Golden Carrot grant will help Feliciana schools teach construction careers. ä Page 6H
The
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THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 26, 2015 H $1.00
SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA, WEST FELICIANA AND ST. HELENA THEADVOCATE.COM
1st Year, No. 20
Program for parents offered at St. Helena schools BY STEPHANIE WARREN swarren@theadvocate.com
The St. Helena Parish school system held its kickoff meeting for the Parent Academy on Feb. 3 at St. Helena College and Career Academy in Greensburg. Parent Academy is a community collaborative effort to help parents become full partners in their children’s education. The program will offer parents and guardians the opportunity to participate in free workshops, courses and family educational events, organizers said. The St. Helena Parish School District has collaborated with
Regions Bank and other local organizations to form the Parent Academy. The events will be held within the school district and at other convenient locations. Superintendent Kelli Joseph said it is important to increase family engagement in the school district while empowering parents with the knowledge and skills needed to be triumphant. When parents become triumphant, it will encourage their children to become successful students, which increases the opportunity for them to be successful adults, she said. “It is our wish that, as a par-
ent or guardian, you will take advantage of these wonderful opportunities that have been prepared for you,” Joseph said. “With you as a partner, the student’s success is certain.” To join the Parent Academy, parents must fill out a registration form. You can find the form on the district’s website, www.sthpk-12.net, or at the School Board office, 345 Sitman St., Greensburg. Email the completed registration form to mwatson@sthpk-12. net, drop it off at the School Board office or fax it to Miranda Watson at (225) 222-6419. about the Parent Academy, For information or questions call the School Board office at
The St. Helena Parish school system held its kickoff meeting for the Parent Academy on Feb. 3 at St. Helena College and Career Academy in Greensburg. The program offers parents and guardians the opportunity to participate in free workshops, courses and family educational events.
Photo provided by KELLI JOSEPH
(225)-222-4349. To learn about the program,
visit the district’s website, www.sthpk-12.net.
Advocate staff photo by STACY GILL
Darlene Reaves holds the photograph that inspired the ‘Paint My Photograph’ exhibit as well as artist Joe Savell’s painting, behind them on the wall. Savell owns Backwoods Gallery in St. Francisville where the exhibit is on display through March.
Exhibit partners photographer, painters BY STACY GILL
sgill@theadvocate.com St. Francisville photographer Darlene Reaves is a self-described “Katrina transplant,” having moved to West Feliciana in 2005 following the storm. “I started photographing this beautiful area once I landed here,” said Reaves, a former teacher. “What a treat this is for me.” Reaves says the scenic landscapes, trees, flowers, even the early morning fog she and her husband encounter on walks with their dogs beckon to her.
INSIDE East Feliciana.......... 2G West Feliciana4G, 2H St. Helena ............... 5G More news ....2H, 6H Sports ..................... 1H
ä See more exhibit photos at theadvocate.com. “One day, we were riding along, and I screamed, ‘Stop; go back’ and jumped out of the car to photograph a country Tunica road,” Reaves said. “Another time, it was a turtle crossing the road near the old ferry landing. He was a brave little guy. He let me get right up in his face with my camera and didn’t retreat into his shell.” Artist Joe Savell, who owns Backwoods Gallery in St. Francisville, asked Reaves if he could paint one of her photos, selecting one she snapped at the old ferry landing in St. Francisville. Then Murrell Butler, an artist and St. Francisville resident noted for his dramatic landscapes and bird illustrations, chose to paint the same ferry landing photo as Savell. True to Butler’s style, a bird was added to his interpretation of the image. Savell’s artist wife, Dahn, chose to paint a shot of wisteria on Ferdinand Street during another of Reaves’ early morning, fog-filled walks. “It was then that the Savells
Advocate staff photos by DARLENE DENSTORFF
Jake Noble, 11, of West Feliciana Middle School, washes his Hereford heifer Feb. 18 in preparation to exhibit during the state livestock show at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales.
Friendships form over
LIVESTOCK
Youths from region compete at state show
BY DARLENE DENSTORFF
ddenstorff@theadvocate.com GONZALES
Victoria Dooley, 13, and Ashley Pugh, 10, stayed busy last week caring for and showing cattle at the LSU Agricultural Center’s State Livestock Show. The girls said they became friends because of their involvement in 4-H and livestock shows. Thankfully, the girls said, they don’t have to compete against each other because they show different types of cows.
Victoria Dooley, 13; Ashley Pugh, 10; and Emma Olsen, 11, became friends thanks to their involvement in livestock shows. The three competed in last week’s state livestock show at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. Victoria, a student at Silliman Institute and resident of Jackson, shows a F1 Bradford Base; and Ashley, 10, a student at Slaughter Elementary School, exhibits a Brahman. It was the first year for both and they were pleased and surprised to make it through parish and district rounds to compete at the state show. The students were two of about 2,000 students exhibiting about 1,500 breeding animals, 1,600 market animals, 180 pens of broilers and 700
exhibition birds during the eight-day show at the LamarDixon Expo Center in Gonzales. Ashley said showing cows and 4-H are “my favorite subjects.” “It’s really fun and I learn lots about caring for animals,” she said. “And you meet lots of really nice people.” In stalls next to the girls, Emma Olsen, 11, a student at West Feliciana Middle School, brushed and fed her äSee LIVESTOCK, page 3G
äSee EXHIBIT, page 4G
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