisite CorpseProject and have decided to repli-cate a shorter version of it here inSouthwest Louisiana.

Here’s how it works: One screen-writer writes five pages of the scriptand creates a list of characters forthe writers that follow them. Thenthe next writer inherits that list ofcharacters but only gets to read thelast page of the previous writer’sscript. Still with me? Finally, theentire script is stitched togetheruntil the screenplay is done.

Locally, the writing for a 15-minute short film is already under-way, but if you’re interested in tak-ing part in the production process,the monthly meeting is March 28.

Now, if you’re more of a moviewatcher than a movie maker, theMovies Under the Stars series atPrien Lake Park will kick off onFridays in April. Films are shownon a large inflatable screen as soonas the sun goes down, so start timesvary. If you like to sit up close,you’ll want to claim your picnicspot early and enjoy a little socializ-ing before the sun sets. And ifyou’re not much of a picnic plan-ner, different food options areavailable on site.

This spring, you’ll find there’s amovie for every taste with choiceslike the animated Wreck-It Ralphand the action packed MissionImpossible: Ghost Protocol along-side the 2011 music-filled versionof The Muppets. For the full sched-ule, go to www.cppj.ne/movies.

Now this year’s Oscars are over,but if you love watching awardwinning movies on the big screen,you don’t have to wait another yearto do so. The current ClassicsSeries films at Cinemark all haveone thing in common: they’ve allwon an Academy Award. And youcan see them in their full-size, sil-ver-screen glory on Wednesdaynights at 7 p.m.

To make viewing them evenmore fun, I thought I’d offer someneat tidbits to look or listen for.

American Beauty (March 27)takes a dark look at what’s going onbehind closed doors in the mostordinary of neighborhoods. Thefilm, written and directed by AlanBall, uses the color red often andquite strategically. Many previousviewers suggest the color representsthe life force or passion. One quickexample would be the film’s intro-duction to one of the main charac-ters as she chops off red blooms inher rose garden. We later learnthere is no passion in her life, butyou’ll note that when it returns sodoes the color red around her. Eachcharacter in the movie has a differ-ent tie to the color red.

The next classic, Casablanca,directed by the talented MichaelCurtiz, brings a treat for the earson April 3. Many catch phrases inAmerican slang are movie quotesfrom this one movie. “Here’s look-ing at you kid,” “I think this is thebeginning of a beautiful friend-ship,” and “Round up the usual sus-pects,” are just a handful of familiarlines you might recognize.Ironically, this movie also boaststhe most misquoted line in movies.The line “Play it again, Sam,” wasnever spoken in this film. The realline is “Play it, Sam. Play “As TimeGoes By.” So if you’re fond ofquotable dialogue you may want tocheck out Casablanca.

Finally, the third classic film isThe Godfather directed by the leg-endary Francis Ford Coppola. A lit-tle added bonus while viewing thisiconic mobster movie would be tocount all the movie icons whoacted in it before they were famous.Sure, you remember MarlonBrando and Al Pacino, but I’ll betyou’ll find at least four other bignames with young faces as youwatch this New York tale of organ-ized crime.

That’s all for this month. Untilnext time, save me a seat before thelights go down!TJN

Chocolate, Colors and Corpses!

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



EASTER - WORD SEARCH

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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.

BasketsBunnyChicksEasterEggs

Good FridayJelly BeansJesusLiliesMarch Thirty One

New ClothesPeepsPockingResurrectionSpring


Oz the Greatand Powerful(Disney, 2013)

Ever wonder about the backstoryof the wonderful wizard? In thesedays, all storytelling is about the pre-quel, and so with great ambition, Ozthe Great and Powerful and Disneystudios claim their ground in creat-ing a children’s backstory to the clas-sic movie.

The movie opens in black andwhite, just like the original. In atremendous sequence, we see a young

carnival magician, Oscar Diggs(James Franco), making a living onthe windy sparse plains of Kansas.He’s strictly second-rate carnival. Hisclothes need mending, his crowds arethin and the money is very tight.

Not only this, but Oscar is morallypretty shabby as well. He loves to woothe ladies who come along, and actorJames Franco excels in this role, witha charming sleaze that he carries intohis carnival show.

I got my hopes up for this filmwhen the storm blew in which sendsOscar to Oz. The resulting panic onthe ground with the impending stormperfectly recalls the same scenes inthe original Wizard of Oz.

Computer graphics didn’t exist

By Dan Ellender

Director of the Children's Museum

when the original Wizard wasfilmed, and I suppose the goal ofDisney was to make Oz as magi-cal as possible. To me they over-did it, but I would bet youngeraudiences find it refreshing andwonderful. There’s no end ofmagic once Oscar gets to Oz.

There he meets Theodora(Mila Kunis), a Prada-styledwitch who immediately catchesOscar’s eye. She also has a sister,Evanora, played by Rachel Weisz.Weisz handles her witch’s rolebetter than any actress I’ve everseen, except maybe for MargaretHamilton (look her up).

There’s a third witch. You andI both remember her: Glinda.Oscar repeatedly calls herWanda. Glinda’s father was theruler of Oz, but has been killedand now the land is under acurse. Everyone is waiting for agreat and powerful wizard fromKansas to set them free.

At this point, we reach themiddle of the movie, which startsto drag. For some reason, thescript becomes forced and false,and you feel sorry for the actorsstruggling with their shallowlines. The green-skinned WickedWitch of the West makes her appear-ance here, and all I can say is shereminded me of the villain in TheMask. Same makeup artist, I think,and the same acting coach.

James Franco pretty much has tocarry the movie himself, and does anadmirable job playing the mediocrebut humorous con artist who sudden-ly is called upon to save Oz from itsdark days. As the man behind thecurtain, his character is full of razzledazzle. I ended up really believing hewas the young Wizard of Oz.

Instead of picking up a cowardlylion, scarecrow, and tin woodman onhis journey, Oscar teams up withcomputer graphic characters ChinaGirl and Finley (a flying monkey, no

less), possibly the most heartwarmingbeings in the movie. The film is alsofilled with Munchkins, Winkies, andTinkers, all characters from the Ozbooks and in the original film. Sadly,there is little to no singing and danc-ing in Oz, which to me is a huge mis-take, one of the things that madeoriginal Wizard such a classic. Well.Times have changed.

All told, a good start and goodfinish make Oz the Great andPowerful just enough of a movie tobe enjoyable for families. The filmtakes an honest swing at foreshadow-ing and recalling the magic of theclassic story, while it attempts tobecome a classic in its own right.Rated PG for screaming witches andflying monkeys. Have fun! TJN

959 SAM HOUSTON JONES PARKWAY, LAKE CHARLES• 855-6511MON.-FRI. 8AM TO 5PM • SATURDAY BY APPOINTMENT

Come By and SeeUs For All YourFlooring Needs!

20x20 Traventine-Look PorcelainHand-Scraped Wood • Laminate

Vinyl • Ceramic • Carpet

FORET FLOORINGFull Service Flooring ~ Quality Installation

Cathy MortonHubert Foret



Sheila, Kaetlin and Greg Lalond Camille Hanley, Kate Watkins and Gretchen Hanley Shadd Bailey, Carter Phelps, Cyndie and Troy Bailey, Brennen Dimas

Charlie Little and Jaycie Laughlin Abby and Ryder Guillot

Tyler Waguespack and Taylor Istre

LOUISIANA HIGH SCHOOL RODEOThe cowboys and girls gave us a weekend of bull

riding, barrel racing, tie down roping, pole bending,goat tying and a lot more action at the Burton

Coliseum. Yep, the Louisiana High School RodeoAssociation came to town. A little cold weather

couldn’t keep this tough crowd of fans, family andfriends from coming out to cheer on their favorites.

Ride ‘em!!

Brooke and Brittany Veillon

Natalie Phillips and A’nna Guillory April Nixon, Kaylee Jones, Regan Ratliff and Meg Bon-Vuke

LIVE @ THE LAKEFRONTThe Arts & Humanities Council

of Southwest Louisiana and theCity of Lake Charles teamed upto bring us the first Live @ the

Lakefront concert of the season!The crowd enjoyed local R&B

staple City Heat and the BarbeShow Choir at the LakefrontPromenade, along with food

from area restaurants and craftsfrom talented vendors.

Fun for the whole family!

Susan Blevins, Laurie Cormier and Cinnamon Salvador

Tristan Martin and Rowdy Parrott


Beth Ogea, Tori Touchet and Rosgneishia Elliot Sarah Ford, Amy Herbert and Jennifer McHaffie

LOUISIANA SWASHBUCKLERSSEASON OPENER

Yay! The Swashbucklers are back!The ninth season opener attracted

a large crowd of indoor footballfan-atics when the two-time

defending PIFL Albany Pantherscame to the Smuggler’s Den in the

Lake Charles Civic Center tosquare off with our home team! Itwas an exciting night of fantasticfamily entertainment, music and

performances from the First Matesand the Buccaneers of Lake

Charles. See you at the next game!

Ana Mallett, Missy Meaux and Kathy McKelvey Max, Anna and Monica Duplechin Rebecca, Rachel, Angela and Katelyn Callaway

Jennifer Kurtz, Mia Vick, Heather Greenlee, Erica McCreedy, Angie Manning and Ashli Waldrep

Katy LaBauve and Candace Duhon Allen Singletary with Ellie Kate Fontenot

Ashlyn Freeland and Terri Wells Noah LeJeune and Noah Comeaux Bella and Destiny Bonin Hunter Wesley and Eric Marras


Mary Villamil, Sharon Henry and Jane Stine

EMPTY BOWL FUNDRAISER The fifth Empty Bowl fundraiser

benefitting the Salvation Army washeld at L’Auberge Casino Resort.Bigger and better than ever, sup-

porters were in for a grand eveningas they were entertained by the

Victory Belles and served delicioussoups by 12 of the Lake Area’s pre-

mier chefs. Each attendee received aone-of-a-kind ceramic bowl made

by local potters as a token of appre-ciation for supporting the Salvation

Army’s mission. Good work! TJN

Jerry LeBlanc and Rhonda Dion Irene Vandever and Jacob Vincent Jessica Dwight and Kelli Marcantel

James Simpson and Alexus Jones

Maria and Beau FaulJackie and John Stromain

Cathy Seale and Joyce GamborgTrevelyn Johnson and Kyle Fontenot


DREAMGIRLS ATLUTCHER THEATRE

MARCH 29The sparkling new high-tech

production of the Tony and AcademyAward winning musical Dreamgirls

will electrify audiences in Orange,Texas as Big League Productions,Inc. brings this high-energyBroadway hit show to the Lutcher

Theater Friday, March 29, 2013 at7:30 p.m. for one show only. Tickets

for Dreamgirls are on sale nowand range from$35-$65. Tickets

are available atwww.lutcher.org or

(409) 886-5535.

MUD TRUCK MADNESS &MUSIC FEST MARCH 29-30

Where can you go for “Food, Fun and a Mud’n Good Time?”The Fourth Annual Mud Truck Madness Mud and Music Fest isthe place! It will take place Easter weekend, March 29-30 onHwy. 476 in Negreet. Friday’s musical line-up includes AfterHours, Beau Shyne, Cody Cook & the Bayou Outlaws and LARoxx. Saturday, enjoy the music of Landry & Co., Bastion

Cavalier, The Justin Merritt Band and JB & The MoonshineBand. The gates open daily at 7 a.m. General admission is

$15 per day and $25 for a two-day pass. Children under12 are free. Pit side parking is available for $25. For

more information, go towww.toledobendlake-

country.com or call(318) 332-2199.

PUEBLO POTTERYGALLERY TALK APRIL 4

Dr. Ray Miles, Dean,College of Liberal Arts atMcNeese State University, will conduct agallery talk on Thurs., April 4 from 6-8 p.m. at 1911Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center, 1001 Ryan Street. “ArtTraditions among the Pueblo Indians” is open to all ages at nocharge and is being held in conjunction with “Pueblo to Pueblo: TheLegacy of Southwest Indian Pottery” currently on display. Admissionis free, but donations are gladly accepted. For more information, call491-9147 or visit www.cityoflakecharles.com.

PERSON OF THE YEAR EVENT HONORING SYLVIA STELLY APRIL 4Mark your calendars! On Thurs., April 4, The Jambalaya News hon-

ors Sylvia Chaves Stelly, winner of The Jam’s 2012 Person of the Yearaward with a dinner at the Chateau du Calcasieu in downtown LakeCharles. Tickets are $25 per person, with the proceeds benefitting thegood works of the La Familia Resource Center. The event begins at5:30 p.m. For more information, call (337) 436-7800 ext. 105.

CAJUN MUSTANGERS CLUBCAR SHOW APRIL 6

The CajunMustangers will behaving theirannual carshow on April 6.There will befood, drinks anddoor prizes, andauction items up for bid.Come out to see some great cars andto have some great family fun. A portion of the proceeds from theshow will go to Wounded Warriors charitable organization. Theevent will be held at Tarver Ford, 930 N. Beglis Pkwy, Sulphur, from 8a.m. - 5 p.m. For more information, call 433-8504.

LAKE CHARLES SYMPHONY APRIL 6“A Journey of Life,” the final concert of the Lake Charles

Symphony’s 2012-2013 season, will be held Sat., April 6, in theRosa Hart Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s program includes theSibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor, known for its technical bril-


liance, and the rich and the passionateSymphony No. 6 in B Minor (Pathetique)by Tchaikovsky. Lin He, the symphony’sconcert master, will be soloist for what isconsidered one of the greatest concertosin the repertoire. Tickets are $20 for adultsand $15 for seniors/students. They maybe purchased at the Symphony Office,809 Kirby St., Room 210; the Civic CenterBox Office, or online at www.lcsympho-ny.org.

RAILROAD DAYS FESTIVAL APRIL 11-13Take a step back in time at the annual Railroad Days Festival

April 11-13. Enjoy the historic Railroad Museum, Railroad DaysQueens’ Pageant and the Bows & Barks Doggie Pageant. Other festiv-ities include a parade, look-a-like contest, 5K run, model train show,old timers reunion, the Railroad Idol Contest and live entertainmentincluding featured entertainer Mark Chesnutt! Hours are April 11from 5-11 p.m., April 13 from 3-11 p.m. and April 13 from 8:30 a.m. -midnight. DeQuincy Railroad Museum is located at 400 Lake CharlesAvenue, DeQuincy. For more information, call (337) 786-8241.

RELAY FOR LIFE APRIL 13-14A Relay for Life event to raise awareness and funds for cancer

will be held April 13-14 on the McNeese State University campus.The event, sponsored by the McNeese chapter of Colleges Against

Cancer in con-junction with theAmerican Cancer Society, runsfrom 6 p.m. April 13 to 6 a.m. April14 in the McNeese Quad. Registration is$5 per person and open to individuals aswell as teams. All relay proceeds will benefitcancer research. In addition to food and games, alive “Battle of the Bands” will be held from 11 p.m.–3a.m. in the Quad. For more information,email [email protected] orcall (337) 433-5817, ext. 2.TJN


The

Sponsored by

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20• Kory Fontenot @ Dharma, 8 p.m.• William Christian @ Cigar Club, 8 p.m.• The Posse @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 21• Matt Hoggatt @ Cooler’s Ice House, 6 p.m.• Tom Brandow @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 6 p.m.• Jamie Berzas @ DI’s Cajun Restaurant, Basile,

6:30 p.m.• Richard LeBoeuf @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino,

Kinder, 7 p.m.• Open Mic Night @ Dharma, 8 p.m.• Blackbird @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• DJ Eric Scott @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill,

L’Auberge Casino, 11 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22• Wayne Dylan @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 6 p.m.

• Scotty Pousson & Pointe aux Loups Playboys @ DI’s Cajun Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• Street Side Jazz Band @ Luna Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.• J.C. Melancon @ Mary’s Lounge, 7 p.m.• No Idea @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder,

7 p.m.• Ashes of Babylon/Lochness Mobsters @ Lake

Charles Civic Center, 8 p.m.• Jen Kober @ Luna Live, 8 p.m.• Tassie Burnette & Hundred Dollar Habit @

Stellar Beans, 8 p.m.• Wooden Wings/Oddfellows/Elephunk @

Dharma, 8 p.m.• Brian Moore/Alien Tramp @ Cigar Club, 8 p.m.• Lil Abe Manuel & Dew Knot Playboyz @ Linda’s

Lounge, 8 p.m.• Bernie Alan Band @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of

Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• Matchbox Twenty @ L’Auberge Event Center,

L’Auberge Casino, 8:30 p.m.• Bon Journeys @ Yesterday’s, 9 p.m.

• Big Al Carson & Blues Masters @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 9 p.m.

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

SATURDAY, MARCH 23• Briggs Brown & Bayou Cajuns @ DI’s Cajun

Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.• Buddy Guy/Jimmie Vaughan @ Delta Event

Center, Delta Downs, Vinton, 7 p.m.• No Idea @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder,

7 p.m.• Down the Phoenix @ Luna Live, 8 p.m.• When the Word Was Sound/England in 1819

@ Dharma, 8 p.m.• J.D. Newbury & Southwind @ Caribbean Cove,

Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• Damon Troy & Final Five @ Yesterday’s, 9 p.m.• Big Al Carson & Blues Masters @ Gator Lounge,

Delta Downs, Vinton, 9 p.m.• DJ Eric Scott @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill,

L’Auberge Casino, 11 p.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 24• Brad Brinkley & Comfort Zone @ Mary’s Lounge,

5 p.m.• TK Hulin/Steve Adams & Smoke @ Yesterday’s, 6 p.m.

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


TUESDAY, MARCH 26• DJ Brewmaster @ Dharma, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27• Natural Vibrations/Sol Tribe @

Luna Live, 8 p.m.• Marcus Sawyer & The Mechanical

Heart @ Dharma, 8 p.m.• Neal Smith @ Cigar Club, 8 p.m.• 3 of a Kind @ Caribbean Cove, Isle

of Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 28• Mike Dolan/Stratton Doyle @ Otis

& Henry’s, Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 6 p.m.

• Howard Noel & Cajun Boogie @ DI’s Cajun Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• Open Mic Night @ Dharma, 8 p.m.• Chee Weez @ Pool Island Area,

L’Auberge Casino, 8 p.m.• Ganey Arsement & Lakeside

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

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

FRIDAY, MARCH 29• Alex Rosell @ Otis &Henry’s, Isle of

Capri Casino, Westlake,

6 p.m.• Steel Shot/Muzic Unlimited @ The

Pavilion, Coushatta Casino, 6 p.m.• Travis Benoit & Allons Dancer @

DI’s Cajun Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• Street Side Jazz Band @ Luna Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.

• DJ Jet @ Dharma, 8 p.m.• Ryan Bourque/Kevin Johnson/Wes

Spears @ Cigar Club, 8 p.m.• X-It 43 @ Linda’s Lounge, 8 p.m.• Bag of Donuts @ Pool Island Area,

L’Auberge Casino, 8 p.m.• Prophets & Outlaws @ Caribbean

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

• Louisiana Express/Johnnie Alan @ Yesterday’s, 9 p.m.

• BB & Company @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 9 p.m.

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

SATURDAY, MARCH 30• Cajun Heat/Zydecane/Ambush @

The Pavilion, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 4 p.m.

• Joe Simon & Louisiana Cajun @ DI’s Cajun Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• DJ Chicago Velvet Smooth/Semantic Junkys @ Dharma, 8 p.m.

• Ryan Bunch @ Cigar Club, 8 p.m.• Molly Ringwalds @ Pool Island

Area, L’Auberge Casino, 8 p.m.• City Heat @ Caribbean Cove, Isle

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

Boogie @ Yesterday’s, 9 p.m.• BB & Company @ Gator Lounge,

Delta Downs, Vinton, 9 p.m.• DJ Adriana @ Jack Daniels Bar &

Grill, L’Auberge Casino, 11 p.m.

TUESDAY, APRIL 2• DJ Rae @ Dharma, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3• When the Word Was Sound/Silo

Homes @ Dharma, 8 p.m.

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

THURSDAY, APRIL 4• TBA @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 6 p.m.• Homer LeJeune & Kajun Kings @

DI’s Cajun Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• Cypress @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 7 p.m.

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

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


I was listening to “Dirty Rice” on KRVS-

FM, driving to New Orleans to catch my

flight to Phoenix, when I was startled by a

cheeky comment made by Bill Boelens, the

show’s host. As he back-announced a spin of

“Hear My Train A Comin’ by Jimi Hendrix,

he said, “That’s from People, Hell and

Angels, just released. Can you believe it?

Guy’s been dead since 1970 and he’s still

releasing records.”

After I L’d MFAO, I thought a little hard-

er about the technology of recording, and

realized it isn’t strange that Jimi Hendrix’s

music has time-traveled to us from the vault

where it’s been stored for 43+ years. What’s

strange is that after all these years, there’s

still stuff Jimi recorded that long ago that we

haven’t heard yet, and that’s worth releasing.

It’s always been possible to put out a new

record by a deceased artist, and many a quip

or jibe has been leveled at record companies

for rushing new works into print to take

advantage of the pub-

licity value of a star’s

death. But the fact is, as

technology has changed,

the shelf life of old record-

ings and the ability audio

engineers have to clean up the

sound quality of those recordings

has increased exponentially. And

as it has, the buying public has

made it clear that it’s up for

one or more last peeks

into its favorite artists’

trunks and closets.

Which is whysome new

independent record labels are catching our

ears with old tapes on new vinyl.

The late, great Townes Van Zandt’s new

double CD release (Sunshine Boy: The

Unheard Studio Sessions & Demos 1971 –

1972) out as of February 5 on Omnivore

Recordings, is a fine example of this phe-

nomenon. Cheryl Pawelski, the label’s three-

time GRAMMY-nominated producer and

founding A&R Director, told me that her

company’s new records of old but never-

before-released recordings, and reissues of

long out-of-print works by popular and eso-

teric artists are selling very well, especially

well, she noted, in vinyl records, which out-

sell CDs and other formats.

And though no one Omnivore record is

likely to compete in sales with multi-million

chart-toppers by Lady Gaga or Muse, the

Omnivore business model, relying on quali-

ty products sold to niche markets, can make

up in predictably–selling quantities among

many projects what one risky platinum-sell-

er can earn, and that strategy can certainly

ensure the label’s survival through the up-

and downturns of the market for tangible

music sales.

As well as her A&R nous, Pawelski’s mar-

ketplace savvy is a major factor in the label’s

success. In our discussion that roamed from

Omnivore’s stellar startup, through

Pawelski’s illustrious career in A&R for cata-

log projects, and on to the history and

vagaries of the music business, she drew on

two-plus decades of experience creating

hundreds of highly successful boxed sets,

reissues and recording projects for

EMI/Capitol Records’ catalog division, and

for Concord Music Group, iTunes, Rhino

Entertainment, and others for artists such as

Aretha Franklin, Warren Zevon, Miles

Davis, Bette Midler, Chicago, The Beach

Boys, Rod Stewart, The Band, Judy Henske

and Fred Neil, just to name a tiny sample.

And each project, no matter how obviously

its subject deserved to be highlighted,

received the meticulous attention to details

that’s a hallmark of Pawelski’s work.

Pawelski’s taste is even more eclectic than

mine, so you won’t be surprised to learn that

in addition to Townes Van Zandt, we both

love guitarist

and songwriter

Richard Thompson. Or that

she’s produced a few RT records for

various labels including Omnivore, which

re-released Strict Tempo, Thompson’s all

instrumental album, on its 30th anniversary,

and reissued Richard Thompson’s and his ex-

wife Linda Thompson’s projects. Most recent-

ly, Omnivore released funk, country, jazz and

folk records from material in the vaults, on

CD and HD, and, importantly, many only on

vinyl LPs, including some special short run

collectors’ editions on colored vinyl.

Describing the label’s gestalt, Pawelski

credits all the partners with making deci-

sions about what Omnivore will release.

“We want to produce projects that are

meaningful, that are close to our hearts,” she

said. “When we decide to put out a record,

our barometer is the tone of the label. We’re

building an iconic brand – one that makes

music buyers take a chance on a record

because it’s on Omnivore – so the music we

love is going to be our first priority. The

label’s name and motto [create, devour,

repeat] say it all: We want hungry musical

adventurers. Just like us.”

So how does a small label compete in the

marketplace with the few remaining major

labels and the big indies? If Omnivore is any

indication, it’s by creating and selling smart

specialty projects that can find an audience

sufficient to cover their moderate produc-

tion, manufacturing and marketing costs,

and make a reasonable profit.

That means Pawelski and company

work efficiently to develop multiple

income streams, including licensing

music for films and TV, and taking

advantage of all appropriate opportuni-

ties, to ensure that the quality of a par-

ticular recording will never be sacri-

ficed for lack of funds.

Developing the Omnivore brand

has meant selecting high quality

mixing, mastering and pressing

vendors, designing brand-recogni-

tion through chic and clever pack-

aging, and developing a loyal fol-

lowing through well-placed dis-

tribution and marketing.

“We want to be that catalog

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].

Omnivore Recordings:

Audio Files, Part 2

Townes Van Zandt


brand,” Pawelski said, which usual-ly means re-issuing previouslyreleased but now out-of- printrecords, but she told me that mostof Omnivore’s releases, with fewexceptions, are records “that neverexisted in nature” before they wereborn at her label.

Pawelski’s insights are toointeresting to spell out in short-hand here, so I’m planning on onemore look--at the part of our con-

versation about audio quality. Buthere’s a teaser, a comment thattook us off into an intense discus-sion. Speaking of why she leftRhino Entertainment, she said, “Irealized they were more intent onshutting it down as a physicalproduct label, because they’ddrunk the Kool-Aid of digital [tobecome a licensing and digitallabel.]” More provocative state-ments to come. Check this space.

TJN

Killin’ Time CrosswordACROSS

1. Tough guy5. "The Pit and the

Pendulum" writer8. Deep in thought

12. "Grey's Anatomy" actress Winningham

13. ___ Arbor14. Algerian port15. Halloween costume17. Burlesque bit18. National Mall institution20. Anatomical duct21. "___ there, done that"22. Attention25. Will Smith title role26. "Dear" one29. Washington D.C.'s

original urban planner33. Pitcher's asset34. Paleontologist's estimate35. Grimm beginning36. Billionth: Prefix38. Soundless

communication (abbr.)40. Congress neighborhood44. Darling dog45. Freed47. ___'acte (intermission)48. Rescuer of Odysseus,

in myth49. Bananas50. "___ la vie"51. Poker prize52. English prep school

DOWN1. Queen Mary's letters2. Thousand ___, Calif.3. Utah city4. Hand over5. Trails6. Lennon's in-laws7. Dignify8. First name in

talk shows9. Bill Clinton, e.g.

10. Hurt11. Big bang producer16. Greek vowel19. Teutonic turndown22. Tax pro, for short23. Tire filler24. Scraps25. Oktoberfest drink27. Part of some co. names28. 66, e.g. (abbr.)30. Rajah's wife31. Self-aggrandizement32. Leaves37. Not together38. Apportion39. "Thar ___ blows!"40. Sugar source41. Vintner's prefix42. Future atty.'s exam43. Danish toy company44. Japanese

computer giant46. Actor Aykroyd © Lovatts Publications

Pty Ltd

Documents

The Jambalaya News - 03/21/13, Vol. 4, No. 25