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Friday, March 30, 2007

Bossier at 100

Bossier City is turning 100 years old and to mark the occasion, the city will embark on a yearlong celebration starting with a kickoff event at 6:30 p.m. April 7 at the Louisiana Boardwalk.
Pam Glorioso, who is chairing the celebration, said the most interesting person she has met while preparing for the event is Col. Neill Yarborough. Glorioso said Yarborough, 91, has been selected as the oldest living Bossier City man for the centennial. “He is a very colorful and interesting man, who has lived and seen Bossier City grow from being a young child,” she said.
Glorioso said there are approximately 10 events on the centennial calendar but the list will be amended throughout the year.
The theme for the centennial celebration is “100 Years in the Right Direction.”
Photo: Pam Glorioso


Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Representing at meals march


Caddo Council on Aging’s March for Meals fundraiser drew a huge crowd today. The turnout was absolutely amazing.
I, along with co-workers Sandra Davis and Nishia Livingston, represented The Times as we strolled along the route with our Times banner.
The march took us from the Caddo Courthouse to the Red River District. The Byrd High School band provided music for the occasion.
The event was for a good cause – to raise money and awareness for the Meals on Wheels program -- and the walk wasn’t bad, either.
People in downtown offices clapped as the crowd marched past their buildings while motorists, forced to wait for the crowd to move on, stared into the distance quietly awaiting their chance to move on.
Along with some unfamiliar faces, there also were some very familiar faces in the crowd, including Mayor Cedric Glover, House District 4 candidate Patrick Williams and City Councilwoman Joyce Bowman.

Photo: Times employees Sandra Davis and Nishia Livingston

Crane flies?

After reading the story about mosquitoes in today's paper, I ran across the word crane fly. I'm familiar with them because they are the long-legged creatures that resemble overgrown mosquitoes and attempt to make their way inside my home every time I open the door. What I didn't know is that's what they are called.
When my kids -- who thought they were mosquitoes -- asked what they were I told them gallinippers. "Galla what?" That's the response I got from them. I know, it sounds funny but when I was growing up in Minden, that's what we called them. And until recently, that's the only thing I ever called them. But from now on I'll call them crane flies. That sounds better.
Does anybody have any other names for these pesky critters?

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Walking for meals

I plan to participate in the March for Meals fundraiser Wednesday. The Caddo Council on Aging hopes to raise $80,000 with this fundraiser.
The march will begin at noon at the Caddo Courthouse and proceed down Texas Street to First United Methodist Church. I’ll have to remember to bring a pair of flat shoes to work in the morning.
I'll see you at the March!!

Comcast woes

Comcast officials reported nearly two weeks ago that service disruption problems that affected as many as 20,000 local cable customers should be fixed.
Those problems might be fixed, but trust me, there are others.
I called in February to have telephone service installed at my home. The woman I talked to said they couldn’t come out until March 20 because everything was switching over from Time Warner to Comcast and they wouldn’t be installing phone services before then. I told her that was fine and she said someone would be out between 8 a.m. and noon on the 20th.
I called the day before to make sure everything was still on schedule and was told there wasn’t anything scheduled at my address. The man I talked with said I could reschedule, so I did. I wasn’t happy but what could I do? He told me someone would be out between 1-5 p.m. on March 23. He even gave me a new phone number and told me I would need to be there to sign some papers. When March 23 arrived, I went home at 1 p.m. to wait. I waited and waited. When my son came home from school, I told him to call me when the phone people came. He didn’t call. They didn’t come.
I was really frustrated. I called Comcast later that evening and waited on the phone for about 20 minutes before someone finally came on. They said because it was so late in the evening, I would have to wait until later to find out what happened because no one was around who could help me. They must have sensed my frustration because they finally told me that they had rescheduled the phone installation to March 29. But guess what? No one bothered to let me know. I called Saturday morning but was on hold so long I finally hung up. I called Monday and waited about 20 minutes before someone came on the line. I was already having a bad morning because I was sneezing and my eyes were watering from the pollen. I was miserable. The man I talked to was nice enough but I was tired of getting the runaround. He told me what I already knew (service rescheduled). I told him it was not acceptable and I no longer wanted the service. He was very apologetic and attempted to explain but as far as I was concerned, there was no explanation; no good one anyway. He went on to say how much work needed to be done in Shreveport and once everything is straightened out, we shouldn’t have any more problems.
That’s all well and good, but what do we do in the meantime?
Oh, and by the way, they can't find Mansfield Road in the system. Every time I called, they said there was no Mansfield Road. One woman even asked if I was sure that was my address. Finally, one woman abbreviated Mansfield and found it.
So either have your phone number or account number; otherwise you're out of luck if you just give them a Mansfield Road address.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Home-cooked meal for (wo)man's best friend

I posted an item the other day about the dog food recall and how my mother cooks rice and chicken for her Chow.
Yesterday, I received this e-mail from Carlene Hilliker of Bossier City who pretty much does the same thing. She even has a recipe!
Here is part of the e-mail:

Just thought you might be interested in publishing a way for people to stop worrying about what they are getting in their can dog food. I cook for my dog and she is very healthy. This recipe came from a vet in California. My dog came from the pound some 4 years ago. She was skinny and had been abused. She is now 35 pounds and very healthy and active. I also let her free feed on a good dry dog food.

3 cups of rice cooked (I cook it in a rice cooker)
6 lbs of chicken (I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs) Boil with Ms. Dash and lemon pepper seasoning.
Large bag of frozen mixed veggies (Cooked in the juice from the chicken)

Cut the chicken up in small pieces, or tear it apart and mix all the above together. Put into small one serving containers (size depends on how much your dog eats) and freeze it. This will make 2 weeks of food for my dog. Just remove from freezer, heat in microwave and your dog has a great meal with no additives.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Mayors for Meals

Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker along with the Benton and Plain Dealing mayors delivered meals to homebound senior citizens Wednesday during the Mayors for Meals campaign.
Today, Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover, Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator and others are volunteering with the Meals on Wheels program and delivering meals to homebound clients at Goodman Plaza.
The Meals on Wheels program means a lot to homebound residents. The meals warm the stomach and the daily visits from the volunteers warm the heart.

Monday, March 19, 2007

No more Ol’ Roy

My mother called me the other day to see if I could go online and find out what dog food brands were being recalled. She was concerned because she has a Chow and wanted to know if she had been feeding him any of the recalled food. Mind you, this is a woman who buys chicken and rice and cooks it for her dog.
I went online and found one brand she buys, Ol’ Roy, on the list. I called her to let her know and she said she was going to throw out the cans she had recently bought. While I was in Minden Sunday, I took her to the store to buy some more dog food. While she was in the store, she and another woman started up a conversation about their dogs and the bad dog food. It's interesting listening to people talk about their dogs. If you come in anywhere after the beginning of the conversation, you'd think they were talking about kids.
Anyway, the shelves in that store were cleared of the Ol’ Roy canned dog food. My mother was happy; I could tell by the smile on her face when she told me.
She bought Pedigree. It’s not on the list.

No 'visitors' at this church

My sister-in-law Deedee Palmer mentioned a few weeks ago that we were going to her grandmother’s church in Athens. I was all for it because right now I don’t have a permanent church home and I’ve been going to different churches in Shreveport. They’ve all been great but I don’t know that I’ve found the one where I will go every Sunday. I’m still looking.
So we went to St. Matthew Baptist Church on Sunday. It took us about 30 minutes to get there from Minden but I’m not sure if we were in Athens or Gibsland because the address on the church program was Athens and the P.O. Box was Gibsland. And I saw a Bienville Parish sign. Isn't Athens in Claiborne Parish? All I know is we were in the woods and we didn’t get lost.
I’m always a little nervous when I go to a different church because I don’t like it when “visitors” are asked to stand and say something.
When I go to a new church, I don’t feel like I’m “visiting” that church. I’ve always thought of it as just “going” to church. It was a pleasant surprise when newcomers to the church weren’t asked to stand up. However, we were acknowledged and if we had wanted to say something, I’m almost certain we could have.
Thanks to the Rev. Johnnie Dyes and congregation, my time at St. Matthew was memorable and the service was great.
I definitely will go back to St. Matthew but I also will continue looking for a church home in Shreveport.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Survivor update

OK. I promised to let you know, so here’s more information on the local connection to one of the “Survivor: Fiji” contestants.
Contestant Cassandra Franklin, 42, of Los Angeles, Calif., is Flora Law’s cousin.
Flora, owner and operator of Flora’s New Image Beauty Salon and Barber Shop on Hollywood Avenue in Shreveport, makes it a point to tune in at 7 p.m. each Thursday to see her cousin in action on the CBS reality show.
Flora didn’t recognize Cassandra at first and had to call Cassandra’s mother in California to find out which one of the contestants was her.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Young offenders

After much thought, I've decided to write a column on youth offenders.
The recent cases where the two teens will be tried as adults helped in my decision-making. Both are 15 years old. Corenza Kelly was indicted in February on one count of first-degree murder for allegedly killing Myoung Ran Ellis during an armed robbery. The other teen, Demarcus Thomas, faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with the killing of Arnina Miles Hill.
If convicted, each teen will serve a life sentence.
Here’s some information to share:
Since October 2005, more than 15 juveniles have been transferred from the Caddo Juvenile Detention Center to be tried as adults. Charges include armed robbery, aggravated burglary and first- and second-degree murder.
From Jan. 1-March 14 of this year, almost 300 youths have been admitted to the detention center, the youngest being 10 years old.
I’ll have more information as my column develops and I do more research and interview more people.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Comfort in CARS

If all goes as planned, rural Webster Parish residents who live alone will soon find comfort in the Community Assistance Response System (CARS).
Police Juror Vera Davison urges residents who meet requirements to sign up early.
CARS is a free automated phone service offered through the parish’s Police Jury, sheriff’s office and E-911 and is designed to provide regular checks for residents who sign up for it. Participants in the program must be 65 years old or older and live alone.
For information on the program or for applications, call Police Jurors Charlesetta Reeder at 377-0394 or Davison at 377-8606. Davis especially wants residents to know that the program is free.

Monday, March 12, 2007

“Survivor” connection

I’ve heard on good authority that there is a local connection to one of the contestants on CBS’ reality TV series “Survivor.” When I get all of the particulars I’ll let you know, so keep checking back here to find out.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Big turnout for Jackson

“I touched him. That’s all I wanted to do.”
Those words were uttered today at Balistine W. Hopkins Head Start Center as actor Samuel Jackson, wearing his signature Kangol cap, made his way through a sea of kids (and adults).
The adults were more excited about seeing Jackson than the kids were. You could tell by their mad rush to the sides of the stage and because organizers had to keep telling them to move so the kids could see.
But that didn’t stop the cameras from flashing and the video from rolling.
Jackson commented that the event was a lot bigger than he expected.
“I was expecting to see the kids; I wasn’t expecting to see all the parents.”
After his speech stressing the importance of education, Jackson was photographed with each group of Head Start kids. However, one group missed its turn because they were standing to the side.
A woman with the kids said, “Let me hold up the sign so he can see us. I don’t have but two babies. He’ll never get over here to us.”
Sadly enough, he didn’t.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Communication gap?

Evodna Springer, a member of the Bossier Parish Citizens’ Coalition, says when it comes to local government there is a lack of communication.
This was brought to her attention last year when she found out about a vote of the Bossier Parish Police Jury regarding a truck stop that would offer video poker in Benton.
“The whole truck stop issue revealed to me and to other people there was a lack of communication between government offices and the people — what I call an information deficit, in particular Bossier Parish,” Springer said.
She said there should be additional wording on signs to let residents know exactly what kind of structure is going up.
“Zoning signs are vaguely worded,” she said. “We see them all the time and the first thing we think is a new subdivision is coming up; but not anymore. We can no longer have that mind-set.”
In an effort to keep residents in the know about government issues, Springer started her very own blog.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Chance to see actor a dream come true

Samuel Jackson in Shreveport.
That's exciting but not nearly as exciting as me getting a chance to see Jackson while he is in Shreveport.
I was going through my e-mail and came across an invitation from Laurance Guidry, president and CEO of Caddo Community Action Agency, inviting me to a special occasion on Friday.
It doesn’t matter that I wasn’t the only person on the invite list; actually I stopped counting after I reached 20 other people. I was excited because I would get the chance to see Jackson, one of my favorite actors, at the CCAA Balistine Hopkins Head Start Center at 1730 Cox Street.
I’ve been looking around for something Jackson can autograph for me. I haven’t come across anything yet but I still have time; Friday is three days away.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I plan to be there early.

Monday, March 5, 2007

SUSLA gears up for Founders’ Day celebration

Leonard C. Barnes, chancellor emeritus of Southern University at Shreveport, will be the keynote speaker at the university’s Founders’ Day Celebration at 10 a.m. Friday in the Health and Physical Education Complex.
Also, employees with 40, 30, 20 and 10 years of service will be honored during the event.
Barnes, a 1948 graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge, began his tenure at SUSLA in 1967 as director of student personnel. In 1969 he was named vice president of the Shreveport campus, a position which later evolved to chancellor. Barnes held the position for nearly 20 years until his retirement in 1987.
He received an honorary doctorate degree in 1987 for his meritorious contributions to education and athletics. He was inducted into the Southern University Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Hall of Fame in 1994. He holds board membership with the Southern University at Shreveport Foundation and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System

Friday, March 2, 2007

Restaurant workers should keep underwear covered

Opal Darrett, of Shreveport, is tired of having to see fast-food restaurant employees’ underwear when she orders her food.
It’s the sagging pants.
It’s bad enough their pants are falling off their behinds, she said. But then they use their ungloved hands to pull up their pants and then handle her food.
Not only is it embarrassing to see them like that but she also wonders if it could be a health-code violation.
Darrett said she isn’t trying to bad-mouth the youths. After all, they are working. But she is concerned and says they should take more pride in their appearance and dress better.
She said she has gone so far as to tell restaurant managers that she doesn’t want those employees serving her food.
I’m sure there are others who feel the same way Darrett does.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Aspiring entrepreneurs

Students from Cope Middle School and Caddo Career and Technology School participated in EntrepreneurshipWeek USA, which began Feb. 24 and ends Saturday.
The students worked with Junior Achievement of North Louisiana and submitted questions to local business owners.
Here’s one question and the business owner’s answer:
Question: “What steps did you take in the process of beginning your business?”
— Brandon Walker, Caddo Career and Technology School
Answer: “I first came up with the idea to create a company in the service sector that would fill a needed niche in business. Then I took the steps to have a company incorporated, the company name registered with the state of Louisiana, secured a federal tax ID number so the company could legally conduct financial banking transactions, and begin to sell the service concept to potential clients. This may seem like a large task, but each is easily and inexpensively done by obtaining corporate documents from the Louisiana Secretary of State Web site, completing them, searching the Louisiana corporate names Web site to find out if your company name is available, then filing the documents with the state of Louisiana. Opening a business checking account is simple and can be completed easily at any local bank. All this is just the beginning, however, for the critical element is to “sell” your service (or product) to your potential customers to create business cash flow.”
— Dan Newman, The Newman Companies