THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2010 a people’s publication Vol. 35 • No. 04

b a t o n r o u g e , l o u i s i a n a

INDEXLocal & State ...........................2Commentary ............................4 Business ...................................5Religion ...................................6Health ......................................7Other News .............................8

LocaL & State NewS BuSiNeSS NewS heaLth NewS

cLaSSified Buying or selling a service, looking for for a good job or a good used car? Check out the classifeds .

deveLopiNg SeLf eSteemFew factors impact our ability to pro-tect ourselves from HIV more than our level of self-esteem. When our sense of self-worth is high, we are better able to choose partners who care for us and have our best interest at heart...See Page 7

Ymca iNveStiNg iN KidS, famiLieS“Investing In Kids, Families and Communities” was the theme for the YMCA of the Capital Area’s an-nual meeting held May 11th at Bou-dreaux’s. Ann Trappey, Metropolitan Board Chair 2008-2010, presided over the event....See Page 2

Bp BriefS goverNmeNtBP announced that its internal investi-gation team began sharing initial per-spectives of its review of the causes of the tragic Deepwater Horizon fire and oil spill. BP has shared these early perspectives with the Department of the Interior...See Page 5

Girl Scouts’ ranks just grew 22 members stronger with the addition of the women members of the Louisiana legislature. The state legislators became members of an honorary Girl Scout troop, Troop Louisiana, during a pinning ceremony....Page 8

NatioNaL/State & commuNitY watch reLigioN NewSIn the world today much is being said but, no one seems to know who said whatever was commu-nicated. They don’t want to reveal their source...See Page 6

BATON ROUGE — A Senate-backed attempt to ban smoking in Louisiana bars and casinos has been snuffed out.

The House Health and Welfare Committee rejected the bill in an 8-4 vote Tues-day, a vote expected to kill the measure for another legislative session.

The state has a law that prohibits smoking in restau-rants, public places, public buildings and most places of employment. The pro-posal by Livonia Sen. Rob Marionneaux would have required bars, casinos, off-track betting facilities and other gambling spots also to become smoke-free.

Supporters say the bill would improve the health safety of workers and pa-trons at bars and casinos.

Opponents say a smok-ing ban could harm busi-nesses and the state finan-cially. They also say people can choose to avoid the facilities if they don’t want the secondhand smoke ex-posure.

PressBOX

The

THEWEEKLYPRESS.COM Celebrating 35 Years Of Service To The Baton Rouge Community 225.775.2002

The following pro-grams will be held for teens in June. Registra-tion is required for some programs. For more in-formation or to register, call the individual library branch.

Baker Branch Library, 3501 Groom Road, (225) 778-7960

Teen H20 PartyWednesday, June 2,

4 p.m.Teens and tweens

ages 12-18 are invited to the Teen H20 Party at the Baker Branch! Cool off by playing fun water games like Jump Rope Water Splash and Water Balloon Relay Race. The games will take place right outside the library, but first we’ll

committee rejects Smoking Ban Bill

Library programs for teens

See programs, on page 2

BATON ROUGE - Wear-ing the crown of Miss Southern University is a big responsibil-ity and being the focal point of attention at a variety of social events can be exciting. Just ask Sabrina Whitney after she closed her 2009-2010 reign as Miss Southern. But, she will also tell you that raising money for seriously ill children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hos-pital has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her life. “It has made me feel good that I have been able to help and that I have done something that is going to make things better for children,” Sabrina said.

The Tallulah native and her executive board members raised about $10,000. She do-nated the money to represen-tatives of the Memphis, Tenn.-based hospital during a private

ceremony before commence-ment exercises when she walked across the stage to receive her degree from Southern.

The money she has raised will aid children at St. Jude who are suffering from catastrophic diseases such as cancer and sickle cell anemia. “If what I do is going to help people and make Southern University look good, then I’m definitely going to do it,” said Sabrina, who will relinquish her crown in a few

‘miss Southern’ continues to raise money for St. Jude children

Chancellor Kofi Lomotey, Miss Southern University 2009-2010

Sabrina Whitney, Jamie Landry, St. Jude Children’s Research Hos-pital event marketing representa-

tive, and Tracey McKee, Associate Director of St. Jude.

See miss southern, on page 2

BATON ROUGE — For-mer United States Secretary of Education, Dr. Rod Paige spoke to about 30 students, faculty, staff, and administra-tors at the Capitol High School Academics. Paige shared on the importance of achieving excellence through education. “One present civil rights’ frontier is in the educational arena. To achieve social and economic justice, it must be achieved through obtaining a quality education.

Dr. Paige also encour-aged the students to step into their present leadership roles. He told them they are today’s leaders in the classroom and on the campus. They must help their peers become well-rounded student leaders. Dr. Ernie Hughes, chair of 100 Black Men Capitol High Academic Board thanked the former secretary for coming to support and encouraging our supporter. The 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rouge,

LTD in partnership with the Black Alliance for Educational Options sponsored the early morning gathering at Capitol High School Academies.

Rod_Paige.jpg: Former United States Secretary of Education, Dr. Rod Paige spoke to students at Capi-tol High School Academies on the importance of education and leader-ship. – Photo by Dr. Ernie Hughes

former uS Secretary of education paige Speaks at capitol high academies

BATON ROUGE, LA - The 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rouge, LTD formally introduced a Mr. Murphy Bell as new mem-ber at its monthly meeting on Monday, May 17th. Bell was introduced by Herman John-son, membership chair, and presented with a membership certificate by Adell Brown, president and chairman of the board.

Also during the meeting Dr. Owusu Bandele, professor

BATON ROUGE - A House committee approved a bill Monday that will allow individual colleges and uni-versities in Louisiana to raise tuition by 10 percent, but not before a public lashing of higher education officials.

Lawmakers used the opportunity in committee to verbally attack Commis-sioner of Higher Education Sally Clausen.

“Speaker Tucker, you

know yourself we’ve been looking for information from this group of individuals,” said Rep. Jim Morris, R-Oil City.

The group Morris referred to includes higher education officials like Clausen. Mem-bers of the committee stopped just shy of calling Clausen a liar during her testimony on the Grad Act. Members ac-

house approves Bill to allow college tuition increases

See tuition, on page 2

Dr. Owusu Bandele, professor emeritus is given a certificate

of appreciation for the volunteer work provided to the 100’s Black

History Bowl Team. (L to R) Dr. Owusu Bandele and Adell Brown,

Jr. - Photo by Fred Sibley

100 Black men of metro Baton rouge introduce New members

The 100 Men of Metro Baton Rouge, LTD introduced Mr. Murphy Bell as a new member to its membership. (L to R) Herman Johnson, Murphy Bell and Adell Brown, Jr. - Photo by Fred Sibley

See new members, on page 2

Page 2 • The Weekly Press • Thursday, May 27, 2010

READER INFORMATION

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The office is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday and located at 1283 Rosenwald Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Correction PolicyThe Baton Rouge Weekly Press strives to be fair and accurate. The newspaper corrects any significant errors of fact brought to the attention of the editor. If you think an error has been made, call 225-775-2002

The Weekly Press

Newspaper is a published weekly in Baton Rouge and distributed every Thursday with a circulation of 7,500. Subscription rates are $38.00 per year for Louisiana residents; $42.00 for one year for out-of-state residents; half price for six months subscription: and $1.00 per single copy.

All money orders or checks should be made payable to The Weekly Press, P.O. Box 74485, Baton Rouge, La. 70874

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Closed Saturday, Sunday and all Major Holidays

LocaL&StateTHOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Shadows

of the night fade when sunshine draws near. Huff

THE NAACP AWARDS SCHOLARSHIP TO HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS. NAACP of As-cension Parish recognized and awarded students from the four public high schools in Ascension Parish. The students included Tre Sullivan of Donaldsonville High, Bre’yhana Williams of Donaldsonville High, Adam Thompson of East Ascension High, and Kelsey Wilkinson of St. Amant High. Thanks to the recommendation of teachers and administrators.

THE LEMANN CENTER was the setting for the Military Prayer Breakfast on last weekend. Hundreds gathered for the annual event to greet and eat and have a fine fellowship. Tracy Marquette has been the coordinator for the past years and did so this year. Each year has proven to be more successful than the last. Prayers were offered: Raymond Carbo for the military; Allison Hudson for the media; Pastor Jamie Elliot for business; Father Phil Spano for education; Matt Bougeois for the church; Rev. Wilmon Jackson and daughter Leonzell for the family, and Donna Gaignard for the government. Each person was challenged to pray daily.

NEWLY ELECTED NEW ORLEANS MAYOR MITCH LAN-DRIEU has tapped Cedric Grant to become Deputy Mayor of Facili-ties, Infrastructure and Community Development. “It is a great honor to be asked to serve in Mayor Landrieu’s administration,” Grant said. “As Deputy Mayor I will assist the May and his team in creating the foundation for the great American city that New Orleans is and always will be.” Congratulations to Cedric.

SETTOON TOWING provided boys and girls great opportu-nities during the field trip on last week. The place was Belle River and area students went to find out about water safety, safety lessons and the role of the Coast Guard. They were given life jackets and the trip was educational for all.

THE RIVER PARISH COMMUNITY COLLEGE (RPCC) sponsored important lessons for elementary students in St. John Parish in Reserve in emergency preparedness. One speaker was Elliot Celestine, participating as part of a college psychology service-learning class project. The students learned how to prepare for hurricanes and other natural disasters. Students from RPCC spoke with the grade school students, acted out skity, and distributed just under 500 starter emergency preparedness kits. This was an effort to help prepare the children for natural disasters which may come their way. Each starter kit contained water, crackers, batteries, a flashlight, hand sanitizer, a small radio and other essential items. Each student also received a blanket with the kit, which is valued at $20 each. Sounds like a winner!

DO YOU KNOW ANY EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN WHO NEED SERVICES? Children from ages 3 to 21 need to be identified if they need exceptional services. The Child Search effort want to identify developmental delays, fine and gross motor, speech and language delays, or sensory impairments. Child Search is also seeking students who are functioning significantly above their chronological age and for those who are showing unique talents in visual or performing arts. Free screening are available. Contact our nearest school.

GO LSU TIGERS & SU JAGUARS BASEBALL TEAMS as they head to their regionals.

DID YOU SEE IT? Yes, New Orleans was the setting for the tribute honors of the first 100 African Americans Certified Public Accounts. Congratulations, to all!

Happy Birthday to Berean Academy Principal Poindexter. Get Well to Ms. Claudia Fisher and Ms. Debra Ephrom. Have a super and blessed weekend.

Love, Marge

marge's Chit Chat

MargeLawrence

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BATON ROUGE, LA - “In-vesting In Kids, Families and Communities” was the theme for the YMCA of the Capital Area’s annual meeting held May 11th at Boudreaux’s. Ann Trappey, Metropolitan Board Chair 2008-2010, presided over the event, along with Bob Jacobs, CEO of the YMCA of the Capital Area. Jacobs reported some of the high-lights for the YMCA of the Capi-tal Area, those included, a 50% growth in family programming, summer day camp and after school childcare programs grew 12%, the “SPLASH” program provided free swim lessons to over 460 children and the contin-ued construction of the Howell Place YMCA, scheduled to open this fall. The homeless outreach program also grew stronger in

weeks. Sabrina used a number of fundraising efforts, includ-ing a letter-writing campaign, a “Little Miss Southern” pageant and talent show. She even used a “Free Your Queen (from jail) for Homecoming” event. “I set a goal of $1,500 and told people that is what I needed to get out. We finally got it,” she laughed. “I actually have enjoyed the hard work it has taken to raise the money,” she said. “But, it wasn’t just me. My executive board has done so much to make it work.” Sabrina said she is driven to raise the money because she believes

the cause is worthy and because she had a younger cousin die from cancer a few years ago. Also, last year, she went to St. Jude and saw many children who were being treated for life-threatening diseases. “It was devastating...I cried the whole time,” she said. “Now, I really know that what we are doing is important.” The criminal jus-tice major said she will continue to work with causes such as St. Jude while she attends graduate school. “I’m definitely going to do it again wherever I go to grad school,” Sabrina said.

Miss southern from page 1

2009, over $532,000 worth of clothing, toiletries, food, blan-kets, and Christmas packages were given to those in need. The Sunday Church Ministry has grown to provide church service to over 125 homeless in the community. Jacobs also thanked the volunteers of the YMCA of the Capital Area who donate $909,033 worth in vol-unteer hours.

Highlights of the evening included the presentation of the Myron Falk Fundraising Award which was presented to Bryon Bennett. Bryon has or-

ganized golf tournaments and other fundraising events for the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign. The Edward D. Grant volun-teerism award was presented to John Thibodeaux. John do-nates over 500 hours a year to the YMCA Track program. The YMCA’s highest honor award, the Red Triangle, was presented to ExxonMobil for their one million dollar donation for the construction of the Howell Place YMCA. A special “spirit of the YMCA” award, called the Red Heart Award was given to Randy Haddad. Randy has

been a volunteer of the YMCA for over ten years. The night also included a surprise visit from NFL Saints Players, Ran-dall Gay and Tracy Porter, both supporters of the YMCA of the Capital Area.

Special Video clips of members and volunteers highlighted the event as they spoke about how the YMCA has made a positive impact on their lives! Spring flowers provided by Rickey Heroman and “invest in you” piggy banks were the centerpieces for this special occasion.

YMCA Investing in Kids, Families, and Communities to Make Them Stronger

cused the commissioner of using her influence in the Senate to dictate policy.

“So, I hope today starts a new turning point with the board of regents and higher education in this state with this commit-tee,” said Rep. Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro. “Where by, when we ask in direct questions that those questions get answered from the table and then you don’t leave and go to the other side of this process and try to circumvent what we tried to do in the process over here.”

Clausen defended her ac-tions by suggesting information about budget cuts should not be displayed in a public forum. She conceded communication issues, but insisted that she did not lie.

“It has never ever been our intention to be in any way dis-honest,” said Clausen. “Commu-nication is always a challenge in this setting and these challenges that we have.”

The bill must pass by a two-thirds vote in each respective chamber.

tuition from page 1

emeritus of the Southern Univer-sity Agricultural Research and Extension Center was presented a Certificate of Appreciation for the volunteer work he provided to

“The 100’s” Black History Bowl Team for National competition. The activity concluded with a re-ception provided by Fred Sibley, chief officer.

new MeMbers from page 1

Left to Right: Eva Pratt, WT. Winfield, Jerry Arbour, Christi Domingue, Peter Breaux, Jarvis Antoine, Valerie Jackson Jones, Daarina Phillips, and Marjorie Green.

CAWSC Board Members, Executive Direct Collect supplies for Haiti Earthquake Victims

gather inside the Youth Ser-vices area at 4 p.m.

Be prepared to get wet! Registration required.

Manga Club: Candy Sushi

Tuesday, June 8 , 4 p.m.

The Manga Club will kick off the summer by mak-ing candy sushi! We will also discuss our current manga readings. Teens and tweens, ages 12-18, are welcome to attend. Registration is re-quired.

PrograMs from page 1

BATON ROUGE — A stale-mate between lawmakers and the Jindal administration over Louisiana’s annual construction budget bill has lifted slightly.

The House Ways and Means Committee agreed to move ahead with the bill while still haggling with Gov. Bobby Jindal’s bud-get crafters about the financing

plans.The committee sent the bill to

the full House for debate, without objection.

The measure charts $4.5 billion in multiyear spending plans.

Last week, Rep. Hunter Greene, chairman of the com-mittee, pulled the legislation

from consideration, over complaints about the way the governor’s office submitted the bill.

There’s more money in projects vying for dollars than there is money to spend.

On Monday, Greene said those issues still remained, but he continues to negotiate with the Jindal administration.

Construction Budget Bill Advances

See programs, on page 3

The Weekly PressCELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF SERVICE

to Baton Rouge Communities

Thursday, May 27, 2010 • The Weekly Press • Page 3

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Campaign announCementCome out and Support Our Judge

As he announces his Re-Election Campaign

Judge John miChael guidry1st Circuit Court of Appeal

Saturday, may 29, 2010McKinley Alumni Center

1520 Thomas Delpit Drive10:00 a.m.

Brief organizational meeting immediately after the press conference

Refreshments will be served

Committee to Elect Judge John Michael GuidryPost Office Box 3716

Baton Rouge, LA 70821225.439.4669

www.re-electjudgeguidry.comreelectjudgeguidry@gmail.com

Tara Laver, Curator of Man-uscripts at Hill Memorial Library - LSU’s Special Collections Li-brary - will give a presentation on their collection of materials which cover Louisiana.

Laver will highlight ma-terials which are concentrated in the Baton Rouge area at this program on Saturday, June

5, at 11 a.m. at the Greenwell Springs Road Regional Branch Library, 11300 Greenwell Springs Road.

The collections include items such as letters, photo-graphs, family papers, business records and maps.

For more information, call (225) 274-4440.

Highlights of Hill Memorial Library

The Baton Rouge Youth Ballet presented “Coppelia” for library audiences at various branches in May, and patrons still have several chances to see this production in June!

The ballet is suitable for children ages 6 and up.

Groups must register. For more information, call the individual library branch.

*Bluebonnet Regional Branch Library, 9200 Bluebon-net Blvd. Wednesday, June 2,

3 p.m.*Central Branch Library,

11260 Joor Road Wednesday, June 2, 10 a.m.

*Delmont Gardens Branch Library, 3351 Lorraine St. Tuesday, June 1, 10 a.m.

*Jones Creek Regional Branch Library, 6222 Jones Creek Road Friday, June 4, 10 a.m.

*Main Library, 7711 Good-wood Blvd. Wednesday, June 2, 1 p.m.

BR Youth Ballet Presents “Coppelia”

In celebration of their Founders Day, graduates of Spelman College residing in the Baton Rouge area and their family members worshiped at the First Presbyterian Church of Scotlandville on Sunday, April 11, 2010. They dined at the Lagniappe Steak and Seafood Restaurant in Baker following the church service.

Spelman College is the oldest college for black women in the world. On April 11, 1881,

two white female missionaries from New England, Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles, started the school in the base-ment of Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. John D. Rockefeller, and later some of his family members, have made significant financial contribu-tions to the college as benefactors and as members of the Board of Trustees over many decades.

Despite numerous ob-stacles to their goal of provid-

ing education to black females recently out of the harshness of slavery, these two founders persevered in their mission, becoming the first two of four white presidents, all females, to lead the institution. In 1953, Dr. Albert Edward Manley became the first black and fifth president of Spelman. Dr. Johnetta Betsch Cole was the first black female to serve as president. Since her tenure each president has been a black female with Dr. Beverly

Daniel Tatum serving as the cur-rent president.

From an initial stu-dent body of eleven students, Spelman College has grown to over 2,000 students from the United States and other coun-tries. In evaluations by various national publications, the college has consistently ranked in the top tier of colleges. Spelman’s motto is “Our Whole School for Christ”.

In the process of reactivat-

Spelman Alumnae Celebrated Founders Day

BATON ROUGE - Summer is almost here and Southern University is offering a variety of summer programs includ-ing the Engineering Summer Institute and National Youth Sports Program for elemen-tary, middle and high school students.

The following programs will be offered at Southern between the months of May and July:

• DepartmentofFor-eign Languages 2010 Youth Language Immersion Summer Camp May 24 - May 28

•ExploringAgricul-tural, Family and Consumer Sci-ence (EAFCS) June 7 - July 1

• EngineeringSummerInstitute (ESI) June 7-July 2

• GarrettA.Morgan/Ford PAS Summer Business Institute June 2 - July 11

• JaguarKids’CollegeSummer Program June 7 - July 23

• NathanielDenuYouth

Volleyball Camp July 14 - July 18

•NationalYouthSportsProgram June 2 - June 28

•SouthernUniversitySummer Transportation and Energy Institute (STEI) June 7 - July 2

•Challenge2000attheTimbuktu Academy (Challenge) June 6 - July 2

•SummerBridgeIn-stitute (SBI) at the Timbuktu Academy June 1 - July 28

•ExxonMobilBernardHarris Summer Science Camp (EMBHSSC) July 11 - 23

•SummerScienceInstitute-Middle School Com-ponent (SSI-M) at the Timbuktu Academy June 6 - July 2

•GettingSmarterattheTimbuktu Academy (GeSTA) June 6 - July 2

•TheClassicUpwardBound Program Year-round

•TheUpwardBoundMathematics and Science Pro-gram Year-round

Southern Offers Summer Programs for Youth

Making Waves with Sci-ence

Thursday, June 10, 3 p.m.

Teens and tweens, come and take part in several cool andsimplescienceexperi-ments!Allexperimentsin-volve water or some other type of liquid. Try to blow up a balloon with vinegar and baking soda, pick up an

ice cube with a string, light a light bulb with a lemon, and more! We’ll also chat

about some of our favorite books, movies and music, and enjoy refreshments. Registra-tion is required.

Fun Funky Hydro Brace-lets

Tuesday, June 15, 2:30 p.m.

Programs from page 2

ing as a chapter of the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College, NAASC, the local alum-nae have selected Gloria Horton Whiten as president, Rochelle Williams as vice-president, Diane Guidry Pitts as secretary, Mildred Wynn “Winnie” Penson as trea-surer, and Dorothy Myers Step-teau as historian. Other alumnae participating in the celebration

included Dotty M.Hampton, past president, Tanya Penson, Sheree Garrett Alford, and Jacqueline Stewart Campbell. Family mem-bersincludedReverendKevinCampbell and Shavonn and Mea-gan Whiten. The group honored M. Penson at the restaurant and Mildred Moore Clark, their 102 year old “Spelman Sister”, at her home.

CommentaryThursday, May 27, 2010 • The Weekly Press • Page 4

By Ron WalteRsNNPA Columnist

(NNPA) - It actually began last year, when there were se-rious signs that Blacks were not preparing to show up for several important elections. The gubernatorial elections of John Corzine, the incumbent Democrat of New Jersey and Creigh Deeds, the Democrat of Virginia contesting for an open seat. Both of the states have sizeable Black populations with Virginia at 20 percent and New Jersey at 14 percent, yet both candidates lost – though not just due to the Black vote.

Now, in 2010, another series of important elections are com-ing up and the issue of whether Blacks will turnout is still in the air. There is the election of Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who changed his affiliation from Republican to Democrat to draw support from the popu-lar Obama. He will surely need Blacks in Philadelphia to turn out because the city has a sub-stantial impact of statewide elections contributing about 600,000 votes to the process.

Blacks who make nearly half of the city population at (45 percent) are crucial, but voted 70 percent against Specter when he was a Republican, but he squeaked out a statewide victory in any case.

Now the issue is whether he can be trusted and whether that question is a deterrent to many showing up at the polls, even though President Obama campaigned in the State and in the City for Specter. In fact, some are viewing this as a ref-erendum on Obama’s political power right now. Turnout for Specter could be helped by the candidacy of African-American State Senator Tony Williams for Governor, but he is running be-hind opponent Dan Onorato at this writing.

Then, there are primaries featuring high-profile Black candidates, Kendrick Meeks of Florida for U. S. Senate and Artur Davis of Alabama for Governor both members of the Congressional Black Cau-

cus. Meeks is running ahead of his opponents former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre and former North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns and has $3.5 million in the bank, but the theater around sit-ting Republican Gov-ernor Charlie Christ who will run as an independent creates a

three-way race and polls now have Marco Rubio, Tea Party darling, leading both.

Again, the Black vote is crucial to Meeks chances but he has also campaigned in La-tino, military, Haitian and other districts just as forcefully.

Artur Davis is also lead-ing his rival Agriculture Com-missioner Ron Sparks, but his decision to reject the Black vote and to vote against President Obama’s health care bill, in his quest for Governor, has an-gered the largest Black political organizations, Alabama New South Coalition headed by the influential Hank Sanders and the Alabama Democratic Con-ference headed by Joe Reed a

powerful actor who also heads the Alabama Education Asso-ciation.

While this has led them to endorse Davis’ primary oppo-nent Sparks, Davis has picked up endorsement from groups like the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform as well as his CBC colleagues such as Jesse Jackson, Jr. and John Lewis.

Otherwise, in North Caro-lina Democratic establishment candidate Cal Cunningham, Secretary of State Elaine Mar-shall and African-American at-torney Ken Lewis are running for the Senate. But while Lewis, who is running behind in third place, has been endorsed by the two members of the CBC, G. K. Butterfield and Mel Watt and other Black officials, the Char-lotte Black Political Caucus has endorsed Marshall. Here again, the Black vote, apparently split, could make the difference.

In Georgia, African-Amer-ican Labor Commissioner Mi-chael Thurmond has decided to run for the Senate against Republican Johnny Isaacson.

By GeoRGe e. CuRRyNNPA Columnist

I just returned from the 7-day Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage from Miami to St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Coco Cay, Bahamas. This was my first time on the cruise and if you’ve never been on one, picture The Tom Joyner Morn-ing Show on steroids.

As was the case when I at-tended the first Essence Music Festival in 2002, I was advised to pace myself. Even though I tried – skipping some events and sleeping late after going to bed some mornings at 4:30 am – I still couldn’t wait to crash once I got back home. Don’t go on the cruise thinking you’re going to rest.

Of all my world travels, I had never taken the time to go on a cruise and wouldn’t have gone on this one without the encouragement of Neil Foote, a longtime friend who handles publicity for the foundation.

In the early 1970s, when I was a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I did an interview with Father Theodore Hesburgh, former president of the University of Notre Dame and noted civil rights activist. Hesburgh said one of his dreams was to go on a relaxing cruise and read 40 books. That was nearly 40 years ago but that’s something I’ve always wanted to do since Father Hesburgh planted the

idea. However, I knew that riding the waves of the Atlan-tic Ocean with Tom Joyner and his crew would not fulfill that longtime dream. So I took only one book with me, one on W.E.B. DuBois, my hero, and did not open it. It was tough enough keeping my eyes open amid the flurry of concerts and activities.

Nearly everyone was ex-cited to see Ron Isley return to the stage. Other performers included Frankie Beverly and Maze, Charlie Wilson, Angie Stone, Chuck Brown, the Ohio Players, Bar-Kays, Con Funk Shun, Chubb Rock, Montell Jordan, Common, Dru Hill, Kem, Tyrese, Doug E Fresh, Biz Markie, Najee, Kid ‘N Play, Ledisi, Avant and the Fat Boys.

Charlie Wilson, formerly of the Gap Band, gave an out-standing performance and was also transparent about his past struggle with drugs and alco-hol. Kem talked about his low period as well, mentioning that he served time in prison, was homeless and survived because of his renewed faith in God. Both “Uncle Charlie” and Kem appeared to be sincere as they discussed their faith.

Enough of the serious stuff.

I’ve always enjoyed a good

joke and the clown-ing we always do at family reunions. But when you mix a dozen top-notch comedians with Tom Joyner’s fun-loving followers, it’s a laugh-a-minute pro-duction that keeps you laughing lone after the program is over.

There was one comedian known As

T-Row who bombed one night and days later was a hit. Of course, the other comedians ribbed him between the two performances. But he came back strong. He had one skit that featured Joe Jackson tak-ing off his belt and lining up the Jacksons for a whipping.

“Jermaine, why do you have all that greasy activator in your hair? I am walking be-hind you at the trial and you better not make me slip.”

The Joe Jackson character strikes the seat on the bar stool and tells Jermaine, “Get in the car.”

Next up: Janet.“Don’t bring that little

Gremlin Jermaine Dupri around me.” A couple of licks and then off to the car.

Before Joe Jackson starts in on Michael, he said, “Pick up your nose.”

“Reebie.” Just calling her name incited laughter.

“What are you doing sell-ing only 400 records – and I bought all them. This is a plati-

num family.” After a couple of whacks, he orders her to get into the car.

Not only was the skit funny, a loving audience was glad to applaud the comedian’s recovery.

Another comedian, AJ Jamal, likes to joke about his dark complexion.

For a minute, he appeared to be serious when talking about slavery. AJ explained that light-skinned slaves re-ceived special treatment and often worked in the Big House. After setting the audience up, he added, “My family didn’t know there was a Big House. We were so far away that we were two steps from freedom and didn’t know it.”

None of the above are di-rect quotes, but an approxi-mation of what I remembered while trying to keep from fall-ing on the floor.

The greatest ovation was given to Micah “Bam-Bamm” White. You had to be pres-ent to fully appreciate his performance. He essentially contrasted the halftime bands of two white universities and two Black colleges. Micah’s imitation of a drum major at a HBCU, replete with the soar-ing music, was so good that host J. Anthony Brown had him repeat it, which delighted the crowd even more.

This was partying with

The Tom Joyner Morning Show on Steroids

The Post-Obama Election Malaise

The views expressed in the editiorial columns are not necessarily the veiws of The Weekly Press or its staff. Address all opinions and comments to: Letters to the Editior, P.O. Box 74485 Baton Rouge, La. 70874 or E-mail them to: theweeklypress@yahoo.com

By William Jones

Yes, the ribbon has been cut by our Mayor, Honorable Mel-vin “Kip” Holden. I am writing about the “Beautiful” work on the two blocks off Scenic Highway lead-ing into the Southern University campus on Swan Avenue. If you knew and remem-ber how it looked in previous days, then, you are in for a glori-ous sightseeing trip. You will find sidewalks repaved - no grass area between the street and sidewalks on each side of the street. Concrete is evenly placed around the light poles. You will see French Quarter type street lights. These lights are the new solar type lights that store energy during the day and glow during the night. You will find trees neatly arranged

across the street in a special box type mak-ing where f lower plants are arranged around them. You will find automatic sprinkle systems next to each tree. To top it off you will find metal benches painted blue and comfortable to the body. Well, folks a part of my dreams had come true.

My vision is to continue up grading these two blocks with little shops, such as, a laundry mat, pizza parlor, 100 variety Ice cream parlor, a wash-o-mat, a jean shop with teens, a women only wear shop, a shoe repair shop, a jewelry store in-cluding costume jewelry, an in-formation center, pre arranged tour shop, a beauty salon. there are others including a golf cart

GeorgeE. Curry

RonWalters

See election, on page 7

The Ribbon Has Been Cut

WilliamJones

The Way I See IT

By niCole C. leeNNPA Columnist

(NNPA) - May is an interesting month for me. Here in Washing-ton, DC, Spring is finally accret-ing itself with all the wonderful flowers around. We are finally liberated from the cold winter—we can take our coats off finally! It represents a new birth. That brings us to our other important day in May in the United States which symbolizes new begin-ning—Mothers Day. Another country close to my heart which celebrates Mothers Day (not on the same day) in May is Haiti. This year Mothers Day was spe-cial to me having just had my first born a few months ago.This month also symbolizes not just new beginnings and liberation of individuals but of whole societies. Worldwide on the first day of the month we celebrate International Workers Day or popularly known as May Day: the day we honor work-ers and support workers’ rights. In the Africa, May is when the continent celebrates liberation from outside colonial forces on the 25th—commonly known as African Liberation Day or Africa Day. The African Union has des-ignated May 25 as Africa Day and is a public holiday in some African countries. Back in the U.S. May 19 embod-ies liberation in the celebration of Malcolm X’s birthday—the Pan Africanist who advocated for freedom of African peoples in the continent and the Diaspora.

Also this month people of Mexi-can heritage celebrate Mexico’s victory over an invading French force on May 5, 1862: Cinco de Mayo. Unfortunately the month has been marred of its nurturing, liberating and unifying essence in recent years. Two years ago this month more than 25,000 immigrants were displaced by South Africa’s worst violence since the apartheid era. The violence initially began as mob attacks against immigrants in townships around Johannes-burg. People in Africa and the Diaspora were shocked at this ac-tion. The ruling African National Congress stated that the violence was not just against immigrants but “an assault on the values of our democratic society.” In the United States, Arizona this month has made immigration the issue of the month of May with the enactment towards the end of April of the stringent anti-immigrant bill. As you know the law requires police officers to demand immigrants’ identity documents which show they are legally in the U.S. when stopped in public areas. Naturally the Hispanic community has felt that this is an attack against them as they are seen as the face of the new immigrants to the country.As I noted in my earlier column human and civil rights leaders of all races must lead the fight against the Arizona law which

Spring Renewal in the Diaspora

By maRC moRial

(NNPA) - “The mere fact of living had to be fought because I was Black, and I never lost sight of that.”

Lena Horne was more than a stunning singer and actress. In a career that spanned seven decades, she paved the way for countless black performers, stood on the frontlines of the civil rights struggle and be-came a proud beacon of African American class and dignity.

Her passing on May 9th at the age of 92 marked the end of a remarkable journey that took her from the hard streets of Brooklyn to the night clubs of Harlem, the big screens of Hollywood and the bright lights of Broadway. Like most iconic African American entertainers, Lena Horne used her artistic brilliance to convey deeper mes-sages about life, love and the particular pain of being Black in America.

In the 1930s and 40s when Billie Holiday was singing about the “Strange Fruit” lynchings in the American south and

Langston Hughes was asking “What happens to a dream deferred,” Lena was having long political conversations with Paul Robeson and pack-ing her bags for Los Angeles, where she became one of the first African Americans to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio.

By her own admission, in addition to her exceptional talent, her light skin and good looks helped get her parts in early films like “Cabin in the Sky” and “Stormy Weather.” She won critical acclaim for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in the 1978 movie version of “The Wiz.” And she won a Grammy and special Tony Award for her spectacular 1981 one-woman Broadway show, “Lena Horne: The Lady and her Music.” But like the title of her signature song, Lena faced more than her share of stormy weather.

Because of her race, she never had a leading role in the movies and many of her scenes in those early films were edited out for showing in states where

To Be equal

Lena Horne: The Passing of an Era

See era, on page 7

See steroids, on page 7See spring, on page 7

See the ribbon, on page 5

Thursday, May 27, 2010 • The Weekly Press • Page 5

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A SALUTE TO BUSINESS

From State RepresentativeRegina Ashford Barrow

District 29

District Office:3552 Monterrey BlvdBaton Rouge, LA 70814

Phone: (225) 362-5837Fax: (225) 362-5839Email: larep029@legis.state.la.usWebsite: www.reginabarrow.com

BP announced today that its internal investigation team began sharing initial perspec-tives of its review of the causes of the tragic Deepwater Horizon fire and oil spill. The investiga-tion is a fact-finding effort that has not reached final conclu-sions, but has identified various issues for further inquiry. BP has shared these early perspectives with the Department of the In-terior and will do so with all official regulatory inquiries into the accident as requested.

This is an internal in-vestigation. There is extensive further work to do – including further interviews, and in addi-tion full forensic examinations of the Blow Out Preventer (BOP), the wellhead, and the rig itself - all of which are still currently on the sea bed. The internal investigation was launched on april 21, 2010 and is being con-ducted by BP’s Head of Group safety and Operations. He has an independent reporting line to the Group Chief executive.

The investigation team’s work thus far shows that this accident was brought about by the failure of a number of processes, systems and equip-ment. There were multiple con-trol mechanisms— procedures and equipment—in place that should have prevented this ac-cident or reduced the impact of the spill: the investigation is focused on the following seven mechanisms.

1. The cement that seals the reservoir from the well;

2. The casing system, which seals the well bore;

3. The pressure tests to con-firm the well is sealed;

4. The execution of pro-cedures to detect and control hydrocarbons in the well, in-cluding the use of the BOP;

5. The BOP emergency Dis-connect system, which can be activated by pushing a button at multiple locations on the rig;

6. The automatic closure of the BOP after its connection is lost with the rig; and

7. Features in the BOP to allow remotely Operated Ve-hicles (rOV) to close the BOP and thereby seal the well at the

BP Briefs Government on Initial Perspectives of Deepwater Horizon InvestigationFocus is on Seven Control Mechanisms

Q. Do taxpayers affected by Hurricane Katrina or other di-sasters qualify as first-time home buyers if their principal residence (i.e. main home) became unin-habitable more than three years ago and they have not formally disposed of the uninhabitable home or purchased or built a new home in the interim?

a. Yes. They may be eli-gible for the first-time home

buyer credit when they pur-chase a new principal residence. (11/19/09)

More information on all re-quirements and how to claim the credit along with other Q&as, scenarios and legal guidance can be found on the First Time Home buyer Credit information page at http://www.irs.gov/news-room/article/0,,id=204671,00.html.

First Time Home Buyers’ Information

neW Orleans, la - The Irs will be “open” for individu-als to receive help with their tax questions and problems. The Baton rouge , new Orleans and shreveport offices are taking part in a nationwide Open House on saturday, June 5th. service will be available from 9 am to 2 pm.

“If you have a problem filing or paying your taxes or resolving a tough tax issue, we encourage you to come in and work with us” said Dee Harris stepter.

Irs locations will be equipped to handle issues in-volving notices and payments, return preparation, audits and a variety of other issues. If you are facing financial difficulties or have questions regarding an Irs notice, come in for assistance. assistance with offers-in-com-promise will also be available. likewise, a taxpayer struggling to complete a certain Irs form or

schedule can work directly with Irs staff to get the job done.

at the March 27 Open House, 88 percent of the taxpay-ers who came in for help had their issues resolved the same day.

locations for assistance:Baton rouge: 2600 Citiplace

CentreBaton rouge , la. 70808new Orleans: 1555 Poydras

street new Orleans , la 70112shreveport: 3007 Knight

street shreveport , la 71105 Please contact Dee Harris

stepter with the Media relations - la and Ms at this address

1555 Poydras street, suite 220, stop 69 new Orleans, la 70112. Telephone number is 504-558-3081 or by cell phone at 504-343-4410 and the e-mail address is deirdre.h.stepter@irs.gov. Fol-low her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DeeHs_Irs.

IRS Offering Help on Saturday, June 5th

See bp briefs, on page 7type transportation system to bring sU students to and from campus, a horse riding police-man, fruit and fresh vegetable stand, and dietary shop, only health foods.

These shops can be small

in size with small area in be-tween, any way, let us be grate-ful for setting such a stage and be hopeful that we can bring this into fruition.

That Is The Way I See It.

The Ribbon from page 4

THe ClassIFIeD seCTIOn is the perfect to find

employment or your next employee

Page 6 • The Weekly Press • Thursday, May 27, 2010

Religion

Sunday Morning Worship - 10:45 AMLord’s Supper -3rd Sundays

Sunday School - 9:30 AMPrayer Service - Wed. @ 6:00 PM

Bible Study - Wed- @ 7:00 PM

Mission Statement: New Hope Baptist Church is a family of baptized believers who worship the Lord our God in spirit and in truth, teach the saved to reach the lost and minister to the needs of others, while encouraging one another through acts of love and living in obedience to Gods Word

New Birth Full Gospel MiNistries

1283 Rosenwald Road • Baton Rouge, La. 70807Phone: (225) 775-6713 •

Fax: (225) 775-4216ivory J. payNe, pastor

order oF serviceSunday Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:00 A.M.Holy Communion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rd Sunday1:00 P.M.Sunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 A.M.Bible Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thursday 7:00 P.M.

“THe NeW LiFe”Therefore if any man be in christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold

all thing are become new. —I Corinthians 5:17

NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH5856 Greenwell Springs Road • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806

Telephone: (225) 926-0246 • Facsimile: (225) 927-8500 • Toll Free # 1-888-700-6174

E- Mail Address # nhbc@nhbc.brcoxmail.com

Pastor Leo D. Cyrus Sr., Pastor

Sunday Morning Worship ................................................................10:45 AMLord’s Supper ...............................................................................3rd SundaysSunday School .................................................................................. 9:30 AMPrayer Service ...................................................................... Wed. @ 6:00 PMBible Study ...........................................................................Wed- @ 7:00 PM

CHurCH SCHeduLe

Mission Statement: New Hope Baptist Church is a family of baptized believers who worship the Lord our God in spirit and in truth, teach the saved to reach the lost and minister to the needs of others, while encouraging one another through acts of love and living in obedience to Gods Word

Good Shepherd Full Gospel B.C.The People’s Church

2865 Mission Drive • Baton Rouge, 70805 • Telephone (225)356-5873Bishop H. Hayes, Pastor

Hour of Power 12 NooN eacH wedNesdaySunday School 8:00 AMChurch Service 9:00 AMLord’s Supper 2nd Sunday 6:00 PMBible Study Wednesday 7:00 PMSister/ Brotherhood 6:00 PM

you will Be Blessed uNder THe aNoiNTed MaN of God

St. Mary Baptist Church“The Church that Love Built”

1252 N. Acadian Thruway East • Baton Rouge, LA. 70802

Telephone (225) 387-2926Rev. Conway L Knighton, Pastor

Sunday School 9:30 a.m.Worship Service - 11:00 a.m.

Lord’s Supper - 1st Sunday 11:00 a.m.Prayer Meeting - Wednesday 6:00 p.m.

Bible Study - Wednesday 7:00 p.m.Thursday 10:00 a.m.

Church Directory

If you would like your church to be included on the Church Directory. Please Call The Baton Rouge Weekly Press for details at 225-775-2002 or, e-mail us with your billing address to thewpres@bellsouth.net

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the

day approaching. - Hebrews 10:25

thewpres@bellsouth.net Radio Broadcast 1st & 3rd Sunday WXOK at 8:00 am

Reverend H MartinPRAYeR SeRViCeWeDNeSDAY 12:005013 WiNDFALL COURTBATON ROUGe, LA. 70812FOR DiReCTiON CALL 225-358-8100We are seeking Prayer Warriors and SingersRemember Acts: 16,25-26

By Ida London

In the world today much is being said but, no body seems to know who said whatever was communicated, but don’t want to reveal their source. This indi-vidual speaks in a code saying, “I heard, they said, or she or he said.“

Unfortunately these people don’t seem to have a name, but they have a lot to say. And to be honest, whatever is said will soak into the ear of the listener and be believed.

Much gossip is spread, lies are told and reputations are de-stroyed and all this lubrication will be well taken in.

It is a sad thing how much people would rather believe the senseless thing people say, rather than to believe the Word of God.

God made all things and have input knowledge into the mind of people, but man has taken the knowledge God has given him to destroy and discour-age others.

For instance, doctors have caused many to give up on life, telling that there is nothing that could be done for them. In return this patient, if his of her faith is not strong, without an ounce of hope they will believe what was said and prepare to die.

Even though the doctor gave this report, all hope is not lost. The doctor may have given up but God has the last word.

Who’s report will you be-lieve? It’s not over until God says it is over. Things may be impossible with man but, with God all things are possible. Jesus healed many people and performed many miracles. Jesus is the same as He was then and He will be forever. He will not change. He’s still healing and performing miracles.

But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God (Mark 18:21 KJV).

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are pos-sible to him that believeth. (Mark 9:23 KJV).

I can testify of the miracu-lous healing that Jesus did for me. One day I became very upset. A man who knew of me, asked me if I had high blood pressure, my response was “no.” He said, “Well your eyes are blood red.”

I just shrugged my shoulders and stared out the window of the bus.

When I got home, I noticed just how red my eyes were. So much was going through my mind, I didn’t have time to settle down to rest. I had other things to do.

Later that night after going to bed, my mind was racing, thinking about what had hap-pened during the day. My body was restless, I couldn’t rest, and sleep wouldn’t enter my eyes.

I turned and looked at the clock. It was about 12:30 in the morning. All of sudden I felt the left side of my body tighten up and began to grow numb. The side of my face tightened up and my mouth began to twitch and pain pounded in my head.

When I notice that my body was going into a stroke, I prayed to God, asking Him to please take care of me and bring me through the night. In my prayer, I also asked Him to not let my children wake up and find my body in a twisted position.

I must have drifted off to sleep while I was praying. The next thing I noticed, it was time to get up and get ready for work. But I didn’t go, I got the children ready for school and I went to the hospital to get checked by the doctor. I sat and thanked God for taking care of me and bringing me through.

Also, there was a time when I went to the hospital because I was having a stabbing pain in my chest.

I went to the hospital to get checked. The doctor did a series of tests and an elector cardiogram. After the nurse left the office the doctor came back in.

As he looked at my chart, he said, “We may have to keep you here over night for observa-tion.” Then I said, “”I can’t stay here tonight, I have to go home to my children. I don’t have any-body to care for them.

The doctor looked at me in disgust and said Ms. London, you need to stay here, but if you don’t it’s possible that you could die if you leave and we will not be held responsible. I will bring you a form to sign and will release you. He looked at me and shook his head and walked away.

I sat up on the bed and

Who’s Report Will You Believe?

At 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 17, 2010, the Rev. Donald Lee, founder and pastor of King-dom Living Christian Center in Dallas, held a roundtable discussion with men on the subjects of marriage, divorce and singleness.

Kingdom Living Christian Center holds twice-weekly ser-vices in the Residence Center at Arborstone Apartments, 6500 S. Cockrell Hill Road, Dallas, TX 75236.

The roundtable discus-sion event, which is free, is an extension of a series of columns on Marriage and Relationships that Pastor Lee has been writing with Houston intercessor Bre Eaton, an associate pastor at God’s Guiding Light Christian Center in southeast Houston.

“I was talking with a friend recently and was shar-

ing with her that both Pastor Bre and I have gotten lots of responses to our series on mar-riage and relationships, and from that discussion the idea for this roundtable discussion came about,” says Pastor Lee, a nationally syndicated columnist who just recently started hold-ing Sunday morning worship services (10 a.m.) and Monday evening intercessory prayer services (7 p.m.) at Arborstone Apartments.

“The roundtable activ-ity that we’re doing also is a way for me to let people know of Kingdom Living Christian Center’s presence here at Ar-borstone Apartments and here in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro-plex. The vision of this ministry is to win, disciple and empower the lost.”

Pastor Lee, citing data

from http://www.divorcer-ate.org, says roughly half of first-time marriages in the United States end in divorce, roughly 67 percent of second-time marriages end in divorce, and approximately 74 percent of people marrying a third time get divorced.

“These figures should tell us that unless someone contemplating divorce as the solution to their problems does a self-evaluation — a long, hard, honest assessment of self — he (or she) is much, much likelier to end up in divorce court a sec-ond, third, fourth, fifth time.

“The other thing is, if this self-assessment doesn’t hap-pen, then the spirit of divorce — which is not of God — will become a generational curse, passed down to one’s children and running rampant through-

out that family’s lineage for generations.”

So, the purpose of the discussion is to minister to men who may be going through tough times in their marriages, it is to provide positive reinforce-ment to those who are in healthy marriages and it’s to help others who have experienced divorce. And then there are other men who need encouragement as they sometimes struggle with the loneliness that can occur in singleness, Pastor Lee says.

For more information, please call Pastor Lee at (225) 773-2248 or e-mail him at pas-tordonjlee@yahoo.com. To join Pastor Lee for global interces-sory prayer at 4 a.m., seven days a week, please call (712) 432-3100. Once on the line, the conference code, which will chime you in, is 340101.

Church Holds Men’s Roundtable Discussion on Marriage, Divorce, Singleness at Arborstone Apartments in Dallas

See report, on page 7

For many, the church is a refuge. That’s why it is so disruptive, even destructive, when sin finds its way into the church. Even though each of us has brought our own sin baggage, whether residual habits or the scars of a sinful past, that’s not what Jude warns Christians they must resist. Jude warns that there are sinful people actively, yet secretly, infiltrating the church to undermine God’s grace, to distort God’s message, and to divide God’s people.

Infiltrators Are AttractiveThe sad truth is that the infiltrators are often attractive people.

While angels rejoice when sinners repent, church leaders might rejoice just a bit more when bold and articulate people become Christians or join the church. Those people often find many opportunities to get involved, often in influential roles such as teaching and lead-ing others. Sometimes they end up in roles with authority simply because they are bold enough to take on the challenge, even when they don’t have the scriptural knowledge and spiritual maturity that is necessary; perhaps they’ll pick it up along the way in Bible school or a small group, we think.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen all the time. Many times people come into the church with skills, experience, and knowledge to make things happen and produce dramatic results. Their abilities are attractive: they are able to draw crowds and build excitement; they can hold people’s attention with their words; they can paint pictures of a wildly successful future for the church. However, they often have an attitude of “success at any cost.”

The cost is often the faith of the church, and the biblical doc-trines and practices that distinguish the church from businesses and other organizations. When influential infiltrators can dazzle God’s people with big dreams and excitement, it is all too easy for God’s people to forget God’s bigger dreams and God’s power

to make them real. Too often churches find themselves enticed to leave the “narrow road” of biblical discipleship for the “wide road” of generic spirituality because of promises of greater attendance and quicker results.

Perhaps what is most unfortunate is that the church allows this to happen. It’s easy to understand why: the Christian life is a difficult one. In Luke 14:27 Jesus told his followers if they did not carry their own cross they could not be his disciples. So when someone comes along and shows us how to follow Jesus without personal sacrifice, it’s easy to follow their false teachings.

Defenders Work TogetherJude reminds Christians of a simple principle that is the pri-

mary roadblock to infiltrators: our Christian faith has been en-trusted to all the saints. It is the responsibility of all Christians, as Jude writes in verse 20, to build themselves up in the faith. The best way to prevent infiltrators from gaining access to the church and leading us astray is to make sure all of us are growing in our faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ, as Paul writes in Ephesians 4:13. Paul indicates such growth brings us together—it unifies and strengthens the church.

So, how do we build ourselves up in the faith? First, Jude indicates we need to know God’s Word. In fact, Jude takes it for granted God’s people would know God’s Word; in verse 5 he writes that his readers “already know all this.” If the church is to be united against infiltrators, Christians must be united in what they know about God and his Word.

Second, in verse 20, Jude urges Christians to “pray in the Holy Spirit.” It’s not enough that we know what God tells us in the

At Risk in the Community (Jude 3-8, 19-25)Sunday School leSSon

See lesson, on page 8

Thursday, May 27, 2010 • The Weekly Press • Page 7

HEALTH

Thursday, March 6, 2008 • The Weekly Press • Page 7

health

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Good Shepherd Substance Abuse CenterIntensive Outpatient / Inpatient TherapyFor Drugs, Alcohol, Anger Management

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Dr Paul Matthews

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cally pointed out that changes which occur in a human being is redirected to pull from the core of his own humanity to reaffirm self worth and purpose. he will then by nature acquire the will to do for himself and others.

Space is not available to cover concerns of so many people

concerned with the conditions at Jetson. it is happening there. What i do know is that most of these youth can be changed, from contrition in a prepatory school for Angola to rehabilitation for a positive life that may lead to a life of meritorious glory. That is the Way I See It!

SyStem from page 4

all funny or remotely appropri-ate about the use of a lynching reference about Michelle obama,’’ he said. ‘’it’s - i’m speechless.’’

As President Bush pointed out so eloquently during the Black history Month event, the noose represents ‘’more than a tool of murder but a tool of intimidation’’ to generations of African-Ameri-cans. Nooses not only robbed some of their lives but many of their peace of mind.

‘’As a civil society, we must understand that noose displays and lynching jokes are deeply offensive. they are wrong. And they have no place in America today,’’ he said.

Neither o’reilly nor ingraham has been reprimanded by their re-spective employers even though the Fox News personality did offer a half-hearted apology.

At least ingraham didn’t drop the l-word but her suggestion that Sharpton, a former presidential candidate and respected member of the African-American community and beyond, is a petty thief reeks of race-baiting and negative ste-reotyping of African-Americans and black men in particular.

But it’s hardly the first time ei-ther has ventured into questionable and offensive territory. how can

we forget o’reilly’s less-than-informed comments regarding a dinner he shared last year with Sharpton at Sylvia’s in harlem? o’reilly expressed surprise over how similarSylvia’s was to other restaurants in New York restau-rants.

‘’there wasn’t one person in Sylvia’s who was screaming, ‘M-Fer, i want more iced tea,’’’ he said.

As the Washington Post’s rob-inson sadly observed on MSNBC in February, ‘’All you can go by is his words and his actions. And he keeps saying these things that sound pretty darn racist to me.’’

has talk radio learned anything from imus’ decline and fall? of course not, because it didn’t take imus too terribly long to get a new gig.

our nation’s media outlets should not provide a platform for racialhostility and hateful speech now or in the future. What kind of messageare we sending to our chil-dren, our nation and our world?

in such an historic election year, we cannot stand aside and allow individuals to use the airwaves as an outlet for insensitive and misguidedcommentary. if you hear something that offends you, speak up.

talk Radio from page 4

ering all children.the CDF Action Council, build-

ing on the best practices in states and lessons learned about children falling through the bureaucratic cracks of Medicaid and SChiP, strongly urged Congress to enact the All healthy Children Act, S. 1564/h.r. 1688, introduced by representative Bobby Scott (D-VA) in the house and Senator Bernie Sanders (i-Vt) in the Sen-ate. the measure would provide comprehensive benefits including dental and mental health, simpli-fied bureaucracy, and a national eligibility plan for families up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. We thank the 62 house co-sponsors for their support. how-ever, we regret that neither a single house republican nor any other Senator joined them to push for coverage for all children.

the CDF Action Council strongly supports long overdue health cov-erage for everyone in America as soon as possible—because children cannot wait. As SChiP comes up again for reauthorization in early 2009, we hope every Member of Congress will insist on covering every child and pregnant mother now by enacting and adequately funding the provisions of the All healthy Children Act.

Specious claims that we could not find the money—$70 billion over five years—to cover all children is belied by that amount spent in eleven months for tax cuts for the top one percent of richest Americans and in seven months for the iraq War. We do not have a money problem in America: We have a priorities and political will deficit. it is time for all adults to protect the health of our children.

the citizens of the nation must demand that our leaders free our children from the false ideological and political tugs of war among those who put excess profits ahead of children’s lives.

how well did Congress protect children in 2007? Not well enough: 276 Members of Congress had good CDF Action Council Con-gressional Scorecard scores of 80 percent or higher, and 198 of those had stellar scores of 100 percent. But 231 members scored 60 percent or lower—a failing grade from our school days.

Whether Members of Congress are liberal, conservative or mod-erate; Democrat, republican or independent, children need all of them to vote, lobby, speak for and protect them. Adults need to listen carefully to what candidates say they will do for children and fami-lies and, once they are in office, we need to hold them accountable. Please thank your Members of Con-gress with scores of 80 percent or above and let those with scores of 60 percent or below know you are dissatisfied with their performance. And please convey that same mes-sage to each presidential candidate. We must demand that our leaders commit to children as a condition of our vote.

Marian Wright Edelman is Presi-dent of the Children’s Defense Fund and its Action Council whose Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.

ChildRen from page 4

(NAPSM)-A survey commissioned by two leading health organizations found that although two out of three African Americans (61 percent) ex-pressed concern about developing heart disease and two out of five (40 percent) expressed concern about developing Alzheimer’s, only about one in 20 are aware that heart health is linked to brain health.

the Alzheimer’s Association is joining forces with the American heart Association to educate African Americans that by managing their cardiovascular risk, they may also strengthen their cognitive health.

“What’s good for your heart is good for your brain,” says Jennifer Manly, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Associa-tion spokesperson. “every healthy heartbeat pumps about one-fifth of your blood to your brain to carry on the daily processes of thinking, prob-lem solving and remembering.”

“By the year 2030, the number of African Americans age 65 or older is expected to more than double to 6.9 million,” said emil Matarese, M.D., American heart Association spokes-person. “Although Alzheimer’s is not part of normal aging, age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. So it is important that Af-rican Americans take steps now to decrease their risk of heart disease, which research has shown could also decrease the risk of cognitive decline.”

Did You Know?• Compared to the general public,

African Americans have a higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and vascular dementia.

• More than 40 percent of African Americans have high blood pres-sure (hBP) and are at risk for stroke, which can lead to greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s or other vascular cognitive dementias.

• every year, more than 100,000 African Americans have a stroke.

• having high cholesterol increases the risk for stroke and may increase the risk for Alzheimer’s.

Manage Your Risks• Watch the numbers. remember

that desirable blood pressure is less than 120/80 mmhg. Keep your body weight in the recommended range and make sure that the total choles-terol is less than 200mg/dL.

• healthy lifestyle choices include staying mentally and physically ac-tive, staying socially involved, reduc-ing your intake of fat and cholesterol and not smoking.

Visit www.alz.org/heartbrain or call the American Stroke Associa-tion, a division of the American heart Association, at (888) 478-7653 or the Alzheimer’s Association at (800) 272-3900 and you’ll receive a bro-chure with heart and brain health information and a free pedometer, while supplies last.

What’s Good For Your Heart Is Good For Your Brain

Research shows a link between heart and brain health, which means impaired heart function could lead to impaired brain function.

apart. You must continue to hold on to your faith and stay before the Lord. But, it may be that the time has come when you may need to take some quality time for yourself and spend some of that time with God.

Get on your knees before God and tell him of how you are feel-ing inside. And maybe the words wont come out exactly as you wish but you can have a good weeping, wailing crying falling, out tantrum and give all those problems to him.

While you are praying, you might forget some of the things that vexed you but God knows what you are going through. he can read the pain, which flows through your tears. even though he knows what’s troubling you, he still wants to tell him about it and bring your problems and burdens to him.

therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hands of God, that he may exalt you in due time, “casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you,”(1st Peter 5:6-7).

After you finished having your tantrum. You may have a stopped up nose and swollen eyes and mucus running down your lip and dried tears on your face, but you’ll feel better after emptying yourself of those things which had been heavy on your heart.

Sometimes we go for weeks or months trying to take matters into our hands and try to solve our own problems. We are not super humans; we can’t handle every-thing alone. We need God’s help. We have to let go of those situ-ations and let God handle them. there are some things we can’t humanly do anything about.

tantRum from page 6

(NAPSi)-here’s an alert worth paying attention to: According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), learning your risk for type 2 diabetes could save your life.

Diabetes is a serious disease that strikes nearly 21 million children and adults in the U.S. it is named the “silent killer” because one-third of those with the disease--more than 6 million--do not know they have it.

For many, diagnosis may come seven to 10 years after the onset of type 2 diabetes. early diagnosis is critical for successful treatment and can delay or prevent some of the complications such as heart diseases, blindness, kidney disease, stroke and amputation.

that’s one reason the ADA holds the American Diabetes Alert® Day, a one-day wake-up call to inform the American public about the serious-

ness of diabetes, particularly when it is left undiagnosed and untreated. the day is held on the fourth tuesday of every March.

on that day, people are encour-aged to take the Diabetes risk test, either with paper and pencil or online. the risk test requires users to answer seven simple questions about age, weight, lifestyle and family history--all potential risk factors for diabetes. People scoring 10 points or more are at a high risk for type 2 diabetes and are encouraged to talk with a health care professional.

An estimated 54 million Ameri-cans have pre-diabetes. those with pre-diabetes have blood glucose lev-els higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

early intervention via lifestyle changes such as weight loss and

increased physical activity can help delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Among the primary risk factors for type 2 diabetes are being over-weight, sedentary, over the age of 45 and having a family history of diabetes. African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians and Pacific islanders are at an increased risk, as are women who have babies weighing more than 9 pounds at birth.

the Diabetes risk test is avail-

able in english and Spanish by call-ing the ADA at 1-800-DiABeteS (1-800-342-2383) or online at www.diabetes.org/alert.

though the Alert is a one-day call to action, awareness about type 2 diabetes is important anytime of the year, so free Diabetes risk tests are available online and by calling ADA all year long.

A free Diabetes risk test is avail-able all year long to determine the risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

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And although polls are show-ing him running behind Isaac-son 52-31% he faces little op-position in the Primary and his campaign hopes that his recent entry could eventually change the numbers. Down the road in Savannah, Georgia, Regina Thomas, former State Senator, will take on John Barrow again. Barrow who is white represents a 45 percent Black district, but he is a leading member of the Blue Dog conservatives Democrats in the House. Turnout, however, in her last bout with Barrow was inexplicably low at 24 percent, if it does not improve, the result will likely be the same.

Much has been made of the fact that a legacy of the Obama victory is that 32 Black Republi-cans are running for the House. But this will not be the “year of the Black Republican” because 80 percent of them are running against opponents who have a margin of victory on their last election of 55% or more and one-third of them are running against comfortable members of the CBC. The Congressio-nal Quarterly says that only four or five could make a reasonable showing at the primary and gen-eral election level. Most also face districts that are heavily minority where Republican candidate do poorly, so if blacks don’t turnout they could create the conditions under which lightening could strike and a few could conserva-tives could win.

Dr. Ron Walters is a Po-litical Analyst and Professor Emeritus of the University of Maryland College Park. His lat-est book is: Democratic Destiny and the District of Columbia, with Toni-Michelle Travis (Rowman and Littlefield Pub-lishers)

ElEction from page 4

a purpose at its best. The Tom Joyner Foundation has contributed $52 million to HBCUs. And his 11th annual cruise will contribute another $1 million. Thanks, Tom. My alma mater, Knoxville Col-lege, and other HBCUs can-not find a more consistent and dedicated advocate for these important institutions.

George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge mag-azine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. He can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/curry-george.

StEroidS from page 4

targets undocumented im-migrants. A law that allows people to be stopped and ha-rassed by the police because they might “look illegal” is an abomination. It is this law that reminds us of the day when Af-rican Americans were stopped (and at times arrested and killed) for being in the wrong area. Or of the of Black South Africans under apartheid pass laws when they had carry pass books which contained your name, tax code, employer de-tails and restricted ones move-ments in white areas.The abuse of immigrants whether it is in South Africa or United States is firstly in-humane and second does not

solve the fundamental prob-lems of excessive corporate control of the market which affect both the immigrant and the native population. This con-trol has been exposed by the worldwide economic collapse. As I mentioned in my previ-ous column undocumented immigrants are not taking our jobs; corporations are. They do that with their actions of build-ing factories in places where they can ignore fair working conditions or hiring folks here who they will not pay their fair wages and can be dismissed in a blink of an eye without due process. Let’s celebrate months of liberation, nurturing and unity.

Spring from page 4

theaters could not run films with black performers. But Lena insisted on doing show business on her own terms. In her movie contract, she stipu-lated that she would not be cast in the role of a mammy or a maid, and in her stage shows she refused to perform for segregated audiences.

Lena Horne’s success in-troduced her to many of the leading figures of her day in sports, entertainment and politics. Her circle of friends included Paul Robeson, Billy Strayhorn, Harry Belafonte, Joe Louis and Dr. Jeanne Noble, past president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. These associations, coupled with a grandmother who took Lena to National Urban League and NAACP meetings as a child, gave her a passion for civil rights and a strong moral

compass. She worked with Eleanor

Roosevelt for anti-lynching laws and in 1963 spoke along-side Medgar Evers only a week before he was assassinated. That same year, she discussed race relations with Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and took part in the March on Washington. She was also a long-time supporter of the National Council of Negro Women.

Lena Horne was a once-in-a-lifetime gift to the world. She was an incomparable performer who lived a life of purpose and leaves a legacy of inspiration for us all. We join the nation in mourning her passing.

Marc Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League

Era from page 4

silently cried out to the Lord. I said, “Lord I can’t stay here, I have to leave, please take care of me. Lord I need you to be with me.

The nurse brought me the papers to sign stating that I wouldn’t try to sue if something happened to me and a form re-leasing me so that I could go home. She gave me a prescrip-tion for my heart and I was on my way home with God by my side.

When leaving the hospi-tal. I knew I was in God’s hand and I still am. He’s still taking care of me. I refused to give up and allow Satan to take my life. I know God made doctors, but they don’t have the last word. God has the last word. Yes, we all must leave here, but only at God’s appointed time. We must remember that all sickness is not unto death. As I have said before, God will put His final word on the report.

rEport from page 6

seabed after a blow out.“I understand people want

a simple answer about why this happened and who is to blame. The honest truth is that this is a complex accident, caused by an unprecedented combination of failures,” said Chief Execu-tive Tony Hayward. “A num-ber of companies are involved, including BP, and it is simply too early – and not up to us – to say who is at fault.”

“This is a basic summary

of the facts as gathered by the investigation team to date. A lot remains unknown, but we hope that the briefings will help the government’s inqui-ries. This was a tragic accident and we need to understand the causes of it to try to ensure that nothing like it ever happens again.”

For further information: BP Press Office London +44 20-7496-4076 or BP Press office, US: 1-281-366-0265.

Bp BriEfS from page 5

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More than three million Americans stutter, with children ages 2 to 5 affected most. Nearly 5 percent of all children go through some period of stuttering. But help for those who stutter is available. The Stuttering Foundation and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) are working together during National Stuttering Awareness Week (May 10 to 16) to raise awareness with parents that early intervention is crucial to help children who stutter.

Many times, children stutter when learning to talk, typically between 2 and 5 years old. The major factors that place some children more at risk for continuing to stutter include:

Family history. Almost half of all children who stutter have a family member who stut-ters. The risk that your child is actually stuttering instead of just having normal disfluencies increases if that family member is still stuttering.

Age at onset. Children who begin stuttering before age 3 1/2 are more likely to outgrow stuttering.

Time since onset. Between 75 percent and 80 percent of all children who begin stuttering will stop within 12 to 24 months without speech therapy. In most children, stuttering tends to de-crease after the first six months. If your child has been stuttering longer than this, it may be wise to have his speech screened.

Gender. Girls are more likely than boys to outgrow stut-tering. In fact, three to four boys continue to stutter for every girl who stutters.

Other speech and lan-guage factors. A child who makes frequent speech errors such as substituting one sound for another or leaving sounds out of words may be at greater risk.

“Knowing these factors will help decide whether or not your child needs to see a speech-language pathologist,”

says Lisa Scott, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Vice President of Education for the Stuttering Foundation

and ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist.

Leading Authorities Advise Early Intervention For Children Who Stutter

By Phill Wilson

Few factors impact our abil-ity to protect ourselves from HIV more than our level of self-esteem. When our sense of self-worth is high, we are better able to choose partners who care for us and have our best interest at heart; we get tested so that we know our HIV status; we engage in the difficult conversations that accompany responsible sexual activity; we consistently prac-tice safer sex and make necessary disclosures about our previous behavior, other partners, STDs or HIV, for instance; we know our partner’s HIV status; and

we obtain appropriate care and treatment.

Not everyone who has HIV knows it, practices safer sex or discloses their status to their partners—and not everyone who gets tested returns to receive their results. Health department disease-intervention specialists track people down, informing them of their positive status, or that a previous sexual partner has tested positive, or imploring them to get tested before they poten-tially spread the virus to someone else. Health writer Cindy George writes about how that process takes place in Houston, our na-tion’s fourth largest city

Developing Self Esteem, Tracking Down STDs

Page 8 • The Weekly Press • Thursday, May 27, 2010

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Bible; we must also be in con-stant connection to God himself through prayer. Paul draws a close connection between the Holy Spirit and God’s Word in Ephesians 6:17, reminding us that the “sword of the Spirit” is the “word of God.” What better weapon to fight for the faith!

Last, Jude shows us we must live in the faith. In verse 21 he tells us to keep ourselves in God’s

love, waiting for God’s mercy. That’s what he really wanted to write about! In verse 3 he writes that he was eager to write about the salvation all Christians share, but he had to deal with the issue of these infiltrators. This issue is so important Jude had to step away from the one thing that unites all Christians, their salva-tion through Jesus.

Jude recognized that the

infiltrators brought with them the risk of undermining God’s message and work of salvation. So in living out this faith, Jude urges Christians, in verse 22, to fight for those who might be confused by the false message of infiltrators by being merciful in their doubt. As for those who have been lured away, Jude tells us to “snatch others from the fire and save them” (v. 23).

If Christians will recog-nize that we must all contend together for our faith, then the church can truly be a refuge, a place where God’s people do not fear falling away from the faith and where brothers and sisters fight to save those who do fall, despite Satan’s attempts to infiltrate. Then we can praise God, with Jude, “now and for-evermore.”

Lesson from page 6

BATON ROUGE— Girl Scouts’ ranks just grew 22 mem-bers stronger with the addition of the women members of the Louisiana legislature. The state legislators became members of an honorary Girl Scout troop, Troop Louisiana, during a pin-ning ceremony April 20 at the Governor’s Mansion. The two Girl Scout councils in the state - Girl Scouts Louisiana East and Girl Scouts of Louisiana – Pines to the Gulf, hosted the luncheon at the mansion with Girl Scouts from across Louisiana conducting a flag and investiture ceremony. Fifteen of the 22 legislators at-tended, along with council board members, volunteers and staff, and representatives from the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus.

According to Jackie Alex-ander, chief executive officer at Girl Scouts Louisiana East, the

two councils, which were selected as advocacy champions by the national organization Girl Scouts of the USA last year, formed Troop Louisiana so Girl Scouts can work in partnership with women members of the state legislature to substantively address issues that impact girls.

“Girl Scouting has always been at the forefront of provid-ing leadership opportunities for girls, and we are delighted to include this special group of women leaders as mentors and partners in our mission,” said Alexander.

The legislators, many who were Girl Scouts growing up, were excited about this opportunity to partner with Girl Scouts.

“It is an honor to be a part of Troop Louisiana,” said Senator Sherri Smith Cheek of Keithville, a co-leader of Troop Louisiana. “This partnership between the

Women Louisiana Legislators Form Honorary Girl Scout Troop Louisiana

Girl Scouts and the women in the Louisiana State Legislature is a tremendous opportunity to broaden the discussion of impor-tant issues facing our children and young ladies across Loui-siana.”

Representative Charmaine Marchand Stiaes of New Orleans said, “As woman Legislators, it is important that we support our Girl Scouts because they are our future leaders of Louisiana. Girl Scouting builds pride, dignity, and strength in girls so they can deal with the challenges and peer pressures of today.”

The luncheon program in-cluded a presentation by Leah Kight, a Baton Rouge Girl Scout Ambassador who spoke about the growing problem of relational aggression and cyberbullying and what Girl Scouts are doing to combat this problem. Susan Sewall, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Louisiana – Pines to the Gulf, discussed Girl Scouts’ legislative agenda which includes four areas of particular interest: girls and leadership, encourag-ing healthy living among girls; increasing girls’ involvement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); and financial literacy.

Members of Troop Louisiana are Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, D-Baton Rouge; Sen. Sherri Smith Cheek, R-Keithville; Sen. Yvonne Dorsey, D-Baton Rouge; Sen. Ann

Duplessis, D-New Orleans; Sen. Lydia P. Jackson, D-Shreveport; Sen. Willie Mount, D-Lake Charles; Sen. Karen Carter Pe-terson, D-New Orleans; Sen. Julie Quinn, R-Metairie; Rep. Regina Ashford Barrow, D-Baton Rouge; Rep. Simone Champagne, D-Jea-nerette; Rep. Jean Doerge, D-Min-den; Rep. Dorothy Sue Hill, D-Dry Creek; Rep. Nita Rusich Hutter, R-Chalmette; Rep. Rosalind Jones, D-Monroe; Rep. Kay Kel-logg Katz, R-Monroe; Rep. Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette; Rep. Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport; Rep. Jane Smith, R-Bossier City; Rep. Patri-cia Haynes Smith, D-Baton Rouge; Rep. Karen Gaudet St. Germain,

D-Plaquemine; Rep. Charmaine Marchand Stiaes, D-New Orleans; and Rep. Ledricka Johnson Thi-erry, D-Opelousas.

The members of Troop Loui-siana, most clad in Girl Scout scarves and navy suits, were taught the Girl Scout handshake by the younger Girl Scouts who presented each legislator with a Girl Scout membership pin. Those who were unable to attend the luncheon will be pinned June 3 during the annual Girl Scout Day at the State Legislature, when Girl Scouts from across the state go to the capitol to meet with their elected officials and learn more about the legislative process.

Girl Scouts Louisiana East serves girls 5 – 17 in the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iber-ville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Liv-ingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Wash-ington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.

For more information about Girl Scouts or adult volunteer op-portunities, call the Baton Rouge office at (225) 927-8946, the New Orleans office at (504) 733-8220, or visit its website at www.gsle.org.