ADVOCATE THE SOUTHSIDE
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THURSDAY JANUARY 8, 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
Work on school gym begins at St. Jean Vianney BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com St. Jean Vianney Catholic Church parishioners celebrated the culmination of a two-year capital campaign Jan. 5 with a ground-breaking ceremony for the Catholic school’s new gymnasium. The 10,000-square-foot gym will serve the church parish, but is particularly important to the student body, whose basketball
and volleyball teams will be able to practice on campus and host home games, both of which now happen off campus. Physical education classes are conducted either outside or wherever space will allow. “We make it work,� said the Rev. Tom Ranzino. “We’ve had a wonderful partnership with Temple Baptist Church, where we’ve rented gym space for games and practices. We’ve done well with the space we
have up to now, but this step will allow us to grow.� The $3.4 million project will also include two meeting rooms, a covered portal at the front of the school and a partial renovation of the preschool building, which will be facing the new gym. “Traffic will have to be rerouted because of where we are located,� said Amie Williams, who directs the preschool. “What is now the front door will be fac-
ing the gym, so what is now the back door will become the front door� as part of the renovation, she said. While they’ve been raising money for the past two years, St. Jean Vianney parish has been working toward this day for the last eight years. It was then that the church administration called town hall meetings and asked for parishioners’ input on St. Jean’s future, Ranzino said.
A survey was compiled based on those talks, he said, and that went out for a parishwide vote. The priorities determined during that process became the wish list for the capital campaign. “We have had tremendous support,� Ranzino said, raising $1.6 million in contributions toward the project and another $2.5 million in pledges. Financing will be secured through the Catholic Diocese of Baton
Darlene Denstorff ON THE SOUTHSIDE
Starsky N. Hutch brightens swamp
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Tiger name submissions due Friday Friday is the last day to vote in BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo contest to name two female Malayan tiger cubs. Voting ends at 5 p.m. on the Zoo’s website, www. brzoo.org/namingcontest. The cubs were born to the Zoo’s female Malayan tiger, which came to the Zoo in 2009 from the Fort Worth Zoo, and the Zoo’s male Malayan tiger, which arrived from the Little Rock Zoo in 2012.
BY C. J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com
One long-term employee of the Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center enjoys socializing, thought he isn’t much of a conversationalist. “He will repeat what he hears us say, if we keep talking to him,� said Claire Coco, director of the center. “You can see him watching your mouth as you talk, studying how it moves,� she said as, she held out a dried meal worm, which he delicately plucked from her fingers with his beak.
Bottle snowman
Looking for a fun craft program for your children? The Bluebonnet Regional branch library staff will help children build a snowman from a recycled bottle. The program, which starts at 11 a.m., is for children ages 5 to 11. “Little Snowman Stan: Can’t We Share?� by Guido Van Genechten is the featured book for the StoryCraft event. Call (225) 763-2260.
Scarf out of a shirt
Teens can create a fringe scarf and armwarmers out of a T-shirt and socks during a Tuesday arts and crafts program at the Bluebonnet Regional branch library. Teens are invited to the 3:30 p.m. program, which will include a tutorial on making a fringe scarf and armwarmers. Teens must bring their own T-shirt and socks for this recyclable craft. The program will be in meeting room 3. Call (225) 763-2270. Contact Southside Advocate Editor Darlene Denstorff by phone, (225) 336-6952 or (225) 603-1998; or email southside@theadvocate. com. Deadline: noon Monday.
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Photo provided by JESSI RYAN
Starsky fluffs out his feathers in his hutch.
Rouge, he said. All St. Jean Vianney Catholic School classes gathered in the east parking lot despite the chill Monday to watch as Ranzino led the school in a prayer to bless the future site of construction, while representatives from each grade were chosen to participate in the groundbreaking. “I know it’s cold. We’ll make it quick. Just look at the sand and äSee GYM, page 3G
Teams spend day counting birds
Advocate staff report
Fourteen teams of volunteer bird counters met before dawn at locations all over Baton Rouge on Friday to participate in the Audubon Society’s Annual Christmas Bird Count, said Dan Mooney, with the Baton Rouge Audubon Society. The society marked a 15-mile diameter circle with the intersection of Gardere Road and Highland Road as the center, Mooney said, divided those areas into sectors and sent each team in to an area to count as many individual birds as they could see or hear, he said. Each team is trained to collect specific data, he said, all of which will be entered into a national database maintained by the national Audubon Society. Field counters moved through sectors counting and documenting birds in natural habitat, while another 40 watched specified bird feeders as part of the project, Mooney said. Kimberly Lanka headed the group’s LSU sector, starting near the levee and working their way around campus, despite the bad weather. “I start at dawn and keep counting until sunset, when we can count the birds coming in to roost around the lakes,â€? she said. This year marks the 115th count overall and the 41st in Baton Rouge, Mooney said. “We generally get around 135 species on average, with 150 being the record high for the Baton Rouge Count.â€? The final tally for this year won’t be in until the feeder locations send in their counts by regular mail, he said. According to the National Audubon website, volunteers across the Americas pitch in to register official bird population counts from Dec. 14 through Jan. 5, in all kinds of weather. “Audubon and other organizations use data collected in äSee BIRDS, page 2G
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