ADVOCATE THE MID CITY
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THURSDAY MARCH 19, 2015 H
GARDEN DISTRICT • SOUTHDOWNS • GOODWOOD • TARA • SPANISH TOWN • CAPITOL HEIGHTS • LSU LAKES THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff AROUND MID CITY
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Cleaning up in Capital Heights The Capital Heights Beautification Committee’s neighborhood cleanup starts at 8 a.m. Sunday. Anyone interested in the beautification project is invited to meet at Brew-HaHa Coffee Shop. Emily Carlson, co-chairwoman with the group, said volunteers will pick up trash on Claycut Road and Capital Heights and work on the neighborhood flower beds. Residents who can’t volunteer can help out by donating gardening supplies or money. For information, email beautification@chnabr.org.
Finalists named
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School eighth-grader Adeline Roemer was among the 18 students selected as regional finalists in the state’s annual Students of the Year competition. The 18 students selected include one fifth-, eighth-, and 12th-grader from each of the state’s six regions and represent public and nonpublic elementary, middle and high schools across Louisiana. The finalists will convene at the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge April 22 for an awards ceremony and the announcement of the state Students of the Year winners from each grade.
Painters find relief from pain, troubles in artwork
Members of studio for homeless chosen for Burden JuriedArt Show
and painting allows her the chance to back away from the mental noise that sometimes overwhelms her, to organize her thoughts, and make sense of the world around her. “It’s an escape for me,â€? she said. “I work things BY C. J. FUTCH out in my head when I’m painting, almost without cfutch@theadvocate.com realizing it. Whatever is going on in my world, Darrell Blanks and Amanda Owens paint for dif- good, bad and indifferent, I work out my issues, and I put it on the canvas.â€? ferent reasons. Advocate staff photo by TRAVIS SPRADLING The two both had paintings selected for the Blanks’ art eases physical pain — he is diabetic and has arthritis in his spine. “Painting relaxes me, Brush with Burden Juried Art Show, which opens Darrell A. Blanks, left, paints, as Vincent Michael Eiland, right, March 21 with an opening reception for artists works with clay, and volunteer Warren Green observes their which helps with the pain,â€? he said. work, at the One Stop Drop In Center in Mid City. Owens paints to work things out in her mind. She lives with post-traumatic stress disorder, she said, äSee ART, page 3G
Try Kirkland, 5, left, M.J. Somme, 5, center, Avery Bagwell, 6, and Emery Bagwell, 4, right, raise their hands for throws as floats pass Saturday.
BATON ROUGE GOES GREEN
High schoolers learn law-making firsthand
BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com
Art in the Park
BREC’s Baton Rouge Gallery will hold its annual Art in the Park event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at City-Brooks Community Park, 1515 Dalrymple Drive. Admission is free and features local painters, dancers and other expressive performers. An annual family-friendly community event, Art in the Park highlights the visual and performing arts in Baton Rouge set in the serene City-Brooks Community Park. The event also features a variety of children’s art activities, including a sidewalk chalk drawing contest, an artists’ portfolio sale throughout the day, free art appraisals from noon to 3 p.m., two stages of musical performances and a “Picture Your Park� Juried Pho-
A foot in the door of the Capitol
Advocate staff photos by HEATHER MCCLELLAND
The Baton Rouge Pipes and Drums group performs Saturday during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Baton Rouge, which began at South Acadian Thruway and wound its way down Perkins Road.
As a McKinley Senior High School senior with two terms in the YMCA Youth Legislature under his belt, Maxwell Martin is as comfortable talking about the issues that affect his state as he is the issues that affect his college entrance applications. “It’s a great program,â€? Martin said. “It teaches you a lot about how the political system works, about how bills get passed.â€? Martin was at the state Capitol on March 13 as part of the spring conference of the Youth Legislature, along with hundreds of high school students from around the state, said Eddrick Martin, state director for the program. This is the 53rd year the program has been operating, he said. In fact, Eddrick Martin was a senator 20 years ago when he was a student at Southern University Lab School. Program participation deäSee PROGRAM, page 3G
Chad Gremillion sits atop Travis Medley’s shoulders Saturday.
äSee AROUND, page 3G
Photos provided by YMCA
Eniya Johnson, 9, uses a spear to catch throws Saturday during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
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Maxwell Martin, who has participated in the Youth Legislature program for 3 years, debates an issue as a youth Senate delegate.