Monthly Archives: May 2021

Opinion: ‘Journalists are literally responsible for filling the minds of a society’ | ClarkCountyToday.com – clarkcountytoday.com

Posted: May 11, 2021 at 11:48 pm

There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil.

Many professions are governed by a code of ethics. These codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. There are also avenues for legal action for the victims of those wronged by members of certain professions, as defined by the industry-acknowledged ethical codes.

Healthcare is one such notable profession. A good physician adheres to a commonly understood set of standards. The modern version of The Hippocratic Oath is inspiring. The full document can be found here. Each phrase has been crafted thoughtfully and together they contribute to a body of ideas that is vital for the safe practice of medicine. Of course, the profession is only as trustworthy as the individual health care providers that choose to adhere to these words to the best of their ability. One phrase that stood out to me is the requisite respect for the Hard won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk This sentiment promotes the idea of honoring those that have practiced medicine before you by striving to achieve their standard, or hopefully raising the bar.

Financial advisors, lawyers, counselors and many other professions are bound by a set of ethics for the protection of their clients. In my opinion, the journalism field is a profession that has lost its way in this critical objective of protecting its clients the consumers of news and desperately needs to return to a commonly held ethical standard. In 1914, The Journalists Creed was written by the first dean of the Missouri School of Journalism, Walter Williams. The full body of the Creed can be found here. The first line states, I believe in the profession of journalism. As many know, I have worked in the journalism field my entire life. I desperately want to believe in the profession of journalism. But today I do not even recognize most of its members as adherents to any sort of ethical code whatsoever. The Creed also states that accuracy and fairness are fundamental to good journalism and that a single standard of helpful truth and cleanness should prevail for all; that the supreme test of good journalism is the measure of its public service.

For years going on decades, our most available news outlets are actually heading in the opposite direction by providing a criminal disservice to their viewers. There is only one truth. And if every channel is reporting something different as truth, then we have a crippling problem. Journalists are literally responsible for filling the minds of a society. That is a tremendous responsibility. And we are living the grave consequences of its failure. In the utopia in my head, the industry would be legally bound by a code of ethics, such as the Journalists Creed, and there could be a path to salvaging this crucial need in our country.

Get the truth and print it.

I believe the measuring stick of public service begins with how well a news organization deals in facts straight up, indisputable, unbiased, truth-based facts. Today it is easy, and lazy, and devious for journalists to first decide the way they want the story to be received, and then cherry pick the facts that support their end goal. It isnt journalism. It is an agenda. And it is a stain on all of those true journalists that came before us.

Journalists should be watchdogs, not lap dogs.

The Creed goes on to say that the journalism which succeeds the best is stoutly independent, unmoved by pride of opinion or greed of power This ideal deserves a moment of silence and to be repeated for emphasis. UNMOVED BY PRIDE OF OPINION. Is there anyone reading this who can honestly report that their favored news organization is unopinionated? Well that my friends, is the standard set generations ago. That is the goal. And the players in this entire industry should be absolutely ashamed. A free press is paramount to a free society. Unless you find yourself on an opinion page (such as the piece you are presently reading), a journalist should never tell you how to think. Most headlines and stories are so routinely filled with opinion that the reader is becoming immune.

Opening up my computer to a headline of the day easily proves my point. Many news outlets are calling the audit currently happening in Arizona a GOP fraud fantasy. If that news organization had even a modicum of integrity, this sort of headline would never make it past the editor. But that is not the world we live in today. This fact absolutely ruins me. The industry that I love and have been so proud to be a part of is failing. It provides little worthy public service. In my opinion, the media is the sole reason our country is irrevocably divided today. Certain subjects are sensationalized. Others are ignored. The pot is continually stirred for ratings and the true purpose of the industry is gone. And the worst thing is, so many citizens are unaware, or just dont care. For the record, the news source from which this is being written, is driven to uphold the dire responsibility of reporting the truth to the best of our ability.

Can you imagine if we had an independent review board for the journalism industry responsible for holding the actors accountable to the truth? And those that fell short were removed from their duties? The victims of its crimes would regain their sight. The massive impact would transform this country in a year.

The Creed goes on to suggest that journalism is constructive, tolerant but never careless, self-controlled, patient, always respectful of its readers but always unafraid is unswayed by the appeal of privilege or the clamor of the mob; seeks to give every man a chance is profoundly patriotic

Today, our 24-hour news cycle is largely about instant gratification. Being first to break a story is often more important than being right about the details. Brian Sicknick, the police officer who died at the Capitol protests on Jan. 6 was widely reported to have been struck by a fire extinguisher and that caused his death. Since then, it has been revealed that he actually had two strokes and died of natural causes, not blunt force trauma. But patiently waiting for the truth, doesnt fan the flames. And now that the wrong story has been portrayed it is impossible to correct the damage done.

A lie can travel halfway around the world, while the truth is putting its shoes on.

The influence the media has on society today is monumental. Greater than at any time before. A phrase in the Hippocratic Oath urges to avoid the trap of therapeutic nihilism. In the medical realm, this suggests that the cure should not do more harm than good. This is squarely the space that the mainstream media occupies today. Doing more harm than good. Just look around at the society it has created. While many are busy pointing fingers at all of the reasons our country is falling apart we actually need to look no further than the talking heads from our living rooms.

Make the lie big, keep it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.

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A Guide to Taskmaster, the Only Show I Want to Watch – Paste Magazine

Posted: at 11:48 pm

Heres how deeply the absurdist British panel program Taskmaster has embedded itself in my psyche over the course of the last many months: Rather than taking its classic pandemic-era form of oh no! Im in a crowd!! in public!!! and none of us are wearing masks!!!!, my most recent stress dream manifested as me waking up to a Twitter announcement that Taskmaster had been renewed for a twelfthbut final!series.

To be clear: Taskmaster, which is currently in the final stretch of its Series 11 run, hasnt yet announced anything about its inevitable twelfth series (though astute superfans have already sussed out a likely line-up)nor has there been any hint that its living on borrowed time. To the contrary, its under contractual obligation to Channel 4 to run at least through Series 15. But when I tell you the *panic* I felt, jolting awake to actually scroll through Twitter and confirm it had all been a bad dream? I mean, I could obviously survive, if the world never got a new series of Taskmaster ever again, but damn if that world wouldnt be a whole lot grayer.

Now that were in the fourteenth(?) month of the pandemic (at least here in the United States), anyone whos even a little online is likely to have heard of Taskmasterjust off the top of my head, I can recall seeing its praises sung by everyone from YA authors to lit mag editors to longform feelings essayists, to one whole Vlogbrother (the latter of whom even started a pandemic-era podcast about it with his wife). When I started watching it, I called to harangue my brother into joining me, only to find he was already a full two series in. When I told my book club to seek it out, I came back a month later to hear that at least one of thema newly minted lawyer and full adulthad been ecstatic to discover something she and her 14-year-old twin brothers could finally bond over. My parents love it. Pajama companies love it. Everyone loves it. Truly, with its endlessly flexible ask comedians to accomplish increasingly arcane tasks then defend their decisions in person premise, Taskmaster was already verging on perfect show for literally any mood territory before we were all trapped inside for a year; since then, the prospect of ending each day sinking into that same absurdist premise has become, for many, a kind of lifeline.

That said, for as ubiquitous as Taskmaster has seemingly become in these trying times, I suspect that, between it being a British panel show (innit) and only available via the programs two official YouTube channels, theres a whole ocean of potential fans still out there. (Yes, free on YouTube)

To that end, I present this Taskmaster primer. Read it; learn it; love it. Let its anti-nihilist spirit wash over you, if you can. If you cant, at least leave yourself open for the longest bouts of laughter you might have succumbed to in awhile.

Originally commissioned by the UKTV channel Dave in 2015, Taskmaster is the brainchild of comedian/musician Alex Horne, who first brought the concept for what the program would eventually become to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010. Tall, bearded, gap-toothed, and in possession of an almost tannicly dry sense of humor, Horne serves as both field moderator and studio jester for what has since become a multiple-award winning show.

That Horne is also the evil genius behind the shows signature tasks, as well as the composer of the programs clownishly slick theme music, might surprise first-time viewers, as his onscreen role is so obviously subordinate to that of the official Taskmaster, comedian Greg Davies. When it comes to the experience that Taskmaster wants both its viewers and its contestants to have, however, that kind of inversion of expectations is really the point. Think you know the best way to build a snowman without any snow? Or how to conceal a whole pineapple on your person? Think you can buy the best present for the Taskmaster, when given just 20? Unless it has occurred to you to [redacted], youll find that, noyou actually dont.

As for who Horne and Davies bring in to compete, each series panel consists of five peopleusually comedians, but also the occasional actor, quiz show presenter or Great British Bake-Off host. American audiences who watch literally any other British quiz shows will recognize at least half of the competitors (Josh Widdicombe, Romesh Ranganathan, Katherine Ryan, Nish Kumar, etc.), but people whove never even heard of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown will still recognize panelists like Aisling Bea (Living With Yourself), Asim Chaudry (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch) and Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd), as well as Noel Fielding (Great British Bake-Off), Mel Giedroyc (same) and Lolly Adefope (Shrill). In general, the panels are a solid mix of established names (Frank Skinner, Liza Tarbuck, Jo Brand) and up-and-coming talent (James Acaster, Rose Matafeo, Mawaan Rizwan), with a demographic mix that generally skews 3:2 male/female and 4:1 white/not.

If the show has any real weakness, its in this latter pointKatherine Ryan was unapologetic in pointing out the unconscious sexism that put her at a significant disadvantage in various live tasks during her series, while similar instances of (honestly much less) unconscious racism in a TSA-themed task in the current series put newcomer Jamali Maddix at a similar, even more infuriating, disadvantage. That a show as otherwise all-around excellent as Taskmaster still has these kinds of flaws is disappointing, but if any show has the will to commit itself to doing better in the future, its also one as otherwise all-around excellent as Taskmaster.

Youve probably picked much of this up by now, but in plain English: Taskmaster is a competition program that asks its panel of comedic competitors to perform a series of pointless tasks over an extended period of time, all with the knowledge that Davies, as the Taskmaster, will eventually hold them each to account for their various decisions, good and bad. Some tasks are silly (Make this coconut look like a businessman), others arcane (Fill an egg cup with tears), still others so dead simple, the panelists end up certain there must be a trick. (Which is often true.) And the tasks dont end once their time in the field is donefor every episode they film in the studio (as few as six in Series 1, as many as ten in later series), the panelists are asked to open by bringing in an item for that weeks prize task (Best Chair, Shiniest Object, Boldest Belt), and end by competing head-to-head in a final live task.

Once theyve gathered in the studio, competitors are given the opportunity to commentate on their performances, after which point the Taskmaster ranks them, generally assigning scores according to how well each person has either executed the task at hand, or explained away their particular brand of failure. Generally, but not alwaysas the Taskmaster is a whimsical tyrantit means that the way he hands out points feels closer to chaos than reason. But this, too, is part of the restorative anti-nihilist heart of the show: Nothing matters, so everything matters. Thats life, baby! Or, as essayist Helena Fitzgerald wrote in a recent edition of her Grief Bacon newsletter, thats a metaphor both for our current moment and our lives more generally: we are constantly having to complete a series of stupid and absurd tasks that make no sense at all, often within a highly pressurized time limit, and then being graded on those tasks by totally unpredictable criteria that are really just one large mans whims.

Look: Everywhere else in life where were subject to this absurd formula, the best possible outcome is abject exhaustion. Here, within the surreal vacuity of the Taskmasters throne room, that same absurdity can just be soothing. It means nothing! It means everything! Embrace the nonsense!

If were talking about when new episodes of Taskmaster air on Channel 4, the answer is every Thursday evening, with each episode uploaded to the shows second official YouTube channel the following day. (Dont ask me why there are two official Taskmaster YouTube channels; some things are better left a mystery.)

If were talking when new episodes of Taskmaster are filmed, well, the answer to that is: All year! Or rather, throughout the year, whenever the competitors are available to turn up at the Taskmaster house and have Alex put them through their mundanely goofy paces. The show tries to put out two series a year since premiering in 2015, with the occasional holiday or Champion of Champions special (Part II of which is due later this year), and this has been the schedule even during the pandemic, which has now gone on long enough that two whole series (plus one New Years special) have aired with social distancing measures in place. Not that those have hurt the show much at allon the contrary, while having to conform to stricter health and safety standards might have been little more than an unhappy hurdle for other competitive reality productions (see: the most recent seasons of American Ninja Warrior and Dancing with the Stars), for Taskmaster, those same hurdles have given Horne and his team the chance to crank the task difficulty level up to eleven.

Of course, the fact that social distancing would only make Taskmaster stronger makes a fair amount of senseso much great art, after all, thrives under intense constraint. (That said, Series 3 did feature a task predicated on asking its panelists to overcome literal hurdles just to retrieve a bowl of soup from a microwave, so maybe its been working under intense constraint all along.)

In the practical sense, its filmed first on location at the Taskmaster house, a former groundskeepers cottage in the middle of a golf course in Chiswick, and then second in a studio where the panelists at last get to come together after months of competing individually to be judged on their performances and participate in the final live-task challenges.

In a streaming sense, Series 1-7, 10 and 11 are available in full across the shows two YouTube channels, while Series 8 is available on CW Seed. Series 9, at least at time of publication, is unavailable outside of the UK. (An especially huge bummer, as its the only series to date to feature three women, and just two men. That said, the shows primary YouTube channel boasts an upload history that would lead one to believe the series arrival is imminent.)

I mean, Taskmaster is, at its core, an absurdist showthe only why it has to answer is why not?

Another meta question, and possibly one only you can answer for yourself. But Alex, Greg, and the rest of the Taskmaster team have gone some distance to help you, both in publishing Taskmaster: The Board Game, and in running a Hometasking mini-series through their primary YouTube channel early in the pandemic. Interested in making your pointless pandemic tasks even more pointless (and thus, more meaningful)? Theyve got you covered!

As for how new viewers should dive in to their first time watching Taskmaster, I would say that, while you really cant go wrong just starting from Series 1, the fact that Series 4 boasts a majority of panelists who Americans are likely to recognize makes it a strong contender. Getting invested in how each person tackles the very concept of tasks is what makes the show so funmight as well give yourself every advantage in being able to make that investment stick early on.

In the meantime, Im about due for a hit of anti-nihilism myself, and just got a notification that the latest Series 11 episode has finally been uploaded. Ill see you all on the other side.

Taskmaster airs on Thursdays on Channel 4, if youre in the UK. For the rest of us, its available streaming on YouTube.

Alexis Gunderson is a TV critic and audiobibliophile. She can be found @AlexisKG.

For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV.

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Nurses at Ascension are serving up hard work and hope in hard times | Opinion – Tennessean

Posted: at 11:47 pm

Teresa Collins, Marco Fernandez-Schklar, Michelle Robertson, Joanna Slagle and Sam Stratton, Guest Columnists Published 4:47 p.m. CT May 11, 2021

Tim Adams and Gordon Ferguson, executives for Ascension and Saint Thomas in Middle Tennessee spoke with Tennessean opinion editor David Plazas. Nashville Tennessean

Nurses are demonstrating a high level of resolve, creativity, and attention to detail despite working more hours than ever before.

America has always honored those who serve society as nurses. In recent years, however, we have come to appreciate more than ever the complex and expanding role which nurses play in our health care system.

Those lines sound as if they were written about the unique challenges of 2020 and 2021, but that paragraph is actually from the spring 1974 proclamation in which President Nixon declared May 6th through 12th the first National Nurse Week.

As we celebrate nurses this year, Ascension Saint Thomas wants to highlight a few of the many deserving associates serving Middle Tennesseans with bravery in times that nursing school could have never predicted.

Daily, these caregivers demonstrate grace under pressure, willingness to adapt in extreme circumstances, and profound commitment to hopefulness.

Nurses are serving as role models and sources of inspiration while carrying unprecedented personal burdens.

Emergency Department Nurse Becky Styll receives a COVID-19 vaccine from Debbie Mahoney, R.N., at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020.(Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)

Registered Nurse Therese Miller of Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West works with compassion and eagerness despite losing two of her loved ones to Covid-19 complications.

When she got vaccinated, she clutched a black-and-white photo of her beloved mom and aunt. Therese feels proud to have been vaccinated in their memory and she wants to share their story as a way to combat vaccine hesitancy.

At Ascension Saint Thomas River Park, behavioral health nurse manager Mandy Gay and occupational health nurse Carrie Freeland have devoted hours to coordinating and staffing vaccine clinics for colleagues and community members alike.

Jill Guiness and Melissa Flemming have been leading similar initiatives at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown, where clinic offerings have included dedicated vaccine clinics for pregnant women.

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Meanwhile, at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford, RNs Michelle Hawkins and Deanna Bratcher managed some of the first vaccine clinics in the state specifically for school teachers. Nurses Glenda Meredith of Murfreesboro and Peggy Okuneff of Nashville both came out of retirement to serve on the front line and help run vaccine clinics.

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Determined to bring cheer to worried parents for the 2020 holidays, RN Kim Meek of the Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown campus spent hours hand-crafting beautiful Halloween and Christmas costumes for each NICU baby.

She began this tradition in pre-COVIDtimes, but decided against allowing the pandemic to halt her creativity. Instead, Kim recruited her coworker Olivia Horne and the two worked in tandem to create the most adorable batches of costumes yet.

As history-making snow and ice descended upon Middle Tennessee this February, nurses Wesley Green and Tiffany Jones drove on precarious roads for hours in order to safely deliver colleagues from their doorsteps to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown.

At sevenmonths pregnant, Emergency Department nurse Lauren Wilcocks hiked to the end of her hilly subdivision with boots and ski poles so that she could be picked up and driven to work at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West.

Jim Pegel brought a blow-up mattress so that he could stay at the West campus for five days and nights to care for patients in departments across the hospital.

Nurse practitioner Franklin Grauzer receives a high-five from his daughter, Emerson, 5, after he received a COVID-19 vaccine at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020.(Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)

At the Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford NICU this spring, Jocelyn Curada hung dozens of colorful Easter decorations across the unit walls to bring symbols of hope to parents and her fellow caregivers.

Meanwhile, Kayla Cochran, Sarah McGowan, and Abigail Martin orchestrated a beautiful baptism ceremony for an end-of-life patient at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford a day before he peacefully passed away.

And nurses are demonstrating this level of resolve, creativity, and attention to detail despite working more hours than ever before.

Ashley Hillis and Kaytlyn Franklin of Ascension Saint Thomas River Park, for example, have been working days, nights, and weekends in every department of the hospital.

Nurse-in-training Amber Underwood often drives to work at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford with her mom, RN Wendy Underwood.

Wendy says, laughing: After every shift, Amber gushes about how much she loves her job and how great her coworkers and patients are. I have to remind her that I already know from years of first-hand experience.

Instead of being intimidated by the pressures facing todays caregivers, student nurses like Amber seem inspired by present realities and optimistic about the part they will play in establishing the new normal.

As that 1974 presidential proclamation asserted, nursing is a role that is evolving and has become increasingly complex in recent history. Willingness to assume new tasks, to adopt changing best practices these are trademarks of the career. But it is hopefulness that is the guiding principle of so many nurses actions and perhaps their most notable attribute.

Ascension Saint Thomas thanks our nurses, and nurses everywhere, for the ways they are serving us, inspiring us, and giving us hope.

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Co-authored by: Teresa Collins, chief nursing officer, Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford; Marco Fernandez-Schklar, chief nursing officer, Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown; Michelle Robertson, chief operating and chief nursing officer, Ascension Saint Thomas; Joanna Slagle, director of nursing, Ascension Saint Thomas River Park; and Sam Stratton, chief nursing officer, Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West.

Read or Share this story: https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2021/05/11/nurses-ascension-serving-up-hard-work-and-hope-hard-times/5045083001/

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Sermon for the Ascension of Jesus, Mark 16:15-20 – The Highland County Press

Posted: at 11:47 pm

By Fr. Mike ParaniukSt. Mary Catholic Churchand St. Benignus Church

A race of aliens visits earth one day. They come in peace and even speak English. All the government and religious leaders want to speak to the aliens.

When it's the pope's turn, he asks: "Do you know about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?"

"You mean J.C?," responds the alien. "Yeah, we know him. He's the greatest, isn't he? Jesus swings by every year to make sure that we are doing OK."

Surprised, the pope follows up with "He visits you every year? It's been over 2,000 years, and we're still waiting for his second coming!"

The alien sees that the pope has become upset at this fact. They try to calm the pope by saying "Maybe he likes our chocolate better than yours?"

The pope retorts "Chocolates? What does that have to do with anything?"

The alien says When Jesus first visited our planet, we gave him a big party and a huge box of chocolates. What did you guys do?"

The Good News is not that Jesus came to Earth. The Good News is not what we humans did to Him, but what Jesus did for us.

The Good News is that Jesus died and rose to new life. Jesus destroyed the greatest evil our world has ever known death. Jesus restored the greatest joy that humans can ever know life forever. Jesus calls you to believe this Good News and proclaim it by your life.

What happens to your life when you accept the call to believe?

Expect these three things to happen: 1) God will make your heart good. A good heart will be known by its loving fruit. He will protect you from the poison of sin in this world. If the snake of temptation bites you, God will not allow any demon to have power over you. 2) You can frequently talk with God in a new language called prayer. A believer will hear God when He speak. 3) A good heart, listening to God speak, will always find God and know His will. It really is not too difficult to find God.

The bible says, Then you will call upon Me and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:12-13.)

Three nurses appeared before St. Peter at the pearly gates. St. Peter said to the first, "Tell me what you did on earth."

Said she, "I was a birthing room nurse. I helped bring hundreds of precious babies into the world."

"Enter!" said St. Peter. Then he turned to the second. "And how about you?" he asked.

She replied, "I was a trauma unit nurse. I helped save hundreds of lives of people involved in terrible accidents."

"Enter!" cried St. Peter and turned to the third.

"I worked for an HMO," she admitted. "Over the years, I saved my company hundreds of thousands of dollars by refusing extended care to people who were trying to bilk the system."

"You may enter!" said St. Peter.

"You really mean it?" asked the nurse incredulously.

"Yes," replied St. Peter. "You've been pre-approved for three days."

If you have a good heart, listen to the Lord and use your life to do Gods will. Jesus will approve you for an unlimited days of joy. The theologian Max Lucado wrote, On the eve of the Cross, Jesus made His decision. He would rather go to hell for you than go to Heaven without you.

Happy Ascension Sunday.

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Around Ascension for May 5, 2021 (copy) | Ascension | theadvocate.com – The Advocate

Posted: at 11:47 pm

Humberto Fontova to address Ascension GOP Roundtable

Humberto Fontova, author, columnist and sportsman, will be the speaker at the Ascension GOP Roundtable sponsored by Ascension Republican Women at 11:30 a.m. May 20 at the Clarion Inn on La. 30 in Gonzales.

Fontova was born in Cuba and, together with his family, immigrated to the United States in 1961. He grew up in New Orleans, graduated from the University of New Orleans and received his master's degree from Tulane University. An avid sportsman, he penned his first book, "The Helldivers' Rodeo," in 2001. Fontovas third book, published in 2005, was "Fidel: Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant," a political and emotional expose' about Fidel Castro and the only totalitarian dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere. Fontova continued with the political genre in "Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots who Idolize Him" and "The Longest Romance." In a return to the sportsman theme, Fontovas latest book is the rollicking Louisiana tale "Crazy on the Bayou."

Cost for the lunch is $22, collected at the door. The event is open to the public and guests are welcome. Reservations are requested. RSVP at (225) 921-5187 or email ARWrUS@aol.com

The Ascension Parish Sheriffs Office is teaming up with State Police and other law enforcement agencies for the National Click It, or Ticket initiative to take place May 24 through June 6.

During this period, deputies will be conducting random seat belt checks, enforcing Louisiana seat belt laws and educating the public on the importance of how a seat belt can help save lives.

This statewide initiative is funded by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. One of the safest choices drivers and passengers can make is to buckle up. Buckling up is the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a crash.

Ascension Parish government is providing Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales.

The free vaccinations will be offered for six weeks, Mondays through Saturdays, until June 5. Vaccination hours will each day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Everyone aged 16 years and older is eligible to receive this vaccine. Walk-ins are welcome, but those wishing to preregister can do so online at https://laredcap.oph.dhh.la.gov/surveys/?s=EP34HFE77F. Complete the form, then choose Lamar-Dixon as your site.

Additionally, the Ascension Parish Health Unit in Gonzales is still offering the Moderna vaccine. Call (225) 450-1425 for an appointment.

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Take off Pounds Sensibly meets starting with weigh-in at 9:15 a.m. and meeting at 10 a.m. every Thursday at the fellowship hall at Carpenter's Chapel Church, 41181 La. 933, in Prairieville.

Dues are $5 a month. For information, call Miriam Sanchez at (225) 202-8521.

The Ascension Parish Library is launching a new ongoing project titled "A Photographic History of Ascension Parish." With funding from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the library is asking for your help in preserving the unique history of our parish. The program starts at 6:30 p.m. May 18. Speakers will include program scholar Edward Benoit, coordinator of the archival studies and cultural heritage resource management programs at LSU; and local historian Ira Babin. This event can be attended either in person at Ascension Parish Librarys Gonzales location or on Zoom. Registration required. Space may be limited. Social distancing and masks will be required. To register or for more information, call the library at (225) 647-3955.

Funding for Rebirth PL grants has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and administered by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act economic stabilization plan. Additional funding is provided by the Union Pacific Foundation.

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Community asked to help support local heroes at Ascension River District Hospital Thursday – The Times Herald

Posted: at 11:47 pm

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Ascension River District Hospital at 4100 River Road in East China Township on May 10, 2021.(Photo: Bryce Airgood/Times Herald)

Its a special job to care for hospitalpatients, especially during a pandemic, and a foundationis asking for community help tothanklocal health careworkers for doing just that.

Ascension St. John Foundation,which raises funds forMichiganAscension hospitals,is launching a Caring for our Heroescampaign and will hold an appreciation event forAscension River District Hospital employees Thursday, saidLorraine Owczarek, the foundation's chief development officer.

She said during the pandemic peoplehave madepostersandsentcards to hospitals to show their appreciation for healthcare workers, but sometimes smaller hospitals like Ascension River District Hospital get missed.

We just want them to know we didnt forget about them, she said.

Sothe foundation islooking to members of the community to help cheer on and hand out roses of appreciation to the hospital's'local heroes,' at 6:30 a.m. Thursdayfor about45 minutes.

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People will meet at the East China Township hospital at4100 River Road at the main entrance and emergency department entrance for the event.

Owczarek said hospital shifts change at 7 a.m., sopeople will be able to cheer for peoplecoming intowork andleaving.

She hopespeople come out to the event and said there aresuch warm and caring people out there."

If someone is unable to make the Thursday event,the foundation is also askingfor thank youcardsand appreciation notes to be dropped off at bins near the hospitals main entrance and emergency department entrance.

Any participation is welcome, she said.

Ascension River District Hospital at 4100 River Road in East China Township on May 10, 2021.(Photo: Bryce Airgood/Times Herald)

Contact Bryce Airgoodat (810) 989-6202 or bairgood@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.

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Community asked to help support local heroes at Ascension River District Hospital Thursday - The Times Herald

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Nurses Week: Ascension nurse helps another overcome circumstances, secure new role – KSN-TV

Posted: at 11:47 pm

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) When a new job opening became available at Ascension Medical Group, physician practice manager Victoria Parris had a great candidate in mind already.

Amy Acuna, a CNA at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis, was looking to broaden her nursing career and the job working the front desk for the Ascension Medical Group OB-GYN office seemed like a great fit. Acuna excelled through the interview cycle but the process hit a snag.

I got a call from my recruiter to let me know that unfortunately, Amy was not qualified for the position, Parris tells KSN.

Acuna became a mother at age 15 and dropped out of school so she could financially provide for her son. Her job as a CNA at various assisted living facilities and St. Francis did not require a high school diploma or GED, but the new job she applied and interviewed for did.

Parris asked Acuna if she would be willing to put in the work to qualify for her job, not knowing what her answer would be as Acuna is now a busy wife and mother of three children.

Within 29 days, Acuna secured her GED.

She says resources typically available to help adults with their education were largely unavailable to her due to COVID.

I kind of just went online and YouTubed everything from the beginning. I started over and taught myself, and I was nervous. So nervous, but I did it, Acuna said.

The curriculum changed in the years since Acuna, now 32, was in school. She admits she had to ask her son for some help understanding quad polynomials.

Acuna let Parris know she secured the necessary education for this next step, which Parris was happy to brag about to anyone who would listen.

Parris notes, we are not all given the same circumstances in life and she feels it is her duty as a manager to recognize those differences.

Lifes not about being fair, we cant make everything fair, but we can do our due diligence to make things equitable, Parris said.

The GED is just the start for Acuna, who has decided to go back to school this fall to pursue further nursing dreams.

The son she gave birth to at age 15 is now 16 years old and considering a career in nursing.

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East Ascension announces top graduates, plans for graduation ceremony – The Advocate

Posted: at 11:47 pm

East Ascension High School's Class of 2021 graduates at 7 p.m. Friday during a ceremony in Spartan Stadium.

The ceremony will be moved to Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in case of rain.

Ann Nguyen will lead her class as valedictorian. Nguyen, the daughter of Thuy and Phuc Nguyen, plans to study biology at LSU on a Flagship Scholars Resident Scholarship.

In high school, she was a three-year member of the volleyball team and member of National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Fellowship of Christian Students and Yell Leaders.

Kelsey Robillard andKollin Bassie are the class co-salutatorians.

Robillard, the daughter of Mark and Roxanne Robillard, plans to study microbiology at LSU on a Tiger Excellence Scholar Resident Scholarship.

At Dutchtown, Robillard was an AP Capstone Diploma recipient, AP Scholar with Distinction and member of National Honors Society, Allied Health, Environmental Club, Yell Leaders and SHARE Club Tutoring.

Bassie, the son of Matt and Laurie Bassie, is set to study mechanical engineering at LSU on a Academic Scholars Scholarship. He was enrolled in the Early College Option Program at River Parishes Community College.

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Shock wave treatment advances from kidney stones to blocked arteries at Jacksonville hospital – The Florida Times-Union

Posted: at 11:47 pm

Treatment advances from kidney stones to blocked arteries at Jacksonville Hospital

Shock wave treatment advances from kidney stones to blocked arteries at Jacksonville Hospital

Ascension St. Vincent's, Florida Times-Union

At Ascension St. Vincent's Riverside in Jacksonville, an existing technology that uses "shock waves" to break up kidney stones has become a new technologyto do the samething to severe calcium deposits that are restricting blood flow in the heart.

Ascension St. Vincent's said it is the first Northeast Florida hospital to use the procedure, whichwas approved in February by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration forpatients with hardened arteries.

"We all have plaque buildup that over time can become hardened, can become calcified," saidSamer Garas, an interventional cardiologist at Ascension St. Vincents Riverside.

That calcificationcan narrow the artery, cause blood-flow blockagesand lead to heart attack or stroke. The calcium deposits alsomakethe artery rigid and can hamper conventional treatments, such as balloon angioplasty and stents, which are tiny tubes inserted to keep the artery open, he said.

Related: 'Easy' heart-valve fix takes Jacksonville man from shortness of breath back to 'normal life'

With intravascular lithotripsy, doctors usea catheter snaked from anarm or leg that emits sonic pressure waves to breakup the calcium. Then they canexpand the artery with minimal trauma to normal artery tissue and implant a stent, Garas said.

"Shock-wave lithotripsy can disrupt some of the most hardened calcium deposits," he said. "This can allow us to achieve good stent results without the need for more invasive procedures which makes it even safer to treat some of our more complex patient cases."

He said new technology is always emerging, and hospitals keep advancing.

The Shockwave Intravascular Lithotripsy System was developed by California-based Shockwave Medical. The FDA cited aclinical trial of 384 patients, 92percent of whom received the stent and survived without a heart attack or another procedure for 30 days. About75 percentof the trial patients also survived a year without a heart attack or additional procedure.

Cardiologists at Ascension St. Vincents have used the procedure for a handful of patients. All are doing well, Garassaid.

More: Patient at Ascension St. Vincents is first in Florida with wireless pacemaker

Some of those patients "hada hard time conceptualizing" the use of sonic waves, he said. But once they understoodhow it works to prevent heart attack and stroke, "they're happy with it," he said.

Hardening of the arteries typically impacts older peoplebut can also affect younger people who smoke or have a genetic predisposition, he said.

Nationallyheart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women, killing about 600,000 people every year.

"We always want to provide our community with the most innovative and effective care options available in a safe environment,"said Estrellita Redmon, Ascension Florida and Gulf Coast chief clinical officer.

Ascension St. Vincents,she said, "has a local legacy of innovation in heart care and is often the first in our community to offer new treatment options to those we serve."

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

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What happened between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus? – Aleteia EN

Posted: at 11:47 pm

One fascinating time period in the Gospel is the days that elapsed between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

Jesus appeared to many and walked with his disciples on multiple occasions.

St. Leo the Great provides a rich meditation on this time span in the Bible in a sermon that is featured in the Churchs Office of Readings.

In particular, he singles out various spiritual themes that Jesus may have been trying to highlight.

Dearly beloved, those days which intervened between the Lords Resurrection and Ascension did not pass by in uneventful leisure, but great mysteries were ratified in them and deep truths were revealed.In those days the fear of death was removed with all its terrors, and the immortality not only of the soul but also of the flesh was established. In those days the Holy Spirit is poured upon all the Apostles through the Lords breathing upon them, and to the blessed Apostle Peter, set above the rest, the keys of the kingdom are entrusted and the care of the Lords flock.

Dearly beloved, through all this time which elapsed between the Lords Resurrection and Ascension, Gods Providence had this in view, to teach his own people and impress upon their eyes and their hearts that the Lord Jesus Christ had risen, risen as truly as he had been born and had suffered and died.Hence the most blessed Apostles and all the disciples, who had been both bewildered at his death on the cross and backward in believing his Resurrection, were so strengthened by the clearness of the truth that when the Lord entered the heights of heaven, not only were they affected with no sadness, but were even filled with great joy.

It was during that time that the Lord joined the two disciples as a companion on the way, and, to sweep away all the clouds of our uncertainty, reproached them for the slowness of their timid and trembling hearts. Their enlightened hearts catch the flame of faith, and lukewarm as they have been, they are made to burn while the Lord unfolds the Scriptures.

Truly it was great and unspeakable, that cause of their joy, when in the sight of the holy multitude the Nature of mankind went up: up above the dignity of all heavenly creatures, to pass above the angels ranks and to rise beyond the archangels heights, and to have its uplifting limited by no elevation until, received to sit with the Eternal Father, it should be associated on the throne with his glory, to whose Nature it was united in the Son.

This time period in the Gospel, while very short, was not without purpose.

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What happened between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus? - Aleteia EN

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