YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER LAROSE, LA thelafourchegazette.com
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Sales Tax Holiday set for August 1 and 2
BATON ROUGE – Just in time for back-to-school shopping, most retail purchases in Louisiana are exempt from the 4 percent state sales tax on Friday, August 1, and Saturday, August 2. The 2014 Louisiana Annual Sales Tax Holiday applies to most individual consumer purchases of tangible personal property. The sales tax holiday exempts the first $2500 of the purchase price of each eligible item when the customer: • Buys and accepts delivery of eligible property; • Places property on layaway; • Acquires property that was previously placed on layaway; or • Places an order for immediate delivery, even if the delivery must be delayed, provided the customer has not requested delayed delivery See Holiday Page 6-A
Local retailers “Pitch In!” for annual school supply drive
Local retailers, Vision Communications, Callais Office Supply and Walmart, are joining together to help raise the most needed school supplies for the Lafourche Parish Public Schools’ upcoming school year. Since 2010, Vision Communications and Callais Office Supply have donated cases of copy paper to local schools in an effort to assist with the shortage of paper for teachers. Last year an additional school supplies fundraiser was established with the added assistance of the Walmart locations in Galliano and Mathews. Last year’s school supply drive collected over 5900 school items and received cash donations for a total value of $9,096. See Supplies Page 6-A
INSIDE
Arrests.......................12-A
Calendar of Events.........2-A Classifieds..........10-A/12-A
In a Small Pond............5-A
Lottery..........................2-A
News In Brief.................7-A
Obituaries...................12-A
Public Notices..........12-A Surfin’ the Net.............12-A
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VOLUME 48 NUMBER 46
Despite good news, benefit programs face problems
Big-time sale!
STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press
Staff photo by Babs
The Larose Civic Center will host their annual indoor garage sale beginning on Wednesday, July 30 from 5 to 9 p.m., Thursday, July 31 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday, August 1 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thousands of items will be available including clothes, housewares, books, furniture, toys and more. All proceeds benefit the Larose Civic Center operations. Pictured is Rhett Griffin bringing in bags of items and helping with the boy’s clothes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite some good news, Medicare and Social Security still face long-term financial problems as millions of baby boomers reach retirement. Social Security’s disability program is already in crisis as it edges toward the brink of insolvency. Getting relief from a slowdown in health care spending, Medicare’s giant hospital trust fund won’t be exhausted until 2030, the government said Monday. That’s four years later than last year’s estimate. As for Social Security, its massive retirement program will remain solvent until 2034. The disability trust fund, however, is slated to run dry in just two years. At that point, unless Congress acts, the program will collect only enough payroll taxes to pay 81 percent of benefits. “The fact is, without bipartisan action, benefits will be cut,” said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. The trustees who oversee Social Security and Medicare issued their annual report Monday on the financial health of the government’s two largest benefit programs. See Programs Page 6-A
Public school begins August 11, is your child prepared? Health officials remind parents to be certain their child is up-to-date on vaccinations
BATON ROUGE, La. - The new school year is approaching, is your child ready? Preparation isn’t limited to getting uniforms and school supplies. Every child should be protected before heading to the classroom and that means being certain they are up-todate on their childhood vaccinations. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals reminds parents that ensuring children have received their necessary vaccinations is not only important, it’s the law. “Other parts of the country have seen a resurgence of measles, including Houston, which had a large outbreak last year,” said DHH Secretary Kathy Kliebert. “These vaccinations protect our children from these terrible diseases. Getting vaccinated is a simple process with big rewards. These vaccines help keep children healthy, so they can spend more days in the classroom learning and out of the doctor’s office.” Louisiana law requires children age four or older who
are entering kindergarten, pre-kindergarten or Head Start programs this year have proof they have received the following vaccinations: - a booster dose of Poliovirus vaccine (IPV) - two doses of Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine (MMR) - three doses of Hepatitis vaccine (HBV) - two doses of Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine (Var) - a booster dose of Diphtheria Tetanus Acellular Pertussis vaccine (DtaP) Children in Daycare need to be up-to-date with their age-appropriate immunizations. Children who are 11 or older and are entering the sixth grade this year must have proof they have received all of the age-appropriate immunizations listed above, and at this age, children also need proof of receiving: - meningococcal (meningitis) vaccine - Tetanus Diphtheria Acellular Pertussis vaccine (Tdap)
Locks of Love brings smiles to children’s faces
See School Page 6-A
Annual Cut-a-thon to be held Sunday Marc C. Kimball Contributing Writer
Some medical conditions leave no sign of their presence. High blood pressure? Diabetes? No one would know your affliction unless you told them about it. Alopecia Areata? People know you have it immediately! Alopecia causes the body’s immune system to attack and kill hair follicles causing baldness. There is no known cause or cure. Some are diagnosed as early as 6 months old. For others, the condition may appear later in life. Regardless of when the condition starts, a person is forced to live with its consequences throughout their lifetime. No eyebrows. No eyelashes. No hair on their head. Ever. Imagine being a 5-year old girl going to your first day of school and you’re bald? One group is working tirelessly to help! Locks of Love is a public, non-profit organization that provides vacuum-fitted hairpieces to children suffering long-term hair loss, not
just from Alopecia. Some of their prosthetic recipients have suffered from severe burns, injury or endured long-lasting radiation treatments. Wigs are expensive. Locks of Love ensures that every child suffering with hair loss, regardless of his or her financial situation, has access to a wig. Locks of Love uses only donated human hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. These prostheses help restore self-esteem and confidence in children, allowing them to face their peers and the world. Hairpieces are provided every 18 months to children 6 to 21 years old for a total of ten hairpieces. This way, as the child grows and changes, so does their hair! The vacuum fitted hairpieces they create are designed exclusively for children who have experienced a total loss of scalp hair. See Locks Page 6-A
Five-year-old Mylie Mejia recently donated her hair to Locks of Love.