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THE SOUTHEAST
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THURSDAY MARCH 12, 2015 H
COURSEY • HARRELLS FERRY • MILLERVILLE • OLD JEFFERSON • PARKVIEW • SHENANDOAH • TIGER BEND • WHITE OAK THEADVOCATE.COM
A cut above
Darlene Denstorff
Southeast Middle meets $10,000 goal by close shave
AROUND THE SOUTHEAST
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
BY C.J. FUTCH
Night of Character raises money for Scouts The Istrouma Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, will host A Night of Character at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, at the LSU Rural Life Museum. The evening will feature food, music, an open bar and auctions. Proceeds from the event support the delivery of the Scouting for Character program to eligible at-risk youth throughout the Istrouma Area Council, a news release said. Tickets are $100. For information, contact Istrouma Area Council, Boy Scouts of America at (225) 926-2697. The Scouting for Character program provides at-risk youth an opportunity to experience Scouting activities and values, supported by trained adults in a safe environment, the release said. Since 1917, the Istrouma Area Council, Boy Scouts of America has delivered programs to residents in Ascension, East and West Baton Rouge, East and West Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. James, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes, and Washington and Wilkinson counties, Mississippi.
Science Bowl winners
Baton Rouge Magnet High School’s science bowl team has won the regional leg of the 2015 National Science Bowl. The win qualifies the team to compete at the national competition in Washington, D.C. The NSB brings together thousands of middle and high school students from across the country to compete in a fast-paced question-and-answer format where they solve technical problems and answer questions on a range of science disciplines, including biology, chemistry, Earth and space science, physics and math. A series of 118 regional middle school and high school tournaments are äSee SOUTHEAST, page 2G
cfutch@theadvocate.com
Advocate photos by C.J. FUTCH
Montrell Augustus, Southeast Middle School student, reacts to the hair clippers as Alfred Griffith shaves his head. Augustus and several other students and teachers at the school volunteered to either cut or shave their hair if the school met its goal of $10,000 to fund breast cancer research.
IN SYMMETRY
Michelle Perk took over the microphone in Southeast Middle School’s gym, where every student at the school gathered Friday morning to witness what has become an annual tradition. “Are we ready to cut some hair?� Perk asked, drawing cheers from the students. For three weeks, the students had been working toward a goal of $10,000, which will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, in honor of several breast cancer survivors who are connected to the school in some way, Perk said. As of 7:30 a.m., when the chairs, scissors and clippers were being lined up, they were just $500 short of their goal, but thanks to continuous donations through the fundraiser app, donors quickly filled the gap. The morning’s festivities included three shaved heads and five cut ponytails, totaling an estimated 52 inches of hair — which will be donated to make wigs for cancer patients who have lost their hair — a “best dressed in pink� contest and a raffle drawing to cut a class-
The hair donors, before the event, from left, are Elena Hernandez, John Hayman, Ashley Molina, Carrie Solar Menge, Leslie Huerta, Jeremy Brown, Annabelle Perk, Michelle Perk and Montrell Augustus. mate’s hair. Perk and her daughter Annabelle both volunteered to cut their hair for the event. “They’ve been growing their hair out for a while now,� said Mollee Vicknair, mother and grandmother to the pair, whose battle with breast cancer inspired the fundraiser, in the first place. “Everyone pulls together like family here. It’s great to
see this much support,â€? Vicknair said. The first time Vicknair had cancer, 20 years ago, Perk was 12 years old — the same age Annabelle is now. “She was so strong; she always has been,â€? Vicknair said of her daughter. Vicknair’s son, 3 years old at the time she was going through chemotherapy, had äSee CUT, page 4G
LASM class re-creates ancient art of mandalas
BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com Tammy Frazier wouldn’t argue that she’s got among the cooler job titles as art education curator at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum in downtown. “I absolutely love my job,� she said, stopping occasionally at each table Saturday in the art classroom to answer questions about the day’s project. On Saturday, Frazier taught a group of about 20 children and parents a little about the history and purpose behind mandalas — a piece of artwork, usually circular, that includes perfectly symmetrical elements in each of four quadrants. “The word mandala in Sanskrit means unity and represents balance,� Frazier said. The art form has been around for thousands of years, she said, and is easy to teach because it’s so well-represented in nature. A slice of an orange, or banana, a horizontally sliced apple, snowflakes, starfish, cells or heads of kale can, with the right perspective, be a mandala. Once you start looking for them, you find them everywhere, she said. But sparking that creative connection to the beauty of symmetry is not only a way to reliably produce a piece of art — no matter how artistic one
Rendering provided by KRISTEN HOGAN
A rendering shows the concept for a memorial walkway dedicated to Gerry Lane outside the Paula G. Manship Youth Sports Complex.
Advocate photo by C.J. FUTCH
Nikki May and her son, Rex, 6, learn about symmetry through art on March 7 at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum. They place paper shapes in each quadrant of the paper circle to create a paper mandala. considers themselves to be — it’s also a handy way to teach radial symmetry, or the quality of having two symmetric halves. “We try to make learning about science fun,� she said. Jan Faulkner, who attended the workshop with her granddaughter Jorja Harp, 6, said that element of fun is what keeps them coming back.
“Learning shouldn’t be work. It should be more like play,â€? she said. “I’m learning about symmetry,â€? Jorja said, gluing shapes to her mandala. To be symmetrical, she said, “it all has to be the same.â€? Jorja explained how she was constructing the mandala, äSee MANDALAS, page 4G
Family presents part of YMCA donation BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com While Baton Rouge knew the late Gerry Lane as a businessman and owner of Gerry Lane Cadillac, members and staff of the YMCA of the Capital Area knew him as a loyal patron. And for just about every child participating in the Y’s youth sports programs, he was the name written on their jerseys. Lane’s son, Eric, now CEO of Gerry Lane Enterprises, said he remembers the first time his wife, Lisa, asked the dealership to buy T-shirts for YMCA
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programs. “We bought 2,100 shirts at $6 each. And that has grown to I don’t know how many thousands of T-shirts over the years,â€? Eric Lane said at Gerry Lane Cadillac on Feb. 28, where he presented the first installment of a $300,000 donation to the YMCA in memory of his father, who died in 2013. “When dad was alive, he thought of this as the best thing we do,â€? he said. In addition to supporting YMCA programs financially, äSee YMCA, page 2G