VOL. 1, NO. 4 / MAY 21, 2009
ALSO: Sky’s the Limit for New Helicopter Service Web Design Co. Stays Ahead of the Curve Empowering through Education Handling Your Child’s Fears
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Volume 1 • Issue 4
GENERAL 826 Ford St., Lake Charles, LA 70601 Phone: 337-436-7800 Fax: 337-990-0262
contents COVER STORY 26
PUBLISHER Phil de Albuquerque
REGULARS
NEWS MANAGING EDITOR Lauren de Albuquerque
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EDITOR Lisa Yates lisa@thejambalayanews.com
CONTRIBUTORS L. Kay Andrews Leslie Berman Sara Blackwell James Doyle Dan Ellender Terry L. Estes Cheryl Krull Mike McHugh Mary Louise Ruehr Brandon Shoumaker Dr. Steve Springer Eric Zartler ADVERTISING SALES CONSULTANT Patricia Prudhomme GRAPHICS ART/PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Darrell Buck darrell@thejambalayanews.com
BUSINESS OFFICE MANAGER L. Kay Andrews The Jambalaya News is solely owned, published by The Jambalaya News, LLC, 826 Ford Street, Lake Charles Louisiana 70601. Phone (337) 436-7800. Whilst every effort was made to ensure the information in this magazine was correct at the time of going to press, the publishers cannot accept legal responsibility for any errors or omissions, nor can they accept responsibility of the standing of advertisers nor by the editorial contributions. The Jambalaya News cannot be held responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations, even if they are sent to us accompanied by a selfaddressed envelope. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Copyright 2009 The Jambalaya News all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission is prohibited. DISTRIBUTION: The Jambalaya News is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. The Jambalaya News may be distributed only by The Jambalaya News authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of The Jambalaya News take more than one copy of each issue from its racks. Volume 1 • Issue 4
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Rick Richard: Banking on Downtown Lake Charles
publisher@thejambalayanews.com
lauren@thejambalayanews.com
May 21, 2009 • Volume 1 • Issue 4
The Boiling Pot Doyle’s Place The Zestful Life The Dang Yankee Bayou Biz What’s Cookin’ RU Game? Animal 411
FEATURES 6 11 24
SWLA AIDS Council: Empowering Through Education House Call: The ABCs of Diabetes Sky’s the Limit for New Helicopter Service
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ENTERTAINMENT 32 33 34 36 37 41 45
Funbolaya Killin’ Time Crossword Red Hot Books Family Night at the Movies Society Spice Jambalaya Jam Eclectic Company
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From the Publisher The other night, my wife Lauren and I attended the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau National Tourism VIP Reception. It’s an annual event where various people are given Partners in Tourism awards for their contributions to tourism in SWLA. Last year, I received an award for my work as Gumbeaux Gator, a gig that I love. It’s not easy dressing up in a cumbersome outfit and dancing around when it’s 90 degrees in the shade (even with the ice-pack vest!) But everyone loves Gumbeaux, and if I can bring a smile to a child’s face, it’s worth it.
When we came to Lake Charles five years ago, we owned and operated The Eddy House Bed and Breakfast. Because of the nature of our business, we immediately became involved with the CVB. It’s amazing how much tourism has grown since we’ve been here. The list of winners is too numerous to mention individually here, but as we watched this year’s recipients accept their awards, we realized how many of us are using our various talents to boost the area and make it a place worth visiting. For that, we thank you.
Phil as Gumbeaux Gator
– Phil de Albuquerque TJN
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Volume 1 • Issue 4
Around Town With The Jam
Lloyd Lauw, Jean Lafitte 2009, at the Que Pasa Benefit for The Children’s Museum. Que Pasa Restaurant held a “fun-raiser” recently to benefit The Children’s Museum, and fun it was. The restaurant donated 5 percent of sales that evening to the museum. Jean Lafitte 2009, and the Buccaneers were there, autographing The Jambalaya News’ first edition poster of the Buccaneers. It is available to all for a donation to the museum. Pirates of all ages lined up for posters and raffle tickets, hoping to win the big prize: A lock
of Jean Lafitte’s hair, framed with a doubloon and other assorted pirate booty. The lucky winner was Eddie Langley, who happens to be the president-elect of the Buccaneers. Congratulations, Eddie and many thanks to Que Pasa, Lloyd Lauw and the Buccaneers, and several lovely Contraband Days Queens who made it all happen. And thanks to all of you who came out for a good cause! We appreciate your support! TJN
Jean Lafitte 2009 autographs The Jambalaya News’ Buccaneers poster to benefit The Children’s Museum.
Kids line up for the Jambalaya Buccaneers poster at the Que Pasa Children’s Museum Fundraiser.
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MAY 21, 2009
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The word pandemic in the dictionary is defined as “a widespread epidemic that affects many people in many different countries.” The example to illustrate the definition is “AIDS is currently considered to be pandemic.” Sobering as that may seem, many folks in Louisiana still view AIDS as a problem in other countries. And if they think of AIDS in America, they think of it as a problem in big cities like New York and Los Angeles. Yet HIV/AIDS is on the rise here, with new cases reported every quarter by the state. What some view as an old story is kept new by recent statistics. Currently, there are 871 diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS in Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jeff Davis Parishes. Further, the CDC PAGE 6
MAY 21, 2009
estimates that the number of undiagnosed but infected individuals is four to five times that number. Other sexually transmitted infections are also a major concern in Louisiana. How much so? The latest statistics reveal Louisiana rankings to be deplorable: No. 1 in syphilis, No. 2 in gonorrhea, No. 5 in HIV/AIDS and No. 7 in chlamydia. With numbers like these, it is hard to argue that keeping certain practices and customs status quo in this state is a good idea. Perhaps a better idea is to address this public health problem aggressively and with proven methods.
Greek gathering at McNeese, or a meeting of a teen group at a local church, SLAC community educators deliver an important message. They speak about the continued gravity of the HIV pandemic, how HIV is transmitted, and how one can take control of one’s own health and well-being. SLAC’s mission since 1987 has been to provide education to the people of Southwest Louisiana about HIV/AIDS and HIV prevention and to offer assistance to those affected by the disease. Executive Director Terry L. Estes, is quick to tell you, “Some things have changed dramatically over the years; others have not.”
Fighting Against Infection The Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council does just that. SLAC knows that empowering and arming people with education is a very effective way to prevent the spread of HIV. Whether at a correctional facility, a substance abuse treatment center, a
Changes for the Better Although efforts to find a vaccine or a cure for HIV/AIDS have not been successful, the treatment of the virus has advanced significantly over the years. A diagnosis that once meant death in a few short months or years now is managed on a regimen of anti-
Executive Director Terry L. Estes viral medications. Some people with HIV are living 25 years after their diagnosis. “We now know that compliance with medications, proper nutrition and limiting the use of drugs like alcohol and tobacco can also help an infected person to live longer and healthier with the disease,” Estes added. The treatment regimen is greatly simplified. The original “cocktail” therapy that involved up to 35 pills a Volume 1 • Issue 4
day has been streamlined to three to five a day. Of course, these medications still come with a heavy price tag in dollars and in side effects. The availability of testing has also greatly improved. Still, lack of information, misconceptions and social stigma keep many people from getting tested. HIV can live and destroy a person’s immune system with no symptoms until the virus advances to AIDS, so many of those infected miss the benefits of early treatment. A simple oral swab test now gives accurate results in 20 minutes. “The simplicity of this test and the confidentiality surrounding the results help encourage people to know early on if they have contracted HIV. The sooner people know their status, the sooner they can get into treatment which can significantly lengthen their lives, “said Estes. Personal Responsibility One thing that hasn’t changed is that to stop the spread of HIV and other STDs, individuals must be knowledgeable and assume personal responsibility for their own safety. “Louisiana does not mandate sex education; and if there is voluntary sex education, it must stress abstinence,” Estes said. Abstinence is always part of SLAC education. However, absti-
nence is not always a realistic choice; so SLAC teaches and encourages safe sex practices. Estes explained, “People have got to ask tough questions if they want to be intimate with someone. They must demand that their partner agrees to practice consistent safe sex.” She also said that after testing during a sixmonth period, a couple can decide if monogamy and a mutually negative status can allow them to relax their precautions. SLAC also offers parents and grandparents help in talking to their teens. “This can be a difficult topic for some parents and grandparents. An informational brochure can really help when approaching a teen. And that third party information sometimes carries more credibility,” Estes stated. SLAC currently serves more than 250 clients already infected with a full range of services including case management, medication adherence programs, and a food pantry. For information or to book an educational presentation, call SLAC at 439-5861, or stop by the office at 1715 Common St. in Lake Charles for brochures. Marcianna Shogan, M.A., is the director of Community Relations and Development for the Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council. TJN
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For Your Health Avoiding the Water Works Childbirth and active lifestyles can weaken the pelvic muscles that support the bladder to the point that urinary stress incontinence becomes a problem. If coughing, sneezing, laughing, or other sudden movements start your “water works,” join Dr. J. William Groves, an obstetrician/gynecologist on staff at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, for Avoiding the Water Works, a free seminar on possible treatment options, including a minimally invasive sling procedure. A Lake Charles native, Dr. Groves graduated from McNeese State University and the Louisiana State University Health Science Center School of Medicine in Shreveport. He completed his residency at the Texas A&M Health Sciences Center, Scott and White, in Temple, Texas, before returning to the lake area with his wife, Kristin, and their three children. Avoiding the Water Works will be held Fri., May 29, at noon in the Shearman Conference Center on Memorial’s Oak Park Boulevard Volume 1 • Issue 4
campus. Refreshments will be served, and reservations are required. For more information or to make a reservation, please call (337) 494-2936. Calcium Score Mother’s Day Special throughout May The CHRISTUS St. Patrick Regional Heart Center and Southwest Louisiana Imaging are offering calcium scans to women throughout the month of May at a discounted price of $99 (a $130 value). Early detection is the key to heart disease prevention. Calcium scans can predict the 10-year risk for heart disease in a matter of minutes. Cardiac CT scanning detects calcium in the walls of arteries, which can diagnose the presence of heart disease often years before it can be detected with stress testing. To schedule an appointment, call Southwest Louisiana Imaging at 439-7778. TJN
MAY 21, 2009
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an interest in working with others with newly diagnosed or treatment nonadherent individuals. Support groups will also provide patients an opportunity to share their treatment experiences with others. The program will also make referrals to appropriate community agencies for assistance with the cost of medications, housing, and substance abuse and mental health treatment. Currently, there are 871 people in Southwest Louisiana diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, and Louisiana ranks fifth in the nation for cases of AIDS.
From left to right: Eduardo Assef, vice president and general manager of CITGO’s Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex; Kelly Allgood, district director for MDA from Lafayette; Linda Cunningham, regional director for MDA from Monroe; and Kristi Fredieu, program coordinator for MDA from Lafayette. CITGO Breaks Records for MDA For the past 25 years, CITGO’s Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex has been a proud supporter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The 25th Annual CITGO/MDA Golf Classic was held recently at the Lake Charles Country Club. This year’s tournament raised $195,000, breaking last year’s record of $190,000, to help find a cure for muscular dystrophy. CITGO’s top ranking donors were deemed “Tournament Sponsors” because they contributed $5,000 or more to the MDA. Tournament Sponsors for 2009 were Aggreko, Air Liquide, Brock Services, Chemical Waste Management, CIRE Industrial Services, Desselle-Maggard Corporation, Grace Davison/ART, HydroChem Industrial, Leak Sealers, Mustang Engineering, PSC, ThyssenKrupp Safway, Inc., Turner Industries, Wholesale Electric Supply, R&R Construction, Inc. and ReCon. Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council Awarded Grant The Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council (SLAC) has been awarded a grant from Tibotec Therapeutics’ Strengthening Education for People Living with HIV/AIDS (STEP) Initiative to increase treatment adherence, and understanding of treatment options for people in this region who are diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. SLAC will work with the Critical Care Clinic at Moss Regional Medical Center where approximately 400 patients receive treatment for HIV/AIDS. Treatment for the virus includes a regimen of antiviral drugs that hold the virus at bay and stem the attack of CD4-T cells, which are crucial in the immune system for fighting off other infections. An important aspect of this venture is the mentoring program, pairing patients with a history of treatment compliance and PAGE 8
MAY 21, 2009
McNeese Photo Moby Goodwin, left, president of the McNeese Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, presents the 2009 Distinguished Faculty Award to Betty Robertson, service- learning coordinator and associate professor of nutrition and family studies at McNeese State University. Robertson will be honored as this year’s recipient during McNeese’s spring commencement ceremony Saturday, May 16. Betty Robertson, Ph.D., Receives Distinguished Faculty Award Betty Robertson, service-learning coordinator and associate professor of nutrition and family studies at McNeese State University, is the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Faculty Award presented by the McNeese Alumni Association. Robertson was selected from a field of professors nominated by their academic departments, and was honored during spring commencement. Sponsored by the McNeese Alumni Association, the award is presented to a fulltime faculty member on the basis of achievements in teaching, research, publications, campus and community involvement. An outstanding teacher in the field of family and child studies, Robertson joined the McNeese nutrition and family studies department in 1984 as an assistant professor and director of child development and became an associate professor in 1995. In addition to her teaching duties, she serves on numerous departmental, college and university committees and she participates in professional organizations at the local, state and national level. She recently received an Volume 1 • Issue 4
endowed professorship in science to develop an interdisciplinary McNeese Council on Family Relations and Scholarly Forum.
Safety Council of SWLA Awards CITGO Employees At a recent Safety Council of Southwest Louisiana board meeting, several CITGO employees were presented life sustaining act awards for a heroic rescue from death by means of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Martin Powell, CITGO shift safety supervisor, recognized Bryan Jordan, Randall Smith, Dwayne Boyer, David Fusilier, Marla Granger and Marlin Terro for saving the life of a fellow coworker, Colin Cooper. In 2008, Rural Metro taught a 40 hour First Responder Medical Training Class at CITGO Park for CITGO’s volunteer emergency response team. The above-mentioned employees attended the training class and were all in the control room at the time of Cooper’s heart attack. They used their training in reacting to a fellow employee in need. “We are fortunate to have employees such as these who complement the Rural Metro EMS personnel who follow up with very professional initial care and transport in these situations. We are happy that Mr. Cooper is now in good condition,” said Martin Powell, CITGO shift safety supervisor. Safety procedures and frequent training can mean the difference between life and death. TJN
From left to right: Shanna Landry, director of administration; William “Bill” Thompson, volunteer of the year; Shelley Johnson, executive director. Thompson Named Tourism Volunteer of the Year The first ever Tourism Volunteer of the Year award for Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana was presented to William “Bill” Thompson for his 11 years of service and commitment. The award was given to Thompson in honor of National Tourism Week, May 9-17. Thompson has been a tremendous asset to the bureau by being a dedicated ambassador for tourism through the best of times and most challenging times, especially through Hurricanes Rita and Ike. Thompson is the former vice president and director of Calcasieu Marine Bank. He was born in Houston but raised in Southwest Louisiana. The thing that he enjoys most about living in the area is the spirit of the people, and as a volunteer at the bureau, he appreciates the opportunity to greet visitors who are spending time in the area.
In front of the 2009 Banners poster are, from left, Rodney K. “Poncho” Seaford, president of ChaseBank, Lake Charles, and Mary Richardson, Banners director. Chase Bank Donates to Banners Series The McNeese State University Banners Cultural Series is annually supported by donations from area corporate sponsors such as Chase Bank, which donated $10,000 for this year’s Banners Series. Quesnel Named Chief Nurse Officer at St. Patrick Hospital Brenda Quesnel has been named chief nurse officer at CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital. Quesnel has been a nursing and quality leader with St. Patrick hospital for 27 years, beginning her career as a critical care nurse. She has served as Director of ICU and Performance Improvement and Quality, and has served as the Division Director of Nursing with a focus on nursing quality and competency. Under her guidance, the hospital has continuously received high marks from the Joint Commission. In 2006, under her leadership, St. Patrick was the first hospital to receive the Louisiana Quality review Highest Achievement Award presented by the Chamber Foundation/Southwest Louisiana. Volume 1 • Issue 4
MAY 21, 2009
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Local Businessman Named 2008 Samaritan of the Year Lake Charles businessman Willie King, Jr., was named the 2008 Samaritan of the Year at Samaritan Counseling Center’s annual banquet last month. King, chairperson of the 100 Black Men Youth Leadership program and president of Project Build-AFuture, was selected by the community from a pool of 10 finalists. He was nominated by local teachers and students of J.J. Johnson Elementary, T.H. Watkins Elementary and Ray Molo Middle School and is the owner of King’s Funeral Home, King’s Transmission Service and King’s Limousine. “He is a businessman who never stops demonstrating his time and money for the well-being of the community,” said Wanda Cooper, one of those who nominated King. “He walks through the doors of many of our local elementary schools, speaking to several classes to encourage them to write essays as a means to develop their literacy skills, and he rewards them personally. He buys 350 backpacks each year and provides supplies as needed to area schools. When someone says ‘I can’t,’ he says, ‘Mr. Can’t died, and I should know; I’m in the funeral business.’”
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Mickey Shannon, executive director of the Samaritan Counseling Center, said the agency was honored to present the award to King, who was one of several nominees from throughout Southwest Louisiana. “This award was designed to recognize an individual who has worked selflessly to improve the lives of others, demonstrated a constant willingness to invest time and money for projects that benefit those in need, and promoted health in mind, body and spirit. Mr. King certainly epitomizes all those factors,” Shannon said. “The Samaritan Counseling Center is proud to bestow such an award on a member of our community.” King has demonstrated a longtime commitment to volunteerism and, as president of Project Build-A-Future, has supported and encouraged home ownership for struggling families, according to Cooper. “He believes that a businessman’s mission never ends with business,” she said. King said the award serves as a reminder of the “difference a little personal effort each day can make in the life of someone else.” “It was an honor to receive this
award and I was totally shocked when they called my name, but I was more excited when the children at all of the schools told me how they worked together to create a voting campaign plan, like they were participating in an election,” King said, referring to the public vote put forth on the KPLC-TV Web site. “They learned something.” Other selected finalists for the award were B.J. Cayton, director of the McNeese Counseling Center; Doug Ezell, licensed counselor and retired district superintendent of the Lake Charles District United Methodist Church; Julie Giordano, interim executive director of Habitat for Humanity; Father Henry Mancuso, pastor of Sacred Heart Church and director of Catholic Charities for the Lake Charles Diocese; John Morris, local businessman and volunteer; Ann Polak, director of the Calcasieu Women’s Shelter; Clarice Raichel, director of the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness; Judge Robert Wyatt of the 14th Judicial District; and Beth Zilbert, director of the People’s Advocate and president of the local chapter of the Humane Society of Louisiana. TJN
Volume 1 • Issue 4
By Steve Springer M.D.
City of Lake Charles to Hold Groundbreaking Ceremony on June 1 The City of Lake Charles will conduct a Lakefront Promenade Groundbreaking Ceremony on Monday, June 1, at 3:30 p.m. near the 9/11 Memorial on Bord Du Lac
Drive. A tent will be set up at the location where the ceremony will occur. The public is encouraged to attend. TJN
Summer at McNeese
The ABC’s of Diabetes Diabetes is one big problem in our country and the numbers are not looking good for our immediate future, either. There are 23.6 million people in the United States, or 8 percent of the population, who have diabetes. There were 1.6 million new cases of diabetes diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2007. Consider the following: Diagnosed: 17.9 million people, Undiagnosed: 5.7 million people, Prediabetes: 57 million people. If you find yourself included in the staggering statistics above, you will be charged with a very daunting task. You must learn as much as possible about diabetes and learn it as quickly as possible. There are many complications of diabetes that must be avoided: Heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, eye disorders, nerve damage, skin disorders…all of which you will be at higher risk of developing than the general population. The best way to beat diabetes is knowledge. This information can be gathered from the accredited diabetes education programs available at our local hospitals. Your physician can give you a referral, and I encourage you to follow their guidance. The “ABC’s of Diabetes” is an acronym that refers to three essential areas that require your attention. You should know these numbers like you know your social security number or your own birthday. These “targets” are as follows: A: HAIC (Hemoglobin AIC) – this is a blood value that reflects a 3-month average of your blood sugars from the 3-months prior to the blood draw. GOAL: < 7.0 best <6.5 B: Blood Pressure – GOAL: <130/80 C: Cholesterol GOAL: Total Cholesterol < 200 Triglycerides <150 HDL (Good Cholesterol) >50-60 LDL (Bad Cholesterol) <100 Optimal <70 You should commit these values to memory and discuss them with your doctor during your routine visits. If your “ABC’s” are on target, then you and your doctor are doing all that you can do to prevent the complications of diabetes. It can be frustrating taking multiple medications and following diabetic diet plans, etc., but if you start this journey with the above goals in mind, I think you may find it easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Know your numbers and beat diabetes…before it beats you.
TJN
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Aerospace Adventures July 6-10 Aerospace Adventures, a day camp for students going into grades 4-7, will be offered from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, July 6-10, in Room 232 of Farrar Hall at McNeese State University. Students will study flight theory and the benefits of the space program. Hands-on activities will include kites, tissue paper hot air balloons, paper airplanes, model rockets, model lunar bases and a model rocket launch. Registration is $45 by June 15 and $50 after that date. Enrollment is limited. For more information, contact Sandra Leder at (337) 475-5470 or by e-mail at sleder@mcneese.edu. Summer Cowboy Camp July 9 The second annual summer Cowboy Camp will be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 9 for those first-time freshmen and transfer students attending McNeese State University this fall who want “to become a part of the tradition.” Students will take a crash course on the history and traditions of McNeese, and before they leave campus, those students will understand what it means to become a McNeese Cowboy and have fun doing it, according to Chris Thomas,
329 Broad Street Phone: 337.433.8028 Fax: 337.421.1766 sylvias329@bellsouth.net
assistant dean of student services at McNeese. The day will include tours, pictures, chants, trivia and scavenger hunts, all led by McNeese student leaders from student organizations. The camp is limited to the first 100 students and cost is $20 per student, which includes lunch, a T-shirt and the chance to win cash and prizes. For more information about Cowboy Camp, contact the McNeese Student Union Office at (337) 475-5609 or by e-mail at campuslife@mcneese.edu Register Now for MSU Cowgirl Kicker Kutie Camp Registration is now underway for the McNeese Cowgirl Kicker Kutie Summer Dance Camp to be held Aug. 3-7 for girls age 5-12 at McNeese State University. The dance camp will be offered from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in Burton Coliseum. Participants will learn about jazz, hip-hop dance, tumbling, pom dance, modeling and etiquette. The camp cost is $150. For more information or a registration form, call Paige Harkins-Caldwell, Cowgirl Kicker adviser, at 475-5604. TJN
Brick Oven Pizza: Mon-Sat 11am-11pm Bistro: 11am-Until Live Entertainment Nightly MAY 21, 2009
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Doyle By Jim
My Son, My Hero Music has always been a part of my life. In fact, I started college expecting to be a high school band director, a profession that would have required more patience than I’ve gathered in my years as a lawyer. And among the many jobs I’ve been privileged to have, playing music in South Alabama in a garage band in 1969 ranks right up there. I played the saxophone. I was probably never as good as I thought I was, but I enjoyed it, and playing a musical instrument increased my appreciation of the craft at a time when the world was full of new and interesting sounds: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix, Sam and Dave, The Doors, James Brown. You know. All the stuff we hear today. The sound track of my life is populated with many talented artists. But the best one I know shares my musical tastes and at least half my genes. We all have people who are special, standouts who, for reasons not amenable to nor in need of explanation, are the closest part of us, the essentials who form the axis upon which our world turns day to day, those who can lift our spirits with the simplest things. All my children fit in that category, but even there, Stratton William Bean Doyle has always been the shining star in my little constellation. He was the youngest of my first four children and has that effortless personality which draws the many people who love him into his orbit. PAGE 12
MAY 21, 2009
From the time he was a baby, he went with me everywhere, sometimes (safety freaks beware) sitting on my lap as I drove us to one destination or another. During the time he lived with his mother in Lafayette and I was here, we spent a lot of time on the road singing karaoke with our favorites on the car’s CD player: Marcia Ball, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett. I also improved his musical education every now and then with a Beatle tune or two, or some good ole Memphis soul. So, you can imagine how I felt as a proud dad when Stratton picked up a saxophone for the first time. And when he was playing “In the Mood” and other songs from the Glen Miller library within two weeks, I was beaming every bit as much as Archie Manning watching his two sons throwing long routes in the back yard. Stratton was good. Hell, he was great. It is a measure of his talent that, in the seventh grade, his band director Mike Stelly started a middle school jazz band at S.J. Welsh and featured Stratton as a soloist. By the time he got to Barbe, he had played with the McNeese jazz band under the tutelage of his instructor, Rick Condit. He graduated as a musician before getting his Barbe diploma, jamming at Rikenjak’s with Brian Moore and Lingus. Stratton’s musical talent has been my primary social outlet for years now. He was named to the All-State Jazz Band all four years of high school, first chair for three of Volume 1 • Issue 4
them. The family went with him to those great All-State weekends in Baton Rouge, also to the inauguration of President Bush with the Barbe band in 2001. He just kept getting better. I was as proud of him as a parent could be, but not because of his music. He is “a really good kid,” unaffected by his talent, a loving son and brother to his family. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about essential people. Stratton is that and more. Just before Thanksgiving 2002, the day after his last All-State performance, I was in the hot tub at a local health club sorting out the kinks from a quick trip to the West Coast. The manager started calling out my name; there was an emergency phone call for me. That’s how I found out Stratton had been in a head-on collision about a mile from our house. As I turned onto Country Club Road from Weaver, it looked like every emergency vehicle in Calcasieu Parish was there. I still don’t know how I managed to get out of my car and walk to where Stratton was; he was screaming in pain, semi-conscious, but, thank God, alive. This is every parent’s worst nightmare, and it certainly was that for me. But prayers were answered. Even though his injuries were serious, and kept him out of school most of the rest of the year, he was still with us. But about the time we started to adjust to that reality, the doctors treating Stratton were looking closely at a spot on his brain that didn’t appear to be related to his accident. It wasn’t. It was a tumor. Looking back on that time now, I honestly don’t know how we dealt with it. The whole series of events has a surreal quality. We often tell Stratton that God hit him on the head just hard enough to make us look inside. But that doesn’t begin to touch the heartache and panic our whole family felt when this second bombshell hit us. In many ways, we’re not over it yet. Thanks to M.D. Anderson, Stratton had the delicate surgery required to make him well, and the follow-up treatment necessary to keep him that way. But he still struggles with the whole concept of facing death when he should be
Volume 1 • Issue 4
looking forward to a long life. He’s done a remarkable job, better than I could do. He’s an inspiration, not because of his music, but because of his courage. He’s my hero. My son Harrison and I are just back from a quick tour of England to watch Stratton play music, currently with the Hamilton Loomis Band out of Galveston. He just keeps getting better and better. As his father, I will always have that little twinge of worry every time he
goes for a checkup. But I will also have that large, chest-thumping pride every time I see him perform. He played all over England, including Liverpool, where they sell tours of a cemetery (Strawberry Fields) with a tombstone for a song title (Eleanor Rigby). Two events I attended were sellouts, standing room only. Stratton’s friend Celine Nichol, his traveling companion on a trip through Europe five years ago and daughter of an accomplished
professional musician, told her dad she “had tears in her eyes” watching Stratton play. I know the feeling, Celine. Me too. Me, too. He and Hamilton are at Toucan’s Saturday night (May 23) in a rare Lake Charles appearance. Hope you can come out and see them. See ya on the flip. TJN
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The
Life
Hurricanes, Swine Flu and Other Disasters: Handling Your Child’s Fear By Sara Blackwell There are a lot of disasters that affect our lives. Particularly in Southwest Louisiana, hurricanes have created an enormous impact. Most recently, the swine flu has presented itself a few months shy of this year’s hurricane season. With uncontrollable possible calamities hovering over us, it’s important not to create unnecessary fear in our children. So, how are parents supposed to react to a disaster, or the threat of one, in a way that is most beneficial to their children? Bill Williams of Family and Youth Counseling Center in Lake Charles is
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a licensed professional counselor and a marriage and family therapist. Williams kindly sat down with me to discuss some of the issues surrounding parents and the proper response to their children when faced with such issues. Williams asserted that when there is fear and uncertainty due to a natural disaster or health scare, parents should first educate themselves about the situation. It is important not to accept the first sensational news report you hear from the Internet, television, or stranger at the local supermarket. Education helps alleviate unnecessary fear and better prepares you for the upcoming questions and discussions with your children. Williams does not believe parents should lie to their children; however, he also doesn’t suggest giving the young ones the worst-case scenario. “Keep the conversation child appropriate and age appropriate,” he advised. “Give kids an optimistic outlook, explaining the best possibilities to them. But again, do not lie if an older child asks specific questions. Just emphasize the positive possibilities and the minimal chances of the
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darkest side of the upcoming or present disaster.” Williams further explained that parents should be careful what they say to other adults that may be overheard. Remember, children are listening and believe the words of their parents. When the possible disaster becomes an actual disaster, Williams offers some helpful guidelines. “Pay close attention to your children; however, don’t force them to speak to you about the disaster if they don’t want to talk,” he said. He believes you should let your children talk when they’re ready. And you shouldn’t share too much information with them. “Some adults feel better by discussing things with their children, but it is not always the best thing for children to hear the sad details,” he said. “Parents need to remember to heal themselves,” he added. “Emotional health is important in parenthood. Don’t use children as a sounding board for personal issues or problems surrounding the situation. Adults should never go to their young ones for comfort or emotional support regardless of how mature they believe their children to be.” There may come a time when you’ll need to seek outside help for your children, whether they are actually affected by a disaster or just fearful. Williams asserts there are overt signs that parents should watch for in their children. “A child’s reaction to the swine flu epidemic, hurricane or similar disaster differs depending on his or her age and disposition,” he said. “In extreme cases, some children have nightmares or become hyper- sensitive. Some revert to bed-wetting, thumb sucking or baby talk. There may be obsessive behavior such as an abnormal amount of hand-washing or weather watching. Look for interruptions in their sleep cycle that were not previously there.” Older children may experience a drop in grades, or there may be drug use or some other extreme misbehavior. A noticeable change in behavior could indicate depression or anxiety disorder. At that point, it’s best to seek a therapist or similar professional. For more information or to make an appointment, contact Bill Williams, MA, LPC, LMFT, Family and Youth Counseling, 220 Louie St. Lake Charles, LA 70601, bill@fyca.org.
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RESULTS HOT LINE 562-9400 1602 West McNeese Street Volume 1 • Issue 4
MAY 21, 2009
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Dang Yankee The
By Mike McHugh
Spring Cleaning in SWLA Recently, my wife and I did some spring cleaning around the house. (Okay, I’ll admit it; she mostly did it while I “supervised.”) Part of this involved going through our closets and cabinets and drawers. While doing this, I noticed how many things we now own that we’d never even thought we’d need, or even knew existed, when we were back in Yankee land. Let me give you some examples of the things we’ve found that fit into this category: • A rice cooker • Formal wear
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• Three cases of Mardi Gras beads • A turkey fryer • A kitchen drawer full of koozies (We also found a Lake Charles buddy of ours in the pantry, missing since our last Christmas party, and still looking for some Tony Cachere’s for the gumbo—but that’s another story.) The rice cooker is for sure one of those “didn’t-know-ever-existed” items. Now I can’t see living without one. You really can’t screw rice up with one of those things, can you? I bet even my brother can cook decent rice with one, and Fruit Loops are
usually a challenge for him. Formal wear. Used to be the only time I’d wear a tux was when I was in a wedding. Now, I’m at the age where if a friend of mine gets married, it’s his third or fourth time. By then, the weddings are at the courthouse and the reception is a barbecue in the backyard. You wear shorts and sandals. It’s really ironic how often we don formal wear around here. It seems, with all of the balls at Mardi Gras and for other occasions, I find that I wear a tux more often than I do a regular suit and tie. Folks back home think that in the South, we all walk around wearing shirts with the sleeves torn off and baseball caps with fishhooks on the bills like a bunch of Larry the Cable Guys. (Come to think of it, my brother back home actually does dress that way.) Since we joined a krewe, I’ve had to add a line item in our household budget just to cover the Mardi Gras beads. The first year, I asked our krewe president how many beads we would need to ride the parade. He said to plan on six cases for the both of us. I choked. But, come to find out he was right on the money. What, I wonder, happens to all of those beads? Multiply six cases by every person who rides a float in one of those parades and that seems like a pretty big number. Maybe even as big as an AIG bonus. And then there’s the turkey fryer. You know, turkey fryers ought to be banned in northern states, just like people up there aren’t allowed to have personal fireworks. Have you seen that commercial on TV where the guy has a big fire because he didn’t know to thaw out the turkey before he dropped it in the oil? Think that never happens in real life? Well, back home, it seemed like every Thanksgiving there’d be three or four stories in the news about some idiot
who burned his house down trying to fry a turkey. I shouldn’t talk, though. The first time I ever tried it, the oil boiled over and melted a patch of Astroturf carpet on my patio. I never replaced it; it was kind of like a badge of honor: My rite of passage into turkey fryin’. Koozies are a necessity for keeping your favorite beverage cool, particularly in our climate (even then, I find you still gotta drink ‘em fast.) But how many does one household really need? Seems like every event I go to, the vendors are giving out koozies with their name on it. That’s in addition to the ones that seem to turn up in the side pocket of your ice chest after every backyard barbecue and the ones you buy at the store because they got this stupid slogan that somehow seemed funny at the time. And don’t forget the one you bought in Destin, Florida, to remind you of how much fun you had there on vacation. And nowadays, drink cans are all different shapes, so you gotta have different size koozies for every contingency. Still, there’s got to be a limit. When I could no longer close the kitchen drawer where we kept all of our koozies, we decided it was time to cull our collection by taking a bunch of them and throwing them from the float during the Mardi Gras parade. We ended up throwing so many that we have still have three cases of beads up in the attic left over from this year. Mike McHugh is an engineer at Sasol North America, Inc. He and his wife Susan hail from the border state of Maryland and thoroughly love living in Southwest Louisiana. TJN
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Thanks to the following sponsors for helping make the 7th Annual NAMI Walks for the Mind of America of Southwest Louisiana such a great success on April 25th, 2009. The Dore’ Family Foundation • KPLC-TV BlueCross Blue Shield of Louisiana Louisiana Office of Mental Health Conoco Phillips Tell Dr. D • Janssen Pharmaceutica Lake Charles Clinical Trials Bristol-Myers Squibb • Christus St. Patrick Hospital Cox, Cox, Filo, Camel & Wilson • Lake Area Psychiatry • Lake Charles Toyota Resource Management • Team Citgo • Sam’s Club • Wal-Mart • Whitney Bank American Press • CSE Federal Credit Union • Cameron State Bank • Citgo • Congressman Charles Boustany Delta Downs Racetrack and Casino • El Paso Exploration & Production • Global Industries State Representative Chuck Kleckly • L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort Lonnie Harper & Associates, Inc. • Meaux’s Western Wear • One Touch Awakening Mayor Randy Roach • SWLA Center for Health Services • Tennessee Gas Pipeline Dr. James Anderson • Bill & Betty King • Bobby & Margaret Boudreau • Boudreaux’s New Drugs • Judge Guy Bradberry Bridgeway Psychiatric Center • Century 21 - Mike Bono • Childress & Castille CPA’s, LLC • Corporate Housing • Crain Bros. Inc. Joseph Delafield, Attorney • John DeRosier, District Attorney • Entergy • H & H Chemical • Insurance Unlimited • Jeff Davis Bank Kemp Family • Frank & Charlotte LaBarbera • Louisiana Radio Communication • Sheriff Tony Mancuso • Senator Willie Mount Rick & Donna Richard • Stine Lumber • Stream Family Limited Partnership • True Construction, Inc. UMC Lake Charles District Office • Whitney Bank • Women & Children’s Hospital, Inc.
The Very Kind “In Kind” Sponsors Acadian Ambulance • Air Liquide • Boy Scouts of America • Buccaneers, Inc. • Citgo • Coca Cola • ConocoPhillips • Dana Kaye’s Diamond Dancers • Eli Lilly • First Baptist Church of Moss Bluff • Freshko • Frito Lay • Girl Scouts of Louisiana – Pines to the Gulf • GiGi’s Gragson, Casiday & Guillory • Habibi Shiners’ • Johnson Funeral Home • K&K Water • Lake Charles City Marshall’s Office Lake Charles Civic Center • Lake Charles Fire Department • MSU Performing Arts – Carol Lines • MSU Photography Club • Pepsi Cola Sam’s Club • Interstate Brands Corporation • The Jambalaya News • J & R Carriages • Lake Charles Fire Department Louisiana Swashbucklers – “Salty Dog” • Meaux’s Western Wear • Sulphur High Cheerleaders • Sulphur High Drum Corps Southern DJ Productions • Twelfth Night Revelers • SWLA Chamber of Commerce
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MAY 21, 2009
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By Brandon Shoumaker
Killer Websites.com Award-winning Web Design Company Stays Ahead of the Curve In the summer of 1995, I was in the seventh grade and I loved computer games. I would walk down the street to my friends’ house where we would network a few computers over an old Hayes Optima modem and play multiplayer games like Doom II until after midnight. Many nights, though, were spent in frustration as my friends struggled to get all of the computers on the same page, fiddling with settings and reinstalling programs. My friends understood all the technical and mechanical aspects of our game nights.
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I just liked to play the games, but I still found it fascinating that, with just a little ingenuity and a dial-up Internet connection, we could connect four computers and play the same game at the same time. It was a wonderful concept. Elsewhere, electronics and computer designers were inventing other wonderful concepts that are commonplace today. In 1995, several electronics companies were proposing a data storage system called a “digital video disk,” which would feature a storage capacity
Chad and Kim Moreno with Josh McGee hundreds of times larger than anything on the market at the time. Today, DVDs are ubiquitous in just about every household. At a Windows conference in March 1995, something called a “Universal Serial Bus” was introduced. Today, I don’t think you could buy a new computer that didn’t come with at least one USB port. The same year, in the midst of this technological renaissance, local businessman Chad Moreno opened Data.sys, a home-based computer design and repair shop. But as companies like Dell and Gateway began to flood the home computing market with its own custom-designed computers, Moreno looked to find a way to
keep his business growing. “I started the company as a computer tech outfit where we’d do repairs, create new computers and things like that,” Moreno said. “Around that time was when Dell and Gateway were starting out and were beginning to push to market and, with a one-man shop, it was hard for me. “It wasn’t a business model I could see myself doing 10 or 15 years down the road, so I started looking for something else. I had graphic design experience, dial-up access and some ideas on Web design, so I kind of taught myself (how to design Web sites). I found a few clients and, over the years, it has just grown.” With that, Data.sys spawned Killer Websites, one of Lake Charles’ leaders in Web site design and development
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with over 20 ADDY award wins since 2000. One thing Moreno says has changed since his company began designing Web sites has been the explosion of different ways Web sites can be created and interact with users. “Things have really changed (since 1995.) Back then, Web sites were usually static and there wasn’t a whole lot of interactivity,” Moreno said. “Most businesses had only a one-page Web site and that was the extent of it. I think people were still scared of the Internet, so most Web sites were for informational purposes.” “Over time, interactive development changed and now you can choose from 20-30 different programming languages to create Web sites,” he said. “Everything has changed, and that’s one of the fun things about this job; it’s a learning experience. You have to stay on top of things because even things we did two or three years ago—there are new ways of doing those things.” Moreno says that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are helping businesses reach larger numbers of people over greater distances and online video is helping bring interactivity to Web sites as well. Interactivity and creativity are hallmarks of one of Moreno’s favorite Killer Websites projects, the Louisiana Swashbucklers indoor football team’s Web page, which features, among other items, a football-shaped skull and lanterns flickering in the wind as peals of thunder, flashes of lightning and the splashing sound of rain provide an ominous backdrop. “We’ve done the Louisiana Swashbucklers’ Web site for the past four or five years and it’s one of those sites where we have complete creativity,” Moreno said. “Not a lot of clients want a Flash intro or fire or things like that. It’s a good site with good animation and interactivity. We did the Lake Charles Ice Pirates Web site for years, too. The sports sites are fun.” And while skulls and crossbones might work for our local pro football team, Moreno says his company can tailor a Web site to any business’ needs. “Every business is different. What we try to do is take whatever product or service and figure out how it will make sense on a Web site. We try to make our Web sites as clean as possible. It’s all about letting clients know what’s available and trying to figure Volume 1 • Issue 4
out what content the user is looking for.” Killer Websites is also behind the community Web site lakecharles.com, which features events calendars, local news and real estate listings. “One of the sites we’re pushing right now is lakecharles.com with the events and the real estate listings,” Moreno said. “There is a lot of database development with that site between the real estate aspect and the news articles.” So, what about the next 14 years? The half-life for most computer innovations is fairly short, but Moreno says that he and his staff are constantly researching new techniques in Web design and management so that Killer Websites stays ahead of the curve. “It’s more individual research than anything,” he said. “We look at other designers’ work and we read articles on Web design. If we need to know how to do something, there are a lot of different Web sites, common sites, where we can usually get the trends from. “For example, they are about to come out with a new version of (programming language) Cold Fusion 9, and pretty soon, there will be articles on its new features and what they can do and how it ties in to XML and Ajax. There is a lot of looking around in our day-to-day research and customers also come in with new ideas.” Data.sys and Killer Websites are located at 1214 Common St. in Lake Charles. For more information, or to receive a free project estimate, contact Killer Websites at (337) 497-1450 or visit the company’s Web site at www.killerwebsites.com. TJN MAY 21, 2009
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If you have a recipe and story you would like to share, e-mail us at lauren@thejambalayanews.com
What’s Cookin’
Sylvia’s Bistro and Pizzeria Sylvia has returned to Lake Charles and is awaiting the opportunity to serve you again. She’s taken the old Rikenjaks location, which came with a brick oven adjacent to the bar. She and her son-in-law, Jovan Foreman, began perfecting the dough in December of 2008—and the result is delicious New York-style pizza! She also features the wonderful specialty salads that she originated in her old location, which all of us remember as Sylvia’s Café Royale. My favorite is the antipasto salad. It’s chock-full of all kinds of good stuff, such as pepperoni, ham, mozzarella cheese balls, shredded carrots, peppers, chopped olives, and even artichokes and capers. And it comes with the most amazing dressing! I had to get the recipe—so here it is. TJN
Sylvia’s House Balsamic Vinaigrette 1 cup olive oil 1 cup balsamic vinaigrette ½ cup finely chopped green onions 1 teaspoon fresh chopped garlic 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard ½ cup honey ¼ teaspoon white pepper Mix and serve over your favorite fresh garden salad. Enjoy!
Sylvia Hankins, owner of Sylvia’s Bistro, and Jovan Foreman, cook.
It’s no secret that talent abounds in this fair city, and it continues to stream through Sylvia’s Bistro. In addition to serving great food, Sylvia’s distinctive historic building provides a backdrop to showcase the creations of local artists and a stage for live entertainment.
Sylvia’s Bistro 329 Broad St. Lake Charles, LA 70601
433-8028 Monday – Saturday from 11 a.m. until.
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MAY 21, 2009
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By Eric Zartler Photos courtesy of Sulphur Parks & Recreation
2009 LHSAA Fast Pitch 56 – What A Show! On May 1 and 2, Sulphur Parks and Recreation’s Frasch Park played host to the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s State High School Softball Championships for the ninth consecutive year. The event has been dubbed Fast Pitch 56, as it features 56 of the state’s best softball teams at the high school level and brings in major tourism dollars to our local economy.
Saturday evening, I asked the LHSAA Commissioner, Kenny Henderson, how he felt about the tournament. With a smile that rivaled that of the Kool-Aid man, he looked over the crowds and said, “Wow!” The games themselves did not disappoint. The 19,236 fans on hand to watch the weekend’s action were treated to some of the most exciting games on record including a 14inning thriller in the 2A state championship game between Rosepine and Evangel. The event has grown so large and has become so popular that Cox Sports television, which usually runs two of the championship games on tape delay, decided this year to go “live” with the action from Frasch Park for the 4A and 1A championship The 2009 version of Fast Pitch 56 games. The games were aired throughwas nothing short of amazing, and out the southern states and as far north when the dust settled and the cheers of as Virginia. Needless to say, Frasch victory died down, the true winner of Park and Southwest Louisiana received Fast Pitch 56 emerged: Calcasieu some much-deserved exposure for one Parish! of the most exciting and successful 2009 was a year that saw a six-year high school sporting events in the old attendance record shattered, and a country. year that saw seven area teams in the Not to take away from the games semi-final round, two of which themselves or the job that the wonderadvanced to the championship frame. ful folks at SPAR or the LHSAA do to The attendance for the two-day event put this event on, but there is a lot of was 19,236, which beat the 2003 record work that goes on behind the scenes in of 18,199. preparation for such an event to run SPAR and LHSAA officials were smoothly. grinning from ear to ear as they gazed It is truly a group effort, from the out of the press box over the spectator local hotels, to the restaurants, gas staareas below. The bleachers were tions, retail stores and the media. packed full of softball fans Everybody plays a role, and sporting the colors of their everybody benefits from respective teams. The such a successful event. standing areas served as Hotels were bursting at the overflow for the bleachers, seams, as they are every and as you looked out over year; restaurants had hourthe fields and beyond the long waits at 9:30 p.m.; the outfield fences, the string of media heyday that was Fast fans kept going and going Pitch 56 was unbelievable. and going. Media outlets from At one point during the across the state, newspaper, championship round on television, and radio were Eric Zartler Volume 1 • Issue 4
all here in our community covering the best of the best in high school softball. Everything worked like a fine-tuned machine. Calcasieu Parish opened their arms to this event nine years ago, and residents of the area look forward to it every year, for several reasons: It is an opportunity to enjoy high school softball at its finest, and it is a huge boost to our local economy. Next year marks the tenth year that SPAR and Southwest Louisiana will host this prestigious event. It will be held on April 30 and May 1, so mark your calendars now and put out the welcome mats for an event that has
become a fixture in our area and one that our local economy cannot afford to take for granted. Note: The 2010 edition of Fast Pitch 56 marks the final year of a two-year contract with the LHSAA. Local officials and the folks at SPAR will once again put their best foot forward and present a bid to keep the event here where it has flourished for the past nine years. Eric Zartler is the Athletic Sales Manager at the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau. Contact him at ezartler@visitlakecharles.org. TJN
MAY 21, 2009
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By Cheryl Krull
411
ANiMAL
Pampered Pooches — Not Just Another Pretty Face Michelle Horak
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A love of dogs and a caring community keeps Michelle Horak firmly planted in Lake Charles. The opportunity here, plus the people, has made the former nomad a true “home girl” thanks to the quality of life she found here. Horak has always loved animals, especially dogs. She even loves bugs. She cried when she found out that ants really die when you put poison on them - they don’t just “move on.” While working at Michael’s in Ft. Worth, Horak responded to a newspaper ad, “Do you love dogs?” and found herself in dog-grooming school, finishing as an American Kennel Club (AKC) certified dog groomer. She didn’t just learn extreme doggie makeover. She learned the AKC recognized
breeds, including working, toy and hound groups. She also studied canine anatomy, breed standards and breed identification, while learning the glossary of canine terms, general health, pesticides and a general background of felines. After serving an apprenticeship, Horak joined the grooming staff at Paw Prints, a prestigious dog-grooming salon in Ft. Worth. While having the tremendous good fortune to work with three top-notch dog groomer/handlers, she admits that after a frenetic, highpressured six years, she was burned out and exhausted. Determined to have a satisfying and lucrative career, Horak enrolled in the University of Houston’s hotel/restaurant management curriculum. While she says she loved the courses related to hotel and restaurant management, she couldn’t stand all of the other classes required to graduate. After an unsatisfying stint as a groomer for six Louisiana Downs racehorses in the Bossier City/Texarkana area, Horak spent the next seven months as a groomer for a veterinarian in Bossier City. While visiting her mother, who was then living in Lake Charles, Horak contacted area pet stores, groomers and veterinarians to check out prospective employment opportunities. Although she was making excellent wages, Horak admits Bossier City just wasn’t where she wanted to call home. She ultimately moved to Lake Charles in 2000 and worked for a local business until 2003, when she opened her own business, The Dog Groomer. Quickly earning a devoted clientele, she has thrived. Her appointment book is filled through the end of the year. She typically sees 15 dogs a day, mostly regulars, and she laments the lack of time in her day. Although Horak says she liked Lake Charles from the start, she didn’t recognize how much of a home it had become until Rita. Like many others, she had evacuated to Arkansas. She immediately, started getting calls from friends and clients asking how she was and giving updates on the situation in
Lake Charles and the status of Mr. Pecan Tree, an ancient neighborhood favorite. She also remembers giving client’s dogs’ comfort over the phone by singing or talking to them. “I felt that Lake Charles had just scooped me up into its arms and taken care of me,” she said. Horak gives back to the animal community in a big way. She contributes to all of the area animal welfare/rescue groups and attends many animal activities and functions, such as “Come Look What The Cat Dragged In!” a hugely successful annual fundraiser for Animal Angels. While Horak demands excellence from herself, she generously offers help and advice to other area groomers as well as prospective groomers. “I want every dog to look like they come from a book or a show,” she said. She would like to teach dog grooming to others, noting that it’s a career that has suffered little in the current economy. “I want to see it done right,” she said. With her entrepreneurial spirit and her love of dogs and the profession, Lake Charles may someday see The Dog Groomers’ School of Dog Grooming! Cheryl Krull is Spinnaker Communications' president and chief executive officer, managing business operations and marketing. A Lake Charles native, she has worked at PPG for more than 20 years as a licensed tankerman and has extensive industry experience. She is very active in the community, volunteering at several non-profit and non-government organizations, her favorite being Dr. Joe Stark’s Lake Area Animal Hospital. In addition to her love of animals, she is an avid long distance bicyclist and a Stephen Minister (in training through University United Methodist Church.) Cheryl is also a would be “geek” and is studying XHTML, CSS and Web design. Please visit www.spinncomm.com and also her new work in progress www.animal411.us. TJN
Volume 1 • Issue 4
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Thermage/Fraxel Informative Seminar Friday, May 15, 2009 at 2 pm LASER TECHNICIANS Vicki Vezina • Mona Duhon • Irma Robin
Volume 1 • Issue 4
MAY 21, 2009
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By Lisa Yates
Max Trost only landed in Southwest Louisiana in January, but the helicopter entrepreneur, said he is having “a great year” getting his business Max Air Helicopters off the ground. He’s doing just about everything – photo flights, business trips, tourism, agricultural support and recreational flights. He has even booked a wild hog hunting trip in Texas, for late autumn. “There is a wild hog problem in Texas,” Trost said. “It was illegal to hunt wild hogs in Texas by air, but legislators tentatively approved a bill encouraging hunters to hunt wild hogs from the air.” Trost, 52, is a F.A.A. approved tour operator with 30 years of worldwide flight experience, and more than 11,000 hours of commercial flight time. He holds commercial pilots licenses for both fixed-winged aircrafts and rotorcrafts. He flies a Robinson R44 helicopter – a comfortable blue and white four-seater. The helicopter and business are stationed at the Sulphur Airport, but the R44 can land at any area the pilot deems safe. “I can do rides out of a hotel parking lot,” Trost said. He said safety is a top priority. “I don’t try to scare people,” he said. Trost worked at the 2009 Contraband Days festival giving rides to people of all ages. Many had never flown in a helicopter. “The word I heard most often PAGE 24
MAY 21, 2009
was ‘awesome,’” he said. “I didn’t have any complaints.” He said everyone who has ever flown on a helicopter tour remembers where they were and who was there. “I enjoy giving tours - it changes people’s lives – especially young people,” he said. Cost for a 30-minute tour is $375. “That’s $125 per person,” Trost said. “That’s pretty inexpensive.” He said flights make unique gifts and Father’s Day will be here soon. Trost is offering a variety of tours, including: a wedding sunset flight, a casino visit and festival rides. A complete list of services is on his Web site: www.maxairhelicopters.com. Since this isn’t Hawaii, Trost doesn’t expect a lot of sight-seeing tour business. He believes most of his business will be aerial survey and aerial photography, along with executive travel and remote sight inspections. “I’m hoping to land a pipeline contract, but it takes time to get on the vendors lists,” he said. Trost’s aviation experience is in everything, from: power-line inspection; agricultural operations; pipeline patrol; game surveys; controlled burning; news-gathering; video and still photography, to: aerial tours; promotions; Part 135 air taxi; offshore support; search and rescue. He’s flown helicopters and small
planes all over the world, including Egypt, Japan, France, and Hong Kong. “I’ve had a great life traveling,” Trost said. Trost lived in Nicaragua, where he operated the only private helicopter service for real estate viewing, called Buccaneer-Heli Tours. He worked with high-end developers to find off-the-beaten parcels of land and beachfront property to develop. Prior to that business, Trost operated a tour business
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called Costa Rica Jungle Tours. He lived in Costa Rica with his young son, and the boy’s mother, until it became unsafe for him to stay. Trost said he had been assaulted on numerous occasions, and robbed of approximately $50,000 in equipment and video tape. “I could not afford to stay there any longer,” he said. When Trost left Costa Rica, he asked the boy’s mother if he could take his son with him. “I wanted my son to know who his father is,” he said. “I guess it was because I was adopted and never knew who my father was.” Trost said it took eight years before the boy’s mother consented. Max Alajandro is now nine-andhalf and doing very well in school, according to Trost. “He’s the apple of my eye,” he said. Trost’s mother lives in DeQuincy, so he decided to raise his son in Southwest Louisiana. Now that Trost has put down roots, he is ready to see his helicopter business take off! For more information, contact Max Air Helicopters at (337) 583-2742, (337) 802-4209; or, e-mail maxairhelicopters@yahoo.com; or, online at www.maxairhelicopters.com. TJN
Volume 1 • Issue 4
Every Monday night, feast on juicy mouth watering Prime Rib. Rubbed with our own mix of seasonings and roasted to perfection. Enjoy a 8, 12, or 16 oz. Prime Rib with aujus and horseradish cream sauces, a loaded baked potato and mixed vegetables. Come early, supplies are limited.
Max Trost and Max Alajandro
901 Ryan St., Lake Charles • 439-2054 • pujostreet.com
MAY 21, 2009
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By Lisa Yates, Photos by Darrell Buck
The phrases “flourishing and hip shopping and arts district” and “downtown Lake Charles” aren’t often found together, but developer Oliver “Rick” Richard is about to change that. He recently completed massive renovations to the historic Calcasieu Marine National Bank, located at 844 Ryan Street. The three-story structure was built in 1928, by architects Livaudais and Favrot of New Orleans. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, for its architecture – a perfect example of the Modern Italian Renaissance style. The historic property has been restored as commercial building with an upscale events center, professional offices and room for a restaurant, retail shops and other amenities geared to attract even more people and businesses to downtown Lake Charles. Calcasieu Marine National Bank was a cornerstone of commerce in downtown Lake Charles for many years - a multi-purpose facility for banking, shopping and meeting friends. Richard is banking on a Renaissance. But that’s not all. The developer started massive renovations that will turn the vacant Cash and Carry Warehouse, on the corner of Enterprise and Broad, into a posh farmer’s market. Another project will include a newly-constructed building, on the corner of Ryan and Kirby, designed by Lake Charles architect Jeff Kudla. The plans call for a three-story brick structure having traditional second- and third-story balconies complete with decorative New Orleans-style railing. Two Lake Charles-styled buildings bookend this main structure, with parking in the rear, hidden from the street. The project is the first new construction in Lake Charles in many years. It is across from the courthouse and leasing now. Richard, 56, said funding for the multi-million dollars projects came from Empire of the Seed L.L.C., his consulting firm. Who is Rick Richard? Rick Richard is chairman of CleanFuelUSA, Inc. – recognized as the leading global manufacturer of certified and approved alternative fuel dispensing equipment for both propane and Ethanol 85. CleanFuel is also involved with a new fuel called cellulosic ethanol, or super ethanol, made from nearly all organic matter, including sugarcane, agricultural waste and corn stover, even switchgrass and sawdust. Richard is chairman of the Downtown Development Board in Lake Charles, where PAGE 26
MAY 21, 2009
Volume 1 • Issue 4
he worked with city government on projects, including the Ryan Streetscape and Lakefront Promenade, Gateway renovations on North Ryan Street and South Lakeshore Drive, and a floating marina. He disagreed with those who say it’s not happening fast enough. Richard said the city administration is doing the right thing working to improve the underground infrastructure first. “Some of the gas lines and water pipes have never been mapped until now,” he said. Richard said the infrastructure will make it easier for developers to bring projects to downtown Lake Charles. “People will start to see a lot of activity starting in June,” he said. In fact, the City of Lake Charles is conducting a Lakefront Ground Breaking Ceremony on June 1, at 3:30 p.m. near the 9/11 Memorial on Bord Du Lac Drive. The public is encouraged to attend. Hall of Famer Richard is chairman of the L.S.U. Paul M. Herbert Law Center and on the Board of Visitors of the L.S.U. Manship School of Mass Communications, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007. In the spring of 2008, he and his wife Donna pledged $500,000 to the Forever L.S.U. Campaign from their foundation, the Rick and Donna Guzzman Richard Charitable Foundation. Half the amount helped fund a chair in Diversity, Media & Public Affairs within the Manship School. The other half went toward helping support the Law Center’s Clinical Legal Education Program. Richard is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Riverstone Group Energy fund of The Carlyle Group in Washington, D.C., and Haddington Ventures in Houston, Texas. He is the treasurer of the Coastal Plains Conservancy of Louisiana. He has served three times as a member of the National Petroleum Council, an advisory body to the U.S. Secretary of Energy; Chairman of the Interstate Gas Association of Volume 1 • Issue 4
America; and on the Boards of Directors of the American Gas Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He was president and C.E.O. of a $7 billion energy company, Columbia Energy Group. Prior to Richard’s tenure, Columbia was in dire straits. The company had suffered from bad management, customers who had sued for fraud and abuse, and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the wake of deregulation. After Richard arrived in 1995, the company set a record net income in 1997, of $273.3 million. He was named to U.S. News and Business Week’s List of Most Underpaid C.E.O.’s for Value. Warren Buffet was ranked No. 1 and Richard was ranked No. 5.
him at Columbia as C.E.O. of the company’s interstate pipeline subsidiaries. “She made history as the first woman hired to head a major pipeline company,” he said. “She was from the John F. Kennedy School
Always make the campsite better “I’ve made a career of turning around businesses,” he said. “My motto is: always leave the campsite better than you find it.” If his philosophy sounds familiar, it’s because it’s also the Boy Scout’s motto. Richard attained the highest rank in scouting - Eagle Scout. “I believe in making something better than what was there,” he said. Richard was chairman, C.E.O. and president of New Jersey Resources; president and C.E.O. of Northern Natural Gas Pipeline; and, vice president and general counsel of Tenngasco – Enron’s Northern Natural Gas Company. (“when Enron was good,” Richard is quick to point out.) “It was a very creative company, but it got away from its infrastructure and the people who built and ran the pipeline,” he said, noting he left the company in 1991, 10 years before the scandal. “The company moved from an assets-based company to trading. I believe financial institutions moving away from asset-based business, was a precursor to the financial meltdown.” Richard said Enron is where he met Cathy Abbott, whom he hired to work for MAY 21, 2009
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of Government at Harvard University and had all the background you need to run a pipeline.” At the age of 29, Richard was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the United States Senate to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He received the F.E.R.C. Chairman’s Medal and the Distinguished Service Medal from the U.S. Secretary of Energy for his role in unbundling the Interstate pipeline markets to create opportunities in natural gas markets. Before joining F.E.R.C., he served as legislative assistant for energy issues to U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnson, DLa, in Washington, D.C., a job Richard enjoyed and called a great learning experience. “It was like getting paid to attend graduate school,” he said. Before that job, he practiced Law in Lafayette as a partner of the firm of Hayes, Durio and Richard. When a student at Louisiana State University, Richard was named to the Student Hall of Fame and was the student body president of the Law School. He earned a B.A. in Journalism and a Juris Doctorate of Law degree from L.S.U. He also received a Master of Law in Taxation from Georgetown University. Richard’s hometown is Lake
Charles, where he lives and works with his wife Donna. He said if he had any advice to offer it would be – “Read everything.” His pet peeve is littering. “I think Jason Barnes and Team Green are doing a good job with the new litter campaign enforced by Sheriff Mancuso,” Richard said. “When people stop throwing trash out of cars, we’ll starting taking pride in ourselves in Southwest Louisiana. Little things make a big difference.” For someone with such an impressive résumé, Richard exhibits a refreshing lack of pretension. He describes himself as “a collaborator and facilitator of preservation, creating new business, and developing of alternative fuels.” In collaboration with many local developers, Richard is working tirelessly to realize his vision of downtown as a fun, lively place to live work and play. “We don’t have to wait for someone to come from out of state to do this. We have many talented people here in Southwest Louisiana. We can do it ourselves,” he said. A tour of the old bank Richard led The Jambalaya News on a recent tour of the historic Calcasieu Marine National Bank
pointing out one of its most unique features. “This safe is one of only three in the United States,” he said. Richard said the vault’s gigantic circular steel door is 21-inches thick and weighs 19 tons. Although it seems incapable of motion, he easily swings it open. “The building was probably built around the vault,” he said. During Imperial Calcasieu Museum’s 2009 fundraising event, Boogaloo, a bar with tables and chairs was set up inside the vault. During the bank’s construction in 1928, no expense was spared constructing the vault. It rivaled, or excelled, those of the largest financial institutions in the county. Calcasieu Marine National Bank was an important bank in Louisiana, with eight branches located at Sulphur, Oakdale, Jennings, Kinder, DeQuincy, Welsh, Vinton and Lake Arthur. To pay homage to the bank’s history, Richard commissioned mural artist Gary Landry of Orange, Texas, to paint a mural on the wall near the vault. The mural is composed of three scenes; one showing transportation
Men’s Clothes Women’s Clothes Children's Clothes Appliances
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Electronics Furniture Brick-a-Brack Dishes
Sporting Goods Women’s Accessories Jewelry Music and Movies
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Safe is 1-of-3 in the U.S. along the river; the next representing agriculture in the region; and, the last depicting urban innovation in Lake Charles – sort of a past, present and future representation of the area. The dog in one of the scenes is Richard’s. “That’s my golden retriever, Bodda,” he said. The former lobby of the bank is now the events center, which is available for rent for large parties or gatherings. It’s an imposing structure with an unobstructed view of the second and third floors above. The ceiling is a magnificent work of art. Richard said the ceiling is original, but he is uncertain about the chandeliers. He said the tiled walls of the events center are original, made of xenitherm – a material resembling pastel coral, buff and grey marble. He said the original terrazzo flooring was replaced during the renovation due to damage from heavy furniture. The new flooring coordinates with the colors of the walls. Richard said the space is ideal for large weddings and receptions. “It has the capacity to seat more than 500, or 900 standing,” he said. He added lessees are welcome to bring in their own caterers – an amenity some venues do not offer. The bank’s former offices, consultation rooms, assembly rooms, restrooms, reading room, kitchen and lunch room, lounges, smoking rooms, file rooms and print shop complete the first floor. Richard said these spaces can be developed into new retail stores and professional offices. He added there is plenty of space on the first floor for an attractive restaurant featuring both inside dining and dining al fresco. The open-air terrace is an ideal setting for lunch during the day, or a romantic dinner at night with live piano music or a jazz band. Volume 1 • Issue 4
A rising tide lifts all boats Existing restaurant owners should not fear competition will cut into their customer base, according to Richard. He cited the old aphorism attributed to John F. Kennedy “a rising tide lifts all boats” – meaning, in this case, more restaurants will solidify downtown as the hot spot for locals and tourists. Richard said a strong restaurant base and a strong downtown are critical for the region’s tourism industry. “We need to make Lake Charles a destination,” he said. Richard spent millions of dollars to make that happen. “I guess you can say I’m putting my money where my mouth is,” he joked. Richard praised local developer Tom Shearman for doing the same, but added more investors and entrepreneurs are needed to transform downtown Lake Charles into a more desirable place to play, live and shop. Even with some state and federal incentives available, it’s not enough to help start-up businesses, according to Richard. “The city needs to develop a new financial model,” he said, adding a tax break would spur greater economic development. Currently, three tenants occupy the second floor of the historic Calcasieu Marine National Bank: Sprint, Time Warner, and B.R.T. Services. Richard said the second floor originally housed the bank director’s room and consultation rooms for the bank’s president and vice presidents, along with other offices. The floor of the director’s room is cellized oak tile in parquetry bordered with strips of magnolia and holly. “If you could buy these tiles today, they would cost $50 each,” Richard said. He said the former owners had the floor covered with indoor/outdoor MAY 21, 2009
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carpet, which was removed during renovation. Richard had the room decorated with a long conference table surrounded by comfortable chairs. The original French windows look out upon the events center. The high ceiling in this room, as in the events center, is unusually beautiful and artistic. The third floor of the building originally had a stationary supply department that attended to the bank’s needs. Richard said the third-level is unoccupied. “We are looking for lessees right now,” he said. “It would make a nice loft.” He called attention to the original wood flooring made of Louisiana long-leaf pine. Also, there is a kitchen with marble countertops and a large dining room, originally cafeteria space for the bank’s employees. Farmer’s market Buying locally grown food could become easier for residents when the new farmer’s market opens. Richard is planning to develop the old Cash and Carry Warehouse into a farmer’s market like those in Lafayette and New Orleans. He met with officials in New Orleans to gather information. “Why can’t we do it here?” he asked. Richard said the property as a farmer’s market is in the perfect location to attract tourists – at the north
entrance to Lake Charles, near Interstate-10 and Highway-14 traffic. “When I was a child growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, the area was very vibrant – everything was a buzz, with new businesses,” he said. “The Cash and Carry was an anchor downtown with a hubbub of people.” Richard said the Cash and Carry Warehouse was much like Sam’s Club is today, selling wholesale items to retail businesses for reselling. “It was abandoned in the early ’90s,” he said. “In 2006, I bought it.” When Richard bought it, the roof was heavily damaged from wind and termites. He replaced the roof, and original clear story; he won a design award in the process. He explained the “clear story” is a section of the roof, which provides natural light to the dark warehouse during the day, which saves on the cost of electricity. Renovations to the old Cash and Carry Warehouse are nearing completion, according to Richard. “Right now we are working on the kitchen and bathroom,” he said. Richard suggested several possibilities for use of the kitchen, including the following: • a food preparation area for a restaurant, where new chefs learn to prepare food using local ingredients; • a rental for caterers; • a classroom for teaching culinary classes to SOWELA students; or, • a culinary institute. He said the farmer’s market will give downtown Lake Charles another
Add some spice to your life! The Jambalaya News is looking for a Media Sales Representative. Full-time position, prior sales experience required. E-mail resume to publisher@thejambalayanews.com or call (337) 263-4736 for more information.
826 Ford Street, Lake Charles, 70601 PAGE 30
MAY 21, 2009
Director’s room on second floor. Volume 1 • Issue 4
View of Events Center
Volume 1 • Issue 4
venue for entertainment and area festivals – perhaps adding a bluegrass or zydeco festival. “We just had the chili cook-off there,” he said. He had another idea for the venue - an artist market like the one in New Orleans. Richard read a recent article in the New York Times on organic farming with a graphic, which shows how many of these are in each state. He said only a few were in Louisiana. He said while living in New Jersey and Northern Virginia, he knew of community farmers contracting with chefs, restaurants and groups of individuals to grow organic produce. Richard said the same can be done in Southwest Louisiana. “If there’s a demand in Southwest Louisiana, local farmers will grow organic fruits and vegetables,” he said. He added local ranchers can raise grassfed beef, which is healthier to eat and better for the local economy. Richard’s idea is to create the farmer’s market, in a highly-visible location, for truck farmers and organic food growers to sell their products quickly and easily. He said the market could start out opening two days a week, eventually opening seven days a week. He added these foods can be canned or frozen locally and sold commercially as a product of Southwest Louisiana. This would create an
industry that provides more jobs and helps support local farmers. He said buying locally grown food contributes to a sustainable local economy and allows us to back away from unstable oil. For example, local foods and products don’t have to travel far to get to the end user. An estimated 90 percent of fossil fuel energy, used in producing the world’s food supply, goes toward packaging, transportation and marketing. Only 10 percent goes into the producing the food. Insurmountable opportunities These are just a few of the ideas Richard has for transforming Southwest Louisiana into a round-the-clock destination with downtown Lake Charles as the centerpiece. Richard said, “You have to have the ability to visualize.” Richard quoted from Walt Kelly, in his comic strip Pogo, saying “We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.” It sounds like an oxymoron - opportunities are quite the opposite of obstacles usually described as insurmountable. Richard explained the quote like this: Entrepreneurs banking on Downtown Lake Charles are fortunate to be able to choose from more opportunities than they can take advantage of. These choices rather than the opportunities themselves are the real obstacles. TJN
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E H A
Volume 1 • Issue 4
Killin’ Time Crossword
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By Mary Louise Ruehr
Recent Books on JapaneseAmerican Internment Camps Evoke Hardships, Paranoia of War Years During World War II, the president of the United States signed an executive order to create the War Relocation Authority and designated the entire West Coast as a military area. All persons of Japanese descent within that area were ordered to pack up only what they could carry and were then transported to internment or “relocation” camps. Several recent books discuss these events, and they are all informative, moving, and evocative of the hardships and paranoia of the war years.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a debut novel by Jamie Ford. The story is set in two time periods — 1942 and 1986 — in Seattle, where the Panama Hotel stands on the border of Chinatown and Japantown. We see the events in the neighborhood through the eyes of Henry Lee, who is 12 in 1942. As a Chinese-American boy during the war, Henry is constantly being beaten by bullies because he looks Japanese. To help stop the attacks, Henry’s father gives him a pin to wear
The Children’s Museum continues to feel the love from the Lake Charles community and wants to thank the following for their generosity by providing food for the hard working volunteers who donated much time and effort toward the restoration of the museum:
Seafood Palace Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers Pronia’s Deli Domino’s Pizza Sylvia’s Bistro Dairy Barn
www.swlakids.org • 327 Broad St., Lake Charles PAGE 34
MAY 21, 2009
that reads, “I am Chinese.” Henry and his best friend, a Japanese girl named Keiko, are the only non-Caucasian students in their school, where they work in the kitchen to pay their tuition. To those around them, they are not Chinese enough, not American enough, not Japanese enough; the white kids call Henry “yellow” and the Chinese kids call him “white devil” for going to the white school. When the order to relocate is issued, “People had to leave everything behind; they could take only two suitcases each … so they stored their valuable belongings in places like (the) hotel, the basements of churches, or with friends.” Many of these personal possessions are discovered in 1986 in the basement of the hotel, which brings back memories for Henry, who recounts being separated from Keiko when her family is sent to a prison camp in Minidoka, Idaho, with about 10,000 other people. I loved this excellent book and its memorable characters. And such heartbreak — I cried when the two children were separated. “Sometimes in life, there are no second chances. You look at what you have, not what you miss, and you move forward,” says the adult Henry. “Some things just can’t be fixed.” Although I loved the ending, I didn’t want the book to end; I wanted to follow Henry into the future. The book brings up conflicting feelings about what it means to be an American. I think it would be good for book clubs because of its timeless themes of family, love, loyalty and prejudice. For a true account of some of these same events, Mary Woodward gives us a tribute to her parents in the biographical In Defense of Our Neighbors: The Walt and Milly Woodward Story. She discusses the
1942 evacuation of residents of Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, Washington. The Woodwards owned and published a weekly newspaper, The Bainbridge Review, from 1941 to 1963. “During World War II, they used the paper to speak out against the exclusion of their Japanese American friends and neighbors,” writes the author. “After Pearl Harbor, many Bainbridge Nikkei (persons of Japanese descent) assumed the Issei (immigrants from Japan) would face internment. … But no one expected the Issei’s children would be imprisoned, since they were American citizens.” She says The Review stood “virtually alone among newspapers in its opposition to the exclusion and incarceration of Japanese Americans.” When the notice to evacuate came, “All across the Island, hurried arrangements were … made between the Nikkei and their Caucasian neighbors.” One provided legal advice, another agreed to look after a family farm, others offered to store personal belongings. Walt and Milly hired one of the Nikkei teenagers as their “camp correspondent” at Manzanar War Relocation Center in the California Volume 1 • Issue 4
desert, saying that “It was important that ‘births, deaths, who got married, who is playing first base on the baseball team … the usual news of a small community’ be in The Review from camp every week, so other Islanders could keep up on the news of their neighbors.” The “weekly news report reminded Islanders back home that they had some three hundred neighbors ‘living elsewhere just now.’” The book has many wonderful photographs and sidebars with information on related topics. Kiyo Sato offers a first-person account in her memoir, Kiyo’s Story: A Japanese-American Family’s Quest for the American Dream (originally published as Dandelion Through the Crack). Kiyo is the oldest daughter in a Nikkei family of farmers in Sacramento, Calif. Her whole family works hard to level the land, create irrigation channels, build a barn and house, then plant, nurture and harvest the crops — and we get to spend idyllic evenings with them as the children listen to their gentle, loving father tell stories. When Pearl Harbor is attacked, rumors fly about the dangerous “Japs” living in the U.S., preparing “to attack at any moment from the Japanese farms.” She is understandably appalled: “We are spies, saboteurs, Japs, enemy aliens with buckteeth and slant eyes. It’s the thing to do, to hate the Japs.” A curfew is imposed; some of the older men are taken away; young men join the Army. “I wish we could
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move away, too, from this hate-filled world,” she says, but “There is no place to go for help. No one cares, not even the churches, which profess Christian love.” She is 19 when they arrive at the internment camp: “The only privacy I have is inside my small suitcase, under my cot. Here, I shower with half a dozen people, eat with 250 people, and sit in the community latrine with people I don’t even know.” She writes, “Here’s the truth: I am now called a non-alien, stripped of my constitutional rights. I am a prisoner in a concentration camp in my own country.” Eventually, the JapaneseAmericans have gardens, school, sports and church services in the camp. They find ways to express themselves artistically. Kiyo is released to go to college, where she encounters a mixture of generosity and ignorance, and her family is released to work on a sugar beet farm. But she remains bitter, and when she describes going “home” to California after almost four years, what she finds is heartbreaking.
LAKE CHARLES LOCATION:
3522 Ryan St.
337-474-6625
Contact Oneforthebooks@inbox.com. Copyright (c) 2009 Mary Louise Ruehr. Mary Louise Ruehr is the Books Editor for the Record-Courier in Ravenna, Ohio. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Kent State University. Mary Louise is interested in all subjects and has many favorite authors, including Pearl S. Buck, James Michener, and P.G. Wodehouse, as well as mystery writers Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich. She blogs at http://blogs.dixcdn.com/shine_a_light/ and you can write to her at Books@recordpub.com.
TJN
Volume 1 • Issue 4
MAY 21, 2009
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der useum n e l l n E dren's M a D By e Chil of th r Especially since he o t c failed State Trooper Training Dire
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009 DVD) Kevin James is Paul Blart. He’s overweight, shy, awkward, and serious about his security job at the mall.
School for the eighth time. At least things are going fairly well at his work. He has a new mall cop trainee. He meets a cute girl working at the hairpiece kiosk. He can’t get any matches on PerfectMatch.com, but basically he’s stumbling through life just like the rest of us. Then, on Black Friday, the mall is taken over by a band of hi-tech thieves, leaving only one person at large: Blart. The police outside the
mall are helpless. They’ve taken hostages. Only Blart can save them. Or can he? (Blart: Sir, I took a sworn oath to protect this mall and the people inside it. Sarge: What oath? We don’t have an oath. Blart: I sort of made up my own. It’s on a plaque in my room.) In a scenario that is entertaining for parents and their older children (fourth grade and up.) Blart takes on the bad guys in the clothing store, the ball pit, and the Rainforest Café. Along the way, he also battles with a glass door, a minivan, hypoglycemia, and people who make fun of him - because he’s overweight, shy, and awkward. Kevin James is one of the funniest physical actors I’ve seen in a long time. There is enough action in Mall Cop to provide ample material for James to do his thing, falling on the floor, falling through the roof, falling on people. Gravity does not like this guy. Like many of the great comic actors, he plays such a sappy character that we feel sorry for him. We want him to come out on top, but he just can’t cut it. Or can he? Many of the high dollar reviewers didn’t like this movie, perhaps because Paul Blart doesn’t quite follow the in-your-face formula so common to comedies these days. In fact, this movie (from Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison pictures, no less) is about the cleanest thing I’ve seen for older kids in a long time. It probably won’t make parents sick or grossed out to watch it with their kids. I didn’t hear any four-letter words, and any vulgar references are so oblique that I did-
n’t notice them the first time around. It’s not fall-on-the floor, laughout-loud funny, but parts of it are just choice. (Amy: Are you the guy that crashed into the minivan? Blart: I don’t think so, which one? Oh, that one? Yeah, I guess that was me.) We all know what a mall is, and it’s a treat to see James playing secret agent against a team of pretty scary crooks (they have code names: Santa’s Reindeer). At one point, Blart finds himself up in the air-conditioning duct. What a Mission Impossible opportunity. If only his stomach would quit growling! The most endearing thing about this movie is also its weak point: Paul Blart is one sappy guy. Time and time again I wanted him to really “take off.” That never quite happens. Blart is a sap, all the way through. In the end, what saves him is that the rest of us are saps, too. And we’re on his side. Miscellaneous Notes: Blart’s chief competition for Amy, the girl at the hairpiece kiosk (Unbeweavable) is the pen salesman. As in ballpoint pen salesman. Yep, there are a lot of losers in this movie. What do mall workers do after a hard day pushing pretzels? Do they really hang out together at the mall pub? Nobody wins in a head butt.
TJN
As we enter Hurricane Season, we are dedicated to informing you of any weather threatening Southwest Louisiana. Part of our dedication to keeping you informed and up to date is our KYKZ 96 Hurricane Tracking Chart sponsored by Cameron State Bank and Aggreko. The KYKZ 96 Hurricane Tracking Chart will be available June 1 at our sponsor locations or at the KYKZ 96 station. More information at www.kykz.com
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MAY 21, 2009
Volume 1 • Issue 4
America Listen! Sing! Dance! Louisiana Choral Foundation America Listen! Sing! Dance! is the title of the Louisiana Choral Foundation’s 2008-2009 season. The first of three spring concerts was held on Sunday afternoon at Lake Charles Boston Academy of Learning. Les Petites Voix Youth Concert, a free concert, included performances by the Les Petites Voix Concert and Preparatory Choirs and solo performances by Dallas Lauderdale, bassoon, Lexi Larsen, piano, Julia Falgoust, piano, Sarah Sober, flute and Hannah Sober and Tiana Lazard, soloists.
Charles Vanchiere, Gus Baggett and Andrew Vanchiere.
Natalie and Brodie Maggio.
Joanna, Alex and Mark Castille.
Evan and Alandra Potts, Nicholas Racca and Erica Collette.
Analynn, Michael and Lisa Sober.
Hannah Sober, Victoria Otte and Ryan Baxter.
Ben Stevens, Pam and Mallory Nicholson.
Art Associates Membership Dinner President Charlie Snead, welcomed guests to the Art Associates of Lake Charles Annual Membership Dinner and thanked the board and members for their hard work during the year. Charlie also commented on the loss of artistic creativity and the need to support organizations such as Art Associates to stem that loss. Charlie introduced Ken Baskin, ceramic artist and alluded to Ken’s leadership in artistic creativity. Jessie Kelly, Adrianne Hunt and Patty Grandy. Volume 1 • Issue 4
Joan Johnson, Jo Ann and Don Fish, and Daphne Danahay. MAY 21, 2009
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Charlie Snead, Art Associates president, Betty Swift; Member Emeritus; and, Ken Baskins, artist and guest speaker.
Cindy Snead, Ann Warshaw and Jan Thielen.
Donald and LaDonna McKnight, and Stacy Shearman.
Black Heritage Festival Art Associates Gallery The Art Associates Gallery opening reception for “Faces and Places of India” coincided with the opening reception of the Black Heritage Festival Gallery’s “Somewhere in Time” showcasing the photography of Carrie Chrisco and various genres of art by Louisiana artists Randell Henry, Verretta Garrison-Moller, Malaika Favorite, Joseph Pearson, Darlene Moore, Martin Payton, Morris Tatt Thomas and Salongo Lee. Each exhibit offers the viewer exciting and beautiful visuals. A must see! Suborrah Anderson and Josie Scott.
Cliff Seiber and Anne Dentler.
Shannon Ryan and Karen Hartfield. PAGE 38
MAY 21, 2009
Carrie Chrisco.
Stella Miller and Bryan Beverly.
Amahl AbdulpKhaliq.
Linda Brannon and Marilyn Cox.
Stacie Jean; Aliesha Lawrence, Miss Black Heritage; Trenesia Guillory, Jr. Miss Black Heritage; and, Alex Garcia, Youth Ambassador. Volume 1 • Issue 4
Vision and Verse The Imperial Calcasieu Museum's Gallery Annex was the stage for 10 artists who created artwork from poems submitted by 10 poets. The poets then selected artwork from the artists and wrote new poems based on the art. And thus, “Vision/Verse” was born, allowing us to see how poetry can influence art and how art can inspire poetry. These regional artists and poets created a unique experience intermingling visual image and the written word. Shane LeBlanc, Christina Cormier and Whitney Smith.
Christina Carter and Daniel Choates.
Emily Shewmaker and Neil Connelly.
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Volume 1 • Issue 4
Angelina Oberdan, Michael Shewmaker and Steven Brown.
Erica McCreedy and Jay Fuller.
SULPHUR LOCATION:
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MAY 21, 2009
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White Lights Night Spring Fling White lights were brightly shining as late-night shoppers made the rounds of the many shops in mid-town Lake Charles for the White Lights Night Spring Fling. Shoppers were treated to special discounts and to sweets and treats including drinks from a champagne fountain, punch, wine, various chips and dips and a variety of sweets to please any palate. A sparkly, fun and exciting night; a definite harbinger of spring.
TJN
Heather Haberman, Amanda Unkel and Allison Brown at Accessory Zone.
Belinda Chadd and Rebecca Baker at Focal Point.
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MAY 21, 2009
Valerie and Gary Dimas at Jon Margeaux.
Lisa Terrell and Staci Bellon at Once in a Blue Moon.
Sabrina Duhon and Kim Dummehoo at Jon Margeaux.
Volume 1 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 4
Legends in Concert at Coushatta May 6-June 14 Coushatta Casino Resort is proud to present Legends in Concert, the original and largest live celebrity tribute spectacular in the world. Legends in Concert will perform two separate shows at Coushatta: May 6-24 will feature tributes to Elton John, Reba McEntire, and Elvis Presley; May 27-June 14 will feature tributes to Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Elvis Presley. Performances will take place in the Mikko showroom (inside the casino) Wed. through Sun. at 7 p.m., with matinées Sat. and Sun. at 5 p.m. Coushatta Box Office offers a Club rate for Coushatta Advantage Club members: they may purchase tickets for $20 each at the Coushatta Box Office when they present their free Club card at time of purchase. Non-Club members may purchase tickets at the Box Office for $25 per person, and also from Ticketmaster.com. Casino specials for overnight dinner and show packages start at $109. Coushatta Casino Resort is located in Kinder on Highway 165 (I-10 exit 44), featuring over 2,800 slots and more than 70 table games. Phone (800) 584-7263 for more information, or visit the Web site at coushattacasinoresort.com. Isle of Capri May Entertainment Get your groove on at the Caribbean Cove Lounge! Thurs., May 21: Twangsters Union; May 28: Kip Sonnier. (8 p.m.- midnight). Fri., May 22: LA Express; May 29: Laurel and The Edge. (9 p.m.- 1 a.m.). Sat., May 23: LA Express; May 30: JAG. (9 p.m.- 1 a.m.) Soul Vacation at Downtown at Sundown May 22 Downtown at Sundown will feature Soul Vacation on Fri., May 22, at 6 p.m. on the corner of Ryan and Broad in Downtown Lake Charles. Soul Vacation began in Nov. 2003 when bassist Jay Ecker invited co-member and guitarist of the band “City Heat,” Mike Dolan, to put together a new kind of party band, playing a mixture of today’s most popular hits with a dash of that undeniable classic rock flavor. He then quickly recruit-
JAM
ed Jessica Minton of Lake Charles to add a unique female voice to the equation. With the addition of former student David Pellerin (keyboards/vocals) and Ron Muniz (percussion), the group was complete. The band performs at venues across Southwest Louisiana and East Texas. Playing songs from a wide array of artists, Soul Vacation is one of the most musically versatile live bands in Lake Charles. Sulphur Heritage Days Festival May 22-23 The Heritage Days Festival is all set for another successful year with pop music legends Little River Band, headlining the event. The festival will take place Friday, May 22 and Sat., May 23 at Heritage Square in Sulphur. Admission is free. Still known to this day as the only group to have a top 10 single for six consecutive years, Little River Band has an extensive list of familiar songs. They take the stage at Heritage Fest, Sat., May 23, at 7 p.m. Cajun Hall of Fame members Ivy Dugas and Jackie Caillier will be the headline act for Friday night, performing with the Cajun Cousins band. On Sat., the Louisiana Scramble Band, LA Dust, and Soul Vacation will perform. The Heritage Days Festival is jam-packed fun for the entire family. Carnival rides and food and craft booths will be on-site for children and adults alike. The Heritage Days Festival is a perfect way to open the summer season! For more information, call Sulphur City Hall at 527-4500.
Little River Band
National Maritime Day Blessing of Boats at Civic Center May 24 In honor on National Maritime Day, the Propeller Club Ports of SWLA is sponsoring their 5th annual Blessing of Boats, at the Civic Center Seawall on Sun., May 24, at 3 p.m. All commercial and pleasure vessels are invited to participate in this event. A short ceremony with local dignitaries will take place at the Seawall, followed by a laying of the wreath into Lake Charles. The boat blessing procession will begin by 3:30 p.m. and boats are dismissed after passing the seawall and receiving their blessing. For more information, contact Ship to Shore at 474-0730, or Seafarers Center at 436-1315. The Propeller Club Ports of SWLA represents the maritime industry in SWLA and meets every second Tuesday of the month for the sharing of timely maritime matters affecting the commercial mariner. Soul Vacation
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MAY 21, 2009
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Animal Angels and our furry friends wish to thank Downtown Animal Hospital
Cafe Connection
and Southwest Louisiana
1004 Broad St. Lake Charles, LA
Vet Clinic for their
433-8139 Donuts • Kolaches Croissants • And Much More!
Now Serving Plate Lunches Mon., Wed., Fri., Family Owned and Operated
unending support in our neuter/spay efforts!
Mulberry Time-Kevin Leveque Local Artist Kevin Leveque Featured In Charleston Gallery Exhibit through May More than 60 paintings depicting moody Louisiana weather, pastures that seem so hot you want to move into the shade of the lone oak, and of good people working the land they love are displayed at Charleston Gallery and Antiques through May 2009. Leveque was born and raised in southern Louisiana and is a member of the prestigious Oil Painters of America Guild. He is currently showing in art galleries across the country and is presently showing the largest collection of paintings in the Charleston Gallery in the historic Charleston Hotel. Charleston Gallery and Antiques features 4,000 square feet of fine art, antiques, collectibles, jewelry, gifts, high-end consignment pieces, and some unique surprises. Gallery and shop hours are Mon. through Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact (337) 421-1700, or charlestongallery@ att.net for more info. All Over But To Cry May 30 Free tickets for the Hurricane Audrey documentary, All Over But to Cry are now available for pick up. The film’s premiere showing will take place in historic F.G. Bulber Auditorium on the McNeese State University campus at 7 p.m. Sat., May 30. Tickets for the premiere of the Hurricane Audrey documentary are stationed at the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau, 1205 N. Lakeshore Dr., McNeese Connection, 4314 Ryan St. and the Henning Cultural Center in Sulphur, 923 Ruth St. The documentary brings to life true stories of several survivors of the night Hurricane Audrey rushed ashore in 1957, tremendously impacting families and friends with the tragic loss of life in Cameron Parish. The premiere will be presented by the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau and the McNeese Banners Cultural Series. For more information, contact Katie Harrington, public relations manager at the bureau, by calling (337) 436-9588, or log onto www.visitlakecharles.org.
Zachary Richard
Louisiana Crossroads adds Zachary Richard for Season Finale June 3 Zachary Richard, David Torkanowsky and Shane Theriot will take the stage at 7 p.m. Wed., June 3 at Central School Theatre. The trio will gather in celebration of “Last Kiss,” Zachary’s first release in English in 17 years. Louisiana Crossroads is an intimate music performance series that debuts each month with a live radio and Internet broadcast. The shows bring a wide range of artists together for conversation with audience members and an interview with the series host. Lake Charles is one of four cities to host the series along with Baton Rouge, New Iberia, and Lafayette. Tickets for the concert are on sale until 4 p.m. the day of the concert online at www.LouisianaCrossroads.org, or at the Arts and Humanities Council on the second floor of Central School, at 809 Kirby Street. Advance tickets are $15, and will be $17 at the door. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. For more information, call (337) 491-9147. Free Sailing Lessons June 8-12 Lake Charles Yacht Club will be offering FREE sailing lessons June 8-12, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., for ages 13 and up. These lessons are completely free; however, you must bring a lifejacket that fits, a towel and wear clothing and shoes that can get wet. Preregistration is required by calling Ship to Shore 474-0730, or e-mail: info@shiptoshoreco.com. TJN
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Volume 1 • Issue 4
Neil Young performed old favorites for the crowd.
Jazz Fest 2009
Buddy Guy was a colorful on-stage presence.
Local photographer Blaine Bourgeois attended the 2009 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and snapped some colorful shots of the event. The festival celebrates the indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and all of Louisiana. The music encompasses every style associated with the city and the state: blues, R&B, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk, Latin, rock, rap, country, bluegrass and everything in between. This year, attendance surpassed 400,000, as music lovers from all over the world gathered to hear their favorite performers jam on the various stages set up on the festival grounds. TJN
The Neville Brothers light up the festival on the Jumbo Trons.
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Bessette Realty, Inc. Phil and Lauren, you have given me the perfect tool for relocation. I have wished for a way to express the personality of Southwest Louisiana for years. The warmth, charm, and caring of our people for one another is not easily conveyed in a few words. The beauty of our area, the cultural richness and the zest of our food and humor abound in the pages of your magazine. The Jambalaya News captures all of these features within its covers and serves it up as spicy as the dish for which it takes its name. Congratulations on a job superbly done. This will be an integral part of my relocation kits from now on. — Derenda Grubb - CENTURY 21 Bessette Realty, Inc. (337) 842-2696 • www.derenda.com
as a child, who brought a little magic into your life?
Little Moments. Big Magic.
4135 Common St. Lake Charles LA 70607 337-478-KIDS www.bbbs-swla.net PAGE 44
MAY 21, 2009
Taylor Simon, Kathyrn Matte and David Sonnier have been past workshop favorites at CTC’s Summer Starz Series!
The Children’s Theatre Company Announces 2009 Summer Starz Series Kerry A. Onxley, artistic director of the Children’s Theater Company, is proud to present the annual SUMMER STARZ SERIES. These summer theatre workshops are designed to introduce newcomers to the world of theatre and challenge young veterans to perfect advanced theatrical concepts and production techniques. All workshops culminate in performance demonstrations. The workshop sessions offered this season are as follows: WILD THINGS! July 8-10 5-8 Years, 10-11:15 a.m. $65 (Includes T-shirt) This workshop introduces children to theatre through the use of creative drama, theatre games, creative movement, stage makeup and musical theatre. A demonstration follows the last day of the workshop. A wonderful introduction to theatre! ACTING FOR THE CAMERA! July 8-10 8-18 Years, 12 p.m. -1:30 p.m. $65 (Includes T-shirt) This workshop covers auditioning for commercials, reading commercial scripts, exploring different commercial techniques, and beginning improvisational skills. Information and samples are shared on doing résumés, headshots and finding the best agent or manager. Students participate with hands-on camera experience! MIDSUMMER FUN! July 20-24 5-18 Years $85 (Includes T-shirt) 5-8 Years, 10 a.m-11: 15 a.m.
9-18 Years, 10 a.m. -Noon Learn the language, ideas and adventures of Shakespeare. Students perform excerpts from some of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays while experiencing the technical aspects of lighting, set designs and creating costumes. The workshop concludes with a free public performance starring all of the students. KIDZ IN SHOWBIZ! August 3-7 5-18 Years $85 (Includes T-shirt) 5-8 Years, 10 a.m.-11:15 a.m. 9-18 Years, 10 a.m.-Noon Students will learn musical theatre techniques by acting, singing and dancing to songs from Broadway shows. The final class features the students in a performance demonstration highlighting musical theatre skills learned. BACKSTAGE MAGIC! August 3 7 $85 (Includes T-shirt) 12-20 Years, 11 a.m.-Noon Discover the art created behindthe-scenes. An intriguing backstage tour is combined with hands-on experiences in lights, sets, costumes and more! No experience is needed for the workshops. All workshops have limited enrollment and are held at Central School of the Arts & Humanities Center (809 Kirby Street). For registration information, contact the theatre at (337) 433-7323 or visit the Web site at www.childrenstheatre.cc.
TJN Volume 1 • Issue 4
Wretched Refuse String Band and Friends By Leslie Berman, Photos by Donald McKnight
I was in Brooklyn, New York a couple of weeks ago, waiting for a concert to begin and wondering how we decide which music is appropriate for funerals and memorials, thinking back over services I’ve attended over the years. I’d just been to a funeral in Lake Charles, where we heard recordings of Frank Sinatra and an instrumental version of “Let There Be Peace On Earth And Let It Begin With Me,” which felt wrong, and was a total bummer. Right after that funeral, I left for New Orleans, and in both the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival’s Gospel tent, where everything sung by Sherman Washington and the Zion Harmonizers was uplifting (yet made me weep spontaneously) and in the Economy Hall tent, where Dr. Michael White et al held forth in memoriam for jazz soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet, which pulled a tentful of second liners to their feet to joyfully bob and weave their umbrellas indoors while a thunderstorm raged outside, I’d felt what I would hope to feel when celebrating the life of a late loved one. Back in Brooklyn, I was sitting on a folding chair in a tiny theater (legal occupancy 74 souls) to hear members of the Wretched Refuse String Band send the departed soul of their bandleader, fiddler, singer, and raconteur Richie “Citizen Kafka” Shulberg onward on the wheel of karma. When he died back in March, Shulberg left behind an already-booked Wretched gig at the Jalopy, so the band, along with family and friends, decided to use the date to celebrate the musical life of the wonderfully crazy man who’d brought them together nearly 30 raucous years ago. As I sat in the Jalopy, amid friends and acquaintances and other Wretched and Citizen fans, it turned out that the right music for this memorial were the songs that conjured up warm, clear memories of the departed.
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When I thought about traveling to Brooklyn for the Jalopy date, I had not only wanted to wake Richie Shulberg, whose lust for life had been enormous, and whose radio shows and concerts and tapes had always given me great pleasure, but because I had strong feelings that needed some kind of release. The music promised to be both cathartic and zany – a set made up of familiar old-timey and bluegrass tunes and novelty numbers, delivered slightly off-kilter by extraordinarily talented musicians, as extruded through the ringer of Wretched comedic excess. After all, the alumni Wretcheds are among the most accomplished working sidemen, session players, Broadway pit orchestra members and conservatory faculty members playing string band music, whose work has literally covered the musical waterfront. Following Shulberg’s funeral, I’d missed several tributes on New York area alternative and public radio stations, where Shulberg was also remembered for decades of producing musical and comedy mayhem. The WFMUFM show, hosted by Irene Trudel, reminisced about the sketch comedy and musical adventuring that had been the monthly Citizen Kafka Show on WBAI (engineered and recorded by Edward Haber) from the late 1970s through the 1990s, and included excerpts from those shows and live commentary. The Citizen Kafka performances featured the Citizen as DJ and fool, and brought together fiddler Kenny Kosek and actor John Goodman to form an unholy aural alliance. By all accounts, the TrudelKosek-Goodman-Haber show had been priceless, as were other programs rebroadcasting vintage Citizen Kafka shows. Hearing about those recaps, I was sent right back to the early years of the Citizen and Wretched shows, where I could see not only the younger versions of the musicians I’d loved, but also the younger version of myself I wanted to remember. So I reserved seats for both sets at the Jalopy memorial, and it was a good thing I did. The house was mostly turned over between shows; but more than 60 people calling to buy tickets in advance, including many close and long-time friends of Shulberg and his family, had to be turned away. The gigs-cum-memorial opened with an incredibly well made slide/video clip retrospective of the Citizen’s life and career. During both showings, family, friends and fans shouted out memories and guffaws as costumes, locations, and energetic performances were remembered and rediscovered.
After the cascade of images, and reminiscent laughter, the screen was rolled away, revealing the musicians behind the curtain, who launched into surprisingly organized chaos, pacing through the Wretched songbook with nods to gospel in a cappella harmony and loving performances of trad tunes as well as “Thumbelina,” the “Wretched Refuse Theme Song,” and “Wheels of Karma,” with ample soloing on all instruments throughout.
Some members of Wretched Refuse. Throughout Shulberg’s lifetime, whatever other influences the members brought to bear on the materials, the Wretcheds were an old-timey/bluegrass string band, with a repertoire leaning heavily toward the novelty song end of the spectrum, guided, in part, by Shulberg’s extraordinarily broad musical archeology. [Viz, his work with Pat Conte on The Secret Museum of the Air, in which the results of his digging were aired on WBAI-FM and later on WFMU-FM.] But they were also the incubator for some enormously talented musicians, comedians, and entertainers, fusing southern string band music with northern post-industrial, scatological, and goofball ethnic humor. If the band was Shulberg’s brainchild, it was nevertheless an egalitarian aggregation, and Shulberg, in his various guises, was its muse. Thankfully, a few of Richie Shulberg’s performances are available on YouTube, while old Citizen Kafka shows are on MySpace, and there are Secret Museum archives on WFMU’s Web site. “Wheels of Karma.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1_pYskx7Rg Tribute to Richie Shulberg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFkqwYc67nE The Citizen Kafka Show featuring John Goodman, Kenny Kosek, and Richie Shulberg on WBAI-FM. http://www.myspace.com/thecitizenkafkashow The Secret Museum archives. http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/SM TJN
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Kerry A. Onxley presents Pam Breaux with the 2009 CTC Hall of Fame award.
The Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) recognizes outstanding accomplishments of its actors by hosting the annual Your Choice Awards. This year’s event was held on Friday, May15, at Pujo Street Café. The Your Choice Awards are selected by audience patrons through ballots, as well as the staff of CTC. Receiving the 2009 CTC Hall of Fame award was Pam Breaux, Secretary for the State of Louisiana/ Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. This award is given to an individual for their relentless support of educational programs at CTC. Breaux is widely respected in the state and region for her professional work with all art disciplines and is recognized throughout the nation as an effective leader with arts advocacy. As past executive director of the Arts & Humanities Council (AHC) of Southwest Louisiana, she managed Southwest Louisiana’s Decentralized Arts Funding Program from its inception through its seventh year. During her tenure at AHC, she worked to create and develop the Central School Arts & Humanities Center, as well as the Southwest Louisiana Cultural Tourism Coalition. She currently serves as Secretary of the Board for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and as a board member for the Southern Arts Federation. She has served as chairperson of the Louisiana Partnership for the Arts and as board of the director’s vice president for the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. PAGE 46
MAY 21, 2009
“Ms. Breaux is widely respected in our state and region for her professional work with all art disciplines and is recognized throughout the nation as an effective leader with arts advocacy,” stated Kerry A. Onxley, Artistic Director of The Children’s Theatre Company. Others winners are as follows: In the production of Disney’s Alice in Wonderland: • Best Actor – Samuel Owens as Cheshire Cat; • Best Actress – Maegan McBroom as Alice; • Best Supporting Actor – Alex Landry as White Rabbit and Kathryn Matte as Door Knob, Dylana Smith as Mad Hatter and Brianne Guidry as Queen of Hearts; • Best Costume Design – Samuel Owens as Cheshire Cat; • Best Hair Design – Brianne Guidry as Queen of Hearts; • Best Makeup Design – Alex Landry as White Rabbit; • Favorite Part of the Show – Brianne Guidry as “Mean Queen”; • Outstanding Technical Qualities – Christy Scothorn for Stage Props; and, • Outstanding Merits of the Show – Samuel Owens for face expressions used as Cheshire Cat. In the production of The Velveteen Rabbit: • Best Actor – Samuel Owens as Boy;
• Best Actress – Kathryn Matte as Velveteen Rabbit and Brianne Guidry as Narrator; • Best Supporting Actor – Donovan Primeaux as Toy Boat; • Best Supporting Actress – Dylana Smith as Nanny and Alex Landry as Tin Soldier; • Best Costume Design – Kathryn Matte as Velveteen Rabbit and Sarah Bonvillain as Fairy; • Best Hair Design – Adyn Gaughan as Dunny and Dylana Smith as Nanny; • Best Makeup Design – Maegan McBroom as Dancer and Alex Landry as Tin Soldier; • Favorite Part of the Show – Ciarra Woods as Skin Horse; • Outstanding Technical Qualities - Dennis Craft for his design of the thunderstorm scene; and, • Outstanding Merits of the Show - Dylana Smith for accent work with Nanny and Ciarra Woods for realism acting. Special Recognitions: • To Westlake High Theatre for its superior ratings at the McNeese Play Festival: Samuel Owens, Alex Landry, Kade Holland, Brandi Roessler, Rachel Hogan, Brittney Cart and William Billings; • To senior company member Samuel Owens who received a $1,000 theatre scholarship at McNeese State University; and, • To Kathyrn Matte for being elected to the 2009 Louisiana Thespian Student Board. TJN Volume 1 • Issue 4
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