Lake Charles\u2019 Shop Local LC Challenge is now marking its fourth year. And it is (obviously) coming around just in time for the Christmas shopping season.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The challenge started in 2020 as a way of responding to the financial challenges of the time, says Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter. \u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Room For Mentally Ill Prisoners<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The project is not the first group to notice the problem. In fact, the report states that \u201cLouisiana is already facing federal sanctions because of overcrowding\u201d of mentally ill prisoners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019t mentioned by the Budget Project.<\/p>\n The Community Of Hats<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n 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 \u201cThe Global Language of Headwear: Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage and Spirituality.\u201d The hats on display at the museum are \u201cceremonial headwear.\u201d They represent a large number of cultural customs, beliefs and rituals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 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 \u201cinternational community.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Acton Children\u2019s Business Fair<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Know what \u201ckidpreneurs\u201d are? I don\u2019t 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\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Acton Children\u2019s Business Fair will take place at the Burton Complex from 10 am to 2 pm on Dec. 9. Questions? Email acbflakecharles @gmail.com<\/p>\n Sowela Scores In National Video Contest<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Students in Sowela Technical Community College\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n ATMAE\u2019s 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. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor three weeks, these Media Production students spent time filming and editing this project outside of their normal class work,\u201d said Sowela instructor Thunder John. \u201cThey worked hard … With this being a national competition, achieving second place is a display of just how talented our students are.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 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. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Captain Experiences And Feral Hogs<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The feral hog problem keeps getting worse. And not just in Southwest Louisiana.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cCaptain Experiences\u201d took the data and used them to compile a list of feral hog statistics for Louisiana.<\/p>\n Capt. Experiences may know a lot about hogs, but he doesn\u2019t know much about Louisiana. His report includes this sentence: \u201cferal hogs were spotted in almost every single Louisiana county.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201ccounties\u201d filing reports, for a total of 63 parishes.<\/p>\n The captain\u2019s data reveals that in 1982, feral hogs were a big problem in only four states: Louisiana, Texas, Florida and South\u00a0 <\/span>Carolina. They were starting to be a problem in California and Georgia.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n If you feel you need to know more, visit captainexperiences.com\/blog and search for \u201cStates with biggest wild hog problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Dog With The Yellow Bandana<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Back in the 1970s, I figured that folks who put bandanas on dogs were just groovy head people and didn\u2019t think anything more about it than that.<\/p>\n But a recent 92.9 The Lake story about dogs and bandanas has given me an entirely new perspective on the matter. (\u201cIf You See A Dog In Louisiana With A Yellow Bandana, Give It Room\u201d by Mikey O, Nov. 7.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Pet training expert Jodie Havens told Reader\u2019s Digest that \u201ca yellow ribbon or bandana tied around the dog\u2019s neck, collar or their leash indicates that strangers should give the dog space \u2014 not come up to it or give it attention or pet it.\u201d<\/p>\n It turns out that you don\u2019t just need to give a dog you don\u2019t know space because you\u2019re afraid it might bite you. There\u2019s a whole slew of reasons to avoid the yellow bandana dog. For example, the dog could:<\/p>\n \u2014 Be a service dog in training;<\/p>\n \u2014 Have PTSD.<\/p>\n \u2014 Be deaf or blind.<\/p>\n \u2014 Be frightful.<\/p>\n \u2014 Be too old to interact with people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2014 Have major health issues.<\/p>\n \u2014 Be nervous around people or other animals.<\/p>\n \u2014 Be a rescue animal in training who needs to avoid people so that it can learn how to do its job.<\/p>\n If you see a dog marked with yellow when you\u2019re walking your dog, just swing wide to avoid the animal. If you\u2019re approached by a dog with a yellow bandana, turn around and walk away from the animal.<\/p>\n You may think you\u2019re 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lake Charles\u2019 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 [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n