DOGS & CATS NEED FURR-EVER HOMES. ADD A NEW MEMBER TO YOUR FAMILY THIS HOLIDAY ä Page 5G
THE SOUTHEAST
ADVOCATE
1G
THURSDAY DECEMBER 17, 2015 H
COURSEY • HARRELLS FERRY • MILLERVILLE • OLD JEFFERSON • PARKVIEW • SHENANDOAH • TIGER BEND • WHITE OAK THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff
AROUND THE SOUTHEAST
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Road work cancels parade The Jones Creek Area Business Association’s annual Christmas parade has been canceled this year, said John Kovalcik, past president and Webmaster for the JCABA. “It’s not the construction so much as the areas where people generally stand to watch the parade that aren’t suitable,” Kovalcik said. Plans are in the works to reroute the parade around the problem areas so that next year the parade will resume.
Yappy Hour
Capital Area Animal Welfare Society will host its monthly Yappy Hour for dogs from 5 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Raising Cane’s Dog Park at Forest Community Park. Visit brec.org/ dogparks for information.
‘The Nutcracker,’ bayou style
Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre, accompanied by the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, presents “The Nutcracker: A Tale from the Bayou” at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the River Center Theatre. Tickets are $45 for orchestra (floor level), $38 for balcony rows A-C, $25 for balcony rows D-J and $20 for balcony rows K-O. Ballet VIP members can purchase tickets for $55. Visit http:// bit.ly/1Y8UYwk.
Temporary home for vets restored BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com Volunteers of America is building a fence, a covered pavilion and a fire pit outside The Garfield House, a transitional home for formerly homeless veterans, said Amanda Gustavson, marketing director for VoA. The project was funded by a $6,000 grant from the Home Depot Foundation, with labor from volunteers of both her organization and area Home Depots. “They came out in September of 2013 and began some other projects,” Gustavson said, including the demolition of a back fence and an old wooden pavilion, both of which were rotting. Jan Smith and her fellow
Home Depot co-workers began planning in February for the ongoing beautification project, she said. “We came in and did a walkthrough assessment of needs,” Smith said, including the preferences of the nine residents of the house. “We tore down the back fence two years ago, and the pavilion, so we went back and figured out how much wood, how many bolts and screws, we would need, then wrote a grant proposal, which was awarded,” Smith said. The group came together Dec. 5 for a work day. The Home Depot Foundation supports programs meant to improve the lives of military veterans, she said. There are many factors at
work that could lead to homelessness for veterans, Gustavson said, and their priority once they’re at the Garfield House is to make sure they have resources at their disposal to address what brought them to the house in the first place. “Whether that’s substance abuse treatment, help for posttraumatic stress disorder, financial planning or medical help,” she said. And while they’re at the house, she wants them to feel at home. “We want it to look nice,” she said. “Every time I come by, Advocate photo by C.J. FUTCH there’s always a group sitting outside in the back here, so we Allen Ray, manager of Home Depot’s Denham Springs locawanted to replace the old ga- tion, holds a post steady while Jamar Hayes, manager of the zebo and give them a covered Gonzales location, secures a cross piece on Dec. 5 for what will be a pavilion at The Garfield House, a transitional home äSee HOUSING, page 4G for formerly homeless veterans.
HOLIDAY
SPIRIT ROLLS ON
Advocate photo by C.J. FUTCH
Baton Rouge Harp Ensemble member Ann Marie Gladney, 15, rehearses her solo.
Heavenly sounds draw group together
Holiday movie for kids
Jones Creek Regional Branch Library will show “The Polar Express” to children ages 6 to 11 at 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Monday. Bring your favorite finger foods. Children and their families may wear their favorite appropriate pajamas and bring snacks to another showing of “The Polar Express” at 6:30 p.m. Registration is required for the evening show; call (225) 756-1160.
Santa Drop-n-Shop
Parents in need of some time to finish holiday shopping or just take a break can bring their children to Antioch Boulevard Park for BREC’s Santa Drop-n-Shop from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. äSee AROUND, page 4G
BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com
Advocate staff photos by HILARY SCHEINUK
ABOVE: Paradegoers wave for throws as the annual Cortana Kiwanis Christmas Parade rolls down Government Street in downtown Baton Rouge on Saturday. TOP: The All Stars in Motion dance team marches in the parade. Dressed as Santa, Tom Gibbs pushes his granddaughter, Lucie Montalbano, 2, and runs with his other granddaughter, Ava Phillips, 10, as they take off down Government at St. Phillip streets for a fun run ahead of the parade.
Former LSU baseball star Ryan Theriot tosses beads to paradegoers.
The ladies who make up the Baton Rouge Harp Ensemble range in age from 10 years to nearly 78 years and have varying levels of experience on the stringed instrument that brought them together, said Gladys Runnels, co-founder of The Runnels School and member. “The common factor among us is Ms. (Rebecca) Todaro,” Runnels said. “She is responsible for bringing us all together.” Todaro, former harp instructor at the school, has moved to New Orleans, but still makes the drive to Baton Rouge to rehearse with the tightly-knit group. All are either current or former students, or parents and friends of either Todaro or her äSee SOUNDS, page 4G