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THURSDAY MARCH 5, 2015 H
THEADVOCATE.COM
Govt. Street project meeting to be rescheduled
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Welcome to The Mid City Advocate. Each Thursday, we’ll bring you news from your community. We’ll highlight recreational programs, school activities, the arts, youth team sports and leisure activities going on in Mid City. We can’t do this without the help of our readers. Send us your community news and photographs of people doing things in your neighborhoods. We’re interested in art programs, community cleanups, neighborhood get-togethers, talent shows, computer workshops, library programs and anything that draws a crowd of neighbors. Let us know what you would like to see on the pages of Mid City. Email your news to ddenstorff@theadvocate.com or call (225) 336-6952.
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BY ANDREA GALLO
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Darlene Denstorff
Government Street project
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New restaurants, shops and a pedestrianfriendly atmosphere are all the hype for the future of Government Street, but the project still has a long way to go. The public has not yet had the chance to weigh in on the upgrades that represent what many city-parish residents and leaders have called for — added walkability and bikeability to the city. Public meetings likely will be rescheduled in about a month, according to Mike Bruce, a principal with Stantec, the design consultant for the project. A Louisiana Department of Transportation and Develop-
ment spokeswoman confirmed they have not yet rescheduled a meeting after canceling an open house set for early February. Previous meetings were canceled because the city-parish and the state have been “working out some technical issues,” according to Bruce. He said the community meetings will allow the public to weigh in on some alternative design plans and to express concerns. The project is estimated to cost between $8 million and $10 million. Baton Rouge leaders envision downsizing Government Street from four lanes to two lanes with a center turning lane and lining the road with bike paths and side-
walks. The changes would span a 4-mile stretch of Government Street from Interstate 110 to Lobdell Avenue. Walkability and bikeability have become buzzwords in Baton Rouge as of late. City leaders have acknowledged the city’s reputation for being unfriendly to those who are not driving vehicles to get from place to place. The East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council passed a “Complete Streets” policy in late November meant to trigger more options for the parish’s walkers and bikers. Many road improvement projects in the city-parish Green Light Plan, which is
Advocate photo by C.J. FUTCH
Students from St. Jude Catholic School’s fifth- and sixth-grade quiz bowl team discuss their answer to a question in the final round of the Diocesan Quiz Bowl on Saturday at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School in Baton Rouge.
Fest volunteers sought
Volunteers are needed for FestForAll, a downtown festival set for March 28-29. FestForAll includes music, 100 visual artists from more than a dozen states, activities for children and food. Volunteers are needed for artist hospitality, beverage booths, site management, souvenir booths and recycling with several shifts and time slots available. The volunteer registration form is available at acgbr.com.
Scripture presentation
“Jesus the Bridegroom: A Presentation From the Scriptures” will be the topic of Brant Pitre’s talk March 14 at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 2250 Main St. Coffee will be served at 8:15 a.m. in the church hall and the presentation starts at 8:45 a.m. Admission is $10. Pitre, of Gray, is a Scripture scholar who has a Ph.D. in theology with a specialization in New Testament and ancient Judaism from the University of Notre Dame. He is a professor of sacred Scripture at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. Pitre is the author of “Jesus, the Tribulation, and the End of the Exile,” “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist” and “Jesus the Bridegroom: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.” For more information, call (225) 387-6671 or visit www. sacredheartbr.org. Contact Mid City Advocate Editor Darlene Denstorff by phone, (225) 336-6952 or (225) 603-1998; or email ddenstorff@theadvocate. Deadline: 5 p.m. Friday.
äSee PROJECT, page 3G
Advocate staff photos by HEATHER MCCLELLAND
Jakaya Ross, 10, peeks over Eliot Passman’s, 11, shoulder has he creates a 16-point ninja star on Feb. 19, in ‘Buy U Crafts,’ one of the many stores students can shop in at Dufrocq Elementary School’s Microsociety project.
BUSINESS SCHOOLED
Dufrocq’s ‘microsociety’ teaches students about responsibility BY C.J. FUTCH
Students at Dufrocq Elementary designed their own currency for their yearlong Microsociety project. In the society, each student has a job in which he or she earn money.
cfutch@theadvocate.com Kindergartners lined up on one side of a hallway at The Dufrocq School on Feb. 24, talking about the Smurfs and movies. On the other side, a fourth-grade student asked questions to spur the conversation, giving permission for the students to speak by pointing at their raised hands. “They’re conducting a business meeting,” Noi Mills, a magnet lead teacher at the school, explained, with no hint of amusement on her face. Business meetings are going on all over the elementary school every Tuesday afternoon from 2:10 p.m. to 3 p.m., when students at Dufrocq make plans for their student-run community, also known as a microsociety, that opens for business most Wednesdays and Thursdays at the same time. “It’s serious business to them, too,” said Mills, who provides guidance for the community, called Crawfish Bayou, at Dufrocq. “They want to make money,” she
adds, with a firm nod. Students apply and interview for jobs, work and get paid — Tuesday is also pay day — and rotate days as both employees and consumers in the society each week. In addition to businesses, Crawfish Bayou has a currency, a constitution, a president and congress, post office, radio and television stations, a bank, community service organizations and, newly opened on Feb. 25, a mov-
ie theater called Crawfish Cinema. The kindergartners explain that their former venture, a photography business, didn’t do well. So, they took Tuesday to revamp and decide how to organize the theater, which will have a 15-seat capacity — one of the many decisions the students had to make. “Yes, it is possible to go bankrupt,” Mills said. Economics comes in eväSee BUSINESS, page 3G
36 teams compete in Diocesan Quiz Bowl BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com Students in a rainbow of Catholic school uniforms swarmed the Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church gym on Saturday along with parents, coaches and supporters at the Diocesan Quiz Bowl. Thirty-six teams, a total of 216 students representing 18 different parochial schools in the Baton Rouge metro area, gathered to test their knowledge of math, science, religion, English/language arts and enrichment — a category that could include everything from art to sports, said Cheri Gioe, assistant principal of St. George Catholic, who was part of the committee that came up with questions for quiz bowl participants. Each team was grouped in a pool with three to four other teams, Gioe said, for the first round of play. Teams answered a series of questions on a variety of subjects for one point each, and the team with the most points at the end of each session won the round. Teams advanced to the semifinals by winning their pool, and those winners advanced to finals. The competition can be intense, said Anna Haldane, a religion teacher and moderator — equivalent to a team coach — for the OLOM team. “The question is read, and the rules are very strict. It can only be read one time, so you have to listen very carefully,” she said. Students have a limited amount of
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äSee QUIZ BOWL, page 3G