TWO LIVINGSTON PARISH STUDENTS ADVANCE IN STUDENT OF THE YEAR CONTEST ä Page 4G
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DENHAM SPRINGS • LIVINGSTON • WALKER • WATSON • AMITE • HAMMOND • PONCHATOULA
THURSDAY MARCH 26, 2015 H
THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff AROUND LIVINGSTON
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Walker Elementary to kick off festival Walker Elementary School’s annual Wildcat Roar Festival kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday at 13327 Wildcat Drive. Friday’s lineup, which goes through 9 p.m., includes rides, concessions and a talent show. The Saturday schedule includes rides, school-sponsored game booths, a silent auction, garage sale, concessions, color run and spelling bee. Game booth and concession tickets are 50 cents. Advance tickets for amusement rides will be $1 through noon Friday and $2 the days of the event.
Pioneer Day showcases skills of past BY CLAIRE SALINAS
Special to The Advocate Rope knitting, quilting, soapmaking and wood-carving displays were all part of Denham Springs’ seventh annual Pioneer Day. Saturday’s event, held in downtown Denham Springs, featured skills and products from different community vendors and hobbyists. Event coordinator Elvin Watts said Pioneer Day was created because “we’re just trying to let the community and people see that there’s still people that continue that line of thought and trades that you don’t get to see anymore.� Watts feels the event serves
to teach skills that are no longer part of everyday American education. “You’re not going to have a wood-carving class in high school or anything,� Watts said. “It kind of shows you your heritage, where your forefathers came from and the things that they had to do to make life carry on to the point where we are today.� Jesse Eaves is a hobbyist who does Marlin-Spike rope knitting and collects wooden items that were used to make sailing ships in the 19th and 20th centuries. Eaves said he got into his hobby while in the Navy in the 1950s. “I got interested, and I’ve been at it ever since,� Eaves
Charles Crowder, of Denham Springs, demonstrates on Saturday the art of chair caning on the steps of Denham Springs City Hall during Pioneer Day.
said. “I come here, I go to libraries, I go to schools, I talk to anybody who will listen to me. I try to teach them knots because there’s a few people in the United States, but I think I’m the only one in Louisiana who does it.â€? Eaves uses only Louisiana wood as a nod to his culture. “All the wood is Louisiana wood. My son is an arborist, and he brings me the wood, and I get to use it as part of my hobby,â€? Eaves said. Debbie Bishop, from Denham Springs, attended the event with her daughter and granddaughter and feels like “everyone should come and do this äSee PIONEER, page 3G
Advocate photo by CLAIRE SALINAS
Once upon a time
Republican Women meet
The Livingston Parish Republican Women will hold its monthly meeting at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Big Mike’s, 123 Aspen Square, Denham Springs. Local state representatives have been invited to speak, and the public is invited. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling Darla Steagall at (225) 337-0490 or emailing darlasteagall@gmail.com.
Car show, open house
The Livingston Parish Automotive Service Technology Program will host a Car Show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Literacy and Technology Center, 9261 Florida Blvd., Walker. Program Director Joshua Murphy said the show will feature a variety of antique cars, trucks, motorcycles and “tricked outâ€? cars on display. In addition, the show will feature a car simulator and an open house tour of the automotive center. Lunch plates will be on sale. The entry fee for cars to participate is $10 per vehicle, and all entries will be eligible for prizes. All proceeds from the show will go to support the parish’s automotive program, which is a dualenrollment program that offers students an opportunity äSee AROUND, page 3G
ABOVE: Josh Ballard, left, and Chris Ballard sing ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’ on March 16 during the Jackets Against Destructive Decisions Prom Fashion Show at Denham Springs High School. This year’s theme was ‘Once Upon a Time in Denham.’ LEFT: Kenya James belts out a solo. FAR LEFT: Students perform ‘A Pirate’s Life’ from ‘Peter Pan.’ Advocate staff photos by ANGELA MAJOR
Disney ‘an experience to remember’ for Live Oak band, color guard DARLENE DENSTORFF
the school’s concert band and color guard loaded 70 students, 30 chaperones, instruments, Live Oak High School band uniforms, costumes, competidirector Brian Feigles calls an tion rifles and more than 25 early March trip to compete in flags into charter buses for Photo provided by DELANEA GATES the Festival Disney “an experi- the trip to Walt Disney World Live Oak High School band members gather in March at Walt ence to remember.� Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The stuAfter a year of fundraising, Florida. dents competed in Festival Disney. It was the group’s first time rehearsals and coordination, ddenstorff@theadvocate.com
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competing in the music festival, color guard instructor Delanea Gates said. “This was an extremely competitive event with great band and auxiliary units from around the country,â€? Gates said. “It was a huge trip for us.â€? äSee DISNEY, page 4G