TTERRY BRADSHAW HONORED BY TOUCHDOWN CLUB OF NEW ORLEANS, PAGE 2G
ADVOCATE THE WEST BANK
WELCOME! The West Bank Advocate is a weekly publication brought to you by The New Orleans Advocate, our city’s only home-delivered daily newspaper. Every week, the West Bank Advocate will feature stories and photos highlighting all the good things going on in Gretna, Algiers and the rest of the west bank. Check out Eva Jacob Barkoff’s weekly “Around Jefferson” column, plus all our news about schools and clubs and churches in our communities. The West Bank Advocate will arrive on your lawn by Wednesday. In addition to news about the people and institutions that make the West Bank such a great place to live, check out the ads from local merchants. Inside, you’ll find valuable coupons from Louisiana’s leading grocers Winn-Dixie and locally owned Rouse’s, and ads from Budget Saver. The West Bank Advocate is owned and printed in Louisiana and published for the people of the New Orleans and Jefferson Parish.We hope you’re as excited as we are about this new newspaper.
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WEDNESDAY APRIL 15, 2015 H
ALGIERS • GRETNA • TERRYTOWN • HARVEY • WESTWEGO • WAGGAMAN • MARRERO • BRIDGE CITY THENEWORLEANSADVOCATE.COM
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Gretna vet gets new home after serving BY EVA JACOB BARKOFF Special to The Advocate
Building Homes for Heroes recently helped a Gretna veteran overcome one of his greatest challenges — returning home. As a member of the U.S. Army for nearly 20 years, Sgt. 1st Class Troy Reilly has traveled the world, serving along the east and west coasts of the U.S., as well as in Germany, Thailand, Guatemala, Kuwait and Afghanistan. For his service as a member of the 1192nd deployment unit, Reilly, a native of the West Bank, has received numerous medals and commendations during his service, including the Bronze Star Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign
Medal with Campaign Star, the Army Commendation Medal (fifth award), Army Achievement Medal (fifth award), Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal (second award), Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon and the Overseas Service Ribbon Reilly (second award). Reilly is proud of his service and the honors he’s received, and he’s happy to be home. Yet, being home may be one of his biggest challenges. “Like so many veterans, I face a lot of
issues,” said Reilly, 45, who suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome, panic disorder, degenerative joint disease, lumbar and bilateral sacroiliac joint disease and recurrent depression. “I have medical problems due to different injuries, so it’s difficult to find work. And for a while, I didn’t have a home to go to, so I ended up living in my car.” While Reilly, who grew up in Gretna, continues to deal with his medical issues, he no longer has to worry about where he will reside. Thanks to Building Homes for Heroes program, Reilly recently moved into a newly renovated home in Marrero. Located off Barataria Boulevard, the house is approximately 1,900 square feet
and includes four bedrooms, two baths, a complete kitchen, a dining room, living room, a patio and a garage. “There is plenty of room for my four children, and it is not very far away from their mother’s home,” Reilly said. “Just when you think things aren’t going to work out, something good happens.” According to its website, www.buildinghomesforheroes.org, Building Homes for Heroes, founded in 2006, builds or modifies homes and gifts them, mortgage-free, to veterans injured while serving the country during the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. Reilly’s is the first home of as many as six to be built in Louisiana and given to veterans who äSee VET, page 7G
PAINTINGA BRIGHT FUTURE
Lynne Jensen
THROW ME SOMETHIN’
Group seeks award nominations Hear ye Uptown, downtown and Algiers! The Committee for a Better New Orleans is calling for nominations for its annual Diana Lewis Citizen Participation Award, which recognizes a person or organization that has empowered citizens to be positive instruments of change. The award is aptly named for Lewis, a powerhouse in the world of civic participation. A veteran volunteer, Lewis has served the city with organizations including United Way, the Bureau of Governmental Research, the Metropolitan Area Committee, the Southeast Louisiana Girl Scouts Council and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. “Civic participation means a better and stronger New Orleans,” said Anthony Carter, director of finance äSee JENSEN, page 7G
Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON
West Jefferson High School art student Shiloh Williams, top, and teacher Keith Eccles paint a 16-foot New Orleans-themed mural at the National Art Education Association National Convention convention in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on March 28. The high school’s logo is in the center of the mural surrounded by jazz bands, a fleur-de-lis and local iconography. Students spent three months designing the mural, which was sponsored by the art materials company Liquitex. Bill Worley, an accounts manager at Liquitex and a West Jefferson High School alum, helped facilitate the collaborative art project. Students working on the project also included Harold Allen, May Do, Tyler Lazier, Damien Cheatteam, Brianne Sylvester, Odina Michel, Rachel Ramos, Ciara Cuccia, Hanson Nguyen and Stacy Barrera. The mural will be moved and installed at West Jefferson before the end of the school year. For information, visit www.westjefferson.jpschools.org. For more photos, see page 5G.
Trafficking, violence program set for Thursday
The New Orleans Chapter of Hadassah and the Women of Shir Chadash Synagogue will co-sponsor a special program about human trafficking, human rights violations and violence against women and children at 7 p.m. Thursday at the synagogue, 3737 W. Esplanade Ave., in Metairie. Panelists include Loyola University faculty members Laura Murphy and Rae Taylor and Tulane University faculty member Tania Tetlow. The program is free and open to the public. Murphy is the organizer of the New Orleans Human Trafficking Working Group and is the director of African and African-American studies at Loyola. She is also the lead researcher for Loyola’s Modern Slavery Research Project.
Eva Jacob Barkoff AROUND JEFFERSON
Taylor’s research and teaching interests include intimate partner violence and other violent crimes; societal and organizational responses to violent crime; and social inequalities. Taylor has worked in the criminal justice system as a victim advocate, and she continues her training in victim services and crisis response. Tetlow directed the Domestic Violence Clinic at Tulane University Law School from 2005-14. She is a former fed-
eral prosecutor. The moderator will be Michelle Erenberg, Louisiana policy advocacy chairwoman for the National Council of Jewish Women. She founded the Louisiana Women’s Roundtable, a collaborative effort of organizations that aims to educate the community about issues that matter to women, children and families. For more information, call Charisse Sands at (504) 2316464.
Magnolia School festival
Magnolia School will hold its inaugural festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday on the school campus, 100 Central Ave., in Old Jefferson. There will be music, food äSee BARKOFF, page 7G
MOO LA LA
Students from the pre-kindergarten Pelican class say hello to Martha, a Holstein calf, at Sugar Roots Farm on April 2. Advocate staff photo by SHERRI MILLER
Students from Metairie Park Country Day school traveled to Sugar Roots Farm to meet the menagerie that live at the working farm dedicated to farmto-table education and the compassionate care of farm animals. Sugar Roots is in Lower Coast Algiers.