The Jambalaya News - Vol. 4 No. 15

• Happy Hauntings!• Fall Real Estate Issue• West Cal Happenings

VOL. 4, NO. 15 / OCTOBER 18, 2012

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OCTOBER 18, 2012 Volume 4 • Issue 15

OCTOBER 18, 2012 PAGE 3Volume 4 • Issue 15

GENERAL715 Kirby St., Lake Charles, LA 70601Phone: 337-436-7800Fax: 337-990-0262www.thejambalayanews.com

PUBLISHERPhil de [email protected]

NEWSEXECUTIVE EDITORLauren de [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORSLeslie BermanGeorge ClineDan EllenderBraylin JenkinsMike LouviereMike McHughMary Louise RuehrBrandon ShoumakerKarla Tullos

[email protected]

SALES ASSOCIATESMichele ClackKaty CorbelloFaye DrakeAllen Garber

GRAPHICSART/PRODUCTION DIRECTORDarrell Buck

BUSINESSOFFICE MANAGERKay Andrews

Legal DisclaimerThe views expressed by The Jambalaya News columnistsare their own and do not necessarily reflect the position ofThe Jambalaya News, its editors or staff.

The Jambalaya News is solely owned, published by TheJambalaya News, LLC, 715 Kirby Street, Lake CharlesLouisiana 70601. Phone (337) 436-7800. Whilst everyeffort was made to ensure the information in this maga-zine was correct at the time of going to press, the publish-ers cannot accept legal responsibility for any errors oromissions, nor can they accept responsibility of the stand-ing of advertisers nor by the editorial contributions. TheJambalaya News cannot be held responsible for the returnof unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations,even if they are sent to us accompanied by a self-addressed envelope. The views expressed do not necessar-ily reflect those of the publisher.

Copyright 2012 The Jambalaya News all rightsreserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without priorwritten permission is prohibited.

October 18, 2012 • Volume 4 • Issue 15

COVER STORY29 Robinson Dental Group:

Healthy Teeth for a Healthy Life

REGULARS7 The Boiling Pot9 Adoption Corner10 The Dang Yankee11 Tips from Tip36 Sports Report

FEATURES5 The Atakapas: Not Gone,

but Forgotten12 West Cal Happenings20 Ten Questions to Ask Your

Home Inspector23 Home Staging Tricks26 Real Estate Brokers and Agents:

the Basics40 Finding Elizabeth42 Halloween Events

ENTERTAINMENT35 Family Night at the Movies38 Red Hot Books44 Lake City Beat45 Funbolaya46 Society Spice50 Jambalaya Jam52 Local Jam54 Eclectic Company55 Killin’ Time Crossword

contents

We accept credit cards!

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On Cover: Dr. Daniel Domingue,Dr. Tim Robinson and Dr. Jonathon Rusnak.

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Phil can be found all over SWLA and right now, he’s getting ready for Halloween! On his way to go trick or treating, he’s hiding somewhere in The Jam. When you find the Cartoon Phil, call 436-7800 ext. 110 and leave your full name, phone number and tell us where Phil is. ONE LUCKY WINNER WILL RECEIVE FOUR TICKETS TO THE LOST HOLLOWS, SWLA’S NEWEST HAUNTED ATTRACTION!

WINNERS WILL BE DRAWNWED., OCT 24, 2012

Oh, the HorrorHalloween is almost here. And

that means that cable television isairing all kinds of horror movies andspecials about ghosts and the super-natural, and I’m thrilled. I love agood scare. I love the unexplainedand the creepy and the weird. I’vealways been that way.

I especially love old horrormovies. They don’t make them likethey used to. Nowadays, all thosespecial effects are digitally created,which take all the scare out of it.And there’s too much blood and vio-lence and mass mayhem. It makeseverything unbelievable. It’s toomuch. Not that those films aren’tfrightening. You just forget aboutthem when they’re over becauseyour brain is on overload. You don’tlook under the bed before you go tosleep—at least, I don’t.

Give me the old black and whitemovies, with simple plots aboutwerewolves lurking in the woodsand vampires flying through thenight, looking for necks to sink theirteeth into; cursed mummies comeback to life; mad scientists creatingclumsy monsters in their labs.Somehow, we can believe there is

“something” lurking out there,because we were all warned aboutthe bogeyman when we were kids. Ifwe didn’t behave, he’d come out ofthe closet or from under the bed andtake us away.

The old horror movies are a feastfor the eyes. Most of them take placein these fabulous mansions, usuallyin England (the Mummy wreakshavoc, appropriately, in Egypt).There were no vampires or were-wolves in suburbia. Nope. DoctorFrankenstein has his very own castle;so does Count Dracula. TheWolfman has an ancestral home inWales. They have servants. All earlymembers of the One Percent. Isthere a connection? I’m really gettingscared now.

These movies were all made inthe 1930s and 40’s, and the clothesand set designs were gorgeous. Thewomen were aristocratic and beauti-ful, speaking in educated, clippedtones. The men wore suits andsmoked a lot. And this weird evilwas smoldering right below the sur-face, which made it all the moredelicious. Those big old houses hadall sorts of dark nooks and cranniesand secret rooms and towers for bad

things to hide in. And the casementwindows in the bedrooms were con-veniently left half-open at night soDracula could whoosh in and havehis midnight snack.

These films were a treat to watchwhen I was a child. I don’t rememberat what age I was actually “allowed”to see them, but I do remember mymother telling me, one time when Ibegged her, that if I had a nightmarethat night, I could never see oneagain. I made sure I didn’t.

The 1950s brought us some goodstuff, like The Creature from theBlack Lagoon and Invasion of theBody Snatchers, but was alsoresponsible for Abbott and CostelloMeet the Mummy and I was aTeenage Werewolf. The B-moviehorror genre was in full bloom.

The 1960s offered classics likePsycho, The Birds and one of my all-time favorites, Rosemary’s Baby, butwe also had to put up with Monstera Go-Go.

One of the best horror moviesever made, in my opinion, is TheExorcist, which came out in theearly 70’s. The slow, steady buildupof horror, the classic fight betweengood and evil, and the haunting

theme music, “Tubular Bells,” mes-merize me to this day. Carrie isanother fabulous 70’s classic thatnever gets old, featuring a youngSissy Spacek who dominates themovie with her awesome weirdness.

The best part about watchingthese movies is what I call the deli-cious scare—it’s okay for us to befrightened, because we’re watchingall this weirdness happen from thecomfort of our safe, secure homes.Nothing like this could ever happento us in real life.

Or could it…?Happy Halloween!

A Note From Lauren

TJN

– Lauren de Albuquerque

Volume 4 • Issue 15 OCTOBER 18, 2012 PAGE 5

When the first Spanish and Frenchexplorers landed on the Gulf Coast shoresof Texas and Louisiana, they met a tribe ofcoastal Indians. The Indians’ complexionsvaried from almost white to almost black.Men and women alike went mostly shirt-less, except when cool weather coaxed theminto wearing a mantle-like garment. Themen wore breechcloths, the women a wrap-around skirt. Some wore moccasins, butmost went barefoot, even in cold weather.

They lived off of the land, eating gamethey killed and fish and shellfish from thebays and rivers. Their huts were a frame oftree limbs covered with palmetto, marshgrass, weeds, or anything else that could bewoven into a secure covering. The hutswere light and easy to move about.

The tribe called themselves “Ishak,”which meant “The People.” The Frenchcolonists understood that the Choctawcalled them “Atakapa,” a word in theChoctaw language that meant “man eater.”There are no observations of cannibalismby any of the early settlers among theAtakapa. Possibly, the French misunder-stood the Choctaw, and the word wasmeant for the Krankawas, who lived far-ther down the Texas coast and were docu-

mented cannibals. The tribe eventuallybecame widely known as ”the Atakapas.”

The Atakapas settled along the Gulfcoast from Vermillion Bay on the east tothe Galveston-Trinity Bay area on thewest. As the nation developed into sev-eral bands, there was a dividing lineroughly in the area of Sabine Pass. Thebands to the west called themselvesthe “Sunset People.” Those on theeast considered themselves the“Sunrise People.”

Atakapans were a gentle peoplewho accommodated the newcomersto their lands. This gentlenesswould prove to be their downfall.As the newcomers fromEurope and later theUnited States moved intothe Atakapa territories, theAtakapas simply retreatedfarther from the coast, far-ther into the swamps, far-ther up the rivers. Slowlytheir lands were taken over.In the central portion of theirterritory around what is nowknown as Lake Charles, theirmovement ended. Their final

By Mike Louviere

Top picture: Chief Crying Eagle, Edward Chretien, Jr.—Principal Chief of the Atakapa-Ishak Nation. Bottom picture: Shawn Papllion, Shaman (Medicine Man)of the Atakapa-Ishak Nation; Chief Crying Eagle, Edward Chretien, Jr. Principal Chief;James Freddy, Texas Deputy Chief; Janice Shuff, Secretary, Atakapa-Ishak Nation.


settling around the lake was the shellbank and the western shores.

The newcomers wanted theselands for themselves to establish ariver port and a town and theAtakapas were in the way.

There were not that manyAtakapas left. Many had died in thesmallpox epidemic in the 1800s. Theirbloodlines were diluted by breedingwith blacks and Creoles, and evenwhites who had lived near them andamong them. They began to be treat-ed as a problem to be dealt with ratherthan people to share the area with.

The solution in the late 1800s wasto put the Indians, Creoles, and

Negroes, as they were called then, intotheir own neighborhood. Those incontrol of the future of the townwould create what would be nearlyone square mile of dirt streets, with noamenities for these “problem people.”

Sod scrapers graded out dirtstreets about a block apart through-out the neighborhood. Broad Streetwould be the south border, theSouthern Pacific railroad tracks, thenorth border. Goos Street borderedthe east and Enterprise Boulevard, thewest. An unused railroad line, called a“dummyline” lay in the middle of thearea. Eventually, the neighborhoodbecame known as the “Dummyline.”

Forced to live in this neighbor-hood rather than on the lands thathad been theirs for centuries, theAtakapa lost their lifestyle. By 1924,there were no Atakapa living outsidethe Dummyline. In addition,Louisiana only allowed birth certifi-cates to classify the newborn babies aseither “Negro” (later Black), or“White.” Atakapas also lost theirracial identity. They may have beencalled Indian, Creole, Creole Indian,or “Sauvages,” but never Atakapa.

Streets in the Dummyline weredirt; dusty in dry weather and muddyin wet weather. Of course, the streetsin town were nicely paved.

The water supply was shallow,about 30 foot deep, open wells or cis-terns in each yard to catch rainwater.There was an outhouse in every backyard. Water was not tested. There was alot of bacterial disease. Often childrendied. They began to lose numbers.

The school for Blacks in theDummyline made do with cast-offschoolbooks and secondhand furni-ture from the white schools. TheAtakapa children attended the school,and even though their parents spoketheir native language at home, theywere not allowed to speak the lan-guage at school. They began to losetheir cultural identity.

It is no wonder that people like R.E.Moore wrote in the mid-20th century,“The Atakapans are gone now. Theydied out or were absorbed into othertribes in the middle 1800s. It is ashame we know so little about them.”

Moore was wrong. The Atakapans never went away.

They hung on in spite of everythingthrown at them by society. Customsand traditions were passed down byfamilies. They kept their languagealive so that today, there is a pub-lished dictionary.

Presently, there are about 1,800members of six bands of the Atakapa-Ishak Nation. They are formallyorganized with Tribal Council headedby Edward Chretien, Jr., PrincipalChief of the Nation. In May 2012,Chretien became known as “ChiefCrying Eagle,” the name by whicheach Principal Chief is known. Thetribe is active and operates a website,www.atakapa-ishak.com.

“As Principal Chief, I want to edu-cate people about our tribe,” ChiefCrying Eagle said. “I want to see ouryoung people educated in our cus-toms, traditions, and language. Iwould like to see our young peopletake an active part in tribal affairs.We have always been here; we werejust pushed aside. History is what itis; we need to look past that and workfor our future.”

The goal of the tribe is to gain fed-eral acceptance. That would meanthat they would be a recognized tribeand granted the status of many othertribes. Several of the steps have beenaccomplished, but there is still a longway to go.

“I want our tribe to be recognizedso that our young people can go tocollege and those that need medicalcare can get it,” the chief continued.“We do not want a handout. I havetold people that if they think they aregoing to get a government check, theyare wrong. This is not about money; itis about our tribe being officially rec-ognized. We want our identity back.”

TJN


The

BoilingP l

WCCH AUXILIARY DONATES TO HOSPITAL’S FOUNDATION The West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital Foundation recently received a

donation in the amount of $7,850 from the WCCH Auxiliary. The donation,made possible by proceeds from sales in the Auxiliary’s Gift Shoppe, wasmade to assist the WCCH Foundation achieve its core mission of assistingthe hospital in providing advanced, quality health care to the community.Founded in 1973, the Auxiliary of WCCH is an organization that serves toincrease and broaden the hospital’s service to patients. Over the years, theefforts and monetary donations of the Auxiliary have allowed for the creationof a meditation garden as well as land and equipment purchases for the hos-pital. For more information about the Auxiliary or how to become a member,call 527-4144. Volunteers are required to serve at least 100 hours per year.

SAM HEBERT ELECTED TO NY LIFE CHAIRMAN’S CABINETSam Hebert has been elected a member of the 2012 Chairman’s Cabinet of

New York Life Insurance Company. Members of the elite Chairman’s Cabinetare the top 50 highest producing agents among NewYork Life’s elite sales force of more than 12,000 licensedagents. Sam was ranked 10th out of the 50 agents thisyear. He attended a European conference that coveredadvanced planning and estate tax law changes, as well asother specialized topics. Hebert has been an agent since1996, and is associated with New York Life’s LouisianaGeneral Office in Baton Rouge. Hebert has served onthe Executive Board of Trustees for Family and YouthFoundation and worked with multiple charity organiza-tions in the Lake Charles community including CASAand Bridge Builders, where he mentors children.

EQUIPMENT DONATED TO SLICTara, Lanie and Skylee Warner recently donated gently used equipment

to the Southwest Louisiana Independence Center that will go to individualsin our community who cannot purchase these items. Wheelchairs, bath seats,portable ramps, hoya lifts and adult diapers are needed; both adult and chil-dren’s items are accepted as long as they are in working condition. Medicalsupplies such as leftover medication or orthotics are not accepted. To donate,call Gretta at 477-7194.

L’AUBERGE CASINO LC APPOINTS DIRECTOR OF HOTEL OPERATIONS L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles announces that Michael K.

Pendergast has joined the team as its director ofhotel operations. Pendergast has more than 28 yearsof innovative hospitality experience, recently servingas regional VP of resort operations for Caesar’sEntertainment. Pendergast holds a degree in businessmanagement from Florida State University. As direc-tor of hotel operations, Pendergast will be responsiblefor developing an environment that creates outstand-ing service for L’Auberge guests. Pendergast will man-age day-to-day operations of the hotel includingoversight of front desk services, housekeeping, guestservices and VIP hotel services.

Please submit press releases to [email protected]

From left: Bill Hankins, WCCH CEO, Ira Fontenot, WCCH Foundation president, Sharon Comeaux, WCCH Auxiliary president and

Debby Nabours, WCCH Foundation executive director.

Sam Hebert

Michael K. Pendergast

Skylee, Tara and Lanie Warner


OCS/HUMAN SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD APPOINTMENTSThe OCS/Human Services Advisory Board announces the appointment

of three new board members: Michelle McInnis, Kyleen Simon and EmilyWagner. They will serve a five-year term representing Lake Charles-at-Large.The three new members join a 14-member board which implements, evalu-ates and recommends policies and procedures regarding human service pro-grams administered by the Parish’s Human Services Department. Its primaryfunction is to assist the Police Jury in the development of local strategies,projects and activities aimed at increasing the Parish’s responsiveness to theneeds and interests of the poor and to evaluate all program services adminis-tered by its Human Services Department.

L’AUBERGE TEAM WALKS FOR WELLNESSNearly 200 L’Auberge Casino Resort team members gathered at

Touloulou’s to Walk For Wellness on Oct. 1. Participants walked throughoutthe expansive property and Contraband Bayou Golf Club and were thentreated to chair massages, healthy snacks and treats, plus door prizes. On Oct.2, L’Auberge held a comprehensive health fair for all of its team membersincluding complimentary flu shots, screenings and tips for healthy living plusfitness giveaways and workshops. Walk participants also earned a T-shirt thatallowed them to wear blue jeans to work on Oct. 2 for the annual Health &Wellness Expo.

LCMH VOLUNTEER AUXILIARY DONATES NEW SCOPE The Lake Charles Memorial Hospital Volunteer Auxiliary and

Foundation recently donated a new Olympus® Airway Mobilescope to thehospital’s radiation oncology department. The mobilescope has an LED light,display screen, still image and digital recording capabilities. It will be used toevaluate the extent of lesions in the mouth, nodes and throat. The scope willalso be used to monitor patient progress with radiation treatments. The

LCMH Volunteer Auxiliary has donated more than $1.77 million to the hos-pital and $41,000 to the Aileen and Hazel Dyer Scholarship Fund forMcNeese State University students. The Volunteer Auxiliary is open to any-one age 18 and over of all backgrounds and abilities. For more information,contact Volunteer Services at 494-3213 or www.lcmh.com/volunteer.

CSE HUNTING PACKAGE WINNERSDuring the month of September, CSE Federal Credit Union members

were given the chance to win a hunting package for the fall hunting season.Items included a $100 gift card to Academy, a gun case, duck call, beef jerky,camping toilet paper, hunting shears and much more. One member fromeach CSE FCU location was chosen. Christopher Brown was the Sulphurwinner and René Gibson, the Lake Charles winner. For information on CSEFederal Credit Union, call (800) 625-5747. CSE is federally insured byNCUA. Membership and Eligibility required.

CAC RECEIVES DONATIONThe Mallard Cove Men’s Golf Association and First Federal Bank

proudly presented $12,000 from the 35th Annual Shine Flournoy GolfTournament to Family & Youth’s Children’s Advocacy Center. The tourna-ment is the oldest and largest in the area. Proceeds from the event benefitedFamily & Youth’s Children’s Advocacy Center, a child-friendly facilitydesigned to coordinate services for children who have been reported as sexu-ally or severely physically abused. The Children’s Advocacy Center is a pro-gram of Family & Youth.

WCCH ANNOUNCES NEW ASSISTANT CEO Women & Children’s Hospital recently announced that Assistant

Administrator Tom Sledge has been appointed assistant chief executive offi-

Nearly 200 L’Auberge Casino Resort team members gathered to Walk For Wellness.

From left to right: LCMH Auxiliary members Bridget Barnes and Tessie Boulet, Radiation Oncologist Dr. James Maze, Olympus®

representative Eric Rausch and Radiation Oncology Director Karla David.

From left to right: Troy Higginbotham, Mallard Cove Men’s Golf AssociationTreasurer; Kerry Andersen, Chairman of the Family & Youth Board of Directors;

Leslie Harless, First Federal Bank; Steve Couch, Mallard Cove Men’s GolfAssociation President; and Julio Galan, President and CEO of Family & Youth.

René Gibson Christopher Brown


cer. Originally from Texas, Sledge holds 12 years ofhealthcare experience, including five years as a man-aged care contract coordinator at a Tyler, Texas-basedhealth system and seven years as director of businessdevelopment at Longview Regional Medical Center inTexas. Sledge and his wife, Cheri, have one daughter,Emma.

AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZESSASOL AS FIT-FRIENDLY WORKPLACE

The American Heart Association would like torecognize Sasol North America forachieving Fit-Friendly status.Designed to be a catalyst for posi-tive change in American business,the Fit-Friendly WorkplaceRecognition Program recognizesemployers who champion thehealth of their employees by creat-ing physical activity programswithin the workplace. Companiesmay earn Fit-Friendly recognitionby implementing physical activitypractices such as providing walkingroutes, promoting walking pro-grams, online newsletters, and track-ing tools to motivate employees.

WCH RECEIVES TOBACCO-FREEHEALTH CARE GRANT

Women & Children’s Hospitalis the recipient of the 2012Tobacco-Free Health Care Projectgrant, awarded by the LouisianaDepartment of Health andHospitals Tobacco ControlProgram and its partner, Southwest

Louisiana Area Health Education Center. WCH will receive $150,000 over a30-month period to implement research-based strategies for comprehensivetobacco prevention, control and awareness. The grant is funded through afederal grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CITGO DONATES TO MCNEESECitgo Petroleum Corp. has presented a $35,000 donation to the McNeese

State University Foundation for engineering professorships. Citgo has estab-lished eight endowed engineering professorships at McNeese. TJN

Tom Sledge

Janice Ackley and Nancy Tower

From left: Tomeu Vadell and Dana Keel, Citgo; Dr. Nikos Kiritsis, dean of the McNeese college of engineering; Jennifer Pitre, McNeese,

and McNeese President Dr. Philip Williams. McNeese Photo

Bitty Bud is a Dachshund/Chih-uahua mix and a wonderful littleaddition to any home. This two-yearold fellow weighs about 14 poundsand is quite a character. He is a bitshy at first (probably due to the limit-ed contact he had with his previousowner) but once he warms up, he isthe most loyal little guy you couldever find. He has never been aroundkids, so will likely be happiest with aquiet household. He would make agreat apartment dog and would be awonderful, devoted companion for asingle or for an elderly person. He is alow-maintenance fellow and is look-ing for someone to appreciate hissweet, gentle personality. Extra bonus:

He’s a snuggler at night! Vet checkand home visit required prior toadoption To arrange a meeting withBitty Bud, call (337) 478-7294 oremail [email protected] and hisfoster will respond ASAP. LAPAWdoes pet meet and greets mostSaturdays at PetSmart, so please let usknow if you would like to meet BittyBud so we can make sure that he ison site. Hurry, Bitty Bud is waiting!

TJN

Meet Bitty Bud!


YankeeDangThe

By Mike McHugh

Becoming A‘People Yankee’

I must say that I’ve been makingtremendous progress getting my acttogether. I’m eating all of the rightfoods. I’m exercising. I’ve improvedmy productivity to where I canwatch 37 hours of Beverly Hillbilliesreruns in a single day. I’m reallyproud of myself.

There’s just one more area whereI need to improve, and it’s the hard-est one yet. That’s because it’s some-thing that has been a severe handi-cap for me since birth, due to the

fact that I happen to have been borna Yankee. Of course I’m talkingabout making friends and gettingalong with people.

Sure, I’m better at it now than Iever have been. Nine years inLouisiana will take the rough edgesoff of even the most cantankerousYankee. I know this. Back when Iwas in Yankee Land, I wouldn’t havehad any friends at all if it weren’t forAmway distributors. And now, well,I can also count a few telemarketers

among my circle of acquaintances.But still, I feel that there is so muchmore to learn.

At first, I thought about takingsome Dale Carnegie courses to learnabout how to improve my skills indealing with people. Dale Carnegiewas a Yankee—from Missouri actu-ally, before Missouri decided itwanted to be part of the South andso joined the SEC—who, back in the30’s and 40’s, wrote books andtaught other Yankees how toimprove their interpersonal skills. Ofcourse, he failed miserably at this.He might as well have tried givingsensitivity training to the Nazis. I’mnot surprised if many of you folkshere in Louisiana haven’t heard ofhim. That’s because all of the princi-ples he teaches are ones that you alljust seem to know by instinct.

Take my good friend, CharlieBoudreaux, for instance. (He’s one ofthe few friends who is not, to myknowledge, connected with eitherAmway or telemarketing.) He neverhad to go to a Dale Carnegie courseto learn that one should never criti-cize, condemn, or complain. I havenever heard a single complaint comefrom his mouth, even following a

tough LSU loss to Alabama, a situa-tion which, I believe, Mr. Carnegiestated in his footnotes as being anexception to the rule.

I, on the other hand, have moretrouble with Dale Carnegie’s rulesthan the cast of Jersey Shore wouldhave with the laws of quantumphysics. As an example, he teachesthat you should always strive toremember people’s names and usethem frequently in conversation. Ican’t even remember the name of thehotel desk clerk when he’s standingthere wearing a bright, gold tag thatdeclares him to the world as “Walter.”

It’s funny; I can remember thecomplete lyrics to “The Wreck of theEdmund Fitzgerald,” all 20-odd vers-es, when I haven’t heard the song inyears, since the classic rock station’splaylist seems to be limited toForeigner’s “Double Vision.” (I mightjust buy them an iTunes gift card.)Still, when I first meet somebody, Iforget the name almost the instantafter I hear it. It seems to go intothat same black hole where thereminder from my wife to pick upthe dry cleaning went.

And although just about every-body I know tells me they have thissame problem with names, I stillcan’t bring myself to ask someone torepeat theirs when I’ve forgotten it.That’s because I’m so afraid that justthat one time when I bring up thecourage to ask, it will be to someonewho can recall the name of every-body he’s met since freshman year ofhigh school. He’ll feel so insulted atmy blatant ignorance and disregardthat he’ll set up a lawn chair in frontof my house for a week and just sitthere and hate me.

Another thing that Dale Carnegieteaches is to be a good listener, andto talk to people about things thatthey are interested in, which is fine,unless they are Dallas Cowboys fans.In that case, be prepared for a longevening, where you will hear a com-plete breakdown of every touchdownpass that Tony Romo has thrownsince he was in Pee Wee football.

So now you see what I’m upagainst, and I’m not sure how best todeal with it. I could take a DaleCarnegie course, but then again,would it be better to just save thetuition money and use it to buydrinks for people? That tends towork, at least for a little while.

Or maybe I could just follow theexample of my friend, CharlieBoudreaux. But I still reserve theright to complain when LSU loses.

TJN


GET OUT AND VOTE!In a very few weeks, we will

have the opportunity to select thePresident and Vice-President ofthe United States. There will beother important races and ballotmatters to consider. Voting is aright and privilege that we, asAmericans, have engrained in ourConstitution. It is a right that hasbeen fought for and defended bymany who have made the ultimatesacrifice. Find the candidate thatbest reflects your ideology andcast your vote. If you fail to vote,you are a bystander as the paradepasses by. If you vote, you are inthe parade and acknowledging thepride you have in our Americanway of life. Avail yourself of theballot issues and decide for your-self what matters most to you.

MAKE SURE SPECIAL REALLY IS SPECIAL

We all have our favorite placeswe like to patronize. Many of thesebusinesses have regular specialsand promotions, as well as weeklyor occasional sales to entice cus-tomers to spend a little more fortheir offerings. Everyone loves agreat deal, but a “special” seems toattract the most attention. Iremember one local restaurateurwould tell me how taking out a lit-tle box ad on the bottom of thefront page of our daily newspaperwould cause them to scheduleextra help and order more sup-plies. He said it didn’t matter if itwas a real deal or not—as long asit was promoted as a special.

Some specials have such con-voluted rules that customers windup being gamed if they’re not care-ful. I’m not talking about the gam-bling that’s done at the Isle ofCapri and L’Auberge, but gamingas a way to make the customerjump through hoops to takeadvantage of their offer.

Make sure you understand theterms of a special on the front endso you don’t get disappointed.Learn the rules and make themwork for you. If they are going to“game” you, then turn about is fairplay. So, “game” them by makingsure you get what you deserve.

IN THE NEWS YET AGAINThe town of Welsh again pro-

vided more headlines recentlywith another drive-by shootingand their police department (akaDepartment of Revenue andPublic Safety) causing an accidenton I-10. As much time as thatdepartment spends out there withtheir radar gun, you would thinkthey would know how to mergeand not cause a wreck.

There have been three shootingdeaths this year, along with severalothers injured from the violence.Thankfully, the last shooting didn‘thit anybody. A 19-year-old resi-dent, Colby Perry, has filed to runfor mayor. Maybe some young,fresh blood can transform Welshinto the nice little town that itshould be.

SUPERMARKET ROUNDUP Our shopping survey this issue

is for a favorite hearty family meal:roasted pork loin, baked sweetpotato and a crisp Caesar salad.The prices gathered on Wed., Oct.

By George “Tip” Cline 10 reflect the posted price wherethe product was placed for sale onthe shelf. The stores this time are:Albertsons-Country Club Road,Market Basket-Lake Street,Kroger-McNeese Street andWalmart-Nelson Road.

Pork Loin, fresh, per pound: Albertsons, $3.99; Market Basket, $2.59; Kroger, $3.39; Walmart, $2.68.Sweet Potato, fresh, per pound: Albertsons, $1.29;

Market Basket, $.99; Kroger, $.98; Walmart $.98.Romaine Lettuce, per head: Albertsons, $1.50; Market Basket, $1.79; Kroger, $1.79, Walmart, $1.58.Kraft Classic Caesar Dressing, 16-ounce bottle: Albertsons, $2.49; Market Basket, $1.33 (on sale, three bottles for $4 with $10 purchase, otherwise, three for $5), Kroger, $2.49; Walmart, $1.98. TJN


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24 Hour Call (337) 802-9147(337) 540-0278

Stan’s Airboat & Marsh ExcavatorService began as a company that provid-ed transportation for clients whose jobswere non-accessible by terrain vehicles.We have now grown into a full servicepipeline right of way reclamation andexcavation as well as oil spill recovery,clean-up and disaster recovery service.We are fully insured, ISNETWORLDapproved and have all OSHA andNCCER certifications..

“We can get to most of our commer-cial clients within 1-2 days,” says LizTodd, who owns the company with herhusband Tommy. “Our business is suc-cessful due to our dependable employ-ees. And because our equipment is smallas far as marsh excavation is concerned,we are in a niche business.”

Todd says that they have little down-time because they keep a local partsinventory and their operators are trained

to fix most of the problems that arise.“We also own six Mini Marsh excava-tors, so we can replace one quickly if theneed arises,” she added.

The Todds were already owners ofAnuWorks, Inc. when their good friendwho owned the marsh business wereready to sell. With help from localbankers and advisors, they were able topurchase Stan’s.

“We take a lot of pride in being aLouisiana company and a Lake Areacompany,” Todd said. “Even with thetough economy of the last few years, wehave managed to triple our excavator andAirboat fleets and double our sales, whichwe feel is a testament to our can-do andwill-do attitude that is company-wide.”

Todd says they have been blessed tohave wonderful mentors—the previousowner as well as local business peoplewhom they look up to.

“Building business relationships andbeing able to help younger people intheir personal growth is a huge reward,”Todd said.

Liz Todd

299 Cities Service, Ste B • Sulphur • 626-1011www.businesshealthpartners.com • Twitter: bhpsafety

Facebook: Business Health Partners

Founded in 1996, as anOccupational Medical Facility,Business Health Partners serves over90% of all industry in SouthwestLouisiana. The primary staff includesDr. Bonnie and Dr. Jack Drumwright,MD, Business Manager DavidDrumwright, Clinical Manager BryanHollingsworth, Training ManagerStacy Byrd, Human ResourceManager Misty LeBlanc, and Grantand Training Coordinator ErinDavison; along with two nurse prac-ticioners, administrative and medicaltechnicians.

Business Health Partners offers fullon-site and off-site medical servicesincluding physicals, DOT and USCGrequired screens, workmen’s compen-sation services, injury treatment, Fit

Testing, FAA Physicals, Audiograms,Vaccinations, Laboratory testing,Pulmonary Function Testing,Radiological services, and other occu-pational medical services.

“BHP offers a full range of occu-pational medical and training servic-es. We are a one-stop-shop for allsafety and medical needs for industryand non-industry companies. We cus-tomize to fit your specific companyneeds and offer corporate medicaland safety packages.”

We now offer on-line safetytraining classes and First ResponderTraining. Our mobile-services unitfully serves your on-site needs inSWLA and SETX. We are a DATIAAccredited Collection Facility andwe are an approved training providerfor the Incumbent Worker TrainingProgram/Grant Funds for your safe-ty needs.

MethodistChildren’sHome isLicensedMethodist Children’s Home

of Southwest Louisiana inSulphur is proud to announcethat they are Louisiana’s firstlicensed psychiatric residentialtreatment facility. On Oct. 3,the Department of Health andHospitals surveyors conducteda site visit to study the facili-ties and treatment program.The following day, license“001” was issued by theHealth Standards Section ofDHH. The MethodistChildren’s Home of SouthwestLouisiana is now licensed toprovide the most intensivelevels of residential care inLouisiana for children withthe greatest behavioral andemotional needs.

West Calcasieu is truly the“best kept secret” in SouthwestLouisiana. The cities of Sulphur,Vinton, and Westlake are continu-ously planning events that bringthese communities closer together.

Football season is here!Whether you’re a Sulphur GoldenTor Fan, a Westlake Ram Fan or aVinton Lions Fan………FridayNights is where you can see someof our best football players inaction.

Vinton recently hosted theAnnual Heritage Festival. All threecities are working on upcomingfun and safe activities forHalloween, and preparations arein place for many Christmas fes-tivities, including parades, theTour of Homes, Christmas Underthe Oaks and other events tobrighten the holidays.

October 17 – 21 bringsanother joyous celebration asWest Calcasieu residents, along

with families and friends fromnear and far, celebrate theLouisiana Bi-Centennial Cal-CamFair. From livestock shows, tobeauty pageants, to carnival rides,to “dancing in the streets,” it’s anevent you won’t want to miss.

For additional information onwhat’s happening in WestCalcasieu, contact the WestCalcasieu Association ofCommerce at (337) 313-1121. TJN

TJN


5909 Hwy. 14 EastIowa, LA 70647

Ph: 337-540-0278Fax: 337-478-5078

In 2001, Tommy and Liz Toddbought a hydroseeding businessthat was meant to be a replacementfor AnuWorks, Inc.’s backbreakingwork of building metal structuresand fences.

The metal-building businesswas too profitable to leave for thenext five years, but the hydroseed-ing side continued to grow as well.Tommy Todd personally runs thebusiness, and there’s a good chancethat he will be spraying your job.

“We specialize in erosion controland carry different grades of mulchto take care of the specific needs ofyour job,” said Liz Todd. “No job istoo big or too small for our crew. Wehave serviced the State of La. DOTDwith sprayed-on Erosion Control

Bonded Fiber Matrix as well a vastarray of contractors betweenMississippi and Houston.”

In addition, AnuWorks doesresidential work. “We would also behappy to help you beautify yourlawn whether it be with, nativecommon bermuda, centipede oryour own choice of grass that youmay have researched and wish toexperiment with,” Liz said.

Their services can be used inbut are not limited to the followingapplications:

• Highway beautification and erosion control

• Pipeline Right of Ways • Levee vegetation • Ditch and canal vegetation • Dust control • Embankment vegetation • Construction site vegetation • Lawn beautification

Call us and ask about our freeestimate!

Liz Todd

The West CalcasieuAssociation of Commerce’s63rd annual banquet will beheld soon—and you don’t wantto miss it. Former U.S.Congressman and Louisianagovernor Edwin Edwards willbe the keynote speaker, andtickets are selling fast. Thebanquet is scheduled forThurs., Nov. 8, at the Isle ofCapri Casino and Hotel inWestlake.

The colorful and controver-sial former governor alwaysdraws a big crowd—and thisevent will be no exception.

Along with Edwards’keynote address, the banquetwill also feature a silent auc-tion and the announcement ofthe Citizen of the Year hon-oree. Last year, Dr. George

Hardy Vincent was given thathonor. This year’s winner willbe number 28.

Doors for the banquet willbe open at 6 p.m. Tickets are$60 per person, with sponsor-ship packages available. Thetop three-tier sponsors (Title,Presenting and Gold) will beable to attend a special VIPreception with Edwards beforethe banquet, receive auto-graphed copies of LeoHoneycutt’s biography ofEdwards, and will have thechance to be photographedwith the former governor.

The deadline for purchas-ing tickets and sponsorships isMon., Oct. 22. After Oct. 22,call the WCAC offices at 313-1121 and ask for Ginny Hebertor Dianne Dronet.

A Night withthe Cajun King

TJN


The Jambalaya News is excited to announce ourPerson of the Year contest!

There are some wonderful people in Lake Charles whodo so much for our community, donating their time andtalents to better the lives of others. People who aren’tafraid to take risks and serve as shining examples for thenext generation. With the help of the Chamber Southwestand the WestCal Chamber of Commerce, we have selectedthree people whom we believe exemplify what a “Person ofthe Year” should be.

Now, it’s up to our readers to choose the Person of theYear! Please vote by going to www.thejambalayanews.comand clicking on the banner at the top. That will take you toour voting page. From there, vote for the person of yourchoice. The contest ends Dec. 1. The chosen individualwill be featured in a cover story in our Jan. 12, 2013 issue.

WILLIE KINGConnecting with others—and staying con-

nected to his dreams—has made Willie King ahighly successful entrepreneur. But he is activeas a community leader as well—involved in par-ticular with a number of youth programs.

“From my own experience as a kid and over-coming a lot of things, I learned how important itis to have someone there to offer a helping hand,”he said. King has won numerous awards for com-munity leadership and business success, includ-ing the 2010 Non-Traditional Partner InEducation Award and the State SmallBusinessman of The Year Award.

He’s also served as the small business represen-tative for the Atlanta region Federal Reserve Advisory Board and sits on theboard of directors of the Lake Charles Chamber of Commerce.

He’s served as president of Partners in Manhood and has worked with theForeman-Reynaud YMCA, the Governor’s Office of Women’s Services, theFamily and Youth Counseling Agency, the Children’s Miracle Network and theSt. Patrick’s Hospital advisory board. He’s been chairman of Project RebuildFuture and has headed up the local Boy Scouts organization.

Willie’s experience comes from hands-on success in owning more than 21businesses in his career. He currently owns and operates King’s Transmission,King’s Funeral Home, King’s Flowers & Gifts, and King’s Meter Reading.

His overriding philosophy? “To give back to others,” Willie says, “and helpthem achieve the freedom and sense of accomplishment that small business offers.”


2517 Ryan St.2517 Ryan St.Lake Charles, LA 70601Lake Charles, LA 70601

337-721-2001337-721-2001

2517 Ryan St.Lake Charles, LA 70601

337-721-2001

STEP INTO THE LIMELITESTEP INTO THE LIMELITESTEP INTO THE LIMELITE

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SYLVIA CHAVES STELLYSylvia Chaves Stelly was born and raised in

Brooklyn, New York, by parents of Puerto Ricandescent who spoke only Spanish. She can attest tothe challenges families face when relocating to anew city.

Defying the odds of being a minority and liv-ing in a fairly low socio-economic neighborhood,she graduated college as an RN and eventuallyreceived her master’s degree. She is a clinicalnurse specialist in maternal-child nursing and hasbeen in the nursing profession for 24 years.

Stelly is the executive director and founder ofLa Familia Resource Center, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization she started in 2008 out of apassion to help people of different cultures andnationalities assimilate into the Lake Charles community.

She is happily married to John Stelly, owner of Nissan of Lake Charles, isthe proud mother of four children, and is actively involved in the SWLA com-munity. A member of the Mayor’s Leadership Team for Community Diversitysince 2007, she currently serves as the co-chair. In addition, Stelly is the chair-person for the Yom Hashoah Core Planning Committee, is event coordinatorand founder of the La Familia Festival, and has served on the Arts &Humanities Council, International Club, and the Calcasieu Medical Society.

Stelly serves as a translator for New Life Church International andInternational Missions, is the professional RN liaison for community churchoutreaches, and the coordinator for the Ministry of Helps. Sylvia Chaves Stellyis dedicated to actively serving her community with passion and conviction.

DOUG GEHRIGDoug Gehrig is the owner and operator of

McDonald’s of Southwest Louisiana. A native ofMilwaukee, he graduated from the University ofIllinois with a degree in mechanical engineering.After three years as an engineer, Gehrig moved toCalcasieu Parish in 1975 to join his father’sMcDonald’s organization. After working for hisfather for eight years, he acquired his first restau-rant. Since that time, he has acquired all 11McDonald’s in Calcasieu Parish.

Gehrig’s strong work ethic, belief in his com-munity, and pride for his team drive the opera-tion’s success. McDonald’s of Southwest Louisianaemploys more than 500 people and is continuallyranked one of the area’s most successful privatelyowned businesses. Under Gehrig’s leadership, Calcasieu Parish McDonald’srestaurants lead the region’s same-store sales growth year after year. He is com-mitted to the area’s economic development and many of his stores have beengiven a new, modern look. In addition, two store rebuilds and one remodel areplanned for the next six months.

Few are as steadfast in their commitment to serving the community asDoug Gehrig. This past summer, he coached the local all-star team during theWounded Warriors games in Sulphur. Whether sponsoring the AmputeeSoftball Tournament, the American Red Cross, or McNeese Athletics, Doug isproud to support worthwhile causes. Through McDonald’s each year he coor-dinates a food drive to benefit Abraham’s Tent. This year, he was the recipient

of the Calcasieu Library Foundation’s PatronAppreciation award. According to

Gehrig, initiatives that benefit childrenare priority. Programs he supports

include Big Brothers Big Sisters,Children’s Miracle Network, theChildren’s Museum, CalcasieuSoccer League and many more.

TJN


With fall approaching andfootball season getting into fullswing, garden mums become oneof the popular plants available forhome landscapes. These plants arealso known as chrysanthemums,and some folks in north Louisianaand other parts of the state referto this popular plant as “pinks.”Garden mums fill the gap betweenthe end of the warm-season bed-ding plant period and the truebeginning of the time for cool-season bedding plants.

Mums start appearing at gar-den centers during the latter partof August. They provide cool-sea-son color from Septemberthrough early November mostyears.

When purchasing gardenmums, select top-quality plants

and varieties that will bloomin the early, middle

and later parts of theseason. Flower colorsare abundant with yel-lows, pinks, white,bronzes, lavenders,purples and othersavailable. Two-tonedbicolor flowers have beenrecently introduced.Garden mums perform wellin full to partial sun – six toeight hours of direct sun is ideal.

Be sure to properly prepare alandscape bed by improving aera-tion and internal drainage withadditions of pine bark or someother form of organic matter.Select a site protected from north-ern and windy exposures. Provideabout two feet between plants.Close spacing results in leggy,upright growth. After planting,apply about three pounds of aslow-release fertilizer per 100square feet of bed area. Broadcastthe fertilizer uniformly over theentire bed and lightly water it in.Mulch with a 1-inch layer of pinebark, shredded pine straw or asimilar material.

Because fall typically is dryin Louisiana, be aware that

lack of water on gardenmums delays flower-

ing, slows or stopsgrowth, and

increases sus-

ceptibility topest pressures. Onthe other hand, propermoisture leads to a successfulgarden mum crop. It is alsoimperative to avoid overhead irri-gation and water only the bed areaor around the dripline of eachplant. Do not soak garden mumsat the base of each plant. This willresult in stem rot problems.

You can maintain gardenmums as perennial plants if youfollow these practices:

• Keep soil moist (not wet)through winter.

• Prune lightly several timesbetween late winter and mid-spring next year.

• Continue mulching. • Maintain good insect and dis-

ease management.• Fertilize lightly in spring with

a slow-release fertilizer. Garden mums will bloom

according tonaturaldaylength condi-tions again nextyear, usually in latespring and then again infall.

Petunias, ornamental peppers,marigolds and zinnias are goodcompanion flowers for gardenmums as we go into the fall sea-son. You can add garden mums tocontainers on the patio or in land-scape beds to add color throughOctober and November.

By Allen Owings, LSU AgCenter horticulturist

TJN


3709 Maplewood Drive, Sulphur337-625-3150 office337-625-7164 fax

823 University Drive, Lake Charles337-474-8877 office337-474-1055 fax

OFFICES LOCATED AT:

404 White Oak Dr.

2605 Chiara Dr.

2453 Miller Rd.

2166 W. Gabriel Sq.

226 Pin Oak Dr.

1519 Christie Dr.

119 Breaker Dr.

286 Channelview Dr.

VISIT US AT WWW.COLDWELLBANKER.COM TO VIEW ALL THE SWLA LISTINGS!

Dru Ellender,Broker/Owner274-1320

Kerry Ellender274-9073

Dana Turpin485-0244

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Kathy Gardner499-4955

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Brian Bimle802-5315

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Jason Price302-8447

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Carolyn Guillory912-5374

Rockey Keeley540-2614

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Rose Holland794-0744

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Clara Colvin526-4814

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Lauri Ellender377-9831


337-477-6765921 Manuel Rd.Lake Charles

337-558-7491109 HWY 108Sulphur/Carlyss

Even though it’s fall, mosqui-toes will still be around for a longtime to come in SouthwestLouisiana. They seem to find theirway to every backyard party,bringing their friends along andmaking true pests of themselves.Protecting your guests can be achallenge.

“Everyone remembers theproblems we had during thespring. It was a mild winter withplenty of rain, causing a steepincrease in the number of mos-quitoes, especially for homeslocated near waterways,” saidRobert Soileau, manager of J&JExterminating in Lake Charles.“Whether it’s spring, summer orfall, you can count on mosquitoesbeing a problem. Depending onthe rain we get, we could see anincrease from time to time.”

Thankfully, there are thingsyou can do to make your backyardparty less inviting to these annoy-ing bugs.

A few days before your event,mow the grass and trim shrub-

bery, where mosquitoes like tohide. “Keeping your lawn in shapewill help reduce the number ofmosquitoes,” Soileau said.

Also, walk through your yardand see if you have any places thathold water. It could be a birdbath,gutters, a low spot, a child’s wad-ing pool or just some old forgot-ten tires or buckets. Mosquito lar-vae need to float on top of stillwater in order to grow and hatch.By emptying standing water, youdecrease the number of mosqui-toes that would have called youryard home.

For items in use, like a bird-bath, change the water every fewdays. Store buckets and emptyflowerpots upside down and tosstires to get rid of the water.

On the day of your party, asyou’re setting things up, add someTiki lights and citronella candlesaround the perimeter of the partyarea to help deter mosquitoes. “Thesmoke from an outdoor fire pit canalso help repel mosquitoes, so ifyou have one, use it,” said Soileau.


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Sometimes, though, there aretimes when you don’t want to relyon Tiki torches and candles to dothe trick. That’s when you want tocall a professional.

“We have several methods weuse, depending on the customer’sneeds,” Soileau said. “We can go inand spray their lawn and shrub-bery with a product that will vir-tually eliminate mosquitoes for afew days. This is a great option forthe occasional back yard party.”

But, if you like to entertainoften or are tired of surrenderingyour lawn to mosquitoes, there aremisting systems available. “Onceinstalled, they will automaticallymist the perimeter of your homein the morning and evening, cre-ating a virtual barrier to giveongoing protection,” Soileau said.

“It’s an effective remedy for home-owners who enjoy having peopleover frequently, or if they havesmall children who want to playoutside, or if they live near waterand have to constantly fight mos-quitoes. We’ve had great reviewson our system from our cus-tomers. It works and it finallygives control back to the home-owners.”

Even if your party plans are togrill outside but eat inside, includ-ing mosquito protection on yourparty-planning list reduces thenumber of mosquitoes that enteryour home as people walk in andout.

For details on mosquito pro-tection, call J&J Exterminating inLake Charles at 477-7377 or inDeRidder at 463-4574. TJN


The U.S Department ofHousing and Urban Development

recommends asking the fol-lowing questions beforeyou hire a home inspector:

1. What does yourinspection cover?

The inspector shouldensure that their inspectionand inspection report willmeet all applicable require-ments in your state and willcomply with a well-recog-nized standard of practiceand code of ethics. You

should be able to request andsee a copy of these items ahead of

time and ask any questions. Ifthere are any areas you want tomake sure are inspected, be sureto identify them upfront.

2. How long have you been practicing in the homeinspection profession and how many inspections haveyou completed?

The inspector should be able toprovide their history in the profes-sion, along with a few names asreferrals. Newer inspectors can bevery qualified, and many workwith a partner or have access tomore experienced inspectors toassist them in the inspection.


4410 Nelson Road, Lake Charles, LA(337) 478-1578

Each Office Independently Owned & OperatedLicensed By LA Real Estate Commission

The knowledge and experienceyou expect from Stutes & Lavergne.

Now handling your real estate needs.

Contact us for residential and commercial closings,title review, and correction of title defects.

Russell J. Stutes, Jr. • Nicholas A. Goodling

600 Broad St., Lake Charles • www.stuteslaw.com

3. Are you specifically experi-enced in residential inspection?

Related experience in con-struction or engineering is helpful,but is no substitute for trainingand experience in the unique dis-cipline of home inspection. If theinspection is for a commercialproperty, then this should beasked about as well.

4. Do you offer to do repairs orimprovements based on theinspection?

Some inspector associationsand state regulations allow theinspector to perform repair workon problems uncovered in theinspection. Other associations andregulations strictly forbid this as aconflict of interest.

5. How long will the inspection take?

The average on-site inspectiontime for a single inspector is twoto three hours for a typical single-family house; anything signifi-cantly less may not be enoughtime to perform a thoroughinspection. Additional inspectors

may be brought in for very largeproperties and buildings.

6. How much will it cost? Costs vary dramatically,

depending on the region, size andage of the house, scope of servicesand other factors. A typical rangemight be $300-$500, but considerthe value of the home inspectionin terms of the investment beingmade. Cost does not necessarilyreflect quality. HUD does not reg-ulate home inspection fees.

7. What type of inspectionreport do you provide and howlong will it take to receive thereport?

Ask to see samples anddetermine whether or not youcan understand the inspector’sreporting style and if the timeparameters fulfill your needs.Most inspectors provide their fullreport within 24 hours of theinspection.

8. Will I be able to attend theinspection?

This is a valuable educational

opportunity, and an inspector’srefusal to allow this should raise ared flag. Never pass up this oppor-tunity to see your prospective homethrough the eyes of an expert.

9. Do you maintain member-ship in a professional homeinspector association?

There are many state andnational associations for homeinspectors. Request to see theirmembership ID, and performwhatever due diligence you deemappropriate.

10. Do you participate in con-tinuing education programs tokeep your expertise up todate?

One can never know it all, andthe inspector’s commitment tocontinuing education is a goodmeasure of his or her profession-alism and service to the consumer.This is especially important incases where the home is mucholder or includes unique elementsrequiring additional or updatedtraining. TJN


Keller Williams received the highest numerical score among full service real estate firms for home buyers and home sellers in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM. Study based on 2,994 total evaluations measuring five firms and measures opinions of individuals who bought or sold a home between March 2011 and April 2012.

Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed March-May 2012. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

NEW LOCATION!!! 825 Ryan Street, 2nd Floor, Lake Charles, 70601

Keller Williams Realty® LAKE CHARLES • 337-433-1171 • Each Office Independently Owned & Operated

Dean DavidTeam Leader

526-8662

Kathy VenableBroker

526-9330

Chris KhouryCommercial Director

526-9647

Erin AllenREALTOR®

532-7900

Amy BlanchardREALTOR®

842-7355

Starr BlanchetteREALTOR®

304-4609

Vicki BourgeoisREALTOR®

274-0087

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309-1033

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309-4292

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274-2988

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802-7035

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540-2897

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485-8759

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To learn more about the fastest growing real estate company in North America call or email Dean David at 526-8662 or [email protected].

“Highest Overall Satisfaction For Home Buyers and Home Sellers Among National Full Service Real Estate Firms”


Are you planning on puttingyour home on the market? You

stand a better chance of sellingit faster if you follow some

simple steps to home stag-ing, according to DeniseMiller of AffordableElegance, Lake Charles’

newest home décor store.“Staging your home is very

important,” she said. “You needto show your home in the verybest light. Most of the people whowill be looking at your housedon’t have the vision to seebeyond a messy house with lack-luster decorating. It will pay off inthe long run.”

CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEANFirst, your house must be

spotless. Even if you have tohire a cleaning crew while

your home is on the market,Miller thinks it’s worth it. “Getyour windows professionallycleaned, too,” she added. “Youwant the house in ‘move-in’ con-dition.”

FIX ITTake care of the nagging little

things that you’ve let go, such asdripping faucets, cracked tiles, etc.These will send the wrong mes-sage to potential buyers, who willbe looking at every inch of yourhome.

ELIMINATE CLUTTERThis is one of the biggest hur-

dles to overcome. The “50 percentrule” requires that you eliminatethe clutter in your home by atleast half—which is not easy to do.But it’s a necessity. Clutter makes

homes seem smaller and disor-ganized and is a real turn-off tobuyers.

“Potential buyers need to seespace,” Miller said. “Again, peoplewon’t have the vision to seebeyond your clutter. You mustkeep things simple.”

At this time, a lot of peoplerent a storage space near theirhome to store the excess itemsthat are being temporarilyremoved.

It’s hard when you have chil-dren. You can’t leave their toyslying around, and their bedroomshave to be neat. “Buy some colorfulplastic containers that can quicklystore your children’s toys when thehouse is being shown,” Miller said.Swings sets, etc., can stay up inyour yard, but make sure they’respruced up and don’t look shabby.

By Lauren de Albuquerque


925 Enterprise Blvd., Lake Charles, LA • (337) 377-6616

This is the perfect time to havea yard sale. If you’re planning onmoving, it behooves you to get ridof anything you no longer need.You don’t want to take it with you,correct? Get the whole familyinvolved in the project.

Another huge source of clutteris closets, so now is the time to gothrough them and get rid ofeverything you don’t need. “Ifclothes are jammed into a closet, itwill give the impression that thecloset is too small—and no onewants a small closet!” Miller said.Donate clothing to the charity ofyour choice, consign some choiceitems if you have the time, or sellthem at your yard sale—with theunsold items going to charity.

Along the same lines, removeobjects that your potential buyerswon’t be able to identify with. Forexample, political or religious itemsmay turn off whole groups of buy-ers, because they cannot “imagine”your home as their home. Buying ahome is an emotional decision,and you want potential buyers tomake an emotional connectionwith your home by being able to“see” themselves in it.

Personal photographs shouldbe removed, or kept to a mini-mum. Of course, a sweet familyphoto would be the perfect incen-tive for a young couple just start-ing out. Just don’t overdo it. “Andmake sure it’s in a fabulous frame,”Miller said.

While most people love animalsand have pets, there are plenty ofpeople out there who don’t. Makesure your animals aren’t in the

house during showings, and thatall signs of them are gone. Thatincludes food bowls, dog beds, lit-ter boxes, etc. And your houseshould not have that pet smell.

“Burn fragrant candles and useair freshener plug-ins,” Miller said.“The house has to smell inviting.A bad odor is a complete turn-off.”

STAY NEUTRALIt’s a proven fact that neutral

colors sell. You may love your fab-ulous red walls in the living room,but a lot of homebuyers won’t. “Ifyou use styles or colors theywould never select, you’ve justturned them off,” Miller pointedout. Always remember that poten-tial buyers walking through yourhome want to imagine themselvesas the owners. So, paint over thosewalls, as much as it breaks yourheart. You’ll be happy you did.

PROBLEM AREASEvery area of the home needs

attention when selling your home,but the following stand out:

THE ENTRANCEThe first glimpse inside your

home should give potential buyerspositive feelings, so make yourentryway as light and bright aspossible. (You should leave all thelights in the house on during ashowing, anyway.) It’s a good ideato remove all area rugs. “Theybreak up the expanse of floorspace, making rooms look small-er,” Miller said. You may want tohang a beautiful mirror here thatwill exaggerate its space.

Throw pillows add a colorful accent to neutral furniture.


Dress Up Your Home for the Holidays. The holiday season is right around the corner.Why not take advantage of extraordinary savings from Hunter Douglas to make yourhome even more style perfect, warm and welcoming? Celebrate the season and save$100 or more on an array of window fashion options—now through December 15th.

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KITCHENKitchens sell homes; so never

underestimate the importance ofmaking your kitchen appealing.Don’t go through the expense ofupdating appliances, countertops,etc. “You don’t want to spend a lotof money on that, since everyonehas very specific taste when itcomes to kitchens,” Miller said.You may want to consider resur-facing your cabinets if they areold. In addition, replacing cabinetknobs can be a relatively inexpen-sive “facelift.”

“Remove anything taking upcounter or floor space, except forsome sharp accent pieces,” Millersaid. “And get rid of your magnetart on the refrigerator!” Shelvesand pantries must appear orderlyand spacious. Let potential buyersthink there’s more than adequatestorage.

BATHROOMS First, eliminate any mildew and

mold with a mold-and-mildewremover and a soap scum remover.Glass-cleaning products do a goodjob of cleaning windows and mir-rors. Do not display any personaltoiletry items. Deodorant, mouth-wash, toothbrushes, etc., should beplaced in drawers or cabinets. Pickup all bath mats and rugs, keepsoap dishes clean, and get a newset of high-quality, neutral, fluffytowels and display them—don’tuse them.

BEDROOMSAgain, de-clutter. Just keep the

bare minimum; keeping thingsyou can’t live without safely instorage. “Invest in a nice com-

forter set if you need to,” Millersaid. “Your bed is the focal pointof the bedroom, so it has to snap.A beautiful bed set will enhanceany style of bed furniture.”

ACCENTSStaging your home also means

adding accent pieces. They do nothave to be expensive, but canmake a huge difference in eachroom of your home.

Throw pillows, throws, lamps,mirrors and vases; strategicallyplaced, will brighten up your de-cluttered home and de-emphasizeplain furniture. “And, you’d besurprised at how much new, inex-pensive window treatments canhelp,” Miller said.

The key to selling your home isstaging it appropriately. If youdon’t have an artistic eye and needhelp, you could also use the serv-ices of a consultant to guide youin the right direction. “Whateveryou do, make sure your home isclean, de-cluttered, neutral, andpleasing to the eye,” Miller said.“And make sure you have somerooms that ‘pop!’”

Affordable Elegance is locatedat 925 Enterprise St. in down-town Lake Charles. Hours areMon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. andSat., 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. For moreinformation, call (337) 377-6616.

TJN

The perfectaccent piece.


If you’ve decided to sell yourhome, you may be consideringusing the services of a real estatebroker or agent. But before yousign a listing agreement, theFederal Trade Commission, theagency that works for a competi-tive marketplace, wants you to beinformed about your choices.

REAL ESTATE BROKERS AND AGENTS

Before you hire a real estateprofessional, it’s important toknow the difference between areal estate broker and a real estateagent.

Real estate brokers arelicensed professionals who assistsellers and prospective buyers ofhomes. Real estate agents arelicensed professionals who workunder the supervision of alicensed real estate broker. Inreturn, the broker pays the agent aportion of the commission earnedfrom the sale or purchase of theproperty.

Real estate brokers and agentsearn commissions from the serv-ices they provide. The servicesand the commission due to abroker working with a home

seller are set out in the listingagreement that the broker andseller sign.

Brokers generally list yourhome on the Multiple ListingService (MLS), a clearinghousethat member real estate brokersand agents use to exchange andupdate information on propertylistings, and to connect with otherbrokers or agents working withprospective buyers. To have ahome listed on the MLS, a home

seller usually agrees to offer ashare of the total commission to asecond broker who finds a buyerfor the property.

Real estate brokers offer abroad range of services, includinghelping prepare the property forsale, recommending an askingprice, publicizing the home toprospective buyers, arrangingmeetings and negotiating withprospective buyers, following upon home inspections and othermatters once a sales contract issigned, and arranging for the clos-ing of the transaction.

A broker also may help byreferring the home seller to otherservice providers, like mortgagelenders, title companies, homeinspectors, and real estate attor-neys, which could make the dif-ference between success and fail-ure in closing a sale. That said,remember that you are not lockedinto the service providers theyrecommend.

HIRING A REAL ESTATE BROKER

Finding a broker whom you’recomfortable with may take a littletime. Ask friends, co-workers, andneighbors who have sold housesin the recent past for recommen-dations. You also can see who’sselling property in your area bychecking lawn signs and ads.

Interview several real estatebrokers/agents to learn about theirexperience, track record, style,and market knowledge. Expect abroker to be professional: toreturn phone calls, to be organ-ized, and to communicateclearly.


www.alamoinsectcontrol.comHere are some questions to ask

to help you find the best realestate broker for you:

• How many homes did yousell in the past year? Finding outwhat types of properties, howmany units, and where brokershave sold can help determine howefficiently they’re operating andhow much experience they have.

• What is your commission?Real estate commissions are nego-tiable. They are neither fixed bylaw nor by any local real estateassociations (at 6 percent or anyother level). The rate could be apercentage of the final sale priceof the property, an hourly fee, or aflat fee. The payment could be upfront, or when the property issold.

• How will you market myhome? Ask whether the brokerplans to rely on the MLS alone, oruse it in combination with news-paper ads, open houses, or otherpromotions. Will the home be vis-ible on popular websites?

• Will you help the buyer getfinancing? You also may want todiscuss any seller-financingoptions you could offer to attractbuyers.

• Can you provide a list ofreferences? The broker should beable to give you the names,addresses, and phone numbers ofclients whose homes have recentlysold. Ask each client how longtheir home was on the market,whether they were satisfied withthe broker, and why. Ask if theyhave any tips for you – or lessonslearned to share.

GETTING A WRITTENCONTRACT

Once you’ve selected a broker,you will be asked to sign a listingagreement or contract. Make sure

all the terms are in writing,including any oral promises. Theagreement should include theterms of sale you will offer foryour home (like the asking price),your brokerage arrangements(what the broker will do for youand how much you will pay thebroker), and a start and end dateof the contract. You may want toask about or negotiate a termina-tion clause if you become dissatis-fied with the broker’s servicesbefore the end of the contractterm.

There are two basic kinds oflisting contracts:

• In an exclusive right-to-sellcontract, you agree to pay thebroker a commission no matterwho finds the buyer – even you.This is the kind of agreement usu-ally used for a seller to obtain thefull range of traditional brokerageservices.

• In an exclusive agency con-tract, you agree to pay your bro-ker a fee or commission. Thecommission paid when the prop-erty is sold may be reduced oreliminated if, for example, youfind the buyer, rather than the list-ing broker. This kind of listingagreement can be used to providea limited range of real estate bro-kerage services.

Selling real estate involves a lot ofpaperwork. To be legally enforce-able, documents like listing con-tracts, sales agreements, offers, andcounteroffers must be in writing.Just as important is knowing whatthe writing means. Ask your brokeror lawyer, if you have hired one, toexplain any forms or documentsthat you do not understand. Checkftc.gov/bc/realestate/resources/glos-sary.htm for a glossary of currentreal estate terms. TJN


All offices are independently owned and operated. Licensed by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission

651 Cleveland Street • Lake Charles, La.Breath taking cottage in Garden District. Freshly painted with neutral

colors, refinished original wood floors, oversized front portch and oversized backyard. Also features a large living area with a fireplace and a large open kitchen. This 3/1 home is truly a treat. $124,000.

2321 Miller Avenue • Westlake, La.Country living on 2 acres of lush grass, shady trees and landscaping.Bring the horses. 3 bedrooms,2 baths. Island kitchen overlooks living,

breakfast and dining areas. Sunporch off master bedroom. Split floorplan.Home qualifies for 100% financing. Covered camper parking.

Plus playfort. Owner motivated, bring offers. $179,900.Call Dorothy Conner 540-2772 for appointment.

Tiffany MillerLicensed Realtor

Cell: (337) [email protected]

Betsy GrangerLicensed Realtor


4205 Beau Chene • Lake Charles, La."The Oaks at Heyd Park"

Beautiful 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home. Balcony overlooks greatroom w/entertainment center. Island kitchen has granite

counters & stainless steel appliances. Spacious master suite isdownstairs. Looking for a place for the piano? This home has

study or music room + formal dining and breakfast area.Covered patio overlooks large backyard. This one owner home

is "like new" and ready to move in. $409,900.Call Dorothy Conner 540-2772 for appointment.

Dorothy ConnerLicensed Realtor

Call Dorothy Conner(337) 540-2772

[email protected]

Tammy Ardoin, ABRLicensed Realtor



It has been said the eyes are thewindow to the soul. What you maynot know is that your teeth are areflection of your overall health. Thatis why it is so important to find theright dentist. Robinson DentalGroup’s experienced and friendlydentists are always ready to take careof all your dental needs. When theysay “Call us—we’ll see you today,”they mean it. In most cases, same-day service is available for any dentalneed. Dr. Tim Robinson and his teamview their patients as partners in theircare, rather than passive recipients.

Dr. Robinson possesses a uniqueability to empathize with patientswhile providing superior care. “I amproud to have served patients in ourcommunity for more than 30 years,”he said. “Through continuing educa-tion and state-of-the-art equipment,we are able to offer patients and theirfamilies the highest level of care andthe very latest dental treatments in afriendly and relaxed environment.”

Robinson Dental Group strives tohelp you enjoy excellent dental healthwhile also helping you achieve a smileyou will be proud of. To get you start-

Robinson Dental Group’s qualified and friendly staff looks forward to serving you.


ed on the road to dental health, they offer afree new-patient exam that includes com-plete mouth X-rays (a $201 value). Whetherit’s a routine checkup, a dental emergency orcosmetic improvements, the professionals atRobinson Dental Group are prepared to helpeach patient individually.

CALM YOUR FEARS WITH SEDATION DENTISTRY

Dr. Robinson understands that manypeople fear going to the dentist. He has beenpracticing dental sedation for over 10 years,and is one of the very first in the LakeCharles area to adopt the technique. Hisassociates, Dr. Daniel Domingue and Dr.Jonathon Rusnak, are also certified in seda-tion dentistry. Sedation can provide a num-ber of benefits for people who suffer fromdental anxiety. For many patients, the use ofa sedative during exams and procedures is agreat method for reducing anxiety.

For some, the fear caused by a trip to thedentist is enough to avoid any future visits.Even when faced with warning signs ofpainful gums or sensitive teeth, there aremany who still choose to not seek treatment.Making matters worse, avoiding regular clean-ings can lead to bad dental and gum health,likely compromising your overall wellness.Poor dental health has been linked to heartproblems, respiratory illness, blood sugarimbalances and severe systemic infections.

Innovative techniques like sedation havemade visiting the dentist a more comfortableexperience. “Having your dental work com-pleted can be a safe and positive experience.Sedation can help calm the patient andreduce anxiety and fears,” Dr. Robinsonnoted.

A number of benefits are associated withthe procedure. Some cosmetic and surgicalprocedures can be lengthy, and to avoid rest-lessness during treatment, sedation is aviable option. If a patient chooses sedationdentistry for a longer procedure, they areusually more at ease and are able to relaxthroughout the extent of thetreatment. Sedation can reduce the numberof appointments necessary because morework can be completed during each visit.

“Sedation dentistry is based on the indi-vidual’s needs,” Dr. Robinson said. “In somecases, a mild analgesic, such as nitrous oxide,will remove the edge that many people feelwhen they sit down in the dentist’s chair. Inother cases, severe anxiety can be more com-pletely alleviated through a pill or IV seda-tion that promotes relaxation.”

A dental visit does not have to be astressful experience. Beforechoosing the sedationdentistry method,

Dr. Tim Robinson is the founder ofRobinson Dental Group. He received his Doctorate

of Dental Surgery from the LSU School of Dentistry. Thedesire to see more people have and maintain better oral and dental

health remains the driving force behind Dr. Robinson’s vision. He stays ontop of cutting-edge technology for equipment and procedures through his

membership in the American Dental Association, Louisiana Dental Association, Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation and others.


sufferers of dental anxiety should discuss thevariety of options with a sedation dentist todetermine if they are a good fit and which typeof sedation is right for their needs.

ARE DENTAL IMPLANTS RIGHT FOR ME? If you’ve lost one or more teeth, you know

how embarrassing and troublesome it can be.Thanks to modern technology, RobinsonDental Group can help you regain a strong,healthy bite without the inconvenience ofbridges or dentures—often in as little as one ortwo office visits. Using dental implants that arestrong, beautiful, and completely natural look-ing, your smile and your self-confidence can berestored.

“Dental implants can be a more comfortableand stable option for tooth replacement,” saidDr. Daniel Domingue, a dentist at RobinsonDental Group. “Implants are the closest thingto regaining the natural tooth—providing amore natural feel that not only makes a patientfeel more physically at ease, but also helps themregain confidence in their smile.”

Dental implants are self-supporting and donot rely on other teeth. They can minimizedenture slippage or shifting and allow you tospeak, eat and chew with security and confi-dence. Implants may promote gum health andwill not decay like natural teeth.

A dental implant consists of three pieces—an anchoring root, an abutment and a crown.

During the procedure, the anchoring

root is secured to the jawbone to serve as astrong and stable base for the final crownrestoration. After the root is given time tomerge with the jawbone, the second stagefocuses on removing a protective cover on theanchor. Then, an abutment goes into theanchor and impressions are made so that acrown can be fabricated. In stage three, the newtooth, which is the crown, is fitted as the finalrestoration.

“If you are in good health, have healthygums and adequate bone to support theimplant—you are probably a good candidatefor a dental implant,” Dr. Domingue said.“Your dentist will conduct a thorough dentalexamination to determine if you are a goodcandidate. You will also need to be committedto practicing thorough oral hygiene to keepyour mouth healthy, and schedule regular den-tal appointments.”

COSMETIC DENTISTRY: ‘WINTER WONDER WHITENING’

Robinson Dental Group is offering a“Winter Wonder Whitening” special. As a wayto fix dull smiles in a more affordable andeffective way, the cost of whitening has beenreduced to $99. This includes custom bleachingtrays and whitening gel that provide optimalwhitening results.

They also offer the popular ZOOM! one-hour whitening treatment that combines alight-activated gel with a scientifically formulat-

Dental hygienist Katy Sonnier prepares to clean a patient’s teeth and examine her gums.


ed, pH-balanced hydrogen peroxidethat penetrates the teeth to helpremove deep stains and discoloration.With proper care and an occasionaltouch-up at home, your whiter smilewill sparkle for years.

Dr. Jonathon Rusnak, a dentist aRobinson Dental Group, says yoursmile is a grade of your self-esteem.“It can either boost your self-esteemor it can make you feel inhibited.Many people are uncomfortable smil-ing for pictures and cover theirmouths in public when speaking orlaughing because of their lack of con-fidence. On the contrary, we enjoyseeing personalities brighten afterenhancing or correcting their smile.”

Dr. Rusnak detailed other cosmet-ic dentistry solutions available atRobinson Dental Group:

VeneersVeneers can be a great option if

you’d like to straighten your teeth oreliminate spaces between them, butdo not want to wear braces for a yearor more. Cracked, chipped and dis-colored teeth can also benefit fromultra-thin veneers.

InvisalignRobinson Dental Group uses the

Invisalign revolutionary technologyto change uneven, crooked or crowd-

ed teeth into the smile you’ve alwayswanted. Invisalign gradually shifts theteeth to the desired position using aseries of clear aligners, made of virtu-ally invisible plastic and custommolded for you to ensure a proper fit.Not every person is a candidate forInvisalign, however.

Crowns and BridgesCrowns, also known as caps, are

designed to cover a large area of dam-aged teeth or to create a more beauti-ful smile. Bridges hold custom-madeteeth and have anchors, which attachto neighboring teeth. Full porcelaincrowns and bridges provide the mostbeautiful option, and traditionalporcelain fused to metal is also avail-able where required for addedstrength.

BondingBonding, or composite resin fill-

ings, is the solution for restoringdecayed teeth, making cosmeticimprovements, reshaping, and evenchanging the color of your teeth.During the process, a thin coating ofa plastic material will be applied onthe front surface of the teeth. Then,each tooth will be sculpted, coloredand shaped, revealing a more beauti-ful new look.

Dr. Daniel Domingue practices general dentistry at RobinsonDental Group, with an emphasis in surgical placement and restora-tion of dental implants. He received his bachelor’s degree from LSU

and his Doctorate in Dental Surgery from the LSU School ofDentistry in New Orleans. Before joining Robinson Dental Group, he

spent three years in advanced training at Brookdale Hospital inNew York City. It was there where he served as Chief Resident of the

Dental and Oral Surgery Department, with one year in advancedgeneral dentistry and two years in implant surgery.


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More Cosmetic TreatmentsAlternative cosmetic treatments

include tooth-colored fillings, repair-ing chipped teeth, replacing missingteeth, fixing discolorations, gum con-touring and filling tooth gaps. Thesmile you envision can be a reality.

A SPECIAL OFFER FOR NEW PATIENTS

Robinson Dental Group under-stands that choosing a dentist is a bigdecision. That’s why your first exam ison them. Their team wants you tohave an opportunity to visit theirdental office, get to know them andexperience for yourself why so manysatisfied patients keep coming back.

New patients receive a compre-hensive dental examination with fullmouth X-rays, a personal consulta-tion with a dentist and an oral cancerexamination—a $201 value at no costto new patients. In a rush? RobinsonDental Group says, “Call us—we’ll seeyou today!”

For the best dental health, remem-ber to schedule cleanings and check-ups for yourself and your family everysix months. If you experience anydental pain, redness or bleeding gumsin between your regularly scheduledvisits, please call to schedule anappointment.

It is important to note the linkbetween oral health and overall

human wellness. Because certain dis-eases may appear in the mouth first, adentist can often diagnose more thanjust a cavity. Dentists are trained tolook for many systemic diseases sim-ply though your regular oral exam.For example, dental X-rays showmore than just cavities; they can alsopoint to early signs of osteoporosis.Studies have shown the link betweengum disease and coronary artery dis-ease, stroke, heart disease, bacterialpneumonia, and pre-term births.

Brushing and flossing severaltimes a day will help remove bacteriafrom the mouth that otherwise couldpotentially travel through your bodyand cause problems elsewhere.Visiting the dentist regularly for pro-fessional cleaning and checkups helpsprevent any problems and can helpdetect possible problems in their earlystages.

NO DENTAL INSURANCE?ROBINSON DENTAL HEALTH CLUBCAN HELP

Robinson Dental Group workswith most private insurers, and willbill directly to your insurance compa-ny for your convenience. For those ofyou without insurance who are com-mitted to maintaining their dental fit-ness, Robinson Dental Group hassomething new to offer: high-quality,affordable care for those without

Dr. Jonathon Rusnak is a Lake Charles native and a graduate ofBarbe High School. He received his bachelor’s degree from LSU andhis Doctorate in Dental Surgery from the LSU School of Dentistry inNew Orleans. He completed a residency in Advanced Education inGeneral Dentistry in the areas of Prosthodontics and Oral Surgery

and advanced coursework in Endodontics at the University ofAlabama at Birmingham VA Hospital. Currently he is undergoing

implant training and will complete the course early next year.


insurance who are on a budget. Theprogram includes multiple exams,teeth cleanings and member dis-counts on most services for a lowyearly membership fee. ContactRobinson Dental Group for moredetails, and one of their friendly den-tal consultants will guide you throughthe entire process from start to finish.

For those of you with insurance,the end of the year is coming closer. Ifyou and your family still have treat-ment to be completed, there may beunused dental insurance benefitsavailable to you. If you want to maxi-mize your benefits, please call todayto schedule an appointment.Appointment times are booked quick-ly, so don’t wait until the last minuteto schedule any needed treatment.

Robinson Dental Group will makeit their first priority to improve yoursmile, which will boost your confi-dence and enrich your personal andprofessional life. From simply bright-ening your teeth to complete smilemakeovers, they are ready to provideyou with the aesthetic techniques

necessary to give you the smile you’vealways dreamed of.

Business hours are Mondaythrough Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.Robinson Dental Group is availableafter hours for dental emergencies.Call (337) 474-3636 today toenhance your smile and improveyour overall health. Visit them on theweb at www.robinsondentalgroup.netor like them on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/robinsonden-tistry for exclusive offers and specialdiscounts.

Lacie Corbello, financial coordinator, discusses insurance coverageand payment options with a patient in a private consultation.

TJN

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


Taken 2 (Fox)

Poor Liam Neeson. He’s beinghounded again by the bad guys. Thistime to make a sequel to the very suc-cessful Taken, in which he playedBryan Mills, a CIA agent whosedaughter was kidnapped byAlbanians for a prostitution ring.

I didn’t see that first movie, butapparently Liam/Bryan killed a lot ofpeople. Because at the beginning ofTaken 2, the Albanian families areburying their dead and vowing to tor-ture poor Bryan to death in revenge.

It doesn’t matter that Bryan is nowretired; he’s still an anal- retentivemercenary, even as a father. Hisdivorced wife is having trouble withtheir daughter Kim, who has a

boyfriend. Kim misses her appoint-ment with Bryan for her drivingexam and like any concerned fatherwith connections to the CIA, he findsout where the boyfriend lives.

Now remember, Kim was abduct-ed in the last movie. I would expectshe has a pretty scary view of herfather by now, because she hasn’t toldhim a thing about the boyfriend. (Butlater she says, “I like this one Dad,please don’t kill him.”) Naturally, she’supset when Dad shows up and bringsher home to Mom.

To make it up to them, he inviteshis ex and daughter to Istanbul. OK.Let’s stop right here. Do things sounda little unbelievable by now? Yourestranged husband is a retired assassin.The last time you were overseas withyour Dad, he killed a dozen people toget you out alive. Hmmmm, Istanbul,go or stay? All I will say is that Kimand Mom get involved in the plot.

You can write the rest of the movieyourself. But this won’t stop LiamNeeson fans from flocking to the cin-

By Dan Ellender

Director of the Children's Museum

ema. In fact, the theater was packedwith women, mind you, there to seethis gripping follow-up. Never mindthat one guy gets stabbed in the legwith scissors during a torture scene.Maybe everyone at the movie secretlywishes their Dad was Liam Neeson.In any case, Istanbul is beautiful andexotic, and for some reason, Bryanbrings his whole weapon arsenal in asuitcase with him. (“Hi guys, lets goout on the town. I’ve got my Kevlarvest on under my shirt.”)

Taken 2 takes action to such aridiculous point that it gets funny. Atone point, Bryan and an assassin aresparring when he stops and takes offhis leather jacket. Like he’s saying,“OK, I just tried to kill you, but let’sreally fight now.” What follows isBruce Lee-style combat. I mean, whatdo you think is going to happen inthis movie?

All I can say, is the Istanbul policedepartment must have a huge budget

judging from the number of policecars that get destroyed when Bryandecides to ride around in a hijackedtaxi. Just remember, the AmericanEmbassy is the only safe place inIstanbul, but they will try to shootyou if you try to come in.

There’s a whole lot of cell phoneusage in this movie, which is sup-posed to be a hi-tech advertising tie-in, I suppose, but it gets a little old.Whoever makes the batteries forthese phones would get rich if theysold them in the U.S.

I saw one adolescent in the the-atre, but don’t bring the kids to thisPG-13 movie. Not unless you plan ongetting them a concealed weapon per-mit any time soon. That being said,audiences will probably love Taken 2.The filming is good, the acting andcasting are perfect. I can’t wait to seewho gets taken in Taken 3. Probablythe boyfriend. Have fun! TJN


Sports Report

By Brandon Shoumaker

Halloween is my favorite holi-day, bar none.

I suppose it appeals to my mor-bid side, what with all of theghouls and goblins and buckets ofblood. I read a lot of Stephen Kinggrowing up—and still do.

And I suppose, if I could, I’dturn my own home into one ofthose haunted houses they’re

always advertising where you haveto sign a waiver to get in, acknowl-edging that a guy dressed up asLeatherface might put a clammyhand on the back of your neck.

One of my favorite things to dois hand out Halloween candy withmy family to trick-or-treaters,enjoying all of the costumes andsugar-fueled excitement.

And I can’t get enough of those“true” ghost story TV shows like “AHaunting” and “Celebrity GhostStories” or non-stop marathons of

the original “Twilight Zone” series,either.

The best thing about horror, tome, is the release of tension at theend. There’s a relief at the end of ahorror movie that the killer is deadand life can move on. You canbreathe a little easier. The bloodpressure lowers and the heart ratedrops from a gallop to a trot.

This is how I feel about the2012 LSU football season. It’s allover. No more worrying aboutwinning every game, hoping forthat national championship shot.The killer is dead.

After the Tigers’ embarrassing14-6 road loss to Florida, thefuture second-place team in theSEC East, any hopes LSU fans hadof a national championship teamwere pierced like a teenager atCrystal Lake.

Team of the decade, some said.That’s not what I’ve seen.

I swear, watching an LSU foot-ball game sometimes is like watch-ing an episode of “Bones.”Everything’s going along just fine,you’re just minding your own busi-ness watching the show, when allof a sudden the dead body liquefies Sports Report

One Last Scare?


• Billy Navarre Chevrolet Cadillac Honda & Hyundai

• Center for Orthopaedics• CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital• Entergy• Firestone Polymers, LLC • Iberia Bank• Jeff Davis Bank & Trust Co.• LʼAuberge Casino Resort• Lake Charles Toyota• Manning Dental Associates• Resource Management• Sasol North America• Stulb & Associates, APAC• The Pathology Laboratory• Turner Industries • 121 Artisan Bistro• A Piece of Cake• Big Easy Foods• Buffalo Wild Wings• Casa Manana

• Coushatta Casino Resort• Desserts at LʼAuberge Casino

Resort• Harlequin Steaks and Seafood• Huddle Up Sports Bar & Grill• Jagʼs Bistro• La Truffe Sauvage• Lake Charles Coca Cola• Lake City Beverage• OʼCharleyʼs• Otis & Henryʼs• Patʼs of Henderson• Proniaʼs Deli & Bakery• Pujo Street Café• Reeves Uptown Catering• Siam Restaurant• Steamboat Billʼs• Stellar Beans• SweetChic Bakery Boutique• Sweets & Treats• The Boarding House Catering

• Thibʼs Cajun Salsa• Treasures of Marilynʼs• Wing Stop• Zeus Café • Cintas• Daisy A Day• Isle of Capri Casino• Knight Media, Inc.• Kohlʼs Cares• KPLC 7 News• Lake Charles Presort• McNeese Womenʼs Basketball• OʼCarroll Group• Paradise Florist• Pioneer Club• Signs Now• SW Bar Needs• The Childrenʼs Museum

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• The American Press• The Jambalaya News• The Townsley Law Firm

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Imagination Celebration an event to remember!

Without their help, along with the support of the businessesand people who contributed to the auction, Imagination

Celebration would not be possible!

Celebrating SponsorThe Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana

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into a tide of gelatinous goo so dis-gusting you have to close your eyesand turn away until it’s over.

LSU’s “passing game” is an evenbigger horror show.

That was the one aspect of theTigers’ squad that was supposed tohave improved greatly since lastseason’s debacle with JordanJefferson in charge.

But, the Tigers have had somany offensive linemen cut downon the field it’s felt like a badFriday the 13th sequel. And it’s leftZach Mettenberger, LSU’s savinggrace at quarterback, running forhis life.

At this point, all any defensehas to do (and what Florida basi-cally did to great effect) is put 11guys in the box and dare LSU topass. Even then, the Tigers’receivers can’t hang on to the onesMettenberger puts in their reach.

The Tigers’ defense, which wassupposed to be better than lastyear’s dominant force, is paying theprice for the offense’s lack of any-thing resembling forward momen-tum. The defense simply cannotsurvive constantly being left onfield. Even a talented a group ofathletes such as the ones LSUemploys on defense get tired ifthey’re constantly being asked topick up the offense’s slack.

Right now, all of the signs (writ-ten in what looks like bloody fin-gerprints) point to an unsatisfyingbid to the It’s The Only Thing OnBowl to be played sometimearound the New Year.

But I could be wrong. Strangerthings have happened. In horrormovies, there’s usually always atwist ending where the killer, whoyou assumed was dead (I meanhow could he not be, they shot himlike ten times) jumps up for onelast shocking scare.

Don’t believe me? Think back to 2007. The top-

ranked Tigers were sitting prettyuntil their annual Thanksgivingweekend game against Arkansas,when LSU let Razorbacks’ runningback Darren McFadden go all“Wild Hog” for 206 yards and thenlosing in triple overtime.

They looked as dead as FreddyKruger in the race for the nationalchampionship.

And there they lay, on the turfat Tiger Stadium in a pool of theirown blood. Playing dead. Becausethey had one last surprise for the Sports Report

college football world.First, the Missouri Tigers, now

members of the SoutheasternConference alongside LSU, lost tothe Oklahoma Sooners in the Big12 Conference championship game.Then came the cold hand on theback of college football fans’ necks,as 4-7 Pittsburgh upset the second-ranked West Virginia Mountaineerson the road 13-9 to throw the BCSsystem into total chaos.

Ohio State would make thenational championship game solely

on the fact that the Buckeyes hadonly lost one game.

Who would be the second teamselected? That’s when LSU jumpedup with the knife, and in beatingOhio State, provided the biggestshock of the season.

The killer looks pretty dead,lying there on the ground, but canit happen again this year?

Will LSU rise from the dead forone last scare?

Stay tuned.

BrandonShoumaker is agraduate ofMcNeese StateUniversity andhas coveredsports for morethan a decadefor various pub-lications.Coaches or par-ents with storytips or comments may contact Brandon [email protected] or send him amessage on Twitter (@bshoumaker).

Brandon Shoumaker

Sports ReportTJN


Three recent novels all have mainfemale characters who seek spiritualpeace and harmony by living amonastic life.

The Crown marks author NancyBilyeau’s debut. The historical novelis set in London in the 1500s, duringthe reign of King Henry VIII. It is atime of upheaval, with the king clos-ing monasteries, abbeys, and prioriesand with spies, finger-pointers, andtorturers in abundance.

Joanna Stafford is a daughter ofprivilege with ties to the throne, asher grandmother and King Henry’s

grandmother were sisters.She is also a youngDominican nun atDartford Priory.

She disobeys the rulesof the cloistered priory byleaving without permissionto attend the execution-by-fire of her cousin and “onlyfriend,” Lady MargaretBulmer.

After a bizarre incident,Joanna is arrested for treason andsent to The Tower. The bishop agreesto release her, on the condition that

By Mary Louise Ruehr

Nuns: Women Livinga Monastic Life

she find for him an ancient artifact,believed to be hidden in the priory:the Athelstan crown.

According to legend, the crownmay have had something to do withHenry VIII’s first wife, and it is saidto hold a kind of magic. The bishoptells her “It is both blessing andcurse. It has a power … that hasnever been unleashed, for if it were, itwould change the lives of every man,woman, and child living in England— and beyond.”

Does the bishop truly want thecrown in order to save the abbeys, ashe claims, or does he want it to makehimself more powerful?

Says Joanna, “We faced opposingforces of tremendous ruthlessness. Somany lives had been destroyed by theking’s quest for absolute power: overhis wives, over his people, both nobleand common, and now over thechurch. My uncle the Duke ofBuckingham, my cousin Margaret —both had met terrible ends. Now myfather rotted in the Tower of London.The king’s saintly wife of two decades,Katherine of Aragon, died abandoned;God only knew what fate awaited therecalcitrant Princess Mary. The paradeof martyrs to Henry the Eighthstretched very long.”

This is fun reading, with charac-ters to love and hate and a story thatfeatures adventure, secrets, mysteri-ous clues and murder. There’s even awonderful three-page bibliographyfor history buffs.

The Novice: A Story of True Loveby Thich Nhat Hanh is the retellingof an ancient Vietnamese legendabout a woman who risks everythingfor her faith.

Kinh Tam, 24, has just “taken themonastic vows of a novice” monkand is accused of having an affairwith a young woman. The thing is,Kinh Tam is not a man.

The temples allow only men tobecome monks, so, “Because she sostrongly wished to live the monasticlife, Kinh has disguised herself as ayoung man in order to be ordained.”

When the young woman whothinks Kinh is a handsome youngman finds herself in the family way,she points to Kinh as the baby’s fatherso that “he” will be forced to marryher. Unfortunately, this foolish actcauses Kinh a great deal of trouble.

No one believes Kinh, who claimsto be innocent, and the monk isbadly beaten. Kinh could put an endto the matter by confessing that shewas female. “Kinh Tam knew thatrevealing the truth would stop thephysical abuse and correct the injus-tice, but also that the truth wouldbring an immediate end to thenovice’s monastic life in the temple.The happiness of living that life wasso enormous that Kinh Tam justcould not part with it. Better toendure extreme pain and publicscorn in order to retain the delight ofliving as a monastic.”

Besides the obvious moral about


the absurdity of excluding womenfrom any of life’s opportunities, thesimple, moving story carries the les-son that we should have compassionand love, even for those who perse-cute us.

In addition, Sister Chan Khong, aBuddhist nun, adds her insights on thelegend, discusses the Vietnam War,and talks about the author’s work.

Finally, Thich Nhat Hanh writesabout being exiled and discusses les-sons for Buddhists and people of allfaiths. He is a Vietnamese BuddhistZen Master, poet, scholar, and peaceand human rights activist and is alsothe author of the extraordinaryLiving Buddha, Living Christ.

This is an inspirational book Iwill probably read again and again. Itwould also make a lovely gift.

Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop isa book of worthy literary qualityabout life and death, love and war.Sister Bernard, 30, lives in a conventin France during the German occupa-tion of World War II. The nun claimsto hear the voice of God, but she haslittle experience of men. When ahandsome young German soldierflirts with her, she’s flattered. The twofall into an odd, seemingly passionlessaffair that must be kept hidden. Shedoes a bad thing, but doesn’t realizeshe has done anything wrong.

In alternating chapters, we aretaken to the present: Sister Bernard isnow over 90, and she and the onlytwo other nuns remaining in the con-vent are being relocated to the dioce-san rest home for the elderly. Shereflects on her past, and the readerfinds out what really happenedbecause of the German soldier.

At the Armistice service manyyears after World War II, “The warwas nearly forgotten. Only the cere-monies remained, faint and unreal,and occasional stirrings of emotion,bubbling briefly to the surface of con-taminated lives.” Yeah, it’s no musicalcomedy. But it made me think.

Here’s a line I really liked:“Corrine’s casual exposition of theunmargined immensity of the worldmade her tremble.” I don’t want togive too much away. It isn’t that it’sfull of plot, but that the plot elementsare starting points for contemplationand consideration: What is permissi-ble? What is unforgivable? Which ofthese characters are good people?Where is God in all of this? It’s abook that offers little comfort, butmuch betrayal — of love, of friend-ship, of faith. Adult situations.

Copyright © 2012 by MaryLouise Ruehr. TJN

Autism Society SWLA ChapterIn the 1970s, Geri Christ

Landry started the first AutismSociety SWLA Chapter. The501(C)(3) organization providessupport, services and opportuni-ties to persons with autism andtheir families in Calcasieu,Cameron, Beauregard, Jeff Davis,Allen and Vernon parishes.

Support meetings are heldSeptember through May. In addi-tion, they have an extensive lendinglibrary with the latest books andDVD’s available for individuals tocheck out at their leisure. Thechapter also provides advocacy forthe student & parents in schools.

The chapter strives to giveindividuals with autism &their families the opportunityto enjoy many events in thecommunity. Yearly eventsinclude a fall picnic,Christmas party,Children’s Museumvisits, SPAR waterpark event and theannual summer

camp “Camp Hopen.” They havepartnered with Cinemark theaterin Lake Charles to provide“Brighter, Quieter” movie screen-ings on a quarterly basis.

Local membership is free.Contact them at 855-2068 or email:[email protected]. Youcan also find them on at face-book.com/AutismSocietySWLouisianaChapter, and at www.Autism-Society.org/Chapter167. TJN

Figuring Out FlaresThey can light up a night sky. Flares at local industry have

caused many out-of-town visitors,and locals, for that matter, to won-der what is happening.

Flares are actually a safetymechanism, according to JoeAndrepont, community affairs rep-resentative with a local industry. “Itlooks like something is burning, soit’s understandable that it causesconcern. But, the purpose of theflare is to minimize air pollutionand prevent industrial accidents.”

Within the processes at somelocal industries, excess fuel gas isproduced or it is impractical tocontinue storing a product. Flaring,or a controlled safe combustion, isthe best solution in those cases.

“Rather than venting potentiallydamaging hydrocarbons into theatmosphere, flares eliminate excesspressure and process gas by burn-ing it off,” Andrepont explained.

Another cause for concern isthe noise associated with flaring.Andrepont says it’s due to the

introduction of steam within theflaring process. “Steam is used as acoolant to promote a clean burningflame. When the steam is intro-duced, it creates a hissing or rum-bling noise. The steam cools thesystem and reduces smoke.”

Because of the light from theflare and the noise, residents maynot look too favorably at indus-tries while they flare. “I’ve gottenmany phone calls and commentsfrom people while we’re flaring,”Andrepont said. “But once I give abrief explanation of what’s hap-pening and why we’re doing it,they usually understand. We knowit’s a nuisance, and it actually coststhe company money to flare. Wedon’t want to do it, but it’s thesafest way to handle the product attimes. We try to minimize it asmuch as possible.”

For more information on flar-ing, or to submit a question aboutan industrial process, visitwww.laia.com. TJN


My mother’s dear friend,Marjorie, married a man namedJohn Buck whose home inWethersfield, Connecticut has beenin his family since the 18th century.This colonial-era house holds atreasure trove of historical arti-facts—along with the ghost of awoman who has been living withthe family for a few hundred years.

The ghostly lady is ElizabethSaltonstall Deane, a Buck familyancestor. No one knows preciselywhen the apparitions began toappear, but meeting Elizabeth hasbeen a rite of passage for genera-tions of Bucks.

Elizabeth was the granddaughterof an early Connecticut governor,the daughter of a RevolutionaryWar general, and the second wife ofSilas Deane, whom she married in1769. Deane’s accomplishments aremany. He was a delegate to the Firstand Second ContinentalCongresses; assisted in the birth ofthe United States Navy; and was thefirst accredited American diplomat.

Elizabeth, a widow when shemarried Deane, was a prominent

woman of her day. She dined withGeorge Washington and sipped teawith John Adams. But, while herhusband was in France on a diplo-matic mission, Elizabeth died sud-denly.

Because the ghost is only seenby men, the story is that Elizabethis searching for her husband. Shehas appeared to almost every maleBuck descendant—usually whenthey are around 17 or 18—andoccasionally, to young male guests.Sometimes, she manifests as a realflesh-and-blood woman dressed inthe garb of her day; on other occa-sions, she appears as a headlesswhite figure glowing with anunearthly light.

HAUNTED WEEKENDWhen I was around 11 years

old, the Bucks invited my parentsand me to spend the weekend withthem in their haunted house. I wasthrilled, to say the least. Already abudding reporter, not to mention ahistory buff, I brought my PolaroidSwinger (if you’re too young toremember what that was, it was one

of the first Polaroid cameras) and anotebook to document the eventsof the weekend.

I remember that the house wasfascinating: There were fireplacesin every room, including thekitchen, which also had a bigwooden butter churn on thehearth. There actually was a chairthat George Washington sat in.Of course, I had to sit in it, too.

For some strange reason,Elizabeth’s headstone was onthe hearth of the fireplace inone of the rooms. No, shewasn’t buried there, and allthese years later, I don’trecall why the stone was inthe home. Elizabeth’s por-trait was over the fire-place. It depicts a pleas-ant-looking woman withfair skin and brown hair,wearing a rich brocadegown with a choker ofpearls around her neck.

THE VISITATIONSI couldn’t wait to

hear the ghost stories.

The ghostlylady is Elizabeth

SaltonstallDeane, a Buck

family ancestor. No one knows

precisely when theapparitions began to

appear, but meetingElizabeth has been a

rite of passage for generations of Bucks.

By Lauren de Albuquerque


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Come to Spirit for discount coupons and

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and The Lost Hollows in Lake Charles.

John Buck was a big, no-non-sense Yankee—a man who doesn’tlook like he’d be given to flights offancy. He told me that Elizabethshowed up in his bedroom onemorning when he was 17.

“I was just waking up,” he said.“I suddenly realized that there wassomeone else in the room.” Therewas a woman sitting on the edge ofhis bed, staring at him. She wasdressed in an old-fashioned whitegown, but did not look like a spirit.“She looked so much like a realperson that I didn’t think she was aghost,” he said. “I actually said, ‘DoI know you? Then she stood upand just disappeared.” That’s whenhe realized who she really was.

Buck said his father metElizabeth under similar circum-stances. When he was a teenager,the elder Buck was awakened in themiddle of the night by a strongsense that someone was in hisroom. He opened his eyes to aglowing female form standing overhis bed—a form that gradually dis-solved into thin air.

John Buck’s two sons also sawElizabeth in much the same way.But they were a little embarrassedabout the family ghost and nevermentioned it to their friends.Perhaps they should have.

The family remembers the timetheir son Doug brought his collegeroommate home for the weekend.The boys bunked in Doug’s roomthat night. Doug’s friend Steve saidhe awoke in the middle of the nightand saw an incredibly bright lightshining under the door. Curious, heopened it, to see a glowing headlessfemale form in front of him.

Needless to say, Steve’s screamswoke the whole house up as thewraith of Elizabeth faded into thenight. Steve sat up with the lightson for the rest of the night, and assoon as the sun came up, that boywas GONE.

Marjorie Buck’s father lived withher and her husband. An elderlyman, he never met Elizabeth, prob-ably because he was a little long inthe tooth for her. But he told methat often, when he was alone inthe house, he would hear the muf-fled sound of a woman’s voice—andcould never figure out where it wascoming from.

Then there was the picturetaken at a Buck family gathering infront of the house in the 1930s.When the picture was developed,

there was one extra person in thephoto—a shadowy woman.

THE WITCHING HOURBy this time I was beside

myself—and rather upset because Iknew that as a female, I wouldnever get to see Elizabeth. But I hada plan. I would share a room withmy mother, and my father wouldsleep alone in the room designatedfor me. Maybe she would pay him avisit!

Daddy readily agreed, becausehe don’t believe in no ghosts. I gavehim the camera and reminded himto take a picture if she happened toshow up.

That night my mother and Itossed and turned in the big four-poster bed. We were too nervous tosleep after all those stories. Iremember that it was a hot summernight and my mother had the quiltover her head because she “didn’twant to see anything.”

The next morning, we all gath-ered for breakfast at the old oakentable in the kitchen that was proba-bly as old as Elizabeth herself.Daddy proudly reported that hehad a great night’s sleep and didn’tsee a thing. “Nothing?” I wailed.“Did you hear anything? Did any-thing strange happen? He assuredme that nothing did. Then he back-tracked, and admitted that the doorof the bedroom opened by itselfafter he had gone to bed. “But itwas probably just the wind.”

I was indignant. It was a hotnight and there was no wind. Iasked him what time the dooropened, and he said it was aroundmidnight. Midnight! The WitchingHour! It had to be her. Daddyinsisted it wasn’t. “If she’s a ghost,she doesn’t have to open doors,” heargued. “She could have just comethrough the wall.”

In my 11-year-old heart, I feltthat it was Elizabeth who openedthe door that night, although I wasdisappointed that she didn’t showherself. No matter. It was a fascinat-ing weekend that I will never forget.

That was four decades ago.Marjorie and John Buck havepassed on. The portrait ofElizabeth, along with that of herhusband Silas, now hangs in theWebb Deane Stevens Museum inWethersfield. And as far as I know,the Buck home remains in the fam-ily, where no doubt Elizabeth stillcomes to call. TJN


USS ORLECK BECOMES THE BLUDD VESSEL! The USS Orleck becomes the Bludd Vessel for Halloween!

Prepare yourself for suspense, chills and frights for 15-18 haunt-ed minutes if you come out alive! Open every Fri., Sat., and Sun.in October, as well as Tues., Oct. 30 and Wed., Oct. 31. Gatesopen at 6 p.m.; ship hatches open at 7 p.m. Ticket sales closeat 11 p.m. Admission is $10 general, $25 fast pass.(Discounts for groups of 15 or more; reservations requiredfor groups.) No open-toed shoes allowed aboard thevessel; minimum age 10 years. Located at 604 N.Enterprise Blvd., Lake Charles. For more information,call 214-7447 or email [email protected].

THE LOST HOLLOWSCome on out to the Lake Area’s newest haunted

attraction! You can purchase your tickets at SpiritHalloween on Derek Drive anytime during the month ofOctober. Your receipt for the ticket purchase will beexchanged for a wristband for entry on the night youchoose to visit The Lost Hollows. Your trip begins in theparking lot of Spirit Halloween—next to Academy at3413 Derek Drive—where you will board the conveyanceto the trails. When you arrive at the reception area at theHollows, you decide which of the trails you will enjoy —The Spooky Timbers for the young and the faint of heartor The Deadly Pines — where you will experience an amaz-ing array of frightening scenes! Refreshments will be avail-able. A limited number of private parties can be reserved.Only closed-toed shoes will be allowed on the trail. So, pur-chase your ticket, park at Spirit Halloween and take theshort trip to terror! For more information, go towww.thelosthollows.com.

‘GHOSTLY ENCOUNTER WEEKEND’ AT ACTS OCT. 27-28Artists Civic Theatre and Studio and The Graveyard

Shift Paranormal Society are joining forces to present, “AHalloween Ghostly Encounter Weekend; One Spooky Event,Two Different Experiences” on Oct. 27 and 28. “A HalloweenGhostly Encounter” will consist of a “Ghostly Performance,”and “Ghostly Encounter Investigations” will provide a uniqueparanormal experience just in time for Halloween.


The curtain rises Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. for the GhostlyPerformance, which will include readings of creepy classic poetry, a per-formance by the Thriller Dancers, and a how-to on paranormal experi-ences presented by the Graveyard Shift Paranormal Society. The “Thriller”dance number will be presented by Lake Charles Dance Academy, underthe direction of Colleen Cannon Benoit and the International DanceCompany under the direction of Sarah Ford.

On the Ghostly Encounter Investigations, you will be able to witness afull-fledged paranormal investigation. Members of the Graveyard ShiftParanormal Society will lead small groups of guests to various locationswithin the 100+-year-old Reid Street Theatre actually attempting to makecontact with spirits passing through the theatre. We cannot guaranteecontact will be made during the investigations, as no actors or theatretricks will be used during this portion of the event.

Tickets for the Halloween Ghostly Encounter are currently available onactstheatre.com. There will be four 45-minute investigation sessions lim-ited to 14 persons each. One session will be conducted on Fridayevening following the presentation and three additional sessions will beconducted on Saturday evening. A combined ticket for both events isavailable for $75 each. Tickets are $35 for Friday event only. A limitednumber of investigation-only tickets may be available at $50 each.Tickets may be purchased by visiting actstheatre.com or by calling 433-ACTS (2287).

CENTRAL SCHOOL BRINGS BACK SPOOK HOUSE OCT. 28The City of Lake Charles and Friends of Central School, a nonprofit

devoted to the center’s preservation, invite you back to experienceanother side of local history with a family-friendly spook house on Sun.,Oct. 28, from 5-8 p.m. The third floor corridor of the century-old arts andhumanities center will be filled with ghouls, ghosts, and surprises aroundevery corner, and creepy characters will welcome you into the building.

Your guide will lead you and a group through a dark and spookyenchanted forest spanning the top floor of the old elementary school,and candy and fun activities will greet you at the end of your journey.

Central School’s Benjamin W. Mount Auditorium will offer face paint-ing, balloon art lessons, ghost story telling, photo opportunities with theevening’s array of characters, and candy for children. Admission is $5 perperson or $10 per family, and children are encouraged to come in theirHalloween costumes. Tickets will begin selling at 4 p.m. on the day of theevent. For more information, call (337) 439-2787 or visit www.artsandhu-manitiesswla.org.

CITY HALLOWEEN EVENTS OCT. 31The City of Lake Charles will offer two events for the public on

Halloween, Oct. 31. The inaugural Friends of Tuten Park’s “Rootin’ TutenHalloween At Tuten Park” will be held from 5-7 p.m. at 3801 Nelson Rd.Wear your costumes and enjoy a fun-filled learning experience with craft-making and bug-viewing. Popcorn and candy will be offered. Additionalparking will be available at the south side of Prien Lake ElementarySchool, adjacent to the park.

The Halloween Harvest Fest 2012 will be held at the Lake Charles CivicCenter Coliseum, 900 Lakeshore Dr., from 5-8 p.m. Tour “Halloween Hall,”play a variety of games, visit the face painters and walk the stage to showoff your costumes. Concessions will be on- site. Admission is free at bothsites and costume are not required.

The City of Lake Charles recommends that Halloween trick-or-treatactivities end at 8 p.m. Parents are encouraged to have their childrenhome by 8:30 p.m. unless they are attending a supervised function that issponsored by other parents or civic organizations.

TJN


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October Brings Many ThingsWhile I appreciated September and all that it

brought, the transition that happens in Octoberis like no other month here. We begin to get thatcool chill in the air and events seem to startpouring in. October also serves as an opportuni-ty to raise awareness about breast cancer.Locally, we have Ethel Precht, who courageouslystepped up to the plate and decided to take onthe fight against breast cancer. The Ethel PrechtHope Breast Cancer 3K on Oct. 20 provides hopeto those fighting the disease, along with theirfamilies and supporters. Another signatureorganization that puts up a great fight while rais-ing awareness is the American Cancer Societywhose annual walk and other events make apositive impact in the community.

The inaugural Lake Charles Film Festivaltook place earlier this month. Patrick ShawnBennett, Troy Turner and others organizedwhat turned out to be an amazing event. Ifyou did not attend this year, make sure youmake the next one. I would also like to pointout Jo Taylor, who served as the face of the film

festival, did a tremendous job emceeing. Did you know that when it comes to film

production, the state of Louisiana ranks thirdafter New York and California? Thanks to Ed andSusan Poole, Gretna-based film historians withHollywood on the Bayou, I learned that many ofthe movies I love were filmed right here in ourstate. Through the event, I was able to meet

other truly talented figures in theworld of film. Burton Gilliam wasone of the special guests, and hispersonality is infectious. I amreally anticipating what next yearwill bring.

Another chill that Octoberbrings is goose bumps. If you’dlike to get a good scare, visit theUSS Orleck for a haunted tour onThe Bludd Vessel. I went aboardthe other night with the Landryfamily and experienced my owndreadful torment. Different char-acters that really scared me cameout of the dark entryways, cor-ners—and some places I didn’teven think they could come outof! Yes, I just admitted that I wasscared, but no—I did not scream;at least, not out loud.

For a new experience, youmust check out The Lost Hollows.This is a fabulous new venuestarted by Larry and CynthiaEagle, parents of musician EleishaEagle. Lots of spine-tingling expe-riences to be had deep in thewoods. Check out page 42 formore information on both TheLost Hollows and the BluddVessel.

I will be doing something dif-ferent this year. I’m serving asone of the judges for this year’scostume contest for Fright Nightat Jack After Dark at L’Aubergeon Oct. 26. On Halloween, I willprobably dress up as a famoushost and interview families at mychurch’s trunk or treat event.

As we all know, in just a fewshort weeks a very importantelection will take place that willinclude a ballot for President,those vying for ourCongressional District and otherimportant matters. I challengeyou take it upon yourself to beeducated and learn about eachcandidate and what they repre-sent. It’s okay to have an opinionand in fact, I encourage you tohave one. If you choose not toshare who you are voting for,more power to you. That’s a per-sonal decision. It is very impor-tant that you exercise your rightto vote. Many lives have beensacrificed so that you may havethat privilege as an American.With that said, I urge you to getout and take a breather, if onlyfor an hour, because you neverknow when that chance mightjust pass you by forever.

By Braylin Jenkins

TJN


HAPPY HALLOWEEN! - WORD SEARCH

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The Dot GamePlayers take turns connecting two dots. When you make a square, put your initials in the

box and take another turn. When all dots are connected, the player with the most boxes wins.

U Y T B L O R T K K M G O M A

T N A T I E O R A T R B N D E

H S F E C A W I T C H N S E N

U A L R I I W C C N K H Y G M

M A L A I E K K U N Y C I L N

S M F L M G E O T R H G A T I

H E P G O B H R E C S H A L L

P B U Y N W R T E I U E R A B

T O D U S T E R N S B U G R E

M P P A T M O E R I P M A V I

C M T E E D T A N O G O O B O

A G R C R D E T N U A H O Z T

E H E S C I N H G H O S T K W

M B I O Y T G U G T S Z I A Y

R L T E A T E T R O N B T N B

Black CatBooCemeteryCurseFright Night

GhostHalloweenHauntedMonsterSpooky

Trick or TreatUndeadVampireWitchZombie


Pam and Greg Devall

Sandie and Tom Reeves

Delores and Tom Tuminello

Byron and Devinda Love Rachel Easton and Ashleigh Wells

Alex and Jonathan Willis Ashton Brock and Tiara Kelley

Garrison Worthington, MichaellaFirmature and Madison Labit

COWBOY FOOTBALLFans were ready for some football as the Cowboys took on

Northwestern at McNeese State University Cowboy Stadium.The crowd of gold and blue fans enjoyed good food andlibations at the tailgating parties, and the MSU MarchingBand, cheerleaders and Cowgirl Kickers did what they do

best! Lets hear it for those cowbell-ringing fans that are herefor the ‘Pokes through rain or shine! Way to go!

Lana Richard and Megan Courville

LCMH 60TH ANNIVERSARY GALA The Grand Ballroom at L’Auberge Casino Resort

was the scene for the Lake Charles MemorialHospital Gala, celebrating 60 years of superla-tive care for the Lake Area. What a sensational

lineup of music: the great Johnny Rivers,Philadelphia’s Chapter One and The 1944 Band,

along with the song stylings of Leif Pedersonand Kathy DeRouen! Guests mixed and min-

gled and enjoyed a wonderful filet mignon din-ner before dancing the night away. Proceeds

from the event went to the Foundation of LakeCharles Memorial Hospital. Good show!


Jean McCaig, Denise McDaniel and Heidi Hallmark

Darrell Langley and Jennifer Schelette Dana Sorrells and Larry Graham

Brooklyn and Kennadi Blake Sabrina Gould and Kennedy Harris

Jessica and Noah Hoots Layla Franks and Lauren Cooper

Kelly and Darren Lamthier

Jerry McCaig, Rocky Schexneider, Amelia Thomas and Claude LeCompte

McKenzie and Addison Mills

Carrie, Keith and David Haselden

HABIBI SHRINERS CIRCUSWhat’s better than a day at the

circus? There was a lot of fun tobe had at the Lake Charles CivicCenter Coliseum, where kids ofall ages came out to enjoy thewacky clowns, jugglers, acro-bats, elephants, tigers and so

much more at the HabibiShriners Circus! And what’s a cir-cus without cotton candy, pop-corn, snowcones and colorfultoys for good girls and boys?

May every day be a circus day!


Taylor Finchum, Kim Johnson and Michelle Hemphill

Ali Rentrop, Eric Richard and John Rentrop Phil de Albuquerque, Susan Buchanan and Butch Faust

Bonnie and Coy Vincent with Suanne Thomason

Angela and Marshall Daniels

ROCK THE DOCK The first ever Rock the Dock BestBartender Competition was heldat the Lake Charles Civic CenterMarina recently. Sponsored by

Contraband Days, Inc., theBuccaneers of Lake Charles, vari-ous and sundry pirates and a BIG

crowd of cocktail tasters cameout to sample the wonderful rumdrinks concocted by the most tal-

ented bartenders in town! Thebig winner: Kelly from Jack

Daniels at L’Auberge! Yo-ho-hoand a bottle of rum! TJN


LA CHORAL FOUNDATION FALL CONCERTOCT. 19 AND 21The Louisiana Choral Foundation’s fall concert,

entitled “America’s Neighborhood,” will present worksthat are part of “who we are” as Americans using both clas-

sical and non-classical styles. The centerpiece of the concertis John Leavitt’s expansive Festival Mass, which blends exciting

rhythms and contemporary harmonies with the traditionalChristian order of worship. McNeese Choral Director, Dr. Darryl

Jones, will conduct the Masterworks Chorale with Abbie Fletcheraccompanying on piano. Performances are Fri., Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

and Sun., Oct. 21 at 3 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in down-town Lake Charles. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students and

may be purchased at the door. Season tickets are $36 for adults and $9for students. Tickets may be purchased from Swicegood Music or bycalling (337) 491-9348.

RAGLEY HERITAGE AND TIMBER FESTIVAL OCT. 20The Ragley Heritage and Timber Festival will be held Sat., Oct. 20 in

Ragley Historical Square from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.. The Ragley Heritageand Timber Queen reigns over the festival

along, with a Senior King and Queen. Enjoyquilting and corn grinding demonstrations,train rides, space rides, 5-in-1 combos, craftbooths, silent auctions, clowns, face paint-ing, plenty of delicious food, and music and

singing throughout the day. For more infor-mation, call (337) 725-3444.

ETHEL PRECHT BREAST CANCER WALK OCT. 20The Ethel Precht Breast Cancer 3K Walk will be

held on Oct. 20 at the Lake Charles Civic Center.Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., with a ceremonyfollowing at 8:00 a.m. The walk will begin at 8:30.Adults, $15; children/students, $10. For more infor-mation, call (337) 905-0327.

GULF COAST ROLLER GIRLS VS. DERBY DARLINGS OCT. 20Lafitte’s Ladies of the Gulf Coast Roller Girls will face off

against Mobile’s Derby Darlings in the Derby de las Muertas atthe Grindhouse on Oct. 20. Come dressed in your Halloween Best!

There will be a face painting contest and goodie bags for the kids.Bring your chair and a drink and cheer the ladies on! Doors open at 6p.m., bout begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 at the door, $10 pre-sale, and$6 for kids under 10. The Grindhouse is located at 932 Enterprise Blvd. inLake Charles. Go to www.gulfcoastrollergirls.com for more information.

THE ART OF FASHION DESIGN III OCT. 25The Perfect Fit Boutique presents red carpet designs by Kevan Hall at

the Art of Fashion Design III, a fashion show to be held on Thurs., Oct.25 in the Benjamin Mount Theater at Central School Arts andHumanities Center in downtown Lake Charles. Tickets are $25 and canbe purchased at The Perfect Fit Boutique (433-5855), ICM (439-3797)and Gordon’s Drug Store (477-6773). Seating is limited!

HANNAH PAULEY REMEMBRANCE CONCERT OCT. 25JJ Weeks Band will be in concert at St. Martin de Porres Catholic

Church on Thurs. Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. This concert marks the one-yearanniversary in which Hannah Pauley took her life. A love offering will beaccepted to benefit the Hannah Pauley Foundation, a non-profit startedher father. The Foundation hopes to offer counseling to children so thatfurther tragedies by bullying can be avoided. The Church is located on5495 Elliott Road in Lake Charles. For more information, [email protected] or call (337) 478-3845.

WHEELS OF HOPE CHARITY BIKE RIDE OCT. 27Wheels of Hope Charity Bike Ride is “letting the good times roll” on

Sat., Oct. 27 at 7:30 a.m. at St. Theodore Holy Family Catholic School inMoss Bluff to benefit St. Nicholas Center for Children, a local non-profitdedicated to providing services to children with autism and develop-mental delays. The ride features the beauty of Sam Houston Jones StatePark and 5 of SWLA’s most beautiful bike routes, ranging from a 10-milefamily route to a 75-miler. Each rider will receive a rider bag, T-shirt, andenjoy fully stocked break points and the support of SAG vehicles duringthe ride. Afterwards, there will be a “Taste of Louisiana RiderCelebration” with gumbo, boudin, and jambalaya. Advanced registrationis $35/adult and $15/child at Capitol Cyclery on Oct. 26, 9:30 a.m.-5:30p.m., or online right now at www.active.com. Race Day registration is 6-7:15 a.m. Registration forms, fundraising updates, prizes, and routes areat www.wheelsofhopelc.com Questions? Call (337) 540-2446 for moreinformation.


ARTSFEST OCT. 27 On Sat., Oct. 27, ArtsFest

returns from 10 a.m. to 2p.m. in the Civic Center’sExhibition Hall. This year,ArtsFest celebrates the holi-days. Children can expect toparticipate in a great varietyof art projects and activities.The ArtsFest stage will alsoshowcase live music, perform-ances, and educational demon-strations. Children are encour-aged to come dressed in theirHalloween costume and to par-ticipate in the annual ArtsFestCostume Contest. For more infor-mation, call (337) 439-2787 or visitwww.artsandhumanitiesswla.org.

MUSICALE – MUSIC FOR LITERACY OCT. 27Enjoy a free concert made possible by donations from supporters of

the Literacy Council of Southwest Louisiana. Featuring Amanda Shaw(headliner for the New Orleans Jazz Fest 2012) and the Cute Guys, alongwith the Jay Ecker Trio Jazz Ensemble, and performances of MichaelJackson’s “Thriller” by the Lake Charles Dance Academy. The event willbe held from 5-9 p.m. on the Central School grounds. Food and drinkwill be available for purchase. This fundraiser will help promote and con-tinue the Literacy Council of Southwest Louisiana educational programsthroughout the five-parish area.

LC COMMUNITY BAND CONCERT OCT. 28The Lake Charles Community Band will honor the memory of the late

Henry C. Alexander, a founding member and major contributor to theband. It will be held at the fall concert at 3 p.m. on Oct. 28 at Indian BayPavilion at Prien Lake Park. The concert is free, so bring a lawn chair and apicnic basket and enjoy the sounds. Community Band is comprised of allvolunteer musicians. If you play an instrument, come to rehearsals everyMonday night from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Lake Charles Boston band room,on Seventh St., east of Enterprise Boulevard. No auditions are required.

TREY KILLIAN MEMORIAL RUN NOV. 3The Second Annual Trey Killian Memorial 5k will be held on Sat. Nov.

3 at Sulphur Heritage Pavilion. Registration will begin at 7 a.m. and theevent begins at 8 a.m. Registration is $20 per person, and is available

online at www.active.com, or by phone at (337) 853-9442. Email registration is also available at

[email protected].

All proceedsfrom this event go to theTrey Killian Memorial ScholarshipFund. All persons registered by Oct. 22are guaranteed an event T-shirt, and all par-ticipants will have chances to win door prizes.Trey Killian was killed in an alcohol-related accidentin Sept. 2010, and this event is his family’s way ofspreading awareness about the dangers of drinking anddriving, as well as supporting the scholarship fund.

RONNIE DUNN AT L’AUBERGE NOV. 10American country music singer-song writer Ronnie Dunn, for-

merly of country super-duo Brooks & Dunn, will perform at theL’Auberge Lake Charles Event Center. Floor seating is priced at $70; stadi-um seating is $55. Discounts apply for mychoice® members. The per-formance begins at 8:30 p.m. on Sat. Nov. 10; doors open one hourbefore the show. Tickets can be purchased in person at the L’AubergeBusiness Center, Legends or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com. They canalso be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 488-5252. Guests mustbe 21 years of age and present a valid photo ID. For more information,visit www.mylauberge.com.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND SCHOOL PERFORMANCE NOV. 15Westlake High Theatre, Kerry A. Onxley, Director of Theatre, presents

Alice In Wonderland. The production is based on the 1951 Disney filmAlice in Wonderland and the novels The Adventures of Alice inWonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Theschool performance of this comical production will be at Westlake HighSchool’s state-of-the-art theatre located at 1000 Garden Drive inWestlake on Thurs., Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. Tickets are $7 per person and maybe purchased by calling the box office at 217-4950.

SEWELL EXHIBIT THROUGH JAN. 12The City of Lake Charles is hosting “It’s What You Make of It” by

Bennett Sewell, MD at Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center at 1001Ryan Street. Dr. Sewell is a retired physician and storyteller living inShreveport. He uses found objects, scrap metal and wood to constructunique sculptures that resemble dogs dressed as people who take onhuman mannerisms and personality traits. These metaphors are coupledwith a monologue that accompanies each sculpture to highlight thehuman condition. Wow, that soundsinteresting! The event is free andopen to the public. The exhibitionwill run through Jan. 12.

ArtsFest

Billy Bell by Dr. Bennett Sewell

Willie Grillad byDr. BennettSewell

Ronnie Dunn

TJN


The

Sponsored by

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17• Jerry Dee & Rocking Randy @ VFW Post 2130,

7 p.m.• TBA @ OB’s Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.• William Christian @ Cigar Club, 8 p.m.• Cold Sweat @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18• T-Joe Romero @ DI’s Cajun Restaurant, Basile,

6:30 p.m.• Signals to Vega @ Luna Live, 8 p.m.• Marty Monte Band @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of

Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• Albert Simpson @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• Warren Storm/Willie Tee & Cypress @ Mikko,

Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 9 p.m.• DJ San-D @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge

Casino, 10 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19• Briggs Brown & Bayou Cajuns @ DI’s Cajun

Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.• Street Side Jazz Band @ Luna Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.• Carlton Pride & Mighty Zion @ Luna Live, 8 p.m.• The Kadillacs @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri

Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• Tom Brandow @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of Capri


• Gregory J. Amani Smith @ Luna Live, 9 p.m.

• John Guidroz @ Micci’s Piano Bar, 9 p.m.

• Albert Simpson @ Cigar Club, 9 p.m.• John Conlee @ Yesterday’s, 9 p.m.• Steel Shot @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs,

Vinton, 9 p.m.• LA Roxx @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder,

9 p.m.• DJ San-D @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge

Casino, 10 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20• Al Roger & Louisiana Pride @ DI’s Cajun

Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.• Clay Walker @ Isle of Capri Event Center, Isle of

Capri Casino, Westlake, 7 p.m.• Sons of Bill/Kit Carsons @ Luna Live, 8 p.m.• J.D. Newbury & Southwind @ Caribbean Cove,

Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• Street Side Jazz Band @ Cigar Club, 9 p.m.• Leroy Thomas & Zydeco Roadrunners @

Yesterday’s, 9 p.m.• Steel Shot @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs,

Vinton, 9 p.m.• LA Roxx @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino, Kinder,

9 p.m.• DJ San-D @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge

Casino, 10 p.m.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21• T.K. Hulin & Smoke/Steve Adams @ Yesterday’s,

5 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24• TBA @ OB’s Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.• BeauSoleil @ Central School Arts & Humanities

Center, 8 p.m.• Tom Brandow @ Cigar Club, 8 p.m.• Black Tie Affair @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri


THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25• Jeff Thibodeaux & Friends @ DI’s Cajun

Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.• X-It 43 @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri Casino,

Westlake, 8 p.m.• Mike Nolan & Jay Ecker @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle of

Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• Bryan Fontenot @ Mikko, Coushatta Casino,

Kinder, 9 p.m.• DJ Jose Mata @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill,

L’Auberge Casino, 10 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26• Doug Dousay @ Stellar Beans, 5 p.m.• Travis Benoit & Allons Dancer @ DI’s Cajun

Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.• Street Side Jazz Band @ Luna Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.• Kris Harper & Matt Moss @ Otis & Henry’s, Isle

of Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.• Katelyn Johnson @ Cigar Club, 9 p.m.• Geno Delafosse & French Rockin’

Boogie @ Yesterday’s, 9 p.m.• Twangsters Union @ Caribbean Cove,

Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 9 p.m.

To list your event e-mail: [email protected]


• BB & Company @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 9 p.m.

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

• Dash Rip Rock @ Luna Live, 10 p.m.• DJ Adriana @ Jack Daniels Bar &

Grill, L’Auberge Casino, 10 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27• Various Artists @ Culture Fest,

Lake Charles Civic Center, 10 a.m.• Scotty Pousson & The Pointe aux

Loups Playboys @ DI’s Cajun Restaurant, Basile, 6:30 p.m.

• DJ Leslie @ Cigar Club, 8 p.m.• Harry Connick Jr. @ L’Auberge

Event Center, L’Auberge Casino, 8:30 p.m.

• In Liquid/Shutterpulse @ My Place Bar, 9 p.m.

• Steel Shot @ Yesterday’s, 9 p.m.• Craig Mouton & Slingshot @

Caribbean Cove, Isle of Capri Casino, Westlake, 9 p.m.

• BB & Company @ Gator Lounge, Delta Downs, Vinton, 9 p.m.

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

• DJ Adriana @ Jack Daniels Bar & Grill, L’Auberge Casino, 10 p.m.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28• Junior Lacrosse & Sumtin Sneaky

@ Yesterday’s, 5 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31• Jerry Dee & Rocking Randy @ VFW

Post 2130, 7 p.m.• TBA @ OB’s Bar & Grill, 7 p.m.• Caleb Smith @ Cigar Club, 8 p.m.• Static @ Caribbean Cove, Isle of

Capri Casino, Westlake, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1• TBA @ DI’s Cajun Restaurant,

Basile, 6:30 p.m.• Old Man Markley @ Luna Live,

8 p.m.• Richard LeBoeuf @ Mikko,

Coushatta Casino, Kinder, 9 p.m.• DJ Jose Mata @ Jack Daniels Bar &

Grill, L’Auberge Casino, 10 p.m.TJN

McDonald’s of SWLAAssists Abraham’s Tent

The Cans for Coffee food drivebenefiting Abraham’s Tent beganOct. 15, and will run until Oct. 29,with each donor receiving a freeMcCafé coffee beverage fromMcDonald’s. All Calcasieu Parishlocations are participating.

During Cans for Coffee,McDonald’s will give away a 12-oz.McCafé coffee in exchange forevery donation of canned goods orother non-perishable food items.Donators will have their choice ofany McCafé variety, includingMocha, Iced Mocha, Latte,Premium Roast Coffee and HotChocolate.

“Abraham’s Tent has a specialplace in our community’s heart,”

said Doug Gehrig, owner andoperator of McDonald’s ofSouthwest Louisiana. “The gen-erosity of our customers hashelped make Cans for Coffee asuccess for many years now, andthis year will be no different!”

Abraham’s Tent provides anessential community service byoffering the area’s hungry hot mealsevery day, without fees, criteria orlimit to how often one can beserved. The food bank is always inneed of donations, especially out-side of the holidays. You can helpby calling director Pearl Cole at(337) 439-9330. For more informa-tion on Cans for Coffee, contactMatt Young at (337) 478-7396. TJN


As I write this, I’m listening intently to

the Helsinki Complaints Choir on

YouTube, tunefully voicing their specific

mundane and unexpected grievances

which are simultaneously translated in a

running caption at the bottom of the

video screen: “Old forests are cut down

and turned into toilet paper, and still all

the toilets are always out of paper . . . We

always lose to Sweden in hockey and

Eurovision* . . . Why do people never

agree with me? . . . Tramline 3 smells of

pee. It’s not fair.”

A sister choir from Birmingham,

England, singing to a different tune,

laments: “I don’t like bad hair days, and

my beard it won’t grow . . . why does my

computer take so very long, why can’t the

bus driver talk to anyone, and why is the

beer so expensive in town? I want my

money back, my job’s like a cul-de-sac,

and the bus is too infrequent at 6:30 . . .

and I’m thirsty.”

I only heard about it earlier this year,

but the Complaints Choir project has

been around since 2005, when Finnish

husband-and-wife performance artists

Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-

Kalleinen thought they might use the

“hot air” generated by the incessant com-

plaining of the people around them in a

positive fashion. The Finnish word

Valituskuoro translates roughly as “an

endless chorus of complainers droning on

and on about this grumble or that

grouse” which led the clever couple to

take the term literally and bring a com-

plaints choir to life.

After an out-of-town tryout with a

group in England, the Kalleinens “collect-

ed the pet peeves and angst-ridden pleas

of people in Helsinki and then [authored]

this choral work around the list of com-

plaints” to music composed by Esko

Grundström. Other choirs with other

complaints have sprung from the project,

with different music, different sources of

resentment and discontent, and many of

them have put videos with translation

captions on YouTube.

Just to give you an example of how a

Complaints Choir gets to work, imagine a

group of 70 redheaded music writers

singing lyrics like this: “This column is

too frequent, the pay is too low, too few

know what ‘eclectic’ means, and nobody

appreciates my brilliance”† as the chorus

to a litany of some irksome moments in

the writers’ lives. Can you see us? No, well

get yourself to YouTube, or to the artists’

website, www.complaintschoir.org.

I love the Helsinki group, am quite

fond of the Birmingham and Tokyo Choirs

and just discovered the plucky Canadians,

but all of the assemblages from Singapore

to Chicago offer some interesting irrita-

tions and agonies. You might get cheered

up listening to the junk other people com-

plain about, or be inspired to convene your

own complaints choir because after all,

misery loves company, and there’s always

schadenfreude – malicious joy from the

misfortunes of others.

See, it’s been that kind of day, what

with the superfast Internet I had installed

just the other day already down to a crawl,

and to fix it, the exchange of old modem

for new and reconfiguring the whole

bloody WiFi system in the basement, then

running upstairs to check the computers

there, too. And iTunes losing ALL my

downloaded music and erasing ALL my

playlists just as I

was sitting down to write

this column, and no one to talk

to at iTunes until tomorrow morning

(at 8 a.m., who is alive at 8 a.m.?); and

what with my printer suddenly chewing

up every piece of paper I put into it.

Besides, today started with a visit to

the dentist and about 12 calls to the New

Orleans traffic court because they sudden-

ly woke up and put out a BOLO on me for

a ticket I don’t remember getting in 2002

(?) for driving without child safety

restraints (I certainly have no memory of

THAT 10 years later). Whew! What a day,

huh? But you know what? Just complain-

ing about it makes me feel better already!

On the other hand, the POSSLQ is

dazzled:Some singers depend upon the beauty

of their voices. You can’t listen to Joan

Baez or Nina Simone without wanting to

hear more of their singing. You might pre-

fer they cover good songs, like Joan Baez

singing Robbie Robertson’s “The Night

They Drove Old Dixie Down” or Nina

Simone singing Brecht/Weill’s “Pirate

Jenny,” but I’d pay to hear either of them

sing “Yankee Doodle.” And either can be

fully enjoyed on a CD. Other singers

attract us through their lyrics; they may be

funny, like Christine Lavin, or serious,

like Phil Ochs, but we listen primarily to

their message. Again, recordings do full

justice to these performers.

And then there’s Zoe Lewis. She

has a nice voice, and she writes

smart, funny lyrics, but anybody

who knows her works only from

recordings has been cheated. In

person, Zoe generates enough

energy to light up a small city or

large concert hall. She can’t keep

still, she must move, turn and

jump or her energy will con-

sume her. She’s the ultimate lit-

tle girl; full of mischief but

quite certain she’ll be forgiven

because she’s so lovable. She

Leslie Berman’s career in music spansfour decades, and includes stints as afolksinger, music teacher, coffeehousebooker, concert promoter, publicist, fes-tival director, music journalist, albumnotes writer, artist manager, tradeorganization president, entertainmentattorney, and president of the MusicMuseum of Southwest Louisiana.She prefers all things musicallyeclectic, and votes on the

GRAMMYs as a member of theRecording Academy. She can be

reached at [email protected].

How Is A Columnist

Like Gomer Pyle?

Complain, Complain,

Complain!


ELECTION NOV. 6, 2012EARLY VOTING BEGINS - Oct. 23, 2012

EARLY VOTING ENDS - Oct. 30, 2012

Phone: 337-474-1864 • Email: [email protected]: www.lwv-lc.org

doesn’t invite us into her world,she pulls us into it, whether wewant to enter or not. But wewant to enter, because herworld is so obviously filled withfun. We become her co-conspir-ators, her accomplices and alliesin the great war against takingourselves too seriously. Andwhen her show is done and wemust leave her world for thegray grown-up world we live in,we’re grateful for our too-shortsojourn in hers.

*A weird annual internation-al pop song contest started in1956 – featuring acts like ABBA,Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias andRiverdance – whereby countries,represented by their respectivepublic broadcasters, participatein one television show, to betransmitted simultaneously inall represented nations.

†Actually, my enlightenededitor Lauren de A appreciatesme. ;>). TJN

Killin’ Time CrosswordACROSS1. Monopolize4. Outlaws8. Lisa Simpson's brother12. "The Three Faces

of ___"13. White House office

shape14. Malarial fever15. Adulthood17. Rational18. Pants part19. Fatigues20. Keypad #23. Approaches25. "Come here ___?"27. Typist's ailment28. Stretch, with "out"31. Coupled33. Waited on35. Slip up36. Apprentice38. Regretting39. Coil of yarn41. Choke with sweetness42. Cuts short45. Mascara site47. South American capital48. Hair loss52. Litmus reddener53. Robin Cook thriller54. Circle segment55. Tennis's Sampras56. Double57. Like a Burnsian mouse

DOWN1. Fashion line2. Reproductive cells3. "___ Shorty"4. Drag5. For the birds?6. Yak7. Furtive8. Foundation9. Petri dish filler10. Ancient alphabetic

character11. Golf ball props16. Theatre employee19. Struggler20. Comedian Bob21. Way, way off22. Ruckus24. Beast of burden26. Guitar parts28. Worse than bad29. Numbers game30. Jittery32. Fitting34. Pleated trim37. Swell outwards39. One in a black suit40. Supermodel Campbell42. Thunder sound43. Sushi ingredient44. Miss46. Reach across48. Make a scene?49. Harsh cry50. Eur. land51. Trump card

© Lovatts Publications Pty Ltd

The Jambalaya News - Vol. 4 No. 15

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