Lego Club

Young builders of all skill levels can take the Lego Challenge or build whatever they like when the Lego Club meets at the Dutchtown Branch of Ascension Parish Library at 10 a.m. Friday.

Legos, along with Duplo Blocks and Mega Bloks for younger children, will be provided. Children should leave their own Legos at home.

Call (225) 673-8699 for details.

St. Elizabeth Hospitals annual Girls Day Out event gets underway Saturday morning in Gonzales. The day of learning, laughing and movement activities for women is slated for 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., with sign-in and breakfast at 7:45 a.m.

Cost is $10 and includes continental breakfast, a coffee bar and snacks. Advance registration is required; visit http://bit.ly/2m6H4Ab. Call (225) 621-2906 for details.

The annual Gonzales Memorial VFW Post 3693 beauty pageant scheduled for Saturday has been moved to the Orleans Room on Weber City Road in Gonzales. The pageant begins at 9:30 a.m. and will advance four queens to the state level in the Buddy Poppy, Junior, Teen and Miss categories.

Contestants may enter the pageant at the door the day of the competition. Entry forms are available at facebook.com/VFWpageant. Call Carrie Person at (225) 715-9120 or email vfwpageant@gmail.com for details.

Battleground Louisiana: Civil War Events and Experiences, a six-week series of readings and discussions, begins March 16 at the Gonzales Branch of Ascension Parish Library.

Programs will be held Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. through April 20.

The series is led by Southeastern Louisiana University history instructor Charles Elliott and is offered as part of the Readings in Literature and Culture series sponsored by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

Those interested in committing to the six-week program must register in advance at the library or by calling (225) 647-3955. All participants will receive a set of program books to check out, which requires a current library card.

The Donaldsonville Branch of Ascension Parish Library will host a talk and book signing with local author T.G. Joffrion at 6:30 p.m. March 23.

Joffrion will discuss his latest novel, Return to Sender, about military man turned law enforcement officer Travis Gaspards quest to crack a triple homicide in South Louisiana.

Joffrion is a former member of the State Police SWAT team and was voted Trooper of the Year in 1991. His writing is infused with his years of experience in the field and his upbringing in Bayou Country.

Registration is required and space is limited; call (225) 473-8052.

East Ascension High Schools Class of 1977 is celebrating its 40th class reunion at 6 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Clarion Conference Center in Gonzales.

All East Ascension High graduating classes are invited to join in the celebration, which includes food, a cash bar, dancing and music by Kenny Fife.

Cost is $50 per person in advance or $55 at the door. Email trudybates@yahoo.com or l.rhett.bourgeois@gmail.com for details. Registration forms will be emailed upon request.

Contact Darlene Denstorff by phone, (225) 336-6952 or (225) 603-1996; fax, (225) 644-5851; or email, ascension@theadvocate.com or ddenstorff@theadvocate.com. Deadline: noon Monday.

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Around Ascension for March 9, 2017 | Ascension | theadvocate.com - The Advocate

Kate MacArthur, the executive director of the Zachary Chamber of Commerce, has been named president and chief executive officer of the Ascension Economic Development Corp.

She replaces Mike Eades, who left the AEDC in November after 7 years to take over as director of economic development for Lexington County, South Carolina.

MacArthur has been head of the Zachary chamber for four years. Before that, she spent five years as director of business intelligence for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, recruiting and retaining businesses in the nine-parish metro area. MacArthur also has served as the director of marketing and existing industry for the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp. in South Carolina and as a business analyst for the Area Development Partnership in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

MacArthur, who is from the Philadelphia area, earned a bachelors in East Asian studies with a specialty in International Affairs from Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and a masters in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

Excerpt from:

MacArthur leaving Zachary Chamber to head Ascension Economic Development Corp. - The Advocate

Brandie Richardson

March kicks off Women's History month, a month long dedication that highlights the importance of women in history and society. In the spirit of this annual celebration, the LSU Women's Center is hosting their fifth annual Esprit de Femme Award Sunrise Celebration.

Established in 2009, the Esprit de Femme Award is an annual acknowledgement of eight women and one man who has made remarkable strides towards the advancement of women in Louisiana.

Each fall the LSU Women's Center calls for nominations for anyone who wants to nominate someone in the community who has made advancements for women in the state. On average, the center receives between 25 and 30 nominations a year.

"We are looking for honorees who are trailblazers and/or who have made strides in advancing the status of women in Louisiana," said LSU Women's Center Director Summer Steib.

This year two extraordinary women from Ascension Parish, Tanya Whitney of Sorrento and Alsie Dunbar of Gonzales, are among those being honored at the celebration later this month.

"Ms. Whitney is an American hero and trailblazer for women in the military," Steib continued. "She is a decorated veteran who dedicated much of her life to serving our country. Even though she has retired, Ms. Whitney continues to support women veterans in Louisiana and across the country through her continued service."

This is the first award of this nature that Whitney has received and she said she is very honored to be recognized for the work she does with the Women Veterans of Louisiana, where she focuses on showcasing the work women have done in the military for our nation.

"This was a surprise, I didn't even know I had been nominated," the Sorrento resident said. "When you look at some of the past nominees and what they've done, I didn't really think I fit in that grain, but someone thought I did."

Whitney served nearly 30 years in the Army, where she retired in 2010 as a Master Sergeant. She is involved in many organizations and holds leadership positions such as in the VFW Post 3693 and the Women Veterans of Louisiana. She presents numerous educational workshops to schools and organizations in the state promoting the service of women in the military and in the aeronautical fields.

"A lot of it is bringing to the public to those who don't have a real grasp of how women serve in the military and how they have served," Whitney said. "To show that they have always been an integral part of the military, just like any other minority they have not got the recognition they should have in the past. We are trying to bring that to the forefront."

Dunbar, who has more than 18 years in the chemistry industry as a scientist and engineer, was nominated for her efforts in exposing young girls to the sciences, technology, engineering and math through her STEM GEMS Mentoring Project, which she feels is the biggest accomplishment she has achieved towards progressing women and young girls in the state.

"Being a female and a minority in undergrad and in the petrol-chem industry, there weren't a lot of my counterparts that looked like me, that's why I formed STEM GEMS," Dunbar said. "I wanted to reach back and tell young girls it's ok to be unapologetic for being brilliant or being strong or being yourself. There are no glass ceilings."

Dunbar has received the Greater Baton Rouge Business Reports Top 40 under 40 award, a proclamation from the City of Gonzales declaring Sept. 8, 2015, as STEM GEMS Day in the city and will receive a Key to the Parish later this month. She also received the Employee Performance Plan from Motiva Enterprises, which is the highest honor an employee can receive because it is merit based and voted on by majority stake holders.

"Ive gotten awards over the years, but this means a lot because it's sending myself a message that I'm doing the right thing and impacting the lives of others, especially women and young girls," she added. "There are some heavy hitters who have this honor. It solidifies that there is nothing wrong with being a women and being a pioneer in an industry or in your community."

"Ms. Dunbar was nominated multiple times this year and the selection committee was impressed by her STEMS GEMS initiative," the Women's Center Director added. "In addition to her work mentoring girls in the STEM fields, Ms. Dunbar is active in many community endeavors that support and advance women."

Others receiving this year's award includes Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, former College of Fellows of the American Theatre Dean Gresdna Doty, the first African American female to graduate from LSU in chemical engineering Del Dugas, Director Emerita of the Center for Academic Success Sandra Yancy McGuire, Bengal Belles President Aimee Simon, Founder and President of CPEX Elizabeth "Boo" Thomas and Channel ZerO Group managing partner Calvin Mackie.

The 2017 Espirit de Femme Award reception will be held March 30 at Boudreaux's in Baton Rouge.

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Two Ascension residents honored with prestigious award - Weekly Citizen

Ascension [Free] is one of the best deckbuilding games on the App Store, and a game I've personally played for many, many hours, and now it's getting ready to get another expansion called Gift of the Elements. Even though the announcement is for the physical version of the expansion, all Ascension's expansions end up in the digital version of the game too. Gift of the Elements is a gift of sorts to fans of the game because it brings back the two most-requested game mechanics from earlier expansions. The first one is Events, first introduced all the way back in Storm of Souls. Events have an immediate impact on all players the moment they're revealed in the center row. The new Events will be more impactful than the original ones.

The expansion is also bringing back Transform; events aren't considered to be in the center row this time around, so you'll have to pay the transform cost to acquire them. Gift of the Elements is also adding two new mechanics to the game; Infest allows you to force your opponent to draw useless Monsters instead of their strong cards, and Empower allow you to banish a player card when you acquire it, the first time that the game allows you to banish a played card. Plenty of new ideas in a game that hasn't stopped expanding.

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The Great Card Game 'Ascension' Getting Another Expansion Called 'Gift of the Elements' - Touch Arcade

ST. AMANT Two Ascension schools displaced from the historic August flooding finally movedfrom their temporary sites Monday morning.

Lake Elementary moved from host sites Duplessis Primary, Prarieville Middle and the old RPCC campus to temporary buildings on its home campus. St. Amant Primary movedits PreK through second grades from G.W. Carver Primary to the old RPCC campus so the entireschool is on a single site.

Both schools have been at their respective host sites since the August flood. Teachers movedtheir classroom materials over the weekend in preparationfor the start of school on Monday.

"This is yet another significant step toward our flood recovery, and we are very appreciative of all the hard work of internal and externalpartners that have madethis happen," said Ascension Public Schools Superintendent David Alexander.

St. Amant High School returned to its campus on Feb. 13 and Galvez Primary returned on Mar. 2.

The last flooded school to leave a host site will be Galvez Middle.

For more flood recovery updates, visit http://www.apsb.org.

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One Ascension school returns, another moves to temporary site after flood - WBRZ

Bob Henkel, president and CEO of Ascension Healthcare, came in at No. 18 in the Wall Streets Journal list of The Million-Dollar Club of individuals employed by nonprofits that earned at least $1 million in 2014. Henkel, who has announced he plans to retire from Ascension as of June 30, earned total compensation of $7.5 million in 2014.

Overall, the nonprofit organizations analyzed by the newspaper provided seven-figure compensation to about 2,700 employees in 2014. About 75 percent of the nonprofits that provided million-dollar compensation packages worked in the health care industry.

Some lawmakers have been critical of the increasing amount of compensation paid to executives at charity organizations, which receive substantial tax break benefits.

Whos harmed by this is really who is supposed to benefit from the charities the orphan, the refugee, the stray dog, Dean Zerbe, a lawyer who was a senior advisor to Sen. Charles Grassley, told the Wall Street Journal.

Others say these large nonprofits have to pay well to attract talented executives.

While there are outlier cases where the salary is not warranted, there are also huge organizations like hospitals and colleges and universities that are billion-dollar enterprises, Elizabeth Boris, of the Urban Institute think tank, told the newspaper. If a business person were running a similar-sized entity, there wouldnt be eyebrows raised at all.

Read the full report here.

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Ascension's Tersigni, others cited in WSJ study on high pay at nonprofits - St. Louis Business Journal

LIAM HEHIR

Last updated05:00, March 7 2017

CHRIS SKELTON/FAIRFAX NZ

Labour leader Andrew Little and his new deputy Jacinda Ardern.

OPINION: Will Jacinda Arden's accession to the deputy leadership of the Labour Party be the "game changer" that has been heralded so often before?

Ifthe Labour-Green memorandum of understanding, the rise of James Shaw, the retirement of John Key and the Future of Work Commission have not had the prophesied effect, will this be the thing that finally tilts the balance of New Zealand politics away from National?

Many commentators are excited about the prospect, telling us that Ardern's young, hip image and undeniable media impact will supply Labour with the votes of young Aucklanders in numbers sufficient to make this year's election competitive.

This is a curious claim given that the new deputy who recently won the substantively uncontested Mt Albert by-election has twice failed to win Auckland Central.

READ MORE: *Editorial: Annette King a worthy Wellington champion *Stacey Kirk: Mt Albert win gives Jacinda Ardern near unstoppable momentum *Annette King's move from defiance to acceptance boosts Labour's chances

It's hard to see how Ardern guarantees the votes of young Aucklanders when an Auckland seat held by Labour from 1919 to 2008, which happens to have the highest concentration of young voters in the country, proved beyond her reach.

But more generally, the case for changes in party leaderships making a material difference in elections seems overblown.

We often hear that voters are overly influenced by the politics of public relations. There is probably something to this, but it pays to remember the gripes almost always comes from the losing side. While this makes sense (why would the winners complain?), the danger is that blaming the environment is an outlet for those in denial about the real causes of their defeat.

Rejection is never easy to take, and it may be easier to stomach the idea that the voters are at fault for deciding on the basis personal popularity rather than policy and competence. It's a bipartisan temptation, with ideologues on both Left and the Right being equally apt to blame the herd mentality of the "sheeple" for the unpopularity of the agendas.

In 2001, the National Party caucus despaired of its chances of winning the next election under Jenny Shipley. It deposed her in favour of her recently appointed deputy, Bill English, who had long been touted as a future prime minister. Despite being just 39 years old, English had been in Parliament for 11 years and had even served as minister of finance.

After becoming leader of the opposition, English's preferred prime minister percentage in the Colmar-Brunton poll climbed strongly before falling and then rising again in the run-up to the 2002 election. While he never came close to matching Helen Clark, his ratings were much better than those achieved by the last four Labour leaders.

But as far as the National Party's polling went, however, it didn't make much difference. Whatever the trend in the preferred prime minister stakes, National's party vote maintained a consistent downward trajectory. The party went on to receive less than 21 per centin the general election.

In recent years, John Key's personal style has been cited as an example of PR vapidity triumphing over substance. However, it is pretty clear that his government's popularity was more stable than his personal popularity.

After becoming prime minister, through to the 2014 election, Key's preferred prime minister rating was very rarely less than 50 per cent, with it exceeding more than 70 per cent at times. Prior to his resignation last year, however, the ceiling for his rating was lower than 40 per cent.

And yet through that decline, National's polling proved resilient. It certainly did not go through anything like the same decline.

But in any event, Ardern is not the leader of the Labour Party. She has become Andrew Little's deputy. If the actual leader only has a marginal impact in most cases, a deputy leader's impact will be smaller by several orders of magnitude.

Ardern was a high-profile member of the Opposition before acceding to the deputy leadership and it's hard to see what her new position adds to that. Against that, the manner and timing of her promotion have had two very certain outcomes.

First, now former deputy Annette King will retire from Parliament. This means Labour will lose an MP with experience of actually being in power, who has the respect of the other side of the aisle and who is widely admired in the provinces. For all the handwringing about the need for renewal, her retirement is not a good thing for Labour.

Secondly, assuming she wants the job, Ardern will become leader if Andrew Little fails to topple National in September.

Until now, he probably would have survived a narrow loss, as many leaders of the Opposition have done before him. Now, all the momentum is with Ardern and, like Bill English in 2001, the pressure will be on for her to complete what many have considered to be her destiny ever since she first arrived in Parliament back in 2008.

-Stuff

See original here:

Ardern ascension, King exit, barely balances ledger for Labour - The Press West Coast

New classroom buildings for freshmen are steadily going up on the campuses of two Ascension Parish public high schools mostly untouched by the August flood.

Work on the freshman academies at East Ascension and Dutchtown high schools, both of which escaped flooding, came to a halt for two or three weeks after the flood while construction workers dealt with their own flood-damaged homes, said Travis Parker, the school district's project manager for the academies.

But in the months since, "We've been back to full force and moving along," Parker said.

The two freshman academies, each approximately 38,000 square feet, broke ground in fall 2015 and are expected to open for students in spring 2018, he said.

On the campus of East Ascension High on Worthey Street in Gonzales, the $17 million Freshman Academy project, paid for by sales tax revenues and a 2009 bond issue, includes a new kitchen and cafeteria/auditorium, which will serve the entire student body.

About 70 percent complete, the Freshman Academy is a two-story, free-standing building that will tie into the main school building by walkways.

The freshman building will incorporate the colors and textures of the existing school, in an updated look for the East Ascension High campus, which opened in 1965, Parker said.

The $12.8 million Freshman Academy at Dutchtown High, on La. 73, will be almost identical to the main school building, one of the newer schools in the district, which opened in 2002 and recently had its cafeteria expanded.

The freshman building, funded by sales tax revenues and about 40 percent complete, will tie into the main school building on both its first and second floors, Parker said.

The Ascension Parish school district has, for several years, had a "freshman academy" program in each of its four high schools, three on the east bank and one on the west bank, with freshmen having the same group of teachers throughout the day, intervention for those who are struggling and their own associate principal.

The new freshman academy buildings, each designed for 600 freshmen, give ninth-graders their own space and ease overcrowding in the three east bank high schools.

+11

ST. AMANT A two-story classroom building just for ninth-graders is being built on the camp

In February, the opening of the school district's first Freshman Academy at St. Amant High on La. 431 was instrumental in the student body's return to the campus.

St. Amant High students, who after the flood had been going to school at host site Dutchtown High in the afternoon hours, are back at their home campus in temporary classroom buildings and the Freshman Academy.

+14

ST. AMANT For the past six months, St. Amant High students have carried on the school year

The freshman buildings are a way "to help students move from the eighth grade, where they are on top, to high school, where they are beginning anew," Lisa Bacala, director of secondary education for the school district, has said.

Follow Ellyn Couvillion on Twitter, @EllynCouvillion.

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Freshman academy projects 'moving along' at two Ascension Parish ... - The Advocate

As the competition went on, the words got tougher and tougher.

But, in the end, Ascension Academys Jeff Zheng outlasted 15 other competitors over 35 rounds plus the championship word to win the 69th Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday at the Region 16 Education Service Center. Zheng, 12, moves on to the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., for Bee Week, beginning May 28 and culminating in the nationally televised competition.

Zhengs championship word was monstrosity, which he spelled just after bifocals.

My last five words were the most difficult, Zheng said.

Eli Alley, 12, almost got stuck on the word wiseacre, which he didnt know before the competition. But now that the Buffalo, Okla., student knows its definition, Alley thinks its an apropos self-descriptor.

I like that word, he said. I feel like I could be described that way sometimes.

Alley placed second in the competition after faltering on the word imitate. He improved after last years fourth-place finish and says hes ready to compete and win next year.

I find spelling fun because you get to learn new words that youve never heard before, he said. It gives you a feeling of relief when theres a word you dont know but someone else gets that word. Sometimes it feels unfair because someone gets such an easy word and youre stuck with a word you had to guess on.

Perrytons Nicholas Battin won third place and said he loves the challenge of competing. Battin says he was eliminated in the third round during his last trip to the Regional Spelling Bee, so this time he studied for about two-and-a-half hours a day.

There are some words that I struggle with that have weird spellings; those I have to constantly spell, Battin said.

Kinley Rehder from Shattuck, Okla., said she started competitively spelling about three years ago.

The first year I tried out, I came here and got fourth place, she said. I love the meanings and definitions of words.

Rehder, the last girl standing at this years Bee, said her biggest challenge is learning to slow down and take her time. She was eliminated on the word lulled.

Some of the junior spelling champions from the regions counties were also in attendance.

Storm Heger, whose favorite word is contraband, traveled with his family from Hugoton, Kan., to watch big sister Gillian compete.

Some words are challenging but I usually just look them up on the internet or in the dictionary, Storm said. Theres nothing I cant overcome.

Read the original here:

Ascension Academy's Jeff Zheng wins Regional Spelling Bee - Amarillo.com

The Ascension LGBT Party, which has been located on Fire Island Pines in Long Island and more recently inMykonos Greece is coming to the Asbury Park beach and New Jersey this August.

Organizers say attendees come from around the world. This year in Asbury Park the party organizers say there will be 14 deejays spinning at 11 different locations between August 4-6, 2017 in the city. The main location will be the primary hotel host Asbury Hotel on Kingsley Avenue. The Asbury Hotel is justa short two blocks from the famous beach and Boardwalk. The Saturday Celebration party will take place at the renovated Asbury Lanes, which is adjacent to the hotel, according to Ascension organizers.

The fest was staged at Mykonos Greece for the past two years, Organizers are glad to bring it back to the states. We are thrilled to bring Ascension back to the states this year, said Eric von Kuersteiner. He launched the Ascension Party back in 2006 in Long Island. Ascension is going to bring thousands of visitors from all over the tri-state area as well as the world to Asbury [Park]. It will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase the local businesses to thousands of new visitors.

Ascension is an LGBT charity event and the organizers say that 100 percent of proceeds raised this year will be donated to Asbury Park and other local LGBTcharities.

For more information visit http://www.ascensionparty.com.

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LGBT Ascension Party moves to Asbury Park this August - Out In Jersey

DONALDSONVILLE In the days leading up to President Donald Trump's first address to Congress, a large contingent from Ascension Parish government that included Parish President Kenny Matassa, seven of 11 Parish Council members and handful of staffers came to Washington hat in hand.

Specifically, they are seeking a slice of the $1 trillion in infrastructure spending that Trump said he'll be asking Congress to supply.

Council Chairman Bill Dawson said Thursday that parish officials believe Ascension's important role in the nation's energy sector should give it a priority for some of those dollars and made that case to new U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R- La., and others in Congress.

"If the Trump administration has an infrastructure bill, we think we should get some priorities because we're carrying the load for the energy in the United States," Dawson said during a council meeting in Donaldsonville. "We have a large section of industrial development here. We don't have the roads, the exit roads. We don't have the supply roads that we need to supply those industries."

Trump hasn't yet offered a lot details about where the $1 trillion will come from or how much will go toward traditional public works projects.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Republican Pennsylvania Congressman Bill Shuster said billions of that investment could come in the form of planned private sector investment, like pipelines, that is being held up by federal agencies.

Shuster chairs the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In late January, Congressional Democrats proposed their own $1 trillion, 10-year infrastructure plan with a focus on major public infrastructure projects but left unclear how it would be paid for as well.

Ascension Council Chairman Dawsonmade the announcement as he and other parish officials recapped the large parish delegation's visit to Washington, D.C., over the Mardi Gras weekend and through the middle of the week. They made the stops on Capitol Hill after a weekend National Association of Counties conference in Washington.

He said the visit with Kennedy was among several with federal agencies that affect the parish and other members of the parish's congressional delegation, including U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, and aides to U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans.

The group also met with U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Port Barre, who was sworn in to his first term in January.

Matassa said he was able to deliver a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that was signed by him and the presidents of four other parishes in the region. In the letter, they indicate their support for construction of the Comite River Diversion Canal, extension of the proposed West Shore hurricane protection levee so it protects St. James and Ascension parishes, and the dredging of Bayou Manchac.

Matassa also pressed for Ascension to get a greater share of federal disaster recovery dollars for the March and August 2016 floods in the next round of funding that state officials are pursuing.

"We would like to see some of those funds come directly to the parish, so we can get going and do what we need to do," Matassa said.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has asked for nearly $4 billion to recover from the floods, but Congress has approved about $1.7 billion. In the first batch of funding, nearly $438 million, Ascension has been projected to receive just a small fraction due to restrictions on the money.

Parish officials also used the D.C. visit to air a few grievances, from the slow pace of permitting by the Corps on major drainage projects to how ozone attainment is enforced in the parish.

Dawson also noted that parish officials aired their complaints with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over their response to the August flood and, in particular, the speed with which residents are receiving their insurance payouts under the National Flood Insurance Program.

"People pay their premiums on time. People pay their taxes on time, but they didn't receive their payments on time," Dawson said.

Follow David J. Mitchell on Twitter, @NewsieDave.

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Ascension officials visit Washington DC, want piece of Trump infrastructure pie - The Advocate

Last season, the Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Knights finished runner-up in the Virginia Colonial Conference (VCC) and qualified for the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) state tournament for the 12th time in the last 16 seasons as the number seven seed.

The season before that, the Knights finished fourth in the VCC.

Every year, weve improved, Blessed Sacrament Huguenot baseball coach James Poore said. Now, its just a matter of putting it all together. Weve got a lot of guys coming back. Weve got some good baseball players.

Coming into the 2017 season, the Knights lost just two seniors from last years team. Tanner Dobrucky, a second team All-VCC selection also departed for Douglas Freeman.

Among the returning players are Carter Davis, who was a first team All-VISAA selection last season, as well as Coleman Smith and James Heldmann, just to name a few.

James Heldmann had a fantastic year pitching, Poore said. He threw a ton of strikes and didnt walk a lot of people. He pitched really good baseball. Hitting wise, you had Coleman do extremely well. Behind the plate, Carter did extremely well. We hit the ball really well.

As a team, Poore said that they hit at over a .300 average last season.

But, he does want to work on the defense side of the ball.

I think we struggled a bit defensively, he said. Were going to work on that a lot, thats something I really want to focus on.

As far as new faces go, Chris Gupton is one player that Poore feels can make an impact this season for the Knights.

He played basketball and football for us, Poore said. (Gupton) played at Hermitage last year. He played the outfield for them. I havent seen him play much, but watching him play other sports, hes a really good athlete and a really good teammate. I think hell be a perfect fit for the team.

Just like last year, the Knights will face some of the best teams in the area when it comes to private school baseball.

Collegiate, the defending Division-I state champions, Steward School and Trinity Episcopal are just some of the teams that Blessed Sacrament Huguenot will face this year.

Were going to play some good people, Poore said. The reason we do that is because I believe that I have some good kids, some good ballplayers. I think it pays dividends at the end of the year when youre facing tougher teams like that.

As far as what Poore would like to see from his team throughout the season, his mantra is simple.

Ive already told the guys this, but theyre goal should be to win every pitch, to win every inning and do that for seven innings, he said. Everything else will take care of itself.

The Knights begin the year on Mar. 15 against Walsingham Academy at 4:30 p.m.

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Blessed Sacrament Huguenot baseball looking to continue VCC ascension - Richmond.com

St. Louis Business Journal

Ascension Medical appoints new president St. Louis Business Journal Ascension Medical Group, the national provider organization for St. Louis-based Ascension, has named Dr. Joseph Cacchione as its new president. Cacchione joins Ascension from the Cleveland Clinic, where he has served as chairman of operations and ...

Continued here:

Ascension Medical appoints new president - St. Louis Business Journal

STILLWATER When Stillwater said arrivederci to downtown restaurant Luna Rossa last year, Ascension Episcopal Church said buon giorno to the businesss wood-fired pizza oven.

The church hopes to set up a food and social ministry by installing the oven at the church office site on Fourth Street in downtown Stillwater.

Reverend Buff Grace said that the church is in the midst of putting a team together to lead the charge to install the oven. There will most likely be a few hurdles to overcome, such as acquiring the proper building permits and making sure the building and oven are in compliance with health codes.

Grace explained that the idea for a pizza oven ministry was inspired by his brother-in-law, Jim Schmitt.

He installed a pizza oven back in the 90s, Grace said. Its been a lot of fun; every time I go over he fires up the pizza oven. He has a flagpole, and whenever the oven is on, he runs a flag up the pole and neighbors know they can bring whatever they want ... Since then weve had a dream of putting a pizza oven in here, and having that space for our congregation and anyone who wants to come in and join us.

It was also through Schmitt that the opportunity presented itself. Schmitt is a collector of antique architecture items, and had arranged to take sconces from the restaurant interior after it closed. He noticed that the pizza oven was still on the site, and learned it might be available.

We talked with the owner and were able to work out a deal, Grace said. It had to be out within a couple of days. We scrambled to get a team to move it out and move it to the church. It was somewhat of a windfall; we didnt have a (project) team together right away, so we wanted to wait until beginning of the new year (to begin planning for the ovens use).

Luckily for Ascension, one of the congregations most recent members is former pastor Bryce Johnson, who spearheaded the installation of a bread oven at United Methodist Church in White Bear Lake.

He has a lot of skills and capacity with this, Grace said. The work that he did was mainly along the lines of bread making. He had done some study in Europe for bread making, so this would be slightly different than what were doing.

Grace said that there has been a large amount of interest from people within the parish.

You say, lets gather a meeting to talk about some of the usual things you would expect in a church, but you say wood-fired oven and people come out of the woodwork, he joked. It stirred up a bunch of interest.

The group discussed the many options for the oven ministry and at this point, plans on an adult fellowship-type of ministry, not that it wouldnt be available for youth and kids, he said. Were seeing that theres a lot of ways to get connected with the church community, and Sunday morning is not necessarily the best avenue for everybody. We think that Christian community is really important, and it doesnt have to be on Sunday morning. This turned out to be a brilliant way to do that.

Grace estimated that the oven might be in use by the end of next summer. He doesnt expect the oven will move far from its current garage location, but hed like to see improvements to the driveway and garage area before everything is complete.

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Ascension serves a slice of faith - Forest Lake Lowdown

ST. AMANT Two Ascension schools will move from their host sites since the August flood to temporary facilities on Mar. 6.

Lake Elementary will move from host sites Duplessis Primary, Prarieville Middle and the old RPCC campus to temporary buildings on its home campus. St. Amant Primary will move its PreK through second grades from G.W. Carver Primary to the old RPCC campus so the entireschool is on a single site.

Both schools have been at their respective host sites since the August flood. Teachers will move their classroom materials over the weekend in preparationfor the start of school on Monday. According to Ascension Public Schools, parents will receive information about schedules, bus and car drop-off/pick-up and classroom locations.

"This is yet another significant step toward our flood recovery, and we are very appreciative of all the hard work of internal and externalpartners that have madethis happen," said Ascension Public Schools Superintendent David Alexander.

St. Amant High School returned to its campus on Feb. 13 and Galvez Primary returned on Mar. 2 After Lake Elementary and St. Amant Primary's move, the last flooded school to leave a host site will be Galvez Middle.

For more flood recovery updates, visit http://www.apsb.org.

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Two Ascension schools to move from host locations following flood - WBRZ

DUTCHTOWN A series of wrecks injured at least two people in Ascension Parish around lunchtime Thursday.

The wrecks were along Highway 73 near Dutchtown High and the parish library. Specific information about what happened has not been released.

A WBRZ viewer shared video on his Facebook page of the wreck and recorded video of a medical ambulance landing at the high school.

Check back for important updates.

There were a series of major wrecks across the region Thursday. A teenager died after being hit walking to school in Livingston Parish. Click HERE to read more. Also, a major crash closed Jefferson Highway in Baton Rouge. Two people had to be cut from two different vehicles involved and one person died. Click HERE to read more.

EDITOR's NOTE: A previous update to this story reported the crash as being deadly, but no one has died at this crash; another crash on Highway 73 left at least one person dead Thursday.

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Series of wrecks near high school in Ascension Thursday - WBRZ

Release date:TBD

Studio:Walt Disney Pictures

Director:Joseph Kosinski

MPAA Rating:N/A

Screenwriters:David DiGilio, Eddy Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Jesse Wigutow

Starring:Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde

Genre:Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure

Official website:Disney.com/TRON

In the 2010 film, Garrett Hedlund played Sam Flynn, the son of the original TRON's Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges). Although a specific plot has not yet been revealed, the next chapter was said earlier to involve an exploration of life and death in the digital realm.

TRON 3 was called, "TRON: Ascension," the concept, which is an invasion movie from inside the machine coming out as opposed to one weve usually seen. So we hinted at that at the end of Legacy with Quorra coming out, but the idea for Ascension was a movie that was, the first act was in the real world, the second act was in the world of TRON, or multiple worlds of TRON, and the third act was totally in the real world. And I think that really opens up, blows open the concept of TRON in a way that would be thrilling to see on screen. But theres also a really interesting character study in Quorra and a Stranger in a Strange Land, trying to figure out where she belongs having lived in the real world for a few years, and where does she fit in.

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TRON: Ascension - ComingSoon.net

Ascension Lutheran Church will be a partner site for Trinity Institutes 46th National Theological Conference on Water Justice from March 22 through 24 at the church, 1600 E. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks.

The conference will provide guidance for churches and individuals wishing to take unified, faithbased action on the front lines of the water justice movement that assures all people have access to clean, safe drinking water.

At the conference, activists, scholars, authors and experts will offer guidance on the issue.

Conference participation is open to anyone interested in a practical, theological perspective on water justice.

The live global conference will be held at Trinity Church in New York City and webcast across the world.

As a partner site, Ascension will offer all aspects of the conference, including on-site reflection groups to help participants explore the issue and what they can do about it.

Speakers at this years conference include former California Sen. Barbara Boxer, a national leader on environmental protection who served in the House of Representatives for 10 years before becoming a U.S. senator in 1993.

After four terms as senator, she stepped down in 2017 and continues to advocate for environmental justice.

Other speakers are Maude Barlow, a political activist, author, policy critic and a former United Nations senior adviser; Winston Halapuais, the archbishop and primate of the Diocese of Polynesia and Aotearoa New Zealand; Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist and director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University; Christiana

Peppard, an expert on the ethics of fresh water and problems of climate change, social justice and sustainability; and Thabo Makgoba, archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa.

For more information about attending the conference at Ascension, email Stacy Smith at ssmith@alcto.org, call (805) 495-0406 or visit http://www.alcto.org.

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Ascension to host water justice conference - Thousand Oaks Acorn

Quality care in a home-like experience for individuals with Alzheimers and dementia-related disorders

Charlies Place II Respite and Activity Center, the first expansion of the Alzheimers Services of the Capital Areas nationally recognized Charlies Place, is scheduled to open in early April 2017. It will be located on Purpera Road in The Arc of East Ascensions building in Gonzales. The person-centered respite care program will begin operations two days per week, six hours per day. CP II will offer a purposeful day out for mild to moderate Alzheimers affected individuals, as well as provide a much-needed break for their caregivers.

A four-time recipient of the Alzheimers Foundation of America Excellence in Dementia Care Distinction, the original Charlies Place, located on North Boulevard in Baton Rouge, has provided socialization and engaging activities to affected individuals, since it opened in 2007. Area physicians at St. Elizabeths Hospital are also very supportive, having repeatedly identified respite care as a serious community need.

With the aging of Americas baby boomers, Alzheimers and Dementia are on the rise, and scientific research is rapidly expanding across the country. In 2015, Scott Wilks, Ph.D., of the LSU School of Social Work, reported that CP Is benefits to both affected individuals and their caregivers were markedly discernible. The Caregiver Control Group not received respite support had a 67% higher stress rate than those using CP Is services. In addition, results also indicated that over 18 months the CP I Care Group showed no significant decline in their cognition and socialization. In other words, high quality, compassionate respite care does make a significant difference.

Charlies Place II already has the help and support of many people, organizations and companies, including the Lamar and Dixon Foundation, which have pledged $100,000 of matching funds to inspire other foundations and donors in support of CP II. However, the best endorsements undoubtedly will come from the people CP II will serve.

Since my mom has been going to Charlies Place or her social club, she has improved in every area," a caregiver who uses CP I for her mother, enthusiastically said. "Shes so excited to go, even though she cannot tell me much about her experience. I think she feels part of society or the world once again.

Alzheimers Services of the Capital Area is a local, non-profit organization which provides education and support programs to those affected by Alzheimers disease or dementia in ten civil parishes surrounding the Greater Baton Rouge area, including Ascension, Assumption, East and West Baton Rouge, East and West Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee and St. Helena. Alzheimers Services is not affiliated with a national organization, which allow all funds raised to support families in the local community.

For more information about CP I and II programs and fees, please visit http://www.alzbr.org or call (225) 334-7494.

Contributed Report

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Charlie's Place II to open in Ascension Parish Spring 2017 - Donaldsonville Chief

On paper, it wasnt supposed to happen, but the young Slidell Tigers stuck with the game plan andupset top-seeded East Ascension 37-35 on the road in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

We have a very young team and they realize the importance of playing together, Slidell coach Dale Chimento said by phone Tuesday night. They are playing more intelligent and this was a good example believing in the team concept.

The 16th-seeded Tigers will travel on Friday to take on ninth-seeded Bonnabel, a 68-54 winner at eighth-seed Ruston.

Tylor Harris led the Tigers with 12 points, while Travis Harrington added six and Jonathan Merriman followed with five.

Slidell (24-7) was effective in not allowing East Ascension (27-7) to score in transition, which had been one of their primary strengths during the regular season. In fact, going into the half, the Tigers were in front, 17-16. The message was calm and simple as to what needed to happen the rest of the way.

I told them I thought we could play better in the second half and not turn the ball over as much, said Chimento. We focused on improving.

Just as they did in the first half, Slidell outscored East Ascension by one in the second half. It was even in the third with seven points each, but the Tigers outscored the Spartans 13-12 in the fourth to hang on for the win.

Our goal was to not let them get penetration, said Chimento. They have a really good point guard and we had to keep him from getting into a flow.

Slidell had gotten off to a fast start in the 2016-17 season, winning 10 of their first 11 games and then endured a stretch where they lost three of their next four. They finished by winning seven of their last nine in the regular season, including a 67-64 upset of District 6-5A champion St. Pauls, ending the Wolves' 28-game winning streak in league play.

Slidell has not faced any of the teams remaining in the Class 5A playoffs during the regular season. That list includes No. 2 Ouachita Parish, No. 3 Natchitoches Central, No. 4 Chalmette, No. 9 Bonnabel, No. 10 West Monroe, No. 21 Helen Cox and No. 22 Landry-Walker.

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Slidell 37, East Ascension 35: Tigers upset top-seeded Spartans in Class 5A playoffs - NOLA.com