Shenandoah Elementary School students shine in Team Infinity Science Fair. äPage 4G
THE SOUTHEAST
ADVOCATE
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THURSDAY JANUARY 15, 2015 H
COURSEY • HARRELLS FERRY • MILLERVILLE • OLD JEFFERSON • PARKVIEW • SHENANDOAH • TIGER BEND • WHITE OAK THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff AROUND THE SOUTHEAST
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Terracon golf benefit registration underway Registration is underway for the fourth annual Terracon Golf Benefit for the Capital Area Court Appointed Special Advocates Association. The four-person scramble will be March 30 at the University Club of Baton Rouge, 15333 Memorial Tower Drive. Proceeds from the golf tournament support Capital Area Court Appointed Special Advocates Association, a nonprofit organization that recruits, trains and supervises community volunteers who advocate on behalf of abused and neglected youth living in foster care to help them reach safe, permanent homes, a news release from CASA said. The fundraiser enables the organization to continue providing a CASA volunteer for every child in East Baton Rouge Parish who needs one, the release said. The event is sponsored by Terracon, an engineering consulting firm specializing in environmental, geotechnical and construction materials testing services. The 2014 golf tournament raised about $6,000 to support CASA’s advocacy efforts, the release said. To register for the tournament, call Lisa Smith at Terracon at (225) 239-2644 or email ldsmith@terracon.com. For information about CASA, visit www.casabr.org.
Database searches
The Jones Creek Regional Library, 6222 Jones Creek Road, Baton Rouge, will host an Introduction to the Library’s Online Catalog and Databases class from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday. Patrons can learn how they can locate books, place holds and renew items, and access databases with full text magazines and thousands of books, from their home computers. To register, call (225)756-1150.
Photo provided by DANA MICHELL
Tammy Harris, wearing a pink armband, leads a class at Woman’s Center for Wellness fitness center with Arianne Bellizaire, far right, in the first Soul Grooves class.
IN THE GROOVE BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com Arianne Bellizaire recalls attending her first Soul Grooves class in Houston. She loved the idea of a workout that involved an inter-
in between workshops at the Woman’s Center for Wellness, where Soul Grooves developer Tammy Harris came Jan. 10 to do three workshops for fitness center members. Bellizaire was right beside Harris at the front of the class. She loved
Soul Grooves so much that when she moved back to Baton Rouge, she got certified to teach, and will be leading two classes per week at the center. “We had two sessions planned,â€? äSee SOUL GROOVES, page 2G
Planting roots for the future Weight loss with hard
work and encouragement
Botanic Gardens hosts family events for Arbor Day
BY C. J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com
Advocate staff report
A Financial Health seminar will be from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Jones Creek Regional Library, 6222 Jones Creek Road, Baton Rouge. Bennett Blackledge, of GulfCoast Bank & Trust Company, will conduct a seminar for those who want to understand where their money goes every month. Call (225)
The LSU Agricultural Center Botanic Gardens at Burden will be replenishing the trees on the property that have been lost or damaged over the past year on Saturday, and it hopes to get the whole community involved. The gardens will celebrate Arbor Day on the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens grounds, 4560 Essen Lane, with family tree plantings and other activities for adults and children, said Michelle Fuller, public relations coordinator and event director for the gardens. Arbor Day at Burden runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Fuller said, and admission is $5 per person. Admission is free for children 3 years old and younger. Fuller said other activities
äSee AROUND, page 4G
äSee ROOTS, page 2G
Finance seminar
changeable rotation of miniature dance routines set together to fastpaced music. “I stood in the very back row of the class,� Bellizaire said. “And I slowly worked my way up. I lost a ton of weight, and I just loved it,� she said
Fitness center's dance class helps energize members
Photo provided
A child participates in the tree-climbing station at the 2014 Arbor Day celebration.
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If there was a low point in Shannon Arboneaux-Fish’s otherwise happy life, it was the bridesmaid’s dress fitting for her mom’s wedding. She’d been measured, and came in for a fitting with her mom alone, without the other bridesmaids, and there was a reason for it. “I was so excited for her,� she said, but at the same time, cringed at the thought of shopping for a bridesmaid’s dress that would fit her at 320 pounds. “I realized as I was putting the dress on that apparently they didn’t make it in my size, because when I put the dress on, I couldn’t get it zipped,� she said. The store had ordered the biggest size available, and planned to use extra material generally ordered for making matching shawls to expand the dress to fit. The fitting process involved more examination of her body in the dress that didn’t fit, the dressing
Advocate photos by C. J. FUTCH
Shannon Arboreaux-Fish works out at the Southside Ywith the morning crew most days, starting at 6:30 a.m. room door wide open, and her back exposed to what felt like the world. When she was back in the car with äSee WEIGHT LOSS, page 4G