POLICE REPORT ä 3G PERMITS ä 4G
THE SOUTHEAST
ADVOCATE
1G
THURSDAY APRIL 9, 2015 H
COURSEY • HARRELLS FERRY • MILLERVILLE • OLD JEFFERSON • PARKVIEW • SHENANDOAH • TIGER BEND • WHITE OAK THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff AROUND THE SOUTHEAST
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
St. George group to hold tax meetings The St. George Fire Protection District is holding public meetings to discuss two tax measures on the May 2 ballot. One is a revenue replacement proposition to replace revenue generated by a 1.25 mill capital improvements tax that expires this year, organizes said. The second proposition is a 2.0 mill tax. Both are dedicated to capital improvements and general operations. The meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. April 14 at the Jones Creek Regional Library and April 15 at the Bluebonnet Regional Library. An open house and ribbon-cutting will be held from 10 a.m. to noon April 18 at the district’s new administration and training complex at 14100 Airline Highway.
Plant sale raises money for gardening program BY C. J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com Donna Montgomery can’t bring herself to pick a favorite plant. “How can I choose? There are so many wonderful plants,� she said, walking from greenhouse to greenhouse, full of volunteers checking plant labels, adding prices, and moving pots to the shopping area at the LSU Agricultural Center Botanic Gardens at Burden. The East Baton Rouge Master Gardeners Program members
began the process of potting and growing more than 7,000 plants of 250 varieties for the April 11 plant sale, to run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the gardens just off the Essen Lane exit for Interstate 10, beside Mary Bird Perkins - Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center. “It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year,� Montgomery said, adding that the proceeds will support the Master Gardener Program and will be shared with the Burden Center, funding educational activities like plant health clinics, school
Davanna Hart, known to the Horticulture Society as ‘The Succulents Lady,’ left, and Kathy Smilie discuss their strategy for the succulents area at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden.
gardens, seminars for home gardeners and other programs at Burden. This year’s sale will also include a variety of gardening accessories donated to the society that will be sold “dirt cheap,� volunteer Cathy Mayer said, with a chuckle. “We’re calling it our treasures booth, and it’ll have a little bit of everything,� she said. Davanna Hart, who got the nickname “The Succulents Lady� because of her life-long
Advocate photo by C.J. FUTCH
äSee GARDENING, page 2G
Students paint tiles to decorate office BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com
Educator applications
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber is accepting for applications from Baton Rouge Area educators for its BRAC Excellent STEM Educator Award program. The organization will recognize five teachers who demonstrate science, technology, engineering and math excellence through teaching, creating connections to the workplace, and student engagement, a news release said. BRAC will confer five awards to winning teachers at a May 12 ceremony in conjunction with its Signature Speaker event. “Through the Excellent STEM Educator Award, BRAC seeks to recognize public school teachers who are demonstrating exemplary performance in teaching the STEM disciplines that are requisites for success in today’s knowledge-based economy,â€? said Tom Yura, chairman of BRAC’s Education and Workforce Council and senior vice president and general manager of BASF. Public middle and high school teachers from the nine-parish Capital Region, including Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge, and äSee SOUTHEAST, page 5G
Advocate staff photos by PATRICK DENNIS
Camp counselors monitor the doggie campers in the large dog yard at Camp Bow Wow. The doggie day care business also features boarding and obedience training.
RUFF life Socialization, stimulation key at Camp Bow Wow
BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com Drew Detlefs’ eyes almost never leave the screen of the television in his office at Camp Bow Wow, a day care center for dogs. He has cameras monitoring nearly all areas of the 14,000-square-foot facility on Pecue Lane. It is, so far, the largest Camp Bow Wow location in the country, he said, and he built it big for a reason. There’s a market for it. It was a slow day on a Tuesday in March when Detlefs pulled up his day camp count. “We have 113 dogs here today. And that will pick up later in the week,� he said, eyes continually darting back to the cameras, which are available all day as a live stream for “pet parents,� as
he calls his clients. In his busier times — and Easter/spring break is one of those — Camp Bow Wow has had as many as 189 dogs. His capacity is 200. “We’ve heard that some employers have started blocking our site at the office, because I guess people were spending too much time watching the live streams,� Detlefs said. “I had a couple of husbands call and beg me not to let their wives buy a cabin, because they’d be watching the dog sleep during vacation,� he laughed. Regular pens are available for overnight stays, but clients can upgrade to a cabin, which has an in-room camera that live streams to the website, and a television, tuned to either the Cartoon Network or Animal Planet. And for all those groaning at the thought of paying for doggy day camp, there are many happy clients whose dogs no longer destroy the furniture while they’re alone in the house, Detlefs said. “It’s socialization and stim-
Blue and red are among 6-year-old Magnolia Woods student Syndie Toussaint’s favorite colors, which is why she spent part of Monday painting those colors in neat stripes across a ceramic tile outside the Gardere Initiative’s office on Ned Avenue. “I just like smiley faces,â€? said Charity Rhymes, 11, a South Baton Rouge Charter Academy student, about the multicolored assortment of smiles on her own tile. These, along with the tiles painted by dozens more children, will be used to decorate a BREC playground going up at Hartley-Vey Park next door to the office, said Murelle Harrison, with the initiative. Construction on the playground will be June 6 with a community build day, Harrison äSee COLORING, page 5G
Dogs follow a camp counselor in the medium dog yard at Camp Bow Wow. ulation,� he said. “Our counselors aren’t there to play with the dogs. “The dogs aren’t here for human interaction. They get some, but it’s very limited. That’s not the point. The point is interaction with other dogs. They come here to be a dog,� he said. And when they get home, they’re better able to relax and be a companion animal. After an extensive interview process to
spot any problems with aggression or anxiety, dogs are divided up by size and temperament. “Sometimes the dogs in the midsize pen will start getting their energy up too much,â€? Detlefs said. “We can bring a really calm larger dog with good energy in to bring that pen back a little,â€? he said, pointing out a large Doberman in the meäSee BOW WOW, page 2G
Advocate photo by C. J. FUTCH
Syndie Toussaint, left, 6, and Charity Rhymes, 11, paint tiles at the Gardere Initiative offices on Monday that will be used to decorate the new BREC Hartley-Vey Park Playground.
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