The Director of Northwestern State University’s ADVANCE Program for Young Scholars Dr. Chris Heinz and Associate Director Harriette Palmer described the three-week residential summer ADVANCE program for students identified as gifted and/or talented in grades 7 through 11. The program has been in existence for 30 years. Pictured from left are Rotary Club of Natchitoches President David Zolzer, Palmer, and Heinz (photo by Dr. Ron McBride).
NATCHITOCHES PARISH:
Anna White
September 16, 1950 – March 20, 2018
Arrangements TBA
Elva Lee Berry Gates
August 7, 1924 – March 19, 2018
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 10-11 am at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home
Service: Friday, March 23 at 11 am at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home
Interment: Marthaville Cemetery in Marthaville
Rosie Young
March 26, 1956 – March 20, 2018
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 12 pm at First Baptist Church on North Street
Visitation: Saturday, March 24 from 10:30 am – 12 pm at First Baptist Church on North Street
Interment: Lawrence Serenity
Joseph Steele
February 9, 1957 – March 17, 2018
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 11 am at the Winnfield Memorial Funeral Home Chapel
Interment: Lawrence Serenity Sanctum
Janie Rachal Allen
March 19, 2018
Visitation: Saturday, March 24 from 1-2 pm at the Agape Church, located at 1515 Texas Street in Natchitoches
Service: Saturday March 24 at 2 pm at the Agape Church
Interment: Mt. Olive Baptist Church Cemetery off Hwy 6
Gerard Francis “Sonny” Thomas Jr.
January 20, 1923 – February 10, 2018
Service: Friday, March 23 at 4 pm at Merci Beaucoup Restaurant, located at 127 Church Street in Natchitoches
SABINE PARISH:
Jackie D. Collier
Service: Friday, March 23 at 11 am at Zion Hill No. 2 Church in Negreet
Interment: Negreet Cemetery
Donald Bernard Leone
October 28, 1940 – March 21, 2018
Visitation: Friday, March 23 beginning at 5 pm at Warren Meadows Funeral Home in Zwolle
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 10 am at St. Joseph Catholic Church
Interment: St. Joseph Cemetery
RAPIDES PARISH:
Robert “Bob” F. Gray
March 26, 1950 – March 19, 2018
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 4-8 pm and Saturday, March 24 from 10 am – 1 pm at Philadelphia Baptist Church
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 1 pm at Philadelphia Baptist Church, Horseshoe Drive
Interment: Flatwoods Cemetery, under the direction of John Kramer & Son Funeral Home
Dorothy “Dot” Chatelain Vanlangendonck
June 12, 1925 – March 21, 2018
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 5-9 pm and Saturday, March 24 from 8:30-9:30 am at the John Kramer & Son Funeral Home
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 10 am at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church
Interment: Alexandria Memorial Gardens
WINN PARISH:
Velma R Ainsworth
October 1, 1933 – March 19, 2018
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 10 am – 2 pm at the Kinner and Stevens Funeral Home in Jena
Service: Friday, March 23 at 2 pm in the chapel of Kinner and Stevens Funeral Home
Robin Slack
December 29, 1976 – March 19, 2018
Arrangements TBA
RED RIVER PARISH:
Louise W. Thomas
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 6-8 pm at Freedom Worship Center in Coushatta
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 11 am at Deliverance Temple in Coushatta
Interment: Starlight Cemetery in Armistead
Gloria Gay
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 1-6 pm at Jenkins Funeral Home
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 2 pm at Deliverance Temple in Coushatta
Interment: Springville Cemetery in Coushatta
Clytie Washington
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 6-7 pm at Old Zion Baptist Church in Grand Cane
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 11 am at Old Zion Baptist Church in Grand Cane
Interment: Old Zion Cemetery
Larry Donavan
Service: Friday, March 23 at 11 am at Zion Hill No. 2 Church Cemetery in Mansfield
Carolyn Elaine Miller
December 30, 1956 – March 21, 2018
Visitation: Saturday, March 24 from 6-8 pm at the Rockett-Nettles Funeral Home
Service: Sunday, March 25 at 12:30 pm at Rockett-Nettles Funeral Home Chapel
Interment: Coulee-Bethel Cemetery
Sara Ann Harrison Garrett
November 3, 1939 – March 21, 2018
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 5-7 pm at Rockett-Nettles Funeral Home in Coushatta
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 10:30 am at First Baptist Church of Coushatta
Interment: Mount Zion Cemetery
Billy John Burns continues to support his alma mater, Northwestern State University, most recently through a planned gift that will be added to the scholarship he created for graduates of Anacoco High School. His contribution continues to support two schools that he loves: Anacoco High School and Northwestern State.
“Mr. Burns donated an insurance policy that will be put into his scholarship at the time of his death,” said NSU Development Officer Jill Bankston, CFRE.
Burns established the Billy John and Judith Burns Scholarship in memory of his late wife in 2011 and has contributed to it over the years. It is annually awarded to an Anacoco High School graduate who plans to attend NSU. During the 2013 50-plus reunion, he said he owes a debt to both AHS and NSU that he cannot pay, that he loves both schools and wants to be a part of their success for years to come.
“The money I place in the scholarship is an investment in human beings and will return positive results forever,” he said. “I want to encourage each of my fellow NSU graduates to consider establishing a scholarship fund.”
“Mr. Burns continues to be a model of service and generosity to NSU and to students from Vernon Parish,” Bankston said.
Burns, who lives in Bossier City, earned a B.A. in education at NSU in 1954, M.A. in 1958 and plus 30 in 1966. Born and reared in Anacoco, he taught at Anacoco High School for 31 years working at various times as a social studies teacher, librarian, assistant principal, principal, girls basketball coach and co-sponsor of the yearbook. He retired for one year and moved to Shreveport, where he taught for 14 years at Calvary Baptist Academy and served as principal from 1990-2000. Events from his life and career are detailed in an autobiography, “One Last Stroll Down Memory Lane,” completed in 2007.
Burns overcame tremendous physical challenges as a child and attended Northwestern on a rehabilitation scholarship.
Until recent years, Burns often visited NSU and enjoyed strolling around campus snapping pictures. The last time he was able to visit Natchitoches was last year when he celebrated his 86th birthday by contributing $5,000 to his scholarship. His daughter and son-in-law, Donna and Tommy Robinson, joined him for the presentation.
Burns said the ideal candidate for the NSU scholarship would be someone with a financial need and a strong interest in attending Northwestern and a person with demonstrated academic achievement, involvement in extracurricular activities and good character.
“Ninety-five percent of my life is behind me and in my last few years I am interested in helping others because when I was at Northwestern so many people helped me,” Burns said.
The ladies of Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority volunteered with Keep Natchitoches Beautiful for a cleanup at City Park March 17. Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority incorporated the cleanup into their annual Sisterhood Retreat. Sorority members enjoyed bonding as well as making a difference in the Natchitoches community.
For more information on how your organization can help make a difference by participating in a community cleanup please contact Keep Natchitoches Beautiful at 318-352-2746.
The Natchitoches Central High School Band has been busy with events for the Louisiana Music Educators Association (LMEA). LMEA is the governing body of statewide music events and teachers in public schools, which includes the All-State process, marching assessments, honor ensembles, solo and ensemble contests, and ensemble assessments. LMEA is divided into nine districts. Natchitoches is located within LMEA District II, which includes Avoyelles, Grant, Natchitoches, Rapides, Red River, Sabine, and Winn Parishes.
The NCHS band participated in the LMEA District II Solo and Ensemble Festival on Saturday, March 3rd at Alexandria Senior High School. Two soloists and four ensembles competed in this festival. Two of the ensembles received Superior ratings while the other two ensembles and soloists received Excellent ratings. “These students went above and beyond to work on these solos and small ensembles on their own time,” says Aleisa Hudlow, NCHS Band Director. “I did not require them to participate in this event this year, but they chose to go above and beyond to prepare and perform for this contest, which has benefited our band program as a whole with their elevated level of musicianship.”
On Tuesday, March 13, the NCHS Concert Band participated in the LMEA District II Large Ensemble Assessment. Large Ensemble Assessment is to music what testing is for academics: it uses other music educators to assess the achievement level of a music program in both prepared concert literature and sight reading skills. This was the first time in over a decade that the NCHS Concert Band has attended Large Ensemble Assessment, and the band earned Excellent ratings from all judges in both the concert and sight reading portions of the assessment. “I am so proud of all of the hard work that these students have put forth to achieve this level of performance,” says Hudlow. “It’s one thing to prepare for a concert, but it takes an additional level of focus, dedication, and musicality to be successful at Assessment. These students have earned this honor, and I am proud to serve as their director. I am also blessed with amazing support from my fellow NCHS faculty members, administration, and district.”
The NCHS Band Director is Aleisa Hudlow, and this is her first year at NCHS. She is in her eleventh year of teaching and has taught in Texas, at Northshore High School in Slidell, Pineville High School, and began the band program at Marthaville Junior High School last year. Mrs. Hudlow is also grateful for the support and additional instruction she has received from NCHS staff and NSU music student volunteers: Kesley Wright, Talent Instructor for Natchitoches Parish Schools; Andrew Benjamin, teacher at NCHS; and Lane Clevenger, Jake English, Blayne Fugere, Cameron Mayfield, and Addison Pellegrino, NSU music student volunteers.
Band Director: Aleisa Hudlow
Talented Music Instructor: Kelsey Wright
Additional Instructors: Andrew Benjamin (NCHS Teacher); Lane Clevenger, Jake English, Blayne, Fugier, Cameron Mayfield, Addison Pellegrino (NSU music students)
Pub Crawlers took over Front Street and the Downtown Riverbank March 17 as the Natchitoches Young Professionals (NYP) hosted its St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl. This year saw a rise in participants as 400 people walked the length of Front Street, stopping at a series of businesses to draw a card for the event’s poker run.
Flow Tribe brought the party to the newly renovated riverbank for an energetic concert that that got everyone moving their feet.
College rowing teams are flocking back to Cane River Lake this spring to practice in pristine conditions with championship season just around the corner.
Teams from nine different schools, including household athletics names like LSU, Alabama, Texas and Georgia put their paddles in the water in March.
Northwestern State rowing coach Jason Stelly said steady water levels are bringing teams back to Natchitoches, a nod to the days when scores of rowing teams would dot the 35-mile oxbow lake that used to be a stretch of the Red River.
“We have been very lucky to have great water conditions for rowing,” Stelly said. “The river is beginning to get a reputation again.
“Inconsistent water levels caused teams to hesitate in the past, but now the water levels are more stable and the riverbank construction project is complete.”
A water pump project that directs water from Hampton Lake into Bayou Possiant, which flows into Cane River Lake, is complete. The project has helped to stabilize water levels.
Pair that with calm water in an affordable location, and Cane River Lake is a destination for rowing teams to perfect their craft.
“Cane River Lake is a natural haven for rowing teams, especially for spring break,” Stelly said. “Teams can build up their speed and focus on rowing technique in the calm water.
“It’s a great setup because the city is willing to work with these teams. They don’t charge fees for using the river, and they can get deals on food and hotels, so it’s affordable.”
Texas coach Peter Rosberg called Cane River Lake a “hidden gem of a training center.”
“I love it because you can go so long in one direction,” Rosberg said. “There’s so many miles, and you’re protected from the wind.
“I also love the setting with houses on the bank. Everybody is really friendly on the river and will wave at you. It’s really special. For the money we spend, it’s best deal I’ve encountered.”
Northwestern State isn’t an unknown on the national rowing stage.
The NSU women won the program’s first conference championship two years ago and first medal in the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta by placing second.
Stelly is always looking for new rowers, even with little knowledge of the sport.
“The NSU rowing teams are doing great,” Stelly said. “We have a small, close-knit team that works hard and represents the school proudly.”
Students interested in joining can contact Stelly via email stellyj@nsula.edu.
NSU- Northwestern State University dedicated its Wellness, Recreation and Activity Center in honor of the late Dr. Randall J. Webb in a ceremony held Tuesday before a large crowd on what would have been Webb’s 75th birthday.
Webb was the longest-serving president in the history of Northwestern State, holding the position from July 1, 1996 to Dec. 31, 2014.
“For 25 years, Dr. Webb stepped up to a microphone and said ‘This is a red letter day for Northwestern State University.’ And this day truly is,” said Northwestern State President Dr. Chris Maggio. “I am so proud to see so many people here to honor a man who was so special to so many of us.”
Northwestern State students approved a referendum in 1998 to fund construction of the Wellness, Recreation and Activity Center. The $6.9 million project converted the former Intramural Building into a 81,000 square foot facility which was completed in 2004.
“We are honoring a man who did as much for this university as any single individual,” said University of Louisiana System President and CEO Dr. Jim Henderson, who succeeded Webb as NSU’s president. “There are two things about Randy Webb that stick out: his loyalty to the university and his love for students. It defines who Randy Webb was and is that we are naming a building in his honor that was built by students.”
SGA President Tre Nelson experienced an example of Webb’s feeling towards students the first time the two met at a party a few months before Nelson enrolled at NSU.
“He could have spent all his time talking to all the important people at the party, but he took time to get to know an incoming freshman at Northwestern,” said Nelson. “After talking for a few minutes, I found his words so genuine that all my fears about attending the university went away.”
Webb encouraged his friend Lola Dunahoe to serve on the NSU Foundation Board of Directors several years ago. Dunahoe became president of the Foundation board and was later appointed to the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System. Dunahoe called Webb “a scholar, a great leader, an encourager and a Christian gentleman.”
“Everyone at Northwestern had an opportunity to be encouraged by Randy,” said Dunahoe. “He gave his best and expected it out of others. My life was enriched because I was able to call Randy Webb my friend.”
Athletic Director Greg Burke said Webb was a “boss, mentor, advocate, supporter, fan and friend.”
He said Webb never waivered in his support for the athletic program, and had strong views about what the program should be.
“When I interviewed for the position of athletic director, he told me that “we are going to win, our student athletes are going to graduate and we will carry ourselves in the right way,” said Burke. “I learned so much from him.”
Under Webb’s leadership, Northwestern State received unprecedented national and international attention for its academic programs and student accomplishments. University facilities in addition to the WRAC were renovated to better serve students and two record-setting capital campaigns took place.
Enrollment reached record levels during Webb’s tenure as president and exceeded 10,500 for the first time in school history in the fall of 2004. Webb led NSU toward higher admission standards, which has resulted in students at the university having greater academic potential and aptitude. During Webb’s tenure, Northwestern State had the largest graduating classes in the university’s history.
Diane DeBlieux Vienne received an award for Catholic Daughter of the Year from the Regent of Court #1372, Catholic Daughters of America, Natchitoches.
Diane is a long-time member of the Court, volunteers as a pink lady at the hospital, served on the Bereavement Committee at the church and is a Eucharistic Minister for the Basilica, faithfully taking communion to the sick and home bound.
Diane is always the first to offer to help with any project.
She and her husband, the late Coach Julien Vienne, raised two great children, and she is very involved with her grandchildren.
She taught school for over 30 years.
Involved with and committed to the Sisters of Divine Providence, she attends many of their celebrations and activities. Diane also attends missionary trips twice a year to Honduras and is involved extensively in Operation Christmas Child.
Diane Vienne is truly a generous and humble Rina who epitomizes what a Catholic Daughter is it should be.
For any of you dear readers who have been glancing over my columns for any length of time, you probably know that my attitude to modern technology, as it applies to “electronic devices,” is pretty much one of Bah Humbug.
I mean, first of all, they’re really delicate, aren’t they? Not only are we apparently terribly vulnerable to hacking attacks from the Russians, Chinese or assorted lone genius kooks, but our individual devices break down all too often.
It’s not that unusual for our computer to go on the blink, way beyond any capacity of Mary’s or mine to remedy it. Hence we have gotten to know our computer repairman pretty well. He’s a fine young man and always knows just how to fix our problem. But it seems to me that if computers are so great, why can’t they be a little more reliable.
Let me give you an example. Mary’s writing on a project that’s very important to her. It’s now going through the final phases so she can submit her work to an editor. A couple of days ago, she was typing, using a word processing program. Suddenly, instead of showing one page on the screen, it showed four small pages.
She tried to fix it. I tried to fix it. We called friends and family members who we thought knew something about computers. All to no avail. So of course we brought the thing to our computer man and he fixed it in a day. The remedy was pretty simple, but he admitted that he kind of stumbled on the answer himself. I won’t go into the technical details. That would just make me more disgusted.
Then, to add insult to injury, Mary’s phone went completely dead. It wouldn’t even take a charge.
We both have those Jitterbug phones, the ones you’ve probably seen advertised in magazines. Cell phones for old folks, they are. They’re relatively easy to use, have large numbers, etc. Just what we need, right?
Well, we got rid of our landline phone some time ago, so we rely on our cell phones to communicate with the outside world, and Mary felt cut off from her out-of-town relatives. She wanted to go buy a new battery for the device, but I said “let me first call the company and see what they say.”
So, I got a very nice Jitterbug lady on my phone and explained the problem to her. She walked me through the process of removing the battery for a few seconds and then reinstalling it. And, voila, the phone was working again. The battery had somehow become displaced, she explained.
Like I said, these things are delicate, aren’t they? The recent problem with Mary ‘s project was relatively simple. But often our computer completely goes haywire and is unusable, for browsing the Internet or other common uses to which such machines are put.
I admit, our computer is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. How else would I control my Nertflix choices, after all? How would I instantly access Major League baseball scores at midnight? How would I instantly communicate, both for pleasure and for business, if it weren’t for emails? Can you imagine having to tell someone, “No I don’t have an email address. You’ll have to call me or write me a letter.”
Yeah, you can’t really thrive without a computer these days. At least I don’t have a smart phone. My Jitterbug isn’t stupid, but it doesn’t know how to browse websites or anything like that. It doesn’t even know what aps are.
Anyway, after our recent misadventures, we do once again have a working computer and Mary has a working phone. Until the next time they go out, that is.
Northwestern Opera Theatre Ensemble will perform Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” March 23-24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Treen Auditorium at the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts. Admission is free and open to the public. Dr. Marcy McKee is musical director of the Opera Theatre Ensemble.
“Die Fledermaus” is an fun operetta about old friends, one of which is orchestrating an elaborate plan to get revenge for a previous joke played upon him.
The cast is Rachael Bryant of Gonzales as Rosalinda, Amanda Charles of Houston as Adele, Billy Gorr of Houma as Gabriel Eisenstein, Jenson Wall of Denham Springs as Alfred, Gabriel LeMoine of Kaplan as Dr. Blind, Aaron Rogers of Amarillo, Texas, as Dr. Falke, Michael Martin of Pineville as Frank, Nadya Cesario of Fort Smith, Arkansas, as Sally, Daniela Salas of Cartagena, Colombia as Prince Orlofsky and Michelle Moline of Miami and NSU faculty member D’Nissa Hester and party singers.
The chorus is Emily Adams of Raceland, Matthew Armand of Plaucheville, Valentina Herazo of Cartagena, Colombia, Kenyon Johnson II of DeRidder, Morgan McCrory of Deville, Zachary Moreau of Marksville, Lee Whitney of Theriot, Ashleigh Pope of Beaumont, Texas and Zachary Gaultier of Avoyelles.
Dr. Chailing Hsieh is collaborative artist and assistant music director.
NATCHITOCHES PARISH:
Anna White
September 16, 1950 – March 20, 2018
Arrangements TBA
Elva Lee Berry Gates
August 7, 1924 – March 19, 2018
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 10-11 am at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home
Service: Friday, March 23 at 11 am at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home
Interment: Marthaville Cemetery in Marthaville
Rosie Young
March 26, 1956 – March 20, 2018
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 12 pm at First Baptist Church on North Street
Visitation: Saturday, March 24 from 10:30 am – 12 pm at First Baptist Church on North Street
Interment: Lawrence Serenity
Debbie Stalsby Charrier
November 12, 1953 – March 18, 2018
Service: Thursday, March 22 at 10 am at Bay Springs Baptist Church in Chopin
Interment: Bay Springs Cemetery
Joseph Steele
February 9, 1957 – March 17, 2018
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 11 am at the Winnfield Memorial Funeral Home Chapel
Interment: Lawrence Serenity Sanctum
Janie Rachal Allen
March 19, 2018
Visitation: Saturday, March 24 from 1-2 pm at the Agape Church, located at 1515 Texas Street in Natchitoches
Service: Saturday March 24 at 2 pm at the Agape Church
Interment: Mt. Olive Baptist Church Cemetery off Hwy 6
Gerard Francis “Sonny” Thomas Jr.
January 20, 1923 – February 10, 2018
Service: Friday, March 23 at 4 pm at Merci Beaucoup Restaurant, located at 127 Church Street in Natchitoches
WINN PARISH:
Velma R Ainsworth
October 1, 1933 – March 19, 2018
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 10 am – 2 pm at the Kinner and Stevens Funeral Home in Jena
Service: Friday, March 23 at 2 pm in the chapel of Kinner and Stevens Funeral Home
Robin Slack
December 29, 1976 – March 19, 2018
Arrangements TBA
RED RIVER PARISH:
Sara Ann Harrison Garrett
November 3, 1939 – March 21, 2018
Visitation: Friday, March 23 from 5-7 pm at Rockett-Nettles Funeral Home in Coushatta
Service: Saturday, March 24 at 10:30 am at First Baptist Church of Coushatta
Interment: Mount Zion Cemetery
Over 100 community members, leaders and supporters of Natchitoches’ Boys and Girls Club gathered at the Northwestern State University Ballroom for the 19th Annual Steak & Burger Dinner. The popular event serves as both an opportunity to showcase the club members’ talents and accomplishments and to raise much needed funds for the club’s mission of serving the community’s youth. The dinner this year is expected to raise about $25,000.00, all of which will stay in the local area assisting our children.
This year’s dinner featured Miss Louisiana 2017, Laryssa Bonacquisti as the keynote speaker. She spoke of her journey to the Miss America Pageant and of the four steps of “developing your own superpower.” Her talk concluded with a ventriloquism performance similar to the one she performed at the Miss America Pageant.
The Natchitoches Parish Journal is donating tonight’s photography. Copy protection is turned off and anyone may download any they wish. If you do download a photo, please consider a donation to the Boys & Girls Club in lieu of payment.
Tickets are still available for Flavor of Louisiana, Northwestern State University’s spring seafood extravaganza and spring fund raiser. Flavor of Louisiana will feature cuisine prepared by nearly two dozen chefs, restaurants and caterers from throughout the state, including several local favorites, along with specialty cocktails, a coffee and dessert bar, music, baskets, raffles and more.
Flavor of Louisiana is presented by the NSU Foundation in partnership with the Louisiana Seafood Board. Guests can stop at each food station for a tasting of a specialty dish, including options for meat-eaters.
Proceeds from the event support student scholarships and academic enhancement, said Rebekah Burleson, event coordinator.
“With all the delicious offerings that will be available, we are expecting a large turn-out for our second annual Flavor of Louisiana,” Burleson said. “The response from the community has been very positive.
“It takes a lot of teamwork to make an event like this happen and our students, faculty and staff are fully engaged in the planning and execution,” Burleson added. “Whether they are culinary arts students preparing food or those helping with tickets and clean-up, they are more than willing to volunteer with an event to raise funds for scholarships and programming.”
As a new feature, each college will have a booth to raise funds for their individual programs, Burleson said.
Flavor of Louisiana will be at 6 p.m. Friday, March 23 in Prather Coliseum. Tickets are $65 per person or $125 per couple. Sponsorships are available at the $5,000, $2,500, $1,500, $1,000 and $500 levels and include reserved seating and other perks.
Flavor of Louisiana is a highlight of several events planned this week, which include the dedication of the Wellness, Recreation and Activities Center in memory of former NSU President Dr. Randall J. Webb at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, followed by a celebration tailgate party at 4 p.m. and baseball game versus Louisiana Tech at 6 p.m. At noon Friday, March 23, NSU will honor outstanding alumni with induction into the Long Purple Line, NSU’s alumni hall of distinction. Tickets for the induction luncheon and program, which will take place in the Sylvan Friedman Student Union, are $20 per person.
Tickets and sponsorship information for Flavor of Louisiana, Long Purple Line induction and other events is available at northwesternalumni.com or by contacting Burleson at burlesonr@nsula.edu or (318) 357-5213.
BOM is a Festival Stage Patron of the 2018 Natchitoches Jazz Festival on April 13-14. Pictured from left are Micah Foshee, Emily Settle, Daniel Page (Jazz Festival Board Member), Tara McKenney, and Dewayne Chelette.
Attend Tri Sigma’s 7th Annual Dancing with the Sigmas event Wednesday, March 21 at AA Fredericks Auditorium on the NSU Campus at 7 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Th event will feature special guest emcee Miss Louisiana 2017 Laryssa Bonacquisti.
The dancers are as follows:
Greg Burke
NSU Director of Athletics
Leonard Sarpy
NSU Maintenance Foreman and DJ Extraordinaire
Trini Triggs
Country Music Star and the Voice of 94.9 The River
Dustin Cross
Financial Planner at Cross Financial Group
Steve Boyd
Pharmacist
Dane Terrell
Manager, Ivan Smith Furniture
Van Erikson
NSU Associate Director of Alumni Affairs
Kiley Bell
NSU Recruiter and former NSU Cheerleader
Justin Rhodes
Owner of Rhodes Properties & Development & Rhodes Realty
The event is a fundraiser for Tri Sigma’s philanthropy “Sigma Serves Children” through Tri Sigma’s philanthropic partner March of Dimes. Sigma Serves Children is the philanthropic initiative to benefit children’s health. Whether Sigmas provide play therapy grants to children’s hospitals or light their campus purple for Prematurity Awareness Month, they raise money to impact lives.
Tickets will be sold at the door and cost $10 per person. VIP seating is $20.
According to the Social Security Administration, a person is disabled if he or she suffers from a mental or physical impairment that will likely result in death, or is expected to last for over a year and that individual is unable to do any job whatsoever full time.
Becoming disabled is understandably one of, if not the most difficult event in someone’s life. Fortunately, a disabled person may be eligible to receive financial benefits from Supplemental Security Income, known as SSI; Social Security Disability Insurance, called SSDI; or both.
C. Edward “Eddie” Harrington at The Harrington Law Firm represents SSDI and SSI claimants on a regular basis. He has a thorough and detailed procedure for developing the claimant’s case and Social Security record.
“Unfortunately, the majority of those who initially file for disability are denied,” said Harrington. “It appears most are even denied by Social Security without them even reviewing all medical records reported by the disabled individual. Many people just give up after denial, which is what Social Security hopes for. However, denial is not the end.”
If an application is denied at the initial determination and the individual disagrees with the decision, he or she must file an appeal within 60 days of the decision. After the appeal is filed, eventually a hearing will be held in front of a Social Security Administrative Law Judge. At this level it’s highly recommended legal counsel is hired for preparation and representation at the hearing.
“The appeals process can involve a lot of government forms, and the time and effort required can be intimidating,” said Harrington. “If you’re applying for SSI or SSDI benefits, or just received a denial of your application, contact an experienced Social Security attorney who is familiar with the system and can help relieve the burden of this often complex process.”
Results may vary. If you’ve been denied for Social Security Disability call Eddie today at 318-352-5900 or visit http://www.theharringtonlawfirm.com for more information.
Leaders from Natchitoches will join Keep Natchitoches Beautiful and hundreds of community, business and political leaders this Friday, March 23 to stand in unity for a cleaner and greener Louisiana by participating in the Keep Louisiana Beautiful signature event, Leaders Against Litter. Now in its fifth year, Leaders Against Litter is designed to educate, cultivate and actively engage leaders throughout the state in support of a litter-free Louisiana.
Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser has invited more than 2,000 community, business and political leaders to join him in support of a cleaner, greener state by attending one of the 28 local events to be held throughout the state on this date. Here in Natchitoches, Leaders Against Litter event will begin at 8:30 a.m. will a welcome reception followed by a cleanup at the MLK Recreational Community Center located at 660 Martin Luther King Jr Dr in Natchitoches. The group will travel along Martin Luther King Jr Dr. and surrounding streets collecting litter and wearing Leaders Against Litter T-shirts. Following the cleanup, leaders will sign a pledge, stating that they will SPEAK UP and spread the word that litter is not acceptable, PICK UP litter whenever they see it, and STAND UP and lead the way for a litter-free Louisiana.
The day will end with state leaders in Baton Rouge announcing the combined impact of all Leaders Against Litter events from around the state, and by each making a personal commitment to “Speak Up, Pick Up, and Stand Up” against litter by signing the Leaders Against Litter pledge. For more information please contact Keep Natchitoches Beautiful 352-2746.
NSU Middle Lab School teacher, Laurie Berry, teamed up again this year with Go North Adventure Learning, found at polarhusky.com and based in Willow, Alaska, to experience first-hand the excitement of the Start of the Iditarod, the longest arctic dog sled race in the world. While there, she had the opportunity to interview sled dog racers, known as mushers, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, Aliy Zirkle, and Jeff King.
In an interview with Norwegian musher Joar Ulsom, who holds the record as fastest rookie to have ever run the Iditarod and one of only two mushers to be in the top 7 five times in five years, he answers student questions about what it’s like out on the trail.
NSU Middle Lab School eighth grader, Koda DeBlieux asks, “What does the Iditarod mean to you and does this particular race have any special impact on you?” Joar’s answer: “It’s been a childhood dream to run this race. There’s a lot of history behind it. We’ve had a Norwegian champion, so there’s a lot of history in it for me and a lot of pride for running it.” And then he speaks the kids’ language when he finishes with, “It’s the longest race there is, so that’s super cool.”
Eighth grader Dalyn Davis wants to know, “How do you pick your lead dog?” Joar replys, “They kind of pick it themselves. If I see a dog that wants to be up there in lead and learns the commands fast, he’s in tune with me and he wants to do the right thing, then it’s very easy.”
Ann Marie Nelson, also an eighth grader, asks, ” How many hours a day do you train with your dogs and is that year-round?” Joar’s answer: “It’s pretty much year-round. We normally give [the dogs] the hottest part of the summer off, but by August first we start up full time again with training. Then we get them back in shape and run for about an hour. Before the race we are up to about eight, nine, ten hours a day. Sometimes we go for three or four days straight and stop three or four hours at a time and then go another six or seven hours. We put on a lot of miles trying to simulate the race. So, it’s not much sleep and a lot of training.”
While at the Downtown Anchorage Ceremonial Start March 3, Berry also ran into musher Aliy Zirkle, who began racing the Iditorod in 2001 and has raced and finished every year since then. She asked Aliy to tell the kids watching back in Louisiana a little something about the race. Aliy’s responded, “Well, we’re here at the start. It’s not snowing right now, but we hear there are blizzards out to the west. I think the weather should be pretty good by the time we get there. So it’s 3-2-1 we’re outta here. Let’s go!”
At the Restart in Willow, Alaska where the race officially began on March 4, Berry caught up with musher and four-time Iditarod winner, Jeff King, to find out what new innovation he is implementing this year as a strategy to win the race. His response: “[This year] my sled has exceptionally wide runners, almost twice as wide as anything you’ll see here. This year’s soft snow, I think, will make this innovation be the time to try it. I’ve thought about it for a lot of years and I’m hoping that the floatation of the wide runner will make it easier for my dogs to pull the sled.”
You can follow the race at Iditarod.com and download full video interviews and teaching materials at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Literary-Wanderings.
St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in the Bermuda Community will celebrate its Senior Choirs’ 65th Year Anniversary Sunday, March 25 at 2:30 pm. Special Guest will be Rev. Roosevelt Toussaint, Pastor of the Morning Star Baptist Church in Natchez along with the Morning Star Baptist Church Choir and Church Family. For more information about this announcement contact Rosa Shields at (318) 352-5047 or (318) 652-0753.