Lake Charles’ Shop Local LC Challenge is now marking its fourth year. And it is (obviously) coming around just in time for the Christmas shopping season.
The challenge is simple enough. Patronize at least four local merchants at some point during this Christmas season. Shoppers are encouraged to pose for photos in the local stores where they shop then post the photos. They are invited to use the hashtag #ShopLocalLC.
The challenge started in 2020 as a way of responding to the financial challenges of the time, says Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter. “Our small, locally owned business community still needs our support. These businesses make up the economic backbone of our community and give our city its unique character and distinctiveness.”
Little Room For Mentally Ill Prisoners
According to a new report by the Louisiana Budget Project, it is becoming a matter of some difficulty to house those deemed incompetent to stand trial in Louisiana.
The project is not the first group to notice the problem. In fact, the report states that “Louisiana is already facing federal sanctions because of overcrowding” of mentally ill prisoners.
One big problem is that the state only has one forensic psychiatric facility. The second problem is the backlog of people waiting to get into the facility.
Last December, 139 people were waiting for a place there (according to the La. Dept. of Health). By July of 2023, that number had grown to 156. At the end of October, it was 194.
Some of the backlog comes from Southwest Louisiana. For instance, 38 people from Jefferson Parish are waiting to get in. If any short-term solutions have been put forward, they aren’t mentioned by the Budget Project.
The Community Of Hats
If you have an interest in the fashion, history or culture of hats, you might want to make time for an excursion up to the Alexandria Museum of Art, which is presently hosting the exhibit “The Global Language of Headwear: Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage and Spirituality.” The hats on display at the museum are “ceremonial headwear.” They represent a large number of cultural customs, beliefs and rituals.
In total, 89 hats and headdresses from 43 different countries will be on display. Each hat is displayed in one of five categories: cultural identity; power, prestige and status; ceremonies and celebrations; spiritual beliefs; and protection. The exhibit makes the point that people who use hats for these purposes constitute an “international community.”
The Alexandria Museum of Art is located at 933 2nd St. Hours are 10 am to 5 pm Tues. through Fri. and 10 am to 4 pm Sat. Admission is $5. The exhibit runs through Feb. 17.
Acton Children’s Business Fair
Know what “kidpreneurs” are? I don’t either. But you may have a good chance to find out, as apparently there will be a good number of kidpreneurs in attendance at the upcoming Acton Children’s Business Fair. This one-day market will enable youths to develop a brand, create a product or service, build a marketing strategy and then open their business and sell their product or service to customers.
The event will feature live music and food trucks. There will be more than 60 market booths. Those who are still looking will be able to find both Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. There will also be quite a few sweets for sale.
The Acton Children’s Business Fair will take place at the Burton Complex from 10 am to 2 pm on Dec. 9. Questions? Email acbflakecharles @gmail.com
Sowela Scores In National Video Contest
Students in Sowela Technical Community College’s Digital Arts and Communication program recently earned second place in the national American Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) video competition held in Atlanta.
ATMAE’s 800 members (all undergraduates) were invited to submit a one- to three-minute-long video about why employers should hire students in ATMAE-accredited programs.
“For three weeks, these Media Production students spent time filming and editing this project outside of their normal class work,” said Sowela instructor Thunder John. “They worked hard … With this being a national competition, achieving second place is a display of just how talented our students are.”
The Sowela team that put the winning video together included Connor Couvillion, Chande DeCuir, Matt Dye and Noah Guidry. The team received a $1,000 scholarship award, which was to be distributed evenly among the students.
ATMAE is a highly regarded association with hundreds of members from academia, government and industry. For more than 50 years it has focused on technology integration, leadership, and design. Sowela programs that are accredited by ATMAE include aviation maintenance, digital arts and communication, drafting and design, industrial instrumentation, information systems and process technology.
Spring registration is now open at Sowela campuses in Lake Charles, Jennings, Leesville and Oakdale. For more information or to apply online, visit sowela.edu/apply.
Captain Experiences And Feral Hogs
The feral hog problem keeps getting worse. And not just in Southwest Louisiana.
Conclusive data about the matter has recently come out of the University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. A research curator who calls himself “Captain Experiences” took the data and used them to compile a list of feral hog statistics for Louisiana.
Capt. Experiences may know a lot about hogs, but he doesn’t know much about Louisiana. His report includes this sentence: “feral hogs were spotted in almost every single Louisiana county.”
In terms of the severity of its infestation, Capt. Experiences reckons Louisiana has the eighth worst feral hog problem in the country. Last year, the number of feral hog reports in the state numbered 613, with 98.4 percent of Louisiana “counties” filing reports, for a total of 63 parishes.
The captain’s data reveals that in 1982, feral hogs were a big problem in only four states: Louisiana, Texas, Florida and South Carolina. They were starting to be a problem in California and Georgia.
But by 2023, the hogs had become a serious problem in all of the Southeast and up into Kentucky and West Virginia. There are now even feral hog communities way up in the northern Michigan peninsula.
The American feral hog can reach five feet in length and weigh as much as 400 pounds. Right now, feral hogs are causing $2.5 billion in agricultural damage each year.
If you feel you need to know more, visit captainexperiences.com/blog and search for “States with biggest wild hog problem.”
Dog With The Yellow Bandana
Back in the 1970s, I figured that folks who put bandanas on dogs were just groovy head people and didn’t think anything more about it than that.
But a recent 92.9 The Lake story about dogs and bandanas has given me an entirely new perspective on the matter. (“If You See A Dog In Louisiana With A Yellow Bandana, Give It Room” by Mikey O, Nov. 7.)
It turns out dog owners have come up with a bandana color system to alert others to specific information about their pet before they approach it in public.
Pet training expert Jodie Havens told Reader’s Digest that “a yellow ribbon or bandana tied around the dog’s neck, collar or their leash indicates that strangers should give the dog space — not come up to it or give it attention or pet it.”
It turns out that you don’t just need to give a dog you don’t know space because you’re afraid it might bite you. There’s a whole slew of reasons to avoid the yellow bandana dog. For example, the dog could:
— Be a service dog in training;
— Have PTSD.
— Be deaf or blind.
— Be frightful.
— Be too old to interact with people.
— Have major health issues.
— Be nervous around people or other animals.
— Be a rescue animal in training who needs to avoid people so that it can learn how to do its job.
If you see a dog marked with yellow when you’re walking your dog, just swing wide to avoid the animal. If you’re approached by a dog with a yellow bandana, turn around and walk away from the animal.
You may think you’re a dog person and you may be right. But these particular dogs have a job to do, so be kind enough to leave them alone and let them do it.
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