LSMSA STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN ANNUAL SCIENCE FAIR IN NATCHITOCHES ä Page 3G
THE SOUTHEAST
ADVOCATE
1G
THURSDAY DECEMBER 31, 2015 H
COURSEY • HARRELLS FERRY • MILLERVILLE • OLD JEFFERSON • PARKVIEW • SHENANDOAH • TIGER BEND • WHITE OAK THEADVOCATE.COM
St. George Fire Dept., Santa visit district
Darlene Denstorff AROUND THE SOUTHEAST
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Library set to close for holiday
Advocate staff report
Jones Creek Regional Branch Library will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of the New Year’s holiday. Regular hours will resume Saturday.
Walk with the birds
A member of the Baton Rouge Audubon Society will lead a bird walk from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Saturday at Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center. Beginners are welcome, as are people of all ages. Field guides and binoculars are optional but recommended. Registration is not required. General admission fees apply; pass holders get in free. Call (225) 757-8905 for information.
Science Academy
Highland Road Park Observatory will host its Science Academy for children from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Children will have a chance to take part in visual presentations and hands-on demonstrations related to astronomy, physics and space science, a news release said. In addition, children can rise through the ranks and earn higher Cadet Certificates through the year. Registration is required. Cost is $5 for East Baton Rouge residents or $6 for nonresidents. Call (225) 7689948 or email observatory@ brec.org.
‘Little Picassos’
BREC offers “Little Picassos” for children ages 4 to 10 and their parents from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Baringer Road Park. Families will create simple paintings and do arts and crafts together. Materials will be provided.
BREC New Year’s hours
BREC’s administrative offices, 6201 Florida Blvd., will be closed Friday for the New Year’s Day holiday. Normal operating hours will resume at all BREC facilities Monday. All BREC golf courses will remain open for the New Year’s holiday. All recreation and tennis centers will close at noon on New Year’s Eve. Both will remain closed on New Year’s Day.
Advocate staff photos by PATRICK DENNIS
Ellen Fargason, 15, rides her saddlebred horse, Slim Shady, on Nov. 30 while practicing walking, trotting and cantering at Marjorie Judd Stables.
STARS OFTHE STABLE
Teen girl shines in horse competitions
BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com Fifteen-year-old Ellen Fargason has been horseback riding since she was a young child, and working with horses has always been a part of her family life, in more ways than one. Ellen’s mother, Donna, is a psychiatrist and uses horses in therapeutic sessions called equine facilitated learning, helping clients deal with issues ranging from anxiety and impulse control to relationship-building and confidence. But that, Donna said, is another story. As a general rule, Ellen Fargason said, she’s been learning the same lessons by working with horses since she was 5 years old. “I love working with them. Each horse has his own personality, and you have to take that into account to figure out how they think, and how to get the message (of what is needed) across (without words),” she said. It’s not a far stretch to see how this improves ones’ people skills, she said. In fact, people may be easier, because they involve less detective work — sometimes.
Ellen grooms her saddlebred horse.
Fargason has been riding an English style of competition called walk/trot/ cantor for about the past two years, with Slim Shady, her American Saddle horse. “Most of the English-style competitions around here are jumping,” Donna said, which is more technically difficult, and also more dangerous. Walk/trot is a good fit for Ellen right now, she said, and both Ellen and another student at the Marjorie Judd Stables,
Elizabeth Sessums, have been competing under Judd’s coaching for the past year. The pair earned enough points to win the overall performance championship in their age categories at last year’s Texas American Saddle Horse Association, according to the association’s website. Ellen was named champion in the Academy Walk/Trot Performance 14 and younger, and Sessums won the same honor for the 10-and-younger category. The competitions are known for the elegance of the horse’s high-stepping gait, how well horse and rider respond to each other, and — Ellen’s favorite part of the competition — the clothes, which include formal riding outfits, including gloves and hats. “I love getting dressed up,” she said. The stable has become a second family for everyone who competes there, Donna Fargason said. They all spend so much time together, either riding, or watching, and they make the same circuits of competitions and shows. “You get to know the people and the horses very well,” Donna Fargason said. Ellen hopes to continue competing in Saddle Horse competitions, she said.
St. George Fire Department continued its long-standing tradition in December of giving Santa a ride atop a fire engine through the neighborhoods around the district. Since the district has grown to have more than 200 subdivisions, it is quite a task, said Eldon Ledoux, public information officer for St. George Fire Protection District. “However, it is one that the firefighters and the public have embraced and look forward to.” The Fire Department partners with the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and Christmas for Challenged Children to conduct the three-truck processions collecting food and toys. The miniparades originate from St. George’s eight fire stations during the first two weekends of December. This year, graced with beautiful weather, the St. George Fire Department neighborhood Santa parades yielded 19,667 pounds of food and 1,284 toys to brighten the holidays of some of our less fortunate neighbors, he said. St. George Fire Department, the Baton Rouge Food Bank and Christmas for Challenged Children thanked the residents of the fire district for their generosity.
Photo provided ELDON LEDOUX
Santa rides atop of a St. George Fire Department truck during the department’s annual Santa parades. While making his rounds, Santa and a group of fire department volunteers pick up food and toys for area families in need.
SANTA’S WET RIDE
FAR LEFT: Santa salutes paradegoers just before the start of the Jefferson Place-Bocage Christmas Eve Day parade.
äSee AROUND, page 2G
LEFT: Kids get an old-school ride during the parade. Advocate staff photos by TRAVIS SPRADLING