The Southside Advocate (01/01/15)

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ST. MICHAEL’S STARS IN RED STICK BOWL

ADVOCATE THE SOUTHSIDE

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THURSDAY JANUARY 1, 2015 H B O C AG E • C O U N T RY C LU B • H I G H L A N D • J E F F E R S O N T E R R AC E • K E N I LW O R T H • P E R K I N S • U N I V E R S I T Y C LU B THEADVOCATE.COM

Darlene Denstorff ON THE SOUTHSIDE

DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM

Share your news in 2015 The holiday parties and gift-giving have passed and many are turning their attention to resolutions for the new year. The Southside Advocate staff is hoping churches, school groups, neighborhood associations and nonprofit organizations will consider resolving to share their news with us in 2015. Photographs and information about accomplishments and happenings are shared on our pages every week. Call us at (225) 336-6952.

Program encourages parents to volunteer

Opening Doors, a Baton Rouge-area nonprofit organization, recently completed its Holiday Superstore program. Parents of children at the Charlie Thomas Head Start were challenged to volunteer at the school to earn points for their children to receive Christmas gifts, a news release from the program said. After the points were earned, members of St. John’s United Methodist Church shopped from wish lists provided by the children and their families. One hundred families took part, earning 88 bicycles and hundreds of gifts for their children.

Advocate staff photos by TRAVIS SPRADLING

Santa greets Mia Hodges, 6, right, as he hops on to the float with all of his elves, including Mia’s brother Jackson Hodges, 7, left, at the start of the Jefferson Place/Bocage Christmas Eve Day Parade.

Ho, ho, ho Santa’s in the neighborhood

Get nails done at library

Teens can start the new year with a fresh manicure thanks to a Monday program at the Bluebonnet Regional Library branch. Teens can decorate their nails during the one-hour program starting at 3:30 p.m. in the library’s meeting room 1. For information, call (225) 763-2270

Group helps families deal with trach issues

The Trach Support Group is meeting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Times Grill, 5207 Essen Lane. The free program, which meets the first Monday of each month, is for parents of children with tracheostomy tubes. Parents share resources and information. The group plans to start a Denham Springs meeting soon. For information, call (225) 200-5178. Contact Southside Advocate Editor Darlene Denstorff by phone, (225) 336-6952 or (225) 603-1998; or email southside@theadvocate. com. Deadline: noon Monday.

Riders throw candy and beads on McCarroll Drive during the Jefferson Place/Bocage Christmas Eve Day Parade. Trucks pulled trailers and neighbors rode in decorated floats.

ä See a photo gallery of the parade at www.theadvocate.com.

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Surviving nature

Advocate staff report

Campers attending the Christmas holiday camp at Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center don’t just learn about nature, said Lauren Herbert, who works at the center as an educator. They also learned a surprising number of survival skills. “We made lean-to structures this week,� Herbert said of the two-day camp Dec. 22-23. At the holiday camp before Thanksgiving, campers constructed a teepee. It’s a fun way, camp directors said, to teach students about the natural world around them. One of the first things campers learned was the difference between native and invasive trees and plants, and they systematically harvested

Advocate photo by C.J. FUTCH

Campers find fun in winter break Advocate staff report

Advocate photo by C.J. FUTCH

Emily Teague, 9, works beside Olivia Brown, 7, while they mix baking soda and hair conditioner to make a snow-like mixture they later used to make ‘snowmen’ at the Dec. 23 Bluebonnet Swamp äSee NATURE, page 3G Nature Center camp.

The Gardere Initiative held its second of a yearlong series of two-day camps for children living in the Gardere area on Dec. 22-23 at Faith Chapel Church of God on Staring Lane. Murelle Harrison, with the initiative, said the camp was open to students from kindergarten to high school, and was meant to give area children something interesting to do in a safe environment.

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Edgar Hopkins, 14, gives 7-year-old Chance Winfield some advice on his checkers game while Joycelyn Stevenson, 15, looks on during a recent holiday camp hosted by the Gardere Initiative.

The initiative already runs a summer camp for students while school is out, Harrison said. The holiday camps fill in the gaps during other shorter school breaks, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays. The pre-Christmas camp included outdoor team building exercises, games, speakers and other fun activities for all ages, Harrison said. Heavy rains on Dec. 23 led to Plan B äSee CAMPERS, page 3G


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