Frequent acts of violence shed negative light on city

In the last few days: A man was shot outside a gas station; two men were shot while walking down the street on Memorial Day; another man was robbed while walking down the street; a man attempted to rob a Pizza Hut employee; a homeless woman was beaten; and police broke up a fight that ended with a stabbing.
I could go on, but I won’t. I’m sure you get the picture. What’s going on? I guess we could chalk it all up to the holiday. As you know, people do crazy things on the holidays.
But that’s an excuse — and not a very good one.
But every time something bad happens in Shreveport, people start ranting and raving about how horrible the city is.
If you don’t believe me, just go online, read a crime-related story and then read the comments attached to it.
For example, here’s a comment that was posted on the story about the man who was robbed while on his way to work.
"People need to remember not to be out walking in this town after dark. It’s just common sense if you live here. You’re on your own when it comes to crime prevention in Shreveport, so just deal with it."
That comment sheds a very negative light on Shreveport. Essentially what the reader is saying is that Shreveport law enforcement isn’t doing anything to protect residents. And that’s not true.

Moving is one big headache

I have a headache. I moved this weekend. Actually, my weekend spilled over into Monday and if you take into consideration the unpacked boxes at my new residence, I'm not done yet.
No one ever said moving was easy. I'm not a first-time mover but you wouldn't know that if you had seen me over the weekend.
Although I finally finished moving everything out of the apartment, I still have boxes scattered throughout my house.
My beautician told me I should have put the boxes in the rooms where they belong as I brought them in. She's right, but I didn't even label the boxes. Now the bedroom boxes are probably in the kitchen and so on. Anyway, I'll get to them soon. But if anyone has advice as to how I can make this process move along easier, by all means let me know.
I still have that headache.

Litter survey results

The results from Shreveport Green's litter survey are in.
Littering along public and private lands increased slightly this year with an overall rating of 2.1 compared to 1.9 in 2006
The Litter Index Survey is a method of measuring litter in Shreveport and it is applied annually. Shreveport Green serves the Shreveport community and it uses this tool to see where the most litter has accumulated near various land usages such as, residential, commercial, educational, recreational, and industrial areas. Seven zip codes are targeted to give fair representation of the city. The results are used to direct litter education, prevention, and cleanup efforts to the areas with the highest ratings.
Here are the results from each ZIP code. The higher ratings represent areas within each ZIP code that contain littered sites near vacant lots and along residential streets near convenience stores.
71101 – 1.9 “Slightly Littered”
71103 -1.8 “Slightly Littered”
71104- 1.5 “Slightly Littered”
71106 – 2.2 “Slightly Littered”
71107 – 2.7 “Slightly Littered”
71108 – 2.2 “Slightly Littered”
71109 – 2.2 “Slightly Littered”

I scream you scream …

Barbara Norton is putting on one of her many hats and gearing up for the fourth annual Ice Cream Party.
The party will be 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Mooretown Community Library, 4360 Hollywood Ave., in Shreveport, and is sponsored by “Helping Others by Caring,” a weekly show on radio station KOKA 980 FM hosted by Norton.
The event will include a parade with children carrying their favorite books to kick off the summer reading book club, a performance by the University Christian Prep drum line, radio personality Jabber Jaws and a dance contest for children ages 4-12. The winner of the dance contest will win a bicycle.
Information for the bike contest can be picked up from the following sponsors: The Radio Group, Clarion Hotel, Praise Temple Full Gospel Baptist Cathedral, David Raines Community Health Center, both locations of County Market, Living Hope Baptist Church, SPAR and Raye’s Trim.
For information, call 635-2923.

Addressing issue of underage drinking

The Office for Addictive Disorders held a meeting today at the Hamilton branch of the Shreveport library on Bert Kouns to discuss how to effectively address the issue of underage drinking.
They are trying to get the community involved and also are working with the governor's office to address a strategic prevention framework.
I was surprised there wasn't a bigger turnout for the meeting.
Don Pledger, assistant regional administrator for OAD, said the issue of underasge drinking is a community problem.
Trudie Abner, OAD regional administrator, said, "What we do know from research over the years regarding prevention messages is that if you have the same message in all pockets of the community, eventually it begins to sink in and people begin to behave appropriately over time. It takes time. It’s not something that’s going to happen over night."

Litter survey

Shreveport Green conducted its Litter Index Survey today to measure the presence of litter in Shreveport.
During the survey, volunteers were driven to different parts of town and a rating was assigned to the amount of litter. The areas of town covered included those with the ZIP codes 71104, 71101, 71107, 71103, 71109, 71108, 71106. Volunteers visited 11 neighborhoods in those areas.
The results of the survey will be in next week along with a comparison from last year.
Read about it in my column next week.

End-of-year band concert

The Ridgewood Middle School band gave its final performance of the school year last night. The concert, which I thought was supposed to begin at 6 p.m., didn't start until 6:30 but it was worth the wait. Performing were the beginning band, orchestra and concert band.
I thought at first the heavy rain would keep most people away but that wasn't the case at all. By 6:05 there were only about 24 people in the audience but as 6:30 neared, the auditorium began to slowly fill.
I enjoyed all of the performances but I especially liked the strings. Maybe it was because I recognized one of the songs they played: "The Pink Panther."
Ms. Lupton, the band teacher, has done an excellent job with the students and it showed in their performances.

Punishment too severe?

We’re all familiar with the adage “let the punishment fit the crime.” But can the punishment be too extreme at times?
A 14-year-old Haughton Middle School student was expelled from school last week after she gave another student a Midol, an over-the-counter pain reliever. Now she has been ordered to finish the school year at Charlotte Mitchell Center alternative school.
Initially, the school system had ordered Lindsey Tanner to attend the alternative school for nine weeks next school year. However, on Monday, Betty McCauley, director of student services for Bossier schools, lessened that punishment and Lindsey won’t have to attend the alternative school next year.
That would have been a terrible way to begin a new school year.
However, Lindsey still has to enroll in a six-week alcohol and drug awareness program.
That seems extreme.
Should a student who merely takes a Midol and later gives one to someone else be placed in the same category as someone who deals with cocaine or methamphetamines?
I'm by no means condoning kids taking medicines to school and giving them to other students. You never know if that person is allergic or has taken other medications.
I'm just saying the punishment seems a bit severe.
What do you think?

Give to the food drive

OK. It's time to look through your kitchen cabinets and pantries and start gathering canned goods and nonperishables for the Letter Carriers' Food Drive.
I'm giving you advance notice because if you don't have the food at home, you still have time to run out and buy some.
The food drive is next weekend, May 12.
It's for a good cause and there's really not a lot of work involved.
All you have to do is get the food together, put it in a bag, or bags if you're really generous and place it next to your mailbox. That's it. The letter carriers will pick up the food as they deliver your mail.
And if by chance your food doesn't get picked up, be sure to call 677-2249.
This year’s goal is to collect 72,000 pounds of canned goods and nonperishable food items.
All donations are kept locally and distributed through several organizations, including the Northwest Louisiana Food Bank, Shreveport-Bossier Rescue Mission, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, Caddo Council on Aging and Christ the King Church in Bossier City.
So don't forget: May 12.