CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT: ST. JOHN PRIMARY SCHOOL FIRST-GRADE CLASS ä Page 6G
THE ASCENSION
ADVOCATE
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THURSDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2015 H DONALDSONVILLE • DUTCHTOWN • GEISMAR • GONZALES • PRAIRIEVILLE • ST. AMANT • SORRENTO THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff AROUND ASCENSION
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Enjoy video games at library A fun-filled afternoon of Nintendo Wii, including games such as “Skylanders,” “Swap Force,” “Mario Kart” and “Wii Sports,” gets started at 4 p.m. Friday at the Galvez Branch of the Ascension Parish Library. This program is free and open to all teens in sixth grade and up. Call (225) 6223339 for details.
LIHA powwow
The 49th annual Louisiana Indian Heritage Association Powwow is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Arena A of the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales. The powwow will feature intertribal and gourd dancing, Native American crafts and food, a princess contest, demonstrations and exhibitions. The schedule includes: SATURDAY: 9 a.m., flag raising in arena; 10 a.m., doors open to public; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., demonstrations, beadwork and shopping; noon to 1 p.m., gourd dancing; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., grand entry and powwow dancing; 5 p.m., supper break; 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., gourd dancing; and 7 p.m., grand entry, powwow dancing, closing flag song and lowering of the colors. SUNDAY: 9 a.m., flag raising in arena; 9:30 a.m., LIHA annual membership meeting and election of officers; 10 a.m., doors open to public; 11 a.m. to noon, gourd dancing; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., demonstrations and shopping; 1 p.m., grand entry, powwow dancing, crowning of LIHA princess; and 5 p.m., closing flag song. Admission is $5 for adults; free for children 12 and younger with a paid adult; and free for LIHA members and uniformed military/first responders. For information, contact Joe Bellanger at jbellanger51@hotmail. com or (504) 650-0462; or Ascension Parish Tourism at (888) 775-7990. Download forms at liha.webs.com.
Preteens and puberty
St. Elizabeth Hospital in Gonzales will host “Growing Up: Girls, a Class for Preteen Girls” from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Sister Vernola Conference Room. This class is for girls ages 9 to 11 and their moms and will cover the physical and emotional changes that come with puberty. Cost is $15 and preregistration is required. Call (225) 621-2906.
Art Gumbo Market
The River Region Art Association’s Art Gumbo Market will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Houmas House Plantation, 40136 La. 942 (River Road), in Darrow. The monthly arts and crafts event is free and open to the public and includes complimentary food tasting äSee AROUND, page 3G
Board may tweak voting procedure
Panel to take a look at agenda rules as well BY ELLYN COUVILLION
vote a second time on whether the primary school in Donaldsonville should be moved to a GONZALES — The Ascension new location. Lambert said he was conParish School Board is looking at clarifying its procedure in fused when he voted on Aug. the event a board member asks 4 for Donaldsonville Primary to stay where it is. The motion for a redo on a vote. The issue surfaced in August to move the school failed that when board member Louis night. Recent changes to Robert’s Lambert asked that the board ecouvillion@theadvocate.com
Rules of Order muddied the matter for the board, which sought legal advice before bringing the matter up for a vote again. When the School Board took another vote on the issue later in August, it ended in a tie, meaning the vote taken on Aug. 4 to keep the school on La. 3089 near Donaldsonville stood.
‘SUPERHEROES’ CELEBRATED
On Tuesday, the board’s Policy Committee, headed by board member Julie Blouin, approved a proposed policy to be sent to the full board for a vote that reads: “Reconsideration of an item voted on shall be made by someone on the winning side, during the meeting in which the Board voted on the item or in the meeting immediately following the vote on the initial action.” The proposal suggests mat-
ters voted on by the board can’t be brought up for reconsideration more than once during a calendar year, except by a twothirds vote of the board. The Policy Committee also voted to have board attorney Jeff Diez look into formalizing a policy on how board members can put items for discussion on meeting agendas, after board member Robyn Penn Delaney sought clarification on the matter.
Central Primary School first-grader Karsyn Rogers wears a red, white and blue bow in honor of Veterans Day while having lunch with her father, military veteran Scott Rogers.
Veterans honored at school luncheon BY KATE STEVENS
Special to The Advocate GONZALES
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mara Lee Viccellio, a fourth-grade student at Central Primary School, doesn’t need to open her school books to learn about American history. She can just talk to her greatgrandfather, Thomas A. Wintz, of Dutchtown, for a lesson. “He was in World War II,” Amara said. “He’s a part of history.” Wintz, 88, who served in the U.S. Navy for two years as an electrician aboard the USS Leon in the South Pacific, was honored with about 100 other veterans for their military service during a special Veterans Day lunch Nov. 11 at Central Primary School. The school’s Parent-Teacher Organization covered the $375 cost of providing lunches for the service members. “I wouldn’t have missed it,” said Wintz, who also dined with greatgranddaughter Arayna Wintz, a prekindergarten student.
Advocate photos by KATE STEVENS
U.S. Navy Petty Officer Teressa Hill, second from left, is honored at Central Primary School’s Veterans Day lunch Nov. 11. Hill eats with her children, CPS students Cadynce Hill, left, Triston Hill, second from right, and Zadyn Hill, right, and her fiancé Terrell Stepter. World War II veteran Thomas A. Wintz served in the U.S. Navy as an electrician and was sent to the south Pacific on the USS Leon. Central Primary School bought his and other veterans’ lunches on Nov. 11 to thank them for their service. Wintz sits with great-granddaughters Arayna Wintz and Amara Lee Viccellio. äA monument honoring Purple Heart recipients was unveiled in Gonzales. Read more, page 4G.
äSee VETERANS, page 4G
Annual Avenue Evening Stroll to showcase Donaldsonville area Advocate staff report Christmas music will play as shoppers stroll along Donaldsonville’s Railroad Avenue for the annual Avenue Evening Stroll from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. The shopping and cultural event showcases the city’s downtown area and features artists, authors, crafters and vendors spreading holiday cheer. In Louisiana Square, the Donaldsonville Fire Department Association will host a children’s Christmas village with
Santa Claus and lots of activities. The Stroll Choir Showcase will feature numerous local choirs providing holiday music. This year, a street car trolley will be available. Tickets are free for customers who make a qualified purchase determined by participating merchants. An “all evening pass” will be available for $5 for those who have not acquired one from a participating merchant by the night of the event. The trolley will stop at all city merchants involved with the event.
Entertainment sites will be the Bicentennial Jazz Plaza and the River Road African American Heritage Museum, the Donaldsonville Area Chamber of Commerce, Louisiana Square and Donaldsonville Glass and Body. Refreshments will be available at Louisiana Square. Railroad Avenue will be closed to traffic throughout the event. For information, email the Donaldsonville Main Street Program at directorddd@ gmail.com or call (225) 3232555.
Advocate staff photo by HEATHER MCCLELLAND
Sisters Crystal Thomas, left, and Dallas Thomas perform as a duo called Graceland during last year’s Avenue Evening Stroll in Donaldsonville.