Baton Rouge Weekly Press Week of May 23, 2013

Page 1

BATON

THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Ronnie Edwards To Co-Sponsor Neighborhood Clean Up Day With Local Leaders

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OKLAHOMA TORNADO Rescuers Search Town Ruins as Recovery Starts

Louisiana National Guardsmen Train Haitian Officials

Louisiana  National  Guard  military  engagement  team  logistics  trainer  Sgt.  1st  Class  Aaron  Moore  (right)  of  Alexandria,  La.,  instructs  officials  from  the  Haitian  Directorate  of  Civil  Protection  logistics  division  on  proper  emer-­ gency  supplies  storage  management  at  the  national  emergency  operations  center  in  Port-­au-­Prince,  Haiti,  April  30,  2013.  The  LANG’s  MET  is  on  a  four-­week  mission  to  train  the  officials  on  effective  emergency  response  management  and  emergency  supplies  storage  and  distribution.  (National  Guard  photo  by  Spc.  Tarell  J.  Bilbo,  Louisiana  National  Guard  Public  Affairs  Office/RELEASED).

Ronnie  Edwards BATON ROUGE—Volunteers will meet at the site of True Holiness Ministries located at 6265 Gurney Street, near the vicinity of Plank Road and Airline Highway, in District 5 on Saturday, May 25th. The Neighborhood clean up will kick off at 8am and last until 12 noon. Food and drinks will be served. Sponsors include: Project Ride, Allied Waste, Office of Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards, LA Business Community Alliance, Healing Hearts Grief Support Group, Desperados, Inc., Phoxy Ladies Social Club, and Piggly Wiggly. Please contact Tyra L. Banks, Legislative Assistant to Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards at 225-389-4831 or e-mail tbanks@ brgov.com for more information.

Baton Rouge Breakaway School District Bill Passes Final Committee, Heads to House BATON ROUGE—A proposal to break away a portion of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System continued its push forward Wednesday, passing the Louisiana House Appropriations Committee. The legislation now heads to its final step in the state legislature, the floor of the Louisiana House of Representatives, where it failed last year. Senate Bill 199 passed the committee by a vote of 14 to 7. It is one of two bills being debated that would form the breakaway district, but S.B. 199 was the only one discussed in the committee Wednesday. The other, Senate Bill 73, still has to pass through a Civil Law and Procedure committee before reaching the House floor.

Danielle  Stephan  holds  boyfriend  Thomas  Layton  as  they  pause  between  salvaging  through  the  remains  of  a  family  member’s  home  one  day  after  a  tornado  devastated  the  town  Moore,  Oklahoma,  in  the  outskirts  of  Oklahoma  City  May  21,  2013.  Rescuers  went  building  to  building  in  search  of  victims  and  thousands  of  survivors  were  homeless  on  Tuesday  after  a  massive  tornado  tore  through  the  Oklahoma  City  suburb  of  Moore,  wiping  out  whole  blocks  of  homes  and  killing  at  least  24  people.  MOORE, Oklahoma - Rescue workers with sniffer dogs picked through the ruins of an Oklahoma town on Wednesday to ensure no survivors remained buried after a deadly tornado left thousands homeless and trying to salvage what was left of their belongings.

“Yesterday I was numb. Today I cried a lot. Now I’m on the victory side of it,� said Beth Vrooman, who hid in a shelter in her garage during Monday’s storm in Moore, Oklahoma. When the winds died down, she realized a car was blocking her exit.

“It took some muscle, but I got out,� Vrooman said, as she sifted through piles of clothing, broken knickknacks and nailstudded boards that had once been her home. The tornado on Monday See OKLAHOMA, on page 2

BY SPC. TARELL J. BILBO PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – After two weeks of classroom sessions and a practical exercise, a military engagement team from the Louisiana National Guard awarded approximately 34 Haitian government officials with completion certificates at the Directorate for Civil Protection national emergency operations center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 13. The LANG’s MET is on

a four-week mission to train the DPC officials on effective emergency response management and emergency supplies storage and distribution. “We appreciate all the things that they do in their country to prepare for disasters,� said Maj. Michelle R. Story, of Diamondhead, Miss., commander of the MET. “We’ve learned from them as we provided them instruction.� The training consists of See TRAIN, on page 2

ExxonMobil Invests $1.5 Million Through Louisiana Adds Jobs In United Way Campaign Support April, Civilian Labor Force Near Seven-Year High

Children  who  receive  services  from  The  Arc  Baton  Rouge  hold  signs  to  represent  the  donation  amount  that  Exxon-­ Mobil  made  to  Capital  Area  United  Way  in  its  2012  campaign  contribution.  Along  with  the  children  are  representa-­ tives  from  several  CAUW  partner  agencies,  including  AMIKids  Baton  Rouge;  Boys  &  Girls  Club  of  Greater  Baton  Rouge;  Boy  Scouts  of  America,  Istrouma  Area  Council;  Catholic  Charities;  Girl  Scouts  Louisiana  East;  Greater  Baton  Rouge  Food  Bank;  Hope  Ministries;  Salvation  Army;  The  Y;  and  YWCA  Greater  Baton  Rouge. BATON ROUGE, LA (May 13, 2013) - ExxonMobil has a long history of supporting the Baton Rouge area throughout its 100 years in the community.

THE RED STICK MOBILE FARMERS MARKET

As a long-time partner and supporter of Capital Area United Way (CAUW), the company and its employees have a strong commitment to giving, advocating and

volunteering. In 2011 and again in 2012, ExxonMobil exceeded fundraising goals to help Capital See SUPPORT, on page 3

BATON ROUGE — Louisiana added 21,100 private sector jobs over the year while the state’s civilian labor force remained near its highest level since 2005, according to April data released today by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment was 1,943,700 in April, an increase of 16,000 jobs over the year. Louisiana’s private sector added 21,100 jobs over the year, more than offsetting the loss of 5,100 local, state and federal government jobs over the year. The state’s private employers have added jobs over the year for 32 consecutive months. Among sectors with the largest gains were construction with 10,200 jobs, and trade, transportation, and utilities with 5,700 jobs. Nonfarm employment is estimated from a BLS survey of employers. A separate BLS

survey of households is used to estimate the civilian labor force. The household survey shows Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted civilian labor force—the total number working or looking for work—were 2,091,501 in April, an increase of 6,006 over the year. The April total is just 18,500 shy of the highest level since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The share of the labor force that was employed in April was 1,956,570, an increase of 12,932 over the year. The number of unemployed was 134,931, a decrease of 6,926 over the year. “The numbers show we’re adding jobs and that we have people willing to do the work,� LWC Executive Director Curt Eysink said. The labor force changes from March to April bucked the

SPORTS NEWS

RELIGION NEWS

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/btrbb-renaissance-baton-rouge-hotel/

LOCAL & STATE NEWS

BUSINESS NEWS

See JOBS, on page 3

Pastor Lee T. Wesley was honored by members of his church, and the community for twenty-five years of service, at a program held at Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church....See Page 6

INDEX

CHIEF STUDENT MARSHAL Wednesday, May 15th marked the grand opening of the Red Stick Mobile Farmers Market at Star Hill Church. The Mobile Farmers Market operates on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the Scotlandville Branch Library... See Page 7

Messan D. Folivi is the chief student marshal for Southern University’s spring 2013 graduating class and led 714 graduates into the F.G. Clark Activity Center, Friday, May 17...See Page 3

SUCCESSFUL COOKIE PROGRAM

Girl Scouts proved themselves once again to be savvy entrepreneurs in this year’s Cookie Program, selling over 1 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies in the local council’s 23-parish jurisdiction..See Page 5

LOUISIANA YOUTH GOLF CLINIC

Louisiana Youth Sports Network has partnered with the First Tee of East Baton Rouge Parish to provide a series of FREE introductory golf clinics to community youth...See Page 8

Local & State ...........................2 Commentary............................4 Business...................................5 Religion ...................................6 Health ......................................7 Sports ......................................8

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