BATON
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
ROUGE,
LOUISIANA
VOL. 41 • NO. 25 • FREE
PEOPLE’S PUBLICATION
HUD Releases $1.6 Billion in Flood Recovery Funds
Terry Polk Wins $1000 Scholarship from Southern Law Youth Network
SULC Chancellor John K. Pierre and SLYN Program Director Alvarez Hertzock III presented the award to Mr. Terry Polk
BATON ROUGE, LA ---Terry Polk, a junior from Madison Preparatory Academy, was this year’s Southern Law Youth Network (SLYN) First Place Essay Recipient. He received his award and $1,000 scholarship during Southern University Law Center’s 2017 Barristers’ Ball on March 24. SULC Chancellor John K. Pierre and SLYN Program Director Alvarez Hertzock III presented the award to Mr. Terry A Ragin’ Cajuns football player walks past piles of debris while helping with flooded homes in Youngsville after the recent flooding.
BATON ROUGE, LA - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officially released the $1.6 billion in flood recovery funds appropriated in 2016. In an email to the Office of Community Development, HUD indicated that the state can immediately begin to withdraw funds for flood recovery. The state will immediately begin to use the
Winfrey Giving $12M to New AfricanAmerican Museum
funds to conduct environmental reviews based on survey responses that began from flood victims. As of today, more than 4,200 homeowners had completed the survey. The process for drawing down the flood recovery funds is long and sometimes overly burdensome,” said Gov. Edwards. “While it is often frustrating that we can’t get assistance to homeowners quicker,
we are able to immediately move forward with our recovery plans. The fact that these funds were secured at such a record pace is a testament to what we can accomplish when we all – the Louisiana congressional delegation and myself – work together for the people of our state. I look forward to continuing that effort as we seek an additional $2 billion
to provide assistance to even more homeowners across the state.” In October, Gov. Edwards requested that HUD work with the state to reduce or eliminate the need for costly individual environmental reviews on single family homes eligible for federal repair grants – a request that could save Louisiana See HUD, on page 2
POEMS OF RESILIENCE
WA S H INGTON — O p r a h Wi n frey is giving $12 million to a museum being built on Washington’s National Mall Oprah that will docuWinfrey ment AfricanAmerican history, officials said Tuesday. The media mogul and former talk-show host previously gave $1 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the museum says her $13 million total contribution is See WINFREY, on page 3
Forward Arts 2017 All Star slam team members, Olivia Williams, blue dress, and Chazzi Hayes, white shirt, rejoice as their names were announced as members of the team. SEE STORY ON PAGE 2
WAL-MART TO DISCOUNT 1 MILLION ITEMS
STATE & LOCAL
RELIGION
Polk. This year’s scholarship marked the largest scholarship award given by SLYN thus far. Polk read an excerpt from his winning essay, where he said, “Overall, I’m aware that careers in the legal profession are serious and competitive, so sticking to my goals and remaining focused are my main priorities right now. I am proud to say that next year, I will be See NETWORK, on page 2
Mayor Broome, Department of Environmental Services Announces Parish-Wide 2017 Earth Day Poster Design Competition BATON ROUGE, LA — As part of her ongoing commitment to K-12 education, and to engage Baton Rouge’s youngest citizens in responsible environmental and waste disposal practices, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and the Department of Environmental Services (DES) are promoting a 2017 Earth Day poster design competition. While collaboration with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, this contest is open to all East Baton Rouge Parish middle and high school students in all school systems. “One of the most important ways in which we can engage our youth involves how to be good stewards of our environment and the responsibilities that come with being an informed citizen,” Broome said. “All eligible students are encouraged to participate in this competition and use it as an opportunity to learn how we can work together to build a Baton Rouge that we are proud to call home for years to come.” Through the competition,
BUSINESS
students will be tasked with creating posters that educate the public on ways to help prevent clogs and backups in the wastewater system through responsible disposal. For example, warm fats and grease, in their liquid form, easily flow through piping. However, when these liquids cool and solidify, they form clogs in our wastewater system’s piping that require work crews to clear the piping so that wastewater can flow freely again. “Fun and engaging projects like this poster design competition are critical in helping our students learn the importance of responsible waste disposal and sustainable environmental practices at a young age so they can pass their good habits along to family, friends and their own children one day,” said Warren Drake, East Baton Rouge Parish School System superintendent. “Any time we can partner with the City-Parish to educate our students on important topics such as these, we help build a See POSTER, on page 3
STATE & LOCAL NEWS
Send your news to the news departmet at the Baton Rouge Weekly Press by emailing it to: brweeklypress@ yahoo.com
INDEX
THE EXPLORATION EXHIBITION Wal-Mart will offer discounts on more than a million online-only items that customers then pick up at stores, part of an effort by the world’s largest retailer to challenge Amazon....See Page 5
Join us for the exhibition The Exploration of Line, Solo exhibition of New Orleans Arts Steve Martin, of the Julia Street Steve Martin Gallery. This exhibition will run concurrently with a new partnership with Wonder South Shop no. 1...Page 3
COST OF SPEAKING YOUR MIND
One thing I have learned throughout my life is sometimes speaking your mind only gets apiece of somebody else’s mind – and not the good piece..See Page 4
WAFB WINS MURROW AWARD
WAFB-TV has been awarded the prestigious Edward R. Murrow award for Investigative Reporting. The annual award winners were announced Tuesday morning...See Page 5
State News...............................2 Religion....................................4 Business....................................5 Classifieds.................................5 Sports.......................................6
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Page 2 • The
Weekly Press • Thursday, April 13, 2017
STATE & LOCAL
Mayor Broome, Councilwoman Banks To Co-Host Workshop Connecting Baton Rouge Businesses With Garbage And Recycling Contracting Opportunities
Baton Rouge Youth Culminate Traumatic READER INFORMATION Year Through Poems Of Resilience How to Reach Us General Information225-775-2002 Fax . . . . . . . . . . . 225-775-4216 Email Address brweeklypress@yahoo.com The office is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday and located at 1283 Rosenwald Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Correction Policy The Baton Rouge Weekly Press strives to be fair and accurate. The newspaper corrects any significant errors of fact brought to the attention of the editor. If you think an error has been made, call 225-775-2002
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L to R: Olivia Williams and Chazzi Hayes perform tribute poem in honor of Kaiya Smith.
BATON ROUGE, LA – “Here Still” was the mantra of this year’s ALL CITY Teen Poetry Slam Festival, a theme imagined from a season of tragedy that both publically and personally affected festival participants. Held over two weekends in April, the festival’s culminating event on April 8, punctuated the youths’ tribute to the resilience of Baton Rouge in the aftermath of a turbulent summer, which included the sudden passing of 2016 festival participant and McKinley High School graduate, Kaiya Smith. “The theme of this year’s festival saw our students examining the tragedies of last summer from both a critical and cathartic lens,” said Donney Rose, Marketing Director and Events Coordi-
nator at Forward Arts. “About half of our festival participants wrote poems that carefully examined what it was to live in a city engulfed in civil unrest and natural disaster. The other half wrote a great deal about what it was to process the loss of a friend with whom they had shared a festival stage just last year.” To further tribute Smith, festival coordinators, joined by Smith’s mother, Petrouchka Moise, infused her words and images throughout festival displays, even presenting the first-ever Kaiya Smith Award for WordCrew Excellence to Tyler Scott – a member of Forward Arts’ afterschool poetry writing collective and festival participant. The award gifts the recipient an all-expense paid trip to the 20th annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival (BNV) to be held in July in San Francisco, where the top ranked poets of ALL CITY grand slam finals will compete. Smith was a member of the 2016 team that ranked 5th in the world. “This year has been bittersweet. Every moment with our team is a painful reminder of what we’ve lost – My Kaiya. Our Kaiya.” said Chelsea Schilling, English teacher at McKinley High School and co-coach of its poetry slam team. “Although it
hurts, we are still here. We will continue to write, continue to perform, continue to be heard, for us, and for her. I am truly amazed at what these students can do and I am so thankful that Forward Arts gives them a space where their voices will be heard.” McKinley High School placed second, following a team from Baton Rouge Magnet High School (BRMHS) who won the title of 2017 ALL CITY Champions. Finalists also included a second BRMHS team and a team from Port Allen High School. All poets who performed individually had the chance to earn a spot on the 2017 Forward Arts All Stars slam team to compete at BNV – this year they are Jazmyne Smith, Olivia Williams, Chazzi Hayes, Kalvin Morris, Imani Sundiata, and Imani McCullam. Forward Arts has sent a team to BNV since 2006. The first ALL CITY festival was held in 2007 and remains the only festival of its kind in the region, having hosted hundreds of youth poets, ages 13 to 19. It was created to provide an elevated platform to youth voices, while also appealing to Louisiana’s storied festival culture. Throughout its 12-year history, youth from Baton Rouge and surrounding rural communiSee YOUTH, on page 6
BATON ROUGE, LA — Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and Councilwoman Chauna Banks (District 2) will co-host a workshop on Monday, April 17 to discuss upcoming garbage and recycling contracting opportunities for Baton Rouge area businesses. The event is part of the mayorpresident’s continued focus on engaging small, disadvantaged, or minority-owned businesses in City-Parish initiatives and contracted services through the Equity in Business program. The workshop, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 6 p.m. in the training room (first floor conference room) at the Advanced Traffic Management and Emergency Operations Center located at 3773 Harding Blvd. in Baton Rouge. “The services we provide to residents through our solid waste program are not only some of the most critical and visible services our City-Parish government is tasked with overseeing, but they also represent some of the largest contracts we manage on an annual basis,” Broome said. “This workshop is designed for local small business owners to receive timely information about these significant opportunities. Our hope is that many attendees will be able to play a role in the delivery of these services for years to come, and work with our teams to ensure the delivery of reliable and on-time services to all our residents.” Attendees will learn more about the City-Parish’s upcoming procurement of long-term contracts to collect recyclables, garbage, and trash; to supply and maintain garbage and recycling carts; and to process and market recyclables from residential properties throughout East Baton
Network from page 1 reaching the end of my high school journey. However, just like in elementary school, I still do believe that I can be anything I want to be and I’m glad that programs like SLYN are reaching out to students like me to inform us of our many possibilities.” Polk has aspirations of one day becoming a criminal justice attorney. SLYN hopes to continue to support and inspire other students like him. “Personally, this organization has given me much pride to have had the opportu-
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Rouge Parish. City-Parish officials will discuss the procurement timeline and share a listing of regional and national firms that typically respond to similar procurements around the country. They will also outline specific services that may be included in upcoming procurements and discuss how local businesses could support the delivery of these services, including cart maintenance, vehicle maintenance, janitorial services, facility and equipment maintenance, and technology solutions and support. The current City-Parish solid waste service contracts, which are set to expire in 2018, consist of residential trash, garbage and recyclable materials. These contracts deliver approximately $40 million in budgeted contractual services related to the collection and disposal of solid waste. Contracts can last up to 10 years, with potential extensions. All firms, business owners, or business representatives interested in City-Parish contracting opportunities should complete the City-Parish purchasing department’s Vendor Business Profile Data form at http://brgov. com/dept/purchase/vendorrules. htm. For more information about City-Parish procurement policies and bid opportunities, call 225-389-3259. For more information on the workshop, contact Adam Smith, interim director of the Department of Environmental Services at 225-389-4865 or Tamiara Wade, City-Parish assistant chief administrative officer, at 225-389-3100. Or contact Janene Tate, Communications Director, jtate@brgov.com., 225-389-7957 by calling the number.
nity to work with an outstanding group of students and colleagues that take time out to remain active and vigilant in their community, in addition to developing their respective careers,” said Hertzock. SLYN is a student-organized, scholarship-based outreach program created at SULC during the fall of 2015. Since its creation, the organization has visited over a dozen schools in the Baton Rouge Area, mentored approximately 500 students, and logged well over 450 volunteer hours amongst its members. SLYN members have not only donated their time and experience, but also their dollars to this cause.
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more than $105 million dollars in disaster assistance and expedite the rebuilding process for homeowners. While that waiver has not been granted, and until legislation is proposed to solve this problem, the state will immediately begin conducting these reviews.
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Thursday, April 13, 2017 • The Weekly Press • Page 3
Boil Advisory Issued The Exploration Of Line, Solo Exhibition “Getting By Steve Martin & The Wondershop No. 1 Back to the For Clinton Area CLINTON, LA - A boil water advisory has been issued in East Feliciana Parish for parts of the Clinton area along Hwy. 959, according to East Feliciana Rural Water (EFRW). Officials with the water company say the well motor on the Bluff Creek Well burned up on Monday, April 10. Customers in the area are experiencing outages. A crew has been called in from Mississippi to replace the motor. All residents experiencing outages are under a boil advisory, effective immediately. “Customers are encouraged to continue to boil their water until we can get health samples approved by DHH and get the all clear that water is safe for consumption,” said Melissa Sanders, executive director with EFRW. Sanders say crews have been working tirelessly to get the problem addressed, while also notifying those in the affected areas. “We sent that call out to notify customers that there was going to be an outage. We knew then that it was the well pump motor and that it would be out for an extended period of time,” Sanders added. She says the problem is fixed now, but for the next few days, the water will be brown and the water pressure may remain low. While it is safe to take a shower in, she says drinking the water is not safe. “We hope to have it cleared before the weekend. It just kind of depends on
the flushing program,” Sanders added. “The water went off and I didn’t know what had happened, you know. First it started running really slow and then last night it just went off altogether,” said Ruby Drummond, a resident in the area. Drummond and other residents took advantage of free bottled water at the Bluff Creek Fire Department off Hwy. 959 Tuesday night. It’s a service she says very much appreciated. “Oh I’m very grateful,” said Drummond. The problem is affecting roughly 600 customers, but is well on its way to being all taken care of, but until then, Sanders warns it’s better to be safe than sorry. “Boil it before you consume or make ice,” Sanders said. “You do need to turn your ice makers off and not use that water for making ice and things like that.” Drummond though says while it’s a hassle, she is just grateful to have something many people often take for granted. “You never miss it until you don’t have it,” said Drummond. The advisory will remain in effect until otherwise stated by EFRW. The company will continue handing out bottled water at Bluff Creek Fire station for customers affected by the outage. The advisory will likely be in effect for at least a couple of days.
EBR City-Parish Designates April 29 as Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day at Memorial Stadium East Baton Rouge Parish residents can dispose of a number of potentially dangerous items during Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day on Saturday, April 29. Drop off is from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Baton Rouge. Susan Hamilton, CityParish recycling manager, emphasized that this event is only for the collection of residential household hazardous materials, and will not accept materials generated by businesses and other commercial sources, or by people who live outside East Baton Rouge Parish. All vehicles entering the drop off site are required to show proof of East Baton Rouge Parish residence (i.e., state issued driver’s license, passport, etc.). In addition, the items to be dropped off will be checked to ensure they are on the list of household hazardous materials that are accepted at the stadium that day. Household hazardous materials that will be accepted include: fertilizers, pool chem-
icals, insecticides, pesticides, gasoline, cleaning products, oil paint and paint products, automobile tires, auto products including used oil, antifreeze, brake fluid, diesel, oil and fuel filters; cooking oil; fluorescent tubes, ballasts and compact fluorescent bulbs; lead acid, nickelcadmium and alkaline batteries; stereos and televisions. To be accepted, liquids should be in labeled, closed containers holding 5 gallons or less. Items that will not be accepted include: ammunition, explosives, fireworks, nonresidential waste, radioactive devices (smoke/fire detectors), large gas cylinders such as helium, acetylene or Freon, Styrofoam peanuts, school lab waste, fire extinguishers, appliances (white goods) or furniture, copiers, construction and demolition debris, building materials containing asbestos, biomedical hazardous material, computers, computer monitors, computer components, and fax machines.
Poster from page 1 better future for Baton Rouge.” Posters, which can be designed by one or multiple students, must be completed and turned into the DES director’s office at City Hall — located at 222 St. Louis Street on the 8th floor, Room 809 — by Tuesday, April 18. All posters will be displayed and judged at the DES booth during Baton Rouge’s Earth Day celebration at the Baton Rouge Zoo on Saturday, April 22. Winners will be notified the following week and publicly recognized at a future Metro Council meeting. Through the department’s school outreach program, DES partners with schools across East Baton Rouge Parish on efforts like the mayor-president’s 2017 Earth Day poster design competition. This program brings DES team members into K-12 science classrooms to discuss topics such as the City-Parish’s wastewater treatment system and garbage and recycling programs; partner with students on classroom projects and learning competitions;
create mentoring relationships; and educate students on how they can contribute to a clean environment, free of unnecessary waste or debris. The initiative also serves as another example of Broome’s commitment to partnering with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System whenever possible to educate area youth on important topics like environmental sustainability and changing the litter culture in Baton Rouge, a core component of the mayor-president’s Clean Sweep EBR cleanup event held April 1. For a full list of competition guidelines, go to http://brgov. com/earthdayposter.pdf or email Michael Lowe at mlowe@brgov. com. For more information on 2017 Louisiana Earth Day, to www.laearthday.org. Or contact Janene Tate, Communications Director with the Mayor’s office at jtate@brgov.com or by calling this number 225-389-7957.
BATON ROUGE, LA, – Join us for the exhibition The Exploration of Line, Solo exhibition of New Orleans Arts Steve Martin, of the Julia Street Steve Martin Gallery. This exhibition will run concurrently with a new partnership with Wonder South Shop no. 1. Contemporary artist Steve Martin of the Steve Martin Gallery in New Orleans offers “The Exploration of Line,” his first solo Baton Rouge exhibition, on display from April 10- June 23, 2017, at The Healthcare Gallery and Wellness Spa. As part of a major whimsical experience loaded with wire sculpture, linocuts, embossings, and paintings, we invite you to the opening reception Saturday, May 6, 2017, from 6pm-9pm. Join us for light snacks, libations, lots of colors, and maybe even a little music to heighten your senses. The Wonder Shop no. 1 at The Healthcare Gallery & Wellness Spa Baton Rouge Louisiana. Wonder South Journal & Dry Goods is proud to partner with Dr. Leone Elliott, Jr. and The Healthcare Gallery & Wellness Spa to open The Wonder Shop at 3488 Brentwood Drive, Suites 102 & 103, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Hand-crafted goods are not only a lost art, but a fine art, a testament to the skill of balancing form and function with grace, a worthy reminder of not only the beauty of a spectacular vision but the value of the fortitude needed to see a creative flash that strikes the ether through to completion and tether it tightly to our tangible realm for all to experience. And so, in an effort to foster our creative community in Baton Rouge, Wonder South is thrilled to present and curate The Wonder Shop at The Healthcare
Basics”
BATON ROUGE, LA – The NOBLE Region V Training Conference will be held at the Renaissance Baton Rouge Hotel from May 26-27, 2017 can be reached at 1-866-469-5448. This conference will include the following states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Local officials will include: Reginald r. Brown, Sr., Baton Rouge City Constable; Sid J. Gautreaux, III Sheriff, East Baton Rouge Parish; Fredrick Thomas, Captain, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Department (NOBLE) Region V Vice President; Joycelyn Johnson, Southern University Chief of Police; Carl Dunn, Chief of Police Baker, Louisiana.
Winfrey from page 1
Gallery & Wellness Spa, offering quality goods from the following Louisiana Makers: Ceramicist Osa Atoe (potterybyosa.com) Leather and Canvas Designer Damien Mitchell (damienmitchell.co) Wood-carved Jewelry Maker Molly Taylor (beneaththebarkjewelry.com) Beginning May 6, creations from these artists, as well as a selection of Louisiana-made Wonder South products, including our nature-inspired journal, apparel and more, will be available for purchase from the Wonder Shop during all regular gallery hours (8 a.m. – 5 p.m. M-F) and
special events. A GRAND OPENING reception will be held Saturday, May 6 from 6-9 p.m. during The Healthcare Gallery & Wellness Spa’s quarterly arts event. This exhibit is called “The Exploration of Line” and features the work of New Orleans-based artist Steve Martin. For more information, visit TheHealthcareGallery. com/wonde r-south and WonderSouth.com. If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Rodneyna Hart at 225.384.5378 or email at rodneyna@thehealthcaregallery. com.
Campus Federal Wins CUNA DIAMOND AWARD Baton Rouge, La. — Campus Federal was recently honored with a Diamond Award that recognizes outstanding marketing and business development achievements in the credit union industry. Campus Federal won in the category of complete campaign for their recent mortgage campaign. The award was presented by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Marketing & Business Development Council, a national network comprised of over 1,200 credit union marketing and business development professionals. Awards are given in each of 30 categories ranging from advertising to community events and more. “The credit union industry has no shortage of marketing and business development talent, but, as the name of the award suggests, these professionals shine the brightest,” said Amber Scott, Chair of the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council’s Diamond Awards Committee and VP Marketing & Communications at 1st MidAmerica CU. “Bold, inventive and fearless in the face of uncertainty, the 2017 Diamond Award winners inspire us to aim higher and try new approaches.” Award winners were recognized at the council’s 24th annual conference held March 29-April 1, 2017, in San Antonio, Tex. For more information on the Diamond Awards or to view the entire list of winners, go to www.cunacouncils. org/awards. Campus Federal Credit Union is a progressive financial institution providing flexible, competitive financial and related products to meet consumer and business member needs. Formed in 1934 by seven employees of Louisiana State University, Campus Federal is financially sound and has grown
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to over 44,000 memberships and operates nine (9) locations in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport. For more information, please visit www.campusfederal.org, or visit them on Facebook or on LinkedIn. The CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council is a member-led community of marketing and business development professionals dedicated to providing relevant resources and tools essential for success to its
members. The CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council is one of six CUNA Councils, a network of more than 6,800 credit union professionals. For more information, visit www. cunacouncils.org. Contact Molly Malloy Trahan, Account Supervisor with Feigley Communications at the following e-mail address molly@feigleycommunications. com or by calling this number 225-769-4844.
its largest to date. As a result, the museum’s 350-seat theater will be named after Winfrey, who is also a member of its advisory council. Construction on the $500 million museum began in early 2012. When it’s finished in 2015, the museum will be the 19th Smithsonian museum. The U.S. government is providing half of the funding. To date, about $140 million has been raised in private funds. “I am deeply appreciative of those who paved the path for me and all who follow in their footsteps. By investing in this museum, I want to help ensure that we both honor and preserve our culture and history, so that the stories of who we are will live on for generations to come,” Winfrey said in a statement released by the museum. Lonnie Bunch, the museum’s director, said that Winfrey has been very involved in the museum’s creation and that he wouldn’t be surprised if she was one day on the stage of the theater that will bear her name. The museum is also in talks with Winfrey to acquire memorabilia from her career, Bunch said. He said he’d love to have a microphone used on her television show to add to the museum’s collection of over 22,000 objects. Those objects help tell the story of African-American history from slavery to the post-Civil War period, the civil rights era, the Harlem Renaissance and the 21st century.
Page 4 • The
Weekly Press • Thursday, April 13, 2017
RELIGION
The High Cost Of Speaking Your Mind
By Dr. James L. Snyder One thing I have learned throughout my life is sometimes speaking your mind only gets apiece of somebody else’s mind – and not the good piece. An incident happened recently bringing to light how valuable this “old trick” really is. I may not be good in the new tricks, but I think I have mastered a few of the old trick. I really do not know when this incident started, but somewhere along the line I said something resembling a guttural “uh huh,” and forgot about it. What you say in these odd moments may determine your quality of life for many years to come. This points out the difference between husbands and wives. About a month ago, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage got it into her mind to remodel the kitchen. During this time, I did a pretty good job of staying out of her way. When the rare opportunity came soliciting my personal advice on a matter associated with
this remodeling project, I quickly and enthusiastically supported her decisions. Following the kitchen remodeling my wife proceeded to remodel her bathroom. At this point I should have had some suspicions, but I didn’t. As a husband, I am not equipped with a “suspicion detector.” Experience should have taught me that if one project is done successfully it only inspire another project. When a wife gets it in her mind to remodel part of the house
that thought gets stuck and there is no stopping her. After each remodeling project is completed, my wife always asks my opinion of the job she has just done. I have learned that if I do not want to do the job myself, I enthusiastically praise the job my wife has done. Any critique that leads toward the negative has a reciprocal effect. Then I come home from the office one day. Not that it is unusual for me to come home, but this time when I came home, I was greeted at the door by my wife, with a smile that indicated to me that either something was wrong or I was in trouble. “I have something I want to show you,” she giggled as she took my arm and led me back through the hallway. “I’ve been working on this all day and I’m anxious to show you what I did.” She then proceeded to escort me to one of the most sacred areas of our blessed domicile. My bathroom. Nothing is more personal and sacred as a man’s bathroom. Just as she was about to open
the door a horrendous thought exploded in my cranium. She has remodeled my bathroom. This comes as close to crossing the line as anything done inside the house. A sense of panic paraded around my heart. Opening the door, she said those words that will frighten any man in his right mind. “What do you think of your new bathroom?” I can either express what’s on my mind, or, live happily ever after. I just can’t do both. A verse from the Bible brought a sense of comfort to my heart. “A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence” (Proverbs 13: 2). I’m on a fruit diet. Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.
CHURCH DIRECTORY
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. - Hebrews 10:25 THE KINGDOM OF GOD CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. - Hebrews 10:25
10132Florida Blvd. Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70815 Telephone: 225-272-9755 Fax: 225-272-9754 Cell: 225-603-2711 E-mail: maxie111@cox.net Lee Dell Maxie, Pastor “Spreading the message of the Kingdom of God while building on a foundation of love”
Greater Mount Carmel Baptist Church Sun. Worship 10 am • Tue. Bible Study 7pm • 2nd & 4th Sun. Broadcast 8am WXOK
NEW RISING SUN BAPTIST CHURCH
16444 Highland Road • Baton Rouge, LA 70810 Church: 225.302.5062 Home: 225.654.8947 • Cell: 225.572.7036
Bishop Ernest Mills & Evangelist Yvonne Mills
Sunday School..........................................11:00 am Worship......................................................12 Noon Communion.......................................... 4th Sunday Bible Class Tuesday.................................. 7:00 pm Saturday Prayer Service.............................7:30 am
Thousands of people move to the city of Baton Rouge area every year. Many are looking for a place to worship. Help them find YOUR CHURCH by placing your ad in the CHURCH DIRECTORY Call 225.775.2002 VISIT US ONLINE @www.theweeklypress.com
1414 Sora Street • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70807 Telephone: 225-775-7372 • Fax: 225-774-1767 Website: www.gmcbc.org Reverend Clee E. Lowe, Pastor
Sunday Morning Worship................................................10:45am Lord’s Supper..............................................................4th Sunday Sunday School..................................................................9:30am Mid-Morning Prayer Service.................................. Wed. 10:30am Prayer Service......................................................... Wed. 6:00pm Bible Study.............................................................. Wed. 6:30pm
NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH 5856 Greenwell Springs Road • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806 Telephone: (225) 926-0246 • Facsimille: (225) 925-8022 Toll Free: 888-700-6174 Websites: www.newhopebr.com Rev. Leo Cyrus Sr., Pastor Order Of Services Sunday Worship...................................................... 11:30 A.M. Holy Communion................................3rd Sunday 11:30 A.M. Sunday School..........................................................9:30 A.M. Bible Study................................................Thursday 7:00 P.M.
Thursday, April 13, 2017 • The Weekly Press • Page 5
BUSINESS
WAFB Wins Murrow Award For Investigative Reporting
Wal-Mart to Discount 1 Million Ship-to-Store Items
BATON ROUGE, LA WAFB-TV has been awarded the prestigious Edward R. Murrow award for Investigative Reporting. The annual award winners were announced Tuesday morning. The award was based on a report by WAFB’s Lead Investigative Reporter Kiran Chawla. Her report exposed potential safety violations at an area apartment complex that might have contributed to the electrocution of a toddler. Several WAFB team members contributed to producing the report including Investigative Executive Producer Matt Stanley, Leah Ellsworth, Robert Hollins, Byron Thomas, Rick Portier, Jeff Marshall, Cheryl Craig and Kirk Michelet. “I’m extremely proud of our team for being recognized for our
work in investigative reporting,” said WAFB News Director Robb Hays. “WAFB has a long history of producing quality investigative reporting and it’s great to see the station recognized with such a prestigious award. The regional award was judged against other investigative report entries from four states including Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi. The entry now goes on to a national competition with national winners being announced in June. The Radio Television Digital News Association has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murr o w Aw a r d s since 1971.
Wal-Mart will offer discounts on more than a million online-only items that customers then pick up at stores, part of an effort by the world’s largest retailer to challenge Amazon. Taking another page from the Jet.com business it bought last year, Wal-Mart will first cut prices on about 10,000 web-only items such as Britax car seats and Lego toys, according to a statement. The Pickup Discount program, which starts on April 19, will expand to more than a million so-called “long tail” items by the end of June, the company said. “With Pickup Discount, we are beginning to take the ethos behind Jet’s Smart Cart and marrying it with Wal-Mart’s operational efficiency,” Marc Lore, head of WalMart’s e-commerce business, said in the statement, referring to the business model he pioneered at Jet where customers got discounts for agreeing to package items together, or forgo returns. “Quite simply, it costs less for us to ship to stores. So, our customers should share in those savings.” The move is Lore’s latest step to check Amazon’s growing online dominance, and shows how he’s keen to meld Jet’s innovations with Wal-Mart’s 4,700-store network. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart scrapped a free-shipping program that competed with Amazon’s Prime membership and replaced it with free two-day deliveries for orders of at least $35. Amazon will control half of the U.S. e-commerce market by 2021, according to analysts at Needham & Co. They estimate that the online giant currently commands 34 percent, compared with Wal-Mart’s
Wal-Mart will offer discounts on more than a million online-only items that customers then pick up at stores, part of an effort by the world’s largest retailer to challenge Amazon. less than 5 percent. The discounts vary by item and reflect the savings to WalMart for shipping the orders to its stores on one of its more than 6,700 trucks, rather than to a customer’s house. The $148.05 Britax B-Safe 35 infant car seat is reduced by 5 percent to $140.65, while the Lego City Great Vehicles Ferry is discounted 11 percent to $21.44. Other products in the program are Coleman coolers and Vizio televisions. In an interview, Lore called the program a “game-changer” and said the level of discounts could be adjusted going forward. “Part of the reason why we are launching 10,000 products to start and growing it over time is that we want to perfect that discount,” he said. The term “long-tail” refers to
the seemingly endless assortment of products that online retailers can offer, compared with the shelfspace constraints that force physi-
cal retailers to focus on a more limited assortment of top-selling items. A typical Wal-Mart supercenter offers about 120,000 items, while its website currently has 35 million products available. Wal-Mart’s online sales rose 29 percent last quarter, helping its holiday results top estimates. Socalled click-and-collect orders, which are picked up curbside at stores, increased 27 percent in the period. Some curbside pickup customers do enter the store to buy additional items, Lore said, declining to provide specifics. Wal-Mart paid $3.3 billion for Jet in August and quickly put founder Lore and his lieutenants in charge of its online strategy. Lore used to work at Amazon, which acquired an earlier business of his, Quidsi, operator of sites like Diapers.com and Soap.com. Last month, Amazon said it’s shutting Quidsi because it couldn’t make a profit, eliminating more than 260 jobs.
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Page 6 • The
Weekly Press • Thursday, April 13, 2017
SPORTS
Russell Westbrook Breaks Triple-Double Record In Unforgettable Performance With his remarkable tripledouble season average already set in stone and his Oklahoma City Thunder locked into a firstround playoff matchup against the Houston Rockets as the Western Conference’s sixth seed, Russell Westbrook had one more bit of history to settle before the regular season ended. And he did so as only Westbrook could, passing Oscar Robertson’s single-season record for triple-doubles with his 42nd of the 2016-17 campaign and notching 50 points on a buzzer-beating, game-winning 3-pointer that eliminated the Denver Nuggets from playoff contention. All in a day’s work. It was an evening of basketball that will forever be etched on the minds of those who watched it. Russell Westbrook recorded his record-breaking 42nd tripledouble of the season on Sunday. An assist on Thunder rookie Semaj Christon’s corner 3-pointer with 4:17 remaining in the fourth quarter completed Westbrook’s triple-double and cut Denver’s lead to 10: Westbrook recorded his ninth assist on a feed to Enes Kanter for a layup with 2:31 remaining in the third quarter, but got a much-needed rest on the Thunder’s next possession. He already had 32 points and 13 rebounds at that point. Westbrook
returned to the game with just under nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, and each time he dribbled the ball across mid-court in Denver, the Nuggets crowd cheered in anticipation. Two would-be assists went by the wayside when a nervous Kanter traveled and an eager Domantas Sabonis missed a short jumper. But Christon got the job done two trips later. Westbrook wasn’t satisfied. He netted OKC’s final 15 points, outscoring the Nuggets 15-4 in the final 3:35, and capped that stretch with a 36-foot jumper over Gary Harris as time expired for a 106-105 win: Westbrook’s last-second triple gave him an even 50 points (on 17-of-32 shooting) for the evening, to go along with his 16 rebounds and 10 assists. It also eliminated the Nuggets (38-42) from the playoff race and pushed the Portland Trail Blazers (40-40) into the eighth seed for good, since Portland owns the tiebreaker. In a season when Westbrook has made the triple-double appear routine and led many to wonder if the statistical anomaly had lost some of the meaning it gained as part of Robertson’s folklore, the Thunder point guard found a way to write a storybook ending to his season-long chase. He reminded everyone just how incredible the
achievement is and how nearimpossible a player you have to be to complete it. Seriously: the dude hit a buzzer-beater to get 50 points on the night he set the record. Westbrook tied Robertson’s 1961-62 total of 41 triple-doubles with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in a win over the
Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, but fell just shy of breaking the record in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday (45 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds) and a loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday (23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists). The third time was the charm.
Sunday’s triple-double brought Westbrook’s career total to 79, moving him past Wilt Chamberlain and behind only Robertson (181), Magic Johnson (138) and Jason Kidd (107). “If he stays healthy, there’s no reason he couldn’t eventually break my career record of 181
triple-double games,” Robertson said. Westbrook’s effort on Sunday gave him one more signature moment in a season full of them, and perhaps left a lasting impression on the league’s MVP voters. It certainly did with his fellow players: Robertson also threw his MVP support behind Westbrook in his Sunday post for The Undefeated. Westbrook will almost surely win the NBA’s scoring title while finishing top-three in assists and top-10 in rebounds, but Sunday was a slap across the face to anyone who thinks that’s all he was this season. His performance against the Nuggets brought his season scoring total in “clutch” time (when the score’s within five points in the final five minutes) to 247 points — 24 more than anyone else, despite ranking only 27th in clutch minutes played this season (148). Westbrook’s Thunder is now 25-15 in 40 such situations this year, mainly because he’s averaging 80.1 points, 17.2 rebounds and 9.1 assists per 48 clutch minutes. MVP votes are due to the league office on Friday. Russell Westbrook still has two games remaining in the regular season, and at this rate, who knows if he’s done rewriting the record books in 2016-17?
vitally important to our future; we are all Here Still.” Hilton was the recipient of the 2017 ALL CITY Coaches Award that honors coaches who showcase exemplary dedication to their team. Another award presented
was the Spirit of the Slam award, given this year to Louisiana School for the Deaf for displaying noteworthy sportsmanship throughout the festival. This year Louisiana School for the Deaf had so many students interested in participating for the ALL CITY that they sent two teams to compete. “This event affords each of
our students the opportunity to share with others their life experiences as young deaf people, as well as their own heartfelt issues, and we can’t thank Forward Arts enough for providing such a venue,” said Lisa Cook, Instructor of High School Language and Theatre at Louisiana School for the Deaf and coach of its poetry slam team. “The sup-
port of the other teams, as well as the validation of their ‘voice,’ is invaluable.” A poetry slam is an Olympicstyle spoken word poetry competition in which poets perform original writing within a threeminute time limit. Originality, physicality and vulnerability are some the hallmarks of successful slam poems.
Russell Westbrook recorded his record-breaking 42nd triple-double of the season on Sunday.
Youth from page 2 ties have found an outlet through Forward Arts’ programming. “Students were able to express this year’s theme through acceptance, support, and encouragement for all participants,” said Michael Hilton, Assistant Principal at Donaldsonville High
School and coach of its poetry slam team. “We all were able to connect to the theme: flood victims, rural community students who tend to be forgotten, minorities, and those with preferences different than the majority of us – we are all connected; we are all
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