The Jambalaya News - Vol 1. No. 23

VOL. 1, NO. 23 /FEBRUARY 25, 2010

• Dairy Barn: The Go-To Place for Burgers • Remembering Leo Luke Marcello • My Life in Music Lessons

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Volume 1 • Issue 23

GENERAL 715 Kirby St., Lake Charles, LA 70601 Phone: 337-436-7800 Fax: 337-990-0262 www.thejambalayanews.com PUBLISHER Phil de Albuquerque publisher@thejambalayanews.com

NEWS MANAGING EDITOR Lauren de Albuquerque lauren@thejambalayanews.com

EDITOR Lisa Yates lisa@thejambalayanews.com

CONTRIBUTORS Leslie Berman Sara Blackwell George Cline James Doyle Dan Ellender Maria Alcantara Faul Erica McCreedy Mike McHugh Mary Louise Ruehr Brandon Shoumaker Steve Springer, M.D. Karla Tullos ADVERTISING SALES CONSULTANT Patricia Prudhomme SALES ASSOCIATES Katy Corbello Faye Drake Sarah Puckett Karla Tullos GRAPHICS ART/PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Darrell Buck ART/PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Michelle LaVoie BUSINESS OFFICE MANAGER Kay Andrews Legal Disclaimer The views expressed by The Jambalaya News columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Jambalaya News, its editors or staff.

contents Residents Eye Millage Vote for WCCH

REGULARS 7 10 11 12 14 17 20 28

February 25, 2010 • Volume 1 • Issue 23

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COVER STORY 21

On Cover: George Hardy Vincent, Nina Vincent and Dr. Allen Richert; photos by The Jambalaya News. Dick Kennison, Wilmer Dugas, Bill Hankins, Paul Hymes, Trey Rion, Janie Fruge’, Tammy Broussard, Christi Kingsley; photos courtesy of WCCH.

The Boiling Pot The Dang Yankee Doyle’s Place Tip’s Tips The Zestful Life House Call What’s Cookin’ Sports Report

FEATURES 5 16 18 42

Interview for Life Don’t Just Sit There—Get Involved!

Bayou Biz: Dairy Barn Remembering Leo Luke Marcello

ENTERTAINMENT 30 34 35 33 36 40 44 46

Red Hot Books Funbolaya Family Night at the Movies Killin’ Time Crossword Society Spice Jambalaya Jam The Local Jam Eclectic Company

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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.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

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A Note From Lauren Snow Days When we moved to Lake Charles, Phil and I thought that we had safely removed ourselves from the punishment of winter. He grew up in Michigan and I grew up in Massachusetts, and let me tell you, we know about winter. Snow, ice, blizzards, belowzero deep freezes—we experienced it all. One of the main reasons we came down here was to avoid all that. We loved the mild winters and early springs. The first year, we actually had to run the a/c on New Year’s Day. How wonderful is that?

But this year, winter came blasting in from God-knows-where—and stayed. The occasional chill night, followed by days of sunshine and balmy weather of seasons past were a mere memory. We felt like we were back up North. I had to actually wear winter clothes. Many nights were below freezing. Most of our plants died, and the grass turned brown. The water in the cats’ bowls froze outside. Float riders on Fat Tuesday (me being one of them) wished the floats came equipped with space heaters. They actually built snowmen in Shreveport. This just wasn’t right.

Then again, on February 7, hell froze over—so that may explain a lot.

When I complain about the weather, Phil continually reminds me how bad it is “up there.” He points out that we don’t have to shovel, put salt on the walkways to prevent slips and falls, drive in snowstorms. And he’s right. It’s just that when you’ve been away from that for so long, any reminder will set all kinds of thoughts in motion.

It brings me right back to my childhood. I remember trudging to school with my friends, knee-deep in snow, bundled up in heavy coats, scarves, boots and mittens.

Once we arrived at St. Lazarus School, we had to go through the long process of taking all that stuff off. Then for recess, we had to put it all on again; then come in and take it all off. And so on. Totally ridiculous.

When school let out, things got really rough, because the bigger kids would pelt us with snowballs. I never saw the allure of snowball fights, even as a kid. Your mittens got all wet and soggy and if you were carrying books, that made it even harder to defend yourself. It was a relief to get home—and take off my coat, boots, scarf, hat, mittens—for what seemed like the one-hundredth time.

Then, if my friends wanted me to go out and play—well, you know the drill. It’s no wonder I hated winter so much. And I always seemed to have a cold.

I do have some good winter memories. We all loved “snow days.” We’d listen to the radio on a snowy morning to see if the Boston schools were closed. Most of the time, they were. Yes! A day without the nuns! My cousin Richard lived on the first floor of our building and we’d get together and do fun stuff. I remember us playing a Monkees’

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album in the basement while a blizzard raged outside, singing “Daydream Believer.”

When it stopped snowing, it was exciting to venture out. Newly fallen snow is gorgeous, but in the city, it doesn’t stay that way for very long. So, we’d take advantage of its newness and build snow forts and snowmen, and yes, have those damn snowball fights.

I remember one year, my Uncle Ricky turned our back yard into a skating rink. He turned the water hose on over the packed snow and created an amazing natural ice surface. He rigged up some floodlights and all the neighborhood kids came over at night to skate. It was truly magical—until my aunt decided he was wasting too much water and put an end to our fun. rque My very favorite winter memory is also, I think,dmy memory. It’s lbuquechildhood Afavorite e il h P one that I cherish; it’s one that I drift n antod at night if I can’t sleep. aureback L I’m very young, and it’s the middle of a very cold, snowy night. I already know that school will be closed tomorrow, so I’ll be home with my mother, whom I love more than anyone in the world. My little bed is piled with blankets. From my parents’ bedroom, I can hear the sound of my father softly snoring, and even though he’s asleep, it’s reassuring to know that he’s there if I need him. Then, the heat comes on through the forced hot air register in the wall, blowing comforting warmth into my room. I fall asleep to the sound of the bitter 69 February 19 wind howling outside, safe and secure in my parents’ love.

TJN

– Lauren de Albuquerque

Volume 1 • Issue 23

As a 10-year finance and trade industry professional, Nikki Fontenot was keenly aware of the general lack of professionalism among young people in the community. “Most young people just didn’t seem to have an idea on what to do during a job interview, much less prepare for a job interview,” Fontenot stated. “Simple things such as professional attire, handshaking, and making appropriate eye contact were completely foreign to our young people.”

As a mother of two, Fontenot did not want her children to grow up thinking that “this is how things are supposed to be.” Knowing Louisiana’s laid-back culture, she realized that something needed to change for our youth to have a chance to compete for good jobs within or outside of the state. So, she decided to develop a program that would help young people make a smooth transition into the adult business world.

The road to establishing Interview for Life was not exactly smooth. Fontenot had an idea and knew what she wanted to accomplish, but she was starting from scratch. While still employed full-time at a local bank, she started researching current programs that instill career and life skills among young people. She met with government and business leaders to discuss her ideas; she drafted a curriculum; and she met with school board leaders to get things moving.

Volume 1 • Issue 23

Mechele Nortman

Angie Rowland

Leslie Montgomery

Nikki Fontenot

By Maria Alcantara Faul

In 2005, things started falling into place. She received an endorsement from the City of Lake Charles; the school board approved her curriculum and assigned LaGrange High School as the site of their pilot program; and thanks to her then-employer, Cameron State Bank, Fontenot had the funding to kick off IFL. In 2006, Fontenot and Mechele Nortman implemented the pilot program at LaGrange High School. Both ladies were still working full-time, so implementing the program was quite the juggling act. Luckily, the pilot program received rave reviews and in 2007, Fontenot and Nortman decided to devote their time solely to IFL. IFL is a program aimed to motivate, encourage and challenge students to be respectful and successful young adults. It is literally a preparation for one’s “interview for life.” It covers topics such as “skills vs. talent, jobs vs. career, body language, dress, self confidence, eye contact, attitude, interview skills, resume building,” and much more. The curriculum is designed to boost confidence, help set career goals, introduce young people to the interview process and prepare them to be responsible, productive professionals in the business world.

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Tickets available through membership, Web site and at the door.

For information on 2010 events call (337) 475-5123 or visit www.banners.org

Zachary Richard Sat, Mar 6, 2010 7:30 pm F.G. Bulber Auditorium McNeese Campus

Preservation Hall Jazz Band Sat, Mar 13, 2010 7:30 pm F.G. Bulber Auditorium McNeese Campus

The course, now offered in all public schools in Calcasieu Parish, takes place during senior English class within a span of three days. It offers interactive and practical sessions, and the curriculum is specific in what it teaches.

“Lessons are succinct and straight to the point, so it doesn’t take more than three days to deliver the message.

Besides, offering the program in three days helps teachers stay on track with their lesson plan,” Fontenot said.

The IFL team’s diverse business background is quite an advantage as well. “The students relate well to Interview for Life facilitators because we come from the business world,” she said. “Their teachers, as much as they try to touch on these practical topics, are too close to a parental figure for students.”

Once students complete the program, they receive a packet containing literature for them to refer to as they move on to the business world and pursue their career of choice.

“My students gained practical advice and skills that will help them be more competitive in the job market,” said Gina Shaw, who teaches English at Barbe High School. “The information is relevant to the students’ needs and interests. Barbe seniors who have been through this valuable training will now

have practical life skills added to their knowledge base.”

To keep up with IFL’s success and growth, Fontenot recently hired two new facilitators—Angie Rowland and Leslie Montgomery. “The program is a constant work in progress. We always look at ways to make the program better for our participants, and with over 1,400 participants a year we needed more facilitators,” Fontenot said.

Two new offshoot programs are also scheduled to kick off soon.

“Students for A Cleaner Community” will have students working with the Louisiana State Police to contribute to a cleaner Louisiana; and “Lunch with the Mayor” is designed to be a mentoring program for at-risk youth.

All of IFL’s team members are certified in career and life coaching, which enables them to communicate with the students more efficiently, tuning into the young people’s specific career needs and wants.

“We need to build strong individuals to build a strong community,” Fontenot said. “By addressing the career and life skills needed by our young people, we hope to empower them with the skills necessary to be successful adults.”

For more information about Interview for Life, call (337) 802-7932.

TJN

According to a 2001 study of intentional animal abuse published by the Humane Society of the United States, 13 percent of these cases involved incidents of domestic violence, 7 percent coincided with child abuse and 1 percent with elder abuse.

The League of Women Voters of Lake Charles

will be conducting a CANDIDATES FORUM for Sulphur Mayor and Sulphur City Council positions on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm at Sulphur City Hall, 500 N Huntington St, Sulphur.

For additional info contact Lollion Elmer, LWV Public Relations.

Office: 439-3896 Fax: 436-8904 lollion@elmersradiatorshop.com.

Sponsored by

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Volume 1 • Issue 23

The

Boiling

P l

Please submit press releases to lauren@thejambalayanews.com

MOSS REGIONAL MEDICAL RECEIVES AWARD During the 13th Annual LSU Healthcare Effectiveness Forum in Baton Rouge, the Health Care Services Division of W. O. Moss Regional Medical Center was awarded the Clinical Lead award in Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). Under the management and direction of clinician Cindy Arabie, nurse practitioner, the CHF clinic was recognized for their extraordinary contributions made in their particular field of disease management. Arabie and her team have consistently provided excellent patient-centered, evidenced based medicine, which has made a concrete difference in the quality of their program. For more information on how to access the CHF clinic at Moss Regional Medical Center or any of their other clinics, please call (337) 475-8100.

Amy Donovan RN, BSN Clinic Coordinator, Cindy Arabie C-FNP, Lindsay Law, Student Intern, Gina Lack Administrative Coordinator WOMEN’S COMMISSION OF SWLA, INC., ANNOUNCES 2010 OFFICERS/DIRECTORS At a recent meeting of the Women’s Commission of Southwest Louisiana, Inc., President Pam Golding installed the officers and directors for 2010 as follows: President - Angela Pierson, Vice President - Fran Clophus Secretary - Stephanie Tarver Treasurer - Brenda Wilkinson Directors include: Membership - Joy Huff; Finance - Sybil Irving; Special Events – Priscilla Bult; Jr. Women’s Conference Chair - Kimmie Saucier; Past President – Pam Golding; Parliamentarian – Carra Sergeant; Advisory Member, Sandra Jones.

To learn more about the Women’s Commission visit the Web site at www.womenscommissionswla.com.

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MCNEESE RECEIVES AD AND PRESS CLUB DONATION The Advertising and Press Club of SWLA has donated $6,000 to the McNeese State University Scholarship Fund and to the Mass Communication Department through the McNeese Foundation. The donation represents McNeese’s portion of the net profits from the club’s 2009 Gridiron show, which is used for scholarships and institutional support. Each year, the club donates part of its Gridiron proceeds to the university, and this year, $5,000 goes toward the scholarship fund and $1,000 goes to the mass communication department. The Ad and Press Club is Southwest Louisiana’s oldest organization for communications professionals.

From left to right: Ralynn Castete, director of scholarships and testing at McNeese, Pam McGough, second vice president, Ad and Press Club of SWLA, Dr. Carrie Chrisco, McNeese department head of mass communication, and Shireen Santhanasamy, historian and scholarships, Ad and Press Club of SWLA. CHAPMAN RECOGNIZED FOR SALES LEADERSHIP HALO/Lee Wayne, the country’s largest exclusive distributor of promotional products, honored the sales achievements of their top 200 national account executives in a ceremony at the Four Seasons Las Vegas Hotel recently. Cathy Chapman of Lake Charles received an award at the event for consecutive years of company-leading sales growth, and membership in the coveted Sterling Club Level I Award—a sales achievement group comprised of the top 10 percent of the company’s 800-member sales force.

CAMERON COMMUNICATIONS AWARDED BROADBAND STIMULUS FUNDS Cameron Communications has been awarded American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funds in the amount of $16.8 million in grant money and $16.8 million in loan money for construction of a state-of-the-art fiber network capable of bringing advanced broadband services to the communities of Moss Bluff, Oakdale and Vinton. This program allows for expansion of broadFEBRUARY 25, 2010

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band Internet service to the most under-served and un-served areas of Louisiana. It provides for an increase in high-speed Internet accessibility and construction jobs, and provides small businesses the ability to compete with existing businesses in more advanced areas of the country. LBH, a subsidiary of Cameron Communications, will be constructing a state-of-the-art Fiber to the Home system in all areas. The project will consist of 262 miles of fiber to be buried underground, which will maximize the investment to these local communities enhancing the integrity of the network. Cameron Communications is Southwest Louisiana’s provider of Fiber technology, bringing High-Speed Internet, Digital Cable and Phone service to Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes.

For more information, visit www.camtel.com.

LC FINANCIAL REP AWARDED PACESETTER FIRST 40 HONOR David A. Girola, financial representative with Northwestern Mutual of Lake Charles has achieved PACESETTER FIRST 40. Less than nine percent of the company’s new financial representatives achieve this prestigious award and have the highest career retention rate in the company. Northwestern Mutual has helped clients achieve financial security for more than 150 years. Further information can be found at www.northwesternmutual.com.

David A. Girola

Stephanie Guillory, RN, receives the Rosie Thompson Award from Tim Coffey, senior vice president of operations.

MEMORIAL HOSPITAL ANNOUNCES ROSIE THOMPSON AWARD WINNER Stephanie Guillory, RN, was the recipient of Lake Charles Memorial Hospital’s bi-monthly Rosie Thompson Award for November and December of 2009. Guillory was nominated by patients and fellow employees for her outstanding examples of service excellence as a nurse in Memorial’s Psychiatric Services Department. Guillory received her nursing degree from Lamar State College in Orange, Texas, and has been an employee at Memorial Hospital for seven years. In addition to the recognition, Guillory received several prizes. Her portrait will be displayed in the hospital’s main lobby along with other Rosie Thompson winners, and she will also be in the running for the 2009 Rosie Thompson Employee of the Year Award.

Left to Right: Wendy Chaumont-Advertising Manager, Tammy Abraham Administrative Assistant, Emily Stewart – Advertising Media Buyer/Planner, and Terri O’Hara – Purchasing, along with United Way volunteer, Kane Mitchell – 2010 West Cal Cam Division Chair and Vice President/Regional Retail Manager for Whitney National Bank.

PHILIP EARHART, JOHN STELLY AND L’AUBERGE DU LAC CASINO RESORT NAMED PHILANTHROPISTS OF THE YEAR Philip Earhart, John Stelly and L’Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort were honored for giving their time, talent and treasure for the betterment of Southwest Louisiana during the Philanthropy Celebration and Awards reception held recently L’Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort. The Philanthropy Night Celebration is a national event that recognizes the profound impact that philanthropy has on the fabric of society. The event is organized by The Family Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, the philanthropic arm of Family and Youth.

Philip Earhart is the regional president of BusinessFirst Bank in Lake Charles.

He has served as a trustee and chair of the Family Foundation of Southwest Louisiana for the past several years. To date, endowments that Phil secured have funded child advocacy programs, youth leadership development, constructive and life-changing counseling, and support of autistic families. Phil is so committed that he has established his own endowment with the Foundation.

John F. Stelly, the owner of Lake Charles Nissan, served on the board of ABC Pregnancy Center and currently serves on the board of The Chamber of Commerce and La Familia Resource Center. He also serves on the Nissan National and Regional Advisory boards. Both he, and his wife Sylvia, regularly donate to a number of the area’s non-profit organizations, schools, and churches.

On Stelly’s desk is a plaque that reads, “He who walks with God reaches his destination,” a constant reminder of what Stelly holds near and dear to his heart.

L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort epitomizes the ideal corporate community partner. Through the leadership and example of the company’s top management, corporate philanthropy has become a source of pride and camaraderie among L’Auberge’s management and staff. Whether it’s serving on the board of directors for a non-profit organization, walking for a healthy heart, collecting Toys for Tots, or helping out young people improve their culinary skills, L’Auberge employees can be counted on to help and contribute to a better Southwest Louisiana. TJN

MEMORIAL HOSPITAL HONORS COLLEGE OAKS ELEMENTARY ARTISTS Lake Charles Memorial Hospital recently honored students who participated in the Young at Art Program in January. The program, which spotlights artwork from a different local elementary school each month, was designed to make a positive impact on hospital patients, employees, and the young artists themselves. January’s display featured artwork by students from College Oaks Elementary. A panel of Memorial volunteers recognized second grader Deasia Barnett, fourth grader Catherine Zwingman and fifth grader Aleya Joseph with a $50 savings bond.

DELTA DOWNS SUPPORTS UNITED WAY OF SWLA CAMPAIGN Employees of Delta Downs showed their continued support by pledging $55,513.38 in the 2010 United Way campaign. Boyd Gaming, Delta Downs’ parent company, also contributed $25,000. United Way of Southwest Louisiana supports 35 local, non-profit organizations with dollars contributed each year by individuals and businesses in Southwest Louisiana. (See next photo) PAGE 8

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Philip Earhart, John Stelly and L’Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort, named Philanthropists of the Year Volume 1 • Issue 23

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

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Dang Yankee The

By Mike McHugh

Why the Saints Really Won I’ll say one thing about this year’s Super Bowl: It’s a good thing for the devil that he ordered that parka from L. L. Bean.

I called my sister back in Yankee Land right after the game. She expressed her pleasure about the game’s outcome and then went on to tell me all about the record two-anda half-foot snowfall they just had in Baltimore.

Now, you don’t have to be an expert in logic to put two and two together on what that might tell you about Yankee Land.

I’m not sure whether my sister

was happier about the Saints’ winning or the other team losing. For those who aren’t up on their NFL history, the Indianapolis Colts were once the Baltimore Colts. That was until the owner at the time, Bob Irsay, whose name in Baltimore is often mentioned in the same sentence as Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden, snuck the team out of town under cover of snow and darkness one night in 1983.

That was a major lapse in security. I hope the same people who were supposed to be keeping tabs on the Colts back then aren’t the ones now

responsible for keeping us safe from terrorists.

I called my sister from a Super Bowl party that was hosted by my good friends, Ed and Michelle. I like Ed because he’s a big NASCAR fan, and he tutored this Yankee on the finer points of auto racing, which is a required course for men if they want to live in the South. He didn’t score many points with my wife, however, when he suggested that Valentine’s Day be cancelled this year because it happened to fall on the same day as the Daytona 500. I don’t know why she felt that way; it seemed like a pretty rational idea to me.

As far as Michelle goes, she is an absolute Saint. I mean that with a capital “S.” Drew Brees may have been the Most Valuable Player, but Michelle was hands-down the Most Valuable Fan. Sure, Drew had a good game, but I truly believe that Michelle gets some credit for each of the Saints’ 31 points.

Why, you ask?

It was all about the shots.

There were about 30 of us there watching the game, all dressed in black. We’d have fit right in at a Marilyn Manson concert.

Friday, February 26th Live Music with The Ray Ellender Band Saturday, February 27th Big Hair Band Night with Crooks Carnival Lunch & Dinner Monday - Friday Daily Plate Lunch Specials 11am-2pm

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Every now and then, Michelle would emerge from the kitchen with this tray full of brightly colored shots with names that sounded as if they were concocted by an Elven Queen out of Middle Earth.

Regardless of their origin, those shots did turn out to have some magic in them, for each time, within minutes after she’d come around with the tray, the Saints would score.

One time, she brought the tray around when the Colts had the ball, and we, having made the logical connection between the shots and scoring, protested the timing.

“Trust me,” our Elf Queen said, smiling.

Next play, the Saints intercepted the ball and ran it back for a touchdown, sealing the victory. This earned Michelle a perfect 154.0 barmaid rating from the analysts on CBS. There was only one small thing that might have made the evening go better. I, for one, could have used a few more of those shots before that commercial where all those people were parading around in their underwear.

I can’t remember what company it was that ran that commercial. All I know is that it couldn’t have been a company that actually sold underwear. No, an underwear company would have chosen models that didn’t look like they were recruited at a Couch Potatoes’ Convention.

No, they would have used somebody more like Fruit Of The Loom did with Jim Palmer back in the day.

Jim Palmer was a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, back when the standings in the American League were in reverse order as they are nowadays.

This reminds me of my aunt, who used to work for a dealer where Jim Palmer leased his cars. One time, he gave her an autographed pair of Fruit Of The Looms. She didn’t know what else to do with them, so she used them to decorate her Christmas tree in place of where the angel normally goes.

For some reason, I don’t think the undergarments that were on display in that Super Bowl commercial will be adorning many Christmas trees.

Quick, Michelle, the thought of it makes me yearn for another Elvenshot! If it could make one survive the depths of Mordor, maybe it can help me survive the memory of that commercial. TJN

Volume 1 • Issue 23

oyle

By Jim D

now, hopefully, on the mend.

The most efficient time machine we’ll ever have is inside our own cabesas. In mine, I can still see myself standing on the kitchen counter, looking out the window, watching my older brother walking down the street in his green football letterman’s jacket headed to school, looking over his shoulder and waving back at me. I can see his wife Nancy lifting me up to stand on my parents’ bed so she could give me a kiss on the cheek. Now, Thomas is 73. He and Nancy have

been married 54 years. Demographics are working against them, and that’s a real shame, because they are the best people I know.

I’m making another pilgrimage next week to the North Country. You guys keep Thomas and Nancy in your thoughts, please. And keep in touch with your inner time machine and your outer demographic. Just for me, this week reach out and find a classmate. Tell them I said “Wassup.”

See y’all on the flip. TJN

Before it’s Too Late My favorite sign this winter, seen in a random yard in a Chicago neighborhood after a series of serious snowstorms: “FOR SALE, CHEAP. SNOWMEN. ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.” I am beginning to learn that if facts are stubborn things, as John Adams said, then demographics are positively immutable.

My lifelong friend and high school classmate John Bishop is engaged in an effort to assemble all our group for a 60th birthday party in our native Tennessee. We were born at various times in 1950, from the January birthday of Professor Lowe McManus, a Yankee implant who wound up with a big degree and a job teaching English at Bowling Green University, all the way to the end of that year. Well, not quite the end. I’m the youngest person in my class. Born December 30.

There were 115 souls who graduated that warm spring night of May 24, 1968, walking through the gymnasium of Bolivar Central High School in various states of sober reflection. In the journey from 18 to 60, we have lost eight to various forms of mortality, and we’ve now terminated one because he’s in jail for a double murder. See, we have standards. Of all those born in 1950, we could expect about 68 years of life, so this next decade should decimate our class’ population. That being true, John has a great idea. We should get together before it’s too late.

So far, finding out where people wound up has been interesting in and of itself. Take John, for example. He was always a musically inclined kind of guy. He played guitar with me in a local television appearance for the Mid South Talent Show in Memphis our senior year, televised from a studio in the basement of the Peabody Hotel. Among other instruments, John played the banjo. One memorable night he strummed a perfect Volume 1 • Issue 23

version of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” from the musical tract accompanying the movie Bonnie and Clyde with Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. He’s kept it up. Now, he works as an engineer at a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is an enthusiast of Celtic music.

He also is a fan of various Cajun bands.

John wasn’t our only musician.

Gary Lax, one of the first of our classmates to go beyond this veil of tears, was the keyboard player for a little band called Boston. He’s now buried in the front lawn of a Baptist church in Middleburg, Tennessee.

Bob Emerson, one of the smartest guys in our class, is an engineer of some description who now lives on the Pacific Coast near Monterey, California. Carolyn Tate is a real estate agent in Carolina, a profession chosen by at least a half dozen of our class.

Janie Yates, the prettiest girl born in Bolivar in 1950, is living in Nashville with her family and is still the recipient of the best compliment heard at a reunion, delivered by my friend Bill Fawcett after admiringly appraising her at about age 50: “Has your ex-husband SEEN you lately???”

If we follow the demographic patterns, by the time of our next tenyear anniversary, most of us will be retired, having reached full Social Security eligibility sometime in 2016.

I don’t even want to think about how many of us will have gone to that great class reunion in the sky, but it will be a considerable number.

My trips to Chicago (three since Christmas, and another one coming up) have not been completely about looking at the snow, although that’s not an inconsiderable side benefit.

Mostly I’ve been there to check on my older brother, who graduated from the same school in 1954 and who has been awfully sick. He just finished a term of 32 days in the hospital and is FEBRUARY 25, 2010

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By George “Tip” Cline

Marketing Deception One of the great sly corporate marketing deceptions of all time was when Coca Cola changed from using sugar to corn sweeteners.

What a masterpiece of deception that was. Remember when they came out with “New Coke?” It was promoted as the great new taste sensation of the day.

Well, nobody liked the horrid new taste, and the great outcry of protest from Coke lovers was deafening. But we were left with only New Coke on the shelves as the original Coke was no longer being produced, and the supply of the original quickly disappeared. After a long enough period without real Coke, we were led to believe that “Coke Classic” was the response to that protest.

A long enough period had passed; the taste of the original had faded, and the taste of any remaining original had sufficiently deteriorated. Time to pull one over on us. The difference from the Coca Cola that we had all learned to love and Coke Classic was one little change: real sugar was replaced with corn sweeteners—a much cheaper ingredient. Don’t you just love being a consumer?

THE TERMS OF THE DEAL When taking advantage of promotional opportunities, it is imperative to check the terms of the deal being offered. Many of the “bonus” certificates, coupons, cards, etc., have hoops for you to jump through. Dates of expiration are a primary method of limiting the obligations of the provider. Look for language stating when the item PAGE 12

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

must be used by and the limitations on what it can be used for.

Restaurant gift cards often do not include alcoholic beverages— just the meal. You may not be able to use more than one certificate at a time, and any amount left unused on the card sometimes may not be applied. Office supply companies offer a percentage off your purchases, but they exclude items that you are most likely to want and need, such as name-brand ink cartridges. I am not saying that you shouldn’t take advantage of these promotions. As always, read the fine print for the devil in the details so as not to be disappointed.

Making things easy for the consumer is not usually the goal.

BEWARE OF HIGH INTEREST CREDIT CARDS Due to the new Credit Card Act of 2009, there are now credit card issuers offering cards with an interest rate of 79.9 percent. If you are applying for a card with that high a rate of interest, you need a lot more than a credit card. I cannot think of anything that would persuade me to leave my wallet open to that kind of exposure. Even though you pay off your monthly statement, there could be some hook that the card issuer may come up with to nail you. As always, it’s up to you to look out for your best interests.

Card issuers that try to snare the subprime credit market are very callous in their treatment of the consumers that they try to entice into their game.

Volume 1 • Issue 23

IT’S YOUR LIFE TO LIVE One of the joys of being human is the ability to make judgments about what lifestyle we prefer. We are not robots or automatons that can be programmed to always do the things that “They” determine are best for us. There are arguments for and against all types of activities. Not everyone wants to climb Mount Everest or skydive, but some folks believe those exploits make life worthwhile. How can we be against explorers challenging fate when so many benefits have been added to our lives because of what those adventurers have done?

One of my great heroes is Alan Shepherd, who was the first to ride a rocket into space. What a challenge that must have been. Being a Casper Milquetoast and complying with all those “good for you” directives may or may not make your life fulfilled. Be yourself, as long as your activities don’t harm others. After all, it’s your life to live—so make it the best it can be.

hoped for. My wife and I had the pleasure of being King and Queen of Krewe Deja Vu du Monde this past Mardi Gras. Having previously been on court as Duke and Duchess, we had a good idea of the level of revelry to come. Both occasions became examples of being more than what we expected.

The camaraderie of a Mardi Gras court, although a endeavor with nothing but foolishness involved, became an unimaginable bonding of the good people that participated in the process. It is unbelievable how much kindness, courtesy and hard work went into making our experience rewarding and unforgettable.

Being the ones lauded and cared for is truly humbling. As far as I am concerned, we had the best of the best. If the opportunity ever presents itself, I recommend that you go for it and have a ball (yes, pun intended). I am eternally grateful to everyone who made our reign something that we shall always treasure. TJN

IT’S GOOD TO BE THE KING (AND QUEEN) There are very few things in life that come out better than you had

Hope Therapy Center Hope Therapy Center is a comprehensive outpatient clinic located on East Prien Lake Road here in Lake Charles. We provide physical, occupational and speech therapy services for patients of all ages. We love what we do and are excited for the opportunity to provide services for you or your family member. If you wish to know more about our programs, check out our website at www.hopetherapycenter.net From left to right: Jill Willis,PTA; Sonya M. Brooks, Owner, MA, CCC-SLP; Kim B. Anderson, Owner, PT, DPT; Mika Doucet, LOTR, MOT; and seated Emily D. Pelican, MS, CF-SLP.

Left to right: Cindy Istre, Office Manager and Cyndy Lirette, Administrative Assistant.

Volume 1 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 13

The

Life

Military Families: Learning to Cope

By Sara Blackwell Cody Guidry has a one-year-old son, Cruz, whom he has only seen a few times. He missed Cruz’s first words. He was not there to see him learn how to roll over. He has only been able to bathe and feed him several times. In fact, his son barely recognizes him. And, unfortunately, Cruz has a closer relationship with his grandfather than he does with his own father.

Guidry is an absent father, but not by choice. He has been deployed to Japan by the United States Navy.

He doesn’t have to say that he is will-

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

ing to give up his life for his country.

He already has given up an entire year of it. He will never get the time back with his wife and new child that he has missed protecting this nation. But that is part of the sacrifice one makes in the military— which Cody understands all too well when he kisses the photograph of his wife and son every night before he falls asleep.

Cicely Guidry and baby Cruz live with her mother and aunt in Lake Charles. She feels that she has spent all of her married life alone.

Throughout her pregnancy, there was no one to hold her belly or to accompany her to her doctor’s appointments. She was alone when the doctor announced that the new life growing inside her was a little boy. The sacrifice of this particular family is not death, but rather, the loss of precious moments that can never be replaced.

Regardless of their current situation, military families have unique issues that are not fully known to the rest of us.

Separation is not the only hardship suffered by military families.

Volume 1 • Issue 23

There is also the constant fear of death, injury or kidnapping. The image of uniformed military personnel at your door to announce the passing of your loved one is a constant nightmare.

If your soldier has not yet been deployed, then the family lives with the constant reminder that he may be called up at any moment. And don’t forget the problems that may occur when he returns home. There are emotional and physical struggles to reconnect and redesign the daily routine that your family has practiced during his absence.

Don’t be overwhelmed. Here are some tips to help you and your family get through these difficult times: Before deployment Establish rules and limits as a family, such as chores, responsibilities, etc., and the consequences for breaking the rules. Try to resolve any outstanding issues that have affected the family before your spouse leaves.

Spend as much time together as possible, both as a family and as a couple.

Before he leaves, everyone should decide how they’ll communicate with Dad when he’s gone. There’s email, phone calls, letters, packages; all will help ease the loneliness—on both sides.

After deployment Be aware of how your children are reacting now that their parent is gone. Keep the family unit strong.

Make sure the whole family eats together—with the TV and cell phones OFF. Give them opportunities to express themselves. Look for the warning signals: If grades begin to decline, if your child is being overly clingy, making excuses to avoid school, or is withdrawing from

previously enjoyed activities, you have a situation that needs to be addressed.

Don’t make your child grow up too fast. It’s not his job to become the “man of the house” now that his father is away. Yes, you may need him to help out a little more, but he still needs to do well in school and continue to be involved in his usual extracurricular activities.

When a parent is absent for a long time, children feel that they have lost control of their lives.

Therefore, give them control of something, even if it’s just a key to the house.

Your children will obviously be concerned about their parent’s safety.

What you tell them about that danger depends on their age and ability to comprehend. Be honest, but don’t get emotional with them. Reassure them that the vast majority of soldiers return home, and that their parent will probably be one of them.

If a child is fixated on fears that something bad will happen, seek help from a professional.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help from family and friends if you need it. And commiserate with other military wives. Only they know what you and your family are going through, and you won’t feel so alone.

There are various online support groups as well as a wealth of information on the Internet. Advice about communicating with children during deployments, along with other helpful suggestions, can be found on the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences “Courage to Care” Campaign Web site at www.usuhs.mil/psy/courage.html.

TJN

Second Annual SWLA Horse Expo March 20-21 to Benefit Therapeutic Riding Center What do you get when you combine horses with determined parents and friends who are committed to children with physical and mental challenges? SOAR, Steeds Of Acceptance & Renewal Therapeutic Riding Center, and Friends of Therapeutic Riding, Inc. a 501c3, nonprofit entity, are both dedicated to improving lives as well as raising funds to promote therapeutic riding.

Over the years, special needs children and young adults have consistently responded to the horses with anticipation, eagerness and joy, and are taking great pride in their accomplishments. Horse therapy has provided fun as well as noticeable progress with cognitive and motor skills, along with increasing confidence.

In addition, McNeese students from the Equine Science, PreVeterinarian and Adaptive PE classes have volunteered their time to the program, developing a rapport with the children and their horses. There is a future vision to expand the program to include the time spent at SOAR as part of the field experience portion for

actual accredited classes at McNeese.

On March 20-21, Friends of Therapeutic Riding is hosting the Second Annual Southwest Louisiana Horse Expo at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles. There will be presentations focusing on the horses and horse-related activities, vendors, a Kid’s Korral and a Tack Park and Swap (equine flea market) where vendors sell or trade their equine wares. The challenging arena competitions are open to ranch hand teams and individuals competing for trophy saddles and buckles. Fran Hancock, a premier Dennis Reis Universal Horsemanship clinician, will also host a clinic and demonstration. New to the expo will be a chili cook-off, which will be open to professionals and individuals.

Friends of Therapeutic Riding invite you to join them for great fun as patrons, sponsors, vendors and/or contestants. For more information go to www.SWLAHorseExpo.com or contact Heather Dionne at 337-725-3710.

You can also e-mail Heather at heather@serviceglass.net. TJN

Quality of Life Insurance • Term Insurance from 5 to 35 years Whole Life • Cancer and Accident Policies Annuities Disability Insurance • Worksite Supplemental Benefits for Employers and Employees

For More Information Or Quotes Call Jason E. Alford • Cell: (337) 263-2544 E-mail: jalfordagla@gmail.com Find out about Life Insurance you don’t have to die to use. www.qualityoflifeinsurance.com Volume 1 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 15

By Lisa Yates

Sulphur City Council Member Nancy Tower, center, spoke at January’s League of Women Voters meeting hosted

by Molly Morgan, first vice president, left, and Kay Andrews, president.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

If there’s a local issue that has you hopping mad, get involved. You may be able to help fix the problem, either by running for office yourself or by supporting a worthy candidate.

Sulphur City Council Member Nancy Tower shared her experiences running for office during the League of Women Voters’ noon meeting, Jan. 29, at Reeves Uptown Catering in Lake Charles.

“I’ve run three personal campaigns – lost one – that’s where I got my education,” she joked.

Tower, who represents District 4 in Sulphur, said we have to bring back the idea of public service as a valued and honorable vocation to all. She said it’s our job to identify people with a talent for public service and get behind them. And at times, we have to take on such responsibility ourselves, rather than always leaving it to others.

“It always saddens me when someone runs unopposed,” she said.

Tower first ran for office in 1995, when she was just 30 years old. She said she was naïve back then.

“I thought local politics would be nice; after all, I knew these people,” she said. “I quickly discovered the more local the politics, the more personal the politics.”

She learned a lot about what it takes to run for office as a result.

Besides having “a fire in the belly” to run, Tower said to make sure you “have skin thick enough.”

“Make sure that the significant others in your life have made a similar commitment,” she said.

Some of her other tips included: • Check the qualifications for the office. If you qualify, file the required papers to get yourself on the ballot.

• Make a list of “kitchen cabinet” members: family, friends and colleagues you think will support you.

You are not going to run for office alone. You need support.

• Come up with a target percentage that you think will win you the election. Roughly, the number of votes you need is the estimated number of registered voters, times the percentage turnout expected, times the percentage you need.

• Decide the issues upon which you will base your campaign. Do they coincide with that of the community?

Ideally, they should.

• Let people know why they should vote for you. While you should be able to discuss relevant issues intelligently and in detail, you should also be able to discuss them in brief “sound bites” for the media.

• Find someone to manage your campaign. You can’t do everything yourself.

• Put together a budget as soon as possible. Usually, the suggestion is $1 to $2 per household in your district.

• Identify enough voters to win the election, and develop a strategy to turn these people out on Election Day. • Contact voters and ask them to vote for you.

If you lose, Tower said to try not to take it personally.

“Win, lose or draw, run a campaign you’d be proud of,” she said. TJN Volume 1 • Issue 23

By Steve Springer M.D.

Let’s Talk About the Colon In just a few days from this printing, March will bring in National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I know, I know, most of you can barely retain your excitement as you sip your coffee and enjoy you favorite local flavor, but this is the month to think about yourself or your loved ones and inspire a little movement—if you know what I mean!

Colon cancer screening is one of the most difficult subjects that I discuss with my patients. Let’s face it; you just don’t see a line of people around the building in March waiting anxiously to get into the GI lab to get their screenings done.

Theoretically, that line should be there year round, filled with people of various ages, starting at 40 (for those at high risk), advancing to the most common initial screening age of 50 (for average risk), and finally, a few stragglers over 50 who have just put it off or are getting repeat exams. For example, my father was 65 before he had his first screening colon exam— and that’s with a doctor son harping for a good while. He was quite lucky it was clear.

Why is this a bit alarming? Here is the company line: Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States; many of these deaths happen because the cancers are found too late to be effectively treated. If colorectal cancer is found early enough, it is usually very treatable and not life threatening.

The whole process starts rather benignly, as a polyp. At first, a polyp is a small, harmless growth in the wall of the colon. However, as a polyp gets larger, it can develop into a cancer that grows and spreads.

One point should be emphasized: The people standing in that line around the building age 40 and even younger have risk factors that make them more likely to get colorectal cancer at a young age.

You should be screened early if: • You have had colorectal cancer or polyps in the past, • You have a family history of colorectal cancer or polyps, • You have ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, or • You have a hereditary colon cancer syndrome So, get to know your risk factors and realize that you need not have any of the above high risk factors to be screened at age 50. Just get it done—if not for yourself, do it for your family and loved ones. TJN

Volume 1 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 17

By Lisa Yates

Dairy Barn: The Go-To Place for Old-Fashioned Burgers and Milkshakes Although there are plenty of great burgers in town, hamburger and cheeseburger purists go to Dairy Barn. In the six years since it opened, Dairy Barn has established a strong following and has quickly become a local landmark.

Dairy Barn has three locations where you can get a good old-fashioned hamburger and milkshake: 2251 Maplewood Drive in Sulphur; 3905 Ryan Street in Lake Charles; and, 4453 Nelson Road in Lake Charles.

Pierre Malus, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife Debra, said the burgers are popular because they are made with fresh-ground beef, just like the good ol’ days!

“We grind the meat fresh every morning at 5 a.m.,” he said. “We never use frozen hamburger patties.”

He said restaurant suppliers are constantly trying to sell him frozen hamburger patties, but Malus isn’t

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

buying. He insists on fresh-ground beef for his burgers.

“You know how good fish tastes when you catch it fresh and come home and cook it verses when you freeze it and cook it sometime later – that’s how it is with burgers. You can taste that little bit of difference,” he said.

Malus said the idea was to create a great burger restaurant with highquality food and everything fresh.

“All of our ingredients are fresh,” he said. “We slice our tomatoes fresh, and we use freshly-sliced onions to make our onion rings. Our lemonade is made from freshly-squeezed lemons.”

Dairy Barn’s burgers are made to order, placed on a soft bun and priced right. You can get a hamburger ($1.95), cheeseburger ($2.25), or bacon burger ($2.35). Adding an extra meat patty (for $1.25) is another option. There’s even a shrimp burger ($3.49) on the menu.

Owners of Dairy Barn Debra and Pierre Malus DINNER AND A SHOW Malus remembers as a kid growing up he loved the old-fashioned burger restaurants in Lake Charles.

“I grew up on old-fashioned burgers,” he said. “There were two restaurants when I was a kid growing up: Colonial Inn and Mary Ann’s. The owners were Greek and they were cousins, both made the best old-fashioned juicy hamburgers. George, who owned Mary Ann’s restaurant, would holler the orders back to the people making a lot of noise and really putting on a show. We do some of that.”

Model trains racing around the rafters at each Dairy Barn location keeps patrons entertained.

Malus said his brother-in-law Burt Parham builds the trains and hooks them up. He said kids of all ages love the trains.

“Several businesses and organizations have their logos on the train cars,” he said.

He said the marshal’s office has a train car; the police department and the fire department have cars; there’s even a Dairy Barn car.

“We have a New Orleans train car with bells and whistles,” he said. “We also have Christmas train cars that play Christmas carols.”

Kids are also invited to give the train whistle a pull.

ICE CREAM PARLOR The Ryan Street restaurant’s ice cream bar looks like an old-fashioned ice cream parlor with its retro milkshake maker on the counter.

Malus said it doesn’t work anymore, but it’s a piece of Lake Charles’ history he wants to remember.

“This is from the old Borden’s Dairy, located next to ICCS,” he said, adding he has fond memories of the ice cream parlor there.

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Remember old-fashioned soda fountain shakes? Dairy Barn has them – made with real Borden ice cream. You can also get hand-dipped ice cream cones, floats, sundaes and banana splits.

Dairy Barn’s chocolate shakes are amazing.

What’s the secret?

Malus said they make their chocolate shakes with vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and Carnation malted milk powder.

Another local favorite is the Gold Brick Topping.

This is a true Southern specialty.

The original chocolate hard shell ice cream coating is made with chunks of Elmer’s Gold Brick candy.

Malus said kids love Dairy Barn’s ice cream bar.

“Kids can get a token that looks like a wooden nickel, good for a free ice cream cone,” he said.

A DIVERSE MENU Dairy Barn may be known for its mouthwatering burgers, crispy onion rings and old-fashioned shakes, but there’s more on the menu to try. The diverse menu includes sandwiches, salads, poboys, shrimp, catfish and chicken strip dinners.

Malus said fish and shrimp dinners are popular menu items, especially

Volume 1 • Issue 23

during Lent.

“We sell 200 to 300 pounds of shrimp per week,” he said.

U.S. MARINE CORPS When you visit Dairy Barn, you’ll see a U.S. Marine Corp flag on display in each of the restaurants.

That’s because the owners have a special place in their hearts for the U.S. Marine Corps. Their nephew Chris LeBleu was a Marine who served in Iraq.

Malus said LeBleu had a liver transplant five years ago.

“Two years ago, he passed away,” he said. “We’ll never forget the support of the Marines, especially our nephew’s commanding officer, Major Brad Tippit. He’s become a family friend.”

Whenever the USMC Silent Drill Team’s tour bus passes through town, it stops Dairy Barn.

Malus and his wife feed the entire platoon – free of charge. They did that recently. A busload of Marines had burgers for lunch, and shrimp and fish for dinner.

“We wanted to do something to give back to the Marines,” he said.

“They were very polite and well-mannered. These young people were impressive.”

A NEW LOCATION In late April, Dairy Barn will be moving its Ryan Street restaurant to a new location, 1016 E. Prien Lake Road in Lake Charles.

“We’re moving to the old Shillelagh’s,” Malus said. “It’s a bigger building with more parking.”

He and an investor, are spending more than $200,000 on remodeling.

“When it’s finished, the building will look like a

Hard Rock Café,” he said. “We’ll have vintage Coke and Disney memorabilia, and an old Beatles guitar.”

For more information, visit a Dairy Barn location near you. Hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Mon.-Fri, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat. TJN

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 19

If you have a recipe and story you would like to share, e-mail us at lauren@thejambalayanews.com

What’s Cookin’

Sha-Sha’s of Creole Comes to Lake Charles Carlton and Sherry Styron

Downtown Lake Charles is in for a treat: Sha-Sha’s of Creole has just opened its doors in the old Majestic Grocery building at 609 Ryan St. Many of you remember the little café called the Creole Food Mart, which was opened in 1972 by Adeline and Charles Styron. Hurricane Rita all but destroyed it— and when it came time to consider rebuilding, Adeline’s son Carlton and his wife Sherry took the reins. They have renamed

the restaurant “Sha-Sha’s,” — Adeline’s nickname since childhood—and are serving all of the old-fashioned Creole dishes that she used to make. Sherry Styron says that these original recipes are very simplistic. “The flavors come from simmering—not a lot of seasoning!”

Just in time for Lent, here is a delicious recipe for crawfish etouffee that will have your family asking for more.

TJN

Crawfish Etoufee Ingredients • 1 lb. margarine • 1 diced bell pepper • 1 tblsp. Cajun seasoning • 1 lb. crawfish tails • 1 diced onion • Minced garlic • 1 can cream of mushroom soup • ½ cup of water • Noodles or rice Preparation Melt margarine in a large skillet. Sauté onion, pepper, and seasonings. Add mushroom soup and stir until smooth. Add crawfish tails and simmer for 45 minutes over medium heat. Add water a little at a time until you have the consistency that you desire. Serve over rice or noodles.

Enjoy!

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Volume 1 • Issue 23

By Lisa Yates Photos by Michelle LaVoie and Courtesy of WCCH.

Left: Barbara Rumery of Vinton.

Residents in Sulphur, Westlake, Hackberry, Carlyss and Vinton are gearing up for a millage vote on March 27 officials say will allow West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital (WCCH) to provide the same level of services of the past several years.

Barbara Rumery of Vinton is supporting the proposition and encouraging others to do the same.

“I think it’s just common sense,” she said. “We need our clinic; and, we need people to come out and vote for this.”

Rumery, 67, is a member of a volunteer organization asking voters in Wards 4 and 7, in Calcasieu Parish, and Ward 6, of Cameron Parish, to vote “yes” on a 6.95 millage request that would be used to maintain the buildings and equipment of the WCCH Hospital Service District.

Besides WCCH’s main campus, located at 701 Cypress Street in Sulphur, the hospital’s service district includes both locations of Dynamic Dimensions, the Hackberry Rural Health Clinic, the Vinton Medical Clinic and the Genesis Volume 1 • Issue 23

Therapeutic Riding Center.

The Vinton Medical Clinic is important to Rumery and her clients at the area’s senior center where she works.

“Ninety percent of the clients we have go to the clinic,” she said.

Rumery fears without the millage, the only way the clinic could survive shrinking reimbursements is to cut programs, which would hurt those who need it most. That’s why she volunteers her time helping answer questions about the tax proposal.

Below: Millage supporter Wilmer Dugas of Sulphur.

What will it cost?

Bill Hankins, chief executive officer at WCCH, said the proposed tax is homestead exempt. He said approval of the proposition will cost many voters nothing at all.

“The amount of the tax paid is dependent upon the assessed value of the home,” he said.

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 21

Front row from left: Bill Hankins, CEO; Paul Hymes, VP of Environmental Services; Trey Rion, Chief Information Officer. Back row from left: Janie Fruge’, VP of Patient Care/Chief Nursing Officer; Tammy Broussard, CFO; Christi Kingsley, VP of Human Resources.

He said if the assessed value of your home is $75,000 or less, you pay nothing more in taxes. If the value of your home is $100,000 and you take the homestead exemption, you will pay $17.38 annually (or $1.45 monthly) for a period of 10 years.

Hankins said the hospital will cap the millage at 6.95, and pledges to roll back the millage rate at the annual millage renewal date contingent upon maintaining 90-100 days of operating expenses through the next annual millage renewal date.

“This promise demonstrates the commitment of the hospital to the community,” he said.

Reductions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements For many years, physicians and hospitals nationwide have faced rapidly escalating labor and operating costs in an environment of shrinking reimbursements.

These are the challenges also facing WCCH, according to Hankins.

He said more than half of the hospital’s revenue comes from Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

“Since the early ‘90s, these reimbursements have been going down drastically,” he said. “Uncompensated care dollars were reduced from $3.1 million in 2008, to $2.1 million in 2009. We don’t know what our payments are going to be this year.”

He said the hospital cannot continue to absorb that kind of reduction and meet community expectations.

Hankins added WCCH has taken note of the problem and has been working on solutions. He said costcutting measures led to the sale of the ambulance service and the elimination of management positions, including the hospital’s chief operating officer and compliance officer.

“Medicare and Medicaid are programs established by the government to help us with uncompensated care,” he said. “In the near future, this funding may be completely eliminated.”

With the recent economic downturn, he said challenges are reaching historic levels.

In 2009, WCCH provided about $13 million in charity care, including unpaid medical bills not covered by Medicare or Medicaid.

“Our bad debt has gone up 20 percent over the past 12 months, which is very unusual,” Hankins said. “We’ve never seen numbers like these before, which is indicative that the number of uninsured patients

has increased, and those with insurance may be carrying higher deductibles.”

Owned by the taxpayers in the community Unlike hospitals that are part of a larger health care system, WCCH cannot rely on affiliates to aid it through uncertain economic times. The hospital is a stand-alone facility owned by the taxpayers of the community.

“We’re owned by the citizens we serve and governed by a board of commissioners made up of local people appointed by the Calcasieu and Cameron Parish police juries,” Hankins said.

Members of the 2010 WCCH Board of Commissioners are Bobby LeTard, chairman of the board; Joe Devall, vice chairman; Frank LaBarbera, commissioner; Rapheal Fontenot, commissioner; and, Bob Davidson, commissioner.

As a community hospital, Hankins said WCCH is subject to an external audit each year, which is required by state law.

“Since the hospital opened its doors 56 years ago, it has passed each of its external audits,” he said.

Lance Waldmeier, CFNP, and Rena Fenetz, RN, at WCCH’s Vinton Medical Clinic.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Volume 1 • Issue 23

However, he said the hospital cannot budget for a deficit. Hankins said after researching different options, the hospital’s finance committee proposed the idea of a maintenance millage.

“The hospital has not asked for a maintenance tax since the mid ‘50s,” he said. “That was set up to get the hospital started. It has been funding all of the maintenance

Millage supporters, Dick Kennison of Kennison Forest Products and Neida Kaye Loup of Sulphur.

Volume 1 • Issue 23

for the entire history of the hospital.

Most hospital service districts haven’t been able to accomplish that.”

He said the new tax would raise roughly $5 million each year.

Where will the money go?

All revenue from the 10-year long millage would be used to: • Maintain the buildings and equipment of the hospital service district.

• Maintain and expand emergency room department capabilities and support the hospitalist/ER physician program.

• Support the Vinton Medical Clinic, Hackberry Rural Health Clinic and the Therapeutic Riding Center.

WCCH Board of Commissioners Rapheal Fontenot of Vinton and Joe Devall of Hackberry, endorse the millage request for rural clinics in their communities.

“As the only medical provider of care between Sulphur, La., and Orange, Tx., the Vinton Medical Clinic is an essential part of the health and vitality of the Vinton Community,” Fontenot said. “While the area is between these two metropolitan areas, access to quality health care is nonetheless important.”

Devall urges voters in his community to support the Hackberry Rural Health Clinic by voting “yes” on March 27.

“The Hackberry community is still in its rebuilding stage; however, the residents of Hackberry fully understand the role that the clinic plays in helping its community rebuild,” he said. “Not only has the clinic itself risen from the destruction of recent hurricanes, but has helped provide residents with a sense of safety and security.”

The hospital’s CEO said money normally spent on maintenance has been reallocated to provide services most affected by reductions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

He said funds from the millage will also help WCCH maintain and expand its emergency room capabilities.

ER services When it comes to an emergency, location is everything.

Located near the busy Interstate-10 corridor west of Calcasieu River, physicians and nurses at WCCH see thousands of patients in the emergency room each year.

Hankins said approximately 21,000 patients visited the hospital’s emergency room in 2009.

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 23

“The hospital is the second largest emergency and trauma service provider in Southwest Louisiana,” he said.

He said early intervention as the key.

“Other area health care providers are 15 minutes away, assuming there’s no traffic or construction on local highways or bridges,” he said.

“Residents count on the skill and expertise of the health care providers at WCCH in emergency situations.”

Hankins said to ensure the best possible care for patients in the ER, doctors who cover “call” specialize in general surgery.

“We’re the only hospital in the five parish area with an uninterrupted general surgery call service for the last 30 years,” he said.

He said there’s a general surgery physician available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is important when an ER sees a high volume of trauma patients.

Bobby LeTard of Westlake said having highly-qualified doctors is important to the community.

“The Westake community has been profoundly impacted by the efforts of West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital, as it is the only hospital that has recruited local, quality physicians

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

to practice in Westlake,” he said. “Not only does this help increase the quality of life for those living in the city, but also it helps create a solid foundation of health care that area schools and local industry can rely on in the event of an emergency.”

Hankins said the hospital’s hospitalist/ER physician program has helped attract a staff of dedicated group of physicians and nurses to the area.

What is a hospitalist?

A hospitalist is a physician, with a specialty in Internal Medicine who provides care to patients that require a hospital-stay. At least one of WCCH’s

Vinton Medical

hospitalists is always present in the hospital, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Hankins said the hospitalist consults with your private physician on a day-to-day basis on decisions about your care. He said this allows physicians to pick up the phone and talk to the hospitalist about their patients without interrupting scheduled patients appointments.

“Physicians enthusiastically

support the hospitalist program,” he said. “It allows family physicians in the area to practice in their clinics without being called out to handle emergency hospital admissions. Patients like the program because it improves the time-

Clinic

Supporters George Hardy Vincent and Nina Vincent of Sulphur.

Volume 1 • Issue 23

liness in which they are seen in the hospital and in their physicians’ offices.”

A state-of-the-art facility Hankins said the hospital service district has been investing in growth

Hackbe

rry Rura

l Health

initiatives and efficiencies that allowed WCCH to continue its core mission: “Providing advanced quality health care with attention to patient satisfaction and clinical excellence.”

In 2006, the taxpayers in the hospital’s service district passed a bond issue to build a new hospital addition and purchase new equipment.

Clinic

“Before 2005, facilities of the hospital service district were in dire need of renovation,” Hankins said.

He said since the approval of a $25 million capital bond issuance in 2006, WCCH has invested more than $40 million in facility updates to ensure that Calcasieu and Cameron parishes are equipped with state-of-the-art care.

With the passage of the bond issue, the hospital was able to construct a new building which will house a new admitting department, radiology department, cardiac catheterization laboratory and 12-bed intensive care unit.

The new building is scheduled to open in April.

The bond money also allowed the hospital to spend nearly $15 million to renovate its existing facility. Patient rooms were remodeled, hospital beds were replaced, the computer system was upgraded and the nurse call system was replaced.

In addition, the hospital was also able to purchase a new information (IT) system where caregivers will provide an electronic health record (EHR) for each patient. The new system will allow physicians to electronically access patient laboratory results, radiology reports, transcription data and medical images at the hospital. The

new technology will also provide nurses with a bar-code to scan patient wristbands and medications at the bedside.

Federal legislation is giving hospitals and physicians financial incentives, beginning in Oct., to adopt EHR solutions. Medicare reimbursements will decline further for hospitals not utilizing the new technology.

Hankins said capital dollars from bond issuance have helped create a state-of-the-art facility. He said by law the funds cannot be used for maintenance.

“Bond money can only be used for the construction of new buildings and for the acquisition of equipment,” he said. “It cannot be used for maintaining the hospital’s building or equipment, or for the purchase of supplies.”

He added maintaining facilities and new technology is necessary for patient care, but expensive. For example, officials say the cardiac catheterization lab alone requires approximately $100,000 in funds for maintenance each year.

Residential feedback Residential feedback has indicated that maintaining a strong community hospital is important to members of the hospital service district.

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Volume 1 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 25

Hankins said in its December meeting, the WCCH Board of Commissioners discussed the maintenance issue and passed a resolution ordering the call of a special election in the hospital service district.

“The millage issue was brought before both the Calcasieu and Cameron Police Juries, and the call for an election was passed without a dissenting vote,” he said.

Police Juror Hal McMillin has been a strong supporter of the area’s hospital.

“I’m proud to serve as a Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Representative of a district served by West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital, a hospital that has continued to provide our communities west of the Calcasieu River with the best possible health care available,” he said. “As a resident of one of those communities, and having received health care services there before, West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital and its staff are second to none.”

Both candidates in Sulphur’s mayor race voiced their support for a strong community hospital.

“It is very rare that one finds a community hospital that is committed solely to the needs of its patients, regardless of circumstance. To know that the City of Sulphur can rely upon

PAGE 26

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

a hospital dedicated to the latest technological innovations and advancements in health care solidifies its role as the cornerstone of this community,” said Ron LeLeux, Mayor of the City of Sulphur.

Sulphur City Councilman Chris Duncan published this statement on his Web site regarding the WCCH tax: “The hospital is a vital part of this community, not only does it serve Sulpur but Vinton, Hackberry, Westlake and Cameron Parish. Due to the state and federal government cutbacks on funding this tax may be needed so we don’t lose programs affiliated with the hospital and the outpatient clinics. As an individual, I only have one vote, same as you.”

Early voting Early voting for the March 27 Calcasieu-Cameron Hospital Service District Special Election begins Saturday, March 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in either one of the following locations for residents of Wards 4 and 7 of Calcasieu Parish: • In Room 7 of Calcasieu Parish Courthouse, 1000 Ryan Street in Lake Charles; • In Old Sulphur City Hall, 500 North Huntington Street in Sulphur; Residents in Ward 6 of Cameron

Parish can early vote at: • South Cameron Hospital, 5360 West Creole Hwy. in Creole, La. Early voting runs through March 13-20, every day except Sunday.

Bob Davidson of Sulphur is supporting the proposed millage request.

He said the hospital and its 650 employees are important to the community and provide a valuable service.

“Our hospital is what helps Sulphur maintain its sense of community,” he said. “It is staffed with local doctors and nurses who are deeply committed to maintaining the quality of life and the vitality of the community as a whole. With a taxpayerowned hospital in our area, our residents have the unique opportunity to be provided with personal health care that is tailored to their unique needs.”

For more information or to volunteer, contact WCCH Administration at (337) 527-4241, or e-mail: millagefacts@wcch.com. Visit WCCH online at www.wcch.com. TJN

Volume 1 • Issue 23

On March 27, a proposed tax millage will be presented to the voters in Wards 4 and 7 in Calcasieu Parish and Ward 6 in Cameron Parish. The request is being made by West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital (WCCH) to levy a tax in the amount of 6.95 mills on all the property subject to taxation within the District (for a period of 10 years) for the purpose of maintaining, operating, supporting and improving the hospital facilities of the hospital service district.

In an effort to provide information to the citizens of the hospital’s service

area, which is comprised of Sulphur, Carlyss, Westlake, Hackberry and Vinton, as well as answer questions, several town hall meetings have been scheduled. Dates and times for each town hall meeting are: Sulphur Thursday, March 11, at 6 p.m., at Dynamic Dimensions in Sulphur.

“I was born and raised in Lake Charles but have lived in Texas for the past 8 and a half years. Your news magazine is the first in which I have been able to catch up on local news as well as seeing familiar faces. I always grab the Jambalaya News when I’m home visiting my parents and as now for example, they bring it when they visit. Again, just wanted to say I love reading your magazine.

Please keep up the variety of events and age demographics covered.”

– Crystal

Vinton Thursday, February 25, at 6 p.m., at the Vinton Medical Clinic, 1611 Hampton Street.

For more information on these public meetings or other items related to the proposed millage, call (337) 528-4735.

TJN

Hackberry Monday, March 1, at 6 p.m., at the Hackberry Rural Health Clinic, 1020 Main Street.

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PAGE 27

ker n Shouma o d n a r B y B

We’ve Earned It I like to think of myself as a pretty keen observer of the world at large. I see the dust motes floating in a bar of sunshine, hear little snippets of conversation.

I especially enjoy overhearing things people think I can’t hear.

I can’t help it. I’m trained as a reporter and my job is to observe, listen and, obviously, report.

So, forgive me if some of the things I’ve heard since the New Orleans Saints won their first-ever Super Bowl earlier this month have a way of sticking with me. And forgive me for spreading around gossip.

Maybe it’s something I’ll think about giving up for Lent. Maybe. I have an unhealthy love of Diet Dr. Pepper, too, so that might have to go instead.

But, yeah. There’s been talk.

It’s been quiet, though. This kind of talk isn’t something any sane per-

son would say aloud in mixed company here in Louisiana. Unless, you know, they were cruising for a bruising. It’s the kind of thing whispered behind a hand at the dark end of the bar only after, having taken a long look around, the whisperer sees that the coast is clear.

What’s that? You haven’t heard?

I’m not surprised. You Saints fans have been so busy celebrating the most historic sports moment in Louisiana history you haven’t had much time to stop and smell the king cake.

Now, don’t go crazy and kill the messenger here. I’m just repeating

some things I’ve heard around town.

Lean in close. Let me let you in on the gossip. I’ll have to whisper, though, so listen closely.

Some people have said...that they...are sick of hearing “Who Dat”... sick of hearing about the Saints.

They want to see more colors than black and gold. The sight of a Reggie Bush jersey makes them queasy. They cower like puppies in a thunderstorm at the first, booming sound of a “Who Dat!”, shivering in fear and resentment.

I know, right?

The state of Louisiana is supposed to love this team. If not for the fact that the Saints are the home

McNeese Baseball and Softball season tickets on sale now!

Please contact the special services and equality office at least 72 hours before any home event to request accommodations for individuals with disabilities. This includes the need for materials in an alternative format such as large print or Braille, sign language interpreters, accessible seating, and accessible parking information. Ph: (337) 475-5428.

PAGE 28

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Volume 1 • Issue 23

team, then for the fact that their Super Bowl win has brought healing and happiness to a city and state in desperate need of both.

Three devastating hurricanes in three years, a crime rate in New Orleans to rival some of the most dangerous places in the world, an education system and job futures so lacking that thousands of college graduates flee the state for greener pastures every year—and a Saints championship has been able to, maybe not completely heal, but at least help Louisianans forget their state’s problems for awhile.

This is all probably quite a shock for some of you, this Who Dat blowback, but I understand why you might be surprised. I mean, it has been pretty wild and crazy out there in Who Dat Nation.

The spiritual leader of Who Dat Nation, quarterback Drew Brees, has been making the rounds on national television in his best sweater-and-dress-shirt combo, gamely tolerating Oprah wiping at the birthmark on his face like it were a lipstick stain. Brees came back to Louisiana just in time for Mardi Gras and to reign, dressed in the black-and-gold tunic of a Roman god, as the King of Bacchus in one of New Orleans’ largest parades.

I’m sure the tunic is just something he wears everyday under his street clothes like Clark Kent. The same with Sean Payton’s black-andgold knight costume from the Orpheus parade.

Throngs of adoring Who Dat faithful waited hours in a Lafayette Academy parking lot waiting to meet and get an autograph from Saints kicker Garrett Hartley. That’s right. The Saints’ kicker signed 300plus autographs in a single appearance. Not bad for a guy who went undrafted in 2008 and was signed then released by the Denver Broncos before training camp.

Then there was Mardi Gras, which was a debauched, drunken spectacle even when much of the Who Dat Nation was wearing paper bags over their heads. The Fat Tuesday insanity only increased 100-fold in the aftermath of the Saints’ big win, extending, what was typically a three- or four-day celebration, retroactively to a 10-day long binge of food, alcohol and undiluted joy.

And now, some folks want it all to go away. They want the party to Volume 1 • Issue 23

stop, the street-sweeper to clean up all the beads and doubloons, baseball season to start.

They want you to please, for the love of all that is loving and merciful in the world, stop screaming “Who Dat!” in their faces.

If you want my opinion, the Who Dat Nation has earned every right to howl at the moon, or at tourists in the French Quarter, or anywhere else they might please.

Today might be Ash Wednesday, the day you’re supposed to repent your sins, stop the party and sacri-

fice your vices until the coming of Easter, but these good times should roll on until the start of next football season, at the very least.

And if someone should work up the courage to tell you to keep it down, that they are sick of hearing about the Saints?

Observe the frustration on their faces. Listen to the plaintive whine in their voices.

Then rear back and let out a big ole’ “Who Dat!”—a report loud enough for all of them to hear.

Creedence ClearWater Revisited SATURDAY, MARCH 27 • 8PM TICKETS STARTING AT $35

Brandon Shoumaker is a graduate of McNeese State University and has covered sports for more than seven years for various publications. Coaches Brandon Shoumaker or parents with story tips may contact Brandon at bshoumaker@yahoo.com or send him a message on Twitter (@bshoumaker).

TJN

Randy Travis

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Ticket price includes all taxes. Tickets available online at ticketmaster.com, at all Ticketmaster outlets including select Dillard’s, select Kroger’s, Be-Bop Records, Major Video, Peaches, Tower Records and Wherehouse Records & Tapes stores. To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 29

By Mary Louise Ruehr

Sex, Drugs & Rock ’n’ Roll Through the magic of reading, you can spend time with a true rock ’n’ roll legend — Ozzy Osbourne, who shares his life story in I Am Ozzy. For his fans, and for anyone interested in music and pop culture, this is a real treat. It’s written in the first person, as if he were sitting in the room, talking to you — expletives included. Be warned: Ozzy’s words are candid, irreverent and even raw.

John Osbourne was born in England in 1948, one of six children in a poor family. He hated school, so

he would “think up all sorts of insane things to do to make the other kids laugh.” And he looked for ways to escape: “I loved anything that could change the way I felt,” he writes, which included beer and drugs. He also got into trouble: “Crime came naturally to me.” After he and school were finished with each other, he tried and failed at several jobs and even spent some time in prison.

“Then the Beatles happened,” and hearing their music changed his life.

He explains why he decided to be in a

band, and he details the beginnings of Black Sabbath. (“I can honestly say we never took the black magic stuff seriously for one second.”) There were ups and downs with the many musicians he knew in the 1960s and beyond, and way too much drinking, sex and drugs.

Ozzy tells funny stories, and all the time we’re laughing, we’re repulsed by his actions (yes, he bit the head off a live dove and later a bat), but somehow we still like him: “I’d try to win people over with my craziness. …

But, of course, behind the mask there was a sad old clown.” Even after his manager stole his money, he tells us, “But I don’t hate him. … There’s enough hate in the world as it is, without me adding to it.” And then he met Sharon, and his life became a real love story: “I’d never known what it was like to fall in love before I met Sharon”; “It’s not enough to say that I love Sharon. I owe my life to Sharon.”

The book has two sections of photos, including nudity. Spending a weekend with Ozzy was great fun. He expressed his ideas surprisingly well and the reader can pretty easily visualize everything he described. He put PAGE 30

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

me right into the rock scene of the past 40 years or so.

Drugs are the reason behind The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America by Don Lattin. In this remarkably engaging read, Lattin focuses on the four men named in the title, who came together at Harvard in 1960 to chart new territory as psychological and social experimenters.

Much of the book’s material comes from author interviews with the surviving three (Leary died in 1996) and people who knew them.

Timothy Leary “was once considered a rising star in mainstream psychology,” but he was an iconoclast who came to “believe that traditional psychotherapy was a waste of time.”

After a friend raved about “magic mushrooms” in Mexico that gave him “mystical insights,” Leary sought and completely embraced the mind-altering experiences he obtained from psilocybin in mushrooms, mescaline in the peyote cactus, and later, the synthetic drug LSD. He set up the Harvard Psychedelic Project, “thoroughly convinced that psychedelic drugs would revolutionize the practice of psychology.” The Volume 1 • Issue 23

write books, and I jotted down several titles for further reading.

I have always been drawn to Huston Smith’s writings on comparative religion, and I am pleased to say that finally, at the age of 90, he has written his autobiography, Tales of Wonder: Adventures Chasing the Divine. Smith calls himself a “religious communicator, … not a religious scholar.” He writes that growing up in a village in China, “I didn’t learn Christianity in Sunday school; I drank it in with my mother’s milk. … The Transcendent was my morning meal, we had the Eternal at lunch, and I ate a slice of the Infinite at dinner.”

He plays down his interaction with Timothy Leary, but reveals that he met “special” people who opened his mind to complex ideas and a worldview of religion. He became well known when he taught a TV course on comparative religion and in 1958 wrote the popular The World’s Religions. He traveled extensively, carrying on a “love affair with the world.”

He writes, “I trained with Zen roshis in Japan. In India, I practiced yoga with Hindu yogis. I whirled with the whirling dervishes in Iran. In Mexico, I sweated in sweat lodges and took peyote with the Huichols. I med-

itated with Buddhist monks in Burma. I camped with Aborigines in Australia. My teacher of the world’s religions was the world.” He says he “practiced Hinduism unconditionally for ten years, then Buddhism for ten years, and then Islam for another ten years — all the while remaining a Christian.” At 90, he says he feels grateful and “finally” has a mantra: “God, you are so good to me.”

Copyright © 2009 by Mary Louise Ruehr. Write to OneForTheBooks@cheerful.com

TJN

egotistical Leary later thought of himself as the “high priest of the LSD movement,” and at the Gathering of the Tribes at the Human Be-In in San Francisco in 1967, he famously urged everyone to “Tune in, turn on, and drop out!”

Richard Alpert was part of Harvard’s Department of Social Relations Center for Personality Research, which hired Leary in 1959.

Lattin calls him “the seeker,” because he was looking not for a drug high, but for a religious experience. And he found it; in 1968, he returned from India as Ram Dass, wrote the nowclassic Be Here Now, and became a popular speaker and spiritual adviser.

Huston Smith was born in China in 1919 to Methodist missionaries, studied in the United States and was ordained as a minister. He took part in the psychedelic research as a means of learning how people find a spiritual connection with God. But he left the group because he couldn’t condone its members’ “sexual immorality” and “heresy.”

Andrew Weil was interested in altered states of consciousness, but mostly those naturally produced — laughter, physical exertion and chanting. He was drawn to Leary’s research with “psychoactive drugs” found in plants. But he too became disillusioned.

The author tells anecdotes about all four men as they move around the country and the world. With them, we encounter famous scholars, authors, poets and rock stars. (Lattin notes that John Lennon wrote “Come Together” in honor of Leary’s run for governor of California in 1969.) I was fascinated at how the four men were so dissimilar, each interested in different aspects of the mind/body/soul connection. These men “changed the way we see the very nature of reality,” writes Lattin. They all went on to Volume 1 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 31

Calcasieu Parish Public Library Wins National Award The Calcasieu Parish Public Library has been awarded the Highsmith Library Innovation Award for 2010. The Highsmith Award recognizes a public library’s innovative and creative service program to the community. Any innovative, cutting-edge program, activity or service is considered for nomination.

The 2009 Summer Reading Program Yard Sign project brought national attention to Calcasieu Parish. The yard signs, originally used at Louisville Free Public Library, proved to be a dynamic solution to the problem of getting students to read during the summer vacation from school.

Michael Sawyer, CPPL Director, saw the Louisville project and adapted it for use in Calcasieu libraries.

The signs reached a special population through the unique approach to rewarding summer readers, and brought measurable results in the circulation of library materials and visits to public libraries.

Calcasieu is only the second library in the South to win the Highsmith Award in its 14-year history. The judges who reviewed the Calcasieu entry liked that it was a simple but effective way to get children to read, and it increased the library visibility in the community and on the Web. They commented that the project encourages a new generation of library advocates and community involvement. Libraries in other parts of the country can easily adapt the project to their own communities making sustainability possible.

TJN

Sowela, McNeese Offer New Transfer Options to Students

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) 436-7800 ext. 106 for more information.

715 Kirby Street, Lake Charles, 70601 PAGE 32

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Students have more courses to choose from that transfer between Sowela Technical Community College and McNeese State University thanks to updates to an articulation agreement.

Sowela and McNeese faculty members and department chairs recently met to identify courses at Sowela that are equivalent or comparable to courses taught at McNeese in the area of computer technology.

Eleven courses met the criteria as defined by subject matter experts, and have been formally articulated.

Students who complete these courses can transfer coursework between McNeese and Sowela towards either an associate of applied science in computer technology degree at Sowela or the bachelor of general studies with a concentration in computer science at McNeese.

By next year, students may be able to apply all of the new transferable courses toward a computer science degree with a concentration in applied computer science, which is currently in the works at McNeese, according to Sid Bradley, head of McNeese’s Department of Math, Computer Science and Statistics.

“This agreement is an expansion of the articulation agreement between

the two institutions that was initiated over 10 years ago,” said Stephanie Smith, Chief Articulation Officer at Sowela. “The addition of these 11 courses almost doubles the number of articulated courses.”

Courses in the arts and humanities, natural sciences and mathematics and social and behavioral sciences have been articulated over the years through these annual updates to the original agreement of 1998-99 between McNeese and Sowela.

Mathilda Rigmaiden, department chair of Business and Information Technology at Sowela participated in the articulation effort. She said the collaborative endeavors benefit both institutions and the students.

“Particularly with today’s economic challenges, students are looking for flexible ways to continue their college education while juggling the demands of jobs and family,” Rigmaiden said.

“The articulation agreements allow students to transfer courses between Sowela and McNeese to reach their educational goals in a timely manner.”

Students should consult with their academic advisors before enrolling into an articulated course to confirm that they meet all requirements for transfer credit.

TJN

Volume 1 • Issue 23

Killin’ Time Crossword

Crossword puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com (www.bestcrosswords.com). Used with permission.

Volume 1 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

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their initial in the box. When all dots are connected, the player with the most boxes wins.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Volume 1 • Issue 23

der useum n e l l n E dren's M a D By e Chil of th r o t c Dire

Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009, 20th Century Fox, DVD) There are 19 museums that make up the Smithsonian system in Washington D.C. What better place for a sequel to Night at the Museum, where all the exhibits come to life when the sun goes down?

Ben Stiller is back as Larry Daley, but now he’s out of the night watchman profession and instead invents

Volume 1 • Issue 23

products that he sells on infomercials. He takes a nostalgic trip back to the New York Museum of Natural History only to find that all his beloved exhibits are being shipped off to D.C. for storage in the Smithsonian’s huge basement. When Larry finds out that the life-giving Egyptian tablet has gone with them, he hightails it over to Washington to keep all those museums from becoming nighttime disasters.

From that, you can probably put together the rest of the story yourself. All of the characters from the first movie are back for the sequel, notably Robin Williams as President Roosevelt and Owen Wilson as

Zebediah the cowboy. Ah, but there’s nothing like a sequel trying to surpass the original. And with all those museums, we can have Rodin’s Thinker coming to life, people popping in and out of paintings, giant squids, and even Dorothy’s ruby slippers from Oz. The best addition to the cast is Amy Adams (Julie & Julia) as an adventure-seeking Amelia Earhart.

She makes a great romantic interest for Larry as he’s trying to regain the golden tablet and help the exhibits get back to New York. This isn’t an easy task, because there’s an Egyptian king that wants to use the tablet to summon spirits and take over the world.

As end-of-the-world movies go, it’s nice to see one treated lightly for a change. Most of the movie is a tradeoff of one-liners and slapstick between Larry and practically everyone else. Like the original, you have to leave plausibility and plotsense at the door, because remember, this is largely a kids’ movie.

(Right. Get ready for questions like: Why did President Lincoln go away when all the bad people were still loose, Grandpa? What happened to all the other museum guards, Mama?)

There’s so much work that went into this movie, so much acting talent, and so many really good comedy bits, that it comes close to being a family classic. But like the first Night at the Museum, the script has weaknesses and doesn’t always hold together. That won’t bother your kids, and you probably can handle it, too. The movie is good for all ages except for small children.

Someday, the studios are going to get it right. We’ll have clean, funny comedy that works on adult and children’s levels. The talent and ability are there. Whichever producer succeeds will find out that the special effects and fluff of today’s movies are secondary to a good script, good comedy, acting, and an interesting story.

National Treasure sparked everyone’s interest in history and museums, so it’s only fair for kids to have movies like this for themselves.

Watch Battle for the Smithsonian with yours and get them to tell you all they know about the Egyptians and Amelia Earhart, which is probably plenty.

Just don’t promise them a trip to D.C. until winter is over. TJN

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 35

MLK MEMORIAL PRAYER BREAKFAST The 26th Annual MLK Coalition Memorial Prayer Breakfast was held at the L’Auberge du Lac Casino & Resort. A large crowd gathered to celebrate and honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The keynote speaker, Xernona Clayton, shared what it was like to have worked so closely with Dr. King during the Civil Rights era.

Several local citizens shared their thoughts on the vision and possibilities that this celebration holds for our community at large. First place essay winners from area schools were featured, and soulful entertainment was provided by local school choirs. In celebrating “A Dream: A Terrible Thing To Waste,” Dr. King’s dream was kept alive!

Ryann Sterling and Jairus Robinson

Kaevin Victorian with Melody and Devyan Francis

The Rev. Barbara Tousand and Cleo Cormier

Phyllis Robinson and Tressa Jane

Tracey Bryant and Stephanie Thompson

Jessica White and Justin Manuel

Sonya Rose and Timothy Prater

ACTS LAKE CHARLES PRESENTS ‘DOUBT’

The audience was brought to their feet during a dynamic performance presented by the Artists Civic Theatre & Studio. The Pulitzer-Prize winning play “Doubt” was staged by ACTS Director Marc Pettaway. Set in 1964, a priest/basketball coach is accused of indiscretions with a student. During the play, a course of action develops to build a case for his dismissal. After the show, the cast members gave the audience an opportunity to ask questions about their roles and to discuss the elements of suspicion. No doubt about it, this play is well deserving of rave reviews!

Jack Brooks and Daniel Ieyoub PAGE 36

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Mason and Mathew Ceasar Volume 1 • Issue 23

Sharika and Ethel January

Sally Cappel and Theresa Schmidt

Catherine Norman and Donna Cespiva

THE PORCH COFFEE HOUSE AND CAFÉ GRAND OPENING Ahh! “A coffee tasting we will go!” If you think this your common coffee house, think again. We all gathered for a special ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of The Porch Coffee House and Café in Lake Charles. Mayor Randy Roach spoke of the unique way this cafe embraces the culture of Southwest Louisiana. Good food, live music by local and regional artists plus a beautiful friendly atmosphere are one example of the American way of life. A delightful experience!

David and Becky Girola

Missy Guillory and Amanda Perkins

Jimmy Guilbeau and Peggy Kelley Volume 1 • Issue 23

Jill Bech and Billy Edwards, Sr.

Christian White, Justin Bohannar and Faren White

Aliesha Lawrence and Candace Abshire

Billy and Tammy Edwards

Jacquelyn Davis and Becky Miller FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 37

VERGIE BANKS / IT’S A CULTURAL THING EXHIBIT The Black Heritage and Art Associates Gallery at Historic Central School Bold presented beautiful paintings from the Creole artist Vergie Banks. Guests were given the opportunity to meet the artist and learn her story. Since 1996, she has been painting a recurring image of a young girl in pigtails riding a red tricycle. The series, The Little Red Tricycle, depicts Banks as a child growing up in a myriad of South Louisiana settings. This little red tricycle journey in bold acrylic colors on canvas is one fantastic ride!

Vergie Banks, Gayle Cline and Kay Crosby

Karen Hartfield and Barbara Cahee

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Jenna Fusilier and Alex Hollier

Nancy Melton and Patsy Manuel

Petula Glaspie, Robert Papion and Alana Glaspie

Volume 1 • Issue 23

MARDI GRAS GALA 2010 It was a fantastic evening of Mardi Gras splendor as the 2010 krewe royalty strutted their stuff. MC Dale Mann heralded the arrival of the Revelers as the first line of the gala presentation followed by newly crowned queens, the Queen of Misrule, and all the crowned heads bringing in the frivolity of this magnificent extravagance—including Jambalaya’s Phil and Lauren de Albuquerque, who were king and queen of Krewe de la Famille! A swirl of Mardi Gras fever surrounded the Lake Charles Civic Center from the behind the scenes costuming mayhem before the show to the last second line of the evening, giving us all that purple, gold and green with a dash of black and gold. Who Dat? TJN Braiden and Janae Carlin

Aimee Monk, King Lionel de la Houssaye and Queen Roxie Stewart of Krewe of Mystique

Volume 1 • Issue 23

Savannah Mere and Brooke Hobbs

Timmy Wilson, James LaBove and Todd Bruney of Krewe of Chaos

John and Steve Baker

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 39

DINNER AND RAFFLE TO BENEFIT SWLA HUNGRY FEB. 26 Southwest Louisiana, get your taste buds ready! The Carter Foundation will be having a dinner sale and raffle on Fri., Feb. 26 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The menu features red beans and ham, smoked sausage links, cornbread and peach cobbler. Raffle prizes include a home entertainment system, and a $50 gift card and dinner for two at Soul Food Heaven. Free delivery will be available for five or more orders. Smaller orders may be picked up at Mama Rose’s Daycare Center at the corner of Moeling and Booker. Dinners are $6 and raffle tickets are $1 each. The Carter Foundation is a local charitable organization fully registered with the State of Louisiana. For more information and to order, call 433-6590 or 302-9779.

ROBERT OLEN BUTLER AT MSU FEB. 26 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler will give a reading from his latest works. His most recent book, Hell, is just out and the Banners staff thinks it’s very funny! The reading will be held on Feb. 26, 7 p.m. in the Business Conference Center at McNeese State University as part of the Banners Series. For more information, go to www.banners.org ‘EXCEPTIONS TO GRAVITY’ WITH AVNER THE ECCENTRIC FEB. 27 Avner manages to be side splitting funny – all without saying a word.

Bring your kids and your grandkids! Let them see Avner eat a million paper napkins! Part of the Banners Series, this is family entertainment at its best. Performance is at 7:30 p.m. in the F.G. Bulber Auditorium. $20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID. Avner will give a free clown workshop from 2-4 p.m. Sun., Feb. 28, in F.G. Bulber Auditorium.

PREVENT CHILD ABUSE LOUISIANA MARCH 1-3 The 24th annual, statewide “Kids Are Worth It!” Conference is the only primary prevention-oriented conference in the state. It will be held March 1-3 at the Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans. The conference is directed toward social workers, child protection workers, law enforcement officials, day care workers, teachers and others who work with children who desire to learn the latest in child abuse and neglect prevention.

For more information and to register, please visit www.pcal.org or call (225) 925-9520.

ENGRAVING 2009 THROUGH MARCH 5 The McNeese State University Frazar Memorial Library is hosting Engraving 2009, an international print exhibition conceived by Gerry Wubben, McNeese professor of art, and James Ehlers, assistant professor of art at Emporia State University. The exhibit, on display through March 5, is comprised of 34 engravings from artists from around the world. For more information, contact the McNeese Department of Visual Arts at (337) 475-5060.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

JAM

A BLACK TIE AFFAIR MARCH 6 The Calcasieu Medical Society Foundation will hold “A Black Tie Affair” fundraiser to benefit the Calcasieu Community Clinic on Sat., March 6 at 6 p.m. at L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort. Vince Vance and the Valiants will provide entertainment, and there will be a live and silent auction. Tickets are $125 per person, or $1,000 for a table of 8. To purchase tickets, visit www.ablacktieaffair.org and follow the directions for credit card purchase.

EMPTY BOWL FUNDRAISER MARCH 11 Bruce Hamilton, Lake Charles native, motivational speaker, and author of a recently published book No Bad Days will entertain at the Salvation Army’s Empty Bowl fundraiser to be held at L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort on Thurs., March 11. Hamilton’s philosophy of life is a way of living, a mindset, and an attitude. His fast-paced humorous style delivers a powerful but simple message. If you allow yourself to have a bad day, you lose. His program shows simple strategies to help you avoid bad days and take control of your life. Guests at the dinner will enjoy a beautiful meal, which will include a variety of soups provided by premier chefs in the Lake Charles area and a handmade one-of-a-kind ceramic soup bowl as a gift for helping those in need. For tickets or information, please call (337) 433-4155, TOM SANCTON’S NEW ORLEANS QUINTET MARCH 18 The 2010 Arts Parade spring concert series presented by the City of DeRidder and Impromptu Players continues with an array of concerts.

Opening the series on Thurs., March 18 will be Tom Sancton’s New Orleans Quintet. Sancton is the author of Song for My Fathers: A New Orleans Story in Black and White (2006), a personal memoir about growing up in New Orleans in the 1960s. Sancton is also a well-known jazz clarinetist who has toured widely in Europe and the U.S., and has

Tom Sancton’s New Orleans Quintet

Volume 1 • Issue 23

played at major international jazz festivals. The concert will be held at the Wooten Theatre in downtown DeRidder at 102 West First Street. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the entertainment will begin promptly at 7. Only 200 season tickets will be sold for $40 each, entitling the purchaser to all three concerts in the series. Tickets are available at DeRidder City Hall and Curious Cargo. For more information, call City of DeRidder Project Coordinator Misty Clanton at (337) 462-8900 or e-mail mclanton@cityofderidder.org TENDING HERD PHOTO EXHIBIT NOW THROUGH MARCH 20 The City of Lake Charles is pleased to present Lynn Reynolds’ exhibition “Tending Herd --10 Years of Photographs from the Southwest Louisiana District Livestock Show,” which will be on display in the first floor gallery of the Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center, 1001 Ryan St., Jan. 8 through March 20. “Tending Herd” consists of 36 16” x 20” archival, gelatinsilver prints produced in the artist’s own studio. Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are gladly accepted. For more information, please call 491-9147 or visit www.cityoflakecharles.com.

PROPELLER CLUB GOLF TOURNAMENT MARCH 29 The annual Propeller Club of the United States Ports of Southwest Louisiana Golf Tournament will be held on Mon. March 29 at Gray Plantation Golf Course in Lake Charles. Tee-time is 10 a.m. and the format is a scramble. This is a fundraiser for scholarship funds and Chapter projects in SW Louisiana. Dress code is collared shirts, soft spike golf shoes, and no denim. For more info, contact David Broussard at 478-2524 or 249-7705 or e-mail him at opps@lngtsi.com. Get your teams ready for a great event!

TJN Cicada, Adam Dienst-Scott, McNeese State University photography exhibit “Possession”

MSU PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT THROUGH MARCH 22 The McNeese State University Department of Visual Arts will present a photography exhibit titled “Possession” by artist Adam Dienst-Scott Feb. 22-March 22 in McNeese’s Abercrombie Gallery. Dienst-Scott will give a gallery talk about his work in the Abercrombie Gallery at 2 p.m., Thurs., Feb. 25, with the opening reception honoring the artist to follow. DienstScott teaches alternative process photography courses at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha. His medium, albumen on glass, is a process that lends itself to creating one-of-a-kind images that are also based strongly in historical photography processes. In conjunction with the exhibition, Dienst-Scott will conduct an albumen workshop from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Fri., Feb. 26, in Room 129 of the Shearman Fine Arts Center. To attend the workshop, contact Teresa Johnson by e-mail at tjohnson@mcneese.edu. The Abercrombie Gallery, located in Room 125 of the Shearman Fine Arts Center, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information about the exhibit, call the McNeese Visual Arts Department at (337) 475-5060.

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVISITED MARCH 27 On Sat., March 27, Creedence Clearwater Revisited will be bringing their many rock and roll hits to the Delta Event Center for a one-nightonly performance, starting at 8 p.m. Stu Cook and Doug “Cosmo” may not have intended it, but their band Creedence Clearwater Revisited has taken on a startling life of its own. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rhythm section (bass and drums respectively) from the legendary group Creedence Clearwater Revival launched the Creedence Clearwater Revisited project in 1995 to once again perform live Creedence Clearwater Revival hits - touchstones of a generation. Though the pair initially only planned to play private parties, Creedence Clearwater Revisited now performs up to 100 shows a year and has released the album “Recollection.”

Tickets start at $35 and are available online at deltadowns.com, at ticketmaster.com, or at the Delta Downs Gift Shop. To charge by phone, call (800) 745-3000.

Creedence Clearwater Revisited

Volume 1 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 41

The Tablecloth

By Leo Luke Marcello When I was young, children bundled me up in their arms and shook me over the back porch, showering the yard with breadcrumbs.

By Erica McCreedy

I flapped like a caught angel.

I have been marked by celebrations,

L

Let’s face it. The literary scene in the Chuck is not as explosive and engaging as what you may find in other larger cities. What writers’ scene that we do see here exists mainly on McNeese’s campus in the highly ranked Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, as well as in other local writers’ groups in town.

One of the missions of the Creative Writing MFA program is to bring widely recognized poets and writers into town to give readings of their works. Much of what the reading series does is bring both literary groups together – MFA students studying creative writing as well as community members – under a shared appreciation of visiting poets and writers.

Most significant is the Leo Luke Marcello Reading Series. I have to admit that I am biased: between 2006 and 2009 I was enrolled in the Creative Writing MFA program at McNeese and was able to experience its importance first-hand.

When I first began my research for this article, my sole intention was to give the Leo Luke Marcello Reading Series, as well as McNeese’s other reading series, a brief spotlight in The Jambalaya News. After interviewing several writers who have been a part of the series, I quickly realized that the real story was not just in the readings, but also in the man who served as an inspiration for them.

Leo Luke Marcello, born to a large Sicilian family in DeRidder in 1945, was an advocate for poetry education in Lake Charles. Although he passed away in 2005 from brain cancer, his influence can easily still be seen in the reading series named in his honor.

With his death, the generosity of his peers, students, and colleagues flooded the Marcello family. Chris Marcello, a painter who saw his older brother as a father in his life, said, PAGE 42

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

consecrated with candlewax, stained with blood-red smears, dollops of coconut cream, olive-oiled thumbprints.

I have been dry-cleaned, spot-treated and washed with love.

I have been folded and put away, and “When Leo passed away, I was inundated with an unbelievable outpouring of thoughts and feelings from such a diverse group of people. Leo’s profound effect on people reached far and wide geographically as well as over the span of his 59 years.”

Darrell Bourque is the director of the Creative Writing program at University of Louisiana at Lafayette as well as the reigning Louisiana Poet Laureate. He was proud to participate in the reading series, “It was an honor to read in a series dedicated to someone who cared so much about poetry, art in general, and about promoting poetry through his work as a teacher and as a tireless developer of poetry audiences,” he said.

I had never met Marcello, so when I approached several writers who had participated in his reading series and asked them to talk about who he was, it was nearly overwhelming for me to listen to the reverence in their words.

From the immediate outpouring of responses to my questions, I can tell you that he had the rarest of gentle natures, he had an acute spiritual awareness, which led him to seminary school, and he constantly placed others before himself.

Dr. David Middleton, the Head of the Department of Languages and Literature at Nicholls State University, participated in the series when it first began in 2006. “Leo was always concerned about others, as many of his poems reflect, including his poems on a priest-friend who was murdered in New Orleans and our fellow graduate student and poet, John Finlay, who died of AIDS in 1990 when others were terrified of AIDS victims and often shunned them,” he said.

The reading series named in Marcello’s honor has become a new incarnation of his mission to educate and aid students. When a poet is invited to hold a reading at McNeese, the Creative Writing MFA poets are able to sit down with him or her and discuss the student’s writing in detail.

This is in particular unique to the Creative Writing MFA program in that young poets are able to directly interact with an accomplished and published poet. Dr. Stella Nesanovich, a retired McNeese professor and a poet who began the Leo Luke Marcello Reading Series, said, “To have people come in and be able to do the kind of conferences they do continues something of Leo as a teacher.

I have been taken from the drawer again.

Warm hands have smoothed my wrinkles.

Fine goblets have been placed upon me.

Even when someone lifts a glass and celebrates, toasting whatever moment, I will still be resting beneath, and perhaps long after, there will be a fragment of cloth and someone without knowing me will wipe away the grime from a smudged window and see without even knowing where the fabric that passes comes from.

Volume 1 • Issue 23

Continuing to have someone work with the students and give them the advice they need is invaluable.”

Michael Shewmaker, a third-year poet in the Creative Writing MFA program, has, like me, experienced this first-hand. “Undoubtedly, some of the most valuable experiences I’ve had in the MFA program at McNeese have been my conferences with the visiting writers,” he said. ‘To have someone whose work you truly admire pause, reflect, and offer criticism on your own has helped me tremendously in my own endeavors as a poet.”

Ava Haymon, whose books include Kitchen Heat and Why the House is Made of Gingerbread and who participated in the reading series, said, “Art is often about more than it seems to be about, and my reading in Leo’s series, and coaching some students whom he would have coached if he’d lived longer, seemed to me to complete one of those magical circles that create themselves in art and that give all our lives meaning.”

During the last months of Marcello’s life, Nesanovich brought his colleagues and peers together to create Points of Gold, a collection of poetry published in 2005, which acts as tribute to the highly revered poet.

Nesanovich was astounded at how many poets immediately responded to

her call for poems. Contributors included Jack Bedell, Catherine Savage Brosman and David Middleton, among many others.

“Leo’s impact on other writers is attested to in the number of writers who have high regard for his work and equally high regard for his legacy,” said Darrell Bourque, who is included in the collection. “He touched young and established writers throughout the state, and beyond, with his enthusiasm for the art of the written word and with his dedication to this calling to teach.”

It was through Marcello’s tireless effort in promoting poetry, giving readings and supporting local writing programs that we are able to further appreciate the presence of poetry in our state. Other writers and poets who knew him, as well as those who didn’t, gravitate to the area because of Marcello and his reading series.

I did not know him, but I can tell you that the Lake Charles literary scene has never been the same since he left us. I think Bourque said it best: “Leo was all of those things: someone who tended the spirit, someone who was very much in and of the world; someone who understood grace and how to bring it into the world he lived in.”

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

TJN

Call our Sales Staff at (337) 436-7800 Karla Tullos Ext. 112

Katy Corbello Ext. 101

Faye Drake Ext. 111

Sarah Puckett Ext. 108

karla@thejambalayanews.com faye@thejambalayanews.com

katy@thejambalayanews.com

sarah@thejambalayanews.com

www.thejambalayanews.com Volume 1 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 43

To list your event e-mail: lauren@thejambalayanews.com

The

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 • Theresa Andersson @ Central School Theatre, 7 p.m.

• Alvin Touchet @ OB’s Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.

• Mike Zito @ Caribbean Hut, 8 p.m.

• Yesterday’s Teacher/Michael Dolan @ Sylvia’s Bistro, 8 p.m.

• Paul Gonsoulin @ Luna Bar & Grill, 9 p.m.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25 • Pete Bergeron @ DI’s Cajun Food & Music, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• Tom Brandow @ Jimbo’s The Spot, 7 p.m.

• Singer/Songwriter Night @ Sylvia’s Bistro, 8 p.m.

• Zero Echo @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 8 p.m.

• Zydecane @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.

• The Chris Shearman Experience/Hot Damn I Shot My Man @ Luna Bar & Grill, 9 p.m.

• Brandon Foret @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge du Lac, 10 p.m.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26 • Felton LeJeune & The Cajun Cowboys @ DI’s Cajun Food & Music, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• The Bow-Ties @ Big Daddy’s Grill, 7 p.m.

• Rick James @ Frey’s Crawfish House, Jennings, 7 p.m.

• David Allan Coe @ Texas Longhorn Club, Vinton, 8 p.m.

• Ray Ellender Band @ OB’s Bar and Grill, 10 p.m.

• Zero Echo @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 8:30 p.m.

• Dean Botts Benefit Show (Mothership/The Flamethrowers/KillIcarus/Broken by the Burden) @ Luna Bar & Grill, 9 p.m.

• Briant Lloyd Smith and Hot Gritz @ Blue Duck Cafe, 9 p.m.

• Brice Perrin @ The Cigar Club, 9 p.m.

• Tommy G & Stormy Weather @ Hawg Wild, Sulphur, 9 p.m.

• Mike Dowers @ Handle Bars, Sulphur, 9 p.m.

• Whiskey South @ Caribbean Hut, 9 p.m.

• Laurel @ Hurricane Willy’s, Sulphur, 9 p.m.

• Sean Vidrine @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 9 p.m.

• Colorcast Veteran/Pandemic/The Fictionist @ AJ’s Bar & Grill, 9:30 p.m.

• Big Hair Band Night with Crooks Carnival @ OB’s Bar and Grill, 10 p.m.

• The Chris LeBlanc Band @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge du Lac, 11 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27 • Al Roger & Louisiana Pride @ DI’s Cajun Food & Music, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• The LakeSide Gamblers @ The Porch Coffee Shop, 7 p.m.

• Lee Boudion & The LA Ramblers @ Frey’s Crawfish House, Jennings, 7 p.m.

• Zero Echo @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 8:30 p.m.

• Plump/R & D/Sidecar Tommy @ Luna Bar & Grill, 9 p.m.

• Craig Mouton & Slingshot @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 9 p.m.

• Thingfish/The Last Place You Look/In Liquid @ AJ’s Bar & Grill, 9:30 p.m.

• The Chris LeBlanc Band @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge du Lac, 11 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28 • Tom Brandow @ Jimbo’s The Spot, 3 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 2 • Karaoke @ My Place, 9 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3 • Alvin Touchet @ OB’s Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.

• Chris Shearman @ Luna Bar & Grill, 9 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 4 • Homer LeJeune & The Kajun Kings @ DI’s Cajun Food & Music, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• Tom Brandow @ Jimbo’s The Spot, 7 p.m.

• Derryl Perry @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 8 p.m.

• DJ Ezekial @ Luna Bar & Grill, 9 p.m.

• Bayou Katz @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 9 p.m.

• Krossroadz @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge du Lac, 10 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 5 • Don Fontenot & Les Cajuns de la Prairie @ DI’s Cajun Food & Music, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• Derryl Perry @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 8:30 p.m.

• Bayou Katz @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 9 p.m.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Volume 1 • Issue 23

• Briant Lloyd Smith and Hot Gritz @ Blue Duck Cafe, 9 p.m.

• The Vettes @ AJ’s Bar & Grill, 9:30 p.m.

• Dax Riggs @ Luna Bar & Grill, 10 p.m.

• Flashback @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge du Lac, 11 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 6 • Black Heritage Festival @ Lake Charles Civic Center, Noon • Briggs Brown & The Bayou Cajuns @ DI’s Cajun Food & Music, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• Zachary Richard & Friends @ Bulber Auditorium, McNeese State University, 7:30 p.m.

• Derryl Perry @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 8:30 p.m.

• Thingfish/Looks That Kill @ Hard Rack, 9 p.m.

• Bayou Katz @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 9 p.m.

• Sequoyah Prep School/The Gills/Fresh Nectar @ Luna Bar & Grill, 10 p.m.

• Hillcrest @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge du Lac, 11 p.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 7 • Tom Brandow @ Jimbo’s The Spot, 3 p.m.

• Blues Tonic @ Mary’s Lounge, 5 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 9 • Kill Icarus/Silent Civilian/Blind Witness/Years of Red Skies @ AJ’s Bar & Grill, 9:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10 • Alvin Touchet @ OB’s Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.

• Paul Gonsoulin @ Luna Bar & Grill, 9 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 11 • Lesa Cormier & The Sundown Playboys @ DI’s Cajun Food & Music, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• Tom Brandow @ Jimbo’s The Spot, 7 p.m.

• Ka-Nection @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 8 p.m.

• DJ Ezekial/Brad Wells (inside) @ Luna Bar & Grill, 9 p.m.

• Leroy Thomas & The Zydeco Roadrunners @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 9 p.m.

• Time Machine @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge du Lac, 10 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 12 • The Hotel Cazan Band @ DI’s Cajun Food & Music, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• Jamey Johnson @ Texas Longhorn Club, Vinton, 8 p.m.

• Ka-Nection @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 8:30 p.m.

• Blues Tonic @ OB’s Bar & Grill, 9 p.m.

• Briant Lloyd Smith and Hot Gritz @ Blue Duck Cafe, 9 p.m.

• Danica @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 9 p.m.

• Twangsters Union @ Yesterday’s, 9:30 p.m.

• Robbie Hazen & The Riot/Canvas Red/Barisal Guns @ Luna Bar & Grill, 10 p.m.

• Rockstar Karaoke @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge du Lac, 11 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 13 • Mack Manuel & The Lake Charles Ramblers @ DI’s Cajun Food & Music, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• The Preservation Hall Jazz Band @ Bulber Auditorium, McNeese State University, 7:30 p.m.

• Ka-Nection @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 8:30 p.m.

• Danica @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 9 p.m.

• Tyler Read @ AJ’s Bar & Grill, 9:30 p.m.

• Colorcast Veteran/Static Parade @ Luna Bar & Grill, 10 p.m.

• Time Machine @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge du Lac, 11 p.m.

TJN

MONDAY NIGHTS: Abita Beer Night

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS: Mondo Martini Night

THURSDAY NIGHTS: Be Well Night

Thurs. Feb. 25 @ 9:00 CHRIS SHEARMAN EXPERIENCE & HOT DAMN I SHOT MY MAN Fri. Feb. 26 @ 10:00 BENEFIT SHOW FOR DEAN BOTTS FAMILY: w/ LIVE MUSIC

BY LOCAL MUSICIANS! Sat. Feb. 27 @ 9:30 PLUMP (the funk!)

Sat. Feb. 27 @ 11:30 R/D & SIDECAR TOMMY

www.thejambalayanews.com • (337) 436-7800

“Pure Foods and The Jambalaya News are passionate about reaching the people in our community. Advertising in the Jambalaya gives me the opportunity to promote health and wellness to the entire family. We have experienced an increase in our healthy lunches, smoothies and targeted health products. Thank you Jambalaya, we make a great team!”

– Dr. Gene & Shively Lampson, Owners, Pure Foods & Health

Wed. Mar. 3 @ 9:00 CHRIS SHEARMAN Thurs. Mar. 4 @ 9:00 D.J. EZEKIAL Fri. Mar. 5 @ 10:00 DAX RIGGS Sat. Mar. 6 @ 10:00 SEQUOYAH PREP SCHOOL, THE GILLS & FRESH NECTAR Wed. Mar. 10 @ 9:00 PAUL GONSOULIN Thurs. Mar. 11 @ 9:00 D.J. EZEKIAL Thurs. Mar. 11 @ 10:00 BRAD WELLS (acoustic inside)

Volume 1 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

PAGE 45

My Life In Music Lessons

By Leslie Berman I loved music before I was born. My dad played trumpet, had played guitar and piano, and had a collection of 78s that ranged from jazz to classical to religious to soundtracks. There were dance band numbers and pop tunes, novelty songs and opera, all of which he played to me in my mom’s belly. Not surprisingly, I showed an early interest in music, which led to thousands of hours of formal and informal vocal and instrumental lessons, which in turn made me into a lifelong card-carrying, flag-waving music fan.

I think that’s why I’m such a supporter of music education for everybody. There’s some old joke that says to provoke lifelong joy, every child should be issued a banjo at birth. I can’t think of the set up or the punch line—maybe “banjo” is the punch line—but I actually applaud the sentiment. Give a child a musical instrument, early, and get back a smarter, more creative, more passionate adult as a result.

As school music programs suffer, and kids replace learning an actual instrument with faking it on a variety of toys, I worry that real audiences for real music will diminish, and if they do, real musicians will eventually disappear as well. So teach your children well. And it’s never too late to learn to play an instrument yourself. All the health studies show that your brain needs new stimulation all the time to keep it from atrophying. Think of music lessons as brain therapy, and see what your medical insurer says…

My own music education has had its highs and lows. In grade school in the 1950s, each child was given a “Tonette” – a dolphin-shaped black plastic recorder – and we were taught to sing and play the American folksongs in Carl Sandburg’s treasury at frequent school assemblies. Singing, cool, playing the Tonette, not so much.

At home, there was always a piano in our “music room.” I practiced the same folksongs I learned for the plastic recorder as well as popular classical pieces for my half-hour weekly lessons, but didn’t like scales or the finger exercises; I couldn’t stretch an octave with my small hands. Am I exaggerating when I say that that sturdy Mason & Hamlin upright sounded great played by anyone but me?

It took a while to get it, but eventually. I realized that the voice is an instrument, too. At summer camp, we sang from morning to night, like troops chanting “left, left” marching on parade grounds. Folksongs made another appearance there as counselors led us in singa-longs. Cooler.

Mrs. Oringer, my Hebrew school music teacher, taught us religious holiday songs, and selected me to sing “Torat Emet,” the “Gaudeamus Igator” of the Jewish world, as a solo while my graduPAGE 46

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ating class marched into the sanctuary to collect our diplomas. I sang musical comedy at P.S. 104 (“Oklahoma”), J.H.S. 180 (“Bye Bye Birdie”), and at the Hartman YM-YWHA (“Once Upon A Mattress”). I joined my junior high school chorus and then the borough-wide All-Queens Chorus, where we sang spirituals and chorale music and Motown hits at lunch breaks at the pizza parlor.

But at home, with my best friend Barbara Toennies, whose lofty soprano harmonized well with my alto, I only sang and played folksongs. Well, there were a few show tunes thrown in for good measure. I mean, who could resist the score to “Gypsy?” But by and large, my friends in those days sang Bob Dylan’s esoteric poetic lyrics. We thought we were uber-cool, because we knew all the words to “Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again.”

By the time I was 12, I’d switched from piano and theory lessons to acoustic guitar, taught by Sonny Ochs, sister of the famous topical folksinger Phil, and soon I wanted to be a famous topical folksinger too. At 16, I was hired to teach beginning guitar at the Y, and I made a few forays into the folk clubs in Greenwich Village. Oh man, that was the coolest.

At 20, I dragged my guitar to Israel where we played in my kibbutz’s 50th anniversary orchestra. Learning to play barred chords well enough to be the orchestra’s rhythm guitarist?

Absolute torture. My friends, there were Israeli and foreign non-violence-niks who sat around campfires singing folksongs about the 1967 Six Day War. Cool again.

But when I got back to the U.S., it turned out that everyone and her brother was a folksinger, so I signed up for a degree in Jazz Composition and Arrangement at Manhattan Community College just to be perverse. Trouble was, I had to learn to play a wind instrument. Remember the Tonette?

This time around I wanted something more robust, and chose French Horn because I loved its smoky sound. But I couldn’t blow a note.

Somehow, I managed to hide this from my Horn tutor for a few months!

My Atonal Composition teacher was flutist extraordinaire Yusef Lateef, and his band-mate, pianist Kenny Barron, was one of my classmates.

Needless to say, I was totally out of my league. Luckily, I contracted a bad case of mononucleosis, and had to drop out mid-semester before I made a complete horse’s ass of myself. So back to folk singing in my next college’s coffeehouse, and at parties in anyone’s dorm room.

In Syracuse, NY in my mid-20s, I taught guitar and music theory to toddlers, and studied Suzuki method violin myself. Picture this: me and a dozen cherubic three-year-olds, all with our tongues hanging out of our mouths, sawing away at “Twinkle, Twinkle.” They, at least, learned to hold their instruments correctly.

I came back to New York and went to work as a waitress and strolling musician in a sandwich shop on Long Island, and to taking fancy fingerpicking lessons in the Village from awesome Erik Frandsen (who occasionally sat in with acoustic Hot Tuna, two-fifths of the Jefferson Airplane), who taught me complicated 10-finger versions of “Blackbird” and “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime.”

At that point, concentrating on the finer points of guitar playing, I dropped the violin. For nearly 30 years. Until recently, when my Lake Charles old-timey fiddle-playing friend Jill King gave me a sweet spare instrument to practice on, and I began carrying the fiddle with me wherever I go. I still can’t hold it in perfect tabletop position (oh to be as flexible as a three-year-old), but I can find the notes on the fingerboard, and my bowing arm is getting more fluid. Who knows, in a few years I might be brave enough to join in an old-timey jam session with an instrument other than my voice! So long as I keep listening and practicing.

TJN

Volume 1 • Issue 23

Volume 1 • Issue 23

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

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