Times of Southwest Louisiana

WWW.TIMESSW.COM • FEBRUARY 7, 2008 / VOL. 13, NO. 3

• Cupid Sent Enduring Love to Celebrate • Hunter’s Harlequin Hosts Generations of Romance

PAGE 2

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

GENERAL . . . . . . . . . . .

617 Drew St., Lake Charles, LA 70601 Phone: 337-439-0995 Fax: 337-439-0418 PUBLISHERS Patrick Marcantel Scot Hebert

febr uar y 7, 2008 Volume 13 • Number 3

contents

. . . . . . .

NEWS . . . . . . . . . . .

EDITOR Kathryn Bergstrom timesedit@timessw.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Joseph Frazier CONTRIBUTORS Kay Andrews Scott Bergstedt, MD Raphael Chan, MD Erin K. Cormier Robert Dimmick Matt Jones Patricia Prudhomme Chris Thompson, MD

17 12 E N T E R P R I S E B O U L E VA R D Ethics in Louisiana. Special Session Holds Promise for State-Wide Ethics Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

POLITICS John Maginnis Dan Juneau ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Andy Jacobson

. . . . . .

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Patricia Prudhomme LeShai Brown GRAPHICS . . . . . . . .

ART/PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Darrell Buck BUSINESS . . . . . . . . .

BUSINESS MANAGER Romona Richard

The Times of Southwest Louisiana is published every two weeks

by Patsco Publishing, 617 Drew Street, Lake Charles Louisiana 70601. Phone (337) 439-0995. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $25 per year.

Bulk mailing permit #9 paid at Lake Charles, La. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Times of Southwest Louisiana, 617 Drew Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601. FAX to (337) 439-0418. The Times of Southwest Louisiana cannot be held responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations, even if they are sent to us accompanied by a self-addressed envelope.

Copyright 2008 The Times of Southwest Louisiana all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission is prohibited.

DISTRIBUTION: The Times of Southwest Louisiana is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. The Times of Southwest Louisiana may be distributed only by The Times of Southwest Louisiana authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of The Times of Southwest Louisiana, take more than one copy of each monthly issue from its racks.

COLUMNS Biz Bytes: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Inside Baton Rouge: . . . . . . . .11 Business Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

28

22

FEATURES Billy Navarre Honored With Chamber’s Civic Service Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Home Grown: Hunter’s Harlequin Hosts Generations of Romance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Cupid Sent Enduring Love to Celebrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Do You Have a Nose For Love? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Proposing Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Find Your Motivation for Fitness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 ENTERTAINMENT Times Picks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Coffee Break Cross Word: Did I Stutter? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 The Shadow: Why? I Wish I Knew! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Parting Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Visit us online at: www.timessw.com Cover Photo by Andy Jacobson FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 3

“Vision: Calcasieu” Needs Your Ideas Feb 12

T

he Times recently met with Bryan Beam, Jason Barnes and Jennifer Wallace at the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury offices as they disclosed details about the parish’s comprehensive planning project, “Vision: Calcasieu.”

Assistant Administrator, Bryan Beam said, “We want to promote citizen involvement to formally adopt a plan for Calcasieu Parish, particularly the unincorporated areas. There are many growth issues, particularly, how do we balance property owner’s rights with growth. We need the public to express how the parish sees itself in the future and make a blueprint of how to achieve that future. The trick is, ‘How do we grow’?” said Beam.

In order to involve as many Calcasieu Parish residents as possible, the Police Jury is coordinating a series of workshops. The first public meeting is on February 12 at 6 p.m. at the Civic Center. The Citizens Committee

PAGE 4

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

will meet first, at 4:30 p.m. and the public is invited to sit in on that meeting; it is not a closed meeting. The public meeting at 6 p.m. will allow for citizen discussion and input.

Additionally, the Parish is asking for citizen participation in a survey which will be available to all in the Parish.

Over the next 10 to 14 months, the Police Jury will hold 10 public planning workshops throughout the Parish.

Additionally, every Calcasieu Parish resident can go to the website, www.visioncalcasieu.com, to access the resource center and sign up for email notifications of meetings and announcements. The website also has a page for comments and citizen ideas.

Jennifer Wallace, the Assistant Director for Advanced Planning and Grants for the Police Jury explained, “This is a huge project. And it’s been in the planning for 14 years. We want to help communities make changes and give choices.”

She compared the series of public

meetings for Vision: Calcasieu to the planning sessions the City of Lake Charles held with DPZ after Rita.

“The City relayed a better way to get public input, and get the public trust behind us.” While her department has been working toward planned growth, she noted, “We want to be pro-active and have our citizens influence the changes and growth. We want to be ‘transparent’. We want to change and grow as the citizens want. And it will help local officials with their decision making processes for their communities.”

While zoning is used to regulate land use, and city planning is used to help distribute resources, public input will ensure that ideas for growth are, as Wallace explained, “Fresh and new.

We don’t want to create fragmented communities.”

Among the issues to be addressed: Economic development; housing (particularly workforce housing; disaster resistance planning (particularly in

flood-prone areas); transportation choices; public facilities such as schools and libraries; and utilities such as sewage, water resources, pipelines, etc.

Jason Barnes, Special Programs and Cultural Affairs Coordinator with the Police Jury notes, “The plan is really up to the communities in the Parish – their goals, their dreams. It’s not us telling them what the future will be, but it’s each community shaping and envisioning their own future.” He notes that meetings will be held, “Not just in Moss Bluff and Ward 3, but in Starks and Edgerly and throughout the parish. “There are so many topics to discuss,” he noted, and many of them will be specific to each community. “If we do the planning right,” Barnes said, “we will have a good, solid plan for the future. It will be timeless. A generational design that will be our legacy for our children and their future.”

NEWS

ABOUT

SOUTHWEST

LOUISIANA

ENTERPRISEBOULEVARD Ethics in Louisiana Special Session Holds Promise for State-Wide Ethics Reform

By Kathy Bergstrom t’s one of those things that, if you think about it at the most basic level, you have to wonder “Why are we even discussing this?” Louisiana is a conservative state. A Bible Belt state. A red state. The majority of our citizens would describe themselves as church-going, moral, ethical and family-centric. So how the heck do we find ourselves, at the beginning of the 21st Century, in the embarrassing position wallowing at the bottom of the list of corrupt states? Or conversely, at the top of the list of state governments considered laughably corrupt?

Those questions are, of course, rhetorical. Only a passing knowledge of the state government history is required to understand why we are the caricature of the corrupt Southern politician.

“Changing our state’s image will not come overnight,” Governor Jindal notes, “and will take dedication and hard work from everyone – from Legislators to the general public. By strengthening our ethics laws, we can take a strong step forward to rid Louisiana of corruption and incompetence, improving every aspect of our state. It is time to move forward with building a better Louisiana.” He emphasized, “I will not rest until this has been accomplished.”

Governor Jindal has called for a special three-week legislative session on ethics reform, opening February 10. To what degree these reforms are addressed and corrected remains to be seen, however, strong by-partisan coalitions are building throughout the state that indicate the time is right for change. Jindal cites six major areas in which Louisiana must reform our ethics laws: Detailed financial disclosure laws for statewide elected officials; enact strong conflict of interest laws; disclosure/shine light on lobbyist activities; strengthen the enforcement of new and current laws; bring transparency to state operations; and to fight fraud and abuse from the very outset of his administration.

On January 15, the Governor enacted an executive order calling not only for the special legislative session in February, but also instructed his cabinet members to, “comply with the gubernatorial financial disclosure requirements of Louisiana Revised Statute 42:1124l …and that all cabinet and other officials appointed by the governor and departmental officers as provided in R.S. 36:5 shall participate in annual training and education on the Code of Governmental Ethics beginning in 2008…” and that, “Resignation will be requested from any executive appointee who is indicted while in office.”

Further, he issued a second Executive Order on that date for transparency and compliance by state agencies.

His order states, “To insure transparency and accounta-

I

bility in state government, I hereby establish the following goals: Issue annual public reports online of all state grants and contracts by funding source, agency, parish, and type of service provided; Improve public access to the current grant and contract databases to make it a state-of-the art, easy to navigate resource that provides full disclosure of grants, contracts, and bond allocations of the state; Improve transparency of Louisiana’s regulatory process; Facilitate interoperable systems that enable Information Technology projects to expand among agencies; Create an online state spending database; (and) Redesign Louisiana government’s web site with a focus on transparency…”

Rep Michael Jackson (D-Baton Rouge) was the lead author for LA Ethics One and testified before Jindal’s transition team for ethics reform. He notes, “There is a tremendous momentum toward having a law in place dealing with ethics. That was the main campaign theme and the people think that we need to do more and do it swiftly.” As the special legislative session begins, Jackson says, “We will be leaning on the income disclosure piece of the package… because that goes to the heart to be able to say we have some of the toughest ethics laws in the country.” He states, “I think we need to take full advantage of the opportunity that we have. Not just to pass enough ethics reform to get by, but to look at lobbyists and local officials. Things have a tendency to change and if we take this opportunity, all of us, the general public and our state will have something great to talk about.

However, Jackson cautions, “The devil is in the details…It’s impossible to negotiate away the local officials in this session. I don’t know if it means every local official. But we can’t just point the finger at legislators.

We need to go across the board and if local officials have a conflict of interest, we need to know.”

Early on, the Chamber SWLA took a stand for ethics reform. Monique Thierry, Public Policy Director for the Chamber SWLA, “We were big supporters of LA Ethics One and fought for that package to go through. We will be working for ethics reform at the special session because our Chamber members want it and because we need to take steps to revitalize our image from one of corruption, both inside and outside of Louisiana.” A new image for the state and the region is vital for future growth, states Thierry. “Ethics reform will encourage new development in SWLA and throughout the state.”

Thierry, Lehrue Stevens, Jr. and Greg Webb represented Southwest Louisiana on Jindal’s Ethics Transition Team.

Continued on Page 6

Who’s News W.O. Moss Regional Medical Center is pleased to welcome Dr. Susan E. Drez as their new Pediatrician. Dr. Drez, a native of Lake Charles, received her medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine where she also began her residency in pediatrics. After attending Emory University School of Medicine in Dr. Susan E. Drez Atlanta, GA, Dr. Drez returned to Lake Charles in 1993 to practice pediatrics at the Children’s Clinic for one year. After an extended maternity leave, she returned to practice in 2002.

She was at the Children’s Clinic until she became part of Moss’s pediatric services on January 2, 2008. She is also a clinical assistant professor of Family Medicine with LSU. Dr. Drez is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is board certified in Pediatrics.

Sabrina LeDoux, RN, clinical nurse educator at West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital, recently received her Master of Science degree in Nursing with a concentration in education from McNeese State University. LeDoux explained the advanced degree will help her assess the educational needs of the nursing staff at West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital, as well as assist with staff development.

Dr. Richard Martinez, a radiologist with Radiology Associates of Southwest Louisiana, was recently elected by his peers to serve as President of the Dr. Richard Martinez Lake Charles Memorial Medical Staff. During his term of office, Dr. Martinez will be involved with Continued on Page 8 FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 5

Ent. Blvd., Continued from Page 5

Representative Chuck Kleckley, (RDistrict 36) agrees that there, “definitely needs to be ethics reform in the state of Louisiana.” But he cautions, “It’s how to do it and who all do you include. To the Governor’s credit, he’s opened the lines of communication. He has met with all 144 legislators and he understands that to be successful he needs to keep those lines open.”

Kleckley notes that, “Last year there was a terrible communications problem within the legislative body. We didn’t agree on how to reform ethics.”

He says that, “last year, it was last minute. We needed to think it out and have a good plan. Communications lines were weak… We overall felt like it needed to be done, it’s just how to do it and we needed a good plan…”

This year, Kleckley says that ethics reform will include financial reform and funding reporting. “It will be sweeping and good and at the end of this special legislation, Louisiana will be proud.” He supports across-theboard reform. “We need to include locals also, not just legislators. We need to include city councils and police jurors and school board officials,” says Kleckley. “If we are going to do it, we need to do it right. We need to do it where the problem lies on both the local and state-wide levels.”

Going into the special session, Kleckley says, “We got to see what Jindal’s proposals look like and he’s very open and wants to do it right. We want to make sure the problems are addressed and we just don’t have the perception that we’ve addressed it. We want to take care of the problem.”

Representative Brett Geymann (R. District 35) sits on the House and Governmental Affairs Committee which convened February 6 to begin discussions on the Governor’s ethics package. “We don’t really know yet what that package is going to look like, we’ve just had some discussions,” explained Geymann. “What I would like to see out of the special legislation, is an ethics package that would include source of income disclosures for legis-

PAGE 6

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

lators and my only concern is, “How specific the range of income will be.”

Overall, though, Geymann says, “I’m pretty comfortable with it.”

“One of the issues last year,” Geymann recalls, “is that we tried to include local officials to some degree. I personally would like to see them included, and the speculation is that the Governor is going to include local officials in the ethics package.” Although the task ahead is daunting, Jackson, Kleckley and Geymann are optimistic that reform will come out of the session. “There is a lot of discussion,” says Geymann. “However, I think we can get it done in the three-week session. I think we may even get it done in two weeks. There is a lot of bi-partisan support. Everything now is just working out the details. I think you’re going to see the whole delegation behind it – the concept and the passage of an ethics bill.”

Rep Michael Jackson agrees. “It’s a new day,” he says. “The indication is the time is right. We have 59 new legislators who used ethics reform as a platform. So they are going on record in support of reform. All you need is 53 votes to pass. So we are optimistic it will pass. I’ve talked to folks in SWLA and it’s clear to me that they support the special session and are playing a major role in it happening…If we pass income disclosure, we’d be in the top five states in the nation in ethics. That is a realistic goal…The session is for three weeks and it’s limited to just ethics. I think we should be able to accomplish our goal in two weeks.”

As Governor Jindal has stated repeatedly, “Ethics reform is the critical first step towards moving our state forward. The nation’s perception of our state must be replaced with the new reality that what you know is more important than who you know when doing business in Louisiana…The best thing we can do to jumpstart our state’s economy is provide a clean, honest, and open state government.”

The Chamber honored Billy Navarre with their annual Civic Service Award.

From left: George Swift, Billy Navarre and Bill Willis.

Billy Navarre Honored With Chamber’s Civic Service Award

E

ach year, the Chamber SWLA presents the Civic Service Award to an outstanding citizen to honor his or her leadership and service to our communities. Tuesday, January 22, that honor was presented to Billy Navarre.

In his announcement, Bill Willis noted the many achievements of Mr. Navarre. He said, “The winner of tonight’s Civic Service Award is somewhat of a local celebrity. Not content to excel just in his chosen profession, he is an active contributor to the community through his charitable donations, community service and dedication to the causes & charities to which he has devoted himself. It would take all night for me to list his achievements and his generous contributions of time and resources to our local youth and to those in need. Over the past 25 years tonight’s recipient has donated around 4 million the development of higher learning and athletic programs for the children of our region!”

Willis said that over the past year, Navarre raised over $100,000 for the elderly victims of Rita in South Cameron with $50,000 coming out of his own pocket; raised over $80,000 this year for the SOWELA Foundation over which he is chairman; has been an eight-year member of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of the United Way; and that he also donates thousands of dollars to McNeese State University and demos for the university’s coaches annually.

Navarre, said Willis, “Is passionate about workforce development and strives to make a brighter future for the youth of Southwest Louisiana through job training and education. He donates time, money & resources to area schools and booster clubs as well as scholarships for high school graduates.

He shows his appreciation for more than 6,000 educators through gifts for current teachers and has treated retiring teachers to dinner at the Calcasieu Parish Retiree’s Banquet. He is a friend of education and has actually

won the “Friend of Education Award” four times in Calcasieu Parish and once from the State of Louisiana.”

Navarre is co-founder, along with Bill Dore, of the McNeese Golden Saddle Club, and has raised over $350,000 for the McNeese Rodeo. His dedication to the athletic involvement of our regional youth is evident through his actions. He provides scoreboards to area schools and sponsors every sport from Baseball to soccer and swimming.

He has even stepped behind the whistle as a coach for several years.

Among the numerous civic and business organizations Mr. Navarre actively supports are Muscular Dystrophy, The St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, The Children’s Miracle Network, The Wishing Well Foundation, The Boarding House, The McNeese State University Wheel Club, Boys’ & Girls’ Village, Ducks Unlimited, West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital, the West Calcasieu Chamber of Commerce, Big Brothers / Big Sisters, the Calcasieu Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, and the Council on Aging, among many others – too many to mention.

“He walks for cancer, and takes underprivileged children shopping for Christmas and fishing in the summer,” Willis told the crowd. “He is active in the 4-H program, and jump started the Sulphur High Auction which raises hundreds of thousands for the school.”

The award recipient is a secret until the announcement at the Chamber annual dinner. To his surprise, Ryan Navarre, Mr. Navarre’s oldest son, accepted the award on behalf of his father, who was out of state that evening. The Chamber asks for nominations each year, and a judging committee of distinguished citizens base their decision on the nominees contribution to community progress during the year; evidence of civic leadership ability; evidence of personal, professional, or business standing in the community; and service through religious and fraternal affiliations.

and we have the giveaway to prove it.

At Cameron State Bank, our customers are at the heart of our success. So, it seems only fitting that we give away a sparkling diamond heart necklace in February, as part of our

Dazzling Diamond Giveaway.

Then, in June, we'll outshine them all by giving away this $14,000

diamond ring.

A 10K YELLOW GOLD 18�

BOX CHAIN SHOWS OFF THIS STUNNING DIAMOND HEART NECKLACE TO PERFECTION.

DRAWING FEBRUARY

29TH

RegisterToday!

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 7

Who’s News, Continued from Page 5

many aspects of Memorial Hospital, including performance improvement, quality assurance, and physician advocacy, and he will be an active part of Memorial’s Board of Trustees. A native of Lake Charles, Dr. Martinez is a graduate of McNeese State University and the Louisiana School of Medicine in Shreveport, and completed his internship and residency at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. Dr. Martinez succeeds Memorial surgeon Ken Moss Jr., MD, with Surgical Associates of Southwest Louisiana, who served as Medical Staff President in 2007.

Three cardiologists from Cardiovascular Specialists of Southwest Louisiana (CSSWLA) participated in the annual meeting of the Louisiana chapter of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) held in New Orleans recently. Michael Turner, M.D., currently serves as ACC Governor for Louisiana and was the lead organizer for the annual meeting attended by approximately 50 cardiologists from Louisiana as well as fellows in training from Louisiana’s four medical schools. J. King White, M.D., an interventional cardiologist with CSSWLA, presented a keynote address at the annual scientific session of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACC. Dr. White’s address to the group provided insight of his long-term experience with stent placement in the carotid artery to prevent stroke. He is currently one of a select group of cardiologists in the country who provide data to a registry on this procedure. James McKinnie, M.D., electrophysiology consultant for Cardiovascular Specialists, also spoke on Non-Pharmacologic Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation. Cardiovascular Specialists of Southwest Louisiana are a group of board-certified cardiologists committed to cardiac care, focusing on prevention and early intervention. This group is also committed to innovation and education within the local and scientific community. CSSWLA is located at 600 Ryan Street in Lake Charles. The facility offers a state-of-the-art cardiac CT scanner and in-office diagnostics.

The Southwest Louisiana Hospital Association, which operates as Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, is pleased to announce its Board of Trustees for fiscal year 2008. As the only locally governed community hospital in Lake Charles, Memorial relies on community leaders in finance, media, public policy and business to volunteer their time and talents. Installed during the board’s annual meeting, the newly elected officers and directors are: Chairman, Glenn Pumpelly (President & Chief Executive Officer, Pumpelly Oil Company, Inc.); Chairman Elect/Vice Chairman, Philip Earhart (Retired Banker); Immediate Past Chairman, Carl Shetler (Owner, Shetler Lincoln - Mercury, Glenn Pumpelly LTD); Treasurer, Charles Whitson (Senior Vice PresidentFinance, Memorial Hospital); President/Assistant Secretary, Larry M. Graham (President/Chief Executive Officer, Memorial Hospital); Medical Staff President, Richard L. Martinez, MD (Radiology Associates of Southwest Louisiana); Immediate Past Medical Staff President, Ken Moss Jr., MD (Surgical Associates of Southwest Louisiana); Medical Staff President-Elect, Manley Jordan, MD (Pulmonology Associates of Southwest Louisiana); Medical Director/Corporate Compliance Officer, Kevin Mocklin, MD (Memorial Hospital); Legal Counsel, John Bradford, Esq. (Stockwell, Sievert, Viccellio, Clements & Shaddock); Trustees David Wallace, MD (Children’s Clinic of Southwest Louisiana), Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux (Judge, State Appellate Court), Sissie Villaume (Retired, Chief Executive Officer, Calcasieu Shipyard, Inc.), Denise Emerson Rau (President, Rau Financial Group), and Thomas B. Shearman (Publisher, Lake Charles American Press). The board bid farewell to J. Ted Meinscher, retired Vice President of Gulf State Utilities, who served since January 22, 1982, and to Ray Todd Jr., McElveen Insurance Agency, who served since January 28, 1983.

Dr. Ghada Saqer

PAGE 8

Lake Charles Memorial Hospital welcomes Ghada Saqer, MD, who specializes in Family Medicine, to the Southwest Louisiana Center for Health Services, 2000 Opelousas Street, in Lake Charles. A native of Amman, Jordan, Dr. Saqer is a graduate of Stavropol State University and the Stavropol Medical Institute in Russia. She completed her internship at Al-Bashir Hospital in Amman before moving to the United States, and completed her residency at the Louisiana State University Health Services Center Family Medicine Residency at Memorial Hospital in 2006. The mother of two, she is fluent in Arabic, Russian, and English. As a family medicine practitioner, Dr. Saqer specializes in the total health care of the entire family.

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

Orthopaedic Surgeon and Spine Specialist James Perry, MD, with the Center for Orthopaedics, recently taught a course on minimally invasive spine techniques at Louisiana State University Medical School in Shreveport.

The course was conducted in the Medtronic mobile satellite training center and was attended by orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons and physician residents.

Beauregard Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BECi) announces the hiring of Allison Dr. James Perry Reeves as manager of human resources. Reeves will be responsible for salary and benefits administration, employee compliance and relations, organizational planning and development, recruiting and staffing, and performance and succession management. She has also served as a committee member for Children’s Miracle Network Radio-Thon for three years and was recently Allison Reeves appointed to serve on the Workforce Investment Board for the Beauregard, Vernon, and Allen Parish area. Reeves resides in DeRidder with her spouse, Tommy.

Raphael Chan, MD, has joined the physician staff of Lake Charles Medical and Surgical Clinic. Dr. Chan is an otolaryngologist, which is commonly referred to as an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist. He received his medical degree from the University of Singapore and completed a residency in general surgery at Singapore General Hospital.

He also completed a residency in otolaryngology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and a fellowship in general otolaryngology and rhinology at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida. Dr. Chan is a Diplomate of the American Board of Otolaryngology and Dr. Raphael Chan has over 25 years of experience in the ENT specialty. He comes to Lake Charles from Bossier City where he was the attending otolaryngologist at Willis Knighton Health System. Dr. Chan’s office will be located on the second floor of The Clinic at 501 S. Ryan Street in Lake Charles.

Jill Langley Humphrey has been named Advertising Director for the Southwest Daily News. Humphrey is a longtime Sulphur resident and has been a member of the Southwest Daily News staff since February 1995.

Humphrey has had many duties at the newspaper ranging from telemarketing, classified sales, outside account executive to most recently, Advertising Director. Humphrey is the daughter of Joan Stevens and Gary and Vicky Langley.

She is a graduate of Grand Lake Jill Langley Humphrey High School and attended Louisiana College. Humphrey and her husband, Freddie, are the parents of 10 year old Celeste. Suzanne Peveto, former Advertising Director for the Southwest Daily News, has recently been promoted to the position of Publisher for the Southwest Daily News, The Vinton News, The Moss Bluff News and The Westlake News. Peveto is a Sulphur native Suzanne Peveto and a 1979 graduate of Sulphur High School. Peveto began at the Southwest Daily News in 1986 working in outside sales. Ten years later, she was promoted to Advertising Director and held that position until her recent promotion to Publisher.

Tpr. Gary Smith

The Louisiana State Police-Troop D gave out annual awards for 2007. The L.S.T.A. Member of the Year went to Tpr. Gary Smith. Tpr Smith has been with the Louisiana State Police for 4 years and is assigned to the patrol division. He is a contributing member with the Louisiana State Troopers Association and is very active with all Troop D activities. He was a camp counselor at the LSP & PPG Continued on Page 9

Who’s News, Continued from Page 8

“Skills for Life” summer camp in Lake Charles and is a primary Field Training Officer.

Smith is a member of the Louisiana State Police Mobile Field Force Team.

Every year the S/T Stephen Gray Memorial DWI Enforcement Award goes to the Trooper who arrests the most drivers for DWI on regular shift. Tpr. Jim Haugen has been with Troop D for four years and has earned the award for 2007. He excels every year in apprehending impaired drivers and taking them off the highways. Tpr Haugen arrested 38 drivers for DWI this year. Great job goes out to all the Troopers at Troop D for arresting over 700 drivers for DWI in Southwest Louisiana in an attempt to make our roadways a safer place to drive and to get impaired drivers out of the drivers’ seat. Tpr Haugen also took home the award for speed enforcement by issuing 301 speeding citations.

Tpr. Scott O’Connell earned the occupant protection award. He has been at Troop D for six years. O’Connell earned the award by issuing 414 citations for drivers not wearing seatbelts and for failure to use child restraints. Troop D Troopers have issued a total of 6,681 citations for failure to wear a seatbelt and 241 child restraint citations this year.

Correction: The ICHRMA (Imperial Calcasieu Human Resource Management Association) has announced its Board of Directors for 2008: President - Paula Gaspard, SPHR (Aeroframe Services); President Elect – Sandy Alexander, PHR (Chemtura); Vice President of Programs - Janell Johnson, SPHR (Global Industries Offshore); Membership Representative – Pam Davis (Louisiana Pigment Company); Legislative Representative – Melissa Portie, (Sempra Global);Special Events Coordinator – Tami Tolbert, PHR (Recon Management Services); SHRM Foundation Representative – Terry McCay (Kean Miller Law Firm); Secretary – Debra Lastrapes (Calcasieu Refining);Treasurer – Allyson Miller (Citgo Petroleum); Certification Representative – Petula Glaspie (Citgo Petroleum); Student Chapter Advisor – Angela Stutes (Westlake Chemical); Education Advocate – Shelly Aguillard, PHR (Cameron Communications); Diversity Director – Beau Brown (Manpower); Director at Large – Kimberlie Andrepont (Global Industries); Past President – Keri Fontenot, PHR (PPG Industries). The ICHRMA will have its next meeting on Thursday, February 14, at 11:30 a.m. at Pat’s of Henderson. If you are a Human Resources professional looking for network and professional development opportunities, please join us. For more information, call 882-7020.

Family & Youth Offers Assistance to Bullied Children

S

tories about bullied children with tragic consequences have been in the news lately, and Family & Youth is here to assist Southwest Louisiana’s children and parents.

Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional, involving an imbalance of power and strength repeated over time.

A child who is being bullied has a hard time defending him or herself. Bullying can take many forms: • Physical bullying—hitting or punching • Verbal bullying—teasing or name-calling • Emotional bullying—intimidation using gestures or social exclusion • Cyber bullying—sending insulting messages by email The Leadership Center for Youth in Lake Charles and Sulphur (TLC), a program of Family & Youth, offers a positive, supervised environment for youth ages 12 to 17. Services include homework help, youth leadership development, recreational sports, computers, and drug and violence prevention.

Special programs cover many topics including bullying. Also, TLC Director

Dana Forrest attends community meetings, parent meetings, teacher meeting and other places to discuss bullying and the effects on children. Membership fee is $50 a year, and TLC is open Tuesday through Friday 2 to 8 p.m., and Saturday,10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 337433-4533 for more information.

Another program of Family & Youth that can assist is The Counseling Center. A counselor can help a child find solutions to overcome the effects of bullying, and discover their character strengths and build their self-esteem.

Parents can also talk with a counselor about how best to respond to a bullied child. Call 337-436-9533 to make an appointment.

The Leadership Center for Youth in Sulphur and Lake Charles and The Counseling Center is a program of Family & Youth. Family & Youth, a United Way Agency, believes that all individuals possess the ability to solve their own challenges and live full and healthy lives when support is available.

Let us support you and your family.

For experienced professional assistance, contact Family & Youth at 337-4369533 or 1-888-414-FYCA.

Lake Charles’ Only Full Service Occupational Medicine & Safety Facility

Building, Remodeling

Over 145 booths exhibiting the Newest Products and Services Available for Your Home. $5 per adult Children under 10 FREE with Adult

❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏

Injured Worker Treatment Physical Exams Complete X-Ray Services Blood Collection Drug & Alchol Testing

❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏

Pulmonary Function Testing Respirator Fit Testing Audiometric Testing Safety Training & Consulting 24 Hour Collections & Other Hours by Special Appointment

MOBILE MEDICAL & SAFETY SERVICES AVAILABLE 299 CITIES SERVICE HWY., SUITE B SULPHUR, LA 70663 • (337) 626-1011 FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 9

WHAT’S

UP DOC?

I feel sick all the time, not just in the morning.

Is there anything I can do to relieve morning sickness?

Morning sickness affects most pregnant women 70 to 80 percent -- to some degree. Morning sickness is caused by hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy. Although most common in the morning, it can happen at any time of day, and can even last all day.

Symptoms usually include nausea and vomiting, and normally cease around 14 to 16 weeks. Some recommend methods for combating morning sickness: Eat several small meals throughout the day. One thing that triggers morning sickness is an empty stomach. You may want to keep a snack by your bed to eat right when you wake up in the morning. Avoid spicy, fatty or greasy foods. Have frequent protein snacks. (Low fat meats and seafood, nuts, eggs and beans are high protein.) Avoid the food smells that bother you most. Drink non-caffeinated peppermint or ginger tea to help with nausea. Drink plenty of fluids to help prevent dehydration. Eat more carbohydrates, such as a plain baked potato, rice, pretzels or dry toast.

Get out of bed slowly in the morning. Take prenatal vitamins later in the day. If your morning sickness continues after the forth month of pregnancy, or totally incapacitates you, then consult your physician for further advice.

Scott Bergstedt, MD, ob/gyn specialist with OBG-1 Is face swelling common with a sinus infection?

There is one pair of cheek sinuses (maxillary sinuses) and one pair of sinuses between the eyes (ethmoid sinuses), one frontal sinus above the eyes and one sphenoid sinus in the center of the head. They all drain into the nose and nasopharynx. Any or all of them can become infected. Those areas of the face that are overlying the sinuses can sometimes become swollen when the sinuses underneath are infected. However, with most sinus infections, there is usually no visible swelling, and when it does occur it is minimal because the sinuses are separated from the face by bone.

Much more common than swelling is tenderness when the skin over the infected sinus is touched or tapped. Very rarely, a sinus infection can break through the bone and produce significant facial swelling and redness of the skin. When this happens, an urgent trip to the physician or emergency room is necessary. Antibiotics and sometimes surgery are needed to clear up the problem.

Raphael Chan, MD, otolaryngologist with Lake Charles Medical and Surgical Clinic I’ve noticed that my blood pressure is consistently higher in one arm. Is that normal?

A small difference in blood pressure readings between your arms is generally nothing to worry about. It may be higher in your dominant arm. The difference is usually less than 5 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). A difference of more than 10 mm MG in one arm may be a sign of an underlying problem, such as narrowing of the main arteries to that arm. Such a situation should be brought to your doctor’s attention. To detect a difference in blood pressure between your arms, your doctor may take a series of alternate-arm blood pressure readings, or measure your blood pressure in both arms at the same time with two blood pressure gauges and two observers.

Bottom line: if you find the difference is more than 10 mm Hg, alert your doctor.

Chris Thompson, MD, cardiologist

PAGE 10

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

BIZ BYTES — by Dan Juneau

Filling In the Blanks n a few weeks, Governor Bobby Jindal will submit his first executive budget to the Legislature. He hasn’t had a lot of time to prepare it, but it will be his first opportunity to put his stamp on state government—and the lives of Louisiana’s citizenry. The governor is in better shape, financially, than many of his predecessors when it comes to having fiscal resources to fashion that first budget.

Some found the cupboard very bare when they took over. Governor Jindal finds an extra $2 billion in surplus and excess revenues. Tempering that somewhat is slightly more than $1 billion the last governor and Legislature placed into the current budget with non-recurring revenue.

No one knows at this point exactly what course our new governor will take in crafting the next budget, but some elements clearly stand out as prudent things to do. First, every dollar of those non-recurring funds in the current budget should be heavily scrutinized. Items that are not critical to operating state government should be discarded. Of course, some important items were placed into the supplemental appropriations last year to allow room for more political items to be placed in the regular appropriations bill. That brings up the second major item that should be addressed: scouring the current $30 billion budget for elements that can be removed or replaced by more critically needed expenditures.

One of the first fiscal actions that will be taken by the governor and Legislature will be to appropriate the surplus from the ‘06/‘07 fiscal year that ended June 30. Slightly more than $1 billion will be available to appropriate for purposes specifically identified by our state constitution.

Certainly, highway construction and maintenance will again be one of the uses—and a good one—for these surplus dollars. Unfortunately, when a similar amount of surplus was available last year, none of it was used to pay down the huge unfunded liability of our state retirement systems. That mistake should not be repeated this year.

The remaining pool of officially recognized excess revenue dollars is divided into extra money in both the current (‘07/‘08) budget, and the one

I

the governor and Legislature will fashion for next fiscal year (‘08/‘09).

These dollars will fuel a feud between those in government who want to reduce taxes and those who want to add more recurring expenditures to a rapidly growing state budget. As those fiscal disagreements break out, the ability of the state’s economy to provide revenues should not be forgotten, nor should the impact of inflation on maintaining existing state programs as well as any new ones. Tax cuts that can strengthen and expand the state’s economy should be at the top of the list. Eliminating and consolidating existing programs and expenditures before adding any new ones should also be a priority.

A $32 billion state budget is both a blessing and a burden.

A $32 billion state budget is both a blessing and a burden. Many excellent investments and vitally needed services can be accomplished with that huge sum of money. If, as has often been the case in the past, the budget becomes primarily a political document, then it remains an unwieldy leviathan that will once again consume private sector economic feed corn and fail to wisely promote public interest.

While our new governor doesn’t have a lot of time to fashion his first executive budget, it will be an instrument that begins to fill in the blanks about his governmental philosophy and his priorities for Louisiana. In an administration that celebrates ethical government, the Jindal administration should remember the fiscal shenanigans and political pranks of past budgets and end them now.

INSIDE BATON ROUGE — by John Maginnis

Bad News Rains on Political Parades hough the big Saturday night Washington Mardi Gras parade rolled inside a hotel ballroom, rain managed to fall on its two major celebrants, the new governor and the senior senator.

Fresh into his administration, Gov. Bobby Jindal and many supporters showed far more of a presence at the weekend festivities than his predecessors have for decades.

As in all his public appearances, he promised comprehensive if yet unspecified ethics reform, to be enacted in a special legislative session he will call in February.

But the victor’s welcome was marred by press reports that the state Board of Ethics had fined his campaign the maximum for failing to timely disclose a $118,000 expenditure by the state Republican Party in support of his candidacy.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, starting her drive for re-election, came to celebrate her enhanced seniority status in both the Senate and the Krewe of Louisianians, which might choose her as its captain for next year, provided, of course, she still is in the Senate.

A cloud floated over those prospects on Friday when CBS News aired its report that Landrieu received $80,000 in campaign contributions in 2001 from owners and employees of a company for whom she successfully sought a $2 million contract for a reading program for District of Columbia schools.

Rounding out the ethics beat, they were joined in the day’s headlines by former state Sen. Charles Jones, DMonroe, indicted by a federal grand jury for income tax evasion.

Now he has a serious ethics problem. For Jindal and Landrieu, besides embarrassing cracks in their party faces, what will come of their bad news day?

For Landrieu, the CBS segment was serious but old news, having been reported by the Washington Post in December and followed up by a public watchdog group calling for an investigation. Her press office rapidly responded that thenCongressman David Vitter had already secured funding for the program in the companion House bill

T

and that reading scores markedly improved following the program’s use.

The matter went unnoticed in 2001. Today, however, the coincidence of Landrieu’s funding request and the sizable contributions from business donors who had not given to her before does not play well in the chastened ethics environment of Washington. Congressional earmarks not unlike this one were roundly condemned by Democrats during the corruption scandals of the previous Republican-led Congress. This likely won’t lead to an ethics inquiry but it will make for some hard-slinging GOP attack ads against Landrieu this fall that won’t go away after one news cycle.

promise not to make them twice. In that spirit of humility, when he opens the special session, he might also concede that he is not the first to shine a light into the ethical darkness, that past governors and legislatures have brought the state a long way from the worst of the bad old days.

To do so would be a welcome departure from his opening inaugural remarks, when he decried “decades of failure in government” and “leaders who were unconcerned with the future,” which was widely taken as an ungracious insult to the four exgovernors seated behind him, including Mike Foster, who gave Jindal his

start in state government and politics.

He could even stand to say something nice about ex-Gov. Buddy Roemer, whose sweeping campaign finance law of 1989 has stood the test of time, proving tight enough to trip up as ethical, responsible and transparent an operation as Jindal’s.

Before he came along, someone was doing something right.

“...he is not the first to shine a light into the ethical darkness...” We’ve Got A Sweet Treat for Your Eyes

For Jindal, the substance of his campaign ethics violation is not so serious as its timing is terrible.

The Republican party spending on direct mail, which it disclosed, would have been considered an independent expenditure, except that Jindal campaign manager Timmy Teepell talked about it with party officials, which is considered collaboration, which made it an in-kind contribution, which Teepell forgot to mention to the campaign treasurer.

It could be viewed as more a matter of competence than ethics, except that candidate Jindal made these points, among his 31-point ethics platform, that “ignorance of the ethics code is never a valid excuse for non-compliance” and that he would have “zero tolerance for ethical lapses by my administrative appointments.”

The governor has shown a willingness to admit mistakes and to

Your Valentine is sure to SEE how much you care with the best gift in sight. Give LASIK starting at

799

$

per eye

This sweet offer is good for one month only. So treat yourself or your sweetheart.

Ask about new advanced CustomVue. Cannot be combined with any other discount.

Financing not available with this offer.

LaserCenter AT T H E E Y E C L I N I C

1717 Oak Park Blvd. • www.theeyeclinic.net

1-877-95 FOCUS FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 11

S O U T H W E S T

L O U I S I A N A ’ S

H O M E G R O W N

B U S I N E S S E S

Hunter’s Hosts Generations of ‘Harlequin Romance’

By Kathy Bergstrom e’ve hosted a lot of wedding rehearsal dinners, engagement parties, anniversary parties, and helped with many proposals,” says Nick Hunter. For three generations, the Hunter family has played Cupid to area couples at their Harlequin restaurant.

Since they opened in 1956, that’s 52 years the Harlequin considered “our place” by area couples and families. Nick says many couples have a favorite table. They want the table where they had their first date or where he proposed, or where family birthdays are celebrated. “We’ve been in this location now for four years and already people have claimed “their tables.”

And his staff of 30 accommodates other special requests. “I have one couple that always wants a coconut cream pie on their anniversary.

Some people have a favorite after-dinner drink.

And since some of our elderly couples have been coming here since the ‘50s, some of the cocktails that are from that era…Brandy Alexander’s and such…”

When asked about a special “Harlequin Romance,” Nick relates his grandmother’s favorite story. “When Max Morris was a young attorney, he met his wife, Jackie at the Harlequin.

W

“

Bronwen B. Darbonne, C.L.T.

PAGE 12

Catherine Vincent, C.L.T.

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

Stephen R. Cannon, M.D.

She was singing at the old Hunter’s Harlequin. He came back several times to hear her sing and then asked my grandmother to introduce him them.

And the rest was history…”

The staff at the Harlequin is often asked to play Cupid. Especially for proposals. Nick tells a story of what happened when Cupid was distracted by an errand. “A gentleman asked me to keep the ring until the dessert order when he was going to propose to his lady. I put the ring in my pocket but then we were having trouble with a printer so I ran to an office supply store for ink and forgot I still had the ring in my pocket. The staff was calling for me saying the gentleman was ready for “dessert” and where was his ring? I had the staff and servers stall until I could race back here and he had the ring on the dessert to surprise her!”

He notes, “A lot of men like for us to bring the ring out on a dessert plate. We had a couple of people put it in champagne but we discourage that – it can be dangerous if the young lady doesn’t see the ring and drinks it!”

With all the proposals at Harlequin, Nick said, “I’ve never seen anyone say, ‘No’ or be upset.”

Which answered a question we were about to ask.

Nick mused, “Must be by the time he is ready to propose, they have discussed marriage and maybe she has a feeling that he will be asking soon…”

Micki Richard

Sarah D. Thibodeaux, L.E.

Nick Hunter

And they’ve even hosted a wedding. “Right in this room,” Nick said of the lovely room with its French doors, fireplace and warm woods. “It was a small party and the judge did the ceremony and then they all had dinner here.”

What about the opposite, the Cynical Cupid reporter in me asked?

“Well,” said Nick, not naming names, of course, “We did have a divorce here once. They had come here regularly as a couple and when they decided to divorce they came here, and over dinner discussed everything very nicely, very civilized, and even signed the papers here!” Nick said, “However when she came in I addressed her, as usual, as ‘Mrs. Blank’, and when she left I was careful to say ‘Goodbye’ using only her first name!” Even divorces are dignified at the Harlequin.

“And we did have one very odd occasion with an engaged couple,” Nick recalled. “This guy calls and wanted to reserve the back room for he and his fiancée. They came to dinner here and at the request of their therapist – they were having ‘trust issues’ – and she was blindfolded through the whole meal! He ordered for her and fed her and gave her sips of her beverage. It was all very odd…I wonder if they ever did get married?”

We asked about the biggest day of the year – Valentine’s Day. Nick offers, “I suggest if you really want a quiet and romantic dinner, make reservations for the 13th or the 15th! There are so many people on the 14th. We will be packed! And it’s mostly couples, of course. And we can accommodate them all – we are on our toes and ready. But it will be packed.” So what if I wanted to make a reservation for the 14th anyway. Nick diplomatically pointed out that by the time this issue hits the stands, there will be no more openings for Valentine’s Day. “Reservations are going fast.”

“However,” Nick confided, “for a few special customers (and they know who they are!) I ‘save’ a few tables for those regulars who must take their wives to Harlequin for Valentine’s Day but wait until it’s too late.” That’s the kind of customer service and loyalty that’s probably saved more than one local gentleman from spending Valentine’s Day in the dog house!

(Editorial caveat: Nick was referring to long-time special, regular customers, and they know who they are…so YOU best not try it, Mister, on February 13!)

“We’ve witnessed a lot of love in 52 years,” says Nick. “Some of our regulars have celebrated every anniversary here –up to 50 years. And that’s such an achievement, to see that love and affection for each other.”

Love

The one you didn’t get the Outdoor Cookware they wanted for Christmas? Remember...

Gayle’s Hardware AND GENERAL STORE

Cast Iron Boiling Pots • Burners

2626 RYAN ST. 436-4126 Est. 1902

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 13

BUSINESS

notes Family & Youth will present its 10th annual two-day conference Connections Count! Family Focus Professional Development Conference at L’Auberge du Lac on Wednesday, Feb. 20, and Thursday, Feb. 21. The goal of the conference is to enhance the competency of professionals and practitioners working with individuals, children, youth, and families. Conference provides a forum for learning, networking, and discussing subjects relevant to supporting individuals and families. A variety of outstanding speakers are scheduled.

Scholarships are available for teachers, child care workers, school counselors, Children’s Advocacy Center Team Members, and nonprofit volunteers.

Continuing education credits are available for professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, social workers, and attorneys. Speakers include Thomas Coyne, with the Office for Addictive Disorders; C. Kerry Anderson, attorney; Mike Gootee, MA, LPC, LMFT; Robert Piper; Charles Monlezun, LCSW, MS, MPH, DPH; Jody Meek, MD; Earl J. Soileau, Jr., MD; and Jim Boudreaux, LCSW. For more information about the conference, and registration, visit www.fyca.org or call 337-436-9533. Early bird registration ends Feb. 6, 2008, and scholarships are available. Register today!

Above: CITGO Petroleum Corp. presented a $5,000 donation to the McNeese State University Foundation for student scholarships in the chemical engineering program within the department of engineering at McNeese.

Looking over the criteria for the scholarships are, from left, Dr. Johnathan Sullivan, head of the engineering department, and CITGO representatives Mickey Mancuso and Petula Glaspie, human resources consultants.

Sam Houston High School was recognized by the Louisiana ACT Council with the 2007 College Readiness Award in recognition of the school having significant increase in its ACT Composite score over the past five years while increasing the number of students taking the ACT Assessment. Sam Houston is one of only 2% of high schools in Louisiana to accomplish this.

Cameron Communications Executive Vice President, Dub Henning presented the $10,000 check to Dave Simmons, coach for the FOX29 Inside Cowboys’ Basketball Show.

Cameron Communications is proud to sponsor the Fox29 Inside Cowboy Basketball Show. Executive Vice President, Dub Henning, recently presented a $10,000 sponsorship to McNeese Cowboy’s basketball coach Dave Simmons.

The funds from this sponsorship will enable Coach Simmons to host summer basketball camps and other programs for children in the community. Cameron Communications is a continuous supporter of the McNeese Athletic Department and Coach Simmons.

Above, L to R: Dr. Michael K. Butler, Dr. Muhammad Sarwar, and Sandy Fruge, R.N., attended the 11th Annual Health Care Effectiveness Forum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where W. O. Moss Regional Medical Center received several awards.

McNeese State University will host a property and casualty insurance pre-licensing course from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Feb. 15, 16, 22 and 23, in room 118 of the McNeese Burton Business Center.

The course, presented by the Louisiana Consortium of Insurance and Financial Services at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, will provide 32 hours of class time suitable to prepare an individual to sit for the property and casualty licensing exam. Topics include basic terminology, concepts, sales, the fundamentals of insurance law and agent responsibility.Registration deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 13. Cost is $200 per person, including the textbooks. For more information or to register, contact Sarah Leonards at (337) 475-5075.

PAGE 14

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

Above: McNeese State’s softball and soccer programs are eagerly awaiting the completion of its new Hodges Street field house which is the future home to both programs. The project is expected to be completed March 1. The 5,400 square foot facility is located on the South side of the softball complex and will consists of offices for both sports, two locker rooms equipped with showers and restrooms along with a training room, laundry room, conference room and lobby area. Ground breaking ceremonies took place June 21 and the architects are H. Curtis Vincent and Steven D. Shows while the Priola Construction Corporation is serving as the contractor. The cost of the project is estimated at $616,000 and were funded through state funds. Major contributors to the project are the McNeese Cowboy Club and Petrochem Athletic Association, both donating $100,000 apiece. Other contributors are Cheryl and Doug Pritzen (electrical switchboards) and Pennye and Neil Koch (flooring and ceiling).

BUSINESS

notes

The Southeast Tourism Society (STS) recently honored the Contraband Days Pirate Festival as a 2008 Top 20 Event for the month of May. The Contraband Days Pirate Festival is based on the legend of pirate Jean Lafitte.

Local folklore has it that Jean Lafitte buried his trove of glittering treasure somewhere along the white, sandy shores of Lake Charles. Based on a legend of buried treasure, Contraband Days is celebrated in Lake Charles for two solid weeks. This year is the 51st anniversary celebration, and the festival will be held at the Lake Charles Civic Center, April 29 – May 11. Each day, Contraband Days is in full swing with stages of entertainment, carnival rides, food booths, contests and events. There are nearly 100 events each festival season, including fireworks and a lighted boat parade on Lake Charles.The Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau is a member of STS, an organization that promotes travel to and within the southeastern part of the United States.

The bureau nominates all area fairs, festivals and events quarterly. The STS Top 20 Events marketing program highlights the “best of the best” from submitted entries. Events are selected from each of the following STS member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The Top 20 Events publication is distributed to 125 American Automobile Association offices and to more than 300 newspapers, periodicals, radio stations and television stations.

For a free tour guide highlighting affordable adventures close to home, call or visit our Web site today.

Harlow Lawn Mower Sales, 126 Hodges Street, Lake Charles, will have a demonstration of the robotic “Spider Slope Mower” February 20. The Spider can safely mow 50-degree slopes. For more information on the Spider robot demonstration, call Harlow Lawn Mower Sales at 337-436-7266.

1-800-876-7899 LouisianaTravel.com

© 2007

HERE’S A LITTLE QUIZ FOR YOU: WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN SEATED IN A FANCY RESTAURANT? A.) Put your napkin in your lap.

B.) Scoot your chair closer to the table.

C.) Look under the service plate for the china trademark.

D.) Open the menu.

If you answered C.), then you’re very wrong – and also an elderly lady with whom Etiquetteer lunched several years ago at the Ritz-Carlton. Needless to say, Etiquetteer was aghast . . . but

also well-bred enough not to correct his elders in public. Unfortunately the Lady in Question spent the rest of luncheon calling out how wonderful everything was to any waiter who passed within five feet of our table. Etiquetteer learned quickly to decline future invitations from the Lady in Question.

Continuing in this vein of restaurant reminiscence, Etiquetteer will NEVER forget an unfortunate experience in an (Insert Ethnic Cuisine Here) restaurant.

Etiquetteer and two companions were seated by the host and then waited about 20 minutes to receive the menus.

This is not an exaggeration; one of Etiquetteer’s friends timed the interval.

Once the orders were taken, another interminable delay ensued – and then the order was delivered incorrectly.

Without even leaving a penny tip, Etiquetteer’s party left the restaurant at the end of the meal. Before walking 20 feet, the host was out the door after us demanding to know why a tip had not been left! And you may be sure that Etiquetteer told him in no uncertain terms . . . These days we know that you can leave a restaurant without feeling guilty at all if you haven’t even gotten your menu in ten minutes.

Dear Etiquetteer:

On a recent business trip, a colleague invited us out to dinner. We had already made plans to dine at a particu-

Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism

lar restaurant, so I invited the colleague to join us in our plans. However, I didn't know the colleague well enough to know if there was a spouse or spousal equivalent to include. I asked outright, which seemed to make him a little uncomfortable, as the answer is apparently not straightforward. Is there an elegant and proper way to warmly and emphatically invite an off-stage character without seeming to demand details of a business associate's private life?

Dear Inclusive:

The simplest, and therefore most elegant, invitation in this case is “And is there someone you would like to invite to join us?” If your colleague was in fact in a significant relationship, he could then indicate that he was married to or dating “someone.” Otherwise he could decline your offer without sacrificing his privacy.

Had he kept his head about him (people really do need to know how to keep their cool when asked embarrassing questions, not least That Mr. Dimmick Who Thinks He Knows So Much) he could have responded “I’m stag tonight” or “My companion isn’t available” without giving away his situation.

Do you have questions about restaurant etiquette? Please send them right away to query@etiquetteer.com!

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 15

PAGE 16

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

By Erin K. Cormier

The love story of Ben Mount and Willie Landry began with an apple. For Rick and Donna Richard, it was a handwritten note between teen-agers. For the Boudoins, it was the 1980s Ryan Street scene; for the Simiens, a strapless black dress.

February 14 is a day to celebrate love, but for these couples (and for many others, we hope) the celebration started long ago, and after 16, 19, 32 and 34 years, it continues.

g{x tÑÑÄx

Ben & Willie Mount

It was 1969 when Ben Mount, a husky young business student from Iowa, asked Willie Landry, a beautiful McNeese sorority girl and fellow classmate, if she wanted to share his lunch. He had only a sandwich and an apple and assumed that the petite young woman would, for the sake of being a lady, decline. The way he figured it, he couldn’t lose – he’d still have his lunch and she would think he was a gentleman.

“Instead, she said, ‘I’ll take the apple,’” recalls Ben, now a Lake Charles attorney. “I couldn’t believe

she took my apple. I wasn’t a small man and that’s all I had — a sandwich and an apple. And she ate it.”

Ben kept his mouth shut, let her have the apple, and a lasting friendship began. Willie didn’t have a car, so he offered to give her a ride to class. Every morning for a single summer, he pulled up to the Landry house on Sallier Street in his Ford Mustang sedan and they rode to McNeese together. For more than six years, they stayed friends, but never dated.

Willie eventually moved away and Ben went to law school.

“We dated other people but we always kept in touch. Deep down, from the beginning, I always had a special place in my heart for her,” Ben said.

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 17

In 1976, Willie moved back to Lake Charles and Ben took her to a nice restaurant to celebrate her return. So began their romance.

Less than six months later, Willie’s grandmother, “Mawsy,” had to go into the hospital; the Landrys were out of town, so Willie and Ben offered to stay with Mawsy through the night. Around 1:30 a.m., after several hours in the hospital room, Willie asked Ben what he wanted to do.

“Well,” he said, “We could get married.”

“Yeah,” Willie casually replied. “We could.”

They initially wanted a spring wedding, but didn’t want a long engagement.

They were both avid football fans, so fall was out. They soon married in a small ceremony with family and friends on a Thursday evening in August 1976.

As the years moved on, Willie refined Ben’s taste in food. He taught her to appreciate antique furniture. She eased his frugal nature; he gave her balance. He offered unfailing support when she ran for mayor of Lake Charles and for state senator; she suffered with him through chemotherapy treatments after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.

“When you’re married, every action you take involves another person. You have to ask yourself, ‘What would he do? What would he think about this? How will this effect him?’ Loving someone is more than just words, and it certainly isn’t easy. But if you think about it, nothing that’s wonderful comes easy,” Willie said. “I found a best friend that I was fortunate enough to fall in love with and marry. Not many people are that lucky.”

According to Ben, love and respect has been the foundation of his 32-year marriage with Willie. When you love and respect someone, he said, everything else falls into place.

Today, their offices are next door to each other on the second floor of the Magnolia building. They both admit that they know each other so well that they can virtually read each other’s thoughts.

After more than three decades, there is only one mystery, according to Ben. “We’ve always wondered if Mawsy heard us.”

g{x ÇÉàx

As a bumbling teenager in the 70s, Rick Richard couldn’t take a hint.

A popular Lake Charles High Keltie named Donna made it her business to kid around with him at school. When Twirp — the formal version of Sadie Hawkins

— came around, she asked him to be her date. She even laughed at all his jokes.

But when Homecoming season arrived, Rick had no intention of asking her to go, even though he was the lackluster benchwarmer of the football team and had an enormous crush on the pretty brunette.

The love story might have ended there, but one day at school, one of Rick’s buddies popped a handwritten note out of the hand of Donna’s best friend. Rick still recalls its single line: “Don’t worry, I’m sure Rick will ask you to Homecoming.”

Today, he half-jokingly calls it “some kind of divine intervention.”

“I didn’t plan to ask her at all,” Rick said. “Not ’cause I didn’t want to go with her, of course, but because I had no clue that she wanted to go with me and I would’ve been too shy to ask her. When I read that note, I knew it was a for-sure thing that she’d say yes, so I asked. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t seen that note.”

After high school, Rick went to journalism school at Louisiana State University while Donna enrolled at McNeese.

“A lot of love letters crossed from Baton Rouge to Lake Charles during that time,” Donna said.

Eventually Rick drove through a rainRick & Donna Richard

Marilyn’s Annual

Bridal Seminar & Faire For Everything She Is And Will Be… Only One Diamond Will Do. ™ ™

Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 1:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M. (Doors open at Noon)

p Learn the Do’s and Don’ts for planning a perfect Wedding. p Meet the area professionals that make your dream wedding a reality.

p A teaching seminar, bring your notebooks.

“A Must See For the Bride-To-Be” Available at:

HONEYMOON GIVEAWAY

1025 Ryan St. • 433-3637 www.navarras.com

3510 5th Avenue $10.00 Per Person Call for Reservations

www.heartsonfire.com

(337) 477-3553

©2005 HEARTS ON FIRE COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

PAGE 18

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

storm from Baton Rouge to Lake Charles in his Volkswagen to propose to her, but says he wasn’t nervous about her answer. He was more afraid of her father and brothers.

“They were pretty big guys,” Rick said. “Luckily, it all turned out all right.”

They were married in July 1974 and say that over the past 33 years, they have grown both as individuals and as spouses in a society that seems to have a “disposable attitude” toward the material, physical and emotional gifts of life.

“When you’ve been married a while, there comes a point when you step back and think about where you’ve been and where you will be. You think, ‘Whoa. I can’t imagine my life before this person or without this person,’” Donna said. “It’s so easy to get distracted in life, but Rick has always been upbeat and quick to bring me back to our common ground, which is the love we have for one another.”

Rick says Donna has been his touchstone since their days at Lake Charles High. When asked what makes Donna the love of his life, he chokes up.

“Just her basic goodness,” he says. “That’s the only way I can describe it.”

And what drew the beautiful Keltie Colonel to the shy football player back in 1968?

“He made me laugh,” Donna says.

g{x ÜÉwxÉ vÉãuÉç Wade & Staci Boudoin

Staci and Wade Boudoin’s romance began rather simply.

“I thought he was cute,” Staci explains. “That’s pretty much it.”

They crossed paths on Ryan Street in the 1980s when Staci, a preppy blonde from LaGrange High School,

caught sight of Wade Boudoin, a good-looking, bull-ridin’ rodeo cowboy. They shared drinks at Miss Kitty’s and Lilly Langtree’s and married on October 1, 1987, when they were just 18 and 21 years old. Staci wore a pale pink wedding dress that had “ruffles for days.” He admits he was nervous that day, but says “if you ain’t nervous, something’s not right.”

“Back then, she was a preppy girl and I was a cowboy.

We didn’t have much in common,” Wade said. “A lot of couples get married young and as they get older, they change and grow apart. Instead of growing apart, we grew together. We didn’t have much in common then, but we do now. Back then, we were just two young people trying to build a family. We’ve gone through bad stuff, but you gotta go through the bad stuff to get to the good.”

They had three daughters, built a house, and decided to become business owners. Less than five years into their marriage, they opened their first Australian Tans business.

Today, they have four locations in Southwest Louisiana.

“Everyone told us that when you build a house together, that’s when you want a divorce,” Staci says. “Well, we built a house and four businesses, and we’re still here.”

According to Wade, the foundation of their marriage is built on communication and teamwork.

“From time to time I just shut up and agree with her.

That don’t hurt, either,” Wade said.

g{x Ä|ààÄx uÄtv~ wÜxáá

LSU, 1986. Marshall Simien, future Lake Charles city councilman, is in the university bookstore when he sees a beautiful woman named Paula across the way. He walks up to her.

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 19

“Excuse me,” he says. “This may be the oldest line in the book, but haven’t I seen you somewhere?”

Yes, Paula replies. They were in undergraduate school together at the University of Southeastern Louisiana; she was in psychology, he was in government.

He asks if she has a boyfriend and when she says no, he says that he’d like to give her a call, but warns her that he’s strapped for time.

“I’m a law student,” he says. “So I’m very busy.”

A ploy, he admits today, to appear extremely important. Oddly enough, however, he found the time to call Paula, who was pretty busy herself — she was in her last year of graduate school and working on her dissertation. The first time he called, he used an outdoor phone booth on campus.

“While I was in the phone booth, it started pouring down raining,” he says. “I was getting soaking wet, but I kept talking to her.”

Soon, Paula had to leave for a conference in Chicago. The day she got back to town, she called him and said she wanted to stop by to give him some souvenirs — a coffee mug and a box of chocolate. She arrived at his doorstep wearing a green silk skirt and a white top; Marshall said she looked so beautiful that it was the first and last time in his life he ever had sweaty palms.

“I kept thinking, ‘She’s so beautiful. She’s so beautiful,’” he says. “I was dressed to the nines too, though. Hawaiian shirt. Shorts. Argyle socks.”

PAGE 20

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

Paula admits she was off-put by his fashion choice for the occasion, but counters that he had “nice eyes” and she “didn’t marry him for his clothes.”

Although the green silk knocked the wind out of him, Marshall said he truly fell in love with Paula when she was his date to the Barrister’s Ball at LSU. She wore a strapless black dress, he recalls, with a white bow in the front.

“Every guy there wanted to dance with her.

Everyone. Especially this guy named Thomas.

Finally I had to say, ‘Thomas, that’s enough, man,’” he says, laughing. “I will never forget that night, and I will never forget that dress. For years and years I kept a picture of her in that dress in my office and I’d look at it every day.”

They started dating in November 1986 and were married exactly five years later, on November 16, 1991. Looking through their wedding album, Marshall points at a photo of her and says, “Look at that smile. That smile just makes me melt, I’m telling you. It literally lights up the entire room. That’s one of the things I love most about her. Just look at it.”

Today, they have two sons and a daughter.

“The reason we’re together isn’t because I do everything perfectly or he does everything perfectly in the marriage,” Paula said. “It’s because we have God.”

Marshall & Paula Simien

V{ÉvÉÄtàx _ÉäxÜá gt~x [xtÜà

Music to a chocolate-lover’s ears.

It turns out the connection between chocolate and hearts may extend far beyond Valentine’s Day. Not only is there room in a healthy diet for moderate amounts of chocolate, it may even offer some real health benefits.

Medical experts are no longer shy about praising chocolate, and not just as an occasional indulgence. Some chocolates, particularly dark chocolate, contain high amounts of flavanoid-rich antioxidants. These are chemicals found naturally in foods that can help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Several studies have demonstrated that these antioxidants in chocolate, known as flavonols, help lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol while boosting “good” HDL cholesterol by as much as 10 percent.

“Decreasing your LDL levels reduces your risk of heart disease,” explains Ralph Hays, CNP, with the Cardiology Department of Lake Charles Medical & Surgical Clinic.

“The fatty plaque buildup in arteries is caused by the oxidation of LDL. Flavonols seem to ease inflammation, opening blood vessels and improving blood flow. These antioxidants can prevent platelets from adhering to the lining of blood vessels, inhibit blood clotting, and help prevent plaque formation in the arteries. By preventing the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, antioxidants in chocolate may help safeguard against heart attack and stroke.”

A recent Italian study confirmed that dark chocolate can also decrease blood pressure. In another study, participants who consumed a high-flavanol cocoa beverage had reduced platelet activity similar to that seen with aspirin therapy, reducing the risk of clot formation. Yet another study found a link between consumption of chocolate and improved blood-vessel function, an important indicator of cardiovascular health. And when compared to some other sources of antioxidents, such as fruits, vegetables, tea and wine, chocolate appears to be the clear winner.

Just one to two ounces of dark chocolate contain the same amount of antioxidants as one six-ounce glass of red wine Surprised? Chocolate’s role as a potentially healthful food is really not new. From the mid-1600s up to the 20th Century, chocolate was seen to strengthen the heart and relieve heart pain. Throughout history, chocolate

appears across many cultures, and was valued as a source of magical powers, medication and even currency.

How, then, did chocolate get such a dark and disreputable reputation relating to health benefits? It is probably due to its saturated fat content, not to mention the abundance of sugar in most forms of chocolate products.

Sixty percent of the fatty acids found in cocoa butter are saturated, consisting of stearic acid (35 percent) and palmitic acid (25 percent). Saturated fats can raise levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (fatty materials) in the bloodstream, which can dramatically increase an individual’s risk for heart disease. But, stearic acid is an “unusual” saturated fat, and does not elevate blood cholesterol levels to the same extent as other saturated fatty acids, eliminating much of the heart risk associated with chocolate’s high fat content.

When it comes to choosing your chocolate, Hays explains that the potential benefit is only as great as the chocolate is dark. Dark chocolate and pure cocoa powder (not instant cocoa mix) are the best source of the beneficial antioxidants. The bitter-taste is in dark chocolate is from the cocoa flavonoids. And even though these are naturally-occurring components, manufacturing processes, such as fermentation and roasting, can affect the levels of antioxidants that are in the final chocolate product. Milk chocolate and white chocolate do not offer all of the same benefits found in darker chocolate.

Hays says while this evidence is compelling; don’t trade your daily servings of fruits and vegetables in for an all-chocolate diet just yet. “Before you blow your grocery budget on chocolate bars, remember that most chocolate products contain significant amounts of sugar and fats which can have an impact on your weight. And extra weight can raise your cholesterol, which increases your risk of heart disease,” he adds. “The message is that chocolate is not bad and it may have some beneficial health effects. As with most things in life, moderation is the key. You have to incorporate it into a healthy and balanced diet.”

WÉ çÉâ {täx

T aÉáx yÉÜ _ÉäxR Ever wondered what attracts us to some people and not others? You may think it’s the way they look, but research is showing that attraction is not necessarily in the eye of the beholder, it’s actually in the nose.

Researchers may have unlocked the mystery of attraction, and it may have nothing to do with physical appearance, but much more to do with scent, specifically pheromones.

According to psychiatrist D. Dale Archer, Jr., MD, with the Institute for Neuropsychiatry, the concept of a human pheromone, or sexual scent of attraction, has been debated and researched for years. “Pheromones are airborne chemicals emitted by hormones that can be detected by other members of the same species. We’re just beginning to understand the role that pheromones play in human attraction.”

Pheromones are secreted as natural odors through the body and are constantly released. If one is attracted to another person it may be indeed all in the scent. Every single living thing emits a different pheromone unique to that individual.

In the animal kingdom, the sense of smell plays a vital role in survival. An obvious example is detecting the scent of predators, but animals at all levels also use scent to find receptive, fertile mates, in order to perpetuate the species. Sea urchins, for example, release pheromones into the surrounding water, sending a chemical message that triggers other urchins in the colony to eject their sex cells simultaneously.

Human pheromones, on the other hand, are highly individualized, and not always noticeable. These chemical signals trigger unconscious responses within the body. Some consider the “trigger” that the body receives from pheromones to be the sixth scent. If you’re looking for the man or woman of your dreams, unsuspecting pheromones in your body scent are most likely playing a large and very clever role in mate attraction.

According to an article in Psychology Today, how our body odors are perceived as pleasant and sexy to another person is a highly selective process.

Dr. Archer says intriguing research indicates pheromones may play more of a role that we realize in who we are

attracted to. “If you think about it, it’s a logical assumption. In ancient times, our cave-dwelling ancestors were focused on survival, not romance, when it came to choosing a mate. It is believed pheromones helped guide these choices, and new research is showing that this same instinct, while not necessarily still necessary for survival, is still guiding us today.”

One study found that when given a choice, women exposed to the sweat samples of different men, preferred those from men genetically different from themselves. Researchers say this inclination is designed to prevent inbreeding, which weakens the species.

In another study, women preferred the odor of men with immune symptoms similar to their own, which researches say is another “built-in” mechanism to ensure species survival with the birth of strong, healthy children.

Although it’s now clear that pheromones exist, Dr. Archer says the way our body processes them has yet to be determined. Animals have a vomeronasal organ (VNO), which perceives the substance and then leads them to mate. Some anatomists don’t think humans have a VNO; others think they’ve found pits inside our nostrils that might be VNOs, but may not work.

Despite the gap in our knowledge, these new studies about pheromones may explain some of the mysteries of attraction that have baffled us through the ages.

The degree of control that pheromones have in relation to emotions is still a matter of debate, but the mounting evidence is leading to the development of customized products in the perfume industry, with various claims made about pheromone additives. Dr. Archer says to be very cautious before believing a purchase chemical mixture can replace natural pheromones or make you more attractive to prospective mates. “Pheromones are very individualized and completely unique to your own body. In addition, the preferences of pheromones depend on many factors: cultural, sexual, psychological and genetic.

Dr. Archer says overall, the best advice if you are looking for “Mr. or Ms. Right” may be to follow your nose, not just your heart.

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 21

It’s a very personal, private and memorable moment when two people decide to get married. Sometimes a proposal is dramatic, rehearsed and planned down to the last romantic detail. Sometimes it’s a quiet understanding between two people who know they are right for each other and the time is right. We asked area couples how they decided to get married -- elaborate proposal or quiet agreement. Here are their tales of love.

It was summer of 1986 and Hector and I had made plans to marry, but the proposal wasn’t really to be “official” until he asked me and gave me the ring.

Well, it seemed as though everything was against us. First, this one Friday night, he had us get all dressed up for dinner at Café Margaux. I thought surely the whole point of the night was to give me my engagement ring and make it “official.” Turns out, he wanted to take me to an especially nice dinner to ease the disappointment he imagined I would suffer, when I found out he had NOT yet been able to get the ring. A week or so later, he did get the ring and it soon became obvious that this would be the night of the big proposal. First we went out to a nice dinner, though not quite as fancy as the previous one. Hector wanted everything to be perfect, so he got a bottle of champagne and a boom box with what he considered romantic music. I think initially his plan was to drink champagne and pop the question at his apartment, but his roommate was there. So, we drive to another spot…North Beach. We’re there only a minute and we see blue lights in the rear view mirror. (Evidently the beach was closed and Lake Charles finest wanted us to move along.) From there, we went to, I think it was Prien Lake Park, but the parking lot was filled with cars and rowdy people, so we rejected that location. Finally, he drove back toward town and pulled into a drive on vacant lot next to the lake and turned on his “mood music.” (I still remember hearing “Bloody Mary,” from South Pacific, and wondering if he could possibly consider that song romantic. I think he was expecting it to play “Some Enchanted Evening,” but I can still hear “Bloody Mary,” in my head.) I was just seconds away from being officially engaged when someone I can only describe as a “snotty little rich kid” drove up and asked us what we were doing on private property. Well, obviously the union was meant to be because from there, we went to his apartment. His roommate was gone and the PAGE 22

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

rest is San Miguel history. (We have four kids: Drew, 19; Stephen, 17; Lucy Marie, 15 and Ricky, 9 years old. This year we will celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary.) I must say Hector did make up for the weird proposal on our 20th wedding anniversary when he took me to Las Vegas and treated me to an extremely romantic weekend full of surprises from a limousine ride with roses and champagne to dinner at the top of the Paris Hotel Eiffel Tower restaurant.

Even if he does like to pretend he’s James Bond, I know Hector will always keep the romance in our marriage! — Theresa Schmidt Tony and I had been dating for a little over two years when my mother came to visit for Easter. She kept hinting all weekend that she would love to have Tony as a son-in-law. I really didn’t think much of it (having experienced my mother’s hinting methods since birth). However, unbeknownst to me, Tony really listened to her! So, the Monday after Easter, Tony and I were driving to Lake Charles from Sulphur on Hwy. 90 when all of a sudden he turns to me and says something to the effect of “So, you want to go ahead and get married?” I was stunned to say the least, but before I said yes, I asked him if this had anything to do with my mother bugging us about it and he very honestly answered yes. He quickly followed it up saying he had been thinking about asking me anyway. I obviously said YES and we have been happily married for over 13 years. Needless to say, he now knows how to handle my mother and her hinting!!! — Joann Hanks Eligha and I had been courting for eight months. My favorite number is 8.

So on Mardi Gras day of 2005, the 8th, Eligha and I were going out to dinner to celebrate 8 months of courtship. He said that on the way to dinner we needed

to stop by his friend’s (Gray Stream) house to pick up something. Once we pulled up in the drive way of Gray’s house, Eligha asked me to get out with him to pick up the package and to say “hello” to Gray…Gray opened the door, greeted us with hugs …and invited us to wait on the back porch while he got the package. As I proceeded through the huge, double doors, into the screened in back porch, which over looks acres of beautiful landscaped bushes and flowers, I noticed a tabled set for two in the middle of the porch with a red table cloth and flowers. To my left was another red clothed table with lit candles, grapes and champagne. I thought to myself, “We can’t stay long because Gray is getting ready to entertain someone.” I looked behind me and Gray and Eligha were standing there looking at me and smiling. That’s when I knew that the entertaining was for Eligha and me. I was so surprised. And still had no idea that his intention was to propose….We were served a wonderful meal prepared by a close friend, Mary Favors. After the meal, Eligha stood and said that he had to go to the restroom. I said, “Okay” and I just admired the beauty all around me; from the landscaped yard, the candlelight, and the essence of Being in Love.

When Eligha returned to the table, he approached me with a medium size box in hand. Still, I had no ideas of proposal as the box was not a ring box and I thought we were just celebrating 8 months of courtship…I opened the box and there was a stuffed dog inside. Eligha knows that I LOVE dogs. I looked up and said “Thank You”, but I didn’t understand. Eligha said, “There is something else in there.” As I search through the tissue paper, I found a plastic dog bone with handwriting on it that read, “Thank you for coming into my life.

Would you make me the happiest man on earth and become my wife?” I then looked up to Eligha standing near me, holding a ring box with the most beautiful ring. He then said, “Will you marry me?” I stood up and yelled “YES!” And I just screamed with excitement and began to cry. Eligha placed the ring on my finger and Gray came out and said, “I guess she said yes.” Eligha and I shared a glass of champagne as we walked and toured the grounds of the Stream home.

Eight months later we were married, and eight months later we conceived Isabella. Isabella was born on March 8th at 7:47 a.m. (almost 8!) in labor and delivery room 7. (Seven is Eligha’s favorite number!) – Nomica Guillory

etc.). Our last stop was a party at his parent’ home in Lake Charles. We all went inside (it was cold that year) socializing and out of the blue (no one had a clue, especially me) Kevin disappeared for awhile and came back, got on his knee, took a box out of his coat pocket, and askd me to marry him in front of his family and friends! Of course, I said yes and we will be celebrating our fabulous 5th anniversary in a few months. He’s still my sweetheart! — Pam Mattingly Valentine’s Day was “liberation day” for me; the Army no longer needed or desired my help, so with an honorable discharge in hand, I used my separation pay to hop on an Eastern Airliner that flew all night in a southerly direction. I arrived home by the dawn’s early light and turned in for a nap. Then a casual friend called and asked if I would join him on a double date that evening, which, after some discussion and with some reluctance, was agreed to. Little did I know that the young lady was also being persuaded by her friend, so the evening was not viewed by either of us as an event of our choice. That changed for me when I first saw her, she was a doll — in short –beautiful! Valentines Day had been the day before, but my Cajun Cupid may have been a day late, but man, he shot his two remaining arrows, one mortally wounding me. I still maintain she first mentioned marriage on our third date, three nights later, but why quarrel over who was or was not the originator of the idea of marriage?

Fact is we were married as quickly as possible thereafter and we will celebrate sixty- one years (that’s 61!) together this year, but who’s counting? — Anonymous Cajun Gentleman Back in the early 70s, I was living in the Miami area, trying to be part of the dating scene and hating every minute of it – mainly because I have never been able to dance. Men would say “Oh, you just haven’t met the right teacher; let me show you.” Then they would say, “Oh, you really can’t dance!” Then they would leave. I also joined a small scuba diving club and learned to scuba dive.

That was fun. After one diving trip, a group gathered in a bar where there was a band. One of the other scuba divers, Joe Richardson, leaned over and said “I would ask you to dance but I can’t dance.” So I decided to marry him. We’ve now spent 35 years not dancing with each other! – Mary Richardson

My husband popped the question five years ago. It was New Year’s Eve night and we had been to several events that night (fireworks, entertainment,

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 23

To appreciate the engraver as an artist, read between the lines. Inside every printed grove – from the thick lines of a draped dress to the subtle thinness of a strand of hair – there is an artist with a burin, carving hours of imagery into a plate of zinc or copper, much like their fellow engravers did 500 years ago.

“Engraving is a throwback form of art.

Not much has changed in engraving in five centuries. The carving tool, known as a burin, is pretty much the same, and the technique itself hasn’t changed,” said Gerry Wubben, an art professor at McNeese State University who has exhibited artwork in more than 200 regional, national and international exhibitions. “In the digital age, there are ways to fake artistry. With engraving, you can’t fake it.”

Wubben, a former recipient of the McNeese Distinguished Faculty award, recently received a $1,000 endowed professorship award from the Robert Jones Beauregard Parish Historic Fund for visual arts. He plans to use the money to promote the art of engraving; recently he partnered with McNeese

alumnus James Ehlers to initiate a portfolio exchange among engravers and artists nationwide. A portfolio exchange allows a group of artists to exchange prints of their work to each other as part of a collaborative collection.

Wubben hopes to use his grant money to create a catalog of these works to promote the individual artists, the craft of engraving and the artistic talent of the McNeese community.

Four of the engravers in the exchange are former students of Wubben’s and two – Heather Kelley and Larry Schuh – are McNeese colleagues.

According to Wubben, the portfolio features the work of the country’s most talented engravers, including Washington-based William Fleishell III, who created the portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the new $5 bill, and Ehlers, a Lake Charles native whose work has been exhibited in Portugal, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Norway and other global locales.

Today, Ehlers is an instructor at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan., where he, like Wubben, hopes to play an integral role in

A detail of an engraving work by McNeese graduate James Ehlers, one of the most talented engravers in the U.S., according to Wubben.

Enhance Your Natural Features with Permanent Cosmetics!

Eyeliner • Eyebrows • Lip liner Full Lip color • Areola Repigmentation

Paul Mitchell Focus Salon Full Service Salon Always be in STYLE...

Call Brandi or Tiffany for an appointment

Brandi, Tina and Tiffany

For a free tour guide highlighting affordable adventures close to home, call or visit our Web site today.

1-800-876-7899 LouisianaTravel.com

Women’s Apparel & Accessories 201 W. College St. Ste. C,(Next to Gaidry’s) (337) 562-8191 Mon-Fri: 10am-6pm • Sat: 10am-4pm © 2007

PAGE 24

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism

bringing the art of engraving back to the creative forefront. Emporia State offers the world’s only Bachelor of Fine Arts in engraving.

“It seems that there are few of us still around doing this. It’s difficult to learn at first. On top of learning how to create a variety of marks, you have to learn to draw exclusively with line,” Ehlers said.

“But there is no other mark like it. The swelling of the line is graceful. I have heard it described as ‘sexy.’ Carving into a metal surface with a burin is also a meditative experience.”

A burin is a very fine chisel with a sharp V-shaped section that is used to carve lines into the artist’s metal plate.

Some of the earliest engravings in the

world have dated to the 15th Century, when they were used primarily to produce prints, or copies, of famous works.

Because an image must be created or re-created onto the metal plate before engraving can begin, engravers typically have very fundamental artistic skills – they are able to draw well, and most have several other creative outlets, such as painting or sketching.

Engraving is a time-consuming and skillful technique that takes patience and talent to learn, according to Wubben. “It could easily be argued that the burin is one of the most difficult tools to master in the art world. It relies on very sturdy, fundamental skills,” Wubben said. “Once you get over those initial frustrations,

however, you can easily get lost inside the work.”

After the engraving is complete, the plate is covered in ink. The surface is then wiped clean, leaving ink in the groves only, and the plate is pressed against paper to produce a print of the image. Using the burin, an artist can create either highly detailed or sketchy images, depending on the number and thickness of the lines. Subject matter is as just as varied as any other art form.

It can take as long as 30 hours to engrave a single image. Fleishell, the bank note portrait engraver, has said that it took him at least 300 hours to complete the portrait of Lincoln on the fivedollar bill.

check us out online: www.timessw.com

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 25

2710 1/2 Hodges St. Lake Charles, LA 337-433-1609

2 FOR 1 TEETH WHITENING The doctors provide a wide range of dental services including in-office bleaching, cosmetic fillings, porcelain veneers, implants, crowns, bridges, and Conscious Sedation for anxious patients.

2713A Hodges St. Lake Charles, LA 337-433-5800

3000 Lake St. Lake Charles, LA. • 337-474-0210

2710 Hodges St. Lake Charles, LA 337-439-1617

The Times of SWLA is distributed throughout our region and via the world wide web. Call Andy, Patricia or LeShai at 337-439-0995 and let them show you how to grow your business today.

Ad Deadline: February 14th

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

1-800-876-7899 LouisianaTravel.com

To Reserve Your Advertising Space Call

337-439-0995 PAGE 26

For a free tour guide highlighting affordable adventures close to home, call or visit our Web site today.

Š 2007

Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism

HealthCARE

Find Your

Motivation for Fitness Losing weight is the number one New Year’s resolution. In early January, enthusiasm and resolve to begin a fitness program is at the highest peak, and then a few weeks later, old habits return and commitment wavers. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

For those ready for a fresh start, now is a great time to get fit, according to Chase Gary, fitness expert with Dynamic Dimensions of West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital. “After all the holiday treats, it’s almost a natural instinct to want to scale back on eating and increase activity. It’s the body’s way to balance out over-indulgences.”

Starting a fitness routine isn’t the difficult part; it’s sticking to it, of course. What motivates people to continue? Many people would answer “increased muscles”, “firmer abs” or “weight management”.

But, a researcher who asked that very question received surprising answers. Diane Klein, PhD, exercise scientist with the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, conducted a recent survey with people who have been exercising regularly for an average of 13 years. They ranked their motivators in order of importance: Fitness; Feelings of well-being; Pep and energy; Enjoyment of the exercise; Making exercise a priority; Sleeping better; Feeling alert; Being relaxed; Weight management; and Appearance.

“Most long-term exercisers enjoy the feeling of being in shape more than being a ‘size 8’ or ‘waist of 32’. It satisfies a natural desire to be fit and goes beyond fitting into a certain size of clothes,” said Gary. “There’s no secret to becoming a long-time fitness regular.

Anyone can do it. It’s just a matter of committing.”

So, what can you learn from these fitness gurus as you begin your fitness program this New Year? There are a few pointers from the pros that can help

through the rough spots when January’s motivation isn’t as high in March: • Pace yourself. Studies show that overtraining is the main reason individuals fall off an exercise program. Doing too much may make you decide to do nothing at all. Remember that you gained weight over time, so it will take time to lose weight.

• Do a variety of activities that you enjoy. Americans have become such a sedentary society that for most of us, structured exercise is almost the only regular movement we engage in each day. Try to work in more walking, more play time with the family, or puttering around the yard, in addition to your fitness program. You’ll see and feel a difference more quickly in your overall fitness level the more active you are. Just be sure you’re not overdoing it in the beginning.

• Workout with a friend. Research shows that those who exercise with a spouse, friend or co-worker stick to an exercise program months longer than those individuals who do not. Being accountable to a workout buddy helps give motivation to get to the gym, because getting there is most of the battle.

• Exercise even when you’re tired.

Odds are, you’ll be more energized afterward. “Exercise causes people to breathe deeper, and the body makes better use of the oxygen, causing the body to be more alert,” said Gary.

• Pay attention to progress. Soon, you’ll be able to move easier, not get as tired when doing routine tasks, lift heavier weights, and workout longer.

Helping a friend move furniture or climbing the stairs won’t be as difficult.

You’ll sleep better at night, have more

energy, be more alert, and see your cholesterol and blood pressure stay within normal range. Notice these improvements and give yourself a pat on the back.

• Make exercise non-negotiable.

Don’t wait to see how you feel. Nine out of ten times you won’t feel like doing it, but you must. Many people find that getting it done first thing in the morning eliminates most of the desire to procrastinate. Others find that hitting the gym right after work fits into their schedule.

Find the time of day that works best for you and stick with it. It’s an appointment you need to keep for yourself.

• Be patient. “This is one of the biggest stumbling blocks people have.

They don’t continue exercising long enough to reach some of the benefits,” Gary said. “They try it half-heartedly for a few weeks, and then give up because they think exercise doesn’t work for them. If they would have tried a little harder during their workout, and kept it

up a little longer, they would have seen results. Once that happens, it’s not as hard to continue. Those first few weeks can be the most difficult, but that’s when the foundation for a new lifestyle is being formed. Soon, the weight begins to melt and the energy level increases, and the motivation is easier to find.”

• Be realistic. Exercise will probably never be an enjoyable pastime that we just can’t wait to do every day. It can be fun, especially if you’re able to tailor a program with activities you really enjoy, but for most of us, it will always be one of the things we must do to be healthy. “It’s okay to see exercise as a necessary part of life. It’s work. It’s hard. But, like most difficult things, it has big rewards,” Gary said.

Sticking with a fitness resolution can be one of the best things you do for yourself; resulting in better health and giving you lasting rewards.

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 27

t i m e s

picks the best in lake area entertainment

NAGATA SHACHU: NEW TRADITIONS FOR THE TAIKO, OPENS 2008 MSU BANNERS SERIES, FEBRUARY 9 — The event begins at 7:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 9, in Rosa Hart Theatre, Lake Charles Civic Center. The group will also perform on Friday, Feb. 8, at S.J. Welsh Middle School and LaGrange High School. School performances are possible by Citgo and the American Press.Tickets to Saturday’s concert are included in a Banners Series membership and will also be available at the Lake Charles Civic Center box office (337-491-1432) and at the door. The ticket price is $20 for adults, $5 for students and free to McNeese students with ID. Nagata Shachu combines thunderous, primal drumbeats with subtle, intricate rhythms. In addition to the stunning and massive O-Daiko drum, the instrumentation includes many other shaped drums, plus gongs, bells, wooden clappers, shakers, bamboo flutes and the human voice. Nagata Shachu is based in Toronto, Canada, and has toured widely throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. It has the unique distinction of being the only group outside of Japan to be sponsored by four major Japanese drum manufacturers. The group is also supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Consulate General of Japan in Toronto and the Embassy of Japan in Ottawa. The Banners Series will present 25 more events through May 2. A listing of performances and lectures can be found on the Banners Series Web site, www.banners.org. Memberships to the series are still available by calling the Banners office at (337) 475-5123. A basic membership costs $150 and includes two tickets to every event (a value of $520), seating in a reserved section and exclusive meet-theartist receptions.

VALENTINES NIGHT OUT, MANAGAN CENTER IN WESTLAKE, FEBRUARY 14 — The Westlake Music Boosters will present Valentines Night Out on Thursday evening, February 14, at the Managan Center in Westlake. For the $40 ticket price, couples will enjoy an elegant full service three course dinner and live music in a beautiful romantic setting. Live jazz will be provided by members of the Westlake

High School Jazz Ensemble and by the JA Jazz Trio. Wine by the glass or bottle will be available. Proceeds from the evening will benefit Music Education in Westlake.

For more information and to make reservations, please contact Connie Gauthier at 842-4080.

GEMS AND STEMS FOR THOSE IN NEED, TREASURES OF MARILYN’S, FEBRUARY 15 — The Calcasieu Women’s Shelter and Rape Crisis Outreach will host the second annual Gems and Stems fundraiser on Friday, February 15, at Treasures of Marilyn’s 3450 5th Avenue. Each beverage purchased during the evening will have a small bag attached to the stem containing a gem suitable for mounting. Some gems are precious and some are semi-precious, and all are beautiful! Cocktails and Silent Auction begin at 6:30 with dinner served at 7:15 p.m. Cameron State Bank is this year’s Dazzling Diamond Sponsor for the event. Emerald Sponsors are Billy Caldwell of Louisiana Cabinet Doors and First Federal Bank of Louisiana. Items for auction include; LSU gift set, dessert-a-month for 2008, guided duck and goose hunt, diamond rings, pearls, massages, gift certificates from the Lake Area Aesthetic Center, original artwork, a jambalaya dinner for 50, and many more! This innovative event will provide much needed funding for the Shelter and programs in the community that address domestic violence and sexual assault, and the Rape Crisis Outreach Center. These programs continue to serve a large number of local families. Tickets are $50 per person and reserved tables for 8 are available for $400. Guests are requested to dress in cocktail attire. Live music and dancing will add sparkle to the evening. To obtain tickets or tables or to become a sponsor, please call the Shelter at 337-436-4552 or 800-223-8066. If attending this event is not possible, but you would like to make a donation to the Calcasieu Women’s Shelter & Rape Crisis Outreach, please mail your tax deductible donation to: P.O. Box 276, Lake Charles, LA 70602.

HEAR HIM BLOW HIS HORN: JOSE OCHOA AT MSU FEBRUARY 12 — The McNeese State University department of performing arts will present trumpeter Jose Ochoa in a free senior recital at 7:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 12, in Ralph Squires Recital Hall. Ochoa, a music education major, will perform Henry Purcell’s “Sonata,” Thorvald Hansen’s “Sonata, op. 18,” “Morning Has Broken: Variations on a Gaelic Melody,” composed by Paul Haack and the anonymously composed “English Suite.” The program will also include “Shall We Gather at the River,” by Robert Lowry, with accompaniment by clarinetist Leslie Olenik and J.S. Bach’s “Fugue in G Minor (The Little Fugue),” with trumpet accompaniment provided by Gregg Alvarez, Joey Rodriguez and Chasity Romero. Ochoa is a member of the Pride of McNeese Marching Band and the MSU Wind Symphony, Pep Band, Trumpet Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble and Brass Ensemble. He is also secretary/treasurer of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity.

Nagata Shachu

PAGE 28

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS TURNS 88; CELEBRATE AT REEVES, FEBRUARY 15 — The League of Women Voters will be 88 years old on Valentine’s Day. We are asking all ex-LWV Presidents, as well as the general public, to come and help us celebrate at noon, Friday, February 15 at Reeves Uptown Catering, 1639 Ryan Street in Lake Charles. Registration and networking will take place just prior to the meeting. Membership applications are available at the registration desk or at www.lwv-lc.org. The cost is $13 for members, $15 for non-members. To insure seating, please make your reservation by 2 p.m. Wednesday, February 13 by emailing Alfred Doucette, Jr. at douce@bellsouth.net, or calling 474-1864.

KAUCHER TO SPEAK AT PROPELLER CLUB, FEBRUARY 12 — James E. Kaucher, Plant Manager, Sabine Pass LNG for Cheniere Energy, Inc in Johnson Bayou will speak to the Propeller Club Ports of SW LA at their monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 12, at noon. The dutch treat lunch will be at Cajun Charlie’s in Sulphur at exit 21. Anyone interested in the local maritime industry is invited to attend. Lunch is $15, members can be billed, non-members must pay at door. For more information contact Ship to Shore at 474-0730.

“BIBBIDI-BOBBIDI-FUN” WITH CTC’S CINDERELLA, FEBRUARY 16 — The Children’s Theatre Company (CTC), Kerry A. Onxley, Artistic Director, announces that tickets are now on sale for Disney’s Cinderella. The stage version of the fairy tale meets the magic of Disney. Poor Cinderella is endlessly mistreated by her wicked stepmother and stepsisters, and denied a chance to go to the Royal Ball. With a little help from her mice friends, and a lot of help from her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella goes to the ball, meets the Prince, and falls in love! The shows beautiful score includes “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” and the classic “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.” CTC will also launch 2 new programs for children this season. Two new activities are being introduced by CTC with Cinderella. The first is Saturday, February 16 with children making magical king and queen crowns before the performance. This pre-registered activity is free and begins at 6 p.m.

Reservations must be made by calling the theatre box office. Seating is limited. The second activity is CTC’S Character Dining. Children will be able to join favorite characters from the Cinderella cast for dinner before the show. Character meals include pizza, dessert, drink, admission into the performance and a visit from the show characters as they make their way around the dinner table. Children will be able to enjoy photographs and autographs from these famous characters. CTC’S Character Dining is Saturday, February 23 at 6 p.m. The cost is $20.00 per person. Seating is limited and reservations must be made by calling the theatre box office. Disney’s Cinderella limited performances are February 15, 16 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. and February 17 and 24 at 3 p.m.. Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $12.00 for students. Applause Season Members should contact the theatre to reserve tickets. Group rates are also available. Performances are held at Central School Theatre located in the Central School of the Arts & Humanities Center (809 Kirby Street) in downtown Lake Charles. For more information and reservations, contact the theatre at (337) 433-7323 or www.childrenstheatre.cc

Prince Charming (David Sonnier) and Cinderella (Savannah Sommers) prepare to dance in CTC’s upcoming production of CINDERELLA.

MSU JURIED WORKS AT ICM THROUGH FEBRUARY 23 — As the Imperial Calcasieu Museum celebrates its 45th Anniversary serving the Southwest Louisiana community, they continue our partnership with the McNeese State University Visual Arts Department by presenting the Annual Juried Student Exhibition.With work ranging in mediums from photography, sculpture, painting, lithography and digital mediums, this innovative collection of student artwork showcases extreme skill and technique in a wide-range of styles. Highly-detailed charcoal still-life drawings are displayed along with abstract, contemporary, and traditional paintings, while edgy found-object pieces are juxtaposed against crisp digital and black and white photographs. Juror Elmore Morgan Jr., recognized as the leading contemporary landscape painter in Louisiana, is the distinguished recipient of numerous awards and honors, is featured in several publications including A Century of Vision: Louisiana Photography, 1884-1984, and has work hanging in Museum and private collections around the world.

GOING, GOING, GONE! THINKING ABOUT GOING TO THE ADDY AWARDS FEBRUARY 20 — Don’t think about it too long, seating is limited! The American Advertising Federation of Lake Charles is hosting its 20th annual “ADDY Awards” on Saturday, February 16, at Reeves Uptown Catering. Tickets are $50 each, or a table of 8 for only $380. Tickets for this event may be purchased at Knight Media, Inc. For more ADDY information, contact Regina LeBlanc at 337.884.3376 WANDA SYKES LIVE IN CONCERT 8 P.M. AT ISLE OF CAPRI CASINO, FEBRUARY 23 — Sykes has appeared in several comedy specials on HBO® and Comedy Central and has contributed both her voice and acting abilities to movies such as Monster In-Law, Evan Almighty and Over the Hedge. She currently appears in The New Adventures of Old Christine on CBS. In addition, Sykes has also penned her own book, Yeah, I Said It. Wanda Sykes tickets are available for purchase in the Banana Cabana Gift Shop for $35. Must be 21 to attend concert.

GO RED FOR WOMEN FEBRUARY 28 — The American Heart and Stroke Association’s annual Go Red for Women Luncheon will be held on February 28 at Treasures of Marilyn in Lake Charles. Revenues from local and national Go Red for Women activities are used to support awareness, education and community programs to help women learn about and lower their risk of heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women in our country. The keynote speaker for this year’s luncheon will be local comedienne Theresa Hay Needham. The event will also featured a silent auction of beautiful red purses donated by area women. Sponsorships are still available. Tickets are $40 each and may be purchased through the American Heart Association. For more information, call 4783637.

Wanda Sykes

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 29

"Did I Stutter?" — sure sounded like it.

by Matt Jones • ©2008 Jonesin' Crosswords Brought to you by Melanie Perry, Agent State Farm Insurance

Last Issue’s Answers

13 18 21 22 23

Another Success Story...

I have advertised with The Times of Southwest Louisiana for over ten years. Having a degree in advertising, I know The Times definitely reaches my target audience and the quality of the paper is impeccable.

— Susie Book, Owner, Expressions

PAGE 30

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

Across 1 Several 5 ___ off (gets lost) 9 Smackeroos 14 Length times width 15 Move to a higher level, like in Super Mario Bros.

16 "Morning Edition" co-host Montagne 17 Sacred beans used to make chocolate?

19 Utah city 20 The value of actress Fabray?

22 Bob who gets away with saying "just for shiggles" on "1 vs. 100" 25 U2 single released after "Mysterious Ways" 26 Jimmy Eat World's genre 27 Office of Air and Radiation parent org.

28 "As If I ___ Slept" (Idlewild song) 31 Max of "The Beverly Hillbillies" 32 Soft and puffy 35 "The Last King of Scotland" name 37 Command to opium plants that they leave the Flower Kingdom?

40 Sallie ___ (student loan company) 41 Went past the target 44 Show gloominess 47 Punished monetarily 49 "Psych" network

50 Thurman of "The Accidental Husband" 51 You get one when you come home 52 Anesthetized 54 The cheapest version of fitness guru Jack?

59 Full of spirit 60 Martial artist who practices on straw matting?

64 Chopin exercise 65 Dr. Frankenstein's go-to guy 66 Make into an ornament, perhaps 67 ___ tot 68 Sports award 69 Bulk Down 1 Sound of relaxation 2 Big fuzzy 'do 3 Unagi roll ingredient 4 Brady in a Dave Chappelle skit 5 He played Obi-Wan 6 Turn toward 7 Greek group 8 100% accurate, like an impersonation 9 "Vanilla Sky" director Cameron 10 Brand of blocks 11 Blind singer Bocelli 12 Start of a tryst request

24 28 29 30 31 33 34 36 38 39 42 43 44 45 46 48 51 52 53 55 56 57 58 61 62 63

Mister, in Rio Koko's pet All Ball, e.g.

Drew in "Hey, wait a ___!"

"The Simpsons" character who works extremely long hours "I don't believe it!" noise One who aspires "___ Day Now" (Joan Baez album) Physicist Freeman ___ eBay attempts Away's opposite Bitter beer variety, for short "___ Rosenkavalier" (Strauss opera) "Gangsta Lovin'" rapper Israeli prime minister Olmert Suffix for sugars Toni Morrison's "___ Baby" Oscar category?

Mario Puzo book named for a code of silence Eventually succeed Neck and neck Word on yellow trucks Albuquerque college: abbr.

It comes straight from the horse's mouth Kind of scene Fades to the back of the pack On Survived with ___ a scratch Display dishonesty Keebler worker NYC clock setting

We Have The numbers are in and they tell an impressive story. With over 46,000 personal and business accounts in

Reasons for Our Growth

Southwest Louisiana, Cameron State Bank’s record-breaking growth continues. And, we know it’s all because of you. You’ve come to know that we really are the best bank for true personal service. In fact, we were honored to have been named “Best

Bank” 16 times by area publications.

As we grow, so does our support for projects and events throughout Southwest Louisiana. We are proud to be involved with Partners in Education, McNeese State University, the Children’s Miracle Network, Calcasieu Women’s Shelter, Autism Speaks and countless other worthwhile endeavors. CSB's continued growth also helps our local economy; since we're a locallyowned bank, our profits stay right here in Southwest Louisiana.

With all of this growth, we remain focused on one thing:

you.

So, stop by today and discover for yourself why we’re the Best Bank for you!

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 31

Patsy and Herman Manuel at the Krewe de la Famille Ball.

N

Katie Harrington and Alexis Berthold enjoying the Krewe de la Famille Ball.

Why? I wish I knew!

ewly inaugurated Governor Bobby Jindal was the special guest as the Chamber Southwest Louisiana presented their 104th Annual Banquet, January 22 at the Lake Charles Civic Center.

We were welcomed by George Swift. Deacon Reverend “Bud” Wagner gave the invocation and then Chair Clyde Mitchell passed the gavel to 2008 Chair Dick Kennison.

CITGO’s Randy Carbo introduced Governor Bobby Jindal and we all enjoyed his speech. And the prized (and surprise) annual Civic Service Award given presented to Billy Navarre.

His son, Ryan, accepted the honor on behalf of his father.

Dinner was delicious! We enjoyed grilled chicken breast with sautéed mushrooms & artichokes in a citrus cream sauce, rosemary roasted new potatoes, green beans with sweet onions, and dessert of lemon pound cake.

The Shadow spotted many friends in the crowd, including Jon and Carmen

Don and Jackie Anderson, Randy and Mary Frances Hall at the Chamber annual dinner.

PAGE 32

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

Tiffany Wasson, Maria Alcantara Faul, Sharon Plaisance at the Chamber dinner.

Erica J. McCreedy, M. Blaine Miller, Susan Reed, Amie Herbert, Jim McGough, and Joey Frazier at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum.

Libby Murphy, Daphne Terral and Don Raborn shared a table at the LifeShares Luncheon.

Manns, Kelly and David Sickey, Maurice and Anita Fields Gold, Katie Harrington, Cynthi Price, Nancy Hickman, Jim Beam, Mayor Randy and Nancy Roach, Len and Ann Knapp, Kevin Guidry, Nancy Tower, General Erbon Wise, Kevin and Pam Mattingly, Julio Galan, Dr. Andrea Miller. We all were delighted

by The Capitol Steps, a group that satirized political topics with their music.

The magic of Mardi Gras kept the Shadow and her “Shadowettes” running all over town the last two weeks.

The Romance of the Renaissance was

recreated at the Krewe de la Famille’s 29th Annual Mardi Gras Ball, January 26 at the Civic Center. His Royal Majesty, King Famille XXIX Bobby McLamore and Her Royal Majesty, Queen Famille XXIX Lydia McLamore were presented to their subjects by Captains Scot and Bea Hebert. Janelle and Donald Vincent represented Renaissance England and Sherry and David Boling represented Renaissance Spain.

Dale Mann narrated the dazzling show Eleisha Eagle sang the National Anthem. Krewe de la Famille debu-

How Sweet! Destiny, Dyneisha and Gwen Sweet were honored at the LifeShares Luncheon.

tantes presented at the ball were Miss Erin Armentor, Miss Kelsey Elizabeth Guidry, Miss Kelli Diane Hemphill, Miss Amanda Moreno, Miss Jenny Price and Miss Katherine Sorkow. The Red Hat Tappers danced to “I Will Survive.” Ashworth School of Performing Arts honored the Royal Court with their entertainment. And a motley krewe performed “Men in Tights” — which they were literally!

After the traditional “We are Family” Grand March, revelers danced into the night to the music of Bobby and the Rockets. Enjoying the Romance of the

Renaissance were Jim and Janice Pauley, Patsy and Herman Manuel, John Vest, Chuck and Karen Henderson, F.J. and Tillie Lungaro, Lee J. and Anne G. Monlezun, Phil and Lauren de Albuquerque, Joe and Flo Lanza, Kevin Hodge, Wes and Lynn McFadden, Jerry and Kay Gabbert, Dr. Michael and Dorrie Branch, Kay Andrews, Al and Patricia Prebula, Gene and Thelma Fontenot, Doug and Adele Hamer.

The Imperial Calcasieu Museum hosted a delightful media appreciation reception, Thursday evening, January

Unique Gifts and Accessories

3204 Ryan • 433-6200 FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 33

Kandy and Marty Pottebaum of Sioux City, Iowa were married at the seawall, Friday evening, February 1 at a the Krewe of Charlie Sioux event.

24. The Museum staff, Susan Reed, M. Blaine Miller, Amie Herbert and Erica J. McCreedy and ICM board members Jim McGough, Daniel Vidrine, and Larry Turner, greeted us. We chatted over delightful hors d’oeurvres and got a final look at the Schuh-Antoon exhibit in the GibsonBarham gallery. Enjoying the reception and fabulous conversation were Jackie Dowden, Kay Andrews and Irene Vandever with the Arts & Humanities Council, Patricia Prudhomme and Joseph Frazier with The Times and Eric Cormier and Vanessa Deggins with the American Press.

LifeShare Blood Center presented their annual appreciation luncheon for area donors, Friday, January 25, at Reeves Uptown. I shared a table with Bill Hankins, CCO of West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital, Libby Murphy and Daphne Terral from LifeShare corporate headquarters in Shreveport, and Don Raborn, co-founder to the Jake Owen Raborn Foundation. The room was packed with blood donors who would later receive awards and thanks for their amazing generosity including 12-gallon donors, 8-gallon donors, corporations, media and busi-

nesses who support and encourage blood drives. Among those honored at the luncheon were the Sweets.

Destiny Sweet was a recipient of lifegiving blood. She was there with her mother Gwen and sister Dyneisha. We chatted while we enjoyed lemon snapper or roast pork loin, roasted potatoes, mixed vegetables and salad.

Our special guest speaker was Don Raborn, from West Monroe. He and his family formed the Jake Owen Raborn Foundation to provide support to families, organizations and facilities touched by pediatric cancer.

Jake, the Raborn’s young son, was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2004.

Jake bravely endured 857 days of treatment at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. He “earned his wings” at home, when he went to heaven, Oct 5, 2006. Don told us that throughout the illness, Jake needed over 200 units of blood and 200 units of platelets. “He would tell us, ‘I need blood,’ when he would start feeling bad – he knew it would make him feel better and give him energy.”

The family started the foundation to continue to finish the mission Jake began. You can access their webpage at

Tony Comeaux (kneeling), Mike and Trudy Glackin and Delores Beaco attended the Krewe de Charlie Sioux wedding.

PAGE 34

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

Michael, Erin and Tyler Casteel at the McNeese Juried Student Exhibition at the ICM.

www.jakesfoundation.org. To learn more about LifeShare Blood Centers or to donate, call 436-4932, of go to www.lifeshare.org.

Mardi Gras brought Cupid to town early when Krewe of Charlie Sioux members from southwest Louisiana and Sioux City, Iowa gathered at the LC Civic Center seawall, Friday evening, February 1 at sunset. Two Charlie Sioux Krewe members from Iowa met in the Krewe, love grew, and so they naturally, wanted to have a Mardi Gras wedding. Local Charlie Sioux Krewe members put together a ceremony at the Lake at sunset and, in spite of a brisk cool breeze, a crowd gathered to witness the nuptials of Marty and Kandy Pottebaum. They were dressed in regal Mardi Gras gold and burgundy. Best Man was Mike Glackin and Maid of Honor was Trudy Glackin. The 12th Night Revelers and Tony Comeaux and Delores Beaco and other Krewe members waved as the happy couple boarded a boat for a cruise of the lake.

Meanwhile, over at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, an opening reception was underway in the GibsonBarham Gallery for the annual McNeese Student Juried Student

Exhibit. Juror was artist and special guest for the evening, Elemore Morgan, Jr. The talented student artists showing their works are Natalie Villamizar, Tina Dutile, Karly Frazier, Torrey Boyd, Elizabeth Kirby, Sabrina Seamon, Mary Donaldson, Rachel Rhoden, Jerry Zambrono, Mary Sneddon, Audrey Smith, Tierra Carter, Utsav Shrestha, Amanda Wallace, Megan Richard, Amber Smith, Michael Melder, Ashley Feagin, Jennifer Sibley, Michelle LaVoie, Angela Byerly, Sandra Lewis, Devin Morgan, Evan Friesner, Charlie Huang, Quientella Jackson, John Viator, Katherine Thompson, Morgan Paige, Anna Mallet, Anna M., Robin Stodder, Erin Casteel, Megan Marcantel, Ashton Cessac, Marielle Myers and Mike Stanton.

The exhibit will be on display through February 23.

I met artist Erin Casteel who was enjoying the opening with family member Michael and Tyler Casteel.

Gabrielle and Marielle Myers and Selma Thompson admired Marielle’s works in the exhibit. Artist Mary Seddon visited with her husband Steven and Elizabeth Tarkington

Gabrielle and Marielle Myers and Selma Thompson at the McNeese Exhibition.

Scott Higginbotham, John Hillenbrand, and Helen and Darnell Daniel looking elegant at Krewe of Illusions Extravaganza.

who held baby Elizabeth Seddon.

Gerry Wubben and Lewis Temple chatted with Lynn Reynolds, Amie Hebert, Leah Bastien, Susan Reed, Adley Cormier, Melinda Antoon Cormier, Hillary Gayle and Gibson Barham. Among the art lovers enjoying the reception were Emilo Hidalgo, Jorge Kollatso, Charlie Huang, Kathleen McNally, Morgan Fiser, David and Elizabeth Dronet, and Gene and Belle Richardson.

And over at the Art Associates Gallery and the Black Heritage Gallery at Central School, an opening reception was underway for Alvin Batiste’s, “Women in the Art of Alvin Batiste,” the third and final show of a three-part series about Louisiana folk artist Batiste. The show is chaired by Dr. Joe Cash, Ms. Stella Miller and Dr. Delma McLeod-Porter. It will be on display through February 26, so do get over to see it. The Shadow had every intention of attending the reception, but, like many other art lovers, I was stuck on the other side of Ryan when the Merchant’s Parade began and so I took the long way home. My apologies for missing the lovely reception, Ms. Miller and thank you for your invitation!

The next day, a Shadow spy snapped some wonderful photos of the Krewe of Barkus parade. What fun to see Dalmatians, Pugs, Corgis and mutts in costume! And I love that people bring their pooches to cheer on the Krewe of Barkus members, tossing beads and dog biscuits for the parade participants.

That evening, The Krewe of Illusions presented their 18th Annual Extravaganza and Ball. As I entered the Rosa Hart Theatre, I met Scott Higginbotham and John Hillenbrand, and Helen and Darnell Daniel. I also spied Barbara and Brent Downer, Laura Heller, and Dr. Lee J. and Anne Monlezun in the lobby. As we found our seats for the opening of the show, I waved to Anne Drake, Stella Miller, Mayor Roach and Nancy Roach, Angie Quinalty, Lori Marinovich, Barbara Cahee, Elcie and Ruby Guillory, Phil and Lauren de Albuquerque, Kay Andrews, Lonie Hamilton and Bridgett Williams.

At the opening of the show, Mayor Roach did a terrific impersonation of Rod Serling, welcoming us to a “Twilight Zone” where Mardi Gras and

Color Specialist Classic, Trendy, Extreme

4401 Lake Street

474-4606

Kay Andrews, Valerie and Kenny Norwood at the Krewe of Illusions Ball.

COUPLE CAKES

Available in Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter, Red Velvet, Strawberry, or Chocalate on Chocolate j Chocolate Dipped Strawberries j Cookie Cakes j Gourmet Cup Cakes

520 W. McNeese St. 337-478-0269 Delivery Available

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 35

Barbara and Brett Downer at the Krewe of Illusions Ball.

1413 W. Prien Lake Rd., Holly Hill Plaza • 478-5221 www.cynthiprice.com

Easter are unusually early this year.

“Why?” he asked. “I wish I knew.” He went on to explain various calendars and moon cycles that determine Easter and Mardi Gras and then gave us the good news, “It will be 152 years before Easter is this early again!” And the crowd roared!

MC Desiree Devereaux and cocaptain, Judy Reeves introduced the show “Celestial Celebrations” with banter and skits. Kevin Hodge stole the show with the opening number and his fabulous costume! And “lounge singers” Jan and Corey “entertained us” between scene changes. And where did Cory find that gosh-awful polyester baby-blue tux. Yipes!

Illusions King XVIII Cornell Thomas was El Sol, the Sun, in a glittering costume with a bright sun on the front of the back piece and a setting sun on the reverse. Illusions Queen XVIII Emily Margaret “Kitty” Clark, La Luna, the Moon, created a costume with a glowing moon on the front of the back piece and a glow-in-the-dark moonlight scene on the back.

Unfortunately, Kitty missed the Extravaganza and the Ball because of

an illness and all our thoughts and prayers go out to her. Her beautiful La Luna back piece was worn by Carrie Chrisco and our thanks to her for modeling Kitty’s excellent work of art.

The Extravaganza presented festivals from around the world that celebrate the sun and the moon. Millicent “Katie” Jones was Jeanne Canoe of the Bahamian Junkanoo festival. Her tall costume had every possible color of feather on it. The Asian New Year festivals were presented by the Geisha and Samurai, Elizabeth and Zane Long, in beautifully elaborate costumes that were crowd-pleasers. The Beltane Spring Festival featured Carl Reeves as an energetic Celtic Warrior whose costume reflected the Beltane fires of ancient Ireland.

Ball Captain, Carla Chrisco took the stage as the Aztec Mother Goddess of the Earth, Coatlicue in a dazzling costume interpretation of Meso-American art. Ramona Primeaux represented the Goddess of the Vine at the Tuscan wine festival.

Her costume featured a bottle that poured “wine” from the huge back piece.

Bobby Dower and Ann Tobola at the Krewe of Illusions Ball.

For a free tour guide highlighting affordable adventures close to home, call or visit our Web site today.

1-800-876-7899 LouisianaTravel.com

© 2007

PAGE 36

Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

With VITALIZER We Provide the Right Nutrients in the Right Place at the Right Time!

No Drugs, No Side Effects, Just Based on a 20 year landmark study conducted at UC Berkeley.

Results!

Studies Are Available

Join Shaklee & Buy Wholesale

Pat Landreneau, Pharmacist, Lake Charles & Jennings

1-800-497-5425 • 230-3598 www.shaklee.net/patsnc

Carl Reeves, Kelly and David Sickey and Judy Reeves at the Krewe of Illusions Ball.

Shelbie Huggins maneuvered the tallest costume of the Extravagaza as Maria, Lady of the Dead, celebrating Mexico’s Day of the Dead. She could move the puppet-costume’s hands and heads from inside the incredible creation. The final stop was “Samiland” to celebrate the ice and snow. Dancing penguins (too cute) and formally tuxedoed polar bears introduced Kippy Carpenter Greicar as the Snow Princess in a sparkling multi-dimensional snow flake costume.

After the Extravaganza, we moved to the Exhibition Hall for the Ball, where Laurel and the Untouchables played our favorite dance music.

LCPD officers David Streva and Franklin Lewis very nicely took the time to help us with snapshots of friends while doing their security duties. I visited with Anne Drake, Valerie and Kenny Norwood, Bobby Dower and Ann Tobola, David and Kelly Sickey, Hector San Miguel and Theresa Schmidt, and Eleisha Eagle and Millicent Jones. And I met Dr. Ramona Patterson who came over from Baton Rouge for

Cornell Thomas’ coronation as King XVIII. It was a wonderful evening of fun, food, dance and celebration.

A note of apology in closing: I misspelled Stacey Shearman’s name in my report on the last first class dinner on the Titanic in my last Shadow report. That was a “My Bad!” I do apologize Stacey. My only excuse is all the lovely libations between and during courses messed with my notetaking that night…and my lazy proofing. I do apologize. And BTW – Stacey looked fantastic that evening in a vintage-inspired skirt and wrap that were very 1912!

A note of thanks to my “Shadowette Spies” – Patricia Prudhomme and Kay Andrews. I always said the Shadow needed to be cloned, but having their help is even better!

And finally, a note of best wishes for a speedy recovery to Kitty Clark.

We missed you!

SayÂUx `|ÇxÊ with Style Personalize your choice of flip flops (children & adult sizes), Leather Band Bracelets, or Messenger Bag Totes with Rhinestone Letters and Charms from

Rhinestone Ruby We also have a great selection of Ready-to-Go Gift Baskets and other gifts available.

820 McKinley St. (inside Caraways), Westlake • 433-4200 Mon.-Fri. 9-6 • Sat. 9-1 • FREE Gift Wrapping

Canines paraded at the Krewe of Barkus.

*Free with the purchase of two or more Merle Norman cosmetic products. Cosmetic accessories not included. Offer valid while supplies last at participating Merle Norman Cosmetic Studios beginning February 1, 2008. Limit one per customer.

Merle Norman Cosmetics 648 W. Prien Lake Rd., Lake Charles, LA 70601 (inside Prien Lake Mall)

(337) 478-0420

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 37

Largest Selection of DVD’s, Lingerie and Adult Novelties In Southwest Louisiana!

All $12.95 DVD’s are BUY 3 FOR $20

700 E. Prien Lake Road • 337-478-3566 Between Common and Kirkman

Send Us Your Photos! myphoto@timessw.com To submit your photo, please follow these simple steps.

1) Email your snap shots to myphoto@timessw.com.

Must include a contact name and phone number.

2) Photos should be attached as a file and not imbedded in copy or photoshopped into a format.

Original size, please, do not compress the file.

No mailed or fax photographs can be used.

3) Subjects in photo must be identified by name.

Children should also be identified by parent or guardian. Unidentified or anonymous photos will not be considered for publication.

4) The Times reserves the right to decline publishing photos of questionable taste or subject matter, or for space limitations.

Below: Eligha, Isabella and Nomica are hanging out at Eligha's mother’s surprise birthday party.

Below: Ashley, Kharma, and Gavin show their Tiger Spirit

Above: Kay Andrews and Heather Fazzio enjoy some holiday cheer at a recent surprise party for a mutual friend! photo courtesy of J Frazier

Above: Oh sure, he looks like an innocent puppy, but Toby the Terror rules Anne Drake's canine family with an iron paw. Good thing he's cute!

Parting Sh o ts

1) Email your snap shots to myphoto@timessw.com. Must include a contact name and phone number.

2) Photos should be attached as a file and not imbedded in copy or photoshopped into a format. Original size, please, do not compress the file. No mailed or fax photographs can be used.

PAGE 38

FEBRUARY 7, 2008

3) Subjects in photo must be identified by name. Children should also be identified by parent or guardian. Unidentified or anonymous photos will not be considered for publication.

4) The Times reserves the right to decline publishing photos of questionable taste or subject matter, or for space limitations.

A New Way of Lake Area Living!

WHILE TIMES CHANGE, THE CHARM AND GRACE WILL ENDURE.

Providence is being developed in the highly sought after Barbe School district in a very convenient location near highways and all the latest shopping and amenities. As you approach the beautiful stone and wrought iron entrance to Providence, you will be drawn by the inviting view of the park and pond just ahead and down the wide beautifully landscaped boulevard. City spec streets and City utilities means carefree water, sewer and disposal services will be maintained by the City of Lake Charles, at no additional cost to you. Street lighting illuminates the quiet streets and parkettes.

The warmth and colorful charm of Country French blends with subdued vintage European and Spanish “olde world” styles. Together with an appealing selection of the well loved and timeless Louisiana designs, include raised cottages, the classic styles make this a most unique community of homes.

Comprising of 50 acres overall, Providence will be on a scale to create just the right feel of being in your own world and yet be mere minutes from most of your home and personal needs.

Providence is located at the south end of Pecan Acres Drive off of Country Club Road.

Office: (337) 474-9891 • Fax: (337) 474-9876 300 E. McNeese St. Suite 1-A, Lake Charles, LA 70605

www.ProvidenceofLakeCharles.com • info@providenceoflakecharles.com RESERVE YOUR LOT TODAY! FEBRUARY 7, 2008

PAGE 39

*

MC#05718 Stk#119217, 18218

MC#42718 Stk#18004, 18005

MC#52218 Stk#17696, 17697

*****

***

****

LOADED!!! w/all standard factory equip. inc. Direct LOADED!!! w/all standard factory equip. inc. Direct LOADED!!! w/all standard factory equipment inc. Direct Ignition and much more! $1,000 Down Payment.

Ignition, TPMS and much more! $1,000 Down Payment.

MC#48518 Stk#18432, 18433

MC#09218 Stk#18265 18266

MC#37518 Stk#18315, 18314

*

V8 POWER, 4 DOORS, LOADED!!! w/all standard factory equipment including Power Windows, Power Locks, Cruise, Air, AM/FM/CD, Advanced Air Bag System, Direct Ignition System and much more!

*Plus TT&L. WAC. Must finance thru NMAC. ***$199/month for 72 months on 2008 Nissan Versa model shown WAC. 5.99% APR, $1000 down. Must finance thru NMAC. ****$229/month for 72 months on 2008 Nissan Sentra model shown WAC. 5.99% APR, $1000 down. Must finance thru NMAC. *****$329/month for 84 months on 2008 Nissan Altima model shown WAC. 7.99% APR, $1000 down. All vehicles: Plus TT&L and applicable dealer fees.

All offers shown here include all factory rebates and incentives and supercede any previously advertised offers. Vehicles shown for illustration purposes only. Expires February 29, 2008. See dealer for details.

Ignition much more! $1,000 Down Payment.

*

V8 POWER, 4 DOORS, LOADED!!! w/all standard factory equipment including Power Windows, Power Locks, Cruise, Air, AM/FM/CD, Advanced Air Bag System, Direct Ignition System and much more!

*

3RD ROW SEATING, LOADED!!!

w/all standard factory equipment including Fold-Flat 2nd and 3rd Row Seating, Vehicle Dynamic Control, Power Windows, Power Locks, Cruise, Air, AM/FM/CD and much more!

Nissan of Lake Charles I-210 @ Legion 1-866-387-1794 Visit us at www.nissanoflakecharles.com