ADVOCATE THE HE LIVINGSTON-TANGIPAHOA
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DENHAM SPRINGS • LIVINGSTON • WALKER • WATSON • AMITE • HAMMOND • PONCHATOULA
THURSDAY DECEMBER 24, 2015 H
THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff AROUND LIVINGSTON
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Share your holiday celebrations with us The holidays are family time for many in our area. Bountiful family dinners, festive gatherings and gala parties take up much of our time until the end of the year. The Advocate family extends holiday greetings to our readers. As you get together in the next few weeks, don’t forget to share a few photos with The Advocate. It’s easy to send photos and information to us. Simply email photos — cellphone photos are fine — to livingston@theadvocate. com. Include the names of the people in the photo and a brief explanation of what’s going on in the photo. Whether it’s a reunion of five generations or a visit from an out-of-state relative, please share your holiday memories.
Library space be put out for bid BY HEIDI R. KINCHEN
hkinchen@theadvocate.com A planned expansion of the Denham Springs-Walker branch of the Livingston Parish Library is scheduled to go out for bid in the spring. The project, estimated to cost $3.4 million, will be funded out of the library system’s reserve funds, Director Giovanni Tairov said. “The reason why we want to do this is simple,” Tairov said. “Out of 405,000 people that come through our doors annually, about half go to Denham Springs-Walker branch. Out of 80,000 people that use our computers throughout the library system, about 40,000 go to Denham Springs-Walker branch. Of all the things that we do, about half falls on that branch’s shoulders.”
Rendering by Cockfield Jackson
A planned expansion of the Denham Springs-Walker branch of the Livingston Parish Library is scheduled to go out for bid in the spring. The existing 18,400-squarefoot building, on the corner of U.S. 190 and Eden Church Road, opened in December 2006 and offers a public meeting room,
computer access, free Wi-Fi and numerous programs and services for people of all ages. The 10,000-square-foot expansion would allow the
branch to offer two meeting rooms — one for library programming and the other for public use — and a computer lab housing at least 50 computers, Tairov said. The branch’s existing meeting room would be converted into a staff workroom. The plans, which are still being finalized, would include a large makerspace where the library may offer computers for video editing, a 3D printer and other things that will allow people to do their own computer-related or handcraft projects, he said. More than 100 parking spaces also would be added. “This has been one of our critical issues, especially with summer reading programs,” Tairov said. “This past summer, we had to turn people away because, with the roundabout con-
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struction (at U.S. 190 and Eden Church Road), we were no longer able to offer parking in the church lot across the street.” The library system has been working on the design plans with Steve Jackson, of the Cockfield Jackson architecture and design firm in Baton Rouge, Tairov said. Cockfield Jackson, in collaboration with Labarre Associates of Denham Springs, designed and built all of the parish’s library branches, including the new Main Branch in the town of Livingston. Tairov estimates construction of the new addition could take up to a year, though he hopes it would be complete in about 9 months. Follow Heidi R. Kinchen on Twitter, @HeidiRKinchen, and call her at (225) 336-6981.
Christmas trees
Patsy Giannobile said she sees every tree, including this one seen as her main tree, as a blank canvas and adds elements the same way an artist would paint. ‘Every ornament has a place it belongs. I just have to keep working until I find it,’ she says.
Woman creates a forest of holiday memories
Advocate photos by C.J. FUTCH
Holiday closures
BY C.J. FUTCH
All branches of Livingston Parish Library are closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday for Christmas, as well as Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 for New Year’s.
cfutch@theadvocate.com
Pasty Giannobile must begin decorating for Christmas every year in early November because it takes quite a while to unpack, assemble, fluff, dust and decorate more than 20 Christmas trees. “I want to make sure it’s all done by the time we start having Christmas parties,” Giannobile said.
Adult coloring
The Denham SpringsWalker Branch of Livingston Parish Library invites adults to come in for a relaxing evening of coloring snacks, music and socializing at 6 p.m. Monday. Coloring sheets and colored pencils will be provided. Call (225) 665-8118 for details.
It’s difficult to tell which started first, the Christmas decorations to enrich the Christmas parties — Giannobile and her family love to entertain — or the Christmas parties to make good use of the Christmas decorations. It is clear, however, that the Christmas spirit is alive and well in the Giannobile’s Hammond home.
Jedi training
Padawans ages 6 to 11 can begin their Jedi training at the Denham Springs-Walker Branch of Livingston Parish Library at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Registration is required; call (225) 665-8118 or visit http:// bit.ly/1NBSCRR.
äSee TREES, page 2G ä See more of Patsy Giannobile’s decor at www.theadvocate.com.
Minion movie madness
This snow globe was one of the few possessions Patsy Giannobile recovered after Hurricane Betsy destroyed her family’s home in 1965. That experience, in part, drives her desire to collect things that remind her of important moments in her life.
Minion madness for ages 5 to 11 erupts at the South Branch of Livingston Parish Library at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Join the Minions on a new adventure, play a game and make your own ornament. Registration is required; call (225) 698-3015 or visit http:// bit.ly/1mcUmd8. äSee AROUND, page 2G
Sheriff’s Office wraps up crusade with toy delivery Advocate staff report Early Friday morning more than 100 volunteers, many wearing their Sheriff’s Office uniforms, spread out across Livingston Parish to distribute toys and gifts to 1,233 children. The toy delivery was the final phase of Sheriff Jason Ard’s Christmas Crusade. The program, which started in 1987, collects money and toys throughout the year to give to those in need at Christmas, Ard said. “Oftentimes, these families interact with us when something bad happens,” Advocate staff photos by APRIL BUFFINGTON the sheriff said. “That’s their percepAlice Chandler, right, hugs Cade Ashford for the toys for her grandkids while tion of us. With this project, we get Sgt. Ricky Pomercy makes sure the paper is filled out during the Livingston to change that perception. My depuParish Sheriff Jason Ard’s Christmas Crusade toy delivery day Friday. ties volunteer their time — away from
their families — to give back to those in their community. To me, that’s the most amazing Christmas.” Businesses, residents and children, many who give coins from their piggy banks, provide the money used to buy the gifts needed to fill toy lists, Ard said. This year, 572 families were helped. A big push is made the Saturday after Thanksgiving when deputies and volunteers collect cash and gifts at Wal-Mart and Bass Pro Shops locations. After toys are bought and sorted, deputies are joined by family and friends on the delivery mission. Donations for the program can be mailed to: Sheriff Jason Ard’s Christmas Crusade, P.O. Box 1515, Livingston, LA 70754.
Vera Edwards receives her toys from Sgt. Ricky Pomercy during Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard’s Christmas Crusade toy delivery day Friday.